“Cats choose us; we don't own them.” – Kristin Cast
Happy Monday! Here's the scoop:
This rescue cat story is one for the books
A simple sew-it-yourself catnip mouse toy your pets will love
What to expect when your cat catches you spying on them
Finally: an answer to why cats love boxes, even fake ones
Did you know?
Cats spend __% of their lives sleeping.
(scroll to the bottom to find the answer!)
Cat Named “Booker” Welcomes Library Patrons
Does your cat like to snuggle with you while you read? One lucky cat named Booker took his love of reading cuddles to the next level and became the mascot of his local library. This fluffy orange boy has been a resident at the Port Austin Township library in Michigan since late 2019.
Library director Mary Jaworski found Booker as a kitten in her garage, alone and in need of help. So Mary decided to find Booker a home - and it happened to be at the local library! Now Booker resides in the eastern part of the library, where he lounges in a cat tree and has plenty of toys to play with. In fact, library patrons often donate food and toys for Booker because they love his presence at the library so much!
Booker helps kids discover books - they come to the library to play with him, and end up staying to read. We’re glad Booker gets to do a job he loves everyday. Read more about his library lifestyle here!
DIY Catnip Mouse Toy
Want to try your hand at a simple sewing project that your cat will adore? Then this DIY catnip mouse toy is for you!
What you’ll need: Pins, scissors, needle, wool felt, embroidery floss, stuffing, dried catnip
Print the free mouse toy sewing pattern and cut the felt according to the pattern.
Attach the mouse ears by folding the narrow end of an ear and placing it near the pointed nose end of one side piece. Stitch in in place with 3 threads of embroidery floss and repeat for the second side.
Sew the sides together with a running stitch - make sure to sandwich the tail in place in the back and stitch a second running stitch from back to front as well.
Attach the bottom of the mouse with a running stitch, making sure to leave a gap to stuff the toy.
Now you can stuff the toy with stuffing and catnip.
Stitch the opening closed with a running stitch, making sure to go back again with a second running stitch like you did for the side attachment.
Now get ready for your cat to go crazy for this catnip mouse!
Image courtesy of The Spruce Crafts.
Sneaky Cat Finds Pet Cam!
Have you ever wondered what a cat might do if they found their hidden pet cam? Check out this cat’s hilarious reaction here!
Why Cats Love (Fake) Boxes
We all know cats love boxes. If your cat is anything like ours, they might have a mindset of “if I fits, I sits.” Well, this silly phrase has inspired a new scientific study entitled “If I fits I sits: A citizen science investigation into illusory contour susceptibility in domestic cats.”
We already know cats' eyes are primed to seek out enclosures, and the researcher’s believed that this even extends to 2D “enclosures,” like a drawing of a square on the ground. So the study sought to find out if cats will seek out 2D enclosures the same way as 3D (boxes, carriers, etc) enclosures.
Researchers studied over 500 pet cats and how they interacted with 2D enclosures like the Kaniza contour illusion, in which our brains perceive a shape out of the empty space made by other shapes (like four “Pacman” mouths alluding to corners of a square). Many of the cats in the study were drawn to these optical illusion squares, showing that cats have the ability to find illusory contour shapes.
Why not try it out for yourself? Next time you want a laugh, make a square out of tape on the ground and see if your feline is fooled!
Image courtesy of Good News Network.
Did you know?
Answer: 70% - which is about 13-16 hours a day!
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