Or maybe the way she jumps on your shoulders to give you a kiss on your hair?

Or those moments when she decides you need to be washed… and she’s doing you this favour with her tiny, rough, pink tongue?

That small forehead pushing against your feet… those little paws resting on your cheek… the toys she brings you over and over for hours… those eyes sending you a thousand kisses… that’s what the love of a cat is made of.

How about the humans’ love for cats?

Maybe it’s enduring all the scratches you get from your cat showing you love, without whining.

If only we could forgive our human friends how we forgive our four-legged fellows, the world would definitely be a better place!

Love me like you love your cat!

Poinsettias are generally over-rated in toxicity.  If ingested, poinsettias can be irritating to the mouth and stomach, and may cause mild vomiting or nausea, but are not normally fatal. 
 
Mistletoe has the potential to cause cardiovascular problems.  However, mistletoe ingestion usually only causes gastrointestinal upset. 

 Holly ingestion could cause vomiting, nausea, diarrhea, and lethargy.

Cats have five toes on each front paw, but only four toes on each hind paw.

A cat has 32 muscles in each ear.

A cat cannot see directly under its nose, which is why a cat cannot seem to find tit-bits on the floor.

There are 100 distinct breeds of domestic cats.

Cats have over 100 vocal sounds; dogs have about 10.

Cats with white fur have skin in their ear tips that is very prone to sunburn.  Chronic sunburn can lead to skin cancer. 

‘Cats so privileged’, commented the Daily Telegraph at the time, ‘must be engaged in keeping down mice and rats in warehouses in which at least 250 tons of food or animal feed stuffs are stored’.

It’s good to know that even in those dark days, our feline friends were providing a valuable service, and being rightly rewarded for their efforts.

The cat was sometimes thought to be entrusted with the souls of the dead, leading them to Paradise. There was however some confusion between Bast and the lion-headed goddess Sekhmet, who symbolised the suns destructive power, as a result the nature of the cat was seen to be ambivalent.

Perhaps because of its sinuous shape, its changing eyes and its tendancy for independance, plus the fact that in Hebrew and early Christian beliefs it was regarded as part of a devil or idol worship, the cat became man’s enemy for a period of time instead of his friend.

Chocolate, or more precisely cacao contains a compound called theobromine which has four different adverse effects on cats:

It is a stimulant which increases the heart rate.
It is a diuretic (increases production of urine) resulting in increased loss of body fluids.
It causes stomach upset.
It acts on the nervous system.

The symptoms will very depending on the amount of chocolate the cat has eaten. The most common symptoms are:  vomiting, diarrhoea, excessive urination, nausea, seizures, irregular heartbeat. A larger dose of chocolate may well cause a coma or death. Symptoms usually start within a few hours of ingestion but can take up to 36 hours. If you think that your cat has eaten chocolate, don’t wait for the symptoms. Try to induce vomiting and contact your vet asap.

Not all chocolates are equally dangerous because different chocolates contain different levels of theobromine. As mentioned above, theobromine is found in cacao, so  the higher the percentage of cacao in the chocolate, the more poisonous the chocolate is. For example, milk chocolate contains 60mg of theobromine per oz whereas dark baking chocolate contains 450mg/oz.  As a general rule, the more cacao in the chocolate, more dangerous the chocolate is. 45-50mg of theobromine per pound of body weight is sufficient to poison a cat; and 45-50mg is just 0.1oz of dark chocolate!

Why is chocolate poisonous to cats?
Whereas humans can metabolize theobromine effectively, cats cannot. If cats are fed with chocolate the theobromine remains in their bloodstream for up to 20 hours. The lack of clearance will result in the accumulation of  theobromine, which will quickly reach toxic levels. Nor are cats the only animals which cannot metabolize theobromine. Chocolate is also toxic to horses, dogs, voles and parrots.
 

One of the more unusual names is ‘The Cat i’th Well’ at Wainstalls near Halifax. This pub has two signs. One of the cat falling into the well and the other of the cat climbing out!

There are three ‘Squinting Cats’ in Harrogate, Leeds and New Clipstone. The latter has a sign featuring a cat lapping some spilt beer which seems to be the cause of its problem, though the real origin of the name is not known.

Law of Cat Motion.
A cat will move in a straight line, unless there is a really good reason to change direction.

 Law of Magnetism.
All blue blazers and black sweaters attract cat hair in direct proportion to the darkness of the fabric.

Law of Cat Stretching.
A cat will stretch to a distance proportional to the length of the nap just taken.

Laws of Cat Sleeping.
All cats must sleep with people whenever possible, in a position as uncomfortable for the people involved, and as comfortable as possible for the cat.

Law of Cat Elongation.
A cat can make her body long enough to reach just about any counter top that has anything remotely interesting on it.

Law of Cat Obstruction.
A cat must lay on the floor in such a position to obstruct the maximum amount of human foot traffic. Law of Dinner Table Attendance.
Cats must attend all meals when anything good is served.