“Nothing Like a Good Scratch” Published in Pittsburgh PetConnections Magazine
First, I’m pleased to share that I’ve been named the “Kitty Korner” editor in Pittsburgh PetConnections Magazine. I’ve been compiling the “Cat Resource Guide” in every issue since 2013 and submitting an article as well as customer press releases since then, and I was the Managing Editor in 2013 and 2014. I’m delighted to work with this resource for animals and people in the Pittsburgh area.
Nothing Like A Good Scratch
“Scratching is high on the list of destructive activities that will get a cat tossed out of the house if she’s scratching the wrong things. But she thinks they are the right things, and she has her reasons. She stubbornly returns to the thing you don’t want her to scratch, and pays no attention to the nice scratcher you went out and got for her. Why?”
Well, because she’s supposed to, that’s why. And that’s not a smart cat remark, it’s absolutely true that cats follow their biological lead faithfully even though they are no longer living outdoors, fending for themselves as both predator and prey, regularly raising kittens, because they live inside our houses. In this article for Pittsburgh PetConnections Magazine I explain and discuss the daily habits of cats led by their ancestral biology, how that helps you understand their need to scratch, how you can provide them materials that fit their needs and convince them to use those materials instead of your nice things.
Read the article in the Summer 2020 issue of Pittsburgh PetConnections Magazine, “Nothing Like A Good Scratch”, featuring Mimi scratching her favorite tree.
You can find it on page 18:
- on the PetConnections website home page (look for the icon for the Spring 2020 issue)
- in the online issue of the magazine on ISSUU (it’s easy to set up an account to view magazines on this site)
You can also find my updated Cat Resource Guide on page 21 listing low-cost spay/neuter, vaccine and care options in the Pittsburgh area and links to search other areas, and read other articles about pets and other topics focused on the human-animal bond.
Right now because of COVID-19 restrictions the print version of the magazine was not distributed after March 13, 2020, but you may still find a copy in the Pittsburgh area if one of these locations is considered an essential business, like the shelters and veterinarians.
Read other published articles.
Gifts featuring cats you know! Visit Portraits of Animals
Fine Art • Photography • Gifts • Greeting Cards • Books • Commissioned Portraits & Artwork
Great Rescues Day Book:
Portraits, Rescue Stories, Holidays and Events, Essential Feline Information, All in One Book
Each month features one of my commissioned portraits of a feline or felines and their rescue story along with a kitty quote on the left page, and on the right page the month name with enough lines for all possible dates, with standard holidays and animal-themed observances and events. Great Rescues also includes a mini cat-care book illustrated with my drawings including information on finding strays or orphaned kittens, adopting for the first time or caring for a geriatric cat, a list of household toxins and toxic plants, or helping stray and feral cats and beginning with TNR.
Each book includes also 10 sheets of my “22 Cats” decorative notepaper with a collage of all the portraits in black and white so you can make your own notes or write special notes to friends.
The portraits in this book, collected as a series, won both a Certificate of Excellence and a Muse Medallion in the 2011 Cat Writers’ Association Annual Communication Contest, as well as the 22 Cats Notepaper mentioned below.
Copyright
All images and text used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission, although links to your site are more than welcome and are shared. Please ask if you are interested in using and image or story in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of an image or a product including it, check my animal and nature website Portraits of Animals to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit Ordering Custom Artwork for more information on a custom greeting card, print or other item.
Subscribe to my e-newsletter
Subscribe to The Creative Cat Preview E-newsletter.
© 2022 | www.TheCreativeCat.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski
Weekly schedule of features:
Sunday: Essays, Pet Loss, Poetry, The Artist’s Life
Monday: Adoptable Cats, TNR & Shelters
Tuesday: Rescue Stories
Wednesday: Commissioned Portrait or Featured Artwork
Thursday: New Merchandise
Friday: Book Review, Health and Welfare, Advocacy
Saturday: Your Backyard Wildlife Habitat, Living Green With Pets, Creating With Cats
And sometimes, I just throw my hands in the air and have fun!
Folks need to understand why cats scratch, so they won’t declaw!