Life With Cats explores familiar cat behavior through research and everyday observation. Learn what rubbing, whiskers, scratching, play, and vocal sounds can tell us, while leaving room for each cat's individuality. Not veterinary or behavior-treatment advice.
Give your cat birds and fish to watch: Cat TV, free at biscuitandyarn.com/cat (https://biscuitandyarn.com/cat?c=lwcplay-1-notes).
Put a cardboard box on the floor and many cats are inside it within minutes. Here's what's behind the box habit, from feeling hidden but able to watch, to staying warm, including what happened when a shelter gave new cats a box to hide in.
Inside this episode:
- The Box Test You've Probably Run- Hidden but Watching- Warmth in a Small Space- What a Shelter Study Found
Sources include the references linked below.
Sources and further reading:- Vinke, Godijn & van der Leij 2014, Will a hiding box provide stress reduction for shelter cats? (https://ufl.pb.unizin.org/app/uploads/sites/49/2019/10/Vinke.Hiding-box-stress-reduction-for-shelter-cats.2014.pdf)- van der Leij et al. 2019, Hiding boxes and shelter cats, PLOS ONE (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31609987/)- Smith, Chouinard & Byosiere 2021, If I fits I sits (https://www.gwern.net/doc/cat/psychology/2021-smith-2.pdf)- AAFP/ISFM Feline Environmental Needs Guidelines (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11383066/)- EFSA 2023, Welfare of cats and dogs: thermal comfort (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10500269/)
This episode is an educational overview, not individual professional advice. Details can vary by context. Corrections are incorporated into future editions.
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8 Oct 2026
How Cats Turn in Midair to Land
See your own photos the way your cat sees them, free at biscuitandyarn.com/catsee (https://biscuitandyarn.com/catsee?c=lwcsense-1-notes).
Cats have a famous knack for landing on their feet. Here's how the righting reflex works, how a falling cat turns its front half and then its back half in a split second, when kittens develop it, and why it doesn't make a fall safe.
Inside this episode:
- The Righting Reflex- Front Half, Then Back Half- How Kittens Learn It- Why a Good Landing Isn't a Safe Fall
Sources include the references linked below.
Sources and further reading:- Public Domain Review, Photographs of a falling cat, 1894 (https://publicdomainreview.org/collection/photographs-of-a-falling-cat-1894)- Higurashi et al. 2026, Spinal mechanics of feline air righting, The Anatomical Record (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41734949/)- Cremieux et al. 1984, Development of the air righting reflex in kittens (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6723872/)- Candela Andrade et al. 2025, Feline high-rise syndrome in Berlin (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12126627/)
This episode is an educational overview, not individual professional advice. Details can vary by context. Corrections are incorporated into future editions.
Follow Life With Cats for more episodes.
8 Oct 2026
What a Slow Blink Means Between Cats and People
See the most loved cat names, and where yours ranks, free at biscuitandyarn.com/catnames (https://biscuitandyarn.com/catnames?c=lwcbond-1-notes).
When your cat looks at you with sleepy, half-closed eyes, it may be sending a message. Scientists tested the slow blink in people's homes and at a rescue center. Here's what they found, what it probably means, and how to try it with your own cat.
Inside this episode:
- The Look That Isn't a Stare- The Living Room Experiment- What About a Stranger?- The Shelter Test- How to Try It Tonight
Sources include the references linked below.
Sources and further reading:- Humphrey et al. 2020, The role of cat eye narrowing movements in cat-human communication, Scientific Reports (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-020-73426-0)- University of Portsmouth, How to build rap-paw with your cat (https://www.port.ac.uk/news-events-and-blogs/news/how-to-build-rap-paw-with-your-cat)- Humphrey et al. 2020, Slow blink eye closure in shelter cats, Animals (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7761381/)- International Cat Care, How to greet a cat (https://icatcare.org/articles/how-to-greet-a-cat)- International Cat Care, Cat communication (https://icatcare.org/articles/cat-communication)
This episode is an educational overview, not individual professional advice. Details can vary by context. Corrections are incorporated into future editions.
Follow Life With Cats for more episodes.
8 Oct 2026
Why Cats Knead Soft Things
See the most loved cat names, and where yours ranks, free at biscuitandyarn.com/catnames (https://biscuitandyarn.com/catnames?c=lwcbond-1-notes).
Your cat steps onto a soft blanket, or your lap, and starts pressing with its front paws, left, right, left. Here's where kneading starts, why adult cats keep doing it, and what the habit can and can't tell you.
Inside this episode:
- Where Kneading Starts- Why Adult Cats Keep Doing It- Scent, Comfort and Claws- When Kneading Changes
Sources include the references linked below.
Sources and further reading:- International Cat Care, Why do cats...? (https://icatcare.org/articles/why-do-cats)- Cats Protection, Why do cats knead? (https://www.cats.org.uk/cats-blog/why-do-cats-knead)- Scientific American, Why do cats knead like they're making biscuits? (https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-do-cats-knead-like-theyre-making-biscuits/)- Cozzi et al. 2013, Use of pheromones in feline practice (https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC11383144/)
This episode is an educational overview, not individual professional advice. Details can vary by context. Corrections are incorporated into future editions.
Follow Life With Cats for more episodes.
7 Oct 2026
What a Cat's Whiskers Help It Sense
See your own photos the way your cat sees them, free at biscuitandyarn.com/catsee (https://biscuitandyarn.com/catsee?c=lwcsense-1-notes).
A cat's whiskers are sensitive tactile hairs, but they are not a magical measuring tape. Hear what they can detect nearby and which popular claims go beyond the evidence.
Inside this episode:
- Whiskers and touch- Signals at the follicle- Nearby objects- The limits of whisker claims
Sources include original cat sensory studies and VCA Animal Hospitals guidance.
This episode is an educational overview, not individual professional advice. Details can vary by context. Corrections are incorporated into future editions.
Follow Life With Cats for more episodes.
7 Oct 2026
Why Cats Scratch Surfaces
See the most loved cat names, and where yours ranks, free at biscuitandyarn.com/catnames (https://biscuitandyarn.com/catnames?c=lwcbond-1-notes).
Scratching is ordinary cat behavior with more than one possible function. Explore claws, stretching, and communication while leaving room for different cats and different surfaces.
Inside this episode:
- What scratching does- Claws and visible marks- Possible signaling- Individual preferences
Sources include the American Association of Feline Practitioners and original cat scratching studies.
This episode is an educational overview, not individual professional advice. Details can vary by context. Corrections are incorporated into future editions.
Follow Life With Cats for more episodes.
7 Oct 2026
Why Cats Stalk and Pounce During Play
Give your cat birds and fish to watch: Cat TV, free at biscuitandyarn.com/cat (https://biscuitandyarn.com/cat?c=lwcplay-1-notes).
A cat crouches, stalks, and pounces during play. This episode connects those movements to familiar hunting patterns without treating every playful jump as an actual hunt.
Inside this episode:
- Stalking and pouncing- Object and social play- Play versus hunting- Individual variation
Sources include peer-reviewed cat-play reviews and original enrichment studies.
This episode is an educational overview, not individual professional advice. Details can vary by context. Corrections are incorporated into future editions.
Follow Life With Cats for more episodes.
7 Oct 2026
How Cats Communicate With Sounds
See the most loved cat names, and where yours ranks, free at biscuitandyarn.com/catnames (https://biscuitandyarn.com/catnames?c=lwcbond-1-notes).
Cats make more than one kind of sound, and a meow does not carry one universal translation. Explore vocal variation, human listeners' limits, and why context matters.
Inside this episode:
- Kinds of cat sounds- Meows in context- What people can hear- Purring beyond one mood
Sources include peer-reviewed feline vocal-communication reviews and original meow studies.
This episode is an educational overview, not individual professional advice. Details can vary by context. Corrections are incorporated into future editions.
Follow Life With Cats for more episodes.
22 Sept 2026
Why Cats Rub Against People and Things
See the most loved cat names, and where yours ranks, free at biscuitandyarn.com/catnames (https://biscuitandyarn.com/catnames?c=lwcbond-1-notes).
A cat rubs against a person or object, but the action does not always mean the same thing. This episode explores social context, scent, and what observational studies can and cannot tell us.
Inside this episode:
- Rubbing in daily life- Scent and familiarity- Social context- What a single rub cannot prove
Sources include original cat-odor and social-behavior studies.
This episode is an educational overview, not individual professional advice. Details can vary by context. Corrections are incorporated into future editions.
Follow Life With Cats for more episodes.
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