A cat can touch your heart like no other animal. Unlike dogs, cats tend to be choosy. They love very selectively. Dogs like everyone, you need to earn a cat's trust. When you are loved by a cat you are loved. It doesn't matter the cat breed you may pick.There are so many to choose from, and each seems to have it's own temperamental characteristics as well as it's own look. Some of these breeds have names like York Chocolate Cat and Norwegian Forest Cat. Breeds are broken down by hair type. Longhair and semi-longhair and short hair. Then there are breeds "based on mutation" and "breeds derived from crosses with wild felids" that actually look like tigers and lions.

I personally like big cats and prefer breeds like Maine Coon cats and lovely long haired Persian cats. However, my heart belongs to a rescue classic orange Tabby cat named Norman, and to a beautiful black Sphinx-like cat named Hana.

Choosing the perfect cat name is a big responsibility too. Norman was named when we rescued him. Hana I brought back from the island of Anguilla in the Caribbean with help from the Anguilla Animal Rescue Fund. The word Malliouhana is Arawak for Anguilla. The Arawaks were the original Anguillians. I decided to name her Hana in honor of her birthplace. It also was a name that seemed to suit her. My friend and I tossed many different names back and forth before I chose Hana.

As a cat owner you have many responsibilities. Aside from the obvious of loving your pet and enjoying it's company, your cat's health comes first. As strong and nimble as your cat may appear he or she still has a very delicate chemical system that can be thrown out of wack very easily. One of the first ways you'll know your cat is feeling off is by a change in your cat's behavior.

One of the first ways a cat may say he or she isn't feeling well is by urinating in spots other than the litter box. If you car does this and there hasn't been a change in his environment then you should take you cat into the vet for a check up. If you cat does start urinating in your home this brings on another aspect of cat ownership, and an unfortunate one, learning how to clean cat urine. If you've a male cat you have a whole different problem. The smell of male cat urine is unmistakable and strong and although there are dozens of cat urine cleaning products on the market none of them work perfectly and you may never really get rid of the smell. If you've still a hint of male cat urine smell it can cause new males cats in your home to urinate in the same spot as a way to mark territory.

If you need any cat supplies you'll have more to choose from than you can imagine, and you have many places you can get them. From the pet "superstores" like PetSmart and Petco, and catalogs like Drs. FosterSmith you can get any cat supply you need from food to medicines, from bedding to toys and beyond.