EXCLUSIVE: The Bear asks world-renowned cat expert John Bradshaw some questions about his troubled condition

John Bradshaw, whose excellent new book Cat Sense I just reviewed for the Observer, has very kindly taken some time to try to help The Bear solve some issues that are troubling him....

John Bradshaw's answer: "It’s probably down to the education they received.  Some mother cats try to teach their cats how to hunt, maybe yours didn’t.  Or perhaps you’re just naturally lazy."

JB's answer: "Cats’ eyes are great for seeing in the dark, but pretty rubbish in full daylight.  So loss of eyesight in old age isn’t so much of a problem as it is for humans.  But make sure your human knows that in future he shouldn’t move the furniture around, because you’ll bump into it all the time."

JB's answer: "Smells are cats’ post-it notes (or should that be p*ssed-it notes?).  Cats of advanced years, with their failing eyesight and unreliable memory, find it comforting to be able to find their way to their favourite places by following a familiar smell.  (Or it could conceivably be revenge for your human unwisely comparing you to Brian Sewell.)"

JB's answer: "Intelligent enough to have worked out that staring at a human doesn’t provoke a fight in the way staring at another cat might."


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