Cat Happiness With Whiskas

We have had our family cat Marmalade since he was a kitten and my eldest daughter begged me for a pet. He has been a part of our family for eight years now and my youngest two children have grown up with him in their lives. Marmalade is an indoor cat and he always has been as he would run back in when we tried to let him outside as kitten, so we always have him around. As such he has such a quirky personality, sometimes he is so loving and content purring on my knee or happy looking out the window, other times he likes to be left alone and will curl up for a nap out of sight and he goes off and hides - normally behind the fridge if someone visits he does not know. 

As Marmalade is an indoor cat I often wonder if he is happy, does he get bored being indoors with no other cats for company? Is he content staying indoors? These are things that I ponder often.

Well, I don't need to worry about these things anymore as the clever people at Whiskas have come up with K.I.T, the Kat Insitute of Technology, which is a brand new content platform based on YouTube. Most of us will be aware of Whiskas as being a leading cat food company and you may remember I wrote about their Kitten Kollege last year well Whiskas want to make sure that not only are cats getting the right nutrients from their food but they also want to ensure cat owners know how to keep their cats happy and that is where K.I.T (The Kat Institute of Technology) come in. 

Whiskas have used over 80 years of experience to help us owners recognise if our cats are happy and have made a rather clever little video that you watch below that shows us signs our cat is happy, it is ideal for showing to young children too. 

Some of the signs your cat is happy are 

• Noise - Cat's can be very vocal when happy, a high pitched meow is a content cat, whilst a low pitched one can sometimes indicate an annoyed or unhappy kitty. The "purrrrupttt" sound Marmalade often makes when we are stroking him is also a sign of contentment. 
• Happy cat's keep themselves well-groomed and they may sometimes lick other cats or even us humans. So even though it feels bizarre when Marmalade licks us with his sandpaper-like tongue it is a sign he trusts us and is happy to be around us. 
• Posture -Happy cats sleep with their paws tucked underneath them when they are feeling relaxed and at home. This is Marmalade sleeps in his cat bed or on the sofa curled up with his paws tucked away. 
• Playfulness - Happy kitties will play, either on their own with toys or with their owners and other cats. Marmalade loves it when we play with his fishing rod toy or a ball of wool with him and will happily play for ages with us or chasing one of toy balls around the kitchen floor. 
• Good appetite - A happy cat will enjoy meal times and may ask for food by rubbing your legs or meowing and leading you to their food bowl. Marmalade does this all the time, he knows when his meal times are and if you are late feeding him he will meow until you feed him. If we have treats that he liked he will also rub against are legs purring until we give him some too. 

Overal after seeing this video and reading the signs of a happy cat I think it is safe to say that we have a very happy cat. Marmalade shows all of the signs of being happy, so I think I need to stop worrying about him. 

Do you have a cat? 

This post is a collaboration with Whiskas, but all thoughts are my own. Check out their website and their KIT hub for more information on cat happiness and their YouTube channel for fantastic KIT videos.