Fundamentally Feline

09/12/2026

It’s a rare Finneas Esquire sighting! I know he’s not on here much, he’s “elusive”, but so SCRUMPTIOUS, soft and gorgeous, but he makes you work for his love and trust. We all know I like a challenge. 😉

P.S. Daddy cannot do what I am doing right now! Mommy is special! He loves his Mommy.

09/11/2026

It really bothers me when I see Tik Tok videos of cats being riled up, or clients giggling in the exam room knowing they are doing things that are irritating and agitating their cat. It’s also quite upsetting when I see the cat retaliate with a hiss, swat or bite only to be yelled at and told, “no!” by their human! Such a frustrating, not nice and mixed message these cats are receiving. So, when I saw Victoria Stilwell post about how we should listen to our dogs and not push them to bite and retaliate I thought I should make a similar video about cats!

“Listen” to your cat’s body language AND RESPECT IT!

09/08/2026

I'll be speaking at The Cat Behaviour Conference October 3rd, 2026. Lots of great topics and speakers! Check it out at this link and get your tickets here!
https://catbehaviourconference.com/

09/07/2026

Anyone else doing a deep clean this long holiday weekend? Time to get ready for Fall which cannot come soon enough. “Feels like 106” is something I’d like to not keep seeing on my weather app.

The white box is JUST what was stuck under the sofa, only since June mind you, when we last deep cleaned. The brown box is the rest of the house. None of this includes the hundred + other toys marinating in scent marinades in our pantry (Petry-nothing in there for humans anymore!). Sure, I might have a problem but it’s also a 30 year collection of cat toys.

Satu adores tiny wool balls. We figured someone should use the Orrefors crystal so we have filled this bowl with her balls so we can toss at will when she wants to play! She’s so fancy! I suspect she’s going to dig this!

09/04/2026

Where’s Beans? Can you find him?

While I have filmed in here many times, it’s hard to appreciate the scope of this incredibly busy room, which combines all of our high school and college, posters, concert memorabilia, artwork, and inspirational pieces! It’s supposed to be the room where creativity happens, but we work too much to enjoy it so of course it’s mostly for the cats!

Tonka’s THIRD cartwheel lives here too. Daddy has fixed it again, but we’ll soon need a new one I suspect.

09/03/2026

Wild Beast Cat Toys for the win! I had to order some new toys from this Etsy shop because Finn has completely destroyed his kicker! He turned it inside out, ripped out all the stuffing and ripped the flesh in half! Sometimes it’s painful, providing for our little carnivores, but these real fur and feather toys are irresistible! They do not have a business page or Instagram but these toys are available on Etsy and soon on wildbeastcattoys.com. You should check them out!

WildBeastCatToys

08/30/2026

Tabby traffic jam on the balance beam!
Do you have one of our balance beams yet?
This is now one of our most popular products, second only to the scooped scratching post! It makes a great clicker training prop, a great horizontal scratcher and an excellent play prop all in one! Let them use it how they see fit.

Happy Sunday from Tonkabeans and Sandy Satu!

08/27/2026

I missed posting this is a timely fashion but here is a super example of why we should not rely on robots and technology to scoop our litter boxes and feed our pets. If we want to remove ourselves so much from there care, why do we have them? I love to feed my animals!

Now, there are of course a time and a place for certain gadgets to resolve issues like nighttime feeding to avoid being woken up or if you away on vacay, but as a whole, these devices should not be the entire way to care for your cats!

I've lost trust ..."

08/26/2026

For those who have followed the saga of Tonka all these years (9, can you believe he is NINE?!), it’s interesting to see that Tank pushes him around, can take over food, nudge him away from an activity, takes over clicker training, Tonka defaults to him quite a bit. Size makes NO DIFFERENCE in the feline world, it is about confidence!

This would be a fantastic time to address that there is NO ALPHA in the feline world! If you learn nothing else from this post or page, please, stop saying “Alpha cat!” It does not exist!

The feline hierarchy is “fluid”. It constantly changes from hour to hour, room to room, and piece of furniture to piece of furniture. For example, one cat may “own” the sofa in the perfect morning sun, another may own it at night during TV watching time.

Cats “time share” resources. Which is why is is imperative you spread out resources in your home! Cats hate “cat rooms”! Very stressful indeed. (What if one cat “owns” the cat room? How do the others get to eliminate?

Now, that being said, when you have just two cats you may notice some distinctions but in a multi-cat household A can be dominant over C, C can be dominant over F, F can be dominant over B and so on, and then the situation’s and circumstances change and it rotates yet again!

So please, no more Alpha cat! And, no more “cat rooms!”

08/24/2026

Little Ivy suddenly became intensely aggressive. Things were so bad at home, her family did not know what to do and were scared of her. They even took her to animal control at one point and a family member was hospitalized, but thankfully, after contacting a dear friend, who then put her in touch with me, we were able to rescue her from animal control and get her situation turned around. With the help of the amazing Dr. Rachel Luoma from Whiskers & Claws, The Feline Hospital, and a medical visit to ensure we knew her physical health we got her on a meds cocktail to calm her little brain down and allow her to feel stable and secure; she is thriving. I handled her in that appointment, with the help of a hefty pre-meds cocktail to allow said handling, she has a history of not being an easy patient, but we got everything done with mom right by her side, pumping in the Churu and treats! We even were able to groom her a bit!

I of course helped the family know how to deal with aggressive outbursts and how to react and redirect to keep themselves safe, taught them how to medicate her positively, educated them about the ideal home environment set up, and we saved her!

Cases like these feel good. Cases like these keep me going. What we do at PWC is unlike anywhere else, it is special and not to be taken for granted. I cannot do what I do without the help of willing and knowledgeable veterinarians that are also willing to think outside the box and implement some treatments that are not textbook. We have been helping cats like Ivy for 20+ years, with a meds protocol most will not implement. PWC is a special place.

Ivy's story is a common one. She would likely no longer be alive if it wasn't for all the members of the team helping, which included this dear family friend who gave Ivy safe haven when the family was too fearful to bring her home.

Ivy is thriving, foraging, playing, taking medications and handleable! She has not attacked a single person since her visit to our office and my counsel. THAT, folks is a WIN!

Please read her story on my website at this link.

https://www.fundamentallyfeline.com/testimonial/ivy-takes-a-turn-but-comes-back-to-us/