Companion Animal Psychology

I've got a new post on my Fellow Creatures blog at Psychology Today. Ian Livesey/Shutterstock By Zazie Todd PhD The post looks at 2 ways to make your cat (even) happier . Check it out over at Psych Today, or for more on cats, check out all about cats . 

I've written a piece for BBC Science Focus magazine. Photo: Fabio Lamanna/Shutterstock By Zazie Todd PhD There's nothing better than curling up with with a cat on your lap and a good book to read -- especially if the book is about cats. So I considered the many cat books on my bookshelf and wrote about seven of the best cat books to help you understand your feline friend . Check it out!

On 7th June, Hub City Bookshop is hosting me for an event about the science of making your cat happy. By Zazie Todd PhD Join me for a conversation about my new book Purr: The Science of Making Your Cat Happy . This event takes place on Tuesday June 7th from 6pm to 7pm Eastern time (that's 3pm to 4pm for those on Pacific time like me). Come and join in the conversation and ask me questions about the special cats in your life. This event is free but registration is required. You can also get your copy of Purr from Hub City Bookshop. Details are here. 

What dogs teach us about our relationship with them — and others. Photo: Christian Mueller/Shutterstock By Koltan Nelson This page contains affiliate links which means I may earn a commission on qualifying purchases at no cost to you. To Whomever is Concerned with Respect: Let us dive right in and begin our discussion with a clarification of what “respect” is:         "“respect” noun         re-spect | \ ri-‘spekt         1 : a feeling of admiring someone or something that is good, valuable, important, etc." ( Merriam Webster ) For the purposes of this discussion, we will narrow our definition of the word “feeling,” which will here mean an “emotional state or reaction.” ( Merriam Webster ).  Then, in as plain English as we can muster, we have “an emotional state of admiring someone or something that is good, valuable, important, etc.” To further break this down, we will remove the word “good,” as dogs cannot make moral jud...

I've got a new post on my Psych Today blog, Fellow Creatures . It looks at some new research that finds pet cats know the names of other cats in their household. Kari Shea/Shutterstock By Zazie Todd PhD But cats in cat cafes don't know the names of the other cats there (perhaps not surprising as there are often more than 30 cats).  As well, it seems that some cats, especially if they have lived in the home a long time, know the names of the people too. Read all about it here: Pet cats know their fellow cats' names, study shows . 

Making memories while they are still here, remembering pets after they are gone, and disenfranchised grief. Photo: Enna8982/Shutterstock By Zazie Todd PhD After the loss of a pet, support from family and friends can make a big difference. But what about the things we do to memorialize our beloved pet? Memorials are a common way for people to cope after losing a pet and can help people to still feel connected to them (Park, Royal, and Gruen 2020). A pawprint can sit on the mantel as a reminder, as can ashes, which might instead be scattered in a special place or even turned into jewellery. Pieces of fur or favourite toys can be keepsakes. Photos and portraits of pets can remind us of their character long after they are gone. People may also like a stone, tree, or special spot in the yard where they will think of their beloved animal. And posts on social media or on pet memorial websites allow us to share our memories with others. An unusual idea is to commission a piece of music to m...

A new post on my Psych Today blog Fellow Creatures looks at some common misconceptions about cats. Photo: Krysten Merriman/Pexels By Zazie Todd PhD As my new book, Purr: The Science of Making Your Cat Happy, is published, there are some questions that people keep asking me. So my new post answers those questions. You can read it here: 3 common misconceptions about cats .