Bengal Cat Cares for Autistic Boy

Original YT playout date: 19 June 2010
Duration: 6:14

There are various animal therapies offered to autistic children – hippotherapy (which involves horses, not hippos, by the way), kynotherapy (known in Polish as “dogotherapia” as otherwise the carers might take them to the cinema instead of giving them King Charles Spaniels to play with, and even dolphins are pressed into service to give animal therapies to autistic children. What you don’t read about is cat therapy for autistic kids – well, it stands to reason, doesn’t it? Cats have autistic characters themselves, how are they going to help kids who are autistic interact?

Well, maybe because of that, they’re actually on the right wavelength to understand. Here see for yourselves how Pushkin has a relationship with my son George which seems to enrich both of them. Whenever he leaves the house, Pushkin follows him around and looks after him – but when a spider appears, the race is on and the fastest of the two gets the treat!
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Russian Cat Fun

Original YT playout date: 21 March 2010
Duration: 6:06

The Russian idea of a cat is something that can catch enormous rats and is a fearless fighter, so as we don’t have any rats and I don’t approve of buying them from the petshop for the purpose, that basically leaves other cats in the neighborhood for Pushkin to fight (the supply seems to be rapidly depleting) or Irina. Pushkin, like his poetic namesake, seems to enjoys his duels, and when he’s had enough “Russian fun” then he walks away. Sophie sometimes wants the scrap to continue when Pushkin is already tired of it, but I have to stop her natural part-Russian inclinations and allow the cat to live in peace.
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Fear of Felines

Original YT playout date: 7 March 2010
Duration: 4:06

In answer to PerChristensen’s recent comment on a Prague blog liking the effect used, I did this whole video in it. Here we can see our piano teacher’s daughter being help over her fear of cats at the start, although Irina putting Pushkin through his attack paces may not have been totally reassuring to that little girl. That’s Russians for you, I suppose.
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Teaching the Bengal Cat a taste for human blood

Original YT playout date: 27 December 2009
Duration: 2:24

They will play fight with Pushkin even when he’s not in the mood, and that’s when he shows them who’s boss…

Good for him, I say. Not an ounce of sympathy from me if a cat scratches you!
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Cat eating spider

Original YT playout date: 19 September 2009
Duration: 6:20

Have you ever seen a cat eating spider? Now’s your chance.

Don’t miss the cute pics at the end of my wife with her daubs of cream when recovering from chickenpox a couple of months back!

I’m afraid I screwed up on the exposure in the middle bit, but I left it in anyway as it shows part of the ongoing saga of my terrace…
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