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Cat newsCaT~Mews .. err..News.. 1st ed....more to come...As at 1st March 2008 Cat News is archived as I am now able to work with a Blogger subdomain instead. Please click here to go to Cat Chit Chat.... Cat News - 13th Jan 2008
The Scottish Wildcats are the only surviving native Felids in the UK. One of the major obstacles is ensuring that the wildcats are purebred. The wildcat has mated with the domestic cat resulting in a hybrid that acts and lives like a Scottish Wildcat. Thankfully the scientists are able to identify a true purebred wildcat through identifying a DNA marker and cross referencing that with coat markings. There were fears that the Scottish Wildcat would become extinct, hence this programme. I look forward to the day that I can go into the woods and see this lovely wild animal living naturally. Photo copyright Nick Lawes Cat News Cat News - 4th December 2007 Update on the building of the Pictures of Cats website. The site has been going for about 5 months. Perhaps a little more. These are the current relevant figures:
I am pleased with the traffic ranking although this could take a dive at anytime if one of the major search engines dropped a major keyword from their index. The only way forward is to keep building. As to income it is poor obviously but this is in part due to not optimizing adsense. In fact adsense is only on about 5 pages out of the total of about 140 pages so a lot of work to do there to generate more income. There are a lot of other areas where I can monetize as well but at the moment I am concentrating on building pages, which is the most important thing by far. My personal blog is doing quite well being Alexa traffic ranked about 1.4m and improving (at the moment!) It is becoming more than just a weblog as there is an overlap between it and this site. I will be monetizing the Blog in due course as well. Cat News cat news- 26th November 2007 There appears to be a very gradual change in attitude towards animals including domestic animals and cats. The real issue is education. Perhaps the domestic cat is playing a part in educating people about other animals, through her close presence. We are able to learn and love animals through living with domestic cats. Not so long ago the world as a whole treated wildlife rather poorly, killing animals for sport and food with a disregard for any other factors. With the increase in pets and encroachment on wild animals' habitat people are learning more about animals and changing their attitudes. But it is a slow process. Obviously large areas of the world are populated by people who have (in my view) a very ignorant, arrogant and poor attitude towards other creatures. The cause is essentially lack of education. Two topics of concern come to mind. The Chinese market where cats and dogs are sold as food (for bogus medicinal purposes). The animals are beaten near to death before being sold. They say they taste better when they are stressed and near death because of the production of adrenaline - pure horror and total ignorance. The other horror topic that comes to mind is the eating of bush meat and particularly ape meat. Apes have DNA very close to ours (98% the same), a social structure, are self-conscious (i.e. aware of themselves), live long lives and in many ways are like humans and yet some people kill and eat them. It's near cannibalism. We hold the future of wildlife in our hands. We run the world. If there is a problem with pets or wildlife it is ours to deal with as we created the problem. Animals behave reactively and react to our often poor behavior towards them. Fortunately attitudes are gradually changing through understanding. Perhaps one day, years after I have left this planet, we will live in harmony with other animals and stop treating them so badly. I recognize though that there are very many fine people who care deeply for animal welfare and they are to be commended and praised for their work and attitudes. Cat News Cat News- 20th November 2007 The USA State of Iowa has banned hybrid/domestic cat breeds. This includes Savannahs and Bengals for example. This has taken effect as I understand it from 1st July 2007 (this isn't news then :) "USDA licensed owners and breeders ARE NOT EXEMPT unless they are 501(c)3 non-profit as well, or are a wildlife" rehabilitator. I would urge all Bengal owners in this state to just check this out. If you already own a Bengal you can keep the cat provided you comply with a fairly arduous list of requirements and pay a yearly fee. It looks like the end of the line for these breeds in this state. Is this going to have a knock on effect in the other parts of the country? Cat News - 20th November 2007 Jean Mill Jean Mill is retiring from breeding cats. This might not seem like news to some but to the Cat Fancy world it is. This is because she is the founder the Bengal Cat and has done a lot to heighten the profile of the cat world. I think it is fair to say that the Bengal Cat is a success yet some would argue that you shouldn't cross breed wild cat to domestic cat. That is why the biggest cat registry (CFA) doesn't register the Bengal Cat but the second biggest one does (TICA). Cat News - 18th November 2007 More Razzmatazz please - The GCCF Supreme Cat Show I went to the GCCF Supreme Cat Show but I can honestly say that I didn't see much of a show more like visiting a private club for cat breeders or a market stall. I was very impressed with the large cages where the gorgeous cats were held until they were taken to the show ring for judging. They are so good there is a prize for the best one. I would like to have seen more in the way of a show at the judging stage. People watch the judging some of them are not experts or breeders. These people who are the public should be given information about the complex judging process. Perhaps the judge could have talked through what he/she was doing while he did it. Or perhaps there could have been a score board which was marked up as the judging took place for all to see. This would have created more of a spectacle and got people involved. Although I admire all the people involved for putting on the show I think it was a little flat. We need more razzmatazz please. Cat News - 14th November 2007 Recession in USA - Cat Breeding business. It seems from a UK standpoint that there is a recession in the USA or at least parts of the USA such as Michigan, which is having a severe effect on some people. I wonder what effect this has on the cat breeding business? As I have mentioned cat breeding is a business but with a lot of considerations not usually encountered in a business. This is due to the fact that a living creature is the "product". Can anyone tell me if cat breeding has been hit by the recession? Please go to the forum and Question and Answer page to make a post. Lets see what is happening out there. Cat News - 14th November 2007 Cat Habits You may have heard of cats and other animals that have great homing skills. Some cats, too, like to revert to the wild to some extent (of their own free will). There is a danger that you can train your cat into bad habits. Well, not exactly bad habits, more like creating a rod to beat your own back, when it could be avoided (sometimes). Take for example the Norwegian Forest cat who goes out every evening at six after a good nosh and then waits to be picked up by the roadside the next morning, about 1.5 miles away. The humans oblige and a nice routine has set in. I think this cat is going back to a place where he has been before with his previous human carer (the cat is a rescue cat called Podge). Cats like comfort zones and routines (so do humans) and going back to your "roots" is understandable. I just wonder if he would have come back of his own accord eventually if left to his own devices. Nice story though and it demonstrates how cats learn routines particularly routines that are enjoyable and comfortable to the cat. Cat News - 14th November 2007 Cat Breeding There is an argument that cat breeding cannot be commercial as there will always be a compromise between making money and the welfare of the cats. This is because it is not possible in my view to make enough money out of breeding cats to allow the breeder to make a decent living and at the same time maintain an excellent level of welfare for the cats in her/his charge. This may be because the market is too competitive. It may be too competitive because a lot of people see cat breeding as a "nice little earner" while practicing their hobby. This may have resulted in their being too many breeders. A lot of people disagree with cat breeding. I think there is a place for cat breeders as long as they see the wider picture and prioritize cat welfare. However there are a number of breeders that think only of quantity (and therefore money and profit) and not of quality. Quality in this context means the welfare of the cat in terms of mental and physical health and the betterment of the breed. It may be wise to breed one litter at a time to keep things simple and not to rely solely on cat breeding as a source of income. I'd like to hear your views. {this is a copy of a post on my blog written by me} Cat News- 14th November 2007 MSN dropped me -- When you run your own website you are mainly reliant on the 4 main search engines to bring traffic, Google, Yahoo, MSN and Ask. I was doing well until MSN dropped all the pages bar a few. No reason as the other pages were doing fine and gradually climbing up the keyword rankings so it can't be the website. Fortunately the impact hasn't been that great thus far as MSN live search is no where near as big as Google and Google and Yahoo provide most of my traffic at the moment. However, traffic is traffic so I have written to MSN and credit to them they have responded quickly. They seem to agree that there could be a problem their end and are investigating but I hold out little hope of a fix. However in the long run my keywords will be ranked with MSN as they are at the other search engines. Cat News- 7th November 2007 There are times when for the sake of convenience, expediency and cost, that we consider giving medication to our cat without consulting a vet. This is really dangerous. Some common and fairly benign medicine for humans such as Tylenol (containing acetaminophen) and aspirin can be toxic to cats at relatively small doses due to added sensitivity. An overdose of a common drug can be fatal. And an overdose can be caused by giving a small amount of the drug. Beware. On very rare occasions I have given things such as Rescue Remedy the homeopathic stress reliever as my cat is nervous but that is all. Cat News- 3rd November 2007 Cat News means either world news or news about this website and its development. If anyone actually reads this and wants to build a website that works then come to this site and make contact with me because I think I know how to build a site that works. And who taught me. Well I am part self taught. But I couldn't do it without a person called Ken Evoy. Type his name into Google search and you'll get the first 2 pages of listings about him, I'm sure. The more you build a website the more you realise that it definitely not a beauty parade (I knew that but it has been re-inforced). It is about a functioning website that provides information in my case. Keep it simple. make sure it works (some people have old browsers so if it looks great in IE 7 or Firefox it may look horrible in IE 5 for example). All the work should be on creating good content and making sure that the page is SEOed. But the more you build and the more successful you site becomes, the less important SEO is in my opinion. And keywords. Heavens, if almost pays sometimes to ignore them. You can follow all the rules and still not get traffic. It is not a science this game. Got 200 visitors yesterday and 700 page views. Started in June. Not bad. The figures will fall again though. Just got to keep going.... Cat News Cat News - 3rd November 2007 Of Mice and Men and Fleas. Cat fleas are massively prevalent. They can be a problem to get rid of. There is an recent news story about a flea treatment called Biospot that caused well balanced cats to become aggressive and develop physical ailments such as breathing difficulties and tremors. Apparently flea medication is one of the most frequent causes of visits to the vet for poisoning. I have had a bad experience myself with flea treatment (err no not me personally...). Many years ago I used an anti-flea spray on my dear Missie (a Norwegian Forest Cat/Moggie). She licked her fur to get it off. She foamed at the mouth. I can still see this in my mind's eye. I visited the vet and she got over it (I washed it all off). I think you can't beat a good old fashioned flea comb. But it does take a very long time to beat the fleas and clear your cat of them all. It also means taking control of the source of the fleas. They apparently lurk in the carpet and jump on the cat. Frequent carpet vacuuming is essential. Mu current battle with fleas is due to a stray (Timmy) a young skinny Moggie, black and white, that I have taken it. He brought fleas with him and passed them to my darling girl cat. Having combed her for many weeks I resorted to a flea medication which is dropped on the cat's skin between the shoulder blades and at the base of the spine. This is very effective but there were two downsides for me and my cat. She 'zonks' out (becomes very sleepy for a day or two and this worries me). I can't touch her without getting itchy as I am allergic to the medication/chemical that is absorbed into her body and which sits on her fur. So, there are downsides with chemical treatments. Please check the product before use. Perhaps a Google search would be a good starting point. I can't help but think that the best way is a comb. This also enhances the loving bond with your cat. She will usually like it. Plus it's very satisfying to crush those bl**dy fleas once you've caught 'em. http://www.newsnet5.com/news/14483411/detail.html Cat News - 1st November 2007 On this website I have described and Helmi Flick has illustrated some exotic cat breeds. I have mentioned the commitment needed by the human carer. Only a fully informed and responsible carer with the financial means and time should take on the obligations. In suppport of that statement you can go to this link to see what can go wrong. Cat News- 28th October 2007 This is not strictly news but more blog, but it will be news for some, so it's here. Have you seen a cat open her mouth to smell? Maybe not. They do this when they want to really get a good sniff and try and work out what it is they are smelling. Inside the mouth behind the front teeth is an organ (a small piece of cat anatomy :-)) called the Jacobson's Organ, which it seems "turns up the volume" on the smell. It is not altogether clear how this works. Smell is carried on particles in the air. When the mouth is opened and air sucked in the air passes into the nose via the Jacobson's Organ through a passage. The cat can pick up minute amounts of particles that carry odor in this way. A cat's sense of smell is far greater than a human's (14 times greater). Image what that feels like. A cat must be constantly surrounded by odors carrying messages for the cat. Cats decide on whether like their food by its smell. Give her chilled prawns and she doesn't recognize them (because cold objects release less dor particles than hot objects). Heat up the prawns and bingo she goes bonkers screaming for them. Sometimes after I have microwaved her frozen prawns I cool them down by blowing on them. When I blow she picks up the particles that are dispersed and screams at me; even though she is a good distance away. The response is instantaneous. For a cat smell is a great aid to survival. Add that heightened sense of smell other heightened senses such as the signals transmitted through her whiskers, feet pads and hearing and your cat is a little mobile sensing device picking up all kinds of stimuli that pass us by. It is said that cats can predict impending disasters such as earthquakes and volcanoes. This is probably due to their heightened senses, picking up early signs. As I have mentioned before, I don't believe that we should consider cats as lesser creatures. They have skills that we don't have and vice-versa. We should treat them as our equals. And the same goes for all animals. That attitude would increase the sum of happiness in the world. I respect and love cats. Cat News Cat News - 28th October 2007 I have just read an article that says that in some instances implanted microchips cause cancer. The devices that I am talking about are RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) devices used to track pets. I am not sure if these are readily available in the UK. They are clearly quite frequently encountered in the USA however. In a test on laboratory animals, up to 10% of the animals tested developed a malignant cancer because of the implanted device. The cause is not the radio transmitter but the presence of an object under the skin. For the cat it is a foreign body (like a wood splinter for example in your hand). The body wants to expel it but can't. Cells around the object become inflamed and turn malignant. What to do? Check your cat for signs of a tumor (lumps) in the area of the microchip. If in doubt go to you vet. Here's some good links: Website protesting against microchipping Cat News Cat News - 28th October 2007 There is an almost continual debate about whether a cat should be an indoors cat or not. For example, the Cat Fanciers Association (CFA) say that a Persian Cat (with long hair) should be an indoor cat as it reduces the need to groom the cat etc.
The advice usually centers around what is good for the person. The interests of the cat being second in line or occasionally ignored. The concept of declawing is an example of an action that is done for the benefit of humans but against the interests of the cat. When making a decision whether to let your cat out or keep her in, we should in my opinion ask, "what is best for the cat and can I accommodate that?" Because the world is a little (sometimes very) hostile to cats a compromise is probably the best answer (if you have the means and space). Your cat should be allowed to behave as near as possibly naturally. This means going out, smelling the grass, being alert to sounds and movement. All of this can be achieved in a well constructed and large enclosure attached to your home with access both ways. If you want to go out but not in the enclosure it is not beyond the bounds of possibility to train your cat to accept a collar and lead (Bengals can be trained to accept this for example). Both require time investment. My cat thankfully deals with the problem herself, without my input. She is shy and nervous (she was a stray). I let her out. She never goes farther than about 20 meters from the door. Most times she asks me to go out with her and I oblige. She follows and when I come in she follows then too. Cat News Cat News - 26th October 2007 Cat News is happy this morning (GMT) as we have just discovered that the Pope adores cats. He lives with a cat called Chico (although there are restrictions on a pets living in the Vatican apartments apparently).
This is great news as although Italy has enlightened and strict laws in relation to animals and animal cruelty, they are difficult to enforce. Italy also has a large feral cat problem. We all know about the feral cat colonies of the ruins in Rome. And when I have gone to Italy, on both occasions, I have had meetings with feral cats. Once, on a walking holiday, when there were a large number of feral cats outside the hotel window. Of course I feed them but this is honestly not the complete answer. Then in Rome while eating at a restaurant, little kittens came up to me. Of course I gave away some of my food. I brought home some Italian fleas from that holiday....! The Pope is also known as someone who has fed feral cats. He clearly has an affinity with cats. This shows humility and tenderness two essential qualities for a religious leader. We hope that he will be able to publicize the rights of animals and foster the program of TNR - trap neuter and release for feral cats as this has been found to be the most effective way to help feral cats. We created the problem of feral cats; lets fix it. When I say "problem" I mean from both the standpoint of the cat and human. A feral cat's life is harsh and relatively short. credit: photo by lildude under creative commons - feral cat at the Coliseum ruins in Rome Cat News/Cat News - 25th October 2007 - Southern California "I can't stop thinking about my cats. I live in the Mountains of Southern California. I have 2 Bengal cats. The fires approached my house and I tried; I really tried hard to get both my cats into baskets, but my stud boy refused, he was as scared as hell and kept running off. Just as I was trying again the police came and ordered me to leave my house immediately. The wind had turned and the fires were fast approaching. I couldn't leave without my best friend and companion. He was somewhere in the house. The roof was starting to smoke in the heat and the police were getting agitated. I had no choice I had to go. I've left my boy behind and I'm scared, really scared for him. When I turned to look behind as we drove away from my house I could see smoke coming through the front window....I've lost my boy cat, I know I have. The worst thing is thinking about the how frightened he must have been...I can't sleep for that.... I've lost my house but worst of all I've lost my boy. It's like I've lost a son....." {this is fiction tightly based on a recently received email, so it's as real as the hard news} Cat News/Cat News - 24th October 2007
There are a lot of cat breeders and parents who are affected by the fires in Southern California. VCA Animal Hospitals Offers Free Boarding for Pets Affected bySouthern California Fires. VCA have a large network of animal hospitals. VCA Animal Hospitals announced today that local SOUTHERN California VCA facilities are offering free boarding for companion animals whose families have been evacuated or displaced as a result of the current firestorms. Conveniently located VCA animal hospitals will provide a safe environment for pets that have been affected by the fires through November 5, 2007 on a space available basis. As thousands of families are being evacuated to shelters or facing the loss of their homes, VCA hopes to ease their burden by offering free boarding for pets so they can focus on the critical issues with their families and homes, said Art Antin, Chief Operating Officer of VCA Animal Hospitals. Boarding assistance for pets is based on space availability atindividual VCA Animal Hospitals throughout Southern California. Pet owners can Call the following VCA facilities that currently have space available: Alhambra VCA Mission Animal Hospital 626-289-3643 Cat News/Cat News - 23rd October 2007 I think that it bears repeating at the risk of overdoing it having read that some cat shelters are finding that, during Halloween, people who adopted a black cat before Halloween bring her/him back after Halloween with the excuse that it didn't work out. Come on guys. This looks like people treating a cat as a prop to make Halloween more interesting. A cat is an animal as are humans. Let treat them with real respect and protect them during this period. For example, in the UK fireworks are a nuisance during Halloween (we call it bonfire night). Fireworks go on for many weeks and as I mentioned earlier it sounds like World War III sometimes (to me) so it must sound terrifying to some cats. Keep cats indoors during this period if you can. Some people still think black cats are associated with evil and this makes them more vulnerable during Halloween. Lets think of other people and other creatures. Cat News - 23rd October 2007 Announcement - Win $300 - Pictures of Cats website is running a Halloween Competition. The prize is $300 or equivalent. Easy money. Good prize. Visit the website Forum page and read about it. Cat News - 22nd October 2007 The Bubonic Plague is alive and well. I had thought that the Bubonic Plague was a disease of the past, associated with the Great Plague Of London in 1655 and called the Black death. It killed many tens of thousands. The Plague fizzled out in the Autumn of 1655 due to the cold weather which killed the fleas on which the disease was carried. Jumping forward some 300 years Bubonic Plague is still around and cats can get it through the bite of infected fleas or eating infected animals. The incubation for cats is usually 1-2 days. Obviously cats that like catching and eating animals are more at risk (not all cats like to hunt despite the instinct to do so). In a recent story from Vancouver, Canada, a cat may have died of the Black Death. The symptoms are swollen lymph nodes and high fever (41C). The cat (Tango and one year old tabby) didn't respond to treatment. Bubonic Plague can be transmitted from cats to humans. So if after tests the cat is found to have this disease the people who were involved need to seek medical attention themselves to make sure they are all clear. The Bubonic Plague is no necessarily fatal. Cats can recover. Source: Cat News thanks the CanWest News Service Cat News - 21st October 2007 We are all saddened by the loss of life and disruption that the Iraq war causes military personnel and their relatives. I think that it is worth briefly mentioning the cat's role in this conflict. There are many servicemen who are single and who have pets and cats in particular. What happens to the cat when he goes to war? The cat often goes to a shelter and re-homing (I hope). Remember many shelter cats are euthanized due to lack of space. So, at best both the cat and human partner suffer the discomfort of separation and at worst the cat loses his/her life. Another casualty of war. This is not to belittle the loss of human life, which is widely acknowledged. It is just that the loss of animals is not acknowledged. And that's not factoring in all the domestic animals including of course cats killed in the war itself. We should give some thought to cats and animals as well; innocent victims. Cat News thanks SignonSanDiego.com for the thought. Cat News - 15th Oct 2007 I've got a bit of a bone to pick with Craiglist, err correction a fish to fight over... As you might know Craigslist is a well known and highly successful website based on classified advertisements. The founder is Craig Newark and the CEO is Jim Buckmaster. Both are individuals. They seems to be offering a kind of "alternative way". A way which serves the people and rejects the status quo. It is slightly anarchic. And for all these reasons I and millions of others like their retro-style basic and functional website with high morals and tough rules. But I am more concerned right now with their rules about selling cats on their website. I think the bar on selling cats/animals is fundamentally correct as it is intended, I presume, to prevent bad behavior in respect of cats' which jeopardizes cat's health and welfare. However, the vast majority of cat breeders are highly responsible. They carry out all the right steps including spaying/neutering, vaccinations, checking the buyer's credentials etc. etc. before selling. Yet these people are barred from selling cats on Craigslist. While some back street charlatan, who gives away cats for free but charges a handling fee (of any amount it seems) is allowed. You'll find on this website The Animal Spirit and this one (a basic text file on the net) amongst others explain why free cats are potentially putting a cat in a very vulnerable and risky position (the exact opposite to that found when dealing with a reputable cat breeder). Interestingly, what underpins their "prohibited or restricted items" in illegality, yet it is not illegal to breed and sell cats. The underlying ethos and "modus operandi" of Craigslist is very sound but I think they have this wrong. They would be better banning all sales of animals if they wish to get involved in imposing rules on visitors to their site (which they rightly do) on the matter of animal sales. If I've got this wrong, tell me, please. In the meantime I still think Craigslist is a great website. Cat News - 11th Oct 2007 For many years due to the inexorable increase in human population, our relationship with wildlife has become ever more strained. Here's another example, one of many, and which, in my opinion, illustrates a wide ranging lack of insight and education when it comes to wildlife. A man, his wife a 2 dogs live out of a trailer in Nederland, USA, which is near the Rock Mountain National Park. It is out in the country. It is likely that there will be wild animals around, yet this person chained his 2 dogs outside the trailer at night. As a result a mountain lion attacked and tried to take the dog and got shot by the person for doing what comes naturally. Who created that situation? Once the situation was created there was little he could do to save the dog. But the situation shouldn't have been created. There is little pro-active behavior from humans in relation to nature (look at Global warming for example, it's all reactive and fire-fighting). He says that in Wisconsin, where he comes from "...we take care of things there,". Big words, cowardly behavior. What he is saying is that if it suites him he will take action outside the law and in this instance in disregarding the rights of fellow creatures. He jeopardized the lives of his dogs and a beautiful mountain lion through his actions. And one more of God's beautiful creatures dies for no good reason as a result of man's lack of insight, arrogance and selfishness. Cat News thanks this source: Rocky Mountain News. (these are my views only, you may well disagree) Cat News - 5th Oct 2007 Singer Joey Yung is in the news for the right reasons. She likes cats and at one time 7 lived with her. She is a Hong Kong based singer of some fame. She added a higher profile to what could by many be considered a fairly mundane news story. A story about a cook working for a catering company in Kowloon, Hong Kong. The cook killed a kitten (who he said had bitten him) by throwing the kitten to the floor 3 times. This makes me wince and feel slightly sick. He was convicted at a local magistrates court to 21 day prison term and $5,000 HK fine. This represents about 2% of the max punishment! Singer Joey Yung said she can't understand how people can do this sort of thing. But she accepted that the case would raise awareness of animal cruelty. It is shocking and there is far more animal cruelty going on than this case suggests. Think for a minute about a market, for example, in China where they sell cats and dogs for food. They think that a freshly or partially killed animal tastes better so one way of killing the cat (or dog) is by someone hitting her/him over the head to near death and the customer takes the cat away to eat. I read that in one instance this form of killing was carried out by a child and this child had nightmares about it. What in heavens name is this parent doing? It makes you want to scream. The ignorance. The reason they eat cat and dog is for some mumbo jumbo health reasons. Chinese medicine and health concepts need to be updated. Yet we must not fail to see the wider picture. For many humans life is hard and under harsh conditions it is easier for bad behavior to be demonstrated. In the same way that it is easier to be generous when one is rich, it is easier to be better behaved when one is comfortable and not stressed. So, we need to improve the world for ourselves to improve the world for our fellow creatures. There, is though, never and excuse for cruelty of any kind. The original story comes from the Standard a Hong Kong newspaper and the article was written by Diana Lee and Nickkita Lau Cat News - 3rd Oct 2007. A Cat's behavior is a reflection of our behavior towards her/him. This is very ably explained in a blog I have just read, which is written by a woman called Mandy. She rescues cats. She knew a woman called Mary who was very skilled at turning around cats and dogs who were damaged by poor treatment. Mary herself is also skilled. She has saved many cats it seems and two are currently in her care. Both were feral kittens. When she rescued them they were obviously difficult to deal with; hissing at everything. I can vouch for this because although I don't rescue cats; cats rescue themselves by knocking on my door (cats are good survivors and know where the good stuff is) and they hiss at my cat initially. Cats will of course do this. It's the same for humans. We go where the good stuff is. Look at immigration world wide. Anyway, in order to rehabilitate the cats she started of by putting them in cages so they wouldn't run away when she approached (a natural reaction if you have been abused of ill treated in someway by a human). Over time and through patience, wisdom, communication and tenderness the feral kittens come round. The kittens discover that they can get what they desire, which is protection and companionship from another creature bigger than them that they consider to be a cat. The height difference does interfere with the natural communication a greeting mannerisms of a cat however:-) There is nothing better than developing a loving relationship between to creatures from such a poor start. It seems though that the carers like Mandy are picking up the pieces of the people who don't care. But isn't this the way it works in many walks of life. 30-9-07 Cat News cat news - This caught my eye. This story comes from thee El Paso Times (09/30/2007). In El Paso there is a shelter for homeless people. Nothing really outstanding about that except to say well done. Only, this one accommodates pets too. Quite a large percentage of homeless people or indeed people that are liable to become homeless have pets as companions. At the Rescue Mission of El Paso they recognize that some homeless people come to them with pets and cannot be separated from them (of course) so they provide a pen for the pet while the resident looks for work and/or a permanent home. That is enlightened thinking. Thanks to Juanita Ortega, assistant director of the Rescue Mission of El Paso homeless shelter and his staff. I don't know if this kind of shelter exists in Europe. I somehow doubt it. There may be shelters where there are informal arrangements for residents to keep their pets but not a structured arrangement as at El Paso. People donate pet food to the shelter. That's teamwork and it shows how much we care about our pets (or at least most of us). 27-9-07 Cat News Cat News - Some technical stuff You know when you see documentaries about big cats and they kill an animal and eat it; the male parents eat first and then the females but the children are last. This apparently is because of raw survival. The males have to maintain physical strength and fitness to protect the females and cubs in the wild. The dynamics are different for the feral domestic cat. The adults allow the kittens (4-6 months) to eat first. It is probably because although feral cats have to survive (and have consequently substantially shorter lives than non-feral cats) the task of survival is less than for a big cat. It is a balance between the effort or cost to win set against the benefit gained or value in winning, which is naturally developed by the cat over time. This allows the adult cats to let the kittens eat first, the first duty to protect the offspring. Whereas in the wild, for big cats, the first call in protecting offspring is against attack by other animals so there is greater reward in taking that action. (source: www.sciencedirect.com, but I have added some of my own thoughts) 23-9-07 Cat News Cat News - Do cats have souls? The answer is a profound and commonsense - YES. Why am I so sure? This topic comes out of stories in the US papers about a well known football star, Vick, who was allegedly involved in dog fighting and dog cruelty. It is alleged that he kills dogs that do not perform well enough in a cruel manner. The source of cruelty to animals must at least in part be that people do not think that animals have "souls" (to use a religious term). Or to put it more simply that the animal doesn't have feelings. Lets focus on cats. They don't it seems have self-awareness but there are a gazillion instances of a beautiful and emotional connection between cats and people and cat to cat or cat to other animals. These are meaningful relationships. It is clear to all reasonably people with some knowledge of the world that cats have souls or "a presence" or thought processes and feelings. That they feel pain and can be happy and sad like humans. It really all turns on education. The more people know of things the more they respect other animals. We must remember that we are strictly animals too. Sometimes we think we are above all other animals. This is not true. Cat News - Some more news from China 20-9-07 We all know about the Chinese economy and how it is the powerhouse of world manufacturing. Everybody is getting their products made in China because they are good at it and above all else cheap. But at what cost to the environment in China (and therefore the world) and to our children and pets. Stories about high heavy metal levels in both childrens' and pets' toys Made in China are emerging (the latest is about pets' toys sold at Walmart in America). This is the price we all pay for jumping in too quick to make a fast buck by using a cheap manufacturer. There is usually a downside. It is strange though that considering all the regulations concerning heavy metal levels in toys it is still possible to buy such toys in the high street. It's the same old problem - fast buck syndrome and not looking far enough ahead and long term. Cat News thanks this source:http://www.consumeraffairs.com Cat News and more Cat News 19th Sept.2007 This came into a cat breeders Yahoo Groups email 19-9-07 even though it is dated much earlier. It relates to an earlier outbreak of a Calicivirus with a high mortality in a Missouri feline colony in 1998. Make of it what you will I have more information about this virus, so contact the webmaster at this website for these details: Sent: Saturday, August 18, 2007 6:10 PM Subject: Re: cat virus " We are informing all our feline owners of a new deadly disease in the U.S., that could very likely affect all our cats. ' It is a NEW strain of the calicivirus called Virulent Systemic Calicivirus. "It affects all cats, young and old, but is most severe in adult cats. This virus causes respiratory infections, ulcerative facial lesions, swelling of the legs, fever, oral ulcers and ultimately results in DEATH in those cats that become infected! "Unfortunatley there is NO TREATMENT AVAILABLE. It is HIGHLY CONTAGEOUS via direct or fomite transmission, so even INDOOR"CATS ARE AT RISK! "There is a VACCINE AVAILABLE for prevention of this deadly disease. The cost is very economical at $15.00 per vaccine; two vaccinations are needed three to four weeks apart for the initial vaccinations series then an annual immunization thereafter. "We encourage you to contact us as soon as possible to schedule an appointment for immunization of your cat(s) for protection from this NEW deadly disease 222-1515." Cat News 16th Sept. 2007 I may be too serious and if I am submit something funky and funny to the forum on this site. But in the meantime back to the serious stuff. Feral cats. It seems to me that there are too many. The source of feral cats is the failure of people to spay and neuter plus abondonment. So, the problem is human generated (for those of us who blame the cats..). It also seems that it is the good, decent, caring and responsible people who are picking up the pieces created by the irresponsible people. I know this has to happen but is it right? What I mean is this; it does nothing to stop irresponsibility. In fact, it could be argued that it enocurages it. The website "signonsandiego.com says that there are an "estimated 250,000 feral cats in San Diego County". Volunteers sort things out by organising neutering and spaying. But it's an uphill battle, perhaps a losing battle, without educating the people who are irresponsible. This website also says that "two cats in seven years can produce 420,000 offspring”. We should keep that sobering statement in mind. Cat News. Cat News 4th Sept. 2007 We know that the growth on the human population on this planet has an effect on wildlife as we encroach on the habitat of wild animals to build new homes. This is most often discussed in the context of African farmers and game reserves when wild animals spill over into farm land to kill farm animals. Well it also happens in Medfield, it seems, which is just outside Boston. The Dover-Sherborn Press states that the Medfield Animal Shelter is receiving many more reports than usual of missing pets. The reason in unclear except for the probability that it is due to land development. The loss of habitat (and therefore food resources) forces the local wildlife to kill pets for food. That's the theory anyway. The growth of the population of the human race is the single biggest issue that we have to face on this planet. Cat News Cat News 28th August 2007 Did you think that all rescue cats get re-homed?. If you are like me you didn't think about it too much and if you did you probably guessed that they did. Afraid not. Many healthy and beautiful cats are put to sleep (heck why not say what it is "killed") because they are not re-homed. Here's a good idea from an article written by Linda Calhoon for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Arizona. Try fostering an injured cat/kitten for 2 weeks if you are not sure. That may save a cat's life and it will certainly help avoid the situation where cats are left behind or abandoned because the "owner" bought a cat on the spur of the moment and really didn't have it in them to take the responsibility of caring. Cat News 26th Aug 2007 Stuffing Tigers - When are we (humans) going to start to understand that we don't "own the world" to do as we please with it. We are not freeholders of the world, we are leaseholders under strict lease conditions. Our erroneous and arrogant presumption that we can do as we please means that, in self-interest, with disregard for our fellow creatures, we kill tigers to near extinction. Then to try and save some for future generations the best we can do is imprison them in zoos. Not content with that we then shoot them in their zoo cages, skin them and stuff them. What are we coming to? Taxidermist Jean-Pierre Gerard was filmed either shooting or accompanying someone else shooting 2 tigers in a cage. They were shot inexpertly and died slowly. He had previously said he could get animals to stuff at a price. Zoos are in partnership in that they are commercial (of course) and keeping animals which have served their purpose is no longer commercially viable. It all revolts me, frankly. I feel like stuffing Mr Gerard...see how he likes it. Cat News Cat News - 24th August 2007 This fire retardant thing is it seems starting to become a scandal as it gradual dawns of people that over the past 35 years or so hyperthyroidism in cats has reached startling proportions. Remember it was unheard of before the 1970s. The It is alleged that this disease is caused by PBDE (a chemical fire retardant in furniture). And it's not just concerned with California (see story below). It appears to be USA wide. Think of your cat. Check it out and throw it out (the furniture)..... Cat News Cat News 18th August 2007 - Latest News - YouTube inadvertently allow animal cruelty films on their website ......and a lot of viewers like them. Killer fire retardant chemicals used on furniture manufactured in California (I guess to comply with fire safety regulations) may lead to health problems, particularly for cats. Cats it seems would be more exposed to this chemical as they sleep or rest on sofas etc for long periods plus they are smaller. The problems apparently stems from the out dated regulations controlling the use of these chemicals. This is a PBDE fire retardant called Tris. It is alleged that it may cause hyperthyroidism in cats. Cat News says CHECK your furniture for the type of fire retardant and ask questions....source: 16th Aug 2007 Huffington Post Arlene Blum Cat News - You know some people prefer 4 legs to two. Well, a lot of men prefer a women who prefers two legs to four....maybe its just jealousy.
Think about it, this is a very big statistic for us at Cat News, nearly half of the country's single people could be putting a barrier in the way of starting a successful relationship. And you know how hard it can be to get a relationship going successfully, without having a cat. The thing is once you live with a cat you know what's best for you and the cat knows what's best for him/her. So in the end he (the boyfriend) has just got to fit in. Sadly, on a more serious note, cat news brings an altogether more horrible story to you. The case of the jealous boyfriend. Joe Petcka, the boyfriend of a Sports Illustrated writer, had a row with this girlfriend. He stormed out. He came back. She wasn't there. He wanted to take it out on something. He hit the cat and left it with multiple injuries including broken ribs, a broken leg, and multiple cracked teeth. The cat died. It happened on March 27th, 2007. He was upset that his girlfriend, he thought, preferred her cat to him. Sensible her... I feel for the cat. Another vulnerable innocent creature killed by humankind. I think I prefer 4 legs to 2... Sources:
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Good News for UK cat lovers particularly. We are to see genuine wildcats in our green and pleasant land again. The Scottish Wildcat of which there are an approximate 400 in Scotland are to be bred in captivity and released throughout England and Wales. That's the plan.
In fact Chico has written a book about his companion (the Pope).
As recent YouGov poll of 2,353 adults found that a female's chance of finding love can be reduced by as much as 40% if the women has 2 or more cats. That's fine she'll say she prefers the cats anyway. You get a far more rewarding, predictable and stable relationship with a cat, we all know that.