Domestic cats and dogs may have to be vaccinated in the future against Covid-19 to protect people

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This is a quick note but one worth making nonetheless. I think I can predict that in the long term, perhaps in about 18 months to 2 years time, governments in various countries, perhaps predominantly in the West, will be thinking about vaccinating companion animals as a second phase protective measure against Covid-19.  This is because there is a concern amongst some scientists that animals may create a reservoir for mutant variants of the Covid-19 virus. As the virus is zoonotic it can theoretically and actually be transmitted from animals to people and this must apply also to companion animals. Danish mink farmer with white mink due to be euthanised. Photo per credit Perhaps because of the general panicked nature of governmental responses to the coronavirus pandemic, not enough work has been done on this aspect of the spread of the disease. In addition nobody wants to alarm anybody which may lead to companion animal abuse. In fact, in China, at the outset of the pandemic, there were
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Lynx Point Siamese Cats

Lynx Point Siamese Cat
Lynx Point Siamese Cats - photo jade-rabbit

In the cat world you will find a wide range of appearances of any one type or breed of cat. In the example of the Lynx Point Siamese Cats the range will be particularly wide because there is more than one type of marking called "Lynx Point" and more than one type of cat called a "Siamese Cat".

There are officially 2 types of Siamese Cat (and a spectrum in between). One the one hand you have the Traditional Siamese, now called a Thai by The International Cat Association (TICA), the only American association as far as I am aware to register what is the original Siamese cat. Siamese cat history is interesting for its development to the Modern Siamese (or contemporary Siamese). The modern is skinny with a pointed head and the Traditional has a look that we expect to see in a cat (more rounded and normal). In between we have the classic look.

The cat above is traditional in conformation and very handsome. As for the pointing you can see more photos on pointing generally by clicking on this link. There are at least two different types of Lynx pointing (a) seal lynx pointing which is the classic seal point broken up by the tabby gene. You can immediately see the lynx point because of the classic "M" marking on the forehead and (b) blue lynx pointing, which is a dilute form of the lynx. When black is diluted by a modifier gene it becomes blue. The tabby markings become more dilute as a result and a little blue. The pointing is obviously softer.

The cat above has the lynx markings, totally undiluted. I suspect that he/she is not one of the classic purebred Lynx Point Siamese Cats (wrong? - please tell me) but a fine cat nonetheless. As I said at the beginning there is a wide a range of cats that do not fit the breed standards and wouldn't win prizes but are great cats.

Photo copyright Helmi Flick

Above: This cat is not a Siamese (guess that is obvious) but is shown here to illustrate the Seal Lynx point pattern. You can see the same marking on the legs and face as the cat heading this post. The body color though is more inline with the breed standard I suspect.


Lynx Point Siamese Cats to Home Page

Comments

ChiefRedCloud said…
I breed Thai Lynx points, and I would say, judging from the top picture, that this cat is a Old Style Siamese Lynx point. Like all Siamese, lynx points will darken on their back and hind quarters as they mature. You can see on this cat that the tabby markings have moved to his back. This is very common in the lynx point and is one aspect of this cat us breeders need to work on. But yes, he is a lovely specimen. I would say his face shape is more Traditional than Classic.
16 May 2009 at 07:31
Chris Tucker said…
We just bought a Lynx Point Kitten here in Tampa, and we just love him!
We named him "Trouble" because he is into everything.
15 August 2010 at 08:59
Unknown said…
i just recently brought home a beautiful new kitten with marking that i had never seen before. after some research a lynx point seems to be the closest thing i can find to what she might be.i know that her mother was a tabby with white paws,belly and mouth. but im unsure of the father.

http://picasaweb.google.ca/106342304854283538908/Esther?authkey=Gv1sRgCJ7A_cTguoHVkQE#5524737997916826898
this is a picture, hopefully u can view it. :) what do you guys think? shes definatly not a purebred, and im not trying to get her papers or anything. i just thought it would be neat to know what to call her. :) Thanks
5 October 2010 at 18:33
jane said…
my Lynx point is deaf but poochie is gorgeous and my baby (he is spoilt)
5 October 2011 at 13:47
Unknown said…
We adopted a Lynx Point Siamese cat his name is Baxter and he is really nice friendly cat with love him
17 February 2019 at 09:25
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