Photo by The Wiseguy - see base of post. What do you do or should you do when you run over a cat or a dog? This sounds awful but it is a reality, it does happen quite frequently and it does pose some dilemmas. It goes without saying that we must stop and try and help. This can be difficult in itself. Some time ago I saw a squirrel in the road that had been very recently hit and was in the middle of the road alive and struggling. I couldn't just drive around this animal as cars behind would eventually drive over it so I stopped in the middle of the road to stop cars behind driving over the squirrel. The next problem is dealing with a badly injured animal of any kind. This can be difficult on a number of levels particularly if you are the kind of person who will stop and help (i.e. a concerned person and/or animal lover). Anyway, I braced myself and using a newspaper I had bought I scooped up the squirrel and placed it in the bushes beside the road to either recover or die. That'

Russian Blue Kitten photograph by Sensual Shadows Photography Before you go in search of Russian Blue Kittens have a look at these and have a look at some Russian Blue adult cats too and read about this cat breed. I've also built a page in which I discuss the breed standard in a general kind of way, nothing too technical, which may interest potential buyers of Russian Blue kittens as it also contains a large format slide show of a lot of cats of this breed to get a feel as to how they appear and what they should look like under the breed standard. Click on this link to see a large slide show . All pedigree cats have a breed standard, a target that governs what breeders should aim for. There is, obviously, quite a wide range of looks that all comply with the standard as the wording is quite widely drafted and there are never any diagrams or pictures to guide (which has always surprised me). Your kitten should of course be within the parameters set by the breed standard to be

From personal experience over decades the best odor control cat litter is wood based. For me there are essential 2 types of cat litter: clay or earth based (Fullers Earth - see history of cat litter ) wood based I presume the wood based litter is made from wood chippings. I hope so as I'd be upset to think they chopped down trees to make it. It is a soft wood, probably pine. Very fine particles of it are compressed into miniature "logs". When the cat urinates on it, it expands and absorbs it. It is the best, no doubt, for absorbing urine. There is absolutely no smell and no mess. Although as it doesn't clump it takes a bit of technique to take out the used and leave the unused. Earth based litter clumps, yes, so it is easier to remove from the litter tray but the absorption is less good and the clump is wet as is the surrounding area sometimes. This translates into a more difficult cleaning up job as the litter tray itself becomes stained. With wood based litter the

The Clouded Leopard Population currently stands at: An estimated number below 10,000 world wide of mature breeding cats (src: http://www.arkive.org ) Below 10,000 mature breeding cats (src: http://www.animalinfo.org ) Bornean Clouded Leopard: 5-11,000 in Borneo and 3-7,000 in Sumatra. I am not sure how this figure squares up with the above figures as this is apparently a different species (figures src: Wikipedia ) Important note: figures obtained on the Internet are not always reliable as one author produces figures and other authors use the same figures rather than going to a different source to verify. I couldn't find any other sources for this data proving it is not that well researched. This doesn't surprise me as the people who are best placed to assess the Clouded Leopard Population (business) are not necessarily interested in the preservation of this wild cat. It should be noted that the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ does not quote a figure. This organisation is b

Here's one of the best photographs of the Traditional Doll Face Persian Cat. He is a Traditional Orange (Solid Red) Persian Cat. His name is Faolán - the photograph is copyright Dani Rozeboom . You can see more of him here: http://www.pictures- of-cats.org/orange- persian-cat.html Faolán - all Persian boy cat - copyright Dani Please respect copyright

That's my girl but she has nightmares. The answer is a resounding yes to the question, "do cats dream?" And it doesn't take a scientist to confirm a layperson's observations. Cats are hard wired to sleep a lot because they are efficient hunters and don't have to work for endless hours getting the food in. Grazing animals are almost the opposite speeding it seems all their waking hours eating. Apparently owls are also efficient hunters and also spend a lot of time sleeping. Domestic cats don't have to do any work whatsoever to get the food in except ask for it. Sure that can some persistence sometimes but relatively speaking it's easier than hunting. Domestic cats therefore can sleep even more than wild cats. Cats sleep for 13-16 hours daily and are apparently 3rd in the sleeping championships coming after the opossum (a solitary nocturnal animal the size of a cat) and the bat. A lot of the time it's cat naps. You can see that they are dozing but

Persian Kitten photo copyright Helmi Flick Before considering buying a Persian kitten for sale I am sure visitors to this site are also considering which type of Persian cat to buy or maybe the better words are 'keep' or 'adopt' as I don't think cats are an object that we possess like an inanimate object bought in a shop (although legally they are considered objects to possess). Anyway, a Persian kitten looks simply gorgeous and there are two on this page. The little guy in the bowl looking like a Teacup cat (but he is not as he is a kitten and small for that reason) is what some people have called an Ultra Persian. These Persian cats have the flat face. This is created by selective breedin g. It does not come naturally, the face has been transformed . The flat face is bred into these cats under the guidance of the breed standard, the most influential of which is the CFA (Cat Fanciers Association) breed standard. I discuss this and the other breed standards in rel

My cat - yes overweight. I've fought that for 16 years Introduction I think that my cat may have a very mild form of Feline Hyperesthesia but I can't find anything on it in any of the reference books I use. Clearly this condition is not well known or veterinarians and physicians don't know that much about it. I have had to rely on the Internet exclusively for the answer, which I don't normally do as the information can sometimes be less than completely reliable. My cat's skin on her back ripples when I talk to her (very gently always) and when I touch her lower back. The skin also twitches sometimes when touched towards the lower end of her back. I don't know if this is a disease. It has only started to happen over the last 6 months or so as far as far as I can tell. She has no fleas or mites etc.. She is on the face of it in good health and I am with her all the time. She is groomed 4 times daily. She is overweight. This is mainly because she is nervou

Cat with wings photo by betizuka see below Winged cats are in the news. We do like a bit of a freak show, paranormal behavior or mysticism don't we? We like to make more of a simple medical condition that actually requires our sympathy and acceptance. It almost reminds me of the Elephant Man. The latest winged cat was found in China, a somewhat neglected calico cat in need of TLC. I wouldn't be surprised if the Chinese authorities have already come around and taken the cat away as they might think that is has a detrimental impact on the public's perception of China. China has got to look perfect you know. And the Chinese authorities don't like cats, particularly feral cats, they get eaten you know in some parts of China. So maybe someone has eaten the cat on the basis that winged cats have special fortifying and magical healing ingredients (see cat meat ). Some people think that cat's fur has healing properties, which adds to cat abuse (see cat fur trade ). The tr

Healthy Gaia by fofurasfelinas (see below) Introduction The technical term for feline stroke is Feline Cerebrovascular Disease. Let's break that term down. "feline" as we know means that the animal is part of the felidae family of animals, which includes all cats both wild, domestic large and small. "Vascular" means related to blood vessels and "cerebro" means brain in Spanish and Portuguese as a matter of passing interest. The Latin for brain is "cerebrum". The word "disease" is often interpreted in different ways and infers illness. Technically the word describes a pathological condition which in turn means an abnormal structure of an organ or part of an organ of the body as a result of various causes. So feline stroke is abnormal blood vessels in the brain, which as a result bleed because they rupture (break open). There is another cause as well (see below). Veterinarians call strokes "a cerebrovascular accident&quo

Here's one of the best American Bobtail cat pictures by Helmi Flick: American Bobtail cat - photo copyright Helmi Flick This is a photograph of "Jessee"

Photo of Abyssinian cat copyright Helmi Flick Here is a fine photograph of an Abyssinian cat by Helmi Flick , probably the best professional cat photographer. The Abyssinian is a purebred cat of long standing in the cat fancy. It is probably fair to say that there are about ten cat breeds that are at the core of the cat fancy and the Abyssinian is one. The history of this cat is rather uncertain. Without wishing to be unkind, this cat breed was either created (hybrid) by a breeder in the 19th century or was discovered in India, exported to Ethiopia and then re-exported to England where it was refined through selective breeding. You take your pick! "Abys", as they are affectionately referred to, are elegant cats with an active, athletic appearance. There is a limited range of colours which I think marks this cat out from the other breeds. They are very popular and in the top five on my reckoning.... see more .

Here is one of Helmi Flick's great photographs of the Russian Blue cat : Russian Blue cat - Photograph copyright Helmi Flick Update: A Russian Blue won the Best of the Best award at the CFA/Iams Championship at Madison Square Garden 19th October 2008. His name is Runner. Full name is Platina Luna Blade Runner. The proud owners/keepers are not cat breeders, just exhibitors. There names are Teresa Keiger and Rob Miller. From Russian Blue cat to Household pets

Pregnant cat - photo by superna The feline gestation period is the length of time from conception to birth. Conception could be defined as the moment embryonic life begins by the formation of a viable embryo (zygote) through the coming together of the male sperm and female ovum or egg. The feline gestation period averages 65 days with the range extending from 63 to 69 days all of which are normal. Apparently the gestation period of Siamese cats may be longer at 71 days. If the kitten is born prematurely before 60 days of gestation the kitten is unlikely to survive. It may be difficult to tell if our cat is pregnant. Cat breeders of course will have all the knowledge gained from experience to tell. I have a web page on cat pregnancy which expands this page considerably. Pregnancy testing? My research indicates that at the time of this post there is no equivalent of a pregnancy test (wrong? - please leave a comment). However at: ---17-25 days veterinarian may be able to feel the

Clouded Leopard photo by The Brit_2 and published under a creative commons license Here are three of the best clouded leopard photos . They are selected from Flickr photographers who have kindly granted a right to publish under a creative commons license. Of course they are all taken in zoos as nearly all clouded leopard photos will be; an indication once again of the fragile a position in which we place such beautiful wildcats usually by habitat loss as a result of mankind's voracious commercial activities. Clouded Leopard photo by fuzuoko For me three things are noticeable about this gorgeous wildcat. The spots are similar but much larger than the spots of a some Bengal cats . Their shape and design have the appearance of clouds hence the name. The other is the size. This is quite a small wildcat in relation the size of other wildcats that we are more familiar with; I mean the big cats such as the tiger, the biggest wildcat . The Clouded Leopard is medium size

photo by whizchickenonabun (see base of post) Feline Endocrine Alopecia or balding (alopecia) through a hormonal deficiency is in fact more likely to be hair loss through over grooming. Feline Endocrine Alopecia falls under the heading of feline hormonal skin disease. Bilateral (both sides of the body) and symmetrical hair loss in animals generally is indicative of a hormonal problem. This methodology is carried forward to the diagnosis of hair loss in cats when in fact the majority of the cases are due to excessive grooming. Three well respected sources concur on this (see sources below). In some cases particularly neutered tom cats and spayed females of middle age balding may be due to hormonal deficiency. However, treatment with sex hormones is not recommended by Drs Carlson and Giffin (see sources). Dr Turner and Jean Turner VN say that excessive cat grooming can go unnoticed. However it is possible to tell whether hair loss is due to over grooming or hormonal problems by a micro

photo by EUSKALANATO Feline Kidney Disease comes in a number of forms. They are discussed here. Introduction The main role of a cat's kidneys is to maintain a stable and constant condition in respect of the cat's body fluids (the homeostatic balance). They achieve this by filtering out and then secreting the unwanted products (Metabolites - for example urea) of the cats metabolism from the cat's blood and then excreting it from the cat in the form of urine (water plus the metabolites). Kidneys also regulate blood pressure, glucose metabolism and the process by which red blood cells are produced by sensing the concentrations of ions and compounds in the blood. "Metabolism" is the range of chemical reactions that take place in the body to sustain life. Published under a Wikimedia license under the terms of the GNU Free Documentation license, Version 1.2 or any later version. Author: Piotr Michał Jaworski. Feline Kidney Disease - The diseases 1. Felin

This roaming stray tom cat , Timmy, is more prone to feline aids but he is healthy at the moment. Snoozing after a human sized meal. Photo copyright Michael Introduction The virus that causes feline aids is related to the virus that causes human aids. The term " AIDS " stands for " Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome ". The term "aids" is a commonly used non-technical term. Another more scientific term is " Feline Immunodeficiency Virus Infection " or " FIV " for short. From the name of the disease we know that feline aids amounts to a deficient immune system caused by a virus. The virus is a " retrovirus ". A retrovirus is different to a "normal" virus in that it has to convert (reverse transcription) RNA to DNA before insertion into the host cell. Once inserted it clones itself in the same way a virus does. The transcription process is not that accurate so different forms of the virus are created making it

Arguably the largest feline of the domestic breeds, the Serval cat a wild cat tamed to behave like a domestic cat. Small enough for that purpose but they are special and require a host of special requirements and care. photograph © Kathrin Stucki of A1 Savannahs People searching for the largest feline are searching for the largest cat as the word "feline" means belonging to the Felinae family of animals and these include both wild and domestic cats. We need to separate the wild from the domestic as wild cats are generally much bigger than domestic cats, but not always. Some wild cats are very small and some domestic cats are bigger than the some wild cats. There is a page on the Pictures of Cats website that deals with the largest domestic cat breed. It also deals with the smallest domestic cat breeds as a consequence and makes some comparisons in size between domestic cats and wild cats that are similar in size. There is a complication here as one or two wild cats have bee

Looking for a cat sitter in Los Angeles ? Take a tip for a cat lover in London. Over here there is a recent case of a women who went to Australia backpacking. She asked a young man to look after her two cats. I presume she let him stay at the house. He did some cleaning and one of the cats soiled something, don't know how or what. It could have been caused by stress through his presence. Anyway he lost his temper. Tried to drown them both in the bath. He attacked them for an hour and tortured them. Fur and blood in the bath. Neighbors heard the cats' screams and the RSPCA (the same as your SPCA) came around (very promptly I am pleased to see). They found the cats on the floor twitching. They survived despite broken bones and hypothermia and wounds. They would have died but for prompt veterinarian surgery. The man has been prosecuted and been warned he faces a year in jail. Moral: get a professional cat sitter in Los Angeles that has been recommended or someone you can guarantee

Dogs and cats together - Photograph copyright myriorama under a creative commons license. Some know it and some don't but dogs and cats can get along fine provided there has been the proper amount and quality of socialization. This has been confirmed and reinforced by research carried out recently by scientists doing research work at Tel Aviv University in Israel. The number one finding is that dogs and cats can be friends (and some of the pictures show this clearly) provided they are introduced at a young age and the dog is introduced to the cat who is the first to occupy the territory. The cat has to be in place first because dogs get jealous when another animal be they human animal or animal are brought into the family after the dog as the newcomers will inevitably take away some of the attention that the dog was getting. Dogs and cats together - photo copyright Scott Kinmartin - published under a creative commons license. Dogs and cats socialized together at a young are learn

A healthy cat - photo by fofurasfelinas Introduction Feline Pancreatitis is an inflammation of the pancreas causing it to malfunction. The inflammation causes leakage of the digestive juices produced in the pancreas. It is a serious disease and can be life threatening. Feline pancreatitis is rare in both acute (a sudden, bad episode) and chronic (long term, more common in cats) forms. The pancreas is one of the cat's endocrine glands which produce hormones. An example of another is the pituitary gland. It is a small gland close to the stomach and lower intestine. The main function of the pancreas is the production of digestive enzymes and insulin (the pancreas also produces other hormones). The digestive enzymes produced by the pancreatic gland (a more technical name) are carried into the lower intestine of the cat through the pancreatic duct. These juices continue the digestion of the food after it passes from the stomach where digestion first takes place. Insulin produc