Cat Chit Chat

Check out your boyfriend to see how he relates to your cat. If he gets on well, all is well. If your cat snarls and hisses at him - dump him! Well not quite. But it is going to cause problems if you, as a cat loving girl or woman, love your cat companion but your cat companion simply does not get along with your boyfriend. And if that is the case, your boyfriend may make things worse by reacting to a less than friendly cat in the wrong way. He (the boyfriend) may be intimidated and be slightly aggressive towards your cat. The cat will sense this making things worse and there is only one winner in the long run - the cat! If he likes cats, keep him! Photo dr burtoni (Flickr) As the male human tends to prefer dogs, being a pack animal that he is, and as the female human tends to prefer cats, being an independent type creature that she is, you may get a bit of conflict between boyfriend and cat. What to do? Well as I said earlier you could just dump him and start again. If he hat

The medical terms for a cat losing its voice is laryngitis , which is the inflammation of the mucous membrane of the voice box. Healthy cat! I couldn't find a picture of a cat that had lost its voice. Photo by Mindaugas Lickus (Flickr). The symptoms are loss of voice as mentioned and hoarseness. The common causes of a cat losing its voice are a chronic cough and excessive meowing. These strain the vocal cords. Laryngitis can also be associated with: tonsillitis throat infections tracheobronchitis pneumonia inhalant allergies tumors in the throat although this is rare See Feline URIs If excessive meowing is the cause, the reason for this needs to be assessed and removed. It will usually be due to stress and anxiety or the cat may be distressed about something. Clearly if the cat is coughing a lot the cause needs to be assessed and treated. The page on cat coughing deals with when we can and can't treat a cat cough ourselves. Most often we cannot if it is chr

A lazy approach to cat caretaking is one reason why cats are declawed in the United States. Obviously there are others such as ignorance over the true nature of the declawing operation or the client (the cat's owner) being mislead by the veterinarian. Cats can be lazy, we can't - photo Mark Bult (Flickr) But where the cat's owner has the facts, it is plainly convenient for her (or him) to have her cat declawed because it makes life easier. She doesn't have to worry about training her cat to use a cat scratching post or protecting the furniture. There are no worries about being scratched either. Although, I have no idea why anyone can be frightened by the very odd scratch which is invariably caused by poor handling of the cat by the owner. In short, the cat owner who has her cat declawed can have a lazier life in respect of the cat. It is about pure convenience dressed up with some feeble excuse that does not hold water. To be honest, in the modern world where

Ragdoll cat lover gifts are popular because the Ragdoll is popular. According to my very long standing poll (over three years) the Ragdoll is the 5th most popular cat out of about 70 cat breeds polled. The popularity probably comes from this cat breed's fluffy, large body and laid back character - two major attributes desired by cat keepers. The Maine Coon is the world's most popular domestic cat breed on my reckoning and that breed has similar characteristics although it is longer and skinnier in the body. It is also larger overall; the largest pure domestic cat in the world (excluding the wildcat hybrids). OK lets see some Ragdoll cat lover gifts. I have chosen two sources but there are many more I am sure. These are all for the North American market place as most of the visitors to PoC ( Pictures of Cats.org ) are from that region. Ragdoll Cat Umbrella Nothing beats the exceptional look and quality of our Ragdoll Cat Umbrella. Among the finest made, you will be provi

I know people search for "laser cat claw removal" because I use software that tells me what people search for on the internet. In fact the software tells me the exact words used. In this case the words tell us clearly that people are still unclear as to the exact nature of the declaw operation. Vets misleading the public is one reason. Another is a simple lack of knowledge. Poster by Ruth "Claw removal" indicates that the public think that the claw is removed. In one video a vet used the word "nail". Hear him speak by clicking on the following link: Revealing: Declawing Vet Talks About Declawing - (the soundtrack from this video is on this page. It is revealing on the mentality of the US veterinarian). The linked page is an example of how vets downplay the operation, making it sound much less onerous and painful than it really is. I think that this behavior from the veterinarians is deliberate. After all declawing cats is a very profitable part

As the Maine Coon is probably the world's most popular purebred cat it is not surprising that there are a good number of Maine Coon cat gifts. I would like to show a few on this page. This is purely a small selection. The first batch comes from a cat gift website called Animal Den. Maine Coon Cat Bottle Stopper (Silver) Beautifully hand painted, this delightful Silver Maine Coon Cat Bottle stopper will be the talk of the party at your next get together. At approximately 1 ½" to 2" tall, our intricate Silver Maine Coon Cat Bottle stopper looks just right sitting atop just about any bottle. Weather a gift for a dear friend or family member or simply a new decoration for your home, all Maine Coon Cat lovers will surely enjoy this gorgeous stopper. Maine Coon Cat Cookie Jar Nothing beats the exceptional look and quality of our Maine Coon Cat Cookie Jar. Among the finest made, you will be provided with great satisfaction and long lasting enjoyment. Why not pam

I think the title to this short post is actually common sense but it was one of the findings of a research study: Ontogeny of individuality in the domestic cat in the home environment by Sarah E. Lowe and John W. S. Bradshaw , Anthrozoology Institute, University of Southampton, UK. Domestic cats have varying personalities and the factors that mold these personalities is the same sort of things that create our characters. Ideally, domestic cats need to have rounded and confident characters if they are to be the best kind of cat companion. The more extrovert sociable cat interacts better with his or her human companion and mixes better with other cats and people. The frightened and/or shy cat is more likely to be defensive in nature and that can translate to aggression through fear. What creates this boldness is correct handling during the first 8 weeks of life - in short excellent socialisation. These are the formative moments that are equivalent to the first 6 years of life of a

This is an addendum to a page on the main website on cat allergen Fel D1 . The amino acid sequence of Fel D1 has been ascertained. Maltese rescue cat - photo by Michael at PoC Yes you have the Fel D1 too. The allergen is composed "of two polypeptide chains" 1 . Polypeptide means: short polymers of amino acids linked by peptide bonds. Polymers are large molecules (macromolecule) composed of repeating structural units. Amino acids are molecules containing an amine group, a carboxylic acid group and a side chain that varies between different amino acids. Peptide bond is a covalent chemical bond formed between two molecules when the carboxyl group of one molecule reacts with the amino group of the other molecule, thereby releasing a molecule of water (H2O) The two chains referred to above are encoded by different genes. Chain 1 of Fel dI shares amino acid homology with rabbit uteroglobin, while chain 2 is a glycoprotein with N-linked oligosaccharides. Defi

Is the cat safety collar with bell a product that is fair to the cat? Now, to those people who will go ballistic reading that simple and I think reasonable question, please calm down and read on. Photo by Frana Blaylock (Flickr) The reason I ask is because the argument for putting a cat safety collar with a bell on a cat is to prevent the cat preying on what might be described by some people as native wildlife that needs to be preserved and protected. I think that that argument needs to be tested and challenged. The first point to make is that in a study it was found that putting a collar with a bell on an outdoor or indoor/outdoor cat is effective in slowing the rate of predation. I am referring to a study entitled: Bells reduce predation of wildlife by domestic cats (Felis catus) by Graeme D. Ruxton, Sarah Thomas and Jessica W. Wright - Institute of Biomedical and Life Sciences, Division of Environmental and Evolutionary Biology, Graham Kerr Building, University of Glasgow, G

As expected, young, random bred (moggie), male cats are more likely to be involved in road accidents than other cats. Moral: keep 'em in or confined to a nice cat enclosure or high fenced garden or walled garden - anything - until they grow up! Or get an old, female, purebred Persian cat instead because Persian cats are probably the most static of all the purebreds and old cats are smarter and females take less risks and are less adventurous etc. etc...Phew. That was not meant in anyway to be sexist. I am just coming to the conclusions that can only be formulated from the research study: " Study of factors that may predispose domestic cats to road traffic accidents: part 1" by I. Rochlitz, BVSc, MSc, PhD, MRCVS1. Charlie a 10 yr old male three legged cat who is in some danger from a road accident  - photo Michael Broad at PoC . To put a bit of fat on that, male cats whether they are neutered or not are almost twice as likely to be in a road traffic accident than

People who are involved in wild bird conservation are eager to quote unsupported statistics that suggest that the domestic cat is responsible for a mass slaughter of birds ( misleading see this ) and that cats breed like flies and as a consequence the domestic cat as a feral cat should more or less exterminated. An example of the antagonism between bird conservationists and cat lovers is seen in a Los Angeles court ruling regarding the city's funding of trap-neuter-return programs: Feral Cats of Los Angeles . Photo by Michael Broad of PoC - licensed to be used as is and with a credit please! The bird conservationists are also incensed by what they see as the wanton and murderous behavior of feral cats in killing prey for what seems like the pleasure of it. Cats catching and playing with prey but not eating it are cited as another reason why cats should be dealt with more strictly. I write this to try and put a bit of balance back into the discussion. Firstly, there are an e

It seems that the Barbary serval may still exist, but only just. Today in 2011, the serval largely inhabits that area of the African continent that is below the Sahara desert - sub-Sahara Africa. The Barbary coast is that area of Africa that is on the Mediterranean Sea. A part of Morocco's coastline is on the Mediterranean Sea. It is believed that the serval inhabits Morocco in low numbers. In short it is rare in that country and described by the IUCN Red List as endangered under their classification system. The Barbary lion was made extinct by human activity many years ago. View Larger Map On that basis there is a wildcat called the Barbary Serval. This state of play will inevitably change for the worse for the cat and it will in due course be extirpated from the Barbary coast as the human population grows in Morocco, as it surely will. This, though, is my personal opinion, a rather negative and pessimistic assessment you might think. It is based on the general trends

Photo by samatt (Flickr) Honeysuckle cat toys have similar properties to catnip toys and other play objects. If your cat does not like or is not turned on by catnip you might like to try honeysuckle. You can see them in some pet stores, in the USA at least. Some people might be tempted to see if their cat likes honeysuckle but there are dangers because some varieties of honeysuckle are toxic to cats . Unless you are absolutely certain then don't go down that route. Ask what type of honeysuckle is used in products or sold and check that the vendor is aware of the hazards. Check the labeling etc.. And note that Japanese honeysuckle vine is toxic to cats. Also if you produce a chunk of raw wood honeysuckle for your cat to play with it can be dangerous to a cat - think jagged edges and your cat might like to try and chew it. This has a very good chance of causing injury requiring a vet. If buying raw honeysuckle the advice is to place it in a thick cloth material to protect the

Perhaps the most significant thing about a cat in pain is that they hide or mask it. It is said that they do this is as an act of survival. It is also said that the domestic cat is small and therefore vulnerable to larger predators and so hides pain that would give a signal to a predator that the cat might be easy prey being weakened by an illness that causes the pain. That makes sense in one way but not in another. Do lions and tigers mask pain? They are top predators and they are cats! They probably do mask pain or at least it won't be obvious that the lion or tiger is in pain. There is no doubt that it can be difficult to tell if a domestic cat is in pain. But it is not all that difficult. A domestic cat in pain will become quiet and more passive. He or she will find a quiet corner or place that is well protected, curl up and keep out of the way. If a cat is fatally injured he or she will find a quiet spot to die. I am not sure that this is a survival strategy. It is mo

 The reason for the white cat coughing is strangulation! Photo by aylaujp (Flickr) The reasons for coughing in feral cats is going to be the same as for domestic cats only the feral is obviously more exposed to viral and bacterial infections and serious ill health so you are more likely to see a feral cat coughing than a well cared for domestic cat. As it happens, I have a page on the website about the cat cough, which may help concerned people to diagnose a possible cause... Cat Cough . That said the only way to deal with a feral cat that has a cough that looks like something serious (and not all coughs are serious) is to trap the cat and take him or her to a vet and there are very few people who are prepared or who have the equipment and know how to do that. Most coughs that require no action are due to foreign objects in the throat and which can be removed by coughing. All the other causes will require veterinary treatment. If a cough lasts more than 5 days it requires

There is no such thing as a serval population graph because we don't know the world population of the serval. We don't know a lot about the wildcats generally, in fact. That might surprise people looking for information about serval population but I can assure you that it is true - sorry. If you are a student looking for a serval population graph for your course work tell your teacher that it doesn't exist. The best authorities come up blank when discussing serval population: Wild Cats Of The World by Mel and Fiona Sunquist, unquestionably the best book on wildcats in the world does not quote any figures. They say that "servals have declined in numbers". This is pretty much the story for all wildcats.  The IUCN Red List , another excellent resource that should be able to tell us about wild cat populations because that is their main business  - monitoring populations - cannot come up with a serval population. They simply say that the serval "occurs

 Bob on the day he was euthanised. Photo Maggie Osterberg (Flickr). This page in his memory. There are two things about feline euthanasia that are worth knowing (a) how it is done today and (b) when to do it. The latter is the most difficult subject. It is interesting to note that in probably the best book on cat health, Cat Owner's Home Veterinary Handbook, a truly excellent book that I heartily recommend, there are only 10 lines on the subject of feline euthanasia ( note: the latest edition has more!). The book has 419 pages. This is because there is not much to say about it, if we are honest. There comes a time when your cat will either die naturally and hopefully painlessly at home, or a decision will have to be made to put him or her to sleep. At this point it is worth reminding ourselves what the word "euthanasia" means. It is said that cats are euthanised at cat shelters but this is frequently untrue. They are killed, plain and simple . See also Euthanasia of

Why was a mountain lion killed in Ray County? Why oh why? For the bloody pleasure of it that is why. In this case the idiot farmer was out getting his kicks shooting raccoons. He simply had to shoot something. Then low and behold he came across a glorious male mountain lion perching in a tree minding its own business and he shot it. Why not, nothing else to do I guess. The cougar is almost as rare as hen's teeth in Ray County, Missouri as this state is central and most cougars have sought to escape humankind by migrating west. There have been 3 confirmed sightings in eight years in the area so it cannot be said that this wild cat poses a threat. View Larger Map It is well known that they can be dealt with without shooting them although idiot people who love to fire off their ridiculous guns will always find a well worn excuse to shoot a magnificent creature such as a large male mountain lion. Think of the kudos. The ignorant farmer can go back to his mates and proudly pr

Although people might ask this question, the truth is that it doesn't need asking because, in general, it is not true. Sure, some individual cats (and cats are individuals) don't like water. This may be for any number of reasons. If they don't like water this might be due to a personal preference of the cat owner who routinely sprays water over the cat as a form of punishment. I say, don't punish your cat as it does not work. And in any case the opposite, positive reinforcement is far better as a training process. John Swain (Northeastern University physicist) makes a very good point. Cats are a bit like humans when it comes to liking or disliking water but we have to take into account the obvious fact that cats wash themselves with saliva and therefore don't need water. In respect of sustenance, they also get a lot of their water from their prey in the wild. The sand cat gets all the water it needs from prey - astonishing. If a cat has been routinely bathe