Cat Chit Chat

No, the word 'lion' should not be capitalized. It's a standard noun describing a large wild cat species. However, if you wrote about the African lion, you will note that the word "African" is capitalized because it is common practice to capitalize the names of countries and places and words derived from those names. It is interesting, by the way, that when I dictate articles as I am doing today using DragonDictate the software always capitalizes both lion and tiger. How about that? Very strange but it seems to be the default interpretation for this software which is, as mentioned, incorrect.

Network for Animals tells us the story of an evil zoo in Argentina, Lujan Zoo, where they drug animals so that tourists can pet them and pose for photographs with them. It is cruel and heartless but no one cares. It is good business. The tigers are drugged. They are unable to stand. A lion was so drugged that he was unable to fed when provided with food. He had glazed eyes and a drooling mouth. He was in a deep stupor. We know that zoos are bad enough but to do this is unconscionable and utterly unacceptable. The lions and tigers are drugged daily. The tourists are ignorant of what is going on. Or perhaps they realise but don't care. They grin into their cell phones posing while taking selfies. As mentioned, it is illegal in the jurisdiction concerned, the city of Lujan, but the authorities don't enforce the law. A failure to enforce laws is as good as having no laws. Wikipedia says that Luján is a city in the Buenos Aires province of Argentina, located 68 kilometres n

You may have heard of this. A tattoo artist is using the fur of your cat as a base for the ink that he uses. Once the ink is applied to the skin the concept is that you have a piece of your cat under your skin and therefore very close to you in perpetuity. It's a way of having your cat with you after he or she has passed on. A female model, Kathrin Toelle, has had a large tattoo applied to her right thigh by a Swiss tattoo service known as Skin46 who claim that they extract medically clean organic carbon from the cat's hair and then transform that product into tattoo ink. Tattoo Artist Roman Abrego/Model Kathrin Toelle Skin46 say that they incinerate the hair through extremely high temperatures removing all impurities and carcinogenic compounds to create a pure carbon which is mixed with tattoo ink. Of course it has to be purified because you cannot, as a tattoo artist, inject tainted material under a person's skin for obvious health reasons. My argument is t

Today I have been told by Kitty Block, the president of the Humane Society International, that tour operators are sending tourists to South Africa in package deals which include visiting captive bred lions. Sounds normal? No, not for the lions. These lions are bred to entertain people. They are suffering for the enjoyment of people. They live in small enclosures. They are cared for improperly. They are fed poorly. They cannot express their natural behaviors. They are used for the pleasure of tourists. And when this abuse is done they are sent to hunting ranches where they are killed by pseudo-hunters who think that they can be macho men by shooting a captive lion with nowhere to go. These poor lions suffer a miserable life and all for the entertainment of people. Lions should be majestically roaming the Serengeti. Not this. Captive lion bred to entertain tourists in South Africa. Photo: Humane Society International. Their entire life cycle in a cycle of cruelty, Kitty Block

The reason why cats are kept indoors is because people believe that they will be healthier and live longer as they are protected from hazards outside. There are however hazards inside the home as well. Below is a list of conditions and diseases which may be linked to both cats who live indoors and those that are allowed access to the outdoors. Cats confined indoors Feline urologic syndrome - disease associated with the lower urinary tract of the cat Odontoclastic resorptive lesions - the loss of part of the tooth Hyperthyroidism Obesity Household hazards Behavioral problems such as inappropriate elimination Boredom Inactivity Cats allowed access to the outside Infectious diseases such as parasitic and viral diseases Road traffic accidents Other accidents such as falling from a tree Fights with other cats Attacks by humans, dogs and other animals Poisoning Theft Going astray

Couples with marriage on their mind are increasingly insisting on a prenuptial agreement which sets out who gets custody of the pets if and when they separate. It's a bit scientific, cold and calculating but it is sensible. Prenuptial agreements help to avoid drawn out litigation at the end of a marriage often with devastating effects upon both parties and children....and pets. It would be nice if there was specific legislation regarding companion cats and dogs based on the animal's welfare and relationship with either party. Photo of cat copyright Helmi Flick A survey of 2,000 pet owners by Co-operative Legal Services found that one in 14 couples now has a prenuptial agreement in place regarding their pet. In the past such an agreement was really the domain of the rich and celebrities. Often it was the rich man protecting his wealth against a gold digging woman. Although that may be heavily stereotyping the situation and if so I apologize. A third of respondents

A YouGov poll discovered that Facebook is losing its credibility or more precisely local newspapers are three times more trusted for news than social media platforms such as Facebook. Local newspapers are considered the most credible in terms of providing the news. Obviously it is regional news but local newspapers lead local television and radio and search engines in terms of trustworthiness. Seventy-four percent (74%) of people trust the information that they read in their local newspaper both online and in print whereas 22% trust local news presented on social media platforms such as Facebook. It appears that the stories about fake news has made Britons skeptical about the news that they read on Facebook. Fewer than a quarter of people trust social media in contrast to 61% who trust traditional media such as newspapers and television. This is ironic because both Facebook and Google have taken a large slice of classified revenues relied upon by local and national newspaper