In addition, there are strict regulations requiring cat owners to supervise their pets to prevent them from wandering freely. Cats left unsupervised outside of their owner’s property can be considered abandoned, which is against Finnish law.
Saturday 31 August 2024
Finland's new Animal Welfare Act prohibits unspayed female cats roaming freely outdoors
Friday 30 August 2024
What focal length is a 35mm lens on an APS-C camera?
Veterinary nurse pleads guilty to owning dogs that worried livestock
UK's unhappy teenagers should deeply concern us all
"Alarm bells are ringing: UK teenagers are facing a happiness recession, with 15-year-old's recording the lowest life satisfaction on average across 27 European nations. Particularly affected are girls and those from disadvantaged backgrounds. Equally alarming is the high level of food poverty found among these young people. The UK ranks fourth highest for food poverty among 15-year-old's across 21 European countries, underscoring the severe impacts of societal inequalities on their well-being." - Mark Russell, the chief executive of the said charity.
Reasons for their unhappiness?
Cat food should not be more expensive than human food but it often is
Use sounds of nature to de-stress (and connect with nature)
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Listening to the sounds of nature to destress on your daily commute. Image: MikeB using AI - Bing's Copilot. |
Thursday 29 August 2024
Fruit flies can teach us about love, risk and reward
"You can see this kind of motivation that play all the time among humans. Imagine you are climbing a mountain and you're close to the summit. If the weather changes and conditions become dangerous, you might disregard that threat because you are so close to your goal."
"Our study shows that as courtship progresses, dopamine increases, acting as a sensory filter that blocks distractions and helps the animal focus on the task at hand when close to its goal. We are excited to explore if this is a general decision-making mechanism that is also present in mammals, including humans."
Animal shelters need an open-door policy to save lives
"A new study proves that requiring an appointment to adopt out animals leads to fewer adoptions — and fewer adoptions leads to more killing. The No Kill Advocacy calls on “shelters” to open the doors."
Data shows that shelter intakes remain below pre-pandemic levels. In 2019, 6.8 million dogs and cats entered U.S. shelters. In 2023, that number was down to 6.5 million. In 2024, that number continues to remain below the baseline. Despite this, dog killing is up 12% from pre-pandemic levels, and cat deaths are up from 2022.
Not surprisingly, allowing people to visit the kennels without an appointment led to increased adoptions. Moreover, adoptions didn’t just increase slightly during these periods; they skyrocketed by 82%. This was also true of large dogs, which pound managers argue are the most challenging to adopt — and are often killed in greater numbers. Despite limited hours when people could visit the kennels without an appointment — two days a week for a meagre 2.5 hours each of those days — those hours accounted for 83% of large dog adoptions. This one change — ending pandemic-era closures by fully opening to the public without an appointment — will vastly increase adoption and significantly reduce killing.
Comment: is this change in MO a sign of post-pandemic laziness? It makes life easier for shelter administrators if visitors have to make an appointment. There are less people milling around the shelter. I sense that this new MO is down to shelter administrators wanting an easier life.
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Wednesday 28 August 2024
Latvian authorities send cars of drunk drivers to Ukraine (no compensation)
The loss of the vehicle is a consequence of the criminal act, and the government does not provide financial compensation to the convicted drivers. This policy aims to send a strong message about the seriousness of drink driving and the importance of supporting Ukraine.
How about that? Amazing don't you think? Very bold action. The UK government might learn from that and be a lot bolder in their actions to put things right in the country.
Confused Emma Raducanu unsure what her playing schedule should be
Tuesday 27 August 2024
Measuring the power of different types of love from parent-child to cat lover
- Parents' love of their children
- The love between romantic partners
- The love between close friends
- The love that a pet caregiver has for their companion animal
- The love of a person towards a stranger who needs help and
- The love of nature
- Parents' love their children comes top. This type of love activated more parts of the brain than the other forms of love. In parental love there was a deep activation in the brain's reward system, in the striatum area, while imagining love. This was not seen in any other type of love.
- The second most potent form of love was romantic love which is also strongly activated part of the brain relating to reward, attachment and motivation.
- The third most powerful form of love is found between the love of friends.
- The fourth most powerful type of love is one's love of a companion animal.
- And the fifth is the love of a stranger that requires help in a compassionate act which some participants questioned whether this was indeed an act of love. There was much less brain activity in this kind of love.
- On a par with the love of a stranger requiring help, or higher is the love of nature which activated very different brain regions "that were absent for interpersonal love" causing activity in areas unrelated to social skills. People need to connect with nature to feel healed (my personal viewpoint).
Citation
Pärttyli Rinne, Juha M Lahnakoski, Heini Saarimäki, Mikke Tavast, Mikko Sams, Linda Henriksson, Six types of loves differentially recruit reward and social cognition brain areas, Cerebral Cortex, Volume 34, Issue 8, August 2024, bhae331, https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhae331
Burglars released rescue cats from their cages but stole nothing
Minor crime allowed to flourish in the UK because the police have abdicated their responsibilities
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One of the missing cats. A tuxedo (black-and-white). Photo by Judy Knowles. |
Burglary at cat rescue centre?
Monday 26 August 2024
Overview of the diseases that can be transmitted to cats through ticks and fleas
TICKS
Cats can contract several diseases from ticks, although these infections are generally less common in cats than in dogs. Here are some of the key tick-borne diseases that can affect cats:
1. Cytauxzoonosis
- Cause: This disease is caused by the protozoan parasite Cytauxzoon felis.
- Transmission: It is transmitted by ticks, particularly the Lone Star tick (Amblyomma americanum).
- Symptoms: Symptoms include fever, lethargy, loss of appetite, jaundice, difficulty breathing, and sometimes sudden death. The disease progresses rapidly and is often fatal if not treated promptly.
2. Anaplasmosis
- Cause: Anaplasmosis is caused by the bacteria Anaplasma phagocytophilum.
- Transmission: This bacteria is transmitted primarily by the black-legged tick (Ixodes scapularis), which is also known as the deer tick.
- Symptoms: Symptoms in cats may include fever, lethargy, joint pain, loss of appetite, and anemia. Although more common in dogs, cats can still be affected.
3. Ehrlichiosis
- Cause: Ehrlichiosis is caused by bacteria from the genus Ehrlichia, with Ehrlichia canis being a common species.
- Transmission: Ticks, particularly the brown dog tick (Rhipicephalus sanguineus), are the primary vectors.
- Symptoms: Infected cats may show signs such as fever, lethargy, weight loss, swollen lymph nodes, and anemia. While rare in cats, it can lead to chronic infections if not treated.
4. Lyme Disease (Borreliosis)
- Cause: Lyme disease is caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi.
- Transmission: The disease is transmitted by the black-legged tick (Ixodes scapularis).
- Symptoms: Cats may experience fever, lethargy, lameness, joint pain, and loss of appetite. Lyme disease is more commonly recognized in dogs and humans, but cats can be infected as well.
5. Tularemia
- Cause: Tularemia is caused by the bacterium Francisella tularensis.
- Transmission: It can be transmitted by several tick species, including the dog tick (Dermacentor variabilis) and the Lone Star tick (Amblyomma americanum).
- Symptoms: Symptoms in cats include fever, lethargy, loss of appetite, swollen lymph nodes, and abscesses. Tularemia can be severe and is a zoonotic disease, meaning it can also infect humans.
6. Babesiosis
- Cause: Babesiosis is caused by protozoan parasites of the genus Babesia.
- Transmission: Transmitted by various tick species, though it's more commonly reported in dogs, cats can still be infected.
- Symptoms: Cats may show signs of fever, anemia, lethargy, and jaundice. Babesiosis is rare in cats but can occur.
7. Hepatozoonosis
- Cause: Hepatozoonosis is caused by protozoan parasites from the genus Hepatozoon.
- Transmission: Cats typically acquire the infection by ingesting an infected tick rather than through a bite.
- Symptoms: Symptoms include fever, muscle pain, weight loss, and lethargy. Hepatozoonosis is uncommon in cats.
These diseases highlight the importance of regular tick prevention and monitoring for symptoms in cats, especially in areas where ticks are prevalent.
FLEAS
Cats can contract several diseases from fleas, some of which can be serious or even life-threatening. Here are the key flea-associated diseases that can affect cats:
1. Flea Allergy Dermatitis (FAD)
- Cause: Flea Allergy Dermatitis is an allergic reaction to flea saliva.
- Symptoms: Cats with FAD experience intense itching, skin inflammation, hair loss, scabbing, and secondary skin infections due to excessive scratching and grooming. Even a few flea bites can trigger this condition in sensitive cats.
2. Bartonellosis (Cat Scratch Disease)
- Cause: This bacterial infection is caused by Bartonella henselae and is transmitted by fleas.
- Symptoms: Infected cats may show mild to no symptoms, but when symptoms do occur, they can include fever, lethargy, swollen lymph nodes, and inflammation of the gums, eyes, or heart. Cats can also transmit this disease to humans through scratches or bites, where it may cause swollen lymph nodes, fever, and other symptoms.
3. Hemoplasmosis (Feline Hemotropic Mycoplasmosis)
- Cause: This disease is caused by blood-borne bacteria known as Mycoplasma haemofelis and related species, transmitted by flea bites.
- Symptoms: Cats with hemoplasmosis may develop anemia, fever, weakness, loss of appetite, and jaundice. The disease can be severe, especially in immunocompromised cats or those with other underlying health conditions.
4. Tapeworms (Dipylidium caninum)
- Cause: Tapeworm infection occurs when a cat ingests a flea that is carrying the tapeworm larvae.
- Symptoms: Infected cats may show signs of weight loss, vomiting, or see small segments of the tapeworm (resembling grains of rice) around the anus or in the feces. While not usually severe, tapeworms can cause discomfort and gastrointestinal upset.
5. Flea-Borne Rickettsiosis
- Cause: Caused by Rickettsia felis, a type of bacteria transmitted by fleas.
- Symptoms: Infected cats might show non-specific symptoms such as fever, lethargy, and loss of appetite. Though more commonly recognized in humans, rickettsiosis can affect cats as well.
6. Plague (Yersinia pestis)
- Cause: While rare, fleas can transmit the bacterium Yersinia pestis, which causes the plague.
- Symptoms: Cats with plague may exhibit fever, swollen lymph nodes, respiratory distress, and lethargy. This disease is very serious and can be fatal if not treated promptly. It's also zoonotic, meaning it can be transmitted to humans.
7. Flea-Borne Typhus
- Cause: Flea-borne typhus is caused by Rickettsia typhi, transmitted by fleas.
- Symptoms: Symptoms in cats are generally mild but can include fever, lethargy, and loss of appetite. The disease is more commonly recognized in humans, particularly in regions where flea infestations are prevalent.
8. Feline Infectious Anemia
- Cause: Feline infectious anemia is primarily associated with Mycoplasma haemofelis and similar organisms, which are transmitted by fleas.
- Symptoms: Anemia, lethargy, weakness, and jaundice are common signs. Severe cases can lead to life-threatening conditions if not treated.
These diseases highlight the importance of flea prevention and control in cats. Regular use of veterinary-approved flea preventatives can help protect cats from these flea-associated diseases.
Sunday 25 August 2024
Kamala is 'Comma followed by 'la' and Walz is 'Walls'. Got it!
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'Comma' followed by 'la' Harris! She is great. Image credit see base on article. |
Veterinarian responds to woman's criticisms (while doing her makeup!)
@thejunglevet lets talk, im genuinely curious to hear you guys’ experiences with your vet #fyp #viral #fyppppppppppppppppppppppp #veterinary #veterinarian #vettok #petowner #petparents #vetoffice #vetclinic #vets #vetdoctor #greenscreenvideo ♬ original sound - Dr. Drew | Veterinarian
Saturday 24 August 2024
Why Google search results are often irrelevant and just 2-3 pages long
Lily Allen's rescue dog "ruined her life" and she gave her back
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Lily Allen and a (not the dog in the story) Maltipoo. Image credit for Allen at base of article. |
"She couldn't be left alone for more than 10 mins, she had 3 long walks a day 2 by us and 1 with a local dog walker and several other dogs, we worked with the shelter that we rescued her from and they referred us to a behavioural specialist and a professional trainer, it was a volunteer from the shelter who would come and dog sit her when we were away, and after many months and much deliberation everyone was in agreement that our home wasn't the best fit for Mary."
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Mary. Now returned to the shelter from where she was adopted. Image: Instagram. |
Friday 23 August 2024
Live-in maid abused employer's cat that she shared a room with
“Why do you still let the cats sleep with her when you know she’s abusing them? Set up CCTV, get evidence, then report her to the police. Singapore has laws against animal abuse.”
“Please remember that your cats are also family. They are vulnerable and depend on you for safety. Please do not fail them. You won’t know the extent your helper may go or if accidents can happen leading to deaths.”
“After seeing her throw objects at your male cat making him so stressed, you still let him sleep with her behind a closed door?”
“Can we have more details so that we can report your helper and family since no one wants to do anything about animal abuse other than you. Let the internet do it for you then.”
Singapore's animal welfare laws in summary
Singapore
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