NONSENSE citrus peel hack to deter cats from your garden

The hack the news media says deters cats - lemon peel scattered around flower beds. Image: MikeB

I've seen this a lot. News media websites restating what they say is the greatest domestic cat deterrent for your garden and it only costs 30p in the local supermarket. They say that citrus peel i.e. lemon and orange scattered around the flower beds is the best deterrent because cats hate the smell of citrus peel.

Immediately I can think of two things wrong with this suggestion which make it less than wonderful and probably ineffective after an hour if it was effective in the first place.

Lemon peel dries out in the sun quickly, perhaps in about one hour. It will lose a lot (almost all, I'd argue) of its smell after about an hour or so and it will no longer become a deterrent if it was originally. Do we expect the gardener to race around to pick it all up and re-scattered a fresh load every hour on the hour? Nah! 😢😃

Secondly, a person who is concerned about a domestic cat coming into their garden and onto their flowerbeds is going to be someone who is a good and concerned gardener as well. 

They're going to want to protect their flowerbeds because they are beautiful. And because they've put a lot of effort into them. 

It's impractical to suggest that this person, so proud of the appearance of their flowers, will find it acceptable to scatter piles of lemon peel in between the plants. It's going to look ridiculous and unattractive.

The cure is worse than the initial problem and in any case it isn't a cure. After many years of writing articles about domestic cats including deterrents because it's one of those pet topics that the news media bring up from time to time (excuse the pun), I can say that the ultrasonic cat deterrent is probably the best with about a 50% success rate. I don't think you will get much better than that.

Do ultrasonic cat deterrents work?

You will find many other hack deterrent such as coffee grounds. I don't think coffee grounds work very well. There is an ancient cat deterrent which is the plant called Rue. Crushed rue I believe has a reasonable success rate in deterring neighbour's cat coming onto your back yard.

Infographic on herb Rue as a cat repellent

P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Ranking of Emma Raducanu has got worse since winning US Open

Immediately before Emma Raducanu won the 2021 U.S. Open she was ranked number 150 in the world. Today, she is ranked number 212 in the world. She has to qualify for the French Open because the administrators did not give her a wild card entry.

Stomach trouble?! Breathing problems? The beginning of a history of illness and injury. Screenhot.

And therefore I have to conclude that Emma Raducanu has gone backwards since before the 2021 U.S. Open. She has, on the face of it, made no progress whatsoever which is a reality check.

The newspapers continue to write about her but a reality check indicates that she's failed to make progress. Surely we need to look at the hard facts? We have to put aside, now, our expectations for this young woman. It would seem to me that the world has misplaced expectations for her because of her extraordinary success during that U.S. Open tournament three years ago.

Before that tournament we knew nothing about her. There were no real expectations. There were hopes that she might do reasonably well and then she won the tournament; the first qualifier to a tennis tournament to win a major ever in the history of tennis.

And I don't think we can consistently make excuses for this lack of progress. We know that Emma Raducanu has had a series of injuries but it's more than that. It's about her mentality. It's about her attitude and I would argue a lack of commitment to succeeding.

I don't want to sound harsh or be over critical but Emma Raducanu too quickly wants to go back home and doesn't want to stick around long enough and be persistent enough to succeed as a tennis professional.

That is why I said a few months ago that she will retire within 24 months or thereabouts. It's about mentality. I don't actually think she likes tennis any more. She doesn't like all the trappings of the professional tennis life. She prefers to go home and be at home.

And I personally believe that some of her illnesses were either semi-psychosomatic or psychosomatic. I think some of them were emotion-based such as the difficulty breathing in her first Wimbledon last-16 match when she had to retire. That I think was a forewarning of what was to come. She was trailing 6-4, 3-0 in this match against Ajla Tomljanovic.

She has retired from matches since when trailing and losing. A lack of steel?

Nobody has discussed this upsetting fact that Emma Raducanu's ranking is now lower than it was just prior to the U.S. Open which he won. This is significant.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Germans keener on cat ownership than the British

On a pro rata basis there are more cats in Germany than the UK. It would appear that the citizens of Germany are keener on cat ownership than the citizens of the UK.

Germany: in 2023 there were 15.7 million cats.

UK: in 2023 there were 11 million cats.

Germany: human population is 83.3 million.

UK: human population is 67.9 million.

The UK population is 0.81 of the German population. Multiplying that figure by 15.7 million cats in Germany produces 12.8 million cats which is 1.8 million higher on a like-for-like basis vis-a-vis the human populations of these countries.

Therefore Germany has more cats per human population than the UK.

Germany: in 42% of households there are 2 or more cats.

UK: 37% of households have more than one cat.

The above figures support the assessment that Germans are keener cat owners than the British.

The above stats come from Pet Food Industry.com and PDSA Pet Populations Report and other sources such as Cats.com and UK Pet Food.org.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Purina LiveClear to reduce sinusitis in cat owners

This is a quick note on a product which has been around for a while now, Purina LiveClear, a dry cat food which coats the cat allergen which causes an allergic reaction in people. This is a protein called Fel D1. And in coating this protein it prevents it having the same effect and irritating people who are sensitive to it. 

And one of the effects of cat dander on people who are allergic to cats is that their sinuses become inflamed. This is sinusitis. There are other symptoms such as sneezing and watery eyes et cetera. It depends upon the severity of the reaction in the allergic person.

But the point I want to make here is this: there may be a lot of people who are not formally diagnosed as being allergic to cats but their sinuses might be inflamed by the Fel D1 allergen without the person realising it.

Sinusitis is a very common condition as it affects around 10%-30% of people in the United States and Europe with chronic sinusitis affecting about 12.5% of people according to Wikipedia.

Purina LiveClear review

But as I said, there are different grades of severity of sinusitis and some people might suffer from minor sinusitis and it may be caused by cat dander

And what I'm proposing here is that in order to check if a cat owner is suffering from mild sinusitis they should purchase some Purina LiveClear and test it. Test whether their sinusitis decreases in severity while they feed their cat with this product.

My research indicates that the product is reasonably successful in its objective. That's based on reviews you can read online.

My feeling is that there are perhaps many thousands of people living with cats who don't know that they are in a minor way allergic to them. That's because their symptoms are so low level that they don't recognise the problem but their sinuses may be affected and this test will at least tick that box to make sure that they are not suffering unnecessarily..

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

All 45 cat breeds created in the United States of America

The US is by far the biggest marketplace (if that is the right phrase) for the domestic cat and it can be no surprise that by far the most cat breeds have been created there compared to any other country.

America, quickly followed Great Britain in developing a cat fancy (the breeding and showing of purebred cats). It all kicked off in the years immediately preceding the 20th century. 

Created in America 😹🙀😻🐈‍⬛. This is not cat distinct cat breed but a cat representing all the breeds.

The first well-known cat show in America took place in 1895 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. Enthusiastic cat fanciers organized this event to promote cat breeding and showcasing in the United States. 🐾. It featured a variety of feline stars. Among them, a brown tabby Maine Coon emerged as the big winner. The event drew thousands of cat enthusiasts, showcasing both pedigreed and domestic cats.

The cat fancy was 'invented' by the English and the Americans took it too the next level. Their Cat Fanciers' Association (CFA) and The International Cat Association (TICA) are the best known cat associations in the world.

I would suggest that the American cat fancy exists thanks to the descendants of European immigrants. They brought with them their love of the domestic cat and then the purebred cat. 

There was a surge in cat breed creation in the middle of the 20th century which included a fascination with the wild cat hybrids, the most notable of which is the Bengal, a cross at F1 level between the Asiatic leopard cat and a non-purebred cat. The Savannah (serval cross) followed and there are others such as the Chausie (jungle cat cross).

But these wild cat hybrids were accepted with reluctance by the CFA, an old-school cat association. They believed that the wild cat genes made these cats unsuited to domestic life. At F5 they are fine. The CFA still does not accept the Savannah which is strange as at F5 the cat is no wilder then the F5 Bengal which is accepted. TICA accepted the wild cat hybrids.

RELATED: Cat History

1. American Bobtail (1960s)
2. American Curl (1981)
3. American Lynx (1980s)
4. American Shorthair (1966)
5. American Wirehair (1966)
6. Balinese (1940s)
7. Bengal (1963)
8. Bombay (1958)
9. California Rex (1959)
10. California Spangle (1971)
11. Chantilly (1967)
12. Chausie (1995)
13. Exotic Shorthair (1966)
14. Himalayan (1950s)
15. Javanese (1960s)
16. Karakul (1930s)
17. LaPerm (1986)
18. Longhair Exotic (1990s)
19. Maine Coon (1860s)
20. Malayan (1980)
21. Mei Toi (1994)
22. Mexican Hairless (1902)
23. Missouri Rex (1990s)
24. Munchkin (1991-Recognition Date)
25. Nebelung (1990s)
26. Ocicat (1964)
27. Ohio Rex (1944)
28. Ojos Azules (1984)
29. Oregon Rex (1959)
30. Peke-faced Persian (1930s)
31. Pixie-bob (1995)
32. RagaMuffin (1994)
33. Ragdoll (1960s)
34. Renegade (1997)
35. Safari Cat (1980s)
36. Savannah (1997?)
37. Selkirk Rex (1987)
38. Serengeti (1996?)
39. Si-Rex (1986)
40. Snow Cat (1990s)
41. Snowshoe (1960s)
42. Somali (1967)
43. Tiffany (1967)
44. Tonkinese (1950s)
45. York Chocolate (1983)

The Cat Fanciers’ Association (CFA), established in the United States in 1906, is currently the world’s largest registry of pedigreed cats. Their mission is to preserve and promote pedigreed cat breeds while enhancing the well-being of all cats. Whether you’re interested in choosing, caring for, or breeding cats, the CFA offers information, advice, and expertise to cat enthusiasts. 🐱

The International Cat Association (TICA), established in the United States in 1979, is the world’s largest genetic registry for pedigreed and household pet cats. Originally North American, it now has a global reach. TICA’s key activities include:

1. Encouraging members to be cat owners, lovers, and breeders who work together to preserve pedigreed cats and promote domestic cat health and welfare.
2. Maintaining a certified pedigree registry.
3. Hosting cat shows that showcase both pedigreed and non-pedigreed cats.
4. Fostering positive relations between breeders across the U.S. and other countries.
5. Supporting feline health research through a foundation and providing resource materials to members.

TICA also administers rules for hundreds of cat shows worldwide, evaluates cats based on breed standards, and recognizes cats in various classes. Their commitment to preserving distinct cat breeds ensures predictable traits for future generations.

I know of 6 American cat associations:

In North America, several cat associations play pivotal roles in promoting feline welfare and breeding. Here are some of the recognized major cat associations:

1. CFA (The Cat Fanciers’ Association): A prestigious organization that oversees cat shows, breed standards, and registrations in the United States.
2. CFF (Cat Fanciers’ Federation): Another notable association dedicated to pedigreed cats and cat shows.
3. ACA (American Cat Association): A non-profit organization that advocates for responsible breeding and cat welfare.
4. ACFA (American Cat Fanciers Association): A cat registry that recognizes purebred, pedigreed cats, experimental breeds, and household pets.
5. CCA (Canadian Cat Association): Although based in Canada, it collaborates closely with American counterparts. This is added for completeness! 🙀😉
6. TICA (The International Cat Association): A global registry that promotes pedigreed and household pet cats.

P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Nine house plants safe (non-toxic) for domestic cats

Here are nine houseplants which are safe for domestic cats. It is nice to see a list of safe houseplants because so many articles write about plants that are dangerous for cats. And many plants are. The most dangerous, as you might know, is the Lily but here are some safe ones.

Baby Rubber Plant: according to a very good source, the ASPCA, this plant is safe for cats and dogs. The plant likes filtered light and the potting soil should have plenty of organic material. It's a plant which helps to remove impurities from the air and I believe it comes in different shades of green and variegation.

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Ponytail Plant - Ponytail Palm - Beaucarnea recurvata

The Ponytail Palm (Beaucarnea recurvata) is a captivating houseplant with a unique appearance. Despite its name, it’s not a true palm but belongs to the Asparagaceae family. Here are some key details:

• Appearance: It features long, slender, arching leaves that resemble a ponytail, hence its name. The swollen base of its stem gives it the nickname “elephant’s foot.”
• Size: In the wild, it can reach up to 4.5 meters (about 15 feet), but indoors, it typically grows to around 2.5 meters (8 feet).
• Care Tips: Light: Place it in bright, indirect light (near a north-facing window or set back from a south/west-facing window).
• Soil: Use free-draining houseplant compost.
• Watering: Water sparingly—allow the compost to dry out completely between waterings.
• Pruning: It doesn’t require pruning, but you can trim brown tips for aesthetics.
• Winter Care: Reduce watering during dormancy.
• Pet-Friendly: Good news—it’s not toxic to cats or dogs!

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African Violet - Saintpaulia

African violets, also known as Saintpaulia, are charming little houseplants prized for their vibrant blooms and fuzzy leaves. They are not actually violets, but rather part of the Gesneriaceae family, and are native to the tropical rainforests of Tanzania and Kenya in eastern Africa.

Here are some tips for caring for African violets:

• Light: African violets prefer bright, indirect light. Avoid placing them in direct sunlight, as this can scorch the leaves.
• Water: African violets should be watered from the bottom to avoid getting water on the leaves. Allow the soil to dry slightly between waterings.
• Humidity: African violets prefer high humidity. You can increase the humidity around your plants by placing them on a tray filled with pebbles and water, or by using a humidifier.
• Temperature: African violets prefer warm temperatures, between 65-75 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Fertilizer: African violets can be fertilized with a weak solution of liquid fertilizer once a month during the growing season.

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Spider Plant: These are pretty, grow well when hung (keeping them away from most cats), and quickly produce new leaves and baby plants if nibbled upon.

Rattlesnake Plant: Also known as Calathea lancifolia, this plant has beautiful striped leaves and is safe for cats.

Boston Fern: With shaggy fronds, Boston Ferns are a great choice for cat-friendly homes.

Polka Dot Plant: The Polka Dot Plant (Hypoestes phyllostachya) features colourful, spotted leaves and is non-toxic to cats.

Remember, every cat is different, so always be mindful and observe your pet’s behaviour around plants. 😺🌿

Sources for above: Gardeners World, Bing, Prevention.com, Typically Tropical.

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Cast Iron Plant - (Aspidistra)

Certainly! The Cast Iron Plant (Aspidistra elatior) is a robust perennial native to Japan and Taiwan. Here are some key details:

• Appearance: It features lush, dark green, glossy leaves that grow straight out of the soil in a clumping fashion.
• Size: Typically reaches 1-3 feet in height (30-90 cm) and spreads out to about 2-3 feet (60-90 cm).
• Flowers: Small, brownish-cream blooms appear near the soil surface in late winter or early spring, but they’re often inconspicuous.
• Hardiness: Hardy in USDA zones 7-11, making it suitable for shaded garden areas or indoor settings.
• Uses: Widely grown as a houseplant due to its resilience in low-light conditions.
• Trivia: It’s known as the “cast-iron plant” because of its ability to withstand neglect and tough conditions.

Feel free to add this hardy plant to your indoor collection! 🌿🏡

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Dwarfpalm (Collinea) - other names: Good Luck palm, Parlor palm

Certainly! The Parlor Palm (Chamaedorea elegans), also known by various other names such as “Dwarf Palm,” “Good Luck Palm,” and “Neanthe Bella Palm,” is a delightful indoor plant with attractive light green fronds. Here are some key details:

• Origin: Native to Mexico and Guatemala, it has been a popular houseplant since Victorian times.
• Appearance: Its lush, graceful fronds grow in a compact clumping form.
• Low Maintenance: The Parlor Palm is tolerant of low light levels and dry air. It’s also an excellent air purifier.
• Growth: Slow-growing, it may produce tiny yellow flowers and black fruits when mature.
• Pet-Friendly: Good news for cat and dog owners—it’s not toxic to pets!
• Care Tips: Light: Bright, indirect light is ideal. Avoid direct sunlight.
• Temperature: Keep it in a warm room (around 18°C-24°C) with a minimum of 10°C.
• Watering: Water when the top few centimetres of compost have dried out (more frequent in warm weather).
• Repotting: Repot only when root-bound, typically every three years.
• Misting: Mist the plant a few times a week to maintain humidity.

Enjoy your Parlour Palm—it’s a charming addition to any indoor space!

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Dogs eating cannabis edibles on the increase in the UK

Dogs eating cannabis edibles has hit a new high in the UK according to the Mail on Sunday. Of the cannabis edibles available to dogs, it appears that gummies, cannabis-infused sweets are increasingly popular and are thought to have contributed to a rise in the number of dogs poisoned by dope recently.

A fictional image 😉🐶.

The Poisons Information Service reported that more than 450 dogs have been treated in the past four years including 119 in 2023 compared to 82 in 2020. These figures are probably quite substantially underreported because Nicola Robinson, the head of service of the above-mentioned agency said that, "Not all animal poisoning cases are reported to us, so these are not a completely accurate representation of numbers."

The poisonings are taking place at home or perhaps while the dog is out on a walk.

The dangers to dogs eating cannabis gummies are quite substantial and variable. The RSPCA say that the symptoms include overstimulation and a high temperature. A dog might need intravenous fluids.

Other symptoms include wobbliness, agitation, incontinence, hyper-salivation, a change in heart rate, vomiting, seizure and possible coma according to Dr. Glassman, writing in Dogs Today.

The symptoms can develop quickly within 30 minutes but sometimes after about three hours. Dog owners should contact their veterinarian quickly if they see these symptoms and if they fear that the dog has eaten a cannabis gummy or other edible. 

Or, the owner can administer an oral detoxifier containing advanced activated charcoal. Vomiting should not be induced. Veterinarians can treat dogs at a cost of £800.

Cannabis gummies contain THC which is the primary proactive compound in cannabis. They are illegal in the UK as a class B drug. Although, on a practical basis, I don't think the police ever get involved with cannabis use in the UK. By default and through police inactivity, cannabis in any form is legal in the UK.

In the US cannabis gummies and other edibles are legal for recreational purposes and for medicinal use in more than 20 states. Cannabis edibles poisonings of dogs in the states amount to around 6000 over 5 years.

Some dog owners give their dogs CBD oil which is legal. This does not contain THC and is purely medicinal. It can be used to treat allergies, anxiety and pain.

Around 38% of Danish dog owners regularly give their pets some form of medicinal cannabis i.e. CBD oil with positive effect.

CBD can reduce stress in dogs and treat pain which is useful for those suffering from osteoarthritis. In Britain a vet has to prescribe human CBD oil preparations for a pet.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

No whiskers makes the Sphynx cat illegal in Germany

Under Germany's torture breeding laws, the Sphynx cat is illegal because it has no whiskers. There are other reasons but if you visit a Sphynx cat forum, the aficionados on that website constantly refer to the fact that this breed normally has no whiskers.

They are born with whiskers but they are very brittle and they break off. That's part of the result of the genetic mutation which makes the cat hairless.

"I would consider the lack of a sensory organ to be harmful," animal expert Thomas Göbel said before court during a case about neutering a male Canadian Sphynx cat in Berlin owned by a breeder, Jacqueline L. The court made an order for the breeding cat to be castrated to prevent him breeding thus undermining the breeder's hobby business. 

The court case proves that the law is occasionally (at least) enforced. The report is dated 2015.

You might know that Germany has a unique policy on domestic cat breeding which prevents breeders from creating animals that suffer through what I would call misguided breeding practices. It's the cat fancy which drives breeders to creating unusual-looking cats such as these hairless cats and others such as the Persian with the extremely flat face which causes breathing problems. That breed is also illegal in Germany despite the fact that it is a very popular cat breed in America and has been for decades.

Germany is ahead of the game in terms of controlling cat breeding. Although, this law is difficult to enforce in Germany. On the forum I mention they say that there is at least one Sphynx cat breeder in Germany 😹🙀. I presume they are exporting their cats abroad.

It was interesting to me to see what these Sphynx cat owners say about their cats falling foul of the German Qualzucht law. They pinpointed the lack of whiskers but there are other reasons because this is a hairless cat.

A side effect of a lack of cat coat is that the sebaceous glands' oils are deposited on the skin and not into the hair strands. This causes the skin to become grimy which means the Sphynx caregiver has to wipe down their cat regularly. It can also cause the cat to smell. 

20 facts about cat whiskers

Cats need whiskers for balance, to help guide them in darkness, to feel a prey animal that's been captured. You see a cat force their whiskers forward when there is something of interest right in front of them. Whiskers are incredibly sensitive because of a large bundle of nerves at their base. They are really an important part of a domestic cat's anatomy and therefore their life.

To remove them is cruel and the cat will suffer which is why this breed is banned in Germany. And to that obvious fact you can add another one which is recently been revealed namely the incredibly short lifespan of this cat breed which is 6.68 years according to a comprehensive study.

And the reason why the lifespan is so short is because this breed like other cat breeds suffers from HCM which stands for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, which describes a thickening of the left ventricle of the heart causing the heart to become very inefficient leading to a shortened lifespan. And a high percentage of Sphynx cats suffer from this disease. It isn't good enough. The Germans know this. And that's why it's illegal in Germany.

How does a cat use her whiskers?

This is a cross-post because it's an important post. It's important to tackle what cat advocates regard as inappropriate cat breeding. I'm not against cat breeding per se but when the animals produced are inherently unhealthy because of genetic mutations it's unfair on the cat. But the cat fancy allows it because these cats look interesting. They attract attention.

This is an attractive and popular looking cat but there are too many deficiencies all because of what animal advocates would regard as inappropriate breeding.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Lord Blencathra would ban cat flaps to protect wildlife

Lord Blencathra sits in the House of Lords in Parliament. He is a peer of the realm and a life peer. He was a former Member of Parliament (MP) for Penrith and The Border from 1983 to 2010. He wants to protect wildlife and he has some ideas in that respect which he announced in the House of Lords which has been reported by The Telegraph.

The Rt Hon Lord Blencathra.

One of his silliest ideas (and I'll explain why I think it's silly) is that all cat flaps in the UK should be banned under the law. He doesn't believe that cats should be allowed to come and go as they please from indoors to outdoors (which is not an unreasonable thought of itself). 

And to justify that attitude he says that "All independent studies suggest that cats allowed the wonder will kill about 260 million mammals per annum in the UK and 60 million garden birds."

He doesn't say that these statistics are based on estimates from relatively small-scale studies. There is a lot of incidental information that one needs to bring into the equation when you talk about domestic cat predation on wildlife. But that is another story.

In addition to banning cat flaps and allowing cats out manually through the back door when the sun rises and after the sun has set, he suggests that all domestic cats allowed outside should wear bells on collars.

This last suggestion is fairly reasonable because although domestic cats learn to keep the bells as quiet as possible when stalking prey, bells on collars can help save the lives of some birds stalked by domestic cats. I can't see a problem with that suggestion in general terms but both his suggestions are unenforceable.

Enforceability

If a government makes a law in any field of human life, it has to be enforceable to be effective. That means that if somebody breaks the new law it must come to the notice of the authorities and law enforcement. The prosecution services should prosecute the individual and punish them under the law.

How is law enforcement going to find out if a homeowner has a cat flap in their back door or not? There are many millions of them across the UK. No one knows who's got one and no one knows who has not got one. No one in authority can check because they open to the backdoor in the backyard which is invisible from the street.

Neighbours will or might know but that means that neighbours have to spy on neighbours which is going to cause friction. If that goes on across the country it is going to create a problem in society. You cannot rely on neighbours to spy on other neighbours as happened in East Germany during the communist era.

So Lord Bethcathra's suggestion is foolish and entirely unworkable. It will never happen.

And therefore I don't see why he's bothering to suggest it in a debating chamber in the Houses of Parliament. He is wasting his time, the time of the other lords in the debating chamber and he is wasting taxpayers money who pays him to be there.

It's also unworkable to enforce a law which makes it mandatory for domestic cats to wear bells on collars. It's easier to enforce it than the cat flap proposed law but it is still unenforceable. It would rely upon neighbours spying on neighbours as well.

You've got to work backwards with the creation of laws. You've got to ask yourself if it's enforceable and how could it become enforceable. What kind of machinery do you need to make it enforceable? 

And if existing machinery i.e. law enforcement and prosecution services and the local authority can't make new laws enforceable they should not be enacted unless you think that the law is so popular and universally supported by the public that they will comply with the law voluntarily but this makes the law unnecessary. Government advice, under those circumstances, would probably suffice.

In the meantime, there is a need for a much more thorough evaluation of domestic cat predation on wildlife over a much larger area. You can't extrapolate data from a small study in one particular area and say that those figures apply to the rest of the UK. You might get a rough idea but you do not end up with really accurate data.

And we need to know how many feral cats there are in the country. We don't know (accurately) and if you don't know the number of feral cats in a country you can't decide how many birds and mammals they attack and eat

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Eurovision Song Contest is very political which is why it has descended into semi-chaos

Eurovision 2024 has descended into a form of political chaos. There are protests outside the Malmo stadium where the contest is being held in support of Palestinians being slaughtered in the Gaza Strip. The climate activist Greta Thunberg participated and we see photographs of her being hauled away by Swedish police.

The Swedish police removed Greta Thunberg from an unauthorised pro-Palestine protest outside the Malmo Arena, the venue for the Eurovision Song Contest which includes an entry from Israel. The Israeli singer, Eden Golan, is under protection in her hotel suite, as reported by The Sunday Times today.

And I can remember a person saying that protests shouldn't take place outside the Eurovision Song contest because it's a non-political contest but he's wrong. It is highly political. It has been a highly political contest for years. In fact I think it was created for political purposes! And the Eastern European block always work together and vote against nations they dislike such as the UK. It is simply hopeless as a music competition. A total waste of time.

Back in the day the best songs won the contest (sometimes). Nowadays nearly all the voting is based on political affiliations. It is highly distorted by political bias. Arguably, the UK is the best country in the world for the creation of new pop songs but Britain nearly always comes last nowadays because of political bias against the UK.

I'm not just moaning about the UK being unfairly treated. I've just decided years ago that the Eurovision Song Contest is a complete joke as a song contest. It is nothing about song. It's about politics and making a statement.

And nowadays it isn't about songs anyway. It's about dance routines and lighting and extreme visual images. It isn't about pure song or music. And that's probably because the songs are rubbish. They've had to jazz up the music to make it interesting and they've done that with dance routines and groups and jazzy lighting.

The Netherlands entry, Joost Klein has been disqualified perhaps unfairly. The reasons for that are listed below. And now we have more uncertainty with speculation about island's entry performing this evening. The group Bambi Thug took to social media to reveal that they missed the flag parade and dress rehearsals because of an issue which remains unresolved.

The Irish delegation believed that comments made on Israel's Eurovision broadcast, Kan, contravened the Eurovision Song rules stated in the EBU (European Broadcasting Union) about discussions regarding other contestants and their disparaging nature.

Once again this is a political element to what should be an entirely non-political event. But this is what happens when over years and years you gradually politicise what was a pure song contest in the good old days; in the innocent days when it first started.

When you gradually politicise something you end up with this form of fiction because people start using the event as a political platform. And politics is bound to create friction whereas song and music achieve the opposite. It achieves harmony, pleasantness, enjoyment and contentment or at least that's the objective.

But the Eurovision Song contest has been hijacked by political activists because it is a political platform.

It would appear that the choice of Malmo as the town where the Eurovision Song Contest was to be held is shrouded in controversy thanks to the participation of Israel. The city itself has been beset by bubbling ethnic tensions according to The Sunday Times. And, the Israeli contestant, Eden Golan, was under heavy protection last night before the show and Israel advised its citizens not to attend because of a "well-founded concern that terrorist elements will exploit the protests and anti-Israel mood to carry out attacks against Israelis."

In other areas, there have been bubbling tensions and political protests away from the site of the show. For example, student watch parties at the University of Warwick and the London School of Economics were cancelled at the last minute. And the University of East Anglia said that it would not air Israel's entry during the Eurovision party.

The Eurovision Party London was cancelled at the Rio cinema in East London in protest at Israel's participation. A screening at the Duke of York cinema In Brighton was also called off because of safety concerns.

Ollie Alexander was in trouble after he called for a ceasefire in Gaza. He resisted pressure to boycott the contest but broke down in tears in a recent interview because of the stress he was under.

Alexandra Mele pulled out of her role communicating Norway's points citing the inflamed situation in Malmo. And Finland's jury spokesman, the runner-up in last year's contest, announced he would not be fulfilling his role.

The Netherlands disqualification explained by Bing's Co-pilot and AI bot. It is polite.

The Netherlands’ disqualification from the Eurovision Song Contest was due to an incident involving Dutch artist Joost Klein. Here’s what happened:

• Backstage Incident: During the Eurovision Song Contest, a female member of the production crew made an allegation of intimidation against Joost Klein. She reported this to the Swedish police.

• Filming Dispute: The Dutch broadcaster Avrotros stated that Joost Klein was filmed without his consent when he had just come off stage and was rushing to the greenroom. Despite repeatedly indicating that he did not want to be filmed, his wishes were not respected. Joost did not physically touch the camerawoman, but there was a threatening movement towards her.

• Disqualification Decision: The contest organizers decided to disqualify Joost Klein, stating that it would not be appropriate for him to participate while the legal process was ongoing. Dutch broadcaster Avrotros called the disqualification “disproportionate.”

• Favourite to Win: Joost Klein had been among the favourites to win the contest with his song “Europapa,” a pro-European techno anthem dedicated to his late father.

• Suspension: News of his suspension emerged during the first dress rehearsal for the televised grand final. His performance was skipped without explanation, and Israel’s entrant took his place.

• Zero Tolerance: The European Broadcasting Union (EBU) has a “zero tolerance” policy, leading to Joost Klein’s disqualification.

It’s unfortunate that Joost Klein’s Eurovision journey ended this way, especially considering his dedication to honouring his father’s memory through music. 

Sources: The Sunday Times, general internet searches and Bing's Copilot.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Catholic priest said that Jesus Christ died with an erection

A catholic priest in County Durham, UK, said in his sermon that Jesus died with an erection. There was uproar among the parishioners as they gasped in shock, murmuring to each other. A complaint was filed against him which was upheld but he kept his job.

Image: MikeB

He delivered his sermon on Good Friday. He is father Thomas McHale.

Father McHale, 53, is from the United States. There were between 75 and 100 Catholics in the congregation at the time.

His argument that Jesus died with an erection is an interesting one. He made the claim in his sermon because when Jesus was crucified his blood would have rushed to his lower body. And it's known that full or partial erections have been seen in the corpses of men who have been executed particular by hanging.

It's also been seen in men who died with fatal gunshot wounds to the brainstem or spinal cord.

The issue was first raised in a 2015 article in the magazine Premier Christianity which referred to the "strange physiological reaction, the final shame of a crucified man".

A spokesperson for the diocese of Hexham and Newcastle confirmed that a complaint had been investigated and upheld.

McHale has been a parish priest at Blackhill for more than 10 years. He is still working in the parish according to a local parish newsletter.

Comment: a lot of people would say that referring to Jesus having an erection was vulgar and inappropriate in a sermon. It probably was but perhaps McHale sees things differently. He sees things in a very realistic way by the look of it. He doesn't see the embarrassment of mentioning Jesus Christ having an erection. It sounds blasphemous and completely inappropriate but if you look at it from a practical, pragmatic and biological point of view it doesn't sound so bad.

The problem is that Christians who worship God and Jesus look up to Christ. He is perfect and not of this world. But of course he was of this world and he was a living man and I think Jesus himself would agree that he was imperfect. I'm sure of it. And I'm sure that he wouldn't mind a reference to an erect penis. I think he was a very honest, open and direct man. He must have been to have had the views that he espoused in his sermons.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Dog owner makes an insane request of a cat owner

This is a first for me. It's about a dispute between neighbours; one lives with a dog while the other lives with their cat or cats. The cat caregiver's cat likes to sit on the windowsill looking out as cats like to do as it entertains them. It is said that windows are "cat television" for the domestic cat particularly for indoor cats.

But the problem in this instance is that the dog owner's dog also likes to look out the window and he sees the cat opposite and becomes agitated and barks. No doubt the barking irritates the owner or owners living in the home and so they have asked the cat owner the following question:

"Can you please keep your cats out of the window? They are causing my dog to sit in the window and bark all day long."

You have got to hand it to the dog owner; he had the gall to ask the question in the first place but it is an unreasonable question. What he should be doing is training his dog not to bark and that's possible if he knows what to do.

Stop your dog barking at people who pass the front of your house.

As it happens, I have a page on that topic (click on link above). Dogs bark at people and other animals because they are protecting their group. The bark is a vocal warning to their group and the dog's owner is the alpha dog in that group so this dog is protecting the leader of the pack. It is an entirely instinctive aspect of dog behaviour but it can be dealt with through training.

ALSO RELATED - a similar scenario: Best way to stop dog barking when there’s a knock on the door?

The cat owner was stumped as to what to do. They went to the Reddit.com website and asked for advice. As it happens the cat owner has five cats who love to sit at the window and do nothing but sleep they say.

The request in the conversation on Reddit.com has garnered 12,000 comments which is unsurprising. One responded by saying the following:

"Make sure to send them a letter like 'please keep your dog out of the window, his presence is disrupting my cat's chakras and chill vibes.'"

Although that is likely to exacerbate what is at the moment a minor neighbour dispute. No neighbours should be entering into a dispute with any neighbour. There is almost nothing worse than a long-running neighbour dispute for ruining your life depending of course on how bad it gets.

Another responded by saying:

 "I'm totally a dog person, but trying to make your neighbour discipline their cat for sitting in a window because you won't discipline your dog for nuisance barking is SHEER INSANITY. I mean what the hell? Train your cat not to chill in a window because training a dog not to disturb the s*** out of everyone is too hard? I can't believe this neighbour had the nerve."

Another possible solution would be to block the dog from looking out of the window but that would be unfair. This dog likes to look out the window. The key, as I see it, is as mentioned; to train the dog to not bark when they see the cat. That will take time and effort. More effort than it takes to write to the neighbour to stop their cat sitting at the window but it would be the only reasonable solution.

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

A cat came dancing - Early Years (5) - Nursery Rhymes - Video

This is a departure from my normal sort of article. I want to show you a short video on YouTube and on the BBC website made for children of about the age of five which is the reception year at schools. It's nice to create an article for five year old kids. That does not say that any five year old kids will actually view this article. I don't expect it actually. It would be a near miracle if a five year old child or her mother clicked on a link to come to this page but, there it is, I am writing it nonetheless.

This is a charming video.

Below are the lyrics to the song.

A cat came dancing

A cat came dancing out of the barn,
With a fiddle under her arm.
She could play nothing but fiddle-cum-fee,
The mouse has married the bumble bee.
Play cat, dance mouse,
We'll have a jig in our good house,
Play cat, dance mouse,
We'll have a jig in our good house.

A pig came dancing out of the barn,
With a drum under his arm.
He could play nothing but diddle-dum-dee,
The mouse has married the bumble bee.
Play cat, dance mouse,
We'll have a jig in our good house,
Play cat, dance mouse,
We'll have a jig in our good house.

A cow came dancing out of the barn,
With a horn under her arm.
She could play nothing but tootle-tum-tee,
The mouse has married the bumble bee.
Play cat, dance mouse,
We'll have a jig in our good house,
Play cat, dance mouse,
We'll have a jig in our good house.

Here is a little more on the nursery rhyme:

“A Cat Came Dancing” is a delightful nursery rhyme that features whimsical animals and their musical talents. Here’s the charming verse:

A cat came dancing out of a barn,
With a fiddle under her arm.
She could play nothing but fiddle-cum-fee,
The mouse has married the bumble bee.

The rhyme continues with other animals joining the dance:

• A pig comes dancing out of the barn, carrying a drum under its arm, playing “diddle-dum-dee.”
• A cow joins in, with a horn under her arm, playing “tootle-tum-tee.”

The recurring refrain is:

Play cat, dance mouse,
We’ll have a jig in our good house.

It’s a whimsical and playful rhyme that captures the joy of music and dancing animals. 🎶🐱🎻

If you’d like to listen to an animated version of “A Cat Came Dancing,” you can find it on the BBC Teach website. Enjoy the delightful rhythm and imagery! 😊

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Obesity link to 22 types of cancer in humans should concern cat caregivers

Although, unlike human medicine, where cancer is a reportable disease and long-term data are collected there are no comprehensive databases for cancer cases in pets which makes it difficult to talk meaningfully about a possible link between increased cancer rates in cats and increased obesity levels but I want to discuss that. That said, there are claims that cancer rates are rising but it is anecdotal.

And I want to discuss this topic because in the newspaper today there is an article based upon a study which concluded that obesity can increase the risk of more than 30 different types of cancer. This is not saying that obesity per se causes cancer but that obesity exacerbates the prevalence.

The research was led by a team at Lund University in Sweden. Fat cells send out signals that increase inflammation, make extra hormones and growth factors, which increases the risk of tumours.

We know that obesity in humans and in cats can have severe health impacts in other areas i.e. cause numerous other diseases. It is really important for cat caregivers to ensure that their cat maintains an ideal weight. It's so important to health.

But in this article I want to briefly touch on this study for humans. But let's say right away that human anatomy is very similar at a fundamental level to cat anatomy. I have always argued that the causes of illness in humans can often be the same causes of illness in cats. And therefore when I see a study about human health, I tend to think of the health of our cat companions and how we can ensure we protect it.

The study I'm referring to was presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Venice. It concerned 4.1 million adults who were tracked over four decades.

The study confirmed established findings that obesity causes 13 types of cancer including bowel and breast cancer. However, the study identified a further 19 types of cancer associated with weight gain including cervical cancer and some skin cancers.

These forms of cancer make up 40% of all new cases in people affecting tens of thousands of UK citizens annually.

Until this study was published, it was thought that only 25% of cases were obesity-related.

Cancer is the leading cause of death in pets. As I said I can't correlate the rise in feline obesity which has been described as an obesity epidemic and a concomitant rise in cancer diagnoses but I think it is there.

Also about 47% of dogs over the age of 10 develop cancer and for cats it is 32%. But this information comes from personal experience is not comprehensive data as they are estimates. The numbers could be higher.

Female cats are at a higher risk compared to males especially if they've not been sterilised. And the risk of developing mammary gland tumours increases with age with the highest incidence in cats between 10-14 years of age.

My suggestion would be that veterinary clinics need to create a comprehensive database on cancer in domestic cats and dogs. 

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Does chemo work for cats suffering from lymphoma?

Does chemo work for cats suffering from a malignant cancer of the lymphatic system (feline lymphoma) . Some cat caregivers will want to know and the answer according to a study and general internet research is YES but the chemo causes the cats to lose appetite called 'chemotherapy-induced anorexia'.

In the study 26 cats with confirmed high to intermediate grade lymphoma were treated for 12 weeks to a cycle of chemo drugs: l-asparaginase, vincristine, cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin and prednisolone.

In 46 per cent of the cases there was complete remission (CR). In 27 per cent of the cases there was partial remission (PR).

The average duration of CR was 394 days (about 1 year and 1 month) while for PR the remission lasted for 41 days.

Overall survival on average was for 78 days with a range of 9 days to 2230 days. Average (median) survival for CR patients was 454 days and for PR cats it was 82 days.

In terms of the affect of the toxicity of the drugs on the cats the most common was anorexia as mentioned.

In cats that achieve complete remission, maintenance-free chemotherapy may be adequate for securing long-term remission and survival.

Steps need to be taken to deal with the anorexia health issue referred to.

Study citation: Treatment of feline lymphoma using a 12-week, maintenance-free combination chemotherapy protocol in 26 cats

Link: https://doi.org/10.1111/vco.12082

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

For LONGEVITY adopt a perfect weight crossbred, spayed female cat

I have been writing about cat longevity quite a lot recently. And I am writing this without reference to any notes; just from what I have read recently and remember. It'll be quite short! 😢😊 I read several studies about domestic cat life expectancy and longevity. Some of the data available is a little unbelievable or uncertain because, in one study, they referred to rescue cats from shelters and I suspect that on occasions they had to estimate the age of the cats. See: Data on lifespan of over 11 million cats and dogs (Banfield Hospitals USA).

But the studies I've read were based upon a very large number of cats and the information came from veterinary clinics and animal hospitals where the cats had died. These clinics had treated the cats beforehand and therefore they had a complete record.

Females live longer on average. Click on the image to see the original and to download it if you want to.

One consistent item of information running through the mass of data on domestic cat longevity is the fact that female cats live longer than male cats and that would apply to purebred cats and crossbred cats. However, it would apply less to purebred cats because these cats are normally kept indoors full-time whereas crossbreed (random-bred or moggy) cats are normally allowed outside in many countries where they are liable to have accidents and be injured or killed. This distorts data on life expectancy of crossbreed cats.

And it is one reason why, I suspect that male cats have shorter life expectancy than females. Another would be health issues perhaps predominantly concerning urinary tract diseases. Males are more adventurous than females and they patrol large home ranges. Young males are particularly vulnerable to accidents (RTAs primarily). This advice applies to females with a well-maintained, ideal weight and who is spayed (sterilized).

In a particularly good study on this topic, the researchers found that female cats tended to live to 12.5 years on average compared to males who made it to 11.2 years of age; more than the year extra for the females.

See my report on this study concerned males and females: Female domestic cats live longer than male domestic cats (big 2019 UK study).

You will notice that the average age of a male cat is 11.2 years. I've always thought that domestic cats in general live to about 14 or 15 years of age. The studies have forced me to adjust my expectation on cat age downwards.

Crossbred cats tended to live longer than purebreds with lifespans of 11.9 years and 10.4 years respectively. Once again the lifespans are shorter than I expected. I expected better but perhaps my expectations concern a well-looked after domestic cat in a nice home in which the caregiver is concerned about the health and welfare of their companion animal.

There are millions of domestic cats in less than good homes in both the UK and USA and other countries where their caregiving is less than optimal and where some end up in rescue centres and have lives which are far from ideal. All of these factors bear down on longevity sometime substantially.

But if longevity is an important factor to you and it should be as it reflects health then consider the words in the title to this article. 👍💕😊

And if you would like to read some more about domestic cat longevity there are a couple of links below which might interest you. One is about purebred cats and the Birman and Burmese being the longest-lived purebred cats. In fact, these two cat breeds live longer on average than non-purebred cats or crossbred cats according to this study which I have cited below together with a link so you can read a bit more about the topic if you wish.

• Sphynx cat breed has the shortest life expectancy of 6.68 years - the cause? HCM (heart disease)
• Burmese and Birman cats have the longest life expectancy of purebred cats (2024) - the reason? Less serious inherited genetic diseases.

P.S. In a study "Mortality of Life-Insured Swedish Cats during 1999–2006: Age, Breed, Sex, and Diagnosis" there was no difference in mortality rates between male and female. The study mainly concerned purebred cats. "Sex-specific rates did not differ significantly".

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P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.

Data on lifespan of over 11 million cats and dogs (Banfield Hospitals USA)

The information from this enormous study from Banfield Pet hospitals in the USA regarding the life expectancy for dogs and cats derived from clinical data, is very surprising to me. I've produced a little table below which summarises the data. There are two rather odd findings.

Firstly, the lifespan of cats is shorter than that of dogs according to this study which doesn't make sense to me. I have always thought that in general cats have longer lifespans than dogs but comparisons are hard to make due to different lifestyles. 

And secondly the lifespan of ideal weight cats is shorter than the lifespan of obese cats which certainly does not make sense in any shape or form.

I produce it here because the information is on the Internet and you can make what you will of it.

The study itself produces some very fine detailed information which you can read about by clicking on this link if you wish.

The advantages of this study is that the data set comprised 8.9 million dogs and 2.4 million cats which is more than 10 fold greater than the dataset used to generate life expectancy tables for Japanese dogs for example.

As I say above, I can't trust this information despite the enormous amount of information collected from this hospital chain.

They admit to limitations and "a degree of uncertainty of pet age for dogs and cats required as rescued animals or adopted from animal shelters and the inherent limitations of body condition scoring." My guess is that the info is unreliable 😒😢🙄 But maybe I am being too gung ho in saying that.

That would imply that a lot of the cats and dogs were adopted from animal rescue centres and these animals had non-specific ages. I assume that their ages were estimated but I don't know.

I have a better study on another page, on another website which shows that the Birman and the Burmese are the two cat breeds with the best life expectancies of the purebred cats. In both these cat breeds did better than random bred cats in terms of life expectancy but once again I find that information questionable.

And once again I am presenting it here because it might interest people despite my doubts.

It would seem that the one certainty which has been found in other studies is that female dogs and cats live longer than male cats and dogs and this is evident in the table below. I have another page on that topic on another associated website.

Companion animal	Life expectancy
All dogs	12.69 years
Mixed-breed dogs	12.71
All cats	11.18
Mixed-breed cats	11.12
Female dogs	12.76
Male dogs	12.63
Female cats	11.68
Male cats	10.72
Obese dogs	11.71
Overweight dogs	13.14
Ideal weight dogs	13.18
Overweight cats	13.67
Obese cats	12.56
Ideal weight cats	12.18

Citation: Life expectancy tables for dogs and cats derived from clinical data.

https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2023.1082102

P.S. please forgive the occasional typo. These articles are written at breakneck speed using Dragon Dictate. I have to prepare them in around 20 mins.