Fedya, the cat with a permanently startled face and chunky cheeks

Fedya lives in Rostov, Russia with his human caretaker Natalia Zhdanova, 40. She found him as a poorly stray kitten in her garden, took him in and nursed him to good health with the help of her neighbour's cat, Handsome, who looked after Fedya, nursed him and licked him and now they are the best of friends.

Startled Fedya. It's permanent and he isn't startled! Photo: his Instagram page.

The point of this short post is that Fedya has a permanently startled expression which is a nice change from a permanently grumpy expression. Grumpy Cat started off the grumpy cat look and there were one or two after her who did very well on social media.

What I noticed about Fedya is that he looks like a male cat who has not been neutered with his chubby cheeks. This is a typical non-sterilized male cat look. I don't know whether he has been sterilised but except for his started appearance he looks like a fully intact male, blue British Shorthair, which he isn't because he was a stray cat in Russia. His coat is definitely a classic blue (grey in non-cat fancy parlance).

When she found him, she said that he was "very weak and was dying". He turned into a very playful, intelligent, sweet and gentle individual who purrs very loudly and who is inseparable from Handsome. As expected, he has an Instagram page which I can't find but he's gathered together about 4,000 followers at the moment which no doubt will grow rapidly as his fame spreads far and wide!

Natalia and Fedya. Photo: Instagram/Natalia.

The best guess is that the startled look is simply the way his face is built. You get this sometimes. It's about facial anatomy and is just in the lap of the gods as to whether cats end up with these fixed expressions which are quite rare. All the former cat celebrities have some sort of facial deformity. It is a inherited skeletal condition. It does not affect his health as far as I know.

Neighbour's cat called Handsome helped nurse Fedya back to health when he was a rescued stray kitten. Photo: Instagram/Natalia.

Apparently, when he was found he also had "wonky legs". And his eyes were misaligned. That is why they say that he looks permanently startled but that isn't the reason in my opinion because his does not look cross-eyed like a Siamese cat. His eyes look quite well aligned to me. They just look wide open, very round and stuck in the middle of his very large round, chubby-cheeked head!

Lil Bub and Grumpy Cat both died of bacterial infections at a young age

Both Lil Bub and Grumpy Cat both died of bacterial infections at the age of 8 and 7 respectively. Both were dwarf cats. Lil Bub's infection was in her bones while Grumpy Cat's infection was in her bladder i.e. it was a urinary tract infection.

Lil Bub and Mike Bridavsky, her human guardian during most of her shortened life. Photo in public domain.

There were both chronic infections that could not be cured in the usual way with antibiotics. I don't want to say anything untoward or nasty because both these cats entertained millions of people. They made a lot of people happy and they made them smile. They therefore performed a service to humanity but they died very young with lifespans at least half of normal.

It is very unusual for a cat to die a bacterial infection at the age of 8, as happened for Lil Bub. It is impossible not to be drawn to the conclusion that the inherited genetic mutations which made them both money spinning celebrities through their unusual appearance, also killed them. 

I would speculate quite confidently that if they had not suffered from dwarfism in the case of Grumpy Cat and Dwarfism in conjunction with osteopetrosis in the case of Lil Bub, they would not have died for these reasons. 

Osteopetrosis is a bone disease which causes dense bone which fills the centre of the bone where there should be bone marrow. There are other effects too cats with this inherited condition which cause cats to be prone to chronic bacterial bone infections.

Grumpy Cat and Rafi Fine at the 2014 VidCon at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California. Photo: Gage Skidmore on Wikipedia.

Dwarfism in felines can have associated conditions which I discuss on another page. If people are interested in why these celebrity cats died at such a young age we have to speculate because their owners have been reticent in disclosing in any detail regarding the cause of death. 

In respect of Lil Bub, it seems clear to me that the inherited medical conditions due to genetic mutations ultimately caused her premature death. In respect of Grumpy Cat, the same conclusion, I feel, needs to be drawn. It is likely that she became resistant to antibiotic treatment for a chronic bladder infection and so the infection killed her.

If I'm anywhere near right on this then it does call into question whether people should put on a pedestal and monetise domestic cats who are sadly born with inherited genetic conditions which make them look cute but also which makes them vulnerable disease and a shortened lifespan.

I discuss in a bit more detail the cause of death for both these cats which you can access by clicking here for Lil Bub and here for Grumpy Cat.

18th-century poet, Christopher Smart, while in the London madhouse Bedlam wrote a poem about his cat Jeoffry

This is a touching story about the tragic 18th-century poet Christopher Smart. He was indeed smart being a distinguished Cambridge scholar and a fellow of Pembroke College before he descended into debt and poverty which led to ill health. You wonder whether actually he suffered from poor mental health. Perhaps not but he ended up in debtors' prison where he eventually died in 1771. 

Christopher Smart poet. Image in public domain.

Perhaps his mind was affected by the terrible travails that he endured as he was confined for several years to solitary confinement in Bedlam aka Bethlem Royal Hospital, also known as St Mary Bethlehem, Bethlehem Hospital. He languished in his dark rat-infested cell and composed a meandering, long poem about his pet cat, Jeoffry, called "For I Will Consider My Cat Jeoffry"

I am able to reproduce a long extract thanks to the poetrybyheart.org website:

For I will consider my Cat Jeoffry.
For he is the servant of the Living God, duly and daily serving him.
For at the first glance of the glory of God in the East he worships in his way.
For is this done by wreathing his body seven times round with elegant quickness.
For then he leaps up to catch the musk, which is the blessing of God upon his prayer.
For he rolls upon prank to work it in.
For having done duty and received blessing he begins to consider himself.
For this he performs in ten degrees.
For first he looks upon his forepaws to see if they are clean.
For secondly he kicks up behind to clear away there.
For thirdly he works it upon stretch with the forepaws extended.
For fourthly he sharpens his paws by wood.
For fifthly he washes himself.
For sixthly he rolls upon wash.
For seventhly he fleas himself, that he may not be interrupted upon the beat.
For eighthly he rubs himself against a post.
For ninthly he looks up for his instructions.
For tenthly he goes in quest of food.

For having considered God and himself he will consider his neighbor.
For if he meets another cat he will kiss her in kindness.
For when he takes his prey he plays with it to give it a chance.
For one mouse in seven escapes by his dallying.
For when his day’s work is done his business more properly begins.
For he keeps the Lord’s watch in the night against the adversary.
For he counteracts the powers of darkness by his electrical skin and glaring eyes.
For he counteracts the Devil, who is death, by brisking about the life.
For in his morning orisons he loves the sun and the sun loves him.
For he is of the tribe of Tiger.
For the Cherub Cat is a term of the Angel Tiger.
For he has the subtlety and hissing of a serpent, which in goodness he suppresses.
For he will not do destruction if he is well-fed, neither will he spit without provocation.
For he purrs in thankfulness when God tells him he’s a good Cat.
For he is an instrument for the children to learn benevolence upon.
For every house is incomplete without him, and a blessing is lacking in the spirit.
For the Lord commanded Moses concerning the cats at the departure of the Children of Israel from Egypt.
For every family had one cat at least in the bag.
For the English Cats are the best in Europe.

For he is the cleanest in the use of his forepaws of any quadruped.
For the dexterity of his defense is an instance of the love of God to him exceedingly.
For he is the quickest to his mark of any creature.
For he is tenacious of his point.
For he is a mixture of gravity and waggery.
For he knows that God is his Saviour.
For there is nothing sweeter than his peace when at rest.
For there is nothing brisker than his life when in motion.
For he is of the Lord’s poor, and so indeed is he called by benevolence perpetually–Poor Jeoffry! poor Jeoffry! the rat has bit thy throat.
For I bless the name of the Lord Jesus that Jeoffry is better.
For the divine spirit comes about his body to sustain it in complete cat.
For his tongue is exceeding pure so that it has in purity what it wants in music.
For he is docile and can learn certain things.
For he can sit up with gravity, which is patience upon approbation.
For he can fetch and carry, which is patience in employment.
For he can jump over a stick, which is patience upon proof positive.
For he can spraggle upon waggle at the word of command.
For he can jump from an eminence into his master’s bosom.

For he can catch the cork and toss it again.
For he is hated by the hypocrite and miser.
For the former is afraid of detection.
For the latter refuses the charge.
For he camels his back to bear the first notion of business.
For he is good to think on, if a man would express himself neatly.
For he made a great figure in Egypt for his signal services.
For he killed the Icneumon rat, very pernicious by land.
For his ears are so acute that they sting again.
For from this proceeds the passing quickness of his attention.
For by stroking of him I have found out electricity.
For I perceived God’s light about him both wax and fire.
For the electrical fire is the spiritual substance which God sends from heaven to sustain the bodies both of man and beast.
For God has blessed him in the variety of his movements.
For, though he cannot fly, he is an excellent clamberer.
For his motions upon the face of the earth are more than any other quadruped.
For he can tread to all the measures upon the music.
For he can swim for life.
For he can creep.

Comment: I find the stories very sad because her was a clever and talented man who loved cats and sought solace in writing about his cat when confined to a cell in a horrible place where he should not have ended up. It was just the way it was in 1763 which, as I understand it, is the date of the writing of this poem. Christopher Smart lived between 1722-1771. Today he would have been cared for sensitively in the UK. He would have recovered and lived a decent life with his cat. Apparently, he shared his miserable accommodation with his cat Jeoffry.

Pictures of Pompous Albert, a grumpy Selkirk Rex

I have just discovered Pompous Albert and feel I have to put a few words down because he is quite an extraordinary looking cat. He is named after Albert Einstein. I wonder whether he is as clever as Mr Einstein. In terms of the amount of grumpiness on his face it is not that dissimilar to the famous Grumpy Cat. But there was only one Grumpy Cat and the world is not ready for another. However, Pompous Albert has a very healthy following of 306,000 followers on Instagram. He is therefore a major success as a celebrity cat.

Pompous Albert as a youngster I believe. Photo his Instagram page.

Selkirk Rex cats are sometimes referred to as 'the cat in sheep's clothing' or the 'Poodle Cat' but there is a specific cat breed called the Poodle Cat so the name is confusing. You can see why these alternative names stuck. I'll write a few words about the Selkirk Rex which incidentally is not that popular a cat breed which is surprising because they do look very unusual and people like unusual-looking cats.

Pompous Albert. Photo: Instagram page.

This cat breed is one of three breeds with this sort of crinkly coat. They are called Rex cats. The mutated gene which causes the curly hair in the Selkirk Rex differs from the gene that causes curly hair in the Cornish and Devon Rex cats. It is a dominant gene. The breed started in 1987 in Montana, America. The founding breeder is Jeri Newman.

A rescue cat gave birth to a litter of kittens and one had the mutated gene and therefore the curly hair. She was housed by Persian cat breeder who named the kitten Miss DePesto. This single cat is the founding cat of this breed. The cat's name come from the mountain range in Wyoming, USA. In Scotland the town of Selkirk is 60 miles south of Edinburgh.

Selkirk Rex - not Pompous Albert. Photo: Helmi Flick.

Because the gene is dominant, 50% of the offspring of a mating between a cat of this breed and one of a non-curly cat breed or random bred cat will be Selkirk Rex cats. Don't think that because the fur is very different that they don't shed fur. They shed fur like any other cat and neither are they hypoallergenic.

To the best of my knowledge, there are no outstanding health issues inherited into cats of this breed. If my assessment is correct then that is a big endorsement because many of the cat breeds are linked to certain unfortunate inherited illnesses which purchasers should be aware of.

Rapper Azealia Banks digs up her cat and boils the carcass to bring it to life

Rapper Azealia Banks has a Wikipedia page. She has celebrity and followers. I am sure countless thousands of youngsters look up to her. She is an influencer whether she wants to be or not. So why is she engaging in macabre and frankly mad behavior including digging up her deceased cat and boiling the carcass in a big pot on the stove? Oh, she says that she wanted to bring it back to life! She is as mad as a fruitcake if she genuinely believes that. 

Rapper Azealia Banks digs up Lucifer he deceased cat. Photo: Instagram

Perhaps she did this to shock and get noticed. She did upload all the information and a video to social media before deleting it. Her dead cat was Lucifer. The devil is often referred to as Lucifer. Isn't there a Netflix series called Lucifer and it's about a man who is the devil?

Perhaps Azealia Banks is incredibly superstitious and genuinely believes she can bring Lucifer to life by boiling his bones. She shared the video of her cat being exhumed on Instagram. It was quickly deleted. Bizarre behaviour. Was that to give people a flash but no more of her mad behaviour. The short publishing of the video may have been premeditated to avoid her falling foul of Instagram policy against uploading violent or digusting and offending material.

While she was digging up Lucier she joked "The cat is in the bag". The cat was actually in a bag. This seems to be a reference to the ancient saying "let the cat out of the bag" meaning to expose a secret. She captioned the video "Lucifer 2009 - 2020. My Dear kitty. Thank you for everything. A legend. An icon. Forever a serval serve."

In another video she boiled the cat. The water was murky probably because it was muddy. Her followers were horrified. One said: "I genuinely hope the girl gets help one day but...God damn."

Another said that her stomach was churning and that she should see a psychiatrist. Banks has a reputation it seems for trying to shock. In 2013 she was accused of being homophobic when using a gay slur many times when slamming a celeb blogger, Perez Hilton.

Her response to the comments is mocking and disdainful. She does not care, "Here we go again. Everyone pretending to be so shocked and moved by the word f***ot. It's like society is so bored with itself it needs to hold on to these outdated rules of what you can say and cannot say. Why has society accepted n***er as a colloquialism … But will not accept f***ot'? Everyones always acting like its f**king 1905 in this b**ch."

My comment about the cat: Very disrespectful. Immoral and apallingly poor behaviour. Even she might remember the saying "rest in peace" RIP. Not much peace for poor Lucifer if he is boiled on the kitchen stove. I don't think the cat is Lucifer. It's her. She's the devil.

Rapper Azealia Banks. Photo: Wikipedia Commons.

Two photos of Palmerston the house cat at the UK's Foreign Office

They are not great photos; more snapshots. But it was all I could get on a recent visit to this vast, ornate building near the Palace of Westminster. Palmerston is named after a former Prime Minister. His job is to keep down rodents. He has caught 22 mice since being hired not long ago.

He wanted some peace a quiet so slopped off to a quiet corner where the public could not go. He is very laid back. As you can see he is a random bred black-and-white; a tuxedo cat.