Wednesday, 3 January 2024
Female community cat who became a pet scared off 2 coyotes attacking dog companion
Saturday, 9 September 2023
Animal shelter is heartbroken at the prospect of splitting up mum and daughter cats but should they be?
The news media reports that staff at an animal charity in Warrington, Warrington Animal Welfare, say that they are going to be heartbroken if a mother and daughter duo, Isobelle and Phoebe, who have lived at the shelter for a considerable time, are split up.
The pair are aged four and two respectively. They say that they are the longest staying shelter cats at their rescue and if they can't be rehomed together there may have to be split up and rehomed separately.
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Isobelle and Phoebe at Warrington Animal Welfare. Photos by the rescue. |
But if they are rehomed separately the staff at the shelter would be upset. But I question whether they should be upset because in the natural course of events, daughters and sons of parent cats become independent at a certain point in time.
In the wild, they would leave the natal range and find their own home range and thereby find their own home. They would become independent at a certain age after their mother had shown them how to kill prey and bring it back to the den.
So, my argument is that splitting up mother and daughter is not such a big deal as the shelter staff think it would be. I don't think the daughter would be particularly upset and neither would the mother unless there is a particularly close bond between the two for whatever reason but that, I believe, is unlikely.
You get a similar story with siblings. Some people think that siblings should stay together at the shelter and be rehomed together. But the truth is that if they are adopted by somebody before they become fully independent, when they become independent, they might start fighting each other. You can't automatically presume that siblings will get along well. They might but they might not.
Wednesday, 17 May 2023
Mama cat and litter of kittens rescued from a trash-bound couch just in the nick of time
website. In time the video may stop working please note as it is embedded here and not served by the computer which serves the article.
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Screenshot. |
Saturday, 13 May 2023
Heroic cat charges into large pack of dogs one of which was savaging another cat to save their life
Thursday, 27 April 2023
Cat brings baby rabbit home and locates mother's nest so that it could be returned to its siblings
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Cat brings baby rabbit home and identifies mother's nest so it could be returned to its siblings. Screenshot from video below. |
Sunday, 7 August 2022
Can cats "catch" yawns from each other?
Both domestic and wild cats can "catch" a yawn from each other. However, domestic cats don't, it seems, catch a yawn from their owner. The information comes from a research paper which is published online and from personal experience. And there is a video on the Reddit.com website of a mother cat yawning and her kitten immediately following the behaviour (see below).
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Yawns are contagious between cats, but must they be related? Image: MikeB from Twitter images from the account of Twitter user @nanao_ssan. |
With respect to cats, the question that I have is whether the yawn is contagious between unrelated domestic, stray or feral cats or whether it is confined to related cats and even mothers and their kittens. The point is not clear to me at this time. Yawns are certainly contagious between mothers and kittens. I think they are contagious between related cats or at least cats who are close associates or friends but beyond that it is unclear, and I doubt whether it exists.
Yawning is due to boredom or fatigue and if a human copies another human yawning it performs a social function. It is a form of empathy stating that they agree that they are bored and or tired. The question is whether when cats 'catch' a yawn, they perform the same social function. I suspect that they do.
There is a difference between dogs and cats in this regard. It's been found that yawns are contagious between people and their dog companions. In other words, when a dog owner yawns their dog might follow and yawn as well. This difference is probably based upon the fact that a dog considers their human family a pack in the same way that the dog's ancestor, the grey wolf, follows the alpha wolf and perhaps occasionally catches a yawn from them.
The research paper referred to: Contagious Yawning in the Domestic Cat (Felis catus) by Ariel Lombardo Aghishian submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Arts in Animal Behaviour and Conservation, Hunter College City University of New York.
Friday, 5 August 2022
Viral video of mom reacting to the call of her kitten
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Viral video of mom reacting to the call of her kitten |
In the video we see a mother racing home in response to her kitten's cry. This is a viral TikTok video (which I hate to be honest because of the sound track - horrible 😎) in which the owner of a mother and her kitten becomes involved. He or she holds the kitten up while they are crying and calling for their mother. The mother is some distance away but she races in to be with her kitten. It has touched a chord in the minds of viewers because it reinforces this beautiful connection between mother and kitten which is so evident in this video.
@smokepresley #fyp #streets #cat #catsoftiktok #bengalkitten #513 #petsoftiktok #badanimals ♬ original sound - Life of Smoke
Of course, it is all entirely instinctive for a mother to respond like this. Clearly, the owner of this mother cat and kitten knew that this would be the mother's response and so he set up the whole thing. You might argue that this is slightly exploitative because the man is making a video on the back of this close connection and motherly instinct. It depends upon your point of view as to whether you see this as exploitative or not. It is beautiful and as mentioned it has touched a chord because it highlights the mother-kitten relationship.
Here is a little bit about the mother-kitten relationship. During the first few months of their lives kittens spend a great deal of time with their mum as you might expect. They say that the influence of the father in terms of raising the kitten is primarily genetic. In other words, the father simply mates with the mother and then clears off. There is not always entirely the case because sometimes fathers are involved in the raising of their offspring. Under certain situations you might find several adult females helping each other raise their kittens.
When kittens are between 26-32 days old, free-living mothers begin to bring killed prey back to the den for the kittens to consume. In their first introduction to solid food. And then she brings home live mice for the kittens to kill. The mother's interactions with her kitten are vital to their development both behaviourally and emotionally.
Kittens who have been deprived of their maternal care are at a higher risk of developing aggressive and fearful behaviour. The weaning of a kitten from their mother's care is an important stage. Sometimes we see kittens to have been weaned too early and they develop what might be described as abnormal behaviours in trying to suckle on the arm or the year of their human owner.
The experts say that "kittens should remain with their littermates and the mother cat until they are at least eight weeks old". That comes from Linda P Case in her book The Cat, Its Behaviour, Nutrition and Health.
Another author couple, Mel and Fiona Sunquist, state that kitten should not be removed from their mothers until about eight weeks of age. Separating them earlier can cause stress and behavioural problems as mentioned above.
The strong indication from the experts is that kittens should not be weaned from their mother until 12-14 weeks of age. I think this is an important statement because sometimes people who are involved in informal breeding of kittens want to release their kittens to their customers too early. This is cruel and immoral. And it can cause behavioural problems.
Saturday, 4 September 2021
Mama cat brings her kitten to the family's baby to play
The young woman who made the video, and who lives with the cat and kitten, has a voice which seems to emerge from the long distant past of filmmaking. Her voice is mysterious, perhaps magical, and it certainly adds to this rather strange video of a mother cat bringing her kitten to the family's baby (Blossom or is that the cat's name!) who is lying on the floor. The cat is a Ragdoll, incidentally. Very beautiful as is the kitten and the baby :) .
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Mama cat brings her kitten to the family's baby to play |
The woman believes that her mother cat is bringing her kitten, 'her baby', to the human baby to say hi and perhaps play. That is the interpretation. And it kind of makes sense because the cat might not recognise the human baby as a human. Perhaps this female cat sees the human baby as another feline, a young baby cat much like her kitten.
On that basis it makes sense that she wants them to be together and perhaps play. It might be far-fetched but if you have a novel and interesting interpretation of the video then please leave a comment on this page. In fact, the female cat might perceive both the child and her kitten as one and the same thing: her offspring. We have to mind read and I am unsure what is going on in the video but it is charming whatever it is.
A less prosaic reason is that the mother cat wants to be in the room with the woman (her caregiver) and decided to bring along her kitten so she could watch over him/her. The cat may have no particular interest in the baby.
@pearlsragdolls Blossom's smile at the end 🥰😍 even she's excited for a kitten play date
♬ original sound - Pearl’s Ragdolls
When the stray cat you were feeding shows up with her kittens
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When the stray cat you were feeding shows up with her kittens |
The film maker says:
"You kidding me, who said you're allowed to be this frigging cute"
This happens quite a lot. It seems to me that when a kind person feeds a stray female cat it is as if the cat is finding out if that person is friendly. And when they have confirmed in their minds that the person is, indeed, friendly they feel confident enough to show them their kittens. And they hope that the same person will be as friendly to the kittens as they were to them.
It is a calculated, almost rational, decision to improve survival. I've always said that cats are not very good at rational decision-making. They are great when it comes to instinctive action. But I believe they do think rationally. They think more slowly than people or at least most people! But they know which side their bread is buttered on. They find a way.
This mother and kittens look in fantastic condition, it has to be said. The woman now has a family to take care of and I have a feeling she will do a good job. She will probably find homes for them or perhaps I should put that in the past tense. You can see the bowl next to the building.
@girl.wonderlost New members of the fam 😆 I need names 👀 ##cat ##mothercat ##kittens ##catsoftiktok ##cute ##foryoupage
♬ original sound - Leezenyyy
Caring mama cat Aila cuddles her kitten Tigger
Here is a little bit about the video. The video was made on August 29, 2021 at Mission, Texas, USA. The video maker says that the mother is 18 months old and her name is Aila. She has had her first litter and is very affectionate with a sweet temperament. As a mother she is very attentive. She had five kittens in her litter of which four have been adopted and rehomed. In the video you see her laying down to get some rest. Her kitten, Tigger, began to cry for her because he wanted attention and cuddles. She responded with a soft and loving chirp and Tigger arrived. Tigger plops down to her side and she comforts and cuddles him and gives him a bath.
@po.the.pup Reply to @barracudabites ##kitten ##copypaste
♬ I'm A Survivor - Reba McEntire
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Caring mom cuddles her kitten |
Here is the same video on Buzz Videos in case one of them stops working:
Note: This is a video from another website. Sometimes they are deleted at source which stops them working on this site. If that has happened, I apologise but I have no control over it.
Tuesday, 22 June 2021
How many litters does a cat have in a year?
The answer depends upon whether we are talking about domestic or wild cats. And I don't think it is possible to produce a one size fits all answer to the question. In fact, you will see a variety of answers to this question on the Internet. My conclusion is that domestic cats have 2-3 litters per year. Wild cats in general have one litter per year. It is hard to find definitive answers with respect to the wild cat species because even the best reference work that I have doesn't provide answers sometimes on a species-by-species basis.
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Image by David Mark from Pixabay. |
However, the sand cat and the bobcat appear to produce 2 litters per year but this may not happen every year. In fact, a semi-tame bobcat in a zoo produced 2 litters but Mel and Fiona Sunquists, the authors of a great book on the wild cat species, Wild Cats of the World, said that this is probably unusual. This indicates to me that one litter per year is more normal for the American bobcat.
Theoretically domestic cats could have 5 litters per year but practically it is probably as stated above although Dr. Desmond Morris in his book CATWATCHING argues that they have 3 litters per year and if they have 14 kittens within those 3 litters then within 5 years, there could be more than 65,000 kittens!
You will see that there is a difference between the theoretical numbers and practical numbers. Many kittens die, for example. And there are variables which influence the number of litters per year. For example, when a group of male lions take over a pride and they kill the cubs, the lionesses are brought into heat. They become receptive to mating. This artificially forces them to have a litter.
But if their offspring become adults then usually they don't have another litter until their existing offspring have reached the age of 18 months. This would imply that they have one litter every 18 months if their cubs are not killed by incoming males in acts of infanticide.
Saturday, 29 May 2021
Brave mother cat climbs through fenced gate with kittens in mouth
You have to be very impressed with this mom. She is brave and strong. She finds a way through this gate which is a considerable obstacle for her. She manages by using all her athleticism and courage. A testament to the strong mothering instincts of the domestic, stray and feral cat. You see the classic scruff of the neck 'bite' of the kittens which pacifies them allowing her to take control without interference from struggling kittens.
I am sometimes astounded at the skills of feline mothers in their abilities to overcome obstacles when relocating her family to a new den. They move their kittens quite often depending on the potential threat. This cat is clearly a community cat or she may be a working cat. It is clearly a building that is in use.
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Community cat navigates through a tricky barrier with her kitten in her mouth to relocate to a new den |
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Community cat navigates through a tricky barrier with her kitten in her mouth to relocate to a new den |
During the first weeks after birth, the mother provides three essentials: milk, warmth and security. She also has to stimulate urination and defecation. Kittens cannot manage this on their own. They lick each kitten's genital region at regular intervals which stimulates them to evacuate and she consumes what they produce to keep the nest clean and dry. The kittens begin to taste solid foods as they move into the second month of life. If the nest is approached by anyone or anything which is a threat to the kittens, she will defend them bravely and ferociously.
People still believe that the father of kittens is predisposed to killing them to bring the mother back into heat which is what you see when an incoming group of male lions take over a pride but this does not happen with respect to stray and domestic tomcats. Observations of European wildcats which is the precursor of the domestic cat reveal that far from being kitten-killers the males sometimes actively participate in rearing their young. This is been observed in zoos but in the wild where cats have very large territories the chances of a tomcat coming across a female in her den with her kittens is quite remote and therefore there is little opportunity for him to exercise paternal care and even paternal infanticide.
Dr. Morris says that in a zoo setting where there is a greater likelihood of a tomcat meeting his kittens one of four reactions occurs: he simply ignores the kittens or behaves paternally towards them or the female attacks him as he approaches and that drives him away and fourthly the male kills the kittens but this is extremely rare. The three former ways are more likely. Dr. Morris explains the reason why a tomcat might kill his kittens and he describes the event as accidental.
He tries to mate with a kitten and grabs the kitten by the scruff of the neck in his mouth as is typical for a male cat mating with a female. The kitten struggles and he bites tighter and tighter and finally kills the kitten accidentally. That is Dr. Morris' explanation of how a male stray or domestic cat might end up killing his kittens but this is not deliberate infanticide.
Note: This is a video from another website. Sometimes they are deleted at source which stops them working on this site. If that has happened, I apologise but I have no control over it.
Thursday, 27 May 2021
Another reason why cats need their claws so don't remove them
Another reason, among hundreds, of why cats need claws. If your vet declaws and will not stop, take your $ to an ethical vet who does not torture cats. pic.twitter.com/Ujsh5GR4sy
— Cassandra🐾Wants🐾Claws (@DamnDeclawVets) May 26, 2021
Monday, 22 February 2021
Bomb squad called out to deal with bag full of newborn kittens abandoned in freezing snow
There are two key aspects to this story from Ohio, USA about cat abandonment and subsequent rescue. Last Thursday a bag full of six newborn kittens and their mom were left outside the main entrance of a church in New Miami, Butler County, Ohion, USA. They had been abandoned in freezing weather. It genuinely was freezing as there are icicles hanging from the church's guttering.
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Six newborn kittens and their mom abandoned outside church in freezing conditions in Ohio. Photo: Butler County police. |
That's the first point to make. Who in their right mind would do this? Newborn kittens must be kept very warm, almost hot by human standards to avoid them becoming chilled and dying. There was a real risk that the person who did this was passing a death sentence on these kittens. She or he got lucky.
The second point is that the bag looked suspicious. The bomb squad were called out. They must have been surprised when then discovered the kittens. But there was danger there too wasn't there? The bomb squad sometimes defuse suspicious bags by destroying the bag. That would have killed the kittens and their mom. Fortunately it worked out okay.
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Six kittens recovering after being abandoned in a bag outside a church in Ohio in freezing conditions. Photo: Animal Friends Humane Society. |
The person who abandoned them left a note saying that the mother cat who's named Sprinkles went into labour on 17 Feb at 2pm. That is a strange note if that is all it said. It implies that the person abandoned the cats while the mother was in labour and that the mother gave birth in the bag!
Anyway they are safe and being looked after by Animal Friends Humane Society. They confirmed that all was well at the shelter. Sprinkles was vaccinated and blood tested and her kittens have been gently bathed. The mother is nursing her kittens well. End of bulletin!
A strange cat rescue story though. Sad too. If people want help with unwanted kittens they should contact a shelter and talk through it. In non-Covid times you could walk into the local shelter and explain things. No shame. No guilt. It is okay.
Sunday, 20 September 2020
The reason why newborn kittens don't squabble over nipples
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The picture is from Wikipedia Commons. The mother is Sugar. She gave birth behind the TV as it was warm. Her kittens were named: Channel 3, Channel 5, Cable 8, Circuit Overload! |
Newborn kittens do not squabble over their mother's nipples because each one is labelled distinctly by subtle differences in smell. As Desmond Morris says, each nipple is labelled as if they were school lockers. I think it's a wonderful analogy. It highlights both the sophistication of the domestic cat and the wonderful sense of smell with which they are born. If you remove the distinguishing fragrance of a mothering cat's nipples, the kittens become disorientated and confused and start squabbling. Nature found a beautiful way to allow the domestic cat family to live in harmony from the get go. I love the thought of that.
Thursday, 15 May 2014
Cat Defends Boy As One Of Her Kittens!
There are very many videos on YouTube of mother cats defending their kittens from dogs and all manner of other animals and dangers.
The behaviour of this particular cat mirrors the kind of behaviour that mother cats make when defending their own and that is why I have the impression in this case that a strong bond has been formed between the boy and the cat in question such that cat, at an emotional level, is treating the boy as one of her own.
Update: 15th May 2014 -- I have just seen the BBC news and they confirm that cat is a female (Tara) and bonded with the boy soon after he was born. I am sure my theory is correct.
If it is not a case of a mother protecting her young then it will be a case of a cat protecting one of her or his associates. In cat expert language, “associates" refers to friends. You will often see cat friends grooming each other. This is an act of friendship.
I'm yet to see a video of cats that are friendly with each other defending one or the other from some third party attack. But as mentioned, I have seen a lot of videos of mothers defending their young.
Perhaps in this particular instance the family cat grew up with a new baby and the new baby became a boy and a connection between cat and boy was formed when the baby was introduced to the household. At that particular moment the cat developed an emotional attachment to the baby which mirrors the kind of attachment a mother cat has for her kittens.
The emotional response that she felt when she saw the boy being attacked by a dog was based upon an early attachment years ago. That is my initial theory, far-fetched though it might seem. I think it is possible and I think it puts the domestic cat in a fantastic light.
I sincerely hope that this video shuts up the very many detractors of the domestic cat who are too eager to unjustifiably criticise the domestic cat in the furtherance of their own interests.
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