Warrior Cat

Norwegian Forest Cat as warrior cat

Norwegian Forest Cats. This cat breed likes water so they might belong to the RiverClan - photo: copyright gari.baldi under Creative commons license.

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Click this text to go to a nice original story on the arrival of a warrior cat

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I had a cat who was a warrior cat. She was also a forest cat - half Norwegian Forest Cat. She died at the hands of mankind by a car whilst crossing the road to go in the woods and fields that were so attractive to her just as is was for Rusty in the Warrior Cats book. Her name was Missy and I miss her terribly. She is with Starclan. She would have been well received as a true warrior cat of great and athletic skill.

If she was (and she may have been when she went into the forest) a true Warrior Cat in the fashion described in the book, she would probably have been a member of Windclan as she was loyal and a bit nervous but a fantastic runner and climber. She was made to climb.

We took her to the Cotswolds (a very nice area in England with old fashioned yellow stone and quaint houses) with us on holiday and within moments of arriving she was on the roof of the house having climbed out of an upstairs window. She calmly walked along the crest of the roof, not a care in the world.

A feral cat is essentially a warrior cat and in truth has a very tough and a short life of about 3 years, a tiny fraction of the life of a domestic cat living with a person (about 15 + years). A feral cat is neither a wild cat nor domesticated. She has to live in that in between land, between mankind's world and the wildcat's world. The in between world is a hostile world. Humans put them there but don't like them and kill them. Yes, many hundreds of thousands and indeed millions are killed by lethal injection each year because the rescue centers are too full.


A very Warrior Cats looking scene, the forest, the moonlight - photo coyright Guacamole-Goalie

The Warrior Cats book series describes cats that have genuine domestic cat characteristics, of course. Rusty is a ginger cat. Ginger is solid red in cat fancy language. Ginger is diluted red. See Faolan a ginger Persian of great distinction. Bluestar is a blue/grey cat. This is diluted black. A classic cat breed that is blue/grey is the Russian Blue or the Chartreux. These cats have to be this color and no other color. The British Shorthair classic color is also blue/grey but you'll see her in a wide range of other colors too.

Graypaw is also called Graystripe. A gray stripe indicates a tabby cat. Tabbies come in a wide range of colors. The classic brown is the most useful for camouflage and the most common therefore as it aids survival. The Amerian Bobcat has a brown tabby coat as does the Scottish Wildcat.

Sandpaw is a ginger and white cat and a great hunter. As mentioned ginger is diluted red (solid) and the white (solid and white) is introduced by the Piebald gene which masks the diluted solid color.

Tigerclaw is a classic brown tabby. If you look at his face he has an "M" on his forehead, the mark of a tabby cat and he has stripes. Tabby cats are used in the creation of a toy Tiger cat the Toyger.

The three writers (now four) who are "Erin Hunter" are cat lovers and it shows, although one Victoria Holmes prefers horses and dogs (but still of course likes cats). She is the ideas person and Cherith Baldry and Kate Cary do the writing. Cherith currently lives with Sorrel a tortoiseshell and Bramble a dark brown medium haired tabby (if the picture is accurate he looks a bit like a Maine Coon but I know Bramble isn't).

When Kate was a child her father gave her a black kitten and she has lived with cats ever since. Here are some pictures of black Persian cats. The cats described by the authors are mixed breed cats.

If you're part of a WC forum try visiting the Warrior Cats page and vote for it (only the top 30 or so are listed for voting and the top 10 are listed based on votes received). It is a kind of meeting place for Warrior Cats to vote and promote their favorite RPG website.

Warrior Cat to Warrior Cats voting page

Cat Intelligence - a discussion

Cat intelligence has interested people for a considerable time as has the intelligence of dogs. Who is the smarter and are they smarter than a chicken?

Sphynx cat considered smart. Image: copyright Helmi Flick

Recently humankind has gradually become aware of the intelligence of other animals on the planet. Some cats are more intelligent than others it seems, but this is anecdotal evidence. Often cat breeders writing about the cat they breed will understandably promote their chosen cat breed by describing it as more intelligent than others.

RELATED: An interesting infographic which looks at cat intelligence from a different viewpoint. Click the link to read it please.

An interesting article in a newspaper, the Penny Illustrated (UK) dated 1st June 1912 asks the question, "Does your cat or your dog think? If so, do they think in the same way as you do?"

The article refers to published research work at the time by Professor Thorndike of Columbia University, called "Animal Intelligence". The professor approached the question from the standpoint of experimental psychology (experimental testing of actual cats and dogs etc.).

Cats, dogs and chickens were placed in cages and they had to get out without assistance by means of certain devices that they had to manipulate having learned to do so by trial and error. The motivation was food outside the cage.

The professor found that the cats became agitated and calmed down after 10 mins. They worked out how to get out and when out they ran! "By dint of biting and scratching they end by discovering the method of opening the door and release themselves". They were more interested in getting out than eating the food (makes sense to as it's more important to get out and away than remain near people who want to cage you up).

Dogs apparently behaved better. They were calmer and more "attentive to their nourishment". Dogs showed less desire to escape. They succeeded in quickly learning the opening mechanism. They "showed no desire to run away as the cats do" once they had got out and got the food.

As for the chickens they "showed great agitation" when shut up in a cage. "They succeeded much less often than cats and dogs" to escape.

The professor concludes:

"According to these results the dogs appeared most intelligent, the cats near to them, and the chickens far behind"

Are cats really less intelligent than dogs? It would seem that if it is a straight contest as to which can solve problems or learn relatively complex tasks then the dog wins. Dogs are certainly more trainable and yet some cats are dog-like and trainable to (but to a lesser extent). These are usually the wildcat hybrids such as the Bengal and Chausie. But there are different types of intelligence. In any event cats are individuals (less socially aware) while dogs are pack animals and will look up to and learn from the alpha animal (the human normally). That is probably why they are trainable (or at least in part).

Amongst cats some are probably a bit smarter than others. My research indicates that the wildcat hybrids tend to be smarter probably because the brain has been trained to be sharper to survive in the wild.

A ranking has been carried out by Animal Planet which although rather unscientific it seems does give some indications, which I would think cat fanciers would agree with. At the less intelligent end are cats like the Himalayan, Exotic Shorthair (Persian/American Shorthair cross) and Persian. These three are all Persian based cats. These cats are docile and passive. Perhaps they are uninquisitive, which will limit learning by experience. Cat intelligence is hard to measure.

At the smarter end there is the Sphynx. I can agree this. They do behave in more inquisitive, active and interested manner indicating intelligence. Other smart cats are the other skinny cats such as the Oriental Shorthair, Balinese, Javanese, Turkish Angora. The Bengal also falls into this group too.

The full list of the smart cats:

Balinese
* Bengal
* Colorpoint Shorthair
* Havana Brown
* Javanese
* Oriental Shorthair
* Siamese
* Sphynx (top cat)

In the middle ground (average cat intelligence) we have:

* American Shorthair
* Birman
* Bombay
* Abyssinian
* American Curl
* American Wirehair
* British Shorthair
* Cornish Rex
* Cymric
* Maine Coon
* Manx
* Ragdoll
* Scottish Fold
* Snowshoe
* Somali

Just below the Sphynx level (the top rank cat intelligence) we have these cat breeds:

* Burmese
* Chartreux
* Devon Rex
* Egyptian Mau
* Japanese Bobtail
* Korat
* Norwegian Forest Cat
* Ocicat
* Russian Blue
* Siberian
* Singapura
* Tonkinese
* Turkish Angora
* Turkish Van

This list must be taken with a pinch of salt however. As to random bred cats, by far the most common cats, these cats probably vary in intelligence just as humans do. This variation must apply to the individual cats that are purebred too.

I am sure that there are random bred cats that are as intelligent, if not more intelligent, than Sphynx cats. We should be open to variations in character and intelligence amongst individual cats.

Cat Intelligence to Sphynx Cat

History of Cat Litter

History of Cat Litter - what has this picture got to do with cat litter? Read on. These are Fullers cleaning woolen cloth with a mixture of what we now call Fullers Earth and water. The picture is copyright free as it was made in 1770. These ladies are making what was probably a boring job as interesting as possible by chatting while working (look at their open mouths).

The History of Cat Litter is in fact much like the history of the creation and growth of many businesses but it was a damn good idea. Mind you it was an idea that was destined to be formulated at some time or other.

Apparently the story starts in 1948 just after the second world war, a time of opportunity and growth. Mrs Draper used sand as litter for her cat(s) in those days. Sand was the material most used for litter boxes at that time. So litter was being used but in an informal manner, it seems. She wanted something better if she could find it and spoke with Mr. Lowe a neighbor who was in the industrial absorbent business with his father having recently returned from a tour of duty in the US Navy during the war.

We must at this juncture thank Mrs Draper for having the foresight to see Mr. Lowe. Mrs Draper must have thought that he might have something that could do the trick. In other words she probably had the idea that what he sold might work well. It did.

One of the industrial absorbents Mr Lowe sold was Fullers earth, a clay product. Fullers earth is a mined substance. There are two types but the term is used for similar materials. The term "Fullers" originates in the term "fulling". Fulling is a step in the process of woolen cloth making, in which the cloth is cleansed to remove oils and dirt etc. It was originally cleansed by people who pounded the cloth with their feet. In doing this they kneaded this clay product mixed with water into the woolen cloth. These people were called "Fullers". By far the biggest production of Fullers Earth is in the USA.

Back to cat litter. Mr Lowe provided Mrs Draper with some of his Fullers earth. It worked better than sand as it was absorbent. Mr. Lowe saw an opportunity and offered it to the local pet shop. Initially it was offered free of charge but it seems soon caught on and people were prepared to pay. The rest is history as they say.

Mr. Lowe through his efforts over many years sold and refined the product and turned what he called "Kitty Litter" ® (now a ubiquitous name in the USA but not in the UK - we don't use the word "kitty" here) into big business. His business is called Edward Lowe Industries, Inc. which he sold in 1990 for $210m.

These days the business has moved on and although Mr Lowe's product (i.e. the clay based litter) is probably the most popular, sawdust compacted into absorbent capsules are in my opinion superior although they are not clumping. The failure to clump is far outweighed by the cleanliness of the wood product and its superior odor killing properties. The litter tray stays clean with the wood product but becomes quite dirty with the clay product.

There is just one glitch. How environmentally friendly is the wood product? Is the sawdust a by product of another manufacturing process or are trees cut down for it? The latter would be unacceptable in the modern world.

Source:

• essortment.com
• About.com

From History of Cat Litter to Cat Facts

Cat History

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Cat History - A cartoon from 1oth March 1894 by Louis Wain who I understand was a well known artist of cats in the form of cartoons as above. In fact Louis Wain was a famous artist and a cat show judge plus he was the second President of the National Cat Club, which was formed in 1887. These images are copyright free from my understanding of the complex copyright laws which I have checked. If I am wrong please tell me.

Some more cat history in the form of newspaper articles about the domestic cat for the Penny Illustrated. These are transcribed verbatim as there is no longer copyright. They provide an insight into how we have changed. Siamese cat history is informative and interesting.

28th May 1887

An early form of cat hoarding by a Countess no less. I have reassessed this. I don't think she was a cat hoarder.

THE COUNTESS AND HER CATS

At Hammersmith, last Monday, the Countess de la Torre appeared to answer the adjourned summons for disobeying an order made by Mr Curtis Bennett to abate a nuisance caused by the accumulation of cats in the rooms she occupied in Lille-road, Fulham. Evidence was given by Dr. Egan, who said the nuisance was not abated in her rooms for a number of days. The Countess had since left the house. Mr. Bennett said she was liable for a heavy penalty, 20s a day, but as she had left the house he would not fine her for each day. He, however, hoped that she would not be brought before him again. He then fined her 60s., with 2s costs, to be paid in fourteen days. The Countess said she intended to appeal. Mr Bennett said there was no appeal.

20s = 20 shillings=about £1.70p. Cat hoarding is an illness. The Countess was known to take in stray cats. She was a true cat lover and being known as a cat lover she acquired cats, people came to her. She was not in fact a cat hoarder. Her problem was that she didn't have the correct premises to do what she felt needed to be done. She appears to have been living in a flat. In an article written in 1885 she was doing the same thing and had 21 cats at that time apparently.

Cat History to Home Page

Cat History

Cat History - Modern Siamese Cat - photo copyright ©Creativity+ Timothy K Hamilton. The Siamese cat referred to in the text below of 1894 didn't look like this. She would have been a Traditional Siamese.

Reading about cat history tells us quite a lot about ourselves. A domestic cat's life is bound up with ours. The development of the domestic cat tell us about our own development. And in understanding our own development we understand ourselves better.

The cat fancy has only be around for about 140 years or so. It has changed out of all recognition. It started in England, UK. I have a page on the main website, which set out a "timeline of events from the beginning of cats to the present, charting the dates of origin or discovery of the domestic cat breeds we now have in the world. It is a page about cat history from a slightly different standpoint.

This short post though is part of a series of posts on newspaper articles from 1861 to about 1913 so it covers the period of the beginning of the cat fancy. They are a series of transcripts from The Penny Illustrated newspaper of the time or the Times archive. The Penny Illustrated newspaper was published between 1861 and 1913.

All the articles are about cats and cat history, what else!

10th March 1894

Crufts Great Dog Show

Mr.Charles Cruft, of 325, Holloway Road, delighted the dog-fancying world the other day with a magnificent Dog Show at the Agricultural Hall, characteristic heads of which were reproduced at the time in the P.I.P. by Mr. Louis Wain. The same Artist furnishes us with some amusing types of Mr. Cruft's leviathan Cat Show at the Westminster Aquarium on March 7 and 8.

Pussy had to vie at the Aquarium with the admirable new Fisheries Exhibition, and came triumphant out of the ordeal. The classification of the cats was absolutely bewildering to the uninitiated, as Mr. Cruft, in his liberty, provided no fewer than seventy-five classes, in which prizes from five pounds to thirty shillings were awarded, while the number of special or extra prizes reached the unprecedented total of about fifty. There were classes for long-haired cats and short-haired cats, old cats and young cats, tailless cats and cats with tails, for cats shown singly and cats shown in teams, for male cats, she cats, wild cats, and even for Siamese cats, the latter variety being the rarest variety of all; but Mr. Cruft somehow forgot to offer a prize for the familiar shrew-cat, the plague of many households......"

Cat History - Commentary:

• One shilling in old money was worth one thwelth of a pound i.e. 12 shillings to the £
• Crufts Dog show is the biggest in the world (I believe) but he only does dogs now!
• The Siamese is no longer the rarest domestic cat. Read about the history of the Siamese cat in detail.
  

Cat History to Home page