Run over a cat or dog

Photo by The Wiseguy - see base of post.

What do you do or should you do when you run over a cat or a dog? This sounds awful but it is a reality, it does happen quite frequently and it does pose some dilemmas.

It goes without saying that we must stop and try and help. This can be difficult in itself. Some time ago I saw a squirrel in the road that had been very recently hit and was in the middle of the road alive and struggling. I couldn't just drive around this animal as cars behind would eventually drive over it so I stopped in the middle of the road to stop cars behind driving over the squirrel.

The next problem is dealing with a badly injured animal of any kind. This can be difficult on a number of levels particularly if you are the kind of person who will stop and help (i.e. a concerned person and/or animal lover). Anyway, I braced myself and using a newspaper I had bought I scooped up the squirrel and placed it in the bushes beside the road to either recover or die. That's it. Not much. The whole thing was slightly traumatic and I walked past the spot some time later but no squirrel.

So, the first problem is, can we deal with the gore, the blood, an animal in pain and difficult to deal with? The cat or dog maybe aggressive because of the pain or may run off. Do you chase the animal and check? Lets say you run over a cat or dog, you stop and the cat is lying there badly injured. What do we do? Are we safe to stop in this road? Will cars behind allow you to walk into the road if the cat is in the middle of the road? This can be a dangerous procedure. Also, how do we know which home he/she comes from (see below)? I guess we check if the cat is still alive. Can we be sure that we can check this properly. No not really.


He died on the road, hit by a car. This video is in memory. The YouTube video maker is Camo4x4s

So, we need to find a vet. Where is the nearest vet? Will they see you immediately? The cat is bleeding, where do you put the cat in the car? Are you one of those people who have immaculate cars all the time? Is this more important than helping a cat that is bleeding? To some it might be surprisingly. Many people wouldn't even stop.

So, we can't find the home and we find a vet, which has taken about 30 minutes. We get to the vet and get seen. The cat can be helped, she has a broken leg and is in shock and bruised but will recover. You stay while the vet does his work or do you go at that point? I guess not.

Now what? Maybe the veterinarian will know the answer. If you don't know where the home is the only thing to do it seems is to take the cat to a local cat shelter or home to your place. Where is the local cat shelter? Probably miles away. Maybe vets have procedures at this point.

I wouldn't be surprised if a veterinarian simply said it was best to euthanize the cat even though she could be saved. Or even if you could get her to a shelter what would they do? They are often overrun with stray cats it seems. Would they take care of an injured cat requiring expensive follow up medical treatment? I doubt it; she's probably end up being euthanized or am I talking nonsense?

The key is to be able to find the person who keeps the cat for them to take over but that could be all but impossible. I think what I would do first is this. Find the nearest house/flat/apartment and find someone to talk to (this may not be possible). Eventually you might and probably will meet someone who knows who keeps the cat in question. From that starting point we have help.

These are the moral and practical issue but what about the law? I read that in the UK (and USA?) that is we run over a cat or dog, in the case of a dog we are obliged to report the accident to the police. If not it may be a criminal offense. But the same is not the case for a cat. Is this true? Can this be correct? If so it seems bizarre and an anomaly in the law.

Lots of questions then, that have to be answered quickly as no doubt when the accident happened you were going somewhere in a rush. Conclusion: if we run over a cat or dog I think that we should stop, make sure the cat or dog is in a safe place or take the cat with us (if possible), and if possible go to the nearest house or home and ask questions as to who keeps the cat or dog and if that doesn't produce an answer ask about the nearest vets etc. and go from there. The local knowledge will help us through the moment more efficiently (i.e. get help more quickly) in my opinion and therefore help the cat. I think we should reschedule the day to accommodate this as well. It's the only way to do the right thing and do it properly.

Run over a cat or dog - Photos - heading page: kitten living dangerously in Turkey, where according to the photographer, you see cats killed on the roads simply left there to be flattened by traffic. Life is more dangerous for domestic cats and feral cats in places like Turkey. Photo published under a creative commons license = Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License.

Dead cat: by salmannas creative commons license = Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License. This cat was left to die I suppose.


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Russian Blue Kittens

Russian Blue Kitten photograph by Sensual Shadows Photography

Before you go in search of Russian Blue Kittens have a look at these and have a look at some Russian Blue adult cats too and read about this cat breed. I've also built a page in which I discuss the breed standard in a general kind of way, nothing too technical, which may interest potential buyers of Russian Blue kittens as it also contains a large format slide show of a lot of cats of this breed to get a feel as to how they appear and what they should look like under the breed standard. Click on this link to see a large slide show.

All pedigree cats have a breed standard, a target that governs what breeders should aim for. There is, obviously, quite a wide range of looks that all comply with the standard as the wording is quite widely drafted and there are never any diagrams or pictures to guide (which has always surprised me). Your kitten should of course be within the parameters set by the breed standard to be true Russian Blue but more importantly the cat breeder must give you documentary evidence that the kitten is a cat of this breed. If you don't get that you might as well adopt a rescue cat.


Russian Blue Kitten photograph by t0msk. The CFA breed standard says the eyes should be a vivid green. This is a fine photo of a lovely kitten but I am not sure the eyes are exactly the correct color or is it the reflection of the carpet?

The Russian Blue Breeders Association, based in the UK (but the advice is good for any country) state that the breeders must provide a pedigree certificate of three generations for the cat in question and the document must be signed by the breeder. In addition the breeder must produce a transfer document that is evidence of transfer of the cat from the breeder to the new owner, which is signed by both parties and sent to the Governing Council of the Cat Fancy (GCCF) the premier cat registry in the UK. Similar rules will apply in different countries I am sure. If the new owner is thinking of showing their new cat and chasing rosettes and prizes the transfer of ownership (don't like ownership) needs to be registered with the GCCF at least 21 days before the show. Some kittens are bought with breeding in mind and some not; the registration of the kitten will note this difference.

So we've got the transfer and pedigree docs, what is next.....vaccination documents. All breeders will vaccinate their kittens. I have built a substantial page on the issue of cat vaccination recommendations as they have changed over the years as veterinarians have come to realize that vaccinations can be dangerous to cats - it's all about risk whether they are given or not.

The next thing and the most important thing is the health and character of Russian Blue Kittens from which you select. It is hard it seems to me to be sure that your selected kitten will be healthy. Some cat breeds are healthier than others. I have not found any hidden genetically linked health problems associated with this cat breed (that doesn't mean there isn't though but I think it unlikely - some breeds do have predispositions to certain diseases - see cat health problems). That leaves the question whether the particular Russian Blue Kitten selected is healthy. All that can be done to assess the situation. That means an assessment of the breeder's facility and attitude plus observation of the kitten (signs of upper respiratory infection - URI - for example or cat ear mites as another example). Is everything clean and organized?


Two week old Russian Blue Kitten photograph by Sensual Shadows Photography

Next - character. I guess observation over a number of visits will solve this one. The breeder will or should ensure that the kitten is "socialized" meaning used to people and other pets so when he/she is re-homed he settles in and is not too nervous or aggressive. Character, bottom line, is more important than appearance, and health is more important than both. For example, a breeder in Scotland, Dushenka Russian Blues, says that all their kittens are born in the breeder's bedroom, which naturally gets the kittens accustomed to humans. A lot of cat breeders are "cottage industries," small, at home, businesses (c.f. kitten or puppy farms - don't buy from a pet shop). This is good and bad, I think. It means the bad ones can start up easily but it also lends itself to well breed and socialized cat, at least potentially. Socialization is very important and breed standards refer to it indirectly by insisting upon cats that are nonaggressive. Show cats are very placid and happy to be handled, they must be to win shows. So the best show cats not only look great but are great.

Kittens and cats take time to settle in (in my experience at least 6 months) so a very pleasant calm environment is pretty much essential for our new Russian Blue Kitten. Food is also a factor. Cats get used to a certain type of food and a sudden change could prompt things such a diarrhea and litter problems (i.e. problems for the new owners). So, the breeder should tell you what type of food she feed her Russian Blue Kittens. This should be continued with any change being gradual.


Russian Blue Kittens - photograph by hlehto

My preference is quality wet food and some human food such as fish (if she/he likes fish) or chicken. Dry cat food can contain too high a carbohydrate content. It is convenient for the human but essentially unnatural for the cat but in modest doses it is probably OK (i.e. used as part of the overall diet). There are lots of links on this site about cat food (this takes you to all 15). The ideal cat food should mimic the kind of food a wild cat eats but this is complicated as raw meat is not enough, cats will need supplements such as Taurine, a vital ingredient.

Neutering or spaying is pretty well essential if you do not intend to breed from your Russian Blue Kittens or Kitten. Some breeders I believe do this and some insist on the kitten being fixed as part of the purchase contract.


Russian Blue Kittens - photograph by hlehto

Since writing this page I have built a spreadsheet that I call Russian Blue Breeder Worldwide List. There is a page that has the same spreadsheet in larger format. It is here: Russian Blue Breeders. Here is the smaller format version (it is long):



That's about it (in outline). Oh, except for one thing. The GCCF publish a code of ethics. I think it helps of we remind ourselves of some of the more outstanding points (this is a shortened summarized version).

1. Cat owners should think carefully before getting a kitten......
2. Cats must be provided with warmth, comfort, exercise, adequate food and water (at all times). Cat should be kept in at night for safety.
3. Cats should be groomed regularly and checked for parasites
4. We should see a vet when our cat looks ill.
5. Cats as pets (not breeding cats) should be neutered and spayed.
6. Breeders should sell to selected people who it is believed will care for their cat and if not due to unforeseen circumstances the breeder should offer to rehome the cat(s) sold.
7. Owners shouldn't sell to pet shops or large scale sellers or give away a cat as a prize.
8. Breeders should act with integrity and honesty and not misrepresent the health and pedigree of the cat.
9. If a breeder sells to a cat breeder advice should be available and breeding should not have a negative impact on the cats' health.
10. Owners should identify their cat. There are 2 ways, cat collars are potentially dangerous and microchipping for pets can carry health problems (these are my comments and not part of the code).
11. The seller breeder must provide the documentation referred to above (the docs referred to above may not be complete - please refer to the GCCF)

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Russian Blue Kittens - Photos: These are published under a creative commons license of 2 types. The Sensual Shadows Photography ones are licensed under this license = Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License. The others have been cropped as allowed under this license = Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike License. Thanks for the permission. I have provided links as well which are not required under the license.

Odor Control Cat Litter

From personal experience over decades the best odor control cat litter is wood based. For me there are essential 2 types of cat litter:

• clay or earth based (Fullers Earth - see history of cat litter)
  
• wood based

I presume the wood based litter is made from wood chippings. I hope so as I'd be upset to think they chopped down trees to make it. It is a soft wood, probably pine. Very fine particles of it are compressed into miniature "logs". When the cat urinates on it, it expands and absorbs it. It is the best, no doubt, for absorbing urine. There is absolutely no smell and no mess. Although as it doesn't clump it takes a bit of technique to take out the used and leave the unused.

Earth based litter clumps, yes, so it is easier to remove from the litter tray but the absorption is less good and the clump is wet as is the surrounding area sometimes. This translates into a more difficult cleaning up job as the litter tray itself becomes stained. With wood based litter the tray does not become stained and there is therefore much less ongoing maintenance of the tray itself. This offsets the slightly greater amount of work needed to separate out the used and unused wood based litter after use.

The main point is that the extra absorption qualities means it is a better Odor Control Cat Litter. One other thing. I use a covered litter tray to stop the wood litter being pushed out onto the floor and I put the litter tray and cover in another low level tray that is considerably larger to collect any litter that is walked out by my cat. The cover also helps to keep any residual odor in and they are not that expensive to be honest.

No.2s will smell in any cat litter unless it is covered by the cat. Sometimes mine doesn't cover it so I do it for her until the litter is removed, which should be at least once a day. Some people recommend more often but daily seems about right to me.

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Photo: Clay based cat litter - clumping cat litter but not as good as an Odor Control Cat Litter - wood based. Photo by BrittneyBush under a creative commons license Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License

Clouded Leopard Population

The Clouded Leopard Population currently stands at:

• An estimated number below 10,000 world wide of mature breeding cats (src: http://www.arkive.org)
• Below 10,000 mature breeding cats (src:http://www.animalinfo.org)
• Bornean Clouded Leopard: 5-11,000 in Borneo and 3-7,000 in Sumatra. I am not sure how this figure squares up with the above figures as this is apparently a different species (figures src: Wikipedia)

Important note: figures obtained on the Internet are not always reliable as one author produces figures and other authors use the same figures rather than going to a different source to verify. I couldn't find any other sources for this data proving it is not that well researched. This doesn't surprise me as the people who are best placed to assess the Clouded Leopard Population (business) are not necessarily interested in the preservation of this wild cat.

It should be noted that the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species™ does not quote a figure. This organisation is best placed amongst all to be able to assess population size as they are in the business of assessing population size. However, they do say that the population is declining. I don't how they are able to assess this cat in respect of survivability in the wild.

The above figure could well be suspect, please be aware.

The low population is due to:

• loss of habitat (the usual reason - see Cheetah habitat for example)
• Chinese medicine (another usual reason)
• hunting - pelts (as above)

Clouded Leopard Population - Illustrations:

• Drawing of Borneo Clouded Leopard published under a Wikimedia Commons license and in any case the copyright for the image has expired due to passage of time. Source: William Jardine's The Natural History of The Feline.

From Clouded Leopard Population to Cheetah Facts

Traditional Doll Face Persian Cat

Here's one of the best photographs of the Traditional Doll Face Persian Cat. He is a Traditional Orange (Solid Red) Persian Cat. His name is Faolán - the photograph is copyright Dani Rozeboom. You can see more of him here: http://www.pictures-of-cats.org/orange-persian-cat.html

Faolán - all Persian boy cat - copyright Dani

Please respect copyright