The Big Cat Scratching Post

The more I think about it, the more I realise that a cat scratching post needs to be large and well sited. There are a lot on them on the market which are not large enough. They don't work because a cat won't use it or is reluctant to use it. This has ramifications.

Kitten climbing a 'tree' - a large scratching post.

One consequence that comes to mind is that people who have thought about declawing their cat but resisted and bought a cat scratching post instead might then decide to have their cat declawed thinking that it is impossible to get their cat to scratch in the right place.

I hope people who have decided against declawing try again and purchase a large scratching post and put it where cats might mark territory as if they were wild cats. These places are normally in prominent locations within the cat's home range. An example might be near the back door if the cat is allowed to go out. When my cat goes outside he scratches trees. These are solid objects that don't move. Of course cats also scratch horizontally but in this post I am referring to the classic scratching post.

My opinion is that:

• a large scratching post that replicates to a certain extent a tree (see picture), placed
• in a prominent location that would be the cat's boundary of his or her home range or on a "trail" and
• to start the process of encouraging to scratch a scratching post while the cat is a kitten...

will result in success. Or at least there will be a good chance of success if these three guidelines are put into place. Patience, gentle encouragement and the judicious use of catnip will also help.

I am grateful for Dorothy for showing me the picture. I don't know who took the picture. If you see this and want a credit please leave a comment.

Manx and Sphynx Cat Breeds Becoming More Popular?

The Manx and Sphynx have entered the top ten of most popular cat breeds. This is interesting to people like me who get involved with the popularity of cat breeds. Perhaps they were always there but not on my reckoning. They are not one of the core mainstream cat breeds. But a survey by Vetstreet.com tells us that the Manx and Sphynx are the 8th and 10th most popular cat breeds for 2011.

There are various ways to measure cat breed popularity. Each is likely to produce a different result. I cover that in more detail on this page which is a similar but extended article to this one.

Vetstreet used the number of births on their database for 2011 to come to the conclusion that the Siamese was streets ahead for popularity. I can believe them but - there is always a but, isn't there - who are Vetstreet? They seem to be a general content website about pets. They have disclaimers about their advice. I don't know why they have a database of purebred cats especially one that contains '623,000 cats born in 2011'.

The number of births is a pretty good guideline as to popularity but were these all purebred cats? The number quoted is large and it should include random bred cats. In fact I would say it must include moggies because it would seem unlikely to me that they have 623,000 purebred cats on their database.

This is what they came up with:

Vetstreet.com Most Popular Cat Breeds in America (based on 2011 data)

1. Siamese
2. Persian
3. Maine Coon
4. Ragdoll
5. Bengal
6. Himalayan
7. American Shorthair
8. Manx
9. Russian Blue
10. Sphynx

Comment on the result: One thing you can say for sure is that all ten are popular. Eight of them nearly always feature in the top ten. The odd two are the Manx and the Sphynx.  That is the reason for the header. It is not that the Manx and Sphynx are 'odd', they are not but they usually fall in the mid-range of popularity amongst about 70 cat breeds. The CFA register about 40 and TICA about 70 so the Manx and Sphynx usually rank around the 20 mark and not in the top 10. Both are quite specialist. The Sphynx requires some specialist care being nude and the Manx has at least some potential health problems associated with the shortened or missing tail.

As to the Siamese cat. There are 3 or 4 versions of this breed. Which one are Vetstreet talking about?

Ohio Restrictions on Private Captive Wildlife Programs

Ohian legislators have responded to the horrifying carnage of wild animals, including large wild cats, at Zanesville, Ohio. It is referred to as the Zanesville massacre. It occurred on October 19, 2011. It was the classic, private zoo disaster waiting to happen and it could happen again. Neither do I believe it was a freak event.

The silver lining to come out of this very sad story is that legislation backed by HSUS was introduced into Ohio's state legislature and has been passed and become law. It was a speedy bit of law making prompted by the shock of the event.

Of course, keepers of exotic cats etc. were against it. It is one more piece of legislation that erodes the freedoms of Americans to indulge their passion for interacting with exotic animals. The trouble is that ultimately it is an indulgent hobby (it does not pay). And to be brutally honest I don't think it does anything or hardly anything for conservation although the benefits to conservation is the argument used by keepers of exotic animals for doing it. Personally, I don't go with that argument which is why I support more legislation that restricts people's freedoms. This is unfortunate but sadly people do need to be managed to a certain extent because not everyone acts responsibly.

Since the 1980s there has been an explosion in wildlife breeding. That is one reason why it became a risk to both public and the animals. Ohio had some of the weakest laws on the keeping of exotic 'pets'. This is how some so called 'conservationists' relate to their dangerous wild animals.

What sort of restrictions will soon be in place? And how will this impact privately owned captive wildlife programs?

Legislation

I will summarize because people involved in keeping captive wildlife will read the legislation carefully, while those outside it don't want boring legal details.

The new restrictions appear to be concerned with 'dangerous exotic animals'. People who already keep them can still do so. But they will have to apply for a permit by January 1st 2014 and their application is not going to be a walkover. The cost of permits range from $250-$1,000. Insurance cover might have to be in the region of a quarter of a million dollars to one million with the premiums that that brings to the owner.

On September 3rd 2012, when the law comes into effect, the trade in exotic animals will be banned with a few exceptions. Approximately 640 species are wild animal fall under the new law.

Wild animals classified as dangerous include: lions, tigers, jaguars and cheetahs. There are exemptions for genuine sanctuaries, zoos and research institutions for instance.

Impact

I'll have to refer to what Lynn Culver the Executive Director of the Feline Conservation Federation (FCF) says, which is that privately owned captive wildlife in Ohio will be extremely rare in the future. People who want to get into wildlife ownership and breeding will now be critically scrutinised, or should be, by the USDA. They will need proven skills and knowledge. The FCF run courses that will help. There is no doubt that the laissez-faire days of letting people buy lions for peanuts are over. People should consider applying for ZAA (Zoological Association of America)  accreditation as they register breeders and apparently they have an exemption.

People's energies and love of wild cats etc. should be channeled into true wildlife conservation in the wild as practiced by people like Jim Sanderson PhD (Andean Mountain Cat and other species) and the Snow Leopard Trust. They both run fantastic conservation programmes.

Pets Are Not Animals

I have stolen the title from Craig McFarlane's site. I think he makes an interesting but very refined point. He also refers to an article from one of those Homes and Gardens type magazines. This one is called, 'Fresh Home Magazine".

They had a page which was on the subject of "Decorating Mantras to Live By". That is a big statement for one of these magazines. The author lists five points to live by. One of them is: Every room needs something living, flowers, goldfish, a pet. Fair point. A good point. But, it is the way the point is made that indicates that pets are not animals.

You can see what Craig is getting at. It is something I have mentioned before myself. It is unfashionable mind you; very unfashionable with a large section of society but it is true and therefore worth mentioning again.

When you write about decorating your home and refer to 'a pet' - any pet ('a' pet), as part of the decorating process you are on dangerous ground. This is because you are treating the 'pet' as a item of decoration and not as a living, breathing animal with all that that imparts. It is this mentality that can lead to incorrect expectations regarding caring for a cat and that unfortunately is part of the mentality that can lead to deciding to declaw one's cat because claws tend to spoil the decor.

Sorry to keep going on about declawing but it seems I have to because it still goes on when it should have stopped.

Craig emphasizes the point that pets are not treated as animals because goldfish and 'pets' are separated by the author. It is like separating curtains from sofa coverings.

The reference to 'a pet' is worrying too. Any pet (and 'pet' is a bad word) will do. Just add it into the mix and make your home better. No; this is not the way to adopt a cat.

Adopting a domestic cat is far more profound because a cat is a living animal with feelings. And animals are like us. Jean Cocteau got it right when he said:

"I love cats because I enjoy my home; and little by little, they become its visible soul."

In this cat quote Cocteau is referring to cats as part of making the home better, more pleasant and it goes much deeper than decoration. A cat's presence goes to the soul of the home. A domestic cat does add a dimension to the home that inanimate objects cannot.

That is why the cat should not be treated as an inanimate object. Finally, the other points 1,2, 4 and 5 are good points. He or she just has the wrong mentality on pets or (s)he did not express herself as well as she might have.

Doctors are no more that specialist veterinarians

To those of us who love cats and are aware of our cat's needs and behavior I think we knew this all along . What do I mean? I mean that animals suffer from the same or similar psychological and physical health problems that we do. They are more like us than billions of people realize. This is gradually dawning on the human race, rather late in the day, and it may put some resistance into worldwide animal abuse and misuse.

The title is a reference to the fact that doctors (General Practitioners let's say) treat the human animal, one species of animal amongst all animals on the planet and are, therefore, specialist vets because vets treat all animals.

Vets should be funded better through a state subsidy perhaps. They are paid less than doctors. Although in America they call themselves doctors. Being paid less can create distortions and anomalies such as declawing cats, a highly profitable process for vets. Some never declaw.

I would like, as well, to refer to the book, Zoobuity, that is out on the 14th June 2012. You can pre-book on Amazon. It is the book that gave me the idea for this post.

Here is an example of how close we are to animals. God, that statement will upset some people, sorry. Take people who self-harm. This could be a distortion of preening in birds. When birds are upset because they have been left alone they peck themselves. A similar form of self-harm. When horses are left alone they gnaw themselves.

In general doctors keep a distance from veterinarians and vice versa. There is a call for these two professions to collaborate much more to the benefit of both, particularly the human animal. Of course, we are far more important than animals aren't we?