Saturday, 26 April 2014

Have I Given My Cat The Flu?

Have I Given My Cat The Flu?

The conventional view is that a person cannot give their cat the flu and neither can a cat give their human guardian the flu because viruses are species-specific. However, there was one reported case of swine flu being given to a cat by his owner.

That single example does open the door to the possibility, as far as I'm concerned, that there may be other unrecorded examples of transmission of viruses between cats and people.  We don't know and I suspect that nobody is checking.  Viruses mutate.  There are new viruses.  Is it possible that one of these viruses can be transmitted between a person and their cat?

The reason why I raise this question is because both my cat and I have exactly the same symptoms as I dictate this.  He has a cold and I have a cold.  He sneezes (very loudly) and I sneeze and feel a bit poorly.  My joints ache a bit.  His cold started at the same time that my cold started.  Of course, this may not be a cold.  It could be an allergy and we could both be suffering from the same allergy but I believe that it is more likely that we either have the same cold and it has transmitted between us or, simply by coincidence, we both have a cold at the same time.

Although it is extremely unlikely, it would seem possible that I may have swine flu - a low-level version of it - which I have given to my cat.

Why have I mentioned swine flu?  Well about 3 or so months ago I had a flu jab, a vaccination, to help prevent getting the flu over the winter and I was told by the person administering it that, this year, they had added a swine flu vaccine to the usual vaccine.

The vaccination hurt my left arm and that discomfort has continued over months and therefore I think something went wrong.  Is it beyond the bounds of possibility that rather than the vaccine preventing flu it caused me to get the flu?  And if it did it may be swine flu and if it is I may have given it to my cat because we know that that particular type of virus is transmittable between person and cat.

This is very far-fetched, on the face of it but who knows?  It is highly unlikely that what I have suggested is actually happening but what I'm going to do is take my cat to a veterinarian on Monday and see whether she can do some blood tests on him to find out what sort of virus (if it is a virus) that is causing him to sneeze and which has given him a cold.

If my veterinarian is amenable to the suggestion, I will also ask her to take a blood sample from me to do a similar blood test on my blood to see whether there is a match between my blood and my cat's blood with respect to any viruses that may be in it.  That is the wild plan.  It is probably an unworkable plan but I will pursue it nonetheless.

Bacteria Pasteurella Multocida in Mouth of Cat Can Cause Meningitis

Bacteria Pasteurella Multocida in Mouth of Cat Can Cause Meningitis

There is one case reported on the Internet of a domestic cat licking a baby's bottle and thereby transmitting to the baby a certain bacteria in the cat's mouth to the baby whereupon the baby developed meningitis.  This is extremely rare and it should not worry mothers but I am reporting it nonetheless.

This particular bacteria mentioned in the title and the link above can of course be deposited under the skin of a person if a cat bites a person but let me say right away that there really is never a good reason why a cat bites a person because cat bites can always be avoided by the person provided he or she adopts an aware and intelligent approach to their interactions with the domestic cat.  It may be harder to deal with feral cats and avoid scratches and bites but then again it depends upon how the person handles the cats and interacts with them.  It is in the hands of the person literally to manage themselves carefully or, let's put it this way, to respect the cat.

Certain groups of people are more vulnerable to the effects of this bacteria than others and these are people who are suffering from immunosuppression meaning that they have weak immune systems.  Diabetics, people with prosthetic joints and women who have undergone a mastectomy are also more prone to suffer more serious effects from this bacteria.  These groups of people may consider not keeping a cat for this reason.  I regret saying that because I really don't see why anybody can't keep a cat.

The treatment of an infection by this bacteria has to be conducted with care because, for example, Erythromycin,  a well-known antibiotic cannot of itself resolve the problem.  If the person is treated simply with this antibiotic the infection may get worse leading to serious consequences.

Clearly, it is important that a doctor analyses the cause of the infection carefully and thereafter treats the patient appropriately.

Naming Your Black Cat Or Dog After A Well-known Black Person

Naming Your Black Cat Or Dog After A Well-known Black Person

A well-known television presenter in Britain tweeted that he named his black dog, a Scottish terrier, after a black footballer.  Is this an example of inadvertent racism or is the criticism, by some people of this presenter, an example of political correctness?

The television presenter is Jeremy Clarkson and he's just adopted a Scottish terrier which is a black dog. The well-known footballer is Didier Drogba. Didier is a top-flight football of great talent who used to play in the Premier league in England, which is considered to be the best football league in the world by some.  I believe that he is currently playing for a Turkish football club called Galatasaray but he may not renew his contract.  I understand that he is possibly somewhere near the end of his footballing career.

Anyway, that isn't the point.  The big point is whether Jeremy Clarkson is inadvertently being racist or is he just being funny?  Jeremy Clarkson likes to be funny and he's a very smart person.  He is funny.  You may notice that there is a slight play on words between the word “dog" and the first part of the footballer surname.

The answer as to whether this is a mild form of an overt racism or perhaps subconscious racism perhaps depends on in which country it occurs.  Britain is generally a very tolerant country but it has become irritatingly politically correct.  There is sometimes a overemphasis on being extremely careful with what you say in order to protect the sensitivities of others.  I understand the need to be sensitive towards the feelings of others and at all times to avoid racism but it can go too far sometimes.

If you live in a country where the dog is seen as unclean, then naming your dog after a person may be an insult to that person because you could be considered to be indicating that the person is unclean. In some countries people will insult other people by referring to the dog.  As far as I'm concerned this is an insult to the dog not to the person!  You can see that I tend to prefer animals to people but don't get me wrong, it does not mean I dislike people.

A discussion took place on a well-known British radio station (LBC) about Jeremy Clarkson's tweet. People's opinion was divided.  The presenter, Nick Ferrari (a very high profile radio presenter) believed that Jeremy Clarkson had not been racist and this was political correctness.  A young caller thought it was racist because she said that Jeremy Clarkson is of the old school as he is 54 years old. The point she made was that people in their fifties and older come from an age when racism was rife or more common than it is today.  Because of this they are more prone to make racist remarks without even knowing it.

One British caller  to the radio station said that he had named his black cat after Whitney Houston the well-known singer.  Clearly he thought that Clarkson had not been racist and that the whole discussion was a classic example of political correctness gone mad.

What do you think?  Please leave a comment.

There is an associated topic and it is this: the domestic cat with a black coat is the least popular of all domestic cats with respect to its appearance.  Is this a case of subliminal racism?

Friday, 25 April 2014

Feral Cats Blamed for Flea Infestation At Irish Hospital

Feral Cats Blamed for Flea Infestation At Irish Hospital

This is a classic case of blaming the feral cat when no other reason could be found especially when that other reason was quite likely to be people.  If there is a competition between a problem being caused by a feral cat or a person you know that the cat will be the cause of the problem.

It is obviously very unusual for there to be a cat flea infestation inside a hospital.  However, it is not that unusual, I suspect, for feral cats to live near hospitals because where there are hospitals there are kitchens to feed the patients and where there are kitchens there is lots of food in bins outside the hospital; an ideal source of sustenance for a group of feral cats.

However, it seems that the hospital, on this occasion, was too eager to blame the cats and used a pest control company to trap them and kill them although it is said that they were euthanised by a veterinarian.   Euthanising a healthy cat is not euthanasia is straight killing.

I wonder whether anybody in authority at the hospital asked questions about the people working at the hospital and whether they kept cats at home or not.  That, I think, would have been a good line of enquiry for the hospital management before jumping in and contracting with a pest control company.  Perhaps they did but I doubt it.

The Human Species Is Destroying Planet Earth

The Human Species Is Destroying Planet Earth

This is an article by Ruth.  Ruth is a regular contributor to the main website.  I don't know how many people think that the human species is destroying planet Earth.  Do you think like that?  Do you think Ruth is being too pessimistic and negative.  Or do you think she's being realistic and observant?

A lot of people are very interested in their little world, the world that they inhabit and either don't have time or the inclination to look beyond that, to the wider picture and to the consequences of their actions and how their actions impact on, for example nature and the environment.

There are other people who understand how their actions impact upon the environment but do nothing to minimise that impact if it is a negative one because they're too busy surviving and trying to get on in the world.  As very few other people, relatively, are interested in conserving the planet and doing something about the environment, any person who is concerned about the environment is at a disadvantage because what he or she does is compromised because he or she is less competitive, at least potentially.

It is the rat race and to hell with the environment.  That is what the governments believe because no one as yet has managed to bring the major industrialised countries together to take steps to protect the environment for future generations.

What has this got to do with cats?  Well, it has everything to do with cats is they lived with us if their domesticated and they live in the wild, in nature if they are wild cats.   Whatever happens to us also happens to our cats.

It isn't just about destroying planet Earth it is about what we do within the home and how that affects our domestic cat companions.  There was only hazards within the home a lot of which we are not aware of.  And outside there are more hazards, the greatest of which is the automobile.  Roads not only carve up the home ranges of wild cat species, they also carry traffic and traffic kills cats.  We created all this and therefore we created an outside environment that is in general hostile to the domestic, straight, and feral cat.

Of course predators will prey on outside cats as well.  I accept that.  However, I would bet my bottom dollar that by far the biggest killer of domestic cats to venture outside is the automobile.

We are in the process of destroying the planet and a great example of that is the plight of the Bengal tiger, which mainly resides in India.  There the Tiger almost exclusively lives in tiger reserves.  So the natural habitat of the Tiger in India has been cut down to reserves which are too small and which cannot contain a group of healthy breeding tigers in a sustainable way.  We had destroyed the habitat of the Tiger and left them too little to live on and in.

Not being content to simply remove most of the Tiger's habitat, many Asian people also like to eat bits of the Tiger because they believe it makes them better.  This results in poaching and it is impossible for the Rangers on these reserves to prevent poaching taking place.  The resources are simply not there so there are not enough rangers.  That in itself is indicative of the fact that there is an inadequate amount of motivation amongst those in authority in India to protect the Tiger.

And there is another problem.  Even those in authority are unwilling to really commit to saving nature.  There is simply not the willingness and the commitment and motivation there amongst people in authority and amongst those who run the big businesses to protect and conserve the natural environment within which wild species live.

Matters will deteriorate until the moment comes when there is a real impact upon humankind  and its survival and then, and only then, in the eleventh hour will humankind take steps to protect itself and I for one will hope that it is too late for it is time for the world to be returned to the way it was before the first human stepped on the planet.

Note: this article was dictated using DragonDictate.  It was not checked due to time constraints and therefore if you do see some rather odd words popping up that don't make sense you will know why!


China-Eating Wildlife-Tightening Up and Enforcement of Existing Law

China-Eating Wildlife-Tightening Up and Enforcement of Existing Law

Friday, 18 April 2014

Sick Looking Cougar Ate Rat Poison And Has Mange

This Californian cougar looks very unhappy and so he should because he has mange which makes his fur look motley and it makes him look unkempt but it is also because he has eaten rodents which have been killed with rat poison. He must feel awful. He looks miserable.

AP Photo - Mountain lion suffering from mange and rat poison

As a result the cougar has been poisoned with rat poison. Not so long ago he appeared strong and healthy when he was wandering through a wilderness park in the middle of Los Angeles. And now he looks a mess and it is unclear whether he will survive. Although he has been treated and sent on his way.

This mountain lion has been trapped before and wears a radio collar. The cat has a number P–22.

Read much more on this well-known cougar

There may be a connection between this cat getting mange and being poisoned by the anticoagulant rodenticide.

Apparently, mange in wild cats is rare and only two other mountain lions in the 12 year National Park Service study have developed mange and both of them died of rat poison.

It makes me wonder whether there should be some sort of local regulations which ensures that wildlife is protected from eating animals that have been killed with rat poison.

For someone like me, it is unpleasant to think about a mountain lion dying of poison, slowly while simultaneously suffering from a highly irritating skin condition. This cat must feel very uncomfortable and ill.

Sunday, 6 April 2014

You Might Not Know That Your Cat Has Arthritis

Cat owners should be open to the possibility that their cat has arthritis. This is particularly so if their cat is elderly and/or overweight. We know that in people arthritis causes a lot of discomfort and it severely affects the lives of people. We also know that domestic cat hide their discomfort and their pain. The masking of the discomfort and pain of arthritis makes it difficult to diagnose.

ADOPTED! Shorty
 He has arthritis of the elbow and is on medication.
Veterinarians will admit that diagnosis of feline arthritis is underreported. Not enough vets are diagnosing arthritis. One reason why feline arthritis may be more prevalent than people think it is, is because the cat companion is becoming ever more overweight. We know that the extra burden of weight on joints can lead to arthritis.

The pet market place is very valuable to manufacturers and they are forever trying to sell more products to pet owners including cat and dog food that looks attractive to people. The cat treats are a modern phenomenon and cat owners who want to please their cat will tend to buy a packet of cat treats. Treats are packaged in a way that makes them look like sweets for people. That is the way I view them anyway.

People like to keep their cat happy and feeding them quality human food and cat treats will make a cat happy but it may also make a cat fat and flatness equates to arthritis and sometimes diabetes.

People should be aware of the possibility of arthritis in cats. When it is bad you will notice it in a cat. I remember a very old ginger tabby cat who lived outside for a very long time and he came into my mother's house for some warmth. His gait strongly indicated arthritis. It was as if he was walking sideways almost. If a cat is less mobile and has difficulty jumping up and perhaps is irritable, then he or she may have arthritis particularly if he is elderly or overweight.

If the cat does have arthritis who will be in discomfort and a good cat caretaker will not wish their cat to be in discomfort and they will want to do something about it. Perhaps a cat owner  should raise the possibility of arthritis with her veterinarian if she thinks that her cat has it. The vet can then do proper diagnosis such as x-rays.

A vet will advise on treatments, of course and there are home treatments that you can read about on the Internet. As far as I am aware, there's not much you can do though and I'm sure that part of the treatment is painkillers.

The photo is by Rocky Mountain Feline Rescue on Flickr

Friday, 4 April 2014

Andean Mountain Cat Camera Trap Photographs

This is a video of camera trap photographs of the elusive Andean Mountain cat. This is the most endangered wild cat species in the Americas. Almost the only way to photograph this cat is through camera traps although Jim Sanderson has photographed this cat with a regular camera as far as I am aware. Nearly all the photographs that one sees of this cat species on the Internet are by Jim Sanderson. You see the same photographs over and over again because there are so few photographs of this cat. Jim Sanderson PhD is the world's foremost small wild cat species expert.


This cat is about the same size as a regular sized domestic cat. However, you would not mistake this cat for a domestic cat.  The wild look and the thick tail are notable differences. The Andean mountain cat tail is thicker and more functional. The tail of this cat is used for balance negotiating rocky slopes etc. in the Andes. The coat is pretty much a regular tabby coat so this is a tabby cat but a rather special one as there are only about 2000 of them on the planet. Thank God they occupy remote places because if they didn't there would be none left already.

Lack of Proper Oversight Of Cougar Hunting In America

Big cat rescue make a point that had occurred to me for long time which is that the state governmental agencies who regulate the hunting of the cougar are funded through the license fees that permit people to hunt. This must be an incorrect and ill-thought out process.

If the regulatory agencies are funded by license fees then they will naturally wish to hand out as many licenses as they possibly can which will lead to a tendency to issue too many licenses for the sake of increased income. If too many licences are issued then too many cougars are shot and in addition the regulatory agency is no longer doing its job in protecting wildlife and ensuring that there is a balance between people and cat.

Because too many cougars are shot, the agency then have to sell the idea to the public that there are plenty of cougars about. Do they concoct sightings and are the sightings of escaped pet cougars?

The fees earned through licences should go to the state treasury and the regulatory agencies should receive a fixed budget from the state government. There should be no motivation or bias created through income. Their role is not to be a business but to be a totally unbiased regulator whose underlying goal is to protect wildlife and maintain a balance between wildlife and people. Even that goal is impossible because the population of people is consistently growing and therefore the balance between people and wildlife is consistently changing in the direction of less wildlife and more people. So where is the balance between the two?

I can remember the shell oil spill. Do you remember that? It was a massive ecological disaster in the Gulf of Mexico. The way I see it is that the regulatory authorities dishing out licenses to oil companies were getting backhanders to allow unsafe practices which in this instance led to this massive ecological disaster.

I have no evidence to support my allegation but that's the way it seems to me and it is very similar to what is going on with respect to the wildlife and fishery agencies. They simply are not doing their job.

I also reminded of the Florida panther. The population of the Florida panther is fixed and about 100 and they live in a fixed island (meaning enclosed and a fixed size) habitat. Commercial development continues to take place in Florida placing ever more pressure on the habitat of the Florida panther. There are more buildings, more roads and more people in the same space. What is the wildlife agency doing in Florida to protect their precious cougar? Is someone getting backhanders? And I'm cynical but that is the way it seems to me.

Dead Cat Bounce

"Dead cat bounce" is an obnoxious phrase to a cat lover. The phrase has nothing to do with cats really. It has everything to do with finance.

In finance, a dead cat bounce refers to a temporary recovery in the price or value of the declining stock of a company or stock market. The stock of a company refers to its value with respect to shareholder's interests. That, in any case, is my understanding of the meaning of the word “stock".

The phrase was apparently made up by a couple of journalists - Horace Brag and Wong Sulong - working for the Financial Times. The Singaporean and Malaysia stock markets fell rapidly and then bounced back. In a report on this event these journalists concocted the phrase, “dead cat bounce".

To this couple of journalists the phrase was appropriate because to them even a dead cat will bounce if it falls from a great height and the stock market, I presume, had fallen from a great height and then bounced back a little bit.

Of course, they could have picked any number of inanimate objects to use in their concocted phrase but chose the domestic cat above everything else, which, to me, indicates a rather unpleasant attitude towards the domestic cat. Although, no doubt I'm being overly sensitive but I've always disliked this phrase as it appeared to me to have come from insensitive people.

What about these alternatives:

“Squash Ball Bounce"
“Dead Person Bounce"
“Smart Phone Bounce"

None of them sound as good as the original partly because we are used to the original but they are all more decent and respectful of the domestic cat than the original.

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