Jaguarundi - the cat that looks the least like a cat

This photograph of the jaguarundi reminds me that this wild cat is the one that looks the least like a cat. And I am not the only person who might think it. It is the most widely distributed and commonly seen cat in Central and South America although you will be hard-pressed to see one! But it's biology and behaviour are still largely a mystery (as at 2002). And the experts have said that "Taxonomically, the jaguarundi is an enigma".

Jaguarundi. Photo: unattributed.

The scientists have put this cat by itself when categorising it i.e. they have assigned the jaguarundi to its own genus (as at 2002). This cat has 38 chromosomes while all other small South American cats have 36 chromosomes. It is also unique in that it has five pairs of E group chromosomes and no F group chromosomes. it has been suggested that the jaguarundi is more closely related to the cheetah and puma than to the other South American cats.

It has been difficult to categorise this cat taxonomically partly because of its appearance as it hardly looks like a cat at all. Its appearance is reminiscent of a marten while some cat experts have compared it to a weasel or an otter. It is said to superficially resemble a blackish-brown neotropical mustelid called a tayra.

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It has two main colour phases, grey morph and a red-brown morph. The pic shows the gray morph.

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The picture is one of the best that I have seen of the jaguarundi. It comes from The Board Panda website but is unattributed. In the language of the cat fancy and domestic cats, its coat is ticked tabby.

In America, particularly in Florida, some people like to keep them as pets and sometimes they escape which leads to the belief among a certain section of society that they still exist in Florida, USA. They don't not according to the official records anyway. They don't make good pets. Damn, they aren't pets at all. They want to escape.

Video example of antagonism between cats in multi-cat household

This lady bought some new cat shelves which attach to the glass in a window frame through suckers. It's quite a clever idea as cats love to look outside and high vantage points. She is pleased that they work. She is not going to be pleased that her cats are fighting. It looks like a minor contretemps between two family cats in a nice home. 

Video example of antagonism between cats in multi-cat household. Screenshot.

They, are no doubt, well looked after and loved. But my guess is that there is a background of quiet, simmering animosity between these two cats. They probably get along pretty well nearly all of the time. But they both jumped onto these new cat shelves to try them out which put them close together and a slapping competition commenced.

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This is an embedded tweet. They often go caput because they are pulled from Twitter. Sorry if that's happened. You have a still image instead which is nowhere near as good.

Was looking at “cat shelf” reviews and found this truly perfect user-submitted video: pic.twitter.com/s7IzHpg5e2

— Carlos Maza (@gaywonk) August 24, 2021

The experts say that if there is a cat behaviour problem described as "bad cat behaviour" in a home it's often caused by friction between cats in a multi-cat household. If that isn't the cause it is going to be the behaviour of the human caregiver which has rubbed up against feline emotions.

Adopting a second or third cat into a home is a problematic process which should be carried out with great care. Rescue centres should allow people to "suck and see" when adopting a second cat. They should allow them to bring the cat back after a week if it doesn't work out. Perhaps they do this in some shelters but it should be the default policy.

You get chemistry between cats. We don't know why some cats get along and some don't but I'm going to propose that the reason is a common sense one: they just get along like people get along because it's the right chemistry. But the big issue with multi-cat homes is that you are putting cats quite close together; unnaturally so. 

Domestic cats need several acres at least of home territory and they have to adapt to a much smaller space especially if they are confined to the home. They do this but it is easier for some cats compared to others. This is likely to cause stress if the cats are not friendly with each other. This is what has happened in this instance in my opinion.

Unique video of a woman being arrested for alleged cat cruelty

NEWS AND COMMENT - FLORIDA, USA: This is a cross-post but I feel I need to do it because I believe that this is a unique video of a woman being arrested for alleged cat cruelty. It appears to have been recorded by a bodycam attached to a police officer who is accompanying another police officer who is in the process of arresting and handcuffing this woman who is aged 53 and whose name is Thistle. The video is courtesy the Volusia County Sheriff's Office. Thanks, and well-done in arresting her.

Police arrest and handcuff Florida woman for alleged cat cruelty. Screenshot.

She lives in a mobile home on a trailer park in Volusia County, Florida next to a waterway. She used to live with her ex-boyfriend but she allegedly kicked him out of her mobile home and to encourage him to get on with the process of leaving she grabbed his cat who was in a carrier and threw it into a nearby waterway i.e. a river, in effect.

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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.

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The man who is not named must have dashed out immediately and rescued his cat who was under water for 20 seconds, it is reported. The cat's name is Stanley and he's tabby cat. He was being evaluated by animal services while Mrs Thistle was being held on remand in a local police station jail awaiting bail. She wanted somebody to put up a bond so she could be released and kill her ex-boyfriend! That's my understanding of it. It was an act of belligerence when she told the police officer that she wanted to kill her ex-boyfriend. Before that she grumbled about being arrested because she denied throwing the cat into the waterway.

I think that she will have great difficulty in maintaining that denial because the cat was clearly rescued from the waterway by a boyfriend who was wet from the waist down indicating that the waterway is waste deep. All the evidence is there which if the allegation is proved in court will lead to a conviction and I hope a reasonable punishment. In general, criminal courts under-punish perpetrators of animal cruelty. It is the way of the world because cats are second class citizens.

Ringworm transmitted to cat owners from their cat can be cured in minutes with UVB light

I feel that I need to pass this information on again. This is because I have yet to see this cure for ringworm on people discussed on the Internet. It is probably there but I've not bumped into it. Anyway, I can absolutely confirm that the most efficient way to get rid a ringworm on a cat owner because their cat gave it to them is to use UVB light. 

Ringworm being removed with UVB light. This is in the process of being cured. Photo: MikeB

Here are the same symptoms about 3 days later:

Ringworm transmitted to cat owners from their cat can be cured in minutes with UVB light.

The picture on this page shows ringworm on my left leg after three, 40 second sessions of UVB light on consecutive days. It is not yet cured as you can see but you can also see that it is on the way to being cured. I would expect it to resolve by itself now without further treatment within about seven days.

Here is the same place about a week later:

UVB light cures ringworm in humans who have got it from their cat. Pic: MikeB

You properly know that ringworm itches. After the first session of UVB light the itching stops and the cure commences. In my experience, UVB light cures ringworm much more quickly than antifungal creams. The only problem is that even though there are no other ringworm symptoms visible, I know that it is still there and it will come back perhaps in a year's time. It comes back that infrequently but it invariably returns.

So, all I'm doing is removing the symptoms. I've not yet worked out how to totally cure myself of the disease (please comment if you have the final cure). I was given it by a black, three-legged male cat, Charlie, that I adopted from my mother who was recently deceased at the time. I looked at him in her home and could not leave him. But he had ringworm unbeknownst to me. That was many years ago and I've had this persistent and irritating disease ever since.

But I would strongly recommend UVB light to manage it. It is so efficient and totally painless and the cure starts immediately. You can buy these lights on the Internet and they are quite cheap. Buy a handheld one for ease of use.

My current cat has not got it from me thank God. But I always remove it as soon as it flares up. Perhaps that it why.

154 smuggled purebred cats "culled" because of the risk of disease transmission

CHINA AND TAIWAN-NEWS AND COMMENT: It appears to be a well-known fact in Taiwan that purebred cats are being smuggled by boat across the sea from mainland China to Taiwan in order to feed what appears to be an insatiable appetite for the possession of fancy purebred cats such as Ragdolls and Persians in Taiwan. These cats are very valuable. There appears to be many boat trips between these countries. I have written about this recently - please click to read.

154 purebred cats smuggled from China to Taiwan by sea have been put down. Photo: Twitter.

Recently the coastguard stopped a boat about 40 nautical miles off the coast of Taiwan inside of which were 62 cages containing 154 purebred cats of the following breeds: Russian Blues, Ragdolls, Persians, American Shorthairs and British Shorthairs. The cats were seized with a value of 10 million new Taiwan dollars which equates to US$357,504.

The authorities decided to cull them i.e. kill them or euthanise them to use a euphemism. They did this because of what they claim to be biosecurity reasons because of Covid and rabies. Rabies is present in China. Animal advocates were outraged and asked why the authorities could not have decided upon a more humane treatment such as placing the cats into quarantine to confirm that they were free of disease and then adopting them out.

In response, the authorities have appeared to demonstrate some acceptance that they could have done better and behaved more humanely. The website Taiwan News pitches the story in a different manner. They say that Taiwan is going to pursue severe punishment of animal smugglers in the wake of this cat culling. That focus is on punishing the smugglers which is exactly what the authorities would argue. It is not their fault they argue that they had to cull fancy purebred cats but the fault of the smugglers who need to be punished more severely. The Council of Agriculture (COA) is seeking an amendment to the Smuggling Penalty Act to slap a NT$3 million (US$107,227) fine on those trading pet animals without legitimate origins

Within that mix you might have to add the citizens of Taiwan who are purchasing these cats. I wonder whether they know where they came from? Perhaps they don't care and there might lie the problem. When a person adopts a purebred cat, they should always go to the breeder's establishment to see the cats with their mother and make a selection there. Should not buy a purebred cat online sight unseen.

The president of Taiwan Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) , a cat caregiver herself, was moved to make a statement about this because she was obviously upset by what had gone on. I interpret her statement to include an agreement that they could do better but she towed the official line namely that the culling had to happen because rabies on mainland China. The virus could be latent for years they say and so could pose a significant threat to animals and even people in Taiwan.

One issue, obviously, is that people don't know how or where these cats are being bred. And that is another significant issue. The smugglers are not only taking advantage of Taiwanese citizens who are purchasing the cats but their operation is based upon probably quite dubious breeders whose standard of animal welfare might well be very low. We don't know how healthy these cats were. It is probably likely that there were no certificates provided with the cats to confirm that they were clear of diseases as usual when a registered cat breeder sells purebred kittens.

The great tragedy in the story is of course that 154 domestic cats have been killed. They are the innocent victims. An interesting thought is whether cat loving Taiwanese citizens would feel the same outrage if 154 moggies had been killed under the same circumstances.