Author of 'Super Volcanoes' likens volcanic eruptions to cats

Robin George Andrews in his book Super Volcanoes (to be published on 19th November) says that volcanic eruptions are like cats because they possess their own distinctive personalities. The duration of their 'paroxysmal moods' can vary wildly, according to an article on The Guardian newspaper. 

Beautiful mountains of incandescent fury’. La Palma eruptions. Photo: Getty Images.

It's an interesting analogy because he could have said that volcanic eruptions are like people as people have their own distinctive personalities too. In fact, not everybody realises that domestic cats have their own personalities but everybody knows full well that people do. So why did he bring cats into the discussion when asked "How long is this eruption going to go on for?".

He appears to have been asked that question by a journalist although the article that I'm reading is unclear. They were talking about the volcanic eruptions on the Spanish island of La Palma in the Canary Islands. The average length of the eruptions are about a month, apparently, but they vary just like the personalities of cats!

I'm not sure that it is a great analogy because it starts creating a vision of spitting, angry cats! And there are enough people already who dislike cats who say that they are dangerous because they scratch and bite. But they only scratch and bite when there's a necessity for such behaviour i.e. they been provoked in some way.

ASSOCIATED PAGE: Father’s influence on his kitten’s personality

My cat has a great personality! Pic: Me.

But, yes, domestic cats, in their own subtle way, do have their own personalities because they are sentient beings and because they have emotions and feel pain just like people. And their personalities are formed like people as well: either through inheritance or experience. 

The latter might be more important than the former because domestic cats live in a human world which impinges very dramatically on their lives. They have to adapt to the human world. Their personalities can be moulded by the world that their human caregiver creates for them.

ASSOCIATED PAGE: A catio improves a cat’s personality

This is why in a post I wrote some years ago (link above) I stated that for a full-time indoor cat a catio makes the cat a better companion animal in terms of personality because they have more options to express their natural behaviour. The catio is a little bit of the outside brought inside. I think it's very hard for cat owners who keep their cats inside all the time to provide adequate substitutes for those cats who enjoy the indoor/outdoor life.

Domestic cat's predatory instinct which was so essential cannot be obliterated overnight

Until around the 1980s, the predatory instinct of domestic cats was essential to them because commercial cat food do not contain all the correct nutrients. But since around the 1980s or perhaps a bit earlier in the 1970s domestic cats have been relieved of the need to hunt to ensure that they have a balanced diet containing the nutrients that they need. 

Feline predatory activity. Photo: Tambako the Jaguar

And this is today's perhaps biggest dilemma with domestic cat caregiving. How do cat owners allow their cat companions to express their hunting instincts without upsetting the ornithologists and the wider anti-cat lobby who bombard the Internet with articles about the billions of native species lost to domestic cat predation.

The anti-cat lobby relentlessly wheel out information from the same study by the Smithsonian in which the scientists did their best to estimate the impact of domestic and feral cat predation on wildlife in the USA. However, over the years these estimates have become fact but they are not fact. Unfortunately people have started to believe the figures. They might be correct. 

We don't know but the current situation is unsatisfactory because a significant percentage (see link below) of concerned cat caregivers are not only concerned about cat welfare but about the wider welfare of all animals including wild species. They don't like cat predation any more than the anti-cat lobby does. But what can they do about it?

ASSOCIATED PAGE: Internationally almost 50% of domestic cats are kept indoors for their safety

They can keep their cats inside, is the answer given to them by those who don't look after cats. But we, who do, know that this is a very big compromise which works against domestic cat welfare. Pretty well nobody who keeps their cats indoors full-time does a good job of allowing their cats to express their hunting instincts in some form of substituted hunting game.

So the domestic cat is left in a position where they don't really fit in the modern world any more. They are behind the curve. They need to lose their predatory instincts but they can't switch them off. It will be hundreds of years before they do. 

The early years of domestication, many thousand years ago, were probably the best for the domestic cat except for the fact that there were no veterinarians at that time! They found their own food through hunting and it was high quality, containing all the required nutrients. And now, that skill is no longer required and it undermines their quality of life and even their existence.

Domestic cats today are significantly smaller and more varied in colour compared to the Ancient Egyptian era

This is a short note to remind us that today's domestic cat is smaller and more varied in coat colour and pattern compared to the domestic cats of Ancient Egypt and earlier.

Domestic cats today are significantly smaller and more varied in colour compared to the Ancient Egyptian era. Image in the public domain.

This is because all the domestic cats of Ancient Egypt were very similar to their wild ancestor the North African wildcat. This is essentially a mackerel/spotted tabby cat and the same size as a large domestic cat nowadays. The average domestic cat size in Ancient Egypt was the same as a current large domestic cat.

In illustrations from Ancient Egypt we see what appear to be semi-domesticated wildcats which is what they were. They were not fully domesticated in those days. No doubt they hunted for most of their nutrition. It is quite hard to visualise all the domestic cats being essentially the same as we are very familiar with a huge variety nowadays. 

Over several thousands of years the domestic cat evolved into a more delicate, smaller creature with a multitude of coat colours and patterns. They developed these new coat types because of informal selective breeding on the back of spontaneous genetic mutations. There was no need for the cats to wear great camouflage. If people liked the coat it stuck and did not fizzle out as it would have in the wild.

The blotched tabby pattern is relatively recent - read about it by clicking the link below:

Evolution of the blotched tabby pattern of domestic cats

This man left an adult cat and a kitten in a zipped-up duffel bag by the side of the road (allegedly)

NEWS AND COMMENT - PULASKI, VA: Sometimes I want to look into the eyes of the sort of person who has the ability to put two cats into a bag, zip it up, place it by the side of a road and then drive off. Because I don't know how people do it. They must have a bit of their brain missing. 

The man who did it is Ronald Goodwyn (allegedly). Photo: the Pulaski police.

The picture of this man was taken by the police who arrested him on two counts of animal cruelty and abandonment of an animal and dumping trash on a highway. Imagine that: dumping trash on a highway. I would have thought that that is not the right charge. Surely it's a mistake? Sentient beings are not trash. I can't understand what the police are thinking about. And there's no need to add that charge to an animal cruelty charge which presumably carries a stiffer punishment.

The offence took place in Pulaski, Virginia, USA. The cats were found in September near Route 11. Inside was an adult cat who had died and a kitten who had survived. Perhaps this was a mother and her kitten. Can you imagine the trauma that the kitten has been through? The man who allegedly did it is Ronald Goodwyn.

Companion animals blessed by religious leaders on Long Beach

NEWS AND COMMENT: This event presented the world with some nice photographs of, for example, Reverend Ava Park of Orange County's Goddess Temple who you see blessing a much-loved dog on the beach. You see Pamela Reilly of West Hollywood holding Harley, her 12-year-old wire-haired dachshund miniature poodle mix. This was an interfaith Blessing of the Animals in Belmont Shore. The photograph is by Howard Freshman.

Companion animals blessed by religious leaders on Long Beach. Photo: Howard Freshman.

I like this sort of event because although I am an atheist I see a lot of companion animal owners taking a lot of benefit and emotional warmth from the priests and other religious leaders blessing their animals. It's very comforting it seems to me. That is the impression I get from the images.

Of course cats and dogs were the most common animal there and I'm sure that there was a huge preponderance of dogs but there were also guinea pigs and bearded dragons including a corgi in a stroller. It would have been an ideal situation to use a cat stroller by the way. It would be a good way to keep a cat safe in such a situation.

ASSOCIATED PAGE: Picture of a cat stroller with cat by a river.

The event was part of the 19th Interfaith Blessing of the Animals. It was hosted by the Community Action Partnership, a non-profit run by Justin Rudd who is a long-time Long Beach event organiser.

There are about 200 companion animals at the blessing. The best photograph for me is of the priestess from Orange County's Goddess Temple. She looks interesting and you can almost feel the love delivered by Pamela to her dog Harley.

ASSOCIATED PAGE: Cats and dogs and other pets blessed by priest at festival of Francis of Assisi.

Some people brought the ashes of their companion animal to be blessed. I like that too. A lot of people gain a lot of emotional benefit from having the ashes of their companion animals, who've passed over the rainbow bridge, with them in their home at all times. To bless the ashes as an added bonus.