Young woman adopted an older kitty who had been returned to the shelter a few times

The picture is very good if not excellent and the behavior of this young woman was also excellent. She's being rewarded by the love of her elderly cat. You get back what your invest plus more when you adopt unwanted shelter cats. We know that older cats tend to 'stay on the shelf' at shelters. They are just less popular but there are many advantages. They are more domesticated. They know how to live with humans and they are more placid and pliable. They fit in better. And I think they appreciate their new home more as they have managed to escape the shelter sometimes after a long stay.

Here is the picture. A nice one. It must be a selfie so the photographer is the lady you see in the pic.

Young woman adopted an older kitty who had been returned to the shelter a few times. I took the liberty of improving the image quality slightly but the original was still very good.

I recommend adopting the shelter cats that are unwanted. Invest in the cat. Look beyond the appearance. Invest in the relationship and focus on it plus the personality of the cat. The rewards will flow.

I don't know anymore about this brown tabby cat or the woman as she posted the photo and the title but no other information. But the most important thing is known: she did something great and took a nice picture to boot.

Chonky, square, grey tabby is eye-catching

This chonky fella has become a hit with guests at the Best Western Silver Fox Inn, in Waterville Valley New Hampshire, USA. Well, at least that was the case in 2016. That's five years ago but Logan was eight years old at the time weighing 31 pounds which is about three times the weight of a normal domestic cat. That makes him 13 today and if he maintained that weight I would suspect that he is ill with conditions such as diabetes and arthritis but perhaps I am being too negative.

Logan a grey tabby cat weighing 31 pounds. Photo: Jim Cole (AP).

His appearance is certainly eye-catching so it is no surprise that he has become a feature in the area. One Facebook video was viewed 29 million times or more. He was adopted by Susan and Tor Brunvand from Meredith, New Hampshire from a shelter. At that time he was a normal-sized cat. Sadly, they allowed him to become obese. It is fun to see a chonky cat like this but on a more serious note it is very unhealthy. Apparently he had a habit of eating the food of other cats in the household.

ASSOCIATED: 3 life stages of the domestic cat in terms of body weight and nutrient requirements

Perhaps I've been a bit unkind because I read that his weight may be due to 'slow metabolism'. They took him to a vet for advice. I suspect, though, that he put on weight because he ate too much. The fact that he was normal weight when adopted supports that assessment. 

Sometimes you just don't realise how much you and your cat eats. People have a habit of normalising the things that they do and the weight that they gain. That is why it can be difficult to recognise weight gain. I recently wrote a page about that which you can read if you want to by clicking on this link.

Although he's very popular there were (still are?) people who were criticising Susan and Tor because it does indicate an irresponsible attitude to cat caregiving. Although we shouldn't be too critical. One person threatened to report them for animal abuse. And another, Janet Lynn, a guest to the hotel from Manchester, New Hampshire asked: "I just wonder why a person would have a pet and let it get that heavy?"

The Brunvands seem to have laughed this off because they think they can't do anything about his weight. Susan says that he is happy and that "He doesn't think he's fat".

The likely reason why Logan is as fat as he is, is because he eats too much and doesn't exercise enough. It is not rocket science. A consistent dietary change over a long period of time would be beneficial. In the meantime the guests of the hotel can continue to be amused. However, I am sure that in the back of their minds they are also concerned for his health.

Michigan, USA has its first domestic cat testing positive for Covid

NEWS AND COMMENT: This is not really news but it is all over Bing News. I think I need to report on it and comment. The press is saying that a domestic shorthair cat living in Ingham County, Michigan, USA has tested positive for Covid which makes the cat the first pet to test positive for the disease in that state. And as expected, the cat got the disease from his or her owners because they both had the disease a week before their cat became ill according to the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development.

Michigan, USA has its first domestic cat testing positive for Covid. Image: MikeB

ASSOCIATED: Scientists should positively state that pets can't spread coronavirus through a new study

The symptoms for a cat when they get the disease are often quite mild and including fever, sneezing, coughing and nasal and eye discharge. In previous reports I have read that domestic cats resolve the disease themselves quite quickly. It appears that their immune systems are superior to those of humans certainly in respect of this disease. Concerning zoo animals, when they get Covid, sometimes they are treated but once again it seems that the big cats have good immune systems with respect to Covid-19.

The experts say that people should not be worried about catching Covid from their pets. My reading of the situation is that in all the cases I have read there has been transmission from people to pets rather than in the opposite direction. This is why the authorities say that people who have Covid should take precautions which I doubt happens.

It is fairly clear that the pets who catch Covid have been in general contact with their owner or caretaker. Ideally people who have contracted the disease should isolate themselves from their companion cat in the home. This would seem to be a very difficult task but at least they should avoid kissing and snuggling with their cat or allowing them to sleep on the bed while they are infected with the disease. My guess is that cat owners are unlikely to take effective steps to protect their pet.

News media reports that Michigan State officials said that as at Monday there have been 257 confirmed cases of Covid in animals throughout the US including 99 domestic cats since the start of the pandemic which is now around 19 months ago.

The report comes from USA Today.

Mum has cried herself to sleep for 8 weeks over her lost, possibly stolen, snow Bengal cat

NEWS AND COMMENT: The story is a reminder that people who live with glamorous purebred cats really have to keep them indoors all the time. And because of that they should also seriously consider building a catio or a garden enclosure for their full-time indoor cat. The story concerns an 18 months old snow Bengal cat called Meeka. She has been lost since August 21, 2021. This post is dated October 19, 2021.

Snow Bengal cat lost for weeks and owner cries every night. Photo: Asia Sattar.

It seems that the owner, Asia Sattar, 51, and her family including her 20-year-old daughter Mariyya allowed Meeka to go outside unsupervised. That is quite unusual for a snow Bengal cat because they really are striking in appearance. They are bound to catch the eye of anybody who notices them. You're going to get somebody who perhaps isn't a thief but who is predisposed to being a thief being provoked into stealing this cat. That may be what has happened.

Meeka and Mariyya. Photo: the family.

It is unusual to have professional cat thieves roaming around your area but you will have ordinary citizens and neighbours who suddenly want to possess this wonderful looking cat and they can't resist it. And then when they keep the cat inside all the time you are never going to know where she's gone to.

Sattar believes that Meeka has been stolen. The presumed theft was reported to the police on August 28 but they did nothing as far as I can tell and they have closed the file. That's another problem in the UK at the moment. The police are sitting on their hands. They do not get off their bottoms for this sort of crime.

They don't do anything for a whole range of crimes including thefts up to thousands of pounds. They simply wash their hands of them. The criminals know this and they know that they will not be caught. This promotes criminality. The police are in acute dereliction of their duty at this present time. It is shameful behaviour and citizens like myself and this lady who has lost a cat are on our own. We have to deal with things without the support of law enforcement in the UK.

Asia's father was very close to Meeka and he still searches for her. He still puts up posters and they have offered a £1,500 reward. Judging by the length of time that the cat has been missing I think we can be very confident that they will not get their cat back unless something big changes.

They might seek the assistance of the cat detective. There is one in the UK who is pretty successful. I am surprised that they haven't contacted him. Sometimes cats do come back after a very long time. Perhaps she hasn't been stolen and is just wondering, having become a stray cat living in the wild. Sometimes domestic cats do that. But I doubt it.

And this, I think, is one of the downsides of owning a purebred cat especially the glamorous ones. You have to keep them in. A lot of people would say you have to keep all cats inside but in the UK it is not the default position. She got to build a catio if she has not done so already, and you've got to leash train your purebred cat if you want to take them outside unsupervised. There are extra things to do and extra responsibilities when you own a snow Bengal cat.

What colours do British Shorthair cats come in?

The British Shorthair is shown in all colours and all divisions of the traditional category. The original British Shorthair was grey and was called the British Blue. It was the only colour the cat was shown in. Apparently, even today, some organisations still recognise blue as the only accepted colour. They say that blue British SHs have a thicker coat than black-and-white British Shorthairs, for instance. I have provided details for the 3 premier cat associations.

Cinnamon British shorthair. Photo: Pinterest.

GCCF (British)

Below are the accepted colour colours and types for the British Shorthair under the GCCF (UK cat association). Within these categories there are subdivisions relating to the various colours and types. You can see these in more detail if you click on this link which takes you to the GCCF breed standard for the British Shorthair.

Self British Shorthairs (solid colours), tabby, spotted, ticked tabby, tortoiseshell, tortoiseshell and white, bicolour, van-pattern bicolour, van pattern tortoiseshell and white, smoke, tipped, colour pointed, colour pointed and white.

Top 3 photos copyright Helmi Flick. Bottom: TICA Best British Shorthair Alter of the Year.

CFA (American)

The CFA's breed standard states that the following colours are accepted for the British Shorthair: white, black, blue, red, cream, smoke, shaded silver, shaded golden, chinchilla silver, chinchilla golden, shell cameo, classic tabby, mackerel tabby, spotted tabby, silver tabby, silver patched tabby, silver patched tabby and white, red tabby, brown tabby, brown patched tabby, brown patch tabby and white, blue tabby, blue patched tabby, blue patched tabby and white, cream tabby, tabby and white, van tabby and white, tortoiseshell, calico, dilute calico, van calico, van dilute calico, blue cream, bicolour, van bicolour, Other British Shorthair Colours (OBSHC).

TICA (International)

TICA's breed standard is very short as they don't list, item by item, the various colours that are acceptable for this breed. They say that this cat breed is shown in all traditional and pointed categories, all divisions, all colours with no permissible outcrosses. They state that the coat is so dense that it is difficult to see the skin when parting the hair. A cross-eyed British Shorthair will be disqualified in competition. Lockets result in all awards being withheld.