Cat and Dog Pictures Blog

This is not a Cat and Dog Pictures Blog but I love to see cats with other animals. Dogs are a lot bigger than cats normally so to see a cat relaxed with a dog indicates a lot of trust. We normally associate dogs chasing cats. This has been reinforced through cartoons and films. But this need not be the case.

In fact cats can form relationships with just about any animal. You may have seem pictures of cats and horses as an example on the internet.

How can this come about? Apparently a cat's fear of other species (meaning species that are naturally able to cause injury) doesn't develop until the kitten is 7 weeks of age.

If during the first 6 weeks of life the kitten is introduced to other animals then a lifelong bond can form.

If the kitten is able to play with another animal, and I guess this is more likely to happen with a more naturally gentle animal such a Labrador dog, accompanied by lots of head and body rubbing (the transmission of the cats scent to the other animal) then it seems that this breaks down the natural hierarchy of the animals.

If this bond has been formed (as in this picture of a white rat on the back of a cat), the cat's natural instinct to prey on an animal of that breed will be modified and the cat will not hunt this animal or treat the animal as prey.

As to cat-on-cat relationships it seems that certain cat breeds are more likely to be accepting of other unrelated cats.

Siamese and cats from Asia (I can think of one, the Singapura, a very small cat) are less likely to accept other non related cats, while Persians are the opposite.

Photographs reproduced under creative commons:

Top: copyright ymktmk918
Bottom: copyright craftyfox

From Cat and Dog Pictures Blog to Cat Chit Chat

Cat Eating Grass

Why? Looks strange. Maybe cats just like it. I always wondered why my cat likes to pop out and almost one of the first things she does is to chew on grass.

Sometimes (thankfully rarely, it seems) a cat will chew on the next available thing, a house plant, and some of them are poisonous. You can see a list here.

I actually thought it was something to do with the digestive system of cat and a means to improve it - a bit like eating roughage for humans!

Some experts though it was a means to making themselves sick to throw up hairballs.

It seems that the jury is still out on this but the likely explanation is that the cat is chewing on (normally long grass) to extract the sap or juice in the grass as it contains a substance that is not normally obtainable in her diet and which is vital to her.

The chemical that the cat needs is folic acid, a substance that aids the body's production of hemoglobin. Hemoglobin is a substance in the red blood cells of the body that contains iron and which transports oxygen around the body in the blood.

Cats are not becoming vegetarian though. They are confirmed carnivores and the diet should reflect that.

Source: Cat Watching - Desmond Morris
Photo: reproduced under creative commons copyright Irregular Shed (Flickr)

From Cat Eating Grass to Black cat in grass

CHAKAN GD

The Chakan GD is a cat that is bred by LifeStyle Pets (the parent company of Allerca). She is one a trio of cats, the others being the Allerca GD and the Ashera GD (there is also a non-hypoallergenic Ashera - the GD indicates that she is hypoallergenic).

The Chakan is a cross between the Allerca GD (the original hypoallergenic cat) and a Traditional Siamese (I have guessed this as the appearance of the Chakan is not extreme and Modern Siamese are extreme in appearance).

The Chakan has a pretty classic Siamese appearance, with blue eyes and points. The company says that her character is similar to the Siamese. Her size though is smaller than the average Siamese. The Siamese has an average weight, while this cat weighs on average 6-8 pounds (2.5-3.5 kg), which would put her towards the small end of the cat weight/size spectrum.

Lifestyle Pets are confident that their cats are truly hypoallergenic as they provide a guarantee as far as I remember and there are testimonials. Also, in my limited experience of cat allergies (I am allergic to a stray cat that comes to see me daily), the effect comes in almost immediately, so if you are able to stroke your new cat partner before adopting, you'll know pretty quickly if the Chakan is truly hypoallergenic for you.

This cat is not a registered breed - none of the Allerca cats are. That doesn't make her less of a cat though.

Photo reproduced with permission of LifeStyle Pets copyright LifeStyle Pets.

From Chakan GD to Ashera GD and Allerca cats

Traditional Cat Breeds

There is a gradual and perhaps growing movement towards a return to a more sensible approach to cat breeding and registration of breeds

A number of recognized cat breeds are, it could be argued, created artificially or have evolved through modern (and I think misdirected) breeding practices. The underlying reason for this is always commerce. I know this sounds cynical but it must be the reason. Commerce is not a bad thing obviously. But in relation to living creatures it can be and usually is.

There are two outstanding examples that come to mind, the Modern Siamese and the Persian cat.

Classic and Modern Siamese

The original Siamese is the one I used to know, a standard looking cat with color points, you know, the classic looking Siamese cat. This cat was until recently no longer recognized by the major cat registers as the breed had evolved into the Modern Siamese a rather fragile unhealthy looking cat with a tiny head. Strange and interesting looking - yes, but normal looking - no, not for me anyway. This is more apparent if you see these cats in the flesh.

This change has been brought about in my opinion by the desire to breed cats that have a "stand out" appearance. Something different. It is the same motivator that drives a car manufacturer to bring in a new car that is "different" and exciting in order to boost sales.

The difference with cats is that she is a living creature. And anyway there are potential health issues when you breed like that. So you get a strange looking and potentially unhealthy cat.

That said there are many who like the Modern Siamese and claim that the appearance is nearer to the true appearance. The history of most of the cat breeds is murky and no on can be certain as to what an original Siamese looked like except that to me the Classic Siamese looks like a normal cat (which is good evidence that she is the original Siamese) and the old books such as the 1911 Encylopedia show this breed of cat as the classic look.

Also it is worth mentioning that all domestic cats originate from the wild cat and there are no wild cats that remotely look like the Modern Siamese.

TICA (the second largest registry) have I believe recently recognized the classic Siamese but had to rename the breed the Thai because the Modern Siamese breeders insisted on it.

Persians
I go on at length about the over breeding of the Persian on my website so I won't go on about it it in detail here.

There are though now 2 types of Persian cat. The recognized one, the Ultra, peeked squashed faced cat with tear overflow and nose problems and the good old normal Persian which is called the Doll Face, which is unrecognized (at least at the full status level) by the major registries (I don't know is some registries recognize this cat).

The Doll Face breeders want of course recognition but it is hard work getting it. The purpose of this posting is to support them in a very small way because as is apparent I am fan of the natural and normal and health.

Pressure needs to be put on the CFA, TICA and GCCF (the major registries) to fully recognise the traditional Persian and treat the breed in the same way as the Ultra. In fact if I was in charge I would change the breed standard of the Ultra, year on year to gradually bring this breed back to normal.

There is no good reason why there cannot be two types of Persian cat - the current Ultra and the Traditional or Doll Face if there is a reluctance (and there is) to rectify a wrong (the overbreeding of this cat)

Siamese:
Top photo of Modern Siamese copyright Helmi Flick, second photo reproduced under creative commons copyright KaCey97007


Persians:
The top photo is a Traditional Doll Face "Orlando" copyright Dani Rozeboom. The bottom photo is an Ultra Persian reproduced under Creative Commons copyright mephistofelicat

From Traditional Cat Breeds to Cat Chit Chat

Cats Animal Testing

This is a follow up on the other 2 posts on animal testing that I have made. It is so easy to forget about the cruelty of animal testing as it is out of sight ("out of sight out of mind"). The concept of out of sight out of mind pervades all we do.

For example, we can't see pollution from second hand cigarette smoke. Sure you see it being released from the cigarette, but at low levels when it is gradually released from objects where it has been sitting for along time, it is impossible to see it. If we can't see it, it doesn't exist, almost.

Research indicates a lot of damage done to passive smokers. 30,00o people in the UK die of passive smoking every year. Think what it is like in the poorer countries being targeted by the cynical cigarette manufacturers.

So if we can't see cats being used in animal testing experiments, we forget about it. That's why I am posting some photographs with the permission of the person who has copyright. All the photos are copyright Brian Gunn IAAPEA. The objective is to put the issue in front of us to remind us.

The cat in the picture with the mask below was kept blinded by the mask (that you can see) for 6 months. I presume to see the effect that it has on the cat psychologically. Wicked cruelty.

Large companies such as the largest consumer products company Procter and Gamble conduct "product safety research". Nice one P&G. P&G are the parent company of Iams pet food.

There is hard evidence that Iams are conducting or paying others to conduct animal testing. Iams is a respected cat food manufacturer or that is the image they portray.

Note:

1. I know of no connection between Iams or P&G and the images on this page.
2. I do not condone violent protests against animal testing
3. I admire those brave souls who spend time to protest peacefully

I have to be cautious as Procter and Gamble are huge and with their muscle they could sue me off the face of the earth :). However P&G apparently admit that they do use cats (and of course other animals) in product research. A part of their website is dedicated to their arguments as to why they feel they need to use animal testing.

Humane Society of the United States® is working in partnership with P&G to I presume minimise and eliminate the need for animal testing. If you were a cynical pain in the backside such as me you might think that P&G had donated a large sum of money to the Humane Society of the United States to give credibility to their argument that they are doing their level best to find alternatives to animal testing. I am not saying that P&G did donate a large sum - this is supposition only.

The only reason why companies do animal testing is to allow them to make more profit. We the consumer don't need more products. In fact we need less products, less possessions and more thought and proper actions.

Animal testing then is carried out in the name of commerce. This is still the case if the products are ultimately beneficial to mankind. The profit element is the first objective, always.

Making profits is fine it what makes the world tick. But it can tick a little slower for me if it means no animal testing. It would take longer to introduce the products and they may be less good but so what. The trade off is enormous.

The picture of the cat with what appears to be broken legs on the right at the bottom of this posting is in fact a cat that has legs that have been deliberately deformed by humans to see the effect this has on him. Wicked.

My mind turns to Gandhi again, who was the master of effective non-violent protest.

Here are some of his sayings courtesy All Great Quotes

"Non-violence is the first article of my faith. It is also the last article of my creed"

"You must not lose faith in humanity. Humanity is an ocean; if a few drops are dirty, the ocean does not become dirty"

Cat Bravery

Animal (and for me cat) bravery is very touching. In the UK there is a medal called the Dickin Medal which is awarded to animals for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty while serving for the armed forces. It is the animals' Vitoria Cross.

The Victoria Cross is the highest award for gallantry in the UK. The award is very rarely made. There are some incredible stories of gallantry so you can image that the animals awarded the Dickin Medal have been outstanding in carrying out their duties in war.

60 Dickin Medals have been awarded since its inception in 1943 by Maria Dickin CBE who founded the PDSA a large animal charity employing about 1500 people.

Of these 60 there is only one cat, Simon who has been awarded the medal. Simon served on HMS Amethyst a ship of the size of a frigate as a rat catcher. He found his way on board when a member of the crew spotted him in Hong Kong. At the time he was smuggled on board he was sickly. He endeared himself to the crew and kept the rats down.

He was caught up in the Yangtze incident. This incident occurred on April 29th 1949 on the Yangtze river in China. The ship was bombarded by field guns on the shore that hit the ship 50 times and caused severe damage. The shelling killed 22 and and wounded 31.

The award was made posthumously (after his death) after the incident. Simon was wounded by one of the 50 shells that hit the ship. Four pieces of shrapnel were removed from him. he survived to continue his duties which included boosting the morale of the crew.

His "behaviour throughout was of the highest order.." The blast that injured him made a hole a foot diameter in steel plate.

Simon was an exceptional cat because he was able to function normally under such horrendous conditions for both human and cat. He died shortly after returning to England as a result of an infection while in quarantine. The entire crew of HMS Amethyst turned out for the funeral and hundreds of others.

Simon was smallish black and white moggie with a gentle face. There are pictures on the 'net of him but I do not have permission to use the photos at the time of writing this.

Cat Tresspassing

I used to live in a bungalow with a garden and my darling Missie who was killed on the road outside the bungalow used to go next door. The next door neighbours didn't like it and I can understand that as he was a keen gardener. Cats can make a bit (but only a bit) of a mess in a garden sometimes. He simply made some noise and she came back.

What if he had put in place deterrents that caused injury to my cat? In the UK there are one or two things that can be done although the law is a bit of a mess on this. It is also untested.

The Occupiers Liability Act is designed to protect anyone who is injured as a result of the negligence of the occupier of the building or land. So for example, if I visited a persons house at Christmas and his staircase collapsed and caused injury, the person who occupied the house could be liable in negligence (the tort of negligence) and be required to pay compensation.

The liability extends to trespassers. This term can it seems include your cat. For trespassers the duty of care is a little tighter. If the occupier knows that there is a danger and that it your cat may come into contact with that danger (in the case of a deterrent this test is passed I would argue) and the risk is one that you could have provided protection against then the occupier could be liable.

Obviously if the occupier takes deliberate steps to deter cat the test above is satisfied. Clearly is the human keeper of the cat accepts the risks knowing they exist then that would be a defence (no cat rights here are there).

Clearly the best course of action is to take steps to avoid the problem occurring through preventative measures and dialogue. The rights of humans (your neighbour) is as important as those of your cat.

If you were forced to litigate on this expect a bumpy ride and an expensive one if you used a lawyer. Although this might fall under the small claims process.

Thanks to the author of the book Veterinarian Notes for Cat Lovers (for bringing this to my attention)

Photo copyright Paul Watson reproduced under Creative Commons