Yes, is the answer to the question in the title. I can produce the results of a couple of tests that were passed by domestic cats as evidence. Firstly, mine. When I buy the paper in the morning, I have to walk to a garage about half a mile away. My cat follows me – …
STUDY RESULT PLUS COMMENT: Dorottya Ujfalussy from the Eotvos Lorand University in Hungary, has decided in her study that flat-faced dogs (and I’m going to include flat-faced cats) are more attractive to their owners because they are more helpless. And in being more helpless they are more like human toddlers who are themselves helpless in …
Flat-faced dogs and cats’ helplessness makes them more attractive Read More »
Making our cats happy is our number one goal as cat caregivers. There are many ways to do it. Under this campaign I have already suggested two but there are thousands more on this website. This is the third tip in my happy cat campaign. It is about tackling what is a barrier between human …
Happy cat campaign tip 3 – physical levelling up Read More »
Domestic cats often instinctively lick their human caregiver on the hand and sometimes the face. It is called allogrooming. It is a friendly behavior that we see between cat buddies and as cats see us as buddies because we care for them, they lick us too. There are some other reasons why cats lick us …
This is an infographic on the well-used cat fancy phrase ‘modified wedge’. It is used all the time in cat association breed standards. I see it used a lot in the Cat Fanciers’ Association (CFA) breed standards and I’ve extracted some examples for the infographic below. The cat fancy administrators were drawn into using the …
‘Modified wedge’ terminology used in the cat fancy (infographic) Read More »
This is another infographic which I hope summarises what is going on when a cat coat becomes pale and washed out. A lot of people like the appearance. All the grey cats are a washed out black. The most famous grey purebred cat is the British Blue. The Russian Blue is also a dilute black.
Scroll down for an infographic on the classic tabby cat coat which is also referred to as the blotched tabby. Of the three types of tabby coat: the mackerel, spotted and classic, as stated in the infographic, the classic is believed to have evolved the last in the Elizabethan era due to a genetic mutation. …
The word ‘chinchilla’ is used a lot in the cat fancy and it is associated with Persian cats. Usually not the extreme bred, flat-faced variety but the traditional doll-faced types. But there appears to be a certain flexibility in the meaning and use of the word which I have illustrated in the infographic. In essence …
‘Chinchilla’, its meaning in the cat world (infographic) Read More »
The cat fancy through their cat associations – I typically refer to the Cat Fanciers’ Association (CFA) in the US – not infrequently demand through their breeding guidelines called breed standards that specified cat breeds such as the Siamese and LaPerm have almond shaped eyes. Here is an infographic on the topic which some might …
This is an infographic which summarises albinism in cats. Rarely you will see albino wild and domestic cats. You will see quite a lot of people confusing cats that are completely white with blue eyes or odd-eye colour caused by the dominant white gene and albino cats with light-blue to pink eyes. The eyes are …
This is my infographic on the agouti tabby domestic cat coat which we all know. It is the original cat coat. We all know that the domestic cat tabby pattern is the most common and best known as it comes from the domestic cat’s wildcat ancestor the North African wildcat which has a less contrasty …
Click the infographic below for a larger version. It covers the essential basics in order to assess your chosen kitten for health which is the number one criteria when adopting a kitten and assessing the breeder’s integrity whether they are professionals or informal breeders. P.S. There is a counterargument for adopting an unhealthy kitten! The …
Domestic cats have the required ‘umami’ taste receptors on their tongues to respond well to an enzyme called inosine monophosphate and an amino acid called free L-Histidine which combine to produce a strong umami taste. Cats enjoy these taste receptors thanks to the inheritance of Tas1r1-Tas1r3 genes. The umami taste is described as the fifth …
A lot has been written and published on the Internet about the allergen produced by the cat, Fel D1, which causes an allergic reaction in between 10% and 20% of people. Technically, an allergen is an antigen. Historically, people generally believed that the Fel D1 allergen is in a domestic cat’s saliva. But it should …
The distribution of Fel D1, the cat allergen (antigen) on and in a cat’s hair and skin Read More »
I am sorry to say that the American Wirehair is not hypoallergenic. ‘Hypoallergenic’ in respect of cat breeds means a breed that has a reduced effect on people who are allergic to cats. There is nothing in the reference books or anecdotally which encourages me to say that they are. This is a pretty rare …
