What affects us affects cats
Here is why your cat is allegedly starting to look like your dog (and vice versa). Recent studies suggest that domestic cats and dogs are exhibiting increasingly similar physical traits, a phenomenon largely attributed to human influence through domestication. This convergence in appearance and behavior is rooted in the concept of “domestication syndrome,” a …
What one takes away from this 2019 study is that the modern (contemporary flat-faced) Persian cat’s health could and should be improved with a change to the breed standard to neutralise the extreme facial anatomy and normalise a skull and facial features which are nearer to what we expect of the domestic cat. This …
The infographic summarises the situation concisely. Below it I add some detail. The ‘Bullycat’ is clearly a spinoff from the American XL Bully dog which gained such notoriety particularly in the UK where they are now banned thanks to a targeted amendment to the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991. But the Bullycat is not a …
NEWS AND OPINION: Puppy famers aka puppy mills (and also kitten mills) use Pets4Homes, a major online presence for the adoption of cats and dogs to sell their illegally created companion animals. They have done so for years. They are difficult to stop as they use a range of anti-detection methods such as multiple …
The Commission of the European Union commissioned one of their agencies, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) to produce a scientific report on the welfare of cats and dogs in commercial breeding premises destined for sport, hunting and as companion animals. They addressed several issues including the housing of the cats and dogs and …
Today, The Sunday Times reports on a worrying story about designer dogs being abandoned by breeders to shelters when they are done with them. In this instance I’m talking about the ever-popular dachshund, a breed that was particularly popular during the Covid-19 pandemic as was the French bulldog. Louise Eccles in her Sunday Times …
I think I’d better start this discussion by clarifying what a ‘cat species’ is. There are around 37 cat species. The number depends on how you classify them (taxonomy) and there is still some discussion on that topic. All bar one are wild cats. One of the species or subspecies is the domestic cat …
A person who wants to adopt a male cat might ask why they should neuter their cat if they are going to be indoors full-time and there will be no other cats in the home; no chance of procreation. Incidentally, the word “neuter” has two meanings. It can mean the removal of the male …
