A Michael Broad Blog
In the world of cats, in Japan, there are two competing forces. One is a veneer over the other. The veneer is the cuteness culture for which the Japanese have a specific name ‘Kawaii’. The Japanese love cute things and that attitude applies to the selection of the kind of cat that they wish …
On my travels through the Internet today I have bumped into what appears to be a huge problem with Sphynx cats: smelly, loose stools in nightmarish quantities. There really are some horror stories on the Internet. One Sphynx owner says that she changes the entire litter tray every time her cat goes to the …
I’m referring to domestic, stray and feral cats. I am not referring to wild cats because there is quite a big difference. Without some sort of restraint on numbers (and there is always restraint on numbers) a cat population can increase “at a startling rate” according to Dr. Desmond Morris. And according to anybody …
Can a cat’s personality be linked to their coat colour and type? Apparently, the answer is yes, although I had always thought that this was not strictly possible despite the fact that, anecdotally, many cat owners link coat colour and type to personality such as tortoiseshell cats having ‘catitude’ and red tabby cats being …
Polycystic kidney disease (PKD) is the most common inherited disorder in cats according to a 2015 study. It is present in British Shorthair cats. Both the Persian and the British Shorthair carry the same genetic mutation causing the disease. It is an autosomal dominant mutation in exon 29 of the polycystin-1 gene. So how …
It has been suggested that cat association breed standards might be encouraging breeders to select breeding cats with genetic traits that promote an overweight physique in order to meet the breed standard. There is a very interesting article on the Pet MD website (2015) which points to this possibility. I discuss that article below …
by Lisa James (Green Cove Springs, FL) Introduction by Michael (Admin): These are the words of an experienced Persian cat breeder who has strong views on the subject. It was written many years ago but I have brought the post forward as it still has value and is interesting to purchasers of the Persian …
“The most active discussion on adverse breeding effects in companion animals has been in the German speaking community” (The Welfare of Cats page 261 – a section written by A Steiger). It is nice to venture into other areas and visit German websites to see what the Germans have to say about cats and …
