It is useful to try and get inside the head of Ingrid Newkirk on the issue of domestic cats. Does she approve of them? The same question applies to dogs. Newkirk has one of the most persuasive voices in animal … continue reading…
Theis is a discussion on why there are many more dog breeds than cat breeds. It is about the differences in dog and cat domestication and trainability. I’m presenting the information in bullet form. The grey wolf was domesticated perhaps … continue reading…
Unquestionably, it is cats who normally rule the roost and boss dogs even if dogs are much bigger than them when they live in the same home. It looks incongruous because if the dog wanted to, they could dominate and … continue reading…
People ask the question: “Why are domestic cats and invasive species?” And the answer is that in most countries of the world domestic cats did not evolve in those countries but they were brought there by people. It is only … continue reading…
It’s a point worth making. You hear a lot about the first domestic cats coming into being about 10,000 years ago. These are the first N. African wildcats who befriended humans and vice versa; both benefiting in an act of … continue reading…
Mars Petcare have created a useful and interesting index which pulls together information about homeless cats and dogs in 9 countries. They used more than 200 global and local sources. They researched attitudes towards cat and dog ownership. Germany comes … continue reading…
Introduction: this test requires that the cat’s owner has never used their hand as a toy for their cat. If that has happened, their cat will instinctively want to attack it. I am referring to a test to assess cat … continue reading…
Big Red is a special ginger tabby feral cat, found in St George, Utah, USA, and rescued; and once rescued he decided to be domesticated and feel the warmth, both physical and emotional, of having a human caregiver look after … continue reading…
It is sad and telling of modern life that the famous place where the first wildcats were domesticated by farmers, the Fertile Crescent, which encompasses Syria and the Euphrates and Tigris rivers, is now a place where there are no … continue reading…
Fiona Sunquist in her book Wild Cats of the World tells me that the first animal to be domesticated was the grey wolf now the domestic dog and that Felis sylvestris a.k.a. the wildcat was “almost the last species to … continue reading…
I am picking up on a study that I have written about before which genetically analysed the Chinese mountain cat to confirm (1) that it is a subspecies of wildcat and not species in its own right and (2) that … continue reading…
Domestic cats are not an invasive species in every country. Domestic cats are native to certain countries and in those countries they are not an invasive species. A species of animal is only “invasive” if they are not native or … continue reading…
Recent research tells us two things about the Chinese mountain cat aka Chinese desert cat: they are hybridized and they were not involved in the cat domestication process. Hybridization Hybridization is sometimes referred to as ‘genetic admixture’. Over many years … continue reading…
I’m going to refer to cats more than other animals but of course sentence applies to any animal. What is sentience? It is the ability to feel and experience emotions, both positive and negative. Cats and other animals can experience … continue reading…
Although this precise question has been asked and answered many times, I will throw my hat into the ring, briefly. There are two reasons why cats are scared of cucumbers, (1) they are hardwired to avoid snakes as they’ve inherited … continue reading…
