Eumelanin is a pigment in domestic cats and other animals (and humans). It is often referred to as melanin but in fact there are three different types of melanin: eumelanin, pheomelanin and neuromelanin. The two that concern me in this … Continue reading →
Not all Maine Coons are polydactyl. The simple answer as to why Maine Coon cats have a tendency to have more than the usual number of toes is because they originate in cats from England who were polydactyl and which … Continue reading →
This is a photograph of an all-white Maine Coon cat with heterochromia iridum. In layperson’s language, this beautiful cat has odd-eye colour. And it is a classic case of odd-eye colour because one eye is yellow-gold and the other is … Continue reading →
We know that the Scottish wildcat is either extinct in the wild in Scotland or very nearly so because of long-term hybridisation with domestic and feral cats. These two species i.e. the wildcat and the domestic cat readily mate. It … Continue reading →
The total amount of melanin (pigment) in the iris of the eye determines the range of eye colours in cats and in humans. The same principles apply to all animals with a similar eye anatomy. The pigment ‘melanin’ is produced … Continue reading →
As this is an imprecise science I don’t believe that you can provide a confident answer to a question about the life expectancy of a Siamese cat. However, there are clear indications that the Siamese cat’s life expectancy is shorter … Continue reading →
There is physics behind the answer to the question, which may displease some readers and I’ll understand why! By six or seven weeks of age a kitten’s eyes begin to change colour from blue to the colour that their genes … Continue reading →
Yes, Siamese cats become darker as they age. You’ll see this in the flanks and central areas of the cat’s body which are normally lighter and sometimes almost white, normally. Normal situation for the Siamese cat The reason for the … Continue reading →
In truth, the glamorous, pedigree, purebred Russian Blue is a black moggy from Russia. I am referring to the original cat, wandering around the streets of Archangel which is on the coast not too far from Murmansk which itself is … Continue reading →
A kitten’s personality is dictated by inherited behaviours and environmental experiences; the nature and nurture argument, which has been around for donkey’s years. It is universally accepted that the important socialisation period of cats to people appears to occur between … Continue reading →
