What affects us affects cats
In analysing the differences between the cat breeds using DNA testing, I am compelled to come to the conclusion that it’s all a mashup. Nothing is what it seems. Everything is blurred and grey without clean distinctions. The breeds, themselves, have a different and distinct appearance – they have to, to be a cat …
There is a reference to a wild cat hybrid in Harrison Weir’s excellent book of 1889, Our Cats and all about them (note: the title is written exactly as per the original). I am told the book is copyright protected so I can’t quote Mr Weir, except briefly; although, I find it hard to …
With the name “Persian” you would have thought that this long established cat breed came from Persia, now Iran, or at least somewhere east of Europe. However, on the basis of “DNA microsatellite evidence” the Persian cat belongs to the random bred cats of Europe and America. For the record, I am not going …
The black and white cat has been around for ever. These pictures show us almost identical looking cats from 1603 and 2008. A time span of 405 years. That is about the entire time the domestic cat has been in North America by some accounts. The painting was done at Boughton House, Northamptonshire, England. …
This is a painting of a male cat being castrated (what we usually call neutering) in 1531. I would like to comment on it for a bit of amusement. Although the whole grizzly process looks far from amusing for the poor cat. It was painted by Girolamo Romani (c. 1485 – c. 1566). It …
This is a Chinese university entrance exam question. The question is in the form of a cartoon: The answer has to be in an 800 character essay. Here goes… 😉 The fish are dead and don’t need catching. The cat at the end of the table sees the mouse scuttling along at the foot …
I would like to delicately wade into the “Zuma pets” debate. I am sure you have read that the president of South Africa, Jacob Zuma, has said that black Africans should not keep pets, specifically dogs as they are part of white culture. Zuma wants black people to behave like black people and to …
This is the meeting of a domestic tabby cat with his ancestor, almost. You can see the connection, the recognition in the faces of these two cats. OK there is glass between them but I’d bet if there wasn’t they would get along famously. There is a subliminal message in this still picture from …
