“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 … continue reading…
The Cat Fanciers’ Association (CFA) has been under pressure for decades to revise the breed standard i.e. the guidelines, for the flat-faced cat breeds namely the Exotic Shorthair, the Persian and the Himalayan. I hope that the pressure has been … continue reading…
This is another interesting cat show photo from a different era. It shows a blue Persian cat of the traditional style (doll-face). His name is Patrick of Allington. Cat fanciers love their fancy names and rightly so. His attractive female … continue reading…
There must be a common reason why some people are obsessed with extreme appearance in animals and in humans. There must be something wrong with humankind if there are people who think it is clever to breed cats to an … continue reading…
I list five possible reasons why your cat’s tongue sticking out. One concerns oral health, and other concerns cooling down. Two others concern extreme breeding and the fifth is called the blep!
continue reading...I don’t want to criticise the almighty Cat Fanciers’ Association (CFA), probably the most influential cat association on the planet but…they are hypocritical in a very fundamental way. It has to be stated until they do something about it. Yes, … continue reading…
Here are seven pictures of ugly cats and it is very sad. It is not fun or even interesting. I am publishing them here for a serious reason but I don’t expect anyone to agree with my philosophical argument. They … continue reading…
I’ve picked out three pictures of blue British Shorthair cats which I consider to be bred to an extreme level (I added a fourth). I think it’s instructive to have a look at these pictures of cats. The first one … continue reading…
The domestic cat, we have to admit, has an unexpressive face compared to that of humans. This allows us to project our thoughts onto our cat. The reason is because their ability to be social is only a few thousand … continue reading…
My belief is that the whole purpose of cat breeding is to selectively breed cats which have as near as possible a perfect appearance according to the breed standard and in order to achieve this the breeder has to ensure … continue reading…
‘Punch face’ is an unfortunate term to describe the modern Persian cat. The term is based on violence which makes it innapropriate. This is a punch face cat: Below is an alternative image. The Persian cat in the image below … continue reading…
This is another extraordinary looking Maine Coon. I have described the cat’s muzzle as massive. It is very strong and lion-like. It would seem that the breeder is deliberately trying to create cats that look like lions. The Maine Coon’s … continue reading…
This is a classic Helmi Flick studio photograph of SC Surreal’s Trick of Treat ‘Fruit Loops’. She was 8-months-of-age at the time of the photograph. She was bred by Leesa and Mike Altschul. Apparently she behaved well in the studio … continue reading…
Periodontitis appears to be more common in Siamese cats and the family of breeds associated with the Siamese e.g. the Oriental Shorthair. And increased susceptibility also occurs among cats who have repeated viral respiratory infections. Periodontitis progresses from gingivitis and … continue reading…
The airline company Virgin Australia has banned flat-faced cats (and dogs) due to a spike in ‘issues across the industry’. Qantas suspended their animal service to flat-faced breeds in December 2019, as I understand it. They cite well known health … continue reading…
