Turkey’s Istanbul domestic cats are 10 times more likely to have FIV than British domestic cats

Around 22% of domestic cats in Istanbul, Turkey, after FIV+ while the equivalent figure for London and other parts of Britain is between 2 and 5%. Sources: Study and Battersea.

This may surprise readers. I didn’t know until I read a study published in 2000 (things may have changed since) on the topic and compared the figures to those provided by Battersea Dogs & Cats Home. The study tells us how commonplace FIV infections are in cats in Istanbul. And there appears to be …

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Unneutered male cats have a more masculine facial appearance compared to neutered male cats

Tomcat jowls created by the presence of testosterone

This is a discussion about whether the neutering of male cats (castration) changes their facial appearance. It can also have an impact on their overall appearance indirectly i.e. lower metabolism leading to putting on weight. But I’m focusing on the face. My argument is that it feminises the male cat face by making it …

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What is an intact cat? Full discussion.

Intact male (foreground), wandering yowling, intact female (background)

The word “intact” nearly always concerns domestic cats. Both the neutering of males and spaying of females takes a piece of anatomy away from them. For the male cat the operation is the removal of both testicles (castration) and for the female cat, the surgery is the removal of the uterus, fallopian tubes and …

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Are male cats more affectionate with humans and other cats than females?

Cats profoundly affectionate towards each other

The first point to make is that we are discussing neutered male cats and spayed female cats. That has to be a basic criteria in this discussion. There’s no point comparing unsterilised male cats against spayed female cats for instance. It is just not a comparison that makes sense. I can answer the second …

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5 reasons why a male domestic cat might bite and kill kittens

Colony of cats out at night

I’m referring to male domestic cats and community cats. The best answer for this comes from Dr. Desmond Morris (Catwatching) and Sarah Hartwell (messybeast.com), both cat experts. They would probably provide at least two reasons as to why a male cat might bite his kittens but there are five in all. The first is …

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Do male feral cats kill kittens?

Unsterilised or late sterilised male cat

Yes, sometimes male feral cats (and unowned domestic cats) do kill kittens normally for the same reasons that male lions commit infanticide. I’m going to rely on two sources for the information. The first is a study titled “Infanticide in rural male cats as a reproductive mating tactic” by Dominic Pontier and Eugenia Natoli …

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