A Michael Broad Blog
Domestic cats can tell the difference between different sounds and if one of those sounds is the sound of their name the domestic cat will distinguish it from other sounds thereby recognising her name. This a major finding in a Japanese study: Domestic cats (Felis catus) discriminate their names from other words. I don’t …
The old adage: dogs are servants to humans and humans are servants to cats explains why people spend more on dogs than cats. This is an interesting article on the theconversation.com website which helps explain why the veterinary bills for dogs is much higher than that for cats in America. This has been put …
A study lead by a conservation biologist at the Zoological Society of London, Simon Dures, has produced compelling but not conclusive evidence that sport hunting of African lions has made them physically less strong than they were 100 years ago because it has made lions’ genetic makeup less diverse. “We show that the genetic …
The study which looked at the prevalence of allergy among two American communities, the Amish and the Hutterite, tells us that keeping cats and dogs, including indoors, helps to protect schoolchildren from allergens including those causing asthma. The Amish are in Indiana and the Hutterite reside in South Dakota. This is an interesting study …
An extensive study published on September 13, 2013 on Plos One regarding the feral and stray cats of greater Chicago indicated to the researchers that feral cats are healthier and survive for longer than they had thought. The study came up with some interesting findings. Note: As you can see this was published getting …
There are many cat owners, some of whom are my online friends, who strongly support keeping cats inside all the time. This article is not a criticism of them because I understand the motivation to keep cats inside. It is meant to be a fairly cold, scientific discussion about cats and conservation as at …
In households were a dog lives with a cat, owners should pay more attention to the cat’s behaviour as it seems that cats are more important in ensuring that the relationship works (i.e. is harmonious) . They appear to be less likely to be pliable and affable than dogs in the relationship. Comment: this …
An inconclusive study does not find Toxoplasma gondii infection causes schizophrenia as is reported on many websites this morning. The online newspapers and even online science journals are misrepresenting the conclusions of another study which seeks to find a link between the parasitic protozoan toxoplasma gondii and psychiatric disorders in people. For instance, IFL …
