Happy Pets

Male or Female?

If, like the majority of responsible cat owners, you would prefer your cat not to breed, a simple neutering operation will iron out the most significant behavioural differences between male and female felines. With the removal of the organs that pump sex hormones — testosterone in males, and oestrogen in females — into the cat’s body, both sexes will become less likely to roam or spray (particularly males), less temperamental and, most importantly, incapable of adding to an already teeming feline population. (more…)

Although a cat’s maintenance costs are relatively low, there are certain unavoidable expenses that cat-ownership will incur over the years. These include providing your feline with the minimum of two meals a day of a nutritious proprietary cat food; buying cat litter for anindoor cat; settling an annual veterinary bill for vaccinations; and funding any additional veterinary treatment that a cat may need as a result of an accident or illness. Investigate these costs by paying a visit to your local pet shop or supermarket and veterinary surgery, noting down prices and asking for information. (more…)

The feline senses are generally far more sensitive than those of humans, but there is one that compares relatively badly to ours: the cat’s sense of taste. Although some cats are said to be fussy eaters, this has less to do with their ability to distinguish subtle nuances of flavour and is more concerned with the freshness of the food offered to them: they distrust the smell of stale, or even rotting, food, having the instinctive knowledge that it could make them ill. (more…)

Although how its food smells determines whether or not a cat will eat it, the feline nose is a for more versatile organ of smell than simply o food-identifier. Indeed, it plays a crucial role in feline relationships - both sexual and social - and if a cat’s sense of smell is impaired for any reason, it may start to behave in a most unfeline way. (more…)

A successful hunter needs to be fit, and cats keep themselves trim by strolling the perimeters of their territory on their regular inspection tours, climbing trees or other lofty vantage points from which cats can monitor any interesting goings-on and, of course, pouncing at potential prey. (The reason why many indoor cats occasionally career around the house at top speed is both to let off steam and to indulge in the type of hunting exercise that outdoor cats more regularly enjoy.) (more…)

In their natural habitat the Clownfishes share a fascinating relationship with the Sea-anemone (Stoichactis, Discosoma and Radianthus species).

Normally, any fish venturing into the outspread tentacles of the Sea-anemone is fatally stung and consumed, but the Clownfish enjoys immunity (and safety from other larger fishes) as it swims in and out of its host. (more…)

Although related to the Clownfishes, these fishes have larger scales, and whereas the Clownfishes seek the relative safety of the Sea-anemone, the Damselfishes and Sergeant-Majors prefer to seek protection among the many coral branches of the reefs where they live. Some species have spawned in the aquarium. (more…)

Members of this family are deep-bodied and laterally compressed fishes. They are found mainly in the Indo-Pacific oceans, but one or two species occur in the Atlantic. They inhabit coral reefs, constantly pecking or scraping food from the surface and crevices of the coral heads. Their brilliant colours and startling patterns may be either a type of camouflage in the brightly lit world of the coral reef, or an aid in recognizing or communicating with fishes of the same species. The Angelfishes are distinguished from the Butterflyfishes by a spine at the bottom rear corner of the gill cover; many young Angelfishes have colours and markings that differ from those of the adult form. Angelfishes are territorial, and fishes of the same spebies will fight. (more…)

These brightly coloured, oval- bodied fishes have sharp, bony scalpels on the caudal peduncle which can cause painful wounds. Some species have fixed scalpels, others a protruding horn above the eyes.

Powder-blue Surgeon Acanthurus leucosternon 300 mm 12 in. Indo- Pacific oceans. The delicate blue of the body contrasts with the black face and yellow dorsal fin. The retracted scalpel on each side of the yellow caudal peduncle can be clearly seen. (more…)

Indeed, you can tell a lot by looking at a cat’s tail and ears: if its tail is vertical and its ears are pricked, the cat is feeling confident, and if the tip of its erect tail is kinked, it’s offering you a tentative greeting. When a cat turns its back on you and quivers its tail, it’s sending an unreserved, ‘Please acknowledge me’ plea that may well hark back to a kittenhood invitation to its mother to clean its nether regions. If a cat is becoming annoyed, however, it often indicates its frustration by swishing its tail from side to side and drawing back its ears, and if it becomes really irate, it will lash its tail as fast as it can and flatten its ears completely. (more…)