The typical underslung mouths of these fishes are used as a means of locomotion and anchorage, as well as for feeding, in fast-flowing waters.
Sucker Catfish; Plecostomus Hypostomus (formerly Plecostomus) plecostomus 450 mm 18 in. South America : various waters. The long, wedge-shaped body is covered with bony plates, which may be in three or four ridged layers, instead of only two as in Corydoras. (more…)
As well as transmitting and receiving scent messages, cats communicate volumes by means of their body language and vocalization.
The feline body - particularly the ears and tail - is a highly expressive instrument that instantly communicates how a cat is feeling within its skin if only you know how to interpret the key notes. The emotional signal that is perhaps the easiest for humans to recognize is fear. When threatened by a more dominant cat with hostile intent which it has no desire to fight, the undercat will nevertheless stand its ground, albeit flattening its body, fur and ears in an attempt to make itself look as small and inoffensive as it can, shortly thereafter beginning to creep slowly backwards as it tries to remove itself from danger. (more…)
The domestic cat, Felis catus or Felts domesticus, can trace its lineage back 50 million years, to the Miacis from which the Dinictis, Machairodus and eventually today’s cat family, the Felidae (which comprises Acinonyx, cheetahs; Panthera, big cats; and Felis, small cats), evolved. And although the specific ancestry of the domestic cat has been veiled by the mists of time, and further clouded by the interbreeding of various species of wildcat the world over, genetic analysis indicates that most European domestic cats are descended from the African wildcat, Felis sylvestris lybica. (more…)
Assuming that you have had great success in the training of your puppy, it would be a shame to stop now. You have obviously built up a good relationship with him and, once this is gained between dog and human being, there are no limits to how much you can train him. I believe the more you teach your dog the more intelligent he will become. Teaching a dog tricks is often frowned upon by the more serious dog trainers. I think they hold a picture in their minds of the old circus dog with a frill round his neck, dancing on his hind legs. My interpretation of teaching a dog tricks is a little different from that and I can assure you, from my own past experience, that a dog loves doing new and more interesting things. Take into account the type of dog you have. With my own dogs, for instance, it is Bracken who loves to learn and he gets so excited when he knows it’s trick-teaching time. He rushes around to grab cushions off the settee or towels off the kitchen rail to bring me as an offering in exchange for a trick lesson. (more…)
The cat’s sense of smell is highly developed but does not seem to play a very important role in hunting, although it must help in locating prey. It is used from the moment of birth, whereas the eyes do not open until about the eighth day, and even then are not properly operational. It is scent, not sight, that guides a kitten to its mother’s nipples for its first meal, and scent that helps it to locate its mother if it wanders away from her.
As the cat gets older, it uses scent to mark its own territory and to recognize that of others, to identify friends and strangers, to exchange a whole vocabulary of signals about sexual state and readiness, and to find and identify all kinds of objects. (more…)
Some cats seem immune to wasp and bee stings, but stings on the lips or chin when trying to catch an insect may swell up and hamper breathing. Try to find the sting and remove it with tweezers or by pressing it out with your fingernails (mind the cat does not bite you). Antihistamine ointment may help. If a sting is near the eye leave it to the vet.
Cats seldom eat poisons accidentally, but they can easily get poisonous substances on their coats and ingest them accidentally when washing. Keep household poisons out of their way. If you know that rodent poisons are used frequently inyour neighbourhood, find out the antidote and keep some to hand, just in case. (more…)
