Happy Pets

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…)

Its hearing is the first sense that alerts the cat to potential prey when it is out hunting and, due to its genetic inheritance, the sounds that are most likely to signal the proximity of rodents, its favourite meal, are the ones to which it is the most attuned. And because rodents utter high- pitched squeaks, the upper frequencies of the sound range are those that the cat’s ears are especially adept at detecting, exceeding both dogs and humans in their sensitivity. Indeed, when you think that our detection of acoustic vibrations rises to around 20,000 hertz, and a cat’s to 50,000, we must be deaf to a cacophony of interesting sounds. (more…)

Fleas

It is almost inevitable that any cat allowed outdoors, and many indoor ones, will at some time pick up a flea. Fortunately, fleas are a problem that an ownercan recognize and treat with ease. You will see the cat scratch, you will find the flea excreta when you groom, and you will probably see the fleas themselves moving in the fur, if not on the sofa. If there are only a couple and you catch them before they multiply, you may be able to seize them with your fingers and squash them.

With very young kittens, even with a greater infestation, this is all you should do — even though the fleas may keep returning, especially around the eyes. Young kittens may react badly to a pesticide. For this reason a pregnant female that regularly picks up fleas should be treated when you decide she is close enough to labour to be kept inside (though she could still pick them up from other cats that go in and out). (more…)

No wild members of the cat family have long hair resembling that of the domesticated cat. It is the result of centuries of careful (perhaps more often not so careful) breeding. Actually, long-haired‘ is a blanket term for a variety of breeds whose coats can differ considerably in length and texture. Here are some of the more interesting ones.

Angora

This was probably the first kind of longhaired cat to be seen in Europe. The Angora arrived in the sixteenth century, probably from Turkey (it takes its name from the Turkish capital, Ankara). It gradually lost favour to the Persian and the breed was dwindling fast until a few specimens were taken to the United States from Ankara Zoo. It has a longish body and tail, long legs withneat, dainty paws and a small head with large almond-shaped eyes that slope slightly upwards and large upright ears. Its fur is gorgeously textured, like mohair. White was the only acceptable colour when the breed was re-established in the United States, but other colours are now being bred in both Europe and North America. (more…)

American Shorthairs

American Shorthairs were known formerly as Domestic Shorthairs and sometimes still are. They are similar to theirBritish counterparts and developed from the same stock, but today North American standards require a somewhat longer-looking cat than the British kind and with a less rounded head — more of a heart shape and with slightly larger ears. The American Shorthair has fur of a much harsher texture and displays some colour variations not known in Britain, among them Calico, a white cat patched with black and red, and the Dilute Calico, which is blue and cream on white. American Shorthairs are renowned for their hunting ability and are said to be good mousers. (more…)