Cat
dr. dolittle | August 4, 2017Wow. This is a very interesting bit of history on how the CIA tried to use cats as spies. But as any cat owner knows, cats do not always do what you want them to do when you want them to do it.
Source:
YouTube
dr. dolittle | July 31, 2017A new study shows that walking your dog is good for your health. Here is a YouTube video summarizing the findings of the study:
Let's not forget that walking your dog is also very good for your dog. According to PetMD, some benefits include weight control, keeping your dog limber, controlling destructive behaviors and hyperactivity, and of course building a bond between you and your pet.
If you have a cat however, it might be best to just let the cat walk you as demonstrated in this YouTube video:
gregladen | April 20, 2017I'll never forget my first lion.
A colleague and I had just arrived in the Semliki Valley, in the Congo, to a part of that valley then known as the most predator-rich region of Africa, with loads of lions and heaps of hyenas. Lots of leopards too. We arrived at the main base camp for a large expedition that I was to join a year later (this was a brief visit) and were told to find the satellite camp, out in the bush.
"Ten clicks that way, then a left on their road. Good luck finding the road."
Good luck indeed. Took us forever. And, at one point, after night fell, we had the brilliant idea…
dr. dolittle | March 11, 2016A special thank you to reader Dr. Barbara Goodman, Professor of Physiology at Sanford School of Medicine of the University of South Dakota who sent me a story from The Scientist about sleep in animals complete with footage of a dolphin that was seen apparently "sleeping" (video posted on YouTube):
Why do animals sleep? This is a question with many potential answers. It is known that birds and mammals experience slow-wave and rapid eye movement (REM) sleep patterns. During the first pattern, slow waves with high amplitudes can be seen if measuring electrical activity (EEG) in the cortex.…
dr. dolittle | December 1, 2015
Photo of cat eating meat from Wikimedia Commons. Photo by Tom Corser www.tomcorser.com. Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution ShareAlike 2.0 England & Wales (UK) Licence: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/uk/deed.en_GB
A new study published in PLOS ONE that examined bitter taste receptors in cats may provide evidence as to why felines are such finicky eaters.
Unlike my cat that seems to take after Garfield in his dietary choices, most cats are purely carnivorous. Cats are reportedly unable to taste sweets thus plant-based starches are not typically desirable. This is…
dr. dolittle | August 19, 2015Another new study published in Nature Communications shows follows along with the prior post and shows that ancestral dogs were ambush hunters that evolved from forest dwelling animals similar to a mongoose (or a cat).
These early ancestors to dogs were ambush predators. The image shows Hesperocyon (left) and later Sunkahetanka (right). Image from Discovery News, by Mauricio Anton
An international team of researchers studied archived samples of elbows and teeth of multiple species of dogs that lived between 40 - 2 million years ago. According to a quote from …
dr. dolittle | August 18, 2015 By Noel Feans (originally posted to Flickr as Watch your back!) [CC BY 2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons
New research suggests that cats may have played a role in the extinction of about 40 species of wild dogs by simply out-hunting them and therefore consuming more food.
The study noted that dogs first appeared in North America around 40 million years ago and by 22 million years ago there were over 30 species of wild dogs. Cats arrived from Asia around 20 million years after dogs appeared. The arrival of cats was followed by decreased diversity of…
dr. dolittle | April 1, 2015I came across this video on YouTube of what must be the most huggable kitty:
dr. dolittle | March 2, 2015
Image from Wikimedia Commons, Author: Alvesgaspar
New research from the University of Lincoln, UK suggests that cats may prefer to find food using their eyes as opposed to their nose. The preference for vision vs. smell was tested in 6 cats placed in a maze that required cats to make decisions about which way to go based on either images or smells. The researchers observed that 4 out of 6 of the cats chose the visual as opposed to the smell cues to obtain their rewards (food). One cat showed a preference for using its nose, whereas one cat showed no clear preference at all.
According to…
gregladen | January 23, 2015Since it is Caturday, and I don' think I've posted these before.
A King Cheetah (a rather large form of cat) in South Africa:
King Cheetah (cat)
Closer in on the King Cheetah, South Africa
Picture Of Cat On Top Photo Credit: Gatto Mimmo via Compfight cc
dr. dolittle | October 16, 2014According to a new statement from the CDC, while Ebola is deadly to humans and animals, it is very difficult to catch. Therefore, they concluded that pets are not at significant risk of Ebola in the US. Moreover, there have been no reports of dogs or cats becoming ill in Africa. For more information, visit the CDC website
http://www.cdc.gov/vhf/ebola/transmission/qas-pets.html
dr. dolittle | May 16, 2014Just in case you have not seen this viral YouTube video of the family cat saving a boy from a vicious dog attack, I have embedded it below. I think this kitty deserves a nice fresh fish for dinner...every day.
An article was posted today in NBCNews featuring the heroics of other house cats.
Here is one of my favorites:
Image of a clawless house cat named Jack that chased a bear up a tree. Image from NBC News: http://www.today.com/pets/good-kitty-these-6-hero-cats-saved-humans-the…
These brave felines must really believe they have 9 lives!!
You can check out the rest of these heroic…
dr. dolittle | April 18, 2014 Image from: bluecrossanimalhospital.ca
The FDA has issued a warning that Easter lilies are toxic to cats. According to veterinarian Dr. Melanie McLean at the US Food and Drug Administration ingestion of even a small portion of the leaves, pollen or flowers of the plant are very poisonous to cats. Initial complications include vomiting but then may lead to kidney failure and death if not treated. If you think your cat may have ingested a lily, then seek immediate medical attention for your pet.
Tiger, Asiatic, Day and Japanese Show lilies are also highly toxic to cats.
Dog owners take…
FDA is looking for your help to determine source of illnesses and deaths related to dog jerky treats
dr. dolittle | October 22, 2013 Image from Vin News Service (http://news.vin.com/VINNews.aspx?articleId=22697)
The FDA is calling for help to determine the source of roughly 580 deaths and over 3600 illnesses (gastrointestinal and kidney) related to jerky treats that were made in China. The mystery dates back to 2007 when illnesses were first being reported by pet owners. Most of the victims have been dogs, although 10 cats have become sick from eating these treats as well.The FDA has tested treats for contaminants including chemical, microbiological/bacterial, antibiotics, metals, and pesticides in addition to DNA and…
dr. dolittle | October 5, 2013 Dr. Janet Yamamoto from the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine was quoted in a press release this week saying, “One major reason why there has been no successful HIV vaccine to date is that we do not know which parts of HIV to combine to produce the most effective vaccine." Her research team is trying to develop a vaccine that stimulates T cells from people infected with HIV to respond to the feline (FIV) form of the virus. They are working toward that goal by searching for sections of the FIV virus that can activate T cells to attack HIV without mutating.
Dr. Yamamoto's…
dr. dolittle | September 26, 2013...for rodents and men at least.
A team of researchers at UC Berkeley have discovered that mice infected with the parasite Toxoplasma gondii lose their innate fear of cats, even months after the infection is cleared. In fact, infected mice were mildly attracted to the odor of cats. This side effect likely evolved because the parasite can only sexually reproduce in a cat's gut necessitating ingestion of the parasite. Incidentally, other researchers have described the same side effects in rats and men (but not women). The findings suggest that the parasitic infection causes permanent changes in…
dr. dolittle | September 23, 2013 Image from: 41 ACTION NEWS KSHB.COM
Image from: Myfoxdetroit.com
Outlandish stories about a 25-pound Savannah cat, known as "Chum", on the loose in Detroit (above) may have been responsible for his untimely death last month. The 3-year old cat was owned by a local family but was spotted roaming the neighborhood. Neighbors mentioned calling Animal Control and the Detroit Humane Society, whom they say did not respond.
Savannah cats are considered exotic and are a cross between domestic and African serval cats. Chum was approximately 2 feet tall when sitting. However stories would have you…
dr. dolittle | September 9, 2013You have to see this to believe it. This video from CNN shows how a 31-pound cat is losing weight by walking on an underwater treadmill.
I wonder how they were able to get this cat to even stay in the water. I think my cat would lose more weight in the process of fighting to stay out of the water. I would also have to buy A LOT of bandaids before attempting it. In fact, I am pretty sure the cat in this YouTube video "saying no" to a bath is a close relative of my cat:
dr. dolittle | July 9, 2013Ever wonder what dogs and hyenas have in common? Would you be surprised to learn that hyenas are more closely related to cats than dogs? In fact, according to this video thesis, the shared bone-crushing abilities of dogs and hyenas is actually an example of convergent evolution.
gregladen | December 20, 2012Sometimes you just know something is going to happen, and then it happens. And if that doesn't happen to you enough, try some confirmation bias, that always works! I have a friend who just got a new cat and at the same time moved into a new house, and one of the first things that happened was that the cat disappeared. The Cable Guy had been in and out and it was assumed the cat had escaped that way. At this point, I don't think anyone is 100% clear on what happened, but about a day after the cat vanished it re-materialized. Personally, I think it was in the Cosmic Sock Drawer.
This…