Mau Mew

The amazingly large eyes in relation to the head size is a bit surprising in this excellent Singapura cat picture by Sakura Ishihara on Flickr. The picture is titled: シンガプーラのジジちゃん in Japanese (I think!). Sakura is a cat photographer. Singapura cat I actually took the extreme liberty to adjust the photograph; fading the edges away a bit and darkening the highlights a bit too. I have never seen a domestic cat with such large eyes in relation to head size before. With respect to the breeder, it looks a little exaggerated. I am not sure if there are health issues. You can see an American show cat photograph by the professional cat photographer Helmi Flick on this page and a lot of detail about this cat breed, the smallest cat breed, on this page . The history of the Singapura is clouded in mystery and a bit scandalous. No that is too strong a word but the big question is: is this cat breed "manufactured" (hybrid selective breeding etc.) or was it discovered in

This cat, at the Nottinghan Vet School has three conditions: polydipsia, facial and ventral erythema and alopecia. The first is an increased thirst. The second is redness of the skin and the last is hair loss. Nottingham Vet School do not say what diagnosis they made. What links them? Photography by Nottingham Vet School on Flickr I don't know for sure what links these symptoms. But it interesting to try and find out. It would have been nice if the vet school had told us so I could check. My research indicates that one condition links polydipsia and alopecia. The third symptom, redness of the skin may be due to overgrooming causing the alopecia. Hyperthyroidism may cause an increased thirst. It is almost always linked with cancer, usually a benign adenoma (a tumor of glandular origin). About 33% of all cats with hyperthyroidism show "areas of alopecia . The hair is pulled out easily". The increase in thyroid hormones may also cause an increase in appetite a

Overview I am writing about two fairly rare cats here. I would expect that there are not that many people within the entire cat keeping population who keep either of these cat breeds. Of the two, the Sphynx is the better known. In fact you will find that the Don Sphynx is not mentioned in most of the books that you can buy in the West about cat breeds. If an author of a book about cat breeds writes about hairless cats, it is the Sphynx that is featured. One reason for this is that the history of the Sphynx is part of the history of North America, while the Don Sphynx is Russian. Although there is a lively cat fancy in Russia, the largest cat fancy and largest domestic cat market place is North America. Therefore cats get discussed more in North America. Also more books about cats are written in English and therefore more widely circulated. Accordingly the Sphynx becomes better known. Although in Russia, a somewhat closed-off society still in 2012, no doubt the Don Sphynx is what

Cats like to be close to their friends. They like to snuggle up. A cats make friends with other cats in multi-cat environments. They treat us as a friend if we are gentle and kind to them. Then there's the warmth. May be that comes before friend! I don't think so though. You'll see cats sleeping on horses, climbing over deer and dogs and in this interesting case settling down on top of a best mate, a fancy purebred pig. Associated pages: Cat friendly with deer . Cats and Horses .

Tiny Thing , a photo by fofurasfelinas on Flickr. This an adorable little kitten who has the appearance of wearing a hat. The "hat" is the tabby markings. They are interesting markings too. At the moment this little girl does not have the tabby M mark on the forehead. As all tabby cats have that and as this girl is a tabby cat, the M mark must develop later and it may be the case that the "hat" becomes the M mark! In the meantime she is adorable. The photographer is the well known Giane Portal, who lives in Brazil. Associated: Cat Coats Tabby .

Laying on the grass , a photo by fofurasfelinas on Flickr. A beautiful, well produced photograph of a golden eyed tabby cat lying in lush grass in Brazil. The tabby cat is probably the most commonly seen domestic and feral cat. The next in line is probably the bicolor cat ( white and another color , often black and sometimes tabby and white ). There is an infinite range of patterns, tints and markings and all of them have that charm of the "M" mark on the forehead that is associated with a good number of myths and legends . This guy is called "Neko" as far as I am aware. His eyes have a glazed appearance, looking into another world. At the beginning of the time when people started to breed cats (mid-late 1800s) this cat would have been described as a black tabby because the pattern is dark. I can't see the entire coat but he appears to be a mackerel tabby (pattern made up of stripes).  Also in the early days of the cat fancy tabby cats had their own catego

Perfect profile , a photo by fofurasfelinas on Flickr. This is a nice profile photograph of a beautiful Ragdoll cat. The photograph was taken by Giane Portail AKA fofurasfelinas (on Flickr). The picture is protected by copyright . The Ragdoll is one of the world's most popular purebred cats. The name however is I feel a little misleading. This is a pretty normal cat! Yes, they can tend to me docile, calm and quiet but it depends a bit on the individual cat. Cats do vary in their temperaments. The Ragdoll head should be a broad "modified wedge". The phrase in hyphens is a cat fancy term that should be dropped in my opinion. It is very strange terminology. I guess it must mean a wedge shaped head that is not entirely wedge shaped! Of course, a cat cannot have a head like a wedge. The head should be wide but in the general shape of a typical domestic cat. The contours of the head should be rounded. This echos the breed standard of the Persian , a similar breed in many

This is a comparison between the Siberian and Maine Coon purebred cats. They look similar. People sometimes want to know the differences. The differences come from the origins of the breed, their appearance and character. However, all of these factors are somewhat elastic so it is not possible to provide a difference that is as clear cut as black is from white. The Obvious Forgetting the color and patterns because both cats can have a wide range of colors and patterns, what strikes you as the obvious difference in appearance? It has to be the ears. The Maine Coon ears are larger and more pointed which with the ear tufts creates a completely different appearance to the smaller more rounded Siberian cat ears. The breed standard for ears for these breeds is (verbatim for accuracy):  CFA: SIBERIAN EARS: medium-large , rounded , wide at the base and tilt slightly forward. The ears should be set as much on the sides of the head as on top. The hair over the back of the ear is sh