Differentiating between wildcat, stray cat and domestic cat in New Zealand

The British Ecological Society says in an article that there have been long-standing conservation efforts to restore the native wildcat in Britain and New Zealand. They've got that wrong completely because there has never been a wildcat presence in New Zealand. And the same applies to Australia. Both these countries have never had a wildcat.

You can't go around shooting feral cats in New Zealand because you don't know for sure if they are feral cats and unowned. This image is by Michael.

The only cats that they have are domestic cats, stray cats and feral cats. And the feral cat cannot be described as a wildcat. They are two different creatures/species. That's because the feral cat ultimately is a domestic cat that is unsocialised. Feral cats can be socialised to become domestic cats with patience. And feral kittens can quite easily be socialised to be domestic cats.

But the true wildcat, a wild cat species cannot be socialised. They might be tamed to a certain extent but they will never be a good pet.

But the title to this article hints at one problem namely this: New Zealand wants to cull i.e. kill all the feral cats in their country because they prey on native species. This is the same attitude as that of the Australian authorities. They have the same problem and they have the same solution: mass killing of feral cats.

But here is the rub on that project. You can't distinguish between domestic, stray and feral cats at a distance. They all look very similar. You can't shoot at a feral cat to cull the animal inhumanely because you might be shooting someone's pet cat. You might be shooting a stray cat which is in between a feral cat than a domestic cat in terms of socialisation.

Although some stray cats are fully socialised. They might have been someone's pet until the day before. So, the shooter might shoot a domestic cat or a stray cat but not a feral cat. You see the problem.

If you want to go around taking pot shots of feral cats which I find disgusting you have to make sure that all the domestic cats are, by law, full-time indoor cats. And that situation would have to be in place for a reasonable time so that you can declare to the world that every cat you see on the streets or in the countryside is not owned and are feral cats. 

You can then be safe to shoot them without being prosecuted for a crime under the nation's animal welfare laws. Or being sued by the cat's owner.

This problem and the solution is exactly the same in Australia. And the same would apply to poisoning cats with a device which chucks poison gel over the animal when it walks passed the device.

The conclusion is you can't go around willy-nilly killing feral cats unless you know that you are actually killing a feral cat and you can't do that currently in New Zealand.

And of course, it is immoral, inhumane, cruel and entirely wrong to shoot feral cats because you don't like them and because they kill native species for the simple reason that humankind put the feral cat there in the first place. They are the victims of human carelessness. To shoot them is to add to the problem. It compounds the problem and makes the human doubly wrong.

Scandal as shops accused of failing to publicise recall of food linked to cat deaths

COMMENT: The Guardian newspaper reports that cat owners are showing evidence of chains including Sainsbury's still stocking food suspected of causing pet deaths. If you are a cat owner, I hope that you have heard of this crisis. If not please click on this link and read it carefully. It's important because there's quite a lot of cat food in the system which should have been removed from shelves it appears. It's a long list of different cat foods, all dry cat food, as I recall. Pets at Home and Sainsbury's are two chain store businesses which sell the food.

To illustrate the page only. Photo: in the public domain (believed).

But, as mentioned in the title, retailers have been accused of not doing enough to warn customers of the hazards of these pet foods which were manufactured from a single source. Although the investigation of a possible link between these foods and a disease called feline pancytopenia is ongoing, it is believed that cereal in these foods was contaminated with mycotoxins, in this instance a fungus.

Feline pancytopenia is a killer. About 60% of the cats to contract the disease after they have eaten this pet food die.  A recorded 330+ have died but it is almost certainly far more. Treatments include blood transfusions using dog blood because of a shortage of cat blood. Dog blood transfusions only provide the cat with a 24-hour respite. And they are enormously expensive at about £2,500 per session.

There is even talk of importing cat blood from Portugal at a cost of £10,000. You would have to be insured and even that probably wouldn't cover it.

If these reports from cat owners are true, it is shocking that Sainsbury's continued to stock the recalled food despite a demand to recall it and investigators raising concerns that it might be the source of this outbreak of pancytopenia some time ago.

Sainsbury's, I believe, have stated that all the bags of food "have now been taken off the shelves". Cat owners have shared photographs of Sainsbury's cat food aisles which showed that signage had not been prominently displayed or not displayed at all.

Other Sainsbury's users and Nectar cardholders said that they had not received an email (I have not and I buy from them online). One Sainsbury's customer corresponded with the business notifying them about the food on 22nd April. Sainsbury's responded by saying that they did not believe that the cat food was responsible. That is as reported by The Guardian newspaper. I can't confirm that it is true. This may have been be a rogue employee saying the wrong thing.

A spokesperson for the supermarket said "We are in touch directly with customers where we have their contact details". They have my email address and I've not received an email.

They also said "We have also displayed the recall alert on our website and installed them at our customer service desks and where the product is usually stocked on shelf."

There is a 12,000-member Facebook group on this pet food recall whose members have suffered the anguish of either losing a cat to this disease or have struggled to treat their cats. They say that Pets at Home has responded better than Sainsbury's by alerting people promptly and offering refunds.

A spokesperson for Pets at Home said "We did everything we could to make consumers aware of the issue, via our website and social channels and by writing directly to anyone who had bought one of these products in the previous 12 months."

Cats caught in the food poisoning scandal given dog blood transfusions

You might have read about the cat food poisoning scandal which it is believed has caused the death of many hundreds if not thousands of domestic cats in the UK. It's been on news media websites quite a lot recently. Pets at Home own cat food brand (AVA) is affected and other pet foods which you can check out by clicking on the links below. It is vital that people are fully aware of this in the UK. 

Photograph: Images by Tang Ming Tung/Getty Images. This image is for illustrative purposes only.

The Guardian newspaper reports that some pet food outlets are not warning their customers of the crisis. Perhaps they want to keep it quiet but all they are doing is jeopardising the lives of cats. If it is true this is highly irresponsible behaviour. It is said that several branches of Sainsbury's are still stocking these foods! I find that shocking. 

However, the foods have been formally recalled but cats are still going ill. The foods were manufactured by one facility, Fold Hill Foods. The matter is being investigated as a matter of urgency. It is believed that mycotoxins caused by a fungus on cereal which is incorporated into the foods is the culprit. 

Please click on this link to read the back story. This is an early report and it lists the foods affected.

AND here:

Three links to the PDF files which contain the recall info listing the foods:

• Pets at Home Recall Fact Sheet June 16, 2021
• Product Recall Sainsbury's Hypoallergenic food
• FOLD HILL FOODS LTD IS RECALLING A NUMBER OF PRODUCTS IT MANUFACTURES ON BEHALF OF SELECTED PARTNER BRANDS.

The Daily Mail reports today that cats are being given dog blood transfusions to keep them alive for 24-hours! The disease that this food causes is called feline pancytopenia; a disease that affects the production of blood cells in bone marrow. This is the white cells, red cells and T-cells. This is why the cats are being given blood transfusions. It's a way of instantly introducing these cells back into their bloodstream.

The trouble is that cat blood is apparently rare in the UK and so they are resorting to dog blood. In one instance a cat owner had to decide whether they should spend £10,000 on cat blood from Portugal. Obviously if they have insurance this is the kind of situation where it comes into its own but even then, there will be limits to how much that can be spent.

Owners have racked up bills of £14,000 for dog blood transfusions that can cost £2,500 a time but which only buys time. Apparently, it isn't a cure because it is dog blood. The Cat Welfare Group is trying to create a central donor database to help manage this crisis. It is a silent crisis because hundreds of cats are dying and probably many more than records show because often people don't take their cats to their veterinarian.

Investigators have yet to find a direct link between the premium food brands concerned such as Applaws and Sainsbury's Hypoallergenic Recipe. Feline pancytopenia is a rare disease normally which is why it was so noticeable when many cases started to surface.

At the last report at least 330 cats were known to have died from the illness with over 500 contracting it which provides us with an idea of the percentage of cats who died once they get the disease. But the Royal Veterinary College state that this figure is not comprehensive.

Blood transfusions are a life-saving procedure. It can be whole blood or blood components. Where does the cat blood come from? It appears that it might come from a cat that lives at the veterinary practice or from cats owned by the veterinary staff. I find that a bit surprising to be honest because it indicates that there is no system in place as there is with respect to humans. 

They may be cat guardians who sign up to allowing their cat to donate blood. It is an interesting issue because the owner is consenting to a procedure on their cat without the cat's consent. And the procedure is carried out for altruistic purposes.

There are obviously strict requirements for a donor cat. Before this crisis, my research indicates that there were at least two cases of cats had receiving blood from a dog as a last resort. They are known as xenotransfusions. Both the donor and the recipient can develop health complications. These are immune-mediated or non-immune-mediated.

Will Benadryl Counteract Flea Meds in a Cat?

The short answer is no in my opinion because Benadryl® is an antihistamine used in treating people and pets. It counteracts histamine which causes inflammation and itchiness whereas flea meds might poison a cat because they contain poisonous substances - active ingredients: Pyrethrin and Pyrethroids.

An adverse reaction by the cat to these toxins affects the cat's nervous system. This is a poisoning as opposed to simply an allergic reaction.

However, the adverse reaction to flea meds may also be an allergic reaction causing hives and itching and worse - even death.

I suppose Benadryl may alleviate the affects of the allergic reaction but there may other adverse reactions such as vomiting and diarrhoea and as mentioned nervous system damage.

The point is that if there is an allergic reaction by a cat to flea meds, simply administering Benadryl cannot be guaranteed to be a complete treatment and it would be far too risky to assume it was.

There is only one course of action: the vet.