Beauty Queen Ragdoll Cat

Beauty queen, a photo by fofurasfelinas on Flickr.

A beautiful Ragdoll cat born and raised in Brazil at Blumenkatzen cattery.

Is this a lynx pointed Ragdoll? Is there such a type of Ragdoll? All Ragdoll cats are pointed by pointing these days is sometimes very subtle. I have just checked and the CFA allow a wide range of lynx pointing for Ragdoll cats.

Her name is Colbye and she has an amazing ruff (collar of fur around the head).

The photographer is Giane Portal. She is the best cat photographer in Brazil and quite famous.

This the link to Blumenkatzen's website.

---

The photo on this page is protected by copyright ©. Violations of copyright are reported to Google.com (DMCA).

What wild cats are in Australia?

There are no wild cat species in Australia. Surprising isn't it? There are ten wild cat species in nearby Southeast Asia.

There are many feral cats in Australia. The Australian authorities don't like feral cats, which could qualify as wildcats. The local governments think that the feral cat damages native species. They are allowed to shoot them in some states.

Genetically engineered hypoallergenic cat

Ashera GD - F1 or F2 Savannah cat?
Photo copyright Lifestyle Pets

There is no such cat as the genetically engineered hypoallergenic cat. It is simpler than that. Some individual cats are hypoallergenic meaning less likely to cause an allergic reaction in a person who is allergic to cats.

Lifestyle Pets (Allerca) who sell hypoallergenic cats have used genetic testing techniques to isolate those cats that are hypoallergenic. They started with a desirable cat that was already somewhat hypoallergenic, the Savannah cat. Using DNA testing they bred from individual cats that were the best from a hypoallergenic standpoint. That is how I understand what is going on. In other words these cats are naturally hypoallergenic not engineered to be that way.

They don't just sell F1 and F2 Savannah cats which is the Ashera GD. They also sell standard moggie cats that are supposed to be hypoallergenic such as the Chakan GD which is a pointed cat. I suspect that they simply found cats that produced less of the Fel D1 protein that causes the allergic reaction bred from that.

This is all on the basis that we believe that their cats are actually hypoallergenic, which by the way does not mean totally non-allergy producing but less likely to cause an allergic reaction.

Agouti gene - what is it?

The agouti gene is probably the best known of the genes in the cat breeding world (the cat fancy). It is one of genes that is responsible for the tabby cat. If a cat has banded or ticked hair strands the cat carries the dominant agouti gene symbolized by the letter A. This gene signals the creation of the dark and light agouti banding on each hair. Alternately the non-agouti gene (a/a) signals the creation of solid colored hairs.

The agouti gene signals the on-off creation of eumelanin a pigment produced in a cell called a melanocyte. Eumelanin is black-brown in color. When the agouti gene has not signalled the creation of eumelanin a pigment called phaeomelanin is produced in the melanocyte. Phaeomelanin is red-yellow in color. The melanocyte feeds the pigment into the hair follicle.

Tabby cat hair strand showing banding of pigmentation

The message (signal) to create these two different types of pigment is effected by the action of a protein molecule called the agouti peptide and a hormone called the Melanocyte Stimulating Hormone (MSH).

The tabby gene dictates how the hairs are positioned throughout the body so it dictates how the tabby pattern appears. It works in conjunction with the agouti gene to create the well known tabby cat of which there are three types: classic blotched, spotted and mackerel or striped.

Behaviors of dying cat

I know a bit about the behavior of a dying cat because my cat is dying at the moment. The title is what people search for. It is not good English. My lady cat is about 19 years old. I don't know here actual age because I found her on the street in London, UK. It was not far from the place where the film Notting Hill was made.

So, what is her behavior like? She is very frail. She is bony. She eats well but does not put on weight. She has a tumor on her right kidney. She has an infection. She has a heart murmur too and she is anemic.

She sleeps all the time, 24/7, except to eat and go to the toilet. She spends all her time outside in a garden; day and night. She sleeps in the middle of the garden and it is a communal garden.

I have difficulty waking her sometimes. She seems dead sometimes but she is not. She drinks a lot probably because she has kidney failure.

She also has dementia. She recognises me but is not the same cat that I knew. I love her the same though.

Binnie. I love you.

I wonder why she stays out all the time. I think she is going back to her roots, to nature to die.

One day I will wake up and she will be dead. The weather is getting cold at night but I can't keep her in because she tries to get out and gets stressed.

The best thing for her and me is that she does die on that lawn one night. I have made contact with a cremation service that is not too far away. Her ashes will be placed in an urn that contains the ashes of my previous lady cat, Missie. I loved Missie dearly. When I die my ashes will be placed with the ashes of all my cats, mixed together and I haven't decided what will happen to those ashes.

My lady cat is called Binnie. I give her antibiotics every day, twice a day. She is used to it now. I use a pill gun.

Here is a picture of her taken about a week ago (top right). Update: Binnie died 23rd November 2011. She was euthanised. I had to do it as she was seriously, terminally ill on multiple levels and had stopped eating. I had brought her inside and took her out on a lead occasionally. I had her cremated individually so that I know for sure I have her ashes, which are placed with the ashes of my previous cat in a casket....

I loved her unconditionally.

See also: When to euthanise a cat.

Cat Heaven

Cat Heaven, a photo by Caza_No_7 on Flickr.

Here is a cat in cat heaven; in front of a warm fire on a nice carpet in a nice home, well fed and cared for.

What would consider to be cat heaven? It has to be good food first. Nice calm non-hostile environment with plenty of opportunity to behave normally and express normal desires etc.

Cat heaven above all should be safe from danger such as cars and predators and disease.

Cat heaven must be a place where you get medical treatment when required.

Lastly there is plenty of love and interaction between cat and human. The human in cat heaven loves cats and understands cats.

The human in cat heaven knows that you can't force a cat to do something and that punishment is not a good idea but positive reinforcement is much better.

Lastly cat heaven is a place where the cat gets to keep his claws.

Feral Egyptian Mau in Kuwait

cat-on-rocks-2, a photo by octal on Flickr.

Is this an Egyptian Mau stray cat at a Kuwaiti dock?

This cat looks very like the feral Egyptian Maus that you you in Egypt on the streets. There they are persecuted but in the USA they are selectively breed to look amazing.

This cat has a distinct wild cat appearance with the prominent spots and leg banding. It reminds me of the African wild cat actually. The cat is rangy, slender etc.

It seems to be quite plausible that there are domestic and feral cats in the Middle East that are descendants of the African wild cat.

One well known informal purebred wild cat hybrid is the Bahraini Dilmun.

Via Flickr:
Cat walking across rocks on kuwaiti marina

Is a cat a mammal?

Yes, a cat is a mammal. It is classified as being in the class mammalia and in the order of carnivora.

This is the full classification:

Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Mammalia
Order:	Carnivora
Family:	Felidae
Genus:	Felis
Species:	F. catus

Mammals are classified as mammals because they are a group of animals that breath air, have backbones, possess hair and have mammary glands for feeding young.

Associated: How do you pronounce "Felidae".