Free Covid test for cats and dogs in Seoul, South Korea

NEWS AND COMMENT-Seoul, South Korea: This is nice to see. There has been quite a lot of talk about cats and dogs creating a reservoir for the Covid virus. And the idea is that this reservoir may end up transmitting the virus from cats and dogs to people at some time in the future when people have managed to control and suppress the virus. Therefore, there is concern about cats and dogs catching the virus from people at this time.

And I suspect that the administrators of Seoul, Korea are aware of this potential and have decided to prevent cats and dogs getting the disease or preventing severe symptoms. However, it is also known that cats and dogs do not present with severe symptoms when they contract Covid. Therefore, I'm convinced that the administrators of this city are more concerned about curtailing the possibility of a reservoir forming in animals which would jeopardise their control of the virus.

Soeul, South Korea. Photo: Pixabay.

So can dog owners can request a free Covid test if their companion animals show symptoms and have had contact with infected humans. I suspect, by the way, that the infection rate in companion animals is higher than people imagine.

Only pets with symptoms which are the classic Covid symptoms such as coughing and breathing difficulties will be tested. And the authorities are asking people to apply the social distancing rules with regard to their pets. They want people to keep their dogs two metres away from other people when they are going for a walk.

Other cities and areas in the country are also planning to provide a test for companion animals. In the southern city of Jinju last month, a kitten became the first animal in South Korea to be confirmed as having the Covid virus. It is believed that the kitten caught the virus from a mother and/or her daughter who were among dozens of people infected when they attended a religious facility in the city.

South Korea has a high level of personal discipline among citizens which has helped the country do better than most others in managing the virus. This is another example of good policy.

P.S. South Korea has a reputation for eating cat and dog meat and killing them brutally. By Western standards this is unacceptable. It points to a very human-centric attitude. The Covid test is designed to protect people and has nothing to do with animal welfare.

"In Telangana/Hyderabad there is one subcaste of people who eat cats"

In Telangana/Hyderabad there is one subcaste of people who eat cats. Worst thing is they steal pet cats from neighbourhood and eat them. I've lost 2 cats so far.

The tweet below is a response to the tweet about a domestic cat seeing off a cobra. I don't believe the cat is truly confronting the cobra. But the response is interesting in that it states that some people in Hyderabad which is in the mid-south of India steal domestic cats for food. 

Location of Hyderabad, India.

And the guy who made the tweet has lost 2 of his cats this way. It is cat meat in India. I have written about this before. Who would have a cat in Hyderabad if people steal and eat them? I guess you'd have to keep them inside all the time but that is probably impractical. A subcaste is a subdivision of a caste. A caste is one of the traditional social classes into which people are divided in a Hindu society.

Note: Tweets sometimes die. If that has happened, I am sorry but I can't control it.

In Telangana/Hyderabad there is one sub craste of people who eat cats.
Worst thing is they steal pet cats from neighbourhood and eat them. I've lost 2 cats so far.

— Lemur Kan Ki (@yeshurog) July 22, 2021

Does this domestic cat confront a venomous snake in Bangladesh?

You tell me if this domestic cat in Bangladesh successfully confronts a venomous snake which looks like a cobra to prevent the snake coming into the home. That is what the video maker says. Having watched the video I do not think that it's a correct assessment. It looks to me as if the cat is a little bit bemused by the presence of the snake. 

Cat confronts snake? Screenshot.

He just sits there looking and the state keeps its distance as well. Why should the snake want to come into the home? Perhaps snakes in Bangladesh do like to come into homes for food or whatever but I suspect not. I don't think that this is a true confrontation between cat and snake.

But that said, domestic cats have inherited the ability to confront snakes from their wildcat ancestor. Stakes are on the menu as our reptiles and insects. I'm not saying that this cat would succeed in beating the snake in a fight. I don't think they would but I also don't think that this cat presents a barrier to the snake in a deliberate act to protect the home. That is anthropomorphising in the cat and exaggerating. It's quite a nice video nonetheless because it shows a snapshot of Bangladeshi life which I quite like.

Cat has prevented Cobra from entering inside for nearly 30 min till the Snake Helpline reached the spot. Our cat is around 1.5 years old & live with us like a family member: Sampad K Parida

The sand cat is one of the cat species which is very adept at killing snakes and feeding on them.

Further, this cat is a Van-type cat because you can see the van markings on the forehead. This is very typical of the Turkish Van. Clearly cats from Turkey at some time in the long distant past made their way to Bangladesh with traders probably. Or they simply evolved by themselves in Bangladesh.

Cat coat colour and personality stereotyping

'You can't judge a cat by its colour' is the mantra to follow at a cat shelter. Adopters should spend time with cats at shelters and not prejudge using stereotyping. Some people judge domestic cats by their coat colour but there is little evidence that a cat's coat type and colour has an effect on personality. 

Male white British Longhair cat bred in Russia by the Golden Leris cattery. Photo:  Питомник британских кошек Golden Leris located in Moscow, Russia. White cats seen as aloof.

It is anecdotal and stereotypes circulate on the internet. The trouble is that typecasting cats by their colour has implications at cat shelters. We know the colours which are the least popular such as black. Here are some more associations between colour and personality:

• Orange cats (usually orange or red tabbies) are stereotyped as friendly;
• Black, white and tricolour (tortoiseshell) cats are stereotyped as being antisocial;
• Black cats are regarded as having less extreme character traits;
• White cats are typecast as being aloof, shy, lazy, and calm;
• Tortoiseshell cats are regarded as being intolerant ('catitude) and are more trainable.

The lead author of a study, Delgado, on this stereotyping said: "To date there is little evidence that these perceived differences between differently colored cats actually exist, but there are serious repercussions for cats if people believe that some cat colors are friendlier than others...".

Perhaps it is time for a definitive study on the link between coat type and color and the cat's personality if a link exists. 

Red tabbies are regarded as 'leadership material'! (my thoughts). 

Tortoiseshell and calico cats (tortoiseshell-and-white) cats are widely seen as having an attitude problem of sorts. 

Black cats are seen as bring bad luck. A stupid throwback to the Middle Ages. You'd think that by now people would have given up this absurd stereotype. 

Delgado and his fellow researchers used Craigslist to reach out to cat owners, requesting them to rate on a scale of 1 to 7 the personalities of black, white, bicolor, tricolor (tortoiseshell) and orange cats using the following traits: active, aloof, bold, calm, friendly, intolerant, shy, stubborn, tolerant and trainable. 

Most participants said that personality was an important factor in selecting a cat to adopt but coat color played an unconscious or conscious role in that choice. 

When more than one black cat is in a shelter adoption room few adoptions take place said Berkeley East Bay Humane Society (BEBHS) cat coordinator Cathy Marden.

The truth about tiger and lion cub petting

Tiger cub petting is immoral and exploitative. Screenshot.

This a cool BCR video on cub petting. Tiger cub petting seems innocent and cute to the unknowing but the backstory is horrible and cruel. It is all about financial profit at the expense of animal welfare. The cubs are commodities to be exploited. The private zoos which run tiger and lion cub petting are immoral. They have to be to do what they do. Tigers and lions are exploited terribly all over the world. The rarer they become - and they are becoming rarer in the wild - the more they are exploited. Rareness is very exploitable in the human world. And cuteness is easy to monetize too. 

Note: This is a video from another website. Sometimes they are deleted at source which stops them working on this site. If that has happened, I apologise but I have no control over it.

What happens to the cubs when they are 12 weeks old? They are no longer commodities. They are a burden on the expenses of these exploitative businesses. They don't want to feed and care for tigers if they can't make money. Are they killed? Probably. The parts are possibly sold to China where there is a constant demand for tiger and lion body parts to eat. It is quite mad as they believe that eating bits of tiger anatomy improves them; their health and their sex. Superstitious humans rooted in the past at the expense of animal welfare and wildlife conservation.

The two past masters of tiger cub petting are Jo Exotic and Tim Stark. They know each other. Joe Exotic is currently in jail serving a 22-year prison sentence for conspiracy to murder Carole Baskin whose business made the video on this page ironically. Joe Exotic mercilessly exploited lion and tiger cubs on his huge estate, his private zoo which was the largest in America until it was disbanded after he was sent to prison.

Tim Stark was also featured in the hit Netflix documentary series called Tiger King. He was one of the big cat exploiters in America. He's lost his livelihood. As I recall he voluntarily gave up his animals. Ironically, too, Jo Exotic's animals were taken over by Carole Baskin, I guess under a court order.

CAROLE BASKINS CAMPAIGN TO PROTECT CAPTIVE BIG CATS

Tim Stark made millions with his baby tiger playtime sessions. National Geographic reports that many owners of cub-petting attractions in the United States are facing lawsuits or criminal charges. They say that court cases are challenging the legality of certain practices incorporated within these private zoos, such as tearing cubs from their mothers before they are weaned and allowing tourists to take selfies and bottle feed them.

The lawsuits cite a range of infractions such as illegally buying, selling and shipping endangered species nationwide, poor veterinary care, poor animal welfare, poor nutrition and unclean and unsafe housing et cetera.

The imprisonment of Jo Exotic and the end of his exploitative escapades has perhaps marked the beginning of the end of tiger and lion cub exploitation in the America.

Crisis developing in UK's veterinary profession

UK veterinary practices are going through a sort of mini-crisis in my opinion. The first big problem is that there appears to be a lot of new young veterinarians coming into the market and many of them are females. They don't want to work on farms putting their arms up the backside of cows while being ankle-deep in mud at 4 AM in the morning. They want to be in a nice, clean and warm veterinary clinic with their hands on a domestic cat. And new, young male vets probably prefer this too.

 Crisis developing in UK's veterinary profession. Photo: Pixabay.

They say there's more money for a veterinarian working in a veterinary clinic on the high street somewhere compared to working with livestock in the countryside. That's the first issue and I suspect this is partly to do with the fact that more and more females are becoming veterinarians. It seems you have to be quite macho and male to deal with bulls and cows and the like.

Secondly, there is a shortage of veterinarians in the UK and therefore we have to import them from continental Europe. This is obviously helpful but do they have good enough English? Can they communicate properly to their clients? I'm not criticising them because I am sure they are as good as any other veterinarians but there is a language issue at the very least. And are they going to stick around?

Thirdly, independent veterinarians are being bought up by private equity companies. These are investors with pots of money looking to put their money somewhere. They pick on something profitable and leverage that business. They strip out the assets and essentially, they are looking to make a lot of money for themselves which sometimes translates to a poorer service.

Veterinarians are being driven by men in suits in the back office rather than the partners of independent veterinary practices whose sole objective is to serve the client and the patients. I would much rather deal with a private practice than a veterinary practice which is part of a large chain. All around where I live there are chain veterinarians. I don't like them. I don't like the way they monetise everything and focus on making money.

SOME PAGES ON CAT HEALTH TREATMENTS

What I want is to meet a veterinarian in an independent practice who has at least 10 year's experience. I think that it is hard to meet that criterion in the UK. This is certainly the case where I live.

I would say that the profession is going through a kind of mini-crisis and it doesn't look good for companion animal guardians.

Another problem in terms of the cost of veterinary care is that vets tend to purchase more expensive diagnostic and treatment equipment. This means they charge more. And pet health insurance is expensive for what it does. It drives up the bills. I think people distrust pet health insurance. They would rather run their own insurance scheme by putting money to one side and ring-fencing it for a rainy day.

One farmer said that high street veterinary practices have jacked up their prices because they are owned by private equity firms in the city. And another said that he has to put down his own animals because he can't get a vet to do it for him.

Downing Street has added the veterinary profession to the Home Office's list of job shortages to allow recruiters to hire from overseas to fill this yawning gap.

Cat investigates new baby through sense of smell and brings many health benefits to the family

This is once again an example of how the domestic cat relies heavily upon their sense of smell to identify and investigate 'objects'. This family cat is relying almost solely on their sense of smell to investigate the new baby. She may recognise the body scent of her human companion on the baby. He sniffs all over the baby and in doing so when he gets near to the baby's head the baby starts moving. 

At that point he moves away to a safe distance and watches. There is curiosity and inquisitiveness but also a tinge of anxiety about what this new creature will bring to the home. I don't know what happened next but it is probably something good. I have seen many babies with cats together on beds. The general consensus is that babies are good for cats and vice versa.

Family cat relies on their sense of smell to investigate the new baby. Video screenshot.

Family cat retreats to a safe distance from baby as the baby moves after being sniffed by the cat. Screenshot.

Babies' immune system and their reaction to allergies is enhanced by being in contact with a domestic cat. The cat seems to de-tune the baby's immune system so that it does not overreact and cause an allergic reaction. It makes the baby more robust in terms of allergens. That is the theory and its turns on its head the old wives' tale about babies being suffocated by cats.

Note: This is a video from another website. Sometimes they are deleted at source which stops them working on this site. If that has happened, I apologise but I have no control over it.

It's more than about allergens. A study found that children who lived with cats during the first year of their life became sick less often than kids who lived in homes where there are no pets. It basically states that cats (and dogs) help to improve a baby's defence systems. Previous studies had shown that owning a cat was linked to less risk of gastroenteritis in young children. The dirt and microbes brought indoors by companion animals can boost the number of helpful bacteria that live inside the body of a developing child.

SOME PAGES ON BABIES AND CATS

And when the child grows up, they can enjoy the benefits of their cat reducing their stress levels and therefore their blood pressure. It is known worldwide that friendly physical contact with the family cat reduces stress in their human companion. It's a form of feline therapy and it has been proved in medical situations where people with mental health issues have improved after being allowed the company of a domestic cat.

Cats bring to a relationship a friendship and warmth without the complexities, betrayals and contradictions in which people invariably become enmeshed. A study from the United States revealed that owning a cat can even make the difference between life and death by reducing blood pressure and calming the overworked heart.

The family cat brings lifetime benefit to the human family. The story comes from Tokyo. The cat's name is Lonsdale.

Cat hoarding causes cruelty to kittens

Perhaps it goes without saying but this story from the Vancouver Orphan Kitten Rescue Association (VOKRA), reminds us how the neglectful nature of cat hoarders leads to a huge amount of distress and cruelty to kittens who are brought into a disgusting and unhealthy world.

VOKRA was recently inundated with almost 2 dozen kittens and cats. Some of the female cats were pregnant which is another typical symptom of cat hoarding. Nothing is done to sterilise the cats which is the reason why they end up with so many and they are often severely neglected.

Karen Duncan, the co-founder of VOKRA paints a grim picture of how the kittens had barely survived. She said that if they had not been rescued, they could have died the next day. She said:

"We had to just sit here and comb all day getting the fleas out. Fleas were jumping directly on them, it was horrifying, actually."

The rescue centre has given them lots of vitamins and food because they were not only riddled with fleas but starving as well. Newborn kittens are already incredibly vulnerable when they are brought into the world even in a good home. Imagine how many kittens die quite soon after being born in the home of a cat order because the mother is unable to cope because she's too sick and the mentally ill person can't cope either.

Kitten rescued from a hoarder in Vancouver. Photo: Screenshot from CTV video.

VOKRA said that their veterinary bill is insane. I was looking for an actual figure but they don't reveal it. It will be shocking which is why cat rescues always reach out to the public when they are involved in rescuing a large number of cats and kittens from a hoarder.

The problem with this cat hoarding situation is that it is compounded by the back story which is the coronavirus pandemic. This rescue and others have been unable to do a lot of fundraising. And people don't have so much money to give because many are stretched quite thin.

And because the pandemic has reduced access to veterinary care it appears that some owners are reaching out to cat rescue such as VOKRA for help. And less cats are being sterilised which is going to lead to more pressure on cat rescues to pick up the pieces with unwanted cats procreating. This is also leading to more cats being dumped.

Duncan said that, "It's pretty horrific this year". They recently rescued a couple of brother kittens from a blackberry bush. A volunteer said that:

"They were just screaming their little heads off in the blackberry bushes it's pretty obvious that someone just dumped them there to be a little coyote snack, which is horrible."

Source: CTV News.