Ear notching or ear tipping is a universal sign that a feral cat has been spayed or neutered (desexed), vaccinated and then returned to its colony. Veterinarians notch or tip the ear during spay/neuter surgery which helps to identify a trap, neuter, return (TNR) cat from a distance.
Most of us want to reduce our carbon footprint and are looking at ways to reduce waste and our impact on the environment. This extends to petcare and looking for sustainable products we can use with our cats.
Cat litter was invented by Edward Lowe in 1947, before then, cats either eliminated outside or if they had to stay indoors, sand and ash was used (imagine the mess). Lowe’s neighbour (or acquaintance), Kay Draper asked Ken if he had any good absorbents for cat waste and Lowe gave her Fuller’s earth, which she found worked better than sand and ash. Ken launched “Kitty Litter”, which he initially gave to pet shops and handed out at pet shows before setting up a network of distributors to launch the product nationally.
Every cat owner has experienced their cat sitting on our laptop, book, newspaper or clothes. There are a few scenarios when it comes to cats sitting on our things. While cats have retained some of their former wild-behaviours, thousands of years of domestication has also created a loving and sentient creature who wants to be a part of their human family.
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Adopting a cat is a huge responsibility and top of the list is making sure they are spayed or neutered (desexed) to prevent more unwanted kittens as well as the added health benefits. But not all cats come with a history which tells us if they have been desexed or not.
Most pet owners want to spay or neuter their cat, and many councils are requiring pet owners to register their cats and pay a fee. This fee is significantly reduced for pet owners who have confirmation that their cat has been spayed or neutered. Naturally, pet owners need a way to find this information out and have a veterinarian certify that the cat is in fact already spayed or neutered.
Osteochondrodysplasia is a name used to describe a number of developmental disorders of the cat’s skeletal system. The two most common forms of osteochondrodysplasia are achondroplasia (dwarfism), which causes a shortening of the limbs in the Munchkin cat and related breeds and osteodystrophy (osteo=bone, dystrophy=disorder), which occurs in Scottish Folds and is the focus of this article.
Cats have two sets of teeth, the baby (deciduous or milk) teeth and adult (non-deciduous) teeth. Teething in kittens begins with the appearance of the first baby teeth around 2-3 weeks, and by the eighth week, all 26 baby teeth are in. From 12-16 weeks the baby teeth start to fall out and are replaced by the adult teeth. During this time, pet owners may notice baby teeth in the home, although it is not unusual for the kitten to swallow the teeth when they eat. All of the adult teeth are in by eight months.
The British Longhair is a medium to large semi-longhaired cat who originated from Britain and is essentially a British Shorthair with longer fur.
Achondroplasia (ACH) is a form of osteochondrodysplasia, which is a general term for the abnormal development (dysplasia) of the bones (osteo) and cartilage (chondro). This hereditary disorder is characterised by short legs with a normal body and head and is what gives the Munchkin cat its unique appearance.
Achondroplasia is a form of dwarfism and is caused by a mutation of the fibroblast growth factor receptor gene. This gene is autosomal dominant, which means the cat only needs to inherit the gene from one parent to be short-legged and it is lethal in its homozygous form, which occurs when kittens have two copies of the gene, one from each parent.
Pet care goes beyond feeding and scooping out the litter trays. Just like we don’t like dirty dishes, neither do our feline companions. A lot of pet owners refill their cat’s water bowl daily, but don’t clean it between water changes.
The National Sanitation Foundation (NSF) swabbed 30 household items from 22 households and found pet dishes to be the fourth germiest items in the home. Another study by Hartbury University found life-threatening bacteria in dog water bowls which included E.coli, salmonella and MRSA. The study found bacteria were more likely to thrive in plastic and ceramic bowls.
Most cats are fully grown by twelve months, which is approximately 15 years in human terms. Some cats may continue to fill out for several months beyond their first birthday. Large cat breeds which include the Maine Coon, Siberian, Ragdoll and Birman don’t reach their full size until 3-4 years of age.