intelligentCatCare Magazine - Good Resource for Stray Cat Carers and Pet Cat Owners

Feeding time at a stray cat colony in Swieqi, Malta - photo © 2016 Islands of Cats

Last week, Malta welcomed 500 veterinary surgeons for the annual ISFM European Feline Congress, which takes place in different European destinations. In his report on on July 3rd Times of Malta online, Dr Martin Debattista writes:

"If you are a cat owner, breeder, cattery operator or a stray cat feeder and you like to stay updated with what is happening in world cat health, I strongly recommend that you check out the website run by the International Cat Care – which is available at http://icatcare.org/advice.

Whether you are a dedicated cat carer, feline breeder or simply a cat owner interested in matters relating to cat health, you will be able to read about several feline conditions worth knowing about.

The website also provides valuable advice as to how best work together with your veterinarian in the treatment and care needed by your cat. You can also sign up for a free monthly e-magazine."

Another interesting note was that due to a busier lifestyle, more pet owners seem to turn to cats rather than dogs. Click here to read full article.

Today, the cat is the #1 favourite pet. iCatCare is a good resource for many topics around cats, pet and stray alike.

The History of the Cat - Die Geschichte der Katze (Documentary in German)

Last weekend I discovered on Germany's national TV ZDF a new documentary: The History of the (House) Cat. Available in German language only, I still find it worth a few notes of facts I got out of this well presented and filmed documentary.

Screenshot from the documentary © ZDF

• The cat is the pet number 1  >^..^<
• She is only a cousin of the big wild ones, such as lion, tiger, cougar, leopard, lynx, etc. The cat as we know it stems from another forefather that lived in Europe, parts of Africa, Asia.
• It was during the Stone Ages some 7,000 years ago that the cat entered the symbiosis with the human being, when mankind started to settle down and farm, storing the harvested crop. Rodents took advantage of the grain stores, while cats discovered a new feeding ground. And soon they became a beloved (and useful) member of the clan. They quasi domesticated themselves. And all that happened in Old Egypt, from where the (house) cat spread into other cultures.
• Excessively hunted and killed during the (dark) Middle Ages due to religious belief that the cat is the manifestation of the devil, in some areas in Europe she was almost extinct. Rodents prospered again, and with them came the plague. 
• Today there are over 60 different breeds.
• Cats are designed to jump savely from trees and heights, and always land on their 4 paws. Slow motion shows that they automatically turn their bodies towards the ground, shortly before they "arrive". During a test way back in 1948 in simulated zero gravity on a plane, this mechanism didn't kick in, and the kitties where zig-zagging around just like the astronauts-to-be. 
• The highest ever recorded fall, a cat survived, was in Manhattan, New York, from the 32nd floor.

German speaker, check out the documentary, as long as it is online on ZDF Mediathek. 

What the documentary did not cover - except for a quick take about the Torre Argentina Cat Colony/Sanctuary in the center of Rome - was the growing number of stray cats in many countries and the imperative need to TNR. 

Your cat is barely not a wild animal

www.techinsider.io 24 March 2016: Cats live in our homes and eat the food we provide for them. But they can also be aloof, disinterested in our affection, and difficult if not impossible to train.

So are cats actually domesticated? And how did they get here, anyway? These are questions that scientists are still asking today, and for good reason.

Most of the animals we've domesticated serve a food or utility purpose, such as providing milk or meat or transportation. But Felis catus, as researchers refer to your pet, occupies a unique niche amongst the other animals we've brought into our sphere — namely, that they don't do much.

Contrast that to dogs, our oldest creations: They're our hunting partners, livestock herders, and security guards, all in a friendly, furry package that constantly (sometimes annoyingly) seeks our affection and approval.

For the most part cats play none of these roles. They do provide pest control and companionship, but as cat owners will admit, they do it on their own terms. It's rare to have a cat that follow commands.
So why did we let them into our homes in the first place?....read more.