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American Wirehair

The American Wirehair breed is uniquely American. It began as a spontaneous mutation in a litter of upstate New York farm cats in 1966. A spontaneous mutation is an uncommon, although not rare, happening. As it has occurred among cats in the past, two ordinary cats came together and as a result of their mating, a kitten unlike its parents or littermates was born. The progeny of the original mutation, Council Rock Farm Adams of Hi-Fi, are now in all areas of the United States. What is interesting and unusual about this particular mutation is that it has not been reported in any other country thus far.

American Wirehair, The result of a spontaneous mutation
Photograph: unknown

The coat is the characteristic that separates the American Wirehair from all other breeds. Just as there is a wide variety of texture in Persians or Exotics, there is also considerable variation among the Wirehairs. As this is a dominant mutation, approximately half of the kittens will be wirehaired at birth. The most readily apparent wiring is that of the whiskers and ideally, the entire coat will be wired at birth. If the coat appears to be ringlets, it may be too long and may wave or straighten with maturity. Some of the lightly wired coats may continue to crimp during the early life of the Wirehair. The degree of coarseness depends upon the coat texture of the sire and dam. To produce the best wiring, both parents must have a hard coat.

Breeders find them easy to care for, resistant to disease, and good producers. Pet owners delight with their quiet, reserved and loving ways.

Weight: 8-11 lbs.

Eyes: The American Wirehair eyes are large and round. Aperture has a slight upward tilt. The color depends on the color of the coat.

Coat: Springy, tight, medium in length; overall appearance of wiring and coarseness and resilience of the coat is more important than the crimping of each hair; very dense, resilient, crimped, and coarse coat is most desirable; whiskers should be curly.

Associations: The American Wirehair is accepted by CFA and TICA.

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American Curl

The American Curl is a breed of cat characterized by its unusual ears, which curl back from the face toward the center of the back of the skull.

The breed originated in Lakewood, California as the result of a spontaneous mutation. In June, 1981, two stray kittens were found and taken in by the Ruga family.
The kittens were both longhaired, one black and the other black and white. The family named them Shulamith and Panda respectively, but Panda got lost several
weeks later, making Shulamith the foundation female of the American Curl breed.

The American Curl, with characteristic curled back ears.

In 1983, an American Curl was exhibited at a cat show for the first time, and in 1987, the longhaired American Curl was given championship status by The International Cat Association (TICA). In 1993, the American Curl became the first breed admitted to the Cat Fanciers’ Association (CFA) Championship Class with both longhair and shorthair divisions.

The American Curl is a medium sized cat (5-10 lbs), and does not reach maturity until 2-3 years of age. They are strong and healthy, remarkably free of the genetic defects that affect many purebred cats.

American Curl kittens are born with straight ears, which begin to curl within ten days. After four months, their ears will not curl any longer, and should be hard and stiff to the touch. A pet quality American Curl may have almost straight ears, but showcats must have ears that curl in an arc between 90 and 180 degrees. A greater angle is preferable, but cats will be disqualified if their ears touch the back of their skulls.

Both longhaired and shorthaired American Curls have soft, silky coats which lie flat against their bodies. They require little grooming, but enjoy spending time with their owners.

The American Curl, while still an uncommon breed, is found across the world in the United States, Spain, France, Japan, Russia, and many other countries.

[Thanks to wikipedia.org]

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World’s First Cloned Cat Has Kittens

News first Released in December 2006
The world’s first cloned cat just became a mother – and she even did it without test tubes.

This photo released by the Texas A&M University’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Science shows the three kittens Wednesday, Dec. 13, 2006, that were born in September to the world’s first cloned cat. Two of the kittens take after their mother, while the third, left, has a gray coat like his father. (AP Photo/Texas A&M University, Larry Wadsworth)

Copy Cat, who was cloned by Texas A&M University researchers in 2001, had three kittens in September 2006. Mother and kittens are doing well, said Duane Kraemer, an A&M veterinary medicine professor who helped clone her and has been taking care of her since.

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Sylvester the Cat

Thufferin Thuccotash!

Sylvester the Cat aka Sylvester or Puddy Cat, is a fictional cartoon cat character.

Puddy Tat is a three-time Academy Award-winning Tuxedo cat in the Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies cartton stable. Often seen chasing chasing Tweety Bird, Speedy Gonzales, or Hippety Hopper. The name “Sylvester” is a play on Felis silvestris, the scientific name for the wild cat species (domestic cats like Sylvester, though, are actually Felis catus).

The character was brought to life in Friz Freleng’s Life With Feathers (1945). Freleng’s 1947 cartoon Tweetie Pie was the first pairing of Tweety with Sylvester, and the Bob Clampett-directed Kitty Kornered (1946) was Sylvester’s first pairing with Porky Pig. Sylvester appeared in 103 cartoons in the golden age. He appeared fourth most frequently in films behind Bugs Bunny, Porky Pig, and Daffy Duck respectively. Three of his cartoons won Academy Awards, the most for any starring Looney Tunes character: they are Tweetie Pie, Speedy Gonzales, and Birds Anonymous.

Credit: https://comicbookrealm.com

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The Pink Panther

The Pink Panther

The Pink Panther(s)
Image: DePatie-Freleng

Think of all the animals you ever heard about,

like rhinoceros and tigers, cats and mink,

there are lots of funny animals in all this world,

but have you ever seen a panther that is pink? Think!

A panther that is positively pink?

Well here he is, The Pink Panther,

The Pink Panther, everybody loves a panther that’s pink.

He really is a groovy cat, and he’s a gentleman, a scholar, he’s an-acrobat.

He’s in the pink, the Pink Panther,

the rinky-dink Panther and it’s as plain as your nose.

That he’s the one and only truly original,

Panther pink from head to toe.

Yes he’s the one and only truly original,

Panther Pink Panther from head to toe!

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‘Sybil’ replaces ‘Humphrey’ at No 10.

Well this is about as political as we’re going to get round here…so here goes…

Humphrey the Downing Street cat was retired in 1997, after years of living in the Cabinet Office and Downing Street areas. His departure came shortly after Tony Blair’s arrival as prime minister. A bird table was then put into No 10’s garden.

Sybil
Photograph: Alisdair Macdonald/Rex

Now, slinking down the corridors of power comes ‘Sybil’. Named after Basil Fawlty’s wife in the classic 1970s sitcom, Sybil lives in the flat above No 10 with the chancellor during the week. Gordon Brown and his wife occupy the bigger flat at Number 11, which is the traditional home of the chancellor.

Sybil, officially know as Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office

‘Sybil’ is famed for her nocturnal ramblings and can make the dourest of Labour politicians go weak at the knees. The new occupant at No 10 belongs to Alastair Darling.

Sybil, on her way to a summit meeting

Here’s an update on the history of the Offical Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office

Name Began tenure Ended tenure Prime Minister(s)
Treasury Bill 1924 1924 Ramsay MacDonald
Peter 1929 1946 Stanley Baldwin, Ramsay MacDonald, Neville Chamberlain, Winston Churchill, Clement Attlee
Munich Mouser 1940 1943 Neville Chamberlain, Winston Churchill
Nelson 1940 1940 Winston Churchill
Peter 1941 1946 Winston Churchill, Clement Attlee
Peter II 1946 1946 Clement Attlee
Peter III 1946 1964 Clement Attlee, Winston Churchill, Anthony Eden, Harold Macmillan, Alec Douglas-Home
Peta 1964 1976 Alec Douglas-Home, Harold Wilson, Edward Heath
Wilberforce 1973 1988 Edward Heath, Harold Wilson, Jim Callaghan, Margaret Thatcher
Humphrey 1989 1997 Margaret Thatcher, John Major, Tony Blair
Sybil 2007 2009 Gordon Brown
Freya 2012 2014 David Cameron
Larry 2011 current David Cameron, Theresa May
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“Moggy” – origin of the word

Moggy or moggie (plural moggies) is a British affectionate term for a domestic cat, but is also used as alternative name for a mongrel or mixed-breed cat whose ancestry and pedigree are unknown or only partially known. Because of this mixed ancestry and free-breeding, a moggy can either be very healthy, or, if from an inbred feral colony, genetically unsound and sickly. However, as feral colonies are often left without any form of human intervention and veterinary attention, the sickly generally do not live past kittenhood, leaving the colony as a whole healthy.

Etymology
The origin of the word moggy is not a corruption of the word ‘mongrel’, as many believe. It was first recorded in 1911, and was possibly derived from maggie, margie or mog, all short forms of the female name Margaret. It is thought this was first used to describe an ungainly lumbering old cow, and it may even have been a minor rural English name for any cow; since ‘moggy’ was used in several 1800s English dialects as an ‘affectionate name’ for a cow. As rural people flocked to the cities during the latter part of the Industrial Revolution, it seems likely that the cow moggy became maggie, applied as a term of abuse for a dishevelled old woman or ‘woman of the street’.

The origin is obviously confused, but as the early 20th century streets of London became filled with very many unhealthy looking stray cats, it would have been natural to apply the term moggy to describe these unfortunate creatures.

In parts of Lancashire, England the word ‘moggy’ means mouse not cat. A cat was known as ‘the moggy catcher’. It has been suggested that this could be the etymology of the word moggy meaning ‘cat’ – over time the catcher part was dropped from ‘the moggy catcher’ and so moggy now means both ‘mouse’ and ‘cat’.

Thanks Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia