Cats 101

http://animal.discovery.com/videos/cats-101-siberian.html

                           Photo by Helmi Flick

QGCA Cooncreole Bolshoi Medvit Moroz Mur of Sibirskiy

A Prayer for Animals

Hear our
 humble prayer,
 O God,
 for our friends
 the animals,
 especially for animals
 who are suffering;
 for any that are hunted
 or lost or deserted
 or frightened or hungry;
 for all that must
 be put to death.
 We entreat for them all
 Thy mercy and pity,
 and for those who deal
 with them we ask a heart
 of compassion
 and gentle hands
 and kindly words.
 Make us, ourselves,
 to be true friends
 to animals
 and so to share
 the blessings
 of the merciful.

Albert Schweitzer

About Black Cats

The origin of the black cat and good luck is believed to have begun in Ancient Egypt with the sacred black cat of Oagans- BAST. BAST, a goddess of Egypt reigned in the Twenty-Second Dynasty and was the official deity of Egypt. Many courted her favors, by procuring black cats into their households; believing that she would become part of that cat in spirit, and grace the home with riches and prosperity.

In the 1600’s Charles I of England, owned a black cat. He fiercely loved and protected his cat. Keeping it under guard 24/7, until one day the cat fell ill and died. Charles I was heard to proclaim- “Alas my luck is gone.” The next day, he was arrested and charged with high treason. Ultimately he was put to his death.

In the Yorkshires, a black cat was said to bring the fishermen home safely from the seas. During the most prominent part of the fishing industry in this village, black kittens were often catnapped and sold to the highest bidder (usually the wives of the fishermen) by racketeers trying to cash in on the popular superstition.

In parts of Europe, if a black cat crosses your path, you are considered to have good fortune. If a black cat walks into your house or home, you are truly blessed. 

 The domestic house cat is a small carnivorous mammal. Its most immediate ancestor is believed to be the African wild cat. The cat has been living in close association with humans for somewhere between 3,500 and 8,000 years.

Cats usually weigh between 2.5 and 7 kg (5.5–16 pounds), although some breeds can exceed 11.3 kg (25 pounds). Some cats have been known to reach up to 23 kg (50 pounds) due to overfeeding. This not healthy for the cat, and should be prevented through diet and exercise (playing), especially for cats living exclusively indoors.

Indoor cats typically live 14 to 20 years although the oldest-known cat lived to an amazing age of 36.  Domestic cats tend to live longer if they are not permitted to go outdoors (reducing the risk of injury from fights or accidents and exposure to diseases) and if they are spayed or neutered. Spaying and neutering cats also decrease the risk of testicular and ovarian cancer.  Having female cats spayed before their first litter benefit from reduced risk of mammary cancer. 

Cats can produce a purring noise that typically indicates that the cat is happy.  Less typically it can also can mean that it feels distress. Cats purr among other cats—for example, when a mother meets her kittens. There were many competing theories to explain how cats purr, including vibration of the cat's false vocal cords when inhaling and exhaling, the sound of blood hitting the aorta, vibration of the hyoid apparatus, or resonation directly in the lungs. But currently, it is believed that purring is a result of rhythmic impulses to the cat's larynx.Purring may also be a way for the cat to calm itself down. For example, some cats have been known to purr when hurt. Though not proven, research has suggested that the frequency of the vibration produced by purring may promote healing of bones and organs in cats, explaining why cats may purr when hurt.

The sound a cat makes is unique and is rendered onomatopoeically as "meow" or similar variants ("miaow", "miau" etc.) in most European languages as well as Mandarin Chinese. Japanese has it as "nyaa" or "nyan"; Korean as "yaong" or "nyaong".  In Arabic the sound is transcribed as "mowa'a". 

Reason for the "meow" can vary.  Cats can call out to indicate pain, request human attention (to be fed or played with, for example), or even as a greeting. Cats can be very vocal, yet others rarely call out. Cats are capable of as many as 100 different vocalizations, compared to about 10 for dogs.

A kitten's call first starts out as a high-pitched squeak-like sound when very young, but then deepens over time. However, some cats do not exercise their voices often, so their call may remain similar to that of a kitten through adulthood.