A Quick Look at Cats

Over the last thousands of years, cats have pretty much handled their breeding themselves.  In the beginning, they were used for one purpose - hunting and killing rodents.  As the years progressed, we began to breed cats more to our liking.  Now-a-days, there are several different breeds of cats - some markedly different, others more, well...catlike.

These days there are over 70 distinct cat breeds, that are recognized through cat registries.  There are several registries that will recognize around 40 breeds or so, as they exclude the more domestic breeds such as tigers.  There are also many variations within the breeds as well, including wild cats that have longer hair.

There are some cat breeds who have roots going back quite a bit in history.  Some Japanese breeds, such as the Japanese Bobtail, can be traced back more than 1,000 years in history.  These cats were very common and well known throughout Medieval Japan.  Today though, they are all but a myth throughout Japan and the entire world.

The more common cat breeds that are found in North America include the alley cat, long haired cat, Persian cat, and Siamese. Siamese cats were bred as 'watch cats' and prowled special ledges built around Chinese aristocray houses. Now, of course, there is no need for their talents, but you might notice that your Siamese likes to perch on top of the bookcase or refridgerator - a left over genetic trait perhaps. Persian cats are very popular, proving to be loving companions, and showcased prominently in television commercials extolling the virtues of refined, upperclass or decadent seeming items.

Alley cats are the most common in North America.  There are actually several different breeds, although most of us just refer to them as alley cats.  They make loving, loyal pets, and there are literally thousands of them in existence.  Cats are known to breed more than any other pet other than rodents, and they will continue to breed unless spayed or neutered by their owners. 

The look of the cat is the easiest way to tell what breed he or she may be.  Some people choose to go by color, although color isn’t as easy to identify.  Different breeds of cats have different looks, such as the Siamese and Persian cats.  Siamese cats are almost always cream coloured with dark brown, black, lilac or blue ear tips, paws, and facial markings, with blue eyes.  Persian cats on the other hand, are easily identified by their long, often times, pure white long hair, and facial shape. Alley cats come in all shapes, sizes and colours, and for non-cat people, tend to look very similar.

Cats were one of the first pets, and easily one of the most popular.  Millions of people around the world own cats, with many people preferring a cat over any other pet - including dogs.  No matter what breed of cat you get - you’re sure to get a pet who will make a great companion for years and years to come.

Rescue Kitties - Meet Skitszie Kitty

The third, and hopefully final addition to our family is this beautiful fluffy black and white Orca (generally called Tuxedo cats).

If you look closely at the picture, you will see this lovely lady has 6 toes on her front paws. This type of cat is called a Polydactyl cat. Wikepidia states "Normal cats have five toes on each front paw and four toes on each hind paw. Polydactyl cats may have as many as seven digits on front and/or hind paws, and various combinations of anywhere from four to seven are common, although each of the front and rear paws are typically the same. Polydactyly is most commonly found on the front paws only, with polydactyly of all four paws being less common. It is rare for a cat to have polydactyl hind paws only."

This little baby was only 6 months old when I found her crying pitifully outside my doorstep. The poor little thing was obviously lost and terrified. I coaxed her into the house and started a door-to-door campaign to find her owner. After that failed, I checked to see if she had any tattoos, which she did, so I called the local veterinarian to see if he could track it down. The tracking was successful, she had been spayed and tattooed in Merritt (which is approximately 150 miles away from where I live.)

Obviously, she didn't walk all that way to find my doorstep, as she was in very good condition when I found her. Her fur from her surgery was starting to grow back, but her incision was still visible, which approximately matched the surgery date the vet had given me. I left my phone number for them to contact me if they found the kitty's owner, but I never received a call. So, she moved in with me...

Now I had to figure out what to call her! Mittens seemed rather tame, and Thumbelina was too long. Since she was very skittish even after getting used to the house and her new roommate Picasso, I settled on Skitszie Kitty.

Don't let that sweet little face fool you - nothing is safe from this fuzzy pint sized tyrant! I recently 'integrated' her into my boyfriend's menagerie, and she regularly puts the run on her feline brothers, often standing nose to nose with my boyfriend's two dogs, who tower over her, without turning a whisker.

It's quite funny watching the feeding process in the mornings. Each counter has a cat on it, with 3 black and white cats twining around our legs and the dogs taking up their stations in the kitchen door. After the meal, everyone heads outside for their morning run, all 3 black and white Rescue Kitties following one after the other through the grass.

Rescue Kitties - Meet Mooch

Hello, my name is Mooch, and I'm a Rescue Kitty. I didn't always look this handsome and well fed. I used to live outside, with no people of my own, and it was a very hard, lonely life.

Then, one day, I found a house with an open window in a basement suite, where a family had cats, and sneaked in to have some food. I was pretty hungry, so I ate almost the whole bowl before I sneaked back out again.

I came back a few more times to share my new found neighbour's bounty, but ran away whenever I saw their people. The next time I returned, there was a bowl of food sitting on the steps in front of the window. Each time I showed up, it was full and waiting for me. I couldn't believe my good luck.

Then one day, the food bowl was gone from the steps. Someone had moved it inside the house, on the window ledge above the big metal water bowl with taps. The people were inside, but the bowl was right in front of the open window, so I took a chance.
The people didn't come close to me while I was eating, but they did peek at me a couple of times.

After that, the food dish moved further inside, each time I came back, but the people were nice and didn't bother me. Soon, the people moved the dish to the floor and let me come into the house to eat.

It was comfortable and warm in the house, and after a while, I started taking naps in front of the door. The people always let me out in the morning, after giving me some wonderful treats, and they left the window open for me to come and go as I pleased.

One day, the lady put me in a cage and took me to a place that smelled just awful and left me there. There were other animals in cages crying to be let out. A soft spoken lady took me out of the cage and cleaned me, put drops in my ears and pricked me with a sharp pointy thing. After that I don't remember anything.

When I woke up I was pretty woozy and sore. The lady who left me there came back and took me home with her. She gave me treats, and fresh water and let me curl up on the rug. She let me go outside again a few days later, after I was feeling better and left the window open for me.

I was starting to get very comfortable at this house. The people were good to me, even if the lady did drop me off at that horrible place. They kept putting their hands on me, and I was actually beginning to like it. I kept making these funny, squeaky noises that I had never heard before, but I couldn't help it!

One afternoon, I came in through the window, and saw lots of boxes all over the floor and counters. A whole bunch of people were carrying them out the door and loading them into a van, so I hi-tailed it out of there real quick. When I finally came back, everything was quiet and the house was empty except for my food dish. I felt all alone, but I wasn't scared - I had been alone for a long time before finding this house. Then a car pulled up to the house, and the lady got out. She called me and called me until I showed up. Then she put me in that box again, and we left.

We drove for a long time, and when she finally let me out of the box, I saw I was in a different house, with other cats and a couple of big, loud dogs. They pretty much ignored me, and the other cats seemed fairly friendly, only one of them was a bit touchy and hissed at me. The man who lived there was pretty nice too, and he didn't kick me off the bed when the lady put me on it. It was a pretty comfy bed, I gotta say!

The next morning, the man called us all into the kitchen and gave us treats and milk and filled the food dish. He opened the door and let everybody out, but he left the door open so we could come back in if we wanted. It didn't take long before I started thinking of this place as home. The people who brought me here always stayed over a few nights a week, so I didn't feel lonely, and the man was very friendly and loving. I like him a lot!

Now I'm fat and sassy, and love my new home. I'm so glad my people let me come in that long ago day for food, and I thank them every night when I curl up beside them on the bed and make my squeaky sounds! (They really like that!)