Short Takes

All cats and dogs born after July 1, 2018, are required to be neutered, or desexed, before they turn six months of age or within 28 days of the new owners possession, according to a South Australia government website.

The Cat Writers Associations mission is to promote professionalism among people who write about and photograph cats and improve the quality of cat information. To that end, they host an annual awards contest to honor outstanding writers. We are delighted to have earned two special awards, three Muse Medallion awards, and four certificates of excellence for our work in 2017.

Cats do an amazing job landing on their feet, but only when they have time to re-orient themselves. Cats in free fall immediately go about righting themselves in a race against the clock. In other words, if the fall is high enough, they may have time to get upright. Cats right themselves from front to back, righting the head and front feet then the back feet.

Maddies Fund is granting $2,580,741 to support the Million Cat Challenge as it expands its lifesaving work in shelters across North America. The Million Cat Challenge is a campaign to save the lives of one million shelter cats and it met its goal one year early. They are now focusing on communities where cats are still at risk to make lifesaving the norm across shelters.

Its cute, at first, when that tiny little kitten leaps at your ankles, swats you a few times, then runs off. But as he grows, this play biting/ scratching can injure you.

Luckily, cats do not experience the high frequency of seizures that can plague many dogs, but seizuring cats face the extra challenge of trying to find a safe, effective medication. A recent study looked at an extended-release version of the medication levetiracetam.

The TV show “America’s Got Talent” included a mind-boggling cat act, with some amazing tricks by very happy cats. You can seee it here at: https://youtu.be/8e0z3-iZ_TY.

Gary Whittaker, PhD, and Elizabeth Berliner, DVM, will assess the importance of feline coronavirus as a cause of upper-respiratory disease in shelter cats and the role it plays in the development of feline infectious peritonitis (FIP).

Dwight Bowman, PhD, a parasitology professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, is conducting a study on ticks that have been removed from cats. Ticks can carry disease-causing pathogens, such as Lyme disease.

Bobcat fever, caused by a protozoa called Cytauxzoon felis, is appearing in Arkansas, Oklahoma, and other southern states, reports KFSM-TV (Fort Smith, Ark).

Dwight Bowman, PhD, a parasitology professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine, is conducting a study on ticks that have been removed from cats. Ticks can carry disease-causing pathogens, such as Lyme disease.

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