Cats are not native to New Zealand. In fact, DNA analysis has confirmed that cat’s first ancestors are the Fertile Crescent which can be found in Egypt, Israel, Mesopotamia, and today in Iraq, Syria and Cyprus. These wildcats lived between 70,000 to 100,000 years ago and produced the genetic lineage that eventually included all domestic cats.

Cats in a way domesticated themselves some 10,000 to 12,000 years ago when settlers were interested in attracting the felines as they aided in killing off the growing rodent population that were infesting farms and eating all of the grains and crops. Cats eventually adapted to humans and were turned into household companions, eventually migrating worldwide with humans.

Kosher foods are those that conform to the regulations of kashrut (Jewish dietary law) and are considered fit to eat. These food regulations ultimately derive from various passages in the Torah. According to these passages a land animal is kosher if it has split hooves and chews its cud. Both of these things must be true in order for it to be kosher. Some examples of kosher animals include cows, sheep, goats and deer.

Cats, dogs, pigs, rabbits, bears, camels, horses etc. are not kosher on the other hand. Leviticus 11:3-8 and Deuteronomy 14:4-8 both give the same general set of rules for identifying which land animals are considered ritually clean. According to these rules anything that “chews the cud” and has a cloven hoof is considered ritually clean, however those animals that either only chew the cud, or only have cloven hoods are considered unclean.

Other reasons for food not being kosher include the presence of ingredients derived from non-kosher animals that were not slaughtered in the proper ritual, include a mixture of meat and milk, wine, or grape juice, or their derivatives. In addition, any food that was produced without supervision, the use of produce from Israel that has not been tithed, or the use of non-kosher cooking utensils and machinery are considered un-kosher.

Cats are not native to North America, rather, they are an introduced predatory species. DNA analysis has now confirmed that domestic cat’s maternal ancestors date back to the Fertile Crescent (Egypt, Israel, Mesopotamia, today Iraq, Syria, Cyprus).

These Middle Eastern felines can still be found today wandering through the deserts of the area and it is believed that they may have originated in a population that lived between 70,000 to 100,000 years ago, producing the genetic lineage that eventually included all domestic cats.

Further research suggests that these wildcats may have been captured some 10,000 or 12,000 years ago as sort of an experiment when humans were settling down to farm. At the time, people were interested in attracting wildcats as they helped destroy the rodents that were infesting the farm fields and sneaking into the grain barns. In addition, cats seemed to adapt well to these cities and towns where the farm settlements were. Today there are some 600 million house cats in the world. Domestication turned out to be one heck of a natural experiment.

Once cats were turned into household companions they accompanied prehistoric human tribes in their migration worldwide, which explains the origin of all domestic cats from the same stock. Thus, domestic cats from Europe are actually the same as domestic cats from Israel, or China, etc.

The oldest remains of a domestic cat, being about 9,500 years old, were discovered in Cyprus. Interestingly enough, cats, unlike other domestic animals have changed very little compared to their wild ancestors, which is why it is sometimes hard to tell the difference between feral cats and actual wildcats, also causing interbreeding in many hybrids of the two.

Cats can indeed be very loyal creatures, however whether or not they are faithful or loyal to their owners does also depend on the cat’s personality, living situation, and the bond that they have with their pet owner, but for the most part cats are known to form strong attachments with their owners. There are even some cases where a cat’s pet owner had to leave, or passed away and the cats showed signs of distress as a result. Cats have even been known to go into hiding, refuse to eat, etc. Some perfectly healthy cats have had such strong attachments to their owners that they basically died of a broken heart after the loss of their owner.

Even more remarkable are the documented incidents of cats traveling hundreds of thousands of miles to places they have never been, and finding their owners. If this doesn’t demonstrate love and loyalty to a pet owner, I don’t know what does. This strange phenomenon is known as Psi-training. Psi-training is a term that was coined by Dr. Joseph Rhine of Duke University to refer to animals such as cats managing to locate their owners after the owner has moved away or left the animal behind. Dr. Rhine has documented a number of cases of this phenomenon. In all cases the animal had to have some distinguishing mark, abnormality, or previous injury by which the owner could positively identify the pet in order to rule out any lookalike situations. One of the most remarkable cases was one where a cat followed its owner, a veterinarian, all the way from New York to California. Upon reaching California, the cat settled down immediately in his old favorite chair. After taking x-rays, it was confirmed that the cat had the same physical abnormalities as “the old cat” meaning it must be the same creature.

One explanation for Psi-training is that there could be some dis-equalibrium when closely bonded creatures are separated, something that could one day be explained with something similar to Bell’s Theorem. Bell’s Theorem proposed that all electrons function in pairs, with each electron spinning in the opposite direction of the other electron. The physicist Bell speculated that if you change the spin of the electron, the other electron would sense it and alter its direction accordingly to the one whose spin was altered. If mammals are made of cells, molecules, and atoms, perhaps the bond between two creatures is not just with the “heart” but also with some sort of rhythm on an actual cellular or atomic level that is disrupted when the physical bond is disrupted. With all of this evidence there is no doubt that cats do in fact show some loyal, faithful and sometimes selfless qualities. Cats have even been known to risk their lives for their owners.

Typically when most people describe a loyal pet they refer to dogs. While dogs are definitely loyal, cats can be as well. The only difference with cats is that they are reciprocal creatures. Felines do not have any innate behaviors that drive them to form relationships. Simply put, if they are offered love, they will respond. If ignored or neglected they will avoid contact, just as any human would.

Therefore, getting loyalty or faithfulness from a cat requires giving it first. When you take the time to create a daily routine for kitty, show a genuine interest in him or her, and give them affection, He or she will seek out to give you attention in return, or ask for your affection as he or she will come to enjoy your time spent together. Whether kitty follows you from room to room or sits nearby to keep a watchful eye on you, you can rest assured that you and your cat have a bond that will last.

A cat’s whiskers (also known as tactile hairs or vibrissae) are long, thick, flexible hairs located on his or her face. These hairs are located in horizontal rows on the whisker pad (the puffy area between the top corners of the cat’s mouth and the outer edges or his or her nose). Whiskers, much like hair and nails, fall out and are replaced. However a cat’s whiskers are a lot different from the other hair on a cat’s body. Not only are they two to three times thicker than the cat’s hair, they are also rooted very deep in his or her face, in an area rich in nerves and blood vessels.

Cat’s also have shorter whiskers above their eyebrows, on their chin, and on the back of their front legs. A cat’s facial whiskers are used for navigation, measuring an opening, and mood indication. Cats use their whiskers to feel their way around. In fact, a cat’s whiskers are so sensitive that they can detect the slightest directional change in a breeze. This makes it easy for cat’s to walk around at night without bumping into anything. The air currents in a room change depending on where things are located.

When a cat is happy or content his or her whiskers will be more relaxed and pushed forward. This goes for when they are feeling curious as well. However, when your feline companion is feeling angry or defensive don’t be too surprised if their whiskers are pulled back.

Last but not least, the primary use of a feline’s whiskers are to help them judge whether or not they can fit through an opening. In fact, a cat’s whiskers are roughly as wide as their body. The tips of the whiskers are sensitive to pressure. This is why you will most likely see your cat stick his head in and out of an opening before attempting to climb into it. By doing this, he is judging the width of the opening and determining whether or not he can fit into it. In addition, unlike humans, cats do not have a true collar bone which allows them to twist and turn, and fit into very narrow openings.

It is very important that you never cut or trim a cat’s whiskers as it can leave them disoriented, and make it difficult for them to accurately judge distances and keep their balance.

For mammals the gestation period is the time in which a fetus develops, beginning with fertilization and ending at birth. Cat gestation periods are typically defined as “the number of days between a successful mating and the birth of the fully developed kittens”. A cat’s gestation period is somewhere between 61 and 69 days, with an average of 63 to 66 days. It should be noted however, that this number can vary. Sometimes it might be much shorter, and other times much longer. It just depends on the cat.

The reason for the huge variation in these figures is due to the nature of the feline reproductive cycle. Female cats are “induced ovulators”, meaning that they require the mating stimulus of a male cat if they are to ovulate their ova (eggs) into their uterine tract for fertilization. Usually several matings are required in order for this to happen (8-12 copulations is common).

Cats can found mating often over a period of days before the female becomes stimulated enough to ovulate her eggs. It is very uncommon for a single mating between male and female cats to result in successful ovulation. Technically speaking, less than half of female cats ovulate after a single copulation. Once enough mating stimulus has been provided, it usually takes a female cat 24-52 hours after the successful mating to release the eggs into the uterus tract.

Since a cat’s gestation period is defined using the starting point of a successful mating, and it often requires several matings over several days in order to ovulate and become pregnant, confusion on how long a cat’s gestation period is often comes into play. Cat breeders or pet owners are unsure as to which of the witnessed matings is the successful one, and therefore are unsure where to start the count from.

Cats, just like humans have 2 kidneys. A cat’s kidneys are relatively small and bean shaped, and they are located on each side of the cat behind his or her rib cage. A cat’s kidneys play a very important role. The kidneys help control a cat’s blood pressure and also produce a variety of required hormones and enzymes, contribute to the production of red blood cells, and control the fluid in a cat’s bloodstream.

The kidney’s most important job, however, is to remove metabolic waste from a cat’s blood. A cat’s kidney tissue contains thousands of tiny filtration units known as nephrons. A cat’s waste filled blood enters the kidneys through his or her renal artery and it continues to move through smaller arteries until it reaches the nephrons, where it is then filtered once again through minute structures known as glomeruli. This cleaned blood then recycles itself back to the cat’s heart for yet another trip through the body. The remaining blood, which contains the waste material, is then selected as urine through the kidneys to the bladder and will eventually be passed by kitty.

With summer just around the corner, you may be curious as to whether or not your feline companion gets uncomfortable in hot weather. Just as humans and dogs get uncomfortable in the heat, cats too are susceptible to some of the dangers of heat. Even if your cat is not an outdoors cat, you will still want to take some precautions, especially on really hot days to protect them from the heat.

The following tips can help keep your cat comfortable:

• Windows – Open up those windows and let in that fresh breeze. However it is also important to make sure that your screens are intact to keep kitty from escaping.

• Air Conditioning And Fans – Many people might turns the air conditioning off when they are gone all day at work, however it is important to keep in mind that your cat might get uncomfortable on really hot days. If the temperature is going to be high that day, pet owners should adjust their settings accordingly. If you do not have air conditioning, fans are a great alternative. It is important to make sure that fans can’t tip over.

• Fresh Water – Making sure that your cat has access to fresh, cold water is a must. Fresh flow fountains are a great way to keep your cat’s water clean and flowing constantly. Adding ice cubes to water dishes can also sometimes help make the water colder.

• Open Access – Ensuring that your cat is able to access the cooler areas of the house will help him or her keep cool on hot summer days. Typically, basements are usually a lot cooler than rooms upstairs. Hardwood floors or tiles are also a lot more comfortable in the heat than carpet. Some cats might even enjoy relaxing in bathtubs and/or sinks when it is hot outside.

• Brush Frequently – Keeping kitty well groomed will help detangle his or her coat and keep them cooler.

Other Safety Measures

Always keep an eye on your cat in hot weather and watch for signs of heat exhaustion or heat stroke. Although heat stroke is not as common in felines, it is still important to watch for the following symptoms:

• Panting
• Lethargy
• Fever
• Vomiting
• Drooling
• Collapse

Heat stroke is a life threatening emergency and requires immediate vetinary attention.
Never leave your cat in a parked car. If you have to travel with kitty, always make sure that you do not leave her in a parked car, even if it is only for a minute. Temperatures inside of a car rise to dangerous levels quickly, even with the windows cracked, or with kitty in a carrier.

By using the tips above, you should be able to keep your cat as comfortable as possible in the heat.

While not all cats are hypoallergenic, meaning that they produce fewer allergens than others, there are a few breeds of felines that are considered to be hypoallergenic.

Technically speaking, no cat is 100% hypoallergenic, however there are certain breeds that will not bother a person’s allergies as much. It is now thought that most allergies caused by cats come from the dander that they produce. It is also estimated that 10% of individuals who are allergic to cats might actually be allergic to the protein that is present in feline saliva.

If you are looking for a hypoallergenic cat, the following breeds may suit you well:

• Balinese
• Bengal
• Burmese
• Colorpoint Shorthair
• Cornish Rex
• Devon Rex
• Javanese
• Ocicat
• Oriental Shorthair
• Russian Blue
• Siamese
• Sphynx