Annie Rauwerda writes Siamese cats are heatmaps of themselves: Siamese cats are walking heatmaps. Their characteristic coloration results from a delightful mutation (maybe I should call it a mew-tation) in tyrosinase, an enzyme that makes melanin. A deleted cytosine amino acid causes a frameshift mutation. The result? Tyrosinase in Siamese cats is particularly sensitive to…
Cats
Cats, Sports
Friday Catblogging: Cat-Themed Cleats
by JOHN ADAMS •
Cats
Friday Catblogging: Cat-astrophe Avoided
by JOHN ADAMS •
Cats
Friday Catblogging: Miami Fans Use American Flag to Catch Falling Cat
by JOHN ADAMS •
Doha Madani reports Video shows Florida football fans use a U.S. flag to rescue cat that fell from upper deck: The biggest play at the University of Miami-Appalachian State University football game Saturday night happened in the stands, where spectators banded together to save a feline fan. Video from Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens…
Cats, Nature, Science/Nature
Friday Catblogging: Tabbies
by JOHN ADAMS •
James Gorman reports How the Cat Gets Its Stripes: A team of geneticists reported Tuesday in the journal Nature Communications that it had identified a gene in domestic cats that plays a key role in creating the traditional tabby stripe pattern, and that the pattern is evident in embryonic tissue even before hair follicles start…
Cats
Friday Catblogging: Cat Rescues Octogenarian Who Fell into Ravine
by JOHN ADAMS •
Mira Pitofsky reports An elderly woman went missing after falling down a ravine. Her cat led rescuers to her: A cat in the United Kingdom rescued his 83-year-old owner after she fell into a ravine by attracting the attention of bystanders with his meowing. Police in Bodmin, located in Cornwall, England, shared on Facebook last…
Cats
Friday Catblogging: Cats and Ping Pong Trick Shots
by JOHN ADAMS •
Cats, Nature
Friday Cat Blogging: Arizona Bobcat Notices She’s Being Watched
by JOHN ADAMS •
Cats
Friday Catblogging: What’s The Story Behind Japan’s Lucky Cats?
by JOHN ADAMS •
Cats, Medicine, Science/Nature
Friday Catblogging: Cats’ Genomes
by JOHN ADAMS •
In One More Thing We Have in Common With Cats, Katherine Wu writes about the similarities between feline and human genomes: Cats, it turns out, harbor genomes that look and behave remarkably like ours. “Other than primates, the cat-human comparison is one of the closest you can get,” with respect to genome organization, Leslie Lyons, an…
Cats, Games/Puzzles
Friday Catblogging: Stray Walkthrough
by JOHN ADAMS •
Game producer Swann talks about the world of Stray, as well as what to expect with gameplay and characters you’ll come across as a cat. Coming early 2022 to PS5, PS4, and Steam. The good news: it looks exciting. The bad news: it’s not out until early 2022. (Time to revise one’s 2021 Christmas list.)…
Cats
Friday Catblogging: Glasses-Wearing Cat in Pennsylvania Goes Viral
by JOHN ADAMS •
A glasses-wearing cat in Pennsylvania is going viral. Danielle Crull, a local eye doctor, rescued Truffles 4 years ago. Now, she uses Truffles at her medical practice to comfort kids who might need glasses or eye patches for the first time. ‘The story that happens over and over is a little one is crying and…
Cats
Friday Catblogging: Giant 3D cat on Tokyo billboard dazzles passersby
by JOHN ADAMS •
Cats, Science/Nature
Friday Catblogging: Why Cats Do These 6 Things
by JOHN ADAMS •
Narimes Parakul writes Why your cat does these 6 things, according to science: Having a cat (or several) can add companionship and warmth to any household. As you share each other’s space, however, you may have noticed a few quirks that your cat exhibits, varying from adorable to plainly bizarre. Emma Grigg, animal behaviorist with…