Σάββατο 31 Μαρτίου 2012

cat pushes cat down stairs

Παρασκευή 16 Μαρτίου 2012

Asian (cat)

The Asian, also known as the Malayan, is a cat breed similar to the Burmese but in a range of different coat colours and patterns. Longhaired Asians of all varieties are called Tiffanies. Asians are grouped in the foreign section at cat shows.


Appearance
It is a medium-sized cat, with a muscular and compact body, which is devoid of fat. It has a broad and rounded chest, and slender legs. The straight tail is of medium length. The pleasantly rounded head has no flattened areas, and there is a very visible spot in profile. This gives the Asian a full-looking face. The round and wide-set eyes come in the colour of yellow.
Coat and colours
The short-haired coat of the Asian is fine, satiny, and glossy. The breed is mostly-even a solid-coloured cat. Asian Shorthairs are classified in four different varieties: the Asian Self (including the Bombay, which is a black Asian Self), the Asian Tabby, the Asian Smoke and the Burmilla (which is a shaded Asian).
Temperament
Asians are very affectionate and lovable, just like its originated brother, the Burmese. It is inquisitive, and loves to explore the house. It has a strong will. It often enjoys traveling in a cat carrier. Asians are highly vocal, and have very loud voices. Owners should note that these cats demand an owner who will pay attention to it, interact with it, and always hug and hold them frequently. This behavior is quite similar to the Burmese. The Asian is a sociable animal with familiar people, but is also sociable even towards strangers sometimes.
Health and Care
Environment
It makes a good apartment cat, especially if owners will give it safe non-poisonous house plants near the windowsill, which the cat can explore. However, it is recommended that the Asian can only live in apartments, if it does not involve the city. The Asian does not enjoy loud noises from automobiles, buses, or trucks. So if needed to live in an apartment, it must be one near a peaceful suburb. The Asian is not a city cat.
Grooming and Diet
To keep the coat clean and shiny, owners can do that by simply taking their Asian, and stroking it, while rubbing it with using either a flannel cloth, glove or chamois.
Health
This is a very long-lived and healthy cat, with very few health issues.
To keep the coat clean and shiny, owners can do that by simply taking their Asian, and stroking it, while rubbing it with using either a flannel cloth, glove or chamois.

Δευτέρα 12 Μαρτίου 2012

Catwoman

Catwoman is a fictional character associated with DC Comics' Batman franchise. Historically a supervillain, the character was created by Bill Finger and Bob Kane, partially inspired by Kane's cousin, Ruth Steel.Kane, a frequent movie goer, also mentioned that Jean Harlow was a model for the design.

The original and most widely known Catwoman, Selina Kyle, first appears in Batman #1 (Spring 1940) in which she is known as The Cat. She is an adversary of Batman, known for having a complex love-hate (often romantic) relationship with him. In her first appearance, she was a whip-carrying burglar with a taste for high-stake thefts.For many years Catwoman thrived, but from September 1954 to November 1966 she took an extended hiatus due to the newly developing Comics Code Authority in 1954. These issues involved the rules regarding the development and portrayal of female characters that were in violation of the Comics Code.





Since the 1990s, Catwoman has been featured in an eponymous series that cast her as an antihero rather than a supervillain. The character has been one of Batman's most enduring love interests. Many modern writers have also interpreted her activities and costumed identity as a response to a history of abuse.

A popular figure, Catwoman has been featured in most media adaptations related to Batman. Actresses Julie Newmar, Lee Meriwether, and Eartha Kitt introduced her to a large audience on the 1960s Batman television series and the 1966 Batman motion picture. Michelle Pfeiffer portrayed the character in 1992's Batman Returns. Halle Berry starred in a stand-alone Catwoman film in 2004, which was a box-office flop, and was not based on the Batman character. Anne Hathaway will portray Selina Kyle in Christopher Nolan's upcoming Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises.

Catwoman was ranked #11 on IGN's "Top 100 Comic Book Villains of All Time" list,ranked #51 on Wizard magazine's "100 Greatest Villains of All Time" list and #20 on IGN's "Top 100 Comic Book Heroes". She was ranked 23rd in Comics Buyer's Guide's "100 Sexiest Women in Comics" list.

Τετάρτη 7 Μαρτίου 2012

Puss in Boots

Puss in Boots is a 2011 American computer-animated action comedy film produced by DreamWorks Animation, directed by Chris Miller (who directed Shrek the Third in 2007), executive produced by Guillermo del Toro, and written by Brian Lynch, with screenplay by Tom Wheeler. It stars Antonio Banderas, Salma Hayek, Zach Galifianakis, Billy Bob Thornton and Amy Sedaris. The film was released in theaters on October 28, 2011 in Digital 3D and IMAX 3D



The film is a spinoff prequel to the Shrek franchise, and it follows the character Puss in Boots on his adventures before his first appearance in Shrek 2 in 2004. Accompanied by his sidekicks, Humpty Dumpty and Kitty Softpaws, Puss is pitted against Jack and Jill, two murderous outlaws in ownership of legendary magical beans which lead to great fortune. The film opened to very positive reviews and has become a success at the box office with a gross of over $532 million as of March 2012. It was also nominated for Best Animated Feature Film at the 84th Academy Awards.

Τρίτη 6 Μαρτίου 2012

Chausie

History

The first hybrids of the so-called "Jungle Cat" (Felis chaus) and the domestic cat (Felis catus) may have been born in Egypt several thousand years ago. The Jungle Cat is native to a vast region spanning Southeast Asia, India, and the Middle East (Sunquist, 2002). For the most part, it is an Asian species of wild cat that lives by rivers and lakes. But the species is found in one small area of North Africa: the Nile Delta. It is well known that the ancient Egyptians kept domestic cats as pets. Literally tons of domestic cat mummies have been found interred in Egyptian temples. What is not so well known is that one other species of cat was occasionally preserved after death via mummification. That was the Jungle Cat (Malek, 1993). Felis chaus is not a timid species; they are known for moving into abandoned buildings and living as happily by irrigation canals as by wild rivers, provided that adequate prey and shrubbery for cover are available. Because domestic cats are likely to have frequently encountered Jungle Cats along the Nile and occasionally even within their owners' homes, it seems that hybrids of the two species were probably often born there (Bird, 2009).

A few people experimented with breeding Felis chaus to Felis catus in the late 1960s and 1970s. Their intention was to provide a sensible alternative to keeping nondomestic cats as pets. However, the Chausie breed did not truly begin until the 1990s, when a dedicated group of breeders named the breed "Chausie" (after Felis chaus, of course) and developed a planned breeding program and goals (see Chausie Breed Committee). These breeders asked for and received registration status from T.I.C.A. in 1995. The breed advanced through the steps of the new breed program and is expected to complete the requirements for championship status in 2012 (personal communication, January 2012, T.I.C.A. Chausie Working Breed Chair). Chausies are now being bred in both North America and Europe. The breed has begun the new breed recognition process in the World Cat Federation (W.C.F.).

Appearance and Behavior

Currently, most authentic Chausies produced are late generation cats with fully domestic temperaments. Their T.I.C.A. registration certificates will usually indicate that they are "C" generation or "SBT," which nearly always means they are four generations or more beyond the Jungle Cat (Felis chaus). In cases where they are "A" or "B" generation, it is usually because they have been recently outcrossed to another domestic breed to improve specific cosmetic traits, but the cats are nonetheless more than four generations beyond the handful of nondomestic ancestors.

Although the official, permissible outcrosses for the Chausie breed are the Abyssinian and the domestic shorthair (no recognizable breed), in practice any kind of purely domestic outcross can be used. T.I.C.A. rules only dictate that cats must be a certain number of generations removed from the Jungle Cat ancestors and have three generations of registered Chausie ancestors to be eligible for competition at shows (T.I.C.A. Registration Rules, p. 34). Consequently, a variety of breeds, albeit usually lively outgoing breeds (see below), were used to develop the Chausie breed and continue to be used occasionally as outcrosses. This has given the breed a diverse and healthy genetic foundation.

Chausies are bred to be medium to large in size, as compared to traditional domestic breeds (Chausie breed standard). Most Chausies are a little smaller than a male Maine Coon, for example, but larger than a Siamese. Adult Chausie males typically weigh 9 to 15 pounds. Adult females are usually 7 to 10 pounds. However, because Chausies are built for running and jumping, they tend to be built like basketball players. They are long-bodied and leggy. They often appear quite large, but they weigh less than one would expect.


The T.I.C.A. Chausie breed standard allows three colors: solid black, black grizzled tabby, and black (aka brown) ticked tabby. (See Chausie breed standard.) Because the Chausie breed is relatively new, Chausies are still frequently born that have a variety of other colors and patterns, and they make wonderful pets. However, only the three permissible colors are considered ideal. Only cats in the three permissible colors can be entered in new breed classes at cat shows, and only the three colors will be eligible eventually for championship classes.

Solid black Chausies may have faint tabby markings (called ghost markings) as kittens, but usually acquire a dense, even black pigmentation with maturity (T.I.C.A. Uniform Color Description, p. 6). Sometimes black grizzled tabby Chausies will appear indistinguishable from solid black Chausies when the amount of grizzling is minimal. Exposure to strong sunlight, as with most black cats, can cause black Chausies to lighten slightly and appear brownish.
Adult Chausie of the black grizzled tabby variety

Black grizzled tabbies are unique to the Chausie breed among domestic cats. The grizzled pattern comes from the Jungle Cat; it is never found in domestic cats unless they have Jungle Cat ancestors (T.I.C.A. Uniform Color Description, p. 5). The kittens are often born completely black, although occasionally they may have a bit of light colored fur on the chin or neck at birth. As the kittens get older, they begin to look more and more like tabbies. However, they are tabbies with black on black markings. That is, the background color is a sort of dark brownish black, and the markings, such as the mid-line stripe on the spine, are pure black. In addition, alternating bands of off-white appear on individual hairs in the background color. The bands are along the middle of each hair. The root of each hair is mousie gray, while the tip of each hair is black. The off-white banding or "ticking" usually appears first on the neck, chin, and belly, as well as the insides of the ears. Later, the grizzling will often extend up the sides from belly to almost the spine. In the most heavily grizzled cats, the grizzling extends over the back of the neck, on the face, and even on the legs and tail. Usually the grizzling is complete by age 3 years. The effect in the best cats is spectacular. Grizzling does have a wide range of expression, however, and some cats never have more than a few banded hairs in the ears or in one spot on the belly, occasionally not even that.
Adult Chausie of the black ticked tabby variety.

Black ticked tabby Chausies have black ticking, black stripes on the inside of the upper legs and to a lesser extent on the outside, black rings on the tail, a black tail tip, and black tabby markings around the eyes. They are also known as brown ticked tabbies because, although the markings are black, the background color is brownish. The background color can vary in hue across a large range. While Chausie breeders try to avoid producing the very reddish brown background color seen in the Abyssinian breed, they do produce everything else in the range. Background color may be reddish gold, it may be a light golden brown, warm beige, cold beige, and even a very cool light gray with just a hint of brown in it (T.I.C.A. Uniform Color Description, Brown Tabby, p. 20). The latter is a very wild looking background color. Random polygenes influence the background color. Every time a black ticked tabby kitten is born, breeders start guessing what the background color will be. But no one really knows until the cat matures.

Felis chaus by nature is a gregarious, fun-loving nondomestic species. They are the otters of the cat world. Because breeders outcrossed the foundation Jungle Cats to mostly very intelligent, outgoing breeds such as the Abyssinian and Oriental Shorthair, the result was predictable. Chausies are highly intelligent, active, athletic cats. They are often very "busy" as kittens. As adults, they are quieter, but they still retain a playfulness and intellectual curiosity lifelong. One thing to keep in mind: Chausies do not like to be alone. They need to have other cats as companions or have human company most of the time. Chausies get along well with dogs, too, and will do fine if raised with a canine buddy. Additionally, Chausies form deep bonds with people. They are extremely loyal, and may have difficulty adjusting if rehomed as adults. They need intelligent people who like living with complicated, intelligent cats (Chausie Breed Committee).

As with all nondomestic hybrid source breeds, some Chausies may inherit intestinal tracts similar to that of the nondomestic ancestors. The intestinal tract may be a little shorter than that of the traditional domestic cat. A shorter intestinal tract is thought to be less capable of processing ingredients derived from plants. That would include any kind of cereal, as well as vegetables, herbs, and spices. Those ingredients may serve as triggers for chronic intestinal inflammation and eventually lead to chronic inflammatory bowel disease that is perpetuated by multiple allergies to proteins in commercial cat food (Bird, 2009). Regardless of the cause, Chausies do seem somewhat prone to developing food allergies. To prevent this, breeders advise Chausie owners to feed only very high quality commercial cat foods, containing as little of plant-derived ingredients as possible. Some breeders advise feeding homemade raw or cooked meat diets with appropriate supplementation. However, if homemade diets are fed, it should be with the guidance of someone experienced in preparing them. Meat by itself does not contain all the nutrients that Chausies require, and modern meat processing conditions mean a high risk of contamination by potentially dangerous infectious agents.

Κυριακή 4 Μαρτίου 2012

Kurilian Bobtail Breed

The Kurilian Bobtail is a cat breed (or breed group, depending on registry) originating from the Kuril Islands, claimed by both Russia and Japan, and Sakhalin Island and the Kamchatka peninsula of Russia. Short- or long-haired, it has a semi-cobby body type and a distinct short, fluffy tail. The back is slightly arched with hind legs longer than the front, similar to those of the Manx. The breed is also called the Kuril Islands Bobtail, Kuril Bobtail (both often misspelled "Kurile") and Curilsk Bobtail, and may be referred to without "Bobtail". It is sometimes also spelled Kurilean. The original short-haired variant is a natural breed, known on the islands for over 200 years. As selectively-bred pets, they have been popular in Russia and to some extent other parts of Europe, especially for their rodent-hunting abilities, since the middle of the 20th century, but remain rare in North America as of 2011.


The variety is mostly known for its distinctive "pom-pom" kinked, short tail, medium to large, substantial, semi-cobby body, with longer hind legs that front, and a rounded-rectangular, wide face. Kurilians are not limited to any particular range of coat or eye colours.

Kurilians are recognized as a breed group of a pair related short- and [semi-]long-haired breeds by the The International Cat Association (TICA), which considers them "Advanced New Breeds" ineligible for championship status, as of November 2011) and by the Fédération Internationale Féline (FIFe). The World Cat Federation (WCF) recognizes them as a single breed.[citation needed] As of November 2011, the Cat Fanciers Association (CFA) does not recognize the breed at all.

While possibly closely related to the Japanese Bobtail breed – both share the same kind of kinked, short tail, but the Japanese is leaner, more angular and less cobby – the Kurilian originated on the complete opposite side of Eurasia from the similarly named Karelian Bobtail of western Russia and Finland, and is thus unlikely to be a near relative. Genetic studies may eventually demonstrate the breed's connection to others. Just as the Japanese Bobtail and tailless-to-short-tailed Manx arose independently on islands a world apart, the Kurilian's bobbed tail may be an isolated spontaneous mutation, that became common on the Kuril and Sakhalin islands because of the limited genetic diversity of island biogeography (an example of the founder effect and, at the sub-specific level, of the species-area curve).