Happy Halloween!

From Off the Mark; h/t: WEIT.

A handsome beast

Today, I decided to take the day off and went to Taronga Zoo in advance of the Oceans of Plastic event. Like most people with an interest in conservation and animal welfare, I have mixed feelings about zoos. In an ideal world, we wouldn’t need them; unfortunately, we do not live in an ideal world and zoos are an increasingly important bastion of biodiversity.

They are also a place where you can go and marvel at nature. And what a marvellous chap this is:

How anyone can look at that and think, “I really must shoot that” (other than with a camera), is totally beyond me.

Forget MC Hammer, meet PFC Hammer

Ok, so most people have forgotten MC hammer. Anyway, here’s a feel-good story (courtesy of WEIT) about PFC Hammer, a cat adopted by U.S. Troops in Iraq:

In 2004, a tiny Egyptian Mau kitten wandered into U.S. Army headquarters in Iraq. Dubbed PFC [Private First Class] Hammer, he became a ratter, morale booster, and important stress reliever to the soldiers. When the battalion was set to ship back to Colorado, Staff Sgt. Rick Bousfield contacted Alley Cat Allies and Military Mascots for help in getting PFC Hammer back to the States. PFC Hammer was vetted and quarantined before traveling to Colorado Springs, where he took up permanent residence with Staff Sgt. Bousfield…

And my favourite bit:

…When Hammer was being carried to Bousfield, he heard Rick’s voice and began purring and kneading the arm of the transporter. As it turns out, he remembered his Army buddy after all.

Read the rest of the story here.

Winter is coming...

…Down Under, at least.

The Descent of Man

From whyevolutionistrue, though I am not sure who the original author is.

The perils of having a (soft) cat

Why Evolution is True posted this cartoon from lunarbaboon last week:

It’s never stopped me going to work but I’d be lying if I said that something like this (without the shoes) had not delayed me going to bed once or twice.

The Cat & The Ducklings (Animal Odd Couples)

Via WEIT, here is a crazy/cheery "cat suckling ducklings" story that is fit to be an April Fool's joke but isn't!

Merry Christmas everyone!

I hope you all have a great festive season (whatever your particular celebration) and get things you like, even if it is only a plastic drinking straw… (Best cat toy ever!)

And if the weather outside turns frightful, then find somewhere warm and snug to see things out.

(Another Google auto-awesome effort!)

A unique souvenir of home with a John Roued-Cunliffe Illustration

Before we sold our old house and moved to Australia, my wife commissioned a unique souvenir and a beautiful surprise present for me: a line drawing of our old house by John Roued-Cunliffe. Using a photograph plus some artistic license to place our two cats, Mia and Arthur, on the scene, John rendered a lovely keepsake:

John’s wife, Eddie, is friends with mine and she also has a blog, which features one of John’s illustrations. I think it’s great! Christmas is coming up, so if you’re stuck for present ideas then check John’s website!

Reunited at last!

One of the hardest thing about selling up and moving 17,000km away was putting our two cats through the trauma of being shipped off to a cattery then flown half-way round the world before spending another 30 days in quarantine at the other end - and, of course, being without them for all this time (barring a couple of visits). Today was the day that we picked them up from quarantine!

We had obviously done our best to prepare for the arrival of our furry friends - complete with comedy placemats from Ikea for their food and water bowls. (I am not sure whether they will appreciate them as much as we do!)

The whole process was also made much easier through the knowledge that they had been well looked-after throughout. This started with their cattery stay and relocation by PetAir, who have been great and clearly care for all the animals they relocate. We picked them up in the PetAir crate that they were shipped over in, and it made me smile to see the stenciled cats on top. The lady at the quarantine station also made us feel that they had received good care as, like the PetAir staff, she reported a bit on their personalities as well as simply their condition.

The most traumatic part of the process (today) was probably the journey out and back, which was largely due to a combined lack of familiarity with the car (a GoGet Hyundai i30 called Lorna), the route and our new Garmin sat nav. (I am not getting on with the latter but I’ll save that for (maybe) another day.) Given that it was only my second drive in Australia, though, it did not go too badly - thanks largely to some human navigation and Google maps on the iPhone.

Arthur is not shaken by much and so, somewhat predictably, it was he that settled in quickest, giving the apartment a bit of a look over before settling down in the “cat condo” to survey things for a bit.

Mia, on the other hand, went and hid in the bath for a while. I can’t say that I blame her - if it had been me then I think I would have wanted a bit of alone-time. The introduction of a bowl of food was well received and she did not stay in there for long.

Unfortunately, I had to go into work for the afternoon but was pleased to receive reports that tummy-tickles were being enjoyed - and a photo of Arthur doing what he does best: sprawled relaxation.

By the time I got home again, it was almost like business as normal - I got a good greeting, Arthur was only interested in food and Mia was soon surveying her new realm from atop the cat condo. That was, at least, until I started showing an interest - this post has been slowed down at times by a purring Mia on my lap! :o)

Brilliant Barbara's Cat Rescue

Having said (a temporary) goodbye to the cats, we had to find a new home for most of our cat paraphanalia. This was partly because some items are not allowed to be imported into Australia and partly because the plan is to be reunited with the cats before all of our shipped possessions have necessarily turned up.

Happily, much of it proved useful to Barbara’s Cat Rescue, from whence our two cats Mia and Arthur originally came. Shortly afterwards, I came across the leaflet that she gave us when we first got them:

Barabara is pretty amazing. As far as I can tell, she has pretty much dedicated her retirement - and house! - to looking after rescue (and stray) kitties of all kinds. It was really nice to be able to give something back after all this time - and to be able to report how well Mia and Arthur were doing, four and a half years on.

If you live in the Southampton area and are thinking of getting a cat, please think of Barbara’s Cat Rescue. Perhaps we lucked out by getting such sweet cats but we’re really glad that we adopted.

The journey Down Under begins (for the cats, at least)

Yesterday hailed a major (and not entirely welcome) milestone in our preparations for the big move to Australia as we said a (thankfully temporary) goodbye to the cats. As we are moving out of our house next week but not actually moving to Australia until October, Mia and Arthur have gone on their holidays a bit early. We’re going to miss those little furballs!

Being cats, they have dropped hints in the past regarding possible modes of transport should a big move be on the cards…

In the end, though, we decided to get some professionals on the case and have arranged things through PetAir UK. We’ve been very pleased with the service so far and can heartily recommend them for anyone else thinking of making an overseas move with their furry friends. Their Facebook page is quite heartwarming (and reassuring) too. Run by vets and with a cattery near Heathrow, we know our kitties are in good hands.

Quarantine for cats moving from the UK to Australia is only a month, so we should hopefully be reunited in mid November. It’s going to be a long ten weeks, I think, but I suspect we might have one or two things to distract us in the meantime.

Caturday Tigers

Taken at Dublin Zoo, December 2007.

Happy World Cat Day!

Apparently, today is World Cat Day. So here are some gratuitous cat photos to celebrate!

And, of course, the ubiquitous cats in boxes…

h/t WEIT.

Help the Tigers with Whiskas and WWF

Shockingly, there are about 10,000 tigers being kept as pets worldwide, which is more than three times as many as there are in the wild. Some sub-species are already extinct in the wild. To help, Whiskas has teamed up with WWF with their “Catservation” project. If you are a cat owner, you can upload a moggy mugshot and Whiskas will donate a £1 to tiger conservation. Pick a territory and your cat will contribute to a tiger mosaic in the shape of that country.

Below the picture, you get some tiger facts for the area:

Although it’s possible to add a cat on the mobile site, the desktop version has the added bonus of being able to choose the square, which makes subsequently relocating your kittie much easier.

Warning: you will be asked to leave a message, “My cat is a catservationist because…” - I wasn’t prepared for this, hence the rather lame message above. Some of the others are better!

Kudos to 2013 British and Irish Lions Tour logo designer

Yesterday's Lions match against Australia was a great one, even if it was the Lions' turn not to win with the last kick of the game. It's all set up for a great deciding match in Sydney. As well as some good rugby, one of the highlights of the tour for me has been the logo of the lion's head shaped like Australia (below, pinched from the Fantasy Rugby Scout website). I'm not sure who designed it but I love it!

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What do a Lurcher called Zak and a cheetah have in common?

Actually, these animals have lots in common - they are both mammals, carnivores etc. - but I'm thinking of something a bit more esoteric: both have had their locomotive performance measured by a special collar designed by Alan Wilson and the Structure & Motion Laboratory at the Royal Vetinary College in London. (The same technology was also used for the collars that tracked 50 cats from Surrey in the recent BBC Horizon, “The Secret Life of the Cat” programme, which is well worth a watch!)

The team have used the collars to study cheetah hunting behaviour, which was recently published in Nature and featured in the June 13th Nature podcast. The study itself is interesting and demonstrates how raw speed - the big thing the cheetah is famed for - is actually secondary to agility and power (i.e. acceleration and deceleration) when it comes to hunting success. Even so, the wild cheetahs still chalk up bursts of up to 59 mph (93kph) whilst hunting, which is not too far off the 65mph (105kph) top speed recorded in zoos.

The bit that really appealed to me, however, was how the collars were tested prior to being deployed in the field, which I find pleasingly elegant and effective. Prof Wilson’s pet lurcher, Zak, was given a run about on the beach whilst wearing a collar. (Two actually, as the new collar was being compared to older technology as well.) The data from the collar was then used to reconstruct Zak’s movements, which could be compared to the footprints left in the sand!

(The handsome chap in the photo above is not actually Zak but Dexter, my sister-in-law’s lurcher, on Dollymount Strand with a nice view of Howth in the background.)

Find more details of the study in Nature news, the podcast and, of course, the paper itself:

Wilson et al. (2013). Locomotion dynamics of hunting in wild cheetahs. Nature 498, 185–189.

There’s also some coverage on Why Evolution is True that appeared whilst this post was sitting in drafts.

Merry Christmas (Eve)!

Today, I awoke to the smell of cinnamon buns and fresh coffee. A fine way to start the day! The weather outside is frightful but, sadly, not in a white Christmas way, just in a wet Christmas way. It's cozy inside, though, and listening to Christmas tunes is helping maintain the Christmas spirit.

If you need a boost to your own Christmas spirit, my recommendations are White Wine in the Sun by Tim Minchin for music (proceeds to the National Autistic Society) and Miracle on 34th Street (1947 version) for movies. I watched the latter for the first time over the weekend and really enjoyed it, which surprised me somewhat, I must admit! (It manages to avoid be over-schmaltzy.)

And if that doesn't work, here's one of our cats (Arthur) wearing a Santa hat:

A couple of black cats for Halloween

And if Halloween is not your thing, the latest Henri video might be for you. This is not a happy time of year for a black cat who does not suffer fools.

(The pumpkins are getting a lot of love from the trick-or-treaters this year, which is gratifying.)

Bella Lucca

I spent the past few days in Lucca, Italy, for a(n Irish) family wedding. I've never been to Lucca before but it was great and well worth a visit. It's a medieval walled city that is still completely surrounded by a city wall and, beyond, surrounded by the hills and mountains of Tuscany. Compared to the remains of Southampton's medieval walls, the walls of Lucca were surprisingly wide and flat - very easy for strolling, jogging or even cycling round.Of course, nothing quite sets off a stroll around some ancient city walls like some gelati and Lucca (as expected in Italy) has some great Gelaterias. I particularly recommend the pistachio gelati from the Gelateria L'Angolo Tondo in the Piazza Anfiteatro. (Another triumph was the chocolate gelati from the Caffetteria Colombano, located on the wall itself at Baluardo San Colombano.)

The other thing I love about Italy is the coffee. Italians really know how to make a good espresso! In fact, all the food and drink was pretty good. (They have some very pretty cats too!)