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Tag Archives: breed
Moggies or Mutt Cats
Smart, cute, agile and always ready to play, domestic cats are wondrous creatures.
Moggies is the British slang for cats who are Mutts or what we in America call the domestics.
The world of pure blooded animals has expanded exponentially during my lifetime. When I was a child, there were a lot of cats and dogs around. I don’t recall one of them that was considered a purebred animal. There were Thoroughbred and Saddle Bred Horses but cats and dogs were just cats and dogs.
As the German Shepherd dog, the Cocker Spaniel dog the Siamese Cat and the Persian Cat gained popularity so did the clubs and registries for cats and dogs. It became fashionable to have animals with proven backgrounds, bloodlines and of course, Pedigrees. The more champion ancestry in those Pedigrees the better…bragging rights, you know.
Inevitably the argument became which is better, the purebred animal or the Heinz 57 variety? Then as many ‘backyard breeders’ and puppy mills proved greed, not love of the animals was their reason for being in business, some things began to become clear.
The first thing lovers of dogs began to see was the harm being done to Brachycephalic breeds like the Pekingese, the Pug and the English Bulldog. Cat lovers could see he same thing happening in the Persian breed. The problem was breeding for looks humans wanted in the dogs or cats with no thought at all to the health or well being of the animals. The result was dogs who cannot naturally deliver their young, cannot maintain their body temperature and are more susceptible to diseases and health problems that were rare or unknown in their ancestors.
Many dog and cat lovers came to be of the opinion it was better to have a Mutt than a purebred because of the health issue alone. Mutts were proving to be healthier and live longer than their purebred counterparts. You can find a Mutt with looks that mimic the best of the purebreds and they will usually carry the personality characteristics of the breed they look like. These reasons are why many people determined a Mutt was the best of both worlds.
This all culminated in Mutts being allowed as of last year into AKC agility, performance and rally competitions. They are not in the “beauty pageant” part of the dog show because that is a purebred dog competing against the ideal for his breed and of course, Mutts don’t have breed standards to compete against.
Now it looks as though cat lovers are finally looking for recognition of their Mutt Cats. Moggies is the British slang for cats who are Mutts or what we in America call domestic cats. The most common breed of cat in the United States is the Domestic cat, either Shorthair or Longhair. These are the cats you see at least one of in almost every American cat household and the cats you see numbers of around barns and farms.
From now on I think I will refer to the domestic cat as a Moggy. Perhaps giving them the name Moggies like Mutts was given to dogs will move the whole domestic cat group into a more recognized animal for our society. That might lead to the domestic cat being accepted as s part of American culture like the Mutt and that would make it harder to just kill them indiscriminately.
After all, that is what we are after, isn’t it?
The Snowshoe Cat- a Rare Cat Breed
Champion Snowshoe with perfect markings Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported.
The Snowshoe cat is a rare and beautiful breed. Not only are these cats lovely to just look at, they have personalities that are also lovely to live with.
They are sweet-tempered, mellow and affectionate. This breed shows great devotion and love for their human guardians. The intense devotion accounts for one of the few drawbacks to having a Snowshoe Cat as a pet. That is the fact they do not like to be left for long periods by themselves. Of course, you can cure the problem by having another cat as a companion for your beautiful Snowshoe.
This cat is also very intelligent. Snowshoe cats have been known to learn how to open doors and they like to play fetch. The Snowshoe cat is also known for its affection for water, especially running water. The breed is active without being easily agitated. They love to play but are also happy being petted and pampered.
This breed of cats originated in the 1960′s when a Philadelphia Siamese cat breeder’s cat gave birth to three kittens with distinctive white feet. This breeder then set out to duplicate the rare cats that were then called Silver Laces.
The Siamese with the silver laces feet were crossed with American Shorthair bi-colors and other cats, but the distinctive markings proved difficult at best to reproduce.
Other breeders took over when the original breeder retired and continued the pursuit of the perfect Snowshoe and getting the breed fully recognized by various cat associations.
Although it has been fifty years, the Snowshoe is still a very rare cat. Because the cat’s cot markings are based on recessive , co-dominant and variably expressed genes, it is difficult at best to predict the features of offspring.
Being a cross between the American Shorthair and the Siamese which originated in Philadelphia, this cat is a true American original. They have vivid blue eyes, pointed coat and white markings on their legs and feet.
Grooming is not a major problem for these robust cats because their coats change with the seasons. They are medium to large cats with full-grown males weighing between eight and sixteen pounds.
Because these cats are so smart, love their family, get along well with other pets, are great with children and prefer to be indoor cats they seem to be the perfect family pet.
As stated earlier, the Snowshoe cat doesn’t like to spend long periods alone. The only other possible drawback to these cats is that they can be quite vocal and will have their opinion heard.
The Snowshoe cat might be the best pet for you if you can find room for two and learn to talk to them. Not too great a price to live with such beauty and gentle companionship, is it?
Labrador Retriever Playing
A happy yellow Labrador Retriever. Is he waiting for a stick or a ball to be thrown?
The Labrador Retriever is the most popular dog in the United States for very good reasons.
The Labrador Retriever is loyal to a fault and will do everything in their power to please their pack including the humans in it.
Most Labrador Retriever dogs I have met just didn’t seem to have ever met a human they didn’t like. They also seemed to treat every day as the best day that ever came along. In other words, it is very hard to get the Labrador Retriever breed of dog into a bad mood.
The loyalty of this breed is legend as is their love of having their own job to do. You have no doubt seen the Labrador Retriever breed on the news doing search and rescue after earthquakes, tornadoes, building collapses or September 11th type incidents.
The Labrador Retriever dog also is a great war dog or guide dog or companion dog for the disabled. Sometimes I think there is no limit to the number of things these animals can do. They are so much more than pets. The word pets just can’t encompass what these dogs are or what they can do.
But for today, let’s get back to the Labrador Retriever and their love of play. Here is a video that really shows the beauty of this breed as they play. It shows how single-minded they can be in their pursuit of an object to retrieve, in this case it’s a stick.
Watch the video and have a laugh with this beautiful Labrador Retriever as he jumps headlong into a pile of leaves to find his stick. Note how proud the dog is when he comes out of the leaf pile with his prize.
He might get a mouth full of dried leaves along with it, but he gets the stick, period.
Puppies are Easier than Children
In my view it is a lot easier to raise a puppy, no matter the breed or non-breed, than it is to have a child. I have always felt this to be the case.
I have also come to believe it is the reason couples who choose not to have children become so close to their pets. These people spend a fraction of the time they would on a human baby and devote it entirely to the animal. This in turn opens their hearts and minds to the possibilities and personalities in their pets.
If you are not convinced that puppies are easier to raise than a human child, I ran across an article I would like to point you to. It has nine reasons why puppies are easier to raise and I will list them for you but you will have to go to the article to read the writer’s argument behind the reasons. I think most of them are self-explanatory.
- Potty training takes several weeks as opposed to several years.
- Puppies are always happy to see you and are never in a grouchy mood.
- You never have to worry where puppies are on Friday at Midnight.
- Puppies can sleep in your bedroom or bed without you worrying if they will be permanently scarred.
- You can cut their hair any way you want.
- Dogs don’t have babies they leave with you to be raised and you decide when and if they become parents.
- You don’t have to be a positive role model
- They don’t have to be watched 24/7.
- Dogs never ask to borrow your car.
You can read the reasoning behind these points at Care2 Green Living.
I would add to this list you don’t have to pay for their very expensive college education, puppies don’t borrow your clothes and puberty is far easier and shorter with a dog.
Yes, to my mind puppies are just a lot easier than human babies. So are kittens for that matter, or gerbils or hamsters or…….well, you get the idea.
Divorce and Pets – A Sad Story
What happens when humans decide to get a divorce and pets are involved? Many of these once beloved animals end up in shelters and like the children in many divorces, will not understand what they did wrong to cause the break up of their home.
In many cases, people also act like adults and the partner closest to or best able to care for the animal friend will take custody of the pet. These pets can also go through a period of depression and blame themselves.
Dogs can blame themselves for the change in their home situation because they think they should have guarded against whatever happened and should have protected their pack and their home. This is just natural instinct and reaction for many dog breeds.
We have probably all heard about the custody battles that have been fought over some pets. So we will not go into that here. Those rich and pampered pets will come through just fine and remain rich and very pampered. But a divorce and pets is never a good situation.
However, the story I read the other day literally brought me to tears. This appears to be a divorce situation where the pet Cavalier King Charles Spaniel named Mr. B is very loved by a child and that child followed better instincts than the adults to find their beloved dog a new home.
This is a picture of the note that was left with Mr. B.
I do not think this is a good solution for every dog, cat or other animal pet who finds themselves in this situation. It seems to have worked in Mr. B’s case though and I think the child followed their heart by leaving the dog the way they did. I also think Mr. B will be waiting and watching for a very long time for the child to return for him.
Situations like this one are always sad and always difficult. I hope the child who had to leave Mr. B sees him on the Iternet and realizes their dog got a good home and will be well taken care of in the future. All we can really do is spread the story of this child and their dog in the hope that it will get to them.
That is the reason it is posted here today.
