Why do cats have an inner eyelid as well as outer ones?

The third eyelid of cats plays an important role in maintaining the health of their eye surface. In fact, it is so important that among mammals and birds the norm is for a species to have a third eyelid and those lacking one--such as humans and some of our fellow primates--are the true oddities in nature.
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Fluffy cat is a refugee from Mideast violence

It’s hard to think of Stone as a war casualty.

Yet only a few months ago Stone, who is deaf and sports one blue eye and one green eye, was left homeless when his shelter was bombed in Beirut, Lebanon.

Stone and other cats were part of an unprecedented airlift of almost 300 animals left abandoned or wounded in war-torn Beirut. The animals were flown to the Best Friends’ 1,200-acre sanctuary in Kanab, Utah. From there, the four-footed victims of war were on their way to finding new families.

Cat Found On United Plane After Weeks Of Travel

A cat was recovering at the Alameda East Animal Hospital Wednesday after spending 3 weeks in the cargo hold of a United Airlines airplane. The tired, hungry and dirty animal was found Wednesday by workers at Denver International Airport.

The cat, named Pumpkin, was lost on Dec. 28, 2006 when her owner arrived in Washington, D.C.

The jet she was found living on had made trips to Germany, Asia and crisscrossed the United States in the time since then.

Veterinarians said Pumpkin was recovering and appeared to be in pretty good shape considering the 3 weeks she'd been trapped on the plane.

"I'm not sure what she's managed to survive on," said Andrea Barlow, the cat's owner, by telephone. "I'm not really sure what she's been eating or drinking but she's managed to survive which is great news."

Australian bank issues credit card to cat

An Australian bank has blushingly admitted issuing a credit card to a cat. Messiah, a ginger tom, was given a credit limit of 4,200 (3,300 US) dollars.

Messiah's owner applied for an additional Visa card in his name on her account with the Bank of Queensland to test its identity security system -- and was astonished when it was granted.

"I just couldn't believe it," Katherine Campbell told local media, cradling the cool cat and his card. "People need to be aware of this and banks need to have better security."

The envelope containing her cat's credit card was addressed to Messiah Campbell and she was not even notified that a secondary card had been issued on her account, she said.

Cat Cocoon

The Cat Cocoon is layered corrugated cardboard sculpted into a unique pod shape with playful holes bored into it that your cat will stick its paws thru, have much fun in, and hide out. The cardboard is great for sharpening their claws as all cats love to do. The entire piece is thick enough as well to last a very long time. It is heavy duty and durable for the toughest cat use. They will love it!

Moscow Cats troupe exudes whiskery charm

The Moscow Cats Theatre is most definitely not the slick, high-tech, Eurochic-meets-the-new-Las Vegas sort of circus that Cirque du Soleil audiences have come to expect. Rather, it is in the old-fashioned tradition of the tattered touring troupe, replete with sequences of beach balls and hotdog balloons volleyed into the crowd, a couple of female assistants dressed in kitschy, gaily colored costumes, and one droller-than-droll male clown with s-l-o-w reactions.

Here's the meow on the Moscow Cats Theatre, the decidedly nutty, happily threadbare troupe of 30 felines, two dogs and six clowns, all led by Yuri Kuklachev, a Ukrainian-born clown with yellow-blond hair, a ping-pong-ball nose and broad smile (think Bill Clinton in fancy rags), who, 30 years ago, decided he could train a stray cat. Kuklachev has demonstrated that even those most willful creatures -- from puffy white furball variety to sleek black racer -- can be made to follow orders.

Video: Jingle Cats

Cats singing Christmas songs
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Video: Cat adopts squirrels

A mother cat adopts orphaned baby squirrels.

Video: When cats take over the world

When cats take over the world
Everyone will be kind
You can jump on the counter
And eat whatever you find
You could cough up a hairball
And no one would mind
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South African cheetah to have prosthetic leg fitted

A two-year-old cheetah, who had her paw mangled in a crude snare, is to have a prosthetic leg fitted in a ground-breaking operation by animal surgeons in South Africa.

Betty-Blue was operated on at the De Wildt Cheetah and Wildlife Centre, near Johannesburg, after being rescued from the iron jaws of the trap which had clamped down on her left hind leg in the province of Mpumalanga.

"She was brought in to a vet, who thought it was so serious she should be euthanised. But we are not big on euthanasia and decided we should give it a try," said project deputy director Vanessa Bouwer.

Cats in Hats for Christmas

Little known fact about cats: They love Christmas!
But what they love more than anything is to get into the spirit of the season and wear their Christmas hats.

Just look:

from flickr, by mo ba ca na

from flickr, by Buntekuh

There are many more --- look

Folding Cats

Solving mystery of the Beanie Baby bandit

For weeks, Piedmont police were stumped by the Beanie Baby bandit. The popular stuffed animals were mysteriously showing up overnight on porches and in the yards of two homes on Rose Avenue. One of the families feared a stalker.

Now, police in the tranquil East Bay city think they may have identified a suspect: Gertie, one of the family's cats, which was caught on a surveillance camera carrying the furry toys in its mouth.

A felonious feline? Maybe not. Two-legged creatures might still be involved, police said.

"The cat was caught on tape, but we don't know if it was moving the Beanie Babies from the location where somebody put them," police Capt. John Hunt said Thursday.

The world's first cloned cat, Copy Cat, has three kittens

The world's first cloned cat just became a mother _ and she even did it without test tubes. Copy Cat, who was cloned by Texas A&M University researchers in 2001, had three kittens in September. Mother and kittens are doing well, said Duane Kraemer, an A&M veterinary medicine professor who helped clone her and has been taking care of her since.

Backyard Bobcat Album

A pair of bobcats has taken up residence in Paul Muhlrad's parents' backyard in suburban Tucson. They seem to be getting ready to start a family.
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Cats Can Succumb To Feline Alzheimer's Disease

Aging cats can develop a feline form of Alzheimer's disease, a new study reveals. Scientists at the Universities of Edinburgh, St Andrews, Bristol and California have identified a key protein which can build up in the nerve cells of a cat's brain and cause mental deterioration.

In humans with Alzheimer's disease, this protein creates 'tangles' inside the nerve cells which inhibit messages being processed by the brain. The team says that the presence of this protein in cats is proof that they too can develop this type of disease.

By carrying out post-mortem examination of cats which have succumbed naturally to the disease, scientists may now be able to uncover vital clues about how the condition develops. This may eventually help scientists to come up with possible treatments.

Video: Cat Head Theatre

What would "Hamlet" look like if it were performed by cats?

Video: Cat owns dog

One hungry, tough cat!

Video: Gizmo Flushes

Gizmo the cat's toilet obsessions explored.

Ziggy the cat's 17-day journey

Ziggy the cat used up at least one of his nine lives after surviving for 17 days without food on a 2,300 mile voyage that took him from northern Israel to England.

The skinny white cat named after Ziggy Stardust -- the character created by David Bowie in the 1970s, because like the rock star he has one green and one blue eye -- made his epic trip as a stowaway in a 40-foot container.

His journey began when he wandered into a consignment of plastic goods which were then sealed in Afula in Israel and shipped from Haifa on October 31.

It ended when he emerged, exhausted, starving and dehydrated, at a warehouse in Whitworth in Lancashire on Friday.

Photography by Henri Silberman

Polydactyl cats

Cats usually have 5 toes on each forepaw, and 4 on each hind paw. Poly- or hyperdactyl cats have more than the usual 18 digits on their paws, although it occurs more frequently on the front feet.
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High-Rise Syndrome

It takes a normal cat about a two and a half feet of free-fall to orient himself to feet-down, and it wasn't until the advent of high-speed cameras that the acrobatics were fully understood. Much like an ice skater controls her rate of spin by pulling in or extending her arms, the cat first tucks in his front legs and splays out his rear legs, allowing him to quickly situate his forequarters with the feet down. He then reverses the procedure, extending his front legs and tucking in the rear legs, allowing the hindquarters to rapidly twist into position while the forequarters turn only slightly. Rear legs re-extend when in place, and he's fully deployed.

This position is ready for landing, but it also lends the cat a limited aerodynamic–much like the flying squirrel. The ability to increase drag slows a cat's average terminal velocity from a person's 130mph to a much happier 60mph.

Your Bi-Lingual Kitty

Adult cats, living apart from humans, have very clear communication with one another. It is spoken mostly through scent, then through facial expression, complex body language, and touch.

Vocal communication involves caterwauls for mating, chattering upon spotting prey, hissing to ward off an intruder, or shrieking when hurt or terrified. Meowing is not part of this language. Meow-ese, it would seem, is a language developed exclusively for humans.

The only meowing in the cat world is done between mom cat and her young kittens. A kitten’s tiny “mew” is a cute, endearing sound, used to solicit attention and care from mom cat.

So why do cats have two “languages?”

Ethiopian lions poisoned to save money

Rare Abyssinian lion cubs are being poisoned at a zoo because staff cannot afford to keep them, a wildlife official said Wednesday.

The dead cubs are sold to taxidermists for $170 each to be stuffed and sold as decorations, said Muhedin Abdulaziz, the administrator at the old imperial Lion Zoo in the capital, Addis Ababa.

"These animals are the pride of our country. We need to do something about this. But our only alternative right now is to send them to the taxidermist," Abdulaziz said.

Video: Two faced cat

An amazing cat - with two faces.

Video: Everyone Loves the Cat

Ponta the cat is dropped off at a "dog cafe" in Japan, where he's a surprise hit among the local canines.

Video: When cats attack

Run!!!!
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What Jeff Killed

Your authoritative source for news and information about Jeff The Giant Orange Cat and his favorite pastime: killing things.