Talk:Cat/Archive 1

message: A Winner of the March 2005 West Dakota Prize
This entry is one of only seventeen that have won the March 2005 West Dakota Prize for successfully employing the expression "legend states" in a complete sentence. --Wetman 08:30, 6 Mar 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  West Dakota Prize 

message: Noticed a dearth of kitty pictures, so added my own. Rosie (RIP 1983-2002) and Zazou the Wonder Kitty. Hey, they're as good cats as any. - montréalais
I add another picture which i am quite proud of. I would like to know if you know what kind of cat it is ?
--Chmouel Boudjnah 11:56, 8 Feb 2004 (UTC)
replies: text: Great picture! It should replace the existing one. Kent Wang 18:02, 9 Feb 2004 (UTC)
replies: text:  I replaced the main one by mine i hope the other author doen't mind it. --Chmouel Boudjnah 19:53, 9 Feb 2004 (UTC)
thread_title: Pictures

message: It would be very thoughtful if someone could give a source for the comment about eating stray cats in Africa -- without any specifics it looks like a cheap slur, IMO, and doesn't help in understanding of cats. --Fastfission 18:58, 12 Feb 2004 (UTC)
thread_title: Eating strays

message: The limecat reference probably doesn't belong here.  It is probably not of sufficient importance or global reference to belong in this definition. --/Mat 21:36, 9 Mar 2004 (UTC)
replies: text: Done. Kent Wang 17:22, 10 Mar 2004 (UTC)
thread_title: Limecat

message: I am puzzled:  Why is the Icelandic translation of "meow" on this page?  It's nice and all, but why not French ("miaou") or any of a thousand other languages?
Andrew 07:22, Apr 8, 2004 (UTC)
:Why not link to meow at Wiktionary? :) G-u-a-k-@ 19:54, 25 Jun 2004 (UTC)
thread_title: Miaow, miaou, meow

message: The classification of the cat is very confusing. I think domesticus is a synonym for catus but I am not entirely sure. Any comments? Bensaccount 16:38, 4 May 2004 (UTC)
replies: text: Yes, it's the same. Felis catus is the original species name used for the house cat by Linnaeus, and "domesticus" is a name that's commonly used for domesticated forms of a species, so they both denote the same thing. --Chl 23:13, 9 Oct 2004 (UTC)
thread_title: Classification

message: To whom it may concern: Please feel free to visit Wikipedia:WikiProject Dog breeds/Categories because I think that structuring Cat articles and Dog articles could take a similar tack--would be nice to use same subcategories for consistency. Elf | Talk 04:09, 10 Sep 2004 (UTC)
replies: text: First, this is the wrong place; secondly:
Thank you for your suggestion! When you feel an article needs improvement, please feel free to make whatever changes you feel are needed.  Wikipedia is a wiki, so anyone can edit almost any article by simply following the  link at the top. You don't even need to log in! (Although there are some reasons why you might like to…) The Wikipedia community encourages you to be bold. Don't worry too much about making honest mistakes—they're likely to be found and corrected quickly. If you're not sure how editing works, check out how to edit a page, or use the sandbox to try out your editing skills.  New contributors are always welcome.
--Kiand 17:37, 28 July 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Categories

message: Article could benefit from some information on how cats interact with other pets, especially dogs, since it is fairly common to have cats and dogs (and possibly other pets) together in one household. —Lowellian (talk) 05:56, Oct 31, 2004 (UTC)
Dogs and cats have more similarities in behavior than most dog-partisans and cat-partisans admit. Cats are more social than the sterotype of the solitary hunter when not hunting. The cat took longer to adapt to the human environment because the human family is more similar to a wolf-pack. Large groups of cats can show a social structure similar to that of a lion pride except they do not hunt socially. 
Although dogs are arguably one of the most dangerous creatures that most cats can face, they can fit well into the social structure of a cat colony in much the same way as a large male lion in a lion pride. Kittens are always at risk from adult male cats; a dog, an aggressive, large, and loud creature obviously has the capacity to scare off an unwelcome cat not from the colony. The dog becomes in effect another member of the colony, and the cats find the dog as the alpha-male.
Cats and dogs are of course predators. Both creatures kill and eat almost any creature smaller than themseleves. The cat probably holds itself better against a dog than any other creature of like size. Both are wholly untrustworthy with rodents, rabbits, birds, ferrets, aquarium fish, insects, amphibians and most reptiles. Cats can probably not hurt hard-shelled turtles, but dogs' teeth might puncture a turtle's shell. 
Snakes, dogs, and cats are similarly predatory; it's a question of which creature will kill the other for food, and it's the larger that will eat the smaller. The exception: cats and dogs may recognize each other as equals.--66.231.38.91 20:27, 25 Apr 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Cats and dogs

message: Feral Cats in Australia are very prolific pests due to their ability to adapt, survive and readily find food sources. I find it very hard to believe that for some reason American cats are startingly incompetent in this regard (something in the water?). Would there be great objections if I totally rebuked everything in that paragraph.--ZayZayEM 09:07, 8 Nov 2004 (UTC)
replies: text: If by rebuke, you mean change to be factual info, not a problem. If by rebuke you mean state that in the info is false in the article, that would be a problem But I do agree, I'm pretty sure the life span of a feral cat is more than 2 years (especially feral-born cats, since they retain the instincts that cats kept indoors-only tend to lose) but they are more susceptible to deadly diseases and predators... Lachatdelarue (talk) 15:14, 8 Nov 2004 (UTC)
replies: text: I'm glad somebody's on the ball; I meant to speak to this and forgot.  I've also read that cat hunting instincts are so good that a lost or abandoned domestic cat will have no problem surviving, even in an urban environment.Quill 21:06, 8 Nov 2004 (UTC)

text: I meant change the info to true info. But i just wanted to know if North American cats are inept or something, so I didn't replace what might be true, but poorly presented, info (it is plausible to me that teh presence of larger predators & competition such as racoons, wolves, and bears could be a contributing factor)--ZayZayEM 05:21, 9 Nov 2004 (UTC)
replies: text: I know a couple of cat-lovers who think this is true. They work with orgs. which capture, neuter, and release feral cats with the goal of the colonies reaching zpg and dying off.Sfahey 23:56, 9 Nov 2004 (UTC)

text: Other than the statement about the lifespan, which I just don't know if it is factual or not, the feral information is pretty accurate.  Note it is mostly talking about ferals in an urban environment, which is fraught with danger (mostly cars, disease, lack of food etc...) not associated with ferals in less densly populated areas.  I've always been under the impression that it is the feal cats in the less populated areas with native wildlife that are a problem in Australia.  This is a different situation.  Temperature extremes are also a problem, making most large feral cat populations occur in the southern US.  Many studies have been done on the effectiveness of Trap, Neuter, Return programs here and they are proven to work better than other methods of dealing with ferals for urban environments. While cats are extrememly resourceful, it is a mistake, (and a cruel one) to assume that they will be fine when letting them roam a populated area.  Farm cats (usually rural ferals) have it much easier. Therefore, maybe the information needs to be qualified as relvant to urban and suburban ferals, but it is not false. Pschemp 02:09, 10 Nov 2004 (UTC)
thread_title:  Feral Cat info is false 

message: I see a suggested merging of Tortoiseshell and Tortoiseshell cat.  I understand the reason for the confusion, but I suggest elucidation in the form of name changes rather than a merge.
Tortoiseshell can be the true tortoiseshell or Calimanco, while Tortoiseshell cat can be the Calico or tortie and white cat.
Opinions?
Quill 22:01, 8 Nov 2004 (UTC)
replies: text: What about keeping Tortoiseshell, adding any info on true torties from Tortoiseshell cat to it, and then moving the second article to Calico (cat) or the current redir. - Calico cat (whichever is more correct) and only covering calico/tortie and white? I think if we keep the two articles with nearly identical titles, it will confuse people. Lachatdelarue (talk) 22:06, 8 Nov 2004 (UTC)
replies: text: Agreed, that's what I meant by 'name change'.  Is that 'great minds think alike', Lachat?  I just suggested that at Talk:Tortoise(shell?)Quill 22:10, 8 Nov 2004 (UTC)
replies: text: I saw your other comment right after I posted this one, so yeah. So which title should be used: 'Calico (cat)' or 'Calico cat'. The term I've heard most often is just plain calico. Lachatdelarue (talk) 22:12, 8 Nov 2004 (UTC)
replies: text: I'd go for 'Calico cat' myself.  It can't be plain 'calico' because that could be cloth as well. Quill 22:26, 8 Nov 2004 (UTC)

text: I was actually suggesting using 'Calico (cat)'. Lachatdelarue (talk) 22:28, 8 Nov 2004 (UTC)
replies: text:  Ah. well, I don't know then.Quill 22:40, 8 Nov 2004 (UTC)
replies: text: Please see further discussion at Talk:Tortoiseshell cat Quill 21:26, 10 Nov 2004 (UTC)

text: Your changing of the link is correct. The redirection from calico to tortoiseshell was discussed elsewhere, and the consensus was that there isn't enough info on calicos alone to warrant a seperate article, since the same genes etc cause both colorations. Lachatdelarue (talk) 15:41, 6 Dec 2004 (UTC)
thread_title:  Tortoiseshell - no merge, just clarification 

message: There are quite a few tales world-wide featuring ghost cats - should this be detailed in an article entitled Ghost cats. In addition how about a page of Cats and superstition (which would include familiars, ghost cats, Egyption mythology etc.).
I was also thiking of a similar article on Dogs/Canines and Superstition (Cerebus, Hounds of the Baskervilles, Demon Dogs, Hyenas in Africa) is this valid Wikipedia content?--ZayZayEM 12:29, 19 Nov 2004 (UTC)
thread_title:  Ghost cats 

message: -	sorry, i don't really know how this works, but 1) my cats speak english; and 2) even if you don't believe that, they have thumbs that they use to pick up and throw things. i'd be happy to prove this, but why has no one mentioned these yet??? Did I do this right?
WHAT ABOUT CATS WITH THUMBS??????????????
[above comments by unregistered user on IP 67.80.8.96] 
*(I added new topic header and moved them together so they weren't in two separate locations) DreamGuy 22:35, Dec 17, 2004 (UTC)
::thanks dreamguy. I was new. ok, i still am. i can't figure out where the thumbed-paw cat mention should go in here, but ..well let me see what the entry for Hemingway has before I continue to make a fool of myself. Seems to me, domestication of cats is still in a primitive stage, in that there are many well-developed "breeds" of dogs but only a handful of classifications of cats. People like Ernest and myself have recognized this and take pride in the characteristics of their own cats, and try to recreate them in the generations ahead. I could try putting a picture up if someone tells me how. sorry i can't pick a name for here 67.80.8.96 17:25, 5 Jan 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Speaking English and thumbs 

message: The article describes attacks between cats as something benign. Yet, it is my experience that cats who fight sometimes end up with damage to the eyes, and it's not infrequent to see cats that have totally lost an eye (and I think that they can lose both, but then, a blind cat may not have that much of a life expectation). Perhaps somebody knowledgeable about this should mention it. David.Monniaux 07:23, 27 Feb 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Attack between cats 

message: Does anyone know the etymology of the word "cat" in European languages and why this term replaced the Latin "feles" in most Romance languages? --—JonMoore 20:24, 29 May 2006 (UTC)
thread_title: Etymology of "Cat"

message: The article dog has a list of foods (like chocolate) that can be dangerous to dogs.  I don't see a similar list here at cat.  (Some of the dog hazards apply also to cats).  Should this be added? RJFJR 17:27, Mar 31, 2005 (UTC)
:That could be useful, I think. So, like, what, chicken bones and so forth? DreamGuy 11:15, Apr 2, 2005 (UTC)
I think such a list should be mandatory, because it's important. Although, I must say, my cats have eaten chocolate lots of times and nothing has ever happened from what I've noticed... but on the other hand, I'm no expert :)
*EliasAlucard|Talk 13:43, Apr 2, 2005 (UTC)
Having known many cats, I would say the majority of them like chocolate, and individual ones like many other foods you wouldn't initially expect (custard and marmite to name two!). On the matter of poisonous foods, I had heard that citrus fruits were particularly dangerous, but since I can't find any mention of this online it could be a hearsay. What I did find from a quick search are-
*1 mention of chocolate, onions, grape and caffine.
*2 mentions apple, apricot, chocolate and alcohol
*3list of plants. not exactly food, but vitally important never the less (as i know from sad experience)
While there is much mention online of chocolate being "poisonous" (and to a similar extent of cows milk), I think part of this is due to an excusable lack of perspective. Taking into account my experience, (although limited to moggies, which could have a better tolerence of abnormal foods due to genetic heritage) I would highlight that most foods in large enough doses are dangerous to cats and humans. After all, proportionally, a full bowl of milk is to a cat what a 2 litre jug is to a human. (Could you drink that and not feel ill?)
So in short, maybe any information on these lines should-
*state any foods that have been claimed to be dangerous (to be on the safe side),
*mention that this is without scientific confirmation (unless of course someone finds some),
*have a strong emphasise on 'individual suseptability', so owner should be cautious when/if introducing any new food, and *highlight a perspective of proportion in doses
--Myfanwy 00:48, 15 Apr 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Hazardous foods

message: :If cats can smile, then I think a picture of one doing so should be included. But honestly, I don't see in any way how the cat is smiling on that picture. It just seems like an average face. Although, I must say that I've seen pictures on kittens where it really really looks like they're smiling.
:EliasAlucard|Talk 08:21, Apr 9, 2005 (UTC)
::The picture is also too poor quality to include. Kiand 10:53, 9 Apr 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Smiling cats

message: Tendency towards deafness is no characteristic of the cat per se, Sonett72. Genetically, this happens only in white cats with blue eyes. Therefore it belongs into the section varieties.--Fenice 13:51, 24 Jun 2005 (UTC)
thread_title: Tendency towards deafness

message: I think the article is a little to absolute in saying that no cat can ever go vegetarian.  Personally, I think it's a terrible thing to try as a diet, but a lot of people would assert a cat can do so healthily, particularly if they are the right age, and in good health, and it's done early.  Taurine can be, and is synthesized from from vegetarian sources, in high concentrations.  So, it's not the same as simply giving them some milk, as the article seems to imply now.  At one time (say a century ago) it was literally impossible for a cat to be a vegetarian, without dire consequences, but now I think that has changed.  A vegetarian diet may be a terrible idea, but it's probably less bad than a "natural" diet of living wild animals (with all their diseases and potential for the food to "fight back").  So, does anybody object to expanding the section a bit.  If it's a verifiable fact that I'm wrong, I won't add it.  Otherwise, I will add it after I gather a few source url's, hopefully with stats on success (which is hard, given the political agenda of some sources).  --rob 00:08, 12 July 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: Well, it depends which vet you ask.  They can't absorb as well as animal sourced Taurine.  But, it's much better today, than it was in the past.  There are in fact cats today, who are vegetarian, who don't go blind.  I wouldn't do it.  It's definately not recommended.  Any edit to the article would have to say the mainstream opposition to it, and major risks.  In any event, wikipedia trys to avoid "ask any vet" as a source.  If (still an if) I do make the edit, I'll have more back-up than "ask any vet".  Also, my reason for the "live wild animal" example is to talk of what is possible.  You seem to confuse this article with a "how-to care for a cat article".  It's not.  It's a source of *facts* about cats.  Currently, it states as absolute fact no cat can ever be vegetarian, under any circumstance.  That's not a fact.  --rob 16:54, 12 July 2005 (UTC)

text: "Well, it depends which vet you ask.", Well I've had cats for more than 40 years and have been a volunteer at the local shelter for quite some time and every vet I've ever spoke to insists that cats can not be fed a strictly vegetarian diet and remain healthy. And your snide remark about my "not understanding" the article hardly fosters intelligent discussion.--FWDixon 18:44, 12 July 2005 (UTC)
replies: text: OK, it's settled.  Whatever you say goes, no proof required.  Frankly, I'm not an advocate for vegetarianism.  So, I won't bother here.  --rob 21:05, 12 July 2005 (UTC)
thread_title:  Vegetarian and Vegan Diet