This is an interesting, short, statistics article about cat and dog ownership in the United States...
http://vetmedicine.about.com/cs/diseasesall/a/aa051303a.htm
The most interesting thing to note, I think, is that there are more cat owners in the US AND that more cat owners own multiple cats- while only 24% of dog owners own more then one dog, about 51% of cat owners own more then one cat.
Now, I know the numbers can be skewed- because what do we consider ownership? TO ME- it is an indoor animal that is either spayed/neutered or in a planned breeding program; to others, it may be the outdoor moggies that they feed and care for.... So there is disparity in what ownership means to different people... I am sure if I fed an outdoor cat every day, I would consider him mine too- except he wouldn't stay outdoors for long and he'd lost his nuts awful quick ;) (Sorry about that!)
But my point is- THERE are MORE cat owners then dog owners. MORE of us OWN or claim to own more then one cat! So why oh why are we behind the curve when it comes to medical research?
Wake up, America! Our precious Domestic Shorthairs, Longhairs, Sphynxes, Bombays, Persians, Savannahs, Bengals, and everything in between DESERVE better! They deserve more research into areas that affect their lives and we deserve the best care for them!
Tomorrow, I will tell you about Pagan.. She was an adorable blue Sphynx kitten born to me... If I don't have you screaming for more medical research for our cats yet- perhaps tomorrow, it will be a different story.
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PS- if ANYONE wants to write an article for this blog about any area of feline health- including breeding- I will gladly post it with full credit to the author! Just email me at PRAAkitty@gmail.com!
Amen!! BTW do you know if anyone is working on research on diabetes in cats? My aunt Susan had an orange tabby who had diabetes (two insulin injections a day!) and also dealt with blindness (she took him to a vet in Memphis, TN as I recall, this was back in '87). He was a sweetheart who was with her for years.
ReplyDeleteIf there is, then I'd like to do my link to that (which explains why I don't have my linkee up yet!!).
But I so totally agree with this. I have had three dogs in my life. In comparison... hmmmm... just going by the number of cats I've had as an adult? Just the ones I fed inside my house? The ones that had collars with my phone number on them? Gee... I lost track after I ran out of appendages. HA!
I can't speak towards health, although almost every one of my cats have been leash trained. And while Thomas is a stinker and doesn't want to behave if other cats are around, Da Boys know sit, stay, & wait. Ah, the power of greenies!! Of course, it's all worth it since my daughter is about to get her Senior portrait made with Zaphoid!
http://www.felinediabetes.com/index.html
ReplyDeleteThis should work for feline diabetes- they m
Our deepest sympathies to you for little Neala. We knew that she was sick & going in for surgery, but with family in town, we thought we'd catch up on her progress this week. We posted her sweet picture on our blog today -
ReplyDeletePurrs,
Nico, Simon & JayJay
I am so very sorry for your loss. I am crying as I write this. I have been offline for a few days caring for my own sick foster kittens, and I saw this news on the Cat Blogosphere site.
ReplyDeleteYou are very brave to channel your sorrow into such a healthy and noble campaign. My own cats who are at the Bridge would have benefited from more advanced medical knowledge for treatment of feline health issues.
Mom Sue to The Furry Bambinos
We are so sad that there is so little research into feline health issues. We understand that sometimes there is not a lot known about rare issues but even the common issues don't receive enough research. We feel the same way with human research - why are they spending so much time on silly things like inventing Viagra, instead of curing cancer. And while we agree that they should research on dogs, they really need to get a clue and start researching cats because so many more people own cats than dogs.
ReplyDeleteI have a natural health care blog for pets and you are welcome to post anything from the blog on your Neala blog..or if you can think of anyhting I can write for you. I don't post on this as often as I would like but it covers a wide variety of things http://catsndogsnaturally.blogspot.com.
ReplyDeletecats of wildcat woods