Cats News -- ScienceDaily

Cats News

September 9, 2016

The Adorable Thing Bats Do to Catch Prey

Tiny Extinct Australian Marsupial Lion

Lions in West and Central Africa Are Unique

Cracking the Meaning of Monkey Calls

Latest Headlines

updated 12:52am EDT

Pushing a Parasite from Land to Sea

Sep. 6, 2016 — Higher levels of rainfall and coastal development increase the risk of disease-causing organisms flowing to the ocean, according to a study. The work advances earlier work by tracking the parasite T. ... read more

Historical Coexistence With Dingoes May Explain Bandicoot Avoidance of Domestic Dogs

Sep. 7, 2016 — Domestic dogs and cats were introduced to Tasmania two centuries ago, but bandicoots still fail to recognize these ... read more

'Ghost Snake' Discovered in Madagascar

Sep. 2, 2016 — Researchers discovered a new snake species in Madagascar and named it 'ghost snake' for its pale grey coloration and elusiveness. The researchers named it Madagascarophis ... read more

Unique Health Survey of Finnish Cats Reveals Common and Breed-Specific Illnesses

Sep. 1, 2016 — A research group has conducted a unique study on the health of Finnish cats. The most typical health issues in cats have to ... read more

Food Puzzles Enhance Feline Wellbeing

Sep. 1, 2016 — Greater understanding of the importance of environmental enrichment in enhancing an animal's physical and social environment is bringing benefits for pet cats -- particularly ... read more

Elbows of Extinct Marsupial Lion Suggest Unique Hunting Style

Aug. 16, 2016 — Scientists have proposed that the long extinct marsupial lion hunted in a very unique way - by using its teeth to hold prey before dispatching them with its huge ... read more

Male and Female Cats Respond Differently to Distressed Kittens

Aug. 12, 2016 — Female domestic cats adjust their response to kitten calls depending on how urgent they sound, according to a study. Independent of their own experience of raising kittens, female cats distinguish ... read more

Cat Scat: Research Examines Food Habits of Snow Leopards

Aug. 4, 2016 — A new study finds researchers may have been missing the mark on the diet of endangered snow leopards. The findings suggest the leopards have been consuming larger, not ... read more

Los Angeles Mountain Lions Hunt Closer to Human Settlements Than Expected

July 28, 2016 — Mountain lions hunt their mule deer prey closer to human settlements around Los Angeles than locations randomly distributed across their home ranges, according to a ... read more

Parasite Proteins Prompt Immune System to Fight Off Ovarian Tumors in Mice

July 22, 2016 — Scientists identified the specific proteins secreted by the parasite Toxoplasma gondii that cause the immune system in mice to attack established ovarian ... read more

Tiger Sounds Could Help Save Population

GPS Collars Protect Kenya's Lions

Zoo in Ukraine Presents Five Rare White Lion Cubs to the Public

Triple Joy for Georgian Zoo as Three Rare White Lion Cubs Are Born

Zolushka Sighting: The Tiger Cinderella Story Continues

Sep. 2, 2016 — Brought into captivity as a nearly starved, 3-month old cub, the tigress that became known as Zolushka (Russian for "Cinderella") flourished in a rehabilitation center designed to prepare ... read more

Genome-Wide Toxoplasma Screen Reveals Mechanisms of Parasitic Infections

Sep. 1, 2016 — Researchers have conducted the first genome-wide screen in Apicomplexa, a phylum of single-celled parasites that cause diseases such as malaria and toxoplasmosis. The screen sheds light into the ... read more

Model Helps Identify Drugs to Treat Cat Eye Infections

July 19, 2016 — A new model of eye infections in cats can be used to test drugs to treat these conditions. Early tests of the model have pointed to a new drug for treating feline herpesvirus-1 that will soon head to ... read more

Battling Toxoplasmosis: International Team Describes Step-by-Step Progress

July 15, 2016 — Researchers from 14 leading institutions in the United States, United Kingdom and France suggest novel approaches that could hasten the development of better medications for people suffering from ... read more

Cougars Could Save Lives by Lowering Vehicle Collisions With Deer

July 14, 2016 — A team of researchers has for the first time begun to quantify the economic and social impact of bringing back large carnivores. Using cougars and their value in reducing deer-vehicle collisions as a ... read more

What Does a Healthy Ageing Cat Look Like?

July 6, 2016 — Just as improved diet and medical care have resulted in increased life expectancy in humans, advances in nutrition and veterinary care have increased the life span of pet cats. The result is a ... read more

The Snow Leopard -- World’s Most Mysterious Big Cat -- May Be More Common Than Thought

July 5, 2016 — The snow leopard has long been one of the least studied – and therefore poorly understood – of the large cats. No ... read more

Urban Hedgehogs Are More at Home in the City Than You Thought

July 4, 2016 — A species that is 15 million years old, hedgehogs have survived all kinds of environmental changes over the years, including urbanization. Surprisingly, cities have often been found to have higher ... read more

Cats Seem to Grasp the Laws of Physics

June 14, 2016 — Cats understand the principle of cause and effect as well as some elements of physics. Combining these abilities with their keen sense of hearing, they can predict where possible prey ... read more

Scientists Unpack How Toxoplasma Infection Is Linked to Neurodegenerative Disease

June 9, 2016 — Toxoplasma gondii, a protozoan parasite, infects a third of the world's population. Working on mice, biomedical scientists report that Toxoplasma infection leads to a disruption of ... read more

Roadmap for Better Protection of Borneo’s Cats and Small Carnivores

May 29, 2016 — Habitat conversion and fragmentation, logging, illegal hunting, fires: The rainforests and wildlife on Borneo, the third largest island in the world, are highly threatened. Now scientists have ... read more

Research Suggests a Way to Identify Animals at Risk of Blood Clots

May 19, 2016 — A common diagnostic tool often used to identify patients at risk of bleeding may also be used to identify those predisposed to clot excessively, new findings from a retrospective study has ... read more

Reintroduction of Lynx Requires Larger Numbers to Avoid Genetic Depletion

May 19, 2016 — For successful reintroduction of lynx into the wild, the number of released animals is crucial. If only a few lynx are reintroduced to found a population, the genetic diversity is too low to ensure ... read more

Ocelot Density in the Brazilian Amazon May Be Lower Than Expected

May 18, 2016 — The population density of ocelots in the Brazilian Amazon may be stable but lower than expected, according to a new ... read more

Leopards Have Lost Nearly 75 Percent of Their Historic Range, First-of-Its-Kind Global Analysis Indicates

May 4, 2016 — Findings from a new study challenge assumptions about leopards' status, including particularly worrying declines in Asia. Researchers suggest that the species has lost nearly 75% of their ... read more

New Immigrant: Shiny Cowbirds Noted from a Recording Altitude of 2,800 M in Ecuador

May 4, 2016 — Juveniles of Shiny Cowbird, a parasitic bird that lays its eggs in the nests of other birds, were spotted in the Andean city of Quito, Ecuador, for the first time. This finding represents an ... read more

Evolution of the Javan Leopard

May 4, 2016 — New insights into the evolutionary history of the Javan leopard have been gained by new research. The results of the study confirm that Javan leopards are clearly distinct from Asian leopards and ... read more

Algae Use Their 'Tails' to Gallop and Trot Like Quadrupeds

May 3, 2016 — Species of single-celled algae use whip-like appendages called flagella to coordinate their movements and achieve a remarkable diversity of swimming ... read more

Estimates of Cheetah Numbers Are 'Guesswork,' Say Researchers

May 3, 2016 — Current estimates of the number of cheetahs in the wild are 'guesswork', say the authors of a new study that finds that the population in the cheetah stronghold of Maasai Mara, Kenya, is ... read more