[CAT] Shakespeare up close

[CAT] "Cats Are Finally Getting Geneticists’ Attention"

D-Brief's Carl Engelking notes the beginning of a project at the University of Missouri to map the cat genome.

In 2007, the first cat genome sequenced was that of an Abyssinian named Cinnamon. However, errors and gaps in the data stalled efforts to map genes, and the complete, high-resolution genome wasn’t published until 2014. Cinnamon’s genome taught us that domestic cats aren’t vastly different than their wild counterparts, despite 9,000 years of domestication.

Dogs have been the clear favorite of geneticists because they suffer from many of the same ailments as humans and their intensive inbreeding makes it easy to spot gene variations. Further, according to Nature, dogs also benefit from a bloc of enthusiastic breeders, veterinarians and owners who make recruiting easy for dog geneticists.

To balance the scales, geneticist Leslie Lyons of the University of Missouri launched the 99 Lives initiative. Its goals are simple: to expand coverage of the cat genome, improve the quality of data and identify genetic variations behind specific feline diseases.

But humans could also be beneficiaries of the research. According to Nature, “Cat versions of type 2 diabetes, asthma, retinal atrophy and numerous other conditions have close similarities to human disease. Cats can also become infected with a virus that is closely related to HIV and experience symptoms similar to those of people with AIDS.”

To date, Lyons’ team has sequenced the genomes of 56 cats at a cost of roughly $7,500 apiece. Funding for the research has been raised through donations from breeders and private owners alike. Currently, her team is studying the genetic basis of feline dwarfism and the genes that give cats silver or gold coats, to name a few.

[CAT] "This is what happens to stray cats in Toronto"

blogTO's Chris Bateman describes what Toronto does for stray cats. ("Stray", it should be noted, is distinct from "feral.")

Every year Toronto Animal Services takes in about 4,000 sick or injured stray cats. The unfortunate homeless felines, some of which may have been living on the streets for years, are given a new lease on life by city veterinarians so that they might live to prowl another day.

Unfortunately for a lost moggy, getting rescued has consequences. "We can do whatever we need to do to the cat to get it ready for adoption," says Mary Lou Leiher from Toronto Animal Services. "That might include spaying and neutering, if it isn't already done. It also includes microchipping, vaccinating, all those things that somebody needs when they first get a cat to get them off on the right foot."

Cats that are born in the wild present a different problem. Once collected by the city, feral cats are spayed and neutered like their domesticated cousins, but most are released close to where they were found, provided they're not sick or starving. Vets take the tip of one of the cat's ears so it doesn't receive surgery twice.

So how do you tell the difference between a stray and a feral cat anyway? It's not easy, Leiher says, but the answer often comes when the animals are presented with a box.

"The biggest clue is that [feral cats] want to hide all the time. When we have a feral cat in the shelter we give it a special type of box that it can hide in," she says. Domesticated pets tend to come out after a few hours while feral cats will try and stay hidden, acting aggressively or defensively when approached.

[CAT] "The Powerful Authority of Cute Animals"

Beatrice Marovich's May 2014 article in The Atlantic starts from the maneki-neko to look at the oddly disturbing role of the cat, and of cute animals, in the popular culture of Japan and the world.

More than likely than not, you’ve already been propositioned by the beckoning cat. Its barren, glimmering eyes are commonplace in the storefront windows of most American Chinatowns and many sushi restaurants—vacantly wooing passers-by on the street. You might also know this object as the maneki neko—a Japanese term that roughly translates into English as “beckoning cat.” This animal-shaped object comes in various sizes, and might be constructed from a host of materials: plaster, plastic, porcelain, vinyl. Its raised and beckoning paw, not waving “hello” but coaxing you to come a bit closer, may or may not be moving—robotically, hypnotically—back and forth. Typically, the beckoning cat will be white (sometimes calico) and chubby. It’s usually domesticated with a red collar, and clutching a shiny golden coin.

The ubiquity of the beckoning cat is due, in no small part, to the fact that it’s alleged to have qualities that verge into the murky and obscure territory of the magical. The beckoning cat is rumored to bring good fortune to human life and falls into the class of objects we might deem “talismanic.” It is a utilitarian, animal-shaped, harbinger of positive futures.

When domestic cats were initially introduced to the Japanese, probably around the seventh century (via China), they were primarily a curiosity for aristocrats. But they have played practical roles in Japanese economics. Numerous accounts claim that, in the early 17th century, the Japanese economy faced a significant threat when rats were poised to destroy a bulk of their silk-producing worms: A decree was supposedly set forth at this time to outlaw the buying and selling of cats. Cats were free to roam the streets, killing rats and securing the production of silk, arguably playing a kind of salvational role in human economy.

Histories of the beckoning cat speculate that its origin as a talisman may date to the Edo period (as early as the 17th century), in Japan. There are many legends, but most tell of a beckoning cat that reversed the fortunes of humans. The beckoning cat might, for instance, commemorate a cat that helped a human evade an attack. Or perhaps the beckoning cat honors a feline who lured a new crop of worshippers into a dying temple. Whatever the case, the popularity of this object seems to hinge on its rumored ability to manipulate and shift the chaotic and unpredictable tides of human fortune. The cat’s stare may be vacant, but its powers may verge into the supernatural. There are at least two temples in Japan that claim to have genealogical links to the beckoning cat: the Gotokuji Temple in Setagaya, and the Imado Shrine in northern Tokyo. Each of these spaces is flooded with the talismanic bodies of beckoning cats.

The beckoning cat does bear a striking resemblance to another famous Japanese cat who may be even more familiar to Americans: Hello Kitty. Like the beckoning cat, this cartoon creature often holds her paw up in the air, making a social gesture. Unlike the beckoning cat, however, she greets us with a straightforward western-style “hello.” Like the beckoning cat, she is white, and tailless as a bobcat. Unlike the beckoning cat she wears no collar and, instead, is gendered female (a small bow perched by her ear.) Hello Kitty also stares outward with blank and vacant eyes, but her vacancy is more extensive. She’s mouthless, too.

[DM] "On what the attenuation of the Alberta advantage might mean"

I've a note up at Demography Matters noting that the collapse of global oil prices means that Alberta's economy is likely to slip into recession, noting that Canadian workers generally and Atlantic Canadians particularly will no longer have the option of moving out west to earn income. Without that, what will happen?

More tomorrow.