“Fixing,” “spaying,” “neutering”

A female pet is spayed, which means her ovaries and uterus are removed. (Interestingly, it comes from the old French word espeer, meaning “t...

The antiwitch anticat mandate

demons consorted in the form of black cats with human beings. There’s no doubt that many of the so-called witches were innocent and there...

The Spanish wildcat

Felis silvestris iberia, resembles the Scottish wildcat but its coat is darker. Like its Scottish cousin, it has a heavier build than most h...

Silvestris, still around

pet cats, but, as you will see, their capacity for being tamed varies greatly. Worth noting: all the silvestris wildcats possess larger br...

Pet cremation

The cremation of humans used to be rare in America and Europe, but it is becoming more and more common. As it gains acceptance among humans,...

“Cats,” but not really

animals go by “cat” names but aren’t related to cats at all. Skunks are sometimes called “polecats,” while in Europe the “polecat” is a cr...

Everywhere but Australia

island , and its isolation from other land masses has resulted in wildlife very unlike the other continents. You probably are aware that man...