Cats News

June 13, 2025

Top Headlines

Telehealth Can Improve Care for Cats With Chronic Health Issues

June 3, 2025 — UC Davis researchers found that video telehealth visits help cat owners better care for arthritic cats without the stress of clinic visits. Owners appreciated personalized tips to improve their cat s comfort at home, and most said they'd pay for ...

Genetic Basis of Purring in Cats

May 29, 2025 — Whether you are lucky enough to have a cat companion or must merely live this experience vicariously through cat videos, Felis catus is a familiar and comforting presence in our daily lives. Unlike most other feline species, cats exhibit sociality, ...

Scientists Track Down Mutation That Makes Orange Cats Orange

May 15, 2025 — Many an orange cat-affiliated human will vouch for their cat's, let's say, specialness. But now scientists have confirmed that there is, in fact, something unique about ginger-hued domestic felines. In a new study, researchers have discovered the ...

Evolution of Pugs and Persians Converges on Cuteness

Apr. 28, 2025 — Through intensive breeding, humans have pushed breeds such as pug dogs and Persian cats to evolve with very similar skulls and 'smushed' faces, so they're more similar to each other than they are to other dogs or ...

Understanding the Immune Response to a Persistent Pathogen

Mar. 28, 2025 — Researchers show that the immune system can recognize and control the latent stage of the parasite Toxoplasma gondii, a finding that can inform the study of latency in other infections of the nervous ...

Death by Feral Cat: DNA Shows Cats to Be Culprits in Killing of Native Animals

Mar. 10, 2025 — Feral cats have long been suspects in killing native species reintroduced into Australian conservation areas. DNA testing of the carcasses puts felines firmly in the ...

Pioneering Work Generates Feline Embryonic Stem Cells in Boon for Cats

Feb. 27, 2025 — Researchers have succeeded in generating high-quality feline embryonic stem cells using sperm and eggs from testes and ovaries discarded during sterilization ...

Tigers in the Neighborhood: How India Makes Room for Both Tigers and People

Jan. 31, 2025 — In India, tigers haven't just survived they're making a comeback. Despite a growing population and increasing pressure on their habitats, the number of wild tigers is rising. The reason? According to a new study, it's a combination of ecological ...

Ecologist's Studies on the Effects of Prey Depletion on Populations of Large African Carnivores

Jan. 28, 2025 — Studies determine how prey density affects African wild dogs and ...

Individual Leopards Can Be Identified by Their Roars

Dec. 23, 2024 — In the first large-scale paired camera trap and autonomous recording survey for large African carnivores, researchers were able to identify individual leopards by their vocalizations with 93% ...

Toxoplasma Gondii Parasite Uses Unconventional Method to Make Proteins for Evasion of Drug Treatment

Dec. 9, 2024 — A study sheds new light on how Toxoplasma gondii parasites make the proteins they need to enter a dormant stage that allows them to escape drug ...

Early North Americans Made Needles from Fur-Bearers

Nov. 27, 2024 — Paleoindians at Wyoming's LaPrele mammoth site made needles from the bones of fur-bearers, likely to creat garments from the animals' furs to keep warm in a cool ...

Latest Headlines

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Microplastics Detected in Cat Placentas and Fetuses During Early Pregnancy

Apr. 2, 2025 — In a small study of eight cats at early stages of pregnancy, researchers detected 19 different kinds of microplastic particles in fetuses from two cats and in the placentas of three ...

Near-Complete Skull Discovery Reveals 'Top Apex', Leopard-Sized 'Fearsome' Carnivore

Feb. 17, 2025 — A rare discovery of a nearly complete skull in the Egyptian desert has led scientists to the 'dream' revelation of a new 30-million-year-old species ...

Uganda: Major Survey Brings New Light to Carnivore Conservation

Dec. 3, 2024 — Lion numbers in the country are at a critical low while hyenas are faring well across four major protected areas in Uganda, according to new survey ...

Mountain Lions Coexist With Outdoor Recreationists by Taking the Night Shift

Nov. 15, 2024 — Mountain lions in greater Los Angeles are proactively shifting their activity to avoid interacting with cyclists, hikers, joggers and other ...

Rangers Lead Ground-Breaking Effort to Monitor Uganda's Lion Population in Critical Stronghold

Oct. 15, 2024 — New study highlights the vital role of wildlife rangers in lion conservation and identifies Uganda's Nile Delta as a key area for ...

Recording the Cats in the Hats

Sep. 26, 2024 — Researchers have found a way to scan the brains of cats while they're awake, using electrodes concealed under specially knitted wool ...

Kidney Disease in Cats: High-Quality Feline iPSCs Generated Without Genetic Footprint

Sep. 4, 2024 — High-quality feline induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have now been generated. The feline iPSCs are also footprint- and feeder-free. Further ...

What Fat Cats on a Diet May Tell Us About Obesity in Humans

July 17, 2024 — Pet cats may be excellent animal models for the study of obesity origins and treatment in humans, a new study of feline gut microbes suggests -- and both species would likely get healthier in the ...

A New Addition to the CRISPR Toolbox: Teaching the Gene Scissors to Detect RNA

July 16, 2024 — CRISPR-Cas systems, defense systems in bacteria, have become a plentiful source of technologies for molecular diagnostics. Researchers have now ...

Lion With Nine Lives Breaks Record With Longest Swim in Predator-Infested Waters

July 10, 2024 — A record-breaking swim by two lion brothers across a predator-infested African river has been documented in a new study. The researchers say the 1km ...

Both Cats and Dogs Often Enjoy Playing Fetch With Their Owners

Sep. 4, 2024 — Although more common in dogs, 4 in 10 pet cats also choose to play fetch with their owners, researchers ...

Improving Cat Food Flavors With the Help of Feline Taste-Testers

Aug. 2, 2024 — Cats are notoriously picky eaters. But what if we could design their foods around flavors that they're scientifically proven to enjoy? Researchers used a panel of feline taste-testers to ...

Researchers Discover 'Trojan Horse' Virus Hiding in Human Parasite

May 31, 2024 — An international team has found a new RNA virus that they believe is hitching a ride with a common human parasite. The virus is associated with severe inflammation in humans infected with the ...

How Did Sabre-Toothed Tigers Acquire Their Long Upper Canine Teeth?

May 16, 2024 — In a groundbreaking study an international team of scientists has investigated the evolutionary patterns behind the development of sabre teeth, with some unexpected results along the ...

Cats Purrfectly Demonstrate What It Takes to Trust Robots

May 13, 2024 — Would you trust a robot to look after your cat? New research suggests it takes more than a carefully designed robot to care for your cat, the environment in which they operate is also vital, as well ...

Meow or Rooaaar: Exotic Cats' Ability to Recognize Familiar Caregivers' Voices

Feb. 15, 2024 — Biologists present compelling evidence that exotic cats possess the remarkable ability to discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar human ...

Strong Connections Found Between Vaccine Hesitancy and Support for Vaccinating Pets

Dec. 22, 2023 — Study findings raise the stakes for public health efforts to improve attitudes about vaccination rates across the ...

More Than Meows: How Bacteria Help Cats Communicate

Nov. 16, 2023 — Many mammals, from domestic cats and dogs to giant pandas, use scent to communicate with each other. A new study shows how domestic cats send signals to each other using odors derived from families ...

Infection With Common Cat-Borne Parasite Associated With Frailty in Older Adults

Nov. 7, 2023 — A new study of 601 older adults found that those with higher serointensity -- or a higher concentration of antibiodies -- to the cat-borne parasite Toxoplasma gondii are more likely to show signs of ...

City and Highway Lights Threaten Mountain Lion Habitats

Nov. 6, 2023 — Artificial light pollution at night threatens mountain lion habitat, making it a factor to consider for wildlife crossings and land use, finds a new ...

New Secrets About Cat Evolution Revealed

Nov. 2, 2023 — By comparing genomes of several cat species, the project has helped researchers understand why cat genomes tend to have fewer complex genetic variations (such as rearrangements of DNA segments) than ...

What Happens When Cats Get Fat? Scientists Weigh in

Nov. 1, 2023 — Cat owners want Kitty to be happy, but providing an abundance of food and snacks can have unintended consequences. Feline obesity is on the rise, impacting the health, longevity, and wellbeing of ...

Cat-Ching Criminals With DNA from Pet Hairs

Oct. 30, 2023 — Cat hair could be the purr-fect way to catch criminals, according to ...

New Discovery May 'Unlock' the Future of Infectious Disease and Cancer Treatment

Oct. 5, 2023 — Researchers have identified a 'guard mechanism' for a protein which attacks microbes in infected cells, opening the possibility of new treatments for Toxoplasma, Chlamydia, Tuberculosis and ...

Fear of Humans Pervades the South African Savanna

Oct. 5, 2023 — Mammals living in South Africa's Greater Kruger National Park, home to one of the world's largest remaining lion populations, are far more afraid of hearing human voices than lion ...

Adoption of Vegan Dog and Cat Diets Could Have Environmental Benefits

Oct. 4, 2023 — A new analysis estimates a variety of potential benefits for environmental sustainability -- for instance, reduced freshwater consumption and greenhouse gas emissions -- that could result from ...

Cats Purr Differently Than Previously Thought

Oct. 4, 2023 — A recent investigation delivers novel insights into how cats produce their purring sounds. A special 'pad' embedded in the vocal folds might explain how cats can produce these low-frequency ...

Lions on the Brink -- New Analysis Reveals the Differing Threats to African Lion Populations

Sep. 11, 2023 — New results reveal that many of Africa's remaining lions live within small, fragmented populations at risk of disappearing. The researchers developed a new framework which integrates ecological ...

Did Sabertooth Tigers Purr or Roar?

Aug. 21, 2023 — When a sabertooth tiger called out, what noise did it make -- a mighty roar or a throaty purr? A new study examined the data behind the arguments for each vocalization and found that the answer was ...

Managing Domestic and Wildcats Is Likely to Remain Fraught, New Research Warns

Aug. 8, 2023 — Current efforts to protect and restore native biodiversity is being threatened by difficulties in identifying wild and domestic cats, and categorization is likely to remain fraught for the ...