Cats News

July 26, 2024

Top Headlines

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 research process, scientists ...

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 expanded this extensive toolbox further. Their novel ...

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 swim is another example of iconic wildlife species ...

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 parasite Toxoplasma gondii, leading the team to ...

Latest Headlines

updated 9:39pm EDT

Urban Seagulls Still Prefer Seafood

July 11, 2024 — Seagull chicks raised on an 'urban' diet still prefer ...

'Ugly' Fossil Places Extinct Saber-Toothed Cat on Texas Coast

May 30, 2024 — This fossil looks like a lumpy, rounded rock with a couple of exposed teeth that are a little worse for wear, having been submerged and tumbled along the floor of the Gulf of Mexico for thousands of ...

Genes Provide Hope for the Survival of Arabia's Last Big Cat

May 20, 2024 — The release of captive bred animals carefully selected for their genes can make a significant contribution to the successful recovery of the dwindling wild population and avert the prospect of ...

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 ...

The Double-Fanged Adolescence of Saber-Toothed Cats

Apr. 29, 2024 — How did North America's saber-toothed cats hunt without breaking their unwieldy saber-like canines, which are vulnerable to sideways bending stresses? A paleontologist provides mechanical evidence ...

Dog Attacks on Mountain Tapirs Highlight a Growing Threat to Endangered Wildlife

Apr. 17, 2024 — Researchers who captured footage of dog attacks on endangered mountain tapirs in Colombia are calling for action to protect threatened ...

Canada Lynx Historic Range in US Likely Wider Than Previously Thought

Apr. 1, 2024 — A broader past could mean a brighter future for Canada lynx in the U.S., according to recent research. The study indicates that lynx might do well in the future in parts of Utah, central Idaho and ...

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 ...

A Tiny Tattoo for a Tabby

Jan. 11, 2024 — Researchers have developed an alternative labeling method called 'bio-tagging', which is a microneedle array system that can safely deliver ink in the form of unique number or letter sequences for ...

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 ...

Scientist Discovers Potential Brain Link Between Stress, Emotional Eating

Nov. 27, 2023 — Scientists describe how they identified a molecule that may trigger over-consumption of comfort foods after a threatening ...

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 Mollusk and Crustacean Species in Symbiosis With Worms in Dead Coral Rocks

Oct. 18, 2023 — The symbiotic communities of invertebrates in dead coral gravel on the shallow, warm-temperate coast of the Kii Peninsula in western Japan. New bivalve species and sideswimmer have been found to live ...

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 ...

Study Shows Life Near the Golf Course Isn't Easy for Alligators

Sep. 20, 2023 — Living on a golf course dramatically changes alligator feeding ...

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 ...

Scientists Zero in on Timing, Causes of Ice Age Mammal Extinctions in Southern California

Aug. 18, 2023 — Radiocarbon dating on bones in the La Brea Tar Pits lead archaeologists to warn that history may be repeating ...

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 ...

Why You Shouldn't Declaw Tigers or Other Big Cats

July 31, 2023 — Researchers looked at the effects of declawing on larger cat species and found that declawing disproportionately impacts their muscular capabilities as compared to their smaller ...

AI Predicts the Work Rate of Enzymes

July 24, 2023 — Enzymes play a key role in cellular metabolic processes. To enable the quantitative assessment of these processes, researchers need to know the so-called 'turnover number' (for short: kcat) ...