How my ginger tom became a terrible klepto-cat | Letter
2 DAYS AGO - Sam never caught any birds or mice – he preferred to pilfer human food from nearby houses, writes Expand
2 DAYS AGO - Sam never caught any birds or mice – he preferred to pilfer human food from nearby houses, writes Frances McKayRegarding cat thieves (Cat burglars: scientists try to solve mystery of why felines ‘steal’ random objects, 20 July), some years ago I lived in a terraced street in south-east London, and had two cats. One was called Sam – a large neutered ginger male, like a small lion, who was extremely affectionate and characterful.He never caught any birds or mice. Sam preferred human food. He swiftly learned to open our fridge and remove any item he chose. We fitted child-proof locks. So he started going elsewhere – raiding houses with cat flaps. Continue reading... Collapse
The pet I’ll never forget: Honey the hen, who lured me up a tree and almost killed me
4 DAYS AGO - It took less than 24 hours for the newest member of our family to make a break for freedom. It Expand
4 DAYS AGO - It took less than 24 hours for the newest member of our family to make a break for freedom. It nearly ended badly for both of us‘The honey-coloured one with the funny hat,” said Myles, our youngest son. “I’m calling her Honey!” With that, we’d completed our family mission to choose a mixed flock of chickens at a rural poultry farm. And so we set off on the return journey to Melbourne with three cardboard cartons containing six ISA Brown laying hens and three pet bantams.Since it was late in the day, the whole flock went into our fox-proof coop, with the usual settling-in biffo. Honey immediately came out on top, even with chickens twice her size who were clearly scared of her intense, don’t-mess-with-me demeanour. But next morning she relaxed a little when introduced to the new chicken run under our olive tree, and so did I. Until that afternoon, anyway, when there was a knock on our front door. Continue reading... Collapse
Hot to trot: does your dog really need a jacket in the Australian winter?
7 DAYS AGO - From the back yard to the park, there are few breeds that really need to wear coats in cold Expand
7 DAYS AGO - From the back yard to the park, there are few breeds that really need to wear coats in cold weather, canine experts says. But there are some exceptionsGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailAs a vet who works on Melbourne’s northside, Dr Kate Golaszewski sees a lot of well-dressed – and overheated – dogs come into Lort Smith animal hospital.“Most of the time the dogs that I see wearing coats don’t need them,” she says. “You’ll get a fluffy Maltese coming in with a coat – it probably doesn’t need it cause it’s covered in fur. Continue reading... Collapse
‘I couldn’t get him to move’: dog owners struggle through US heatwave
15/07/2024 - Blazing temperatures force people to find new ways to keep their pets safe, cool and occupied: Expand
15/07/2024 - Blazing temperatures force people to find new ways to keep their pets safe, cool and occupied: ‘They sit, pee and go home’Heat-resistant bootees, frozen bananas and pet sunscreen – it takes a lot to keep dogs safe during a nationwide heatwave. As pet owners across the US try to keep cool themselves, they’re changing dog-walking habits to accommodate boiling sidewalks or scorching parks, relying on indoor pet games to relish air conditioning, and embracing what has become a new normal for the dog days of summer, as extreme heat becomes an increasingly common reality.Julie Nashawaty, a professional dog walker who lives in Boston, says her various trips to take pups out around the city have become shorter, as the temperatures reached 90 to 100 degrees this week. “These are really quick breaks, quick walks,” she said. “They sit in the shade under the tree, pee, and then it’s straight back home, where sometimes I’ll even put a cooling blanket on them.” She also puts little boots on dogs’ Collapse
Matthew Flinders, the flute-playing, cat-loving explorer who circumnavigated Australia, is going home – but what of his envoy Bungaree?
12/07/2024 - As the British navigator is reburied with pomp and ceremony in his village church, Aboriginal Expand
12/07/2024 - As the British navigator is reburied with pomp and ceremony in his village church, Aboriginal Australians call for respect for the ‘incredibly brave’ man who made the voyage possibleFor someone who dedicated his life to finding, navigating and mapping things, it was unfortunate that Matthew Flinders’ body was lost for the better part of 200 years.Archaeologists announced in 2019 they had rediscovered the grave of the first man known to have circumnavigated Australia, while digging under a park behind London’s Euston station during excavations for the HS2 high-speed rail line. Continue reading... Collapse
59 summer problems solved - from sunburn and sweating to wasps and wedgies
06/07/2024 - Limp salad, bad barbecues, jellyfish stings and chafing. Summer can be a tricky season – but our Expand
06/07/2024 - Limp salad, bad barbecues, jellyfish stings and chafing. Summer can be a tricky season – but our experts are on hand to help with your hot-weather headachesWorrisome wasps
“If you eat near still water you’ll get a lot more insects than if you have a bit of a breeze,” says Ben Quinn, chef and founder of Woodfired Canteen. “But ultimately, if you go to mother nature’s dining room, there will be others at your table. Pack a few sacrifices to the god of the wasps in the form of diluted jam in a mug for them to focus on.” You’re better off firing up the barbecue, he adds: “The smoke annoys insects, so they avoid it.” Simon Stallard, chef and founder of the Hidden Hut cafe in Cornwall, says wait until the last second to open anything sugary: “Cakes, fizzy drinks, ketchup – that’s what they’re attracted to.” Continue reading... Collapse
A rat: ‘We can no longer live as rats: we know too much’ | Helen Sullivan
01/07/2024 - Most rats, like most people, try to distinguish themselves“You must go to the rats,” the Great Owl Expand
01/07/2024 - Most rats, like most people, try to distinguish themselves“You must go to the rats,” the Great Owl tells Mrs Frisby in the Rats of Nimh.Mrs Frisby, a mouse, needs help: her son is sick and she has to move out of her house at the edge of a field, because the field will soon be ploughed. Continue reading... Collapse
World’s Ugliest Dog contest 2024 – in pictures
23/06/2024 - Pups with famous namesakes compete in contest that celebrates the imperfections that make all dogs Expand
23/06/2024 - Pups with famous namesakes compete in contest that celebrates the imperfections that make all dogs special Continue reading... Collapse
Tell us: has a pet ever got in the way of your relationship or friendship?
20/06/2024 - If a pet has ever caused tension or ruptures in a human relationship in your life, we want to hear Expand
20/06/2024 - If a pet has ever caused tension or ruptures in a human relationship in your life, we want to hear from youHas a pet ever got in the way of your relationship or friendship? Did you not take the death of your friend’s cat seriously enough and, as a result, fell out? Did you break up with a partner because they refused to kick the dog out of your bed? Did your best friend cancel a holiday with you because her rabbit fell ill? Did it all get too much with a housemate when they decided to move in their terrifying pet snake?If a pet has ever caused tension or ruptures in a human relationship in your life, we want to hear from you. Continue reading... Collapse
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Paws for thought: how to tell if your dog is happy
4 DAYS AGO - Experts explain the signs to look for to read your dog’s mood – and how to help them if they’re Expand
4 DAYS AGO - Experts explain the signs to look for to read your dog’s mood – and how to help them if they’re feeling lowThere are a few questions I find myself pondering again and again: how would I do as a contestant on Survivor? Should I learn Italian?And is my dog happy? Continue reading... Collapse
Cultivated food: from lab grown burgers to medicinal berries
6 DAYS AGO - An array of biologically engineered food and drink could help to solve ethical and environmental Expand
6 DAYS AGO - An array of biologically engineered food and drink could help to solve ethical and environmental concernsDogs and cats in the UK are expected to become the first in Europe to be given cultivated meat, a product grown from chicken cells in the laboratory. The pet food promises to alleviate some of the ethical and environmental dilemmas faced by animal lovers. An array of lab-grown dishes, from “cell coffee” to lab-grown oyster meat, could be coming to human plates in the near future. Continue reading... Collapse
You’ve heard of nepo babies, but what about nepo dogs? The rise of the Very Important Pooch
18/07/2024 - From hobnobbing with the Kardashians to brushing shoulders with the royals, celebrities’ dogs are Expand
18/07/2024 - From hobnobbing with the Kardashians to brushing shoulders with the royals, celebrities’ dogs are having a busy summer. But what should they do if the high life gets too much?• Don’t get Fashion Statement delivered to your inbox? Sign up hereAt the $600m wedding to end all weddings, of Anant Ambani – the son of Asia’s richest man – and Radhika Merchant, a very good boy was pictured looking bored. The family dog, Happy, perhaps didn’t realise how lucky he was to be a guest at the celebrations in Mumbai last weekend. But even in the presence of Priyanka Chopra, a few Kardashians, a clutch of Bollywood stars, and Tony and Cherie Blair, the golden retriever still gave the impression there were places he would rather be.Happy is not the only pooch in the spotlight recently. His nonchalant hobnobbing came hot on the paws of the rescue terrier-poodle Brisket, who appeared on the red carpet at the premiere of Twisters in LA last week, the ward of the film’s lead actor, Glen Powell. At the Collapse
The pet I’ll never forget: Misty the cat, who died in my arms and drained all the colour from the world
15/07/2024 - Gormless, fluffy, demanding, he brought so much comedy into our lives. Then tragedy struckLate one Expand
15/07/2024 - Gormless, fluffy, demanding, he brought so much comedy into our lives. Then tragedy struckLate one night, at the end of January, my cat Misty came downstairs, tore me away from the Horror channel with a series of unusual cries, stretched his mouth wide like a yawning lion, shivered, collapsed and died. He was a fortnight shy of his ninth birthday.If I said that I loved him and that this sudden, wrongful loss floored me for days, drained the world of light and colour for weeks and still jabs at me now, I would be stating what any but the most exasperated pet owner would recognise as the bleeding obvious. But if I said that six months down the line I think about him more often and more painfully than I did about my mother six months after she died, at the age of 88 in 2022, I might cross a line for some of you. Continue reading... Collapse
The pet I’ll never forget: the fox I invited into my home – but never quite trusted
08/07/2024 - Pitiably small, with a moth-eaten coat, he took food from my hand and liked to snuggle. Then my Expand
08/07/2024 - Pitiably small, with a moth-eaten coat, he took food from my hand and liked to snuggle. Then my wife found him padding towards the nursery ...During the pandemic, a lonely old man living in a ground-floor flat on my street in south London took in an orphaned fox. They watched daytime TV together on the sofa and snacked on bits of toast with Gentleman’s Relish. Then, one day, the man had to go in to hospital and never returned. At least, that was the backstory I imagined when a slightly ragged but curiously tame fox turned up at my back door.I called him Reynard. My wife called him That Fox. As in: That Fox has pissed on my shoes again. That Fox has stolen all the eggs. That Fox is thinking about eating the baby. Continue reading... Collapse
Polling place pooches: dogs on UK election day – in pictures
04/07/2024 - Guardian readers have been sharing their pictures of dogs at polling stations. Here are some of Expand
04/07/2024 - Guardian readers have been sharing their pictures of dogs at polling stations. Here are some of themMore pets at polling stations – videoUK election live – latest updates Continue reading... Collapse
Love of animals and love of profit? Inside the $500bn pet boom
29/06/2024 - From its sprawling HQ in Tennessee, Mars is courting the next generation of high-spending pet Expand
29/06/2024 - From its sprawling HQ in Tennessee, Mars is courting the next generation of high-spending pet ownersProm Week has arrived in Tennessee, and the class of 2024 is lined up in suits and crowns, posing for pictures by the red carpet. Who says four legs and a tail should stop you from going to the ball?It’s just another day in doggy daycare. As well as a graduation ceremony, canines at this facility in Franklin, Tennessee, on the outskirts of Nashville, were recently treated to bark-uterie – customized charcuterie boards – and challenged by Sports Week, for which they were dressed up with sweatbands. Continue reading... Collapse
Eight-year-old pekingese Wild Thang wins World’s Ugliest Dog contest
22/06/2024 - Eight dogs vied for the title in the Sonoma-Marin Fair’s disagreeable-looking dog competitionThe Expand
22/06/2024 - Eight dogs vied for the title in the Sonoma-Marin Fair’s disagreeable-looking dog competitionThe World’s Ugliest Dog annual contest may not render the most flattering title to its victor, but don’t tell that to Wild Thang.The eight-year-old pekingese won this year’s competition on Friday. Continue reading... Collapse
A cat: ‘They smoked pipes, played dice’ | Helen Sullivan
17/06/2024 - In more than one image from 1900s Japan, they look hungoverGet our weekend culture and lifestyle Expand
17/06/2024 - In more than one image from 1900s Japan, they look hungoverGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailWe had gone to Japan, we told our daughter, to get her a maneki-neko: the good luck or beckoning cat. She is almost three. She would stay home with my mother, her grandmother. There is a maneki-neko that lives at the till of a manicure shop near our house, and she likes to stop and greet it. Japanese folklore has cats for many things, and we were grateful for this one. Before we left, we wrote letters outlining our progress towards this goal. I put the letters in envelopes for my mother to give to her, one each day. As the week passed, we would meet a mouse in the street, travel to Kyoto to catch goldfish in the river, buy a pizza – extra cheese – for the keeper of the cats.Why we had actually gone there was to be cats ourselves: to do precisely what we felt like doing whenever we felt like doing it. We roamed the streets, we sat in sunny cafe windows. We hung out at an onsen, which Collapse
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Stress in humans can affect how optimistic dogs feel, research suggests
4 DAYS AGO - Study got dog owners to either take a maths test or do something relaxing and observed effect on Expand
4 DAYS AGO - Study got dog owners to either take a maths test or do something relaxing and observed effect on pets’ emotionsThe ability of dogs to sniff out stress levels in humans has been known for some time.But the relationship between woman and man’s four-legged best friend is two-way, and scientists now believe they have discovered that when a dog senses a person in distress, it has a knock-on effect in the behaviour of the animal – most notably, it makes them pessimistic. Continue reading... Collapse
Cat burglars: scientists try to solve mystery of why felines ‘steal’ random objects
6 DAYS AGO - Researchers unsure why animals turn up with items such as socks and gloves – but agree pilfered Expand
6 DAYS AGO - Researchers unsure why animals turn up with items such as socks and gloves – but agree pilfered items are not presents The thieves went for particular items. Day after day, they roamed the neighbourhood and returned home to dump their loot. Before long they had amassed an impressive haul: socks, underpants, a baby’s cardigan, gloves and yet more socks.It’s not unusual for cats to bring in dead or petrified mice and birds, but turning up with random objects is harder to explain. Researchers suspect a number of causes, but tend to agree on one point: the pilfered items are not presents. Continue reading... Collapse
UK first European country to approve lab-grown meat, starting with pet food
17/07/2024 - Regulators approve Meatly pet product, cultivated chicken made from growing cellsLab-grown pet Expand
17/07/2024 - Regulators approve Meatly pet product, cultivated chicken made from growing cellsLab-grown pet food is to hit UK shelves as Britain becomes the first country in Europe to approve cultivated meat.The Animal and Plant Health Agency and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs have approved the product from the company Meatly. Continue reading... Collapse
Pet hates: what’s it like to dislike dogs in a dog-loving country?
12/07/2024 - In Australia, there’s a stigma in not sharing in the collective love of canines, say Expand
12/07/2024 - In Australia, there’s a stigma in not sharing in the collective love of canines, say non-dog-lovers. And it affects everything from dating to professional relationshipsGet our weekend culture and lifestyle emailJess is aware her dislike of dogs is limiting her dating prospects. “When I’m scrolling through a dating app, if there’s a dog in the photo, or reference to a dog in a prompt, I quite quickly swipe left,” she says.That consigns a significant chunk of eligible heterosexual males – and the pooches they are pictured smooching – to the doghouse. Continue reading... Collapse
‘The cat has changed my life’: how Bootsy turned a street of strangers into a community
06/07/2024 - When Mike Hohnen moved into a new suburb he was looking for solitude. His tabby had other Expand
06/07/2024 - When Mike Hohnen moved into a new suburb he was looking for solitude. His tabby had other ideasEverything changed with a voicemail. I was used to my cat getting into trouble. Bootsy always had a tough time respecting other people’s boundaries. When a concerned neighbour called the number on his collar I assumed the worst; that he had snuck in and eaten their roast dinner or some such.That wasn’t the case – it was a courtesy call. Bootsy was sleeping on a back veranda chair, the caller said, and was more than welcome to stay as long as he liked.Sign up for a weekly email featuring our best reads Continue reading... Collapse
I am all for a bit of feeble-minded fun. But why won’t my dog grow up?
04/07/2024 - When he was a puppy, it was sweet and funny to hear him growl every time I held a broom. Four Expand
04/07/2024 - When he was a puppy, it was sweet and funny to hear him growl every time I held a broom. Four years later, I’m no longer laughingMy dog disappoints me. I don’t feel good about this. I am disappointed in myself for being disappointed in him. But I can’t help feeling that he should have wised up a bit by now. He is nearly four, after all, which in human years puts him in his mid-20s. I expect more from him.An example: he growls at brooms. He has been growling at brooms ever since I first wielded one in his presence when he was a puppy. It was sweet then; how I laughed. Well, I am not laughing now. Because, having seen the broom in action most days of his life, and never once having been harmed by it, he ought to have cottoned on to the fact that brooms are fine. As are, among other things, vacuum cleaners, wheelbarrows and blokes wearing turbans – growls towards those in the third category being particularly embarrassing. Continue reading... Collapse
The pet I’ll never forget: We saved Nelson the kitten from certain death – and he taught me the best way to live
24/06/2024 - He grew to the size of a terrier, always looked like he was winking and conducted himself entirely Expand
24/06/2024 - He grew to the size of a terrier, always looked like he was winking and conducted himself entirely on his own terms. He showed just how important it can be to not give a tossThe farmer was going to drown the kitten because he had an abscess in one eye and was feral, biting everything. But some vets were there to help with lambing, and the farmer agreed Nelson could be taken in and rehomed.It was 2005; I was 16 and my sister, five years older than me, was on a work placement at a vet surgery in Preston as part of her university training. Nelson’s eye was removed, as were his testicles, and it was decided he would be taken in by my family, in nearby Chorley. Continue reading... Collapse
My neurotic dog Tully doesn’t like change. So imagine my astonishment when he lets me start brushing him | Jessie Cole
20/06/2024 - I run the brush along his body and he arches with pleasure. My heart fills with lightnessSign up Expand
20/06/2024 - I run the brush along his body and he arches with pleasure. My heart fills with lightnessSign up for a weekly email featuring our best readsMy dog, Tully, is neurotic. Sensitive, jumpy. He’s a working dog, a koolie cross kelpie, but in our forest homeplace in northern New South Wales he’s underemployed. My teenage son brought Tully home, unannounced, nine years ago. I didn’t research his breed before acquiring him as a scrappy pup, and we’d never had a working dog, so I wasn’t aware of their tendencies. Watchful, obsessive, loyal. Stick and ball enthusiasts. Pattern recognition experts. Tully will form a habit in a couple of days. Once formed, his habits are hard to extinguish. In older age, his behaviour has become somewhat obsessive-compulsive. He will only get in and out of the car from a particular door. If you do not immediately put his lead on when walking, he will stop until you do.As a pup Tully had a skin condition which required weekly injections at the vet. In no time at Collapse
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