Kurimu (127) - Blek!

 
I think he is not so happy about his dinner just now...
 

Kurimu (126) - Things That Cats Like to Do

There are so many things that cats like to do:
1. Sitting on the news paper while you are reading
2. Sitting on the keyboard while you are working on your lappy 
3. Staying on your iron board while you are ironing clothes
4. Rubbing your legs while you are having dinner
5. Sleeping on your bed, on the same spot that you always sleep on
6. Sniffing your food/drink when you are holding it
7. Ambushing you at the end of the stair case while you are on your way up or down the stairs
8. Chasing the mop while you are mopping the floor
9. Like to sit on clean clothes that you have just folded....

and of cause, a lot more!!!!

What are the things that your cat likes to do to annoy you?


   
Kurimu is testing my patient on rule number 9....

Kusky (125) - Eyes of Mongolian

Kusky with his unique facial expression when sitting under the air-condition....


Small eyes, small mouth, high cheek bone... this is what we called the 'Typical Face of A Mongolian'.



Not sure whether he was sleeping or resting or thinking... But he looks serious yet funny!!

Cat Facinating Facts

No matter  how tasty it might be, if a cat cannot smell the food, it will probably not eat it.

Kusky (124) - Roaring

Kusky looked to the left... and look to the right...




His face is telling me: I am bored to the max...


 
...and then he ROAR~~~~!!! 

Cat's Toungue

It is not unusual for a cat owner to be surprised by the sandpaper kiss of a cat. What makes the cat's tongue so rough? It is the numerous hard projections called papillae on the surface. The papillae from backward-facing hooks containing large amounts of keratin, the same material found in human fingernails. The hardness and strength of these hooks helps the cat to hold prey. The hooks also provide the abrasiveness that is so effective when a cat groom itself.

On cat's tongue, it contains 2 sets of taste buds. due to that, it makes cats to have extremely sensitive in taste. Cats are unable to taste sweetness. Cats tongue also reacts to temperature. That explains why cats do not like too hot food, or food that is too cold. They prefer food to be served in room temperature.

 

The Jacobson's Organ

Cats have a specialized scent organ located in the roof of the mouth jsut behind the front teeth. It is called the vomeronasal sac or more known as the Jacobson's organ. Jacobson's organ is a small pouch lined with receptor cells and connects to the nasal cavity. When a cat smells certain scents, especially muskly or sexual ones,  it stretches its neck, opens it mouth and curls its upper lips.

This reaction is called Flehmen Reaction. The tongue gathers minute particles of scent and then is pressed to the roof of the mouth, transferring the scent molecules to the Jacobson's organ. Opening the mouth slightly enables the ducts to open up, connecting to the nasal cavity. The appearance of the cat as it brings air into the Jaconson's organ looks like a smile or grimace. We often see this in Kusky and Kurimu, especially when they were loitering around the car porch, sniffed around and ended up opening the mouth half wide with the blurry kind of facial expression.

 That's how cat looks like when it smells something....
 

Kurimu (123) - Grown Up

Kurimu is growing fast, becoming more handsome and healthier from day to day. He is such a darling kitten, he follows where ever we (either hubby or myself) go. He always stay near to us and loves to rub around our legs while we are standing doing something. Very attached, yet very playful and curious kitten.




You are so handsome Kurimu!!

 







Love you to the max!

 

Kurimu (122) - Tangled

Have you ever see cat sleep in such position? Like all foot tangled together? 

Hair Growth & Shedding

Last few months, Kusky shedd a lot. His grey and black hair flew everywhere in the air when he ran pass. I can't rub over his furry coat as that will cause more shedding. 

Shedding old hair is something very common for cats, especially when season changes. Of cause Malaysia is not a 4 season country, however cats will still shedd especially during big hot days.

Anagen is the first phase, during which the new hair grows besides the old hair, which is subsequently lost. Catagen is an intermediate stage. Telogan is the resting phase when the follicle becomes dormant. Different follicles are always in different phases, so the cat is never hairless. There is no such thing as a non-shedding breed. Shedding is governed by age, amount of sunlight, temperature, breed, sex, hormones, allergies and nutrition. Indoor cats who live mainly under artificial light usually shed continuously. Strictly outdoor cats shed for several weeks during major seasonal changes, mostly in the spring and fall. 

Huh! That explains why Indoor Kusky shed more than Outdoor AHU! Plus, Kusky has very thick hair coat! Without air-conditioner, he shed even more! 

Cat's Facinating Facts

A cat born with one blue eye is often deaf in the ear on the side of the blue eye.

 

Cat's Facinating Facts

Cats' auditory sensor is sharper than dogs. 
In fact, of their 6 senses a cats' hearing is the most acute.

Diffentiating A Cat By It's Coat Pattern & Colors

Cats appear in many forms of coat patterns and colors. Actually there are only 2 basic colors in cats - BLACK & RED.All other colors are result of modifying genes that trigger changes to the basic colors.

One Color Cats
Normally one color cats are consist of all white, all black or all red. White is a dominant masking gene. Although the cat has genes for other colors, white is the only color expressed visibly. A modifying gene dilutes the colour black to blue (or grey). Red is diluted to cream. The chocolate modifying gene changes black into chocolate and blue into lilac but has no effect on the red gene. Other modifying genes produces brown or cinnamon.

    White                                                           Black

    Red                                                        Lilac 

                                             Cinnamon

                                               

Blue

Bicolor Cats
A two toned cat with a mix of red and black are tortoiseshells. The dilute is called blue-cream. The gene for black and red are carried on the X-chromosome, often called the sex chromosome. Female cats, like female human beings have two X genes, while normal male cats like male human beings have XY gene. That explains why most Calico cats are female. Very rare occasion where a Calico is a male cat unless the male cat has an extra X gene (meaning XXY). 

Calico                                                          Blue-Cream

Talking about bicolors, some cats have white patch on their body such as:
- Lockets: Cats with white chest
- Mittens/Gloves: Cats with white feet
- Tuxedo: Cats with white paws, chest, belly and nose
- Van: All white except head and tail

With White Chest                                         With White Feet

 Van                                                        Tuxedo

 

Tabby
Tabby is a way to call a cat based on its' coat pattern. It can be combined with any variety of other coat colors and patterns. Tabbies come in 4 main patterns:

1. Mackeral Tabby
You may find mackeral tabby is the most most common coat patter among cats all over the world. They have 'M' on their foreheads and they have striped rings around their tail and legs, a line of necklace look pattern on surrounded the chest and bands of solid or broken stripes running down the side of their bodies. 

                                           Mackerel Tabby


 2. Classic Tabby
Classic tabby also has an 'M' on their forehead. One thing make them different from the others is the whirls of 'bull's eye' patter on both side of their body. Most of the time, they have butterfly pattern across the shoulder, just like my Kusky & Kurimu.

3. Spotted Tabby
Spotted tabby has distinct spots arranged in lines reminiscent if a mackerel tabby patter.Examples of spotted tabby are: Ocicat and American Bobtail.

                                     Spotted Tabby

4. Flecked Tabby
Flecked tabby has distinct bands of color on them, breaking up the tabby patterning into a salt-and-pepper appearance. Good example of flecked tabby is Abyssinian.

                                               Flecked Tabby


Pointed
Good example of pointed cats are such as Siamese, Burmese or Himalayan cats. They have striking coat pointed pattern. The pointed cat has a pale body color with the head, tail and legs having darker color. Pointed kittens are born with 'white based' face and the color develops on the extremities over time.

              Seal Point Coat

                                                                    Red Point Cat

                                    Blue Point Cat


Shaded or Smoke
This coat pattern occurs when an inhibitor gene causes color to be confined to the tip of the hair. If the amount of color is mostly on the tip of the hair, the color is called 'shaded'. If the color is more than halfway down the shaft, the cat is a 'smoke'. If the cat is a tabby, the inhibitor changes the base color of the tabby, producing a silver tabby.  Kusky and Kurimu again are good example of shaded. Their color coat only appears on top of the hair. The hair is all white at the most bottom (nearest to the skin).

Same Color But Other Way of Calling
Red - Ginger, rust, yellow, orange, marmalade.
Cream - Buff, tan, blonde.

Kusky (121) - Paw On the Face

'Belly up' sleeping posture is not something newly practice by Kusky. When the temperature turns warm, the leather sofa turns even warmer and he will sleep in 'belly up' posture. It's not something new to me, except....











He put his paw on this cheek! Hahaha... so cute!
 



The overall wider angel of picture. Each of them shared half of the sofa.

Kusky & Kurimu (120) - A Day Out

Normally we will wash out car porch twice a week and when it is cleaned, we will let both Kusky and Kurimu out for them to explore all around.



Kurimu's coat is not as creamy as he first came. He is turning more like orange color now.
 


Opps!! He found something interesting!
 


Sniffing my shoe rack. I guess some stray cats must have spray on the rack.
 


Kurimu is observing Kusky from far...
 


They both went to inspect my plants.






Handsome Kusky!



Look at the ears! They are slanting to the back. That means he is fully alert! I wonder what attracted his attention.












Busy exploring the car porch and busy sniffing everything there.