I’ve held off writing about this, but needed to get to it sooner or later. A recent article in the journal Emerging Infectious Diseases (Nelson et al 2016) has spurred a serious of over-exaggerated and sometimes downright comical headlines. “Kittens can cause death; US study” is an Australian example of over-the-top
Cat attack pins family in bedroom
Actually, the title of this post should be “Obese cat attacks family after being booted in the rear as a disciplinary measure. Family freaks out but wants to keep cat.”
Oh, where to start.
1) A 22 lb cat is obese and there are obviously animal care issues.
2) Kicking a
Death by moggy
Ok, I had to Google that one…”Moggy” not being a typical Canadian term. Apparently, it’s British slang for "cat." Anyway, the "Death by moggy” article in the UK paper The Sun is pretty basic, mentioning the death of a 59-year-old woman who would probably be considered a classic cat hoarder. She was single and slept
Bad headline, worse disease
Business Mirror, a Philippine news website, had a recent article entitled "Rabies: deadlier than ever". That’s a bit like saying Decapitation: now an even worse idea. Rabies isn’t ‘deadlier than ever,’ since it’s hard to get deadlier when the disease is already almost invariably fatal.
Anyway, beyond quibbling about the title, there
Pet raccoon attackes baby, owners in denial
Raccoons are fascinating critters but they don’t make good pets. Their curiosity makes them quite disruptive and damaging, and they have seriously injured people (particularly infants). They are also rabies vectors, and in many regions raccoon ownership (along with other wildlife species) is illegal (or only legal with a license). Despite all this, some
Hepatitis C and cat scrathes
I had an advice call recently about the risk of hepatitis C transmission by cat scratches. Hepatitis C is a human virus that can cause serious liver disease. It is most commonly transmitted via the blood of infected individuals. The concern with cats in this case was whether there is a risk of transmission if