Welcome to fab mews where we hope to keep you updated on all things feline!
top stories
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FAB at 50
The Feline Advisory Bureau celebrates its 50th Anniversary this year. Find out how you can support fab this year and what we are doing to celebrate...more
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Avian flu
the latest information on cats and avian flu ...more
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Feline Alzheimer's disease study from the University of Edinburgh shows cats can succumb to feline Alzheimer's disease ...more
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Feline expert panel
the country's leading feline experts get together to exchange information on the latest developments in feline medicine ...more
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Code of conduct for cat lovers find out more about the government guidelines or Codes of Conduct which are being put together as part of the secondary legislation which goes with the new Animal Welfare Bill ...more
news in brief
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Cat genome
First cat to have its DNA sequenced ...more
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Ban on cat and dog fur trade
EU ban on the production, marketing, import and export of cat
and dog fur came into force on November 27 ...more
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Stone age pet cats? Discovery of feline skeleton in a Stone Age grave
dating back around 10,000 years....more
Cat genome
Cinnamon, a four-year-old
Abyssinian cat is famous for being
the first cat to have its DNA
sequenced. Cinnamon’s lineage
can be traced back to Sweden
over several generations and its
genome sequence will provide a
model aimed at developing the cat
as an animal model for human
disease. The researchers say that
the cat possesses over 250
naturally occurring hereditary
disorders, many of them similar to
human disorders. Cats are also
good models for infectious
diseases - feline immunodeficiency
virus being the cat equivalent of
HIV in people. The cat genome
project is based at the National
Cancer Institute in Maryland USA
and the report of the sequencing
appears in the journal Genome
Research.
Ban on cat and dog
fur trade
An EU wide ban on the production, marketing, import and export of cat
and dog fur was approved on November 27. It will apply from December
31 2008.
Welcoming the announcement, Gareth Thomas, Minister for Trade
said: ‘This is great news as this appalling trade in cat and dog fur
products is unacceptable. I share the revulsion people feel about this and
this is why we have pushed for an EU-wide ban where it will be most
effective in stopping this sickening business.’
Jeff Rooker, Minister for Animal Welfare said, ‘I am very pleased that
we have achieved such a positive result. This EU-wide ban on cat and
dog fur products is a significant step towards stamping out this
disgusting trade once and for all. It sets a precedent and is an example
to the rest of the world. We sincerely hope other countries will follow’.
There has been considerable concern about the trade in cat and dog
fur across the EU although, to date, there has been little evidence of
imports into the UK.
Stone age pet cats? Until recently we believed that cats were ‘domesticated' by the Egyptians about 4000 years ago. Now a feline skeleton has been found buried alongside human remains in Cyprus in a Stone Age grave dating back around 10,000 years. The cat belongs to the species Felis sylvestris , the wildcat from which domestic cats ( Felis catus ) are descended. It is thought that the cat was about eight months old when it died but the cause of its death is unknown. The proximity of the human and cat skeletons suggested that the person may have had a strong bond with the cat (or perhaps we should say kitten) and that it may even have been killed to go into the grave with its master.
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