Category Archives: Cat-Human Bond

Allergic To Cats? Purina Finds A Solution

Cat-Human Bond, Cat Research, Veterinary News

Cat food coated with an egg product could provide relief for people who are allergic to cats. It’s not going to be on the market for a while though, so check out our suggestions for dealing with cat allergies in the meantime.

 

This little girl is allergic to cats. But the Purina Institute is working on a solution for cat allergies.

The Purina Institute is working on a solution for cat allergies.

Allergic to cats? There might be a cure for cat allergies in the not-too-distant future, and it doesn’t involve injections or human doctors.

Researchers at the Purina Institute have been searching for a way to help people who are allergic to cats for more than 10 years. There’s been some urgency to the search. Eighteen percent of the cats relinquished to shelters are there because a family member is allergic.

The long-awaited solution: coating cat food with an egg product ingredient. 

Cat allergies “have created a huge barrier to cat ownership and may limit the loving interactions between cat lovers and cats,” immunologist Ebenezer Satyaraj, Ph.D., director of molecular nutrition at Purina and lead investigator on the research, told DVM 360.

“Our discovery has the potential to transform how people manage cat allergens.”

It’s A Tiny Protein, Not Fur, That Causes Cat Allergies

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Cats And Their People Share Personality Traits

Cat-Human Bond, Cat Behavior, Cat Research

Study shows cats and their people share personality traits.

Study shows cats and their people share personality traits

Do you tend to be moody? Chances are your cat does, too.

Have you been thinking your cat’s almost as introverted as you are? Turns out that’s not just the idle thought of a slightly crazy cat lady. A new study shows that cats and their people share personality traits. Or that’s what the humans think. No one asked the cats.

Researchers in Australia asked people who live with cats to complete a 52-question online survey about their personalities and their cats’. Then, they used a sophisticated computer program to analyze the data. What it came up with was five general types of cat personalities. Three overlap with human personality traits. 


How Cats And Their People Share Personality Traits

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Do Cat Colors Dictate Personality? Maybe…

Cat Behavior, Cat Research, Cat-Human Bond

It’s never good to paint things with a broad brush, but a study shows cat colors dictate personality.

 

A study shows cat colors dictate personality, and that could be why this torti has an abundance of "cattitude."

Does your torti have an abundance of cattitude? Blame her colors.

Are you thinking your tortie gives new meaning to the word “catitude?” Is your calico a bit feisty when things aren’t going exactly her way? A study by UC Davis veterinarian Elizabeth Stelow shows that cat colors dictate personality. And that proves what a lot of us have suspected all along. Torties and calicoes tend to be diva cats and can be more than a little challenging to their people.

Stelow and her research team surveyed 1200 cat parents online. They found that calico and tortoiseshell cats are more likely to “hiss, chase, bite, swat or scratch during interactions with humans.” Gray and white and black and white cats seem to have an abundance of cattitude, too and are likely to be a bit more aggressive than cats with other coat patterns.

 

 

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Pet Insurance Goes To Work
A Growing Number Of Companies Offer Pet Insurance As A Benefit

Pet Insurance, Cat-Human Bond
A growing number of companies are offering pet insurance as a benefit.

 

A growing number of companies are offering pet insurance as a benefit.

Is pet insurance a benefit where you work?

Is the cost of kitty’s health care making you feel a bit sick? If you’re lucky, your employer is one of a growing number of companies that offer pet insurance as a benefit.

According to Nationwide Insurance, the owner of VPI Pet Insurance, health care coverage for companion animals is one of the fastest-growing voluntary benefits in the U.S. More than 5,000 companies and organizations now offer Nationwide, and other pet insurance companies have corporate clients, too.


Pet Insurance Posts Record Growth

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