Saturday, February 25, 2012
Friday, February 24, 2012
Singing Donkey - The Real One (Not Shrek's Donkey)
This one right here is for all you music lovers out there! Enjoy the music for the weekend everyone! If you know of any other singing animal friends out there, please share!
Can We Still Keep Ocelots As Pets?
Like most wildcats, ocelots have been known to be kept as exotic pets, and as such, many are curious to know more about ocelots and how different or similar they are compared with domestic cats.
Also known as the dwarf leopards, ocelots are among the most known of wild cats, found in parts of Mexico, South, and Central America. They’re generally the size of your average domestic cat, bearing the fur coat patterns of jaguars or clouded leopards.
At one point, they were considered highly endangered from 1972 to 1996, but they’re now currently rated as a “least concern” in the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. They are mostly nocturnal and highly territorial wild cats, and in the past, they were among the most prized of exotic pets, with famous pet owners like surrealist, Salvador Dali.
Today, if you’re mulling about getting an ocelot as a pet, you might as well forget all about it because: the whole “ocelot as pets” angle is no longer acceptable by today’s standards, even considered illegal in certain states, like in California.
Because of its beautiful coat, ocelots are priority targets in the fur coat trade. Evidently smaller compared to its bigger cousins, it would take an average of 25 ocelots to make one fur coat, and as such, ocelot furs are often more expensive. At one point, one ocelot fur coat would’ve been more expensive than buying a car.
Though the fur poaching and trade hasn’t been as active as it was 30 years ago, safeguards against their active comeback have been put up. The concept of “ocelot as pets” could be used by would-be poachers as a front, and as such, it is a concept which has led enforcement agencies to set out as “not acceptable”.
Besides, ocelots are wild cats, and there’s a reason for them being named that.
Given what’s written above, would you still want to own one?
Thursday, February 23, 2012
Cats and Dogs – The Pros and Cons
Call it the result of natural selection, or term it as a by-product of genetic conditioning, cats and dogs just can’t stand each other, and has even left two types of pet owners trying to win one over the other: cat-lovers and dog-lovers.
Pointing out the natural traits of their preferred pets, cat-lovers and dog-lovers have long debated over which is better; cats or dogs?
Here are some well known points, some cat and dog pros and cons.
Cats – Cleanliness is perhaps the most well known attribute of cats, keen on keeping their coats clean and tidy. Even strays are known to have a measured sense of cleanliness. This attribute extends to a cat’s toilet-sense, instinctively going for litterboxes when they have to do their business. They are also “low maintenance”, in the sense that cat-owners don’t necessarily have to pay constant attention to them. In terms of food consumption, their intake is generally lesser compared to dogs, and in terms of “chores”, they are great mousers, keeping vermin and certain pests out of the house.
However, cats are nearly impossible to train, unlike dogs. They aren’t as affectionate as dogs too, operating on an “if I don’t feel like it, then I won’t do it” mentality. They are also great climbers, and, at times they tend to get into tight spots because of it.
Dogs – Dogs are loyal pets, always out to please masters regardless if the master in question is a criminal or a priest. They are highly trainable and intelligent, and with enhanced senses, they’re great aids for people with disabilities. They are known for their instincts, and are highly wary with unwanted strangers. They are also known to be of great help in certain industries.
But as intelligent and trainable dogs are, dog owners have to regularly give them baths. Toilet training dogs is possible, but most dogs don’t really know how to use a litterbox when they see one. Also, studies have shown that regular interaction between masters and dogs is crucial, since chaining them or putting them in kennels for extended durations leads them to become rabid. In terms of food consumption, they eat bigger portions compared to cats.
Both cats and dogs are prone to medical conditions, and as such, most cat-dog debates veer away from that topic.
So what do you say? Are dogs better, or should you just go for cats?
Post your comments and speak your mind. Let’s see which of the two is better to have at home.
