Here Kitty, Kitty!

Have you ever wondered where our domestic cats come from? Most scientists believe they are descendants of the African wildcat, Felis lybica lybica. The African wildcat is mostly sandy-grey with stripes on its tail, legs, and sides. The domestic cat’s scientific is Felis catus. The original cats probably volunteered to hang around humans instead of us domesticating them. They helped us by hunting mice around our houses and grain storage areas. Variations were spread around the world on ships because the sailors kept them on the ship to keep the mice populations down. Now you can find them all around the world.

Killing mice on ships was a good thing, but on many islands the cats have killed many of the rare creatures that live there. It is very important that we are careful where we take them.

House cats are meat eaters, just like their bigger cousins. They sleep 13-16 hours a day. They love to lick themselves to stay clean. It’s called grooming. Cats can turn their ears backwards so they can hear animals all around them. They can meow and purr, but domestic cats don’t roar. They have toes with retractable claws to help them climb. Their whiskers help them sense things and measure the openings of small places. A cat mother can give birth to 4-6 kittens in a litter. They are born with their eyes closed and cannot hear. They are entirely dependent on their mother for several months. Did you know that a group of cats is called a clowder? That’s a funny name.

There are many varieties of cats now. They can range from the simple black cat to the sophisticated Himalayan, to a cat called a “sphinx” that is completely hairless! Here is a chart with just a few. Your Papaw is not really a cat person, but I do think the Himalayan cats look pretty cool. 

 Which type of cat do you like? I hoped you liked our cat talk today.

Love Papaw

Sources: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Domestication_of_the_cat  &  Google AI

Lion & Tigers, Oh My!

This week, we are going to learn about both lions and their close relatives, tigers. They look so different, but they are actually so similar that they can breed together. In nature this never happens because they don’t live anywhere near each
other. Lion live in the savannah areas of Africa. Tigers are usually found in the forests of Asia and India. The reason we know that are closely related is seen in interactions in zoos and circuses. Most big zoos, are careful to keep animals separated. Circuses and smaller collections have hot always been as careful. Sometimes lions and tigers have been kept together. The offspring of these encounters are named first for the father, and then the mother. So if the dad is a lion, a mix would be a “liger”. If the dad is a tiger, you would get a “tion”. Really confusing, right? That’s why we need to give them separate homes.

The lion is the apex (top) predator in Africa. They live in a group called a pride that includes several adult females, a couple males and all their cubs. The females do all the hunting. The male’s job is to roar and protect the pride. Lions are carnivores (meat eaters) and hunt for gazelle, zebra, wildebeest, and other savannah grazers. Lions will often roam over large areas in search of food.

Lions have a tan coat, a long tail, and very sharp teeth. An adult lion can weight over 500 pounds but the females will usually only weight about half as much. There’s a math question for you. What is one-half of 500? One interesting fact is that only the biggest, baddest lion of the pride has a mane. That’s that ring of darker fur around his head. It shows he’s in charge. If another male challenges him and wins, his mane will fall out and he will look more like a female.

Tigers are more solitary. The males continually roam around their territory. Only the mother cares for the cubs. Cubs stay with their mothers until they are around 2 years old. Tigers are the largest cats in the world. They have dark stripes on orange fur with a white or cream underbelly. Unlike lions, they are good swimmers and don’t mind going in the water. It’s interesting that tigers can roar and growl, but they can’t purr.

Male tigers can be 10 feet long including their tail. They can weigh over 600 pounds! They can live for over 10 years, about the same lifespan as lions. Mothers are a little smaller. Because of their large size they can take down antelope, deer, and pigs with ease. Their strong legs allow them to jump up to 16 feet straight up and 30 feet sideways. Their long tails help them balance.

Tigers are protected in most countries because there are only about 5500 left in the wild. It is important that we protect the habitat areas where they live. We wouldn’t want to lose all our tigers!

Here are some fun videos about lions & Tigers.

Hope you liked them!

Love Papaw.

     

It's All in the Eyes

 

Some of my grandchildren have been asking about the big cats, so January is going to be “Big Cat Month”. We have already met the Bobcat and Lynx. This post is about my favorite cat – the mountain lion. The mountain lion has many names depending on where you live. It is also called a cougar or puma. It’s scientific name is Puma concolor. They are found all over the United States. In fact, they have the widest range of any North American carnivore. They can be found in forests, deserts and mountain areas.

A carnivore is an animal that eats other animals – a meat eater. Mountain lions love to eat deer and other small mammals. They are skilled hunters and are considered an “apex predator”- the top predator in the area. They mainly hunt at dawn and dusk. When they are hunting, they are almost undetectable. You could walk right past one and never see it. When they do make sounds, they do not roar like lions and tigers. Mountain lions can purr.  Mothers often call their babies with chirps and whistles. They also have a scream that sounds almost human.

Adult mountain lions are 6-9 feet long (including their tail) with the females being a little smaller. They can weigh 250 lbs.! They have a light brown/tan fur (called a coat) with a long tail that helps them balance. They are capable of jumping 20 feet and can run almost 50 miles per hour! They have retractable claws like a housecat. This means they can pull them in and hide them when they want to. Usually, adult mountain lions spent their time alone, hunting in their territory. Momma mountain lions will keep their cubs with them for a year or so, but after that they are on their own too.

One of the most special things about the mountain lion is their eyes. While most other cats have the typical “cat eyes” with pupils (the dark part in the middle of the eye) that look like a slit (like your neighbor’s cat) the mountain lion has round pupils. Only a few other night hunting cats have eyes like these.  I think they make them look wise and intelligent. They are fun to watch in zoos, but in the mountains or forests, always remember to keep your distance because they are wild animals.

I hope you liked learning about these beautiful creatures. Until next week!

Love, Papaw.

Lions and Tigers and … Not Bears!

This month, by the requests of some of my faithful readers, I’m going to focus on the wild cats of the world. I figured I would start out small, and end January with the big  cats. This Papaw’s Note is about two of our smaller native American cats, the lynx and the bobcat.

Like other wild cats, they are hunters. They both eat birds and small mammals like mice and squirrels. Bobcats may even occasionally eat small deer. One of the favorite meals for a hungry lynx is the snowshoe hare, a type of northern rabbit.

At first one might think they are the same cat, because they do look a lot alike. So to help you out, here are some ways to tell them apart.

Lynx:

 

 

·       They are found in the northern forests. You will usually find them in Canada and the states that border Canada, like Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Maine.

·       They have longer legs and much larger paws. This helps them walk through the deep snow. Their larger paws work like snow shoes to keep them from falling into the deep snowdrifts.

·       They are usually larger than bobcats. Their long legs make them look taller.

·       They have noticeable ear tufts.

·       The have solid black tip on their tails.

 

Bobcat:

·       They are found in all of the 48 continental states.

·       They have shorter legs and smaller paws.

·       With their shorter legs, they look somewhat smaller that the lynx.

·       They have much shorter ear tufts.

·        Their tails have black on top and white on the underside.

 

 

 

 

One time Memaw and Papaw went to the town of Tucson, Arizona on a short vacation. We were almost next to Mexico! Right outside of our casita (Spanish for “small house”) we saw a bobcat just lying in the yard! He was cute, but we didn’t get too close! If they get angry or scared they could hurt you. Its best to watch them from a distance. At one of the schools in Arizona we even had a family living in the storm drains. The babies were very shy and liked to play hide and seek.

 

Here is a short video to help you learn more about these two special cats. I hope you liked our kitty talk!

Love Papaw.

 We just started a new year, 2026. Many people try to make New Year’s Resolutions for the year to come. They might hope to exercise more, to eat better, to be a nicer person. Most people will not keep them. They give up too soon. Changes take time and practice. It usually won’t happen overnight.

Still, it can be a great time to begin again or start something new. What it will take is consistency. If you practice whatever your trying to change every day, it will get easier as the year progresses. Here are some ideas for change in this new near. Choose one (or two) and stick with it!

• ·       Practice cleaning your room once a week. Choose a day to clean and stick with it. Soon it will become a habit. You might even find yourself picking up every day just to help things along.
• ·       Pledge to say kind things instead of hurtful things.
• ·       Greet everyone you meet with a smile.
• ·       Practice saying “Thank You” when someone does a kind deed for you.
• ·       Practice saying “Yes mom” or “Yes dad” when your parents give you instructions.
• ·       Read some verses in your Bible every day. Be sure to try to live them out too!  
• ·       Practice “being second” – Let someone else go first or in front of you. Open doors for others and let them go in first.
• ·       Learn a new hobby or skill. It’s even more fun if you share it with someone else.

These are just a few things you can do to start the New Year great. The key is to stick with it and practice your new skill every day. It will help you to grow and help others also.

Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins 1 Peter 4:8 (NIV)

I hope you have a great and exciting year this year!

Love Papaw