Friday, March 18, 2016
Why do cats love heat?
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Fall has arrived in Oregon, and that means I pulled out the oil-filled heater for my workroom. I rarely leave this room during the workday, so there's no sense in heating up the whole house. Instead, I just heat up this one room. It keeps me cozy, and it keeps me on task. Who wants to hang out in the cold part of the house?
My animals feel the same way, so in the fall and winter months, they're all in my workroom with me, trying to bask in the warmth. No one is more eager than Eamon, who practically danced for joy when I pulled the heater out of the closet. He hopped right up on this chair to snooze, and I didn't quite have the heart to tell him that the heater wasn't yet plugged in and therefore wasn't emitting any heat.
Theories abound as to why cats love heat. Here are my three favorites.
1. It's in their DNA.
Back in 2007, scientists discovered that our domestic cats share genes with wild cats currently living in Saudi Arabia (check out the deets at National Geographic). That's a fascinating tidbit, and it could explain a lot.
If our cats originate with wild cats that live in the desert, that means their bodies might do best in super-hot climates. They've probably evolved to do well in places that are really hot. And since that's true, they're probably likely to seek out spaces that are really hot, like heated workrooms.
2. It's a background thing.
Very tiny kittens don't have the ability to see, and they can't hear very much, either. But, they need to find their mommas, so they can get the milk they need in order to survive. They do that, veterinarians say, by seeking out heat sources. Momma cats have hot bodies, and baby kittens are like heat-seeking missiles when they're hungry.
If this is true, adult cats might equate heat with childhood, and with nourishment and protection. When they're hot, they have a sense that they're safe and protected.
3. It has to do with health.
Senior cats like Eamon are even more attuned to the power of heat, and it's possible that their hot preferences have to do with health and bodily preservation. Senior cats can't regulate their body temperatures as well as young cats can, and they often have stiff joints due to arthritis. By sticking close to the heat, they can keep themselves just a touch healthier.
Which theory is the correct one? I really have no idea. But here's what I do know: I'll have a crowded workroom until the spring weather comes back around.
How to Tame Hutia (Green Spectral Porcupine)
Hutia is the final spirit beast I'll be going over that was added in patch 5.2. I found Hutia to be a little more forgiving to tame than her friends Gumi and Degu. Well actually, make that a lot more forgiving.
As with the other two spectral porcupines, Hutia has about 4M health and must be dps'd down to 20% before her Strong Will buff will drop and she can be tamed. If she gets within melee range she will two-shot you. She is fast, but thankfully she is not nearly as fast as Gumi. She also doesn't have any type of ranged attack like Degu does. The thing to know about Hutia is she's got an annoying heal called Spirit Heal that she'll cast periodically as shes chasing you. This spell needs to be interrupted!
Helpful Glyphs and Talents:
You can easily make this tame smoother by using certain glyphs and talents. Glyph of Tame Beast I would definitely recommend. Glyph of Disengage can also prove to be handy (I used both of these glyphs when I tamed her in the video below.) If your having trouble Glyph of Pathfinding, Glyph of Aspect of the Cheetah and Glyph of Ice Trap may be enough to make a successful tame (I didn't use these).
As with the other two spectral porcupines, Hutia has about 4M health and must be dps'd down to 20% before her Strong Will buff will drop and she can be tamed. If she gets within melee range she will two-shot you. She is fast, but thankfully she is not nearly as fast as Gumi. She also doesn't have any type of ranged attack like Degu does. The thing to know about Hutia is she's got an annoying heal called Spirit Heal that she'll cast periodically as shes chasing you. This spell needs to be interrupted!
Helpful Glyphs and Talents:
You can easily make this tame smoother by using certain glyphs and talents. Glyph of Tame Beast I would definitely recommend. Glyph of Disengage can also prove to be handy (I used both of these glyphs when I tamed her in the video below.) If your having trouble Glyph of Pathfinding, Glyph of Aspect of the Cheetah and Glyph of Ice Trap may be enough to make a successful tame (I didn't use these).
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Talents that will come in handy with this tame are Posthaste (for the nice speed increase), undefined (to interrupt her heal), Exhilaration (in case she manages to hit you), Dire Beast (for the extra dot while kiting), A Murder of Crows (another dot) and Glaive Toss (for the additional slow and damage).
Kiting:
Once you've got your glyphs and talents ready, be sure you know where you'll be kiting her. I found the best option was to simply kite her around the large tree on the ground. She can't run through the tree to smack you, but you can conveniently use all of your offensive abilities right through it! I drew some red arrows in the screenshot below to show the path I used.
The Tame:
Before pulling her be sure to put down an Ice Trap and Snake Trap in her path. When your ready to go, hit her with a undefined and Concussive Shot and start moving away. Throw as many dots on her as possible including your Dire Beast and Murder of Crows. While keeping your dots up, it's very important to make sure the Concussive Shot debuff doesn't wear off of her.
While keeping her at a distance and working down her health it is crucial that you pay attention for her heal. She will periodically cast Spirit Heal on herself, and if it gets off she'll regain a very large portion of her health. To interrupt her heal simply hit her with your undefined. She casts her heal infrequently enough that the cooldown on Silencing Shot should be finished and ready to go each time. If for some reason Silencing Shot is not available to you, undefined will also work on her.
Don't forget to use undefined so that you can use your big dots like Murder of Crows a second time. I also recommend waiting to use Stampede for emergency circumstances (shes up in your face and everything seems to be on cooldown). Of course if things are going quite smoothly and your confident she won't get anywhere near you I'd say go ahead and use it for the extra dps.
Once you have her down to about 20% her Strong Will buff will drop and she will become tamable. Before you start to tame, be sure to put as much distance between you and her as possible. Refresh Concussive Shot, throw down an Ice Trap in her path, hit Deterrence and Tame Beast. If things go smoothly Tame Beast should end just before she can get to you or she may get off one hit (which shouldn't matter so long you had plenty of health to begin with). Now hopefully you have a pretty new pet!
Russian Blue Cats as pets
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Russian Blue Cat as pet
As pets Russian Blue Cats are softer and more reserved than other shorthair cats. Although they are lively and playful as always dignified posture. Voting is a very quiet meow and are generally very fond of them as the owner of the natural harmony, and almost no loss of time to maintain the hair makes it an ideal pet.
The body of the Russian Blue Cat is firm and muscular, but with it yet elegant and slender. The feet are small, oval, the legs are long and the tail is very long and narrow at the top. The most important characteristics of Russian blue cats found in the shape of the head and the hair color and structure, namely the transition of the nose to the forehead should be flat with no "feet" (flat-topped skull) and a profile of the nose slightly convex. The eyes of Russian Blue Cat are almond-shaped green. Unique is the hair that has double, short, thick and silky, which should never be too close without the body. Desirable as lighter shades of blue, but most important is the uniformity of color and a distinctive silver luster.
Characteristics of Russian Blue Cat
HEAD: short wedge shape of long and flat skull. Convex profile. The forehead and nose are convex angle at the level of the eyebrows, forehead, straight,
flat nose, pads and a very striking mustache, strong chin.
EARS: large and fairly sharp, broad based. The skin of the ear is thin
and transparent.
EYES: large, almond-shaped wide apart, bright green color.
BODY: Long, medium bone structure, harmonious appearance and growth.
FEET: high and soft materials, and small oval paws.
Tail: Fairly long and tapering towards the top.
COAT: short, thick and soft, soft, slight raised plišasto
of the skin. Duplo fur. Blue-gray in color with a silvery glow (preferred medium blue-gray color).
Nasal mirror blue-gray, lavender našapama pads.
ERRORS: Oriental type, square or round head, round eyes,
yellowish color of eyes, tight body and thick, too wide at the tail
Basically skintight fur, tiger pattern, and all the other colors of fur
except blue.
UPDATED The faces of animal cruelty
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So this is the best update yet, in my very biased opinion.
It's Dale, the male we found with half a face, looking dapper and happy and wonderful. Loved him since the start, and so excited to see how well he's doing.
Last I heard the dogs were getting groomed and prepped for adoption, so stay tuned for that announcement.
Thanks to Helping Hands Humane Society for keeping us all updated!
L;DR (too long; didn't read): Topeka Animal Control on Jan. 4 seized four dogs from an individual in central Topeka. All were severely matted -- which takes months to accumulate, hurts the dogs and harbors insects (more than one had fleas). They were shaved, fattened up and sent to HHHS foster homes to be socialized and learn to trust humans again.
During that time, both females had puppies (!). All 10 now appear to be doing great in foster care, but aren't yet up for adoption.
The poodle mixes, who didn't have a name until Twitter, now go by Mrs. Beasley (white), Buffy (apricot), Brooks (white male) and Dale (white male who lost part of his face to untreated infection).
The owner is facing four animal cruelty charges for failure to provide adequate care. He was supposed to come into Municipal Court by 4:30 p.m. Jan. 27 to set a hearing date, but didn't show. However, he surrendered the dogs, so they can be adopted before any kind of ruling in his case.
This blog features some upsetting videos below. You've been warned.
TIMELINE
Day 1 (Monday, Jan. 4) Topeka Animal Control seized four dogs from an individual after noticing severe matting -- a sign of months of neglect. The individual was charged with four counts of animal cruelty, and the dogs were taken to the City's vet clinic.
Day 2, the animal clinic vaccinated all four and groomed the mats off of the two males, (Twitter named them Brooks and Dale). Dale needs surgery for his mouth; that's slated for Monday, Jan. 11.
Day 3, The girls were groomed. All four had a bath -- likely their first in months. Mrs. Beasley and Buffy still had some fleas. You can already tell the change in the animals. Buffy, who bit one of the handlers earlier, was calm while the vet tech held her for pictures today. I'm taking that as a great sign. They're all trying to put on weight, so they can go to HHHS pending the outcome of their owner's case. Dale's surgery is still expected to be Monday. Charges on owner hadn't yet his the system.
Day 4, the owner released his claim to all four dogs, meaning they can go to Helping Hands Humane Society for adoption as soon as they are well enough, rather than waiting until the case is decided. His charges remain, but haven't hit court records yet.
Day 7, all four dogs remain at the veterinarians. Dale still isn't heavy enough, so the surgery scheduled for today has been postponted. I'll let you know when I hear more.
JAN. 20 UPDATE: All four dogs were moved to Helping Hands Humane Society on Friday. The executive director there, Deb Malick, says all SIX are doing great. Yes, you read that right. Mrs. Beasley had two healthy baby girls on Monday! And they're all doing great! No pictures at the moment, sorry folks. But they have been promised. Mrs. Beasley, her two girls and Buffy all are in foster care homes. Dale had to have a few teeth removed, but his jaw is healing well. Dale and Brooks were being neutered today, then they will go into foster homes as well. All the adults need more socialization and handling, so foster care homes are their best shot.
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