Caturday felids: a trifecta

On March 24 two clouded leopard cubs were born at the National Zoo’s annex in Front Royal, Virginia.  Clouded leopards (Neofelis nebulosa; there may be two species), from the forests of southeast Asia, have arguably the most beautiful coats of all wild felids.  They’re known for their long canine teeth and remarkable climbing abilities, but  their biology is not well known, and they’re hard to breed in captivity.

Good news department:  after a six-year absence, Allsort is home. (If you’ve been in Britain, and love candy like I do, you’ll know why the cat is called Allsort. His late brother was named “Werthers,” too.)  Note: in the UK an alley cat is called a “moggy.”

Fig. 1.  Amy Turnbull and Allsort after his big adventure.

Finally, the cat of a friend, Mr. Nesbitt.  Mr. Nesbitt, a 14-year-old moggy, has not been well, but may be on the mend. He looks pretty low in this picture.

As a rescue cat in the UK, he was given his name by the vet.  (“Mr. Nesbitt,” of course, sounds unusual because it’s a proper human name, and for some reason we usually don’t give usually give our pets human names like Fred, Sally, or Paul.)

Fig. 2. Mr. Nesbitt, not feeling well