We’ll continue with Caturday Felids and see how many people read them. First, from the BBC, a somewhat misleading headline (my beloved Teddy died of lymphoma)
Click on the screenshot, but if it’s paywalled you can find the article archived here.
Here’s what they did:
The first detailed genetic map of cancer in pet cats reveals striking similarities with human versions of the disease, possibly helping find new ways to treat cancers in both.
Scientists analysed tumour DNA from almost 500 domestic cats, uncovering key genetic mutations linked with the condition.
Cancer is one of the main causes of illness and death in cats, however, very little is known about how it develops.
“Cat cancer genetics has totally been a black box up until now,” said lead researcher, Dr Louise Van der Wayden. “The more we can understand about cancer in any species has got to be beneficial for everybody.”
The international team led by the Wellcome Sanger Institute in Cambridge examined around 1,000 genes linked to 13 types of feline cancer.
They found many of the genes driving cat cancers are mirrored in humans, suggesting the two species share key biological processes that allow tumours to grow and spread.x
The scientists say the household cat could hold the key to understanding certain types of breast cancer, such as triple negative breast cancer. Around 15 out of 100 breast cancers are of this type.
Cats develop this subtype more often than humans, giving scientists access to samples, and offering clues to new medicines that might help in treatment.
Almost a quarter of UK households own at least one cat, making the animal almost as popular as dogs as a trusted companion.
But while cancer studies have been carried out extensively in dogs, cats have remained unexplored.
Here’s the Science paper (click to read it) with the abstract, but I have to say I haven’t read it:
As you see, the contribution of cats is that we have a lot of them to provide tumor tissue, and they get some “humanlike’ cancers more often than do humans. So identifying oncogenes in cats, some of which may have the same pathology in humans, might be useful.
“Oncogenes” are genes in humans that, when they mutate, cause a cell to grow uncontrollably, producing cancer. Identifying oncogenes might lead to the creation of cancer therapies tailored to people’s specific mutations. The most famous of these genes are BRCA2 and BRCA2, involved in DNA repair and cell death, which have a tendency to mutate in women, causing breast and ovarian cancers.
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“If that cat could talk, what tales he’d tell About Della and the dealer, and the dog as well, But the cat was cool, and he never said a mumblin’ word.”
Here’s a song written and recorded by country singer Hoyt Axton (1938-199), “Della and the Dealer,” which features a cat named Kalamazoo. (You can see the lyrics here.)
It also features the narrator, a woman named Della, her lover, and a dog named Jake. It’s got a pickup truck (first verse), coke snorting through a $100 bill (Axton was a coke addict), booze, jealousy, and a murder. What more could you want? The cat witnessed all the action but kept his gob shut.
I know of no other country song featuring a cat, but I’m not that knowledgeable about country music. Readers might let me know of other country songs with cats.
Here’s alive version, introduced by Axton saying, “I’m what’s left of Hoyt Axton”.
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I’ve never seen “2001: A Space Odyssey”, but know enough about it from popular culture. Here’s a very short cat video that parodies the movie, and I can see the parallels. I love the fish being tossed into the air becoming a cat-shaped spaceship! The claws on the ship are also cool.
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Lagniappe: A football player helps a thirsty cat. I first saw the meme from the site Cats Doing Cat Stuff, and then found a video of the incident. I wish that Omar had adopted the cat!
The video:
h/t: Stacy, Jez, Norman
Love the cat version of “2001:Space Odyssey.” I never saw the film, but very much enjoyed Mel Brooks’ “Space Balls” spoof.
Let’s hope some progress is made in figuring out the causes/progression of cancer in cats. Over the years I’ve lost over half a dozen to that disease (including two to leukemia). One caveat: in doing the research I hope researchers will study only cats who already have cancer and not inflict it on ones who don’t.
Thanks again for Caturday!
Actually, Spaceballs was a parody of Star Wars: A New Hope.
That same YouTube site has many hilarious movie parodies featuring the author’s cats.
One of my late beloved kittehs died at 17 from lymphoma. it is the most common feline malignancy. My current 12-year-old kitteh has also been diagnosed with it.
I also lost a late beloved kitteh from complications of feline papilloma virus. He was 18.
One of our cats died of cancer. It’s good to read that our beloved cats are at work helping to eliminate this terrible disease (or group of diseases).
Love the Space Odyssey video!
And, finally, I’ve see d*gs drinking water poured from a bottle, but never a cat! My expectation is that a car would squirm away from the shower as quickly as it can.
Thank you for today’s Caturday feature!
Now, back to monitoring the war in Iran…
I have a cat, Rocky, who will drink from a faucet, wade in the birdbath, and who loves to have his back sprayed with water. I’d add a photo but I don’t know how.
One of my late beloved kittehs also loved to watch running water and he didn’t mind getting wet. He sat and stared at his kitteh water fountain. He loved to sit next to the kitchen sink and watch me do dishes. He even jumped in the shower with me. I’d leave the bathtub and kitchen sink faucets dripping for him to drink from. Running water simply fascinated him.
My current kitteh is also jumping in the shower with me. She likes water too.
The trailer for 2001: A Cat Odyssey is funny and cute.
I’ve always enjoyed the Caturday posts – thank you.
Me too! Please keep Caturday Felids coming!
I look forward to the Caturday posts every week. This one does not disappoint. Thanks.
I enjoy the cat posts and I’m a dog person. Does my vote count?
Love the 2001 with cats, thanks. It’s a very good parody. My dad took me to see the film when I was a kid and it gave me a love of classical music. I had a t shirt made recently that has the iconic image of HAL and the words “Dave, my mind is going. I can feel it”.
My dad was an early programmer and worked on IBM systems at the time and pointed out that the letters of HAL are immediately before those of IBM in the alphabet.
It was also funny that my mum’s initials were IBM before she married.
I look forward to Saturday posts. I don’t always comment.
Someone here said something similar to this the other day and I concur, even the fake cat videos– no matter how farcical–are mesmerizing. Watching the Space Odyssey video I kept thinking “cats are the coolest damn animals on the planet”. They’re so expressive and intent on accomplishing whatever task they’ve taken on.
I also loved the cat on the soccer field. Omar was so tender with the little guy and the cat just loved him. Very touching.
The book for 2001 – taken from the screenplay – is much better than the movie. Although I’m a huge Arthur C. Clarke fan, I think the movie is massively overrated. Read the book instead. In fact, read anything by Arthur.
Lagniappe – Arthur’s definition of an intellectual is someone who’s been educated beyond their mental capacity. Couldn’t agree more and I’m sure George Orwell would, too😀.
But yeah, the clip for Cat 2001 is cute and very clever.
Thanks for sharing “Della and the Dealer”, PCCe. Love the song.
Kinda want to know what Kalamazoo has on the d*g….
A BIRTHDAY THOUGHT:is the opposite of two? A lonely me, a lonely you. -Richard Wilbur, poet and translator (1 Mar 1921-2017)
I enjoy it and share it with a daughter and a friend. Please keep them coming!