Cats News

June 25, 2025

Top Headlines

These Frozen Wolf Cubs Ate a Woolly Rhino—and Changed What We Know About Dogs

June 24, 2025 — Two Ice Age wolf pups once thought to be early dogs have been identified as wild wolves, thanks to detailed DNA and chemical analysis. Surprisingly, their last meals included woolly rhinoceros ...

Telehealth Can Improve Care for Cats With Chronic Health Issues

June 3, 2025 — UC Davis researchers found that video telehealth visits help cat owners better care for arthritic cats without the stress of clinic visits. Owners appreciated personalized tips to improve their cat s comfort at home, and most said they'd pay for ...

Genetic Deep Dive Dispels Fear of Hybrid Worm Threat

May 30, 2025 — Parasitic worms that infect humans are not interbreeding with those that infect cattle as previously thought. This is good news for when it comes to controlling schistosomiasis, a disease caused by these worms that affects more than 200 million ...

Genetic Basis of Purring in Cats

May 29, 2025 — Whether you are lucky enough to have a cat companion or must merely live this experience vicariously through cat videos, Felis catus is a familiar and comforting presence in our daily lives. Unlike most other feline species, cats exhibit sociality, ...

When the Forest Is No Longer a Home -- Forest Bats Seek Refuge in Settlements

May 28, 2025 — Many bat species native to Germany, such as the Leisler's bat, are forest specialists. However, as it is becoming increasingly hard for them to find tree hollows in forest plantations, so they are ...

Managing Surrogate Species, Providing a Conservation Umbrella for More Species

May 26, 2025 — A new study shows that monitoring and managing select bird species can provide benefits for other species within specific ...

Climate Change Poses Severe Threat to Bowhead Whale Habitat

May 22, 2025 — New research examining 11,700 years of bowhead whale persistence throughout the Arctic projects that sea ice loss due to climate change will cause their habitat to severely contract by up to 75 per ...

New Research Reveals Puff Adders as an Important Conservation and Rodent Control Solution

May 20, 2025 — New research has revealed that puff adders (Bitis arietans) can be highly efficient at controlling rodent populations that threaten agricultural production on the ...

Novel Molecular Maneuver Helps Malaria Parasite Dodge the Immune System

May 16, 2025 — Researchers have discovered how a parasite that causes malaria when transmitted through a mosquito bite can hide from the body's immune system, sometimes for years. It turns out that the parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, can shut down a key set of ...

Wild Orangutans Show Communication Complexity Thought to Be Uniquely Human

May 16, 2025 — Researchers have found that wild orangutans vocalize with a layered complexity previously thought to be unique to human communication, suggesting a much older evolutionary ...

Scientists Track Down Mutation That Makes Orange Cats Orange

May 15, 2025 — Many an orange cat-affiliated human will vouch for their cat's, let's say, specialness. But now scientists have confirmed that there is, in fact, something unique about ginger-hued domestic felines. In a new study, researchers have discovered the ...

Halo Patterns Around Coral Reefs May Signal Resilience

May 8, 2025 — A new study links grazing halo patterns in coral reefs, as well as those in other patchy habitats, to the spatial patterns of the shelter habitat itself. The researchers found that grazing halos are distinct when the coral is clustered but merge ...

Latest Headlines

updated 12:58pm EDT

Fewer Parasites in the Indian River Lagoon Signal Big Ecosystem Problems

May 7, 2025 — Parasites are crucial indicators of ecosystem health, and their absence can signal trouble. Once pristine, Florida's Indian River Lagoon (IRL) now faces pollution and algal blooms that have damaged ...

Rhythmically Trained Sea Lion Returns for an Encore -- And Performs as Well as Humans

May 1, 2025 — Animal research on biomusicality, which looks at whether different species are capable of behaving in ways that show they recognize aspects of music, ...

When Sea Stars Fall, Sea Otters Rise: Sea Otters Benefit from Prey Boom Triggered by Loss of Ochre Sea Stars

Apr. 30, 2025 — In 2013, a sea star wasting syndrome decimated populations of Pisaster along the west coast of North America and along the Monterey Peninsula in ...

Giant Croclike Carnivore Fossils Found in the Caribbean

Apr. 30, 2025 — Imagine a crocodile built like a greyhound -- that's a sebecid. Standing tall, with some species reaching 20 feet in length, they dominated South American landscapes after the extinction of dinosaurs ...

Evolution of Pugs and Persians Converges on Cuteness

Apr. 29, 2025 — Through intensive breeding, humans have pushed breeds such as pug dogs and Persian cats to evolve with very similar skulls and 'smushed' faces, so they're more similar to each other than they are to ...

Skeletal Evidence of Roman Gladiator Bitten by Lion in Combat

Apr. 23, 2025 — Bite marks found on a skeleton discovered in a Roman cemetery in York have revealed the first archaeological evidence of gladiatorial combat between a human and a ...

Tackling Parasite Devastating Fish Farmers Around the World

Apr. 22, 2025 — At the heart of the Amazon researchers are investigating a mysterious parasite which is devastating fish farms around the ...

The Eukaryotic Cell Emerged as an Evolutionary Algorithmic Phase Transition

Apr. 21, 2025 — An international collaboration has published groundbreaking research, shedding light on the most significant increase in complexity in the history of life's evolution on Earth: the origin of the ...

Secret to Crocodylian Longevity

Apr. 16, 2025 — Researchers examined teeth and skulls of 99 extinct crocodylomorph species and 20 living crocodylian species to reconstruct their dietary ecology and identify characteristics that helped some groups ...

Recently Discovered Immune Cell Type Is Key to Understanding Food Allergies

Apr. 14, 2025 — A new study has revealed that a special group of cells in the intestines tamp down the immune responses caused by exposure to food proteins. Called 'tolerogenic dendritic cells,' these cells enable ...

Researchers Find Intestinal Immune Cell Prevents Food Allergies

Apr. 3, 2025 — Researchers found that a small population of immune cells in the mouse intestine prevents allergic responses to food, suggesting that targeting such cells therapeutically could potentially lead to a ...

Microplastics Detected in Cat Placentas and Fetuses During Early Pregnancy

Apr. 2, 2025 — In a small study of eight cats at early stages of pregnancy, researchers detected 19 different kinds of microplastic particles in fetuses from two cats and in the placentas of three ...

Understanding the Immune Response to a Persistent Pathogen

Mar. 28, 2025 — Researchers show that the immune system can recognize and control the latent stage of the parasite Toxoplasma gondii, a finding that can inform the study of latency in other infections of the nervous ...

Restored Stream Supports New Wild Salmon Run

Mar. 20, 2025 — A new study documents Putah Creek-origin salmon, meaning some salmon returning to the restored creek in the fall to spawn were actually born there. The study carries broader implications for other ...

Conservation Efforts Are Bringing Species Back from the Brink, Even as Overall Biodiversity Falls

Mar. 18, 2025 — A major review of over 67,000 animal species has found that while the natural world continues to face a biodiversity crisis, targeted conservation efforts are helping bring many species back from the ...

Good Fences Make Good Neighbors (With Carnivores)

Mar. 17, 2025 — A new study has found that fortified enclosures also benefit nearby livestock keepers by preventing carnivore ...

Social Media Can Help Track Species as Climate Changes

Mar. 13, 2025 — Social media can help scientists track animal species as they relocate in response to climate change, new research ...

Mosquito Pain Receptors Are Less Sensitive During Extreme Heat

Mar. 12, 2025 — Hotter temperatures may render natural insect repellents less effective against mosquitoes, according to a new ...

Death by Feral Cat: DNA Shows Cats to Be Culprits in Killing of Native Animals

Mar. 10, 2025 — Feral cats have long been suspects in killing native species reintroduced into Australian conservation areas. DNA testing of the carcasses puts felines firmly in the ...

A Longer, Sleeker Super Predator: Megalodon's True Form

Mar. 9, 2025 — The megalodon has long been imagined as an enormous great white shark, but new research suggests that perception is all wrong. The study finds the prehistoric hunter had a much longer body -- closer ...

Tracking Polar Bears During Their Most Secretive Stage of Life

Mar. 6, 2025 — Researchers have combined satellite collar data with specialized cameras to shed light on one of the most mysterious and important stages in polar bears' lives -- maternal denning, when bears ...

Researchers Use a 'Trojan Horse' Approach to Develop New Antimalarial Drugs

Mar. 5, 2025 — Antimalarial drug resistance is a pressing issue in combating the spread of malaria worldwide. In a new study, researchers discovered a key process where malarial parasites take up a human blood cell ...

Caribou Migration Patterns Are Shrinking

Mar. 5, 2025 — The study shows caribou herds changed their migratory duration, distance or elevation over 35 years of radio tag ...

Pioneering Work Generates Feline Embryonic Stem Cells in Boon for Cats

Feb. 27, 2025 — Researchers have succeeded in generating high-quality feline embryonic stem cells using sperm and eggs from testes and ovaries discarded during sterilization ...

Shark Activity in South African Reef Revealed by Citizen Scientist Scuba Divers

Feb. 26, 2025 — Shark sightings by scuba divers reveal the movements of marine predators throughout the year, according to a new ...

Predator Robots Help Researchers Uncover How Larval Zebrafish Rapidly Learn

Feb. 20, 2025 — A novel system that chases larval zebrafish around an arena with predator robots is enabling scientists to understand how these days-old fish quickly learn in the real ...

Near-Complete Skull Discovery Reveals 'Top Apex', Leopard-Sized 'Fearsome' Carnivore

Feb. 17, 2025 — A rare discovery of a nearly complete skull in the Egyptian desert has led scientists to the 'dream' revelation of a new 30-million-year-old species of the ancient apex predatory carnivore, ...

Eating Gradually Increasing Doses of Peanut Butter Enables Children With High-Threshold Allergy to Safely Consume Peanuts, Study Suggests

Feb. 10, 2025 — Findings suggest a safe, inexpensive, and effective pathway for allergists to treat children who already tolerate at least half a ...

White Shark Liver Is on Australian Killer Whales' Menu, Genomic Evidence Confirms

Feb. 1, 2025 — DNA evidence has confirmed killer whales in Australia hunted a white shark for its liver. Based on DNA analysis from the bite wounds on the carcass of a large white shark washed ashore near Portland ...

Tigers in the Neighborhood: How India Makes Room for Both Tigers and People

Jan. 31, 2025 — In India, tigers haven't just survived they're making a comeback. Despite a growing population and increasing pressure on their habitats, the number of wild tigers is rising. The reason? ...