Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

Skip to comments.

Cats at risk of Alzheimer's
Scotsman.com ^ | Tue 5 Dec 2006

Posted on 12/05/2006 10:20:22 PM PST by null and void

CATS can suffer from a feline form of Alzheimer's disease, Edinburgh scientists revealed today.

A study into ageing cats identified a key protein which can build up in the nerve cells in their brains and cause mental deterioration, similar to that in humans.

The research was carried out by scientists at the University of Edinburgh, as well as universities at St Andrews, Bristol and California.

Dr Danielle Gunn-Moore, of Edinburgh University, said: "We've known for a long time that cats develop dementia, but this study tells us that the cat's neural system is being compromised."


TOPICS: Pets/Animals
KEYWORDS:
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 201-203 next last
To: null and void

Actually, I had a cat when I was 6 years old until my mid 20s, and it *hated* me. Towards the end, it actually came over and acted nice before it died. I honestly don't know if he forgot, forgave, or just knew his time was up and decided make amends.


21 posted on 12/05/2006 11:17:10 PM PST by Tolsti
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: Rumple4

Seriously, who cares? With the amount of stray cats running around any given neighborhood, I find it hard to give a crapola about a kittty who can't remember where it's litter box is. For freak's sake already. More concern should be surrounding those morons who own uteruses and leave newborn babies in trash cans...not psycho kittens or old-timer felines.


22 posted on 12/05/2006 11:18:36 PM PST by NJRepublican1
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 15 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

You make a good point. Don't let ignorant people -- who can't understand even slightly subtle distinctions, like the difference between complaining about something and urging coercion against it -- discourage you. There are many such people on FReep.


23 posted on 12/05/2006 11:19:14 PM PST by California Patriot ("That's not Charlie the Tuna out there. It's Jaws." -- Richard Nixon)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

"I didn't tell anyone how to spend their money, I just stated that we have our priorities bass-ackward."

And if you were in charge, by golly, you'd MAKE sure those priorities would get changed. Thank you, Sen. Clinton.

"Please share with us which you feel is more important: a human baby or a kitten?"

I really don't see why the USA, with its estimated $12,360,000,000,000 Gross Domestic Product (2005 figures), should have to decide which is more important, babies or kittens: there is enough pelf for BOTH to be saved.


24 posted on 12/05/2006 11:28:02 PM PST by decal (We're all in the same boat - start bailing!)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: LibFreeOrDie; 2ndDivisionVet; dsc
As long as children are starving, let's none of us buy anything frivolous - no books, no Christmas decorations or gifts, not even computers and Internet access.

Dingdingdingdingding!!! We have a winner!!

So well put! No movie tickets, no pay-per-view, no sports tickets, no running shoes, no DVD rentals, no cable TV, no satellite TV, no Plasma/LCD/DLP monitors, no books, no CDs, no iPods, no vacations, no cruises, no golf clubs, no greens fees, no restaurant lunches, no stocks, no bonds, no mutual funds, no 401Ks, no IRA, no landscaping, no barbeque grills, no leafblower, no grassmower, no wallpaper, no paint, no pictures, no framing, no digital cameras, no rugs, no DSP, no email, no computers, no air conditioning, no SUVs, no air travel, no dogs, no cats, no parrots, no tropical fish, no classic cars, no surf boards, no skis, no lift tickets, no JW Black Label, no margaritas, no fancy-schmancy boutique beers, no wine, no fancy motorbikes, no Priuses, no automatic transmissions, no college educations, no rock concerts, no C&W concerts, no trips to Vegas, no trips to Branson, no timeshares, no FreeRepublic monthly subscriptions, no nothing that goes beyond just the barest survival ...

2ndDivisionVet and dsc - let me know when you have forever sworn off all of the above and we'll work on your beatification.

25 posted on 12/05/2006 11:45:45 PM PST by SFConservative
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 14 | View Replies]

To: 2ndDivisionVet

a kitten. cleaner, less noisy, and more fun to play with. and litter training takes much less time, too.


26 posted on 12/06/2006 2:25:03 AM PST by GSlob
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 13 | View Replies]

To: dsc
Truth is not a popularity contest.

What I choose to spend my money on isn't either.

If there are children in the world not receiving medical care, how can one justify spending huge sums on animals?

It's not my (or the government which I pay for with my tax dollars) job to provide medical care to all the children on my block much less the world. It is my job to ensure that an animal in my care is taken care of to the best of my ability.

On the other hand, if you feel the need to spend your money providing health care to all the world's children, I'll cheer you on. Since it seems like such a priority to you, you'll want to step away from your keyboard and get right on that.

Besides, the more I deal with people (and even children) the more I love my dog.

27 posted on 12/06/2006 2:49:38 AM PST by Knitebane (Happily Microsoft free since 1999.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: SFConservative

Chocolate's still OK?


28 posted on 12/06/2006 7:56:29 AM PST by null and void (To succeed in life, you need three things: a wishbone, a backbone and a funnybone. --Reba McEntire)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 25 | View Replies]

To: Knitebane; SFConservative; LibFreeOrDie; 2ndDivisionVet; Pontiac; BigCinBigD

Gadfrey, it’s fascinating. It really is.

Hardly anyone is maximally conservative on every single issue. Even here on FR, there are some who hold to the position of the left on one or more issues – e.g., abortion, legalization of drugs, stem cell research, et cetera.

The fascinating thing is that when conservatives are arguing in support of one of these non-conservative positions, they even *argue* in the style, métier, voice…the oeuvre of the left. Ten minutes later, they could be arguing a conservative position with complete rationality, and ten minutes after that be arguing that non-conservative position using the invalid debate stratagems of the left.

For instance, after I argued – on moral grounds – against spending huge sums of money on veterinary medicine for pets, the most common response was not a moral argument in favor of spending huge sums of money on veterinary medicine for pets, but rather an attempt to evade the moral question by incorrectly accusing me of trying to tell people what they must do with their money.

Perhaps we have lost sight of this in PC Amerikastan, but it is entirely rational to think something immoral without immediately demanding laws against it. Perhaps we no longer trust each other to say, “I disapprove of what you do, but I have no right to interfere.”

One can simultaneously:
1. Agree that it is not given person’s job to provide medical care to anyone he is not otherwise responsible for;
2. Agree that said person has a right to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on veterinary care for, say, a poodle;
3. Hold the moral opinion that said money was wasted and would better have been spent on health care for human beings, and that said person is to that extent morally culpable;
4. Oppose any legislation or other sanction, including taxation, to coerce said person to use his money in one way or another.

Most of the responses to my statement, however, presumed that item 3 above necessarily indicates that one is calling for force against the morally culpable individual. Those on the left make a habit of this sort of argumentation; we should do better.

One person said, “It is my job to ensure that an animal in my care is taken care of to the best of my ability.” I would argue that there are limits beyond which the expenditure of funds cannot be morally justified. The same writer challenged me to “step away from (my) keyboard and get right on that.” This is valid. I believe in voluntary charity, and not the coercive methods of the left. I give as much as I can afford, after putting my own children first.

He also said, “Besides, the more I deal with people (and even children) the more I love my dog.”

Mark Twain said, “If you pick up a starving dog and make him prosperous, he will not bite you; that is the principal difference between a dog and a man.” But Mark Twain became bitter and cynical late in life. While dogs cannot be as perfidious as a person, neither can they rise to the heights of which man is capable.

Another writer evaded the moral question by using the reductio ad absurdum. This is a type of logical argument in which one assumes a claim for the sake of argument, derives an absurd or ridiculous outcome, and then concludes that the original assumption must have been wrong because led to an absurd result. In this case, the writer said, “As long as children are starving, let's none of us buy anything frivolous - no books, no Christmas decorations or gifts, not even computers and Internet access.”

The reductio ad absurdum is only valid, though, if the assumption advanced is the one actually made by the previous speaker, and necessarily leads to the absurd result. This writer is seeking through his conclusion to put words in my mouth. He would have me saying, “No one is to enjoy anything frivolous so long as children are starving.” This is a ridiculously extreme position, and one that I never implied. Further, what I actually did say does not lead to this conclusion.

Despite, therefore, the extremely long-winded repetition of this invalid conclusion by yet a third writer, who incautiously fell into the same logical error, that dog just won’t hunt.

A fourth writer evaded the moral issue by recognizing only the legal dimensions of the question. He wrote, “The nice thing about living in a free country is not having to justify what we do with our own property.” Yes, indeed, and we like it that way. After agreeing on that, anyone who cares to can look at the moral dimension.

Another writer appears to be a misanthrope, who claims that he would save his cat before he would save 90% of the people he knows. That’s just sad.

I suppose people who do not wish to consider the moral dimensions of this question will continue to misrepresent the issue. There’s nothing I can do about that, and I would certainly not argue that everyone must take a vow of poverty and contribute everything to the poor. However, in my opinion of this moral question, a person who is well-to-do and spends lavish sums of money on pets instead of contributing to charity – I have recently heard of six-figure vet bills –is acting wrongly.


29 posted on 12/06/2006 1:00:14 PM PST by dsc
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 25 | View Replies]

To: dsc
If there are children in the world not receiving medical care, how can one justify spending huge sums on animals? or sports, or plasma TVs, or make-up, or steaks, or a new dress, or another pair of shoes, or a vacation, or a boat, or a second car, or cell phones, or cosmetic surgery, or fast food, or toys, or Christmas presents, etc. etc. etc.
30 posted on 12/06/2006 1:05:29 PM PST by Tokra (I think I'll retire to Bedlam.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: null and void

I think my old sweetie pie Max has Alzheimers. Hes about 14, but he keeps acting like he hasn't done something that he just did!


31 posted on 12/06/2006 1:08:11 PM PST by dforest
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: dsc

It's the question I asked my husband and daughter recently when we rushed our new kitten to the vet hospital. We found a darling little kitten in our back yard and adopted it. The vet noticed he had a head tilt and several weeks later he looked as though he was in convulsions or something similar. I decided to pay for an emergency vet visit to see if something simple could be done. When we got there, a CT Scan was recommended. When I asked cost, I was told probably around $1,500. I told the vet that very frankly, while there were starving children in the world, we would not spend that money on a cat, beloved tho he was. There was nothing else she could do and she said she thought he would die within several days. It's been three months and we still have him. He does have some kind of neurological damage and so we don't know what his exact problem is or what his prognosis is. We've decided to enjoy him for as long as he has (which will hopefully be many, many years). However, we do spend money on the cat and even got another one (another stray). But we do set limits and try to be both reasonable and moral.


32 posted on 12/06/2006 1:09:25 PM PST by twigs
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 10 | View Replies]

To: indylindy

ALL males do that, Indy, especially human ones! :)


33 posted on 12/06/2006 1:09:48 PM PST by derllak
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 31 | View Replies]

To: derllak

God love ya. I was wondering if someone would think I was talking about my hubby. Thanks for the humor!


34 posted on 12/06/2006 1:11:25 PM PST by dforest
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 33 | View Replies]

To: twigs

"But we do set limits and try to be both reasonable and moral."

I think that's about all you can ask of people.


35 posted on 12/06/2006 1:11:31 PM PST by dsc
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 32 | View Replies]

To: null and void

Cats need a holistic diet of raw meat and cooked vegetables at other times with lots of antioxidants added to the diet. Cat need meat but not that chemicalised commercial crap. I put my dog on a home cooked/raw diet and her doggie cataracts have cleared up and her coat looks great. My sister does a neem oil flea dip at a fraction of the cost of a vet.


36 posted on 12/06/2006 1:12:17 PM PST by cyborg (No I don't miss the single life at all.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 1 | View Replies]

To: cyborg

Our new kitten has signs of fleas. How does your sister do her flea dip?


37 posted on 12/06/2006 1:15:37 PM PST by twigs
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 36 | View Replies]

To: indylindy

Rofl! ;)


38 posted on 12/06/2006 1:16:30 PM PST by derllak
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 34 | View Replies]

To: CaliGangsta
CATS had alzheimer's? That would explain his bizarre use of the English language. "All your base..." ROTFLMAO.
39 posted on 12/06/2006 1:16:53 PM PST by Spyder
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 7 | View Replies]

To: twigs

I'll get the recipe from her and freepmail it. The vet told her this is a very bad season for fleas. First time Sophie has had this many fleas. I love cats and want to get one from the kitty pound.


40 posted on 12/06/2006 1:17:36 PM PST by cyborg (No I don't miss the single life at all.)
[ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 37 | View Replies]


Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first previous 1-2021-4041-6061-80 ... 201-203 next last

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.

Free Republic
Browse · Search
General/Chat
Topics · Post Article

FreeRepublic, LLC, PO BOX 9771, FRESNO, CA 93794
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson