The post Why Is My Cat’s Primordial Pouch So Big? Normal vs Abnormally Large (Vet Verified) by Chris Dinesen Rogers appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com. Click to Skip Ahead Purposes of the Primordial Pouch Pouch or Fat? Treating Obesity Maybe you first noticed it when you watched your cat dart around the room. You saw a seemingly large flap of skin near their hind end sway back and forth. You immediately panic, thinking your kitty is dangerously obese. What else could explain it? Rest assured; the chances are your pet isn’t abnormal. Instead, it’s a normal body feature that is widespread among feline species, both domestic and wild. The primordial pouch may look strange because it’s not present in dogs. Besides, we associate a healthy weight with a sleek form. The primordial pouch goes against the norm. After all, you probably want to avoid excess abdominal fat yourself, let alone see it in your pet. Despite being normal, when is a big primordial pouch too big? The Probable Purposes of the Primordial Pouch Our cats are more in touch with their wild side than dogs. They even look like their ancestor, the African wild cat (Felis silvestris lybica). Understanding the purpose of the primordial pouch involves considering how it may have benefited wild felines. Three probable theories exist. One possible explanation is food storage. Felines aren’t as successful at hunting as you may think. Black-footed cats (Felis nigripes) are the best felines at 60%. With speed on their side, Cheetahs bring home food in 58% of their attempts. Your kitty comes in at a measly 32%. It makes evolutionary sense to be able to store food if you do manage to catch something since it might be a while. Another hypothesis is that the primordial pouch helps cats run faster with greater flexibility to chase prey. Some domestic cats are mousers with no pressure to change their ways. That can explain why it still exists in modern-day felines. They are built for speed, with the Guinness World Record at roughly 30 miles per hour for an Egyptian Mau. Being fast comes in handy for pets that still hunt mice and other prey. Finally, another theory provides a simpler explanation. Extra padding is, well, extra padding to protect the animal’s internal organs. Felines have many ways to avoid costly conflicts with olfactory, auditory, and visual communication. Having a primordial pouch can be part of their last-resort adaptations for survival. Its site doesn’t impede the cat’s movement, making it a reasonable compromise. Note that the primordial pouch is more noticeable in some breeds, such as the Pixiebob. The official breed standard even references it. Many others don’t even mention it unless it’s integral to the animal’s conformation. Image Credit: COULANGES, Shutterstock Pouch or Fat? We must revisit this part of the question since there seems to be a limit to the structure’s usefulness. A cat’s pouch typically starts developing around 6 months, which is about the time the animal reaches sexual maturity. That supports a survival function for the primordial pouch in case of conflict. But when is a primordial pouch considered fat? Your pet’s body condition can provide the answer. Your cat’s body should have a well-defined waist when viewed from overhead, and the pouch only flaps because the skin is loose. On the other hand, fat feels solid and covers the entire body. It isn’t confined to the rear of the animal, giving them a rounder shape overall. Because of this excess layer, you may find it hard to palpate your cat’s ribs. Their pouch will also feel more firm or squishy as opposed to loose and floppy. You are free to use this image but we do require you to link back to Catster.com for credit Treating Obesity Being overweight or obese carries serious health risks for cats and people. The problems are similar, which isn’t surprising considering we share 90% of our DNA with our feline companions. They include heightened chances of developing diabetes, arthritis, and heart disease. Of course, prevention is the best solution. However, if your kitty is overweight, you must take action to improve the animal’s health and quality of life. Drastic dietary changes aren’t the answer. Crash diets don’t work any better on our pets than us. Lifestyle changes that gradually decrease caloric intake are the best way to manage this condition. You must monitor your cat’s intake, taking free-feeding off the table. Exercise can also help. Weight loss diets can help your kitty feel sated even though they’re consuming fewer calories. Felines are obligate carnivores, which gives you an edge with high-protein foods that satisfy these dietary needs. We also recommend limiting treats to no more than 10% of your pet’s caloric intake. Like their food, count or measure how much your cat gets. A 10-pound feline only needs 200 calories daily. You can also use treats as training aids to encourage desirable behavior. It’s all about timing and creating positive associations. We also recommend using treats interactively. Place them under toys or behind objects to make them look for their rewards. It will provide valuable mental stimulation and enrichment. It replicates how they would find food in the wild, where little comes for free. Every pet is unique in their nutritional needs, so we recommend reaching out to your vet for advice. Speak To a Vet Online From the Comfort of Your Couch! If you need to speak with a vet but can’t get to one, head over to PangoVet. It’s an online service where you can talk to a vet online and get the personalized advice you need for your pet — all at an affordable price! Click to Speak With a Vet Final Thoughts Your cat’s primordial pouch is a holdover from the past where it may have served several vital purposes. It exists with all felines to varying degrees, even the king of the jungle. We’d be hard-pressed to call a lion overweight, so it must have some survival value. It only becomes a red flag when it’s not floppy but solid and non-moving. That may signal weight gain, which you should manage promptly. Sources https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Felis_silvestris/ https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.1410083111 https://www.livescience.com/cats-primordial-pouch.html https://www.discoverwildlife.com/animal-facts/mammals/hunting-success-rates-how-predators-compare https://www.guinnessworldrecords.com/world-records/411760-fastest-breed-of-domestic-cat https://www.tica.org/phocadownload/pb.pdf https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Felis_catus/ https://wsava.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/Body-Condition-Score-cat-updated-August-2020.pdf https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2045150/ https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/liver-disease-fatty-liver-syndrome-in-cats https://www.livescience.com/53466-carnivore.html https://www.petobesityprevention.org/pet-caloric-needs   Featured Image Credit: Phrakrit Juntawong, Shutterstock The post Why Is My Cat’s Primordial Pouch So Big? Normal vs Abnormally Large (Vet Verified) by Chris Dinesen Rogers appeared first on Catster. Copying over entire articles infringes on copyright laws. You may not be aware of it, but all of these articles were assigned, contracted and paid for, so they aren't considered public domain. However, we appreciate that you like the article and would love it if you continued sharing just the first paragraph of an article, then linking out to the rest of the piece on Catster.com.

It’s genuinely amazing how quickly one’s whole life can change.Seven years ago, I was in my 14th year as chief of the Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychology at the University of Louisville in Kentucky. I’d worked with many dedicated colleagues to build a strong and respected program. My prior three annual evaluations featured perfect marks, and I’d been blessed with many warm accolades from my students and fellow physicians. That fall, I spoke at an event sponsored by The Heritage Foundation focusing on a straightforward and timely question: How best to treat children diagnosed with gender dysphoria (i.e., boys who wonder whether they’re girls, and girls who wonder whether they’re boys).As a medical professional who cares about my patients, my answer was simple, obvious, and innocuous. We must start by finding out the cause of the child’s “transgender” confusion and resolving any emotional problems before considering more invasive, risky treatments.It seemed a reasonable enough response. According to the scientific method, every study begins with questions. One of the first is: “Why?” If a patient complains of chest pain, a heart doctor tries to determine what’s causing the pain, exploring several possibilities before confirming a diagnosis and commencing treatment. Dr. Allan M. Josephson (Photo courtesy of Alliance Defending Freedom) That is, and always has been, Medicine 101.But in the days following my remarks, no one asked whether my suggestion made sense or about my experience and observations in dealing with children who suffer dysphoria. Instead, people leapt to conclusions about my stance on transgender issues.Quickly, red flags went up on campus. Officials at the LGBT Center initiated a campaign to have me punished. Some colleagues became upset. People suddenly noticed that I had served as an expert witness in cases where school officials were opening showers, restrooms, and locker rooms to students based on their professed gender identity, rather than their biological sex. Professionally speaking, I had strong reservations about such transgender policies and said so. More red flags: Some faculty demanded that I apologize for my views on transgender issues—but they didn’t say to whom. Others remained silent, knowing which way the cultural winds were blowing. I was stunned to realize I was actually being punished for doing what I was paid to do; namely, think and speak.But unfortunately, many professors have found themselves in similar predicaments over the years. The University of Illinois fired Kenneth Howell for sharing the Catholic Church’s teachings on same-sex marriage—in a class on Catholicism. The University of North Carolina at Wilmington denied Mike Adams a promotion for writing conservative political columns on his own time. Shawnee State University punished Nicholas Meriwether for not referring to a male student as a woman, with feminine titles and pronouns.Tolerance—a word these universities frequently profess—must, by definition, be a two-way street. But in modern academia, those who won’t conform to left-wing politics are mostly being run off the road. Just weeks after I spoke at The Heritage Foundation, I was demoted from my role as division chief. After that, I was ostracized, stripped of my teaching duties, and subjected to other forms of hostility. And about a year later, the university refused to renew my contract—in effect, firing me. That was after 14 successful years rebuilding and leading the division, three years with perfect reviews, no disruptions in the division’s work, and no problems recruiting new faculty.I wasn’t fired for poor management, teaching, or unprofessional conduct. The university ended my career because I elected not to surf the current wave of social activism, because I expressed views—supported by scientific literature and clinical experience—that the university found politically incorrect, and because, in my case, activism trumped academic thought, the search for the truth, and the well-being of patients.Worse still, by what it did to me, our university communicated to students and faculty things that should be unthinkable in higher education: “Don’t ask questions or listen to anyone with a different point of view.” Those are about the worst possible lessons we can impress upon those who will one day lead our communities or care for vulnerable patients.The good news is a growing number of courts and experts are recognizing the truth of what I said seven years ago. Recent studies in the United Kingdom have raised serious questions about how doctors and psychologists are treating children with gender dysphoria, and American courts have affirmed the school privacy policies I defended, in the face of transgender activism. Happily, the courts are also recognizing how unjustly I was treated. Last year, in a case I filed against University of Louisville officials through my attorneys with Alliance Defending Freedom over the violation of my constitutional rights and seeking reinstatement of my position with back pay, a federal district court ruled a jury should hear my claims. And on Sept. 10, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 6th Circuit agreed. The court wrote: “Josephson has shown that he engaged in protected speech when he spoke as part of the Heritage Foundation panel. Defendants should have known that Josephson’s speech was protected and that retaliating against Josephson for his speech would violate his First Amendment rights.”The 6th Circuit recognized what the University of Louisville does not; namely, that under our Constitution, all of us—professors or not—should be free to speak our professional and personal views without fear of punishment or retaliation.We publish a variety of perspectives. Nothing written here is to be construed as representing the views of The Daily Signal. The post What a Federal Appeals Court Gets—but the University of Louisville Doesn’t—on Transgender Issues appeared first on The Daily Signal.

FIRST ON THE DAILY SIGNAL—A school district in North Carolina spent more than $3,000 on two hours of training in “implicit bias” for its school board members last year, according to documents obtained by Parents Defending Education through a public records request and shared with The Daily Signal. The Wake County Public School System gave $3,038 for the training to the organization “WE ARE,” which stands for Working to Extend Anti-Racist Education, according to a contract dated Nov. 14, 2023. Goals for the training were for participating board members to “recognize and challenge their own biases,” “move beyond individual bigotry and bias to a structural and institutional analysis of racism,” and “make historical connections between education & systemic racism.” Of the total, $2,500 went toward the “two-hour training workshop on implicit bias for the Board of Education.” Another $500 went to two hours of “preparation/planning time,” and $38 was for a “travel fee for one hour.” Four out of the nine school board members who received the “anti-racism” training appear to be minorities. WE ARE, the group the Wake County school district paid for the training, also offers $300 summer camps for first through fifth graders, professional development for educators, and workshops for parents and families. “At WE ARE, we’re committed to dismantling systemic racism in education by collaborating with children, families, and educators to create anti-racist, culturally affirming learning spaces,” the group’s Facebook fundraising page says. Contributors to the organization include Durham Public Schools, ice cream brand Ben & Jerry’s, and The Starbucks Foundation. WE ARE “reimagines educational systems so that all children, particularly Black and Brown, can exist in spaces that affirm their identity and dignity, promote their educational advancement, and support their social and emotional well-being,” the organization’s website says. Ronda Taylor Bullock, co-founder and “lead curator” of WE ARE, signed the contract on behalf of the organization. “Her research interests are critical race theory, whiteness studies, white children’s racial identity construction, and anti-racism,” according to Bullock’s bio on the website. Her husband, Daniel Kelvin Bullock, is listed as WE ARE’s deputy director and “truth teller.” Daniel Bullock’s “research interests include equity in education, critical race theory, culturally responsive teaching, anti-racist education, social studies education, and social justice project-based learning.” WE ARE did not respond to The Daily Signal’s request for comment for this report. Schools should not be using taxpayer dollars to fund so-called anti-racism education, Michele Exner, senior adviser at the parental rights group Parents Defending Education, told The Daily Signal. “Race baiters are making lucrative salaries because school districts are dishing out thousands of dollars—funded by taxpayers—to push this divisive content in schools,” Exner said. “Once again, it is parents and students who are on the losing end. Schools must prioritize learning, not toxic agendas that do nothing to help children learn.”  The post EXCLUSIVE: North Carolina School District Spends $3K for ‘Implicit Bias’ Training appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Sen. Roger Marshall, R-Kansas, has accused ABC News of partiality and left-leaning bias during the recent presidential debate, saying that Kamala Harris’ campaign may have “inappropriately influenced the proceedings” against Donald Trump.   In a letter Wednesday, the senator demanded that ABC release all pre-debate communication and coordination with the Harris campaign, saying the public deserves “transparency” and “accountability” from the mainstream media.   “I demand that you make public all correspondence, records, and potential coordination between the Harris campaign and ABC News ahead of the Sept. 10 ABC debate,” Marshall wrote to ABC News President Almin Karamehmedovic. “I also request you publish all ABC News texts and emails, both between ABC employees themselves and with the Harris campaign to elucidate any potential biases that ABC News employees may have demonstrated prior to the debate between President Trump and Vice President Harris,”  he wrote. The Kansas Republican highlighted the fact that Dana Walden, co-chairman of Disney Entertainment, who oversees ABC News, has donated money to Harris political campaigns since 2003.  Walden first met Harris in 1994, although their husbands have known each other since the 1980s, The New York Times reported.  In more recent years, Walden also contributed to Harris, according to Open Secrets.    Marshall endorsed Trump for president in November after supporting him during his previous term.  In his letter, Marshall says that one tactic creating bias in the debate hosted by ABC News was the “excessive fact-checking” of Trump by moderators David Muir and Linsey Davis, even as they allowed Harris to “avoid answering questions directly.”   “Specifically relating to ABC News, independent media watchdogs, such as AllSides, have characterized the media as displaying a left-leaning bias that moderately aligns with ‘liberal, progressive, or left-wing thought and/or policy agendas,’” Marshall wrote.   Marshall also brings up recent polling showing Americans have become more skeptical of bias in the so-called mainstream media.   “Only 3 in 10 residents of six of the most important states in this year’s presidential election trust that the media will fairly and accurately report political news,” he wrote.   During the 2020 presidential election, a Gallup poll found increased distrust of mainstream media among Americans.   Mark Penn, former top adviser to former President Bill Clinton and his wife Hillary Clinton, whom Trump defeated in 2016, last week called for a review of all internal communications at ABC News to find out if the news division planned on “rigging” the debate’s outcome, according to Just the News.   Besides Karamehmedovic, Marshall addressed his letter to Julie Chávez Rodriguez, manager of the Harris campaign.  Neither ABC News nor the Harris campaign responded to The Daily Signal’s request for comment by publication time.   The post Kansas Senator Suggests ABC News ‘Rigged’ Debate to Hurt Trump  appeared first on The Daily Signal.

WaPo PA Poll: Harris Won Debate, but It's Still Tied

A Florida man camped out with a Louisville Slugger bat and a beer in order to catch an alleged "peeping Tom" who had been harassing his neighborhood for over a year. Flagler County deputies say that the dad had caught a man trying to get a look at his 14-year-old daughter at their home in Palm Coast. 'So, my husband came up and was like, "Surprise, [expletive]," and then whacked him with the bat.' The victim's mother told WESH-TV that they had seen the man a day before her husband chased him. “My cat started to get a little squirrely, so I peeked out and saw a huge silhouette with bright, white shoes. So, my husband got up and chased him, but by the time he got all together, he was way down the road,” the woman said. Feeling protective of his daughter, the husband sat in a lawn chair outside with a bat and some beverages to see if he returned. His wife says he did return. “Who comes back two nights in a row after being busted? But he did," she said. "He came sneaking around the house, came right up to my daughter’s window." She says some of the interaction was caught on a neighbor's Ring doorbell camera. "And he cupped his hands around his eyes and was looking in. So, my husband came up and was like, ‘Surprise, [expletive],’ and then whacked him with the bat. Then, he ran,” she continued. Surveillance video showed the man chasing the alleged peeper and yelling at neighbors to call police. "Where are you going, boy?!" the dad yells on the video. "Come here! Come here! I got somethin' for you!" Police identified the suspect as Damon Smith and were able to arrest him. He was held on $86,000 bond on charges of loitering, voyeurism, and aggravated stalking of a person under 16. WESH reported that Smith was arrested when he was 18 years old for making a bomb threat at a school. Sheriff Rick Staly commended the father for protecting his family. He believes Smith matches the classic description of a sex offender escalating his activities. Video from the scene and the surveillance camera can be watched on the news report from WESH on YouTube. Like Blaze News? Bypass the censors, sign up for our newsletters, and get stories like this direct to your inbox. Sign up here!

Prosecutor Trying to Jail Texas Children's Hospital Whistleblower Has TX Law License SUSPENDED

SHOCKER: Released Air Force Docs Describe DEI Effort to Reduce White Males in Officer Training Program

Hezbollah Chief Vows 'Just Retaliation' for Pager Explosions As IDF Runs Dozens of Air Strikes in Lebanon

Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Calif., grilled Brendan Carr, senior Republican on the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), about his stance on revoking ABC's broadcast license during a House Oversight Committee hearing Thursday.