The post Why Is My Cat Chewing on Nothing and Purring? Our Vet Discusses Possible Reasons by Dr. Joe Mallat DVM (Veterinarian) 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. Cat behavior is a complex world. On the one hand, cats are extremely intelligent animals that seem to empathize with us; they reflect our need for both social time and private time, and this is one of the reasons why we love having them as part of the family. On the other hand, they sometimes demonstrate bizarre behaviors that defy explanation. Some cats have a tendency to chew, even when not eating. They might also be purring while they do this. Below are four vet-verified reasons for cats “chewing on nothing”. The 4 Reasons Why Cats Chew on Nothing and Purr 1. Pain Pain is a common cause of excessive chewing in cats, even when not eating. In fact, most cats will continue to eat food with a sore mouth. However, chewing while not eating can be a sign that there is discomfort in the mouth. The chewing behavior is a cat’s effort to alleviate pain—think of it as rubbing a sore spot. Common causes of oral pain in cats include dental disease, broken teeth, tumors, and ingestion of chemical substances. 2. Stress or Boredom Some cats chew on nothing as a result of anxiety or stress. Over the past couple of decades, vets and cat owners have become more aware of feline stress. We know that cats are highly sensitive creatures, often independent, with a desire for routine. Some cats are stressed by the presence of other cats, young children, or excessive noise. Other cats are anxious as a result of previous trauma or experiences. Regardless, stress can result in chewing and purring behaviors, which might be thought of as a cat’s equivalent to biting the nails. Image Credit: Mariia Romanyk, Shutterstock 3. Chattering Chattering refers to the shuttering of the teeth, sometimes accompanied by vocalization. This behavior is completely normal, and nothing to worry about. We believe that cats chatter when they are watching a potential prey species such as a bird. While it may be hard to imagine, your cat has hunting instincts somewhere within them. One theory proposes that cats chatter to mimic the sound of the bird, enabling them to sneak up on the bird (if there isn’t a window in the way). 4. Habit Some cats will chew and purr out of habit. In other words, there may be no pain, no stress, and no prey species in sight—chewing and purring can be normal behavior, if it is infrequent and short-lived. Additionally, if cats have chewed on nothing as a result of pain or stress, it can be hard to eradicate this behavior, even after the pain and stress are corrected. Image Credit: Frau aus UA, Shutterstock Conclusion If your cat’s chewing is a new behavior, but he or she seems otherwise completely fine, it’s reasonable to adopt a “watch and wait” approach. If you have noticed any drooling, loss of appetite, or other signs of being unwell, it’s certainly worth arranging a visit to your veterinarian. The vet will be able to check for any signs of pain or disease, as well as discuss stress and feline behavior with you. Sources https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/how-do-i-know-if-my-cat-is-in-pain https://www.petmd.com/cat/behavior/signs-cat-is-stressed   Featured Image Credit: Liz Creative Studios, Shutterstock The post Why Is My Cat Chewing on Nothing and Purring? Our Vet Discusses Possible Reasons by Dr. Joe Mallat DVM (Veterinarian) 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.

While box office disappointment is not necessarily a reflection on the quality of a motion picture, it is surprising to discover a really inspiring movie that initially failed to win over audiences. It is easy for films with a lot of heart to be labeled corny or overly sentimental, which can be one of the […] The post 10 Big Screen Flops That Are Surprisingly Inspiring appeared first on Listverse.

Do you know where your name came from? If you go by one of the ten names on this list, you’re about to find out that the inspiration behind your name isn’t so great. Sure, some names are pretty obvious and even uniquely positive regarding where they came from. Take the Spanish-language names Angel and […] The post 10 Common Names with Surprisingly Unsettling Inspirations appeared first on Listverse.

Health care can be more affordable when medical doctors don’t take health insurance, two doctors say. Dr. Josh Umbehr and Dr. Jules Madrigal join this episode of “The Daily Signal Podcast” to discuss health care reform opportunities that would give patients control over their experience. “We need to make health care more affordable in the first place so that we don’t need to insure those things,” Umbehr told The Daily Signal. “And when doctors like us pull away from insurance,” he added, “you start to find new business models, new solutions.” “Both of us either can charge a fee for service—so whatever the patient needs at the time they need it—or [use] a membership model like a gym or like Netflix,” Umbehr said. Listen to the full interview here: The post Health Insurance Can Raise Prices of Care, These 2 Doctors Say appeared first on The Daily Signal.

Once again, CNN summoned Daniel Dale for a fact-check of a presidential speech. And, once again, Dale showed his reluctance to fact-check Joe Biden- choosing to check economic data instead of some of the incendiary and easily refutable hoaxes amplified during his DNC swan song. Watch Dale’s meek fact-check of Biden: CNN DEMOCRATIC NATIONAL CONVENTION 8/20/24 12:51 AM JAKE TAPPER: Let's bring in CNN Senior Reporter Daniel Dale for a fact check of tonight’s speeches. Daniel, I guess let's start with the president. What did you make of it? DANIEL DALE: There were certainly some false or misleading claims there, especially on the subject of the economy. I want you to listen to something he said on the subject of US imports and exports. JOE BIDEN: We used to import products and export jobs. Now we export American products and create American jobs. Right here in America. Where jobs belong.  DALE: This claim is misleading. Jake, US exports of goods have increased under president Biden. So far, so good with that claim. But contrary to the other part of that claim, we are still importing a whole lot of stuff, too. What he didn't mention is that US imports have increased during his presidency, increased, not decreased. In fact, increased by more than exports have increased. So therefore, the trade deficit in goods has increased under President Biden, not declined as this claim suggested. It was over $1 trillion in each of his first three years in office. It had never hit that level before. I also want to play something else he said on the subject of the economy in the budget. This is something he said about billionaires and tax rates. BIDEN: We have 1,000 billionaires in America. You know what their average tax rate they pay? 8.2%! DALE: I've called this misleading before. It's still misleading. An expert at the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center has told me this number is quote, “way too low”. Now he said the average federal tax rate for billionaires is 8.2%. What he doesn't explain is that that number is not an actual tax rate. What it is is an alternative calculation from economists in his own administration that factors in unrealized capital gains that are not actually treated as taxable income under current law. And there's nothing wrong with using an alternative figure when you explain it as The White House does, but Biden himself uses it like it's a tax rate under current law, it's not. So what, Jake, do tax rate- what tax rate do billionaires actually pay? A precise figure is not publicly known at the moment, but a study from two well-known economists estimated that the top 400 households paid an average effective tax rate of 23% in 2018, much higher than the president's number. TAPPER: All right, Daniel Dale. Thank you so much. This fact-check was tonally very deferential to Biden. Compare that with his fact-check of Donald Trump at the RNC, whose claims he dismissed as “nonsense”.  Dale’s biggest omissions here are the most egregious: by checking Biden on tax and economic data, he allows him to skate on both the “Very Fine People Hoax” and the “Bloodbath Hoax”, both of which have been very thoroughly debunked. As we noted during the RNC: Let’s face it: CNN lured Daniel Dale away from the Toronto Star, with promises of flat bacon and access to on-demand MRIs, for the sole purpose of fact-checking Republicans generally, and Donald Trump specifically. And it is broadly understood that the fact-checking industry is little more than a partisan hack operation performing comms and smearing the opposition.   There is just no interest, real interest, in fact-checking Democrats beyond the pro forma bare minimum.  Note, also, that Tapper’s introduction implied there would be other fact-checks. That didn’t happen. Which means that Congressman Robert García’s repetition of the “Drinking Bleach Hoax”, also echoed by Chris Wallace, went unchecked. It turns out that, when it comes to fact-checking, there’s a (D)ifference.  

An archeology student has discovered a hoard of seven silver arm rings dating to the Viking Age just north of Aarhus, Denmark. Gustav Bruunsgaard found the hoard while metal detecting earlier this year in a field near Elsted where traces of a Viking settlement have been discovered in the past. First he found one silver bangle, then returned to find another six. Experts date the arm rings to around 800 A.D., the dawn of the Viking Era (793-1066 A.D.). The bracelet group weighs about a pound in total, and bracelets like these were used as currency and for trade. Most of them were likely made in Denmark, or at least in southern Scandinavia. The one coiled ring is of a type that originally came from Russia or Ukraine, which has since been imitated in the Nordics. The three band-shaped, stamped rings are of a South Scandinavian type that inspired bangles in Ireland, where they became very common. The three smooth bangles are rare, but are known from Scandinavia and England. “The Elsted farm treasure is a fantastically interesting find from the Viking Age, which connects Aarhus with Russia and Ukraine in the east and the British Isles in the west. In this way, the find emphasizes how Aarhus was a central hub in the Viking world, which went all the way from the North Atlantic to Asia,” says Kasper H. Andersen, Ph.D. and historian at Moesgaard Museum. Archaeological objects, including coins, that have historical value and/or are made of precious metals are legally property of the Danish state. By law, anyone who acquires any such materials must report them to the authorities and immediately cede them to the National Museum. The museum then compensates the finder an amount determined by the value, rarity and significance of the object. The silver arm rings are currently on display at the Moesgaard Museum and will be handed over to the National Museum after the exhibition.

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