Dear Joan: I have a feral cat that is blue-gray. Can DNA show the full breed without papers?
_ Marilyn Carscadden, Bay Area
DEAR MARILYN: DNA testing for cats has only recently become available. There are so many breeds of dogs and organizations that have focused on pure breeds, that DNA testing had a wealth of historical data to draw upon. Cats, as we might suspect, are a little different.
The major breeds all descended from cats native to four geographical areas: the Arabian Sea (Sokoke), Eastern Mediterranean (Turkish angora and Turkish van), South Asia (ocicat, birman, Burmese, Havana brown, korat, Russian blue, Siamese, Singapura, and Australian mist) and Western Europe (Abyssinian, American shorthair, Bengal, British shorthair, chartreux, Cornish rex, Egyptian mau, exotic shorthair, Japanese bobtail, Maine coon, Manx, Norwegian forest cat, Persian, ragdoll, Scottish fold, Siberian and sphynx).
So, yes, a DNA test should determine the specific breed, which also can give you insight on whether the cat is genetically predisposed to certain illnesses or inherited traits. Veterinarians caution, however, that you should not use this information to make health decisions about your cat. Instead, use them as a guide for things to watch out for.
Dear Joan: We have been living in our little townhouse community for seven years now and this is the first time we're noticing something eating our outdoor potted plants.
I've had spider plants since the beginning and now I see something has chewed them up and chewed off the little plant-lets as well! Then yesterday I bought some beautiful purple superbells (Calibrachoa hybrid) and every purple flower was chewed off the next morning. Even my coleus was chewed up.
My basil however is untouched, my begonia is still lovely and my mint is fine.
My first guess is squirrels, which we've seen on our patio from time to time, but why all of a sudden are they eating our stuff? Could it be another creature?
_ Bonna Kauffman, Bay Area
Dear Bonna: If the damage is occurring overnight, I'd say the culprits are rats. Welcome to the club.
Rats have had a population boom in the past couple of years, thanks to the easing of the drought and an abundance of food and water. Now people who have never seen rats on their property are reporting them.
The uncomfortable truth is that rats are programmed to live near humans. It's not like they were living happily in the forest and were lured toward developed areas. They live wherever humans live, and while their populations can fluctuate, you are never that far from them.
Make sure you aren't encouraging them. Remove pet food and water sources, and clean up spilled birdseed. Rats don't care for some herbs, including peppermint, oregano and sage, and they don't like hot peppers. You can discourage the rodents' visits by growing these or sprinkling dried herbs and peppers around your other plants.
