Pets & Veterinary Medicine

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, can live in groups, and communicate both with other cats... Read more

One fungus, two species, millions of dead bats: A study published in the journal Nature has analyzed 5,000 samples of a fungus that is responsible for the largest recorded pathogen-caused mortality in mammals. An international team of researchers, led by a doctoral candidate at the University of Greifswald, produced the... Read more

Scientists from the University of Portsmouth's Center for Comparative and Evolutionary Psychology have created the first anatomically-based descriptions (ethogram) of equine facial behavior, mapping how horses use their faces to communicate emotions like playfulness, aggression, curiosity, and attention.... Read more

Cats spend longer sniffing the odor of a stranger than that of their owner, suggesting that they can identify familiar humans based on smell alone, according to a study published in the open-access journal PLOS One by Yutaro Miyairi and colleagues at Tokyo University of Agriculture, Japan.... Read more

For blind dogs, everyday life can become an obstacle course of collisions and confusion. Traditional solutions, like rigid "halo" frames and Elizabethan cones, can be bulky and uncomfortable, making it harder for pets to socialize and play.... Read more

As owners humanize their pets and prove more willing to pay a premium for foods labeled to address pet health, a new study explores which pet health concerns bring the highest prices.... Read more

Can goats help each other? A new study by the Research Institute of Farm Animal Biology (FBN) in Dummerstorf in collaboration with colleagues from the University of Veterinary Medicine Vienna suggests that goats exhibit prosocial behavior—i.e. they are willing to help others without direct self-benefit. This could make an important... Read more

Many of us as children may have wondered what's going on inside the mind of an animal—what are they thinking and feeling? Most animal researchers study science because of their fascination with animals, but for a long time scientific norms made it impossible to even raise the question of animal... Read more

Birth rates are declining worldwide, while dog parenting practices are gaining popularity. What does this growing "furry children" trend reveal about our societies?... Read more

A pair of studies from North Carolina State University looked for biomarkers and genetic markers of a syndrome associated with skull malformations common in Cavalier King Charles spaniels (CKCS) and other toy breeds. The findings could lead to better targeted therapeutics for symptoms as well as potential genetic targets for... Read more

The bond between Amy Amos and her 9-year-old bullmastiff, Phina, runs deep.... Read more

Cats have a long history with humans, going back more than 9,000 years. Attracted to human settlements by the rodents that plagued (sometimes literally) our ancestors, cats ingratiated themselves as useful mousers and slowly domesticated themselves.... Read more

Scientists have confirmed that there is something unique about ginger-hued domestic felines. In a new study, Stanford Medicine researchers have discovered the long-posited but elusive genetic mutation that makes orange cats orange—and it appears to occur in no other mammal.... Read more

Dog vaccination programs are a highly effective way to control and, ultimately, eliminate rabies; however, new research has shown just how detrimental geographical gaps in vaccine coverage can be for virus control.... Read more

What do chickens and people with a common reproductive disorder have in common? More than one might think—and a widely-used diabetes medication might just be the surprising link.... Read more