Cat Facts

The gene in cats that causes the orange coat color is sexed linked, and is on the X sex chromosome. This gene may display orange or black. Thus, as female cat with two X chromosomes may have orange and black colors in its coat. A male, with only one X chromosome, can have only orange or black, not both. If a male cat is both orange and black it is ( besides being extremely rare ) sterile. To have both the orange and the black coat colors, the male cat must have all or part of both female X chromosomes. This unusual sex chromosome combination will render the male cat sterile.

Cat Facts

If left to her own devices, a female cat may have three to seven kittens every four months. This is why population control using neutering and spaying is so important.

Kittens are born with both eyes and ears closed. When the eyes open, they are always blue at first. They change color over a period of months to the final eye color.

Bird Facts

Huge flocks of starlings have disrupted military flights at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, where vast numbers of the birds roost in the thickly forested countryside. Building owners have Eugene Schieffler, an avid Shakespeare buff, to thank for the starling infestation. His goal was to introduce into the Western Hemisphere every bird mentioned in the works of William Shakespeare! He succeeded beyond his wildest dreams.

Sparrow Facts

Sparrows were introduced in North America in 1851 in Brooklyn, New York. Today they can be found everywhere from near the Arctic Circle to most populous countries.

There would be fewer sparrows if there were more hawks and owls. But the bigger birds have not adapted nearly as well to human proximity.