News Briefs for the Week of March 31, 2002
By Marcella Durand for Cat Facts
- Do Cats Snore?
Most of us will readily admit to being woken up in the middle of the night by our husband's (or wife's) imitation of an oncoming locomotive, but by our cat's snoring? You don't mean that delicate little creature peacefully grooming herself on your bed right now? Alas, a new study conducted at the Mayo Clinic has found out the terrible truth: Of the people who say they allow their pet to sleep in the bedroom with them at night, snoring was reported in 21 percent of dogs and (gasp!) 7 percent of cats.
Nearly 60 percent of 157 patients allowed their pet to sleep with them in the bedroom at night. Cats were more likely to be allowed than dogs in the bedroom and on the bed. Fifty-three percent considered their sleep to be disrupted by their pets to some extent every night, but only 1 percent admitted that their snoozing was disrupted for more than 20 minutes per night, on average. "I suspect the degree of sleep disruption experienced may be significantly greater than the owners admit, but I have no objective data," says John Shepard, MD, medical director of the Mayo Clinic Sleep Disorders Center. Ah, but then, he didn't analyze how many owners were lulled to sleep in the first place by a warm purr in the ear and a nice furry weight on the toes!
- Library Cat Sued for Attacking Dog
Poor Kimba! Not only was this 50-pound Labrador Retriever-mix assistance dog whupped but good by a 12-pound library cat in November 2000, but his owner, Richard Espinosa, keeps dragging out his humiliation in public. A hearing in Espinosa's $1.5 million lawsuit against the city of Escondido, California, has been extended until April 18th. Determined that his pooch get a big payback for scratches to the nose and claw marks on the neck and chest, Espinosa has rejected a $1,500 settlement offer from the city (even though that amount would have covered, with change, Kimba's veterinary bill of $46.49). He says his civil rights and rights as a disabled person were violated (Kimba helps Espinosa with panic attacks and other health problems) by the presence of a cat in his local library.
While it seems highly doubtful that Espinosa will win the full amount he is seeking his lawsuit, someone has already suffered the fallout. The cat, L.C. (short for "library cat"), has been banished from the library-where he so valiantly protected precious pages from doggie drool-to a private home. However, a bit of L.C.'s protective presence remains, from afar, on the library's Web site at www.ci.escondido.ca.us/library/libinfo/lc.htm.
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