All the Creatures

Here is a lesson in words. I was recently asked by a child, what do you call a male cat? The answer was “tom” like in “a tom cat.” The child then asked me what do you call a female cat? My mind came up blank. Just like in chickens, the male is a rooster and the female a hen, cats also have that male and female name………so what DO you call a female cat?

My mind went racing. For almost every animal there is a female and male title as well as young and mature. For example a young, newborn horse is a foal. When they are just a few days old they take on the gender names of either a filly (female) or colt (male). Those titles stay until their sexual maturity changes. The colt might become a gelding (a neutered male) or a stallion. The filly will take on the name of mare at 3 years old unless she becomes a mother earlier at which time she becomes a mare when pregnant.

The gender titles really get mixed up when you get into the bovine family. Almost everyone wants to call them “cows” when in reality a cow is the female. A young cow is a heifer (female), a young bull (male) can be a steer (castrated male) or remain a bull. If you have a different breed of cattle used as draft animals, they are known as Ox then a steer is an Ox less than four years old. Ox, or Oxen are cattle that a trained to pull wagons. Almost all of them are castrated but bulls and cows are sometimes used.

So back to cats, what is a female cat called? The answer is a “molly” unless she has become a mother and then she has become a “queen.”

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I came upon these beautiful coins with wildlife on them:

The leopard is just gorgeous. I know almost nothing about these coins. The leopard one did have the year 2009 associated with it. If you buy gold coins then you might have some information on them. Leave a comment if you have some info on them. These coins are obviously minted strictly for collectors and investors.

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While showing animals in a show ring setting, you must wear the right attire that is the standard for that discipline. For horse shows, human attire is often laid out for exhibitors in the show standards set up by the show or the breed club. For dog shows it is more based on the current trends and practicality.

For the exhibitor showing a dog in a show, it is practical for the handler to wear semi casual dresses and flat shoes. For a man or boy a semi formal suit would do best. Current trends in handler clothing tend to follow the fashion of the day. That is the fashion set by handlers that are winning at the national level shows.

I have seen some of the most outlandish outfits at the smaller dog shows. I really don’t know what those exhibitors were thinking. Maybe their dogs were so bad, conformationally wise, they thought that they would distract the judges.

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