If you come down with the swine flu, it's best you not snuggle up with your feline friend. Why? Because now it appears that the virus is jumping species. Health officials in Iowa say that a 13-year-old cat tested positive for swine flu, and is now the first feline to come down with the virus.

Officials say that two of the three people living with the cat had the flu before the cat got sick, and are now cautioning people to protect family pets as they would protect anyone else.

Iowa vet David Schmitt says:

"Indoor pets that live in close proximity to someone who has been sick are at risk. It is wise to monitor their health to ensure they aren't showing signs of illness."

If your cat shows signs of flu-like illness - including runny nose, sluggishness, and troubled breathing - vets advise you to call your pet's doctor.

Usain Bolt, a World and Olympic sprint champion, adopted a cheetah in Kenya on Monday for about $13,700. He was at first reluctant to hold the orphaned cheetah, which he has named Lightning Bolt, but eventually he got over his fear and even fed the 3-month old some milk.

Bolt said that he has no plans to race the cheetah, but will be paying about $3,000 for its annual upkeep. He said:

“This is my first time in Africa, and of course in Kenya. I’ve had a lot of experiences, and a lot of animals have scared the crap out of me, but I am ok now.”

On Monday Bolt had some other close encounters with the animals of Africa. While riding in a car with CEO his sponsor, Puma AG, Jochen Zeitz in Naivasha, their vehicle came too close to a baby elephant and was shooed away by an adult. Bolt also got a bit of a scare when Kenyan Prime Minster Raila Odinga cuddled two lion cubs he had just adopted. He also nearly ran away when he was asked to pet a fully grown cheetah for a photo shoot with the PM. He had Zeitz stand in for him until he saw that the animal seemed harmless.

Join PAWS on Saturday November 14, 2009 for their 2nd Annual Reverse Raffle and Silent Auction. The event will be at St. Michael's Woodside Party Center. ( 5025 East Mill Road, Broadview Hts.) Tickets are $75.00/person or $130.00/couple.

The night will include a fabulous dinner, a DJ, silent auction prizes, and a chance to win the $1,500 grand prize! Dinner will be hot and cold hors d'oeuvres, rolls, salad, buffet dinner and three main entree selections, side dishes and dessert. Complimentary beer and soda all evening with complimentary wine until 7 pm.

Purchase your tickets at http://pawsohio.org.

On a tip from a loyal reader we were told to visit the Cleveland area reptile show that is held monthly at the UAW Hall in Brook Park across from the Ford Motor plant. The show is run by Rob and Amy Zerkle who are from the Columbus area and started the gathering for a place where breeders can sell their animals and educate people about caring for their animals. The show is in its fourth year and draws up 1,000 per day with the summer and fall months being the most popular time for attendees. The reptile show is also far reaching with exhibitors from several different states and people buying snakes and other reptiles coming in all the way from Canada at times.

The event costs $4 for entry. If you attend you will see snakes, turtles, lizards, equipment, and feeding supplies. Below is the dates and times of the upcoming shows which are held at 17250 Hummel Rd in Brook Park and is right off of Henry Ford Blvd. The show starts at

SEPT 6th
OCT 4th
NOV 15th
DEC 20th

Here is a video of the show that we shot earlier today that will give you a glimpse of what makes this event so popular among reptile lovers in the area.:

Despite little or no previous exposure to dogs, new research suggests that babies understand the meaning of different dog barks. At just 6 months old, infants can match the sounds of an angry snarl and a friendly yap to photos of dogs displaying threatening and welcoming body language.

These new findings come on the heels of a study from the same Brigham Young University lab that showed infants can detect mood swings in the music of Beethoven.

BYU psychology professor Ross Flom, lead author of the study, notes that while dogs and babies sound like a silly mix, these kinds of experiments help to understand how babies learn so rapidly. Well before they have mastered the art of speech, babies can respond to the tone of what is going on around them. Flom said, "Emotion is one of the first things babies pick up on in their social world."

During the experiment, the babies first saw two different pictures of the same dog - one in an aggressive pose and another in a friendly stance. Researchers then played in a random order sound clips of an aggressive and friendly dog bark. While the recordings were being played, the 6-month old babies spent most of their time staring at the appropriate picture. Older babies tended to make the connection instantly upon first glance.

Meet Ruby Puppy, one of four cloned pups that glow because they have genetic information from sea anemones, a breakthrough that scientists are hoping will aid in the study of human diseases. According to New Scientist Magazine, the dogs produce a protein that glows under ultraviolet light.

The first transgenic dog - called this because it has genes transferred from another speciies - was created by cloning and inserting cells expressing a red flourescent gene which is produced by sea anemones. They hope that it will eventually lead to transgenic dog models of human diseases.

One of the researchers involved with this project, CheMyong Ko of the University of Kentucky in Lexington, said:

"The next step for us is to generate a true disease model."

The team was lead by Byeong-Chun Lee of Seoul National University in South Korea. He was also a part of the 2005 scientific effort with stem cell researcher Woo Suk Hwang that created the first cloned dog.

As much as it sounds like one, this is not a joke. The over-zealous animal lovers over at the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, better known as PETA, are now campaigning to get the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to change the name of fish to "sea kittens".

PETA would like to change the name in order to improve the image of fish as a species.

On the PETA webpage entitled "Save the Sea Kittens!", PETA claims that "People don’t seem to like fish” and that “we’re going to start by retiring the old name for good.” They are urging their members to sign a petition that asks the US Fish and Wildlife Service to stop the "hunting of sea kittens (otherwise known as fishing)."

PETA makes the arguement that "Sea kittens are just as intelligent (not to mention adorable) as dogs and cats, and they feel pain just as all animals do."

The People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals are back in the headlines. This time the animal rights group is after pop star Britney Spears and her use of elephants and lions in her video for her song "Circus". PETA's Press Release Read:

Britney Spears has hit a sour note with PETA over the video for her new single "Circus," which uses cruelly trained lions and elephants even after PETA wrote to her and explained in graphic detail how trainers shock, whip, and beat exotic animals into performing. PETA has just posted an action alert and a special blog post on its popular Web site asking people to contact Spears and demand that she stop using exotic animals in her videos and concerts once and for all.

Non-native animals are destroying the habitat, and ravaging the continent's scarce water supply.

A study conducted by the Desert Knowledge Cooperative Research Centre in Australia's capital city of Canberra found that the country's one million feral camels are running wild in the desert, destroying precious water sources. Another study is recommending that livestock farmers switch from cows, sheep, and pigs to kangarooms because they expel less methane, a gas said to contribute to global warming.

In the report, Murray McGregor said, "Eat a camel today, I've done it. It's beautiful meat. It's a bit like beef. It's as lean as lean, it's an excellent health food."

Camels are not native to Australia, and were introduced to the continent as pack animals by European settlers in the 19th and early 20th centuries. However, as railways and roads spread across the continent, they were released into the wild. with no natural predators, these newcomes ate voraciously, destroying habitats and spreading disease.

Now, as water becomes even more scarce in Australia, they country is being forced to closely monitor their water supplies and look at any way to preserve even just a few extra drops of water.

The second oldest polar bear in captivity in North America - Snowball at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo - was found dead unexpectedly Friday morning. Snowball was 37-years-old, and died after breakfast, having shown no signs of illness.

The zoo has already conducted an autopsy, but does not suspect foul play or injury. Polar bears typically live 15 to 18 years in the wild, and into their 30's in captivity. The oldest polar bear in capativity was 41 at her home zoon in Winnipeg, Canada.

Snowball was one of three polar bears at the Cleveland zoo, and was considered a queen amongst the trio. She was captured in the Canadian province of Manitoba as a baby, and brought to Cleveland in 1971. Over the years, she had many cubs to multiple fathers.