Just what the world needs, a cat that will hump your leg...
Geneticist Adil Pacheco took blood samples on Friday from three puppies in a poor neighbourhood in Passo Fundo in southern Brazil to settle a dispute over a claim they were born from a cat.
"It's rather simple really. If the puppies prove to have 78 chromosomes, they are dogs. If they have 38, they are cats," said Pacheco, director of the Institute of Biological Sciences of the University of Passo Fundo.
"But I seriously doubt they are feline. Every characteristic about them is canine."
Cassia Aparecida de Souza, 18, said her cat Mimi had given birth to the three puppies as well as three kittens, which did not survive. And she, her husband Rogerio Jorge da Silva, 26, and several others in the town believe a neighbourhood mut named Dog is the father of Mimi's pups.
When news of the spectacular claim spread in the Brazilian media, some local newspapers accused the poor couple, who are expecting their first child in a few months, of fraud and said they were simply trying to make money off a hoax.
"I feel indignant at such accusations," da Silva said.
Read on...
8 comments:
Sounds like they have a grudge against the dog owner and are trying to use this excuse to take it out them.
If a cat has only 38 chromosomes and a dog has 78, how are they supposed to reproduce? Where would the other 40 chromosomes come from?
"said her cat Mimi had given birth to the three puppies as well as three kittens, which did not survive." I'm a bit confused of on which 3 they said didn't survive since they included both puppies and kittens in that sentence.
http://nobleargon.blogspot.com/
OMG, I think I see a likeness of the Virgin Mary in the paw of that puppy in the first photo. It's a miracle.
The three kittens died. And I don't really understand about the chromosomes either. Why does a cat only have 38 and a dog 78? I don't know.
But it sounds to me like this couple is poor and, with a baby on the way, is either trying to scam some money, or perhaps they're just not too bright and because the cat is nursing the puppies, they actually think they belong to her.
But what I can't understand is why anyone is paying attention. It's not like this could really happen, even if the dog did mate with the cat, which is also unlikely. Otherwise, don't you think we'd have kuppies and pitties running all over the place?
All I know is, I WANT ONE!
Well then maybe it was the 3 kittens that didn't get enough of the chromosomes to survive since the 3 others took them all?
My wife brought up the subject of mules and horses being able to breed but most of the offspring are sterile because of it.
AFAIK different species have different number of chromosomes since they have different amounts of DNA sequences that have to be passed on to be able reproduce. It might have something to do with the amount of complexity of the DNA infomation needing to be passed on.
Okay, Argon, let a country girl give you the straight poop. A horse and a donkey can be bred. The result is a mule. All mules are sterile.
Lions and tigers interbreed, and the result is called a liger. But they are in the same species. I doubt if two different species interbreed.
Ok this is officially my favorite thread! I did not know all mules were sterile. And mules and donkeys are the same thing, yes? What other animals do this? I can’ think of any off the top of my head, but I haven’t had enough coffee yet.
As for DNA, Argon you said, “It might have something to do with the amount of complexity of the DNA information needing to be passed on.” I’m wondering why a cat would need fewer chromosomes than a dog then. A cat seems way more complex to me than a dog.
No, mules and donkeys are not the same thing. A mule is a cross between a horse and a donkey.
But a horse is a horse, of course of course...
Sorry, I'm channeling the spirit of Mr. Ed.
I liken a dog and a cat breeding to a cow and a horse. I just don't think it would ever happen.
Speaking of cows, have you seen where they've now bred a minature cow, so you can keep it in your yard like a dog? They're bred for pets not food.
I want one of them too!
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