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Reverting to dun

There is a discussion on another forum about horses' coats reverting to dun if they are left to go feral, I would have thought it was unlikely beyond some predator pressure pushing for a more neutral colour but someone says horses will revert to dun type colouring when they become feral. does anyone know about this? Any references?

Fledgesflight Mon, 08/24/2009 - 18:39

I used to have a shower with mine on occasion...though I keeped a shirt on (something to lightly grip) through it.

NZ Appaloosas Mon, 08/24/2009 - 19:22

[quote="Heidi"]From my limited understanding of allergic connections with cats...

...it isn't really the [i]cat[/i], or the [i]fur/hair[/i], that a person is allergic to...[u]it is the saliva the cat puts on their fur when they groom themselves[/u].

Some cats have less of the allergen-reacting *[i]glycoprotein[/i]* in their saliva/skin than other cats. IMO, the fact that your husband rubbed his face all over the Maine Coons several times that day and received no reaction is most probably not because it was a Maine Coon, but because it had been thoroughly *[i]bathed[/i]* before attending the show, which removed the saliva-allergens from its' fur. ;)
heidi =^..^=[/quote]

Oh, don't tell me that! LOL I'd hate to pay big biccies for a cat that we end up not being able to have in the house...seems like we still need to go visit the cattery (not that I'd find that a problem! LOL).

Diane

accphotography Mon, 08/24/2009 - 19:31

Oh then I guess my male is hypo-allergenic. :rofl He NEVER EVER grooms, period.

My girl on the other hand, is obsessive like her mommy.

Heidi Tue, 08/25/2009 - 00:12

It could be genetics or diet or even a combination of a person's individual allergies...

Three examples:
My closest neighbor is allergic to cats but he can spend hours in our house watching a movie or just visiting, with cats on his lap ([i]we have between 8-12 cats at any given time[/i]) and he has no allergic reaction. My cats are fed a premium food. When he and his wife had two cats, they had to keep them out of their bedroom and he really couldn't be in the main part of his house with them for long before he'd get itchy and watery eyes.
We have another friend who can come visit, but he cannot touch the cats or he gets a reaction. Usually, after having visited for more than an hour, he will eventually begin to show some signs of allergy. I don't know *what* it is, but our cats LOVE allergic people, so I give him a water squirt bottle to hold and the cats stay away from him, though they'll go love all over his wife. She makes sure to wash her hands and roll-off her clothes before they leave to go home.
Friend #3 is so allergic, she will get a puffy and red face accompanied with coughing and watery eyes within 15 minutes of being in our home, no matter if she touches a cat or not. I remember going to one of their child's basketball games with them and I brought a pillow to sit on and she had to move away from me because the pillow was activating her allergies. I also made sure to wear fresh/clean clothes whenever we went to hteir home to socialize.
Allergies are different for everyone.
One lady whose husband and son are allergic uses an allergen wipe to wipe the cat down with and bathes her cat every 5-7 days and her family does just fine. She got the kitty accustomed to bathing right from the start, as a kitten.

accphotography Tue, 08/25/2009 - 00:38

If I were as allergic to cats as I am to milk, grass and hay, I could NOT have cats. Luckily, they don't seem to bother me. I'd hate to be person #3.

rabbitsfizz Tue, 08/25/2009 - 05:18

I am not allergic to my own cats, and they are fed on rats mice, birds, someone else's chickens (oops did I say that out loud? :rofl )
A cat taking a bath with you as my Siamese used to on occasion, and [i]bathing[/i]a cat are two completely different things, believe me!!
My dogs are in and out of the river like mad things, BUT try to get them in the bath and you have a battle on your hands.
My dogs would not dream of bringing teeth into the equation, but my cats have no such compunctions!

Heidi Tue, 08/25/2009 - 10:36

[quote="rabbitsfizz"]
A cat taking a bath with you as my Siamese used to on occasion, and [i]bathing[/i]a cat are two completely different things, believe me!![/quote]

:mrgreen: Yes, I was going to say the difference would be in the amount of blood oozing from the ouchy-bleedy spots on the person after the experience... :shock:

rabbitsfizz Tue, 08/25/2009 - 13:15

And the amount of bandages you need..........

Of course female children under the age of nine can do this to cats with impunity, which is why you so often see battle scarred toms dressed in baby clothes riding around in prams..............

tjuri Tue, 08/25/2009 - 16:18

[quote="rabbitsfizz"]And the amount of bandages you need..........

Of course female children under the age of nine can do this to cats with impunity, which is why you so often see battle scarred toms dressed in baby clothes riding around in prams..............[/quote]

We once had a rescued cat in the clinic where I worked back then, she seemed to be white under all the flea-droplets...so instead of giving her a sedation first my then-vet boss, used to dogs only, :oops: ordered that we would bath her together... she took off sick for one week afterwards and never tried this without sedation again! :lol: :rofl :twisted:

CMhorses Tue, 08/25/2009 - 20:52

[quote="rabbitsfizz"]
Of course female children under the age of nine can do this to cats with impunity, which is why you so often see battle scarred toms dressed in baby clothes riding around in prams..............[/quote]
I always put little saddles on mine,but I think a few times i put them in a play-stroller. I've also bathed a few cats, never had a scratching problem ever.

Jordie0587 Tue, 09/15/2009 - 12:37

Not to interrupt your cat discussion (I did a day at a cat groomers... NO FREAKING THANK YOU!!!), but I wanted to say that in feral populations, dogs will most certainly revert to agouti.

They usually end up tan, with a darker brown back and almost always revert back to prick ears or semi-prick ears. The more "heinz 57" a dog is, the more they start to look this way. It's actually very interesting.

So I can see why this theory would develop with horses. It seems to be the trend for other domesticated animals that are let go feral.

Also, a lot of the Sulpher Springs and Kiger mustangs are dun, but like others said.... that could have to do with the dominant stallion being dun etc.

Now... back to your regularly scheduled cat chat.

My mom is HORRIBLY allergic to ALL cats. Except this one psycho cat we had (had to be the nuttiest one!) that we let into the house after little black kitty got squished in a car door one night and had problems afterwards. My mom developed a resistance to her, but was still allergic to all the other cats at the house.

NZ Appaloosas Tue, 09/15/2009 - 20:53

Don't forget the curly tails--feral dogs seem to revert back to that too.

Diane