Say hello to Pimento, the most recent inductee to Ugly Overload's run of animals who are otherwise attractive, but were caught in a papparazzi-style moment of homeliness. But Pimento's owner, Anastasia, doesn't mind. In fact, she's proud.
Did you know that cats share something in common with only two other species on the planet, the giraffe and the camel? These three beasts are the only ones that when running do not alternate their gait. This means that they run forward with both right feet in one stride, and then both the left feet in the next. All other animals advance with one right and one left, then one left and one right. From what I can tell, they don't share much else in common with camels and giraffes.
Cats really are amazing creatures. They can survive falls that would kill most other vertebrates. They are the perfect hunter. They can commune with the dead and banish mummies. Also, their urine is incredibly potent. My folks tore up their laminate flooring in their dining room, where years earlier one of their cats had made a habit of peeing. Even after all that time, the concrete slab reeked so powerfully that my dad wretched and had to recuse himself from the project for a short while.
Thanks for your glam cat Pimento, Anastasia.
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7 comments:
There's a breed of horses often called Racking Ponies or Horses (but that can refer to any 'gaited' horse) that run like that. My dog runs that way, too.
Pimento's not homely (s)he just looks grumpy. Like he's about to tell some kids to get off his lawn.
That poor cat has no whiskers! Must be a Rex type. Rex's are the closest to hypo-allerginic cats out there... not that it helps their looks any.
Don't bears also walk with that gait too? I know they run like a slinky, but I thought they had the same wobbly walk.
What about standardbred pacer horses? They gait like that naturally...
I love the look on her face! Plllbbrrtttt (apologies to Don Martin)
Ginger cats are the best - but they are poisonous, you forgot to mention that ;)
Some bloodlines of Standardbred horses pace like that, as do a certain bloodline of Morgan horses (which is where the Standardbreds got it from orginally). Moose also pace.
Are you sure this cat wasn't beaming an ultrasonic death ray at a mouse?
Pimento has made it to fame at last!
While I think he is cute, upon seeing him a friend commented that "he has a face only a mother could love". He is a Devon Rex and is partially coated, indeed his lack of hair is what caused me to think he was an ugly overload candidate. He does actually have whiskers, but they curl and break off, likewise his eyebrows and eyelashes.
If anyone is interested there is a portfolio of photos (and a link to breed information) on my husband's photo site at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/webber0075/tags/pimento/
Anastasia
I came here to tell that I knew a dog that walks like this. Now I see that he was not the only one! But he's walk was so different from the cat's walk. Cats steps not sincronized, but he used to touch both left and both right at the same time. Wierd.
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