Page 12 - Hobe Sound Reflections - June '22

Page 12, Hobe Sound

tIp of thE taIL

The Domestication Of The Cat No matter if you are a dog person or a cat person, pets Established in 1981, Palm City Animal Medical Center is

bring us companionship and many positive health benefits. dedicated to providing the best possible care for your pets. With
For those of us that have a feline friend, it is fun to look focuses on compassionate care in surgery, physical therapy and
back and know that they are still very similar to those rehabilitation, preventative medicine, extensive diagnostics, and
wild cats that decided to befriend us humans and enrich emergency service, Palm City Animal Medical Center combines
our lives thousands of years ago. Just make sure to bring exceptional medical care with a caring philosophy for pets and
your feline companion in for yearly veterinary checkups their owners. For more information, call (772) 283-0920, visit
to ensure they stay healthy! After all, we need them with www.palmcityanimalmedicalcenter.com or find us on Facebook
True to feline form, it is thought that cats domesticated us for many years to come. at www.facebook.com/PalmCityAnimalClinic.
themselves! Those of us who have pet cats know that cats do
what cats want to do! In fact we often joke that cats are very fundraIsInG EvEnt
good at training us humans to serve them.
Cats began their unique relationship with humans around
10,000 to 12,000 years ago in the “Fertile Cresent” which is the Harbour Ridge 14th Annual
modern day region of West Asia. This was the area where some and services. We, at Harbour Ridge, want to make sure
of the earliest human developments were located. As people Benefit For SafeSpace these SafeSpace programs and services continue as long
abandoned their nomadic ways and settled down to farm, grain as they are needed.”
was stored and rats and mice became a problem. Middle Eastern By Nancy Wong “SafeSpace is truly thankful for the ongoing generous support
wildcats (Felix silvestrus lybica) took advantage of the food After holding a virtual fundraising event last year due to the of the Harbour Ridge community,” says SafeSpace CEO Teresa
source and started hanging around humans. These cats evolved pandemic, members of the Harbour Ridge Yacht & Country Albizu. “Federal and state grants cover only about 50 percent of
over thousands of years into the modern day cat Felis catus. Club enjoyed returning to their clubhouse on Feb. 19 to support agency expenses so we are very grateful that the annual Harbour
Studies of DNA from more than 200 cats spanning 9,000 SafeSpace and dance to the music of the Street Talk Band. Ridge benefits have helped us to help thousands of victims and
years show that there were two main lineages that contributed Sponsorships, tickets, donations, champagne bucket drawing their children in Martin, St. Lucie and Indian River counties.”
to the domestic feline we know today. These are the wild cats and a silent auction raised over $100,000 of much needed funds For more information about SafeSpace, visit www.
of West Asia and the African cats that dominated Egypt. History to help save and change the lives of Treasure Coast domestic safespacefl.org or call (772) 223-2399. Founded in 1979, it is
tells us that cats spread from Asia into Europe as early as 4400 violence victims and their children by providing intervention, the only state certified domestic violence agency serving the
B.C. Egyptian cats then spread into the Mediterranean and prevention, and advocacy services. Treasure Coast. All services are free of charge. Hotline help is
most of the rest of the world around 1500 B.C. As cats chose to Originally started 14 years ago by Doug and Patty Stewart, available 24/7 at (772) 288-7023.
hang around human settlements, they likely became attractive longtime supporters of SafeSpace, the annual gala benefit
to humans as pets due to increased sociability and tameness. has continued as a labor of love by many Harbour Ridge
Humans began taking them on ships and other transports for members throughout the years. This year’s benefit
rodent control. Thus they traveled around the world! committee was chaired by Judy Tilliss. She and her
Surprisingly, wild and domestic cats show no major committee members Dot Coblentz, Patricia Imperiale,
differences in their genetic makeup. One of the few traits Barbara McKinnon and Suzi Romanik believe in the
that changed is the tabby coat marking. It was only in the cause so much that they have already committed to work
late 18th century that the markings became common enough on the 15th annual benefit for SafeSpace scheduled for
to be associated with domestic cats and, in the 19th century, Feb. 18, 2023.
cat fanciers began to select cats with certain traits to create Tilliss says, “The community is fortunate
specific breeds. that SafeSpace is able to help adult victims and
Cats are increasing in popularity as companion animals their children, not only with the crisis hotline Harbour Ridge Benefit Committee members Suzi Romanik, Patricia
worldwide. This may be due to the independent feline tendencies and emergency shelters but also with many legal, Imperiale, Barbara McKinnon, Chair Judy Tilliss and Dot Coblentz
as compared with dogs aligning more with the modern lifestyle. financial and mental health counseling programs with SafeSpace Board President (second from right) Nancy Wong

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