Recently in Infographics Category

Click on the image above to see a cool infographic from mint.com. "Pet Obssessed" gathers together a big ol' pile of stats to explain to us the "cost of cute." For example, "$1.5 billiion is spent on pet food every year. This is four times the amount spent on baby food."

Okay, but on the other hand, we don't have to spring for several years of college education a few years down the line, do we? Who's laughing now, eh? eh? On the other other hand, "39% of pet owners say they have more photos of their pet than of their spouse or significant other." erm. well. yes. guilty. You can laugh now. (My spouse is quite lovely and photogenic, actually -- he just complains too bitterly when I try to take photos of him begging and playing dead.)

For more statistical and infographical goodness, you can also check out 20 Crazy Facts About Pet Ownership in America.

HUMAN FELINE ALLERGIES ARE CAUSED BY A PROTEIN SECRETED BY CATS ONTO THEIR FUR; PHOTO BY KEVIN STEELE

Good news for allergic cat lovers (I'm one!): researchers in the U.K. have developed a vaccine they are calling "ToleroMune Cat" that "provides long-term protection against the itching, sneezing and watering eyes that cats cause in up to one in 10 people... Early trials suggest the product is safe, effective and lasts longer than current treatments, which can also have serious side-effects." Unfortunately, at the moment it seems that the vaccine will require four to eight injections a year, though scientists hope to develop a longer-lasting alternative. Here's Science Daily's article on the vaccine.

One thing that hasn't been revealed about this study: cats independently developed this peptide immunotherapy solution decades ago, but never told us, despite it obviously being in their best interest to do so. Why not, you may ask? This may help explain: Why Cats Are Not Doctors. It's true. They just don't make good doctors.

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Oh, my! I was amazed to find this incredible monster infographic on cat colors and patterns. This is a subject I have been wanting to address, but haven't gotten around to organizing the different bits of information to link to. This beautifully illustrated, huge guide has done all that for me, thank you very much! :) I find all this utterly fascinating, and I'm in love with coat color names like Lilac-cream Smoke, Flame Sepia, and Cinnamon Mink. I'm also now completely fascinated with the Ojos Azules cats.

Wikipedia says,  "Ojos Azules are a relatively new breed of domestic cat. Cats with dark blue eyes were discovered in New Mexico among feral cat populations. The first cat, discovered in 1984, was a tortoiseshell named Cornflower. She was bred to males without the trait, which proved to be dominant, as all her kittens showed it. The breed was founded and named Ojos Azules, Spanish meaning 'Blue Eyes'. Ojos Azules are remarkable for their deep blue eyes." Here's one of the few photos of this rare breed floating around on the internet; and here's a short article with a couple of photos; the eye color on the black cat here is amazing.

The cat infographic is by artist/illustrator Joumana Medlej, who has a very beautiful web site here.

I found this great "Cats vs. Dogs" infographic at the wonderful neatorama, and actually learned a few things I didn't know (click the image to see a larger version at the site): [Source: Online Schools for Neatorama.com]

Here's another cool infographic from The Oatmeal: 17 Things Worth Knowing About Your Cat, and from Dog the Blog: 7 Facts About Canine Communication.