Softpedia
 

NEWS CATEGORIES:



NEWS ARCHIVE >>
SOFTPEDIA REVIEWS >>
MEET THE EDITORS >>
Home > News > Science > Nature

June 2nd, 2007, 09:00 GMT · By Stefan Anitei

A Chinese Cat Has Grown Wings

SHARE:

Adjust text size:



Enlarge picture
Is there any connection between sexual harassment and the flight ability?

It seems so...

A Chinese woman said her cat has grown wings, reports the Huashang News.

Granny Feng remained stunned when she saw how her pet mysteriously grew two 10 cm (4inch)-long wing-like sprouts on its back. "At first,
they were just two bumps, but they started to grow quickly, and after a month there were two wings." said Feng, of Xianyang city, Shaanxi province.

She said the wings, which have bones inside, make her pet look like a "cat angel" and believes these malformations are the result of sexual harassment. "A month ago, many female cats in heat came to harass him, and then the wings started to grow." she explained.

Still, the experts explain the strange occurrence by a gene mutation, which seems not to impede the animal to live a normal life. There are about 138 reported sightings of winged cats and 28 of them are documented cases, with physical evidence and at least 20 photographs and, in recent times, one video.

Several bodies and living winged cats have been investigated and there is at least one stuffed specimen, but this could be a nineteenth century fake.

These cases have been treated as cryptozoological phenomena.

But even if some people would like to see flying cats, the real explanation is more scientific than mystical. The most common explanation for this phenomenon is a developmental defect. Cat's "wings" are congenital deformities like vestigial legs (as encountered in some forms of conjoined twins), useless for any purpose at all, including flying.

An extra pair of forelegs dangling from the shoulders but rudimentary could offer the impression of wings and can even "paddle" as the cat runs. Recently, two cases of stray cats with additional forelimbs have been signaled.
FILED UNDER:
cat
mutation
wing

TELL US WHAT YOU THINK:

236,665 hits · 14 comments · Link to this article · Print article · Send to friend · Subscribe to news

MUST-READ RELATED ARTICLES:

READER COMMENTS:


Comment #1 by: Graeme on 10 May 2009, 17:07 UTC reply to this comment

This is what happens when we start splicing genes of food with other genes of animals and just who knows what. 138 cases so far? Something sounds fishy.

Comment #1.1 by: Selwyn on 11 May 2009, 14:57 GMT

@Graeme: You are a paranoid ignoramus. Of all the 138 cases reported, I doubt that even a small percentage have been since GM came about. This will have nothing to do with genetic modification and is clearly explained in the article as "a developmental defect. Cat's "wings" are congenital deformities like vestigial legs (as encountered in some forms of conjoined twins)"

Next time try researching your wild claims (or at least finish the article) before you regurgitate anti GM propaganda and make a fool of yourself.


Comment #2 by: Kitty on 10 May 2009, 19:03 UTC reply to this comment

This has to be photoshopped, and if not, well that's amazing.


Comment #3 by: Morgyn on 10 May 2009, 19:15 UTC reply to this comment

I'll pay $10 dollars and 85 cents cash for this cat!


Comment #4 by: speedyplastic on 10 May 2009, 19:15 UTC reply to this comment

X-cats UNITE!


Comment #5 by: Erra on 10 May 2009, 19:44 UTC reply to this comment

Actually, other explanations of 'cat wings' include hair mats, as all cases seem to be with long-haired cats.


Comment #6 by: Anonymouse on 10 May 2009, 20:19 UTC reply to this comment

Most certainly shopped. I can tell by the pixels and by having seen many shoops in my time. Shadows are all wrong.


Comment #7 by: onioncows on 10 May 2009, 22:10 UTC reply to this comment

looks like the cat is getting a little too much red bull in its diet


Comment #8 by: kheetor on 10 May 2009, 23:38 UTC reply to this comment

It's not photoshopped, the wings are just huge lumps of tangled up fur. That is a very common phenomenon with cats with long fur but you usually cut the lumps of before they get that bad. This cat has been seriously mistreated ...


Comment #9 by: Dsquared on 11 May 2009, 00:26 UTC reply to this comment

if the wings dont affect the cats life then i think that breeders should try to make winged cats more common. I would love to have a winged cat. Is just plain awesome.


Comment #10 by: funkmasterbam on 11 May 2009, 06:45 UTC reply to this comment

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Winged_cat


Comment #11 by: glitch on 11 May 2009, 17:04 UTC reply to this comment

Okay, we need to stop arguing about whether or not this cat has wings and actually make some cats with wings.

All we need to do is breed a whole bunch of cats with the supernumerary limbs. Then we isolate the part of the code that creates the limb and alter it to provide a functional wing. Squirt that juice into an empty egg and you got a flying cat!

Better yet, breed a hairless winged cat! It would look like a creepy little demon.

But why stop there! We should breed all kinds of fantastical creatures! Winged komono dragons! Insects into fairies! Hazaah! Hazaah!


Comment #12 by: Ks on 11 May 2009, 23:38 UTC reply to this comment

Its really simple to check out most stories, look on SNOPES, and other places of research. this is actually matted hair, and in the original story the chinese lady never mentioned 'sexual harrassment'.

Please do some (basic) research in the future.


Comment #13 by: Lynn on 13 May 2009, 13:20 UTC reply to this comment

Bet even with wings it can't out run/fly my doberman!

Copyright © 2001-2012 Softpedia. Contact/Tip us at

WindowsGamesDriversMacLinuxScriptsMobileHandheldNews

SUBMIT PROGRAM   |   ADVERTISE   |   GET HELP   |   SEND US FEEDBACK   |   RSS FEEDS   |   UPDATE YOUR SOFTWARE   |   ROMANIAN FORUM