Letters archive

Many people discount the idea that cats can have emotional bonds with humans. Thus, in "The truth about cats", Michael Marshall suggests his cat may "just be looking for warmth", rather than cuddles( 11 March, p 46 ). Why are feline behaviours emotionally downplayed in this way? People don't do this with dogs (or other …

This article reminded me of the emotional attachments of a local cat. When we moved to our house, it lived in our garden and our neighbour's. Its owner had moved about 6 kilometres away. She had taken the cat and kept it indoors for a few weeks because cats have a reputation of returning to …

I'm sure I won't be alone in congratulating you on taking the science of cat "ownership" seriously. Regarding the test on whether your cat can read your gaze, our cat Bertie understands the concept of following human gaze. He has long requested food close to mealtimes from people near his food bowl in the kitchen …

You wonder if affection in cats is, in fact, cupboard love. When I go out, my cat waits for hours by my front door, with much vocalisation and rubbing when I return, but it's not for food. There is untouched food in her bowl. She also sleeps beside me on the couch with one paw …

On the subject of the 2000-watt energy-saving challenge, we consume energy at the rate of 12,000 kilowatts per year to run our house of five people and charge an electric car( 11 February, p 36 ). This equates to a rate of energy use of 1400 watts an hour. We have no gas, just a …

Liquid sponges are counter-intuitive in the extreme, yet Katharine Sanderson manages to describe what is going on at the molecular level in these new materials in a completely comprehensible way. She achieves this by using analogies with everyday objects that we all understand – doughnuts, pasta, dinner plates. As a one-time secondary school chemistry teacher, …

Jamie Woodward is quite correct. Better data on the state of rivers would forcefully multiply the sound and fury over pollution( 11 March, p 8 ). Data collection and analysis should be independent. Sampling can begin where each river rises, continuing at 1-kilometre intervals downstream. Sample collection could be done by drones that return to …

"Messages from the Stone Age", about hand stencils found in caves and early human culture, brings to mind 16,500-year-old cave paintings in Lascaux, France. These are said to show the constellation Taurus as a bull with the Hyades star cluster as the face and, above it, the Pleiades, as well as other stars. Such art …

James Fradgley thinks that the Judaeo-Christian idea of having dominion over nature is the biggest problem in how we regard nature as mere property( Letters, 25 February ). Dominion in itself isn't the problem, rather the greed and indifference that makes people "use" nature for their own ends. There is such a thing as good …

Your story claims that mongooses and warthogs provide the only example of mutualism between two mammal species. Hang on, what about dogs and humans? We provide food and a warm place to sleep. They help us hunt, herd our sheep, protect our property, guide those who are blind, offer comfort, give older people a reason …