Extremely wrinkly cat steals hearts thanks to its extraordinary appearance

A Sphynx cat covered in an exceptional amount of wrinkles has left the internet amazed.

Six-year-old feline Xherdan from Rüt in Switzerland is covered in wrinkles from head to toe, leaving users on the web comparing him to a variety of things, including a caterpillar, an alien, a brain and a dumpling.

Xherdan is also well-known for his frown, but owner Sandra Filippi (47) says he’s a sweet cat who loves to “sleep and talk”.

“When I first saw him, he immediately stole my heart,” Sandra said.

“His wrinkled pink skin, as fine as a peach, and his turquoise eyes . . . I was in love!

“He’s had this many wrinkles since the day he was born.

“Xherdan is a very active cat and he talks a great deal, in all pitches, when he’s excited, when he’s hungry, when he plays or while cuddling and falling asleep. He’s like a child and his character is lovely.”

According to the doting owner, people are initially scared of the furless feline, but fall in love with him when they find out how playful he actually is.

Sandra also says that like most Sphynxes, Xherdan requires a lot of care to stay healthy and happy.

“I regularly clean his eyes, ears, and feet. Even the claws I have to cut,” she said.

“Sphynxes take up a lot of time. They always want to be where their humans are. That should not be underestimated.

“Xherdy makes me and other people laugh, and that’s the most beautiful thing there is.

“Most people are a bit scared of Xherdan, but then when they meet him they love him!”

What does no one tell you about coronavirus?

People are mainly thinking about lungs with COVID-19, but the virus may be capable of shutting down your breathing through infecting the neurons in your brain. It is able to do this because it's a neurotropic virus. That means it invades and spreads through your nerve tissue.






































It enters through receptors in your lungs into the brainstem where the cardiorespiratory centre is- the part of your brain that regulates your blood pressure and breathing. This may explain why some patients experience respiratory failure despite having little viral infection in their lungs.
Here comes another issue with herd immunity that I don’t see many people discussing.
Viruses that invade nerve tissue have been implicated in long term health conditions. If COVID-19 is allowed to spread through most of the population, I predict there to be a tidal wave of chronic illness. Not only reduced lung function as I have seen being mentioned, but also diseases such as myalgic encephalomyelitis/chronic fatigue syndrome.
Neurotropic viruses are also able to lay dormant and possibly reactivate (chickenpox definitely does but others may as well). Some viral infections may never completely clear. Scientists are not sure whether this is due to viral reactivation, or the virus triggering a permanent altered state in areas of metabolic processes, immunity and neurological functioning.
No one knows if this will happen to COVID-19 patients, but if we look at longitudinal studies of SARS patients, it’s not encouraging. There are long term health problems in a small but significant percentage. Not just breathing issues, but anxiety, depression and fatigue years after they had recovered. Any infection can trigger long-term effects of course. However bacteria, viruses and proteins that are neurotropic can overcome neural barriers and get inside your central nervous system. It's scary when you think about it.

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