Ashley Reynolds, Cat Lady PhD
@ashleyreynolds.ca
She/her ♠️
Currently teaching vertebrate diversity and mammalogy at the University of Toronto. Research Associate at the Canadian Museum of Nature.
Interested in the evolutionary ecology of carnivorous mammals. Ask me your questions about cats!
Currently teaching vertebrate diversity and mammalogy at the University of Toronto. Research Associate at the Canadian Museum of Nature.
Interested in the evolutionary ecology of carnivorous mammals. Ask me your questions about cats!
Pinned
I wrote out my feelings about the GMO wolves, and I will never forgive Colossal for making my first blog post about wolves instead of cats. 🧪
ashinonyx.quarto.pub/my-website/b...
ashinonyx.quarto.pub/my-website/b...
Reposted by Ashley Reynolds, Cat Lady PhD
November 14, 2025 at 10:54 AM
Reposted by Ashley Reynolds, Cat Lady PhD
Every now and then I remember that sponges are ANIMALS — that these seeming hybrids of plant and rock; these sessile, porous, tissue-and-organ-less barrels, tubes, and blobs are just as much an animal as a falcon, wolf, or shark — and marvel once more at the wonderful weirdness of life on Earth.
November 14, 2025 at 3:10 PM
Every now and then I remember that sponges are ANIMALS — that these seeming hybrids of plant and rock; these sessile, porous, tissue-and-organ-less barrels, tubes, and blobs are just as much an animal as a falcon, wolf, or shark — and marvel once more at the wonderful weirdness of life on Earth.
Reposted by Ashley Reynolds, Cat Lady PhD
That iridescent metallic shine on the fruit bodies of the White-footed Slime are so cool!
📷 Canon R5
Canon RF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM
M, f/4, 1/2, ISO 400
Stack of 8 images
8/29/25
Northern Oregon Coast
#mushroom #fungifriends #mushrooms
🍄📷 📸🎞 🌿🌱 🟢 🍄 🍄🟫
📷 Canon R5
Canon RF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM
M, f/4, 1/2, ISO 400
Stack of 8 images
8/29/25
Northern Oregon Coast
#mushroom #fungifriends #mushrooms
🍄📷 📸🎞 🌿🌱 🟢 🍄 🍄🟫
November 14, 2025 at 3:15 PM
That iridescent metallic shine on the fruit bodies of the White-footed Slime are so cool!
📷 Canon R5
Canon RF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM
M, f/4, 1/2, ISO 400
Stack of 8 images
8/29/25
Northern Oregon Coast
#mushroom #fungifriends #mushrooms
🍄📷 📸🎞 🌿🌱 🟢 🍄 🍄🟫
📷 Canon R5
Canon RF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM
M, f/4, 1/2, ISO 400
Stack of 8 images
8/29/25
Northern Oregon Coast
#mushroom #fungifriends #mushrooms
🍄📷 📸🎞 🌿🌱 🟢 🍄 🍄🟫
I was really sad to learn about the passing of Garfield Minott. I never had the pleasure of meeting him, but by all accounts he was a lovely human, and I had the joy of having his Smilodon bust in my office while I was completing my PhD.
www.arbormemorial.ca/en/glendale/...
www.arbormemorial.ca/en/glendale/...
November 14, 2025 at 3:18 PM
I was really sad to learn about the passing of Garfield Minott. I never had the pleasure of meeting him, but by all accounts he was a lovely human, and I had the joy of having his Smilodon bust in my office while I was completing my PhD.
www.arbormemorial.ca/en/glendale/...
www.arbormemorial.ca/en/glendale/...
Reposted by Ashley Reynolds, Cat Lady PhD
Vaccine hesitancy isn't just for humans, we see impacts on pets too.
There's some overlap between hesitancy for human and animal vaccines, but also some different issues and reasons.
It's complex.
But, what are the disease implications.
1/n
There's some overlap between hesitancy for human and animal vaccines, but also some different issues and reasons.
It's complex.
But, what are the disease implications.
1/n
November 14, 2025 at 2:42 PM
Vaccine hesitancy isn't just for humans, we see impacts on pets too.
There's some overlap between hesitancy for human and animal vaccines, but also some different issues and reasons.
It's complex.
But, what are the disease implications.
1/n
There's some overlap between hesitancy for human and animal vaccines, but also some different issues and reasons.
It's complex.
But, what are the disease implications.
1/n
Reposted by Ashley Reynolds, Cat Lady PhD
Message to all faculty: your expertise is no longer trusted or valued at this so-called “university.”
November 14, 2025 at 12:22 PM
Message to all faculty: your expertise is no longer trusted or valued at this so-called “university.”
Reposted by Ashley Reynolds, Cat Lady PhD
#PrehistoricPlanet #PrehistoricPlanetIceAge
Pov: You are Assoc. Prof. Ben Freed, it's Dec. 1989, and you are conducting field research in northern Madagascar. You are disturbed by strange noises coming from your supply tent, and decide to investigate. You are in for a surprise...
Pov: You are Assoc. Prof. Ben Freed, it's Dec. 1989, and you are conducting field research in northern Madagascar. You are disturbed by strange noises coming from your supply tent, and decide to investigate. You are in for a surprise...
November 9, 2025 at 9:05 PM
#PrehistoricPlanet #PrehistoricPlanetIceAge
Pov: You are Assoc. Prof. Ben Freed, it's Dec. 1989, and you are conducting field research in northern Madagascar. You are disturbed by strange noises coming from your supply tent, and decide to investigate. You are in for a surprise...
Pov: You are Assoc. Prof. Ben Freed, it's Dec. 1989, and you are conducting field research in northern Madagascar. You are disturbed by strange noises coming from your supply tent, and decide to investigate. You are in for a surprise...
Reposted by Ashley Reynolds, Cat Lady PhD
Me, reading a textbook on vertebrate diversity state “No native placental species occur naturally” in the Australasian faunal region:
a man in a suit is sitting at a desk
Alt: Alan Rickman angrily flipping a table
media.tenor.com
November 10, 2025 at 6:29 AM
Me, reading a textbook on vertebrate diversity state “No native placental species occur naturally” in the Australasian faunal region:
Round bat alert!!
Eastern Red Bat (Lasiurus borealis)!
At first I thought I found a big, fuzzy gall. But it was a wonderful little snoozing bat! (May 2021)
At first I thought I found a big, fuzzy gall. But it was a wonderful little snoozing bat! (May 2021)
November 9, 2025 at 9:57 PM
Round bat alert!!
Reposted by Ashley Reynolds, Cat Lady PhD
I absolutely snorted out loud in an important, quiet historic reading room. And then had the giggles for 5 minutes. Fingle rows of tentaculated fuckers!
November 9, 2025 at 8:35 PM
I absolutely snorted out loud in an important, quiet historic reading room. And then had the giggles for 5 minutes. Fingle rows of tentaculated fuckers!
Reposted by Ashley Reynolds, Cat Lady PhD
I find it fascinating that although whales are the largest animals on the planet there's a ton of species we just don't know much about.
There are 24 species of beaked whales and some have only been discovered in the last few decades.
There are 24 species of beaked whales and some have only been discovered in the last few decades.
November 9, 2025 at 10:06 AM
I find it fascinating that although whales are the largest animals on the planet there's a ton of species we just don't know much about.
There are 24 species of beaked whales and some have only been discovered in the last few decades.
There are 24 species of beaked whales and some have only been discovered in the last few decades.
Reposted by Ashley Reynolds, Cat Lady PhD
We are in the midst of an all-out attempt to exclude the global majority from science. Watson was clear about where he fell on that. I would trade every single dinner, meeting, seminar, fancy campus, and prestigious donor for my incredible friends to be safer. Their science is worth far more.
November 8, 2025 at 5:24 PM
We are in the midst of an all-out attempt to exclude the global majority from science. Watson was clear about where he fell on that. I would trade every single dinner, meeting, seminar, fancy campus, and prestigious donor for my incredible friends to be safer. Their science is worth far more.
Reposted by Ashley Reynolds, Cat Lady PhD
It's irritating that they describe the effects of his racism as limited to causing controversy within science and reputational consequences for himself rather than giving an immeasurable boost, false veneer of legitimacy, and idiot-friendly prestige to modern scientific racism and eugenics.
James D. Watson died on Thursday in East Northport, N.Y., on Long Island. He was 97.
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/s...
www.nytimes.com/2025/11/07/s...
James Watson, Who Helped Discover the Structure of DNA, Is Dead at 97
www.nytimes.com
November 7, 2025 at 7:42 PM
It's irritating that they describe the effects of his racism as limited to causing controversy within science and reputational consequences for himself rather than giving an immeasurable boost, false veneer of legitimacy, and idiot-friendly prestige to modern scientific racism and eugenics.
Reposted by Ashley Reynolds, Cat Lady PhD
These were choices that had consequences. If we want to talk about biology, we can talk about the very measurable and deeply harm that racism and discrimination produce in people's bodies. Threats to belonging are particularly potent when they come from authority
psycnet.apa.org/record/2018-...
psycnet.apa.org/record/2018-...
APA PsycNet
psycnet.apa.org
November 8, 2025 at 5:16 PM
These were choices that had consequences. If we want to talk about biology, we can talk about the very measurable and deeply harm that racism and discrimination produce in people's bodies. Threats to belonging are particularly potent when they come from authority
psycnet.apa.org/record/2018-...
psycnet.apa.org/record/2018-...
Reposted by Ashley Reynolds, Cat Lady PhD
Jeremy, I have followed your science advocacy on this platform with respect, but I find this thread deeply hurtful and sad and I am going to tell you why. While my wife did her postdoc at CSHL, she and our many dear friends had to endure the racist rhetoric of this man, which did constant harm
On one evening, the speakers were divided up and went to dinner parties hosted by some of the wealthy folks who lived around Cold Spring Harbor on Long Island. My dinner was delightful, with good conversation with our host (the mayor of a nearby village), his friends, and some other speakers.
34/41
34/41
November 8, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Jeremy, I have followed your science advocacy on this platform with respect, but I find this thread deeply hurtful and sad and I am going to tell you why. While my wife did her postdoc at CSHL, she and our many dear friends had to endure the racist rhetoric of this man, which did constant harm
Reposted by Ashley Reynolds, Cat Lady PhD
October 21, 2025 at 2:55 AM
Reposted by Ashley Reynolds, Cat Lady PhD
Just visiting Lumiose City's premiere Pokémon genetic research center. Happy to report the DNA is twisted the right way 😂🧬
Bonus, they also understand that sex is more complicated than a simple binary
Bonus, they also understand that sex is more complicated than a simple binary
October 19, 2025 at 11:08 PM
Just visiting Lumiose City's premiere Pokémon genetic research center. Happy to report the DNA is twisted the right way 😂🧬
Bonus, they also understand that sex is more complicated than a simple binary
Bonus, they also understand that sex is more complicated than a simple binary
Reposted by Ashley Reynolds, Cat Lady PhD
October 29, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Reposted by Ashley Reynolds, Cat Lady PhD
Pine martens are such gorgeous little animals, and as omnivores perform a great range of vital roles within the forest ecosystems that are their home, acting as predators, scavengers, seed dispersal agents, and more.
Their name in Irish is 'an cat crainn' – the tree cat.
Their name in Irish is 'an cat crainn' – the tree cat.
Where the wild things are - a Pine Marten in a ravine on the west coast of Scotland.
#pinemarten
Well worth a listen:
"Sometimes a wild god comes to the table.
He is awkward and does not know the ways
Of porcelain, of fork and mustard and silver"
Tom Hirons
soundcloud.com/tomhirons/so...
#pinemarten
Well worth a listen:
"Sometimes a wild god comes to the table.
He is awkward and does not know the ways
Of porcelain, of fork and mustard and silver"
Tom Hirons
soundcloud.com/tomhirons/so...
October 31, 2025 at 5:54 PM
Pine martens are such gorgeous little animals, and as omnivores perform a great range of vital roles within the forest ecosystems that are their home, acting as predators, scavengers, seed dispersal agents, and more.
Their name in Irish is 'an cat crainn' – the tree cat.
Their name in Irish is 'an cat crainn' – the tree cat.
Reposted by Ashley Reynolds, Cat Lady PhD
Roman glass cups with colourful enamel decoration of animals from the Roman arena. AD 200s.
Found in richly-furnished graves in Denmark. National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen. 📷 by me
#FindsFriday
#Archaeology
Found in richly-furnished graves in Denmark. National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen. 📷 by me
#FindsFriday
#Archaeology
October 31, 2025 at 4:38 PM
Roman glass cups with colourful enamel decoration of animals from the Roman arena. AD 200s.
Found in richly-furnished graves in Denmark. National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen. 📷 by me
#FindsFriday
#Archaeology
Found in richly-furnished graves in Denmark. National Museum of Denmark, Copenhagen. 📷 by me
#FindsFriday
#Archaeology
Super important update to our estimates of the number of birds killed by domestic cats each year in Canada!
How many #birds are killed by #cats in Canada? Between 19-197 million! This is the main result from my first chapter of my PhD thesis just published in Avian Conservation and Ecology. ace-eco.org/vol20/iss2/a...
@gowelizabeth.bsky.social
@ryannorrissci.bsky.social
1/6
@gowelizabeth.bsky.social
@ryannorrissci.bsky.social
1/6
October 21, 2025 at 12:26 PM
Super important update to our estimates of the number of birds killed by domestic cats each year in Canada!
Reposted by Ashley Reynolds, Cat Lady PhD
How many #birds are killed by #cats in Canada? Between 19-197 million! This is the main result from my first chapter of my PhD thesis just published in Avian Conservation and Ecology. ace-eco.org/vol20/iss2/a...
@gowelizabeth.bsky.social
@ryannorrissci.bsky.social
1/6
@gowelizabeth.bsky.social
@ryannorrissci.bsky.social
1/6
October 16, 2025 at 4:19 PM
How many #birds are killed by #cats in Canada? Between 19-197 million! This is the main result from my first chapter of my PhD thesis just published in Avian Conservation and Ecology. ace-eco.org/vol20/iss2/a...
@gowelizabeth.bsky.social
@ryannorrissci.bsky.social
1/6
@gowelizabeth.bsky.social
@ryannorrissci.bsky.social
1/6
Reposted by Ashley Reynolds, Cat Lady PhD
Seeing people nonchalantly post stuff like makes me feel like I'm going crazy honestly.
October 13, 2025 at 6:52 PM
Seeing people nonchalantly post stuff like makes me feel like I'm going crazy honestly.