Hello Friends, Furry, Feathered and Otherwise,
Alberto here for my weekly purrrusal of all things feline on the web. Enjoy!

The First Ever NY Cat Film Festival – Metro

Finally New York is getting wise to the idea that cats rule! They’ve had a Dog Film Festival for the last three years and this has really gotten my whiskers in a twist. Well thank goodness, someone got a clue and the FIRST Cat Film Festival will be held in New York at the Chelsea SVA Theater in December!  And all I can say is, “It’s about time!” If you want to learn more you can watch a promo for the event here.

Domestic Violence and Pets – The PAWS Act

My human attends a conference for pet writers and bloggers called BlogPaws and at this conference, she learned about pets of domestic abuse survivors. Did  you know that often, people in abusive situations have to choose between their safety and their pet? Did you know that in most shelters, domestic abuse survivors cannot take their pets because there is no place for the animals? How sad to force someone to part with the one thing that offers them unconditional love!

The Pet and Women Safety Act (PAWS Act, for short) is attempting to amend the federal criminal code to broaden the definition of stalking to include the reasonable fear of death or serious bodily injury to a person’s pet. Additionally, it would expand interstate violations of a protection order to also cover pets. Lastly, it directs the Department of Agriculture to award grants for shelter, housing assistance, and support services for survivors of domestic violence with pets. This is a law The Tribe of Five can wholeheartedly support and we hope you will sign the petition and support it too. And how about checking with your local shelter and finding out if they have resources for the pets of domestic violence survivors?

Purr Minister 2017 – Metro.co.uk 

The only kind of purrlitical stuff I’m interested in is the feline variety. For instance, I was Oliver’s campaign manager when he ran for Purresident with the Kitty Kat Party last year.  Evidently, there are purrlitical felines in the  UK as well and they were vying for the title of  Purr Minister.

The 2017 Purr Minister campaign ended last week. There were six moggies who competed for the Purr Minister crown and each wrote a Manifursto explaining why they deserved to be voted the most fabulous feline in Westminster.  The winner was selected by the public and it was a hotly contested race.

This year’s winner, garnered 49 percent of the public vote. Two paws up for the new Purr Minister, Midnight!

In this village in Mandya, cats are worshipped as gods – Times of India

Well my feline friends, if you feel as though you’re not getting enough respect in your household you may want to consider a move to Bekkalale village, India, where cats are literally put on a pedestal. Bekkalale, worships the cat as a form of goddess Mangamma and has no less than three temples dedicated to felines.  Humans are harshly punished for harming cats in this village and every year there is a festival to honor the majestic feline. (Which of course, is our due!)

Seattle’s Newest Cat Cafe Offers Beer, Japanese Snacks and a Whole Lot of Adorable-Seattle Magazine

Image Credit: Caitlin Unsell Follow the sign to Capitol Hill’s new kitty den.

Those cool cats in Seattle always seem to be on the cutting edge of hipness. Case in point, the Neko Cat Cafe that serves beer and snacks! The owner and founder of this cat cafe, Caitlin Unsell, was inspired by the cat cafes in Japan.  Neko is the third cat cafe in the Seattle area but the felines you meet at the Neko cafe are extra special.

Unsell partnered with Regional Animal Services of King County to help the cafe kitties find furever homes. All of the cats Neko (which means “cat” in Japanese) are diagnosed with the feline leukemia virus which is a disease that poses long term health issues but does not keep the cats from living long, happy lives.  People often pass over cats with health issues in shelters and Unsell hopes to change this by giving the cat loving community a chance to meet and know the felines at her cafe.

The cafe has two areas, one for the cafe and the other for the cats. The  happy felines have a long bank of windows at pavement level for great canine and human viewing.
I am overwhelmed when I realize how many great humans there are out there who are not just dedicating themselves to finding furever homes for felines but finding homes for felines that are usually passed over for adoption. Two paws up for the Neko Cat Cafe.