Oliver Opines on Purresidents and Other Stuff on Friendly Fill Ins Week 94

Hello Folks,
Oliver here. I’m filling in the “fill ins” this week because I have some pretty strong opinions on some of this stuff.

You can join the fun by going to our friends at McGuffy’s Reader or with our friends, and Friendly Fill Ins Co-Hosts, 15andmeowing.  And, as always, feel free to leave your fill in thoughts as a comment in this post.

Purrs & Head Bonks,
black and white cat Oliver

This Week’s Fill In Questions:

1. My favorite president is ________________ because ___________________.

2. This weekend, I have plans to ______________________.
3. I            my               .

4. I believe                    .

My Fill In Responses:

1. My favorite president is the one who was not elected and that would be me because I think it’s time for this country to take a look at things from a feline point of view!

OllieOliveBtnThis feline ran for Purresident with my pawsome running mate, Olive from Three Chatty Cats. We had an excellent platform and I think this country would benefit from some feline wisdom! You can read about our platform and other information (as well as my concession speech) here. 

 

 

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2.This weekend I have plans to do absolutely nothing. I am a cat, the only plans I make are for meal times and purrhaps, if I’m feeling frisky, some play time.  My “do nothing” plan will be purrfect if I can convince The Male Human to “do nothing” with me.

 

 

 

 

 

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3.I quite enjoy  my job as shower snoopervisor (with my brother Alberto). Although I must say, Alberto is a bit wacky. He loves water, even gets in the shower with The Male Human. I guess that’s why The Female Human is training him to go kayaking with her!

 

 

 

 

 

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4.I believe that the fat “town squirrel” who tries to muscle our little pine squirrel away from the bird feeder should be a little less demanding and a little more thankful. If the feeder is empty, he stands on the railing of the upstairs deck and gives The Female Human attitude. The raccoons are far more polite and grateful.

 

 

Walk Through The Web Wednesday

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Hello Friends,
Alberto here. It’s sure been cold in our neck of the woods. The main entertainment for img_2883The Tribe of Five lately has been watching The Male and Female human moving piles of that white stuff from the porches, decks and driveway. ‘Makes me very happy we are indoor felines who have a very efficient staff. It’s also nice to look out the living room windows and see deer and other woodland creatures walking by. I wonder if they have staff too.
Purrs & Head Bonks,
Siamese cat with blue eyes

It’s National Drink Wine With Your Cat Week – People

black and white cat with a glass of red wine

The holiday is news to me but the concept of cat wine is something I know a bit about. Now before anyone gets their whiskers in a twist, this article is about specially created, healthy wine made specifically for felines.  The Female Human sponsored a table at our local shelter fund-raiser and she purchased Appollo Peak cat wines such as Catbernet, Moscato and Pinot Meow and even some fancy kitty wine drinking glasses. She bought Meowijuana catnip cigars to fit the table theme. I wasn’t invited but I hear the table was pretty cool.img_2008

She did not however, buy enough cat wine for The Tribe of Five to taste test it so I am unable to comment on anything about it (hint to Female Human). And while I’m on the subject, why would The Female Human not invite The Tribe of Five to an ANIMAL shelter event?

Oh well, you can watch the video and see how three cat taste testers reacted to it.

Angel The Cat Is Living Her Best Life and She Has The Pictures To Prove It – Buzzfeed

Angel

This feline is living out her perfect life on Instagram. Purruse her photos and you’ll see she’s a connoisseur of cooking, brunch, drinking wine and sporting the latest fashion. I think Angel Bengal could be classified as a cat with a job, she.s a purrfessional model.

Those of you who follow my Wednesday wanderings know I img_2099am NOT a fan of dressing up felines but I must admit, there are some felines who quite enjoy the experience. This is our furrrend Coco, the Couture Cat. She loves wearing all kinds of ensembles. This is one of my favorite pics of her because she’s showing her “hippy” side. My philosophy is, “if the feline wants to dress up, let her!”

New cat fostering service for Sussex domestic abuse victims – Spirit FM

abusevictimsThis is a topic near and dear to the hearts of the Tribe of Five and our Female Human. So many times women who leave an abusive situation take their cats to the shelter because they are afraid the abuser will hurt the feline. Why should humans have to give away the one creature that gives them unconditional love when they are in these situations? It makes this kitty’s heart very sad.  That’s why I say “two paws up” to the good folks in England who have created Paws Protect, a cat fostering service for people leaving abusive situations. Last year they received 105 referrals and provided confidential cat fostering until the humans were safe and in new locations. Wouldn’t it be purrfect if every community had a program like this?

Cat grass arrangements are fun and functional – Union Sun & Journal

img_2232The Tribe of Five are quite fond of our cat grass. The humans leave it in strategic places so we can access it. You can see how Jasmine enjoys the green stuff.  Now cat grass is not catnip,  it’s a mixture of cereal grasses like rye, oats, barley and wheat. Our Humans get us organic wheat grass. The grass provides great nutrition and improves our appetite and helps with our digestion as well.  Our humans have grown grass in the past, but lately they’ve been taking the lazy way out and just pick it up in the organic section of our grocery store. But if your humans enjoy growing things, they can grow the grass at home. Do your humans give you grass? If not, you need to insist they do!

Modular, Interchangeable Cardboard Cat Dwellings Designed by Architects – Laughing Squid

cardboardCatDwellingsEvidently our Female Human isn’t the only one who is a bit OCD about home decor. She has relegated our well-loved and well used cat tree to a dark corner in the downstairs TV room. Really, how’s a feline supposed to have fun these days when humans are worried about their “aesthetic”? Well kitties rejoice, because two architects’ cats were having trouble adjusting to their new home. When the humans couldn’t find a cardboard product on the market that worked they decided to create their own and designed an entire system of cat dwellings. A Cat Thing was born (watch their cats enjoying the cardboard houses).  This system is so amazing I demanded…errr..requested that The Female Human order us some post-haste. Unfortunately it appears that you can only order and pay in Taiwanese currency. Never one to let any cat grass grow under her feet, The Female Human called Chewy.com. They don’t carry the items now but they have a pawsome system where you can give them the info and your email and when they get the item to sell, they notify you. The Female Human bonded with the Chewy service person, he has five cats too!

Friendly Fill Ins Week # 93

Hello There, 
It’s Lily. I’m doing the friendly fill ins this week. I hope you enjoy my answers. You are always welcome to purrrticipate. Head on over to McGuffy’s Reader and join the blog hop. Post your comments with our friends and fill ins co-hosts at 15andmeowing or, feel free to leave your fill in info in the comments of my post. 
Purrs & Head Bonks,
Lily

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Here are the blank fill ins for this week:

1. My Chinese zodiac animal sign is __________________.

2. My zodiac sign is ___________________.

3. Income tax season                    .

4. In hindsight                         .

Here are my answers: 

Siamese cat in Chinese costme
1.My Chinese zodiac animal sign is a cat, of course. Now if the truth be told, I have no idea about the zodiac, Chinese or otherwise but I did have The Female Human research it for me and imagine my dismay when she told me there is no year of the Cat in the Chinese Zodiac. There’s a year of the tiger and as much as I like tigers, I’m a cat. So, no Chinese zodiac animal sign for me but I’m digging the outfit!
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2. My zodiac sign is Aries, I guess. I’m not much into this sign thing but I do know I was brought to the shelter in April when I was a kitten. I don’t remember when and The Female Human told me that what sign I am depends on when in April I was born. This is all a bit too confusing to me. I’m sure I’m not a bull, and I can fly pretty high when I jump up on the counter or the counter stools, so I’ll pick Aries. 
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3. Income Tax season is a complete and total disaster for our humans. Every year The Female Human runs around like her hair’s on fire. I mean, if this thing happens every year, why does she get her whiskers in such a twist about it? Humans, go figure. I  suggest she take a feline approach to taxes and just chill.
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4.In hindsight I should have NEVER allowed The Female Human to photograph me in that pink hat!

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 2/14

siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

Hello Friends,
Alberto here with my weekly purrrusal of the web. I hope you enjoy this week”s stories and Happy Valentine’s Day. Also, one note. My purrsonal assistant did not have access to her usual technology today so, if the formatting is a bit wonky, she asks that you bear with her. (It’s hard to find good help these days, sigh).

Siamese cat with blue eyes

Nine of the World’s Hardest Working Cats – Mother Nature Network

 Finally more of you humans are getting wise to one of my favorite subjects…working cats. I found some new listings in this article. The cat above works security in a warehouse. There’s a gym cat and my favorite, the weather cat. You humans need to explore the full potential of your felines. We’re quite talented you know.

 

Poodle Cats are a Breed – Romper

 My readers know I and the rest of The Tribe of Five, are adamant proponents of adoption so this “breed”. thing isn’t something I usually talk about, This one is interesting though because thought the only poodles were canines. And, these curly kitties came from great stock, a feral cat in Montana, whose litter included one very curly haired kitten.

A Persian breeder adopted the kitten and named her “Miss DePesto” after a curly haired television character and the rest, is hiss-story.

Cats on Glass NYC Pop Up for a Good Cause – Lonely Planet

All you feline lovers in NYC rejoice! This event isn’t only cool, it’s for a good cause. Each room in the pop-up exhibit will feature an element of cats and an element of glass. There will be a live “Cats on Glass Playhouse” too! The pop-up will feature a “larger-than-life cat display”, a yarn pom-pom room, a meditation room with the sounds of cats purring and more. If you’re truly interested in bringing a kitty into your family, you can play with cats that can be adopted. And donations will be taken for the Humane Society of New York.

Sometimes You Don’t Even Have to Do Anything to Be a Famous Feline – People

Meet Paws the Cat, a Minnesota feline with 28furry digits and now included in the Guinness book of world records. Meowza, I bet he can make those furry toy mice fly! Paws is. Polydactyl feline. Sometimes these cats are called Hemmingway cats because the author kept a tribe of extra toed kitties at his Florida home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Larry The Number 10 Downing Street Cat Terrible at Rodent Control – Mirror.co

Purrhaps this piece should be called, “Cats in danger of losing their jobs” Seems the British PM is no great fan of Larry and recently exterminators had to be called in to 10 Downing Street to deal with the vermin problem.

 The mirror reports that, “…the brown and white tabby is often found sleeping in the street or, at his most energetic, fighting with other Westminster felines, including the Foreign Office’s cat Palmerston.” Larry, my friend, you’d better check your contract or you might be looking for a new job!

Friendly Fill Ins Week # 92

Well Hello There,
Tucker here. I’m doing the fill ins this week. I hope you enjoy my answers. It’s always fun to read what others have to say so you can join the fill in blog hop at McGuffy’s Reader, respond to the fill-in questions at the co-host site with our furrends 15andmeowing or leave your answers in the comments on my posts. 
Purrs & Head Bonks,
TuckieSig

Here are the Fill Ins for the Week: 

1. The Winter Olympics ____________________.

2. I think the most romantic movie (or book) is ___________________________.

3. Recently, I had an odd experience when                            .

4. I believe that love                           .

 

Here are my answers: 

1. The Winter Olympics should include an “If It Fits I Sits” event.
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2. I think the most romantic movie  is A Street Cat Named Bob
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3. Recently I had an odd experience when I discovered that The Female Human wrote a story in Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover’s Soul called “All My Children Wear Fur Coats” and the story is about me and The Tribe of Five!
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4. I believe that love is important for everyone, kitties, woodland creatures, humans and all of creation.
TuckRaccoon_Valentines

Walk Through the Web Wednesday 2/7

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Happy Wednesday My Friends,
Alberto here, purrusing the best of the feline web. I hope you enjoy this week’s stories.
Purrs & Head Bonks,
Siamese cat with blue eyes

CatVideos

Microsoft Says it’s True: Cat Videos Distract Workers – Bloomberg

BOY do I have my whiskers in a twist over this one! Now humans are blaming adorable feline antics for a decrease in work productivity! Interesting that there is nothing mentioned about dog videos. Could this be a purrlitical ploy by the canine party? Methinks I smell a rat!

MathCat

Science Says Dogs Can’t Count but Cats Might, While Frogs and Chickens are Math Whizzes – People Pets

Hah, take THAT canines!  Oops, sorry, I’m still a bit annoyed by the last story. Still, it’s nice to have science confirm what you already knew.  Of course, the human scientists don’t give a full testimonial for felines. They even make the snarky comment “…they are so difficult to control in a lab environment…”   “…only if they feel like it…”  Seriously, humans, do you really want to perpetuate old stereotypes about felines?

At least they did make some scientific observations, stating that “Apparently when the cats did decide to cooperate, they were as good at mathematical tests as fish..but these “good trials” were few and far between.” Answer me this human scientists, how come every one of the Tribe of Five know when it’s breakfast and dinner time, even when those silly humans change to and from that daylight savings thing?

Hmph, now my whiskers are in a twist again. I need to find a nice, feel good story next.

IcelandCat

Reykjavík Catwalk: A Brief History Of Cats In Iceland – Grapevine

Okay, this one calmed me down and was a very nice history lesson.  Cats may have been imported to Iceland but we’ve been there for quite a while, the estimate is that we were brought there sometime from 870-930.  At that time, cats were already very popular in Nordic countries (how enlightened they were).

Evidently there are more cats in cities than in the country and this article says that might be because you have to apply for permission to keep a dog in many municipalities and then dog owners must pay a yearly fee. There are no fees for cat ownership.  So if you’re planning on moving to Iceland, kitty will be welcome anywhere but be prepared to fill out some paperwork if your canine is coming along!

CricketCat

Whiskers in the Workplace, More Cats With Careers – BBC

Since the BBC did such a purrfect job of featuring working cats last week and, since this is one of my favorite subjects I thought this one needed to be included this week.  Now Cricket Cats were completely new to me, as is cricket. But any game where a ball gets tossed back and forth works for me. And of course this is why the sport holds a fascination for felines.

The feline above,  named Brian loves to hang out at the Somerset Country Cricket Club. “The handsome chap patrols the grounds and enjoys the ebb and flow of a county match.”

One of the most famous Cricket cats was Peter, the Lord’s cat, also known as the Marylebone Mog, who lived at the famous cricket ground in London from 1952 to 1964.  When he crossed the Rainbow Bridge,  he became the only animal to be given an obituary in the Wisden almanac. The obituary described him as a well-known cricket-watcher who could often be seen prowling on the field of play; that he loved publicity and frequently appeared on the television.

 

CryptoKitties

“CryptoKitties” is now coming to your phone—with new Chinese cats – Quartz

Do your humans mumble something about “bitcoin” or “crypto currency”? This has had no meaning nor did it create any interest with The Tribe of Five. Until we heard about  KryptoKitties ,

Evidently this is a community where you can collect and breed virtual cats. Since the game was launched in late November, players have spent $19 million on this network.  Meowza, that kind of money would buy a ton of cat nip, treats and fancy feline furniture!

 

Now CryptoKitties is about to get a lot bigger as it as a mobile phone app will be released in China, then Singapore and then globally after the China launch.

Players buy and sell digital kittens in a marketplace, and rent them out for breeding or have their own cats breed. Each cat comes with a specific set of attributes, and the rarest ones can get extremely expensive. So far the most valuable cat in the game changed hands in December for $110,000, according to CryptoKitties Sale.

Now , let me remind you that nothing beats the furry love a REAL kitty brings to your life and seriously, if you have $110,000.00 to spend on a virtual cat why not take that cash and donate it to your local shelter? You humans are really hard to figure out sometimes.

 

 

Lucky Cats!

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Hello Folks,
Oliver Here. We had a great surpurrrise last week. Several weeks ago we sent the Female Human over to our friends Dezi and Raena at Deziz World.  Much to our surprise and delight they were having a drawing for a pawsome prize and so we ordered….err…requested that our Purrsonal Assistant enter us. And guess what, we won! Here is a little glimpse into the excitement of the day the gift arrived.

Purrs & Head Bonks,
close up of Siamese cat and black and white cat faces

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“What is this box and what exactly is “Art of Paws”? Human, please open this receptacle and allow us to inspect it. ”

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Tucker: “Step back everyone, allow me, your Alpha to inspect this box. Hmm, looks okay, proceed little felines.”

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“Meowza, this is a bit of a tight fit for me!”

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“Alberto, any tips for figuring out this thing?

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“I think you’re supposed to sit in it this way, Oliver. Still not much room though.”

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“Hey Humans, what is this thing? Not too much room in here even after you take out that soft fuzzy item!”

“Finally, the humans removed the intrusive items inside the box. Now with a few adjustments, I can just fit.”

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The Human Opines: “Thank you Dezi and Raena   and Art of Paws for this beautiful dark wood cat shelf and the soft sheepskin winter cover. Once we have it installed, The Tribe of Five will will appreciate it even more.”

“This beautiful product from Art of Paws fits in with any decor and is quite elegant. Noted below is a photo of the mounted shelf and a feline who looks very comfy and  happy.
Siamese cat resting on Art of Paws wall shelf

Friendly Fill Ins Week #91

We’re getting quite fond of these weekly fill ins. This week we’re doing something a bit different and each of the The Tribe of Five will be contributing to the fill ins. We hope you enjoy our answers. You can join this blog hop at McGuffy’s Reader, or head on over to the Fill In co-host, our friends at 15andmeowing.  You are always welcome to share your fill in answers in the comments section of our post as well.

Here are this week’s fill ins:

1. Trust________________.
2. I would protest _____________________.
3. I have                  since                .

4. Right now, I                   .

Here are our answers:

1.Trust me (Oliver)  to find all the heating vents in the house and maximize the heat coming out of each one. This is one of my favorites, in the kitchen.

 


2.I would protest 
if we (Tucker and Lily) were not allowed enough room on the sofa to cuddle. You can see I (Tucker) am feeling a bit cramped even in the space I’m allowed. 

 

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3.I (Jasmine) have served as nurse to the Humans ever since I was a kitten. Here I am standing on the Female Human’s chest to ensure she’s breathing during a recent bout with the flu..

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4.Right now I (Alberto)  am guarding this puzzle thing that the relative of the Humans so foolishly decided to assemble (and attempt to protect) on my dining room table. Are there little pieces of this puzzle on the floor? I’ll let you be the judge.
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