Hello Furiends,
It finally warmed up at bit here. Tucker , Oliver and the rest of the Tribe have been waiting for some warmth and sun puddles. I’m more of a “go with the flow” kinda’ guy and I’ve just been hanging out on the cat tree, waiting for summer.

“Just me hanging out and waiting for some warm summer weather.” Alberto

I hope you enjoy this week’s web stories.

This Cat is Chonky: The fat-cat Facebook group lifting humans from despair

“I’m not chonky, I have big bones.” Oliver

Chonky is a fantastic Facebook Group and  founder Tori Diaz says she receives messages from group members who want her to know how Chonky has cheered them up during their most stressful moments. “What hit me the hardest,” Diaz says, “were the people responding saying the group has helped them through suicidal thoughts, depression and severe medical problems.”

What I like about Chonky is that rudeness and judgment are not allowed, in other words, no chonk shaming.

I sent the Female Human over to the page to see if she can join. I think this would be a purrfect place for Oliver to hang out.

Cat Goes to Groomer for a Haircut, Leaves Looking Like the Feline Version of a Slinky

I often hear The Female Human meowing about her latest haircut but this is ridiculous. This cat (named Oliver) was taken to the groomers by his human grandfather and evidently the human thought this cut was a great idea. His human was not happy and posted about Oliver’s debacle on Twitter. Oh the humiliation, the shame. Poor Oliver! Good thing Oliver is a handsome fellow despite his ridiculous hairdo!

Vancouver Luxury Catios

Summer is coming and it’s catio time. A catio is a cat patio and the purrfect place for a feline to safely enjoy the great outdoors. The Vancouver SPCA ran a contest and lucky Canadian felines were the recipients of 6 catios.

There are all kinds of cations, some are fancier than some human’s outside space. The Tribe of Five has a pop up cation what we enjoy very much. We wrote about it in a two part blog post.

A chic Houston house where all the residents are cats

An amazing human named Patti Thomas turned her home over to felines needing their furever home. Her premise was that cats needed a comfortable environment to make them more house friendly and calm. This project was so successful she has donated another home as a cat shelter.

The home is decorated beautifully in ’50s-style teal and brown, complete with matching throw rugs. A leather couch faces a fireplace; a basket of cat magazines stands nearby. In the kitchen, a turquoise coffee machine shares counter space resident felines. The air is fresh and redolent of lavender thanks to constant cleaning by volunteers.

We give this idea our “Paws Up” award.

Whiskas Pet Food’s Interactive Voice Assistant Encourages Kids’ Curiosity

I have to admit, I’m still trying to understand why a cat food company created a purrsonal assistant but still, the thing sounds cool. Since cats are curious, Whiskas decided to create a purrsonal assistant that’s curious too. It’s called Mia and Mia asks questions rather than answers them.

Mia works using a motion sensor. When she senses that humans are nearby, the kitty assistant will start a conversation, asking questions about a whole variety of topics that kids will find interesting and offering multiple-choice answers. Mia is 3D-printed and comes in Whiskas’ signature colors of white and purple.

We told our staff to try and find out how much this little item costs but so far, no luck.