Monthly Archives: November 2019

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 11/27

Posted on by
11
siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

Hello Furiends,
Meowza, this week has been all about Oliver. He gets to pick the winner in last week’s contest, he don’s a pirate costume to announce that a winner has been selected and then he tells me that I can’t announce the winner in my own weekly feature unless I wear this stupid hat.

Mind you, I was planning on wishing you all a Happy Thanksgiving but not in this humiliating manner!

But let’s get back to the contest. We have some smart and creative blog followers but our furiends at Eastside Cats were the first with the correct answer. We’re having our purrsonal assistant contact them for an address to send their two Felines Opine books.

So what was Oliver doing? The photo of the evening feeding frenzy had the clue. Oliver, the little heat seeking feline that he is, found out that sleeping on the counter when the dishwasher is going is a cozy place to be! Concatulations Eastside Cats for being so well versed in the ways of felines.

he Female Human was working in her office at home the other night and Oliver came running in with a rugby ball she had purchased in Ireland. He was picking it up in his teeth, tossing it around and swatting it all over the house. By the time The Female Human extricated herself from her computer and got her phone ready to capture Oliver’s smooth rugby moves he was pretty much finished. You’ll see in the little video below below that Oliver was pretty much done with the rugby session and you’ll hear The Female Human’s whine. When will you humans realize that part of the cat code is “stop doing whatever you’re doing when the humans try to capture it on film.”

Well, let’s get to my feline features of the week. The Tribe of Five wishes you all a very happy Thanksgiving (and lots of turkey leftovers!)

River the beloved neighborhood feline is back

River the cat is a beloved feline in La Jolla, CA. When La Jolla resident Ariel Wagner read a news story that River was missing she sprang into action.

River is well known for his friendly demeanor, greeting pedestrians and visiting stores on the north end of Girard Avenue. Sometimes he was even spotted hanging out inside the tops of the umbrellas at Pannikin Coffee & Tea.

Wagner began to search the web for photos of lost cats and came across River’s photo.

Evidently he’d been taken in by a woman who owns a gymnastics studio in Clairemont. She renanmed him Zoom the Acrobatic Cat, because his favorite past time is  high-jumping.  The woman had a dog that did not get along with the cat so “Zoom” was transferred to a new foster home and this is where Wagner found him.  After making sure that Wagner was who she said she was and “Zoom” was actually River, he was returned to Stasia Osment, the La Jollan who has provided him with food, a water bowl and a litter box on a nightly basis for almost two years. (His previous human decided to let River roam free because he was miserable inside her house.)

“I’m elated, I’m ecstatic!” Osment said. “Since he’s been back, I’m so happy. He’s been doing his cruising again.  River’s human fan club is very happy that he’s back.

Support homeless pets and satisfy your shoe fashion passion

Skechers x Felix the Cat lifestyle footwear for women launched this month in celebration of the iconic  silent screen star’s 100th anniversary. Felix the Cat’s comic strips, character prints, logo details and classic colors are featured on several of Skechers’ popular designs. Initial styles include the brand’s Skecher Street chunky platform cleated and slip-on sneakers, as well as Skechers’ BOBS for Cats alpargatas and casual comfort sneakers.

For every purchase of BOBS from Skechers shoes featuring Felix the Cat, Skechers will make a donation to Petco Foundation to help save the lives of cats and dogs.* Since 2015, the Company has donated more than $4.58 million to animal welfare organizations through sales of its BOBS from Skechers collection — funds that have helped more than 847,000 pets in the United States, including more than 487,000 animals saved through adoptions.

Paws up to Sketchers!

The Meow Meow Temple in Kyoto

Priestess and cat monk Koyuki loves to greet visitors. She has her own Instagram account

I’ve told you about some really  cool feline places in Japan but this one is new to me. In English it’s called the Meow Meow Temple (Nyan Nyan Ji) and is dedicated to felines. You can find this wonderful place in Kyoto.  The temple has a priestess and cat monk named Koyuki. There are other felines that hang out at the temple. Go inside the temple and enjoy cat-themed food and beverage.

The Round Robot Feline Babysitter

Anyone who lives with a feline knows that environmental enrichment is crucial for us hence all the toys, scratchers, cat trees, etc. in the house. We miss you humans when you’re gone and playing with our toys isn’t as fun as having you there to play with us. But that’s all changed with the Ebo, a new cat companion robot now on Kickstarter.

Ebo is a small, round robot that can autonomously roll around the house, keeping us felines busy when you’re gone. Its erratic movements are designed to mimic those of an animal, and it makes noises and sports an LED screen that lights up like a pair of eyes. Ebo also packs some more traditional cat toys, too. The swappable head piece has feathers or string and there’s a built-in laser pointer, and what feline doesn’t love a laser pointer?

It’s designed to withstand scratching, pawing, drooling or chewing and if it’s knocked over it can right itself. The robot can scan the room to detect obstacles and it’s collision sensors will make it change directions.

If playtime has gone on too long and Ebo runs low on energy it will automatically return to it’s charging dock. The battery lasts about 2 hours and takes about 2 hours to charge.


Ebo has a built in camera and microphone that you can access through a smartphone app. And while you’re talking to your feline, you can control the Ebo’s movements. There is a standard and pro version of Ebo. The pro version uses AI to analyze the feline’s behavior and mood to decide how to better play.

If you have a CHONKY cat at your house, you might be interested in the option of a collar that tracks the feline’s steps and other health metrics so that Ebo becomes your cat’s purrsonal trainer.

Ebo is currently being funded through a Kickstarter program and has already made it’s $5,000.00 goal. Early bird pledges start at US$158 for the Ebo Standard Christmas version, which includes a little Santa and reindeer suit for the robot and are due to ship in December. You can see more photos and watch a video of Ebo by clicking here.

Bow Chicka Meow Meow

Paws up to the Octopi Brewing of Waunakee, WI.  They’ve created  Bow Chicka Meow Meow!, stout that benefits the Dane County Humane Society. They expect the brew to raise about $1600.00 for the Humane Society. Thanks to their help, so  far in 2019 the Dane County Humane Society has taken in over 2,400 cats and has been able to place more than 90 percent of those animals in adoptions or sanctuary programs.

The idea for the beer and it’s name came from the Dane County Humane Society staff. Bow Chicka Meow Meow! is sold in six-packs of 12-ounce cans for around $11.

I applaud this brewery because it seems like most brewers favor canines (we have a brewery in our town called Laughing Dog and they sponsor Yappy Hours . I am thrilled that felines are getting into the brewery game!

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 11/20

Posted on by
12
siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

Hello There Furiends,
How are things in your neck of the woods? To be honest, it’s been a bit boring here. The Female Human is always meowing about keeping things tidy but when dinner time comes things don’t look so tidy. Tucker is afraid he’ll miss an eating opportunity, Lily doesn’t want to fight for her food with Oliver (who normally sits on the rug howling like a banshee) and I need to be up there to snoopervise.

I mentioned that Oliver likes to sit on the floor and wait for his meals, which is why this sight that welcomed our Human the other morning had her quite purr-plexed. It took her a while to figure out what Ollie was doing up there. I’m going to post the photos and see if you can figure out why he’s there and the first one to respond with the right answer in the comments will win one each of our Felines Opine books. (Hint, you might get a clue from the dinner photo). Happy guessing!

The first to guess correctly why Oliver is in this position in this unusual place wins both of 9ur books!
This was what The Female Human saw in the morning. Needles to say she wasn’t thrilled with the sight.
Instead of responding to “Oliver, what are you doing up there?!” Oliver just cuddled up closer to the side of the counter. What in the world is Oliver doing??

While you folks are trying to work out what in the world my crazy brother is up to, I’ll share my newsworthy finds in this week’s web wanderings.

Man plays piano for his rescue cats

You can watch the video here.

This musician has 19 rescue cats, and they all love their piano-playing human more than anything. But there’s also a wonderful story behind the music. .

About 10 years ago, Sarper Duman, a 28-year-old pianist and music teacher ,suffering from deep depression attempted suicide. After spending an extended time in recovery he was in a park one day and a cat crawled up to him.  He wanted to help this cat because he had needed so much help himself. That first rescue cat turned into 19 cats.

Duman began posting videos of his music loving felines and his Instagram followers went from 300 to 55,000 overnight. Today over a  million people enjoy his videos. But, as you can imagine, 19 cats require a lot of food, litter and vet visits. Duman decided to set up a Patreon page for his followers to help earn some support from his videos.  Duman expands his love of animals to strays around his home and his office and sometimes, people who know of his work, abandon sick and wounded cats at his house or work.

 “Thanks to you and your endless support,” he says, “I have been able to help these poor animals to get the necessary medical treatment.”

If you want to watch Sarper’s videos, check out his Instagram page – and if you want to help him look after his cats, you can become a patron here.

Bonnie & Clyde rule the roost at Atlanta store

Okay humans this one is going o be a bit confusing. Bonnie and Clyde are cats, not humans. The Atlanta they’re talking about is not in Georgia, ,it’s in Texas-who knew?

Now that I’ve gotten all that straightened out I can tell you about these cats with jobs (and you know how much I love stories about cats with jobs)’

Customers at Atlanta Athletics are always greeted by the two felines employed there. Their job consists of stretching out on the floor awaiting belly rubs and customer service.

Clyde, the white cat, runs to greet customers as soon as he hears the front door opening. Bonnie, the black cat is slightly pickier as she likes some customers, others, not so much. Both cats agree that they love the Fed Ex, box delivering guy. I was unable to find out what salary these felines earn but based on their appearance, whatever it is it’s plenty to keep them healthy and happy. Working cats rock!

A cat’s journey from Portland to Santa Fe

Our Female Human runs a social media lost pet group for our area. She works hard to keep people who are looking for their lost felines optimistic and says that when humans see a cat they think stray before they ever think lost. This is why she ( and I ) love stories like this.

After five years of being gone from home, a beautiful black cat named Sasha, appeared in Santa Fe. This is exciting enough but when you realize that Sasha’s former home is in Portland, Oregon!  After roaming the city streets of Santa Fe Sasha was picked up and taken to the animal shelter.

Shasha’s microchip revealed that his owner was Viktor Usov, who reported the cat missing years ago. (Note to you humans, microchipping is important!)

The shelter’s public relations officer, Murad Kirdar was astonished the cat made an almost 1400 mile journey. “Cats are notorious for jumping U-Hauls, trains and cars. Somehow it hitched a ride and ended up here,” Kirdar says. “How he managed to survive to get here is the million dollar question. I can tell you  he hasn’t missed a meal.”

Thanks to the generosity of American Airlines, Kirdar and Sasha flew to return Sasha to his home and human in Portland.  Kirdar says he has bonded with Sasha, and plans to keep in touch.

Minneapolis Airport therapy cat Stitches is the new favorite feline of the internet

Here’s another pawsome feline occupation. Minneapolis St. Paul International Airport is one of only two in the nation to employ a therapy cat. The other airport is Denver and I reported on that feline in one of my Walk Through The Web Wednesday features.

Stitches, has proven to be a calming influence in the hectic atmosphere of this large airport. It isn’t only the travelers who enjoy the 11-year old Stitches, it’s the airport employees as well.

Stitches knows quite a bit about stress as she was rescued after hurricane Hugo. “She’s wonderful. I’ve never seen such a calm collected cat,” pilot Andrew Dean said.

MSP Airport has had a therapy program for four years, with 96 dogs. Stitches is the very first cat.

“We knew going into it that people would really love Stitches, what we didn’t know is we would get media attention from around the world and that she would become this sensation,” MSP Foundation director of travelers’ assistance Laura Sartain said.

Way to go Stitches! Let’s get more felines in airports.

Man converts coolers to winter housing for feral cats

A wonderful man in Ogden, Utah turns old coolers into warm, insulated spaces for feral cats to take refuge in the winter.  This DIY project only takes about five minutes and you can see how easy it is by watching the video.

He uses  a 6 inch drill bit to drill through the cooler, then add some pipe insulation to pad it.  You put straw on the inside and the project is finished.

These cat coolers are brilliant and in climates like the Inland Northwest where we live, they are a blessing for feral kitties.

We give our paws up award to this kind-hearted human, Philip Rogich. If you want to see how easy these cat coolers are to make, watch the video.

Paws Up award by FelineOpines.net for humans who do amazing things for cats

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 11/13

Posted on by
13
siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

Hello Furiends,
It’s been an eventful week in our neck of the woods. It appears that my reporting on Quilty, the escapist cat (and purrhaps the reporting from various major news organizations) has created quite a stir. I recently learned that instead of being rewarded for his clever behavior, Quilty has been thrown in solitary confinement at the shelter where he lives.

Cats are protesting in the streets and the situation is getting tense.

Cats all over the country are uniting in their quest to see Quilty freed.

I contacted some esteemed feline friends to ask them their opinion about this miscarriage of justice (note, any resemblance to members of Feline Opines staff is purely coincidental).

Yo Dude, this solitary confinement stuff is bogus. Someone needs to get that guy out of the shelter!
I say there old chap, back in WWII that feline would have received a medal for his fabulous escape talents. Cheerio my little feline Houdini. .
So uh, like you know, I don’t really get into all that negativity stuff but I would say poor Quilty got a bad rap. ya’ know?
So I was hangin’ with some of my homies and they said, “Duuuuude, did you hear about that cat that got solitary for letting other cats into the lobby of the shelter?” And I was like, Woah, that’s messed up!”
What cat? What shelter? Were there treats involved? Why won’t anyone tell me what’s going on? Hello! Hello! Where is everybody?

Okay, perhaps some of these public figures made a little more sense than others. The point is, all my furiends and followers in Texas, PLEASE help get this little guy out of the shelter and into a furever home (one with locks on the doors preferably!)

Enough about Quilty, lets move on to this weeks feline finds in my web wanderings.

Hero cat saves baby

Gatubela, a hero cat and purrhaps a European relative of Lily,

All hail the hero cat Gatubela who saved a toddler from falling down the stairs. It was all caught on a security camera as the feline distracts a baby and keeps him from falling down a fight of a dozen steps. Gatubela sat on the sofa watching the baby until the little boy headed toward the stairs. The kitty ran to the rescue and latched onto the toddler. We say, “Way to go Gatubela!” and give this feline a paws up award. Oh, and by the way, we’re wondering if Gatubela is related to our very own Lily.

https://nypost.com/2019/11/07/hero-cat-leaps-into-action-to-save-baby-from-falling-down-stairs/

Japanese loungewear truly is the cat’s pajamas

Felissimo, Japan’s leading cat-themed lifestyle brand has created the purrrfect loungewear for humans to show their feline side. The outfit in the picture is the Siamese version but they also have a black cat  version (although why anyone would prefer the black cat over the Siamese is a mystery to me, especially as the cost is  4,500 yen (US$42). That makes it’ 200 yen more expensive than the Siamese version. I’ve been told that’s because the black cat outfit is mid-calf and the Siamese outfit is knee length If you’re worried that your feet might get chilly in this ensemble, have no fear, there are kitty themed socks to match.

Potato, this cat’s unique eyes have made him an internet celebrity

You humans do a lot of meowing about how being different is a good thing but some of you don’t really believe that when it comes to felines. Potato the cat, with his big green and black eyes bears quite a resemblance to Puss in Boots from the movie Shrek.  As soon as his human adopted him she began posting his photos on Instagram and the rest, as they say, is history.

Potato today, at five years old, is a bona fide internet celebrity. We love Potato’s looks, what do you say?

Join Purina’s Feastivity celebration this Christmas

2019 Ornament. This year’s ornament celebrates all the extra little ways we give—and give back. brighten your tree and gift one to a someone you care about. We hope it helps you fill the holidays with love.

Feastivities is how the good folks at Fancy Feast celebrate the holidays. Each year they offer a unique, crafted ornament to brighten your tree. They partner with Adopt-A-Pet.com so all the proceeds go to helping pets find their forever homes. Over the years, the Feastivity program has raised over $230,000.00 Meowza, that’s a merry furever home for lots of felines!

Forget those humans pretending to be cats, THIS is the movie you want to see!

 “The Cat Rescuers,” movie, introduces a handful of remarkable Brooklynites who have dedicated time, money, and an enormous amount of emotional fortitude to trapping, neutering, and returning — or adopting out — feral city cats. They devote their days and nights to rescuing abandoned or homeless kittens and cats.

The movie tells the story of each rescuer, you see how they trap and care for stray cats. They bring cats and kittens into their homes if they need to recouperate from medical issues.  

This rescue group (and the movie) were born out of the passion a man and his wife had for cat rescue. There are an an estimated 500,000 street cats in New York City and that fact laubnched the idea of this movie to educate people about TNR. ,

Watch “The Cat Rescuers” trailer and be sure to learn more about Second Chance Animal Rescue ..  The Tribe of Five would love to see this movie shown all over the  country.

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 11/06

Posted on by
16
siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

Hello :Furiends,
How is your week going? The Tribe of Five had a pretty good week, a Chewy order AND an order from Petco, it’s been box heaven. Although the weather is cold in our neck of the woods so far, the snow has not made an appearance and there are some beautiful sunny days. The Tribe loves to find sun puddles wherever we can.

“Can’t a cat take a nap without having a camera shoved in her face?” -Lily
“This is my sun puddle location, stay away!” -Tucker
“Hey Ollie, can you scoot over just a bit?” -Alberto
“No I will not wake up and show you my beautiful blue eyes!” -Jasmine

We also have a bit of news. The Female Human is constantly meowing about being able to have someplace on our blog to opine. We reminded her that the name of this blog is Feline Opines, the world from a feline point of view, but this has had no effect on her so we will be launching a page on our blog just for the human to opine about feline things. Sheesh, everyone has to get in the game.

I hope you enjoy my internet finds that highlight how wonderful we felines are.

Don’t Fence Me In!

Quilty, a 7-year old cat available for adoption at the Friends For Life Animal Rescue and Adoption Organization in Houston got himself into trouble for freeing his fellow prisoners…err, feline rescues. He didn’t do it once or even twice. He keeps himself busy at night by freeing all the felines and calling them all to a meeting in the lobby. We say “way to go Quilty” and take the marketing campaign to get yourself adopted into your own paws.

Thousands of cats are rescued by tree climbers

I featured a story not too long ago about a hapless feline wo got himself stuck in a tree for hours during a storm. People, people, a cat will not always get itself out of a tree and this feline is very grateful for tree climbers who come to our rescue. For more stories from Canopy Cat Rescue, click here.  If you live in Washington or Oregon, have your humans put this company on speed dial!

Should cats eat their greens?

Do felines need to eat their greens? I’ve been snacking on wheat grass ever since I was a kitten. Lori Teller, a clinical associate professor at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, provided some information on cats eating grass.

“Cat grass isn’t any one type of grass but can be a combination of grasses, such as rye, barley, oat and wheat,” Teller said. “Cat owners can buy kits at many stores to grow cat grass for their kitties.”

 “Cat grass is not a required part of a cat’s diet if the food they are eating is well-balanced, but it is something that many cats enjoy,” Teller said. “Especially for indoor cats, it can be a source of environmental enrichment. In some cases, it may provide some micronutrients, such as vitamins A and D.”

The article goes on to say the experts really don’t know why cats like to eat grass. I would add that not all felines like cat grass. Tucker and Oliver are a bit “take it or leave it” about our cat grass but you would think the female felines in The Tribe are addicted to the stuff!

Traveling cats embark on the journey of a lifetime

We felines hate it when our humans are away from us for too long, These kitties are so bonded to their human that his frequent trips away from home made them very sad. His human, Daisuke Nagasawa decided he would try bringing them along with him when he traveled.  Watch the video and see how happy the felines are now.

The agony of betrayal

Are you kitten me right meow??!!

Sometimes you humans can be clueless. Case in point. These humans bring home a kitten and then eave the cat in residence to sit by and watch them play with said kitten. Seriously, bring the cat into the process or there will be some swatty, swatty, hissy later! You can watch the video here.