Hello Furiends, How was your week? It’s been rainy and to be honest, pretty boring. My brofur Oliver and I spent the week hanging out and being lazy.
“I’m bored Ollie”. Me too Al, there’s not even anything good on TV.
Lily and Tucker felt the same and, as you can see by Lily’s expression, boredom is definitely an issue!
Sigh, nothing new and exciting for a kitty to do!
The good news is that The Female Human got something in the mail for us that she assures us we will love (and will keep us busy). I had to snoopervise as she took the pieces out of the box. We will be writing a review very soon.
“Are you sure you’ll be able to put all these pieces together?” Following directions isn’t your strong suit!
But enough about us, here are my favorite finds as I wandered the web this weeek.
This sign is on The Female Human’s desk. Needless to say, she’s a fan of cat puns.
Cat puns are fun….I have been known to use a few in my writing. For those of you humans who can’t think beyond the obvious ones (purrfect, Meowza, etc) here’s a list to help you out. (I’m going to ask for a meow-tini tonight!)
Sometimes all a feline needs to find a furever home is a little pampering. Take Ella for instance. She arrived at the SOLAS [Support Our Local Animal Shelters] Rescue looking a bit worse for wear. Elsa had at least two litters of kittens before she was brought to the shelter. Then the owner of Club Meow , Melinda Brink decided to provide Elsa with free grooming to help her get adopted. She said they gave Elsa five baths, shaved her matted fur, cleaned her ears, and made her look like a princess. Brink provides grooming for two to three cats in shelters or in rescue programs every month.
I love this idea because stray kitties need all the help they can get. So, pet groomers, how about donating some “fancying up time” at your local shelter?
Yes, cats still rule the internet. So much in fact that YouTube is featuring “films” specifically created for our feline purrleasure. We have our own channels such as Little Kitty & Family, and Handsome Nature . There’s even an 8 hour “Bird Bonanza” film you can queue up and play for your housebound kitties so they are entertained until you get home from work.
There are animated videos that are like games too. When I was little I had my own iPad mini with a Kitty Game from Friskies.
Now lest you think I’m making all this up, Earnest Pettie, the Trends and Insights lead at YouTube, has noticed the trend too. So humans, enrich our environment and play those kitty focused videos!
The Female Human has accused us of wearing watches but we felines don’t need to do that. We do keep track of time in our own way, though. We know when things usually happen (like meal time). Cat behaviorist Anita Kelsey says that like humans, cats have a sort of internal clock that keeps their waking and sleeping hours fairly regular. She told Metro.co.uk: ‘Cats are crepuscular, meaning that they are primarily active around dawn and dusk. This is evolutionary, meaning all cats instinctively and naturally do the same.’
We also use our internal cues like hunger and thirst to time some of the things we do. When the bedroom gets light in the morning, we know it’s time for breakfast!
So you can attempt to sleep in but be aware, we will know this is happening and we’ll probably judge you for it. Change our habits and suffer the consequences!
Israel has been referred to as “The Promised Land for Cats”. Scientists say that the modern cat came from cats first found in Efrat, in Eastern Israel near Jerusalem. This might explain the vast number of felines in the city and the country. The Prime Minister of Israel created a Cat Ministry.
This story provides a glimpse of those who have lived and visited Israel and the bond that exists between felines and humans.
Hello Furiends, Greetings from the snowy, blowy Inland Northwest. The humans are slipping and sliding all over the roads in their metal machines. We felines, on the other hand are staying close to home and keeping cozy.
Oliver and I are expurrts at staying warm.
I have been working though. Seems as if I can’t leave our Purrsonal Assistant alone for a minute so I have to snoopervise her every move. I did demand an “Al extension” on the desk and that my bed be placed there. If I have to work, I’m going to be comfy!
A cat’s work is never done.
I hope you are all safe and well and that this little sign in our office will resonate with you.
Cat lovers urged to nominate their furry friends in National Cat Awards 2020
Jeffree, last year’s overall winner. Photo: metro.uk.co
Bad news for us North American felines but great news for felines across the pond. It’s time for nominations for National Cat of the Year 2020 . Last year’s overall winner, Jeffree took the title for helping teenager Finn Hackeson, who has Asperger syndrome, cope with the death of his father.
Other categories include ‘Hero Cat’ for cats that have saved the day and ‘Most Caring Cat’ for pets that have positively impacted a person’s health or wellbeing.
The ‘Furr-ever Friends’ category is aimed at bringing in tales of friendship between children and cats.
The ‘Outstanding Rescue Cat’ is a special award for the most fabulous felines that have been adopted from animal charities. There is also a Purina “Better Together” award to celebrate the special bond between a feline and a human.
The award ceremony will be a star-studded event at London’s Savoy Hotel and is sponsored by PURINA.
So my UK moggie furiends, ,get your humans in gear and have them enter the contest.
The PurrSong Pendant is a tiny device that measures cat’s activity and our sleep. Who knew, a fitness tracker just for felines? The idea behind PurrSong is to get data about our regular routines and to keep track of any times we change those routines. Changes in behavior could indicate there is something wrong. We cats are sneaky in hiding when we don’t feel good and this little gadget might just give you humans a heads up and get us to the vet sooner. The information is sent to an app on the human’s smart phone and will alert to abnormal patterns. The device attaches to our collars. The PurrSong Pendant will be released later this year and will sell for about $100.00. You can watch a video about this cat fitness tracker here.
Contributed photo Marek Jablonski stands in front of the cat playground he built as an Eagle Scout service project for the Marshalltown Animal Rescue League.
Marshalltown High School student Marek Jablonski took the little things to another level when he helped renovate the Marshalltown Animal Rescue League’s cat playpen as his Eagle Scout public service project. We felines know how important environment enrichment is for us and it’s even more important for shelter kitties.
Jablonski created a wall climbing feature that allows kitties to get to the very top of the wall. When Jablonski visited the shelter he saw three kittens sitting on one of the steps, staring out the window
We give Marek Jablonski a paws up award for this pawsome gift to the shelter.
Sound-healer Santiago Rodriguez plays some pet sounds as the cats try to be cool about it. Long Beach Post News
Since opening in September 2019, Feline Good Social Club has been a haven for the cat-deprived. If you can’t have a kitty of your own, you can pay $15.00 for a hour for lunch, a break or just some feline time. The Feline Good Social Club’s slogan is “get giddy with a kitty” and encourages all it’s patrons to enjoy the feline company they provide. The organization is a nonprofit, everyone there is a volunteer and the funds received used for facility upkeep, cat food, kitty letter, etc.
The Feline Good Social Club plans events with feline friendly titles such as Cats & Mats Yoga, Paint & Purrs, a cat toy making craft event and a cat-themed movie night. Last weekend Sound Healing with Illuminate Life came in to allow felines and humans to enjoy an unusual meditation session. The event was such a success they are considering doing it on a monthly basis. You can visit The Feline Good Social Club (and meet the kitties available for adoption) at their website or follow them on Facebook.
I’ve reported on Wings of Rescue and The Jackson Galaxy Project before. These wonderful folks (and others) fly felines (and doggos too) to places where they will have a better chance of being adopted. These 118 cats were airlifted from shelters in Louisiana and Mississippi to Washington State where folks are looking for kitties to give a furever home. Paws up to these folks who work so hard to get kitties adopted, even if it means transporting them thousands of miles away.
The cats chosen to be flown out came from Jefferson Parish Animal Shelter, St. Charles Animal Shelter, and Oktibbeha Humane Society.
Wings of Rescue has flown over 41,000 pets to safety since 2012. The Jackson Galaxy Project’s mission statement is “To improve the lives of animals at risk by transforming the places they live and helping the people who care for them” and working with Wings of Rescue is only one part of their mission.
Hello There Furiends, My how time flies. It’s Wednesday already! It’s been a loooong week for our Female Human. We’ve had lots of snow and she’s been busy pushing all that white stuff off the driveway. We felines purrfer comfort so while she went out there at least four times per day, we kept ourselves warm and comfy and cheered her on. (We were with her in spirit).
This was pretty much The Female Human’s view sincer last Friday. Every time she got the driveway cleared that white stuff started falling. It’s been a long, consistent bad hair day for her. MOLOliver stands…..err….lounges in solidarity with The Female Human while he warms himself by the fire.
Lily posed in front of the snow-covered trees and I crawled into The Female Human’s lap each evening and gave her a therapeutic purr session.
We hope that wherever you are, you’re safe and warm! And now, on with the feline news of the week.
We felines don’t always get the kudos we deserve which is why I’m bringing you the story of Max, the fearless cat. This kitty lives in southern California and ended up chasing of not 1, not 2 but 3 coyotes in his yard. And just so you know this isn’t some tall “tail” his humans got the whole dust up on their security camera..
Max’s humans heard the altercation and went out to chase the coyotes out of their yard and had no idea how much work Max had done fending them off until they watched the film from the security camera.
Poor old Max was just a whisker away from bring coyote dinner. Max’s outdoor days are now over bui his humans are talking about building him a catio.You’ve got to check out the security camera video!
A litterbox that keeps your tools handy and is easy to clean!
Tuft and Paw is an innovator in feline products and their latest kickstarter campaign illustrates this.
The Cove litterbox is simple, beautiful and has it’s own an integrated scoop, dustpan, and hand brush. It was created by designers, engineers, and cat behaviorists and made from recycled plastics that are completely toxin-free.
Double-walled, thick matte plastic looks and feels sturdy while a smooth interior is extremely easy to clean. Rubberized bottom firmly plants the box to the floor. Cove’s scoop is designed to sift faster and slide easily through coarse litter without much effort. The dustpan and handbrush allow for quick, easy tidying around the litter box. The litterbox can only be pre-ordered on their Kickstarter page at this time. Pre-order price is $99.00. Lining in a house with five felines, The Female Human isn’t sure that 5 Cove litterboxes are in our financial future but it does sound nice.
I can’t say I’m all that excited about these choices, I’ll have to have a conversation with our Purrsonal Assistant who set it up. I have to say though, it’s about time a streaming company took some interest in feline mewsical preferences. The play list set up asks about your feline’s personality so I am hoping these tunes will suit me. Send your human over to set up your playlist.
Petcurean puts pets first and the purpose of this contest is to shine a light on the many cats who are overlooked for adoption because of health, weight, age or behavior or other issues, in other words, the feline “underdogs”. Rescue groups, shelters and cat adoption supporters from across North America are invited to purrticipate.
These entities will have until February 2nd to submit the details of their most overlooked, but utterly adoptable cats. Of the cats nominated, 12 finalists will be selected – six Americans and six Canadians. These finalists will be announced on February 18, 2020, and supporters will be invited to learn about the finalists, do their part to help raise awareness, and vote for their favourite cats. The public voting period will last until February 24, 2020, at 6:00 pm P.S.T. The winner will be announced on February 25.
All 12 of the finalists’ shelters will receive a cat food donation of 2,000 meals to support the important work they’re doing to help animals in their communities. Petcurean will also pay the adoption fee for all 12 finalists, and if they are adopted, they will receive year’s supply of food to take to their new homes. The cat who receives the most votes in each category will receive a three-year supply of food from Petcurean.
Let’s get our shelters involved and help these kitties find furever homes!
This odd couple in London is garnering world-wide fame for their relationship. A huge English bunny was recorded visiting his feline buddy. The cat’s human, Jessie Sayce recorded the bunny during his daily “hop over” to visit her cat. This has been happening since Leo was a kitten. She said, “”We thought it was really adorable, but didn’t think it would last, as Leo was getting bigger and thought he’d scare the rabbit,” she said. “This started 6 months ago, and they’re still super friendly!”
Their friendship has reached the point where the bunny has sneaked into the house via the cat door to look for Leo if he doesn’t find him outside. Sayce couldn’t figure out how the bunny was getting over the fence so she filmed him one day. She said he jumped on a chair to the top of the shed in her garden. She said they don’t always play, sometimes they just sit together and watch the world go by.
Before I tell you the story about my experience with Scruffy Paws Kidney Revitalize chews I must turn this portion of my blog post over to our legal department.
This is a sponsored post by Scruffy Paws. As a happy customer of Scruffy Paws, I was contacted to write a sponsored post from my (and the Female Human’s) experiences with the product. All reviews and opinions expressed in this post are based on my purrsonal views and experience with the product.
It’s No Fun Getting Old
I know you might find this hard to believe but I am a 17-year old feline. I’ve been healthy all my life until about 15 months ago when I suddenly lost a lot of weight (and for a tiny feline like me this is a very bad thing). The Female Human took me to our vet and I was diagnosed with kidney disease. I wrote about my kidney diagnosis in my post “Jasmine’s Journey” if you want to read more.
Sometimes You Have to Do Your Own Research
The Female Human began reading all she could about kidney disease because she doesn’t just want to keep the disease at bay; she wants me to live my best life. Sub-Q fluids (every other day) and prescription kidney food (wet) are my staples but felt there was more she could do. Her research brought her to a wonderful company called Scruffy Paws Nutrition. The first thing she noticed was the vast amount of feline CKD (chronic kidney disease) information the company offered. She then read about the company itself and how they got started by seeking solutions for their own kitties. They created, with the help of science, veterinary professionals, feline experts and nutritionists are the Scruffy Paws Kidney-Vitalize chews that I’ve been taking for over a year now. And they don’t just address feline kidney issues, they also offer products for UT wellness, hip and joint vitalization, hairball control, dental powder and multi health bites. Meowza, these people are serious about feline health!
The Female Human learned much about CKDfrom the emails she received and by the information Scruffy Paws offers on their website. They have an e-book about CKD and a course you can take to learn more about Chronic Kidney Disease. Now this is all too scientific for this feline. I’ll let my human do the research. I’m just interested in how I feel and how the stuff tastes and I give both a paws up.
But Will She Eat Them??
The Female Human is a bit skeptical about “medicinal” chews and treats. The Tribe of Five learned long ago that pill pockets contain….pills, and that is just not going to happen. She’s had some fur raising experiences with my brother, Tucker, who takes medications. Add the fact that I too am a very finicky feline and she wasn’t too hopeful that I’d eat the treats. Still, she decided it was worth a try so she ordered the Scruffy Paws Kidney Vitalize Chews and crossed her fingers.
“Hurry up Human and give my my Scruffy Paws Kidney-Revitalize treat!” -Jasmine
The first time I was introduced to these chews I looked at The Human with suspicion thinking, “This is a trick, what horrible tasting medicine is she trying to feed me?” She placed the chew at my feet like an offering and slowly backed away. I squinted up at her then turned my attention to the intriguing smell of the item in front of me. I sniffed, pawed it a bit and then decided, “This smells good enough to eat!” And eat it I did, and I now look forward to my morning and evening chew treat. Who knew?
How Does This Stuff Work?
This little feline is getting her mojo back after taking the chews for about a year. I am keeping my weight on, playing with my toys again and being my sassy self. Although the Female Human is very careful about my diet and religious about giving me fluids, she believes that the Scruffy Paws chews are an important part of my ongoing health. So, what is it about this magical product that makes it work so well? We felines aren’t that interested in science but I know your humans probably are so I had our Purrsonal Assistant do some research.
Some of the magic is in the active ingredients of Astragalus Root Extract and Rehmannia Root Extract. Both are proven to be effective, not only eliminating the symptoms of CKD but are also helpful in preventing it. (So you younger kitties, tell your humans to get you on this supplement as a preventative measure). The inactive ingredients of Carob, catnip, chicken, chicken Liver, coconut glycerin, coconut oil, garbanzo flour, mixed tocopherols, palm fruit oil, pea flour, rosemary extract, sorbic acid, and sunflower lecithin all add to make the chews effective and tasty.
Scruffy Paws Nutrition Makes Your Human’s Life Easy
Aside from the important fact that these chews keep me living my best life, the company gives our humans peace of mind too. Shipping is always free and there is a money back guarantee for all their products. And, if you order larger sizes of the chews you save money too.
The Proof Is In the Picture
The photo on the left is me at 6 years of age. The one on the right is of me today at 17. As I am a rather vain little kitty I am very pleased that Scruffy Paws Nutrition has helped me retain my youthful looks.
My Human and I are so happy we’ve found Scruffy Paws Nutrition and we didn’t just find an awesome help for my health, we also found a community that cares passionately about felines and their humans. I hope you humans look into this fantastic company.
Hello there furiends, Yes, I admit it, I took some time off and I quite enjoyed the rest (you know we felines need our rest!) But the proverbial party is over and it’s time to get back to work. I have a lot to cover since I’ve been slacking (and gave our Purrsonal assistant some time off). The Female Human is not a fan of early mornings and she and Oliver enjoyed hanging out and having a conversation over coffee (Oliver doesn’t drink coffee, he just likes the warmth of the cup).
I on the other hand, have been chomping at the bit to get back to work. The Female Human has an office that is for working and for doing crafts. I must say I love all the craft goodies on the shelf. I have no idea why she gets her whiskers in such a twist when I help myself to some craft supplies, sheesh, how selfish can you get?
“Hmm, let’s see what I can get into here. She really needs to tidy up these shelves.” Alberto
The good thing about The Female Human having this craft/work situation is that she has a table rather than a desk and this table has an “Alberto extension”. This makes it much easier for me to snoopervise her while she works.
Well, it’s time for me to get to the feline news.
CHONK Statistics Revealed
For those of you who follow my Wednesday web wanderings, you know that our all time favorite Facebook group is This Cat is CHONKY. The humans and felines in this group are some of the greatest we’ve ever met (we’ll be writing more about why this is) but for now, here is only one example. A very mathematically motivated human in the group has created a Universal CHONK index so that the debate about whether your home is filled with CHONKS, SLONKS or FLOOFS can finally be steeled.
Ellis Mumford-Russell has taken on this herculean task and it has settled many debates in the CHONK community. We now have numerical and provable CHONK standards. If this is all a bit confusing to you I suggest you join the This Cat is CHONKY group and get to know the CHONKS AND the wonderful humans they live with and for heaven’s sake before you identify your felines as HEFTY CHONK, MEGA CHONK, etc. please refer to this index.
Universal Chonk Index Update
It is with great pleasure that I unveil the findings of our UCI survey. I charted the 54 data points, which you can see here.
A few things: 1. You’ll see cat names listed on the bottom. If people didn’t list cat names, I put the human’s name with an asterisk after 2. Remember, the smaller the number, the more chonky the cat
Most Chonky Cat = Matita w/UCI 1.17 Most Slonky Cat = Noel w/UCI 4.75 Average = 1.8657 Median = 1.7222 Mode = 1.7000
UPDATE: photos now included below for Matita and Noel so that we can see the scale of C H O N K –> S L O N K ??
Proposed Chonk Standards
Given that I presume that the sample group skews chonky, I propose the following standards: this cat is C H O N K Y ≤ 1.7 this cat is A V E R A G E = 1.71-1.9 this cat is S L O N K Y ≥ 2
Diving further into the data, here are my suggested parameters for the following categories of cat: some sort of snake cat ≥ 4 l o n g b o i ≥ 3 A fine boi = 1.71-2.9 He Chomnk = 1.6-1.7 A Heckin’ Chonker = 1.5-1.59 H E F T Y C H O N K = 1.4-1.49 M E G A C H O N K E R = 1.3-1.39 AW LAWD HE COMIN’ ≤ 1.29
LuluPet’s AI Litterbox will analyze your feline’s “deposits” and check for health issues
LuluPet’s intelligent litter box not only detects littering frequency and litter weight but also the condition of the litter (normal, constipation, diarrhea, etc.). After judging litter conditions through the use of AI image restoration, it uses this data to notify the owner of the cat’s health.
If our Female Human had a dollar for every time she’s had to describe to the vet the appearance and texture of the poop of The Tribe of Five, she’d be a rich woman, And gathering this information accurately when you have a multi cat household and numerous cat boxes is like searching for the holy grail.
But take heart humans, LuLuPet has a litter box with “built-in stool and urine image recognition” to analyze our… deposits. And why have an AI litter box that does this? It’s for the health of your felines, of course. The Female Human paid purrrticular attention when she read that the LuLuPet device can be set to determine which poop is from which cat.
When the cat walks into the litter box, the information is sent to an app on the human’s phone. The company says that the litter box is Alexa- and Google Home-enabled. This offers more questions than answers. Whose voice does it respond to? If it’s the felines, do we have to learn special meows? If it’s the human, what is the voice command? The next feature has Oliver’s whiskers in a twist because the litter box can weigh your feline and determine whether the cat is too fat. That brings me to another question; will they be employing the CHONK data information noted in the article above?
Evidently this wonder litter box can also determine if the cat needs more food or water.
LuluPets joins many other smart litter boxes but most of those boxes focus on cleaning the box and not analyzing the cat’s health. And there’s even a built in camera although this causes me to wonder, can’t a cat get some privacy?! The thought of my human watching me “do my business” over her phone app is a bit off-putting and frankly, an invasion of my privacy. LuluPet says that these photos are uploaded to the LuluPet library and are used to compare the different “deposits” of the other felines.
Now don’t get me wrong, this thing could really be a help with cat health, but I’m having a bit of difficulty believing that it will be as effective as the company says it will be. But, time will tell. This smart litter box is slated to be sold on Amazon in March for $149.00.
Canyon Ranch Inspired Resort for Felines…Human send me right meow!
Cat’s Meow resort was founded by Kim Thomas who took her business acumen and love of cats and created her feline resort, Cat’s Meow. She refers to it as the Canyon Ranch for felines. She began her feline career with a pet sitter service and said that she noticed many of the cats she cared for were in need of grooming. She did her research, connected with the National Cat Groomer’s institute and became a master cat groomer.
She loved grooming felines, bet felt something was missing in the marketplace. She wanted to create a place where cats could enjoy luxurious, stress-free, happy cat boarding without the distraction and fear of dogs —- along with the latest in cat grooming. and Cat’s Meow Resort was born.
The spaces at Cat’s Meow are pawsome and very elegant and the grooming options are amazing. If you want to up your feline’s star quality, this is the place to stay. I would be tempted but traveling. If I didn’t find the idea of being stuffed in a carrier and traveling the 2682 miles from my home to the resort holds no interest for me! If any of my east coast feline furiends have a stay or a grooming session there, let me know.
. Gus also enjoys paddle-boarding, cycling and hiking. Photograph: Alec Smart
The Scotland Island dog swimming race has been held for 44 years in the Sydney area. This year an entrant nabbed Gus shook things up a bit as he is an 11-month old Tonkinese cat. Gus’ human, Glenn Druery had been training the feline in Middle Harbor. Gus enjoys other water sports like kayaking and paddle boarding.
The Tonkinese breed is a cross between Siamese and Burmese and is known for not being fearful of water. Still, Gus is nowhere near the size and strength of the dogs that compete in the 500 meter swim. Druery checked the rules and noted that a human can swim alongside the four legged contestants.
Needless to say, ther4 was controversy about Gus’ entering the race with many saying that it should be kept as a dog race, stating reasons such as, “it’s cruel to the cat, it’s dangerous to the cat and it will upset the dogs.”
Druery assured the sceptics that he’d be swimming alongside Gus and, if Gus ran into any trouble, he’d climb on Druery’s shoulders.
Druery’s black Border collie, Bob, swam in the race twice and finished third and was declared the overall winner in the 2015 race. Sadly, Bob passed away from cancer.
Gus came in first in his category and is now a feline Australian sensation.
Each room has an observation window looking into the cat’s play area
There are hotels for cats and now there are hotels for cat lovers. Neko Hatago is a hotel where guests can watch 16 resident rescue cats chilling in the adjacent cat café Neko Yokujo through an observation window in each hotel room. The hotel opened in mid-December. It has a traditional Japanese aesthetic, with traditional wooden fixtures, tatami mats and a rainbow Mt Fuji mural presiding over the cat café. The hotel is more hostel than a luxury property. The rooms have individual bunks for one or two people with a separate shared bath facility. There is an observation window in each room that looks into the cats play area. The windows are designed so you can observe the cats but neither you nor the other human guests can see each other. There are radio controlled toys that you can use to play with the cats.
Rates run between 8500 Yen ($79.00 USD) to 11,500 Yen ($105.00 USD) and include a two-hour session in the cat café outside of regular hours. And, if you and one of the kitties connect you can adopt a new friend as all the cats are available for adoption.
Hello Furiends, The staff was not on the ball these past few weeks and I do apologize for that. I have no intention of walking through the web this Wednesday because it is an official day off. I would like to mention however, that this is “Walk Your Pet Month” and I have to say The Female Human does a good job of taking my brother Oliver and I for a stroll. As I am taking the holiday off, I decided I would present again, the film that Oliver and I made last year called “You Never Walk Alone”. If you are a fraidy cat you might want to watch it with someone.
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