Monthly Archives: February 2022

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 2/23

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siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

Happy Wednesday Furiends!
I hope things have gone well in your neck of the woods this week. We don’t have much to report from our neck of the woods except that the temperatures have been in the single digits. I’m not sure but I’m getting the feeling that The Human has had enough of this weather if her Facebook post from the other day is any indication. We had to remind her that she doesn’t like the heat,, the desert or snakes!

We all got together and discussed what sort of photos we should post in this week’s segment. The Human said she wanted us to do something different and try some of the photo apps she has. She told us to think creative, fantasy and fun. This was my suggestion:

My harrowing career as a small plane pilot.

Much to my surprise, everyone nixed this photo, how rude, just look how dashing I am. The Human decided that she wanted us to have more dignified portraits so here are the results. What do you think (I still like my pilot picture best!)

“Even though The Human calls me her little princess, I felt that an oil painting of me as a queen was much more appropriate!” (Lily)

“I fancy myself as an old style country gentleman wandering an English garden and captured in a water color painting. I say there old chap, I’m looking pretty good! (Oliver)

“If I can’t be a daring aviator, then I’ll be a top cat gentleman, hanging out at my private club (which means Lily and Oliver cannot be members) and discussing world issues with other refined felines.” (Alberto)

I hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into our imaginations and that you’ll enjoy this week’s feline news.

Hugging and Hungry, Adorable Cats Are Hand-Carved as Miniature Sculptures

Meowza, there are artists and then there are artists and this artist, Japanese sculptor Sakura Hanafusa knows felines!  I love the whimsy in the carvings and ow Hanafusa captures the essence of our feline purrsonalities.

Hanafusa whittles camphor and then adds details with oil paint. All the feline models are inspired by the pets of family and friends. If you like these carvings as much as I do you can view more of Hanafusa’s work, visit the artist’s website and Instagram. (via Supersonic Art)Me-ouch! Firefighters free frantic feline from toilet

Me-ouch! Firefighters free frantic feline from toilet

Oh my whiskers this kitty certainly got himself into a pickle. Thank heaven there are kind firefighters who will come to the rescue of a cat in need.

Two paws up to Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue, Station 53 in Oregon, who extricated this feline stuck in a toilet bowl. They were called after his human’s efforts to get him out didn’t work.  

Now if you are wondering like I did, how in the heck did Dutch get into this purrdicament, it seems he went for a little drink and then got his back leg stuck.

Dutch was saved by the firefighters and suffered only a minor sprain. Dear furiends, try not to drink out of the toilet!

This Man Designed A Purrfect House For His 20-Plus Rescue Cats

The Human likes to keep things tidy at our house and works hard to keep the décor nice. I know she would have never considered turning over our house for the convenience of the felines but seeing what a great job this human did, maybe we can get her to change her mind. Peter, the founder of the ZenByCat organization, and the builder of this wonderful cat paradise executed his life’s dream: living in harmony with his felines by creating a purrfect environment for them.

And that’s no mean feat when you live with 20 cats! It all started with Miss Bean, a kitten Peter adopted in, 2016.  Miss Bean. When Miss Bean was diagnosed with FIP he did everything he could and that included in getting her in a drug trial at UC Davis. Despite the care and love she received, Miss Been crossed the Rainbow Bridge in July of 2016. Since then, Peter has dedicated his home and his life to helping his cats live their best lives.

In honor of Miss Bean and all FIP cats, Zen By Cat was set up as a nonprofit to raise money and awareness for FIP research. Since 2016, Dr. Pederson and others at UC Davis, have made great strides in their research and have successfully cured many cats from FIP, including Peter’s cat Smokey. But there is still much work to be done to bring the drug that saved Smokey and others to market. If you care about curing this disease, you can donate to the work of these doctors at UC Davis through the Bria Fund which is associated with the Every Cat Health Foundation.

Japan feline research institute turns to bio-logging to analyze cats’ behavior

And speaking of cats and research, Catlog, a research institute that collects and analyzes data worked to measure information (sleeping time in aging cats, etc.)  by wearable devices attached to collars to assist in cat care.

The institute says, “By studying the ecology and habits of cats, we hope that we can detect abnormalities and symptoms early on, and use that for the heathy life for felines.”

Yukiko Iyo, a 41-year-old cat lover in Shibuya Ward, studied bio-logging which is a method to investigate the ecology of wild animals by attaching small measuring instruments such as GPS devices on them — at Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology Graduate School. She used that experience to set up institute operator Rabo Inc. on Cat Day in 2018.

Data is collected using the wearable device “Catlog,” developed by Iyo and others. It records and gathers information on seven types of behavior including walking, running, eating and sleeping. The data is then sent to owners via a smartphone app, and they can watch over their felines even when they’re not at home.

There is a also device that can be laid under the litter box to monitor feline litterbox habits, called “Catlog Board”. To date, a total of about 3.8 billion pieces of cat data has been gathered and analyzed.

Iyo states that their devices are successful when other similar ones have failed because, “Each cat has its own personality, and it is hard to judge even something as simple as a posture they take when drinking water. We are the only ones in the world to identify and collect this much data, which makes even researchers envious.”

The Catlog research institute was established in November 2021 with the aim of utilizing data gathered by Rabo Inc. to enhance the lives of felines through educating their humans. The first report, supervised by employee and veterinarian Atsushi Ogawa, 38, was released on the company’s website.

This kind of data helps you humans learn more about how to care for our health and understand our behavior because we’re complicated creatures!

Super-smart cat swings on handle to open door and let his friends in

Who needs to get a human’s attention to let you in the house if you have skills like this feline? When Silvestro wants in (or wants to invite his friends in) all he has to do is open the door himself.

Silvestro, who lives in Italy has had his adventures documented on Tiktok by his human Antonio Bosco, , who shares his country home with his mother and 25 cats. All of the cats are spayed, neutered, vaccinated and see their vet regularly.

Silvestro the smart cat is also the undisputed leader and protector of this clowder and he will even defend his cat family if the neighbor cats try to fight them.  

Silvestro’s  human explains that the feline is very loving and in tune with his humans. Bosco says, ‘He is very observant and notices immediately if something is not right with you. He honestly feels at times like a best friend with who you can confide. ‘My mother in particular speaks a lot to our cats and Silvestro listens and speaks back. I doubt they understand each other perfectly but it’s the communication effort that matters!”

The house has two kitchens – one of them just for the cats. It has a heater for the cold winter months and 14 cushions so they can all snuggle up together.

I like Silvestro’s idea of inviting his friends to his house. I wonder what The Human would think about that!

Walk Through the Web Wednesday 3/16

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siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

Hello Furiends!
It’s been a rather uneventful week in our neck of the woods. It is getting warmer and it only snowed once so The Human’s level of crankiness is very low (thank goodess) As a matter of fact, she’s been quite happy and when she got home the other day she got quite teary eyed when she saw the scene depicted in the photographs below. As my regular readers know, Lily has mourned the loss of her CHONKY protector Tucker. Oliver and I have always been close and felt no need to bring another feline into our circle.

Well, Lily has slowly weaseled herself into our circle and there are now less whacky paws and more snuggles and purrs. As long as The Human doesn’t make a big deal out of it, Oliver and I will allow it to happen. I mean, we are her big brothers after all.

Human comes home and sees this. I’m asking her,” Why is that water coming out of your eyes?”
“Well, it’s warmer when you have another cat tucked in next to you.”
“Oh hi there. Ollies broad backside sure makes a great pillow”
“I told you Oliver, you’ve got to let me know when The Human gets home so we don’t get caught snuggling with Lily. It ruins our tough cat image.”

So that’s the latest from our neck of the woods. What’s new in yours? Meow about it in the comments.

Stray Cats Saved a Restaurant During the Pandemic

There has been so much bad news for business during the pandemic (The Human was forced to close her business and we really feared that the days of our special wet food and cat treats were over!) But the news wasn’t all bad and in this story, kitties save the day!

Naoki Teraoka’s is miniature-railway-themed restaurant that was doing well until the pandemic struck. Things got so bad the restauranteur was actually thinking of closing his doors—until an unlikely hero in the form of a stray kitten turned things around.

Despite the dire financial circumstances at Teraoka, the owner didn’t have the heart to turn away the sickly kitten he’d noticed hanging around the restaurant. He and his family decided to adopt the baby cat they named Simba.

Soon after they’d taken Simba in, another cat appeared at their window that turned out to be Simba’s mom. With a lack of customers and surplus food that would go bad if not eaten, Teraoka started feeding the kitten and mom. Then, during a particularly rainy spell, Momma Cat showed up with three kittens in tow. Teraoka decided to adopt them in as well.

The family thought they were saving the cats, little did they know the felines would save them.

The cats loved to hang out in the restaurant’s perfectly scaled model train dioramas. The sight of those cats looking huge in comparison to the trains resembled those famous classic Japanese horror films, monsters roaming the countryside, destroying everything they come across.

Teraoka began taking photos of the cats playing in their tiny locomotive world and posting the results to Instagram. The photos were a hit and that inspired Teraoka with an idea to turn the restaurant into a cat sanctuary where people could interact with the cats while they dines. Business boomed and soon a second floor cat shelter and kitty hotel were added.  

Teraoka tries to populate his establishment with felines that are most at risk. To date, he’s traveled as far as 200 miles to make a rescue, has been responsible for finding homes for more than 60 strays, and has taken dozens more off the streets. Now that is a delightful “tail” of humans taking lemons and making lemonade with the help of felines. You can see more photos on their Instagram page.

Cats become the art critics at new Seattle exhibit

Now your cat can enjoy art with you as you both explore the 12 creative cat towers in the exhibit at this museum. You’ll see  Andrea Chen’s Bodega-inspired structure, featuring plush soda cans and foam shelves; the ultra-modern Casual Surveying Co.’s walnut bookcase-cum-cat hammock; and the extravagant homage to indie rock queen Chan Marshall, aka Cat Power, with disco ball and pink yarn .For cats with an appreciation of art history, there’s the surrealist (a colorful, nine-level Dante’s Disco Inferno assemblage by Design Nerds and the conceptual (a 2001: A Space Odyssey-inspired MEOWolith column made from stacked, laser-cut cardboard by local architecture-design studio SHED).

All this work is part of a new exhibit at the Museum of Museums, titled ‘CAT TOWER!’ Visitors are allowed to bring their own cats to play on the interactive exhibits.

Believe it or not, one of the artists that built a cat tower for the exhibition confessed they “don’t even like cats,” Pardon me but that should be an immediate disqualification!

There are so many creative cat trees like “The Most Important Zoom Call of Your Life,” a clever art piece by local artist and filmmaker Clyde Petersen, consisting of a laptop on a tall table next to a glass of water and a half-finished puzzle.

Now, you too can share art with your feline. Just strap your cat into their kitty stroller and wheel them to the Museum of Museums in Seattle.

Roger Williams Park Zoo asks for cardboard boxes for big cats

The “if it fits I sits”  idea works on cats of all sizes and heritage and this is proven as Roger Williams Park Zoo has requested cardboard boxes for their big cats.  This again proves that we felines have as much in common with our wild cousins as we do with our house kitty cousins.  

Kids and kittens: Middle school students learn veterinary science by caring for cats

This is brilliant! Students in teacher Lu Boren’s veterinary science class at Escalante Middle School have been tasked with a great responsibility: Keeping four kittens safe and healthy as they grow enough to become eligible for adoption.

People who are willing to foster are hard to find and this program takes care of that problem and helps the little humans learn about animal welfare and care.  “

There’s much more than feeding, the students help their science teacher give the kittens vaccinations and dewormers that will help protect them from potentially life-threatening diseases. The class also learns about feline behavior.

When the kittens are ready, they are adopted out and some of them end up as family members in the student’s homes.

Paws up to the humans who came up with this fantastic idea!

CAT HAS VERY OWN CUSTOM FISH TANK WITH INSIDE VIEWING BOX

Jasper is one lucky feline. His human, Melissa ordered a special fish tank just for him from Aquatics & Exotics in Cincinnati, Ohio. The unique fish tank has an open space below the tank. It’s big enough to hold a cat bed so Jasper can snooze among the fishes. When he wants to watch fish, no problem because the aquarium has a 360-degree viewing square. It lets Jasper stick his head up “inside” the tank so he can admire the fish without endangering him or the fish.

The whole thing is even cooler than it sounds. And you can see why thanks to Jasper’s very own TikTok and Instagram pages which feature videos of him admiring the many fish he shares a home with.And if you’re worried about Jasper stressing  out the fish, no problem. They hardly notice him. Meowza, The Human needs to step up her game and get us one of those fish tanks!

Walk Through The Web Wednesday – 2/09

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siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

Hello Furiends,
I hope things are going well in your neck of the woods. The temperatures are finally getting warmer here, so warm in fact that Weather Kitty expressed the exuberance we feel about this warmth! Why The Human even had to wear sunglasses to drive!

As to what The Tribe has been up to……not much. I have been enjoying sleeping on the new leopard blanket as I think it suits my coloring quite well. What do you think?

As for Lily, she’s a bit annoyed that The Human seems to have noticed, after all this time, what a long tail she has. The Human even woke Lily from a snooze to tell her she had a long tail. Lily says humans are very weird.

I’ve lived with The Human for seven years and she only now noticed the length of my tail?!

And then there’s Oliver who has some strange thoughts. This week he wants to educate you folks that spotted cats are spotted all over- even inside!

So human, you think spots are only on the outside?

Well that’s it for the week in our neck of the woods. Meow at us and let us know how things are going in yours.

‘New Grumpy Cat’ has permanently sad face due to rare medical condition

I would say this cat’s face is more sad than grumpy. But lest you think Sushi really is sad, he’s not. He’s living his best life after being rescued as a kitten, wandering the streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Sushi has stretchy skin because he has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome which is a rate medical condition. His human, Larissa Yamaguchi, found out last year  about Sushi’s condition when she saw a photo of a cat with a similar look.

It was a long road to Shushi’s diagnosis and treatment. Larissa said, “It took four years for us to know Sushi had EDS. I spent $1,082 and he used a lot of different medications but nothing helped.”

Once they found a feline dermatologist Sushi got the help he needs. His condition causes him to have extremely dry and itchy skin and he needs regular moisturizing, a different diet, clothes and soft collars.

EDS affects each animal in a unique way. Sushi’s face skin is very flexible, especially his cheeks, and his arms. There are no internal problems and the major issue he has is his compulsive scratching.

I don’t know if I’d call Sushi the new grumpy cat but he sure does have a sweet, sad face.

The cat’s out of the bag: Green Bay’s Safe Haven Pet Sanctuary says stolen cat returned

This one should be titled, “What is wrong with you humans??” According to Safe Haven Pet Sanctuary, a shelter that hosts a cat café located in downtown Green Bay, Wisconsin, someone took a black and white cat named Bleu. Safe Haven says Bleu was stolen Wednesday afternoon by a customer who snuck out the side door.

According to Facebook posts on Safe Haven’s page, the animal shelter identified the cat napper. Evidently Bleu was held hostage in the persons apartment overnight and when the police arrived, refused to open the door.

The next day Save Haven posted a video on their Facebook page stating that Bleu had been returned. Safe Haven was contacted and told that a person was walking in the downtown area with a duffle bag. Someone associated with Safe Haven confronted the person requesting the cat be returned to them and the cat napper handed the cat (in the duffel bag) over.

What the heck was this person thinking? How about doing the right thing and adopting Bleu instead of stealing him? But, on second thought, this feline says anyone who stuffs a cat into a duffel bag and strolls around town doesn’t deserve to care for a cat!

Alley Cat Rescue 2021 Global Feral Fix Challenge Leads to Spay/Neuter of Over 45,000 Community Cats

As my regular readers know, we at Feline Opines are BIG TNR fans and salute the hard work of those who volunteer their time to do it. The 2021 Global Feral Fix Challenge had participation from veterinarians and clinics across 24 U.S. states as well as Greece, South Africa, the U.K., and the United Arab Emirates, who together sterilized over 45,000 community cats.

This was the 11th challenge and it finished on December 31, 2021. The event elicits veterinarian participation in trap-neuter-return programs by offering low cost or free spay/neuter clinics. The goal of the Challenge is to save feral cats from shelter euthanasia, starvation, and disease by humane population management.

Alley Cat Rescue founder and president, Louise Holton, explains the significance of this campaign: “The participation of veterinarians around the globe is very important to achieving our ultimate goal, which is the sterilization of all community cats. This process is the only way to reduce the population of outdoor cats; killing them, bedsides being inhumane, simply does not work as studies show new cats will enter vacated areas and breed until the number of cats there is back to the same level as before or even higher.”

The 2022 round of the Feral Fix Challenge is already underway. Veterinarians everywhere are encouraged to join by pledging to provide free or low-cost spay/neuter services to as many free-roaming cats as is feasible for their individual practices via this link. Will your veterinarian be participating? You can send an email to Debbie@saveacat.org to request an invitation be sent to your vet or you can get an invitation to give to your vet purrsonally.

Paws up to all the veterinarians who help in this worthy cause!

Adopt Charleston launches ‘smear’ campaign to have your ex’s name pooped on by cats

As I am a refined feline, I apologize for the verbiage here but, if your human is not looking forward to Valentine’s Day because they have a less than wonderful ex, tell them to take heart.

Kanawha-Charleston Humane Association (Adopt Charleston on Instagram and Facebook), have announced a February “smear campaign” which allows you to make a donation to have your ex’s name on a cat litter box so that cats can actually poop on them. The campaign is called, “Your Ex is Crappy”

So, if your human’s flame fizzled, if they were catfished or dumped the adoptable kitties at The Charleston Humane Association have your human’s back and will “litteraly” drag your ex’s name through the filth.

If your human is interested they can purrticipate by clicking here. They will receive a photo of the “fun” once your ex’s litterbox has been set up. They do request first names only, as they don’t want people to be too catty. MOL!

Woman transforms a cardboard box into a ‘Pussy Kat Club’ nightclub for her CATS – complete with flashing lights, a ‘temptation station’ with food, and ‘catnip-infused vodka shots’

Allow me to make clear that I do not endorse wild nights, or kitties out of control and partying the night away. Still, this “Pussy Kat Club” created by Brooke Holloway is pretty cool.

The club was constructed by several Amazon boxes and has a stuffed Snoopy outside the entry door who acts as a bouncer.  Felines lucky enough to get an invite to the club will find a “Temptation Station” with martini shaped shot glasses filled with cat food and a bed in the corner (the Kitty Kat Lounge). The club features a full bar that is advertising catnip-infused vodka shots (not real vodka).

The video of the Pussy Kat Club on TikTok (posted by Brooke’s sister,@kaitlynhollo featuring felines partying the night away has become very popular and has received comments like, ‘My kitty asked for reservations to the VIP section,’ one person joked, while another added: ‘My cats ask for a pass.’ And  ‘When your cats are cooler than you,’

If you are worried about the flashing LED lights coming out of the club’s speakers, don’t be as they are generally safe for felines.  

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 2/2

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siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

Happy February Furiends,
Things have been soooooooo much better in our neck of the woods since The Human got the garage door fixed. As she explained it, life is much easier for her and even carrying groceries in from the garage rather than the long icy driveway to the front door has made her very happy. Needless to say, we felines are thankful for this happier, calmer mood as evidenced by this photo of Oliver but, if the truth be told, Oliver lets very little interrupt his chillax status.

The other day The Human stopped to stare at Lily wondering why she was sitting so far away from the upstairs deck sliders as Lily monitored a portly squirrel devouring the peanuts left out for him on the deck. Upon closer inspection, The Human realized that Lily was sitting on the heating vent while she enjoyed the view. Smart Lily!

As for me, I have been doing my duty keeping The Human’s jewelry safe. She insists she doesn’t have anything of value in there but I do believe she apurreciates me taking on the watch cat duties. Sigh, a feline’s work is never done.

That’s it for the news in our neck of the woods, I hope you enjoy this week’s offering of web-wide feline news.

Majority of Japanese Pet Owners Reluctant to Microchip Their Cats and Dogs

We felines in North America are pretty used to microchipping but it seems Japanese humans aren’t  nor are they too enthused about it. This is creating some controversy as It will become mandatory for breeders and pet stores in Japan to implant microchips in dogs and cats beginning in June 2022.

The majority of cat parents  in Japan are opposed to the revised Act on Welfare and Management of Animals . An online survey of 2,000 persons conducted by Japan Trend Research, revealed a lack of awareness regarding the revised law, with 76.3% of respondents stating that they were not aware of the new requirement to implant microchips in dogs and cats.

Among those surveyed, only 24.5% said that they had had a microchip implanted in their pet.

Reasons cited for not wanting to have a chip implanted included the following: “It is immoral to implant a chip in a living being” and “My pet is always inside and I’m also worried about some problem arising from implanting a foreign object in the body of my pet.” Those who said they are unsure about whether to have a chip implanted or not included those who were concerned about the effect on the pet or were weighing up the cost.

I appreciate humans being very careful about the health of their felines but this feline (as well as Oliver and Lily) have regular wellness visits and have no negative health effects from our microchips (we are all from our local shelter and all pets adopted from there are microchipped). In addition, those of  you who read my feline news regularly know how many times I’ve reported that cats have been reunited with their families because of microchips (even indoor cats who have escaped). We give microchipping paws up and hope the good folks in Japan will microchip their felines.

Camo Cats

This grey tabby almost disappears into the fluffy rug and the cat’s human said she didn’t realize how the cat would blend in with the carpet. This cat isn’t the only one who has camouflaged themselves on rugs. Check out the photos in the story and see if you think these kitties are blending in. Are you a camo cat at your house?

Woman helps cats with disabilities have happy lives

Snapple the cat makes his way around with the help of a little wheeled cart — sometimes charging straight into walls and other obstacles but he’s never defeated, he just backs up and heads off in another direction. The fact that Snapple, an 8-month-old tuxedo (black and white) cat, has a disability doesn’t keep him from having fun.

“He’s got a sparkling personality,” said Kris Kaiser of Plymouth, who provides foster care for Snapple.

Snapple has a condition called cerebellar hypoplasia — also known as “wobbly cat syndrome” — a congenital condition in kittens that affects the area of the brain that controls motor movement, balance and coordination. It also makes their whiskers curly and their heads wobbly, but is not progressive or painful.

In December, Kaiser was chosen AdvoCat of the Year, an award from the Feline Generous program sponsored by Arm & Hammer. She was one of almost 4,500 nominees — “staff and volunteers at animal shelters across the country who go above and beyond to care for purrfectly impurrfect cats,” the company said.

I say this human deserves that award and more! Since Snapple’s front legs aren’t strong enough to allow him to sit, he spends much of the time lying on his side. But in the cart Kaiser bought for him, Snapple can rest his front legs on top while his back legs touch the floor, allowing him to run around.

The first time he tried it, “he was strapped in and he was off,” Kaiser said, as if the cat were thinking, “Finally, I can go places!'”

Snapple’s wobbling head can also make it difficult to eat, so Kaiser provided a special raised food bowl.

This wonderful lady won a $15,000.00 donation for her local shelter,, the Bitty Kitty Brigade in Maple Grove. Bitty Kitty serves orphaned, neonatal kittens up to 5 weeks old that are not yet eating on their own.

Kaiser has another foster cat, as well as three cats as permanent adoptees. All of them have wobbly cat syndrome which, in addition to hampering their mobility, causes their heads to bob, particularly when they’re excited, see something interesting or are trying to figure something out.

“There’ll be a bird or squirrel outside and everybody will be at the window with their heads bobbing,” said Kaiser.

Snapple, who came to Kaiser as a “tiny bottle baby,” loves to play with toys, tossing them up and grabbing them in his mouth. She conveniently works in marketing for Yeowww Catnip, a catnip-toy manufacturer in Roseville.

Snapple is being adopted by Ed and Gina Yamamoto of Honolulu, who will fly to Minnesota in February or March to pick him up and will bring him home to be a companion for their cat. They saw Snapple on either Kaiser’s account, @tippietuxies, which features all of her cats, or on Snapple’s own account, @tuxonwheels.

Snapple is a lucky guy and we give the human Kris Kaiser a big paws up for all she does for special needs kitties.

A Georgia Volunteer Is Helping Foster Cats Find Forever Homes by Teaching the Pets to ‘Talk’

Monesia Greene is a cat whisperer, and now she is teaching felines to talk back at Best Friends Animal Society, in Atlanta.

To help the felines she fosters find homes, Greene teaches the pets enriching new talents. Recently, Greene has been training her foster cats to “talk” by using a customizable soundboard with recordable buttons. My readers may remember that I reported on cats and these sound boards previously.

A shy tabby named Ripley was the first foster cat to benefit from Greene’s language lessons. When Greene first took in the adoptable pet over six months ago, Ripley was a beautiful but scared cat who was not confident around new situations and people.

Greene and her husband helped Ripley slowly get accustomed to physical affection, interacting with other cats, and coming out of her shell. Ripley made huge strides with the couple’s help but still stayed a little shy when put in new situations, making it hard for her to charm potential adopters.

To help Ripley stand out and show off the kind, intelligent cat she is, Greene started training her to use the soundboard after seeing dogs learn to communicate with the recordable buttons. The volunteer invested in several recordable buttons and decided to use the products to teach Ripley the words “treats” and “pets” — two of the cat’s favorite things.

Greene taught Ripley the meanings behind each button by giving the cat treats or pets in front of the soundboard and pressing the corresponding button. Ripley learned quickly that the buttons were connected to things that she adored and started pushing the buttons to request treats and pets for herself.

After showing such success with two buttons, Greene added “play” for and “pick up” to Ripley’s soundboard, and the feline mastered those buttons too. Soon, Ripley’s talents and ability to talk through the buttons attracted adopters, and Ripley went home with her forever family. The same method helped another of Greene’s fosters, Momma Cat, find a home too.

Greene is now looking forward to using this training method to help and entertain future foster cats.

Wow, great job human and Ripley!

Russian military plane carries 300 cats and dogs

Glasgow, Scotland residents reported a “racket” as tan Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft flew over the outskirts of the city towards Loch Lomand around 2.45am.

Global flight tracking service Flightradar24 picked up the flight path as it carried out a rescue operation 32,000 feet above ground.

Posting on Twitter, they said: “300 dogs and cats from the Kabul Small Animal Rescue KSAR are back in the air on their way from Kabul to Vancouver.”

The Kabul Small Animal Rescue has kept its doors open to continue evacuations from Afghanistan and is working hard to save as many animals as possible.

The military aircraft made a stop in Reykjavik, Iceland, before landing in Vancouver, Canada. Now why the cats flew on a Russian plane I cannot tell you but I’m thankful humans are doing what they can to save them. Now if you humans of assorted countries could work together this well for other international issues.