Monthly Archives: June 2022

Walk Through The Web Wednesday – 6/29

Posted on by
9

Happy Wednesday Furiends!

Wooohoo, summer is here. We had a chat with The Human and were discussing how The Tribe would celebrate summer if we had opposable thumbs and our own money. Since we recently celebrated National Sunglasses Day (yes it’s a real holiday) we thought we’d take the concept a little further with our “how I’d like to spend the summer” photos.

Three cool cats!
“My purrfect summer days includes a pool, a nice cool drink and many, many snacks!”
Oliver
“This feline fancies a nice, pampering spa day.”
Lily
“I’m taking my boat and giving white fizh wavez to my furiends the Tabbies O Trout Towne“
Alberto

We hope you’re enjoying your summer. Meow at us and let us know how you like spending your day!

The Power of “Purr-suasion” – Firefighters save cat stuck on roof

Photos: NBC15.com

I’ve written many news items about my fellow felines being stuck in trees and being reswcued by firefighters. In Madison, Wisconsin firefighters took this to a new level as they rescued a poor cat laying in a rain gutter  

The cat was in great distress and “using her powers of purrsuasion” the firefighter was able to calm the cat, pick it down the ladder to the cat’s worried humans.

The article never said how the feline managed to be in a rain gutter on the roof but I think it’s safe to say that the cat will stay away from roofs from now on!

‘Unable’ to catch rats, Karnataka police ‘deploy’ cats

The Gauribidanur rural police station in Karnataka, India has ‘deployed’ two cats to rein in the rats at the station.

Sources at the police station said rats had started to nibble away important files and things got so bad, and the humans were unable to stop the rodent destruction so they hired some felines to do the job.

Speaking to indianexpress.com, Vijay Kumar, Gauribidanur the police station sub-inspector, said: “We have a lake nearby and it seems the rats found our station to be a better place to reside. When a cat was deployed, the rat menace reduced and we have brought in another cat recently. Till now, they have killed three rats.”

The police care for the cats giving them milk and food and they have become part of the police family at the station.  My favorite take on the story was an Indian newspaper that referred to the cats as “claw enforcement” MOL!

Cats with judgmental looks are taking over Reddit

The internet is exploding with photos of “judgmental cats” on Reddit. The article refers to humans getting “hissterical” about the judgy feline photos. Some of the comments in the thread were pretty funny: like this one; “[I] started singing out loud and glanced over to see my cat, Snuggles, staring at me with lots of judgement [sic]. Cats,” Redditor lscraig posted.

And Reddit isn’t the onl;y place where you’ll find my fellow felines scowling. The hashtag #judgmentalcat has more than 388,100 posts on TikTok.

The truth is that cat’s aren’t really judgmental and there are a number of reasons why our expressions might look that way to you humans. I asked The Human, who is a cat behaviorist and  she said it oculd be one of many things. It might be that the cat feels cornered, maybe another cat is near ( a cat we’re not fond of), we might be in pain, scared or just unhappy about something that just happened. Whatever the reason for the funny expression, it’s just how we look.

And there are some cats (as there are humans) who have what many refer to as RBF (that means due to no fault of our own, we are just born with a cranky face).

The Seattle man who’s watched over 100,000 cat videos and isn’t planning on stopping

This is the trailer for the CatVideo Fest

Will Braden from Seattle, WA has watched, by his count, 100,000 cat videos in the past 10 years. Meowza, that’s a lot of videos!

He’s the cinematographer who used to shoot everything from commercials to weddings and now has a full-time job as the guy who puts together CatVideoFest, “the world’s #1 cat video festival.” It took place in Seattle June 24-26 at the Cinema Egyptian and at various times in 100 other cities, mostly in the U.S.

He never gets tired of the videos and says that “Everyone deserves a fun cat video to distract them from all the tough stuff in life,”.

Take a video such as “Bert the Cat vs Cat Balloon,” which has had about 8 million YouTube views since August 2011. Braden has seen that video dozens of times. The video features an orange cat named Bert facing off against an orange cat balloon. A few whacky paws at the balloon and Bert is in for a nasty surprise as it pops. Just good old slapstick comedy.

Braden receives about 400 submissions every year for the CatVideoFest and he also searches the web for excellent feline films.

When asked if there are any videos he won’t use he mentions the4 funny one of cats hacking up hair balls edited to techno music. He said it was funny but “too much”.

Braden is the Seattle guy who had transitory fame in 2012 with his Henri the Existential Cat videos (these are some of our favorite videos) That year the first Henri video won the first Internet Cat Video Festival, held as a bit of lark by the Walker Art Center in Minneapolis. And that was no easy win, the first contest drew 10,136 entries.

The story of Henri (who was really Henry) is that he was the Braden family cat. He was a Seattle shelter kitty and because of his elegant “tuxedo” black-and-white coloring, he became Henri le Chat Noir, translated to black cat.

Faking a French accent, Braden talked for Henri and his fictional angst. Henri amassed a huge fan base quickly and soon had his own You Tube channel. The Human has been an Henri fan for years.

Henry died in December 2020 at age 17. As Henri, he had starred in 11 videos that totaled 20 million YouTube views; had 168,000 Facebook followers; and with Braden had his angst-filled musings in two books.

Braden’s new cat, Nin has not starred in her own videos. “She does not have the imperious stare that Henry had,” says Braden. She does, however, keep him company at his home office as he works on the cat festival.

When asked why he thinks cat videos have taken over the internet , as opposed to dog videos, he said, “We don’t really like to see dogs screw up,”. “Dogs are loyal and man’s best friend. We like to see dogs show off their skills.” But cats, well. “We think of cats as being aloof. We like to see them taken down a peg, without being hurt,”

The CatVideoFest is part of the Seattle International Film Festival and a portion of the ticket sales support PAWS.

The 10 best names for boy and girl cats in 2022

The Human often sees social media posts of cute kittens with the request, “I need names for my new kitten.” In our house, the kitten is observed and played with before a name is given. Sometimes a family member puts their two cents in like in my case, I was named after a Spanish Tour de France competitor, I looked exotic and I was sleek and fast as a kitten (still fast but not so sleek anymore) so my full name is Alberto Contador. There is a story behind each of our names. Oliver was the runt of the litter and when we came to The Human for her to foster and bottle feed us, he never could get enough to eat. He reminded The Human of Oliver Twist asking for more porridge. Lily was named after the little girl next door (Lily) who loved her (and all cats) but couldn’t have a cat because her dad was allergic to felines.

Still, not everyone goes to these lengths to name their felines so if you’re stuck for a name, try one of the ones below. And, if you have a cool story about how you got your name, meow about it in the comments and let us know where your name came from. The names below came from The Scotsman. We don’t know if the top ten names are different in the U.S.

Male Kittens

1. Loki
Loki is a unisex name that originates from Norway – loosely translating as ‘The God of Mischief’. hmmmm

2. Leo
Leo is a Hebrew name which translates as brave and/or lion. Or maybe people just really like the actor!

3. Charlie
A gender neutral name, though it does translate from German as “free man.” It is derived from the Germanic word karal, which translates to “free man” or kerle, meaning “warrior.”

4. Milo
The name Milo have increased in popularity with cat owners. Milo is likely derived from multiple sources. In Slavic languages, the root mil- means “dear” or “beloved.”

5. Simba
It is no surprise to see the name Simba at the top of this list, especially if you’re a Disney fan.

6. Ziggy
The name Ziggy is a great name for a cat – especially if you’re a household of David Bowie fans.

7. Jasper
Another popular male cat name is Jasper, which is a masculine given name commonly believed to be of Persian origin, translates as “treasurer”.

8. Max
Short and sweet, Max is derived from the name Maximilian, which means “greatest.”

9. Merlin
Thought to originate in Wales, Merlin is another popular boy cat name often related to the famous wizard.

10. Oscar
An Irish name which is derived from two elements in Irish: the first, “os”, means “deer”; the second element, “car”, means “loving” or “friend”, thus “deer-loving one” or “friend of deer”.

Female Kittens

1. Luna
The most popular name for a girl cat in 2022 is Luna, which translates as ‘moon’ in Italian.

2. Loki
Loki is a unisex name that origin came from Norway – loosely translating as ‘The God of Mischief’. Uh oh.

3. Nala
The name Nala has Arabic and African origin. However, the African translation is perhaps best used for kitty’s, meaning queen, lion or successful woman.

4. Coco
Coco is a popular name that has developed in America.

5. Bella
Bella is a name that has been used for decades across the globe, thanks to its meaning of ‘beautiful’ in numerous different languages. And all cats are beautiful!

6. Lily
Named after the popular snowy, white flower, Lily is often thought to mean purity and innocence due to its loose connections to the Bible character of Mary.

7. Lola
Another name with Bible links is Lola. It is a short form of the Spanish name Dolores, meaning “sorrows”, taken from one of the titles of the Virgin Mary: Nuestra Señora de los Dolores, or Our Lady of Sorrows.

8. Willow
Following the popularity of the Buffy The Vampie Slayer character, the name Willow has grown immeasurably over the last few decades.

9. Daisy
Another name taken from a popular flower is, of course, Daisy. However, did you know the name comes from the Old English word dægeseage, meaning “day’s eye”.

10. Molly
The name Molly has Irish origin, meaning ‘star of the sea’. But did you know the name has been in use since the late Middle Ages?

Walk Through The Web Wednesday – 6/22

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

Hello Furiends,
Happy Wednesday! We’ve had an interesting week here in our neck of the woods. The Human received notification from the good folks at Basepaws, the cat DNA company, that they had updated their health reports, added new health reports such as blood type and blood transfusion information,25 new genetic traits and screening for additional health markers. The Human was keen to get the additional information as she loves the idea of doing whatever she can to be proactive in keeping us healthy. Our veterinary clinic love using the results as tools to help keep us healthy too.

What she didn’t realize was that she would receive three new DNA kits. You may be saying, “So what?” This was a big deal however because The Human now faced the daunting task of doing cheek swabs for all three of us.

It took her almost a week to screw up her courage to get the job done but she finally screwed up her courage and began the daunting task. She started with me as I’m a fairly mellow guy. I did not, however succumb to the cheek swabbing easily.

Once she was done with me she moved on to Oliver. He observed my cheek swabbing, squirming and meowing from a distance and wanted no part of what he ascertained to be some form of brutal torture.

She didn’t get my DNA without a struggle and then she turned her attention to Lily, also known in our house as “Princess Stabby Toes”. I am pleased to report that The Human managed to complete the mission with minimum blood loss and injury.

That’s what we’ve been up to this week. When we receive our new reports we’ll let you know about the new information and what The Human and our vet think about it all.

National Take Your Cat to Work Day — How cats help people in the office

June is the month when humans celebrate the benefits of felines at work and many will take their cats to the office. A TV station in Indianapolis

Office cats are becoming more popular than ever, and in the news video KJ McGlinn, host of the KJ Today Show, introduces an office cat named Grayson.

There are many benefits to working with a feline in your office and here are three:

  • Having a cat reduces stress 
  • Some studies show that an office cat increases productivity 
  • Adopting a cat for the office frees up space and resources for the shelters 

An Unlikely Friendship Between Monkeys and a Litter of Cats

At the Bambalela Vervet Monkey Rehabilitation Center in South Africa, older vervet monkeys adopted a litter of feral cats that showed up at their enclosure at the center.

Vervet monkeys often have conflict with humans, so it came as somewhat of a surprise when the monkeys at the rehab center developed great relationships with their feline friends.

Kitty exhibition: Persian feline museum hosts real stray cats

A museum dedicated to cats is wonderful and it’s made even better in the Iranian capital Tehran, at a  museum dedicated to Persian cats. The museum depicts the history of the Persian cats which are some of the most popular felines in the world, but also hosts a wide range of cats in the  space.

Almost 30 cats roam the museum rooms and nap in its many cozy corners, with museum organizers regularly posting photos of them on Instagram.

The museum has been around for three years and has a resident veterinarian Haleh, who volunteers her time to care for the cats two to three days a week. “When you care for cats or play with them, happiness hormones are released,” she says.

There are Persian cats and a handful of other breeds that live at the museum.  All the cats are named after well known figures from Persian mythology and history.

There are many visitors to the museum and as pets are not tolerated by some parts of society in Shiite Iran, being able to visit the cats is a treat. Cats,  unlike dogs, cats are not considered unclean in Islam.

The museum for Persian cats is outgrowing it’s space and the rental contract has not been renewed. But even a change in location would probably not  harm the popularity of the museum with its tens of thousands of fans on social media.

Are you a dog person or a cat person?

What do you see first in this picture, dogs or cats?

If you look closely, you will notice the red shapes show two cats with their tails touching. But if you focus on the white space first, you will realise the red shapes of the cat form the long ears of a spaniel. The white space forms the dog’s face.

Per some psychologists, people who like dogs more than cats are more likely to be loyal, friendly, playful, and easy to get on with. They are people who like socialising and enjoy companionship.

As for cat lovers, the psychologists say they can be self-motivated, goal-oriented, and introverted and tend to enjoy their own company,

What did you see first and what do you think about the psychological analysis?

5 Feline Gods & Goddesses

You humans have a saying, “Cats used to be worshipped like gods and they’ve never forgotten.” There were many cat gods in history and here are five. Do any of my feline furiends resemble any of these gods?

Bastet is an Egyptian goddess with the head of a cat. She’s the goddess of perfume and ointments, which were very important for making mummies. She’s also the goddess of warfare depicted in early mythology as having the head of a lioness. Domesticated cats in ancient Egypt were regarded very highly for their ability to ward off rodents, pests, and snakes, and for being protective mothers to their kittens. Royal cats were dressed in jewels and allowed to eat off of their human’s plates, a practice some felines still enjoy today.

The Mayans had several jaguar figures and deities in their myths. The Jaguar God of the Underworld, was very important. In addition to appearing as a jaguar, this deity was  also worshipped as the “night sun” that travels from west to east in the underworld at night, until it rose again in the daytime above ground. He also personifies the number seven, as well as having connections to fire and war. Maybe this is why many of us felines watch our humans while t they’re sleeping with our big, glowing eyes that shine like the night sun.

According to Hindu mythology, Dawon — also known as Gdon — is a ferocious tigress given to the goddess Durga for her prowess in combat. Durga would wield ten weapons in her ten arms and ride Dawon into battle like a horse. Dawon would use her claws and teeth to fight off enemies.

Dawon came to represent the victories of her mistress. Like the tiger Dawon, we felines can still use our claws and teeth as weapons.

In Indonesia, Barong Ket is a panther- or lion-like leader of good spirits who fights the demon queen Rangda. Barong Ket  has a red head, thick white fur, and is often accompanied by two monkeys. He’s also quite playful in times of peace.

The story of his battle is still depicted in traditional dance between Barong Ket and a monkey so if any of you felines have monkey furiends you can do this dance with them.

There were multiple Lamassu gods who have a lion’s body, eagle’s wings, and a human head. Sometimes they have a bull’s body, instead, but I prefer the feline form myself.

In ancient Assyria, they were usually placed at entrances of cities or palaces as protective spirits. Now this feline is glad we don’t have wings or creepy human heads but we can definitely guard the entrance to your homes.

Walk Through The Web Wednesday – June 8

Posted on by
14
siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

Happy Wednesday Everyone,

The biggest news in our neck of the woos is the robin’s nest in the tree by the front porch railing. We have had hours of joy sitting in the kitchen window or watching out of the window by the door waiting for Mr. and Mrs. Robin to sit on the railing with worms to feed their kids. The nest is so deep The Human couldn’t see to the bottom of it to look at the baby birds. She didn’t want to get too close and disturb them so we never got a good look at them and now they have graduated and left the nest.

What a pretty nest!
View from the kitchen window where the nest is well hidden.

Now that spring is finally here Oliver likes to find a sun puddle and check out the living room windows where he and The Human often have conversations.

“Lovely morning but The Human needs to clean those windows!”
“Oh hello there Human, I didn’t hear you. If you’d quickly grab your coffee and tend to breakfast I’d appreciate it.”
“Okay, you’ve had a couple sips of coffee now how about some breakfast? Oh and those litterboxes could use a little freshening up.”

And there is usually some dialogue between Oliver and The Human when she gets home from work. This happened the other night when she stretched out on the bed to rest after a loong day at the office and Oliver decided to plop his 22 pounds on top of her and have a little conversation.

“Sorry you had a bad day but wait until you hear about all the drama I had to deal with today. I tell you it’s exhausting to be the snoopervisor here.”
No wonder The Human was trapped! Between his 22 pounds and those huge peets, there was no chance of her getting up!

That’s a glimpse from our neck of the woods this week, now let’s get to the news.

Kitten fascinated by her human’s baby bump and the new baby

This little kitten was right by the side of her human during her pregnancy and she transitioned into a loving and protective feline nanny when the baby came home.

Cat and gown: Feline ‘graduates’ from UT-Austin after attending owner’s online classes

While so many of our humans went to school, had meetings and did work at home many felines purrticipated. Needless to say, I was very pleased to see a feline recognized for all her hard work and attention to their human’s schedule.

Suki, an 18-month old feline helped her human, Francesca Bourdier graduate from the University of Texas by attending all her lectures and watching every zoom class closely.

 “I was pretty much at my apartment for most of the time and I had my cat next to me,” Bourdier told KTBC. “Whenever I would have my Zoom lecture on, it’s like she almost wanted to listen in on it, and she would always just sit by my laptop.”

Naturally Bourdier wanted to include Suki in her graduation celebration. She found a cap and gown online for Suki that matched her own graduation ensemble.

I was happy to read that Suki, although thoroughly involved in her human’s education would not be responsible for any student loan debt as the University defers those debts for cats.

Richmond women designing their own cat toothbrush and toothpaste

My readers know I am a purrponent of entrepreneurial endeavors with a feline focus and this new company has a great idea. Samantha McConnell and Melanie Eng from Richmond, VA have three cats of their own; Henry, Jasper and Rylie and they want to fill a need in the cat focused pet market by designing a feline toothbrush and toothpaste.

When one of their felines needed expensive surgery for a rotten tooth they began paying closer attention to dental issues for all their cats. Our own Tribe has dealt with serious and expensive tooth problems too which is why The Human was excited when I told her about this new company. As a matter of fact, Oliver and Lily have teeth cleaning appointments coming up in August.

Pet dental products have been more canine than feline focused and McConnell, a registered nurse in dental anesthesia (for humans) wants to see that changed. She says that,  “The really small toothbrushes are still too big for cats and likely cause pain and discomfort…it’s a bit like trying to brush your teeth with TV remote.”

They are now running a crowd funding campaign for the company, RYERCAT: The Dual Sided Cat Toothbrush.

The toothpaste is the tricky and costly part of this project as there are more hoops to jump through so it’s still a work in progress.  Most cat toothpaste on the market has a sweet flavor and cats can’t taste sweet. Add to that most have a lot of sugar in them and it’s clear a feline tooth paste with a flavor that attracts felines is needed on the market. This feline says they should make the flavor taste like those Inaba Churu lickable treats, meowza are those tasty!

MYO (Make your own cat tree)

And speaking of feline focused entrepreneurial endeavors, we were contacted by the good folks at MYO cat trees to introduce their product. They make a cat tree that allows humans to set them up the way they want to. All the parts are made of hardwood and metal (no glue, cardboard or dusty carpet covers are used). If you and your humans move to a new abode, no problem, the cat tree is easily taken apart and reassembled in the new home. Putting together cat trees is not such an easy task, especially The Human as noted in the cat tree review we did. The Human never did get all the parts installed.

Of course the first question The Human had was how the tree accommodated CHONKY felines and they assured her that they were sturdy and even had a human sit on it to prove the point.

You get to pick the shapes and colors, make it short or tall, any style that suits your cat.

The texture of the wood is lovely which makes it a stylish part of the room and not an eyesore. They are working on adding new shelf designs and colors and even incorporating some soft items as well.

We like the idea of this product and are looking forward to watching the company grow.

Cat Alley revival: Muralists wanted to refresh one of the city’s most beloved landmarks

Dear Human, please pack our bags and move us to Manchester, NH because these folks love, LOVE cats! They prove this with their Cat Alley and now, after 10 years, they’re calling on artists to refresh the murals and art there.

The refurb is being done via a community event and a grant. The grant will allow local artists to be paid to help repair some of the fading feline art and breathe new life into the beloved and whimsical landmark. The goal is to make the art along Cat Alley a little bigger and taller.

They are hoping to have Cat Alley ready for the upcoming Manchester Citywide Arts Festival, set for Sept. 12-18. The application deadline for artists is July 17.

Cat Alley received its name due to the street cats living there. In 2011 the Anagnost Companies wanted to have some fun with this story and started a city-wide initiative to have a group of artists transform the alley into the colorful façade of feline-themed murals it is today.

The facelift for Cat Alley has also included other cat-themed installments in the area of Elm Street. There are now cat bike racks in vibrant colors near the Bookery. Orbit Group has been having a little fun creating other cat-themed installments for the surrounding area on Elm Street.  Putting cats everywhere downtown may seem a little kooky but honestly, that’s why it’s so much fun.

In an effort increase foot traffic towards the Cat-Alley a cat designed crosswalk was created (in conjunction with the Department of Public Works to make sure it met safety requirements).

There will be an LED light screen underneath the arch at some point to replace the existing non-working one there now. Once a screen is installed that can handle the harsh New England winters, the plan is to have it display fun cat-themed animations. This cat-themed animation has already been created for the new screen which you can see below.

Paws up to the humans who created and are expanding Cat Alley. The rest of the cities in the country should consider doing something like this!

Walk Through The Web Wednesday – June 1

Posted on by
20
siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

Hello Furiends,
Now that the weather is getting warmer and there are sightings of lots more critters in our neck of the woods, I thought I’d share a few pics (you may have seen a few of these before) There is always something exciting to see from our windows and other areas of our town. I hope you all have some fun things to see in your neck of the woods.

The trash pandas are bold and will walk along the railing of the upstairs deck and stare into the dining room windows. The Human tells us to ignore them but I want assurances that they can’t get to our kibble!
And when the adults don’t manage to score a snack, they send up the little ones to try and charm The Human.

And when the crafty critters can’t score a treat upstairs they head downstairs and try to convince one of The Tribe to let them in. This is our Angel Tucker having a heart to heart with one of the resident trash pandas.
begging squirrel
The trash pandas aren’t the only ones with attitude and a demanding demeanor.
And when they’re not demand they’re lazy, really lazy! This photo was takenfrom a safe distance on the upstairs deck.
And if we get tired of the critter viewing at home, all we have to do is have The Human bundle us up and take us into town.

That’s a little glimpse into come of the wildlife that shows up at our house (we have been able to see moose strolling by our house too). What kind of critters do you get to view from your windows?

Pororo, Indonesian feline sensation lost – and then found

Feline fans in Indonesia of the nattily attired feline, Pororo were devastated when his human announced he had gone missing. Thankfully, he was found a day later in a factory, perched on an iron trellis.

Now if you haven’t heard of Pororo, he and his brofur Poby are famous meowdels for their human’s fashion business on her TikTok page, @cicichania96. 

Poro is a mellow British shorthair and Persian mix who seems to love to be dressed up and often snoozes during his human’s TikTok live streams.

Thank goodness all is well in the feline fashion world in Indonesia and Pororo is safe at home, adding new ensembles to his wardrobe. You can follow him on Instagram or visit his human’s shop.

Guy And Cat Have Been Inseparable For 23 Years

This is the feline version of a Hallmark movie and is guaranteed to bring out an “awwwwww” in you.  You can follow Lily’s love story with her human on Instagram ,TikTok and her You Tube Channel.

Man sues Sainsbury’s for banning his assistance cat Chloe

A human named Ian Fenn and his assistance cat Chloe were refused entry into a local supermarket and they are now ready to make legal history.  Fenn is autistic and has trained his cat to be support for him. His argument is that because Chloe prevents sensory overload for him and helps him function, she should be treated the same way a guide dog is treated or any other animal trained to help someone cope with day to day life.

Fenn was refused entry into a store in south  London and told by security and staff that he would have to leave the cat outside and that only assistance dogs were allowed in the company’s stores.

Fenn has an attorney who specializes in disability discrimination cases and who stated, “There are plenty of cases about guide dogs being refused access to places or services but there hasn’t really been any judicial exploration of what constitutes an assistance animal if it’s not a dog.”

Hospitals, shops and hotel chains have allowed Fenn, a product designer from south London, to bring Chloe along for assistance. The black cat is on a lead when he takes her to shops and wears a fluorescent yellow “service cat” jacket. She typically sits on Fenn’s shoulders as he walks around.

“Chloe accompanies me to hospital, GP, and blood donation appointments,” Fenn tweeted. He says that Chloe helps him manage daily life. “I get sensory overload in busy environments and tend to shut down. But with Chloe I can focus on her, he told the BBC.

This feline thinks it’s a shame that there are people who don’t recognize that cats can be valid emotional support and/or therapy felines. The Human wrote an article about this on her cat behavior blog called, “My Emotional Support is My Cat.” What do you think about the controversy of therapy/support cats?

Heroic Cats up for National Cat Award in UK

This year’s National Cat Awards, organized by the largest cat charity in the UK, Cat’s Protection celebrate the bond between cats and their humans.

Spuds, a former stray may have saved the lives of six people including a newborn baby, when he raised the alarm as deadly smoke engulfed the family home on Christmas Eve. He jumped repeatedly on his human Brendan’s chest to wake him up when dripping fat from a turkey in the oven created plumes of smoke.

Another contender for the title is Archie. His human, Maddy has needed life saving dialysis to remove deadly toxins from her body. Five times a week she connects to a machine for up to seven hours, all under the close watch of her medical snoopervisor Archie. Archie cuddles up with Maddy and keeps her company for the long hours of the dialysis.

The third finalist in the most caring cat category is Misty. Misty’s human Coral was a teenager when a painful condition left her bedridden and unable to walk. But she always had a loyal friend by her side – Misty. When Coral learned to walk again, Misty would appear whenever she heard Coral’s crutches – a friendly face to cheer her on. Six years later Misty is there to encourage Coral to walk and to keep her calm as she suffers post-traumatic stress disorder.

The award announcements will be made for all the categories,- Cat Colleagues, Furr-ever Friends, Most Caring Cat, and Outstanding Rescue Cat. in August. The winners will receive a trophy and a pet store voucher of 200 Pounds Sterling (about $250.00 USD) and a year’s subscription to Cats Protection, The Cat, magazine.

Party to celebrate bookstore cat’s retirement

Even working cats reach an age of retirement and this was the case for Loganberry Books bookstore’s feline employee Otis.  Otis has worked at the store as a professional greeter for 10 years. The store owner, Harriet found him as a stray kitten who she said, “very loudly demanded a job in book sales.”

Since then, Otis has amassed quite a fan base. The store even  has a special gift section during the holidays called “Otis’ Old Curiosity Box”.

A grand retirement celebration was held for Otis that featured a fundraiser for the local shelter. Otis will spend his golden years enjoying sun puddles and being loved and having his diabetes treated at home.

Dubai street cat is living the American dream on Instagram

Good grief, kitty meowdels seem to be a thing this week. Benson, the photogenic gray tabby has more than 251,000 Instagram followers under the handle a_street_cat_named_benson.” His human Zoe Mansuri says he  “does quite well for himself financially,” (Hmm, note to self, reach out to Benson and see how this feline blogger can make a few bucks!).

Benson hasn’t always lived the high life. He was a scrawny, tiny street cat that was rescued from Dubai, United Arab Emirates, and brought to the States. He is now living his best life in Baltimore, Maryland, and has a wardrobe any fancy feline would envy. He has more than 250 outfits and his human purges his closet annually and donates the discarded items to charity.

No matter what ensemble he sports, he rocks the look. Benson, you are truly a rags to riches story!