Hello Furiends,

We are finally back in touch with the world – translation, our internet is working again. Meowza that was not fun!

While we were out of touch with the world we were spending time in staff meetings and drawing up some plans for our blog that we think you will like. There will be more about this next week. Oliver, Lily and I are exhausted from trying to keep our Purrsonal Assistant focused. Sigh, it’s a hard job but someone’s gotta’ do it. Here are some snapshots of our week.

I am exhausted from trying to keep our Purrsonal Assistant focused. – Oliver

A new declaration in Mexico gives 19 cats roaming the presidential palace food and care fur-ever

Paws up; to the humans at Mexido’s National Palace. There has been a colony of feral cats living on the premesis,and the government has made it clear they are welcome to live there. They will greet visitors and roam the grounds and gardens.

 “They have access to every part of the palace, so they walk in on meetings, interviews and wander onto camera,” said Jesús Arias, the palace veterinarian, as a handful of feline friends brush against his ankles.

Now the place of the cats is official after the government of Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador declared them to be “living fixed assets,” the first animals in Mexico to receive the title. By declaring the felines as  “fixed assets” López Obrador’s government has obligated the country’s Treasury to give them food and care for them for the rest of their lives, even after the leader leaves office in October. The cats all have names and are loved by palace staff and tourists.

Staff say they remember the feral cats living among the cacti and dense brush of the gardens as far back as 50 years ago. This feline is happy to see this 50 year tradition continued!

‘They thought I was crazy’: Okanagan’s first cat cafe thriving after nearly one year

Here at Feline Opines, we love to feature cat cafes. The Human, who has been an entrepreneur all her life, also loves to hear success stories about these café’s.  Ashley Karnes, owner of the Catelowna Cat Café in Kelowna, Okanagen, Canada, says that despite some naysayers, the Okanagan’s B.C. first cat cafe is thriving nearly one year after opening.

Many people told her she was crazy when she opened the café. Karnes partnered adoption agencies and rescues from B.C. and Saskatchewan and since she opened in June 2023, the cafe has seen 156 adoptions! At this time Catelowna has 30 cats ready to find their furever homes.  

One of Catelowna’s regular visitors said. “I do like coming here. It’s fun to cuddle the kitties because I have dogs at home. I can’t have cats, so this is where I get my cat fix,” Reservations at the cafe. But this café and o9ther cat cafes do much more than give humans an experience, they also offer socialization for the kittens and cats which makes them much more adoptable.

Do you have a cat café near you? If you do, I encourage you to visit them.

Pet food company to pay a cat lover $10K to cuddle with kittens, raise support for adoption shelters 

When I read this I demanded that The Human submit an application immediately. Can you imagine how many cat toys, treats and a fancy new cat tower $10K could buy? Yes, it’s true, ACANA pet foods is going to pay $10,000 to one lucky cat lover for cuddling with kittens. All you humans have to do is reply to a questionnaire.

In addition to the $10K prize, ACANA cat food will arrange for the winner to spend four hours cuddling with cats at Best Friends Animal Society this June. (Best Friends is one of the BEST places and is one of the leading national animal welfare organizations dedicated to ending the killing of cats and dogs in animal shelters). All this is to bring attention to “kitten season” that happens in May through November every year. Kitten season results in an influx of kittens in shelters, often overwhelming the shelter resources.

ACANA wants to educate the public about the kitten problem and to promote adoption. As many of you know Oliver, Lily and I were adopted from our local shelter. ACANA also wants to encourage people to help out at their local shelters.

Let’s spread the word about kitten season and let’s work to empty the shelters so that every cat in our communities has a forever home!

‘Walking my cat on a lead changed my life’ 

Cats on leashes is becoming a phenomenon and their photos and stories are filling up the web. BBC spoke to three owners of “adventure cats”, who have roamed the British countryside with their feline companions and to discover why they take their felines on outdoor adventures.

“He’s fearless, nothing fazes him” said Jade de Monyé. She adventures with Figaro, a Maine Coon cross Ragdoll.  She was Inspired by world-travelling adventure cat Suki, Ms de Monyé, decided to harness train Figaro when he was a kitten.. Figaro took to the harness immediately. “I’ve never seen a cat that’s so happy to just be out – he’s always got the little happy high tail, his eyes are never big and scary,” she said. “I’ll open the car door with his lead on and it’s up to him if he wants to get out. I never push him into anything.” She also phones public venues ahead to check whether she can bring Figaro and avoids places with dogs off leash.

Diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 2019, Ms de Monyé said taking Figaro on walks had “changed her life”. “On my days off I’d just shut myself away and feel sorry for myself,” she said. “He almost forces me to get out of the house.”  “It’s not like walking a dog,” she said. “It’s going where the cat wants to go. He does like to sit a lot at the water’s edge and just watch all the birds. “You can 100% train a cat, it’s just a lot harder,” she added.

Anna Dukes Sydney and her cat Roland travel around town in a stroller nicknamed the “meow-cedes Benz” She takes her Sphynx and Blue Point Siamese, Roland and Sydney on trips in her camper van. The cats have explored campsites and beaches across the UK, although they prefer to avoid seawater. “There are signs saying no dogs on the beach, but it doesn’t say anything about cats,” Ms Dukes said. “I’m always mindful if they’re on the lead as I’ve been told, no matter what, cats can escape if they want to.” Cautious about dogs and people with allergies, Ms Dukes stays outside pubs and cafes, with the cats in their “meow-cedes Benz” stroller.

Jordan Gregory, and Jess Young,  consulted a vet before taking British Shorthair, Moss, out on a leash. “We didn’t want her to just stay indoors all the time,” Gregory near Chingford in a house with a garden, but they still take the “chilled out” feline out in a specialist backpack. “We don’t have a car and travel everywhere by train,” Mr Gregory said. “She’ll go to Waterloo in the bag. On the train we’ll take her out… and she’ll just sit on our laps.” Moss is always kept on a leash during her train travel. She has climbed a mountain in the Lake District and, although she “prefers not to be rained on”, also “loves being in a tent,” Mr Gregory said. “There are some people who don’t really get it or somehow take offence,” he added. “[But] I don’t think I’m subjecting her to some kind of cruelty.”