Happy Wednesday Furiends,

Now before you start meowing at me, yes, I know we skipped last Wednesday. Things in our neck of the woods were a bit harried but I am happy to report we are back on track.

And speaking of our neck of the woods, I do believe spring is really here…finally! Now before you get too excited, spring around here takes it’s time and at the moment this is the state of our weather.

Still, we do enjoy the random bout of sunshine and when it happens, we take full advantage of it as you will see in this collection of photographs I have titled, “Sun Puddles”.

We hope you’re enjoy the sun puddles in your neck of the woods.

Stowaway cat accidentally mailed to California in returned package

Although I normally stay away from news stories that are all over the internet, I just had to report on this one. First, let me remind you of two things, cats love boxes and cats will climb inside said boxes at every opportunity. Humans, for heaven’s sake, don’t tape up a box before you do a feline inspectikon!!!!

This is the sad tail of a feline who was mailed hundreds of miles in a box that had items being returned. Galena, the Utah feline had disappeared from her Utah home and her humans launched a widespread neighborhood search.  But Galena wasn’t in the neighborhood, she was in an Amazon facility in California!

Thankfully she was rescued by a worker there, in good health despite the fact that it had been days since she’d had food and water. This heroic Amazon worker also took her to the vet to see if she had a microchip and that’s how her family was found.

Needless to say, her humans were over the moon to hear she was found and quite befuddled when they heard where she was. The humans flew more than 1,000 miles to California to bring Galena home.

Poor Galena, who had been frightend during her stay in California, stopped shaking as soon as she was in her human’s arms.

Galena’s human encourages everyone to microchip their cats and to “triple check” their Amazon boxes.

A Day in the Life of the World’s Most Pampered Hotel Cat

I don’t usually feature travel articles but I made an exception for this article by James Wong at Fodor’s Travel and that’s because he wrote about Europe’s prestigious Oetker hotels, a chain that provide an elegant welcome with hotel felines.

Their Le Bristol in Paris has Socrate and Brenners Park in Baden-Baden has Kléopatre. The Lanesborough in London is home to Lilibet, a Siberian Forest cat named after the late Queen Elizabeth II.

Lilibet arrived in 2019 as a kitten and is now the hotel’s most spoiled and loved inhabitant. She has a hotel cat committee to see to her every need and quite an online following.  The hotel’s social media engagement skyrockets whenever she makes an appearance.

James Wong decided to check into the hotel and experience the presence of Lilibet close up and purrsonal. Here is his report.

“I walked through Hyde Park for my first meeting with a cat, more nervous than the time I tried to get in the same elevator as Anna Wintour. Like Madame W., cats are famously aloof creatures, yet adored the world over. Lilibet has strutted her stuff on BBC News, been photographed for high-end editorials, and is consistently captured by fans on countless social media reels.

I was greeted by handsomely-dressed doormen at the grand entrance, and took a seat at check-in. No sign of Lilibet yet. The suspense! The cat committee was deciding on festivities for her fifth birthday. “Last year she enjoyed a photoshoot with a beautiful cake,” I was told. Lilibet’s an Aries like Mariah Carey, Elton John, and Posh Spice: Darling divas partial to a splash of opulence. I was led through an intricate marble hallway within the former 18th-century home of Viscount Lanesborough, today akin to the V&A museum. A passage flowing with ornamental plasterwork, gold leaf accents, and trompe l’oeil. It’s a catwalk like no other.

It goes without saying my room was equally a showstopper. Each of the hotel’s 93 boudoirs is uniquely furnished with regal interiors and cleverly placed technology. TVs are concealed behind classical oil paintings. My personal butler demonstrated how to operate it. Lili and I would be watching a movie of her choice tonight. “Would you like us to prepare the film on this television, or the other one?” I looked around. Which painting was it in? At the flip of a switch, another screen lifted out of what I initially thought was a bookshelf at the foot of the bed. There’s my answer. “We’ll have popcorn ready for you, and some Dreamies for Lili. They’re her favorite treat,” the butler added.

I noticed a cake decorated with pink paws on the table and a card beside it. The inside read, “Welcome to my humble abode. I can’t wait to spend some quality time with you. Love, Lilibet.”

With a couple of hours before dinner, I ventured down to The Lanesborough Club & Spa, an underground cavern of serenity for R&R. No sign of Lili en route. The concierge offered clues. “She often sits on the balcony overlooking the Basia Hamilton portrait of Queen Elizabeth II and sometimes she helps Victor greet guests at the door.” So I quizzed Victor the doorman. He talked about her kitten days, and how he’s one of the few humans she’s never clawed.

“Lilibet loves being pet by guests, but not for too long, she’ll let you know when she’s done,” he laughed. “Visitors can’t get enough of her, regardless, and gifts are delivered all the time.” Gifts, you say? “Yes, everything, but especially treats. She gets lots of fancy chicken soup.”

Further investigation led me to discover that Lili was once gifted an actual gold necklace by designers Ralph & Russo. The hand-crafted collar features the hotel’s crown sigil with her name and number. Lilibet sports it on special occasions.

Post-nap, I visited The Library Bar, adjacent to Lili’s evening hangout, The Withdrawing Room. It’s here that we finally (finally!) met. She was people-watching as the sunset illuminated the corner of Wellington Arch across the street, unflinching as I reached over and touched her unbelievably soft fur.

Siberian Forest cat fur is hypoallergenic, FYI, so no hiss-terics necessary. While I was tempted to pick Her Majesty up, I remembered my chat with Victor and gave her space. At the bar, I ordered the Lilibet Cocktail, made with Earl Grey-infused gin and frothing with English Chardonnay wine flavored with chocolate. It certainly gave me the pre-dinner meows.

I suggested we dine at Gordon Ramsey’s Lucky Cat in nearby Mayfair. “Lilibet will adore the sashimi,” I said. “It’s always amazing.” Alas, I learned domestic cats aren’t able to eat raw sushi, and even if they were, Lili’s not keen on leaving the premises for supper.

Mary in guest relations clarifies, “She runs right back in when she’s taken outside, but doesn’t mind venturing out for grooming.” No sashimi party for us then; unless it’s for the cat spa, this feline’s staying put. “She’s tried caviar though,” admitted Mary.

Instead we stayed in and did dinner in the hotel–separately (Lili needs space, remember). I tucked into a perfectly burnished Beef Wellington at The Lanesborough Grill under a crystal chandelier, no less, while Lili, somewhere in the building, enjoyed Purina Gourmet slow-cooked beef. Curious, I googled the brand. The website states it, “appeals to cats with a taste for the finer things.”

Lili was waiting for me in the room by the time I’d finished my Carrot and Walnut cake, running around excitedly. Clearly, distance made her kitty heart grow fonder. Our butler had laid out a magnificent spread of treats, including Lili’s snacks, special cat milk, and assorted toy mice. I slipped into a robe and hit play on the Puss in Boots sequel, as Lili dashed behind the floral curtains. After enticing her with a trail of treats, I was able to seat her on my lap for 102 minutes of animated adventure. She purred, fixated on the screen, and stayed with me for exactly four minutes before scurrying behind a sofa. Surely she wouldn’t want to miss Kitty Softpaw’s grand entrance? I thought and I went to pick her up. Out came claws. Lili made it very clear she was not interested in Salma Hayek. Perhaps we should have gone with Halle Berry in Catwoman? My feline friend avoided the TV until her 10 p.m. pick-up, and I was given a plush version of Lilibet for company until her return the next morning.

At 9 a.m., Lili was back and ever so thrilled to see me. She’d thankfully forgotten I’d subjected her to Salma Hayek last night. The butler wheeled in our farewell breakfast: avocado toast with poached eggs for me, and a tuna mousse for Lili. Ravished, she jumped on the opposite chair. I took a mouthful as she stared on, as if to say ”come over, feed me!” And so I obliged. She licked a scoop of tuna mousse on my fingertip and I returned to my chair, hoping that acted as permission for her to dig in, but to no avail. I put down my fork, and well, Lili insisted I hand-feed the whole breakfast to her. Ah, this must be what it’s like to live in a luxury hotel, I figured. Butlers on call, fine dining, and oodles of pampering–life here’s not far from life at neighboring Buckingham Palace. The Lanesborough is where anyone who steps inside gets the royal treatment, even if (and in Lili’s case, especially when) they’re a pet cat.”  

Meowza, where does a feline sign up for a job with this hotel chain?             

Cats Cameos in Music videos

Believe it or not, felines have been making appearances in music videos (or making our own music videos). We have obviously conquered Hollywood and now our charisma and ability to capture an audience has moved us into the music field.  

Purrhaps one of the most iconic feline musical appearances is in the music video for “The Love Cats” by The Cure. The band doesn’t just refer to felines, they also feature cats on film.

Janet Jackson was one of the early feline adapters is Janet Jackson who featured a cat cameo in her1986 music video “When I Think of You.” A feline wanders through the street dancers.  

Ed Sheeran’s “Drunk” presents the story of friendship between him a cat and highlights the bond the human and feline have. Paula Abdul’s “Opposites Attract,” had a cartoon cat named MC Skat Kat who performs a duet with Abdul.

Some people wonder why artists use cats in their music videos and my response is that we are photogenic, charming and we are capable of showing a wide range of emotion. I mean, all you have to do is purruse the internet…we own it!

So my furiends, if you can’t get a job at a luxury hotel, maybe you want to try the music video biz.

The Cat Distribution System at Work

A young boy went to his local animal shelter to adopt a kitten. As soon as he stepped into the cat section one feline made a beeline to him, wrapped his paws around him in a hug. This my furiends, is a purrfect example of how the Cat Distribution System works, The cat picks you.

And that’s what happened. Although the boy went to the shelter to find a kitten, this cat chose him as his forever human

The smile on the boy’s face says it all. He now has a cat!

I’m starting a new feature on Wednesdays. The Human and I watch so many cat videos on social media and there is always one or two that we feel are outstanding. This is this week’s top cat video. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did.