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Author Archives: Feline Opines
Walk Through the Web Wednesday 11/2
Hello Friends, furry and otherwise,
It’s that time of the week again and I’ve found some great cat-related items on the world-wide web. I hope you enjoy!
Your Friend,
A Tonk’s Tale-Wordless Wednesday
This photo array of a feline and a squirrel is awesome! Our squirrel/bird feeder is on the upstairs deck and we don’t get so close to our wildlife visitors. I am considering having my purrrrsonal assistant make a poster from these fantastic photos and hang them over one 
of our litter boxes. Also, I must say that the “press feline” looks quite dapper here and I am reconsidering my attire as official press secretary for the Kitty Kat Party.
P.S. If you want to see the pitiful squirrel viewing the Tribe of Five is forced to endure, check out this short video.
David Tennant-Narrates Anti-Stress Films For Cats And Dogs
Now here is an idea whose time has come. We felines (and my canine friends) have a lot to be stressed out about like door bells, vacuum monsters, thunder, well you get the idea. One would think that a feline’s humans (particularly humans who pride themselves on keeping a “fear free” home would have better sense than to put on cat ears and paint their face like a feline. I kid you not, 
this is what the feline human did on their Howl-o-ween holiday. Nearly gave me a heart attack. Suffice to say there will be no more of that in our house. The photo is of her trying to apologize.
Stylist-Revealed: the most popular cat and dog names of 2016
I don’t know about you but I often wonder where in the heck the humans got the names they call us. Our humans have long stories about how this happened and they never 
change our names from the shelter names right away but wait awhile to get to know us better. My name, for instance, is because of my sleek physique and my penchant for running around the house like a speed demon. The male human loves bicycle racing and so they called me Alberto Contador. I know, pretty dumb huh?. I can say that I’m a bit annoyed that my brother, Oliver’s name appears as number four on the list. Seriously? We many need to renegotiate this naming thing.
Houzz – 15 Design-Friendly Places to Hide the Cat Litter Box
I’m throwing this one in for the humans. Frankly, I could care less where our litter boxes 
are located or what they look like. Just keep ’em clean and easy to get in to. Period. but the female human spends much time and money on litter boxes that don’t look like litter boxes and ensuring they are placed in areas where company will never see them. So humans, enjoy.
Mental Floss – Chicago’s Secret Weapon Against Rats: Feral Cats
This is my favorite find this week. We have feral cats that visit our house and the female human always offers them food, water and shelter but sadly, we have coyotes and large birds of prey where we live and the feral cats never seem to hang around long enough for her to trap them. Chicago is solving a terrible problem and helping feral cats at the same time. Around our neck of the woods, those kinds of working cats are called barn cats, looks like some of these Chicago felines could be called Tavern cats.
One of these tavern cats is named Venkman and you can read about the great new life he and other cats have thanks to Empirical Brewery. (Note to self, tell the humans to buy this beer). Actually, these felines have a great life, regular meals, a safe and warm place to sleep and a job to do. Two paws up for Empirical Brewery and all the other Chicago businesses who are giving feral cats homes and jobs. Oh, and by the way, Venkman is on Twitter at @VenkmanTheCat. Maybe some other cities will try this excellent program.
Are We Being Mocked?
Hello World,
Alberto here. The female human has evidently attempted to mock us on this Howl-o-ween holiday the humans celebrate. We are not amused.
She has attempted to apologize but I’m not buying it.
Your Friend,
It’s National Cat Day!
Wow, We’re Honored!
Walk Through the Web Wednesday 10/26
Hello World, Alberto Here,
I have officially ended my blogging strike. The humans heard me loud and clear as regards my distaste for the ridiculous dinosaur costume they tried to make me wear. At The Trive of Five we have a “no costume” policy that is now enforced after this recent debacle.
As a result of this strange holiday the humans seem to enjoy, I decided to devote this Wednesday to their ridiculous celebration.
I also wanted to point out that this feline is an equality opportunity blog writer and today I have featured a blog by mice as well as dog posts.
Enjoy.
The Great Halloween Indignity – Feline Opines
My first listing will be a bit of shameless self-promotion as I am featuring my post The Great Halloween Indignity which started my campaign against the human’s Halloween ridiculousness.
How Black Cats Came to Halloween – Hartz
My next selection is from the good folks at Hartz “How Black Cats Came to Halloween” Black cats have a bad reputation, especially during this time of year. The 
female human who is my purrsonal assistant for blogging (can’t use a keyboard without opposable thumbs) got a bit misty-eyed when she saw the photo on the Hartz blog and told me about a black cat that used to live with the humans named Buster. I sure wish I could have met him, he sounds like a great guy. I’ve included a photo of our Buster as an homage to the big guy.
Halloween Safety Tips for Your Cat – Pet MD
There are many written about the perils and terrors of the noisy Fourth of July celebrations the humans love so much but few about keeping cats safe on Halloween. Well, I found an excellent article from Pet MD called “Halloween Safety Tips for Your Cat”. ‘Some really good stuff there and I made sure both humans read it.
Halloween: The Well Dressed Cat – Adventures in Cheeseland
After I wrote about my costume indignity, I heard from some friends over at Adventures in Cheeseland which is probably the only WordPress blog hosted by mice. Now the Cheeseland folks are very willing to allow all species to have a say on the blog and they referred me to a guest blog post , “Halloween: The Well Dressed Cat” by the feline, Tiffany Furreau, consultant on the “Real Cats of Beverly Hills” who blogs about the latest trends in cat costumes. I will share Adventure in Cheeseland’s disclaimer at the beginning of the blog “Please do not let your humans see these pictures” (they are not fans of the cat costume craze either! (The photo is Horatio (Lord Nelson) Hedgehog from the Adventures in Cheeseland crew. Evidently hedgehogs are not immune to the Halloween costume indignities either.)
The Telegraph – 25 of the Best Dressed Dogs at the New York City Dog Parade
Finally, I would be remiss if I didn’t feature some canines in Halloween finery. This selection is from The Telegraph “25 of the Best Dressed Dogs at the New York City Dog Parade”. This article features photos from this year’s parade and I must say some of them are quite clever. I would also note that these canines look a lot less put out about the whole costume situation than their feline friends.
Well, folks that’s it for the week, all I have to say about this Halloween holiday thing is this, cut the wires in the scary doorbell and keep a bowl of tasty canine/feline/hedgehog/mouse etc. treats handy for your furry family members.
Until next Wednesday,
Your un-costumed friend,
Changing Your Purrspective
Hello World,
Alberto here. I have been observing the humans lately and the female human appears to be in a state other humans refer to as “stressed out”. As a feline, I am unfamiliar with this. It is not in the feline nature, particularly the nature of a spoiled indoor feline living in a fear-free environment to have this “stressed out” condition.
Still, I care deeply for the feline human and pondered how I might go about assisting her. One morning it occurred to me. She needs a change of purrspective!
As the female human is on the “shortish” side (she requires a stool to reach the highest parts of the cabinets) and definitely not as coordinated or flexible as this feline , I decided to help her by finding her a new purrspective.
This was no easy feat. had to balance myself on a stack of antique suitcases in the corner of the dining room. From there I had to jump up to the top of the buffet and make my way through the slalom course of numerous crystal and silver candlesticks . From the buffet I leaped to the top of the kitchen cabinets and from there, I was at the highest point of the house.
I made myself comfortable on top of the big, white cat food keeper and was delighted to find that if I kicked my foot in just the right way, I could actually open the door of the cat food keeper. This was a bonus.
As I settled in to contemplate my lofty purrspective endeavoring to find some insight for the female human I heard a gasp and then “Alberto!”
Evidently the female human did not appreciate my efforts to assist her. She dragged her little stool over, stood on it and dragged me from my spot.
That’s the thanks a feline gets for trying to help the humans with a problem. I am sorely disappointed that she did not appreciate my efforts. Next time I will 
show the same lack of concern as my brother Oliver, who is always more interested in his own state of being than that of anyone else.
Good-bye for now, your Friend,
The Great Halloween Indignity
Hello Friends,
My regular readers may have noticed that I did not do a “Walk Through The Web Wednesday” post. There is an important reason for this.
The male human purchased a thing they call a “Halloween costume”. The humans have been draping this on me in order to get me used to it. This Tuesday they had the temerity to strap the thing on me. I was not amused and announced that I wouldn’t be walking through the web or anywhere else until they drop this ridiculous idea.
To all my feline friends, please let me know what you think of stuffing felines into these “costumes”, paws up or paws down? Also, the humans tell me there are many of my species proudly displaying these costume things on the internet. If this is true, please share your photos with us.
In the meantime, I remain your “uncostumed” friend,
Guest Blogging at Indoor Paws
The Tribe of Five and I (yes, the felines gave me some space to chime in) were honored to be asked to contribute a guest blog at Indoor Paws
You can read it here
Walk Through The Web Wednesday 10/5/16
Hello Folks,
Alberto here. It’s my weekly purrrrusal of the web for all things feline . I’m bringing you four of my faves, enjoy!
My first pick is from our friends at Catwoods – Tornado on the Ground: Tuscaloosa, April 27, 2011
The female human has been praying for friends in Florida because there is a big storm coming, she prayed for friends in Mississippi and Louisiana not too long ago. This made me wonder, what happens during these bad weather things, what do the humans do, how do they protect their furry family members and can things come out okay? This story was very helpful and tells the story of humans, canines and felines who went through a terrible weather situation. To all my friends, furry, feathered, human and otherwise who are in the way of bad weather, stay safe!
Playful Kitty – Easy Pet Hair Removal with BobSweep Pet Hair
The female human is constantly bemoaning the cat hair left on furniture, clothing and other spaces in our house. Every time she takes out the vicious vacuum monster we all head downstairs. I must confess, I wasn’t sure I wanted to feature any post that talked about the dreaded vacuum monster but after reading this one, I am hopeful. The felines in this house don’t seem to be terrorized and there are photos of them actually standing on the thing. Could this be the solution the female human is searching for? If it isn’t as vicious as our current vacuum monster, I just might suggest to the male human that it would make a nice gift for the female human.
Pam Johnson-Bennett -20 Things Your New Kitten Wants You to Know
My brother Oliver and I came to live with the Tribe of Five a year ago. It has only been about three years since the humans brought a rescue kitten into the family but they still were a bit rusty. Not all kittens are the same and kittens aren’t just miniature cats. Whether you’ve had many kittens in your home or your’re a feline newbie, you will find something helpful in this article. Oh and the photos are me (on the left) and Oliver (on the right) the first week we came to live with The Tribe of Five.
The Dodo – Cat Convinces Lambs to Follow Him Everywhere
I’m a sucker for stories about felines doing fantastic things. The human author, Stephen Messenger, tells a tale of cat in New Zealand who moved from his mundane indoor status to Leader of the Lambs. Just goes to show you, we cats can be anything we set our minds to being!
Well, that’s it for this Wednesday, purrs to you all.
Your Friend,
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