Walk Through The Web Wednesday 5/22

siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

Hello Furiends.
I have completed my feline journalistic duties for the Cat Writer’s Association’s 25th conference. It was very cool, lots of famous social media felines were there and
The Female Human brought home a nice swag bag we’ll be reporting on soon.

But it’s time for me to get to the best of feline news on the web. I hope you enjoy this week’s web wanderings.
img_0739

Delta volunteer flies cat from Atlanta shelter to Seattle cat cafe to find new home

DeltaCat

Oh how I love it when humans step up and do something outstanding, and this is definitely outstanding. First of all, did you know that Delta has an Animal Rescue Transport?

And Delta has volunteers that help make animal transport happen. One of these volunteers took a sweet little feline named Molly from Atlanta to a cat café in Seattle where she could be adopted. Molly tested positive for the feline leukemia virus which created a challenge to her adoption at the shelter. Cats with FIV are adoptable and their disease can be managed. So, the folks in Atlanta sent an application for Molly to be accepted to the Neko Cat Café in Seattle as they specialize in getting cats with FIV adopted. And the Neko Cat Café is one fantastic place where you can sip your favorite beverage, have a light nibble and a snuggle with felines. Could there be any better place?

But I digress, little Molly was accepted and a Delta volunteer flew with her to Seattle and delivered her to the cafe. Now Molly is famous and she has her own page on the Neko Cat Café’s website. So get the word out to your Seattle furiends and tell them to get Molly adopted!

Study using activity monitors to track cats’ activity levels

cat tracker

An interesting opportunity for all my indoor feline friends in England. Researchers from the University of Bristol Vet School want to hear from indoor cat owners for a new study looking at cats’ mobility levels using cat activity monitors.

They’re studying the effect of joint disease in cats activity levels by measuring movements of felines with and without mobility problems. There are criteria for the feline study purrticipants, they must be happy to be met and petted by strangers and wear a breakaway collar. The scientists are hoping to identify the earliest signs of joint disease which would make life so much better for felines with joint problems.

Cats taking part in the study should be:

  • over six years of age;
  • be kept indoors or have outdoors access within a closed run and/or on a lead;
  • shouldn’t be on any pain medication, and
  • live within one to two hours’ drive from Bristol, England.

So if you live across the pond, get  your moggies in this study!

Dogs and cats take flight toward promising future

petflights

In this story nearly 200 shelter pets from Louisiana and Mississippi are settling into their new digs on the East Coast after being flown from Lafayette.

Wings of Rescue made this flight possible in conjunction with GreaterGood.org and the ASPCA.

These flights allow dogs and cats to go from overcrowded shelters where they are less likely to be adopted to shelters with room and better opportunities for them to find furever homes.

This program helps shelter pets all around the country and our local shelter does this as well. What a good idea humans, send us where we have a better chance of being adopted!

Denver cat ends up in Kansas

Topeka cat

Ah, another “happy ending cat traveler story”. (Good grief some of these felines like to roam the country). A “stray” cat was taken to a shelter in Topeka, KS and when they scanned her for a  microchip, Loki’s family was located…..in Denver!

How did this happen you ask? No one knows but Loki is hitching a ride with a family friend of one of the shelter employees. So humans, PLEASE make sure your feline’s microchip info is up to date so that if, heaven forbid, your feline goes missing, you can be reunited too!

According to Research, Being a Cat Lady is Actually Good For You

enlight2

This is our very own crazy cat lady (aka The Female Human). – Alberto FelineOpines.net

Oh puleeeze…these researchers aren’t telling us felines anything new! But I guess you humans have to hear  from Psychological Medicine, what we’ve always known, and that is that felines are beneficial to your health.  As a matter of fact, there’s even more research proving that cats are actually beneficial to specific parts of human health.

A study posted in the Journal of Vascular and Interventional Nuerology states that: “a decreased risk for death due to MI and all cardiovascular diseases (including stroke) was observed among persons with cats. Acquisition of cats as domestic pets may represent a novel strategy for reducing the risk of cardiovascular diseases in high-risk individuals.”

So there you have it, from the experts, that owning  cats can benefit your health.  Felines are great stress reducers and our purrs have  healing powers.  So the next time someone tries to name call your female human as a crazy cat lady, just smile, meow and remember, it’s not crazy to be healthier.

Oliver Reminisces on Friendly Fill Ins #156

Hi There Furiends,
I’m doing the fill-ins this week and I can’t wait to meow about my answers. This is a blog hop which means you can join via the link at the host’s sites at 15andmeowing and Four-Legged Fur Balls and hop around to other sites, read their answers and of course, opine about your thoughts on their answers. Sig_Oliver

 

 

 

Here are this week’s fill ins.

1. ______________ was a very good year.
2. There is nothing quite like _______________.
3. If I had a talk show, I would want to interview _________.
4. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for _________.

My Answers:

1. 2015  was a very good year. That’s the year The Female Human became a foster failure and my brother Alberto and I found our furever home.  Weren’t we cute?

img_0861
2. There is nothing quite like watching the local woodland wildlife with my brother.

black and white cat and siamese cat look out the window

3. If I had a talk show, I would want to interview Jackson Galaxy.  The Female Human is always meowing about him and how much he knows about felines. I’d like to talk to him and see if he could figure out all the crazy idiosyncrasies of The Tribe of Five.
black and white cat radio host
4. There is nothing I wouldn’t do for my fellow members of The Tribe of Five…well, except maybe giving up my favorite spot on the sofa.
final-28

Lily Opines About Her Basepaws DNA Results

cat basepaws dna results

Hello There Furiends,
Before I get into the good stuff, I have to provide a thing you humans call a “disclosure” about my interaction with the Basepaws company. We were provides with a complimentary Basepaws kit in exchange for my opinion of the process and the product. All of the included images, the written content and the opinions are original and from Feline Opines. Although I’ve linked to the company these are not affiliate links and Feline Opines receives no commission or monetary gain from purchases. I just like to tell my furiends about new, cool stuff. 

Test Information

Lily_Kitten

This is me at the shelter the day I met The Female Human. – Lily

And now for the moment you’ve been waiting for…..my report!

Basepaws divides purebred felines in to three different breed groups:

  • Western (American Shorthair, Persian, Siberian, British Shorthair, Maine Coon, Russian Blue, Norwegian Forest Cat, Abyssinian, Exotic Shorthair, Turkish Angora and Ragdoll)
  • Eastern (Oriental Shorthair, Burmese, Birman & Siamese)
  • Hybrid (Cats that are the result of mating between a domestic cat and a wild cat. These breeds include the Bengal (Asian Leopard + domestic) and the Savannah breeds (Serval + domestic)

The fourth feline group is the Polycat group which describes mixed breed cats, 95% of all cats in the world are mixed breed felines. Before Basepaws DNA testing we knew nothing about them and now, as they add more purebred data and trait information they will be able to begin narrowing down the parts of the genome that are responsible for certain traits.

The Western, Eastern and Hybrid groups are based on the DNA of purebred cats in their database. As the company grows and adds more DNA they will be able to narrow down the specific genomic regions .  I was assigned to the  Western Breed Group. Now this does’t mean that I necessarily have “prebred” relatives. It means that the certain genomic regions are the ones that I am most similar to and they ranked me with three breeds by how similar I am to a specific breed and the rest of the database.

The “Sciency” Stuff

First of all neither the Female Human nor I are very scientific so I’m going to try and make this as simple as possible.  If you have an inquiring mind and enjoy science, you might want to check out this information (even though it’s from The National Human Genome Research Institute.

The Basepaws folks sequenced my DNA and it resulted in 8,626,137 DNA fragments that were sequenced and that represents 1,089,039,875 DNA bases that were sequenced (these numbers are a little big for this simple feline to understand). Using that data in addition to the latest cat genome (felis_catus_9.01 – felis catus is a fancy word for “domestic cat”). They analyzed genetic variants across 18 chromosomes to generate my report.

Phew, not that the “sciency” stuff is over let’s dig in to the really interesting stuff.

Let’s Talk About Me

I was assigned to the Western Breed Group and here are the three breeds I am most similar to:

Norwegian Forest Cat
Norwegian Forest Cat

Meowza! I’m like a breed that is believed to be 1-000-2,000 years old. My DNA ancestors originated in Norway (now I know why I like the winters here). Norwegian Forest Cats are generally healthy and strong but also more prone to Diabetes mellitus (a metabolic disorder where blood sugar levels remain high for long periods of time. This is something my veterinarian can watch out for on my yearly wellness visits. The purrsonality traits of this breed makes them friendly, social and independent. I’m friendly with people I know and just like this breed, I am friendly on my own terms. I’m not so social but I’m very independent! They have favorite humans (that is so true) and tend to be picky about whose lap they sit in (me again). The Norwegian Forest Cat in me is where I get my love of climbing and The Female Human has great climbing alternatives for me in high places to satisfy the Forest Cat DNA in me.

American Shorthair

American Shorthair breed

This part of my DNA is responsible for my stellar hunting skills. I don’t have the large head, powerful jaws and full cheeks like most American Shorthairs. American Shorthairs have a variety of coat colors. That’s definitely me! And their eyes are large and distinctive. Me again. The American Shorthair DNA in me may make me affected by hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. There is also sometimes a problem with dermoid cysts, and some facial issues like cleft palate but thankfully, I don’t have any of these problems.  As far as purrsonality is concerned, the fact that they aren’t known as lap cats is me to a T. They appreciate a spot near their humans on the sofa and that is really me. I’m called “Lily Bug” because I always snuggle against humans when they sit on the sofa (my version of being a love bug). Another purrsonality trait that is all me is that I am fine on my own and can entertain myself. I do love to find a good sun puddle and hang there all day, another indication that I have much in common with the American Shorthair.

Siberian

Siberian Forest Cat

Also called The Siberian Forest Cat. I don’t have the plush long coat of these guys. This is the national animal of Russia, cool. I think this must be where I got my crazy coat because the coats for these cats range from tabby, solid, tortoiseshell and color point. To get one of these breed kittens will cost  you a lot of moola and that’s why they’re rare outside of Europe. I hope The Female Human appreciates me for the rare treasure I am. There are no documented known health conditions that plague this breed so that makes me feel good. It is interesting that Siberian Forest Cats are considered to be a hypoallergenic breed because they produce less FelD1 that is the allergen thought to be the culprit in causing allergic reactions in humans. I think I fit the personality description to a T, brave, independent, easygoing and affectionate.

And I’m Wild

My favorite part of the report is that it said the wild cat I was most similar to is the leopard. Pretty cool huh?

And Now The Contest & Winner

untitled design

Thanks to all of you who purrticipated in my Basepaws DNA contest. The #1 breed guess was Siamese with American Shorthair coming in second. There were many others, Tortiseshell, Birman, Burmese, Main Coon, Persian, Turkish Van, Calico, Tonkinese, Snowshoe and Exotic.

Unfortunately, no one got all three but don’t feel bad, The Female Human didn’t pick even one of the breeds. We put all the names in a basket and I batted them around for a while before I had The Female Human pick one out (with her eyes closed, of course) and the winner is…….messymimimeanderings! Please let us know the address to send the books and they’ll be on their way to you. You can use the form below to send the info.

 

← Back

Thank you for your response. ✨

)

Well, I hope you enjoyed my report. If you have your humans do your DNA, let us know about your results.
Sig_Lily

 

 

 

 

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 5/1

siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

Hello There Furiends,
That saying you humans like to meow about that “April showers bring May flowers” is proving to be true. There are tulips beginning to pop up in the garden and there should be some nice color if the deer don’t eat them first.

final-20Oliver tried to convince me that he sat in our felted bed this way because it was getting too warm to sleep inside it. I told Oliver I thought his expanding girth was proving to be too much to fit into the bed. Oliver was not amused.

 

 

 

I hope you enjoy my web wanderings this week.
Purrs & Head Bonks,
Alberto
Siamese cat with blue eyes

Swedish Digital Vet Is Going After the UK’s Cats (and Dogs)

final-21

Oliver and one of our favorite vets, Dr. Christina Ponsness at Pend Oreille Veterinary Service

A Swedish digtal vet clinic, First Vet is launching in the UK. The company offers video appointments  between 20-30UK ($26.00-$39.00) where the average vet visit is about 60UK ($78.00)

So, not only do the humans get to save some money but the felines are relieved of the stress of being shoved in a carrier and taken in the moving metal machine to the place of the stabby people.

First Vet’s study of their business in Sweden has found that roughly half of all cases that result in a visit to the vet could be taken care of by a remote consultation.

This sounds pretty good to me, what do my feline and human furiends think about this?

CatCon Partners With Cats Of Instagram To Celebrate The Internet’s Greatest Cat Videos

img_2249

Have you watched Oliver’s film,, “Bring Me My Catpuccino!”

CatCon, “the ComicCon for cat people” has joined with Instagram’s to showcase most-followed cat accounts to celebrate the internet’s greatest cat videos.

If you and your humans are lucky enough to get to Cat Con at  the  Pasadena Convention Center in California, you can mingle with 62,000 other international feline fans.

The Cats Of Instagram account — which has 10.3 million followers and features a running tab of adorable cat pics and videos — will be hosting the inaugural CatCon Video Festival. And all my furiends can submit their own videos (we submitted two of ours, “Bring Me My Catpuccino” and “You Never Walk Alone”.   A grand prize winner will receive a $500 gift card.

“Cats of Instagram has been part of CatCon since the beginning in 2015, and it made purr-fect sense to up the ante this year and partner with them on CatCon Video Fest,” CatCon creator Susan Michals said in a statement. “Together we plan to bring the audience at CatCon 2019 the best vids from across the country, IRL on the big screen.” Meow, sure wish we could go there!

Teen cat whisperer recognized for clocking nearly 1,900 hours of dedication to feline friends

CatWhisperer

The next time you humans start meowing about how bad kids are today, you need to remember 15-year old Blake Austin. Blake has clocked nearly 1,900 hours of playtime with the felines at the Brunswick Midcoast Humane society. She also fosters kittens. Her dad has a severe cat allergy so she never got to have a cat when she was growing up until her father realized how much cats meant to her and made her a “cats only” room. Blake’s love of cats and her tireless devotion to the felines at her shelter has garnered her much notice and she even received a $10,000.00 gift. Meowza, being nice to kitties pays off-literally!

Cat adopts four orphaned squirrels

CatSquirrel

This one’s for all you may-saying humans who think we felines don’t have a heart.. Pusha, the cat who lives in a park in Bakhchisaray, Crimea. She came across four young squirrels who’d lost their parents, and rather ignoring them or attacking them, she took care of them and even let the squirrels drink her milk as if they were her own kittens.

The squirrels seem quite happy with this family arrangement. Pusha treats them like her own, cleaning them and giving them a gentle nudge when they’re misbehaving.

Brace yourselves, cat lovers. Meow DC is a new festival for feline fanatics.

img_2099

Coco the Couture Cat letting her love child side out at Blogpaws 2016.

Emily Miller, director of special events for the Humane Rescue Alliance, decided to create Meow DC, an annual festival for feline fanatics —where ticket proceeds will go toward the alliance’s mission of helping homeless pets.

“Meow DC is a place for cat people to get together and celebrate all things cat.”

More than 100 adoptable cats were brought to the Dock 5 parking lot because the venue doesn’t allow cats indoors. The specialized RVs had big windows that allow people to see the cats from outside.

Booths just outside the venue’s entrance will house Meow DC’s two celebrity cats — Sunglass Cat and Coco the Couture Cat. An Instagram star with over half a million followers, Sunglass Cat will be taking pictures with fans for $15, which will go to the alliance. Coco, a Cornish Rex who gets around in a pink “Catillac,” will be paw-tographing copies of the book “The Adventures of Coco le Chat: The World’s Most Fashionable Feline.” (Note, The Female Human has met Coco the Couture Cat many times and will see her and her human again at the Cat Writer’s Association conference.)

There were events for kiddos who love cats and lots of vendors who offered purrfect feline products.

 

 

 

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 4/24

siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

Hello There Furiends!

final-18

“Far be it from me to rush you Human but I sure would appreciate a little stroll outside!” -Alberto

Spring has sprung….finally! The Tribe of Five is waiting for The Female Human to get that pop up catio out of the garage and let us out into the fresh air.  She does seem to be taking her sweet time though and I’m getting a bit impatient. Humans, they never seem to have their priorities together!

But at least our Purrsonal Assistant understands the priority of bringing you the best of the worldwide-web in feline news on Wednesday.

 

Purrs & Head Bonks,
Siamese cat with blue eyes

Cats are actually nice, scientists find

final-19

“Cats purrfer hanging out with their humans over eating? I’ll have to think about that.” -Oliver

Well twist my whiskers, it took a bunch of scientists to figure out that we felines are nice? The way you humans spend your time really amazes me. The research from Oregon State University, published in Behavioural Processes, tells us there is scientific evidence that cats are nice. In fact, the study found, cats like interacting with humans more than they like eating food. Now this bit I may not agree with, if you look at Oliver, you may find this statement a bit questionable.

Here’s an idea for those scientists, go to your local shelter and adopt a cat and  you’ll see how nice we are!

 

 

 

Cat’s Attorney Takes on City Hall in Lawsuit

tabby sues city of Bellevue and King County

 

Miska, the Tabby has a rap sheet longer than her tail and now, her humans have intervened on behalf of the Bellevue, WA feline and they are suing the city and King County. They feel she was unfairly targeted calling her citations, “egregious and outrageous”.

The feline’s attorney cites bias and unfair practices against Miska, noting she has received 30 of the 50 infractions doled out by King County Animal Control in the last decade.  The attorney said, “I’ve never seen a city or a county so hell bent on going after a poor, defenseless cat,”

Regardless of where you stand on this legal kerfuffle, you have to agree, it’s about time felines stood up for injustice! Does anyone know where I can find a feline lawyer, I may need one in the future.

Feline Dino Cut Takes Instagram By Storm

dino cat cat grooming trend

People…PULLLEEEZE don’t do this. You humans shove us in costumes, cutesy collars ad bows and if that isn’t enough humiliation, now you want to to cut our gorgeous fur and make us look like some sort of prehistoric throwback? To those who are contemplating doing this to your cat, please look at the faces of the felines in this article. If looks could kill……

True Love Between Neighbor Felines Tugs at The Heart Strings

LoveStory

Queue the violins, this is a feline love story that has taken Twitter by storm. Two cats, staring at each other from across the courtyard fall in love and, with a little help from their humans, the love story moves forward. Simon and Theo are a happy couple and this story has a fairy tale ending.

 

8 Best Cat Breeds For First-Time Owners

BestCatBreeds

For those of you who’ve never had the joy of sharing your life with a feline and who are wondering just what type of feline you’d like to live with, here’s some help.

The first thing you humans need to understand is that felines, like humans, have different purrsonality traits. But there are traits that some breeds have in common.

And don’t think you have to go to a breeder to find certain types of cats. Every one of the Tribe of Five is a shelter/rescue cat and each one of us have some Siamese in our blood. The Female Human loves how intelligent we are, how social, curious and loyal we are as well. Each of us has our own quirks but we do fit the “Siamese” profile very well. So get out there and find the cat that best suits you and your lifestyle.

 

 

 

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 4/17

siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

Hello Furiends,
Alberto here. It’s Wednesday already, I tell you it’s hard for a cat to squeeze in all the naps, playing and eating that  needs to be done in 7 days.  In this short video you can see how much I’m enjoying the new set up upstairs in what the deluded Female Human refers to as “her office and craft room”. Ya’ right!

Here’s hoping you enjoy this week’s web wanderings.
Purrs & Head Bonks,
Alberto
Siamese cat with blue eyes

Smithsonian Archive Exhibit Proves Cats are Artists Best Friends

Picasso

Picasso with his cat Minou

The writer of this article said that if Instagram would have been around during Henri Matisse’s lifetime his feed would have been full of photos of his 3 cats, Minouche, Coussi, and La Puce. His felines were never far when he painted. And then there’s Pablo Picasso whose feline friend Minou was always at his side. And the list goes on and you’ll just have to read the article to see why this Smithsonian Arhive show proves that artists like cats more than dogs.

 

 

 

Take a Cat Home from the Zoo!

catsatthezoo

Soon you will be able to take a cat home from the zoo…not a tiger, lion or jaguar but a feline that will fit purrfectly in your home.

Two paws up for the El Paso zoo for having an adoption event in a place where animal lovers go. The El Paso zoo is partnering with the El Paso Animal Services shelter in Catz at the Zoo. The domestic felines will be hanging out in a cat café at the zoo designed just for the occasion. The Petco Foundation donated a half million dollars to build the zoo cat café, the first one of it’s kind. Bravo El Paso!

Random cat sneaks into house to snuggle up to man recovering from surgery

CatSurgery


A British official tweeted this photo and it’s going crazy. The Female Human always says cats make the best nurses and this proves it!

 

 

 

 

 

New Website Pinpoints Whether Cats Are Picky Eaters or Sick
catpicky

A new website launched by KindredBio  called PickyOrSick.com helps you humans see if we felines are just being picky or if we need to go see the vet. It’s a science based program that offers a 5-question quiz to encourage owners to seek veterinary advice about changes in our eating habits. There are suggestions for determining hether our behavior is a sign of illness or just pickiness. There is a log you humans can download to track our eating habits and, in the event you have to haul us off to the place of the white coats, they have tips as to how to make the trip less stressful for us.

5 Seattle-area adventure cats you need to follow on Instagram

Moose

Moose the Adventure Cat

This is a shout out to my Northwest feline furiends. The Tribe of Five resides in the Inland Northwest but we like adventure too! Adventure cats are a big thing these days as humans realize that we can be fun in the outdoors as well. Check out the Adventure Cat  website there are  tons of helpful guides)  and The Female Human is purrusing it regularly to prepare me to go kayaking with her this summer. I hope you enjoy my five Pacific Northwest furiends!

 

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 3/27

Hello There Furiends,

final-10

“And when it rains on your parade, look up rather than down. Without the rain there would be no rainbow.” G.K. Chesterton

Finally, finally, it looks like spring is coming. Temperatures are warming up and The Female Human even opened the windows the other day for us to sit on the sill and sniff the great outdoors. The Tribe of Five is enjoying sun puddles and we captured Oliver the other day in a purrfect position to catch the colors from the Austrian crystal.

 

 

 

 

Purrs & Head Bonks,
Alberto

Siamese cat with blue eyes

Man Gets Suspended For Helping Helpless Feline

Verizon

Verizon employee Maurice German was recently suspended from his job after he rescued a cat named Princess Momma who had been stuck on a pole for over 12 hours.  After the cat’s human called the fire department, animal rescue and the phone company but no one returned her calls. In desperation, the human approached Mr. German and he helped.

And what did his heroics get him? He was suspended for three weeks without pay for violating Verizon’s safety rules. Fortunately, there are lots of good-hearted humans out there who put together two Go Fund Me pages to help the man and his family while he goes without pay. One raised $3,395.00 and the other raised over $7,000.00..

Dear Verizon, I hiss in your direction.

Clever Kitty Finds Solution To The Door To His Litter Box Being Shut

catPoop

When a cat’s gotta’ go, a cat’s gotta’ go! Tino, a British kitty needed to do his business when he discovered to his horror, that the door to his litter box was locked.

He weighed his options…..go on the floor, meow in dersperation for help? What’s a kitty to do?

Tino’s solution was to find the litter bag, knock it on it’s side and spill litter on the floor. He then attended to his business. Despite the fact that Tino’s human had a big mess to clean up, we give Tino a paws up award for ingenuity.

Tino is now an internet sensation and there are poems and odes to honor his feline problem solving skills.  Note to humans…..make sure the door to the litter box is NEVER locked!

Under-Cats Photo Series Gives A Whole New Purrspective on Felines 

UnderCats

Photo from Andrius Burba’s new series “Under-Cats”

Andrius Burba is famous for his unorthodox approach to animal photography. This time he’s presented an entirely new view of felines, from the bottom up.  He’s added to his new portrait series Underlook with Under-Cats to show how we felines look from below.

He said,  “The Underlook project started four years ago when I saw a ridiculous looking picture on the Internet.  It was a cat sitting on a glass table that was photographed from underneath. I decided to level up the idea and photograph it professionaly to see those paws in hi-res and that is how the Underlook project was born.” If you humans think you know us felines, take a look at the pawsome photos on this site. Meow!

Tulsa Firefighters Rescue Snickers The Cat – Twice

Snickers

Tulsa Fire Department’s Station 23 rescued a cat named Snickers – not once but twice.

They didn’t have to crawl up a pole because the fleeing feline took a 130 mile ride from Mustang, OK to Tulsa in an engine compartment of someone’s car.

When Snickers was discovered missing and her humans tried to find her, the kept praying and their prayers were answered.

Tulsa firefighters were called to help get the feline out of the car. found Snickers when they got the unusual call to rescue the furry feline from the car. They kept her at the fire station the first night and then one of the firefighters took her home where she resided in the laundry room while they tied to figure out what to do with her.

Fortunately, a story about Snickers was aired on the sister TV station in her home town and someone recognized her and contacted her humans.

Just when  Snickers was so close to being returned home she found her way into a compartment under a fire truck at the station and the firefighters had to rescue her again.

The story has a happy ending, Snickers was extricated from the firetruck and back into the arms of her humans, right before the firefighters were called out to fight a fire. You can watch the video story here.

Paws up to these firefighters for going above and beyond and for saying, “I know that if it was my cat I’d want someone to do everything they could,” said Emerson.

Snickers, I suggest you stay inside and away from any type of moving vehicle!

Human’s Singing Pushes This Feline Named Harvey Over the Edge

BadSinging

We felines put up with a lot from you humans and most often we put up with your shenanigans but even felines have a breaking point.

YouTuber Greg Molick uploaded a video of his unusual rendition of “Under Pressure” by Queen and David Bowie. His cat Harvey is not a fan of his singing voice.

After 30 seconds, Harvey decides to jump up on the bed and show Greg exactly how he feels about his musical abilities. You go Harvey and IMHO that screeching is tantamount to animal abuse! Watch the video and decide for yourself.

 

 

 

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 3/21

siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

I know, it’s another Wednesday feature on Thursday. The Female Human stayed home  because some movers were coming to move furniture in our house. She’s moving the guest bedroom room downstairs and her craft room upstairs where the guest bedroom is now. She dragged stuff out of rooms, stacked everything up and waited..and waited…and waited and is still waiting for them to show up.

In the meantime, the Tribe is a bit freaked out that our little world has been turned topsy turvy. Not a good week for any of us. Sigh.

Purrs & Head Bonks,
Siamese cat with blue eyes

Cat Lover Behind Change in City Ordinance

CityJCouncil

Now this is the type of purrlitical involvement a feline can get behind. Last November, Jim Vesock went to the city’s pet shelter to adopt a sister for his two black cats but was told that this was not possible. The city’s code allowed for up to four domestic pets in a household but a maximum of two cats and two dogs.

Now I am a more libertarian leaning feline and the thought that any government can tell any responsible human how many felines can be in there home makes me want to hiss. Thank goodness we don’t live in that city or the Tribe of Five would be The Tribe of Two!

The shelter told him the only way to change this law was to do it through the city council and so he went to meetings, lobbied council members and his efforts paid off and now humans can adopt up to four cats or four dogs.  This will help shelter kitties and will, of course, bring more feline happiness into the lives of humans. Two paws up for Mr. Vesock!

Kitty Crack – Is It Unethical To Give Your Cat Catnip?

final-9

The debate about “the nip” continues. This article argues that humans might not be considering animal ethics when they give us catnip. Now our Human has always monitored our behavior on the nip very closely. I can tell you that four of the five of us are model feline citizens when we’re under the influence and we quite enjoy it. One of The Tribe who shall remain anonymous (Tucker) is a mean nipper and his ingestion of the nip is watched carefully. All in all, The Tribe of Five votes for nip and we request that the writer of this article stop raining on our parade.  What do you think?

Look Before You Lock To Protect Kitties 

sheds

This is an important reminder for all humans. We kitties like to check out new spaces and sheds, shops, garages and the like are tempting places for us to explore. This kitty named Wispa disappeared from her home and her human searched for her everywhere…almost. Twenty days after Wispa went missing she was found locked in someone’s garage.

Wispa lost as lot of weight and the vet said she wouldn’t have lasted for too many more days.

Thankfully Wispa is now recovered. We had a similar situation in our community where a feline was locked in someone’s shop for months. She was found after several months but is still dealing with health issues. So humans, PLEASE check these spaces on a regular basis!

Major Campaign Launched To Help Find Purrfect Landlords

 

img_0344

Once again I have to give a hat tip to the folks across the pond and their feline loving ways. The CATS Protection , the UK’s largest cat charity is offering free guidance to landlords and rental agents to make sure that rental agreements. A study was conducted and it was discovered that less than half of private rented housing allows cats. Meowza, that’s 42% and that’s not good.

The charity launched a website that helps landlords and renters to be cat friendly. Kudos to the CATS Protection charity!! The folks in the good ole’ US of A could use this info as well.

Would You Pay Money To Smell Like A Cat?

img_0088-1

“Tucker, what is that pawsome after shave you’re wearing?” -Lily

Now I don’t know about the rest of you felines, but I don’t think there is a cat smell. My fur might bear the faint fragrance of the Female Human’s perfume after she pets me and I may smell of fresh grass in the summer after a roll in the garden but cat scent? I think not.

But there are other folks who clearly think there is a cat smell and a Japanese company Yamamoto Perfumery is counting on the fact tact that the scent of cat forehead is one that you definitely want to smell like. They came to this conclusion after conducting extensive research in cat cafes throughout Japan. They sniffed the foreheads of felines and recorded the fragrance notes and this resulted in the creation of “Fluffy Forehead Fragrance Fabric Water,” a home fragrance that purportedly smells just like a cat. According to customers surveyed, a cat smells like “sunshine,” “a futon that’s been dried in the sun” and “sweet bread.”

catheadDesigned to be sprayed onto fabrics, the product retails for 1,293 yen (US$10.60) and is perfect for freshening up cushions and blankets. Felissimo suggests the best way to enjoy the fragrance is with their lineup of kitty head cushions, available in three different colours for 3,125 yen each, a bargain at just over $28.00 US.

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 3/14

Hello there furiends,
Yes, I know it’s not Wednesday but I was preempted by Lily’s DNA post. Evidently our purrsonal assistant could not handle more than one blog post a day. I am showing my magnanimous purrsonality and not meowing to Lily about the late post for my feature.
Sometimes it’s important to just be the bigger feline.
Purrs & Head Bonks,
Siamese cat with blue eyes

Cat That Went Missing Five Years Ago Finally Returns Home

MissingCat

Larry the prodigal feline

This comes under the heading, “never give up when your feline goes missing”. Larry, the feline, was allowed outside for a stroll but never came back. Larry’s human resigned herself to the fact  that he was gone forever, that is until he was taken to a nearby animal shelter and they called saying they had Larry.  Larry was found in pretty good health but he was missing part of his paw.

Aaaaand Another Prodigal Cat Comes Home-To Find Himself In  A Nasty Custody Dispute

Poppy

Lily Downie was nine when her mother got her a kitten to help console her after the death of her father in 2010.  Unfortunately, when the family moved Poppy decided to take up residence with another family in the neighborhood.

Poppy’s family tried to do everything right. They took Poppy to the vet after he was found as a stray and had the vet scan the cat for a microchip. The details were out of date and the owner could not be located so Poppy stayed in her new home. Her new family spent hundreds of dollars on vet bills, spent another $1,000.00 for teeth cleaning and had her microchipped with her new information to make sure she would be returned home if she was lost.

Then the former owner was notified that someone thought her cat was with another family. And then they caught Poppy and took her away from her family and gave her to her previous owner.

The previous owner used the story to promote herself into 15 minutes of fame and Poppy’s second family saw the article and are now fighting to get Poppy back.

This feline always says “think lost not stray” but there is some responsibility on the previous owner’s part to find their lost kitty. How hard did they look? Why didn’t they change the microchip when they moved? Methinks this story is not as cut and dried as one may believe. Note to Poppy’s original human, take less selfies and take better care of your cat. (Sorry, I know I’m a bit hissy but this story put me over the edge) Also, the article referred to the cat as “him” and “her”, humans, can’t you figure this out??

Game of Thrones Cat Bed

Cat-bed-iron-throne-2-920x920

When I asked The Female Human what this “Game of Thrones” thing was she gave me a blank stare. She also admitted she had never watched this TV series. Well evidently there are humans that are far more enlightened than mine and they are rushing to spend £216.53 ($286.98) for this piece of feline furniture.

You can find the iron cat bed on Etsy  The designer says the bed is suitable for cats and small dogs but really, are dogs cool enough for this bed? What do you think?

The 12 Best Movie Cats of All Time — IndieWire Critics Survey

Cinema cats

Allow me a moment to meow about this. I was excited to see who these twelve wonderful feline actors were, only to discover that 7 of the twelve are cartoon of fake cats. Seriously IndieWire humans? I could easily come up with five real felines for this title. I found many at the Cinema Cats site like the Kitten in Trainspotting, Floyd the cat in Ghost, The movie Day for Night and the kitten actor, Orangey in the movie Rhubarb, the fabulous dinner table feline in She’s Having a Baby, Fred, the one-eyed feline in Gifted, and this list wouldn’t be complete without Bob from A Street Cat Named Bob.  There are lots more great, REAL actor cats. Check them out at Cinema Cats.

Working  Cats at Las Vegas Church Just Like Family

worikingchurchcats

Oh my whiskers do I love stories about working cats and this story about Koukla and Pontiki, who started their new job at St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church about two months ago, is a winner!

It’s a nice gig, 24/7, with food and housing are included. Also some nice perks like a human coming in and saying “Who’s a good girl?” while scratching them behind the ears.

Koukla and Pontiki came to the church through the working cat program. I’ve reported on this program in numerous communities. While breweries seem to be the first to begin “hiring” felines, more humans are thinking outside the box and hiring felines for their workplaces and now churches are being enlightened as well.

St. John the Baptist is the first church to adopt a cat through the program. John Koutsulis, a parish council member, says the church learned about the program after the Rev. Seraphim Ramos noted that cats often are kept in Greek monasteries to control rodents.

“We own just shy of 10 acres of land and we thought, ‘Why not have some cats out there?’ ” Koutsulis says.

Enter Koukla, a gray tabby (the name is a term of endearment equivalent to “doll”or “cutie”) and a Siamese named Pontiki (“mouse,” used in the sense of, say, “little scamp”).

They spent their first weeks at the church living in an outdoor — but fairly fancy — enclosure while adjusting to the reality that they now had a home. The felines adapted quickly and now have the run of the property.

I’ve heard of church mice but never church cats! Be sure and watch the video.

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 3/6

siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

Hey Furiends,
It’s me, Alberto, strolling through the world wide web looking to bring you the newest and best feline news.  I hope you enjoy this week’s discoveries.
Purrs & Head Bonks,
Siamese cat with blue eyes

Amsterdam’s Cat Museum

Amsterdam cat museum

The KattenKabinet in Amsterdam is a museum filled with cat-inspired artwork ranging from paintings and posters to statues and sculptures and – you guessed it – real cats! And if that’s not enough, there is a gift shop with cat themed items. Meow, this is a great place!


William Meijer, a wealthy Dutchman who wanted to preserve the memory of his cat Tom founded the museum in 1990 and it is a favorite of Amsterdam’s visitors.

When you visit, you can say hello to the five museum cats who wander from room to room. Museum loving cat aficionados, get yourself to Amsterdam.

Turn Your Cat’s Face Into A Wearable Mask – Or Not

cat mask for humans

There is a company in Japan called “My Family” that can sculpt a realistic mask of your feline. The photo is of Rui, a Bengal cat from Kyoto and his human wearing his Rui mask.  The artist works from photos and sculpts the mask, And you can have one of these for the incredible price of 300,000 yen (that’s $2,680.00 US). Frankly, I am not so thrilled about The Female Human mocking me with a mask of my face.

A kleptomaniac cat notorious for stealing items from its neighbours has “finally brought home something of real value” – £25.70 in cash

CatThief

I hate to read stories about felines gone wrong but if you’re going to be a klepto cat you might as well make it pay.

Theo became known for thieving Christmas decorations and toys in Ipswich, England. His human spent much time going hither and yon returning his ill-gotten goods.

When they moved to a new house, Theo decided to up his game, arriving home with money the neighbor had left out for the milkman. And then Theo was more creative, pilfering a plastic bag with cash.

My furiends if you aspire to being a pilfering pussycat, steal cash and leave the Christmas ornaments on the tree!

No Job Security for Alaska Working Cat

Stormy the cat has been booted from The Fitz Creek General store in Homer, Alaska after working there for 6 years. Officials notified  the store owners that the cat’s presence violates food safety standards. Stormy has worked hard the past 6 years, lounging on one of the wooden chairs or soliciting head scratches from the customers.

Some kill joy complained about Stormy  but most of the store’s customers say he is part of the store’s and the rural community’s culture. Now lest you worry about Stormy’s future, he’s been offered a loving home by a relative of the store’s owner. I wonder if there is unemployment  compensation for felines.

Starbucks’ new kitty cherry blossom glass turns into adorable cat’s paw when you pour a drink

SbucksKittyGlass

It appears The Tribe of Five owes Starbucks a a-paw-logy after our snarky video, Bring Me My Catpuccino where Oliver became incensed when our local Starbucks didn’t offer him a catpuccino despite all the pupaccinos they dispense.  But now Starbucks in China are flying their feline colors with this pawsome cup and other feline merchandise! These cat paw glasses are extremely popular, and have been selling out quickly since their release on February 28 (though they can be ordered  for 199 yuan [US$29.67] each). And if you can’t get your glass, check out the other feline items  Starbucks China offers. Meow!