Category Archives: adopting kittens

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 1/2/19

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siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

Hello Furiends,
I hope you’re walkin’ into good things this year. The Female Human has been dealing with a bunch of stuff she calls “stress”. When I told her I didn’t understand what this “stress” is she explained that it’s a bit like when someone rings our doorbell..over and over. Meowza! That stress stuff is nasty!

I’m glad that she’s feeling up to her Purrsonal Assistant duties again and I hope you enjoy these first 2019 web wanderings.
Purrs & Head Bonks,

Siamese cat with blue eyes

A Hero Who Gets Cats Out of Tricky Tree Situations

Normer Adams retired from his career as a social worker and now works as a treed-cat rescuer.  In less than 2 years since he began his cat saving crusade he’s rescued 91 felines (an average of one a week).

Now you humans know we cats are great at climbing trees but we’re not so great at getting down the tree. Mostly we try to back down but Adams has seen cats trying to head down face first and when we do that we drop like a rock.

I saw two paws up to this man who understands felines and who is willing to help extricate us from our mistakes!

Ontario SPCA is Hiring Cats!

You folks know how much I love stories about cats with jobs. We felines like to make a contribution to society and if it gets us a home in the bargain, all the better. This is another wonderful working cat program. I just love it when humans think outside the box (although we felines prefer to think inside the box!)

Cat Beats Owners Score on Fruit Ninja

I realize many of you humans are big fans of online games but don’t leave your feline out of the fun. The cat in this video is called Mao Mao and she took over the game when her human set the tablet down.  I might remind you all that our Female Human gave us a little iPad to play with when we were kittens. I got bored with the fish game but now I’m thinking I should check out some of the other games. Play on my feline furiends! And check out Mao Mao’s moves on the video.
http://digg.com/video/cat-plays-tablet?jwsource=cl

Vancouver Cat Cafe Runs Out of Cats Now Has Bunnies

What’s better than a cat café? How about a cat café that runs out of cats and has partnered with a rabbit rescue to find furever homes for bunnies. Talk about a win-win situation! Vancouver’s very popular Catfe has been such a success that they ran out of felines in December.  So what did these enterprising humans do? They partnered with Rabbitats Rescue society in an event that’s so popular it’s been extended to the end of the months.  And the coolness factor for this cat café is pretty big…it was actually visited by Adele! Check out the video!

Kitty lovers become builders to provide Omaha’s feral cat population shelter for the winter

We love it when humans come together to do good things for felines and these 65 people did a great thing for feral cats in Omaha by building them shelters. These “crafty humans” built out of 20-gallon plastic storage bins. Each volunteer provided at least one bin that was filled with Styrofoam and filled with straw. I think my feline furiends should get your humans involved in something like this, especially if you live in a cold place like we do!

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 11/28

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siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

Hello My Furiends,
I hope you had a wonderful Thanksgiving with your humans and other furry and feathered friends. Our Humans went away for a few days but we were very well cared for by our cat sitter, Cathy. I was a bit miffed however when The Male and Female Human came home smelling of puppy! It took me a few days to get over this betrayal but all is forgiven now and the provision of extra petting and treats helped.
Purrs & Head Bonks,

Cat’s in Literature? It’s a Long Tail


“Mrs. Tabitha’s Cats Academy” (London, Ernest Nister, 1892 (c) The British Library Board)

The fact that cats are associated with litter-ary tomes is no news to this feline.A new exhibition at the British Library explores the rich literary history of us wonderful felines through a purr-fect display of books, manuscripts and artwork. The exhibition is titled, Cats on the Page,and features exhibits from the 16th century to the modern era. Much of the exhibition is from children’s literature like  Cat in the Hat, Mog (the feline hero of a series by Judith Kerr) and a pictureof Beatrix Potter’s Kitty-in-Boots by Quentin Blake.  Leave it to our feline loving friends across the pond to honor cats with an exhibition at the British Library. Our American museums need to step it up!

Argos Selling “Parasol” Christmas Trees for Cat Owners

Two paws up forthese enterprising British humans! The company says that it will “keep yourcat’s claws far away from low-hanging baubles and also offerloads of extra room for presents and/or activities.” 

This tree sells for £33.33(about $42.77 US). Now some of you humans may be meowing that this is rather pricey but I ask you, isn’t your cat’s happiness worth it? How many more year swill you deprive your felines from a festive Christmas fir?  And if you are feeling fancy you cam pay a little more for a sow covered effect. Felines unite! Insist that your humans provide you with a Christmas tree this year. And by the way, these tree makers have evidently not encountered a feline like myself who is a master of climbing up things and knocking down things. If you have a feline in residence like me, you may want to put that tree in cement. Oh, and unless your a lucky moggie across the pond, your  humans will not be able to purchase this tree as Argos does not do international delivery (hiss).

Christmas Cat Cost Causes Controversy 

Now far be it from me to meow about the cost of anything feline related but methinks purrhaps the City of Reykjavík went a bit over the top here. The city council spent a total of 4.4 million ISK on a large LED Christmas Cat on Lækjartorg Square.   (I had our Purrsonal Assistant find out how much this is in USD and it’s about $35 million). When I asked why they would have a huge cat statue at Christmas, I was expecting a warm and fuzzy story. What I got was the legend of the Yule Cat which is pretty horrifying, The legend says this is a huge and vicious cat said to lurk about the snowy countryside during Christmas time and eat people who have not received any new clothes to wear before Christmas Eve. Seriously???? A people eating cat?? I say, “Get your money back Reykjavík and stop perpetrating this horrible fable! Hiss.

High Speed Video of Cat Tongues Reveal Another Reason Whey They’re Superior

Okay, you humans have been meowing about the raspy tongues of your felines for years. Well this should put all that kvetching to rest once and for all. First and foremost,stop giving us baths because scientists have proved that we felines are way better at cleaning ourselves than you are. Your assistance is superfluous.

A very smart scientistnamed David Hu used videos taken with high speed cameras to study the feline’sgrooming techniques. He learned that we felines have a four-phase grooming regime that is aided by tiny spikes on our tongues (so far this is not new information to me or my humans who have often suffered the “kiss” across the face from a raspy tongue). Evidently what is new information is the specifics of the construction of these little spikes and that they fill up with saliva.

The four-step process we cats use to groom ourselves the little spikes is quite efficient. The tongue first extends outwards from the mouth, then the little spikey thingies stiffen and finally, when we complete the sweeping lick across our luxurious fur, it deposits water that’s stored in the hollow cavities in the spikey thingies.  One final note, the tongues of our barkie furiends is flat and cannot transport water. Score another one for the felines!


Cats drinking from taps are the best new entertainment online

It is a fact that we felines own the internet and there’s always something new to enjoy about us. The latest phenomenon is cats drinking from faucets. Now frankly, I find this fascination puzzling. All of The Tribe of Five have been or are faucet drinkers. Felines poised over faucets are nothing new.  Still, Dusty, an Alaskan feline more adept at lapping at air than drinking water, has had over 38,000 people talking about his antics on social media. As a result, many folks are posting other feline’s water drinking attempts. At the risk of sounding bitter I cannot help but get my whiskers in a bit of a twist. I am a feline who opines on his own blog, who has (IMHO) some rather pithy comments in my blog and who has yet to get over 38,000 folks starting conversations about me. Seriously, what does a cat have to do?

Tucker Reviews The Book, Prancie’s Prayer

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Hello There Furiends,
The Feline received a book called Prancie’s Prayer in the mail and since it was about a feline, The Tribe of Five was very interested to find out what the book was all about. Besides, we wrote a devotional book for cat lovers so the word “prayer” got our attention!

Lacking opposable thumbs, Alberto and I couldn’t flip through the book and read it for ourselves, although we tried, actually Alberto tried, I am wise enough to know it would be an effort in futility. 

How do I get inside this thing?
I give up. Will you please read this book to us?

The Female Human did read us the book and we loved it! There are lots of great things in this story but I don’t want to ruin it for those of you who haven’t read it. I will say this, if you love homeless kitties, your heart will be warmed by this story and, never jump to wrong conclusions about a feline’s behavior!

The holiday season is coming and I think this book would make a great gift for mini humans who love cats or just love a story with a great ending,

Purrs & Head Bonks,
Your Furiend Tucker

This is a Feline Opines, Tribe of Five recommended book!

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 11/14

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siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

Hello there furiends,
I can’t believe it’s Wednesday again. I’ve had our Purrsonal Assistant gathering the best of the feline web for you. I hope you enjoy this week’s Wednesday wanderings.
Purrs & Head Bonks,

Siamese cat with blue eyes

Determined Art Loving Cats Sneak into Museum

Cats cannot live by tuna alone. This is illustrated  in the Japanese city of Onomichi, where a  pair of felines art lovers have been trying to gain entry to a local museum. The security guards are having none of it and are thwarting these art loving cats.  The felines are regular visitors at the Onomichi City Museum of Art and are always barred from entering by the guards. 

This battle between the art loving felines and the museum guards had been documented in photos. You can follow their exploits on Twitter at 
 @bijutsu1, an account devoted to chronicling the Ken-chan and Go-chan’s exploits. 

This Very Important Cat Painting Sold For $800K

And, speaking or art, this 227-pound, six-foot-by-eight-foot painting (deemed “the world’s greatest painting of cats” in 1949 by Cat Magazine!) was commissioned back in 1891 by San Francisco millionaire couple Kate Birdsall Johnson and Robert C. Johnson. Kahler had never painted a cat before, but Kate asked him to create a portrait featuring 42 of the 350 (!) cats she owned.  (Now that lady was a cat lover!) She left half a million dollars to those cats in her will, and claimed each and every one of them answered to their names. So humans, how much would you pay for a painting of your felines?

Dozens of cat mummies found in 6,000-year-old tombs in Egypt

Now the subject of cat mummies creeps me out a bit but it does prove one very important point, people have revered felines for centuries. Among the dozens of cat mummies found were 100 wooden, gilded statutes of cats and one dedicated to the cat goddess Bastet. Clearly, cats were kings in Egypt!

Everyone Who Wants To Adopt A Cat Should Read This Woman’s Comic First

BOY do I love humans who are creative about helping shelter cats, especially shelter cats that aren’t the first to get adopted! This Human 
named Brittaney was inspired to make these comics when she heard a story about a little girl taken to a shelter to adopt a cat. The little girl fell in love with a 3-legged cat and her father said “absolutely not”, all because the kitty was missing a leg. This human says, “Each comic strip addresses the stigmas that surround ‘imperfect animals,’ and people’s hesitations to take them home. “I get it,” Brittaney says, “But less-adoptable does NOT mean less lovable. All I want people to do is be open to the idea of having a “different” pet in their lives. Choose the pet that you fall in love with, but at least give all of them a fair shot at winning your heart.” This cat-lover is so passionate about her feline cause that she even has an online store that uses 50% of its sales to donate to cat rescues. Brittaney is our hero!

This $150 cat toy can teach us a lot about what makes a robot useful

Robots are designed to give humans more time to do the things they want. And what any sane human wants is to spend more time with their felines right? The challenge was to create an automated activity for someone with unlimited amount of time on their paws. The robot, called Mousr is a mouse-shaped robot with a series of bouncing tails and can be programmed to move erratically or spin in circles. Or the human can control it at will. Now I ask you, is $150.00 too much to keep your feline entertained when you humans insist on leaving us alone and go to the place you call “work”? If you are curious as to whether Mousr is a hit with felines, (you know how finicky we can be) click on the link and read some feline reviews. 

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 10/24

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siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

Hello Furiends,
It’s that time of the week again when I do my web wandering and look for feline related gems on the internet. I hope you enjoy this week’s compilation.

Purrs & Head Bonks,

Siamese cat with blue eyes

Awesome Cat Saves Owner From House Fire – The Frisky

tabby saves owner from fire

Two paws up for Sully the tabby cat  who rescued her human, Craig Geeves from a fire in his home . Geeves was taking an afternoon nap when Sully jumped on his chest and began meowing loudly to wake him up. He said, “She was standing on my head screaming, the loudest scream I’ve ever heard from a cat screaming at me and then I smelt the smoke and jumped out of bed … she saved my life.”

Not only did Sully save her human’s life but her timely warning kept the fire from spreading to the other houses in the neighborhood. Dogs aren’t the only creatures who are man’s best friend. Just ask Craig Geeves!

It Took Five Felines To Play Church the Cat in the remake of Pet Sematary – SYFyWire

tabby cat actor in pet sematary

Five  cats, all rescues, were cast to play Church the feline in the Stephen King Movie. One feline dropped out after getting scared on the set, but the rest of the cat actors had a pretty cushy set up. They were accommodated in five trailers, along with their human trainers, although one had to be kept in a separate trailer from the others because it did not get along with its cat-castmates.

The film crew even built a “catio,” where the hard-working kitties could play and relax between takes. Being a feline actor is no walk in the park. They had two months of training before the ten-week shoot.  The best news is that all felines found furever homes after their acting stint was over!

Okawa City Launches Line of Miniature Cat Furniture -Spoon & Tamago

cat sleeping on miniature furniture made for felines

Okawa City in Fukuoka prefecture is known as one of Japan’s furniture capitals. The Okawa Kagu, a furniture group in this city has now produced a line a high quality, miniature furniture for cats.

Okawa Kagu’s cat furniture is produced with the same craftmanship that goes into any other piece. Actually, the cat furniture is just miniature versions of actual pieces the furniture makers have designed. The cat sofa was designed and produced by Hiromatsu Furniture. The cat bed was designed and produced by Tateno Mokuzai. If you think you need to order furniture for you and your feline, check out the photos and videos in the article.

This Stylish Cardboard Box Is Designed to Be Your Cat’s New Favorite Hideout – MentalFloss

Tabby Cat in fancy cardboard box

All I have to say is…why the heck didn’t a human invent this earlier?? My Humans (especially The Female Human) do a lot of griping about having to leave boxes around

img_5701

Which box? This one or the fancy Purrfect Cat box? Alberto,, FelineOpines.net

the house so we can sit in them. The Female Human keeps meowing about this thing she calls “aesthetics” and “decor”. Well, here’s the answer to the box conundrum. the Purrfect Cat Box designed by Colorado-based inventor Scott Salzman who has this box on Indegogo. It’s made to be just the right size for ultimate kitty comfort. At about the size of a shoebox, it’s big enough for most cats to squeeze into without being cramped. Now I’d call that a “win-win”!

 

 

 

 

 

Firefighters, tree service rescue cat dropped in tree by hawk- fox8news.com

tiny kitten dropped in tree by hawk

Fluffy the kitten had quite a day and could be one of the luckiest felines on the planet. Fluffy’s human saw her waaaay up in a tree. So far up that the little kitty couldn’t get herself down. It was the fire department in Stark County who rescued the kitten  after it was apparently grabbed by a hawk.

Fire Chief Rick Annen quickly theorized how the kitten ended up so far up in the tree. He saw hawks sitting on top of a barn across the street.

When firefighters realized they couldn’t reach the top of the tree, they called a tree service to help. A crew from T. Rowley Lawns used a crane and bucket to reach the little one and get her to safety.

“I’m just truly amazed that she made it that long and these guys are here to help,” Albert said. Fluffy is safe at home with her human. Two paws up for the firefighters and tree service who saved Fluffy’s life! And a word to Fluffy….stay inside!

The Adoption Heard Around the World, The Power of One Rescue Cat #RememberMeThursday

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Hello Furiends,
remember me thursdayAs you may know, all of the Tribe of Five are adopted kitties and we purrticipate in #RememberMeThursday every year to bring awareness about cat adoption.

Because we are feline bloggers whose meows are heard around the world we belong to a number of international cat groups. We get to “meet” some pretty amazing folks on the web who take cat adoption seriously.

One of our favorite internet humans is a man named  László who lives in Eastern Europe.  We met him and his clowder through a Facebook group called Our Cats <3.  Our female human says that the internet can be an unfriendly place. Even the safe haven of cat groups can be a dangerous place as she’s seen a post from someone asking for advice receive judgmental and divisive responses. I would think that  a mutual love of cats would bring you humans together but sadly, that is not always the case.  Happily the Our Cats group is not like this.

img_5556As soon as we joined the Our Cats group we became furiends of László’s  tribe of adopted felines.  The diamond in his crown of cats is Apollo, who he calls Apollo Bug. This sweet one-eyed tabby is beautiful and delightful and every photo László shares shows how much Apollo Bug is loved, as well as all the other rescue felines in the household.

László and his family are wonderful humans who never turn their backs on a rescue cat in need.  About a year ago, they rescued a little black female cat and soon found out she was pregnant. There was no question that those kittens would img_5557become a part of the family and the group members have enjoyed watching them grow up loved, protected and happy.  The Female Human says that  over 168,000 members of this group are connected to this clowder of cats.

In August the group received disturbing news and our Female Human had leaky eyes after she read a post about Apollo Bug. He was taken to the vet for an emergency visit and was diagnosed with  dangerous urinary issues. The vet put a cone on him and gave him a catheter.  The photos of poor Apollo Bug were heart rendering.

ApolloConeThat’s when the humans in the  group sprang into action. Posts of encouragement, love and prayers flooded the internet and an international fund-raising effort was created. The multiple vet visits, special food and other costs were overwhelming for László and his family and although they never asked for help, the humans in the group wanted to help this sweet little rescue kitty and the humans who cared for him and the rest of their felines.

We followed Apollo’s recuperation and recovery with our hearts in our throats and when the post appeared that the catheter had been removed and Apollo had peed on his own, there was a collective sigh of relief and the sound of rejoicing (and lots of happy meows from The Tribe of Five).

img_5558And after celebrating Apollo Bug’s return to health, we had another celebration when László announced the addition of the newest rescue to his family. Meet little Raisin, shown here with his big brother Apollo.

Humans opine on and on about their view of the world and think their meowing will bring people together but they rarely are successful.  They could learn from the story of this rescue cat and his humans who brought 168,000 people around the world together with love, prayers and help.

Never underestimate the power of even one little rescue cat!

 

 

Purrs & Head Bonks from A Rescue Cat,
Siamese cat with blue eyes

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 9/26

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siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

Hello Furiends,
It’s that time again. I hope you like this Wednesday’s web wanderings, there is some good stuff there and some humans who are doing an amazing job for felines.
Purrs & Head Bonks,
Siamese cat with blue eyes

 

 

Cat Owners Spend A Lot Of Time Talking to Their Felines – NY Post

enlight2

My human and I having a serious conversation about her mocking me. Alberto FelineOpines.net

Now why in the world this idea of humans talking to cats is newsworthy is beyond this feline’s comprehension. Duh, of course humans talk to their cats! The photo above is The Female Human explaining to me that she wasn’t mocking me, just doing a little something for the human kids who come to our door in funny outfits and expect candy. This article provides some interesting tidbits but again, some of “findings” are no-brainers for anyone who shares their life with felines, like the fact that 93% of humans with cats in their homes say they have a strong connection with their felines. Of course they do!!

The Best Mewsic Ever! Bongo Cat – Kotaku
bongo cat

Felines and humans alike enjoy mewsic and what better way to enjoy your favorite tunes that with Bongo Cat? He started out as a humble bongo playing feline and then many more animators jumped in and Bong Cat now plays a plethora of mewsical instruments.  If you want to hear the full scope of this tuneful cat, go to Twitter and enter #BongoCat. There are quite a few tuneful entries in this article.
https://youtu.be/dMA8PswEosY

Pet Shelter Where 75-Year-Old Naps With Cats Raised Enough Funds To Cover The Year – HuffPost

man naps with cats at shelter

This story is for all you humans who don’t think you can do anything to help the lives of shelter cats and it’s also a tale of how one good deed can take over the internet and provide for a shelter.  The photos above were taken by the founder of Safe Haven, Elizabeth Feldhausen and, as the article says, “they hit the internet like catnip”.

The cat-napper, Terry Lauerman, has one desire, for people to donate to the cage free sanctuary that rescues disabled cats who would otherwise be in danger of euthanasia. And meowza did the humans respond! The shelter director said, ““We did make more than our operating costs for last year.” Depending on the condition of the cats we take in, it could cover our costs for a year, or it could cover about 50 cats’ surgeries.”

Paws Up award by FelineOpines.net for humans who do amazing things for cats
The Tribe of Five gives Mr. Lauerman and all the humans who donated our “Paws Up” Award!

 

 

Blind Kitty Helps Get His Grandma Cancer Free With Hospital Visits & Cuddles – People
Donny the blind therapy cat

This is a story that shows you should never underestimate the power of purrs, love and adoption. Susan Smith and her husband saw Donny, a  2-year-old rescue cat  born without eyes and with the neurological condition Cerebellar Hyperplasia, which causes him to wobble and fall over when he walks.  Donny was adopted and added to the Smith’s furry family of 3 blind cats and a blind dog.

Donny’s amazing purrsonality made itself known quickly and his humans had him joined  NSALA’s Outreach Program as a therapy cat. Through this program, Donny makes regular visits to hospitals, nursing homes and Alzheimer’s facilities where he contentedly sits in the laps of residents and patients and receives countless pats.

When Smith’s 88-year-old mother was diagnosed with lung cancer and moved into a hospital for a more than a month to receive radiation treatments, Donny already had all the credentials and skills he needed to soothe her and after 17 radiation treatments and visits from Donny, grandma was pronounced cancer free! Follow Donny and the rest of his furry siblings on Instagram.

Never, ever underestimate the power of the purr! You go Donny!

What can cats eat? Papa’s Cat Café teaches local kids how to care for their felines – Missourian
KidsCatCafe

If you follow my Wednesday web wanderings you know I am a HUGE fan of cat cafes. As a matter of fact, we have a cat cafe section on our website (it’s found under “The Felines Opine About”, you’ll see “Cat Cafes). This cat cafe (Poppa’s Cat Cafe in Missouri)  has a twist that we really like, it teaches mini humans how to take care of the felines in their lives during their Saturday morning Cat Academy. The mini humans get a lesson about cats, story time, a cat-themed craft and an extra 30 minutes of kitty cuddle time.

I think this would be a great idea for all cat cafes and some shelters too!