Category Archives: Cat adoptions

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 10/3

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siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

Hello Furiends,
Alberto here. It’s Wednesday web wandering time. I hope you enjoy this week’s discoveries.
Purrs & Head Bonks

Siamese cat with blue eyes

Airport Therapy Cat Makes Travel Less Stressful – People

Tabby therapy cat at Denver airport

My readers know how much I love stories about working cats. We felines are capable of so much more than you humans can imagine!  This is a story about a therapy cat at the Denver airport . I know, you mostly hear about therapy dogs but therapy cats are out there too!

Xeli works at the Denver International Airport in their  Canine Airport Therapy Squad (CATS). Despite the name,  Xeli is the first feline on this squad. Xeli works with more than 100 certified therapy dogs.

Xeli’s work as an airport therapy cat earned her recognition from the Petco Foundation, who dubbed her a Helping Hero. The next time your humans travel through the Denver airport tell them to look for the Tabby in the blue “pet me” vest.

Spaceship Cat Beds – My Modern Met

SpaceshipCatBed

If your humans are fond of Science Fiction,  space movies and books then they will probably want to buy their felines one of these.  Now I’ve featured unusual cat furniture before but these beds, which sit on the floor, mount on the wall or even sit on top of a table are out of this world.   Myzoo Studio is the company launching these futuristic cat sleeping pods inspired by space ships. I quite like the wall mount bed so “Beam me up Scottie!”

Cat Thief Collared by Cat’s friends on Instagram – Daily Mail 

siberian forest cat Mr. Muk

I especially like this story as it shows that being an Internet star can pay off. It really payed off for this Ginger Siberian Forest cat named Mr. Muk whose Instagram account helped return him to his home in Islington, North London.  His human sent out a global cry for help and the local police released CCTV images of Mr. Muk with the catnapper. A little over a month later the cat thief was caught.

So my famous Internet feline furiends, if some nasty catnapper takes you away have your humans reach out to your fans!

This former military man is making cardboard tanks for the cats he looks after – Independant.ie

tabby cat in cat tank

Now I do not want to cast any aspersions on our excellent and beloved cat sitter but I must say, this human goes above and beyond! Justin Huegel, 42 who lives in Maryland is a military vet. I’ve always said that “Real men love cats” and Justin Huegel is a shining example, he lives with five felines.

When he offered to care for a friend’s felines those felines had quite a surprise. Justin said the tank idea began as a joke. He made tanks for his own cats and thought his friend would find her cat in a tank amusing.  The cat, Charlie, embraced the idea and loves the tank. Justin said the cat refused to exit the tank so he had to work around him to build it.

Justin gets a paws up award for the most pawsome cat sitter!

Cat Digs Massage From Halloween Hand – BoingBoing

Normally, the only cat Halloween news items you find are about humans shoving felines into ridiculous costumes. This is a news feature with a twist.

Kiko the cat is enjoying a new Halloween tradition. What say you my furiends? Yes or no? (I say it beats the heck out of a stupid Halloween costume!). Watch the video and come to your own conclusions.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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!

 

Walk Through the Web Wednesday 9/19

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siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

Hi There Furiends,
It’s that time of the week again. While we are enjoying a beautiful fall I’m thinking about all our furiends on the east coast of the United States who are suffering through the hurricanes. Stay safe my furiends!
Purrs & Head Bonks,
Siamese cat with blue eyes

Ahead of Hurricane Florence Trucker Rescues 64 Dogs and Cats from South Carolina – Weather.com

trucker saves dog and cats during hurricane Florence

There are a lot of heroes out there and this guy is one of them! Tony Alsup, a trucker from Greenback, Tennessee, drove his empty school bus into four different South Carolina towns to wrangle up as many shelter animals as he could before fleeing the storm. He rescued 53 dogs and 11 cats.  And he not only rescues them. he looks for homes for them too! The animals were taken to a shelter in Foley, Alabama and from there they will be sent to shelters around the country for adoption.

Cat in Bristol brings home bag with suspected class A drugs- The Indian Express

cat-finds-drugs_759_getty

Just so you know, sniffer dogs aren’t all that. This cat’s human noticed he was curled up next to a bag it had brought home the night before. The local police took a photo of the cat next to the drugs and commented on Twitter,  “Forget police dogs, we should start training up cats 🐱👮‍♂️Apparently the owner found this in the cat’s bed, with the feline curled up next to it!”

Purr-adise: Hawaii’s cat sanctuary – CBS news

hawaiian cat sanctuary

Now don’t get me wrong, I want every cat to have a furever home but if you don’t have your very own humans, this isn’t a bad gig.  This wonderful place is on the little island of Lanai. These cats live in amazing weather, get 3 squares a day and have a constant parade of loving fans who come to visit them.

Cat  loving tourists stay over night or fly in for the day to visit the sanctuary which is called “The Fur Seasons”.  Ninety five percent of the cats are feral and this human interaction is new to most of them. To the kind people who care for these felines I say “Aloha!”

Pastor Rescues Cats And Dogs Left Behind During Florence – HuffPost

saving pets in hurricane Florence

This is a heavenly tale about a Pastor  and his congregation who set out in a boat to check homes for people needing help. They didn’t find any people but they did find two dogs and two cats in dire straights. These poor guys were abandoned, the homes were empty but fortunately, their angel came along and rescued them. Folks if you have to flee your home, please, please have a plan to take your fur kids with you to safety! Be sure and watch the video

Ten Famous Authors and Their Cats – Publisher’s Weekly

helen gurley brown and siamese cat

Since our Female Human is an author (although not famous) I thought she would enjoy this. Lots of famous authors are enlightened enough to love felines and share their homes with them. One of my favorite cat-loving writers is Mark Twain because he had a lot of pithy comments about us fabulous felines. I chose this photo because that cat sure looks a lot like me. The female human in the picture is writer Helen Gurley Brown. She was the editor  of Cosmopolitan magazine in the 70’s and she shared her house with her two chocolate-point Siamese cats. (Good choice Helen!)

 

 

 

 

 

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 9/12

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siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

Hey there furiends,
It’s been a busy week and fall is definitely coming in our neck of the woods. I hope you are all well and that you enjoy this week’s web wanderings.
Purrs & head Bonks,

Siamese cat with blue eyes

Cat got your wallet? CryptoKitties virtual feline fetches $170K in crypto cash – Digital Trends

Dragon Crypto Kitty

It makes sense to me that felines would take over the crypto currency craze. There is a new “Game” on the Ethereum blockchain that lets you purchase and collect virtual cats, and then breed them with each other to try to create valuable new creatures with rare attributes, or “catributes,”. It’s called  CryptoKitties and recently  the most expensive in-app purchase to date happened with the sale of a CryptoKitty named Dragon for approximately $170,000, or the equivalent of 600 ETH in cryptocurrency. Now I don’t understand crypto currency but I do understand $170,000.00! Meowza, that’s a lot of catnip!

Shelter Features Unique Cat Foster Program – The Augusta Chronicle

prisoner and cat

You all know how much I love innovative ideas to help shelter or feral cats and this one helps the cats and the people too. The Animal Advocates, a non-profit organization that helps homeless animals in Barnwell, started the MeowMates program at the Allendale Correctional Institute in 2013. Hundreds of cats have been fostered by inmates – also known as “pet dads” – where they are socialized and cared for before being adopted.

This program is working so well and is so innovative that MeowMates will be featured on an episode of the popular television show “My Cat from Hell” this Saturday, Sept. 15 at 9 p.m. on Animal Planet.

“I feel the special partnership is making a huge impact on both our animals and our pet dads and it is my hope that maybe other rescues across the U.S. will see the segment and begin their own collaboration with a prison in their area,” said Vikki Scott, president of the Animal Advocates.

The Tribe of Five gives this this program our “Paws Up” Award because it’s good for the felines and the humans!

17 Cats to follow on Instagram – Romper

CatsofInstagram

Now before I tell you about other cats on Instagram, please allow me to remind you that The Tribe of Five at Feline Opines is also on Instagram and we hope you’re following us!

Okay, now that that’s settled I can continue. These 17 cats are quite interesting and I bet you’ve seen many of them and there are probably some you’ve never seen.  Had on over and check out some of these cool cats (and don’t forget the Feline Opines page!)

Senior kitties relax through their golden years at Cat’s Cradle in Lutz – Fox 13

senior cat sanctuary

Any time humans go above and beyond for felines I want to tell the world about it. This is what the Cat’s Cradle Sanctuary is doing.  They  only take senior cats that have no chance of being adopted. “What we’re trying to do here is to give these senior cats a wonderful environment for their final years,” Bruce Jenkins explained.

Everything is designed and set up[ for the comfort and enjoyment of these senior felines and that comes at quite a cost. Expenses can run over $1,000 a month. God bless this couple who are making the senior years of these cats their best years!

Hurricane Preparation Tips for Cat Caregivers, Pet Owners in Path of Florence – Alley Cat Allies

AlleyCatAlliesResponse

Alley Cat Allies is a wonderful organization whose sole purpose is to help felines. And as we pray for our furiends in the path of hurricane Florence, we wanted to share some of their emergency preparedness tips.  Please stay safe and be prepared!

  1. Make sure to have descriptions of the community cats (sometimes called feral cats) you care for and your pets, along with photos. If you need to look for displaced cats in shelters or other rescue areas after the storm, this will help accurately identify them. Make sure all pet tags and animal microchips have up-to-date information.
  2. Enlist a back-up caregiver who is responsible for the community cats in your absence, and network with other community cat caregivers in your area to set up a “buddy system.” This will create a safety net of care for the cats. You may be able to find other cat caregivers in your area through our Feral Friends Network™.
  3. Create an emergency contact card for your community cat colonies and pets in case you are not immediately available. Include all contact information for your substitute caregiver. Carry this card in your wallet and your car, give copies to your backup caregiver, and post it somewhere visible in your home like on the refrigerator.
  4. Make a list of local shelters and their contact information. You will need this information in case you need their help or resources.
  5. Keep an emergency supply kit on hand and know where to find it quickly. Disaster kit basics for pets include a pet first-aid kit, a supply of prescription medications for pets, veterinary and microchip ID records, three to seven days of pet food and dishes, a seven-day supply of bottled water per person and per pet, a litter box and litter, a leash and collar, crate or carrier, blankets, and photos of pets and cats in colonies.
  6. Protect outdoor cat shelters by turning the openings away from the storm surge, or, if possible, by moving them to slightly higher ground nearby.
  7. Fill multiple food and water bowls in case you may be away for an extended time.
  8. Do not try to bring unsocialized community cats with you if you evacuate. Remember, community cats are resourceful. The outdoors is their home, so they know how to deal with weather.

Since it’s not possible to bring community cats with you when evacuating from disasters, they need their own special disaster plan. Read our Disaster Proofing a Community Cat Colony resource for guidance.

Finally, you can always reach out to Feral Friends Network™ members in your area for help in preparing community cats for a disaster or finding them after the danger has passed.