Remembering Buster
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Category Archives: cats
Happy Independence Day
And who better to celebrate independence than felines?
Pet Crime Solvers -Think Twice Pet Owners if You’re Going to Commit a Crime!
Hello Furiends,
It’s been a while since our purrsonal assistant updated our blog. She has been overly involved in research for this new book series, Meowntain Mysteries. The good news is that book one is finished and we’re nearing the end of book two. But since Alberto and I are key characters in these books we have a vested interest in them!
We’ve been learning a lot of cool stuff about crime solving animals. Did you know that cat hairs can be extremely useful in crime solving? No matter how fastidious a human perpetrator is about cleaning a crime scene, it’s unlikely that they will get rid of every single cat hair on their clothing. Just ask The Human, she is constantly whipping a roller out of her purse and attempting to banish every cat hair on her clothing, and failing miserably. (Note to The Human, don’t consider a life of crime!)
Now we have pages and pages about animal crime solving which would probably bore you so we thought we’d share an article from A & E True Crime Blog-How Animal DNA Puts Killers Behind Bars by Cara Tabachnick. The article is not that current but it is a good overview of this subject without going deep into forensic science.
There are three animal crime solvers in this article. The first is a cockatoo who gave his life and the clue needed to bring the killers of his owner to justice. The bird put up a fight, pecking one of the perpetrators in the head, causing it to bleed. The perpetrator touched his head and then touched a light switch and DNA evidence was also found on the beak and claws of the bird as well as on bloody knives found at the scene sealed the fate of the killer.
Help with the DNA detection came from The University of California, Davis Veterinary Genetics laboratory which is the foremost animal DNA center in the country. This laboratory is featured in both the Meowntain Mystery books. The laboratory has the capacity to run it’s own tests and analysis in house and as a result, the two men who murdered the man and his cockatoo were convicted and both sent to prison for life. There is a happier ending for a parrot that was a key witness in a murder trial of a woman who shot her husband. That parrot could mimic voices perfectly and he did a verbal “play by play” in the voice of the husband crying, “Don’t shoot!”. Needless to say this helped convict the wife.
And let’s not forget man’s best friend who solved the abduction and murder case of a 7-year old girl. In addition to the other clues and evidence, Police found dog hair similar to that of the Van Dam family’s dog on the perpetrator’s clothing. Prosecutors argued the dog hair became attached to his clothing when the kidnapper took the child from her bedroom. The murderer was convicted and sentenced to death in 2002.
And last but definitely NOT least is the story of the feline crime solver, Snowball.
A Canadian man was convicted of murdering a woman after hairs on a bloodstained jacket were genetically matched to his parents’ cat. The man lived with his parents and Snowball, a white American shorthair. This 1994 case is one of the few times that nonhuman DNA has been used in a murder trial.
The murdered woman’s body was found in a shallow grave a few months after she disappeared and police suspected her former common-law husband. By then, the brown leather jacket had been discovered, stuffed in a plastic bag and left in the woods. The cat hairs were found in the lining. Police sent a blood sample from Snowball and hair from the jacket for testing and it was found that DNA from the two specimens was identical.
So human criminals, if you have a pet or live in close proximity to a pet, beware. DNA experts note that cats have a huge amount of fur transfer. Detectives should pay attention if there is a litter box. Dogs [that] are transported in cars can lick windows or leave nose print or paw prints. If you are a pet loving criminal reading this post, I’d suggest you have a hairless pet but that breed could get you caught as it’s not always fur that is your downfall!
I hope you found these stories interesting and I promise you, we have some amazing animal and crime cases for you to solve with us in our new cozy mystery series.
Your Furriend,
Detective Oliver
Fabulous Feline Friday
Happy Friday Furiends!
It’s been a busy week in our neck of the woods. Did you know that the 18th was National Princess Day? Lily did.
We have some exciting news. Our two Muse Awards from the Cat Writer’s Association arrived. Here you see Oliver modeling the one we received for his excellent review of The Catnip Getaway and his spa day. This is quite an honor and we thank CWA for this reward for our hard work!
We are still working hard on our two new cozy mysteries. The Human realized that in the second book she referenced characters that she hadn’t mentioned in the first book so she had to go back for some serious rewriting. And this is why she is not releasing the Meowntain Mysteries series until the first and second book are done. In the meantime, I manage her time and make sure she is working on the manuscript.
All three of us had our yearly wellness visits at the stabby place. Looks like we are all in good health although The Human received a lecture on weight management for Oliver and I and a calorie count to follow. We’ll see how that goes.
Now that’s enough about us. We thought we’d share some of the gems we found as we were purrusing the internet. We hope you enjoy them!
And for our fans of feline heavy metal, we present this song from Hiss , “You Were Made to Feed Me”
Happy Howl-oween
The Human isn’t a big fan of this holiday but I’m the only one in The Tribe who enjoys dressing up.
Thursday Thoughts
Well, it took us a little more time than we expected to get The Human up and running after her surgery but things are getting back to normal now, thank goodness!
She hasn’t been a complete slacker because while she was recuperating she worked on her manuscript for the first book in her cozy mystery series called “Meowntain Murders” The name of book #1 is “Owl Be Seeing You” and my brofur Oliver and I are two of the main characters. There are some humans in the book too but let’s face it, it wouldn’t be nearly as good without us.
And, she’s already started her second book in the series called “Felony at the Furbulous Feline Spa”. There is an interesting connection with the spa that inspired the location of the second book and our own Tribe.
As you may or may not know, the neck of the woods we live in is mountainous and fairly rural. And where you have independent folks you usually have more dog people than cat people but that is (thankfully) changing . It’s changing so much that we actually have a feline only grooming salon and the Human and Oliver made an appointment there to review it. Oliver is a super shedder. His fur even ends up on the dashboard of the car when he hasn’t been in the car for ages. The Human was delighted to find a place that might help her reduce the copious amounts of fur in our house, the car, the clothing and any guests who are brave enough to enter the “fur palace”.
The experience was great for Oliver and The Human and you can read the review here. And to add to good things that came out of this visit, the review received a Certificate of Excellence from the Cat Writer’s Association this year .
And now, the salon is the inspiration for book #2 in our cozy mystery series.
There is a short book trailer in the works for book #1 and I’ll share it as soon as it’s ready. In the meantime, here is one of the cover ideas. Let me know what you think.
If you’re a fan of cozy mysteries and would like to be a part of The Meowntain Mystery Group, send us an email.
It’s good to be back on the web and we’ll be posting more soon.
An Important Message from our CFO (Chief Feline Officer)
My Dear Furiends,
As our loyal readers have already surmised, we have been derelict in our blogging duties for the last few months. It has been a rough few months for our Purrsonal Assistant who (despite our outward lack of appreciation) is key to getting our blog posts done and published. She has dealt with a health issue, recently had surgery and I am pleased to announce that she is bouncing back purrfectly.
We realize that there are many comments and messages to respond to and much news (good news I might add) to impart and we are anxious to have our PA working to address all these things and we are so excited to be getting back to posting!
There is much exciting news that we will be sharing soon and we want to thank all our furiends for hanging in there with us.
The Human (our PA) refused to allow us to share any photos of her but I will share a few of the tireless work The Tribe provided to get her back to health.
We’ll be posting more soon,
Here you see Lily and Oliver applying purr therapy to The Human to the point where they were exhausted. What a pair of selfless felines!
I chose a more pragmatic path in my care for the recovering Human.
Walk Through The Web Wednesday – 7/11
Hello there furiends!
We realize we are publishing this on Thursday and not Wednesday. I could tell you why this happened but better that I just continue on with the post.
We live in a place that isn’t known for it’s heat but we do have a week or two in the summer when it’s in the high 90s or low 100s. This was the week. Meowza was it hot! but we muddled through and managed to have a good week anyway. I know many of my furiends are experiencing heat so remind your humans to keep your water bowls filled and for heaven sake, find a cool spot in front of a fan or an air conditioning vent (we don’t have air conditioning in our neck of the woods) and keep a low profile until it gets cooler!
Here’s a glimpse of our week.
WOMAN RESCUES NEIGHBOR’S ESCAPED CAT BY USING HER OWN KITTY AS A LURE!
I know many of you humans know the sheer panic felt when one of your feline friends escapes from the house. This story posted by tag24 documents which came from TIkTok user @sayhitomylittlefriends documents the feline “rescue” event.
The video shows two cats, one that is outside and another at an open window who seems to be getting ready to escape too. The TikTok user approaches the first cat, attempting to get it back inside it’s house, saying, “Oh my God, get inside. Get in your house.”
While neither of the cats pay attention to the distraught woman, a third cat appears on the scene, and the chaos seems to escalate but then disaster is avoided. This cat is the woman’s feline named Jerry.
Jerry’s timely intervention proves to be what was needed as he helps to lure the curious escapee back to safety.
Scientists pinpoint strategies that could stop cats from scratching your furniture
If your humans are meowing about you scratching their furniture, you may want to tell them to read this article I found in Eurekalert.org. This international team of reseachers studied what the factors are that cause us to use your furniture as scratching posts and pubished those findings in Frontiers in Veterinary Science.
The researchers asked more than 1,200 cat owners in France about the daily lives and characteristics of their felines and any undesired scratching behaviors. The study’s funder, Ceva Santé Animale, helped with collecting this data.
The researchers’ results indicated that there are several factors that influence cats’ scratching behavior. “We see a clear link between certain environmental and behavioral factors and increased scratching behavior in cats,” Salgirli Demirbas explained. “Specifically, the presence of children in the home as well as high levels of play and nocturnal activity significantly contribute to increased scratching. Cats described as aggressive or disruptive also exhibited higher levels of scratching.”
While some factors that favor scratching – such as the cat’s personality or the presence of children – cannot be changed, there are ways to stop or mitigate the scratching. Placing scratching posts in areas the cat frequently passes or near to their preferred resting spot helps as does the use of pheromones. The Human uses Feliway for multicat homes to keep us calm.
“Providing safe hiding places, elevated observation spots, and ample play opportunities can also help alleviate stress and engage the cat in more constructive activities,” Salgirli Demirbas pointed out. The key is to establish multiple short play sessions that mimic successful hunting scenarios. These play sessions are more likely to sustain cats’ interest and reduce stress, which ultimately can reduce excessive scratching on furniture. They can also foster the bond between cats and their caretakers, the researchers said.
“Understanding the underlying emotional motivations of scratching behavior, such as frustration, which seem to be linked to personality traits and environmental factors, allows caregivers to address these issues directly,” said Salgirli Demirbas. There will be future research on this issue with the goal to develop more effective strategies to manage this behavior, ultimately enhancing the bond and harmony between cats and their caregivers.
Cat-themed Telegram game teams up with millions of community players to rescue stray cats
GameFi, the combination of gaming and decentralized finance, has soared in popularity, particularly for its play-to-earn (P2E) model, which enables players to gain real-world value. Now mind you, this feline has absolutely no knowledge about this, nor does The Human.
What we did find interesting is a gaming bot called Catizen. It’s on the cloud-based messaging app Telegram (we do know what that is), According to the company, “Catizen provides players with a virtual environment where they can experience relaxation and comfort away from the fast-paced and stressful crypto and gaming world. While players have a pleasant time with the easy-to-play and quickly-learned game structure, they also benefit from P2E game dynamics.” (And I only understood about half of that)
Within the whimsical Meowverse, players start with a digital cat, which not only serves as their companion but also unlocks further game features and opportunities for rewards. Users can merge and enhance their cats, climb the leaderboards, and reap greater benefits as they progress.
The platform also hosts a cute artificial intelligence game called Al Kitty. Users can feed kitties, take care of them, raise kittens and help cats make friends. Younger players can especially accompany the cats’ growth and learn from them.
Catizen, generates revenue through in-game purchases. What we found interesting is that Catizen has community-driven initiatives that appear to be making a tangible difference in the non-profit sphere. With over 1.7 million players, nearly 1.25 million onchain users and over $10 million in-game purchase revenue generated in ten weeks, Catizen pledges 1% of in-game purchase revenue to nonprofits, letting the community vote on the beneficiaries. Catizen plans to continue this journey with its community by launching charity campaigns.
Catizen also encourages users to share stories of saving stray cats which creates a sense of unity and purpose. Participants can post images, videos or text on Twitter or Telegram using their Catizen UID. Community members shared over 10,000 posts about their stories and past experiences with stray cats in just one week, highlighting their active participation. Catizen plans to launch voting for nonprofit institutions, where the community will choose which organizations to support.
I think this is a great idea. If you’re going to play a game that offers in-app purchases why not one that donates money to save cats?
How a cat named Bootsy turned a street of strangers into a community
This story, written by Mike Hohnen for the Guardian, who is the human who lives with Bootsy the cat is heartwarming. The author says that Bootsy had a problem with minding other people’s boundaries, sometimes helping himself to whatever was on the table in someone else’s house for instance. This is why he assumed the worst when he received a call from someone who phoned him about Bootsy.
This was no complaint though. The caller wanted to let Mike know Bootsy was sleeping on a chair in her back yard and just wanted him to know where the feline was. He went to meet the neighbor and there began a friendship that transformed a neighborhood in Sydney, Australia.
This story in it’s entirety is a delightful read and today, four years after that phone call, Bootsy wanders off to the 87 year old neighbor Enid’s house when Mike goes to work, returning to his home in the afternoon. Bootsy’s visits have become an important part of Enid’s daily routine.
And Enid isn’t the only human who knows and loves Bootsy. Bootsy can be seen accompanying Enid down the neighborhood streets neighbors stop to greet them both. And through Bootsy’s friendship with Enid, friendships grew between humans in the neighborhood as well.
This is a happy tale of how one feline brought an entire neighborhood together. His human says that Bootsy has shown them the way towards community – and there’s no going back for any of them. Be sure and click on the link and read the whole heart-warming story.
This cat HATES optical illusions.
Do you know what day it is?
Today is cat world domination day.. how are your kitties celebrating?
Walk Through The Web Wednesday – 6/19
Hello Furiends,
It looks like it might be summer here, finally. I know some of you are suffering from the heat already and I hope your humans have air conditioning, fans or other cooling means available to you.
Did you know this is one of the best months of the year for kitties? June is National Adopt a Cat Month! Needless to say, the three shelter kitties in this home are thankful that The Human adopted us from our local shelter.
Oliver and I were foster “failures” and The Human says it’s a failure she’s thankful for. She was at an event at the shelter when one of the shelter board members introduced her to Lily and it was love at first sight. There are so many kitties waiting in shelters around the world for forever homes. Please consider bringing one home to your house!
Cat refuses to let human leave
I think all my feline furiends will agree that it’s nicer when our humans stay home with us. This kitty, caught in a TikTok video, foils his human’s attempt to leave the house in a hilarious way.
I would note that this is an orange cat (I recently shared an article about orange cats and how energetic they are). The cat takes possession of the human’s keys and hisses whenever she tries to take them off the table.
For all of you who don’t believe we felines are smart, BondVet recently declared that we have brains that allow us to problem solve, remember things in the past.
The humorous scene highlights cats’ intelligence and the attachment they can have toward their owners. According to BondVet, we felines have brains that allow us to solve problems, remember past events, and understand our human’s emotions. It’s said we have the intelligence of a human two year old.
In other words, this kitty who is guarding the keys knows exactly what he’s doing!
Cats May Be The Only Mammals Who Can’t Taste This 1 Flavor
Amy Glover at the Huff Post UK filed this interesting report about cats and our ability to taste sweet things. Have you ever wondered why your cat tries to steal a bite of your pizza but refuses to eat the expensive canned food you just bought him? What flavors motivate us? Well the Scientific American says that we felines are missing a vital protein that is necessary to taste sweets. The article says that the sweet receptor consists of two coupled proteins generated by two separate genes: known as Tas1r2 and Tas1r3,” We felines “lack 247 base pairs of the amino acids that make up the DNA of the Tas1r2 gene.”
What does that mean? We probably taste something when we eat sweets but we don’t taste what you humans do.
PetMD writes that cats are “seemingly alone among the mammal groups” with this evolutionary quirk regarding tasting sweets.
Despite this physical reality some of my feline friends seem to love sweets but experts say it’s probably the fat in the sweets, not the sugar that attracts them.
What tastes do we like? The article says we “also have interest in anything with animal protein in it (such as milk, cream, or ice cream), foods with strong smells, or warm food (the temperature of freshly killed prey),” they add ― and anything with a new mouth feel is likely to pique their curiosity.
And if you’re feeling bad that we can’t taste sweets, we do taste some flavors that you humans have, like adenosine triphosphate (ATP), a compound that provides energy for living cells.
Cat kidney transplants: For some, the pricey procedure is well worth it
We lost our dear Jasmine due to complications from kidney disease. The human gave her subQ fluids every other day, fed her special food and supplements but the disease took her away from us. For years kidney disease has just been a fact of life for older kitties but things are changing. This article by Marlene Cimons from The Washington Post brings news about kidney transplants for cats.
When the feline “Despy” suddenly developed a congenital form of advanced kidney disease at age 2 the veterinarian gave him only months to live. His human vowed to do whatever he could to save the cat. “He took care of me when I was sick,” says Segal, a software developer who lives in San Jose. “It was my turn to take care of him. It’s that’s simple.”
Segal, then living in the Boston area, drove his cat to the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine in Philadelphia where Despy underwent a kidney transplant in 2018. Today, Despy is thriving. So is Stevie, the kidney donor cat from a local shelter that Segal agreed to adopt as part of the renal transplant. He adores them both. “They play together, they groom each other, they roughhouse,” Segal says. “We’ve become a comfortable, loving family.”
Chronic kidney disease is one of the most common conditions in aging cats and a leading cause of death. It can also be inherited, which is what happened in Despy’s case, and can result from toxin exposure, such as eating lilies. (A cat who eats even a small amount from any part of a lily plant can suffer fatal kidney failure within days.)
Kidney transplants in cats began more than 25 years ago, although they still are rare, and only three facilities perform them: Penn Vet, the University of Wisconsin School of Veterinary Medicine and the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine.
Penn Vet has performed 185 transplants since 1998, the Georgia school more than 40 since 2009, and Wisconsin 87 since 1996.
Not all cats are candidates for the procedure, and for those who are, it can be expensive, up to $25,000 for the surgeries to retrieve the donor kidney and transplant it into the recipient cat. Yet the surgeons who do them say they find it personally gratifying to give people more time with their cherished companions. Also, they add, the surgeries and long-term follow-up in cats can provide knowledge that potentially can benefit human health.
Most cats gain an average of two to three years, although there are exceptions. Despy, for example, is six years post-transplant. “Our longest survivor was nearly 13 years,” says Chad Schmiedt, the Alison Bradbury chair in feline health at the Georgia veterinary school. “Shilo was 3 when we did the transplant in June 2009 and lived until April 2022.”
About 40 percent “go out three years post-transplant,” says Robert J. Hardie, clinical professor of small-animal soft-tissue surgery at the Wisconsin veterinary school, adding that survival often depends on whether postsurgical complications occur. “Some live longer. We’ve had some out 10 years.” At Penn Vet, up to 70 percent are alive and doing well one year after transplant, and two recipients lived 13 years after the surgery.
“It is a life-expanding procedure with the possibility of relatively good outcomes — sometimes dramatic outcomes — in terms of longevity that is of great value to many pet parents,” Hardie says. Moreover, scientists could learn more about immunosuppression in cats that could be applicable to humans, he says.
The cats getting new kidneys typically are between the ages of 8 and 12, although younger cats without other potentially serious medical conditions often do better and live longer, experts say. Schmiedt usually won’t perform a transplant on a cat older than 16. Hardie says the oldest cat transplanted at Wisconsin was 18. Aronson once did one on a nearly 18-year-old who had no other health problems and was youthful in behavior and who lived for another two years with the new kidney.
Cats with moderate kidney disease are better candidates than those with mild or advanced disease, because of the balance between surgery risks and benefits, although age provides an advantage for young cats who may have advanced kidney disease. The cats also can’t have chronic infections or cancer because they must take the immunosuppressive drug cyclosporine for life, which can worsen both conditions. Severe heart disease also rules them out. “You want a recipient who has the best chance of making it” through surgery and beyond, Schmiedt says.
Matching is easier for cats than it is for humans needing a transplant because there are only two blood types among all cats.
Although this transplant is expensive it is still good news for kitties like Despy. His human says he’s full of energy and living his best life.
Kidney transplants for dogs is more challenging as dogs often suffer problems with immunosuppression.
Woman wakes up with four cats in bed with her. She only has three cats.
Anne-Sophie Mielke and Steffi Feldman from TAG24 provided this amusing story.
A Reddit user (username u/trixy_treat), shared a picture on the platform that has Reddit users talking. The lady who lives in Britain found herself snuggling in bed one morning with four cute felines who were nestled into her blankets and pillows. This woman sleeps with her cats so the sight was not unusual as she lives with three cats named, Pancake, the Tortie; Oreo, and Quinn. The fourth cat was not a member of her household but a visiting neighbor feline.
The visitor named Bluey, lives next door and is a buddy of her cat Quinn. The woman supposes that Bluely enjoys sleeping at her house because he lives with a large dog and a toddler.
If Bluey doesn’t sleep over he will appear at her window and meow loudly for her cats to come and play. Now it seems he’s graduated from morning play time to sleep overs.
House of Black Cat Magic celebrates 1 year of business, helping home 150 black cats
The House of Black Cat Magic in Asheville, N.C. hosts parties, community events and more in its Black Cat Lounge, giving people a chance to meet a variety of cats that are up for adoptions.
Joel SeymourSun from ABC13 News reported about their anniversary celebration, their first anniversary “purrty, “magical market” and a silent auction and cat food drive to benefit Binx’s Home for Black Cats food pantry.
Sterling “TrapKing” Davis, who runs TNR Humane Cat Solutions, was there to offer informative sessions about the importance of TNR programs — Trap, Neuter, Return — which help stabilize feral or community cat colonies by trapping them, then spaying or neutering them, and finally, returning the cats back to their community so they can live out their days without continuing to reproduce. We love Sterling, he is a rock star among his feline fans.
Sterling said about TNR, “”A lot of areas, they get a lot of cats so they overpopulate, they start fighting over resources, they end up getting sick, injured, harmful to one another,” Davis said. “So, it’s good to control the population in a good way… that’s what TNR is — you’ve got to spay and neuter your pets!”
I love humans who go above and beyond to help ferals and work to find forever homes for cats.
The Catio Guy
The Human does not support allowing us to go outside as there are all kinds of predators in our neck of the woods but she does provide the opportunity for us to sit on the upstairs patio in our own pop-up catio.
This guy custom builds cations and they are amazing. We definitely think this is a home renovation The Human should consider.
How many of my feline furiends out there can rock a skateboard like this guy?
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