Category Archives: cats

Walk Through The Web Wednesday – 11/29

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Hello Furiends!
We hope you and your humans had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. It was nice that The Human had a little bit of extra time to spend with us and we loved it.

Now that the weather is getting wintery The Human has rolled out one of our favorite heating devices. It doesn’t get too hot so it’s a nice spot to sit and enjoy the warmth it provides. The problem is that there really is only room for one cat and this sometimes causes discord as you can see below.

Ah, my favorite spot. I am king of the heat.
Excuse me Alberto. I too like to sit on the heater.
File that under “F” for “fat chance.”
Alberto, we need to have a discussion.

Needless to say, Oliver and I worked out a heater seating deal.

Now it’s time to see what news we found on the interwebs this week. I hope you enjoy the stories.

There are heroes and then there are HEROES

Photo credit: Asheville Tree-Top Cat Rescue

Our human family has connections with the military and we always apurreciate the service of our soldiers. This Air Force veteran is continuing his public service by helping Asheville, NC communities and surrounding areas catch cats that got a little too curious.

Retired Air Force colonel Spencer Cocanour offers free help through Asheville Tree-Top Cat Rescue, rescuing cats from trees. His career went from working special operations and personal recovery with planes and pilots to personal recovery of cats.

His service to local felines started with a conversation with his wife when she noticed his climbing kit in the garage. When she asked what it was, he responded that he might have to rescue a cat some day and that was the start of it all.

As of the time of his interview with NBC24 he had rescued 140-150 cats.

Cat rescuing is almost as dangerous as his military duties, especially when he has to climb a dead tree. He tries to avoid them and says he’ll try to climb a live tree next to it and either swing over to the dead tree or tie off on another so he doesn’t end tumbling down.

Cocanour says most cats will come down on their own by day two but that’s not always the case.“Dehydration is my biggest concern when it comes to a cat in a tree,” he said. “So if you go more than four days, they start having a lot of kidney issues.”

Colonel Cocanour, we felines salute you and thank you for your service to treed kitties. If you’re a brave soul that would like to help Cocanour on his mission or you just need your cat rescued, you can contact him through Facebook on the Asheville Tree-Top Cat Rescue page.

“As long as I’m still able to climb the trees, I’m still doing it,” he said. “Keeps me entertained.”

Not all scents make sense for cats

Human, what is that smell!

The holidays are especially scenty and we felines don’t always like them all. Some of the smells you humans like are not apurreciated by felines.

Our sense of smell is strong. What you humans can smell from 10 feet away, we cats can smell 140 feet away — that’s half the length of a football field.  

Smells that we do not like are some spices, strong seasonings, citrus and even some fruits. We also object to the smell of overripe bananas and essential oils, like tea tree, peppermint, cinnamon, pine and wintergreen. Please keep these smells away from our litter boxes.

Also some essential oils in diffusers are toxic to cats and cause terrible health issues. So please, think of your feline and try to keep our home a little less scenty.

A $70,000 backyard amenity – for your feline

Well, Christmas is coming and what feline wouldn’t a mansion-like catio?

According to Business Insider there are only about 50 builders in the world who specialize in indoor-outdoor enclosures. Alan Breslauer, owner of Southern California-based Custom Catios, is one of them.

Breslauer started in the business when his two bickering kittens couldn’t share space in his Los Angeles high-rise apartment. He found an article about catios, installed one in his home, brought peace to his feline household and launched a business.

Breslauer lives with three cats, Santos Six Toes, Herbie the Love Bug, and Trey  and is now the go-to guy on the West Coast for custom cat enclosures. His business is booming and you can see his work at @CatioGuy on Instagram, where he has 158,000 followers. Since launching in 2017, Breslauer’s company has built about 400 enclosures, with most clients paying between $5,000 and $15,000, but some doling out as much as $70,000 or more, he said.

And if any of you humans think this is a pricey gift for your felines, Breslauer says, “It’s like keeping a sports car in the garage. Cats have all this amazing equipment, and we don’t let them use it.”

What kind of things can a feline expect from a $15,000.00 plus catio from Breslauer? He says, “When we put everything in there, like climbing poles, hiding boxes, cat ladders, cat steps, spiral staircases, floating steps, loft ladders, we call that ‘Cat Disneyland.  We’re custom and we really do anything that’s different or unique — we jump at that opportunity. We want to do fun things.”

Some clients try to push the envelope as much as they can. A Las Vegas client asked Breslauer to build a catio from their house down a 120-foot run in the backyard, with an enclosed walkway behind the pool and against the grotto so the owners could enjoy their cat’s company while in the hot tub.

Breslauer doesn’t often work with homebuilders to add catios directly into the blueprints, but he said there’s value in them once your home hits the markets.

So my furiends, looks like we should all be campaigning for the ultimate Christmas gift!

Town to expand program that ‘deputizes’ feral cats to control rat population

Deputy Oliver at your service!

I love working cat stories and the creative ways humans figure out how to get felines “hired”. Police in Niles, Illinois – a suburb of Chicago – began a pilot program in August to “deputize” five feral cats to control the rat population,  and it’s worked so well that the department says it is looking to extend the program.

The “deputies” have been working for about three years under the care of a local resident.

Niles Police Sergeant Dan Borkowski told Pioneer Press through email that the department reviewed complaint data from the Development Department and resident feedback, and decided to continue and expand the feral cat program. Borkowski said the department had yet to determine where the cats will be placed because it’s contingent on cat availability and host families to take care of the cats.

Borkowski also said they would keep the cats in a more defined territory. The village’s animal control officer gave Sarwat Hakim, the resident who has been watching over the feral cats, three makeshift, tarped shelters for the felines.

A Pioneer Press analysis of rat complaints revealed that, two months before the pilot programme began, there were only two rat complaints within 1,500ft (0.45km) of the cats’ homes. After the pilot programme began, there were no more complaints within the area.

Hakim said the cats usually stay in the neighborhood or head off into the forest preserves, where they hunt for rats.

Hakim said before the cats were in the area, she used to see a lot of rats and rat traps. She hasn’t seen a rat trap in the neighborhood for about a year.

Two paws up for the Police in Niles and for the good people that look after the “deputies”.

Vancouver Island family  reunited with cat nearly 7 months after he went missing

And here we have another one of my favorite stories and a message of hope from a family just north of our neck of the woods.

Mucky the cat went missing on May 1st. Christi Wright with Finding Felines said that the owner suspected Mucky was in the back of his dad’s truck, possibly snoozing, and jumped out when the vehicle stopped. .

Mucky managed to toughed it out and survived on his own for six months before he began searching for food and shelter in warmer places as the weather turned chilly.

He would return over and over again to one woman’s house. He availed himself of the use of her and the food she left out for her own cats. He could come and go at his pleasure. Mucky also visited another woman a few roads over and both women began to worry if the cat might be lost.

On November 15th, both women messaged Finding Felines to express their concern.

Shortly after on November 18th, one of the women was able to capture him inside her house after he used the cat door and she took him into Finding Felines to be scanned for a microchip.

They found him to be a friendly, intact male with no ID. Everyone at Finding Felines could tell that he had been loved, so Wright offered to take him home to keep him confined and safe while they attempted to find his owner. 

Wright contacted Foster Kritters Feral Cat Rescue Society, and a lady working there offered to help by having Mucky neutered right away. 

The next morning, Mucky’s owner contacted Finding Felines after seeing a post about him on their Facebook page!

She came in to see if it was indeed Mucky, and to everyone’s excitement, it was! She immediately recognized Mucky’s belly markings and thin tail—there was no mistaking her boy!

Wright explained the arrangement Foster Kritters had made for Mucky to be neutered, and his owner agreed it was best and had been her intention before he went missing. 

She happily offered to cover all the costs associated with the appointment, so on November 21st, Mucky was neutered, and Wright was able to finally bring him home to his family for good. 

According to Wright and Mucky’s family, he’s settling back in at home well and enjoying all the extra love and cuddles!

“It was such a wonderful story, and I’m glad it’s being shared to give others who are still missing their beloved pets hope,” Wright said.

Remember what we always say at Feline Opines, “Think lost not stray!”

Thanksgiving wishes from the Feline Opines gang – 11/22

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Hello Furiends,
I’m guessing that all my U.S. feline furiends are smelling some tasty turkey about now. The Human is hurrying to have things ready to take to her family for a big feast. We will be back next week with our regular Walk Through The Web Wednesday feature but for today, we wanted to tell you all how grateful we are for you and to wish everyone lots of leftovers, purrs and naps.

We have each prepared a little Thanksgiving message for you. Until next week!
Purrs & Head Bonks,
Alberto, Oliver, Lily and The Human

Walk Through the Web Wednesday – 11/15

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Hello Furiends,
Since you humans decided to take away an hour of daylight from us, we felines have had a bit of trouble adjusting. It’s dark by 4:30 in our neck of the woods and we’re bit confused. I normally sit on the hallway cabinet and scream when I can’t figure out why The Human isn’t in bed to cuddle. Needless to day, this does not go over well with The Human. So, when all else fails, we nap.

Me attempting to adjust to daylight savings time
Oliver attempting to adjust to daylight savings time.
Lily attempting to adjust to daylight savings time.

Still, there was a bit of drama when Oliver’s girlfriend showed up one afternoon.

Hello, is Oliver there?
Oh good grief, she won’t leave me alone!
Why are you interrupting my late morning nap time?
I already told you, I’m not a one feline type of guy!
Oh for heaven’s sake, I’m going back to my nap. Human, you deal with her.

Since the little tiff, Oliver’s girlfriend has not visited. I hope she found a boyfriend who treats her nicer!

Community comes together to build cat haven

Two paws up for the people in this community who created this project in Newberry to keep the local cats safe, dry and warm.

Of felines and funding

Excuse me sir, would you be interested in investing in my new cat product?

This article was of interest to The Human as she is an entrepreneur. Did you know that feline-focused startups receive far less funding than those targeting the canine crowd?  Using Crunchbase data, a list was created of 11 companies funded in roughly the past couple years with a full or major focus on felines.

Altogether, they’ve pulled in nearly $140 million for offerings ranging from human-grade cat food to microbiome-based supplements to an AI-enabled movement-tracking collar.

The article lists a number of feline product providers who have received funding. Still, this feline wonders why there aren’t more when U.S. households alone are estimated to house more than 58 million cats. Globally, the population is in the hundreds of millions. Add to that the fact that spending on pets surged during the pandemic, as did venture funding for pet-focused startups. Data indicates cat owners aren’t scaling back, either.

The percentage of American households with cats has actually kept increasing, even after pandemic restrictions waned. Perhaps it helps that even if we’re at home less, cats are pretty content to be on their own.

So all you feline focused entrepreneurs get those products out there!

Man’s Best Friend Can’t Compare to These 9 Adventure Cats

My regular readers know how I love stories about adventure cats and this article from Outsider Magazine features 9 very cool adventure kitties.

The two featured in the photo here are the team of Pinecone and Mushroom. Their outdoor skillset is hiking and kayaking. Their human, Becca Terry loves to hike and kayak. After the shut down, she got Pinecone and she was excited to take the feline out to see and enjoy the things she had missed.

Pinecone became the perfect hiking partner. A year later, Mushroom joined the family, and picked up the adventure spirit quickly, despite visual challenges from only having one eye. Because cats are inquisitive and want to inspect everything, they hike at a generally slower pace than people, which can help their human companions slow down and “smell the roses”.

“When we go somewhere with Mushroom, usually I make sure I have a decent amount of time to be out on the trail,” Terry says. “Or sometimes I’ll pick a spot that’s shorter, like instant gratification—like a drive up to a mountaintop—but I let her move how she wants to move.”

Also, Mushroom is here to defy whatever stereotypes you have about cats being afraid of water. She’s not only a brave hiker but a regular kayaker. “I have her in my lap, and we don’t go on anything that’s got a lot of rapids,” Terry says. “So she usually falls asleep like she does in the car.”

Be sure and read about the other adventure cats in this article.

How the Feline Star of The Marvels Prepared to Play Goose the Cat

 

The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s favorite feline is back. Goose the cat returnsto the big screen in The Marvels.

While the character of Goose is returning for The Marvels, the feline actor who portrayed the animal companion in Captain Marvel did not reprise their role. The Marvels filmed in the U.K., not the U.S., like Captain Marvel, and recruited local animal talent for the movie.

Jo Vaughan, an animal trainer for the film and TV industry, was the lucky individual tapped to help select the cat for the Goose’s part and train the feline for the movie.

The trainer found a selection of cats that looked like the feline who played Goose in Captain Marvel, and two of those animals got the part.

“They picked Tango as the lead cat, and then we utilized Nemo as a backup cat,” Vaughn tells PEOPLE of the pets selected for the role.

Meowza, did those cats have to learn a lot as they were both new to acting. Vaughn “started from scratch,” training the cats for the movie over three months. First, she tackled environmental training, making the felines comfortable with a live film set’s active, loud, and often chaotic environment.

“The environment is a big factor because cats are generally quite nervous creatures, so they have to be comfortable around all those people and sounds,” the trainer says.

Most cats’ initial timidness to new environments is one of the most noticeable differences between training cats and dogs for Vaughn.

“Everybody takes their dog for a walk. Most people take their dogs in the car. Unless you’re taking your cat to the vet, nobody takes their cats anywhere. Usually, if your cat goes outside your house, it’s a bad experience. So you have to teach cats all these new things are positive,” she adds.

After mastering environmental training, Tango and Nemo focused on learning specific behaviors needed for The Marvels. Before filming started, Vaughn trained both cats to hit all their marks based on what appeared in the script.

“The biggest thing to us trainers is that the cat is comfortable knowing what we’re asking of them,” Vaughn says.

Because the cats are trained to perform certain behaviors on cue, even when surrounding circumstances change, they rarely get starstruck.

“If they have to sit on somebody’s shoulder, we teach them long before they ever come to set how to jump and ride on someone’s shoulder. So to them, it doesn’t make much difference who that person is,” Vaughn says.

For those who want to bring a little movie magic into their home by training their cats, Vaughn, who has six dogs, three cats, and a bearded dragon, suggests stocking up on treats.

“They don’t work for nothing. So you have to find something that they want in return for asking them to do something,” the trainer says, adding that, for cats, “it’s usually treats.”

“Animals are a lot easier to train at home, and it’s quite rewarding,” Vaughn says. “It definitely builds more of a bond than you would have just living alongside a pet.”

So now you know what it takes to be a feline movie star.

Walk Through The Web Wednesday – 11/8

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Oliver Takes Over

This next clip is my regular fall interaction with my nemesis, “fat squirrel”. This cheeky fellow has no manners.


After dealing with my cheeky furiend, I always enjoy a calming session of leaf watching.



It’s always good to get a better view of the leaf action by sitting on top of the sofa.


Al is more of a TV kitty so he likes to get his wildlife close and personal on TV. Despite the warning, he did knock the TV over and crack it.

And when all the leaf and squirrel watching stresses me out, I go and sit at the window that faces the front garden and enjoy the soothing sound of the rain.

Well that’s it for this week, I hope you enjoyed a taste of fall in our neck of the woods and that you’ll also enjoy this week’s featured feline news.

Jury Awards $1.4M Against Landlord Who Stole Tenant’s Cat

Joshua found Frank his cat in 2017 and took him in at a drug recovery residential facility where he was staying. Two years later, Frank turned up missing, and Joshua was certain his landlord was the culprit. The landlord reportedly confessed and said he gave Frank to his girlfriend to take to a local shelter.

Joshua sued, and it took the jury less than 2 hours to award the whopping verdict. Normally, in these cases, the animal owner can only recover the actual value of the cat, which would be next to nothing. Although we don’t know the details, it seems as if the jury awarded punitive damages for willful misconduct.

Hey Joshua now that you’re a millionaire, how about investing some money into trying to find Frank so he can live his best life too!

Man’s foster cat is obsessed with him and it’s turned into an amusingly toxic living situation

Bill found himself a sudden cat dad when his friend became sick and unable to take care of her cat, Teddy. Bill took Teddy in and while Teddy acted like most cats when finding themselves in an unfamiliar setting (he hid under the bed and kept to himself at first. When he did finally get comfortable with Bill, Bill made sure Teddy got lots of love and attention.

Evidently Teddy couldn’t get enough of Bill’s attention and now follows Bill wherever he goes asking for skin skritches and petting.

“He became obsessed with me. I gave him tons of attention, I played with him all the time but it was just never enough. He always wanted more,” Bill told The Dodo. “Anytime I would turn my attention to something other than him, he would scratch at me until I turned my attention back.”

Teddy made sure Bill knew he wanted attention , grabbing pieces of his clothing as he tried to walk by and biting at him. Still, Bill loves Teddy and hopefully he understands that Teddy’s behavior is probably because he’s worried that this human will disappear from  his life too.

‘Claude’ the hangar cat reunited with his Yellowknife family after 2 months

Claude the cat whose actual name is Peyote is now back home with his family.

A five-year-old Yellowknife boy got his Christmas wish early this month when he was reunited with his beloved tabby cat, Peyote (Yote for short).

Yote’s disappearance from his home during the Yellowknife fire evacuation in August prompted a two-month-long search by his humans.

But, Yote was living high on the hog at the Buffalo Airways hangar in Yellowknife, eating as much as he wanted, chasing rodents, loafing in empty planes and sleeping on important paperwork, all under a new name: Claude.

“It’s quite the paradise for cats here,” said Mikey McBryan, the general manager of Buffalo Airways, describing how “Claude” made himself right at home in the company’s DC-3 aircraft and befriended the humans and dogs in the hangar during his stay there.

“Claude would have had a great life here — but it would be even better to be with his family.”

The airline usually has a couple of rescue cats at a time lounging in its Yellowknife hangar, and staff were in the process of flying stray cats and dogs down south during the evacuation when they encountered Yote.

Yote’s family had been on vacation at the time, and told their house sitter to open up the windows so their cats could have a chance to flee if the wildfire made it into town.

“As time went on … we were like, ‘OK, well what are we going to do about our cats that are obviously all over the neighborhood?'” recalled Kaitlyn White-Keyes, Yote’s owner. The family asked the SPCA to keep an eye out, and as the months wore on, White-Keyes tried to prepare her five-year-old son, Tomek, for the possibility that Yote didn’t make it.

But when Tomek said one of his Christmas wishes was for Yote to come home, White-Keyes knew she had to make a last-ditch effort to find him.

“It’s like the most heart-wrenching moment as a parent,” she said. “You’re like, ‘OK — I need to get this cat back home.'”

She posted about the search on Facebook and, as luck would have it, McBryan had recently made his own post highlighting the airline’s new hangar cat. The stars aligned.

“It’s been an emotional roller-coaster,” she said. “I’m so happy that he was safe and warm.”

Yote returned to his family, having made a wealth of new friends at the hangar.  The folks at the hangar are happy that Yote is home with his family but they do miss him.

Cambridgeshire cat breaks Guinness World Record for loudest purr by a feline currently alive

A 14-year-old cat has broken the Guinness World Record for the loudest purr made by a feline currently alive.

Bella, from Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, England let out a purr which clocked in at 54.6 decibels, equivalent to the noise from a boiling kettle.

The sound smashed the previous record of 50db, and was confirmed by a Guinness World Record adjudicator.

Nicole Spink, the cat’s proud owner, said: “I couldn’t be more thrilled that Bella has broken the world record.

“She has been our family’s companion for many years – we love her to bits and are so proud of her achievement.”

In order to record Bella’s feat, Mr Wilson and an acoustic engineer blocked out external noises in the Huntingdon home and set up recording devices.

Once Bella settled down on her favorite cushion in preparation of breaking the record, she began to purr and the “results were immediately obvious”.

The Human claims Al and I snore and purr loudly so maybe we should have her get an acoustic engineer to check our decibel levels!

Man Discovers He Has 2 Cats After Pet Brings Feline Friend Home, Moves In

A cat owner living in Guam has a new resident after his cat brought home an unexpected guest.

Christian Fleming posted to Reddit, through the account name @sandcrabsailor, photos of his cat named Little. But the photo did not just include one cat. The post reads, “White one is mine. Black one is not my cat. Both came through the cat flap. He got comfortable quickly. Took about 3 weeks, but I now have 2 cats.”

The new tuxedo cat named Tedo walked in through the cat door with Little, and made himself right at home.

“I was surprised the cat came inside, initially,” Fleming told Newsweek. “But if he’s hungry enough to be that brave, I wasn’t going to begrudge the food.”

Although he is a little skittish around people, Tedo is getting used to his new home, Fleming said. Plus, it helps that he adores Little and is very comfortable with Fleming’s dog.

“He has since gotten braver and more comfortable,” said Fleming. “When he jumped on me to snuggle with Little, I knew he had decided to live here.”

“Now, wherever I am in the house, I tend to have a small herd following me around,” said Fleming.

Walk Through The Web Wednesday – 11/01

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Walk through the web Wednesday

Oh Meowza, it’s November already! We love the colors of fall and Oliver spends a great amount of time watching the falling leaves. Too bad this will all be gone soon and we’ll have all the white stuff to deal with.

As we move toward winter, we really apurreciate finding sun puddles and like to take full advantage of them.

You don’t need to yell at me, I’m enjoying this sun puddle and I’ll get off the table as soon as it goes away.
There are many places and many ways to enjoy sun puddles.
Even if you have to squeeze yourself next to a bookcase it’s worth it to enjoy a sun puddle.
Lily is very serious about sun puddles.

And speaking of fall, it’s a lot easier to spot visitors in the downstairs garden. Can you spot our visitor?

Where is the visitor?

Can you see him now?

We get all kinds of visitors, sometimes they are much bigger and meaner than this one.

I hope you are enjoying your fall weather (if it is fall in your neck of the woods, some of our furiends in Australia and New Zealand are having spring now. I also hope you enjoy our feline news items this week.

Cats have 276 different facial expressions, study finds

What would you guess this expression means?

And once again this feline is compelled to say, “Humans, cats are different, our purrsonalities are different and we react differently to things!”

In a study published in the journal Behavioural Processes last month, two US scientists counted 276 different facial expressions when domesticated cats interacted with one another.

“Our study demonstrates that cat communication is more complex than previously assumed,” study co-author Brittany Florkiewicz, an evolutionary psychologist at Lyon College in Arkansas, told CNN Wednesday, adding that their findings suggest that domestication has a significant impact on the development of facial signaling.

Florkiewicz explained that domesticated cats are typically more socially tolerant than their wildcat counterparts because of the way they live in proximity to humans, so the researchers were expecting to see expression in both positive and negative contexts—but they were surprised to “observe 276 morphologically distinct facial expressions.”

According to Florkiewicz and lead author Lauren Scott, a medical student from the University of Kansas Medical Center with a personal interest in cats, domestication allows more cat-to-cat social interactions, which is why the pair believed they would show more expression.

To collect data, Scott filmed 53 cats at a local cat café when both were based at University of California, Los Angeles, between August 2021 and June 2022. From the 194 minutes of video footage gathered, she recorded 186 feline interactions. The cats were adult domestic shorthairs of both sexes, all neutered or spayed.

Both researchers assessed the differences in expression with a coding system designed specifically for cats, called the cat Facial Action Coding System, and looking at the number and types of facial muscle movements. The study added that muscle movements associated with biological processes such as breathing and yawning were not included.

While they were not able to attribute a meaning to each expression they recorded, Florkiewicz and Scott found that 45.7% of coded expressions were friendly, while 37% were aggressive.

The paper detailed that a friendly expression is shown when the ears and whiskers move forward while the eyes close, and an aggressive cat has constricted pupils, ears flattened against the head and a tongue-swipe of the lip.

“Our hope is to expand our sample size to include cats living in other locations…looking at the facial expressions of cats living in multi-cat homes, feral colonies” and so on, Florkiewicz said.

Again I say humans, we felines are waaaay more complex than you give us credit for.

A cat’s tongue looks ‘terrifying’ up close — but there’s a reason why

Does your human cringe when you lick them on the face? Here’s why

Peter Carlos, a Florida veterinary technician, revealed an up-close look at a cat’s tongue that has left many people speechless.

In the 12-second clip, posted on Carlos’ Instagram account, he films a feline that appears to be sedated, zooming into the cat’s tongue to show backward-facing spines called papillae.

The video has more than 35,000 views, who knew a cat tongue would interest so many people.

Papillae have tiny keratin protein spines that transfer large amounts of saliva from mouth to fur, explains National Geographic. Keratin is the same material that is made of cat’s claws and human fingernails.

The spines on cat tongues are curved and hollow-tipped, which help them groom themselves and pick up water.

SEE ALSO

Hook-like papillae covering the entire tongue make it easier for the cats to “remove meat from bones,.

We felines can take care of themselves for extended periods because our papillae help us feed and groom ourselves.

“Our study shows that [cats] are in fact, much more independent than canine companions,” Daniel Mills, professor at Lincoln’s School of Life Sciences, told Economic Times. “Many see a cat as an ideal pet for owners who work long hours.”

So there you go humans, everything you wanted to know about our tongues!

Crimes could soon be solved using cat DNA found at crime scenes with new method

This calls for a feline detective.

The Human loved this story and she’s saving the info for her cozy mystery that features Oliver and I and some bad guys that get caught due to cat DNA.

Since a quarter of UK households own a cat, and the statically charged hairs of their felines easily cling to owners’ clothes criminal cat owners need to invest in a large supply of cat hair removal products because they could be placed at the scene of crime by the cat hairs they leave .

Still, cat hairs are not as good as the criminal’s own DNA, which contains telltale repeated stretches of genetic code called ‘short tandem repeats’ (STRs) – found in a type of DNA called nuclear DNA.

There is not enough nuclear DNA to detect these STRs in cat hair, because the root of the cat’s hair which contains this type of DNA has usually dried up.

Cat hair is, however, a better source of a type of DNA called mitochondrial DNA, passed down through females.

But this is usually broken into fragments within the hair, providing an incomplete DNA reading.

Because pet cats all share the same small number of ancestors, a typical sample could belong to thousands of different cats.

However scientists now have a breakthrough which could revolutionize cold cases such as unsolved murders by matching cat hairs to a particular cat.

Researchers can now take fragments of mitochondrial DNA and make billions more of them, using a PCR test rather like those used for Covid.

The fragments each spell out the same genetic code from the cat’s mitochondrial DNA – but each is like an incomplete photocopy.

When these are multiplied by billions, however, technology which might struggle with only a few copies can identify the genetic code the fragments have in common.

That recreates the full mitochondrial DNA of the cat – which was never possible before.

It was proven to work to identify the remains of a lost cat, using DNA from its hair verified using the cat’s son.

Dr Jon Wetton, a member of the team behind the breakthrough, from the University of Leicester, said: ‘Cat hair at crime scenes was disregarded until now, because cats have such similar DNA.

‘But this method can identify individual cats, even decades after they have died, so could be invaluable in cold cases.

‘In a previous murder case we applied the earlier technique but were fortunate that the suspect’s cat had an uncommon mitochondrial variant, as most cat lineages couldn’t be distinguished from each other.

‘But with our new approach virtually every cat has a rare DNA type and so the test will almost certainly be informative if hairs are found.’

The research is published in the journal Forensic Science International: Genetics.

The new technique is said to be around ten times more discriminating than a previously used technique which looked at only a short fragment of cat hair DNA.

Professor Mark Jobling, a co-author of the study from the University of Leicester, said: ‘In criminal cases where there is no human DNA available to test, pet hair is a valuable source of linking evidence, and our method makes it much more powerful. The Human is geeking out about this information but she’s a bit weird.

Online platform reunites lost cats with their owners

PetRadar (previously CatRadar), an online platform designed to help reconnect pet owners with lost pets, has expanded its offerings so that it now serves both missing cats and dogs. This makes The Human happy as she and her sister run a local lost pet group in our neck of the woods.

“After finding our 8000th missing cat, I knew we needed to start saving dogs, too!” expressed David Olthaar, founder and CEO of PetRadar, in a company release.

At least 15% of cat owners lose their pet in a 5-year period and some are never found, according to research published in Animals.3 Additionally, the American Humane states that approximately 10 million pets are lost in the United States each year.

To address this problem, 2 years ago, Olthaar “saw yet another blurry missing cat poster on a dark rainy night”2 and figured there must be a more effective way to reunite lost cats with their owners by leveraging the digital world. With the help of his best friend, they used sponsored posts on social media to advertise a missing cat in a 1km (~0.6 mi) radius surrounding the last seen address. “We wanted to use social media ads for good. And what’s better than reuniting lost pets with their owners?” expressed Olthaar, in the release.

Quickly, the duo found their first cat. “I remember when the first sighting of a lost cat came in. I couldn’t believe it. Reuniting them was a beautiful moment. I was even invited for dinner as a thank you!” added Olthaar.

This small project among friends became a successful online system worldwide to help find missing pets. This inspired Olthaar to change the name of the platform from CatRadar to PetRadar. The first dog has been found, and Olthaar is positive there are many more to come.

PetRadar features both free and premium services on its website. The free services include a printable poster, personal support & guidance, and a listing on PetRadar’s website. The premium features include all of those along with sponsored posts on social media, a personal dashboard, and notifications via text messages.

Stevenage railway cat Nala ‘breaks down barriers’ at rush hour

What would my Wednesday feline news segment be without a working car? Nala fits the bill purrfectly.

Nala, a ginger cat has been photographed hundreds of times at Stevenage station, usually perched on a ticket gate.

Owner Natasha Ambler set up a Facebook group where hundreds of people have posted photos of their encounters.

She said Nala loved the attention and headed for the station both morning and evening as “she knows what time the commuters will be there”.

The station manager said she was “breaking down barriers” and creating a community for local passengers.

The cat is four years old and although she lives close to the station – and has a loving home – she is very much an outdoors cat, Miss Ambler said.

Nala has always been adventurous, and is fitted with a GPS tracking device, so her humans have been able to see how widely she travels.

Miss Ambler told how she “mainly visits the railway station and the next door leisure park”.

“Once she spent most of the night in a cinema and a friend had to go and bring her home,” Miss Ambler said.

Nala wears a collar bearing her name and the details of her owners, but Miss Ambler said at one point she was receiving “about 20 calls a day from people asking if our cat was lost”.

“We had to get a second tag made up to tell people ‘she’s not lost’.”

Asked if she was concerned about her cat’s escapades, Miss Ambler said: “Not at all, she’s obviously well-loved and she’s very happy doing what she does – I just hope one day she doesn’t actually try to get on a train.”

Shaun Smith, Great Northern’s station manager at Stevenage, is also enamoured with their resident cat.

He commented: “She’s breaking down barriers by making people smile and starting cheerful conversations between staff and customers – helping our team and our tenants at the station feel part of the local community, which is rewarding for everyone.”

Oliver Has a Spa Day – And He Enjoys it!

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“Oh garçon, another catnip martini if you please.”

Hello Furiends!
I had quite the experience this week when The Human took me for a spa day! Now lest you think The Human was completely altruistic in doing this, let me provide a bit of background. One day, The Human came across a place on social media that was fairly close to our neck of the woods called The Catnip Getaway. She was absolutely shocked when she saw photos of piles of hair next to various felines, and not all of those felines were long-haired. She began to wonder if Julie Rosengrant, the owner and operator of The Catnip Getaway could do the same miracles for me. The Human calls me the “sheddiest” cat she’s ever known and a look at the daily collection inside the vacuum monster will attest to this. But I digress.

The Human decided she’d make an appointment for a spa day for me. She did this with some trepidation as she was concerned that the long drive and the grooming itself might stress me out and bring on another bout of idiopathic cystitis (and those of you who follow our blog knew this was not a fun time for me last August). We decided to do the treatment as Julie is a vet tech and The Human felt comfortable that Julie would keep a close eye on me.

The 50-minute drive was uneventful and I was surprised to see the beautiful, quiet spot where the Catnip Getaway was located.

I did travel in my soft-sided carrier and also wore my stylish vest and matching leash. When we got inside I took a stroll around and quickly decided I was ready to leave.

“Nice place, thanks for showing us around. Let’s go Human!”

The place was nice but that big metal table reminded me a bit too much of the table at the stabby place. I was comforted that the human spa person was not wearing a white coat and instead, had a colorful apron decorated with cats. The Catnip Getaway is also a feline resort and it’s a pretty cool place (more about that and some of the guests there a bit later).

The scary metal table.
The lovely feline hotel area.

I decided I would stay and see what this spa thing was all about. After I was divested of my vest, a “happy hoodie” was put over my head to protect my ears from water. Granted, I may not look too happy but I really didn’t mind it. The first order of business, before the bath was a Mani Pedi. Note, a Mani Pedi at the spa is way better than The Human’s ineffective efforts.

How do you like my “happy hoodie?”

After my nails were purrfect, the next step was the bath. To make sure no water got into my ears, I was fitted with a little cone (NOT a cone of shame) to keep my happy hoodie and ears dry. The bath felt good, the kitty shampoo was great and the massage I got as the shampoo was applied made me purr!

One thing that shocked The Human was how dirty my coat was! I groom myself constantly, she drags out the vacuum monster and mops the floors every day but I wasn’t as pristine as we thought I would be.

And speaking of the vacuum monster, The Human had some BIG reservations about the blow drying portion of my visit. The vacuum monster at the place was way louder than the one that lives at our house (so loud Julie had to wear earphones!). And, in order to get the blow dry done, I would have to have all 21 1/2 pounds of myself inside a glass cage. First, I got a nice towel dry and then into the chamber of the vacuum monster. The Human was a bit nervous about this part but I sailed right through it!

That towel dry felt good!
That thing was way more powerful than our vacuum monster!
And here I am after my blow dry, safe and sound and not bothered.

Once I was fluffed and dried, the real work began. Combing, combing and more combing and fortunately, small breaks for a lick or two of Inaba Churu treats. I don’t know any feline that doesn’t love these treats!

Brushing…
Brushing…..
Brushing….
Brushing…
…and a quick treat!

And the results? As amazing as all the photos The Human saw on The Catnip Getaway’s Facebook page!

Yes, I am a handsome fellow!
Good grief, you could make a couple more cats out of all that fur!

My spa experience was purrfect and didn’t make me nervous at all. As a matter of fact, I slept on the ride home. As I noted, there is a lovely cat hotel there and The Human went to say hello to some of the guests there. Three kittens were staying in the same room and they were very cute, as were all the guests. Every room was immaculate, had a big window view and a bird feeder hanging in front of the window. And all the guests have the opportunity to leave their rooms, stretch their legs and explore the Catnip Getaway guest area. Nice amenities!

Kittens..
…kittens…
…kittens…
…kittens…
…and another guest.

So, would I recommend the Catnip Getaway? I enjoyed it and will be happy to go again. Aside from The Humans over fascination with the kittens staying there, I’d give it a two paws up. And The Human said the results were everything she hoped it would be and more and she’s ready to get some of her black items out of the closet and try to wear them again!

Do yourself (and your humans) a favor and book a spa day at The Catnip Getaway!

Walk Through The Web Wednesday – 10/24

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Walk through the web Wednesday

Happy Wednesday Furiends,

It’s getting a little nippy in our neck of the woods and the colors are so beautiful. Some humans are saying we’ll have snow later this week. We could care less, we’re pampered house cats but snow does mean a bit of work for The Human.

This week Oliver had a spa day and he’s working on his article about the experience. Below is a before and during photo. I can’t wait to see all the others and hear what this spa experience was all about (not that I want to go mind you).

I’m relaxing and mentally preparing for my spa day tomorrow.
The beginning of my spa experience with my mani pedi.

Meanwhile, LIly aka “Princess Stabby Toes” who will never see the inside of a cat spa, relaxes near the fire.

As the weather cools, we felines decide that banding together on the soft bedding is a good idea.

And Oliver has been busy doing his snoopervising.

Oliver has a very important purpose here.

What is Oliver’s purpose? It’s to keep us save from those falling leaves!

“I can see you leaves, and I can get over to that window to chase you away!”

Well, that’s the week in our neck of the woods. Don’t forget to check out Oliver’s article about his spa day and be sure and comment if you want to be in the Oct. 30 drawing for the signed copy of the beautiful book, Burt, the Airport Cat.

‘Unadoptable’ feline now a ‘working cat’ in happy new home

Pawdre was a cat in need of a home. He was taken in by the Ontario SPCA York Region Animal Centre after he was found wandering around the community. 

After some time waiting for adoption, including being featured in NewmarketToday’s bi-weekly Adopt Me column, Pawdre has found a new home and even better,a new job doing what cats have long meant to do — mouse hunting, for Self Stor Storage in North York.

“He’s actually very comfortable with people, which is quite shocking to us and a lot of our customers love him,” Self Stor marketing manager Justin Morgan said. “He absolutely loves contact, which is quite weird to say for a working cat.” 

Pawdre was successfully adopted thanks to the Ontario SPCA’s working cat program. My regular readers know that I am a big fan of working cat programs!

Ontario SPCA shelter health and wellness manager Monica Seto said the program has had success over its five years. It is a way to help adopt cats assessed to not do as well in a traditional environment.

Pawdre has taken to the humans that care for him and the humans who come to his place of business. Although Pawdre will do his job roaming the storage halls, he said he will come to the office portion of the building every morning to greet people as they come in.

The friendliness of Padre has led to customers asking to adopt him if the mousing job does not work out or wraps up, Morgan said. He added that he has also considered adopting Pawdre in that instance.

“Now he’s almost at the point (that) he’s a lap cat,” he said. “Such a dramatic change in his life in only a few months.” 

The moral to this story furiends, is never, never write off a kitty too soon!

Veterinarians Use Little Devices To Make Giant Impact On Cat’s Life

“James Dean,” a dapper orange tabby cat, lives a star-studded life. He fills his days playing mischievously with his sister, “Audrey Hepburn,” and his brother, “Elvis,” while his nights are spent snuggled up with his owners, Kaci and Melvin Thomas, who live in Austin.

After a sudden onset of a chronic illness created a life-or-death situation for the James Dean, his humans consulted the Texas A&M Small Animal Teaching Hospital’s (SATH) cutting-edge Interventional Radiology Service. They saved his life with a surgery not commonly offered at other veterinary hospitals.

James Dean battled urinary tract-related health challenges and was diagnosed with chronic kidney disease in the spring of 2022. Kaci worked with a veterinarian in Austin to manage his disease with a specialized diet, and for a while, the new diet was successful. Our own Jasmine had kidney disease for many years.

But after a year, the Thomsases noticed James’ appetite was disappearing and he was quickly losing weight. So, they took him back to the vet for complete diagnostic testing from the clinic’s lab. 

“The labs came back on a Saturday, and James’ veterinarian called me immediately,” Kaci recalled. “She said that his kidney function looked really bad and that we should take him to the local veterinary hospital. The hospital kept him comfortable and stable over the weekend. Then, on Monday, the specialist and surgeons evaluated him with an ultrasound.”

James’ ultrasound revealed stones that were causing severe blockages in both kidneys.

“The specialist and surgeon mentioned a few options in terms of care, but they kept coming back to, ‘His kidneys are so bad. We think that euthanasia would be appropriate,’” Kaci shared. “I didn’t like those options, so I called his veterinarian in Austin. She referred us to Texas A&M. We picked him up from the hospital and drove to Bryan-College Station the next day.”

At the SATH, James was placed under the care of Dr. Genna Atiee, a clinical assistant professor in the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences and specialist in the SATH’s Interventional Radiology Service. 

Atiee explained that kidney disease limits the kidneys’ ability to filter blood, causing excess fluid and waste from the body to build up and create additional health problems overtime.

“Once you lose kidney cells, recovery is less likely, because the kidney doesn’t have very much regenerative capacity,” Atiee explained. “We don’t have a way to reliably remove or dissolve kidney stones in cats without some type of major intervention, so when James Dean came to us pretty sick, we recommended subcutaneous bypass devices be placed in his abdomen that allow urine to go from his kidney to his bladder and bypass the obstruction.”

Atiee and her colleague Dr. Audrey Cook, another specialist in the SATH’s Interventional Radiology Service, are two of the only veterinarians in Texas trained to surgically apply the subcutaneous bypass devices.

“We get referrals for this surgery regularly from the metro areas like Dallas, San Antonio and Austin because even though this surgery is highly effective, it’s not something every veterinarian or even every surgeon is trained to do right now,” Atiee said.

With Kaci’s approval, Atiee placed a device on one of James’ kidneys, and a couple of weeks later, on the other kidney. 

“These devices require some maintenance in terms of flushing the tubes to ensure patency, and we’re happy to do that here or to work with a local specialist,” Atiee said. “The most important aspect of success post-surgery is for the family to work with us or their primary veterinarian to maintain the kidney disease.”

Kaci brought James back to Texas A&M for the early maintenance of his devices, but she now works with their local veterinarian to maintain his diet, fluid intake, and devices. 

“Dr. Atiee was amazing. She called multiple times to explain the procedure, which was especially helpful because I was a little nervous in the beginning,” Kaci said. “We grew really close to James’ veterinary team at the SATH. Dr. Atiee and the students inher service were excellent to work with.”

Today, James is doing exceptionally well; he’s back to a healthy weight and playing with Audrey and Elvis again. 

“Here we are many months later and he’s still kicking, doing very well, and is still happy and loving,” Kaci said. “I really like that the SATH’s veterinarians provide the most advanced care possible. Everyone’s up to date on all the newest and best evidence-based care. I’d recommend them to anyone and would encourage others to work with the Texas A&M veterinarians.”

 “There are things that we are doing that are not available in a lot of places and a lot of people may not be aware of these options, particularly in the urinary tract,” Atiee said. “We also do virtual consultations, so even if you live far away, we’re happy to schedule an online appointment and discuss options. We want to help these animals. We will do everything we can to get a patient in who we can help.”

Our Human knows first-hand what a horrible thing kidney disease and we are all very happy to hear of this medical solution.

‘Lonely’ Cat Who Fostered Dozens of Others Finally Gets Forever Friend

We are big fans of fostering, especially since Oliver and I are foster failures (The Human couldn’t bear to give us back after we were fostered and we’re very happy she made that decision.

Dunder is a rescue feline and he works with his human, Sara Bonner, of Washington, D.C., who fosters cats.  Dunder has befriended 22 of these fosters, only to say goodbye when they find a home.

Funny enough, Bonner was not a fan of felines until she started a new job and found herself by cat people.

She said: “When one of my co-workers planned a weeklong vacation, they asked if I could take in their kitten while they traveled. Once she arrived at my home, I was instantly smitten. I’ll never forget shedding a tear on the day they came to pick her up. I applied to adopt Dunder from City Dogs and City Kitties Rescue five minutes after they left. I’m not totally sure how old he is, but my guess is 6 or 7.”

In a video posted to Bonner’s Instagram account, @dunderandfriends, Dunder can be seen cozying up an array of foster cats.

“I think that Dunder is so great with fosters because he has this innate ability to sense what the other cat needs,” Bonner said. “I’ve had fosters that hid for weeks before joining the apartment, whereas I’ve had others that instantly feel at home and are ready to play.

She continued: “Dunder does a good job of feeling out which cats need more time to warm up to him. We’ve had 22 fosters, and he’s befriended every single one. I also had my own little cat-sitting business for a while too, and we must have taken in 50-plus cats over the years. You’d be surprised—most cats do well with a buddy if you give them a chance.”

After five years living alone together, Dunder and Bonner moved in with Bonner’s boyfriend six months ago.

“It was a really exciting time, and we decided to take a break from fostering so we could settle into our new routine,” she said. “It was a well-needed pause. However, after a while it was clear that Dunder was lonely and needed a friend. I had always imagined adopting a second cat. However, I wanted to be a little further along in life and have a partner that could help me care for them, so once we were settled the moment had finally arrived.”

She went back to the City Kitties website and filtered by which cats had been there the longest. Mose had been stuck in foster care for eight-plus months.

“All of my fosters had gotten adopted within a month or two. It turns out that Mose kept getting passed over because of how shy she was. We don’t know exactly what happened to her, but it’s clear that she had some sort of traumatic experience with humans in her past before coming to City Kitties. She was incredibly skittish, and it took months before she allowed her foster mom to pet her,” Bonner said.

“But, wouldn’t you know it, Mose had a foster brother in her home who was super outgoing. Having a confident kitty friend around helped to put her at ease, and that’s exactly what we were looking for.”Bonner put a lot of work into making Mose feel comfortable, including working from the bathroom, where Mose decided to hide.

But it was Dunder who really made Mose feel at home. After moving into the loft where Mose was, Dunder stayed up there 24/7.

“He’d stay a few feet away, nap when she napped and [tried] to sneak in a sniff whenever she’d let him,” she said. “She was never alone up there. Dunder was determined to help her feel safe. Every day, I moved her food and a water bowl down a step so she’d have to come further into the living space.

“One night, after two weeks of hiding in the loft, Mose finally decided to join us in the living room. We were shocked! My boyfriend and I had to stop ourselves from jumping up and down so we wouldn’t scare her off, we were so excited.”

Today the cats are best furiends. They even spent a night alone when the humans went to a wedding and the two were cuddled up together, purring with contentment.

Ah, I love a happy ending!

Discover Why Cats Mimic Their Owners

Oliver enjoys mimicking The Human when she cooks.

Your first question might be, why do cats mimic humans?

Well, \we’re very smart and we’re also capable of recognizing emotions and solving problems to achieve a goal. Various studies show cats are as intelligent as a two-year-old. Cats instinctively learn from their surroundings to provide them with the best chance of survival.

So why do we felines mimic you humans? There are a few reasons:

  • Familiarity and affection
  • Instinctive learning
  • Routine
  • Effective Communication

Indoor cats are basically adult kittens. Because we don’t need to hunt for food, we see our humans as surrogate parents. All children will adopt traits from their parents.

Imitating our owners is a sign we feel comfortable with our humans. We see you as someone to keep us safe and protect us like a parent would. By mimicking the traits and habits of our owners, we’re showing they we care deeply. Studies show cats replicate traits like extroversion, openness, neuroticism, and emotional stability.

We show love and we’re also  animals of instinct. Starting from an early age, cats learn from our mothers how to groom, hunt, and cover our tracks after using the bathroom (or using a litter box). Mother cats teach their kittens the majority of their life skills in the first few weeks of life, so they may learn to fend for themselves in the wild.

Aside from expressing love for our parents, we indoor cats will also mimic actions, assuming it is how we should act. We’ll watch how our humans interact with objects around them and learn to do similar things.

We’ll even imitate our siblings as a means to get more attention. Videos online show cats making sounds similar to a crying baby because they recognize the infant gets attention and food when they make crying sounds. Humans are easy to train, after all!

We love having a consistent routine and schedule. We’re territorial animals and perform our hunting and protection duties better when we have routine exercise, hunting, grooming, and napping throughout the day.

You humans know that when a routine changes, your cats get flustered and upset. This was seen towards the end of the lock down when remote workers were forced to go back into the office. Their cats were annoyed by the sudden change in schedule.

Cats learn their owner’s routines and keep them on their schedule as a method of taking care of our humans. We follow our owner’s schedule and imitate you to feel close and share those moments together. This is why many cats follow their owners into the bathroom to use their litter box at the same time or follow them into the kitchen for a shared breakfast. When the routine is broken, like when someone is trying to sleep in, the cat will meow, paw, and jump on the bed to wake their owners. (Note, The Human is quite aware that we do not like late breakfast!)

Having a routine is good to keep the mind sharp and focused. Cats know this and want to ensure you humans are keeping to a regular schedule.

Cats are capable of making over 100 sounds with our vocal cords. This gives us dozens of ways to communicate our wants and needs. We learn to mimic the sounds of our owners while walking around the house, sitting on the couch, or responding to other people in the house.

Imitating sounds is a tactical skill kittens learn to catch birds in the wild. When a cat is sitting at a window and making chattering sounds at the birds, it’s a way of communicating to the birds it is safe to be around. With this adorable sound, they hope to lure the birds into striking distance. (Yes, I know it’s evil but it’s what we do).

We also adopt non-verbal cues to communicate with our owners. Some cats will learn to imitate hugging or holding hands by placing their paws on their owner to show love. In our house the “Al hug” is a famous family tradition.

We use a variety of methods to imitate our owners. It all depends on how our humans express themselves and communicate. In fact, studies show that cats will imitate emotional cues and extroversion dependent on their humans. For instance, if an owner is extroverted and loves being social, the cat may also enjoy being around others. Inversely, if an owner is anxious and paranoid, the cat will adopt the anxious and paranoid attitude.

What are some of the ways we imitate our humans? Here are a few:

  • Using the bathroom at the same time
  • Taking naps at the same time
  • Using vocal cues like meows, chirps, and chatters to imitate their owner’s inflections and tones
  • Willingness to socialize
  • Openness to other people in the house
  • Openness to go outside
  • Neurosis levels from mild to chronic
  • Curiosity of surroundings

Now you may be wondering if we felines mimic other animals too. We do this in some ways, for instance if we live with a dog, we may adopt dog-like traits as a method of bonding with our canine buddy. Some cats will act like dogs by getting messy, wanting to go outside for walks, or being as social as dogs.

Sometimes we may treat other animals like cats as a sign of affection. For example, a cat may groom their dog pal’s fur as a sign of affection.

Much to The Human’s horror, we learned that cats can also mimic snakes! Instinctively, cats know that snakes are frightening creatures and we’ve learned to adopt that trait as a self-defense mechanism. By pinning our ears back, showing tour fangs, and hissing, we think we  look and sound remarkably similar to a hissing snake. The Human is terrified of snakes and hopes so NEVER sees an encounter like this!

To sum up, we felines imitate our owners because we love you.  Some of you humans may think we treat you like servants, but deep down we love and admire you. Even when we act up by knocking things off the furniture, we’re are doing it as a means to communicate our needs.

My challenge to you humans is to watch for all the ways your felines show you that they love you.

Peaches the “fat cat” swims to a more svelte physique

Peaches, a diabetic cat in Edmonton, has been going viral with swimming workout videos on TikTok. I told Oliver that he should take up swimming. He wasn’t amused.

Walk Through The Web Wednesday – 10/18

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Walk through the web Wednesday

Happy Wednesday Furiends!

This week our feature has a theme…airports and flying. We received a pawsitively wonderful book to read and revue from Christine Henry. The book’s name is Burt the Airport Cat and is a wonderfully illustrated story about Burt, a black cat who escapes his carrier at the airport. Burt is a curious and friendly cat and decides to take advantage of his new surroundings and explore the airport. He meets new friends, Valkyrie, Scout, and the Padre, and samples local cuisine as well. Will he ever reunite with his family? Join him on his quest to learn more.

We loved the book and know you will like it too. We will be having a drawing for a signed copy of the book so just leave a comment to let us know you’d like to be entered. We will drawing on October 31st.

As I noted, this feline has a love of aviators and aviation so I decided to send my purrsonal assistant across the web to find stories of airports, airplanes and flight. Here are a few photos of me imagining myself as an aviator.

Please enjoy our aviation themed stories and don’t forget to enter the drawing for Burt’s book.

Cat lost for a month found in airport kitchen roof

Can you imagine being a feline who is lost in an airport for more than a month?!  This is the story about Ted, a black and white cat who went missing from his home, 6.4 kilometers ( about 4 miles) away from the Exeter airport. I wonder if this guy made as many friends as the hero in our book review, Burt did.

 I won’t make you wait to find out Ted’s fate, BBC news reports that he was found in the roof of a kitchen area at the airport. The staff heard meowing coming from the ceiling and were able to coax him  toward a place in the ceiling where they could get him out.    

 Evidently Ted climbed under the hood of a neighbors car to get away from the rain and  the car had taken off. His family was delighted and amazed that he was found safe.

 Ted was hungry and thirsty and the airport workers took care of him while attempting to find his family. They found a lost cat Facebook post about Ted by Cats Protection Exeter Axhayes Adoption Centre.

When Ted returned home he was skinny but he received a clean bill of health from his vet. Ted is back to his regular weight and now sports a tracker on his collar.

Do cats glide? Exploring the possibilities of feline flight

My readers know I’m not a feline that’s fond of “sciency” news but even I have to admit this is interesting. I’ll try to recap this article without too many scientific details.

You humans know that we felines are agile and graceful and sometimes, as we leap from one spot to another, it seems as though we are flying. 

Feline jumps

When we jump or leap, we use a combination of muscular power, instinct, and physics to propel ourselves into the air. First we crouch down, using our hind legs like a coiled spring. We then use our powerful leg muscles to push off the ground, launching ourselves into the air. When we’re flying through the air, we stretch our legs out and tuck our heads and tails in to reduce air resistance and increase speed. When we’re at the peak of our jump we arch our backs helping our back legs to stretch even further so we can gain more height and distance. All these moves are made possible by our skeletal structure that’s designed for flexibility and mobility.

Balancing with whiskers and tails

Believe it or not, our whiskers help us maintain balance and control while we’re in the air.  Our whiskers are incredibly sensitive to changes in air currents and can help us detect changes in speed and direction, while our tails act as rudders, allowing us to steer and adjust our trajectory mid-flight. All these things help us navigate with precision and accuracy.

Landing Safely

When we land we use a combination of muscular strength and instinct to absorb the impact and land safely on our feet. As we begin to approach the ground we use back legs to prepare for impact, tucking them under our body and extending our front legs. Then we land on our feet, now using our leg muscles to absorb the shock of impact and distribute it evenly throughout our body.

We felines are amazingly designed!

The History of Cats and Flight

Clearly we felines can’t fly like birds or bats, but mythology, folklore, literature, and popular culture have linked us with flight. This association can be traced back to ancient times when we cats were revered as sacred creatures with supernatural abilities.

In many cultures, cats are associated with magic and are believed to have supernatural powers, including the ability to fly. In ancient Egyptian mythology, the goddess Bastet was depicted with the head of a cat and was believed to be a protector of women and children, as well as a master of the skies, able to soar through the air at will.

The ancient Norse goddess Freyja was also associated with cats and was said to have a chariot pulled by two large cats. In Japanese folklore, the bakeneko is a cat that can transform into a human and fly through the air. These stories and beliefs have helped to cement the connection between cats and flight in popular culture.

Famous Flying Cats in Literature and Film

In literature and film, felines have been depicted as flying or gliding creatures, adding to our mystique and allure. One famous example is the character of Salem Saberhagen from the television show Sabrina the Teenage Witch, a black cat who was able to transform into a warlock and fly through the air.

The Cheshire Cat from Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland is another famous example of a flying cat. This mischievous feline disappears and reappears at will, often floating through the air with its signature grin.

True Stories of Cats Falling From Great  Heights

There are many cats who survived long falls because of their ability to absorb shock and land safely on their feet. In fact, cats have been known to survive falls from heights of up to 32 stories without suffering serious injuries. Meowza!

This ability is due to our flexible spine and inner ear, which help us to quickly orient ourselves in mid-air and land on our feet. Additionally, we cats have a natural instinct to spread out our bodies and create a larger surface area to slow our descent.

One famous example of a cat surviving a fall from great heights is that of a cat named “Lucky” who fell 26 stories from a high-rise building in New York City in 2013. Lucky suffered only minor injuries and was reunited with her owner after being rescued by a local animal shelter.

There is also the story of our very own Oliver who tells the tale of The Amazing Flying Kitten. This was the day he almost gave The Human a heart attack.

So there you go, we felines are amazingly graceful creatures and some humans have even been able to capture us in flight as you’ll see in the next story.

Airborne cats will fly into your heart in new photography book

Seth Casteel’s POUNCE, a coffee table book, features gorgeous photos of adorable airborne cats in a variety of settings. POUNCE is an addition to Casteel’s other books which include Underwater Babies and Underwater Puppies.

The cats in the photos are all from animal shelters and rescue groups in the U.S. and Canada. Every cat who modeled for the book was available for adoption or already rescued during the photoshoots.

“At the heart of the book is Casteel’s commitment to showcasing animals who are in need of human love, attention, and care yet who sadly have not always received it,” reads the the book’s press release.

This is a delightful, funny book, with more than 80 previously unpublished photographs that reveal adorable cats and kittens as they pounce and jump through the air, legs outstretched—all in Casteel’s signature up-close, mid-action style. We love this book and think it would be a great Christmas gift for the cat lover on your list.

Southwest Employees Help Lost Cat Who Escaped Carrier at Denver Airport Reunite with Her Owner

Oh Meowza, I have reported on too many cats who escaped the confines of their carriers to wander around airports. And here’s yet another one. Breezy, the Bengal cat escaped her carrier at the Denver International Airport.

Her human, Ginger Thompson from Washington explained what happened to FOX31. “They were getting me on the plane rushing me, and I set her down to get ready to put her under the seat, put my backpack up into the overhead bin, and was sort of jostled,” After escaping her carrier, the show cat fell between the plane door and jet bridge, landing on the tarmac below. Oh Meowza!!!

“I saw her fall, and she sort of tried to claw to stay up, but the momentum just took her down,” her human said. “And it wasn’t a jump or anything, it was more like just falling.”

Thompson shared news of Breezy’s scary situation on Facebook and included a heartfelt message in the update. “Breezy is more [than] a show kitty,” she wrote. “She and my other 2 are what keep me going.”

A friend of Thompson’s started a GoFundMe to help cover the cost of a hotel, so the distraught owner could stay near the airport while staff members searched for her missing cat.

After checking into the hotel, Thompson shared a screenshot of her text conversation with a Southwest ramp agent, who told her that “about a dozen” agents were actively searching for Breezy.

At the time, the Bengal cat had last been spotted “near some vents by [gate] C24” by the overnight crew, the agent said.

Two hours later, the worried owner shared another update. “It’s been a little over 24 hours [since] I lost Breezy. I’m going out of my mind worrying. Trying to be patient but laying here in the hotel waiting is killing me, and I’m losing any hope as each hour passes.”

“What has kept me going is all the support that is being offered and shown to get Breezy home,” she added.

A day into the search, Southwest employees found the show cat hiding in a ramp area at the airport.

“Breezy has been rescued,” Thompson wrote on Facebook. She went on to thank the entire Southwest crew for their “diligent efforts” to rescue her beloved cat “with care” — and shared that she would be offering them a reward for their hard work.

The owner also shared a photo of her text conversation with one of the crew members, who sent her a picture of the feline after she was discovered.

“Southwest ramp loves Breezy,” the employee texted Thompson, sharing a group selfie of the cat and the team that found her.

Thompson shared photos of Southwest employees’ successful search for Breezy, including a shot of the team holding flashlights.

“Southwest ramp crew are the best,” she wrote alongside the photos.

Thompson also shared snapshots from when Breezy was returned to her — including a selfie with the police officer who reunited them — and a photo of the show kitty licking her paw in the hotel room.

“Her chin is no [longer] bright white,” the owner wrote, adding that Breezy was “oily and greasy but safe.”

According to Thompson’s Facebook, she and Breezy are staying in Denver until the feline visits a veterinarian. Once the Bengal cat gets a clean bill of health, she and Thompson will return to Washington, where the owner’s other two kitties, Sammy and Beemer, await their return.

“They’re more than just show animals or pets,” Thompson told FOX31 of her furry friends. “They’re my family. They’re all I have.”

Two paws up to the good feline loving folks at Southwest!

15 Airlines That Allow Flying With Cats In Cabin

Ah, nothing like first class and a catnip martini.

The good folks at Pets that Travel published information for 2023 of airlines that warmly welcome felines inside the cabin. This is the best way for felines to travel, not in the luggage/cargo hold. The Human worked in the travel industry and she saw first-hand that this wasn’t the best option for kitties.

First, let me make clear that no matter how warmly an airline might welcome us felines in the cabin area, we are still supposed to stay in our carriers and the last time I checked, none of the airlines serve catnip martinis.

Here are the 15 airlines noted in the article as being in-cabin feline friendly.

  1. Aegean Airlines
  2. Air Canada
  3. Air Europa
  4. Air France
  5. Alaska Air
  6. American Airlines
  7. Delta
  8. French Bee
  9. JetBlue
  10. Lufthansa
  11. Southwest
  12. TUI Fly
  13. Turkish Airlines
  14. United Airlines
  15. Vueling

Some airlines allow humans to take two of their felines, some international carriers require the cat be microchipped and have an EU pet passport, that the cats must be no more than 11 inches tall and 18 inches long with most weight limits are 20 pounds and cats must be “well behaved” (no scratching, excessive whining or meowing, growling, biting or lunging)

Meowza some of these restrictions leave Oliver and I out of running as cat passengers. We’d each have to shave off 1 1/2 pounds and the no meowing and whining part would be a bit difficult too!

But, if your human thinks you’re in the running to be an inside-cabin passenger, check out the article to see what you need to do.

The Human Speaks – Cat Writer’s Association Interview

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“Don’t get used to it Human!”

The Human was recently interviewed for the Cat Writer’s Association blog. As it is our policy to limit the exposure she gets on our blog (it’s about cats not humans) we relented in this case as she does talk about us quite a bit.

We hope you enjoy getting to know our Human.

Who are the Cat Writers’ Association? Anita Aurit

Walk Through The Web Wednesday – 10/11

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Happy Furiends!
It’s a beautiful fall day in our neck of the woods and hope you’re enjoying the weather (whatever it is) in your neck of the woods.

This week The Human is giving a talk about judging and she decided to use Oliver as an example because he is one of the judgiest creatures she knows (Lily and I would agree)

I mean, look at that face and tell me he’s not judgy!

Oliver judges everyone and finds them wanting.

And of course, Oliver had something to say about my comment about his being judgy.

Okay, maybe he made his point. Lily has a tendency to be judgy too. She doesn’t sit in on the window sill just because she loves the view.

“I am not happy with this.”

And what is she judging and unhappy about? Can you tell?

Do you see what is making Lily unhappy ?

As for me, well I’m a go along to get along kind of guy and I really don’t understand why Lily and Oliver get their whiskers in such a twist.

“Really you two, you should just chill like me.”

Do I have any judgy furiends out there? Meow at me in the comments and let me know what you feel compelled to judge.

Scientists Discover Secrets of the Cat’s Purr

“Too bad you can’t hear me purring right now.”

Ah, I love how fascinated the scientific community is with felines. This feline says that part of our allure is our mystery but still, humans continually try to figure us out.

Now there is new research  suggesting our purr comes from a pad embedded in our vocal cords.  This is a new theory. The old theory said that purring happens when (to quote the sciency humans), “through a special mechanism, with cyclical contraction and relaxation of the muscles in the vocal folds within the larynx that requires constant control from the brain.”

The new sciency take is, “Anatomical investigations revealed a unique ‘pad’ within the cats’ vocal folds that may explain how such a small animal, weighing only a few kilograms, can regularly produce sounds at those incredibly low frequencies [20 to 30 Hz, or cycles per second] — far below even than lowest bass sounds produced by human voices,” researcher Christian Herbst, a voice scientist from the University of Vienna, said in a university news release.

The findings were published online Oct. 3 in the journal Current Biology and are said to be not an outright contradiction of the previous theory, but  a clear indicator that the understanding of cat purring is incomplete. Translation=we felines are still mysterious and you humans can’t completely figure us out.

Millions of cat owners prefer their feline friend’s company – to their partner’s

Lily and The Human hanging out together.

A recent study concluded that millions of cat owners prefer their feline friend’s company to their partner’s. The study polled over 1,000 humans who lived with cats and found 49 percent would rather spend time with their furry friend, and 53 percent choose to do so most of the time.And what activities do these humans purrfers to do with their felines? The winners were taking a nap, sharing a cuddle, and watching TV.  Then there was the 31 percent said they’d even rather share their duvet with their cat.

And a quarter of all respondents enjoy a snuggle more with their feline friend, while 47 percent also revealed they find their pet less irritating.

Another interesting factoid from the study was that three-quarters of owners speak to their cat more than once a day – with 23 percent confiding in their pet with information they’d never share with anyone else. Well DUH! The Human always says hello when she comes home and she says we are the best confidants in her life. I can’t tell you the traumas we’ve purred her through!

More than half the humans (51 percent) believe their own personality matches that of their cat – with affection, character, and friendliness the top traits desired.

And 31 percent said they look for the same type of traits in a pet as they do in a partner.

A third (33 percent) even think there are moments their other half gets jealous of the attention their pet receives over them.

The top reasons these humans would recommend getting a feline friend were companionship, improved mental health, and the unconditional love they give you.

And the main advice they’d provide would be to keep the litter box clean, adopt from a rescue, and keep them regularly checked over by the vet.

So there you go humans. If you’re feeling the lack of love in your life, maybe a visit to the shelter to find a feline soul mate will do the trick!

Cat lady celebrated for bringing litter box on airplane

My regular readers know how fascinating I find stories of traveling cats. Now, TikToker @wifiadventure shows the adventures of a cat named Wi-Fi, and his human’s travels even on plane trips.  

In her latest video, she shows how she brought a litter box for the cat to use on a flight to Japan.

The video, has 1 million views and 109,300 likes as of last week, and was titled, “Challenge #1: ‘Use the litter box on the flight to Japan.’” She reported his adventure this way; “It took some time for Wi-Fi to stretch and get adjusted to how loud the bathrooms are. The changing table was helpful because the ground is the loudest part & he felt trapped (cats like high places). We had our portable litter box, bag, scoop, crate, and of course the litter. Who knew learning how to take my cat to Japan could be so simple.”Many people commented in praise of the use of the litter box, in addition to how well her feline friend behaved on the plane. But there were others who weren’t so enamored of the plane litter box.  “really cool to use the bathroom afterwards if you’re allergic,” someone snarked.

If you’re wondering about how WiFi was allowed on the plane, there are different policies regarding cats on aircraft. Most require a health certificate from a veterinarian. There are more rules for international flights and some carriers refuse to allow felines to travel internationally in the cabin.

Whether your feline would make a good flying partner will depend on the cat’s personality, how nervous he is and his health. You should always take your feline for a vet visit before you consider an in-cabin trip.

Sorry, dog lovers — cat fans are smarter than you

“Hey humans, get smart and get a cat!”

Aaaaaaand, here’s some more feline positive research. This research is from the University of Texas who have suggested that cat lovers show more mental prowess than dog lovers — and get this, it’s a result that has been reported by other researchers.

“One source characterized ‘the canine person’ as loyal, direct, kind, faithful, utilitarian, helpful, and a team player and ‘the feline person’ as graceful, subtle, independent, intelligent, thoughtful, and mysterious,” the Texas research stated. (Note, The Human purrticularily liked the graceful, intelligent and mysterious descriptions). She was less fond of the finding from the research that cat lovers were especially prone to neuroticism as well.

A Turkish documentarian, Ceyda Torun, observed a similar phenomenon with the psyche of owners while making a film on cats — pinpointing one particular trait in kitty parents.

“Their capacity for philosophical thought and introspection,” she told The Guardian. “It didn’t matter where they were from, or what level of education they had. You could see it in their eyes. They had that flicker of light. The light was on.”

Torun also said that loving cats often coincides with a person’s creativity and impression of beauty.

“There is something very aesthetically pleasing about a cat,” she added. “That’s why most artists are drawn to cats. Painters and poets tend to have relationships with cats, rather than dogs. Any feline of any size has this graceful athleticism, this prowess, this physical superiority that you can sense.”

But what exactly makes loving a cat so different?

As Robert de Niro said in “Meet the Parents”: “A dog is very easy to break, but cats make you work for their affection.”

And that sentiment is corroborated by the editor-in-chief of “Your Cat“ magazine, James Buzzel.

“They aren’t desperate to please you,” he told The Guardian. “So when they do come and sit on your lap, it’s an absolute honor.”

Despite the many positive findings, this feline still feels that the study continued to perpetrate some of the bogus ideas that people have about cats including coldness, shallowness of attachment…all a bunch of hooey!

Hong Kong’s shop cats on display at photography exhibition from beloved Instagram account

Ah, I love the working cat and now there is a  photo exhibition in Hong Kong that captures the whimsical life of shop cats in Sheung Wan and Sai Ying Pun, telling heartwarming stories about local merchants and their beloved feline shop assistants.

The Shop Cats of Sheung Wan and Sai Ying Pun Photography Exhibition can be seen at the hotel Mini Central until October 16. The exhibit features 18 photographs – paired with playful captions in English and Chinese – of cat shopkeepers taken by Erica, a Hong Kong photographer. Twelve of these photos can be found on postcards available for purchase.

“The theme of this exhibition is my favourite shop cats … a personal selection of those that hold a special place in my heart,” said the photographer, who started the well-liked Instagram page Sheung Wan Cats in 2020. The page has amassed over 23,600 followers and has around 1,200 posts featuring stray and shop cats in the two western district neighborhoods.

One of the photos features Fei Zai, a tabby reclining on a paper box at a dried seafood shop. Fei Zai made his first modeling appearance in the book Shop Cats of Hong Kong. He is a former stray that was abandoned in a park and then adopted by the dried seafood shop owner who hired him to keep the premises rat free. Fei Zai became a local celebrity and garnered quite a fan base.

The photo exhibit is a way to capture Hong Kong’s market culture and the wonderful felines that are an integral part of that culture.

The photo exhibition will run until October 16 from 11am to 9pm at Mini Central, 38 Ice House Street, Central. Entry is free.