Category Archives: cats

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 2/14

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siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

Hello Friends,
Alberto here with my weekly purrrusal of the web. I hope you enjoy this week”s stories and Happy Valentine’s Day. Also, one note. My purrsonal assistant did not have access to her usual technology today so, if the formatting is a bit wonky, she asks that you bear with her. (It’s hard to find good help these days, sigh).

Siamese cat with blue eyes

Nine of the World’s Hardest Working Cats – Mother Nature Network

 Finally more of you humans are getting wise to one of my favorite subjects…working cats. I found some new listings in this article. The cat above works security in a warehouse. There’s a gym cat and my favorite, the weather cat. You humans need to explore the full potential of your felines. We’re quite talented you know.

 

Poodle Cats are a Breed – Romper

 My readers know I and the rest of The Tribe of Five, are adamant proponents of adoption so this “breed”. thing isn’t something I usually talk about, This one is interesting though because thought the only poodles were canines. And, these curly kitties came from great stock, a feral cat in Montana, whose litter included one very curly haired kitten.

A Persian breeder adopted the kitten and named her “Miss DePesto” after a curly haired television character and the rest, is hiss-story.

Cats on Glass NYC Pop Up for a Good Cause – Lonely Planet

All you feline lovers in NYC rejoice! This event isn’t only cool, it’s for a good cause. Each room in the pop-up exhibit will feature an element of cats and an element of glass. There will be a live “Cats on Glass Playhouse” too! The pop-up will feature a “larger-than-life cat display”, a yarn pom-pom room, a meditation room with the sounds of cats purring and more. If you’re truly interested in bringing a kitty into your family, you can play with cats that can be adopted. And donations will be taken for the Humane Society of New York.

Sometimes You Don’t Even Have to Do Anything to Be a Famous Feline – People

Meet Paws the Cat, a Minnesota feline with 28furry digits and now included in the Guinness book of world records. Meowza, I bet he can make those furry toy mice fly! Paws is. Polydactyl feline. Sometimes these cats are called Hemmingway cats because the author kept a tribe of extra toed kitties at his Florida home.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Larry The Number 10 Downing Street Cat Terrible at Rodent Control – Mirror.co

Purrhaps this piece should be called, “Cats in danger of losing their jobs” Seems the British PM is no great fan of Larry and recently exterminators had to be called in to 10 Downing Street to deal with the vermin problem.

 The mirror reports that, “…the brown and white tabby is often found sleeping in the street or, at his most energetic, fighting with other Westminster felines, including the Foreign Office’s cat Palmerston.” Larry, my friend, you’d better check your contract or you might be looking for a new job!

Friendly Fill Ins Week # 92

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Well Hello There,
Tucker here. I’m doing the fill ins this week. I hope you enjoy my answers. It’s always fun to read what others have to say so you can join the fill in blog hop at McGuffy’s Reader, respond to the fill-in questions at the co-host site with our furrends 15andmeowing or leave your answers in the comments on my posts. 
Purrs & Head Bonks,
TuckieSig

Here are the Fill Ins for the Week: 

1. The Winter Olympics ____________________.

2. I think the most romantic movie (or book) is ___________________________.

3. Recently, I had an odd experience when                            .

4. I believe that love                           .

 

Here are my answers: 

1. The Winter Olympics should include an “If It Fits I Sits” event.
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2. I think the most romantic movie  is A Street Cat Named Bob
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3. Recently I had an odd experience when I discovered that The Female Human wrote a story in Chicken Soup for the Cat Lover’s Soul called “All My Children Wear Fur Coats” and the story is about me and The Tribe of Five!
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4. I believe that love is important for everyone, kitties, woodland creatures, humans and all of creation.
TuckRaccoon_Valentines

Walk Through the Web Wednesday 2/7

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Happy Wednesday My Friends,
Alberto here, purrusing the best of the feline web. I hope you enjoy this week’s stories.
Purrs & Head Bonks,
Siamese cat with blue eyes

CatVideos

Microsoft Says it’s True: Cat Videos Distract Workers – Bloomberg

BOY do I have my whiskers in a twist over this one! Now humans are blaming adorable feline antics for a decrease in work productivity! Interesting that there is nothing mentioned about dog videos. Could this be a purrlitical ploy by the canine party? Methinks I smell a rat!

MathCat

Science Says Dogs Can’t Count but Cats Might, While Frogs and Chickens are Math Whizzes – People Pets

Hah, take THAT canines!  Oops, sorry, I’m still a bit annoyed by the last story. Still, it’s nice to have science confirm what you already knew.  Of course, the human scientists don’t give a full testimonial for felines. They even make the snarky comment “…they are so difficult to control in a lab environment…”   “…only if they feel like it…”  Seriously, humans, do you really want to perpetuate old stereotypes about felines?

At least they did make some scientific observations, stating that “Apparently when the cats did decide to cooperate, they were as good at mathematical tests as fish..but these “good trials” were few and far between.” Answer me this human scientists, how come every one of the Tribe of Five know when it’s breakfast and dinner time, even when those silly humans change to and from that daylight savings thing?

Hmph, now my whiskers are in a twist again. I need to find a nice, feel good story next.

IcelandCat

Reykjavík Catwalk: A Brief History Of Cats In Iceland – Grapevine

Okay, this one calmed me down and was a very nice history lesson.  Cats may have been imported to Iceland but we’ve been there for quite a while, the estimate is that we were brought there sometime from 870-930.  At that time, cats were already very popular in Nordic countries (how enlightened they were).

Evidently there are more cats in cities than in the country and this article says that might be because you have to apply for permission to keep a dog in many municipalities and then dog owners must pay a yearly fee. There are no fees for cat ownership.  So if you’re planning on moving to Iceland, kitty will be welcome anywhere but be prepared to fill out some paperwork if your canine is coming along!

CricketCat

Whiskers in the Workplace, More Cats With Careers – BBC

Since the BBC did such a purrfect job of featuring working cats last week and, since this is one of my favorite subjects I thought this one needed to be included this week.  Now Cricket Cats were completely new to me, as is cricket. But any game where a ball gets tossed back and forth works for me. And of course this is why the sport holds a fascination for felines.

The feline above,  named Brian loves to hang out at the Somerset Country Cricket Club. “The handsome chap patrols the grounds and enjoys the ebb and flow of a county match.”

One of the most famous Cricket cats was Peter, the Lord’s cat, also known as the Marylebone Mog, who lived at the famous cricket ground in London from 1952 to 1964.  When he crossed the Rainbow Bridge,  he became the only animal to be given an obituary in the Wisden almanac. The obituary described him as a well-known cricket-watcher who could often be seen prowling on the field of play; that he loved publicity and frequently appeared on the television.

 

CryptoKitties

“CryptoKitties” is now coming to your phone—with new Chinese cats – Quartz

Do your humans mumble something about “bitcoin” or “crypto currency”? This has had no meaning nor did it create any interest with The Tribe of Five. Until we heard about  KryptoKitties ,

Evidently this is a community where you can collect and breed virtual cats. Since the game was launched in late November, players have spent $19 million on this network.  Meowza, that kind of money would buy a ton of cat nip, treats and fancy feline furniture!

 

Now CryptoKitties is about to get a lot bigger as it as a mobile phone app will be released in China, then Singapore and then globally after the China launch.

Players buy and sell digital kittens in a marketplace, and rent them out for breeding or have their own cats breed. Each cat comes with a specific set of attributes, and the rarest ones can get extremely expensive. So far the most valuable cat in the game changed hands in December for $110,000, according to CryptoKitties Sale.

Now , let me remind you that nothing beats the furry love a REAL kitty brings to your life and seriously, if you have $110,000.00 to spend on a virtual cat why not take that cash and donate it to your local shelter? You humans are really hard to figure out sometimes.

 

 

Lucky Cats!

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Hello Folks,
Oliver Here. We had a great surpurrrise last week. Several weeks ago we sent the Female Human over to our friends Dezi and Raena at Deziz World.  Much to our surprise and delight they were having a drawing for a pawsome prize and so we ordered….err…requested that our Purrsonal Assistant enter us. And guess what, we won! Here is a little glimpse into the excitement of the day the gift arrived.

Purrs & Head Bonks,
close up of Siamese cat and black and white cat faces

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“What is this box and what exactly is “Art of Paws”? Human, please open this receptacle and allow us to inspect it. ”

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Tucker: “Step back everyone, allow me, your Alpha to inspect this box. Hmm, looks okay, proceed little felines.”

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“Meowza, this is a bit of a tight fit for me!”

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“Alberto, any tips for figuring out this thing?

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“I think you’re supposed to sit in it this way, Oliver. Still not much room though.”

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“Hey Humans, what is this thing? Not too much room in here even after you take out that soft fuzzy item!”

“Finally, the humans removed the intrusive items inside the box. Now with a few adjustments, I can just fit.”

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The Human Opines: “Thank you Dezi and Raena   and Art of Paws for this beautiful dark wood cat shelf and the soft sheepskin winter cover. Once we have it installed, The Tribe of Five will will appreciate it even more.”

“This beautiful product from Art of Paws fits in with any decor and is quite elegant. Noted below is a photo of the mounted shelf and a feline who looks very comfy and  happy.
Siamese cat resting on Art of Paws wall shelf

Friendly Fill Ins Week #91

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We’re getting quite fond of these weekly fill ins. This week we’re doing something a bit different and each of the The Tribe of Five will be contributing to the fill ins. We hope you enjoy our answers. You can join this blog hop at McGuffy’s Reader, or head on over to the Fill In co-host, our friends at 15andmeowing.  You are always welcome to share your fill in answers in the comments section of our post as well.

Here are this week’s fill ins:

1. Trust________________.
2. I would protest _____________________.
3. I have                  since                .

4. Right now, I                   .

Here are our answers:

1.Trust me (Oliver)  to find all the heating vents in the house and maximize the heat coming out of each one. This is one of my favorites, in the kitchen.

 


2.I would protest if we (Tucker and Lily) were not allowed enough room on the sofa to cuddle. You can see I (Tucker) am feeling a bit cramped even in the space I’m allowed. 

 

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3.I (Jasmine) have served as nurse to the Humans ever since I was a kitten. Here I am standing on the Female Human’s chest to ensure she’s breathing during a recent bout with the flu..

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4.Right now I (Alberto)  am guarding this puzzle thing that the relative of the Humans so foolishly decided to assemble (and attempt to protect) on my dining room table. Are there little pieces of this puzzle on the floor? I’ll let you be the judge.
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Walk Through the Web Wednesday 1/31

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siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

Hello There My Friends,
Alberto here taking my weekly meander through the pathways and byways of the Internet highway. I hope you enjoy this weeks finds.
Purrrs & Head Bonks,

Siamese cat with blue eyes

PurrAGain

Rock Photographer Holds Auction to Benefit Kitten Krazy Cat Shelter – Cleveland Scene

I normally steer clear of purrlitical things (unless my brother Oliver is running for Purresident) .  This purrlitical statement is for an excellent cause and I think every human should have one of these shirts. The world would be much better off we felines could get it to purr!  A local Cleveland rock photographer supports the Kitten Crazy Cat Shelter every year by auctioning off his amazing rock star concert photos and a nifty special logo t-shirt. You don’t have to live in Cleveland to bid on the amazing photos or buy one of the t-shirts. (I’m sending the Female Human over to get one!)

BlaxkCatBuster

Black Cats Shunned For Purrfect Selfies -BBC.com

A recent BBC article states that black cats are being shunned by potential owners because they don’t “show well” in selfies. I think this is ridiculous! We celebrated National Black Cat Awareness last month and sang the praises of beautiful black felines. (Note the photo of our handsome former Tribe member Buster).

The Moggery in Bristol is offering free neutering for black cats and other shelters offer this as well to help raise adoptions for black felines.

The RSPCA says it sees more black and black and white cats come into it’s care than any other color of felines. We recently did an interview with Whisky, The Tuxedo Cat who told us about this problem as well. The RSPCA said on average it takes at least 10 days longer to rehome a black cat or black and white compared to a ginger one. Now this needs to stop humans! If you’ve never had a black or black and white cat in your home, you are definitely missing out. Just ask our Male and Female humans, and our Tribe member Oliver!

 

KittenBowl

Kitten Bowl V -Sunday, Feb. 4, 2081 – Hallmark Channel

Get ready folks, it’s time for one of my favorite feline events…The Kitten Bowl! You don’t have to wait until Sunday to enjoy all the pregame festivities.  Check out all the players (or catletes) and watch video from last year’s Kitten Bowl. The best part of his event is that all these kittens from various shelters find furever homes after purrticipating.

 

HunterCats

Monster Hunter Cat Game is Confusing Cats in The Real World – Nerdlist

Dear Humans, we felines love technology but when you freak us out with it, well that’s quite another story. Capcom’s recently released a game called Monster Hunter: World that features some feline-like sidekicks called Palicos, who communicate via meows. Japanese gamers are capturing some very amusing pictures and videos of their cats getting freaked out by the sounds coming from their screens. Humans, you’ve had your laugh, now stop it!

sailor

Bureaucats: The felines with official positions – BBC.com

Oh how I love stories about felines with jobs (I’ve featured many stories of professional pussy cats in my Wednesday wanderings). This article wraps many of the more famous bureocats into a nice package, Post Office Cats, Police Cats, military cats and more. Don’t miss these stories,. Did you know that by WWII almost every British ship had a cat or that In 1868 three cats were formally employed as mousers at the Money Order Office in London?  And don’t forget the star cats, a beautiful white cat named Arthur was the furry face of Spillers cat food for nearly 10 years from 1966, scooping Kattomeat from the tin into his mouth. He was such a star the brand was later renamed Arthur’s in his honor.

Friendly Fill Ins # 90

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Hello My Friends,
Oliver here. I’m doing Fill Ins this week. I hope you enjoy my answers. If you want to join the blog hop you can hop on over to McGuffy’s Reader  or co-hosts, our friends at 15andmeowing. If you prefer, you can add your fill ins in the comments for this post as well.
Purrs & Head Bonks,
black and white cat Oliver

The Fill Ins:

1. The flu shot ______________________.

2. I think everyone should take ____________________ daily.

3. I (almost) always                     , because                        .

4. I (almost) never                         because                                 

 

My Fill In Answers:

Oliver from the Tribe of Five with Dr. Ponsness at Pend Oreille Veterinary Service

1.The flu shot doesn’t sound like something I would want but when I go the the place of the white coats I’m never afraid. That’s because they are “fear free” which means they do everything, even designing the building to help their visitors feel comfortable, safe and not on edge. Alberto and I opined about this place in our post, Oliver and Alberto Get Fearless. 

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2.I think everyone should take a chill pill daily.  This is me, chillin’ along the wide window sill behind the sofa. I think if humans chilled a little more there would be less nasty comments on social media, fewer family arguments and less road rage. Take a chill pill folks, it will do you good!

black and white cat sleeping under a red blanket
3. I (almost) always enjoy sleeping under the down blanket on the sofa in the winter, because it’s warm and cozy but a bit of a bummer when a human doesn’t see me and sits on top of me!

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4. I (almost) never sleep alone because it’s much more pleasant (and warm) to have a human or another feline to cuddle with.

Thankful for …Cuddle Buddies

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3 cats sleeping on a sofa

Hello All,
Oliver here. The Tribe of Five have so much to be thankful for that I decided I’d jump on over to Brian’s Home and his Thankful Thursday Blog Hop.

I am thankful for cuddles. Our Tribe is made up of adopted kitties. The oldest, Alpha Tucker (he’s the one in the middle), his sister Jasmine, Lily and my brother Alberto and myself. You’ll never see a photo of all five of us snuggled together but I love this photo because it shows how well this diverse group of felines get along. Alberto and I are the newest Tribe members and we’re accepted and loved by all the other felines.

Cuddles are great and love, acceptance and adoption are even better!

Purrs & Head Bonks,

black and white cat Oliver

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 1/24

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Hello All,
Alberto here strolling down the internet highway to bring you the best in feline happenings. I hope  you enjoy this week’s compilation.
Purrs & Head Bonks,
Siamese cat with blue eyes

Betty Boo, the Feline Hair Salon Employee – Yahoo Lifestyle

tabby cat in Melbourne hair salon

Those of you who follow my Wednesday wanderings know how much I love stories about cats with jobs. I prefer to find felines with unusual professions and Betty Boo fits the bill. If you happen to visit the BABAR Hair Studio in Melbourne, Australia you can meet their purrfect employee, Betty Boo. Her photo is featured on their website and they make sure you know Betty is part of their customer service team. Their website says, “At BABAR Hair we love what we do. We create professional salon results, in a relaxed, easy atmosphere: where good old fashioned hospitality with a glass of wine or beer, a coffee and biscotti, a cuddle from our salon cat and choosing your own vinyl (if you’re not digging our cool tunes already!) are all part of the experience…”

Not everyone finds a visit to the hair salon as a relaxing experience and Betty caters to the more nervous clients. Betty will sit on your lap or even sleep on you while you’re having a shampoo. And if that wasn’t enough, Betty is an opining feline on her own blog, aptly named “Betty’s Blog”.  Betty is definitely my kind of kitty!

Cats Can Be Right Or Left Pawed – SmithsonianMag.com

Siamese Cat Alberto from Feline Opines

Have you ever bothered to watch which paw your cat uses when they knock things off of counters or tap you oh-so-gently to wake you up? You may want to look next time because according to researchers at the Animal Behavior Centre at Queen’s University in Belfast, after analyzing data collected on 44 cats, 20 females and 24 males of all variety of felines, the researchers concluded that cats, unlike humans who are overwhelmingly right-handed, did not have an overall preference for a certain paw. Individual cats did display what they called “handedness” and certain paws were selected for taking the first step down a flight of stairs, snagging a treat or stepping into the litter box.  There are a lot more interesting tidbits in the article. You can see me above, exhibiting that I am ambi-pawderous when it comes to doing my blog posts.

Cats Get Their Own Violin Concert in this Animated Short – Nerdist

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Combine a famous violinist (Augustin Hadelich) and animation and you get a great little movie about music loving cats. Fantasia dei Gatti is an animated short film that features the violinist giving a concert to felines. What happens next? Well you’ll just have to watch the video to find out!

 Cat Brings Her Human a Gift Every Morning – MetroUK
LeafCat

Baloo the cat had a shaky start with her human. Adopted by Ben and his now ex-girlfriend, they returned Baloo when they felt they weren’t ready to have a cat in their life. They quickly realized they made a mistake and hurried to get Baloo back. Baloo, a cat to realize how lucky she is, is closely bonded to Ben. She began to bring him presents, birds, mice, etc and drop them on his chest in the morning. After Ben impressed upon her that half dead creatures were not gifts he greatly appreciated, she began bringing him leaves. When Ben showed his appreciation for the leaf gifts, the morning gifts became a regular routine. Now Baloo can show her love and gratitude and Ben doesn’t have to fear his morning gifts.

Felines Bringing People Together in Turkey – The Guardian 

Turkey

Selem is a resident of historic Istanbul. He puts up with the tourists that push their way through the crowds and demand a photo op with him. Selim enjoys hanging out in his shop, a leather store called Moria. Selem is a cat. Selem and the other cats in historic Istanbul much prefer their independent, cushy street life but when winter comes they are forced to endure the care of humans. Winter cat houses appear all over to accommodate these pampered pussy cats.

Turkey is a nation struggling with national identity, divisions about religion, secularism and ethnicity but there is one thing that does unite the Turks and that is their love of cats. Someone once said that the only thing an Islamist, a secularist and a socialist could agree on was the punishment of anyone who harmed a cat. I never realized that we felines were such unifying creatures. I think I should start a group, Felines for World Peace and make the Turkish cats the leaders.

Friendly Fill Ins # 89

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Hello Folks Alberto Here,
Friday is becoming one of our favorite days with The Tribe of Five and there is always some quibbling about who gets to opine. I’m the lucky winner this week. I hope you enjoy my responses and, as always, I encourage my fellow bloggers to join the blog hop with our friends, 15andmeowing or McGuffy’s Reader.

And of course, you’re always welcome to do the fill ins in the comments on our blog.

‘Hope you enjoy my mewsical mewsings this week.
Purrs & Head Bonks,
Alberto
Siamese cat with blue eyes

Here are the fill ins:

1. I have never been able to _____________________.

2. I wish I could still ___________________.

3.  ____ is my ideal winter night.
4.                      and                      .

 

Here are my answers:

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1. I have never been able to understand why the male human insists on changing his guitar strings upstairs and not in his music room. What’s a cat to do when those tantalizing strings bounce back and forth in front of me? This is a form of feline torture.

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2. I wish I could still sneak into the the male human’s music room but he has figured out a way to lock the doors so I can’t get in. And alas, all my sad expressions do not convince him to let me in.

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3.  Strumming a few tunes with my human is my ideal winter night.
4.Oliver and I are quite the mewsicians!