Walk Through The Web Wednesday 11/21

Hello  Furiends,
As The Tribe of Five reflects on this Thanksgiving eve we are so thankful for the brave firefighters who risk so much to save humans and animals. We are praying for all the people in California who have lost so much in the recent fires. We’ve had too many fires close to us and we understand how terrible they are. God bless the brave men and women who work to keep us safe and to all two-legged and four legged who have been affected by these devastating fires you are in our hearts. 

A happy ending for this kitty and his humans caught in the California wildfires. God bless our firefighters!

Purrs & Head Bonks,

Siamese cat with blue eyes

Happy Reunion from California Wildfires

This video will warm your heart. This man lost his home and his possessions but he never gave up on his cat. He is thankful and amazed that the feline named Mike survived the fires. “We found the cat,” said Patterson tearfully as he holds onto Mike in the video. “My kitty made it.” Let’s hope there are many more happy stories of reunions like this!


Updates To Twitter’s “Cat Dad” Include A Cat Calendar

Last spring I featured this human one of my Wednesday web wanderings. He found the kittens in his closet and became a cat daddy by accident. He’s been keeping the world updated about the kittens and the Mama cat and now he’s even producing a calendar! So humans, if you find a litter of kittens in your closet just go with he flow and make the best out of it!


This Saskatoon art exhibit is the cat’s meow — literally

Meowza! This stroke of brilliance at The Bridges Art Movement’s (BAM) new exhibit in Saskatoon is purrfect!  Each Saturday — or Caturday — until Dec. 1, there is an installation inspired by cats, for cats, featuring real, live cats. 

The exhibit, “The Cat’s Meow”  was inspired by a partnership with a local shelter to use the exhibit as a conduit for cat adoption.  The exhibit is full of cat-themed art, paintings, sculptures, functional furniture for cats, and a cat jungle gym with ramps, tubes and shelves. Each Caturday Sshow, will feature  three cats or kittens in the gallery that are up for adoption.

New Study Says Your Cat’s Personality is Likely to Match Yours

Now I’m not to sure that all of the Tribe of Five have purrsonalities similar to our Male and Female Human but who am I to question science?  

In this study, researchers used a previously developed test in order to measure five personality traits in cats, known (as the “Feline Five”: friendliness, spontaneity, dominance, neuroticism, and extroversion. 126 participants — 11 men, 115 women — completed surveys that assessed their cats on each of these qualities, ranking the accuracy of statements including, “My cat challenges the usual dominance order with other cats/people in the household,” and “My cat moves frequently e.g. often walks, runs, stalks.”

Theresearchers concluded that owners are drawn to cats who mirror theirpersonalities, or are more likely to keep a cat who’s similar to them.”Dominant cats are greedy, defiant, and aggressive and bullying towardspeople/other cats, which could be attractive to potential owners who havesimilar tendencies in their own social interactions,” they suggested.”Impulsive cats are excitable and erratic, which could be pleasing toimpulsive owners.” Now I am seriously wondering if thesereseatchers are cat people as the personality descriptions they use are a bitoff-putting. So what do you think? Do your traits mirror your humans?


Ask a Vet: Which Thanksgiving Foods Are Safe for Cats?

If you live with any felines that beg for human food (we do, although I won’t mention any names (Tucker, Oliver)) you will definitely want to read this article to make sure that the food your feline is begging for from the Thanksgiving table is not detrimental to their health. For instance, turkey can be okay if you stay with lean pieces and even gravy, although not optimum isn’t deadly. Mashed potatoes, especially those made with 
garlic, onions and shallots can cause Heinz body anemia in cats. Our Female Human keeps some of our favorite cat-approved treats for occasions just like Thanksgiving and Christmas which is probably the best idea. 

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 11/14

siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

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

Siamese cat with blue eyes

Determined Art Loving Cats Sneak into Museum

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

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

This Very Important Cat Painting Sold For $800K

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 10/31

siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

Hello There Furiends!
It’s been quite busy at the Feline Opines offices and we are way, way behind in reading and commenting on the blogs of all our fellow feline bloggers. But, we have our purrsonal assistant on the job and she should have us caught up soon. A-pawlogies for our lateness!

I hope you all had a chance to see our Halloween movie. Let us know what you thought. We’ll be having a give-away for some Feline Opines merchandise soon so stay tuned!
Purrs & Head Bonks,
Siamese cat with blue eyes

Petcurean announces call for submissions for national Uplift the Underdog: Cat Edition contest to raise awareness for overlooked, adoptable shelter cats – Cision

Petcurean  Underdog Cat Edition

Sometimes the big hearts of humans just overwhelms me. This is one such case. As part of its commitment to putting pets first, premium pet food manufacturer, Petcurean, is pleased to announce the “Uplift the Underdog: Cat Edition” contest.  The program’s goal is to help increase adoption consideration for “underdog cats” – cats who are traditionally less likely to get adopted due to age, medical challenges, appearance, or other issues. The contest is open to all rescue groups and animal shelters across the United States and Canada now through November 16, 2018. Two Paws up for Petcurean!

Historic Cat Photos – Popular Photography

Morris the cat orange tabby

I know that National Cat Day was two days ago but this article celebrating the fabulous feline in history is worth a share. The photo here is of Morris, that very famous feline during one of his purrress conferences.

Nine Photos of Military Troops With Cats – Business Insider

ww ii pilot with cat on his shoulder

This is another delightful walk through history in celebration of National Cat Day.

Poorly Drawn Cats on Twitter, It’s a Thing – Mashable

 

poorly drawn cats

Okay, no offense intended to the artists but meowza, this is a thing??!! If these folks are making money from this we need to get our Human Slackers on the ball and do some drawing because trust me, they would be experts at poorly drawn cats, poorly drawn dogs…and the list goes on!

Unlike Lazy Humans, Cats Actually Have to Work for Their Food Study Says – The Frisky

gray and white cat at dry food bowl

And speaking of Human Slackers, this new study says that we felines prefer to work for our food. The Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery found that, as natural foragers, cats greatly enjoy “food puzzles” or tricky feedinhg set-ups that require us to work for our food.  Now I can say for myself that I love the food puzzles. Our Alpha Tucker would much rather be served his food than have to forage !

 

 

 

 

 

Tucker Opines on Treats, Black Cats and Watching TV Alone.

Hi There Furiends,
Tucker here. I’ll be doing the fill-ins this week. The Friday Fill Ins are a wonderful blog hop and you can hop on over to the host’s blogs and enter. Just visit 15AndMeowing or Four-Legged Furballs  and add your fill in answers. Of course, you are always welcome to opine about your answers in our comment section.

Purrs & Head Bonks,
Tucker_SigInChair

Here are this week’s fill ins:

1. _______________________ is an awful _______________________.

2.  I always read __________________________ sections of the newspaper.

3. Black cats _________.

4. _________ is my favorite treat.

Here are my answers:

1. Sitting by myself with no one to cuddle with when the Humans watch the moving picture box is an awful way to spend an evening!

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2.  I always read zero sections of the newspaper. I have no idea what a newspaper is because our Humans are geeks and they get all their news on those flat tablet thingies that we play “Jitterbug” on.  The photo below is Alberto playing Jitterbug, I find the game a bit childish for an Alpha to play. 
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3. Black cats are absolutely pawsome! Check out some of these amazing black cat photos.

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4. Any treat is my favorite treat. Some cats eat to live, I live to eat. Every night when The Female Human comes home, I seat myself at the counter awaiting my before dinner treat, followed by my after dinner treat.

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Walk Through The Web Wednesday 10/24

siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

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

Purrs & Head Bonks,

Siamese cat with blue eyes

Awesome Cat Saves Owner From House Fire – The Frisky

tabby saves owner from fire

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

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

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

tabby cat actor in pet sematary

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

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

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

cat sleeping on miniature furniture made for felines

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

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

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

Tabby Cat in fancy cardboard box

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

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

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

 

 

 

 

 

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

tiny kitten dropped in tree by hawk

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Never underestimate the power of even one little rescue cat!

 

 

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

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 9/26

siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

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

 

 

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

enlight2

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

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

The Best Mewsic Ever! Bongo Cat – Kotaku
bongo cat

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

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

man naps with cats at shelter

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

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

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

 

 

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

 

Walk Through the Web Wednesday 9/19

siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

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

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

trucker saves dog and cats during hurricane Florence

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

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

cat-finds-drugs_759_getty

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

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

hawaiian cat sanctuary

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

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

Pastor Rescues Cats And Dogs Left Behind During Florence – HuffPost

saving pets in hurricane Florence

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

Ten Famous Authors and Their Cats – Publisher’s Weekly

helen gurley brown and siamese cat

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