Walk Through the Web Wednesday 5/2

siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

Hello Furiends,
Phew am I tired from that April A-Z blogging challenge. It was great fun though and The Tribe of Five will be purrticipating next year.

The snow around our house is finally gone and evidently mating season is over because so is that pesky woodpecker. The Humans will need to come up with a new solution before woodpecker dating season starts next year!

Here are my web wanderings for the week,
Purrs & Head Bonks
Siamese cat with blue eyes

7 Meyers-Briggs Types That Are Most Likely To Be Cat People-Bustle

MeyersBriggs

Now if you’re scratching your head and asking, “Who are Meyers-Briggs” you probably don’t live with a fiction writer.  The Female Human always runs her characters through these tests when she starts a book. After reading this article I must confess, I might suggest the Female Human find another personality test for her characters because Psychology Today says that the Meyers-Briggs types that are classic cat people tend to be overwhelmingly introverted. Meowza! These folks have never met the Female Human. There is absolutely nothing introverted about her! And I don’t care that Psychology today did two studies to confirm this. I hiss at their study and suggest that the folks who did these studies are not cat people! What do my feline and human friends think about this? Any extrovert, cat loving humans out there?

Now as to the traits that certain Meyers-Briggs like about cats, I have no argument with that. What traits do you like best about your feline friends?

Pizza Cat – Eat Meow – ToledoBlade.com

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The title of this pizza place definitely got my attention. The Pizza  Cat (and their new establishment, The Pizza Kitten) give a shout out to feline lovers with their name and market branding and to that I say, a job well done. What do cat’s and pizzas have in PizzaCatcommon? Not that much, but the name (and evidently the pies according to the review in this article) attracts attention. Why not use a feline theme for your business? It’s a great idea. Two paws up to Pizza Cat and, if you’re in the Toledo area, stop by, order a pizza and say “meow”.

Troy Police Reveal Name of Station Cat – Detroit Free Press

PoliceCat

Those of you who wander the web with me on Wednesdays know how much I like a good working cat story. Well this story is all that and more.  These pawsome folks in blue vowed to adopt a shelter kitten for Adopt A Shelter Kitten Day.   The department pledged to get a police cat if they could hit 10,000 Twitter followers.  They reached that goal in only eight days!

They then “booked” a kitten for the role of police cat from five felines that the Michigan Humane Society brought in for auditions.  They chose their fellow pawfficer and then ran a Twitter contest to find a name. There were many entries but the winning name was Pawfficer  Badges.  This is the statement that was released; “We love the name. The cat will officially start her duties on May 11. She will be officially appointed to her position by Judge Hartig and Judge McGinnis of 52-4 District Court (our local court). We thank everyone that has supported this initiative, and look forward to getting the cat involved in many community outreach projects in the future.”

Con-catulations to the newest pawfficer with the Troy Police Department and two paws up to the great folks there for promoting feline adoption!

The friend yelled out for the kitty by her Chinese name and within 15 minutes the cat poked her head out and began yowling.  They lured the unhappy feline out with a snack and then duct taped and sealed her carrier so she couldn’t escape again.  Pepper aka Dai Meng, is now safe and happy with her human friend and waiting to be reunited with her owner.

Hugo, the New Zealand Shelter Thrift Shop  Worker – Waikato Times

Hugo

I had to send the Female Human (and purrsonal assistant) to do some research as the actual headline for this story is “Tokoroa op’-shop cat winning hearts.” I had no idea what an op’shop was and where in the world is Tokoroa? Well, “op shops” are thrift shops connected with New Zealand shelters and Tokoroa is  in New Zealand. Now that we’ve got that settled, let’s get on with the story.

This tabby takes his job seriously and loves on all humans, young and old, big and little alike. it just might be because he is so grateful as he was surrendered by his human to a veterinary clinic to be euthanized. The St Vincent de Paul, Vinnies Boutique, op-shop in Tokoroa took him in and it’s a win-win for Hugo and the shop.

Hugo splits his time on the job as a mouse catcher and a therapy cat for customers. The shop manager said they had just been discussing getting a cat when they heard about Hugo. He had a skin condition and when the owner learned about the cost of the steroid injections Hugo needed, they decided to euthanize him. The vet gave Hugo the treatment for free, Hugo was healed and rescue by the shelter boutique.

Hugo works at the shop on site cafe making people feel more at ease. “A lot of the people who come in here to take advantage of it are older people who have gone into rest homes and Hugo sits on their knees and cuddles them,” said the manager.

Everyone is invited to visit Hugo and if you go, don’t forget to drop a coin or two into the donation box to help with the cost of his food.

 

 

Walk Through the Web Wednesday 4/25

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Hi There Folks,
Alberto here. I’m a bit tired from my #BlogPaws reporting gig (and I still have a wrap-up post to do) but had to make time to do my regular Wednesday wanderings through the world wide web.

I hope you enjoy this week’s finds,
Siamese cat with blue eyes

Firefighters Rescue Man Stuck in a Tree Rescuing a Cat Stuck in A Tree – PeoplePets

firefighters rescue man in tree who tried to rescue cat

All I can say about this article is Bwaaahaaahaa and I’m surprised it’s never happened before! A kind human attempted to rescue the cat (it’s still not clear if he was a stranger or a friend of the cat’s humans) and instead of being hailed a rescuer he became the rescued. The good news is feline and human were successfully extricated from the tree and no firefighters were injured in the process. Meowza, be careful out there folks (and make sure your ladder is tall enough!)

Cats Photoshopped Into Food are So Cute You Could Just Eat Them Up – My Modern Met

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Okay, I’m not sure if I find this terribly artistic or just terrible in general. Russian artist Ksenia decided she wanted to create photos that would show us what it would look like if felines showed up in our food.  For more images, check out her Cats in Food series on Instagram.  Some of these photos are MOL pictures but I find the Tabby Burger a bit disturbing.

Massage therapy can improve your cat’s quality of life – Pittsburgh City Paper

cat massage therapist

Ooh, kitty spa time, I could get into that! But then I read further and this massage thing for felines is a healthy option. A few things you should know though, first and foremost, massages should be done by a trained massage therapist or a human who’s been trained by a professional in how to provide a massage for their kitties.

Massage doesn’t just make kitties feel better, it’s important and helpful for older felines, felines who are stressed or afraid or cats with medical issues like feline arthritis. Katie Tontala is a licensed massage therapist and she runs a website called Cat Behavior Demystified. She teaches humans in her area how to massage their cats and also volunteers her time massaging shelter cats to make them less stressed and skittish.

She calls her massage technique “focused petting” and says that humans will know if they’re massaging their feline correctly when the cat becomes a massage junkie.

A Cat Lover’s Dream Job – Fox6 Milwaukee

sip & purr cat cafe Milwaukee

For you Milwaukee cat loving humans in need of employment, here’s a job for you. Milwaukee’s first cat cafe, The Sip & Purr Cafe is looking for a few good people  to work part time in the cat lounge. Requirements include cat rescue, fostering or veterinary experience, a love of people and cats, as “caring for our cats and guests is the number one responsibility of “Cat Lounge Concierges,” and experience cleaning — including litter boxes.

Lakeland Animal Shelter is a partner with Sip & Purr in this endeavor. So hurry up humans, get those resumes in!

KC’s Scoot The Cat is Now Internet Famous – The Kansas City Star 

medical student and his cat Scoot

Because she was born with a deformity, her hind legs don’t work but Sam takes good care of her and ensures she has a wonderful life (they even go traveling together). He says that Scoot is teaching him how to be a good, compassionate doctor. Humans, please don’t just walk by a kitty at the shelter because they’re not perfect, you may just meet your best furiend ever, like Sam did. You can check out Sam and Scoot on their Instagram account.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

#AtoZChallenge R

Oliver Here,
Today’s letter is “R” and the word is “Runt”. When you look at my rather full physique, it’s hard to imagine that I was born the runt of the litter. My brother Alberto was much bigger than I was and my size, and the fact that I was always hungry is how I got my name, right out of Dicken’s Oliver Twist (“Please sir, may I have some more kibble?”

As you can see from the photos I was a tiny, yet adorable little fellow and have definitely outgrown my “runt” status.
Purrs & Head Bonks,
black and white cat Oliver

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Friendly Fill Ins #102

Hello There,

Alberto here. I’m taking a break from my #BlogPaws reporting to do this week’s friendly fill ins. This blog hop is created by our furiends 15and meowing and McGuffy’s Reader. Hop on over to add your blog or post your fill in answers in our comment section.

Purrs & Head Bonks,

This week’s fill in questions:

1: New ____________ are _________________.

2. I love to ______________ on the ________________.

3. When I was a child, I loved to play                          .

4. One                    , I                          .

My Answers:

1. New toys and treats from the BlogPaws vendors are always greatly appreciated by The Tribe of Five. (What wonders await us from the generous vendors? We’ll be blogging about it)

2. I love to open everything from the #BlogPaws swag bag on the day the Humans bring it home. (This is Tucker our Alpha, snoopervising the inspection of the swag from a previous year’s #BlogPaws)

3. When I was a child I loved to play with my Aunt Mitzi.

4.One day, I want to be named “Male Cat of The Year”

#AtoZChallenge M

Hello,
Oliver here. Today’s letter is “M” and that stands for “Mewsic”. Our Male Human is very mewsical and quite the guitar player. Alberto and I like to make mewsic with him and really like it when he changes the strings (we have loads of fun with that). We also love stealing his guitar picks and leaving them all over the house.

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Walk Through the Web Wednesday 4/11

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Hi Folks,
Alberto here. It’s my weekly wander through the web to find you the best of feline stories.
Purrs & Head Bonks,
Siamese cat with blue eyes

Celebrate National Pet Day with a Feline Host at an AirBnb – Lonely Planet

black cat is Airbnb host

Felines (and I guess other animals too) rejoice because today is National Pet Day! Those clever humans at Airbnb are featuring places that have feline hosts. The photo above is of host Kooky with his human Sue (they are in London). But you don’t have to fly across the pond for a feline flavored stay.  Chica and her human share a nice bungalow in Portland.  But there are many other feline hosts in other countries as well. I’m thinkin’ our Humans should check this out when they travel, a nice room and all the purrs & head bonks they want!

The Cats of Twice Sold Tales – the Stranger

siamese tabby mix cat at twice sold tales bookstore

This story hits all the right buttons, the Female Human loves bookstores (that’s because she’s a writer) and I love stories about working cats. There have always been felines at the Twice Sold Tales book store. The author of this article says in their visits over the years there have been as many as seven felines and as few as two working in the store.

The current cats are Buster, Hardy, Lily and Eleanore. What I didn’t know is that bookstore cats come from a very old tradition. Bookstore cats, simply put, exist to keep the threat of bookstore rats at bay and the practice has been in use since 1745 when Empress Elizabeth of Russia issued an edict that there be a search conducted for the “best and biggest cats, capable of catching mice” and ordered them sent to the Hermitage in St. Petersburg to protect the treasures there. Ever since then bookstores have welcomed working felines into their midst.

The article is delightful and I really enjoyed the descriptions of each feline. Does your local bookstore have a cat? I must send the Female Human out to ours to check!

Look Inside Taiwan’s “Cat Village” – National Geographic

Houtong cat village in Taiwan

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My furiends, if your humans are planning a vacation, please make sure they know about this place. it’s a popular tourist town called Houtong and it has over 100 feline residents.

Houtong means “monkey cave” and is in northern Taiwan. It was first famous for it’s caves filled with monkeys. No one can say exactly what happened to the monkeys, but the town is not without furry citizens.  As soon as you step off the train, you are met by felines of varying varieties. You find your way through the station by following the cat paw prints. As you can imagine, since felines rule, most everything in the town is cat-themed. Bakeries offer cat-shaped cookies, there are cat souvenirs and of course plenty of felines to snap a selfie with. And of course, there are houses built for the cats, and decorated to please the most finicky feline. Meowza this sounds like a purrrfect vacation spot. Book your human’s tickets posthaste!

Here’s What Your Favorite Cat Breeds Reveal About You – Elite Daily

gray and yellow Maine Coon cats

First, allow me to say that this title has me a bit nervous. You see all of the Tribe are rescues so we aren’t officially a “breed” but the Female Human said that all cats are some sort of breed and humans often gravitate to one type of breed, even when they’re adopting. For our Humans, it’s Siamese. All of the Tribe have some bit of Siamese in us and The Female Human says it’s because we are so smart, we talk a lot and they just love the way we look. Even though my brother Oliver doesn’t look anything like a Siamese, he still has the purrsonality traits. You can image my surprise and dismay when Siamese was never mentioned in this article! Elite, I hiss in your general direction!

Cat-Opoly A Cat Themed Game – Bustle

Cat opoly game

I know how much you humans love to play games and you humans know how much we felines like to get right in the middle (and often on top of the board) of any game you’re playing. Well here’s a game that’s purrfect for feline and human!

In the game, you can buy your favorite cats (not to self, have the Human check and make sure the Siamese are represented!). Roll the dice and you may land on catnip which means everything in the middle of the board is yours. Collect litter boxes and trade them for fish bones (instead of hotels). There are some dangers though. If you run into the neighborhood bully you may be forced to pay the dog tax (hiss!) and, if you fall in the water you lose three turns. Meowza this sounds like fun!

 

 

 

 

#AtoZChallenge I

Hello Folks,
Alberto here. Todays letter is “I” and that stands for “Indulge”. This is a word that all felines are quite furmaliar with because felines are known to indulge themselves, frequently and with gusto.

I am including some photos of The Tribe of Five and our furiends indulging themselves in the hopes that your humans will be inspired to indulge the felines in their home in new ways.

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Oliver: If you live in a cold place (as we do) be sure your humans indulge you by purchasing you a down sofa throw (make sure it’s the real thing, do not accept cheap imitations.)

 

 

 

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Alberto: When I was a little guy I really enjoyed the Human’s electronics.  They indulged me and pretty much let me take over the iPad mini. This is me with my iPad enjoying Jitterbug. The Female Human downloaded this for me from Friskies.

 

 

 

navi_2
Jasmine: My favorite blog post was about our furiend Navi and the amazing tea party her human treated her to. Meowza, this is indulgence to the max. (Please pass the catnip tea)

 

 

a siamese cat and black and white cat sitting in a sink

Alberto: There’s no better place on a warm summer day than the kitchen sink. If you observe the photo closely, the water is running so that I can stick  my head under it for an extra dose of cooling off.

 

 

 

 

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Lily: When indulging yourself by taking up a large portion of the sofa, do a little kitty yoga. It’s important to stretch out those paws!

 

 

 

 

 

Siamese cat with cross eyes on chair

Tucker, Alpha of The Tribe of Five

Tucker: When appropriating any of the human’s furniture, be sure that you settle yourself in the most comfortable way. If there is a soft throw on the piece, so much the better, confiscate that and the comfy pillow as well.

Walk Through The Web Wednesday..a day late 3/8

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Hello Friends,
So, my purrsonal assistant allowed herself to get a bit behind and my Wednesday deadline came and went with no blog post. She is redeeming herself (a bit) by getting my Wednesday Web Walk posted today but I guess better late than never!
I hope you enjoy this week;s wanderings,
Purrs & Head Bonks,
Siamese cat with blue eyes

I Don’t Normally Get Purrlitical but…..

 

One of the reasons my weekly Wednesday wanderings were late is because the female human was busy making this little video for a local candidate. There are no purrlitical parties mentioned so, since I deemed this a non-partisan video I thought I would share it. This candidate has a canine in the forefront of his campaign but it seems like he is garnering a feline constituency.

Man Quits His Job and Travels Australia in Camper Van With His Cat -Providr

man travels with his calico cat through Australia in a van

This man used to live in Hobart, Tasmania but  he decided to quit his job in May of 2015 sold his possessions, including his house, bought a camper van and began to travel Australia. He didn’t travel alone though. His cat Willow was with him for ever mile (or kilometer). He keeps a close eye on Willow but he also has her wear a tracking collar so he knows where she is all the time. Rich and Willow traveled over 50,000 kilometers and when they finally returned home, Rich decided they weren’t done with traveling yet. You can follow Rich and Willow’s adventures at VanCatMeow.com  You can sign up to have Willow send you postcards so you  never wonder again, “Where are  Rich and Willow?”

The Cats of Longwood Gardens – Atlas Obscura

black and white cat in longwood gardens

Here is another in my series on cats with jobs. These Longwood Garden cats have a pretty nice gig going. The Longwood Gardens in Pennsylvania are filled with colorful plants (even some carnivorous ones!). The working felines at Longwood actually have two jobs. They patrol and take are of pest control and they are also feline ambassadors.  There are about 12 cats working there and are all loved and cared for. They are all very well loved rescue cats. They never used to wear collars but ever since a visitor took a Longwood feline worker home, thinking he was a stray. Thankfully, the purloined pussy cat was returned to his friends and cat co-workers.  I think this is one of the best feline jobs I’ve reported on yet!

Buddy The Adventure Cat Enjoys the Great Outdoors – Philly.com

Buddy the Adventure Cat

Meowza! Cats are getting more and more adventurous! Meet Buddy, a feline that likes to head out into the great outdoors. Buddy was rescued when he was 7-months old when he was found near an old warehouse. Someone put Buddy in a box and set it next to Steve Swartz’s desk. Good think Steve is a cat lover and Buddy had a forever home.

Buddy is now an adventure cat in training. On the day this article was written he was a little leery of the photographer which is why he’s peeking out of his carrier. I was very glad to hear that cats can be in training to be an adventure cat because I’m a wannabe kayaking cat and will begin my training this summer. Who knows, maybe I’ll bump into Buddy on a trail someday. Adventure on my feline friends!

British MPs Launch a Group Dedicated To Cat Welfare – inews.co.uk

gray and white cat Larry the downing street cat

Larry, the Downing Street cat (Photo by James Glossop – WPA Pool/Getty Images)

The British folks always seem to be on the forefront of cat news. Members of British Parliament and their constituents have joined together with animal charities to campaign for better rights for cats in the UK. They will lobby for law changes to improve protection for cats and their owners and will focus on feline welfare and key issues affecting cats such as toxins in antifreeze and ownership of air guns. Cats do not have the same rights as dogs in road traffic accidents and they seek to change this.  APGOCATS has been created which will be dedicated to tackling matters affecting feline welfare. I guess when it comes to laws pertaining to felines, I am a purrlitical animal!

 

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Alberto Opines on Dr. Seuss in this week’s Friendly Fill ins # 95

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Hello Folks,
Alberto here doing this week’s fill ins. If you’d like to join the blog hop, head on over to McGuffy’s Reader or, to our friends who co-host the hop, 15andmeowing.  You can also add your “Seussian” fill ins in the comments in this blog post.

“Today you are you, that is truer than true. There is no one alive who is you-er than you!
Dr. Seuss

Here are this week’s fill ins:

1. My favorite Dr. Seuss book is _________________.
2. The most interesting person I have ever met is ______________.
3. Besides books by Dr. Seuss, my favourite book as a child was                       .
4. Lately, I have been working on                          .

Here are my fill in responses:

1.My favorite Dr. Seuss book is The Cat In The Hat (of course, what did you expect me to say?)

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2.The most interesting person I’ve ever met is purrhaps the relative of my humans who has been staying with us. This human enjoys doing puzzles and I enjoy helping challenge him by knocking those little pieces on the floor or, in some cases snacking on them. This human foolishly attempts to protect his puzzles with cardboard (to no avail I might add). My humans have never introduced me to this wonderful feline activity.

 

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3.Besides books by Dr. Seuss, my favorite book as a child was not really a book at all. You see I was a 21st Century kitten and I spent less time reading and more time playing games on the iPad. I would like to report that as an almost adult cat, I have become more litter-ary.

 

 

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4.Lately, I have been working on getting The Female Human in gear to update our website (FelineOpines.com) . She added a nice section about Cat Cafes from Katzenworld and also linked to a website that lists cat cafes all over the world. Nice job Human.

 

 

 

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 2/14

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!