Walk Through the Web Wednesday 4/11

Posted on April 11, 2018 by Feline Opines

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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

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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

Posted on April 10, 2018 by Feline Opines

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.

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.)

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.

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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.

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!

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 3/27

Posted on March 28, 2018 by Feline Opines

siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

Hi Folks,
Alberto here. It’s my favorite time of the week again (well unless it’s the day when our wet food meal includes my favorite tuna with gravy). I’ve wandered through the web to bring you my faves of the week. Enjoy.
Purrs & Head Bonks,
Siamese cat with blue eyes

New Photo Book Shows that Cats are Art Worthy – Feature Shoot

CatPhotoBook

Before you start meowing at me and say, “There are plenty of cat books!” allow me to explain. This isn’t just a book of kitty photos. It’s a book from Humble Arts Foundation that features a curated selection of cat photos in a book called Humble Cats.

In the words of the article from Feature Shoot, “While at times the imagery is pleasingly kitsch, it also goes beyond the meme with more contemplative photographs that ask questions and provide few answers.” Now I’m a pretty savvy feline but I’m not sure what “kitsch” means I think any photo of us fabulous felines can be “contemplative”. Take for felines opine book Anita Aurit siamese cat and black and white cat instance, the new book by The Tribe of Five, Felines Opine about God. I think a number of our photos are quite contemplative. But I am digressing into shameless self promotion now (the book is available on Amazon in paperback and Kindle edition). End of shameless self-promotion.

There are other wonderful feline photo books out such as PhotoCat by Sacha de Boer.

If you can’t get enough of feline photos, head on over to Instragram. Start by visiting Cats of Instagram and you’ll see some fabulous furry creatures there.

How Cats Tamed Us – The New Yorker

The human writer of this article certainly knows their felines! They begin the article by saying that “When you own a cat, it often feels as though your pet is your boss.” First allow me to explain that no one owns a cat, we are the epitome of the saying, “Dogs have owners, cats have staff”. There is an excellent quote from the author of The Lion in the Living Room, Abigail Tucker, who says, “You could see our relationship with cats as a series of cat-controlled takeovers.”. In celebration of these and other ideas about how we felines fit into the lives of our humans (or purrhaps make our humans fit into our lives) a video has been created called “How Cats Tamed Us” a new edition to the “Obsession” series that is based on Tucker’s book. I was quite excited to see they got some big name stars for the video like Cole & Marmalade. Lil’ Bub and Grumpy Cat! Meow, I give this movie a 2 paws up!

Can you get a purr-fect score on this television cats quiz? MeTV

tv cats cat quiz
It’s about time that felines got some recognition for their television roles. Some of these questions will require that you dig deep, deep into your old TV show memory bank (this kitten never even heard of some of these) but it’s pretty cool. The quiz asks questions about the felines in courtroom dramas, sci-fi shows, cartoons and puppet shows. Take the quiz and let us know how you did!

4 Claw-some Cat Craft Books I’m Paws-itive You Need Right Now – BookRiot

cardboard buildable cat habitats
If your humans are crafty, you might want them to take a look at these books. The Female Human is crafty, even has a room she refers to as her “craft room”. This room is

Me deciding if I should help The Female Human with her crafts or take a snooze on the cat bed on the bench.

usually off limits to me because I like to chew on plastic and paper and generally wreak havoc in her little spot but she does let me join her often. She’s even placed a little cat bed on a bench next to her crafting table so that I can snooze while she works.

I purrused the books and I think my favorite is the one that shows humans how to make cat castles. What feline doesn’t want their own castle, or airplane. tepee, rocket, battle ship..well, you get the idea. I think this would be an excellent use of The Female Human’s time in her craft room. If you can’t talk your humans into cardboard structures, they can also make creations with cat hair or even knit their own cat or make cat-like items such as cat bookends and a quick sew stuffed kitty.

Two Toddlers and a Cat, Not Such a Good Mix – Babyology

brown tabby with pink fairy wings
I am outraged my friends, just outraged! Take a look at the face of this completely defeated feline and tell me this is right. The human who contributed this photo says he has two toddlers and once a week he finds his cat like this. Fairy wings? Really? Sometimes the indignities we felines have to suffer is beyond the pale. I say felines unite against little humans who want to wrestle you into a costume. And to my pink fairy-winged friend in the photo I say, “Hold you head up man, be a cat of dignity!”

Oliver Opines on Family and Spring in Friendly Fill Ins #98

Posted on March 22, 2018 by Feline Opines

Hi Folks,

black and white cat eating wheat grass Oliver here, just chillin’ and enjoying one of my favorite treats, wheat grass, while I purruse the neighborhood. We’re still waiting for spring at our house but the good news is almost half the snow is gone from the front yard!

I hope you enjoy this week’s fill ins and as always, you can go to McGuffy’s Reader and join the blog hop or join it at our friends blog 15andmeowing. Or, if you’re so inclined, you can leave your fill in answers in the comment section of this post. We love to have our friends meow at us!
Purrs & Head Bonks,

black and white cat Oliver

Here are the fill in questions:

1. I am the _________________ in my family.
2. I have __________________ sibling(s).
3. I am looking forward to this Spring.

4. The first sign of Spring this year was .

Here are my answers:

1.I am the most heat loving cat in my family . Whenever the humans look for me, they first check all the floor heat vents. They call me a “heat hog” as I’ll block a vent until my fur is so warm it’s almost on fire. And, speaking of fire, the fireplace is one of my favorite spots. Here is a photo of me blocking the vent under the kitchen sink.

2.I have five siblings. Actually only one is a blood relative and that’s Alberto my brother (I know, we don’t look anything alike) but the other three tribe members are adopted siblings and we’re all a happy family.

3.I am looking forward to butterfly chasing this spring. Our house has big windows and there are always birds and butterflies fluttering around. The Female Human managed to capture one of my fierce butterfly hunts from last summer.

4.The first sign of spring this year was not yet seen. Dude, we still have snow in the yard and not one robin has flown past our windows! Spring will take a bit longer in our neck of the woods. In the meantime, I’m hunkering down and staying cozy.

2. I have five siblings. Only one is related by blood and that’s my sister Jasmine. The rest are rescue adoptees into the family.

3. I am looking forward to sitting on the front porch with my humans this spring.

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

Posted on March 8, 2018 by Feline Opines

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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!

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 2/14

Posted on February 14, 2018 by Feline Opines

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

Posted on February 9, 2018 by Feline Opines

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.

2. I think the most romantic movie is A Street Cat Named Bob
StreetCatNamedBob

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 1/24

Posted on January 24, 2018 by Feline Opines

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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

Fantasia-dei-Gatti-1

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

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.

Walk Through the Web Wednesday 1/3

Posted on January 3, 2018 by Feline Opines

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Hello Friends,
This is my first web wander of 2018. I hope this new year finds you all healthy and happy. The Tribe of Five is spending our time curled up in our humans laps, in front of the fireplace or snuggled under a warm throw on the living room sofas.

Stay safe and warm! Purrs & Head Bonks,
Siamese cat with blue eyes

Netflix Employee’s Cats React to A Scene in “Stranger Things” – Hello Giggles

cats watching stranger things on netflix

Our humans often sit in front of the big black watching moving images. I know that they did watch this thing they call “Stranger Things” and I must say, I’m very happy that I missed this scene. And I am appalled and dismayed that these humans who work at Netflix forced their cats to watch this scary stuff!

93-Year old “Furry Godmother” Knits Blankets for Homeless Cats – People Pets

KNITTING

Two paws up for this amazing lady. She shows the world that there is always something you can do for felines, regardless of where you live or regardless of your age. Emma Eng knits blankets for the Seattle Humane in Bellevue, WA. She decided late in 2017 that she would knit blankets for homeless kittyies and by New Year’s Day she’d knitted over 40 blankets! Meowza, when that lady decides to do something she doesn’t mess around! So take note humans, you’re never too old to do something nice for animals!

Every Cat Deserves A Castle – Spokesman Review

catcastle

Not only is this a purrrfect project, the event was held in our own back yard (so to speak). The South Hill Library held an event last fall (how did my humans not hear about this??”!!) where families could come and build a castle for their felines (materials were provided). I must admit I do have my whiskers in a bit of a twist because the humans missed out on this but I am happy to report that I put my purrsonal assistant on the job and she came up with some instructions on the web so, if your humans haven’t built you a castle yet they can begin posthaste. You’re welcome.
10 Steps for building your own cardboard cat castle – Cardboard Cat Furniture DIY

What is a Cat Cafe? – Katzenworld

CatCafe

Those of you who follow my Wednesday wanderings know I love to report on cat cafe’s,. As I matter of fact, I’ve been bugging my purrsonal assistant to get off the exercise ball she uses as a desk chair and put together some sort of cat cafe guide on our website. Well wouldn’t you know, our Friends at Katzenworld did just that with a definitive article providing answers to every question you might have had about cat cafes. Once you’ve learned what they’re all about, you probably want to go to one. All you have to do is go to The Neighbor’s Cat Global Cat Cafe Resource which is the Tripadvisor for cat cafes. Now if we only had one near us!

Guinness World Records Spends Day at Longest Running Pet Shelter – Laughing Squid

Guinness

Now here is a record to be proud of. The Battersea Dog & Cats Home has been in it’s current location since 1871. Meowza, these good folks have been finding furever homes for animals for more than 145 years, now that’s dedication! Since their beginning, they’ve cared for 3.1 million dogs and cats. Not only has this organization been critical in helping animals, they’ve shaped people’s attitudes toward homeless animals and influenced laws for animals in the UK and around the world. Two paws up to the Battersea Dog & Cats Home.

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 12/27

Posted on December 27, 2017 by Feline Opines

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Furry New Year to All!
Alberto here. It’s hard to believe that 2017 has almost ended. Thanks to all my friends who enjoy my #WalkThroughTheWebWednesday feline mewsings.

Here’s to a fantastic 2018!
Purrs & Head Bonks,
Alberto

Not Seal Team 6-Cat Team 7! – The Virginia Pilot, Military News

CatTeam7

As if it’s not enough for our military taking care of our country, now they’re taking care of feral cats too! A special team (Cat Team 7) has a mission to trap feral felines on their base at Naval Station Norfolk, spay and neuter them and then find them furever homes!

Unlike Seal Team 6, this team’s mission is no secret and their success record is amazing. They rescued about 70 felines in 2017. Cat Team 7 has a Facebook page and you can view felines available for adoption too.

We greatly appreciate our military and now we have even more reason to love them. I give Cat Team 7 a two paw salute!

Backpack Cat Carrier for Fashionable Felines – HausPanther

CatySmileBackPack

Now that Christmas has come and gone, purrhaps you or your human are disappointed that you didn’t get the purrfect gift. Well I have good news. I found this little item when visiting my friend, Kate Benjamin’s HausPanther cat lifestyle site. (Actually, I’ve never met her but my human has at the BlogPaws blogger and writer’s conference). Kate always has the best and most wonderful feline things.

I have seen another feline backpack but IMHO the felines being toted around in that thing look like they’re all begging to get out. This Catysmile backpack carrier not only satisfies the human’s desire for style but it has two windows and enough room for felines to stretch out. Now the information for this backpack says the model cat is 10 pounds. This is not good news for Tucker (16 pounds) or for me with my long, svelte 13 pound body. Bit if your kitty is not quite as hefty as we are, I think it’s a purrfect cat carrier.

Japanese Cat Tree for Design Conscious Humans, only 1 million yen-DesignBoom

CatTree

The Tribe of Five loves our cat condo. But when I saw this one, it made ours look shabby and out of date. Take a look at this beauty, designed for human the esthetic but also with CatTree2 a feline’s need in mind. Needless to say, the tree is made of quality materials. It’s called the Neko Tree and I think the Tribe of Five should have one. I had the female human convert 1 milion yen to USD and it’s only $8,826,20 (which sounds waaay better than 1 million yen!)

So if your humans are as serious about your comfort and happiness as they say they are, ask them if they’re willing to spend 1 million yen. And if you get one, send us a photo!

Why Your Cat Simply Can’t Resist Catnip – Katzenworld

catnip

There are some fantastic articles from our friends at Katzenworld and this one, in my opinion, is the definitive answer to all your catnip questions. For instance why do some of us go completely bonkers for it and why other felines take a sniff and walk away, Siamese cat on tea taBLE uninterested. You’ll find out what catnip is, why we’re attracted to it, what it can be used for (did you know humans can benefit from catnip?) Jasmine once interviewed a very refined kitty named Navi who sips catnip tea from an elegant china cup).

I say two paws up for catnip and, if you want to see the effect of catnip on a 2-year old kitty (me) and a 14-year old kitty (Tucker) take a look at our video.

Georgia family’s lost cat found in Southern California five months later – ABCNews

bitty kitty arrives home after 2000 mile journey

I love happy stories and for these Georgia humans, Christmas was very happy indeed. Kitty Bitty is a small feline but he took a big trip after he disappeared from his family’s home in Georgia on July fourth. He found himself 2,000 miles away from home in Riverside, California.

Fortunately Kitty Bitty still had his collar and tags on and the The ASPCA in Riverside, California, contacted his humans and before he knew it, he was on a plane making his way home for Christmas! The nice humans at the ASPCA helped pay his ticket home and wrote messages on his carrier. How did he get to California? It seems he hitched a ride on a Pepsi truck making a cross-country trip. My readers will be happy to know that Bitty Kitty is now an indoor cat!