We are so excited to see we have feline loving furiends in Czechlosovakia and to that we say mňoukat (meow) and děkuji (thank you!)
Thank you Czech cat lovers!
10
Category Archives: Siamese cats
Walk Through The Web Wednesday 2/26
Hello Furiends,
I hope your week has gone well and that this week’s feline news report finds you healthy and happy.
We actually had sunshine this week. I must say though, I was a bit annoyed by the laughter from The Human when she came in the office and saw me soaking up some vitamin C. Seriously, I have no idea what she found so amusing.
Lily is still adjusting to the change in the Tribe and the loss of Tucker. She is a tiny little feline and she hasn’t been eating so The Female Human went to talk to the people in the white coats about this. She came home with some food called Hills AD Diet for cats and dogs. Now I’ve never heard of a food for cats AND dogs but evidently this is what they give patients when they are not eating well. And I must say it works! Lily is eating again and perking up, even coming over to get her “before bed treats”.The hardest part of this is keeping the stuff away from Oliver who needs no appetite stimulation!
The Female Human was a little stressed out about Tucker’s sister Jasmine after Tucker crossed the Rainbow Bridge. She took Jasmine to have her blood work done and her regular wellness check. Well guess what….Jasmine’s kidney numbers are lower than when she was first diagnosed with kidney disease. Meowza, you should have seen our Human doing the happy dance.
Oliver misses the big guy too so he spends some quality time with The Female Human in the evening. He’ll even hang out with her when she has a glass of wine on the weekend (note, Oliver does not drink wine)
And, as far as the problem with Oliver and I giving Lily a bad time…..things haven’t changed too much but it seems lately Lily is standing up for herself more.
Well, that’s all the news about the Tribe, now, on to the news!
What’s the best music for reducing cats’ stress levels?
A few years ago we opined about cat music on our website (yes we have a website in addition to this blog that our Purrsonal Assistant does not promote enough). We have mewsic at our house and we quite like it. The Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery recently reported on the stress-lowering effects of music in cats. This study says that classical rather than pop or heavy metal soothes felines best….well DUH! I don’t think you need to be a scientist to figure that out!
Now they did dig a little deeper and said that cat-specific music with ‘melodic’ lines based on cat vocalizations (like purring) sooths us. We also purrfer frequencies similar to feline vocal ranges, which are two octaves higher than those of humans.
These scientists studied 20 domestic cadts, playimg 20 minutes of cat-specific music, classical music or no music at random veterinary visits 2 weeks apart. They used cat stress scores (checking the feline’s body posture., ear placement, etc.) as well as how the cat’s responded to being handled. They drew blood samples to mark the physiological stress levels.
And what did they find out? Cat specific music might indeed lower stress levels. Now, I don’t want to sound snarky here but when this scientific study ends with, ““[C]at-specific music may benefit cats by decreasing the stress levels and increasing the quality of care in veterinary clinical settings.” I’m not impressed. Even our Female Human knows that our cat mewsic may calm us down but at least I give the researchers an “A” for effort. You can watch the videos on our website and come to your own scientific conclusions as to whether we were less stressed when listing to our Music for Cats album.
Miau Miau Clothing Company- shopping with a purpose to help homeless cats
Any company whose motto is, “life is better with cats!” is my kind of company! The company’s founder began this company after being inspired after she rescued a litter of kittens and their mother a few years ago. That rescue experience made her realize that there are thousands of cats and kittens who are not as fortunate as the ones she rescued. The company values are: Improving the Lives of Homeless Cats and Kittens – Advocating for Animals and their Rescuers – Compassion – Making a Difference.
Now who wouldn’t love to do business with a company like that! The Female Human loves their clothes and is going to order the pink hoodie. They have lots of great stuff like a “Cat Daddy” bottle opener, pawsome pins and bags, hats, jewelry and goodies for the felines in your life.
Boris the Yoga Cat
Every time The Female Human gets out h er yoga mat, Oliver and I head on over to snoopervise (well I snoopervise, Oliver splays himself out on the mat) and she gets her whiskers in a twist and shoos us away. Now that I’ve found Boris. the yoga cat I’m going to make a case for us doing yoga with our Human. If you check out Boris’ Instagram you will see there is not a pose that can’t be done with a kiitty!
11 Secrets Your Cat’s Tail Is Trying to Tell You
I don’t think you humans pay enough attention to our tails as they can tell you a lot. I’m not going into all 11 of the tail signs but I will highlight a few. You can read about all of them here.
Straight Up: When we stand with our tails straight up, pointing at the ceiling, it means we are happy, confident and willing to be friendly so come on over and give us a pet!
Fuzzy Tail: Well, that’s what we call it at our house. It’s when our tails get fuzzed up 3 times their regular size. If we are startled, scared or feeling threatened we will floof ourselves out to appear as big as possible. Trust me, you don’t want to pet us when are tails are fuzzy!
The Fast Flicking Tail: When you see us flicking our tails from side to side, the message we’re sending you is that something is wrong. It can be fear but it can also mean we are annoyed or reacting to something we don’t like.
The Slow Moving Gentle Tail Flick: This means we are zeroed in on something, that we’re very focused. We may be getting ready to pounce on a toy, another cat or a mouse. Basically it’s showing our intention to make a move.
I’ll let you read about the rest of the tail signals for yourself. Just remember, we are telling you a lot with our tails!
Your Cat Actually Has a Legit Reason For Getting Hyper Every Night at Bedtime
Evidently, the fact that we get the zoomies at night is not because felines are nocturnal. Shelly Zacharias, DVM, VPM and vice president of Medical Affairs at Gallant, in an interview by POPSUGAR, said that cats are actually crepuscular, meaning their waking hours are at both sunrise and sunset.
Well that information is all well and good but our Female Human wants to know how to keep us from waking her in the middle of the night with our antics. Some suggest that you humans play with us before bedtime. Also, some interesting toys for us to play with while you are sleeping will help keep us busy.
If you have any foodaholic felines in your house (I shall not name names) you might want to consider splitting the evening meal in two. Feed us one earlier in the evening and the other one right before you go to bed. This is supposed to keep us from bugging you for food but evidently ,the expert that suggested this has never met Oliver.
They also suggest puzzle feeders. I don’t know about the rest of you felines out there but The Female Human tried that on us. We quickly let her know we do NOT work for food.
The article also suggests that you humans ignore us if we wake you up. That might work for some but when you suddenly find a 17-pound feline on your chest, your desire to breathe will take over your desire to ignore us.
Our Female Human has decided that the best remedy for our nighttime zoomies is to close her bedroom door (and then prepare herself for the havoc she sees in the morning). MOL
Walk Through The Web Wednesday 2/19
Hello Furiends,
We’re getting used to the “new normal” at our house since Angel Tucker crossed the Rainbow Bridge. As my brother Oliver and I are still young-ish felines we are easily bored and always looking for a bit of fun. Lately, our “fun” has consisted of chasing Lily down the stairs and then not letting her come pack up the stairs. The Human keeps telling us to stop being “hooligans” (whatever that means, I’m sure it’s complimentary because we are such good kitties). Lily has taken to sitting on the ledge by the stairs and watching our every move. The Human is spraying pheromone stuff all over the house but so far, it has not had the desired effects.
If any of our furiends have advice for The Human as to how to keep us from treating Lily like prey, she’d sure like to hear it!
Okay, enough about us, let’s get on the the feline gems I found this week.
Game-changing feline diet promises relief for people allergic to cats
I’ve reported on many methods attempting to stop or mitigate the cat allergies that many humans suffer from and now there is a product coming to market in April that purports to do this. Purina Pro Pan LiveClear is formulated with a protein sourced from eggs that contain an anti Fel d1 antibody. Humans react to the protein Fel d1, produced by cats in their salivary glands. The protein is transferred to he cat’s hair and skin during grooming and it is eventually shed into the environment. It took more than ten years of research but the Purina Institute says this cat food, the first and only cat food capable of reducing the allergens in cat hair and dander is ready for the market.
Statistics show that about 20% of adult humans in the world are allergic to cats (meowza, that’s a lot!) but a study that was published last year in Immunity, Inflammation found that 47% fewer allergens were found in the hair and dander of cats eating Pro Plan LIveClear. These results manifested in the third week of feeding the cats the new product on a daily basis. The same study also found that active Fel d 1 production decreased in 97% of cats (with individual variability).
How does it work? As the cat eats the kibble coated with the special egg powder it neutralizes the Fel d 1.
Now our Human is very picky about what she feeds us and her first question was, “Is it safe for the cats?” Purina’s Director of veterinary technical communication, Jason Gagne said that the safety of the feline consumers was a key consideration. The goal was to neutralize the protein without impacting the physiology of the felines. The egg coating is perfectly healthy for cats to eat.
If you want to read more about the “sciency” details, be sure and read the article. We’re keeping our paws crossed that this will work and that more kitties will find furever homes because their humans no longer have to worry about sneezing, itching and other allergic reactions.
A Vietnam vet and a support cat formed an ‘amazing’ friendship
Our Human knows many people who take their felines to places to share them with others. Lots of folks at the Green Acres retirement home look forward to the bi-monthly visits from the non-profit organization, Country Cat Lady. As a rule there are about 12 residents ready to meet the dozen cats who come to visit. The organization has been in existence a little less than two years after the founder realized what a help her cats were with her special needs son.
The Country Cat Lady’s cats are trained to be support animals through exposure to people. After they graduate from their training, they are adopted out as support animals. Even if some of the cats don’t make the cut, they are adopted out to loving, furever homes.
The top tier cats live with the Country Cat Lady and they are the ones who travel to places like Green Acres. This is how Gary DeLude met a black cat named Trailblazer (although Gary refers to him as Rascal).DeLude says he can walk into the room, depressed about something and sitting down with Rascal makes him “feel better all over”. The Country Cat Lady has promised Gary that his buddy Rascal will stay with her so he can continue to come and visit.
The Country Cat Lady is now seeking partnerships, donations and support so she can continue and even expand her work.
What a pawsome job the Country Cat Lady has and she is helping so many people.. I hope you have something like this in your community and, if you don’t, find a human to start one!
Naughty cat disrupts live orchestra concert and steals the show
Oh my whiskers, this is hilarious. We’ve seen cats racing across sports fields, hanging out in stores and other places but this has to be my favorite “cat bomb”. The feline loving musicians try to welcome the music loving kitty but clearly this cat is having none of it. He was there for the music and not to make new friends!
Cats in Japan can now get digital resident cards in Kanagawa Prefecture
At first I had my whiskers in a twist and was quite outraged that a government would require felines to register. Then I read the article and realized this is an optional thing and might even help the humans of felines in the area.
Kanagawa Prefecture, Tokyo’s neighbor to the south, is home to 9.2 million people, just about all of whom have a form of ID. It may be a driver’s license, a student ID, or a resident card, but there’s some sort of document that says “This is who I am.” Now the felines who decide to have an ID can have one too through a partnership between the Kanagawa Prefectural government and pet-related media company PECO.
You can have the basic information on your card as well as your birth date, name of your human family members, special tricks or abilities you want the world to know about and even your motto. (Mine would be “I’m always feline fine”).
There are cards for doggos too but since this is a cat only blog I don’t feel the need to expound any further. Oh, and the cards are free!
Osaka cat lovers warm their feet, hearts at footbath featuring feline friends
My last feature also comes from Japan. We’ve seen cat cafes, cat hostels, condos designed for cats ad their humans, cat ID cards and other fantastic feline stuff and this is yet another creative way the folks in Osaka are finding a new way to hang out with cats.
Neko Yokujo, “cat bath house” in Japanese, is operated by Gifu-based firm Neco Republic, which manages cat cafes across the country. The 15 felines at Neko Yokujo are rescues and all are available for adoption. And there is a hostel where guests can stay with cats, Neko Yokujo attached to the cat bath house. Meowza, I say it’s time for the good old US of A to catch up with all the fantastic feline venues in Japan!
Walk Through The Web Wednesday 2/12
Hello Furiends,
I didn’t want to miss my regular Wednesday feature although things have been a bit sad at our house because of the loss of Tucker. The Female Human still gets leaky eyes when people talk about him but she is getting better and she’s thankful for all the kind words you furiends have been sending her. She is in the process of responding now.
The Female Human is spending extra time with us and giving us love. LIly is the one that misses Tucker the most as he was her cuddle buddy (and Oliver and I would never mess with her when the big guy was with her). They had a great bond and Lily is very sad now. This is the way you would always see them together.
It’s time to get to the feline news for this week. Stay safe and healthy my furiends and always make time to cuddle.
A True British Mystery – Where are the Black Cats Coming From?
A Kent Online office has been targeted by a mysterious artist who has been placing cat stickers across the county. The new tag appeared on a door of the Kentish Express in Ashford – just hours after an article was published about the feline phenomenon.
Black cats have popped up across the county, often on entrance signs to villages and towns – including Sittingbourne and Fordwich. They are also used to mark hospitals like the Kent and Canterbury and businesses such as Ramsgate’s Royal Victoria Pavilion Wetherspoons.
The miniature moggies have been spotted as far away as Rye and Bexley.
Ashford and its surrounding areas are becoming a hotbed for the unknown artist’s activity, with one at the William Harvey Hospital, one near Wye and another on the Orbital Park industrial estate.
Many believe this is the work of Whitstable street artist Catman, but he has denied any involvement.
Meow to the mystery artist!
Cross Eyed Cat Earns Money For Charity
Belarus might look confused, but it’s only his eye condition. He has been hard at work earning thousands of dollars for other rescue cats just like him. Those eyes were the main reason his human, Rachel Krallk, fell in love with him the first time she saw him on her local shelter’s Facebook page. She went to the shelter that day and adopted him.
Krakk began selling shirts and hoodies featuring Belarus’ unique face. She donates 100% of the proceeds to animal rescues and has donated to date, several thousand dollars. Be sure and visit Belarus’ online Bonfire store if you want to support shelters. Our Female Human thinks that we should be doing the same thing with the items in our store.
If you want to purchase some Belarus merchandise of your own, be sure and visit his online Bonfire store.
American Cat Owners Devote 20 Hours Per Week to be With Their Beloved Felines.
A survey of 1,000 cat owners conducted by Fresh Step Litter found that cat owners take seven photos of their feline daily. And 41% of cat owners have a framed photo of their feline. As to treating your cat as part of the family, 84% said, “You betcha’!” Some of you humans won’t buy a toy for your 2-legged kids without purchasing something for your four-legged kids. The study found that cat owners are not just partial to their own cats, they love everyone else’s felines too.
Most of those surveyed brought their feline home through adoption.-22% adopted from a county or state shelter, 16% adopted from a friend or relative and 13% adopted from a at specific rescue.
A whopping 60 % of respondents said their cats were loyal and 53% said they were well-behaved. Nearly half of the respondents said their cat often cuddles with them. In addition to cuddling, over three quarters of owners talk to their cats and they said it was like therapy. Their cats helped them through difficult times and 66% said they would rather snuggle with their felines rather than spending time with friends. My question to you humans is this, have you spent your 20 hours with y9ur feline(s) this week?
Miss Rigby, the Seafaring Feline
Five years ago husband and wife Shane and Maryvonne both in their 50s decided to leave their fast passed careers to sail around the world. After the humans were at sea for about a year, they met their furry shipmate. Mis Rigby (or Rigs) was given to them by a Connecticut breeder. Before they took of for foreign ports they trained Rigs and she now lives on and loves the 50 foot boat. She’s a natural sailor. The Burmese breed is very loving and loyal and trainable and Rigg’s sailing skills prove this. Her humans cannot imagine sailing anywhere without her. If you want to follow Rig’s ocean adventures, you can follow her on Instagram.
The Cat Flat Gives Cats a Home with 10 Things to Make Them Happy
A Swedish self-storage company has launched the Cat Flat, a cat house with space for your cat to play, sleep and feel at home-all inside a very attractive cabinet that won’t ruin your décor. The company describes the Cat Flat as “The world’s first non-ugly cat furniture” . The Cat Flat was designed in response to the rise of small space living in Sweden. According to cat psychologist Susanne Hellman Holmstrom, author of the book, :” The Cat Could Decide” when cat’s can’t fulfill all of their needs it will result in a change in their behavior. Cats need the opportunity to spy, hunt and have a place where they can hide.
Designed by Eleonor Moschevitz and built by Stockholms Möbelverkstad, the Cat Flat enables kitties to feel safe and secure inside their own enclosed environment and come and go as they please.
Cats can move freely throughout the three-level cabinet, which is made out of walnut veneer. The slats covering the doors of the cabinet function as an abstract interpretation of nature, while inside the cabinet is decorated with sisal mats and leather. The brushes are made of FSC-certified beech wood with boar bristles and the scrubs consist of ecological coconut.
The product will launch during Stockholm design week. The famous feline duo of Prime and Raven (who have 141k Instagram followers) were the first product testers. The product is being presented at Stockholm Design week this week. At the time of this report, no price could be found for the Cat Flat.
Walk Through The Web Wednesday 2/5
Hello There Furiends,
How has your week been going? Things are still pretty boring at our house so I decided I’d have to find some excitement on my own. The Female Human has this thing she calls a “foyer” (I call it the hallway by the front door) which she likes to decorate for the seasons or holidays. She took all the Christmas stuff off and now has the winter thingies there. I have no clue why she does this but I’m not complaining as she puts out tantalizing little knick knacks for me to knock down and bat around the house. The following photos show me checking out this very interesting area.
A cat’s got to do what a cat’s got to do and, if The Female Human insists on leaving us alone in the house during the day, she shouldn’t complain about the mischief we get up to!
And now, let’s see what wonders I discovered on the world-wide web.
What do a venomous primate and a cat have in common?
An international team, led by University of Queensland associate professor Bryan Fry, has been studying slow lorises in a wildlife reserve in West Java in Indonesia. Now you may be asking “Why?” and “What does this have to do with cats? Actually, quite a bit.
The bite of the large-eyed, and incredibly cute, slow loris can induce an allergy-like reaction in humans. They are the only primate that uses venom as a defense against predators. If you humans get bit by a slow loris, it will hurt and will also act and feel like an allergic reaction. These scientists think that studying the slow loris and it’s venom may help them understand why many of you humans are allergic to felines. Evidently the DNA of the protein in the slow loris venom is almost identical to what is in a feline’s fur that causes allergic reactions in humans. Cats secret this protein and coat themselves with it. The good doctor said, “Your pet cat wouldn’t know it, but it may have evolved a toxic defense to keep predators as far away from it as possible.”
Who knows, maybe the slow loris will be the answer to human/cat allergies. And, lest you think this is a hoax, the research has been published in the science journal Toxins.
Hero cat saves owner’s life over 50 times by detecting diabetic attacks
Hazel, a former psychiatric nurse, has type one diabetes and if her blood sugar drops while she sleeps, she can suffer seizures and even fall into a coma — with potentially fatal consequences, but not on Walter, the 9-year old felines watch. Walter can smell the chemical change in her body that happens when her sugar is getting low, and pokes her around the face until she wakes up.
Hazel says Walter is her literal life saver and her hero. The first time Walter went into action, Hazel had no idea what he was doing. Walter refused to be ignored and smacked her with his paw. She finally gave up, turned on the bedroom light and realized that her vision was blurred, a sign her blood sugar was low. Since that day, Walter has never failed to alert her when her blood sugar dips.
Evidently, some diseases, such as diabetes create a chemical change in the body that produces a smell that is too subtle for human noses but not felines.
She said: “When someone is suffering from a disease such as diabetes, chemical changes take place in their body that produce a smell that is too subtle for our noses.
This talent is usually one that dog’s exhibit and in fact, Hazel had gotten a dog with the intention of training her to be a diabetes dog but the dog “didn’t have a clue”.
An English zoo’s jungle cats would like your leftover perfume. Preferably Calvin Klein.
File this one under, “You’ve got to be kitten me!” Evidently big cats are attracted to fragrance. If you decide you don’t like the perfume you receive on Valentine’s Day, re-gift it to a lion. The Banham Zoo in Norfolk, England, put out an appeal this Tuesday for any unwanted fragrances, explaining its big cats are running low. Who knew that, cheetahs, jaguars and ocelots really like perfume — and they have a preference for the designer labels.
“For some reason Calvin Klein perfume is a huge hit with all big cats but in all honesty any perfumes work well and we do like to offer them a variety of different smells,” Mike Woolham, the zoo’s animal manager, said in a statement, adding that donations of aftershave were also welcome.
The zoo demonstrated in a short video this week how the cats “respond very positively” to scents more typically found at mall department stores. The reason is the ingredient, civetone, The civet, a small catlike mammal found throughout Southeast Asia and parts of Africa, marks its territory by secreting a distinctive scent from its anal glands. For hundreds, perhaps even thousands, of years, those pheromones have been used in perfume, although today most fragrances rely on civetone, a lab-made copy.
Although fragrances such as Chanel No. 5 and Jovan Musk also contain civetone, the scent that seems to be the most popular with wildcats is Calvin Klein’s Obsession for Men. This has been confirmed with zookeepers all over the world.
Now this curious cat is wondering, do little cats like the scent as much as big cats? If any of my readers have a bottle of Calvin Klein’s Obsession around the house, give it a try and let me know the results.
Rachel McIntyre Smith launching cat cafe tour
This feline loving singer will be touring cat café’s during her Kitten Coma Tour. She will sell merchandise related to her song, “The Kitten Song,” with all proceeds from those sales going to animal rescue organizations. You can watch Smith sing that song and others on YouTube.
The Kitten Coma Tour will travel from Tennessee to North Carolina, Alabama, Kentucky and Ohio. Smith released her self-titled debut album in April of last year showcasing her blend of country, indie and vintage pop.
Holistic Pet Care Team to host a Facebook live event focused on cats
CBD Dog Health and Two Crazy Cat Ladies, an all-natural product brand for cats in Las Vegas, will be hosting a free online event Feb. 15 focused on cannabidiol (CBD) products and other homeopathic remedies for cats. The event, which will be broadcast via Facebook Live, is part of the Healing Naturally Tour.
“We share a common goal with Adrienne and Jae, [owners of the Two Crazy Cat Ladies], to get our pets off of dangerous and unnecessary medications and help them heal naturally,” said Angela Ardolino, founder of CBD Dog Health, a Lutz, Fla.-based CBD manufacturer. “I know that together, we have a lot of information to share with our fellow cat people, and I can’t wait for cat chat.”
The Healing Naturally Tour is an alliance between Ardolino and Julie Anne Lee, DCH, founder of Adored Beast Apothecary. The tour will continue through mid-February, and will include sessions at veterinary offices, grooming and boarding salons, and boutique shops throughout California and Nevada
Walk Through The Web Wednesday 1/22
Hello Furiends,
Greetings from the snowy, blowy Inland Northwest. The humans are slipping and sliding all over the roads in their metal machines. We felines, on the other hand are staying close to home and keeping cozy.
I have been working though. Seems as if I can’t leave our Purrsonal Assistant alone for a minute so I have to snoopervise her every move. I did demand an “Al extension” on the desk and that my bed be placed there. If I have to work, I’m going to be comfy!
I hope you are all safe and well and that this little sign in our office will resonate with you.
Cat lovers urged to nominate their furry friends in National Cat Awards 2020
Bad news for us North American felines but great news for felines across the pond. It’s time for nominations for National Cat of the Year 2020 . Last year’s overall winner, Jeffree took the title for helping teenager Finn Hackeson, who has Asperger syndrome, cope with the death of his father.
Other categories include ‘Hero Cat’ for cats that have saved the day and ‘Most Caring Cat’ for pets that have positively impacted a person’s health or wellbeing.
The ‘Furr-ever Friends’ category is aimed at bringing in tales of friendship between children and cats.
The ‘Outstanding Rescue Cat’ is a special award for the most fabulous felines that have been adopted from animal charities. There is also a Purina “Better Together” award to celebrate the special bond between a feline and a human.
The award ceremony will be a star-studded event at London’s Savoy Hotel and is sponsored by PURINA.
So my UK moggie furiends, ,get your humans in gear and have them enter the contest.
CHONKY cats beware, there’s a new feline fitness tracker in town!
The PurrSong Pendant is a tiny device that measures cat’s activity and our sleep. Who knew, a fitness tracker just for felines? The idea behind PurrSong is to get data about our regular routines and to keep track of any times we change those routines. Changes in behavior could indicate there is something wrong. We cats are sneaky in hiding when we don’t feel good and this little gadget might just give you humans a heads up and get us to the vet sooner. The information is sent to an app on the human’s smart phone and will alert to abnormal patterns. The device attaches to our collars. The PurrSong Pendant will be released later this year and will sell for about $100.00. You can watch a video about this cat fitness tracker here.
Eagle Scout’s service project benefits shelter cats.
Marshalltown High School student Marek Jablonski took the little things to another level when he helped renovate the Marshalltown Animal Rescue League’s cat playpen as his Eagle Scout public service project. We felines know how important environment enrichment is for us and it’s even more important for shelter kitties.
Jablonski created a wall climbing feature that allows kitties to get to the very top of the wall. When Jablonski visited the shelter he saw three kittens sitting on one of the steps, staring out the window
We give Marek Jablonski a paws up award for this pawsome gift to the shelter.
Feline Social Club offers sound healing for kitties
Since opening in September 2019, Feline Good Social Club has been a haven for the cat-deprived. If you can’t have a kitty of your own, you can pay $15.00 for a hour for lunch, a break or just some feline time. The Feline Good Social Club’s slogan is “get giddy with a kitty” and encourages all it’s patrons to enjoy the feline company they provide. The organization is a nonprofit, everyone there is a volunteer and the funds received used for facility upkeep, cat food, kitty letter, etc.
The Feline Good Social Club plans events with feline friendly titles such as Cats & Mats Yoga, Paint & Purrs, a cat toy making craft event and a cat-themed movie night. Last weekend Sound Healing with Illuminate Life came in to allow felines and humans to enjoy an unusual meditation session. The event was such a success they are considering doing it on a monthly basis. You can visit The Feline Good Social Club (and meet the kitties available for adoption) at their website or follow them on Facebook.
Homeless cats airlifted to new homes in Washington
I’ve reported on Wings of Rescue and The Jackson Galaxy Project before. These wonderful folks (and others) fly felines (and doggos too) to places where they will have a better chance of being adopted. These 118 cats were airlifted from shelters in Louisiana and Mississippi to Washington State where folks are looking for kitties to give a furever home. Paws up to these folks who work so hard to get kitties adopted, even if it means transporting them thousands of miles away.
The cats chosen to be flown out came from Jefferson Parish Animal Shelter, St. Charles Animal Shelter, and Oktibbeha Humane Society.
Wings of Rescue has flown over 41,000 pets to safety since 2012. The Jackson Galaxy Project’s mission statement is “To improve the lives of animals at risk by transforming
the places they live and helping the people who care for them” and working with Wings of Rescue is only one part of their mission.
What is Your Cat Asking You Today?
The Tribe of Five is celebrating National Answer Your Cat’s Question Day today.
Walk Through The Web Wednesday 1/15
Hello There Furiends,
My how time flies. It’s Wednesday already! It’s been a loooong week for our Female Human. We’ve had lots of snow and she’s been busy pushing all that white stuff off the driveway. We felines purrfer comfort so while she went out there at least four times per day, we kept ourselves warm and comfy and cheered her on. (We were with her in spirit).
Lily posed in front of the snow-covered trees and I crawled into The Female Human’s lap each evening and gave her a therapeutic purr session.
We hope that wherever you are, you’re safe and warm! And now, on with the feline news of the week.
Brave Kitty!
We felines don’t always get the kudos we deserve which is why I’m bringing you the story of Max, the fearless cat. This kitty lives in southern California and ended up chasing of not 1, not 2 but 3 coyotes in his yard. And just so you know this isn’t some tall “tail” his humans got the whole dust up on their security camera..
Max’s humans heard the altercation and went out to chase the coyotes out of their yard and had no idea how much work Max had done fending them off until they watched the film from the security camera.
Poor old Max was just a whisker away from bring coyote dinner. Max’s outdoor days are now over bui his humans are talking about building him a catio.You’ve got to check out the security camera video!
A litterbox that keeps your tools handy and is easy to clean!
Tuft and Paw is an innovator in feline products and their latest kickstarter campaign illustrates this.
The Cove litterbox is simple, beautiful and has it’s own an integrated scoop, dustpan, and hand brush. It was created by designers, engineers, and cat behaviorists and made from recycled plastics that are completely toxin-free.
Double-walled, thick matte plastic looks and feels sturdy while a smooth interior is extremely easy to clean. Rubberized bottom firmly plants the box to the floor. Cove’s scoop is designed to sift faster and slide easily through coarse litter without much effort. The dustpan and handbrush allow for quick, easy tidying around the litter box. The litterbox can only be pre-ordered on their Kickstarter page at this time. Pre-order price is $99.00. Lining in a house with five felines, The Female Human isn’t sure that 5 Cove litterboxes are in our financial future but it does sound nice.
Spotify launches a pet playlist generator
I can’t say I’m all that excited about these choices, I’ll have to have a conversation with our Purrsonal Assistant who set it up. I have to say though, it’s about time a streaming company took some interest in feline mewsical preferences. The play list set up asks about your feline’s personality so I am hoping these tunes will suit me. Send your human over to set up your playlist.
Petcurean, a premium food manufacturer for cats and dogs is returning the “Uplift The Underdog – Cat Edition” program
Petcurean puts pets first and the purpose of this contest is to shine a light on the many cats who are overlooked for adoption because of health, weight, age or behavior or other issues, in other words, the feline “underdogs”. Rescue groups, shelters and cat adoption supporters from across North America are invited to purrticipate.
These entities will have until February 2nd to submit the details of their most overlooked, but utterly adoptable cats. Of the cats nominated, 12 finalists will be selected – six Americans and six Canadians. These finalists will be announced on February 18, 2020, and supporters will be invited to learn about the finalists, do their part to help raise awareness, and vote for their favourite cats. The public voting period will last until February 24, 2020, at 6:00 pm P.S.T. The winner will be announced on February 25.
All 12 of the finalists’ shelters will receive a cat food donation of 2,000 meals to support the important work they’re doing to help animals in their communities. Petcurean will also pay the adoption fee for all 12 finalists, and if they are adopted, they will receive year’s supply of food to take to their new homes. The cat who receives the most votes in each category will receive a three-year supply of food from Petcurean.
Let’s get our shelters involved and help these kitties find furever homes!
Cat and bunny are best buddies
This odd couple in London is garnering world-wide fame for their relationship. A huge English bunny was recorded visiting his feline buddy. The cat’s human, Jessie Sayce recorded the bunny during his daily “hop over” to visit her cat. This has been happening since Leo was a kitten. She said, “”We thought it was really adorable, but didn’t think it would last, as Leo was getting bigger and thought he’d scare the rabbit,” she said. “This started 6 months ago, and they’re still super friendly!”
Their friendship has reached the point where the bunny has sneaked into the house via the cat door to look for Leo if he doesn’t find him outside. Sayce couldn’t figure out how the bunny was getting over the fence so she filmed him one day. She said he jumped on a chair to the top of the shed in her garden. She said they don’t always play, sometimes they just sit together and watch the world go by.
Walk Through The Web Wednesday 1/08
Hello there furiends,
Yes, I admit it, I took some time off and I quite enjoyed the rest (you know we felines need our rest!) But the proverbial party is over and it’s time to get back to work. I have a lot to cover since I’ve been slacking (and gave our Purrsonal assistant some time off). The Female Human is not a fan of early mornings and she and Oliver enjoyed hanging out and having a conversation over coffee (Oliver doesn’t drink coffee, he just likes the warmth of the cup).
I on the other hand, have been chomping at the bit to get back to work. The Female Human has an office that is for working and for doing crafts. I must say I love all the craft goodies on the shelf. I have no idea why she gets her whiskers in such a twist when I help myself to some craft supplies, sheesh, how selfish can you get?
Alberto
The good thing about The Female Human having this craft/work situation is that she has a table rather than a desk and this table has an “Alberto extension”. This makes it much easier for me to snoopervise her while she works.
Well, it’s time for me to get to the feline news.
CHONK Statistics Revealed
For those of you who follow my Wednesday web wanderings, you know that our all time favorite Facebook group is This Cat is CHONKY. The humans and felines in this group are some of the greatest we’ve ever met (we’ll be writing more about why this is) but for now, here is only one example. A very mathematically motivated human in the group has created a Universal CHONK index so that the debate about whether your home is filled with CHONKS, SLONKS or FLOOFS can finally be steeled.
Ellis Mumford-Russell has taken on this herculean task and it has settled many debates in the CHONK community. We now have numerical and provable CHONK standards. If this is all a bit confusing to you I suggest you join the This Cat is CHONKY group and get to know the CHONKS AND the wonderful humans they live with and for heaven’s sake before you identify your felines as HEFTY CHONK, MEGA CHONK, etc. please refer to this index.
Universal Chonk Index Update
It is with great pleasure that I unveil the findings of our UCI survey. I charted the 54 data points, which you can see here.
(explanation of UCI here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/133018060894811/permalink/560333531496593/?hc_location=ufi)
A few things:
1. You’ll see cat names listed on the bottom. If people didn’t list cat names, I put the human’s name with an asterisk after
2. Remember, the smaller the number, the more chonky the cat
Most Chonky Cat = Matita w/UCI 1.17
Most Slonky Cat = Noel w/UCI 4.75
Average = 1.8657
Median = 1.7222
Mode = 1.7000
UPDATE: photos now included below for Matita and Noel so that we can see the scale of C H O N K –> S L O N K ??
Proposed Chonk Standards
Given that I presume that the sample group skews chonky, I propose the following standards:
this cat is C H O N K Y ≤ 1.7
this cat is A V E R A G E = 1.71-1.9
this cat is S L O N K Y ≥ 2
Diving further into the data, here are my suggested parameters for the following categories of cat:
some sort of snake cat ≥ 4
l o n g b o i ≥ 3
A fine boi = 1.71-2.9
He Chomnk = 1.6-1.7
A Heckin’ Chonker = 1.5-1.59
H E F T Y C H O N K = 1.4-1.49
M E G A C H O N K E R = 1.3-1.39
AW LAWD HE COMIN’ ≤ 1.29
Use these findings as you see fit.
View the data here: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1UlWWRg6kLF1-MIT7om4WV-7TmsX-t1AAwuEX7DMy7OI/edit?usp=sharing
LuluPet’s AI Litterbox will analyze your feline’s “deposits” and check for health issues
If our Female Human had a dollar for every time she’s had to describe to the vet the appearance and texture of the poop of The Tribe of Five, she’d be a rich woman, And gathering this information accurately when you have a multi cat household and numerous cat boxes is like searching for the holy grail.
But take heart humans, LuLuPet has a litter box with “built-in stool and urine image recognition” to analyze our… deposits. And why have an AI litter box that does this? It’s for the health of your felines, of course. The Female Human paid purrrticular attention when she read that the LuLuPet device can be set to determine which poop is from which cat.
When the cat walks into the litter box, the information is sent to an app on the human’s phone. The company says that the litter box is Alexa- and Google Home-enabled. This offers more questions than answers. Whose voice does it respond to? If it’s the felines, do we have to learn special meows? If it’s the human, what is the voice command? The next feature has Oliver’s whiskers in a twist because the litter box can weigh your feline and determine whether the cat is too fat. That brings me to another question; will they be employing the CHONK data information noted in the article above?
Evidently this wonder litter box can also determine if the cat needs more food or water.
LuluPets joins many other smart litter boxes but most of those boxes focus on cleaning the box and not analyzing the cat’s health. And there’s even a built in camera although this causes me to wonder, can’t a cat get some privacy?! The thought of my human watching me “do my business” over her phone app is a bit off-putting and frankly, an invasion of my privacy. LuluPet says that these photos are uploaded to the LuluPet library and are used to compare the different “deposits” of the other felines.
Now don’t get me wrong, this thing could really be a help with cat health, but I’m having a bit of difficulty believing that it will be as effective as the company says it will be. But, time will tell. This smart litter box is slated to be sold on Amazon in March for $149.00.
Canyon Ranch Inspired Resort for Felines…Human send me right meow!
Cat’s Meow resort was founded by Kim Thomas who took her business acumen and love of cats and created her feline resort, Cat’s Meow. She refers to it as the Canyon Ranch for felines. She began her feline career with a pet sitter service and said that she noticed many of the cats she cared for were in need of grooming. She did her research, connected with the National Cat Groomer’s institute and became a master cat groomer.
She loved grooming felines, bet felt something was missing in the marketplace. She wanted to create a place where cats could enjoy luxurious, stress-free, happy cat boarding without the distraction and fear of dogs —- along with the latest in cat grooming. and Cat’s Meow Resort was born.
The spaces at Cat’s Meow are pawsome and very elegant and the grooming options are amazing. If you want to up your feline’s star quality, this is the place to stay. I would be tempted but traveling. If I didn’t find the idea of being stuffed in a carrier and traveling the 2682 miles from my home to the resort holds no interest for me! If any of my east coast feline furiends have a stay or a grooming session there, let me know.
Gus the Cat Entered in Australian Dog Swimming Race
The Scotland Island dog swimming race has been held for 44 years in the Sydney area. This year an entrant nabbed Gus shook things up a bit as he is an 11-month old Tonkinese cat. Gus’ human, Glenn Druery had been training the feline in Middle Harbor. Gus enjoys other water sports like kayaking and paddle boarding.
The Tonkinese breed is a cross between Siamese and Burmese and is known for not being fearful of water. Still, Gus is nowhere near the size and strength of the dogs that compete in the 500 meter swim. Druery checked the rules and noted that a human can swim alongside the four legged contestants.
Needless to say, ther4 was controversy about Gus’ entering the race with many saying that it should be kept as a dog race, stating reasons such as, “it’s cruel to the cat, it’s dangerous to the cat and it will upset the dogs.”
Druery assured the sceptics that he’d be swimming alongside Gus and, if Gus ran into any trouble, he’d climb on Druery’s shoulders.
Druery’s black Border collie, Bob, swam in the race twice and finished third and was declared the overall winner in the 2015 race. Sadly, Bob passed away from cancer.
Gus came in first in his category and is now a feline Australian sensation.
Osaka Hotel Offers Rooms With A View….Of Cats
There are hotels for cats and now there are hotels for cat lovers. Neko Hatago is a hotel where guests can watch 16 resident rescue cats chilling in the adjacent cat café Neko Yokujo through an observation window in each hotel room. The hotel opened in mid-December. It has a traditional Japanese aesthetic, with traditional wooden fixtures, tatami mats and a rainbow Mt Fuji mural presiding over the cat café. The hotel is more hostel than a luxury property. The rooms have individual bunks for one or two people with a separate shared bath facility. There is an observation window in each room that looks into the cats play area. The windows are designed so you can observe the cats but neither you nor the other human guests can see each other. There are radio controlled toys that you can use to play with the cats.
Rates run between 8500 Yen ($79.00 USD) to 11,500 Yen ($105.00 USD) and include a two-hour session in the cat café outside of regular hours. And, if you and one of the kitties connect you can adopt a new friend as all the cats are available for adoption.
Walk Through The Web Wednesday 12/18
Hello there furiends,
How is your week going? The Tribe of Five is getting in the holiday spirit and the weather humans are saying we’re going to have two days of holiday snow. I realize that today’s picture on Weather Kitty is a bit deceptive, what with the sunshine and green grass and all but you can see we have a winter storm warning.
Weather Kitty offers “meow prime” but evidently the staff is too cheap to get the paid version with our purrsonalized pictures!
On another note, we seem to have a disaster in the making at our house. This weekend The Female Human was boiling some eggs on the stovetop. She went to wash something in the sink and when she turned around, this is what she saw.
Evidently, the desperate yelling of the Female Human, “Oliver get down!” had no effect on the little heat seeking guy. Nope instead of obeying, he moved in closer.
The yelling and removal of Oliver from the stovetop continued until The Female Human’s eggs were boiled. Oliver won the stand off and The Female Human hovered over the burner until she shut it off. All I can say is, it’s a good thing she rarely cooks!
Please do not give The Female Human a bad time. She always knew Oliver was a heat seeking feline but this stunt was a new one. He has been (gently) advised that waltzing across the counter to the stove top is not allowed and a very, very, very bad idea. Sigh, it’s a good thing I’m such a good cat and don’t give her any trouble..
Alberto
As you can see it’s been a bit of a harrowing week in our neck of the woods but we are all safe and sound and The Female Human is quite the watchdog when the stovetop burners are on.
So let’s get started on this week’s wonderful feline web stories.
Working Cats Keep Levees Safe
The Metro East Sanitary District in Granite City, IL hired dozens of new employees this year, all eager and hungry to take care of rodent problems. These working felines are keeping the rodent population down and saving the levee system.
The felines were “hired” six months ago from Metro East Humane Society’s Working Cat Program and their job description isn’t limited to rats, they patrol for moles, voles and other burrowing animals along the levee system. An MESD spokesperson says the cats are doing a fantastic job. The cats receive room and board and are saving MESD from high maintenance costs.
Prior to coming to MESD, the cats were spayed/neutered, vaccinated, micro-chipped and ear-tipped. In the past most feral cats were euthanized and now these felines not only get to live, they live their best life. Paws up to the good folks at The Metro East Sanitary District!
Paws on the Job – More working cats
Business owners in Addison County, Vt are adding felines to the workplace through the Paws on the Job program of Homeward Bound, Addison County’s Humane Society. Shelter feline coordinator Michelle Shubert spends time with the new feral cats at the shelter so that she can transition them into the working cats program.
The working cats in the program live and hunt outside and the business owners feed and care for them. A new category for office cats has also been created. Sadie, a calico works at the Gaines Insurance agency, Chedder works at the Middlebury Animal Hospital, and a local hardware store employs Grayson
Businesses wishing to hire a working cat are required to assign a “boss” or point person who is responsible for the feline employee. They must provide shelter, food, water and affection and attention. For a $35.00 hiring fee, the business receives a start-up package that includes a crate ,litter box, start up food and toys.
pays for a start-up care package that includes supplies such as a crate for the acclimation period of an outdoor cat, litter box for an indoor cat, startup food and toys. Let’s give a big round of applause for “Paws on the Job”.
Cats Steal the Show in These 12 Famous Feline Flicks
The holidays are near and my feline furiends (even the working ones) and their humans will have some extra time to relax and watch some flicks. When you’re planning your holiday movies, here are 12 of the greatest feline features ever made for you to watch. The list goes back all the way to 1958.
Molly, the amazing dog who rescues cats
Before you say it, yes of course I know this is a FELINE blog and dogs are normally verboten but this is a special case. This dog, Mollie, works with her human Colin Butcher, a former police detective in their agency that finds lost pets, with a specialty in finding felines. Mollied’s human learned quite a bit about finding lost pets when he was on the police force so this post-retirement job was purrfect for him.
Their agency, UK Pet Detectives took off when Molly started working with him. Molly is a rescue herself and has been trained to do feline scent recognition work. While Molly did her training her human brushed up on cat behavior and now they are an unstoppable team. They’ve recently released a book titled, Molly: The True Story of The Amazing Dog Who Rescues Cats
Tweet about dad who didn’t want a cat explains why cats own Twitter
A human named Ruby shared a tweet on December 11th about her dad who was adamant about the fact that he didn’t want the responsibility of taking a cat as he’d already raised his kids. The tweet showed her dad showing his feline Lucas everything he bought the cat at the store. And Ruby’s dad now has two cats. In addition to obtaining feline approval of his purchases, Ruby’s dad also built a sandpit and paddling pool for them and holds an umbrella over them when it rains. The tweets are hilarious and heart warming and we want to remind you humans that real men love cats!
My regular readers will remember that I told you about one of the BEST cat groups on the planet, This cat is CHONKY. If you haven’t checked this group out yet you’re missing a lot. Wonderful CHONKY cats and fantastic humans. Well this feline, Kidden was a member and when Kidden’s human say a photo of this guy holding a friend’s CHONKY feline she felt compelled to comment on his cuteness.
The rest is an amazing love story. Chicago human begins to correspond with English human and English human sets off over the pond to meet female human. Thank goodness Kidden approves. So all you single cat people out there….start getting creative!
Home | felineopines 