Greetings to all our Irish friends and happy St Patrick’s Day!
But did you know there’s another Saint’s day to celebrate today? St. Gertrude is the patron Saint of gardeners but more importantly CATS! Happy St. Gertrude Day!
You can read more about her .here
Hello There Furiends,
It is getting downright warm in our neck of the woods (44 degrees!) and the sun is out. There are plenty of sun puddles for the Tribe to enjoy. The Human has been really busy, meeting every night which means much less cuddle time! Oh the injustice!
The biggest events of the week have been the weight mitigation attempts of The Human. Oliver is having none of it.
I am beginning to feel sympathy for The Human. Oliver is definitely obsessed by food!
Tibo Charroppin and his cat Lizzy (whose stage name is OwlKitty) are reimagining popular movies, feline style.
Charroppin, a French-born videographer from Portland, Oregon began this hobby with his desire to use his green screen with his cat. Since that first desire he and Lizzy have created their own versions of Titanic, Jaws, The Matrix, Pulp Fiction, and Jurassic Park – just to name a few.
Lizzy gets the top roles like the T-Rex in Jurassic Park, as she is turned into a 30 foot tall feline.
How long does it take to create these masterpieces? It varies, the Jurassic Park and Titanic videos each took about two to three months to produce.
In addition to the featured presentation videos, Charroppin also shares behind-the-scenes looks at how he puts everything together with the help of his wife Olivia Boone and the couple’s other cat, a 10-year-old tabby named Juliette.
You will be pleased to note that movie fame has not changed Lizzy despite her growing popularity on social media. The message for all these movies is to promote cat adoption.
Meowza, maybe there still is hope for a film career for me!
Now I don’t usually feature controversial subjects but I was interested to read what this human had t say about her cloned kitty. When her beloved cat Chai crossed The Rainbow Bridge at the young age of five years. She was devastated at the loss and decided to spend $25,000 to clone her companion “out of pure love” for her pet.
Kelly Anderson told The Sun that she “couldn’t be happier with her decision,” despite the daily influx of hate mail on social media and a scathing letter from PETA.
She started doing cloning research and looked into ViaGen. Tthe second they opened the next morning she made the decision. The process from there was basically getting my vet to work with them to get a skin biopsy (from Chai).”
Four years later, Anderson has a new kitten that she named Belle.
ViaGen told The Sun that it guarantees that they’ll look identical but the animals will develop their own personality because that’s based on external factors.
Those factors include how many animals are in the house, what the animal is being fed, how the cat is raised, among dozens of other nature-versus-nurture impacts.
Anderson said Belle’s personality “is completely different” from Chai.
Belle shares her home with her human and three other cats. She is also being socialized by being taken outside and to local breweries.
“Some have ethical problems but some claim I’m using a cloned cat to make money on social media.PETA said in their that she has an “enormous amount of influence and they are desperate to help shelters … and to NOT create a cloning trend.
“Your promotion directly and adversely affects the lives of other cats — those who are sitting in shelters waiting for a family,” PETA said.
Anderson, who trains animals for a living, shared a few of her accomplishments and when she worked with PETA on campaigns.
“I appreciate your concern but it is very misplaced. And your data is misinformed,” Anderson said in a response email. “Cloning does not affect the cats in shelters at all.”
She said she has fostered over 100 cats and always has adopted, but losing Chai at five years old was a crushing blow in her life.
“There was just something special and different about Chai. I don’t know really, I can’t put it into words. She was just that pet for me. I’ve never had a pet like her. And I wanted to carry on a piece of her,” Anderson said.
So what do you think? Meow about it and let us know.
We felines are well known for wandering the neighborhoods, and the of one cat’s adventures has delighted internet users.
In a now-viral TikTok video shared on Thursday, user atargatisfairy, who also goes by Jaz, shared clips of a cat with the overlay text on the video reading: “This boy has been visiting our house for the past few months. Decided we need to know who his people are.”
Jaz shared a hand-written note that read: “Hey Mom, Being a responsible son, I’m letting you know where I spend some of my days and who my friends are. I visit [censored] every day and they started calling me Bob because they don’t understand my meows when I tell them my name.
“The humans at the house say you’re welcome to come and say hi. They have some cats too, we all catch up and chill together. If you think I’m lost or missing, I am possibly at my friends house so don’t worry. Andrew, Ange, and Jaz live there and would like to meet you and know my name.”
In the video, the poster then attaches the note to the feline’s collar before sending him off on his way. At the end of the video, the text overlay read: “He’s no trouble at all and he is well looked after by his people, but we are moving soon and don’t know who will own this house next. [We] want to let his people know that he might not get the same treatment when we go.”
With 1.9 million views and over 140,000 likes, TikTok users waited eagerly to see what would happen next. One user wrote: “Definitely waiting in anticipation for an update,” and another commented: “Did they get back to you? I’m invested!” Before long, a video update appeared.
And now, part 2. When the cat came back with no note, it wasn’t until Jaz checked her mailbox that she found a handwritten reply.
The letter read: “Hi Andrew, Ange & Jaz, I’m sorry my family have not been down to see you yet, my owners are little humans and are always getting into mischief. They would like you to know my name is Rex (as in T-Rex). You can probably hear my mom calling for me every night.”
In the video, Jaz also provided an update on what she would do next. She said: “Because his people are tiny people, I’m going to get some photos of him when he’s here next with my cats and then write out little stories as if he’s been on an adventure. That way the kids can see what he gets up to while he’s out adventuring.”
Another feline making furiends all over the neighborhood!
You humans are all techy and nerdy so why shouldn’t we felines be the same?
In the “wearables” category I found the Tabcat device interesting. They say you humans can track us felines by audio and visual cues. And, get this, you can even train your feline to come home on demand. I have to say, this feline finds that a bit farfetched.
If you humans are too lazy to play fetch with us then the interactive ball might just be the ticket.
And finally, the thing Oliver fears most – the automatic feeder!!
The bond between this cat-dad Dan and 2-year-old, Darla is touching!
In her TikTok video Darla is seen hanging out on her cat perch to be closer to her beloved cat dad. She listens for his voice but he’s actually not in the room. He recently took a job out of town and so Dan keeps the bond strong with Darla by catching up with her via their home camera.
As soon as she hears his voice, Darla’s ears perk up as she lovingly watches Dan speaking to her. The conversation goes something like this, “Hi baby. Hi! Yeah, I see you,” he says when Darla reaches her perch. “I miss you, Darla,” Dan says. “My sweet baby girl. I love you so much. I miss you, and I’ll be home soon. OK?”
Dan’s final words to his sweet Darla: “I’ll always come home to you; I love you so much.”
Oh my whiskers, I think I need a hanky!
Hello Furiends,
The snow is melting in our neck of the woods and we are excited about that! Even The Human is excited and she celebrated the coming of spring by ordering Oliver and I new harnesses. (Lily turns into the Tasmanian Devil if The Human has unmitigated gall to attempt to put a harness on her. We’ve outgrown our old harnesses who have been given to felines of furiends who are a bit slimmer than we are.
The Human is very meticulous and cheap…er…thrifty so she spends hours researching things before she buys them. When she ordered the harnesses (and measured us) she ended up buying the Kitty Holster Cat Harness. She got both of them in the red bandana fabric and we even got red leashes to go with them. She had to order the XL and here are some photos of the harness on larger cats. We’ll post our own once we get them and we go for a stroll.
We will report back when we have tested the harnesses.
Oliver had been going through a bit of an existential crisis this week and The Human has been trying to help him through it.
Oliver
“Human, I’m feeling a little down, will you hold my paw?”
The Human
“Of course Oliver, what’s wrong buddy?”
Oliver is feeling much better and no, he didn’t get an extra treat.
I hope you enjoy this week’s stories.
MOL! A human rescue from a tree but, we have to give credit to this 17-year old who tried to do a good deed and rescue a cat he saw stuck high up in a tree. The only problem is, the teenager ended up needing saving himself.
He made it up 35 feet but was then stuck himself. The teen named Owen told the firefighters that he was trying to do a good deed and save the cat.
The firefighters used a rope system to get Owen down and he was pronounced fine after medics checked him out. The cat watched the rescue but made no indication he wanted to come down. The cat’s human ended up having to hire a private company to retrieve him from the tree.
First, allow me to say that the humans who do TNR are heroes to me but this is a cautionary tale for those who might be a bit overzealous. When 10-year old Maggie disappeared from her home in Berlin, PA , her human was sure a fox got her. Now fast forward to last week then the same human was informed that Maggie was listed for adoption on a Philadelphia rescue adoption page.
Her humans called right away to claim her and were told she’d been taken to Petsmart the day before for an adoption event. Maggie’s people got there just in time to claim her.
By now you’re probably scratching your head and saying, “So what’s the big deal?” The big deal is that a number of felines in Maggie’s neighborhood have gone missing as well (even Maggie’s next door neighbor!) And when recovered, all of the cats were in Philadelphia, three hours and forty one minutes away.
Is there a catnapper about? Nope, simply a woman who was trapping on her private property and calling the Community Cats Coalition to pick the cats up. The shelter director was horrified and worked to get all the cats back to their families with the help of the local police.
Cats that weren’t microchipped could not be identified as having homes. The cat families were not upset with the shelter but did have some words for the woman trapping cats that wandered on her property. Sheesh lady, communicate with your neighbors why don’t you?
There has never been a feral cat problem in the neighborhood which added to the cat owner’s ire and the fact that she lured the cats into the cages with food. One of the cat parents said, “She was putting the food out—of course they were coming on her property.”
When people take feral cats out of the community that have not been spayed and neutered is a good thing. The shelter only had good intentions .
How do you prevent a situation like this? Having your feline wear a collar helps but the only safe collars are break away collars so you can’t count on cat having their collar on. The better way is to have us microchipped and keep the contact information up to date. And, many of the families of these felines are now keeping the cats indoors. Others are looking for special cat fencing to keep the cats in their yards.
In the future, Community Cats Coalition will not remove cats without contacting the local police department.
I’d say Maggie and her furiends had a close call!
We know that you humans who live with felines have observed us sleeping in wacky places and this article proves it. There’s even a puss in boot!
Now some of my furiends may be fancier than our Tribe and go to a cat groomer. Our grooming sessions consist of The Human brushing us and then clipping our front claws (we never hold still long enough for her to get the back ones. And don’t even ask about Lily because The Human has learned that even attempting to lip her front claws would require medical services to stand by (the vet does her claws and so far no one at the clinic has needed any surgical intervention).
This professional groomer has some tips (and classes and videos if you humans are really into this). And, if they are into this they can get the groomers FREE PDF DOWNLOAD with 5 of her top tips for do it yourselfers.
Danielle German, professional cat groomer explains, “What’s funny is that for many years now it seems that most aggressive cats I am handed turn out to be fairly mellow once I start handling them. This played out over and over again during the former National Cat Groomers School program that my amazing staff and myself operated for 6 years. Each time a student had a fractious feline in their charge that started to get really out of hand, things would change dramatically once myself or an instructor stepped in to take over and demonstrate how things should be done. It truly was an amazing transformation that clearly showed me the incredible value in firm, confident control based on knowledge. This was not “winging it”, folks. This stuff is real. It makes a difference.”
She tells the story of Daisy, a 1 year old domestic shorthair rescue kitty that had never been groomed before. Until the day she groomed her in a mobile grooming van during the On the Road with Jodi and Danelle video shoot in NJ
some years back. Daisy was a perfect candidate for the lesson I gave on getting off on the right foot when you work with a cat born with street smarts, wrapped in fear of all things unknown. Do not be that person that ruins things for cats like Daisy because you don’t know quite what you are doing. Learn the stuff. Get the training. Then….go out and conquer. If you want to see this in action, you can watch Daisy in in On the Road with Jodi and Danelle. Hmmmm, maybe there is hope for Lily yet!
It’s not just human TV stars who have blooper reels. Many felines from the media have portions of tape they’d rather not have anyone see!
Happy Wednesday Furiends!
The Human is getting a bit psycho in my humble opinion. She awoke to this scene at the beginning of the week as she looked out the bedroom window.
So what’s so crazy making about a snowstorm in late February? Well, it it turns to rain for the next few days it does seem to drive The Human crazy. But this is what life is like in the Inland Northwest and since we felines are indoor kitties, the weather affects our lives very little (unless it’s summer and we get to take a stroll in the garden or sun ourselves on the upstairs deck.
Still, we understand The Human’s struggle and until she calms down a bit we’re going to keep a low profile, put our paws together and pray for spring!
That’s what’s been going on in my neck of the woods. Meow at me in the comments and let me know how things are going for you!
My Human likes this quote from In the words of Sigmund Freud, “Time spent with cats is never wasted.” There are a lot of you humans who feel the same but then there are some who have no clue as to the intricacy and complexity of the feline mind and purrsonality. I liked this article as it blows up a lot of the wrong thinking some humans have about us felines so, if you know someone who wants to share their life with a cat, please have them read this article! Paws up to the human who wrote the tips below!
5. Early socialization
Cats need extensive socialization to ensure they can thrive as a pet and form a close relationship with their humans. Habituation to people and other animals — as well as to different sounds, objects, and physical contact — has to be done by the age of seven or eight weeks. This places a huge responsibility on cat breeders and cat shelters, as kittens must not be taken from their mother until at least eight weeks old (ideally ten to 12).
During this time they build up their strength and immunity from feeding on their mother’s milk and learn to play and use their litter tray under her guidance.
Check that the kitten is still with its mum before you agree to adopt or buy and that they have reached the appropriate age before you take them home.
4. Training and stimulation
Cats are independent animals and like to do what they want when they want. So, you will need to teach them not to jump up onto kitchen surfaces and any other places where they might not be welcome. This is best done when they are young but adult cats can also be trained to some degree too. If you invest the time, you will make your own life easier and your cat’s life happier.
Generally speaking, most cats are perfectly content in their own company for several hours a day. But just as with dogs there are some cats who suffer from separation-related anxiety, which can lead to behaviors such as inappropriate urination or an unusual level of vocalization.
If you are going to be away for long periods of time every day then you will need to make sure they have stimulation. You might consider getting two cats from the same litter, rather than one. Or a cat flap. Or maybe even a dog. Cats and dogs can form close bonds, but you’ll need to be careful about how you introduce your cat to a new canine friend – here also, socialization at an early age is key.
3. Nutritional and medical needs
Cats are supreme and opportunistic hunters, which can lead to pressure on their prey species, as well as on you as an owner to prevent such killings.
Be prepared to put some effort into finding cat food that meets their approval as cats can be very picky eaters. You may even want to consider the type of bowl you feed them from as cats sometimes suffer from whisker stress.
You will need to have them microchipped at a young age and vaccinated annually — and the choice and optimal time to neuter will require some thinking through.
2. A suitable environment
Be sure that you can provide a living environment that suits your cat’s character.
Cats are considered semi-solitary animals. They can benefit from being adopted with a same-sex animal from the same litter. But if you already have an older cat that is used to a quiet life, you may cause considerable upset by adopting a new little kitten or bringing in another adult cat.
Cats enjoy human company but like to choose who they mix with.insta_photos
Cats are highly agile and live three-dimensionally, which means that they like to sit in high places, jump and climb. They also inhabit an olfactory world, which may come with a need to encounter interesting smells. Be prepared to adapt your home accordingly, as these are important behavioral needs and they cannot be persuaded not to do them.
1. Pedigree or rescue
Adopting a cat from a rescue center can be an incredibly rewarding experience – and can also make it easier to find a cat that is a perfect match.
Choose the cat for its character, not just its looks. Individuals differ widely in personality and temperament, including friendliness, boldness, and likelihood of aggression. It’s important to find a cat or kitten who fits perfectly with you and your living conditions.
If you opt for a pedigree kitten, find a breeder that invests heavily in socializing the kittens. Choose your breed carefully as they have very different characteristics — some are more lazy and mellow, others more vocal and demanding. Be aware though, that some breeds may be prone to hereditary issues that can cause serious health issues.
Last but not least comes the fun part of deciding what to call your new kitten (an older rescue cat will probably have a name already). Cats learn their name very quickly — just make sure you choose something you’re happy to shout out loud when calling your feline friend in for the night.
*Note-Lily, Oliver and I all had names given by the shelter we came from but The Human prefers to observe us and then give us our forever name.
Oh my whiskers, those Japanese feline loving folks are so artistic! Last week I featured a Japanese artist who carves whimsical cat figurines and this week I bring you an artist that does wonderful and realistic.
Since we felines are known to squeeze ourselves into tight spots, artist Hiroko Kubota decided to illustrate this by stitching feline likenesses into shirt pockets. She’s not taking international commissions at this time, but you can stay updated on her work on Instagram.
This feline has a generous streak and likes to collect garbage around the neighborhood and deliver it to his humans. Gonzo’s humans were curious as to what Gonzo was up to so they made a tiny camera, attached it to his collar and found themselves fascinated by Gonzo’s world. He was busy doing a lot more than collecting garbage. Keep up with Gonzo on TikTok: https://thedo.do/GonzotheCat.
Well there you go. Scientists say pets could protect you humans from memory loss in later life.
Owners of animals including dogs, cats and rabbits were found to have held on to more of their cognitive abilities when tracked over six years.
For the study, researchers tested more than 1,300 people with an average age of 65.
Fifty-three per cent of them had pets and almost a third of this group had owned their pet for more than five years.
The participants were asked to recall a list of ten words, both immediately and after five minutes.
They had to count backwards from 20, and backwards from 100 by subtracting seven from each number.
The study found that, after six years, long-term pet owners saw less of a fall in their average score on these tests than those without pets.
There is increasing evidence that stress can lead to cognitive decline and experts believe pets may help you humans to stay mentally sharp by reducing stress.
Those with dogs benefit from regular walks as exercise is linked to a healthier brain, however, if you have a cat stroller, like The Human does, you can still get a nice walk in with your feline.
The authors do say that people with better thinking skills may simply be more likely to have pets, as they can deal with their multitude of demands.
The University of Michigan Medical Centre study, which is not yet published, was presented at the annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology.
Dr Tiffany Braley, who led the study, said: ‘Prior studies have suggested that the human-animal bond may have health benefits like decreasing blood pressure and stress.
‘Our results suggest pet ownership may also be protective against cognitive decline.’
‘While this US-based study linked owning a pet with some protection in memory and thinking decline, it can’t tell us if these are long-term benefits, or whether owning a pet has any bearing on dementia risk.
Now this just warms my heat. Jill, a year-old black-and-white cat, found abandoned at a soccer field in North Platte now are full time residents of the “H” unit at the Lincoln County Detention Center — one of eight cats living with inmates there.
“She likes to roam around (the pod),” said Matthew, an inmate in H unit. “She can tell when you need someone. It’s kind of nice having her in here, something other than just people.
“She’ll come lay in your bed and go play in your cell and your sinks. She loves it. She’ll sleep in anybody’s cell. She’ll sleep on my sink because I have a handicap room. She’ll turn my sink on and play in the water.”
Felines have been part of the Lincoln County Detention Center for the past decade. One cat is housed in each unit except for two pods where the inmates are considered to be higher behavioral risks.
The cats remain in the units with the inmates through each day except for a short time when detention center staff are making medication rounds. “But they eventually want to go back in (to the pod),” Ball said.
“I had some concerns just about the basic care of the cats,” Ball said. “Just (questions) if the inmates would take ownership of them. But the cats take ownership of (the inmates), and the inmates definitely take ownership of the cats. They take good care of them. It gives them a responsibility, a purpose.”
The cats also simply provide companionship.
Nemo, a 10-year-old tabby, is the longest feline resident of the detention center. Nemo was one of the first cats brought into the detention center, a donation from the North Platte Animal Shelter in 2012.
“It gets to the point where the cats usually will bond with one or two inmates and sleep with them for comfort.
“Inmates who are having a bad day will pet the cats,” Ball said. “It’s a kind of a soothing, emotional release for them to be able to care for the cats. An emotional purge.”
“We’ve seen units where a new (inmate) has come in and the other inmates didn’t think they were being nice enough to the cat,” Ball said. “They were ringing and talking (to staff) saying, ‘He needs to go. He’s not nice to our cat.’”
Lil’ Cody Park is the newest feline resident. The 7-month-old gray medium-hair cat is named after the place where he was found abandoned.
Lil’ Cody Park has a neurological disorder that affects coordination. In other words, he is a wobbly cat. He is housed in a female inmate worker unit.
“He is very playful and since he has been inside here, he has blossomed,” Ball said. “He acts like a cat as much as a wobbly cat can.”
Ball has had offers from detention center staff members who are interested in taking Lil’ Cody Park home with them for good. It’s not the first time she has received inquiries about adopting one of the facility felines.
“When I brought Jill in, I had a lot of staff members say, ‘Can I take Jill?’ I said. ‘You’ve got to talk to the guys in ‘H’ if they are willing to let her go.’ They didn’t let her go, because she is still here.”
Now that’s a pawsome program, what human isn’t made better by living with a cat?
Happy Wednesday Furiends!
I hope things have gone well in your neck of the woods this week. We don’t have much to report from our neck of the woods except that the temperatures have been in the single digits. I’m not sure but I’m getting the feeling that The Human has had enough of this weather if her Facebook post from the other day is any indication. We had to remind her that she doesn’t like the heat,, the desert or snakes!
We all got together and discussed what sort of photos we should post in this week’s segment. The Human said she wanted us to do something different and try some of the photo apps she has. She told us to think creative, fantasy and fun. This was my suggestion:
Much to my surprise, everyone nixed this photo, how rude, just look how dashing I am. The Human decided that she wanted us to have more dignified portraits so here are the results. What do you think (I still like my pilot picture best!)
“Even though The Human calls me her little princess, I felt that an oil painting of me as a queen was much more appropriate!” (Lily)
“If I can’t be a daring aviator, then I’ll be a top cat gentleman, hanging out at my private club (which means Lily and Oliver cannot be members) and discussing world issues with other refined felines.” (Alberto)
I hope you enjoyed this little glimpse into our imaginations and that you’ll enjoy this week’s feline news.
Meowza, there are artists and then there are artists and this artist, Japanese sculptor Sakura Hanafusa knows felines! I love the whimsy in the carvings and ow Hanafusa captures the essence of our feline purrsonalities.
Hanafusa whittles camphor and then adds details with oil paint. All the feline models are inspired by the pets of family and friends. If you like these carvings as much as I do you can view more of Hanafusa’s work, visit the artist’s website and Instagram. (via Supersonic Art)Me-ouch! Firefighters free frantic feline from toilet
Oh my whiskers this kitty certainly got himself into a pickle. Thank heaven there are kind firefighters who will come to the rescue of a cat in need.
Two paws up to Tualatin Valley Fire and Rescue, Station 53 in Oregon, who extricated this feline stuck in a toilet bowl. They were called after his human’s efforts to get him out didn’t work.
Now if you are wondering like I did, how in the heck did Dutch get into this purrdicament, it seems he went for a little drink and then got his back leg stuck.
Dutch was saved by the firefighters and suffered only a minor sprain. Dear furiends, try not to drink out of the toilet!
The Human likes to keep things tidy at our house and works hard to keep the décor nice. I know she would have never considered turning over our house for the convenience of the felines but seeing what a great job this human did, maybe we can get her to change her mind. Peter, the founder of the ZenByCat organization, and the builder of this wonderful cat paradise executed his life’s dream: living in harmony with his felines by creating a purrfect environment for them.
And that’s no mean feat when you live with 20 cats! It all started with Miss Bean, a kitten Peter adopted in, 2016. Miss Bean. When Miss Bean was diagnosed with FIP he did everything he could and that included in getting her in a drug trial at UC Davis. Despite the care and love she received, Miss Been crossed the Rainbow Bridge in July of 2016. Since then, Peter has dedicated his home and his life to helping his cats live their best lives.
In honor of Miss Bean and all FIP cats, Zen By Cat was set up as a nonprofit to raise money and awareness for FIP research. Since 2016, Dr. Pederson and others at UC Davis, have made great strides in their research and have successfully cured many cats from FIP, including Peter’s cat Smokey. But there is still much work to be done to bring the drug that saved Smokey and others to market. If you care about curing this disease, you can donate to the work of these doctors at UC Davis through the Bria Fund which is associated with the Every Cat Health Foundation.
And speaking of cats and research, Catlog, a research institute that collects and analyzes data worked to measure information (sleeping time in aging cats, etc.) by wearable devices attached to collars to assist in cat care.
The institute says, “By studying the ecology and habits of cats, we hope that we can detect abnormalities and symptoms early on, and use that for the heathy life for felines.”
Yukiko Iyo, a 41-year-old cat lover in Shibuya Ward, studied bio-logging which is a method to investigate the ecology of wild animals by attaching small measuring instruments such as GPS devices on them — at Tokyo University of Marine Science and Technology Graduate School. She used that experience to set up institute operator Rabo Inc. on Cat Day in 2018.
Data is collected using the wearable device “Catlog,” developed by Iyo and others. It records and gathers information on seven types of behavior including walking, running, eating and sleeping. The data is then sent to owners via a smartphone app, and they can watch over their felines even when they’re not at home.
There is a also device that can be laid under the litter box to monitor feline litterbox habits, called “Catlog Board”. To date, a total of about 3.8 billion pieces of cat data has been gathered and analyzed.
Iyo states that their devices are successful when other similar ones have failed because, “Each cat has its own personality, and it is hard to judge even something as simple as a posture they take when drinking water. We are the only ones in the world to identify and collect this much data, which makes even researchers envious.”
The Catlog research institute was established in November 2021 with the aim of utilizing data gathered by Rabo Inc. to enhance the lives of felines through educating their humans. The first report, supervised by employee and veterinarian Atsushi Ogawa, 38, was released on the company’s website.
This kind of data helps you humans learn more about how to care for our health and understand our behavior because we’re complicated creatures!
Who needs to get a human’s attention to let you in the house if you have skills like this feline? When Silvestro wants in (or wants to invite his friends in) all he has to do is open the door himself.
Silvestro, who lives in Italy has had his adventures documented on Tiktok by his human Antonio Bosco, , who shares his country home with his mother and 25 cats. All of the cats are spayed, neutered, vaccinated and see their vet regularly.
Silvestro the smart cat is also the undisputed leader and protector of this clowder and he will even defend his cat family if the neighbor cats try to fight them.
Silvestro’s human explains that the feline is very loving and in tune with his humans. Bosco says, ‘He is very observant and notices immediately if something is not right with you. He honestly feels at times like a best friend with who you can confide. ‘My mother in particular speaks a lot to our cats and Silvestro listens and speaks back. I doubt they understand each other perfectly but it’s the communication effort that matters!”
The house has two kitchens – one of them just for the cats. It has a heater for the cold winter months and 14 cushions so they can all snuggle up together.
I like Silvestro’s idea of inviting his friends to his house. I wonder what The Human would think about that!
Hello Furiends!
It’s been a rather uneventful week in our neck of the woods. It is getting warmer and it only snowed once so The Human’s level of crankiness is very low (thank goodess) As a matter of fact, she’s been quite happy and when she got home the other day she got quite teary eyed when she saw the scene depicted in the photographs below. As my regular readers know, Lily has mourned the loss of her CHONKY protector Tucker. Oliver and I have always been close and felt no need to bring another feline into our circle.
Well, Lily has slowly weaseled herself into our circle and there are now less whacky paws and more snuggles and purrs. As long as The Human doesn’t make a big deal out of it, Oliver and I will allow it to happen. I mean, we are her big brothers after all.
So that’s the latest from our neck of the woods. What’s new in yours? Meow about it in the comments.
There has been so much bad news for business during the pandemic (The Human was forced to close her business and we really feared that the days of our special wet food and cat treats were over!) But the news wasn’t all bad and in this story, kitties save the day!
Naoki Teraoka’s is miniature-railway-themed restaurant that was doing well until the pandemic struck. Things got so bad the restauranteur was actually thinking of closing his doors—until an unlikely hero in the form of a stray kitten turned things around.
Despite the dire financial circumstances at Teraoka, the owner didn’t have the heart to turn away the sickly kitten he’d noticed hanging around the restaurant. He and his family decided to adopt the baby cat they named Simba.
Soon after they’d taken Simba in, another cat appeared at their window that turned out to be Simba’s mom. With a lack of customers and surplus food that would go bad if not eaten, Teraoka started feeding the kitten and mom. Then, during a particularly rainy spell, Momma Cat showed up with three kittens in tow. Teraoka decided to adopt them in as well.
The family thought they were saving the cats, little did they know the felines would save them.
The cats loved to hang out in the restaurant’s perfectly scaled model train dioramas. The sight of those cats looking huge in comparison to the trains resembled those famous classic Japanese horror films, monsters roaming the countryside, destroying everything they come across.
Teraoka began taking photos of the cats playing in their tiny locomotive world and posting the results to Instagram. The photos were a hit and that inspired Teraoka with an idea to turn the restaurant into a cat sanctuary where people could interact with the cats while they dines. Business boomed and soon a second floor cat shelter and kitty hotel were added.
Teraoka tries to populate his establishment with felines that are most at risk. To date, he’s traveled as far as 200 miles to make a rescue, has been responsible for finding homes for more than 60 strays, and has taken dozens more off the streets. Now that is a delightful “tail” of humans taking lemons and making lemonade with the help of felines. You can see more photos on their Instagram page.
Now your cat can enjoy art with you as you both explore the 12 creative cat towers in the exhibit at this museum. You’ll see Andrea Chen’s Bodega-inspired structure, featuring plush soda cans and foam shelves; the ultra-modern Casual Surveying Co.’s walnut bookcase-cum-cat hammock; and the extravagant homage to indie rock queen Chan Marshall, aka Cat Power, with disco ball and pink yarn .For cats with an appreciation of art history, there’s the surrealist (a colorful, nine-level Dante’s Disco Inferno assemblage by Design Nerds and the conceptual (a 2001: A Space Odyssey-inspired MEOWolith column made from stacked, laser-cut cardboard by local architecture-design studio SHED).
All this work is part of a new exhibit at the Museum of Museums, titled ‘CAT TOWER!’ Visitors are allowed to bring their own cats to play on the interactive exhibits.
Believe it or not, one of the artists that built a cat tower for the exhibition confessed they “don’t even like cats,” Pardon me but that should be an immediate disqualification!
There are so many creative cat trees like “The Most Important Zoom Call of Your Life,” a clever art piece by local artist and filmmaker Clyde Petersen, consisting of a laptop on a tall table next to a glass of water and a half-finished puzzle.
Now, you too can share art with your feline. Just strap your cat into their kitty stroller and wheel them to the Museum of Museums in Seattle.
The “if it fits I sits” idea works on cats of all sizes and heritage and this is proven as Roger Williams Park Zoo has requested cardboard boxes for their big cats. This again proves that we felines have as much in common with our wild cousins as we do with our house kitty cousins.
This is brilliant! Students in teacher Lu Boren’s veterinary science class at Escalante Middle School have been tasked with a great responsibility: Keeping four kittens safe and healthy as they grow enough to become eligible for adoption.
People who are willing to foster are hard to find and this program takes care of that problem and helps the little humans learn about animal welfare and care. “
There’s much more than feeding, the students help their science teacher give the kittens vaccinations and dewormers that will help protect them from potentially life-threatening diseases. The class also learns about feline behavior.
When the kittens are ready, they are adopted out and some of them end up as family members in the student’s homes.
Paws up to the humans who came up with this fantastic idea!
Jasper is one lucky feline. His human, Melissa ordered a special fish tank just for him from Aquatics & Exotics in Cincinnati, Ohio. The unique fish tank has an open space below the tank. It’s big enough to hold a cat bed so Jasper can snooze among the fishes. When he wants to watch fish, no problem because the aquarium has a 360-degree viewing square. It lets Jasper stick his head up “inside” the tank so he can admire the fish without endangering him or the fish.
The whole thing is even cooler than it sounds. And you can see why thanks to Jasper’s very own TikTok and Instagram pages which feature videos of him admiring the many fish he shares a home with.And if you’re worried about Jasper stressing out the fish, no problem. They hardly notice him. Meowza, The Human needs to step up her game and get us one of those fish tanks!
Dear Furiends,
We’re thinking of you today and want to say thank you for your support❣️
Hello Furiends,
I hope things are going well in your neck of the woods. The temperatures are finally getting warmer here, so warm in fact that Weather Kitty expressed the exuberance we feel about this warmth! Why The Human even had to wear sunglasses to drive!
As to what The Tribe has been up to……not much. I have been enjoying sleeping on the new leopard blanket as I think it suits my coloring quite well. What do you think?
As for Lily, she’s a bit annoyed that The Human seems to have noticed, after all this time, what a long tail she has. The Human even woke Lily from a snooze to tell her she had a long tail. Lily says humans are very weird.
And then there’s Oliver who has some strange thoughts. This week he wants to educate you folks that spotted cats are spotted all over- even inside!
Well that’s it for the week in our neck of the woods. Meow at us and let us know how things are going in yours.
I would say this cat’s face is more sad than grumpy. But lest you think Sushi really is sad, he’s not. He’s living his best life after being rescued as a kitten, wandering the streets of Sao Paulo, Brazil.
Sushi has stretchy skin because he has Ehlers-Danlos syndrome which is a rate medical condition. His human, Larissa Yamaguchi, found out last year about Sushi’s condition when she saw a photo of a cat with a similar look.
It was a long road to Shushi’s diagnosis and treatment. Larissa said, “It took four years for us to know Sushi had EDS. I spent $1,082 and he used a lot of different medications but nothing helped.”
Once they found a feline dermatologist Sushi got the help he needs. His condition causes him to have extremely dry and itchy skin and he needs regular moisturizing, a different diet, clothes and soft collars.
EDS affects each animal in a unique way. Sushi’s face skin is very flexible, especially his cheeks, and his arms. There are no internal problems and the major issue he has is his compulsive scratching.
I don’t know if I’d call Sushi the new grumpy cat but he sure does have a sweet, sad face.
This one should be titled, “What is wrong with you humans??” According to Safe Haven Pet Sanctuary, a shelter that hosts a cat café located in downtown Green Bay, Wisconsin, someone took a black and white cat named Bleu. Safe Haven says Bleu was stolen Wednesday afternoon by a customer who snuck out the side door.
According to Facebook posts on Safe Haven’s page, the animal shelter identified the cat napper. Evidently Bleu was held hostage in the persons apartment overnight and when the police arrived, refused to open the door.
The next day Save Haven posted a video on their Facebook page stating that Bleu had been returned. Safe Haven was contacted and told that a person was walking in the downtown area with a duffle bag. Someone associated with Safe Haven confronted the person requesting the cat be returned to them and the cat napper handed the cat (in the duffel bag) over.
What the heck was this person thinking? How about doing the right thing and adopting Bleu instead of stealing him? But, on second thought, this feline says anyone who stuffs a cat into a duffel bag and strolls around town doesn’t deserve to care for a cat!
As my regular readers know, we at Feline Opines are BIG TNR fans and salute the hard work of those who volunteer their time to do it. The 2021 Global Feral Fix Challenge had participation from veterinarians and clinics across 24 U.S. states as well as Greece, South Africa, the U.K., and the United Arab Emirates, who together sterilized over 45,000 community cats.
This was the 11th challenge and it finished on December 31, 2021. The event elicits veterinarian participation in trap-neuter-return programs by offering low cost or free spay/neuter clinics. The goal of the Challenge is to save feral cats from shelter euthanasia, starvation, and disease by humane population management.
Alley Cat Rescue founder and president, Louise Holton, explains the significance of this campaign: “The participation of veterinarians around the globe is very important to achieving our ultimate goal, which is the sterilization of all community cats. This process is the only way to reduce the population of outdoor cats; killing them, bedsides being inhumane, simply does not work as studies show new cats will enter vacated areas and breed until the number of cats there is back to the same level as before or even higher.”
The 2022 round of the Feral Fix Challenge is already underway. Veterinarians everywhere are encouraged to join by pledging to provide free or low-cost spay/neuter services to as many free-roaming cats as is feasible for their individual practices via this link. Will your veterinarian be participating? You can send an email to Debbie@saveacat.org to request an invitation be sent to your vet or you can get an invitation to give to your vet purrsonally.
Paws up to all the veterinarians who help in this worthy cause!
As I am a refined feline, I apologize for the verbiage here but, if your human is not looking forward to Valentine’s Day because they have a less than wonderful ex, tell them to take heart.
Kanawha-Charleston Humane Association (Adopt Charleston on Instagram and Facebook), have announced a February “smear campaign” which allows you to make a donation to have your ex’s name on a cat litter box so that cats can actually poop on them. The campaign is called, “Your Ex is Crappy”
So, if your human’s flame fizzled, if they were catfished or dumped the adoptable kitties at The Charleston Humane Association have your human’s back and will “litteraly” drag your ex’s name through the filth.
If your human is interested they can purrticipate by clicking here. They will receive a photo of the “fun” once your ex’s litterbox has been set up. They do request first names only, as they don’t want people to be too catty. MOL!
Allow me to make clear that I do not endorse wild nights, or kitties out of control and partying the night away. Still, this “Pussy Kat Club” created by Brooke Holloway is pretty cool.
The club was constructed by several Amazon boxes and has a stuffed Snoopy outside the entry door who acts as a bouncer. Felines lucky enough to get an invite to the club will find a “Temptation Station” with martini shaped shot glasses filled with cat food and a bed in the corner (the Kitty Kat Lounge). The club features a full bar that is advertising catnip-infused vodka shots (not real vodka).
The video of the Pussy Kat Club on TikTok (posted by Brooke’s sister,@kaitlynhollo featuring felines partying the night away has become very popular and has received comments like, ‘My kitty asked for reservations to the VIP section,’ one person joked, while another added: ‘My cats ask for a pass.’ And ‘When your cats are cooler than you,’
If you are worried about the flashing LED lights coming out of the club’s speakers, don’t be as they are generally safe for felines.
Happy February Furiends,
Things have been soooooooo much better in our neck of the woods since The Human got the garage door fixed. As she explained it, life is much easier for her and even carrying groceries in from the garage rather than the long icy driveway to the front door has made her very happy. Needless to say, we felines are thankful for this happier, calmer mood as evidenced by this photo of Oliver but, if the truth be told, Oliver lets very little interrupt his chillax status.
The other day The Human stopped to stare at Lily wondering why she was sitting so far away from the upstairs deck sliders as Lily monitored a portly squirrel devouring the peanuts left out for him on the deck. Upon closer inspection, The Human realized that Lily was sitting on the heating vent while she enjoyed the view. Smart Lily!
As for me, I have been doing my duty keeping The Human’s jewelry safe. She insists she doesn’t have anything of value in there but I do believe she apurreciates me taking on the watch cat duties. Sigh, a feline’s work is never done.
That’s it for the news in our neck of the woods, I hope you enjoy this week’s offering of web-wide feline news.
We felines in North America are pretty used to microchipping but it seems Japanese humans aren’t nor are they too enthused about it. This is creating some controversy as It will become mandatory for breeders and pet stores in Japan to implant microchips in dogs and cats beginning in June 2022.
The majority of cat parents in Japan are opposed to the revised Act on Welfare and Management of Animals . An online survey of 2,000 persons conducted by Japan Trend Research, revealed a lack of awareness regarding the revised law, with 76.3% of respondents stating that they were not aware of the new requirement to implant microchips in dogs and cats.
Among those surveyed, only 24.5% said that they had had a microchip implanted in their pet.
Reasons cited for not wanting to have a chip implanted included the following: “It is immoral to implant a chip in a living being” and “My pet is always inside and I’m also worried about some problem arising from implanting a foreign object in the body of my pet.” Those who said they are unsure about whether to have a chip implanted or not included those who were concerned about the effect on the pet or were weighing up the cost.
I appreciate humans being very careful about the health of their felines but this feline (as well as Oliver and Lily) have regular wellness visits and have no negative health effects from our microchips (we are all from our local shelter and all pets adopted from there are microchipped). In addition, those of you who read my feline news regularly know how many times I’ve reported that cats have been reunited with their families because of microchips (even indoor cats who have escaped). We give microchipping paws up and hope the good folks in Japan will microchip their felines.
This grey tabby almost disappears into the fluffy rug and the cat’s human said she didn’t realize how the cat would blend in with the carpet. This cat isn’t the only one who has camouflaged themselves on rugs. Check out the photos in the story and see if you think these kitties are blending in. Are you a camo cat at your house?
Snapple the cat makes his way around with the help of a little wheeled cart — sometimes charging straight into walls and other obstacles but he’s never defeated, he just backs up and heads off in another direction. The fact that Snapple, an 8-month-old tuxedo (black and white) cat, has a disability doesn’t keep him from having fun.
“He’s got a sparkling personality,” said Kris Kaiser of Plymouth, who provides foster care for Snapple.
Snapple has a condition called cerebellar hypoplasia — also known as “wobbly cat syndrome” — a congenital condition in kittens that affects the area of the brain that controls motor movement, balance and coordination. It also makes their whiskers curly and their heads wobbly, but is not progressive or painful.
In December, Kaiser was chosen AdvoCat of the Year, an award from the Feline Generous program sponsored by Arm & Hammer. She was one of almost 4,500 nominees — “staff and volunteers at animal shelters across the country who go above and beyond to care for purrfectly impurrfect cats,” the company said.
I say this human deserves that award and more! Since Snapple’s front legs aren’t strong enough to allow him to sit, he spends much of the time lying on his side. But in the cart Kaiser bought for him, Snapple can rest his front legs on top while his back legs touch the floor, allowing him to run around.
The first time he tried it, “he was strapped in and he was off,” Kaiser said, as if the cat were thinking, “Finally, I can go places!'”
Snapple’s wobbling head can also make it difficult to eat, so Kaiser provided a special raised food bowl.
This wonderful lady won a $15,000.00 donation for her local shelter,, the Bitty Kitty Brigade in Maple Grove. Bitty Kitty serves orphaned, neonatal kittens up to 5 weeks old that are not yet eating on their own.
Kaiser has another foster cat, as well as three cats as permanent adoptees. All of them have wobbly cat syndrome which, in addition to hampering their mobility, causes their heads to bob, particularly when they’re excited, see something interesting or are trying to figure something out.
“There’ll be a bird or squirrel outside and everybody will be at the window with their heads bobbing,” said Kaiser.
Snapple, who came to Kaiser as a “tiny bottle baby,” loves to play with toys, tossing them up and grabbing them in his mouth. She conveniently works in marketing for Yeowww Catnip, a catnip-toy manufacturer in Roseville.
Snapple is being adopted by Ed and Gina Yamamoto of Honolulu, who will fly to Minnesota in February or March to pick him up and will bring him home to be a companion for their cat. They saw Snapple on either Kaiser’s account, @tippietuxies, which features all of her cats, or on Snapple’s own account, @tuxonwheels.
Snapple is a lucky guy and we give the human Kris Kaiser a big paws up for all she does for special needs kitties.
Monesia Greene is a cat whisperer, and now she is teaching felines to talk back at Best Friends Animal Society, in Atlanta.
To help the felines she fosters find homes, Greene teaches the pets enriching new talents. Recently, Greene has been training her foster cats to “talk” by using a customizable soundboard with recordable buttons. My readers may remember that I reported on cats and these sound boards previously.
A shy tabby named Ripley was the first foster cat to benefit from Greene’s language lessons. When Greene first took in the adoptable pet over six months ago, Ripley was a beautiful but scared cat who was not confident around new situations and people.
Greene and her husband helped Ripley slowly get accustomed to physical affection, interacting with other cats, and coming out of her shell. Ripley made huge strides with the couple’s help but still stayed a little shy when put in new situations, making it hard for her to charm potential adopters.
To help Ripley stand out and show off the kind, intelligent cat she is, Greene started training her to use the soundboard after seeing dogs learn to communicate with the recordable buttons. The volunteer invested in several recordable buttons and decided to use the products to teach Ripley the words “treats” and “pets” — two of the cat’s favorite things.
Greene taught Ripley the meanings behind each button by giving the cat treats or pets in front of the soundboard and pressing the corresponding button. Ripley learned quickly that the buttons were connected to things that she adored and started pushing the buttons to request treats and pets for herself.
After showing such success with two buttons, Greene added “play” for and “pick up” to Ripley’s soundboard, and the feline mastered those buttons too. Soon, Ripley’s talents and ability to talk through the buttons attracted adopters, and Ripley went home with her forever family. The same method helped another of Greene’s fosters, Momma Cat, find a home too.
Greene is now looking forward to using this training method to help and entertain future foster cats.
Wow, great job human and Ripley!
Glasgow, Scotland residents reported a “racket” as tan Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft flew over the outskirts of the city towards Loch Lomand around 2.45am.
Global flight tracking service Flightradar24 picked up the flight path as it carried out a rescue operation 32,000 feet above ground.
Posting on Twitter, they said: “300 dogs and cats from the Kabul Small Animal Rescue KSAR are back in the air on their way from Kabul to Vancouver.”
The Kabul Small Animal Rescue has kept its doors open to continue evacuations from Afghanistan and is working hard to save as many animals as possible.
The military aircraft made a stop in Reykjavik, Iceland, before landing in Vancouver, Canada. Now why the cats flew on a Russian plane I cannot tell you but I’m thankful humans are doing what they can to save them. Now if you humans of assorted countries could work together this well for other international issues.
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