Oliver here. The Human has been busy this week clearing out 12 years of stuff from her business in preparation to work at home (and devote more time to writing).
She’s been moaning and groaning about all the trips up and down the stairs but frankly, she can use the exercise. She has two days left to clear everything out and frankly, I’m wondering if she’ll make it! Just take a look at all this stuff!
It’s all been very inconvenient for us but I have to admit, having our Purrsonal Assistant working in OUR office will have distinct advantages (and extra treat opportunities, I hope). It will be so much easier to snoopervise her!
She asked that I send her apologies for her dereliction of duty and the lack of our regular Wednesday feature but we will have a pawsome surprise for you tomorrow from our furiend Mollie Hunt’s blog, Crazy Cat Lady Mysteries and More
If you haven’t read any of Mollie’s books, you’re missing some great reading!
Hello Furiends! I hope your week went well. It’s been nice here in our neck of the woods. The snow is finally starting to melt and we are enjoying finding sun puddles in the house to “recharge”. The Human did have an exciting surprise this week. She came home to find a package from Chewy and lo and behold, there was a painting of Lily, from one of Chewy’s talented artists.
“I think this painting captures me beautifully.”
Now I say “one of the Chewy artists” because The Human did receive a lovely portrait of my brother Oliver and the signature on the painting is different than the one on Lily’s portrait but also beautiful!
“I am a handsome fellow!”
Now it’s not that I begrudge Lily and Oliver their fame but I am wondering when it will be my turn, I think I’m a pretty handsome man cat.
“Dear Chewy, when will I be immortalized in a painting?”
Oh, and if you’re wondering how being captured for posterity in oil has affected Lily……….
“You may now approach me peasants.”
As I mentioned, we’ve been having sun!! While The Human mumbles about how the sun shows how dirty the living room windows are, Ollie and Lily took advantage of the soft sofa and the sun puddles.
Oh well, purrhaps it’s time for me to stop sulking about the painting …but then again….
“Here’s the deal Human, get a painting done of me and I’ll get off your paperwork, capiche?
Well, enough about us, let’s see what’s new in the feline news world.
A cat named Teddy was found in a pile of rubble six days after a gas explosion in a house in south Wales. The March 13 blast killed one person. Teddy’s human and her son were taken to the hospital and both recovered from their injuries. Another family feline and their puppy had been rescued but for a week there was no sign of Teddy. Thank goodness rescue workers never gave up and, when Teddy’’s human showed up after she was released from the hospital and whistled for him, Teddy the Ragdoll emerged from the wreckage. I love stories with happy endings!
A street performing cat in Taiwan has won over the internet and the locals with his vocal purrformances. The song he and his humans sing is a love song that has a hook that plays on the onomatopoeia of the sound a cat makes. Onomatopoeia is a word that imitates a sound like “buzz” or “sizzle”.
Roughly translated, the first line is, “We can learn to meow like cats, we go meow meow meow meow meow.” Needless to say, this is a purrfect line for a cat to sing. As he’s brought to the microphone to sing the cat delights the crowd and his fellow human singers. You can watch the wonderful purrformance in a clip posted to TikTok.
I quite fancy a singing career however The Human can’t sing at all so I’d have to find my own human band. Anyone out there want to go on the road?
Newsweek has a weekly pet winner and this week’s winner is Murray, adopted by Lisa Russel in 2021. Lisa, like The Human, took Murray to foster and of course, became a foster failure (a badge of honor).
Murray, was adopted in the fall of 2021, his owner told Newsweek: “I was just supposed to foster him for a week or two…but we all know how that can go.”
Murray had been living in downtown San Diego until his owner was no longer able to care for him. A call for help with fostering was sent out to the community and Russell answered the call. As soon as she she saw Murray he was her forever cat.
Murray loves to travel in the stroller in the big park near his house. Russel says, “He hangs his little arm over the edge of the stroller like he’s driving a sorts car. On nippy days, he dons a scarf made by a neighbor-it’s blue to match his eyes, of course.”
“When Murray hears me tell the dogs that it’s time to go to the park, he runs to the bottom of the stairs along with them. He’s rarin’ to go,” said Russell. “I do put a collar and leash on him so that he is secure in the stroller. He is a very good boy, but I want to be safe and not worry about his reflexively hopping out to chase a lizard or bird.”
I’m thinking about all those lucky folks in the San Diego park who meet Murray when he’s out and about and get a “Murray paw shake”.
From then Instagram account of Anthony Klein and Sammy
Anthony Klein and his ginger feline companion Sammy are best buds. They do a lot together including singing duets. Klein shared a video on Instagram showing his drowsy cat as he serenades him with the song “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”. In the video, Sammy joins in the singing.
As you may have guessed, the video has gone viral. These two are a purrfect match, in life and in singing. Don’t forget to check out their Instagram account.
Happy Wednesday Furiends! We hope things in your neck of the woods are going well, although we know some of you are really suffering through a crazy winter. Still, it’s all about your purrspective. We are getting spring fever with these high temperatures and The Human even ran out of the house without a coat this morning. Weather Kitty understands our purrspective here in the Inland Northwest as evidence by the photo today. You may call it chilly, we call it spring!
What a difference a week makes. This video was taken last Friday. It was, in the words of Winnie the Pooh, a rather blustery day.
And when the weather’s like that, this is how you’ll find us.
We found some great holidays to celebrate this week, we invite you to enjoy them too!
On March 17th we’re all Irish!Oliver invites you to join him for one of his favorite holidays on March 17.This may not be Lily’s favorite holiday on March 18th but she bets you can all relate?
Well, that’s it for our neck of the woods. We hope you enjoy your week and whatever holiday you wish to celebrate (except maybe Awkward Moments Day!)
“I’d rather go to the vet in my harness than a carrier.” – Oliver
The heading of this article made The Human but after we read it, it made a lot of sense. The sense of self control in situations is strong in humans and dogs and MUCH stronger in cats because, to put it bluntly, we felines like to have control
We felines, this shouldn’t be viewed as a negative trait; control gives us a sense of safety. With cats, the idea is to reward and reinforce good behavior and that constitutes allowing the cat to give consent or to participate.
In the example of carrier training, if the only time a cat sees or is shoved into a carrier is to go to the vet; the cat will be less than enthusiastic about the carrier.
The following cat carrier trips are from Marc Bekoff, Ph.D., and Steve Dale:
Leave the carrier out 24/7. If the cat was previously afraid of a carrier because of the negative association made with the veterinary visit, purchase a new carrier that looks different.
Randomly drop treats into the carrier so it becomes an automatic treat dispenser.
Once comfortable inside the carrier, begin to feed the cat in the carrier. Most cats may now hop inside, expecting a treat for doing so. Cats do train people—and now you comply.
Now, ask your cat to hop into the carrier on cue—and always offer high-value award for doing so.
Ask your cat to leap into the carrier, close it, and walk to another part of the house. Once there, open the carrier and feed. Good things happen after being inside the carrier.
Finally, teach the cat that car rides aren’t bad—before going to the vet, just drive around the block, and when returning home give them a meal. And when you do go to the veterinarian, go for a happy visit—no exam, only treats.
These steps are much better than force and working with your feline to make him see the carrier as something other than an item of fear will be beneficial.
Marc Bekoff, Ph.D., and Steve Dale address the issue of petting and over-stimulation as well, saying that “petting is okay as long as the cat consents.”
They say, “For cats who typically allow only a minute or two of petting, stop petting after around 30 seconds. Quit while you’re ahead, leaving the cat to decide, “I want more.” If so the cat asks to be petted more, offer only a few seconds, continuing to leave the cat wanting still more. At some point, the cat will likely say, “Okay, that’s enough.” You can increase the time you spend petting your cat while still allowing the cat to maintain control.
Likewise, if you want to play with your cat, be sure your cat tells you it’s okay. Cats, dogs, and other animals clearly express their intentions and have to consent for fair play to continue; it’s best to be sure they want to play with you.
The article notes that “giving cats control by granting them agency and asking for their consent supports their need for safety, security, and trust, makes them happier, and enhances the social bonds you form with each other.” This feline agrees wholeheartedly.
When Barbara Thorpe passed away in 2002 she put most of her money in a charitable trust. A trust is a legal arrangement where the money set aside must be spent according to the wishes of the person who sets up the trust.
Barbara wanted her fortune to benefit the cats of Dixfield, Maine but for many years her money sat in the trust, unused which was contrary to the law. Eventually, Brenda Jarvis along with four other cat ladies in town joined together to sue to liberate the money on behalf of the cats of Dixfield. The cat ladies lost their lawsuit but their efforts attracted the attention of Christina Moylan, who is an attorney working for the Attorney General of Maine. Christina’s job is to ensure trusts are handled properly.
In the matter of trusts, Christina says that the law must follow the instructions of the dead forever, even if the world changes, even if the instructions seem vague.
It took a few years but Christina did find a way to honor Barbara’s wishes and she found an animal shelter that was willing to manage the money and now, the shelter is taking in stray cats from Dixfield.
We say two paws up for Christina Moylan and for following the law and finding a way to honor Barbara Thorpe’s wishes to care for the feral cats of Dixfield, Maine.
People, people, people…how many times will I have to report on a cat going through an airport scanner before this madness stops?!
A cat was discovered inside a passenger’s carry-on baggage when it went through the security checkpoint in a Virginia airport.
Good grief, if you remember to take your computer out of your bag before it goes through the scanner how can you forget your cat in his travel case?????
This feline can’t wrap his mind around this and all I can do is reiterate, TAKE YOUR CAT OUT OF THE CARRY-ON BEFORE IT GOES THROUGH THE SCANNER!!!
On its website, TSA provides travelers information about guidelines on traveling with pets stating they should never be put through an airport’s X-ray tunnel.
Dogs and cats, for example, can either be screened privately in a separate room or walk with a traveler through the metal detector on a leash and then the empty carrier can be sent through the X-ray machine.
He likes to be carried around in a paper bag in the house so I thought I’d try it outside. He didn’t try to jump out and just relaxed.
We love the folks at Bored Panda because they find some of the funniest cat photos. They found some of these on the Reddit community thread called “This Is My Life Meow” and when you’re done checking the Bored Panda photos you can always find new ones on the Reddit thread.
This one was the Tribe’s favorite. Let us know which one is your favorite.
The felines in residence at the home of two Redditch, England humans are living La Vida Loca. They have their own bedroom (that cost over 300 UKL ($361.00) to furnish) with a full sized double bed, crown shaped cat beds, lots of toys and a budget up to 100 UKL ($120.32 at today’s rate of exchange) a month for treats.
Hannah Whitmore, 24, a service adviser for a car dealership, loves cats, so when she moved in with her boyfriend, 25-year-old bricklayer Tommy Taylor, the couple adopted two felines – Simba, 10, and Nimbus, one. Kudos to them for adopting an older cat!
Tommy refers to himself as a “cat dad” and always speaks to the cats when he gets home. Hannah changes the cats’ bedsheets in their room every week.
“I would say the cats own us rather than the other way around!” Hannah laughed.
She continued, “They are here for a short time, and they should be our priority. They very much come first in our house, but I think that’s the way it should be. I definitely spoil them in a materialistic way. But Tommy is very affectionate with them. When he gets home, he’ll talk to the cat before he talks to me!
Tommy, the self-proclaimed cat dad had to be convinced to adopt the cats but during COVID when he and Hanna stayed with is grandparents and their cat, the cat won him over. When the couple moved into their three-story townhouse they went to Cats Protection in Birmingham and adopted Simba.
Nimbus joined the family about a year later.
The casts are inseparable, sleeping together, washing each other and loving each other.
And what if the couple has children and move into a bigger house? According to Hannah, the cat’s new bedroom will have to be twice as big.
These cats are living the high life and I’m thinking The Human needs to step up her game.
The Human is in the midst of making some big changes and her week got away from her so this Wednesday’s feature will be delayed.
She is going to be able to have more time for writing and blogging and expanding her job as our Purrsonal Assistant and this is good! We are assuming that when she starts working out of her office at home, there will be more snack opportunities as well.
I have been asked to share this good news as well as a relaxing moment with a glimpse into the my daily routine of keeping my Snow White fur shiny and looking it’s best
Hello Furiends, Don’t let the photo above fool you, it’s still cold and snowy here. This is a photo The Human took from the kitchen window the other evening. It’s COLD out there.
When The Human works in her office at our house, there are some rules that must be observed. The other day was a dismal failure as these photos will portray.
“Excuse me, you have neglected to bring my chair over to the desk.”“Okay, that’s better and the chair looks ready.”“I don’t want to sit on my chair anymore. Your lap will be fine.”
And now that we’re in the merry month of March, we thought we’d celebrate some holidays.
We missed this one on Feb. 27 but Oliver insisted we include it.
The Human never has to worry about getting up in time – as long as she gets up in time to feed us! She always wonders how we adjust to the silly “savings” time changes you humans use and has often wondered if we can tell time (or are hiding tiny little watches under the fur of our wrists).
In the article linked here, Kevin Healy, a zoology researcher at the University of Galway, discusses whether cats perceive time better or worse than humans. Smaller animals and predators tend to have faster time perception, but that’s not the case with cats. He said, “We can see time a little faster than cats who have a frame rate of 55 compared to our 65,”.
The second way to answer whether cats can tell time as well as humans has to do with whether cats have episodic memories, (memories of specific events in time). The ability to form episodic memories may be central to what cognition researchers call “mental time travel” — the ability to mentally project forward and backward into time. It’s long been thought humans are alone in our ability to mentally time travel, but that might not be the case after all.
Daniel Dombeck is an associate professor in Northwestern University’s department of neurobiology who has researched time perception in mice. He says it’s “unlikely” humans have a unique gift for mental time travel, though it’s probable humans can remember farther back in time and in greater detail than rodents.
To prove whether cats have episodic memories, you’d have to conduct tests that rule out other possible explanations — like a biological rhythm signaling it’s time to eat — for why a cat might appear to “remember” something, which is difficult to accomplish. Scientists believe that there are many animals with episodic memory.
A 2017 study found that cats indeed contain “episodic-like” memories, but the lead researcher on that study, Saho Takagi, isn’t sure whether cats really need episodic memories for time perception.
“It is difficult with current technology to prove whether or not they do mental time travel, but at least my research has shown that cats form episodic-like memories,” Takagi says.
To conclude: the jury is still out on this question, pending further animal cognition research — and hopefully, cat-specific studies.
Two words can explain your cat’s alarmingly precise ability to detect when it’s dinnertime: biological clock.
There are several ‘biological clocks’ that can assist with their ability to determine the passage of time. The most well-known is the circadian rhythm or the “24-hour” cycle, which often corresponds to light and dark times of the day. Another mechanism is the “zeitberger” which sets the biological clock and causes jetlag and other phenomena in its absence. Examples of zeitbergers include drugs, the pineal gland, the presence of light, and atmospheric pressure.
These internal mechanisms and external cues from the environment — like their owner stirring in bed — can signal to the feline in your home that it’s time to eat. Mikel Delgado, a cat expert at Feline Minds, lists some of the most common environmental signals that indicate breakfast time for cats:
Changes in light and temperature
The smell of coffee brewing
Their human walking toward the kitchen
If your cat wakes you up for food early and you give into or reinforce that behavior, you may be unintentionally turning your cat into an “alarm pet” who expects meals like clockwork.
“Woe to the owner that makes the mistake of giving in even once. These cats benefit from automated feeders so that the owner is removed from the cat’s motivation to be fed,” Stelow says.
Cats differ from diurnal humans, who sleep at night and are awake during the day. But contrary to popular belief, they’re not technically nocturnal but crepuscular instead. Crepuscular beings are most active during dawn and dusk — before sunrise and after sunset — which might explain why some of us get the zoomies at 3am.
Some experts say this particular difference in cat and human biology shouldn’t drastically affect their perception of time. The scientists interviewed for this article agreed that human activity is more likely to influence when cats are active versus their crepuscular biological clock.
Experts have a few tips to offer to help your furry friend keep track of time in case they have separation anxiety when you head out for work or can’t stop bugging you for meals at the wrong time.
Above all else: make sure to keep to a set routine like meals and play at designated times as well as cleaning the litter box. Disrupting a cat’s daily routine can stress your kitty out, leading to physical ailments like vomiting and diarrhea. Providing an automatic feeder that dispenses multiple small meals at specific times throughout the day can help establish a routine.
Cats are in tune with their environment and their timing is based on routine activity. For instance, when The Human comes home at the end of the day, we know we get some dental treats. Lily comes running from wherever she was snoozing and sits on the shelf of the hallway credenza, waiting for her treats while Oliver and I patiently wait on the carpet.
In conclusion, we felines can’t really tell time but we do understand our daily routine and if food or snacks are associated with that routine, we’ll remind our humans if they forget!
The first in person Cat Camp since 2019 happened last weekend in San Diego with cat whisperer and expert Jackson Galaxy. There were booths for shopping, presentations on kitten care and animal welfare efforts and even a seminar on how to shoot great photos of your feline.
Galaxy, whose show “My Cat From Hell” ran for 10 seasons on Animal Planet, held a morning session Saturday reserved for VIP attendees to ask him their most pressing questions. Litter box and cat aggression issues, he says, are the most common subjects he’s typically asked about, and Saturday was no exception.
Asked what he thinks about scented litter boxes, his answer was unequivocal. Don’t use them, he advised.
“Cats’ noses are so sensitive. They’re defined by scent, so (the scented litter boxes) are going to cover up everything,” he said.
And speaking of scent, Galaxy advised a woman worried about her imminent move from San Diego to Arizona to pack up everything in her home that “smells like your cats” and put it to “your new base camp” until her cats adjust to their new home. Oh, and don’t wash out the litter box no matter how tempting it is, he cautioned.
The dominant issue, though, on the minds of organizers and many of the attendees was the care and rescue of kittens and cats with no homes. Organizations like the San Diego Humane Society and the local Feral Cat Coalition staffed booths at Cat Camp, and speakers talked about how their own cat rescue efforts changed their lives.
People came from all over the country to connect and share resources regarding cat rescue in their areas.
We give two paws up to all you humans who use your time and resources to help feral, stray and lost kitties.
American Actress Jean Seberg Made Sure To Bring Her Cat To An Award Ceremony.Studio Photograph, Around The Year 1900.
The “All Vintage Cats” project on Instagram, which shares impressive vintage photos of cats, has been gaining popularity with over 500 posts. The creator of the project, Brazilian journalist Paula Leite Moreira, came up with the idea during the pandemic when she saw an old photo of a cat and became interested in finding more vintage cat images. She sources images from historical collections, image banks, and social media platforms.
You can see many vintage photos on Bored Panda by clicking here, and here.
When asked about how she came up with the idea for the project, Paula explains that it was by chance. “I always wanted to create digital content, but I lacked an insight that was really original,” she shared. “At the beginning of the pandemic, I saw a photo of a kitten that was said to be from 1880. I fell in love and started researching more images from the time. So I came to the conclusion that all that research could be published, even if it didn’t have many readers.”
Paula constantly searches historical collections, image banks, and websites of international magazines for these photos. She also uses social networks like Pinterest, but always checks the information disclosed on other sites. Given the journalist’s passion for cats, we asked if she had any of her own. “I had a kitten for 18 years who passed away last year and I still haven’t adopted any new cats. But without a doubt, it’s a will that I have. I want to have at least a couple to keep each other company.”
Talk about happy endings! A family cat was found alive 12 days after a Long Island home went up in flames, and the discovery was made after a faint meow was heard inside the gutted, boarded-up home.
Ernie the cat seemed to have relief etched in his 10-year-old face. The soot in his fur and smoke in his lungs are becoming distant memories.
His humans were thankful and astounded how Ernie had survived so long without food, water or comfort.
Debbie Robinson, Ernie’s owner said, “I don’t know how much longer he could have gone for. Almost two weeks. We’re just thankful were there that day.”
Ernie was discovered twelve days after the fire, when the family stopped by for mail and heard a faint cry.
“I didn’t know if he was in a wall. I didn’t know where he was. And then the crying stopped,” Robinson said.
“ I dropped everything I was doing,” said Frankie Florida, of Strong Island Animal Rescue League. “I made my way to the highest point in the house. That’s when I found him. I needed to get him to a hospital right away because 12 days, no food, no water is a serious situation.”
“He’s been wonderful, healthy. We had all kinds of tests done on him. He was just a little dehydrated,” Robinson said.
Sadly, Ernie was the only pet who survived the fire. Four pets died in the fire including the therapeutic pet for son Glen, on the autism spectrum.
And another miracle happened when Ernie’s sister Remi was found unconscious that night by firefighters who performed CPR.
You could say Remi and Ernie rose from the ashes.
Ernie’s veterinarians were stunned by his recovery and say he will be just fine.
If you follow my news features, you know that the good people in Japan love cats and now, I’v e found some must see destinations in Japan for cat lovers. Cats are even considered good luck charms in the country. So, if you find yourselves in Japan check out these must see destinations.
Yanaka, Tokyo
Roughly fifteen minutes north of Tokyo Station by subway, you’ll find the idyllic Tokyo neighborhood of Yanaka, famed for its traditional architecture, historic temples, and massive population of friendly cats. Visitors are welcome to stroll through the Yanaka Cemetery or pay a visit to Kyōō-ji, a historic temple that played a prominent role in the Battle of Ueno. While there’s no shortage of street cats to discover in the narrow alleys and side streets of Yanaka, Yadorigi Cafe offers the opportunity to make a few new feline friends while enjoying coffee and hearty Italian cuisine.
Aizuwakamatsu
The central Honshu city of Aizuwakamatsu is best known as the home of Aizuwakamatsu Castle—a massive structure built in the style of a traditional Japanese fortress—but just south of the settlement, is Ashinomakionsen Station. Back in 2008, resident feline Bus (ばす) was deemed honorary stationmaster, a role that she carried out until 2015. Since then, multiple cats have taken on the job, with Sakura (さくら) being the most recent appointee. Visitors can find Sakura working tirelessly during a trip to the station, while her human coworkers run an Instagram page dedicated to highlighting her day-to-day activities.
Kyoto
Kyoto draws both domestic and international tourists thanks to its ornate temples and rich history, and it’s not just humans that thrive across this storied city. The streets of Kyoto are filled with wandering cats all throughout the day, but for guaranteed feline sightings, Nakagyo is home to a wealth of cat cafés ranging from Fluffy’s Cafe to PuchiMarry. If you’re searching for some cat-themed memorabilia, Nyan-nyan-ji can be found on the outskirts of the city, offering a massive collection of jewelry, statues, and paintings depicting cats throughout history. As an added bonus, guests may be able to catch a glimpse of the property’s resident feline head priest.
Gotokuji Temple
Established centuries ago, Tokyo’s Gotokuji Temple is a top destination for fans of the maneki-neko, or beckoning cat. This iconic figurine can be found in businesses all across the globe, serving as a good luck charm in East Asia and within the greater East Asian diaspora— and Gotokuji Temple is home to one of the largest collections of maneki-neko in all of Japan. While the huge crowd of figurines is certainly the main attraction (and they’re available for purchase, as an added bonus) the temple doubles as a particularly idyllic destination for an afternoon walk, loaded with towering trees and native birds.
The story of the temple is told that a lord, on his way back from a falconry was beckoned by a cat at the temple gate and decided to stop by. While the lord was at the temple, rain began to fall and thunder clapped around him. As the lord sat dry and safe in the temple, having a conversation with the temple master, the lord credited the cat with his good luck. The Gotokuii temple built the the Shofuku-den to enshrine the cat that brought good fortune, naming it as “Manekineko”. Ever since, people visit Shofuku-den to pray for the well-being for the family, prosperous business, luck and happiness. A statue in standing position of Shofuku Kannon-bosatsu is enshrined in Shofuku-den.
Tashirojima
While it’s not the most easily-accessible destination in Japan, (you need to take an hour long ferry trip from Ishinomaki to visit, the island of Tashirojima. It is one of the most incredible stops for cat lovers in all the nation. In the 1600s, Tashirojima was home to a large silk industry, and cats were used to prevent mice from eating the resident silk producing insects. Today, the ancestors of those cats can be found all across the island and several hundred felines now call the docks home. While there aren’t a whole lot of amenities to enjoy around Tashirojima, newcomers can pay a visit to the local cat shrine and—of course—snap some photos of the adorable residents.
Happy Windy, Wintery, Wednesday furiends! We were sailing along in our neck of the woods, convinced that spring was just around the corner when all of a sudden it turned into Siberia! The Human was outside with the snow blower this morning and as we watched from our warm window perches we couldn’t help but laugh because the wind was so strong it blew most of the driveway snow back on her. She was quite a sight when she came in. Right now it’s a balmy 19 degrees and the wind has died down to 9mph and the town streets are like skating rinks. We felines are happy to burrow under a pillow and stay safe and warm.
“Human, why are you covered in ice and snow? Please keep your distance, I am nice and warm in this chair.”“Good grief Human! Why are you all wet? find yourself a nice spot on the bed and cuddle up with me and my pillow.”“I know I’m squishing the chair cushion, what’s your point?”
There are all kind of cat daddy’s out there, even cowboys. Andrew, a true Texas cowboy has turned his home into a cat sanctuary. Today he as seven cats in residence. Andrew has caught attention of the web for posting videos of his relationship with all his cats. His video about his favorite orange cat, Sebby is a real hit. Andrew carries his feline with him wherever he goes, in his hat and in his heart. He also wants to make clear that he loves ALL his cats. You can watch his TikTok video here.
When The Human read this she nearly fainted. This converts to $481.87 per month. Meowza! But, William Powers, a physician from Farmington Hills, Michigan, owns six cats – including the world’s tallest and one with the longest tail ever measured. Our Human is no slouch and spares no expense for our healthy meals but we usually cost her about $145.00 a month for the three of us.
His cat, Fenrir, the worlds tallest cat is a Savannah cat and measures an impressive 18.83 inches and weighs 36lbs. I can see where his food consumption might be a bit more than ours!
William also has the Guinness World Record holder feline in his house, a Maine Coon called Altair who holds the world record for the longest tail (40.83 cm or 16.07 inches)The other four feline siblings are, two Bengal’s and two other Savannah cats. Fenrir has a custom diet made out of mostly raw meat, primarily chicken but sometimes other meat. Then the cats get a special blend of supplements such as amino acids, long chain fatty acids, porcine bone meal, and other additives like nutritional yeast for flavor.
Sometimes he’ll use some regular domestic wet cat food as a topper or mixed into their raw diet to improve the flavor.
William’s home is “designed with the cats in mind”. They have an outdoor enclosure, their own master bedroom with huge glass windows, and tons of towers and wall mounts for their enrichment.
Fenrir is quite the local celebrity with over 8,900 followers on Instagram, and often goes to William’s office to visit patients and do the work of a true therapy cat.
Fenir is a bit of a fraidy cat and will often hide if he’s in close proximity to other cats and dogs.
William and Fenir also make appearances at local shelter events.
The contest is for both photography and videography. You don’t have to use professional gear to take your photo or video but you do have to edit your submission using some form of Adobe Creative Cloud software, including but not limited to Photoshop, Lightroom, Premiere Rush, Premier Pro and Adobe Express. Any image with a cat as the subject is allowed.
Despite being launched by Adobe Japan, the competition terms and conditions do not state anywhere that entrants must be from a certain area or region to enter the contest – but the prizes up for grabs are all in Japanese yen.
To enter, you must be following the official Adobe Japan Creative Cloud Twitter or Instagram accounts, and post your image with the hashtag #アドビにゃん (Adobe cat) which must also be accompanied by one of the following hashtags: #写真部門 (photo), #動画部門 (video) or #猫大喜利部門 (cat ogiri) depending on which you enter.
divisions are the ones that have the highest award, also including what the competition refers to as an Excellence Award.
The grand prize for the photo division is an Amazon gift card worth ¥100,000 (equivalent to $745 / £614 / AU$1,088 approximately), and two people will also be selected for the Excellence Award and receive an Amazon gift card worth ¥50,000 (equivalent to $371 / £307 / AU$545 approximately). These will be exactly the same prizes and amounts for the Video division winners.
Just remember that, while the T&Cs don’t explicitly prohibit foreign entries, it’s unlikely that prizes (including Amazon vouchers) will be redeemable outside Japan but still, you could have some fun entering.
As a former shelter cat, this feline loves stories about creative ways shelters use to find forever homes for their cats. An adoption center and cat sanctuary in Los Angeles has gone viral after launching its “nice and naughty” cat of the week series.
Toni Barrett, development manager for Heaven on Earth Perry’s Place, said she and her staff were inspired by a popular cat influencer on TikTok who goes by the name “Pot Roast’s Mom,” who would label her own cats as “good or bad” cat of the week.
Barrett thought the idea was funny and decided to apply it to her work at the sanctuary, she told Fox News Digital.
“We should do that at Perry’s Place because we have so many cats, and we always have someone doing something naughty or volunteers telling us how much they loved [how] this cat was well-behaved this week,” Barrett said.
The series was launched on the shelter’s Instagram page in March of 2022, but did not take off until the fall, according to Barrett.
“It was slow [at first], people were enjoying it, and then all of a sudden we had this one [post] that kind of went viral,” Barrett commented.
Two felines named Elijah and Popsicle were awarded nice and naughty cat of the week, respectively.
“Elijah has opened up and shown the staff how much he loves belly rubs,” the post read in reference to the “nice cat” of the week.
“Popsicle stole treats from Daniel, his BLIND roommate,”the post also said, regarding its “naughty cat”.
Barrett quickly noticed a massive increase in Instagram followers as well as likes. Since then, thousands of users have been reacting to the posts.
Heaven on Earth’s Perry’s Place is the current residence for roughly 111 cats and 91 foster cats.
Volunteers and staff members are the ones to nominate a cat to be selected for the “nice and naughty” cat of the week award.
“Our adoption team has done such a great job that sometimes I’ll have a cat ready on Tuesday, and then on Friday that cat will be adopted, so then I have to scramble and find a new cat,” she commented. Now that’s the kind of problem every shelter would like to have!
Hello Furiends! Thank you for your patience as we post our news segment a day late! I hope you’re feeling springy in your neck of the woods. The Human is insistent that she can smell spring in the air. We think she’s nuts.
This is from Weather Kitty today. Note the temperature and the feline at the airport dressed to leave this chilly place and head to a warmer climate. I think this is all I need to refute The Human’s “spring” argument.
And while we hang out at home, waiting for warmer weather, I found an absolutely magical piece of brown wrapping paper and have been racing around the closet, bathroom and bedroom with it. Neither Lily nor Oliver have embraced the joy of the brown paper like I have.
To enjoy the paper you must be one with the paper.Come one guys, join me in this paper festival. Oh good grief, what is Alberto up to now?Brown paper? Meh. I’d rather take a nap.Don’t you DARE bring that loud, crinkly paper in here Alberto!
Sigh, some cats just don’t understand the joy of paper!
New York is home to many famous people but there are a number of New York cats who have a claim to fame too. Meet Spongecake, Mocha and Donut, a fantastic feline trio who have become social media stars. Watch their video and see how the conquer New York with their purrfectly wonderful purrsonalities.
I reported on a sofa sale with a cat inside quite a while ago. I thought this was a rare occurrence. I was wrong. It happened in Vancouver, B.C.
Matt Lumabi was moving into a new place and in the process, noticed his cat was missing. His cat, Marley had somehow gotten into a sofa that he’d sold and had quite an adventure.
The buyers took the sofa, blissfully unaware that they’d received a bonus with their purchase. The couch was then quickly resold, and Marley never made an appearance.
The second buyer did find Marley after three days.
While Marley was moving to new places in the sofa, Matt tore his new place apart looking for, searched the neighborhood, posted on social media and put up “missing cat” posters all over his neighborhood.
The first couch purchaser was notified that there was a cat in the couch and they called Matt. Matt and Marley were reunited after three days, she was checked out and had suffered no physical problems from her adventure. She is happy to be home and Matt says, she’s been more cuddly than ever.
Cat goes to work with his human for 10 years
Dude the museum cat goes to work every day with “Big Guy” at the Delaware Museum of Natural Science. He makes sure he does the rounds that his job as Snoopervisor requires. Dude is celebrating his 15th birthday on March 8th. You can go to the museum’s Instagram account and wish Dude a happy birthday. You can find him on the TikTok and Instagram accounts of the museum (@delmnh)
Avery Rogers was working at her family’s North Carolina food truck when she encountered an unusual hungry customer. Rogers told The Dodo that the cat kept coming closer and got close enough to accept a treat that was offered to her.
When her shift was over, Rogers went to where the cat was sitting and the cat marched toward her, making it clear she wanted a home and some love.
You can watch the cat walk up to Rogers and ask to be loved here.
That cat convinced Rogers that she should have a home. After a health check and a check for a microchip at the vets the deal was sealed. Rogers named the cat Blue, after the family food truck’s most popular hot dog, the Bluetick Hound.
Blue was estimated to be about a year old and she had no trouble fitting in with the cats already in the house. People have said that Rogers found Blue at the perfect time but Rogers says it was the other way around. Blue’s insistence to be adopted was days before one of Roger’s childhoodcats passed away within days of Blue’s arrival. Rogers said that Blue was a much needed source of comfort and that Blue showed up right when she was needed.
A CHONKY black-and-white cat called Gacek has been named the No. 1 tourist attraction in the northern city of Szczecin. He’s scored an average Google rating of 4.9 out of 5,moving past icons like the award-winning Philharmonic, the Castle of Pomeranian Dukes and the city’s underground WWII tunnels.
The six year old Gacek can often be found dozing in his little wooden home on Kaszubska street. He’s known as the King of Kaszubska’ and ‘the cat ambassador of Szczecin’, and he’s amassed in excess of 1,000 ‘Google user reviews’, with the overwhelming majority leaving him a ‘puurfect’ five star rating. Comments such as, “Best thing to happen on our holiday,” or “the Mayor of the city”, are representative of how his fans feel about him.
Two paws up for the city of Szczecin for having a purrfect #1 tourist attraction!
Hello Furiends, The life of blogging felines sometimes gets complicated and we find ourselves running a day behind on our schedule. We cannot fault our Purrsonal Assistant as we have been working her hard to finish our first mystery novel and she was busy with the launch yesterday of Chicken Soup For the Soul, Lessons Learned from My Cat in which she has a story on page 175 called, Miss P. and the Turkey. Yep yet another story about Angel Miss P! This is the second time The Human has been published in a Chicken Soup book!
Here’s a press release for the book:
101 Lessons Learned from Our Cats
A New Chicken Soup for the Soul Collection Explores that Magical Human–Animal Bond Royalties from Book Sales to Benefit American Humane
COS COB, Conn. – We learn so much from our feline friends, and along the way they keep us company, provide unconditional love, and share in the ups and downs of our lives. What do we learn from them? Everything. Our cats make us better people. If we rescued them, they rescue us back. If we’re sad, they comfort us. If we need to have more fun, they show us how. They are our therapists, our role models, and our best friends.
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Lessons Learned from My Cat (February 14, 2023, 978-1-611590999, $16.95) will have cat fans laughing, tearing up, and nodding their heads in recognition as they dive into these 101 touching, inspiring, and sometimes mindboggling stories about all the ways in which cats enrich our lives, become part of our families, and make us better people.
“It’s remarkable how much cats add to their human family members’ lives,” says Amy Newmark, publisher and editor-in-chief of Chicken Soup for the Soul. “Our writers report on how their cats helped them improve their relationships, acted as natural therapists, and showed them how to overcome their own challenges. They learned how to be better people through the examples of their cats’ loyalty, intuition, resilience, and kindness.”
Chicken Soup for the Soul is donating royalties from the book to American Humane, along with the royalties from its other new book, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Lessons Learned from My Dog. This is the seventh pair of books about cats and dogs that Chicken Soup for the Soul has published with royalties earmarked for American Humane. This effort is part of the company’s widespread support for animal shelters and pet adoption, including the donation of Chicken Soup for the Soul pet food and books to shelters across the country.
In keeping with Chicken Soup for the Soul’s support for pet adoption and shelters, the 101 stories chosen for the book from thousands of submissions are not only inspirational and fun, but also feature rescued cats, including black cats and senior cats, the categories of cats that are often left behind at shelters. It’s part of Chicken Soup for the Soul’s mission to make people think “shelter first” when they’re considering adding a new pet to their families.
101 inspiring stories about amazing cats—and support for a great cause. It’s the perfect recipe for a warm, winter dose of chicken soup.
Chicken soup for the soul
And now, since we’re a little behind, we thought we’d share our Valentine’s Day images from yesterday. Please come back and visit us tomorrow to enjoy our news items about the wild and wacky world of felines.
I hope everything is great in our neck of the woods but I know many of you are suffering with bad weather and we’re also purraying for our furiends in Turkey and Syria after the devastating earthquakes.. I’ve reported on the cat-friendly folks in Turkey and we are devastated by the loss of so many lives in those countries.
The beginning of a new month is always exciting as we look at all the monthly, weekly and daily holidays are celebrated. Here are a few we like and we hope you’ll enjoy them tool
It’s National Pet Dental Health Month and this kitty is here to tell you, your humans need to keep an eye on your teeth! The Human took us for teeth cleaning and I had to have a tooth extracted (Oliver had three taken out)! It wasn’t fun but we feel so much better. Take care of your fangs!!
Oh my whiskers, this is a holiday I love to celebrate! National Pizza Day is coming up tomorrow (Feb. 9) so make sure your humans are celebrating (and sharing)! And get this, some places will even give you free or big discounts on pizza.
What better holiday for elegant, graceful felines to celebrate? World Ballet Day is February 7. ““Elegance wanted body and life, which is why it turned into a cat.” – William IX, Duque of Aquitaine.
We hope you enjoyed our holiday celebrations and now, on to the news!
This one is for all my fireplace loving, heat seeking furry furiends. This working cat Nimbus lives 6,288 feet above sea level at Mount Washington Observatory in New Hampshire’s White Mountains. This is one of the coldest places in the United States, with a historic storm raging last week that had winds whipping up to 120 mph and the thermometer dropping far below -32 Fahrenheit. Fortunately, the job of the feline in residence, Nimbus, is indoor morale booster for the human scientists who live with him and who have to deal with the brutal weather outside.
Meteorologist Francis Tarasiewciz said Nimbus slept through most of the storm unlike Tarasiewciz who had to get hourly readings in the extreme cold. Tarasiewcz and the other observers, spend a week at a time at the 91-year-old mountaintop observatory that, in 1934, recorded a wind gust of 231 mph, which as a world record for decades.
Cats have been a part of the observatory family since its founding in 1932. Marty, the observatory cat passed in late 2020. A search for a new observatory cat was launched with the help of the Conway Area Humane Society (CAHS). The summit cat is a special part of the living environment on the summit, and the feline presence makes the place feel more like a home during the week-long shifts.
Nimbus sailed through the job interview, competing with three other cats from CAHS. The gray coated feline’s name was inspired by the large gray clouds that bring precipitation. Nimbus was officially installed in his job at the Observatory on April 14, 2021. He is described as a friendly, chatty cat.
I don’t know about your humans, but ours does not have what she refers to as a “significant other” in her life at the moment (human that is). She will be enjoying some time with Oliver, Lily and I and she knows a number of people who will also be celebrating with their felines.
Purina recently did a survey that showed that 1 in 5 cat parents prefer to spend Valentine’s Day with their felines over their significant others. This is why the good folks at Purina created the Cuddle Collection as it gives all those humans who share their hearts and homes with felines something special designed to “celebrate the special bond between cats and their owners and give cat lovers a way to show their cats just how much they mean to them.
Once again, those wonderful, feline loving folks in Japan are looking out for cats. Japan’s recent spate of snow and freezing temperatures has forced the nation’s feline inhabitants to seek shelter. Unfortunately, some folks find cats hiding under the hoods and the tires of their cars, sometimes after it’s too late.
Japanese carmaker Nissan hopes its new campaign will save those lives. Tokyo officials say there are as many as 60,000 stray cats in the city, and cats hiding in and around cars is not a new problem. The Japan Automobile Federation launched a similar campaign a few years ago encouraging drivers to knock on the hoods of their cars, but the trend never caught on.
Now Nissan is ramping up the message in order to save cats. “There are lives that can be saved with a bit of consideration,” is the message on the campaign website. Nissan’s new campaign encourages drivers to share information about the campaign on social media and to place a campaign bumper sticker on their car. Two paws up Nissan!
More than 50 cats have been dumped at an outdoor park in Texas. These cats wouldn’t have been able to survive on their own but Wesley Felts have taken on the cause of these felines and visits the outdoor Texas Park on a daily basis to feed and bring housing.
Felts says, “If I had my choice, I’d want each and every one of them to have a good home,” adding that very few animal shelters in the area will take in cats.
Since he’s started caring for the now 55 cats in the encampment, he’s taken three home with him.
During the arctic blast that hit parts of Texas in late December, residents in the area expressed concern over the cats’ wellbeing. “Feeling concerned for all the cats at Bailey’s this weekend,” one person wrote in a local Facebook group called “Let’s Make Bailey’s Great Again!”
Felts reassured her in the comments the cats were safe with shelters, blankets and hay, later adding that all the cats survived the freezing weather.
These cats have been dumped by people at the park and local experts are suggesting to anyone who finds a stray cat take it to a shelter. If that’s not possible, people should contact local animal control. Laying out some type of shelter and cat food is also okay. There are also trap-neuter-release programs that can be notified, which take cats from the wild, give them basic medical care, and stop future generations from growing up wild.
The recreational area where the cat camps are located is in Orange County near Beaumont. We hope Mr. Felts will find some shelters to take the cats and that local TNR people will help too.
I hope all is good in your neck of the woods. It’s been C-O-L-D in our neck of the woods! Today the temperature climbed up to a balmy 15 degrees Fahrenheit!
Since it’s a new month, Oliver, Lily and I decided to celebrate some of the occasions that are celebrated in the month of February. Enjoy andn don’t forget to celebrate!
Date night has been made so much better for folks in San Diego. Whiskers and Wine may be the only full restaurant, bar and cat rescue in the country. For a $30.00 fee you can have the attendance of some meowvelous felines while you enjoy a delicious dinner and some cocktails like a Whisky Meower. Whiskers and Wine is a hit and, since it’s opening in August 2022, has helped 80 cats get adopted. And, if you visit them on Saturday or Sunday mornings, you can purrticipate in yoga with cats. .Be sure and watch the video of this great place!
The Human often gets frustrated with my brofur Oliver and I when we suddenly go after each oither. She can’t tell if we’re really fighting or play fighting. Evedintely sh e’s not the only human who wonders about this. A new study published in Scientific Reports has investigated play and fighting in cats.
The scientists used observation to see if they could figure out this conundrum. The study, led by Noema Gajdoš-Kmecová from the University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Slovakia and from the University of Lincoln, UK, analyzed 105 videos of interactions between 210 cats to find the answer.
After they purrused the videos, the research team then developed an ethogram – a list of specific behaviors and those were put into six groups:
Inactive: head and body motionless and in specific position, for example crouching
Wrestling: cats in physical contact with wrestling movements
Chasing: one cat runs in pursuit or another cat runs away
Other interactive activities: for example grooming, approaching, raised fur on back
Non-interactive: activity directed towards themselves or an inanimate object, for example drinking, self-licking
Vocalization: for example growl, hiss, meow
They went back and watched the videos again to identify which of their discovered behaviors were shown in the cats. Each interaction was then analyzed statistically to work out which behaviors appeared together in clusters.
They then separated the videos into three categories of interactions.
1-Playful: included 40% of cats from the videos and included wrestling and a lack of vocalizing.
2-Agonistic: agonistic behaviors (any social behaviors that include threatening, aggression, and submission). Cats in this group vocalized and had recurring bouts of inactivity; 32% of cats from the sample landed in this group.
3-Intermediate: this group included 28% of cats and was more closely associated with the playful group than the agonistic group. Cats in this group interacted for prolonged periods with pauses in between.
The scientists also had cat behaviorists review the videos and their conclusions. From their observations, the professionals provided some tips.
If your cats are wrestling, they’re probably playing. Normally, when there is friction between cats in a multi-cat household, they tend to avoid physical contact. Instead, they’ll use offensive or defensive maneuvers that don’t involve extended direct contact, such as slapping. This is true with our Lily. She’ll walk by Oliver or I and give us a big whacky paw for no reason, and then she strolls off.
If your cats are vocalizing, and chasing between periods of inactivity (such as crouching), they are most likely fighting. Vocalization is an especially important clue here to an aggressive rather than playful interaction. Chasing is OK if it’s mutual, but if one cat is chasing or one cat is running away, that’s not so positive.
The intermediate group is the tricky one. It contains elements of both playful and agonistic behaviors, though but more closely related to the playful than the agonistic group. This suggests play could become agonistic, depending on what happens during the interaction.
In particular, the authors observed frequent breaks within the interaction, which may allow cats to reassess their partner’s interest in playing and avoid escalation from play to aggression.
This study is the first to apply a scientific approach to cat behaviors anybody can identify, describing three types of interactions to help identify between play and fighting in cats.
It’s pretty easy for humans to figure out when cats are really fighting but this study helps in working out what’s happening when it doesn’t appear to be a real cat fight.
It’s also important to understand the relationship between cats. If they are buddies, share food and for the most part friendly with each other, you can let them have a little antagonistic play without worrying.
Everyone has that one coworker…
After watching this video, I can’t believe that anyone would complain about this wonderful employee!
This feline loves to learn about the history of my ancestors. This article is about how . Vikings prized cats for two reasons: their rodent-hunting abilities and their coats. In other words, when felines started slacking on the mousing, they faced transformation into a cape or a coat. (Note, this was NOT part of the history I enjoyed!)
As felines traveled on the conquering Viking ships as they pillaged and murdered their way through the British Isles, Iceland, Europe, Greenland and North America many found homes in these new places. (Perhaps if they knew they were in danger of becoming a coat, some of them jumped ship!)
It’s a bit hard to picture these violent people with pets but it’s true, they purrfered cats!
And how did the fabulous feline get to Scandinavia you ask? Recent examination of feline DNA from archaeological sites dating to 15,000 to 2,700 years ago suggests the ancestors of today’s cats expanded across the world during two distinct periods, separated by millennia. The first migration event saw them move from the Middle East into the Mediterranean. There, local farmers welcomed our ancestors, pleased to have effective rodent-control services in their fields and crop storehouses.
Still, even this cat knows that the Mediterranean is a long way off from Northern Europe, Archaeologists say that happened thousands of years later and began in Egypt. At this point, seafarers knew the value of felines in keeping from setting up shop on their ships. Some of these sailors were Vikings This was discovered in a Nordic site in Germany where scientists discovered cat DNA resembling that of ancient Egyptian felines.
That second wave of cat migration began around 1700 B.C. and picked up significant speed by the A.D. 400s. This conclusion was reached after reseearchers worked with animal bones from the Bronze age to the 1600’s.
Perhaps the most fascinating insight discovered by the researchers was the physiological transformation felines underwent over the centuries. Typically, when animals get domesticated, they shrink in size. For example, the average dog is about one-quarter smaller than its wolf ancestors.
When it comes to felines, however, DNA shows something altogether surprising. Instead of getting smaller, “domestication” caused cats to balloon. (I resemble that remark!) We know that the Egyptians treated us as gods and that the Vikings fed us very well! Thankfully that tradition continues today!
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