Walk Through The Web Wednesday – 1/10

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Hello Furiends,
I hope the new year is treating you well in your neck of the woods. I know some of you are having a purrticularly brutal winter and hope you are all staying warm and cozy. It’s snowy in our neck of the woods but not too bad and that’s how The Human likes it.

Since I had the opportunity to opine last week Oliver has insisted on a turn so, before we go into our news items, Oliver will provide his two cents. Also, this week we have a theme which is felines who live life as long haul truckers. We found some great stories and hope you enjoy them too. And now, heeeeeereeees Oliver!

Hello there furiends. I felt compelled to say a few words about traveling cats due to the theme of this week’s feature. Now I’ve never traveled in a semi-truck but I have made a number of trips in the car. As a matter of fact, I am the only member of our tribe who travels in the car mostly without the dreaded cat carrier (because I’m a very well behaved kitty). Why I even took a trip to Starbucks to make my film “Bring Me My Catpuccino!”

Oliver takes a little jaunt in the car to Starbucks

I quite enjoy the occasional car trip and even did an hour trip to the kitty spa with The Human in October. Still, I wonder what it would be like to live in a big truck. I wouldn’t mind watching the scenery go by but I’m not so sure the level of service I experience here would be available to me. For instance, do trucks have big enough beds for a human and a 21 1/2 pound feline to sleep comfortably? And what about the breakfast schedule and daily snack schedule? Is there room for me to play with my favorite toys at midnight and enough space for me to run full speed down a hallway at 2:00am?

I may not want to live a truckers life but I salute all those truckers who travel with their felines.

I’m not so sure this life on the road would be for me and, as much as I hate to admit it, I would miss my brofur Alberto and Lily (aka Princess Stabby Toes). Sigh, I guess the traveling life isn’t for me after all but I do think you will enjoy these stories about felines who love the vagabond life.

Trucker’s lost cat returned home after journey through Nevada, Utah, Wyoming

Taking a feline on the road with you alleviates lonliness for truckers and this is why Chad McIntyre traveled with his feline buddy, Tyler.  

Then, two months ago in November, while changing Tyler’s litter box and getting ready for the next trip, Tyler escaped from the truck at the Flying J Truck Stop in Fernley, Nevada.

Chad had a deliver to make and had to leave. He returned after two and a half hours to search for Tyler. He had to leave for  California the next day and Chad returned the next night to search again.

Chad’s wife, Brandy, posted all over social media and found Facebook groups and Trucker groups to share the information about Tyler. And, miracle of miracle, five days later she found out that Tyler was at an animal shelter 670 miles from where he went missing. Tyler was in a shelter in Rock Springs, Wyoming. Rock Springs Animal Control supervisor Lydia Gomez said Tyler was found by a concerned citizen at a Flying J in Rock Springs. They scanned Tyler for a microchip and found his humans.

“We were able to check him in and he was microchipped, so we were able to locate an owner,” Gomez said. Then Gomez worked with independent transport coordinator Joan Nickum to help get Tyler back to his home in Decatur, Illinois.

Nickum coordinates transports by finding people to drive shorter legs of long road trips to transport animals from shelters to rescues, rescues to owners, and shelters to adopters. She drove four hours to help reunite Tyler with his family.

Tyler was reunited with his family on New Year’s Eve. The theory is that Tyler hitched a ride with another trucker to the Wyoming truck stop.

Tyler has been temporarily suspended from traveling but we’re sure he’ll be on the road again soon. And people, please, please microchip your felines and make sure your registration information is up to date!

Instagram Truck Traveling Felines

Maverick and Peanut travel America in a semi-truck, and when not traveling they’re visiting family or just relaxing at home with their furry siblings. They have an Instagram account and this video on YouTube.

Lonely Truck Driver Adopts Abandoned Cat And Now He’s His Official Co Pilot

Paul Robertson works as a truck driver. For many years he was accompanied on his trips by his cat Howie. When Howie crossed The Rainbow Bridge, Paul missed his friend on long trips. Paul went to a shelter and adopted another cat to be his road trip buddy. It looks like Paul’s new co-pilot is taking to life on the road.

Truckers and their co-driving cats Facebook group

This might be one of the groups that Tucker’s human posted information when he disappeared from the truck stop. This is a public Facebook group that offers great photos of truck traveling felines.

Trucking with a Cat – What You Should Know

If these stories have made you wonder if your feline would make a good companion on road trips, here is an article from ezfreight factoring with some tips. Happy traveling!

Life on the road gets lonely, that’s a proven fact. If you’re a trucker looking to potentially bring a furry friend along on your drives, consider getting a cat! Trucking with cats can be simple and rewarding if it’s done right, but if you are planning on bringing your kitty along, it would be a very wise choice to invest in some cat insurance in case anything unsuspected happens to your travelling companion while out on the road.

Benefits of Trucking with a Cat

  • Cats are low maintenance. They eat once or twice a day, are comfortable in contained spaces and don’t require being let out every few hours like a dog.
  • They offer companionship. Once a cat warms up to you, they’re extremely loving. They crave human attention and enjoy nesting themselves close to you, wherever you are. Bringing a feline friend on the road is a great way to prevent being homesick.
  • They’re obedient. Cats can be trained to walk on a leash, sit on your shoulder or perform tricks if you have treats and patience.
  • They’re protective. If something sounds weird or looks off, your cat will let you know. They might not be as intimidating as a dog, but they will still alert you to dangers.

How to take your cat trucking

Before you just stick your cat in your truck and take off, you need to do some preparation.

Cat-Proof Your Truck

You’re going to need to make some slight additions to your truck if you’re planning to bring your cat along.

First things first, make sure you have bowls for food and water. Some drivers like to attach Velcro to the bottoms of the bowls so they’ll stay in a certain place then the truck is moving. Try and purchase bowls that are deep so water doesn’t splash out while you’re on the road.

If you want to take your cat trucking, you’re going to need to get a litter box. Contrary to popular belief, litter boxes don’t always smell. If they’re tended to correctly, your truck nor your clothes will smell like cat excrement. Use scoopable litter, clean it once a day and deep clean it once a month. For added smell protection, sprinkle in a box of baking soda.

Trucking with cats is no different than living with cats. That being said, make sure there are a few comfy spots in the truck where your feline friend can hang out while you’re driving. Put a blanket in the sunshine, have a few toys lying about and bring some treats along. Making your truck feel like home is a big step toward getting your cat to consider it one.

If your cat has claws, consider purchasing a scratch pad. They’re relatively inexpensive and will go a long way in keeping your trucker cat happy and your semi rip-free.

Train Your Cat

Most felines aren’t going to hop into a semi and happily drive off with you on the first try. It takes a little bit of work to get your cat assimilated to the movement of the truck and life on the road.

Start putting your pet cat in your truck while it’s off. Place their favorite toys and blankets inside the cab and let them play and explore. Reward them with treats if they’re being good.

Once you’ve done that a few times and your cat appears more comfortable, turn your truck on. The noise itself might be startling at first but reward them with treats and affection until they become used to the noise. This is a good time to also place a litter box in the truck. Place your cat inside and give them treats, so they know it’s an OK place for them to go.

The next step is taking your truck out for a short and slow drive. This is your feline’s first attempt at being a trucking cat! It takes some animals longer than others to adjust to the movement and feel of the semi, so be patient. Your cat should eventually warm up to being in the space and associate being in the cab with hanging out with you and getting treats.

Hit The Road!

If your truck and cat are both ready, it’s time to hit the road! Make sure to have your trucker cat’s papers with you, you never know when you might have to stop at the vet. Also bring extra cleaning supplies! Your cat sheds, the litter box granules escape, etc. You’ll thank yourself later.

If you need money to fuel up while traveling with your feline from point A to point B, consider truck factoring. Truck factoring lets you sell your active invoices for a cash advance, allowing you to transport your goods where they need to go without pulling money out of your own pocket. Have questions? Give us a call. Our factoring experts are ready to answer any question you might have.

Welcome 2024!

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Hello Furiends,
I hope you had a purrfectly wonderful New Year’s celebration. The holidays at our house have been a bit whacky. The Human’s family arrived in full force. They celebrated Christmas and New Year’s together and will soon be celebrating a wedding. Good grief, The Human lives a fairly sedate social life and suddenly she’s turned into a social butterfly!

While she was galivanting around Lily, Oliver and I held a Feline Opines staff meeting and decided that we needed to get our points of view out in this blog so we have created some spots for all three of us to share our views of the world with all of you, Here is our first stab at this new endeavor, we hope you like it. (We are not abandoning our #WalkThroughTheWebWednesday feature)

Well furiends, we made it through this holiday season-barely. While The Human was dancing around to family social engagements we were left to fend for ourselves. Because of this dereliction of duty, we made sure to demand extra treats on a regular basis (evidently this technique had consequences as my collar is now a little tighter.)

In The Human’s defense, she did order us some nice things from Chewy and there were lots of skritches when she finally got home from her soirees. Still, when she was here, she was completely absorbed in finishing her book. She was maniacal in her maniacal quest to get the job done and despite our skepticism she actually did it!

When we innocently requested a kitty tale for the new year, she decided to tell us a Christmas story about Jólakötturinn, (Yule Cat) an Icelandic Christmas story. If my brief recap gives you the desire to learn more you can go to the Icelandic Folklore website, a research project managed by the University of Iceland. Oh my whiskers was that request a mistake!!

Jóhannes úr Kötlum, an Icelandic poet, wrote about the Yule Cat in his book, Jólin koma (Christmas is Coming), published in 1932.

The poem tells the tale of a huge cat with eyes that glow. This frightening feline roams the country, looking for children that are not wearing the new clothes they got for Christmas. Good grief, this is a bit of an overreaction, don’t you think? I guess if I were a little human in Iceland I’d be sure to wear every piece of clothing I received for Christmas!

As for this feline, I strongly object to a story that makes us the bad guy and scary to kids. Everyone knows kitties are furiends to all children…as long as they don’t pull our tails or treat us cruelly.

This story, along with all the fireworks going off outside at midnight, gave Oliver quite a fright. Lily just stayed buried under the covers until it was all over.

The Human has advised us that we’re in for quite a bit of snow in the next few days. We felines will sit by the fire and enjoy the view from the dining room window.

We all wish you a 2024 full of blessings and treats!

Purrs and Head Bonks,
Alberto, Oliver, Lily and The Human

Oliver Sings A New Year’s Message

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Oliver, Alberto and Lily are reflecting about the events of 2023 and will be posting some of their highlights soon but in the meantime (and because the staff at Feline Opines decided to take a holiday and missed our weekly “Walk Through The Web Wednesday” post, we present this mewsical message from Oliver with a traditional song.

The lyrics were “adjusted” by The Human as per Oliver’s request. He reflects on those furiends we said good-bye to in 2023 and those who are with us, reminding us that we should treat all our furiends with kindness (even the dogs as Oliver notes)

Walk Through The Web Wednesday – 12/20

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Happy Almost Christmas Wednesday My Furiends!

Still no new snow in our neck of the woods but The Human keeps reminding us that she chose to move to the Inland Northwest to avoid draconian amounts of snow like she experienced when she lived in the Rockies. Since we’re inside kitties it doesn’t make any difference to us. As a matter of fact, when it’s not snowy and only rainy, that’s a great time for The Human to take us for a neighborhood tour in the cat stroller but, unfortunately, one of the wheels is broken and The Human is still trying to figure out how to fix it.

Whenever we get a Chewy box it’s a red letter day and this week we had a very good day. Lily was appointed box opening snoopervisor and she took her job seriously.

And once The Human got all the items out of the box, imagine our surprise when we saw a new scratcher! The Human slathered it with catnip and turned us loose. Oliver and I were the first to inspect this new item.

You may have noticed that the new scratcher is a bit, err…small and might not accommodate all our pulchritude but we still gave it our best effort and Oliver decided to prove the old “If it fits I sits” cat quote.

On another note, my brother has been play fighting with me and demolishing the whiskers on the right side of my face. As you can see from the photos, this mars my handsome countenance and makes me feel a little off balance.

That’s it for our neck of the woods for this week. I hope you enjoy this week’s feline news.

  What do rice and cats have in common?

I’ve heard of unusual ways that people celebrate their love of us fantastic felines but this one is really cool!

There is a rice farmer in Thailand who creates beautiful pictures of cats in his rice fields.

Rice is one of the largest income producing products in Thailand and now the rice fields are becoming tourist attractions as well.

Cats play fetch, too — as long as they’re in control, a study finds

“Maybe I’ll run after it, maybe I won’t.”

I don’t know how many of my feline furiends ever play or have played fetch (all three of us did this as kittens but we’re over it now), you might be interested in this.

Doggos aren’t the only ones who fetch as a recent studyin the journal Scientific Reports has found. We felines play fetch too, but we have our own rules.  

Academics at the University of Sussex and Northumbria University in Great Britain surveyed almost 1,000 owners of 1,154 cats to find out if – and why – they fetch, which was defined as an animal retrieving an object that’s thrown.

Their study found that nearly 95% of the cat owners reported that their cats fetched itemsinstinctively, and they were not trained to do so.

They found that we felines fetch when we want to play fetch and not when the human decides we should play.

“So it can say a bit about cats being in control of their interactions and being in control of their environments, [or] being in control of us, you might even go so far to say,” says Jemma Forman, a doctoral researcher at the University of Sussex and co-author of the study.

They believe that our motivation to play fetch is different than the doggos too. We like to play with objects that remind us of prey. It’s not a social interaction like it is for our canine furiends.

No matter the motive for cats to play fetch, play is good for us!

Human spends over £1,000 ($1265.00USD) on a birthday party for her cats

Clearly our Human needs to step up her game! A human named Sam, shared details of the extravagant feline birthday party on her TikTok channel, @jet_set_gypsea.

I like the caption on the video that says: “Yes she’s a little spoiled but I think she deserves it! Princess treatment for our little princess girls!”

Sam celebrated both her cat’s birthdays together. Both felines received commissioned art work of each cat, although Sam admitted that this was more of a gift for her thaqn the cats.

Sam shopped at her favorite pet shop for birthday gifts. After the cats were done playing with their new toys, they ate their birthday meal from Dolce and Gabbana pet plates. We sent the Purrsonal Assistant on an internet search to find the plates to get an idea of the cost. Although she couldn’t find the exact plates, it looks like two Dolce and Gabbana plates run from $315.00 and up.

And what did the birthday girls eat from those plates? The starter was scallop and shrimp with a main course of “cheesy rabbit”.

Invitations to the party were sent to all of the feline’s furiends with the note that gifts were obligatory which meant they received lots of presents including many cat shaped items.

This feline thinks Sam just set the bar for feline birthday parties. Step up your game humans!

Some kitties love snow

Some of us are not fond of the white, wet stuff but then others of us enjoy some snowy play time. This cat’s human was even throwing snowballs for the cat to fetch. (And if you want to learn more about cats and fetching read the article above).

You go kitty and I’ll sit by the fire and watch your snowy video.

Not Walkin’ – Singin” – 12/13

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Happy Wednesday Furiends!
The Human has been a bit frazzled, her human niece is getting married soon and there are all kinds of things to do. Translation= she’s been a slacker. Add to that the news that we found for this week has been dominated by numerous international news sites reporting that cats are dangerous killers and the general consensus is that we should be all locked up inside and we just didn’t have the enthusiasm for the feline news we found.

Soooooo, we decided to provide you with some holiday entertainment. We each selected a singer we like and lip-synced to a song. You’ll figure that out when you hear the deep baritone of Ollie’s song….that isn’t NOT his voice.

We hope you enjoy our special singing offering this week.

Walk Through The Web Wednesday – 12/6

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Hello Furiends,
Winter is confused in our neck of the woods. We had some snow and now we’re having rain, rain and more rain. We don’t mind because we’re nice and cozy inside.

And speaking of cozy, we have nice beds in the office and since The Human is working from her home office, we expect treats on a regular schedule. Oliver and I, being a bit on the portly side, have the amount of treats we get restricted. Skinny Lily can eat as many as she wants. This week I’m sharing with you what we have to go to to get a treat!

“Hello Human, I see you’ve come in the kitchen to refresh your coffee. How about a small treat while you’re here?”
“She walked away and didn’t even offer me a tiny treat.”
“Hey there Human, sorry to interrupt but I didn’t want you to forget about treat time.”
“Seriously?! You could ignore this face?!”
“Oh no! This no treat thing doesn’t apply to me does it?”

Here’s hoping your humans will get you a treat while they read this week’s news.

50 Vintage Photos Of Cats That Show Nothing Has Changed In Decades

We felines know that the world has been fascinated with us for centuries. We’ve inspired poetry, music, art and other creative endeavors.

Why even our very own Human has written 3 books and various stories in compilation books about us, her fantastic felines.  

Bored Panda discovered a fantastic Instagram account called All Vintage Cats (@allvintagecats), created by journalist Paula Leite Moreira. This unique profile showcases vintage photographs of cats from various decades of the 20th century, offering us a wonderful album of felines of the past.

Amazon delivery driver’s love for Kentucky feline friend on delivery route goes viral

Lolly, photo credit Isaac Bowen

Sure, you read about delivery drivers bonding with canines at the homes where they deliver but they can also have a relationship with the resident feline too.

This relationship in Brandenburg,KY went viral on TikTok, getting over 8 million views.

Evan Snow is an Amazon driver from Clarksville and while on the job, he found a feline friend.  Whenever Snow would drop off packages at Isaac Bowen’s family home in Brandenburg, the family cat, Lolly, would greet him on the porch. Snow would sit on the porch to pet and give love to Lolly.  Sadly Lolly crossed the Rainbow Bridge at the end of October but she shared some lovely memories with Evan.

Isaac Bowen knew the bond Snow and Lolly had, and found security footage of Snow searching for Lolly after he passed.

Bowen made a video with the footage and clips of Lolly and posted it to TikTok. The video gained over 7 million views within the first two days. Thousands of positive comments from users showed an outpour of love for this pair – many of them wanted to do something special for Snow.

We all just know that when it came to Lolly and people, there was something special with that connection,” Bowen said. “He had an effect on people and people had an effect on him.”

Bowen was able to get in contact with Snow to tell him about the video and support, and gift him the presents TikTok users wanted to send him.

The gifts included fulfilled items from Snow’s Amazon Wishlist, a framed picture of Lolly, and a stuffed bear with a recording of Lolly’s iconic meow.

“It was kind of nice to see that video, see an effect he had on a random delivery driver and then be able to thank that delivery driver for still caring for him after,” Bowen said.

Right about now you’re probably ugly crying like our Human is!

New drug calms cats during transportation, veterinary visits

Oliver does not like vet visits.

We felines ar e, for the most part, not fani8s of vet visits. You humans all have your own “cures” for feline freak out. The Human likes to spray our carrier and the car seat with Feliway. Full disclosure, she’s not a fan of medication but we also understand that there are times when medication is called for.

Bonqat is the first FDA-approved animal drug containing pregabalin, which is used in human medicine as an anticonvulsant and to treat neural pain.

The drug is administered orally as a single dose of 5 mg/kg (0.1mL/kg) approximately 1.5 hours before traveling or a veterinary visit and can be given for two consecutive days, according to a November 17 announcement by the FDA.Orion Corp., a Finnish drug maker, conducted a field study of client-owned cats with a history of anxiety that included two separate visits over the course of five to 10 days as well as repetitive transportation and physical examinations for each cat.

A little over half of cats given Bonqat had a good to excellent response during both transportation and the veterinary visit compared to about one-third of cats given placebo, according to the FDA. In addition, 83 of 108 (77%) cats given Bonqat showed improvement in levels of fear and anxiety over the course of the two physical examinations, compared with 46 of 101 (46%) cats given placebo.

Adverse reactions related to Bonqat included mild sedation, ataxia, and lethargy.

Bonqat is only available by prescription from a licensed veterinarian because it is a Schedule Class V drug under the Controlled Substances Act with a potential for human abuse. In addition, professional expertise is required to monitor the safe use of the product, including proper dosing and administration.

Appropriate precautions should be taken while handling Bonqat, the FDA warned, including avoiding contact with a person’s skin, eyes, and other mucus membranes. People exposed to pregabalin should seek medical advice and may experience dizziness, sleepiness, blurred vision, weakness, dry mouth, and difficulty with concentration or attention.

SHELTER CAT’S HILARIOUS ADOPTION DESCRIPTION GOES VIRAL: “SHE WILL OWN YOU”

Oh how I love when you humans are creative about working to find forever homes for felines. This story shows great creativity on the part of the humans at this shelter.

“Do you want a cat who doesn’t want you? Do you crave the feeling of being judged in your own home? Do you need someone who will slap you back into reality without notice? If you answered yes to any of these questions, we have the cat for you! Meet Quinn,” the Humane Society of Washington County wrote in a refreshing honest Facebook ad for the kitty.

“She’s our longest-term cat resident, and we get it,” they noted cheekily. “Quinn’s not for everyone.”

Washington County Human Society employees wanted Quinn to find a loving forever home, but they also needed to make sure that potential owners knew exactly what they’d be getting themselves into.

According to the shelter, Quinn “has an uncanny ability to make people feel unwelcome in her presence.”

On the plus side, they joked, this 3-year-old calico cat is very lazy, only wants to play once a month, and is “essentially a more lively houseplant, because all she really needs a human for is food, water, and changing her litter.”

Quinn the cat finally finds her forever home

According to an exciting new post, it looks like Quinn the cat has finally found a taker!  © Screenshot/Facebook/Humane Society of Washington County

Staff at the Humane Society of Washington County continued their quirky deadpan description of the adoptable cat, warning that she isn’t built for a home with dogs, kids, or cuddles.

They say that, if you decide to adopt Quinn the cat, “She will own you, your house, your belongings, and everything you hold dear.”

The cheeky post boasts over 1,000 views and hundreds of likes since being posted on November 24 as part of a Black Friday adoption sale.

According to an exciting new post, however, it looks like Quinn has finally found a taker!

“She’s not happy about it, but Quinn has been adopted!!” the shelter updated.

Quinn, we wish you good luck in your new home and hope your humans are the patient kind!

Can science find a better way to trim a cat’s nails?

The Human is ecstatic about this as our dear Lily (aka “Princess Stabby Toes”) has a tendancy to go feral if you try to hold her down and forget trying to clip her claws.

University of California, Davis, researchers are working with the Sacramento SPCA to alleviate a near-universal source of stress for cats and those who care for them: nail trimming.

Clipping a cat or kitten’s nails should be a routine practice, not only for the health of the cat and humans, but also to protect curtains, couches and other housewares.

But it can be a nerve-wracking task for all involved, and the noise and discomfort of a shelter can increase anxiety.

Ph.D. student Jennifer Link, who is in the UC Davis Animal Welfare Epi Lab, is working to lessen the trauma through a multistep protocol intended to desensitize the felines to handling and then nail clipping.

In mid-July, Link began visiting the Sacramento shelter each weekday in two-hour shifts to work on socializing rescued and surrendered cats to help ease their reactivity to new people, actions and environments. By the end of September, she had seen more than 70 cats.

“When people hear that I study cats, many ask if I can help them with nail trims,” Link said. “We know that socialization matters throughout life.”

Dan Marple, the animal welfare manager at the Sacramento Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, said the research is of paramount interest to staff, volunteers and donors because it can reduce the stress of this necessary grooming need.

“Any new protocols that increase the comfort and safe handling of the cats in our care will also improve their overall well-being and adoptability,” he said.

The cats decide

Link’s research incorporates cooperative care, which lets the animals decide their level of interaction during the training process. The cats go through one of three scenarios with Link: a handling and nail trim training protocol, a handling-only training protocol, or a control with no training and only a nail trim. Each interaction is recorded for later analysis.

The protocol groups involve habituation to get the cats comfortable. On those days, they are removed from their cages and placed in a quiet shelter room where Link is sitting, with a mat laid out before her. If a cat puts their front two paws on the mat, they are given pets and a treat. The cat is meant to learn that Link interacts with them only when they place their paws on the mat. Once this is learned, Link moves forward with the training protocols.

In steps, Link touches the cat’s legs, then the paws and then those paws get a gentle squeeze. If they don’t resist, one nail is trimmed.

The procedure builds on past steps and works up. Once the cat has gone through all the steps, they get a nail trim. If a cat doesn’t interact or rejects any step, Link stops the handling. “I think with the cooperative care, it does seem to almost improve their trust in me,” Link said. “They are more comfortable if we let them decide.”

Improving life in the shelter

The work is funded as part of an American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals applied behavior grant awarded to Carly Moody, an assistant professor who runs the Animal Welfare Epi Lab. The goal is to improve the welfare of cats during the routine procedure of handling and nail trims.

Moody said the protocol could be taught to volunteers, in order to change an often-stressful experience into a more positive experience for both the handler and the cat.

“A lot of cats in the shelter want affection,” Moody said. “Hopefully in the future something like this could be incorporated into shelter cat enrichment and management programs.”

It could also help owners at home and decrease the number of visits to clinics and veterinary hospitals, where people often seek help with nail clipping, Marple said.

“A lot of owners don’t have the tools to make nail trimming more positive,” Moody said.

Next, researchers will analyze the video sessions and finalize the protocol. If the protocol is found to be helpful, they may share it with cat managers at other shelters for additional data and input.

Paws crossed that this is a success and that all you humans can try it on your less than cooperative felines.

Walk Through The Web Wednesday – 11/29

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Hello Furiends!
We hope you and your humans had a wonderful Thanksgiving holiday. It was nice that The Human had a little bit of extra time to spend with us and we loved it.

Now that the weather is getting wintery The Human has rolled out one of our favorite heating devices. It doesn’t get too hot so it’s a nice spot to sit and enjoy the warmth it provides. The problem is that there really is only room for one cat and this sometimes causes discord as you can see below.

Ah, my favorite spot. I am king of the heat.
Excuse me Alberto. I too like to sit on the heater.
File that under “F” for “fat chance.”
Alberto, we need to have a discussion.

Needless to say, Oliver and I worked out a heater seating deal.

Now it’s time to see what news we found on the interwebs this week. I hope you enjoy the stories.

There are heroes and then there are HEROES

Photo credit: Asheville Tree-Top Cat Rescue

Our human family has connections with the military and we always apurreciate the service of our soldiers. This Air Force veteran is continuing his public service by helping Asheville, NC communities and surrounding areas catch cats that got a little too curious.

Retired Air Force colonel Spencer Cocanour offers free help through Asheville Tree-Top Cat Rescue, rescuing cats from trees. His career went from working special operations and personal recovery with planes and pilots to personal recovery of cats.

His service to local felines started with a conversation with his wife when she noticed his climbing kit in the garage. When she asked what it was, he responded that he might have to rescue a cat some day and that was the start of it all.

As of the time of his interview with NBC24 he had rescued 140-150 cats.

Cat rescuing is almost as dangerous as his military duties, especially when he has to climb a dead tree. He tries to avoid them and says he’ll try to climb a live tree next to it and either swing over to the dead tree or tie off on another so he doesn’t end tumbling down.

Cocanour says most cats will come down on their own by day two but that’s not always the case.“Dehydration is my biggest concern when it comes to a cat in a tree,” he said. “So if you go more than four days, they start having a lot of kidney issues.”

Colonel Cocanour, we felines salute you and thank you for your service to treed kitties. If you’re a brave soul that would like to help Cocanour on his mission or you just need your cat rescued, you can contact him through Facebook on the Asheville Tree-Top Cat Rescue page.

“As long as I’m still able to climb the trees, I’m still doing it,” he said. “Keeps me entertained.”

Not all scents make sense for cats

Human, what is that smell!

The holidays are especially scenty and we felines don’t always like them all. Some of the smells you humans like are not apurreciated by felines.

Our sense of smell is strong. What you humans can smell from 10 feet away, we cats can smell 140 feet away — that’s half the length of a football field.  

Smells that we do not like are some spices, strong seasonings, citrus and even some fruits. We also object to the smell of overripe bananas and essential oils, like tea tree, peppermint, cinnamon, pine and wintergreen. Please keep these smells away from our litter boxes.

Also some essential oils in diffusers are toxic to cats and cause terrible health issues. So please, think of your feline and try to keep our home a little less scenty.

A $70,000 backyard amenity – for your feline

Well, Christmas is coming and what feline wouldn’t a mansion-like catio?

According to Business Insider there are only about 50 builders in the world who specialize in indoor-outdoor enclosures. Alan Breslauer, owner of Southern California-based Custom Catios, is one of them.

Breslauer started in the business when his two bickering kittens couldn’t share space in his Los Angeles high-rise apartment. He found an article about catios, installed one in his home, brought peace to his feline household and launched a business.

Breslauer lives with three cats, Santos Six Toes, Herbie the Love Bug, and Trey  and is now the go-to guy on the West Coast for custom cat enclosures. His business is booming and you can see his work at @CatioGuy on Instagram, where he has 158,000 followers. Since launching in 2017, Breslauer’s company has built about 400 enclosures, with most clients paying between $5,000 and $15,000, but some doling out as much as $70,000 or more, he said.

And if any of you humans think this is a pricey gift for your felines, Breslauer says, “It’s like keeping a sports car in the garage. Cats have all this amazing equipment, and we don’t let them use it.”

What kind of things can a feline expect from a $15,000.00 plus catio from Breslauer? He says, “When we put everything in there, like climbing poles, hiding boxes, cat ladders, cat steps, spiral staircases, floating steps, loft ladders, we call that ‘Cat Disneyland.  We’re custom and we really do anything that’s different or unique — we jump at that opportunity. We want to do fun things.”

Some clients try to push the envelope as much as they can. A Las Vegas client asked Breslauer to build a catio from their house down a 120-foot run in the backyard, with an enclosed walkway behind the pool and against the grotto so the owners could enjoy their cat’s company while in the hot tub.

Breslauer doesn’t often work with homebuilders to add catios directly into the blueprints, but he said there’s value in them once your home hits the markets.

So my furiends, looks like we should all be campaigning for the ultimate Christmas gift!

Town to expand program that ‘deputizes’ feral cats to control rat population

Deputy Oliver at your service!

I love working cat stories and the creative ways humans figure out how to get felines “hired”. Police in Niles, Illinois – a suburb of Chicago – began a pilot program in August to “deputize” five feral cats to control the rat population,  and it’s worked so well that the department says it is looking to extend the program.

The “deputies” have been working for about three years under the care of a local resident.

Niles Police Sergeant Dan Borkowski told Pioneer Press through email that the department reviewed complaint data from the Development Department and resident feedback, and decided to continue and expand the feral cat program. Borkowski said the department had yet to determine where the cats will be placed because it’s contingent on cat availability and host families to take care of the cats.

Borkowski also said they would keep the cats in a more defined territory. The village’s animal control officer gave Sarwat Hakim, the resident who has been watching over the feral cats, three makeshift, tarped shelters for the felines.

A Pioneer Press analysis of rat complaints revealed that, two months before the pilot programme began, there were only two rat complaints within 1,500ft (0.45km) of the cats’ homes. After the pilot programme began, there were no more complaints within the area.

Hakim said the cats usually stay in the neighborhood or head off into the forest preserves, where they hunt for rats.

Hakim said before the cats were in the area, she used to see a lot of rats and rat traps. She hasn’t seen a rat trap in the neighborhood for about a year.

Two paws up for the Police in Niles and for the good people that look after the “deputies”.

Vancouver Island family  reunited with cat nearly 7 months after he went missing

And here we have another one of my favorite stories and a message of hope from a family just north of our neck of the woods.

Mucky the cat went missing on May 1st. Christi Wright with Finding Felines said that the owner suspected Mucky was in the back of his dad’s truck, possibly snoozing, and jumped out when the vehicle stopped. .

Mucky managed to toughed it out and survived on his own for six months before he began searching for food and shelter in warmer places as the weather turned chilly.

He would return over and over again to one woman’s house. He availed himself of the use of her and the food she left out for her own cats. He could come and go at his pleasure. Mucky also visited another woman a few roads over and both women began to worry if the cat might be lost.

On November 15th, both women messaged Finding Felines to express their concern.

Shortly after on November 18th, one of the women was able to capture him inside her house after he used the cat door and she took him into Finding Felines to be scanned for a microchip.

They found him to be a friendly, intact male with no ID. Everyone at Finding Felines could tell that he had been loved, so Wright offered to take him home to keep him confined and safe while they attempted to find his owner. 

Wright contacted Foster Kritters Feral Cat Rescue Society, and a lady working there offered to help by having Mucky neutered right away. 

The next morning, Mucky’s owner contacted Finding Felines after seeing a post about him on their Facebook page!

She came in to see if it was indeed Mucky, and to everyone’s excitement, it was! She immediately recognized Mucky’s belly markings and thin tail—there was no mistaking her boy!

Wright explained the arrangement Foster Kritters had made for Mucky to be neutered, and his owner agreed it was best and had been her intention before he went missing. 

She happily offered to cover all the costs associated with the appointment, so on November 21st, Mucky was neutered, and Wright was able to finally bring him home to his family for good. 

According to Wright and Mucky’s family, he’s settling back in at home well and enjoying all the extra love and cuddles!

“It was such a wonderful story, and I’m glad it’s being shared to give others who are still missing their beloved pets hope,” Wright said.

Remember what we always say at Feline Opines, “Think lost not stray!”

Thanksgiving wishes from the Feline Opines gang – 11/22

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Hello Furiends,
I’m guessing that all my U.S. feline furiends are smelling some tasty turkey about now. The Human is hurrying to have things ready to take to her family for a big feast. We will be back next week with our regular Walk Through The Web Wednesday feature but for today, we wanted to tell you all how grateful we are for you and to wish everyone lots of leftovers, purrs and naps.

We have each prepared a little Thanksgiving message for you. Until next week!
Purrs & Head Bonks,
Alberto, Oliver, Lily and The Human

Walk Through the Web Wednesday – 11/15

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Hello Furiends,
Since you humans decided to take away an hour of daylight from us, we felines have had a bit of trouble adjusting. It’s dark by 4:30 in our neck of the woods and we’re bit confused. I normally sit on the hallway cabinet and scream when I can’t figure out why The Human isn’t in bed to cuddle. Needless to day, this does not go over well with The Human. So, when all else fails, we nap.

Me attempting to adjust to daylight savings time
Oliver attempting to adjust to daylight savings time.
Lily attempting to adjust to daylight savings time.

Still, there was a bit of drama when Oliver’s girlfriend showed up one afternoon.

Hello, is Oliver there?
Oh good grief, she won’t leave me alone!
Why are you interrupting my late morning nap time?
I already told you, I’m not a one feline type of guy!
Oh for heaven’s sake, I’m going back to my nap. Human, you deal with her.

Since the little tiff, Oliver’s girlfriend has not visited. I hope she found a boyfriend who treats her nicer!

Community comes together to build cat haven

Two paws up for the people in this community who created this project in Newberry to keep the local cats safe, dry and warm.

Of felines and funding

Excuse me sir, would you be interested in investing in my new cat product?

This article was of interest to The Human as she is an entrepreneur. Did you know that feline-focused startups receive far less funding than those targeting the canine crowd?  Using Crunchbase data, a list was created of 11 companies funded in roughly the past couple years with a full or major focus on felines.

Altogether, they’ve pulled in nearly $140 million for offerings ranging from human-grade cat food to microbiome-based supplements to an AI-enabled movement-tracking collar.

The article lists a number of feline product providers who have received funding. Still, this feline wonders why there aren’t more when U.S. households alone are estimated to house more than 58 million cats. Globally, the population is in the hundreds of millions. Add to that the fact that spending on pets surged during the pandemic, as did venture funding for pet-focused startups. Data indicates cat owners aren’t scaling back, either.

The percentage of American households with cats has actually kept increasing, even after pandemic restrictions waned. Perhaps it helps that even if we’re at home less, cats are pretty content to be on their own.

So all you feline focused entrepreneurs get those products out there!

Man’s Best Friend Can’t Compare to These 9 Adventure Cats

My regular readers know how I love stories about adventure cats and this article from Outsider Magazine features 9 very cool adventure kitties.

The two featured in the photo here are the team of Pinecone and Mushroom. Their outdoor skillset is hiking and kayaking. Their human, Becca Terry loves to hike and kayak. After the shut down, she got Pinecone and she was excited to take the feline out to see and enjoy the things she had missed.

Pinecone became the perfect hiking partner. A year later, Mushroom joined the family, and picked up the adventure spirit quickly, despite visual challenges from only having one eye. Because cats are inquisitive and want to inspect everything, they hike at a generally slower pace than people, which can help their human companions slow down and “smell the roses”.

“When we go somewhere with Mushroom, usually I make sure I have a decent amount of time to be out on the trail,” Terry says. “Or sometimes I’ll pick a spot that’s shorter, like instant gratification—like a drive up to a mountaintop—but I let her move how she wants to move.”

Also, Mushroom is here to defy whatever stereotypes you have about cats being afraid of water. She’s not only a brave hiker but a regular kayaker. “I have her in my lap, and we don’t go on anything that’s got a lot of rapids,” Terry says. “So she usually falls asleep like she does in the car.”

Be sure and read about the other adventure cats in this article.

How the Feline Star of The Marvels Prepared to Play Goose the Cat

 

The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s favorite feline is back. Goose the cat returnsto the big screen in The Marvels.

While the character of Goose is returning for The Marvels, the feline actor who portrayed the animal companion in Captain Marvel did not reprise their role. The Marvels filmed in the U.K., not the U.S., like Captain Marvel, and recruited local animal talent for the movie.

Jo Vaughan, an animal trainer for the film and TV industry, was the lucky individual tapped to help select the cat for the Goose’s part and train the feline for the movie.

The trainer found a selection of cats that looked like the feline who played Goose in Captain Marvel, and two of those animals got the part.

“They picked Tango as the lead cat, and then we utilized Nemo as a backup cat,” Vaughn tells PEOPLE of the pets selected for the role.

Meowza, did those cats have to learn a lot as they were both new to acting. Vaughn “started from scratch,” training the cats for the movie over three months. First, she tackled environmental training, making the felines comfortable with a live film set’s active, loud, and often chaotic environment.

“The environment is a big factor because cats are generally quite nervous creatures, so they have to be comfortable around all those people and sounds,” the trainer says.

Most cats’ initial timidness to new environments is one of the most noticeable differences between training cats and dogs for Vaughn.

“Everybody takes their dog for a walk. Most people take their dogs in the car. Unless you’re taking your cat to the vet, nobody takes their cats anywhere. Usually, if your cat goes outside your house, it’s a bad experience. So you have to teach cats all these new things are positive,” she adds.

After mastering environmental training, Tango and Nemo focused on learning specific behaviors needed for The Marvels. Before filming started, Vaughn trained both cats to hit all their marks based on what appeared in the script.

“The biggest thing to us trainers is that the cat is comfortable knowing what we’re asking of them,” Vaughn says.

Because the cats are trained to perform certain behaviors on cue, even when surrounding circumstances change, they rarely get starstruck.

“If they have to sit on somebody’s shoulder, we teach them long before they ever come to set how to jump and ride on someone’s shoulder. So to them, it doesn’t make much difference who that person is,” Vaughn says.

For those who want to bring a little movie magic into their home by training their cats, Vaughn, who has six dogs, three cats, and a bearded dragon, suggests stocking up on treats.

“They don’t work for nothing. So you have to find something that they want in return for asking them to do something,” the trainer says, adding that, for cats, “it’s usually treats.”

“Animals are a lot easier to train at home, and it’s quite rewarding,” Vaughn says. “It definitely builds more of a bond than you would have just living alongside a pet.”

So now you know what it takes to be a feline movie star.

Walk Through The Web Wednesday – 11/8

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Oliver Takes Over

This next clip is my regular fall interaction with my nemesis, “fat squirrel”. This cheeky fellow has no manners.


After dealing with my cheeky furiend, I always enjoy a calming session of leaf watching.



It’s always good to get a better view of the leaf action by sitting on top of the sofa.


Al is more of a TV kitty so he likes to get his wildlife close and personal on TV. Despite the warning, he did knock the TV over and crack it.

And when all the leaf and squirrel watching stresses me out, I go and sit at the window that faces the front garden and enjoy the soothing sound of the rain.

Well that’s it for this week, I hope you enjoyed a taste of fall in our neck of the woods and that you’ll also enjoy this week’s featured feline news.

Jury Awards $1.4M Against Landlord Who Stole Tenant’s Cat

Joshua found Frank his cat in 2017 and took him in at a drug recovery residential facility where he was staying. Two years later, Frank turned up missing, and Joshua was certain his landlord was the culprit. The landlord reportedly confessed and said he gave Frank to his girlfriend to take to a local shelter.

Joshua sued, and it took the jury less than 2 hours to award the whopping verdict. Normally, in these cases, the animal owner can only recover the actual value of the cat, which would be next to nothing. Although we don’t know the details, it seems as if the jury awarded punitive damages for willful misconduct.

Hey Joshua now that you’re a millionaire, how about investing some money into trying to find Frank so he can live his best life too!

Man’s foster cat is obsessed with him and it’s turned into an amusingly toxic living situation

Bill found himself a sudden cat dad when his friend became sick and unable to take care of her cat, Teddy. Bill took Teddy in and while Teddy acted like most cats when finding themselves in an unfamiliar setting (he hid under the bed and kept to himself at first. When he did finally get comfortable with Bill, Bill made sure Teddy got lots of love and attention.

Evidently Teddy couldn’t get enough of Bill’s attention and now follows Bill wherever he goes asking for skin skritches and petting.

“He became obsessed with me. I gave him tons of attention, I played with him all the time but it was just never enough. He always wanted more,” Bill told The Dodo. “Anytime I would turn my attention to something other than him, he would scratch at me until I turned my attention back.”

Teddy made sure Bill knew he wanted attention , grabbing pieces of his clothing as he tried to walk by and biting at him. Still, Bill loves Teddy and hopefully he understands that Teddy’s behavior is probably because he’s worried that this human will disappear from  his life too.

‘Claude’ the hangar cat reunited with his Yellowknife family after 2 months

Claude the cat whose actual name is Peyote is now back home with his family.

A five-year-old Yellowknife boy got his Christmas wish early this month when he was reunited with his beloved tabby cat, Peyote (Yote for short).

Yote’s disappearance from his home during the Yellowknife fire evacuation in August prompted a two-month-long search by his humans.

But, Yote was living high on the hog at the Buffalo Airways hangar in Yellowknife, eating as much as he wanted, chasing rodents, loafing in empty planes and sleeping on important paperwork, all under a new name: Claude.

“It’s quite the paradise for cats here,” said Mikey McBryan, the general manager of Buffalo Airways, describing how “Claude” made himself right at home in the company’s DC-3 aircraft and befriended the humans and dogs in the hangar during his stay there.

“Claude would have had a great life here — but it would be even better to be with his family.”

The airline usually has a couple of rescue cats at a time lounging in its Yellowknife hangar, and staff were in the process of flying stray cats and dogs down south during the evacuation when they encountered Yote.

Yote’s family had been on vacation at the time, and told their house sitter to open up the windows so their cats could have a chance to flee if the wildfire made it into town.

“As time went on … we were like, ‘OK, well what are we going to do about our cats that are obviously all over the neighborhood?'” recalled Kaitlyn White-Keyes, Yote’s owner. The family asked the SPCA to keep an eye out, and as the months wore on, White-Keyes tried to prepare her five-year-old son, Tomek, for the possibility that Yote didn’t make it.

But when Tomek said one of his Christmas wishes was for Yote to come home, White-Keyes knew she had to make a last-ditch effort to find him.

“It’s like the most heart-wrenching moment as a parent,” she said. “You’re like, ‘OK — I need to get this cat back home.'”

She posted about the search on Facebook and, as luck would have it, McBryan had recently made his own post highlighting the airline’s new hangar cat. The stars aligned.

“It’s been an emotional roller-coaster,” she said. “I’m so happy that he was safe and warm.”

Yote returned to his family, having made a wealth of new friends at the hangar.  The folks at the hangar are happy that Yote is home with his family but they do miss him.

Cambridgeshire cat breaks Guinness World Record for loudest purr by a feline currently alive

A 14-year-old cat has broken the Guinness World Record for the loudest purr made by a feline currently alive.

Bella, from Huntingdon, Cambridgeshire, England let out a purr which clocked in at 54.6 decibels, equivalent to the noise from a boiling kettle.

The sound smashed the previous record of 50db, and was confirmed by a Guinness World Record adjudicator.

Nicole Spink, the cat’s proud owner, said: “I couldn’t be more thrilled that Bella has broken the world record.

“She has been our family’s companion for many years – we love her to bits and are so proud of her achievement.”

In order to record Bella’s feat, Mr Wilson and an acoustic engineer blocked out external noises in the Huntingdon home and set up recording devices.

Once Bella settled down on her favorite cushion in preparation of breaking the record, she began to purr and the “results were immediately obvious”.

The Human claims Al and I snore and purr loudly so maybe we should have her get an acoustic engineer to check our decibel levels!

Man Discovers He Has 2 Cats After Pet Brings Feline Friend Home, Moves In

A cat owner living in Guam has a new resident after his cat brought home an unexpected guest.

Christian Fleming posted to Reddit, through the account name @sandcrabsailor, photos of his cat named Little. But the photo did not just include one cat. The post reads, “White one is mine. Black one is not my cat. Both came through the cat flap. He got comfortable quickly. Took about 3 weeks, but I now have 2 cats.”

The new tuxedo cat named Tedo walked in through the cat door with Little, and made himself right at home.

“I was surprised the cat came inside, initially,” Fleming told Newsweek. “But if he’s hungry enough to be that brave, I wasn’t going to begrudge the food.”

Although he is a little skittish around people, Tedo is getting used to his new home, Fleming said. Plus, it helps that he adores Little and is very comfortable with Fleming’s dog.

“He has since gotten braver and more comfortable,” said Fleming. “When he jumped on me to snuggle with Little, I knew he had decided to live here.”

“Now, wherever I am in the house, I tend to have a small herd following me around,” said Fleming.