Happy St. Patrick’s Day
11
Walk Through The Web Wednesday 3/14
Hello there furiends,
Yes, I know it’s not Wednesday but I was preempted by Lily’s DNA post. Evidently our purrsonal assistant could not handle more than one blog post a day. I am showing my magnanimous purrsonality and not meowing to Lily about the late post for my feature.
Sometimes it’s important to just be the bigger feline.
Purrs & Head Bonks,
Cat That Went Missing Five Years Ago Finally Returns Home
Larry the prodigal feline
This comes under the heading, “never give up when your feline goes missing”. Larry, the feline, was allowed outside for a stroll but never came back. Larry’s human resigned herself to the fact that he was gone forever, that is until he was taken to a nearby animal shelter and they called saying they had Larry. Larry was found in pretty good health but he was missing part of his paw.
Aaaaand Another Prodigal Cat Comes Home-To Find Himself In A Nasty Custody Dispute
Lily Downie was nine when her mother got her a kitten to help console her after the death of her father in 2010. Unfortunately, when the family moved Poppy decided to take up residence with another family in the neighborhood.
Poppy’s family tried to do everything right. They took Poppy to the vet after he was found as a stray and had the vet scan the cat for a microchip. The details were out of date and the owner could not be located so Poppy stayed in her new home. Her new family spent hundreds of dollars on vet bills, spent another $1,000.00 for teeth cleaning and had her microchipped with her new information to make sure she would be returned home if she was lost.
Then the former owner was notified that someone thought her cat was with another family. And then they caught Poppy and took her away from her family and gave her to her previous owner.
The previous owner used the story to promote herself into 15 minutes of fame and Poppy’s second family saw the article and are now fighting to get Poppy back.
This feline always says “think lost not stray” but there is some responsibility on the previous owner’s part to find their lost kitty. How hard did they look? Why didn’t they change the microchip when they moved? Methinks this story is not as cut and dried as one may believe. Note to Poppy’s original human, take less selfies and take better care of your cat. (Sorry, I know I’m a bit hissy but this story put me over the edge) Also, the article referred to the cat as “him” and “her”, humans, can’t you figure this out??
Game of Thrones Cat Bed
When I asked The Female Human what this “Game of Thrones” thing was she gave me a blank stare. She also admitted she had never watched this TV series. Well evidently there are humans that are far more enlightened than mine and they are rushing to spend £216.53 ($286.98) for this piece of feline furniture.
You can find the iron cat bed on Etsy The designer says the bed is suitable for cats and small dogs but really, are dogs cool enough for this bed? What do you think?
The 12 Best Movie Cats of All Time — IndieWire Critics Survey
Allow me a moment to meow about this. I was excited to see who these twelve wonderful feline actors were, only to discover that 7 of the twelve are cartoon of fake cats. Seriously IndieWire humans? I could easily come up with five real felines for this title. I found many at the Cinema Cats site like the Kitten in Trainspotting, Floyd the cat in Ghost, The movie Day for Night and the kitten actor, Orangey in the movie Rhubarb, the fabulous dinner table feline in She’s Having a Baby, Fred, the one-eyed feline in Gifted, and this list wouldn’t be complete without Bob from A Street Cat Named Bob. There are lots more great, REAL actor cats. Check them out at Cinema Cats.
Working Cats at Las Vegas Church Just Like Family
Oh my whiskers do I love stories about working cats and this story about Koukla and Pontiki, who started their new job at St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church about two months ago, is a winner!
It’s a nice gig, 24/7, with food and housing are included. Also some nice perks like a human coming in and saying “Who’s a good girl?” while scratching them behind the ears.
Koukla and Pontiki came to the church through the working cat program. I’ve reported on this program in numerous communities. While breweries seem to be the first to begin “hiring” felines, more humans are thinking outside the box and hiring felines for their workplaces and now churches are being enlightened as well.
St. John the Baptist is the first church to adopt a cat through the program. John Koutsulis, a parish council member, says the church learned about the program after the Rev. Seraphim Ramos noted that cats often are kept in Greek monasteries to control rodents.
“We own just shy of 10 acres of land and we thought, ‘Why not have some cats out there?’ ” Koutsulis says.
Enter Koukla, a gray tabby (the name is a term of endearment equivalent to “doll”or “cutie”) and a Siamese named Pontiki (“mouse,” used in the sense of, say, “little scamp”).
They spent their first weeks at the church living in an outdoor — but fairly fancy — enclosure while adjusting to the reality that they now had a home. The felines adapted quickly and now have the run of the property.
I’ve heard of church mice but never church cats! Be sure and watch the video.
Lily Sends Her DNA Off Into The Wild Blue Yonder.
Hello There Furiends, Lily here.
My Basepaws kit arrived and I inspected it with great interest. What a small package for something that can tell so much about a kitty!
The Female Human read me the instructions. First she had to register my kit on the basepaws website. She got to tell them a little about me and even uploaded a photo. Easy Peasy.
Then came phase two. She read the instructions about how she was going to gather this DNA stuff that they need. When she told me it had to do with two sheets of sticky strips placed along my back and then a gentle pull… suffice to say I was not on board .
Human, this is what I have to say about your sticky strips. Step away from the fur!
A lively conversation ensued wherein The Human promised that she would be gentle and the procedure would be a snap. We meowed back and forth about it for a while until I finally relented.
She approached me with the sticky stuff in hand in fear and trepidation. I am the feline in the Tribe that turns into the Tasmanian Devil if anyone has the hubris to attempt to trim my claws. I allow no efforts to get me in a harness and don’t even mention picking me up for a cuddle. I thought , “This could get ugly quickly”.
Imagine my surprise when she laid the first strip on my back, gently stroked it and then, even more gently removed it!
The second strip was applied just as easily. To say we were both relieved would be an understatement and the first aid kit was returned to the pantry unused by The Female Human.
The strips were put together as per the instructions, slid into the little stamped envelope and sent off to Basepaws. Now we wait!
Human, that wasn’t bad at all!
I can’t wait to find out more about myself because I am a very interesting feline.
Before I say goodbye I’ve been advised I must include something humans refer to as a “Disclosure”. You humans have to complicate everything!
We were provides with a complimentary Basepaws kit in exchange for my opinion of the process and the product. All of the included images, the written content and the opinions are original and from Feline Opines. Although I’ve linked to the company these are not affiliate links and Feline Opines receives no commission or monetary gain from purchases. We just like to report to our readers about new, cool stuff.
Purrs & Head Bonks,
Walk Through The Web Wednesday 3/6
Hey Furiends,
It’s me, Alberto, strolling through the world wide web looking to bring you the newest and best feline news. I hope you enjoy this week’s discoveries.
Purrs & Head Bonks,
Amsterdam’s Cat Museum
The KattenKabinet in Amsterdam is a museum filled with cat-inspired artwork ranging from paintings and posters to statues and sculptures and – you guessed it – real cats! And if that’s not enough, there is a gift shop with cat themed items. Meow, this is a great place!
William Meijer, a wealthy Dutchman who wanted to preserve the memory of his cat Tom founded the museum in 1990 and it is a favorite of Amsterdam’s visitors.
When you visit, you can say hello to the five museum cats who wander from room to room. Museum loving cat aficionados, get yourself to Amsterdam.
Turn Your Cat’s Face Into A Wearable Mask – Or Not
There is a company in Japan called “My Family” that can sculpt a realistic mask of your feline. The photo is of Rui, a Bengal cat from Kyoto and his human wearing his Rui mask. The artist works from photos and sculpts the mask, And you can have one of these for the incredible price of 300,000 yen (that’s $2,680.00 US). Frankly, I am not so thrilled about The Female Human mocking me with a mask of my face.
A kleptomaniac cat notorious for stealing items from its neighbours has “finally brought home something of real value” – £25.70 in cash
I hate to read stories about felines gone wrong but if you’re going to be a klepto cat you might as well make it pay.
Theo became known for thieving Christmas decorations and toys in Ipswich, England. His human spent much time going hither and yon returning his ill-gotten goods.
When they moved to a new house, Theo decided to up his game, arriving home with money the neighbor had left out for the milkman. And then Theo was more creative, pilfering a plastic bag with cash.
My furiends if you aspire to being a pilfering pussycat, steal cash and leave the Christmas ornaments on the tree!
No Job Security for Alaska Working Cat
Stormy the cat has been booted from The Fitz Creek General store in Homer, Alaska after working there for 6 years. Officials notified the store owners that the cat’s presence violates food safety standards. Stormy has worked hard the past 6 years, lounging on one of the wooden chairs or soliciting head scratches from the customers.
Some kill joy complained about Stormy but most of the store’s customers say he is part of the store’s and the rural community’s culture. Now lest you worry about Stormy’s future, he’s been offered a loving home by a relative of the store’s owner. I wonder if there is unemployment compensation for felines.
Starbucks’ new kitty cherry blossom glass turns into adorable cat’s paw when you pour a drink
It appears The Tribe of Five owes Starbucks a a-paw-logy after our snarky video, Bring Me My Catpuccino where Oliver became incensed when our local Starbucks didn’t offer him a catpuccino despite all the pupaccinos they dispense. But now Starbucks in China are flying their feline colors with this pawsome cup and other feline merchandise! These cat paw glasses are extremely popular, and have been selling out quickly since their release on February 28 (though they can be ordered for 199 yuan [US$29.67] each). And if you can’t get your glass, check out the other feline items Starbucks China offers. Meow!
Walk Through The Web Wednesday 2/27
Hello Furiends,
It’s Wednesday again. It’s still cold here and the wind is blowing like crazy. The squirrels are almost getting blown off the feeder when they try to eat. I guess this guy thinks hanging upside down and hanging on for dear life is the best way to mooch his free meal. The Tribe is ready for some warmer weather. If you have any you could send us it would be greatly apurriciated!
I hope you enjoy this week’s wanderings.
Purrs & Head Bonks,
Do Copy Cats Really Exist?
“Human, I am not anything like you!” – Oliver
There are some Humans from the University of Lincoln and Nottingham Trent University who think cat owner’s purrsonalities are influencing the behavior of us felines. They investigated the relationship between the different purrsonalities between humans and their cats.
Their findings said you humans can affect us felines like parents personalities can affect their children (but we ARE your children, furry children). They studied more than 3,000 predominately UK based humans with cats and had them fill out a questionnaire about their purrsonalities and the purrsonalitis of their felines.
They found out that the more nervous and stressed out you humans are, the more neurotic your felines in residence are. You nervous humans are causing us to be in poorer physical health, gain too much weight, have behavioral problems and more, according to the study.
But it’s not all bad news. If you humans are happy and conscientious, we felines will be less anxious, less aggressive and will be much better behaved-and happy.
The researchers said in conclusion, “The majority of owners want to provide the best care for their cats, and these results highlight how influential our own personality can be on the well being of our pets.”
The moral of this story is, you humans should be less nervous, less stressed and consider how your issues affect us felines. For you studious humans who want to know more, you can read the study titled, “Owner personality and the wellbeing of their cats share parallels with the parent-child relationship,” in the scientific journal PLOS ONE
Man Honors His Cat In An Unusual Way
“Cats in space? Who knew?” -Alberto
I don’t usually like to report on any feline news that’s sad but this a nice story of how a human shows his love for his cat who crossed the Rainbow Bridge.
Pikachu,a 7-year-old orange tabby died last month after a battle with diabetes and pancreatitis. He was a bit of a Twitter star and his human, Steve Munt, created a Twitter account for his family of seven cats a few years ago, and it just hit 12,000 followers. (Hmm, our Human needs to step up her game!)
Munt is a big fan of science. His home had been owned by a nuclear physicist prior, and Munt gives his cats a scientific narrative in his thousands of Twitter posts on their account called @GrowingUpZee, named after you guessed it, one of his cats.
When Pikachu died, Munt knew he needed to do something very special to remember his sweet, loving nature , so he paid $5,000.00 and secured a spot on this year’s memorial cremation rocket by a company called Celestis. Now, Munt and Pikachu’s followers can track Pikachu in space on the Celestis website.
Meowza, I would say this guy loved his feline. What do you think about Pikachu in space?
Urban Outfitters Is Selling Caps For Your Cat And It’s Cuteness Overload
I am no fan of dressing up cats but this story did intrigue me. Now, the human company, Urban Outfiters, is selling cat hats for the felines of their human customers..
The hats come in three different designs, and are priced at £10 each. However, get to choose the style of cap they will send you either the yellow duck, white bear or brown bear.
The hats are adjustable so if your feline will sit still long enough, you can get a good fit,
The product only has one review so far, “I bought this hat for my two cats and even though they find it slightly uncomfortable they look so cute in it!” The human reviewer gave it five stars. I wonder how many stars that human’s felines would give the hats.
If you are cavalier about the dignity of your felines, then go ahead, order one of these cat chapeaus. As for me and The Tribe of Five, we’ve already put The Female Human on notice, no cat hats in this house!
Maybe a Leapord Can’t Change It’s Spots But This Cat Can Change Her Color
Elli as a kitten
A lady in Germany found two kittens, Elli and her feline sister Rosie at a farm. Poor Ellie was not well and riddled with mites and infections.
Nicole nursed the little Tuxedo cat back to health and one day noticed a small, white spot on Eli’s black back.
Over the next few months, Eli became more and more speckled. Nicole took Eli to the vet and discovered that the feline had vitiligo, a rare condition that causes fur and skin to gradually lose their pigment.
Elli is a ‘very playful, cute, interested and lovely’ cat and very faithful to her human. Now, two years after the first vet visit, Elli is hardly recognizable. Most of her coat is white with beautiful black stripes and splotches.
Elli is also clearly very faithful to her savior Nicole, only ever leaving her side to sunbathe on the sofa.
Two years on from that trip to the vet and Elli is hardly recognizable. Her coat is now mainly white, with the remnant black fur forming striking stripes and splodges on her beautifully mottled coat. The condition does not threaten Elli’s health but it sure makes her an interesting feline!
Karl Lagerfeld’s cat, Choupette Is An Heiress
The German fashion icon, Karl Lagerfeld died last week and now, his beloved feline Choupette stands to inherit a portion of his $300 million dollar fourtune.
Choupette, whose name is French for “sweetheart,” has historically lived a lavish lifestyle, with the fashion designer hiring maids to ensure her comfort. The inheritance will ensure the silky Burmese cat continues living her best life, which means daily meals of caviar and chicken pâté and travel on private jets.
She is a celebrity in her own right, amassing over 260,000 followers on Instagram and has earned a healthy $3 million through sponsorships and ad appearances. She has previously served as an ambassador to German automobile manufacturer Opel, launched her own lines with brands like makeup company Shu Uemura and luxury cat-product producer Cheshire & Wain, and been the subject of two books. Lagerfeld addressed his cat’s fortune — both cat-made and bequeathed — in the past, noting, “She has her own little fortune, she is an heiress. If something happens to me, the person who will take care of it will not be in misery… She’s a rich girl!”
Now this handsome blue-eyed feline only has one question….Choupette, are you dating? Call me!
Winter
It’s sure cold out -this is how I purrfer to view snow.
Purrs & Head Bonks,
Walk Through The Web Wednesday 2/20
Meowza my furiends! This has been an excellent news week. I had a hard time choosing only five stories. I hope you enjoy this week’s web wanderings as much as I did.
By the way, the Tribe is still feeling like we live in the far reaches of Siberia (no offense meant to any of my furiends in Siberia). The wind is blowing, the temperature is freezing and the snowbanks are getting ridiculously high. I must say that it would be quite a bit warmer in the house if certain felines would not stretch their bulk over heating vents and hog the warmth. Note exhibit A to the left. Oliver at his favorite vent in the kitchen.
Purrs & Head Bonks,
America’s First Female Cruise Captain Travels The World With Her Adorable Sphinx Cat
Oh my whiskers, this story combines two things I love, cats who travel and cats with jobs.
This hairless little feline named Bug Naked lives the life of an elite wanderer with her Instagram-famous cruise captain, Kate McCue, who often features Bug Naked on her feed.
This feline’s human has some impressive credentials as she will soon captain Celebrity Cruise Lines new flagship, Celebrity Edge as the first female cruise ship captain in America.
The captain calls Bug Naked “sidekick” and “naked bundle of joy” and the reason she gets out of bed. Bug Naked and her captain are aficionados of the cruise lifestyle. See for yourself at Kate McCue on Instagram or follow Bug Naked for cruising cat focused photos.
Captain Marvel Cast Gush With Love For Goose The Cat
What better way to celebrate “Love your pet day” than to have actors Brie Larson and Samuel L. Jackson sing your praises? In the Captain Marvel movie, Carol Danvers (Brie Larson) has a cat named Goose, but Goose is way more than the run of the mill feline and was honored on Twitter for his acting skills. Now those of you who are Captain Marvel fans will know the Goose character in the comics is an alien species called Flerken, an alien that just happens to look like a cat. .
Clever Cat Listens To Owner’s Instructions And Unlocks A Door So The Human Can Get Back In The House
This is a short story and you’ll have to go to the link and watch the video but it’s an important story. After Twitter user @gabbytropea was accidentally locked out of her house, her cat follows her instructions and removes a sliding door stick so that she can open the door. Two paws up for smarty cats!
Animal Psychologists in Japan Create Traffic Safety video….for cats
Animal psychologists from Kyoto University have created safety videos for cats. As one of Japan’s largest auto parts and service chains, Yellow Hat is naturally very concerned with traffic safety, so it’s not much of a surprise that the company has put together a public service video on the subject. What is surprising, though, is that the video is by cats, for cats.
This video was created with the help of members of Kyoto University’s Camp-Nyan animal psychology research team, including Professor Kazuo Fujita, a specialist in zoology and cognitive science. Following the researchers’ suggestions, Yellow Hat made sure the video contains plenty of moving elements in order to command kitties’ attention.
Similar care went into the audio components. The team tested a variety of candidates for the video’s “narrator” before deciding on the specific set of meows that cat test audiences responded to most attentively. The background music contains the sound of chirping birds, and also sine wave sound patterns similar to the squeaking of mice and other small rodents, the aim being that cats’ hunter instincts will kick in when they think they hear their preferred prey hiding somewhere onscreen and keep them watching the video.
Now Yellow Hat has no problems if you humans want to watch this video too. You’ll probably learn something like some aspects of cat psychology when they’re out and about.
New Book Highlights Charming Home Made Cat Ladders in Switzerland
I never knew cat ladders were a thing, or that they were quite the thing in Switzerland. You humans call it a phenomenon and it’s captured in a book by Brigitte Schuster in her book Swiss Cat Ladders. She focus’ on the city of Bern and how the humans there accommodate the comings and goings of their feline friends through the exterior climbing structures they build. You can also find diagrams and inspirations for future cat ladder builders and I say, get busy humans, Swiss cats should not be the only ones to benefit from this purrfectly wonderful idea!
Tell Them How Much You Care
Lily Opines About The Mystery of Her Ancestry
Hello Furiends,
Lily
Lily here. Every since I was adopted from our local shelter, The Female Human has been mystified about my heritage. As you can see, I have some interesting markings and my purrsonality is very different from the rest of The Tribe of Five.
This is why I am so excited! The good folks at Basepaws are sending a kit to The Tribe of Five and I was the lucky feline selected to have my DNA tested!
Basepaws is the first cat care company built around genetics. All The Female Human has to do is to get DNA from my cheeks and hair Now mind you I am a bit of a wild child. The Female Human can’t even get me to hold still enough to clip my claws so the cheek part will be interesting.
Once she has my DNA she sends it to Basepaws in Los Angeles and the Basepaws folks work their magic. My DNA contains more than 20,000 genes, which are spelled out in a unique genetic code that is around 2,700,000,000 letters (nucleotide bases) long. Basepaws takes this DNA and uses sequencing machines to read and record these letters. Now I have no idea what that means but I do know that they can see if I have genes that make me prone to any diseases and also give The Female Human insight into my history.
And Basepaws isn’t a one- time wonder! We’ll get constant updates as they learn more. I’ll become part of the Basepaws family and get a lifetime of updates, newsletters and articles (since I can’t read The Female Human will have to read them to me.)
I hope you will follow my Basepaws journey with me. And if you want to learn more, click here to read their blog.
Purrs & Head Bonks,
President’s Day Greetings
Oliver and The Tribe of Five reminisce about Oliver’s run for Purresident when he was just a kitten.
Home | felineopines 