Walk Through The Web Wednesday 1/24

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Hello All,
Alberto here strolling down the internet highway to bring you the best in feline happenings. I hope  you enjoy this week’s compilation.
Purrs & Head Bonks,
Siamese cat with blue eyes

Betty Boo, the Feline Hair Salon Employee – Yahoo Lifestyle

tabby cat in Melbourne hair salon

Those of you who follow my Wednesday wanderings know how much I love stories about cats with jobs. I prefer to find felines with unusual professions and Betty Boo fits the bill. If you happen to visit the BABAR Hair Studio in Melbourne, Australia you can meet their purrfect employee, Betty Boo. Her photo is featured on their website and they make sure you know Betty is part of their customer service team. Their website says, “At BABAR Hair we love what we do. We create professional salon results, in a relaxed, easy atmosphere: where good old fashioned hospitality with a glass of wine or beer, a coffee and biscotti, a cuddle from our salon cat and choosing your own vinyl (if you’re not digging our cool tunes already!) are all part of the experience…”

Not everyone finds a visit to the hair salon as a relaxing experience and Betty caters to the more nervous clients. Betty will sit on your lap or even sleep on you while you’re having a shampoo. And if that wasn’t enough, Betty is an opining feline on her own blog, aptly named “Betty’s Blog”.  Betty is definitely my kind of kitty!

Cats Can Be Right Or Left Pawed – SmithsonianMag.com

Siamese Cat Alberto from Feline Opines

Have you ever bothered to watch which paw your cat uses when they knock things off of counters or tap you oh-so-gently to wake you up? You may want to look next time because according to researchers at the Animal Behavior Centre at Queen’s University in Belfast, after analyzing data collected on 44 cats, 20 females and 24 males of all variety of felines, the researchers concluded that cats, unlike humans who are overwhelmingly right-handed, did not have an overall preference for a certain paw. Individual cats did display what they called “handedness” and certain paws were selected for taking the first step down a flight of stairs, snagging a treat or stepping into the litter box.  There are a lot more interesting tidbits in the article. You can see me above, exhibiting that I am ambi-pawderous when it comes to doing my blog posts.

Cats Get Their Own Violin Concert in this Animated Short – Nerdist

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Combine a famous violinist (Augustin Hadelich) and animation and you get a great little movie about music loving cats. Fantasia dei Gatti is an animated short film that features the violinist giving a concert to felines. What happens next? Well you’ll just have to watch the video to find out!

 Cat Brings Her Human a Gift Every Morning – MetroUK
LeafCat

Baloo the cat had a shaky start with her human. Adopted by Ben and his now ex-girlfriend, they returned Baloo when they felt they weren’t ready to have a cat in their life. They quickly realized they made a mistake and hurried to get Baloo back. Baloo, a cat to realize how lucky she is, is closely bonded to Ben. She began to bring him presents, birds, mice, etc and drop them on his chest in the morning. After Ben impressed upon her that half dead creatures were not gifts he greatly appreciated, she began bringing him leaves. When Ben showed his appreciation for the leaf gifts, the morning gifts became a regular routine. Now Baloo can show her love and gratitude and Ben doesn’t have to fear his morning gifts.

Felines Bringing People Together in Turkey – The Guardian 

Turkey

Selem is a resident of historic Istanbul. He puts up with the tourists that push their way through the crowds and demand a photo op with him. Selim enjoys hanging out in his shop, a leather store called Moria. Selem is a cat. Selem and the other cats in historic Istanbul much prefer their independent, cushy street life but when winter comes they are forced to endure the care of humans. Winter cat houses appear all over to accommodate these pampered pussy cats.

Turkey is a nation struggling with national identity, divisions about religion, secularism and ethnicity but there is one thing that does unite the Turks and that is their love of cats. Someone once said that the only thing an Islamist, a secularist and a socialist could agree on was the punishment of anyone who harmed a cat. I never realized that we felines were such unifying creatures. I think I should start a group, Felines for World Peace and make the Turkish cats the leaders.

Friendly Fill Ins # 89

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Hello Folks Alberto Here,
Friday is becoming one of our favorite days with The Tribe of Five and there is always some quibbling about who gets to opine. I’m the lucky winner this week. I hope you enjoy my responses and, as always, I encourage my fellow bloggers to join the blog hop with our friends, 15andmeowing or McGuffy’s Reader.

And of course, you’re always welcome to do the fill ins in the comments on our blog.

‘Hope you enjoy my mewsical mewsings this week.
Purrs & Head Bonks,
Alberto
Siamese cat with blue eyes

Here are the fill ins:

1. I have never been able to _____________________.

2. I wish I could still ___________________.

3.  ____ is my ideal winter night.
4.                      and                      .

 

Here are my answers:

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1. I have never been able to understand why the male human insists on changing his guitar strings upstairs and not in his music room. What’s a cat to do when those tantalizing strings bounce back and forth in front of me? This is a form of feline torture.

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2. I wish I could still sneak into the the male human’s music room but he has figured out a way to lock the doors so I can’t get in. And alas, all my sad expressions do not convince him to let me in.

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3.  Strumming a few tunes with my human is my ideal winter night.
4.Oliver and I are quite the mewsicians!

 

 

 

 

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 1/17

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‘Hello Friends,
Alberto with my regular Wednesday walk through the web searching for all things feline. I hope you like my weekly finds.
Purrs & Head Bonks,
Siamese cat with blue eyes

Dress Up Your Pet Day, A Truly Bad Idea – Mashable

angry Tabby cat in a sombrero

Those of you who follow our blog know that The Tribe of Five have very strong feelings about dressing up cats, case in point, my post about The Great Halloween Indignity and the humans attempt to stuff me into a dinosaur costume.  Believe it or not, there is a holiday called Dress Up Your Pet Day and if you humans out there have any intention of celebrating it by stuffing your feline into a ridiculous ensemble, I urge you to read this article and resist the urge to dress us up!

The Best Hobby Is Something That Has Absolutely  Nothing To Do With Your Job – THE CUT

cathobby

This writer has a revolutionary idea. Her hobby is cats. She helps to rescue cats, is involved iwth Trap Neuter Release (TNR) and even helps her friends with their cat care. She says she spends at least 10 hours a week on “cat related” stuff.  Pretty cool idea, even if you don’t have felines living with you, they can be your hobby and you can do something nice for them!

Vet Clinic Looking To Hire Cat Cuddler

cat cuddler job in Dublin, Ireland

And, if you want to make cats more than your hobby but your actual  job, don’t hesitate, get in touch with Just Cats Veterinary Clinic in Dublin, Ireland and apply for the job of cat cuddler (it’s a full time position).  I’ve read that if you understand the different types of purring, you’ll have an edge over the competition. This cat cuddling thing sounds like a dream job to me!

Nikola Tesla’s Cat and Other Feline Fascinations – How Stuff Works

Nikola Teslas black cat

Well, evidently there was a human named Nikola Tesla who invented some very cool things but this feline is less interested in the things he invented than the fact that his cat ionspired one of his most important contributions to the scientific world.  And then there was Simon, a stray feline found in Hong Kong in 1948, who is the only cat to have been awarded Britain’s prestigious Dickin Medal.  And then there’s the city in Belgium that trained 37 cats to deliver the mail to rural villagers. We felines are amazing animals, you don’t have to take my word for it, read the article!

What Makes A Cat’s Tail Puff Up When It’s Scared? – Mental Floss

brown cat with fuzzy tail ready to fight with dog

Around our house we have a pheomenon we refur to as “fuzzy tail”. Sometimes humans who visit us don’t understand why this happens to us or what caused it. This article explains the puffy tail issue quite well.  The short version is that when we get a fuzzy tail we are trying to make ourselves look as big as possible in order to intimidate whatever might be threatening us. Did you know there are other animals that experience something similar to our fuzzy tail phenomenon? Read the article and find out more.

Friendly Fill Ins, Week 88

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Jasmine Here,
Welcome friends. I’m excited that I get to do the Friday Fill Ins this week. It’s been snowy and cold at our house. Thank goodness the humans provide wheat grass for us to nibble on and to add a bit of color in this white world.

As always, if you are a blogger, we encourage you to go to McGuffy’s Reader and join the Fill Ins blog hop or, feel free to do the fill ins in the comments of this blog. Have a purrrfect Friday (I love the weekends as the humans don’t have to go to that place they call “work” and they spend lots of time with us.)

Purrs & Head Bonks,
Jasmine (The Tribe of Five Diva)

Siamese cat with tiara

begging squirrel

 

 

1. I would like to ask the big fat squirrel who mooches off of us at the upstairs bird feeder why he has such an attitude if the bird seed is all gone? (Take a look at this photo, what an attitude!)

 

 

 

 

2 My favorite fast food restaurant is any place that serves pizza. All of the Tribe of Five love a nice lick of pizza sauce. 

TuckerMusic

 

3. If I could go to any concert of someone still performing, it would be wherever David Teie is playing his Music for Cats  The female human bought us some of his music and we loved it. You can read about us opining about it on our website . When we go to the place with white coats, they have nice cat music too. Music is good for kitties. 

 

4. My Winter pastime is usually sitting at the window and checking out the creatures who come by looking for food because what happens outside our windows is like cable TV.  

Friendly Fill Ins Week 87

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Hello Friends,
Tucker here. I’m taking the lead on this week’s fill ins. As always you are welcome to join the blog hop at McGuffy’s Reader, or, if you feel so inclined, post  your fill ins in the comments.
Purrs & Head Bonks,
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Fill Ins:

1. My guiding word for 2018 is _____________________.

2. A house is not a home without ________________________.
3. I look forward to                         this year.
4.  I really need to                  , because                     .

My Answers:

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1.My guiding word for 2018 is treats. One can never get enough or beg enough. For 2018 I vow to be more persistent in my treat begging behavior. 

 

2. A house is not a home without felines sprawled on all the living room furniture.File Apr 17, 3 50 37 PM

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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3. I look forward to more napping this year.

 

 

 

 

4.  I really need to lose weight, because I’ve already gone up one box size.
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Walk Through the Web Wednesday 1/3

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Hello Friends,
This is my first web wander of 2018. I hope this new year finds  you all healthy and happy. The Tribe of Five is spending our time curled up in our humans laps, in front of the fireplace or snuggled under a warm throw on the living room sofas.

Stay safe and warm! Purrs & Head Bonks,
Siamese cat with blue eyes

Netflix Employee’s Cats React to A Scene in “Stranger Things” – Hello Giggles

cats watching stranger things on netflix

Our humans often sit in front of the big black watching moving images. I know that they did watch this thing they call “Stranger Things” and I must say, I’m very happy that I missed this scene. And I am appalled and dismayed that these humans who work at Netflix forced their cats to watch this scary stuff!

93-Year old “Furry Godmother” Knits Blankets for Homeless Cats – People Pets

KNITTING

Two paws up for this amazing lady. She shows the world that there is always something you can do for felines, regardless of where you live or regardless of your age.  Emma Eng knits blankets for the Seattle Humane in Bellevue, WA. She decided late in 2017 that she would knit blankets for homeless kittyies and by New Year’s Day she’d knitted over 40 blankets! Meowza, when that lady decides to do something she doesn’t mess around! So take note humans, you’re never too old to do something nice for animals!

Every Cat Deserves A Castle – Spokesman Review

catcastle

Not only is this a purrrfect project, the event was held in our own back yard (so to speak). The South Hill Library held an event last fall (how did my humans not hear about this??”!!) where families could come and build a castle for their felines (materials were provided). I must admit I do have my whiskers in a bit of a twist because the humans missed out on this but I am happy to report that I put my purrsonal assistant on the job and she came up with some instructions on the web so, if your humans haven’t built you a castle yet they can begin posthaste. You’re welcome.
10 Steps for building  your own cardboard cat castle – Cardboard Cat Furniture DIY

What is a Cat Cafe? – Katzenworld

CatCafe

Those of you who follow my Wednesday wanderings know I love to report on cat cafe’s,. As I matter of fact, I’ve been bugging my purrsonal assistant to get off the exercise ball she uses as a desk chair and put together some sort of cat cafe guide on our website. Well wouldn’t you know, our Friends at Katzenworld did just that with a definitive article providing answers to every question  you might have had about cat cafes. Once you’ve learned what they’re all about, you probably want to go to one. All you have to do is go to The Neighbor’s Cat Global Cat Cafe Resource which is the Tripadvisor for cat cafes.  Now if we only had one near us!

Guinness World Records Spends Day at Longest Running Pet Shelter – Laughing Squid

Guinness

Now here is a record to be proud of. The Battersea Dog & Cats Home has been in it’s current location since 1871. Meowza, these good folks have been finding furever homes for animals for more than 145 years, now that’s dedication!  Since their beginning, they’ve cared for 3.1 million dogs and cats. Not only has this organization been critical in helping animals, they’ve shaped people’s attitudes toward homeless animals and influenced laws for animals in the UK and around the world. Two paws up to the Battersea Dog & Cats Home.

 

 

 

Friendly Friday Fill Ins #86

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Hello Friends,
Lily here. I’m doing the Fill Ins this week. We’d love for you to participate. You can enter your blog info at MCguffy’s Readers and do the fill ins on your blog or, you can add your fill ins in the comment section of this blog post.

Here are this week’s fill ins:

1. On New Year’s Eve, I __________________.

2. One goal I have for 2018 is ________________________.
3. In 2017, I accomplished                    .

4. I                 in 2017.

Here are my answers:

cat with New Years hat and glasses

1. On New Years Eve, I will put on my festive headgear and then beg for treats from the humans. They rarely go out on New Year’s Eve but they always have a very tasty dinner and The Tribe of Five benefits from the female human’s cooking skills.

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2. One Goal I have for 2018 is to continuing doing as little as possible. Doing as little as possible is the official full time career for every feline and I do not expect to retire any time soon.

cat in window

3. In 2017 I accomplished absolutely nothing (please refer to # 2). Felines are not purrticularily motivated to do things (except eat and sleep!)

2 siamese cats snuggled together
4. I  plan to continue opining (along with my other four tribe mates) on all things feline because I believe the world needs more feline purrrspective. I wil of course, stick close to my cuddle buddy (and Alpha of the Tribe of Five, Tucker) in 2017!

Happy New Year, see you in 2018!
Purrs & Head Bonks,
design

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 12/27

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Furry New Year to All!
Alberto here. It’s hard to believe that 2017 has almost ended. Thanks to all my friends who enjoy my #WalkThroughTheWebWednesday feline mewsings.

Here’s to a fantastic 2018!
Purrs & Head Bonks,
Alberto

Not Seal Team 6-Cat Team 7! – The Virginia Pilot, Military News

CatTeam7

As if it’s not enough for our military taking care of our country, now they’re taking care of feral cats too! A special team (Cat Team 7) has a mission to trap feral felines on their base at Naval Station Norfolk, spay and neuter them and then find them furever homes!

Unlike Seal Team 6, this team’s mission is no secret and their success record is amazing. They rescued about 70 felines in 2017. Cat Team 7 has a Facebook page and you can view felines available for adoption too.

We greatly appreciate our military and now we have even more reason to love them.  I give Cat Team 7 a two paw salute!

 

Backpack Cat Carrier for Fashionable Felines – HausPanther

CatySmileBackPack

Now that Christmas has come and gone, purrhaps  you or your human are disappointed that you didn’t get the purrfect gift. Well I have good news. I found this little item when visiting my friend, Kate Benjamin’s HausPanther cat lifestyle site. (Actually, I’ve never met her but my human has at the BlogPaws blogger and writer’s conference). Kate always has the best and most wonderful feline things.

I have seen another feline backpack but IMHO the felines being toted around in that thing look like they’re all begging to get out. This Catysmile backpack carrier  not only satisfies the human’s desire for style but it has two windows and enough room for felines to stretch out. Now the information for this backpack says the model cat is 10 pounds. This is not good news for Tucker (16 pounds) or for me with my long, svelte 13 pound body. Bit if your kitty is not quite as hefty as we are, I think it’s a purrfect cat carrier.

Japanese Cat Tree for Design Conscious Humans, only 1 million yen-DesignBoom

CatTree

The Tribe of Five loves our cat condo. But when I saw this one, it made ours look shabby and out of date. Take a look at this beauty, designed for human the esthetic but also with CatTree2a feline’s need in mind. Needless to say, the tree is made of quality materials. It’s called the Neko Tree and I think the Tribe of Five should have one. I had the female human convert 1 milion yen to USD and it’s only $8,826,20 (which sounds waaay better than 1 million yen!)

So if your humans are as serious about your comfort and happiness as they say they are, ask them if they’re willing to spend 1 million yen. And if you get one, send us a photo!

Why Your Cat Simply Can’t Resist Catnip – Katzenworld

catnip

There are some fantastic articles from our friends at Katzenworld and this one, in my opinion, is the definitive answer to all your catnip questions. For instance why do some of us go completely bonkers for it and why other felines take a sniff and walk away, Siamese cat on tea taBLEuninterested.  You’ll find out what catnip is, why we’re attracted to it, what it can be used for (did you know humans can benefit from catnip?) Jasmine once interviewed a very refined kitty named Navi who sips catnip tea from an elegant china cup).

I say two paws up for catnip and, if you want to see the effect of catnip on a 2-year old kitty (me) and a 14-year old kitty (Tucker) take a look at our video. 

 

 

 

Georgia family’s lost cat found in Southern California five months later – ABCNews

bitty kitty arrives home after 2000 mile journey

I love happy stories and for these Georgia humans, Christmas was very happy indeed. Kitty Bitty is a small feline but he took a big trip after he disappeared from his family’s home in Georgia on July fourth.  He found himself 2,000 miles away from home in Riverside, California.

Fortunately Kitty Bitty still had his collar and tags on and the The ASPCA in Riverside, California, contacted his humans and before he knew it, he was on a plane making his way home for Christmas! The nice humans at the ASPCA helped pay his ticket home and wrote messages on his carrier. How did he get to California? It seems he hitched a ride on a Pepsi truck making a cross-country trip. My readers will be happy to know that Bitty Kitty is now an indoor cat!