Walk Through The Web Wednesday: May 25

siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

Happy Wednesday Furiends!
I must say, the weather in our neck of the woods is wacky! One day The Human put the chairs on the porch at the place she calls work. The sun was shining and everyone enjoyed the fresh air. By the afternoon there was LOUD thunder and hail. I’ll tell you one thing, I’m just glad I’m an indoor kitty!

There’s nothing much new to report except that The Human got a new phone and she’s trying out the camera. She attempted to catch me in a reflective mood. I think she should have practiced a bit more before she did the photo shoot.

Oh no, here comes the human with her new camera phone. Can’t a cat just get some alone time?
Please Human, can you skip me? Oliver is a camera hound, I know he’d love to have his picture taken.
I love you Human. Now please go away.

The Human did manage to get the phone out in time to document this very rare occurrence at our house, Lily commandeering the Chewy box. Lily isn’t really attracted to boxes so this is a rare capture.

What’s the big deal? I’m sitting in the box, get over it.

And finally, The Human did manage to take a portrait of Oliver with the new camera. As much as I hate to admit it, my brofur is a rather handsome fellow.

Hello world, your handsome friend Ollie here.

Now, let’s get to this weeks news, enjoy!

Spot the cat hiding in plain sight

Can you find Emma?

The Eastbay Hardware store in Charleston, South Carolina posted a photo on their Twitter account challenging people to find the hidden feline amongst the hardware. Emma, the store cat had found a perfect hiding place and it sure is hard to find her!

Emma is not the only feline employed at East Bay Hardware, she has a coworker named Max. Both these rather slothful employees find the most interesting places to sleep and photos of their nap locations are often featured on the store’s Twitter account.

Max shows the benefits of the pool special.

The furry employees don’t just cat nap in the hardware area. On sunny days the love to snooze in the garden center too.

And lest you think these cat’s don’t do enough to earn their kibble, they also work as spokes meowdels for some of the store’s ads.

From Coins to Puzzle Pieces, the Internet Reveals Their Cats’ ‘Collections’

Okay, I found where I stashed my treats, now all I need to find is my catnip mouse.

There’s yet another feline phenomenon on the internet and it’s all about what cats have collected and where they’re hiding their stash.  Now the article uses the words “hoard” and “steal” which this feline finds a bit offensive. I prefer to look at myself as a collector.

Michael’s Cat on Twitter started a furor of discussion about a photo he posted with a cat, mouth open and rocks spread out on the windowsill with the comment, “She likes rocks”.

The thread shows that we cats collect all kinds of things. At our house Oliver is the master collector and his favorite collections are the plastic strips from milk cartons, and those colorful springy things. I prefer to keep my stuff in the toy box. Lily isn’t much of a collector at all.

It’s pretty funny when a big item in the house gets moved because what The Human finds underneath is a veritable hoarder’s heaven!

Sigrid the Hissing Cat Warns People and Dogs to Keep Their Paws Off

Sigrid the cat helps her human, Travis Nelson make sure no one touches his bike! Nelson is a former San Franciscan who now lives in London. The article provides a video where we see Sigrid enjoying her bike ride in her basket as she seems to warn everyone to keep their distance.

Nelson rides with Sigrid every day through the streets of London and she’s becoming very well known. Sigrid proved herself to be an adventure cat every since she was a kitten.

The downside of having Sigrid as a biking buddy is that she’s become so well known that people constantly want Nelson to stop so they can pet the cat despite her clear warning that petting is not acceptable.

Despite Sigrid’s grumpiness and “leave me alone” attitude, she’s made many friends in London.

Father Cat Stays with Feline Partner During Kitten Birth

Chichi the cat’s fatherly actions have become a Tik Tok sensation when videos were shared that showed he stayed close to the mother cat, Sophie when the kittens were being born and who still helps take care of the ‘kids”.

Male cats are not known for being attentive fathers and they are not normally involved in the raising of the kittens which is what makes Chichi a rare feline indeed.

He stayed close by Sophie’s side when she began giving birth to а litter of five kittens. And Chichi’s fatherly duties have continued as he cuddles and plays with the kittens.

This feline dad might be able to teach some human dads a few tricks and he gives “Cat Daddy” a whole new meaning.

Kitten takes the world by storm with his piano playing

And for my last news item I have another TikTok video that has launched a kitty to fame. Limón is one talented feline who sits and waits for his human to ask him to play and then begins pawing at the keyboard with gusto!

Since his debut as a mewsician, his videos have had about 8 million views. You can enjoy his videos at TikTok, @rochiylimon.

I do have to say, these over achieving felines are really setting the bar high for the rest of us. Looks like I might need to develop a talent!

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 8/5

siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

Hello Furiends,
Well, The Tribe has been languishing in the heat that we are experiencing in our neck of the woods. We have no desire to do anything except hang out on the upstairs deck, sleep and eat (and Oliver and I occasionally like to bully Lily, which we get in trouble for). This will explain why our photos from this week are almost identical to our photos from last week, it’s all about the cool deck time.

At least this week’s news items aren’t the same as last week. I hope you enjoy them!

 Feline Fashionista takes Instagram by storm

I know, many of us feel a certain type of way about dressing cats. My regular readers will recall the disastrous dinosaur and sushi costume event that were my two (and only) kerfuffles with clothing.

Still, there many felines who love wearing clothes and Prunella is one of them.  Often sphynx cats wear clothes to keep warm and, if  you’re gonna’ wear clothes, why not make it fun?

That’s how Prunella’s human, Dee Kitsch, started clothing her. When Prunella arrived from the breeder, she was wearing a cute little sweater to keep her warm and the rest is history.

Five year old Prunella’s human is a photographer and it was a natural transition for putting Prunella on Instagram and have her pose in custom outfits.

The photos give people something to smile about and Dee Kitsch and Prunella love their photoshoot time together.

I know many cats who love to dress up and, if you have a feline who enjoys wearing clothing, let her fashionista flag fly. As for those of us who would rather go to the vet than wear clothing, please allow us to live happily au naturel.  

After years of reporting in a war zone, journalist wonders if the cats she cared for in Kabul would remember her

Please take the time to read this story. It will bring (happy) tears to your eyes and reaffirm the truth that we felines love our humans and remember them.

Detained ‘drug smuggler’ cat escapes Sri Lanka prison

Unfortunately the felonious feline escaped before an official mug shot could be taken so we had to use a stock photo. Any resemblance to other felines is completely coincidental.

Oh my whiskers! A cat detained at Sri Lanka’s main prison while allegedly trying to smuggle drugs and cell phone SIM cards has escaped, media reports said Monday.

How the feline managed to make it into the high-security Welikada Prison is a mystery.

This felonious feline had nearly two grams of heroin, two SIM cards and a memory chip in a small plastic bag tied around his neck.

That cat escaped from a prison room where he was being held.

I can only hope that this feline has seen the error of his ways and plans to stay on the straight and narrow from now on.

Woman becomes pregnant and realizes it’s her cat’s fault

Playtonic1 is a Reddit user who happily announced the birth of his first child.  The couple wanted a second child but decided that during the pandemic hysteria, it would be better to wait.  They purchased the usual products to prevent unwanted pregnancy however they forgot about their cat’s habit of tearing up items found in drawers and cupboards.

When Mrs. Playtonic1’s pregnancy test came back positive they were shocked and couldn’t figure out what happened, until they found the shredded cause of the new pregnancy.

Being a feline who purrfers to be circumspect I won’t report on any more details but I am happy to tell you that the couple is delighted, despite the craziness in the world (and their latex chewing feline).


To find stray cat a home, her foster dad is giving grants to artists for her portrait

File this one under “human goes above and beyond to find a furever home for a cat.”

When Kyle Cassidy learned that a stray cat was frequenting his friend’s porch in West Philly, the longtime feline foster dad offered to take the girl in, certain he could find a home for her in three days or less. He posted her pictures on social media and asked his thousands of followers to help name her. The name Stabatha won.

When his “name that cat” contest didn’t get Stabatha a home, Cassidy, a West Philly writer and photographer started posting creative informative segments about Stabitha on Facebook such as, “ “She has an IQ of 122, speaks some French, and has put three stockbrokers in prison for insider trading.”

When this didn’t get Stabitha a furever home, artist Deanna Leist Aliano painted a portrait of Stabatha as an incentive for prospective adopters.

Inspired by that work, Cassidy created an Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign to raise money to pay out-of-work artists microgrants of $50 to paint Stabatha’s portrait, in the hope that the artworks might move someone to adopt her. “It was all part of a not really elaborate plot to keep her on people’s minds and have a street team trying to find her a home,” he said.

Since he began the campaign Monday, Cassidy has raised more than $600 ($100 more than his goal) and has given out seven grants. Artists from London to Italy have submitted portraits of Stabatha, portraying her as everything from a doctor fighting COVID-19 to an isolated kitty living in a surveillance state.

Still, affectionate, snuggly Stabatha, one of more than 4000,000 stray cats in Philadelphia,  is looking for a home.

“She’s extraordinarily chatty. When I come down to visit her in the morning, she tells me the story of the entire night, of all the birds and opossums that walked past the window,” he said. “But when you sit down, she’ll curl up on your foot.”

Cassidy said he’s had people from as far away as Georgia and Virginia offer to drive up and adopt Stabatha, but he wants her to remain a Philly cat. “I think stray cat problems are local and perennial,” he said. “If you drive up from Georgia to get this stray cat, you’re driving past thousands of other stray cats.”

Those interested in applying to adopt Stabatha can contact City Kitties, the Philadelphia foster-based rescue service that’s handling her adoption. She’s received three local adoption applications so far, but Cassidy is hoping for many more, so City Kitties can find her the best home.

“This is a win-win-win situation. It’s a perpetual motion machine of joy. Everybody gets something out of it,” he said. “Artists get groceries. The cat gets a home. And I get my front porch back.”




I give Kyle Cassidy our Paws Up Award for one of the most creative adoption ideas ever!

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 7/22

siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

Hello Furiends,
It’s been rather boring in our neck of the woods. The Female Human’s ankle is healing nicely and our pampering schedule is back to normal.

It has been a bit warm. We’re not used to any temperature in the high 80’s so when it gets hot, we just hang out and do as little as possible. In case any of our furiends do not have the skill of “hanging out and doing as little as possible” Oliver has included visual instructions.

Well, enough about us and on to the latest feline news.

Cat furniture designed for felines AND their humans

I’ve heard of cat furniture and human furniture but this is the first time I’ve heard of cat AND human furniture. The CatYou in a circle is a new modular design for both.

The marketing material says that the set includes “a floor sofa and a coffee table that aims to create a relaxing space for cats and their owners”. The designer of this furniture distributed questionnaires and, after 233 responses, began the design. It was discovered that 1/3 of cat owners live in spaces that are under 50 square meters. That’s just a tad over 538 square feet. Methinks this survey was not done in the U.S.

What the designer learned from the surveys was that cats don’t have enough hiding space, traditional cat furniture takes up too much living space and people want more room to bond with their cats.

CatYou in a Circle didn’t want to separate the pets from their owners so it is designed to bring them together while also maintaining boundaries. The hollow armrests and backrest offer cats a playground and hiding territory while the coffee table provides a place to sleep. The woven bamboo texture makes it possible for owners to see their cats even when they are hiding and play with through its holes. There are fabric cushions at the bottom of the armrests and coffee table.

Our Human is still trying to figure out what she thinks about this furniture. Meow at us and let us know what you  think.

New Chartwell Cat takes up residence in Churchill’s home

Image copyright PA – Churchill requested that there should always be a cat with four white paws and a white bib at Chartwell

Now you human leaders take note. Sir Winston Churchill requested that a specific type of feline always take up residence at his home. A new rescue kitten is now living at Chartwell, in Kent, England.

The former prime minister was given a marmalade cat by one of his private secretaries, Sir John “Jock” Colville, for his 88th birthday in 1962 and Jock made it to many cabinet meeting.  There is a rumor that meals could not begin unless Jock was at the table. (I sure wish we had that rule at my house!)

The good folks at the National Trust, which was left the property by Churchill’s family in 1966, has always honored the request. This month, seven-month old Jock VI moved in.

Trust officials say he takes afternoon naps, eats tuna and lounges on Persian rugs at the house. Jock had a tough start to his life but he’s living the vida loca now!

The folks at the Natural Trust say, “He’s a very caring, loving cat and I think our visitors will get lots of enjoyment from seeing him around the property for many years to come.”

Cat’s ‘cancer’ was instead hairbands and string from toys

This is a good news/bad news story and our Female Human insisted I include it because I have a bad habit of chewing plastic and rubber. Vets originally thought five-year-old Waffles had cancer, however an operation revealed the large mass in his tummy was actually hair elastics, string from cat toys, and yarn from his scratching post. Now, it’s good news that Waffles didn’t have cancer but the bad news is that all surgery could have been avoided had he not eaten that stuff! Note to self, stay away from the rubber bands!

Couple turns their home into a cat memorabilia museum

This one is for all you humans with too many cat trinkets…and you know who you are.

 A couple in Menomonee Falls have rescued 21 cats from the streets or shelters — and thousands of cat items from secondhand shops. At last count they had more than 1,750 cat figurines, hundreds of collector plates, enough artwork to fill full walls of their home, as well as toys, cookie jars, jewelry, and more.

The clever husband came up with the idea to put all these treasures on display for others to see and to raise money for cat rescues. and this is how Redner’s Rescued Cat Figurine Mewseum was born.

“It (the museum) is very time-consuming because I want it to look good,” he said. “It takes time to get the right pieces in the right place.”

Redner estimated that they have spent “a couple thousand dollars, a few bucks at a time” on the collection and now you can see it too!  

A soft opening for the museum was scheduled for noon to 6 p.m. July 19.

Moving forward, Redner plans to have the museum, N88 W15114 Cleveland Ave., Menomonee Falls, open from noon to 6 p.m. the third Sunday of every month. For updates, visit the museum’s Facebook page.

Admission is $5, which will be donated to local rescues; kids age 12 and younger get in for free. As operations get underway, Redner hopes to host a different rescue group every time the museum is open to talk about what it does and provide cat adoption information.

In the future, Redner dreams of moving the museum into a separate building and adding a cat adoption center. 

Purrhaps it’s time for our Female Human to consider putting some of her cat collection on display!

Beware of the Meow Bot!

We felines have taken over the internet and although most of the cat stuff you see online is good, the Meow Bot is NOT!

It seems as though the Meow Bot was created to destroy databases that leave themselves open and exposed online without any security access controls.

Sadly, dozens of databases have already fallen victim to the unknown attacker.

Who is behind the Meow attacks?

Although the motive behind the Meow bot attacks is not yet known, nor has anyone figured out where the attacks come from, some computer experts say it could be the work of a vigilante “trying to give administrators a hard lesson in security.”

This is a heads up to all you feline aficionados who run databases, make sure they are secure! And for all of us with PC’s the Meow Bot is not designed for us but it’s always prudent to be very careful about what you open or click on!    And by the way, I hiss in  the direction of those malicious bot creators!                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                           

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     

Changing Your Purrspective

Hello World,

Alberto here. I have been observing the humans lately and the female human appears to be in a state other humans refer to as “stressed out”.  As a feline, I am unfamiliar with this. It is not in the feline nature, particularly the nature of a spoiled indoor feline living in a fear-free environment to have this “stressed out” condition.

Still, I care deeply for the feline human and pondered how I might go about assisting her. One morning it occurred to me. She needs a change of purrspective!

As the female human is on the “shortish” side (she requires a stool to reach the highest parts of the cabinets) and definitely not as coordinated or flexible as this feline , I decided to help her by finding her a new purrspective.

Siamese cat on top of refrigerator This was no easy feat.  had to balance myself on a stack of antique suitcases in the corner of the dining room. From there I had to jump up to the top of the buffet and make my way through the slalom course of  numerous crystal and silver candlesticks . From the buffet I leaped to the top of the kitchen cabinets and from there, I was at the highest point of the house.

I made myself comfortable on top of the big, white cat food keeper and was delighted to find that if I kicked my foot in just the right way, I could actually open the door of the cat food keeper. This was a bonus.

As I settled in to contemplate my lofty purrspective endeavoring to find some insight for the female human I heard a gasp and then “Alberto!”

Siamese cat on top of refrigerator Evidently the female human did not appreciate my efforts to assist her. She dragged her little stool over, stood on it and dragged me from my spot.

That’s the thanks a feline gets for trying to help the humans with a problem. I am sorely disappointed that she did not appreciate my efforts. Next time I will show the same lack of concern as my brother Oliver, who is always more interested in his own state of being than that of anyone else.

 

Good-bye for now, your Friend,