Walk Through the Web Wednesday – 7/19

Posted on July 19, 2023 by Feline Opines

Happy Wednesday Furiends!

I am pleased to say WOOO HOO and HALEIJUJAH- we’re back. Our Purrsonal assistant is finishing up all her outside activities and will be back this week to focus on her job. She no sooner arrived home from the writer’s conference when she informed us that she would be leaving again in two days! This was Oliver’s reaction when he heard the news.

Traveling?! Again?! Does this mean we will be forced to endure a reduced level of service again?!

Lily too, was less than enthusiastic about The Human’s second departure.

Even I felt a certain kind of way about the Human’s second immediate departure.

Excuse me Human, is this not your travel bag sitting on the bed AGAIN??

Still, we have to cut The Human some slack as this second trip was to go with two other family members to fly to other family members and help them move to our neck of the woods. This makes The Human very happy but The Tribe is withholding enthusiasm as we have not found an upside for us and, in fact, the human relatives have a dog that likes to chase cats so approval is pending from us.

But, we are pleased to announce that not only are the trips over, there are lots of exciting things coming. Here’s a preview of one:

See this book? Well The Human was fangirling all over the place when she met the author, Molly Fitz at the #CozyCon in St. Paul. We will be having a drawing for this book soon! In the meantime, you can read more about Molly, a real cat lady and her books. Meowza, we’re excited to do a book giveaway and we will also be doing an interview with either Molly and/or one of her feline characters. Negotiations are happening as we report this.

And speaking of authors, The Human was so inspired, she is not only finishing her first cozy mystery but she’s already outlined the next five in the series-Meowza!

Okay, enough about what’s happening in our neck of the woods, let’s go to some of the best feline news on the Internet.

Cat Noses Are Marvels That May Inspire Better Scientific Instrument

My readers know that I am not a very sciency feline but I did find this article interesting. Evidently a gas chromatograph, a scientific instrument used to separate and analyze different gasses, could learn a great deal from the cat’s nose, according to a new study . As the first detailed study of the feline sniffer, it reveals a dual-channel system in the nose that the instrument could perhaps replicate.

“We know so much about vision and hearing, but not so much about the nose. This work could lead to more understanding of the pathways behind different nose structures, and the functional purpose they serve,” says Kai Zhao, an associate professor of otolaryngology in Ohio State’s College of Medicine, in a press release.

The channel system for smelling acts like a major highways on a complex road system. We felines inhales air into our nose, flooding both, and they in turn infuse a labyrinth of small passages called turbinates that clean and humidify the air. The turbinates pass the air on to the olfactory region lined with olfactory epithelium, which detects odors. (Okay if this is crystal clear to you, you are definitely more sciency than this cat!)

The study mapped this complex network by CT-scanning the cadaver of a domestic short hair cat, revealing the intricate folds and passageways winding through the cat’s ethmoid bone. Humans also have turbinates, but the human turbinates consist of a few simplistic folds, and have the comparatively weak sense of smell to match.

“For mammals, olfaction is very important in finding prey, identifying danger, finding food sources and tracking the environment,” Zhao says in a press release.

Dogs possess even more complex nasal passages than cats and humans, allowing them to ruminate on a scent with great focus. Hence the job for canines of “sniffer dog”.

Researchers discovered that with cats, the dual streams serve different purposes. The first channel goes low and relatively slow and spreads through the turbinates before eventually reaching the olfactory region. This gradual pathway resembles a gas chromatograph with a long tube designed to detect more chemicals at a slower rate.

The second stream runs fast and heads straight for the olfactory region, where it allows for quick detection of important smells. This comes at a trade-off however, as the faster an odor passes through the system, the less efficient the detection. While the second lane may quickly detect a predator at close range, the first may be needed to identify one from a paw print.

Once air arrives at the olfactory region, it circulates through parallel channels that make the most of each breath.

“That was actually a surprise,” says Zhao. “It’s like you take a sniff, the air is shooting back there and then is being processed for a much longer time.”

Overall, the cat studied possessed a surfeit of olfactory epithelium tucked inside its turbinate folds, which would have allowed it to out-sniff more rudimentary noses. The researchers estimated that this cat and others like it would have possessed noses about 100 times more powerful than those of similar-sized amphibians with simplistic “straight noses.”

So, some interesting information about cat noses but purrhaps it could have been put in less professional terms. Did you learn anything about our noses?

Shelter Staff Catches Cats Giving Massages To Blind Dog Who Needs Them The Most

Oh my whiskers, the folks at the Dodo have some of the greatest cat stories. When Tam needs a bit of comfort, his friend Elodie is always willing to help. Tam, a pup At the Sunshine Animal Refuge Agadir (SARA), is blind and suffers from Ehlers-Danlos syndrome, which makes his skin extra fragile and his joints prone to arthritis.

Elodie and her fellow cats at the refuge seem to know that Tam needs extra TLC, and the tribe of cats at SARA have made it their mission to help him out.

“Tam regularly shares his bed with at least two cats,” Hazel Skeet, a long-time volunteer with SARA, told The Dodo. “All the cats adore him and give him cuddles and massages.”

The Farm Refuge is one of three refuges in the SARA network that caters to senior or sick dogs and recently rescued dogs who are ready to be adopted. The Farm Refuge also serves as a temporary shelter for homeless cats — there are currently about 200 of them!

“To be honest, it is quite difficult for anyone to sit down at the Farm Refuge without being immediately surrounded by cats,” Skeet said. “But Tam is the most popular dog. The cats know he will lie quietly and be gentle with them. [He’s] the perfect pillow for a snooze, and Tam enjoys the affectionate closeness.”

Tam was born at the refuge nearly nine years ago. While most of his siblings were adopted, he and his sister Daccia remained at the refuge due to their Ehlers-Danlos diagnoses. Unfortunately, there is no cure for the genetic disorder, but Tam and his sister are well cared for by both their cat and human companions.

Tam will continue to live his best life alongside his sister and cat friends at the SARA Farm Refuge. And he can expect to receive so many more relaxing massages from the cats who care so much for him — as he well deserves!

To help the SARA team care for and rescue more animals in need, you can head over to the organization’s website to donate and learn more about their mission.

Inside a mid century glass filled home built for cats

Meowza! This human had his flat redesigned in elegant mid-century style with lots of glass and the main inspurration for the design? His felines!

Man rescues 60 cats and has to rent 3 apartments to house them

This man is an angel to stray felines. He can’t stop rescuing cats, so he rents 3 apartments for all of them. That guy from the previous study needs to contact this rescuer. To help Yassine save more cats, you can donate here: https://thedo.do/catdonate. You can also keep up with Yassine’s cat saving adventures on Instagram: https://thedo.do/theyasshouse, YouTube: https://thedo.do/Theyasshouse, Facebook: https://thedo.do/TheYassHouse & TikTok: https://thedo.do/yassthecatman.

An update on one of my favorite purrlitical felines -Larry

As my regular readers know, I have previously reported on Larry the Cat at 10 Downing Street. Larry emerged from the front door of the British prime minister’s office to find a red carpet under his paws but was unceremoniously removed from the carpet. The nerve!

Greetings from the writers conference-it’s cozy!

Posted on July 11, 2023 by Feline Opines

Hello Furiends,

Oliver here. We sent The Human (aka the Purrsonal Assistant) to the historic St. Paul hotel in Minnesota to attend the Cozy Con writers conference. As you know, our assistant will soon be finishing her first cozy mystery book featuring yours truly and Alberto. This conference is teaching her lots about the process and genre as well as the business aspects of book writing. We hope she’s paying attention so that she will make Al and I famous felines and earn enough of those green papers to care for us (and Lily) in the manner to which we’d like to be accustomed

This little trip may result in a delay in Alberto’s weekly news feature however we have advised her that she should have plenty of time to get work done on the flight home, as well as respond to all those wonderful comments that are piling up in our mailbox.

Thank you all for your patience and understanding.

Walk Through The Web Wednesday – 7/5

Posted on July 5, 2023 by Feline Opines

Happy Wednesday Furiends,
I hope you enjoyed the long Fourth of July holiday as much as we did, we had quite a celebration.

The Human went to watch the loud distressing fire bombs at our human aunt and uncle’s house and we were quite content to stay home and snooze under the overhead fans in quiet peace.

The Human has been going crazy around the house, organizing and changing things up and this type of activity naturally needs to have snoopervision. Oliver and I were happy to oblige.

Ok Ollie, I’ll take over snoopervising the bottom of the project.

As you can see, we felines have been working hard, well two of us felines. Lily preferred to stay in her hiding place at the top of the cat condo in the office.

I hope you had a great week and they you’ll enjoy my news stories.

Japanese app aims to help detect pain in cats

Our Angel Tucker was an expert at hiding his pain when he was sick.

Anyone who lives with cats knows that figuring out if we are in pain or don’t feel good is difficult because we are masters at hiding when we’re sick. This comes from our ancestors who knew showing weakness in the wild could be dangerous. Evidently that gene is still in us domesticated kitties.

The good cat-loving folks in Japan are working on helping humans know when we are feeling under the weather. A tech firm and a university in Tokyo have teamed up to produce an app that uses thousands of cat photos that they say can tell you when your feline is in pain.

Since its release last month, “Cat Pain Detector” has racked up 43,000 users, mostly in Japan but also in Europe and South America, said Go Sakioka, head of developer Carelogy.

The app is part of a growing array of tech for pet owners concerned for their furry friends’ well-being, including similar mood and pain trackers made in Canada and Israel.

Carelogy teamed up with Nihon University’s College of Bioresource Sciences to gather 6,000 cat photos. The studied the position of the ears, noses, whiskers and eyelids in the photos. They then used a scoring system designed by the University of Montreal to measure minute differences between healthy cats and those suffering pain due to hard-to-spot illnesses.

The app developers then fed the information into an AI detection system, which has further refined its skills thanks to around 600,000 photos uploaded by users, Sakioka said. He says that the app has an accuracy level of more than 90%.

“Cat Pain Detector” is already being used by some vets in Japan, but “the AI system still needs to be more precise before it’s used as a standardized tool,” Sakioka said.

How to get house cats to exercise

OK Human, thanks for the 1 minute work out, now I’m done.

Oliver is sick and tired of the words “diet”, “health” and “exercise” but The Human is absolutely obsessive about getting Ollie and I healthier (translation= weighing less than 21 pounds).

The Human has been doing some research on exercises for us, so far we have approved of nothing she has presented. She has picked up a few pointers which were noted in the linked article and which I will now share with you. I will state however, that all my feline furiends should ignore any of the suggestions below.

Determine which toys cats like best. Some pre-exercise observation can help lay a strong foundation for feline fitness sessions. Identify which toys we seem to like best and then use those toys during exercise sessions to entice participation. Use one or two toys each session and swap them every few days so cats do not grow bored with their fitness routines.
Incentivize physical activity. Cats (especially CHONKY cats like Oliver and I) are more likely to engage in exercise when sessions end with a reward. PetMD notes some post-exercise praise and a few healthy treats can encourage cats to participate willingly in exercise sessions.
Don’t overdo it. Play sessions intended to get cats to exercise can last between 10 and 15 minutes each. PetMD recommends limiting sessions to two or three per day for older cats, while as many as 10 sessions per day can be effective for younger cats.

Try a laser pointer. We like to play with these and even have one that is electric and turns on an off at random. We rarely pay attention to it anymore.

You can get double the results for the time you put in if you also work on some training. In response to some of you humans who may be snickering right now, yes, I realize that you don’t really train a cat but you can redirect behavior and create situations that the cat will actually respond and do things (or stop doing things) that have been habits. The Human recently downloaded the app CATBOSS and she will be using it on us. We’ll see how that goes and I will update you as we make progress.

Photographer Breaks ‘Stoic’ Cat Stereotypes by Snapping Pics of Them ‘Crazy’ on Catnip

blac,kand white cat on the dining room table — You never know where you’ll be when the nip wears off.

Oh my whiskers. If you’ve ever watched your cat enjoying the “nip” you know how hilarious their behavior and expressions can be. Photographer Andrew Marttila has spent the last six years capturing those crazy moments.

Martilla discovered the joy of photographing cats under the influence of catnip when he was playing around with one of his cameras. On a whim, he gave a bit of catnip to his 13-year-old Bengal cat, Haroun, “to see what his reaction is and try to capture whatever happens.”

“I had no idea what I would get. And the result was something really, really incredible and strange and sparked the interest of a lot of people around the world,” Marttila says. The images launched a series of photographs about cats high on catnip that has been turned into a book, and an annual calendar and more.

Marttila says he loves showing cats’ funny, silly sides. “I think there’s a misunderstanding that cats are aloof or very stoic, and it’s only in recent years that the silliness of cats has started to become more prevalent and prominent in pop culture,” he shares. “And I love exploring that side. I love showing cats sort of just enjoying themselves. I like just showing them funny and out of the norm.”

The flash photography allows him to “freeze these little moments” that “the human eye is not able to see,” he adds. “It’s a different window into their lived experience, especially when they’re high. You’re able to get an insight into just how crazy they do get on catnip.”

The artist loves showing people what their cats really look like in a way they’ve never noticed. “Aside from it just being so different and funny, I love seeing the expression of the guardians when they see just how crazy their cat looks,” he says.

When he arrives at a photo shoot, he usually brings five varieties of catnip with him. “I’ll put catnip on a table or on the ground and have the lighting set up to accommodate where I think they will have their little freak out moment and then sort of just let them do their thing. And as they are going wild, I snap photos.”

Marttila says about 70 percent of cats respond to catnip — and every cat reacts very differently. “You never know what you’re going to get,” he shares. “I think it’s the sort of the surprise factor, especially when I’m taking the photos, even I don’t know what I’ve gotten until I go back and review the images because it happened so quickly.” The Human knows this to be true as we’ve had members of our tribe that turn into really “mean drunks” when they have catnip and the rest of us are more goofy.

For anyone worried the practice may be inhumane, Marttila — who also runs the Orphan Kitten Club rescue in San Diego with wife Hannah Shaw — assuages those fears. “One comment that I get a lot when these pictures are on bigger publications is, ‘This is damaging to the cats. Why are we creating drug addicts in our cats?’ And it’s ignorance. It’s really not understanding what catnip does. And it is a very fast acting type of chemical. It is completely natural. There’s no chance of them becoming dependent on catnip,” he says.

Marttila also encourages people to try it at home. “I highly recommend giving a little bit or a lot of it to your cat just to see what their reaction is. You can follow Andrew Marttila on Instagram. The Human likes to spread catnip on sheets of newspaper so that we can just roll in it and enjoy. How do you like your nip?

Cat owners called on for UK’s first feline blood bank

Human blood banks have existed in the UK since 1937 and dogs have been participating in blood donations for years. Now, finally, there is a blood bank for felines. As regulations and logistics have combined to make it difficult for veterinarians to find blood for sick cats who need blood transfusions, they have to search for blood donors when the need is critical. This can cause delays, blood donations from unsuitable donors (with diseases). Cat blood groups are different than human blood groups and even a teaspoon of the wrong blood could be fatal.

“The current situation has been very problematic as far as cats dying because there’s not appropriate blood available,” said a veterinary professional. Although the Royal Veterinary College stores feline blood, that blood is only for animals being treated or referred to the college as it is a transfusion service rather than a blood bank.

In an attempt to rectify the feline blood donation a Portuguese organization called Banco de Sangue Animal (BSA) is hoping to set up the UK’s first feline blood bank to provide a resource for veterinary practices around the country – and it wants cat owners to sign up their furry companions.

“We’ve run a couple of sessions [for blood donation] just to see how it goes. And that’s been going well, but we need more owners and more cats,” said Samantha Taylor, a specialist in feline medicine, who is working with BSA on the project.

According to new criteria for feline blood banking set out in updated guidance by the Veterinary Medicines Directorate (VMD) last year, among other requirements, cats donating to a blood bank must be at least 5kg in weight, undergo a cardiac assessment before donation and have their blood pressure checked. Only 10% of the cat’s total blood volume can be taken – a more conservative volume than in general practice.

It is not permitted for animals to be sedated when donating blood for storage in the UK. While dogs can be trained to give blood while awake with relative ease, cats can be harder to handle.

“You may find it harder to find suitable [feline] donors than you would with dogs. But that’s just the nature of cats and we should respect that,” said Charlotte Russo, head of transfusion medicine nurse at the RVC, adding the requirement means it is crucial to find cats with the right temperament for being a blood donor. Well that would definitely rule out Lily, aka Princess Stabby Toes.

The BSA has animal blood banks in Portugal, Spain and Belgium, and has learned how to collect donations safely and efficiently with minimal stress to donor cats, so Taylor said the organization was a natural choice for UK vets to partner with to set up a UK-wide feline blood bank.

“The BSA has undergone a very strict and long process of approval,” she said. The organization was recently granted non-food animal blood bank authorization (NFABBA) by the VMD, and the team is working to build up a network of cats who, can donate blood.

Dr Jenny Helm, a trustee of the charity Pet Blood Bank UK, which mainly provides canine blood to veterinary practices, said there was a significant need for a feline blood bank in the UK, particularly as other products that previously bridged the gap – such as a haemoglobin-based blood substitute – were no longer available.

“[The BSA bank] will benefit so many cats across the country that will be able to access blood products at any time of day just like dogs can, just like people can,” she said. UK felines can register to determine suitability at uk.animalbb.org

Mystery of Lost Cat Found 9,000 Miles From Home Finally Solved

Oh how I love a good feline mystery and this one is excellent. This is a mystery of a lost cat who was found wandering 9,000 miles from its home in Australia .

Melvin the cat was found in Renfrewshire, Scotland, before he was picked up by the Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA). A local resident had been feeding the cat twice a day since Christmastime. However, they started to notice he was not looking well, the Scottish SPCA said in a press release.

After picking the cat up and giving him veterinary attention, the Scottish SPCA checked his microchip, only to find he was registered to an address all the way in Australia.

Laura McIntyre, Scottish SPCA chief inspector, said that one of the first things the charity does, when taking in a lost pet, is to check for a microchip.

“As you can imagine, the team were slightly confused when Melvin’s details came back registered to an address in Australia,” McIntyre said.

After some investigating, it turned out that Melvin belonged to a Scottish couple, Jacqueline and Matt Dick, who had lived in Australia for 14 years. They had recently made the move back home, spending $8,000 to transport Melvin, and their dog, to Scotland. However, Melvin went missing shortly after they settled into a new home, just eight weeks after moving, in August 2022.

Thank goodness the mystery of Melvin’s disappearance was solved and he is back at home with his humans.

“We were devastated when Melvin went missing. We did everything we could think of to try and find him, but by winter we feared the worst,” Jacqueline Dick said in a press release from the Scottish SPCA. “We were over the moon when we received the call that he’d been found by the Scottish SPCA.

“The first night we got him home he didn’t leave my side and was purring really loudly. I was in floods of tears as I never thought I’d see him again,” she added. “We just want to say a big thank you to everyone who looked out for him while he was missing and helped get him back home where he belongs.”

This isn’t the first adventure Melvin has had. During his time in Australia, he was caught up in a fight with a dingo, a type of wild dog. Luckily, he survived the ordeal, using up only one of his nine lives.

Oh how I love a happy ending and again, I will repeat my favorite phrase….THINK LOST NOT STRAY!

Walk Through The Web Wednesday – 6/21

Posted on June 22, 2023 by Feline Opines

Hello Furiends,
We’ve been having a cool summer (temperature, not type). The Human is frankly thankful because she chose to live in our neck of the woods precisely because it’s not known for extreme temperatures, although there have been summers with days in the high 90s. For instance, Weather Kitty’s report for today is what The Human considers a purrfect summer day.

As far as other happenings this past week, things have been mostly routine although Oliver has been quite unsettled because of his D-I-E-T. He finds it outrageous that The Human chooses menu options that contain NOTHING he is interested in eating and has decided begging isn’t even worth the effort.

This is an outrage, sprouted grain bread, spinach and an egg!
It wasn’t even worth jumping up here.

In a futile attempt to turn his attention from food to something else, Oliver decided he would “help” The Human put together some table decorations.

Those woody things look nice and crunchy.

When the reduced rations get to him, Oliver chooses a nap to forget about the terrible state of his life.

Lily, the little feline who has never had a weight problem, often encourages Ollie to relax and take some time to smell the roses.

We hope things have been doing well in your neck of the woods and Oliver hopes you get all the snacks, kibble and treats you deserve.

Florida woman leaves inheritance, Tampa estate to 7 Persian cats: Reports

I think a mansion would suit me quite well.

Now this is how you take care of your felines! A Florida woman who died in November decided to leave her estate to her seven Persian cats, along with an inheritance for each one. Nancy Sauer of Tampa, Florida left a stipulation in her will that her seven cats are to remain in her estate with each receiving an inheritance.

This isn’t that unusual, I reported on the inheritance Karl Lagerfeld left to his cat Choupette. The will left by Sauer indicates that the estate not be sold until the last cat passes away. Despite this stipulation in the will, a a Hillsborough County probate judge recently decided that the cats should be placed in new homes.

A friend of the deceased said that she was worried that the cats would not do well if they were separated.

Sherry Silk, the executive director of the Humane Society of Tampa Bay has stated that the cats should not be alone in a house as large as the one they lived in. The cats have now been at the Human Society for the last month and Silk said, “I am going to personally make sure that we can keep as many together as we can and that they go to the perfect house.”

San Antonio Cat Extravaganza

Oh meowza, every city should have an event like this! The event, last weekend, celebrated local feline charities and rescues, there was an International Cat Competition, lots of seminars to learn more about fantastic felines, enjoy the antics of the Rock Cat Rescue’s Acro-Cats and buy a present for your cats at the shopping village.

Feline Water Fascination

Some of you less informed humans may think that cats hate water. This is not the case for all of us! There are cats that like to swim, ride on paddle boards, take to the sea in a boat or, as in my case, stick your head under the faucet (my regular morning routine) and enjoy the wetness.

The perks of adopting a wallflower

Lily was a bit shy when The Human first met her at the shelter.

This is a reminder that just because a kitty doesn’t run up to you to greet you when you’re looking for a new feline furiend at the shelter doesn’t mean this kitty isn’t loveable. Our very own Lily was quite shy (she still is in some circumstances with people she doesn’t know) is known as “Bug” or “The Bug” because she is such a love bug and she loves to curl up against the Human and go to sleep.

It does take time and patience to win over a timid cat but it’s worth it. Amanda Kowalski, vice president of behavior programs at San Diego Humane Society says, “The first time they start to interact with you, like giving you a nose touch or rubbing against you, is so gratifying and worth the wait.”

Sometimes it’s the environment like shelters or foster homes that make a cat shy. When looking at cats in a shelter or rescue, it’s important to remember that “what you see is not necessarily what you’re gonna get,” says Nancy Puro, volunteer and behavior programs manager at Cat Adoption Team, the largest cat shelter in the Pacific Northwest. She explains that the behavior a cat is displaying at a shelter or rescue may not reflect what their personality will be like once they settle into a home. Again, this was the case with our Lily.

There are many types of shy cats. Some weren’t fully socialized when they were kittens, some act fearful because they’re overwhelmed by their surroundings. Any of you humans who have given a shelter kitty a furever home can attest to the fact that their personalities change quite a bit once they are comfortable and safe in their new home (and that often takes a while to achieve).

This doesn’t mean that a very shy cat will eventually turn into a social, stranger loving feline. Many shy cats, even after they’re out of their shell, will continue to be reserved and often will find a place to be alone to reenergize.

Please don’t disregard bringing a shy cat into your home. The article, linked above, has links to information to help you bring a shy kitty out of their shell. Oliver and I and the Human are glad The Human decided to bring shy Lily to our house.

It’s always good to have a snuggle bug in the house.

HHOLOVE Launched the World’s First Companion Robot for Cats. A robot cat sitter…hmmm

HHOLOVE, a rising digital pet brand under HHO, has launched the world’s first cat smart companion robot—O Sitter on Kickstarter, the world’s largest crowdfunding platform, on June 16 at 9am EST .

The system has integrated functions of AI Smart Life Recording, Interactive Companion, Reliable and Visible Feeding, O Sitter is considered a groundbreaking differentiated product. The company says that the product is purrfect novice cat owners, frequent travel owners, and those who have to keep track of their cats when they are at work.

The company says the O Sitter uses AI dynamic computing to automatically record the daily activities of your cats that can then viewed on an app.

It also has a high-speed silent gimbal camera, combined with a laser and rich expression interaction design that will follow active cats. There is a 360° horizontal + 110° vertical panoramic view which gives the cat owner a clearer “digital” view with its 4x digital zoom. O Sitter can detect the cat’s movement within 3 meters (about 118 inches), so that you can quickly target where they are.

And if all this tracking wasn’t enough, there’s a built in laser that can be manipulated by the app, either by the human directly or it can be preset.

The build-in laser can be manipulated by cat owners via APP to accompany their cats for remote play. It is also available to select a preset laser motion track.

And what good would a cat sitting robot be if there wasn’t a voice option for the human? There is real time voice interaction as well, of course.

What else could you want? How about a customized feeding plan? Owners can add their cats’ information on the app and choose a feeding plan.

What happens if there’s a power failure? The system will switch to battery-powered mode, and after the network is disconnected it will enter offline mode immediately, and the device will dispense food at regular intervals as scheduled.

O Sitter was made available on Kickstarter on June 16 with discounts of up to 50% off.

As wonderful as this all sounds, The Human isn’t sure she wants one more intrusive device in our home. She can’t say anything with Alexa plugged in without seeing ads for the things she’s talked about. She gets so annoyed; she doesn’t leave Alexa plugged in. And don’t get her started on Facebook that even seems to know what she’s thinking about purchasing! My guess is, this will not be part of our household. What about yours?

Walk Through The Web Wednesday – 6/14

Posted on June 14, 2023 by Feline Opines

Happy Wednesday Furiends!
The main focus of The Tribe this week has been the draconian measures The Human has implemented due to Oliver and my wellness visit last week and the stern edict from the woman in the white coat at the stabby place that we MUST lose weight.

I will say that Oliver is taking this much worse than I am. On the whole I am a rather, “take life as it comes and don’t sweat the small suff” kind of feline. Oliver, on the other hand lives to eat and this food restriction is taking it’s toll on him.

Hello Furiends, This is me, suffering from starvation. I don’t know how much time I’ll have left.
Your Starving Furiend Oliver

In light of this drama in Oliver’s life and his journaling through the days of what he believes, will be his certain demise, we will be allowing Oliver some space on the blog to share his journal with us from time to time.

On a more positive note, Lily, who I might mention is receiving treats on the sly from The Human, wanted me to share her flag day celebration photo.

Well, that’s enough about us. I hope you enjoy this week’s news items!

Filter Claims To Show How Cats See the World—And the Results Are Intriguing

There is a new viral filter on video sharing site TikTok that’s helping humans see through the eyes of their cats. There are also some images showing how cat’s see in LiveScience.com created by Nickolay Lamm.

With over 35,000 videos on the platform, the filter was created by global pet sitting platform TrustedHousesitters and claims to show owners how we felines view the world.

Angela Laws, head of community at TrustedHousesitters, told Newsweek. “We created this tool to allow people to learn more about pet vision, as it’s very different from ours.”

You humans have trichromatic vision which means you can perceive a wide range of colors, but we felines have dichromatic vision with only two types of color receptors in our eyes, ( humans have three.)

Still, there is some hissing back and forth about exactly which colors cats can see. Some experts say we see only blue and gray tones, others believe we also see yellow like dogs.

In 2016, a paper published in the National Library of Medicine explained: “Despite extensive study, the basic nature of feline spectral sensitivity is still unresolved.” In other words, you humans still have no clue.

Experts do agree that cat’s color receptors are more sensitive to blue and green light, much like humans with red-green color blindness.

The cat vision filter has impressed pet owners like Nay on TikTok. She posted a video to the platform that now has 14.4 million views. In the video, she shines a laser pen and shows how the filter warps the light and says “I finally understand” She goes on to say she’d chase a laser light too if it looked the way a cat sees it.

What do you think my feline furiends, did the scientists get it right?

‘My cousin insists I change my cat’s name so she can use it for her baby daughter’

We’re all named after friends or relatives, get over it human!

Oh good grief, give me a break. After realizing that her cousin has used her “dream” baby name for their cat, a pregnant woman is insisting that the “selfish” pet owner changes the name.

The anonymous cat lover sought advice on Reddit and questioned whether they were being unreasonable for refusing to change the name.

They explained: “So I recently adopted a wonderful sweetie of a shelter cat named Millie. That’s the name that the shelter gave her, I thought it suited her and she responds to it, so I didn’t change it.”

The Reddit user went on: “The other week, my pregnant cousin ‘Carrie’ (who I’m moderately close to) posted a list of potential baby names on her social media and Millie was on the list.

“I commented to remind her of my cat’s name, and she DMed me to ask me to change Millie’s name because she and her fiancé really liked that name for their daughter.

“I refused because my cat had her name first, and Carrie called me selfish for valuing a ‘stupid cat’ over her daughter.

“I told her that my cat is not stupid and that I wouldn’t mind if her baby shared a name with my cat, but if it was an issue for her, she could choose a different name. She again called me selfish and said she had to go.

“I was feeling a bit conflicted, so I went to my sister (a mother herself so I hoped she’d offer some perspective) and she said that she understands where I was coming from, but that babies should come before pets.”

Seeking advice, they added: “She said that it would be really kind of me to change my cat’s name and that she knows how important a couple’s ‘dream name’ is. Now I’m feeling more confused than ever, so am I the a**hole?”

Since sharing the thread online, the Reddit user’s post has raked in over 2,500 comments to date – where people assured the pet owner that they weren’t being unreasonable.

I wouldn’t need thousands of people giving advice, I say to the pregnant lady, get over it! Oliver has the same name as one of The Human’s nephews as did our Angel Tucker. Lily is named after the little girl who used to live next door and I’m named after Alberto Contador, the cyclist. No one has complained to us!

Non-profit ‘Whiskers’ in Utah dedicated to giving high-risk cats a second chance

Siamese cat on fur throw — Our beloved Angel Jasmine.

I love stories about humans who go the extra mile for kitties with needs. Many cats in Utah’s shelters are considered to be “high-risk.” This could be seniors, medical cases, and special needs animals.

Whiskers is a non-profit organization dedicated to giving all cats a second chance; and helping our four-legged friends isn’t an easy job.

Jessica Vigos, runs the organization in her basement where she can house a dozen cats at any given time.

“This is Link, he has diabetes,” Vigos said. She opened another cage. “This is Sausage, he has kidney failure.”

Vigos has been working with various shelters and rescues for over a decade

“I’ve trapped, spayed, and nurtured over 3500 cats,” she said.

“Really my passion of why Whiskers was made was to help those cats that are pretty much the underdog and overlooked,” Vigos said.

Over the years Jessica has brought hundreds of cats into her home. It is very normal for a cat to be with Whiskers for six months. Some even stay for a year.

She and her team of almost 30 volunteers do whatever it takes to find these special cats a new home.

Volunteers like Kate Johnson gives her time to Whisker which means doing laundry or cleaning litter boxes and all agree that there is satisfaction in the work as they’ve helped Jessica’s workload a little easier.

The cost of medications, food, and litter can add up quick for these special needs kitties, running $4,000 to $6,000 a month and higher if there are emergencies. The Human knows this very well as she cared for our Angel Jasmine’s kidney disease for a number of years.

We give Jessica and Whiskers a two paws up for their wonderful work.

Want to help rescue cats? Buy these adorable charity cat keycaps

June is ‘Adopt a Shelter Cat Month’ and the company Drop has created computer key caps with kitties on them. You can buy them here.

The MT3 NoveltyCats keycaps come in a pack of four, fittingly cat-themed, based on the iconic black cat Jiji from Studio Ghibli’s Kiki’s Delivery Service. There are only 550 sets in total and the proceeds from each purchase will be entirely donated to the ASPCA, guaranteeing that you can help fund rescue care and adoption for real-life shelter cats.

Now that’s an idea that makes me purr!

San Francisco Airport adds first cat to roster of therapy animals

I’ve covered stories of airport therapy cats and now, a once-stray cat rescued by a shelter and adopted by a loving family is helping humans at a California airport.

Duke Ellington Morris, a 14-year-old black-and-white cat, became the first feline to join the San Francisco International Airport’s (SFO) team of therapy animals known as the “Wag Brigade” at the end of May.

In 2010, Duke was rescued from the streets of San Francisco where he was found starving among other feral cats and brought to the San Francisco Animal Care and Control. There, a 5-year-old girl spotted the tuxedo cat and her family quickly took him home.

Duke Ellington Morris joined the California airport’s Wag Brigade as the first feline to join the San Francisco International Airport’s team of therapy animals.

It was Duke’s calm and warm demeanor that motivated his humans to get him certified as a therapy animal through the San Francisco Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals’ animal assisted therapy program.

Duke, who is named after the jazz great, has been working as an animal therapist for the past decade by visiting patients in hospitals all over the city to comfort them in trying times.

Now, he’ll also be helping airport visitors relieve travel-related stress as he joins SFO’s therapy animal crew which includes several dogs as well as a rabbit named Alex the Great and a pig named LiLou.

The non-human therapists walk around the airport’s terminals wearing “Pet Me” vests as a way to comfort anxious travelers. The program launched in 2013 and returned in 2021 after a 20-month hiatus due to the COVID pandemic. I don’t know about your humans but our human would love to pet a therapy cat at the airport (she’s a big scardey cat when it comes to flying).

Walk Through The Web Wednesday – 6/7

Posted on June 7, 2023 by Feline Opines

Happy Wednesday Furiends!
Alberto is taking a break so I am handling the feature this week. It’s been eventful. All three of us had our wellness exams (blood work and all the bells and whistles). The Human was put on notice regarding my weight and Alberto’s weight. Lily on the other hand could stand to gain a few ounces. I’m looking forward to seeing how The Human is going to handle that!

In an attempt to prove that my pulchritude does not affect my mobility I headed up to the top of the cat tree, which is usually Lily’s territory.

Whoa, look at me, I actually made it to the top.

Hey Human, get the full effect so people can apurreciate the fact that I got up here.

I think I’ll just hang out here under the desk and monitor the

In honor of Adopt a Cat Month, we’ve found some wonderful stories about adoption (most from The DoDo). Enjoy

Sister cats who gave birth at the same time take turns nursing and babysitting the kittens

Oh my whiskers, the Dodo finds the BEST cat stories. This is a video story about Xena and Ripley two extremely bonded sister cats who had kittens at the same time and shared the kitten caring duties equally. Spoiler alert – all the kittens were adopted and the two sister moms were adopted together. Happy endings make me purr!

Stray Cat paws at window until lady finally adopts him

Once again the DoDo presents us with a wonderful video to celebrate cat adoption month. Sometimes a feline has to be his own marketing representative if he wants a forever home and clearly, this guy is a marketing genius!

Cat uses neighbor’s ring doorbell to get attention

The Human loves our doorbell camera, says it makes her feel safer but when a neighbor cat trips it, she sometimes gets annoyed. She should thank her lucky stars that we don’t have a neighbor like George! George is the feline self-proclaimed hospitality chairman of his neighborhood and aside from his 5:00am concerts, he also roams the neighborhood, making friends and spreading love.

You can keep up with George on Instagram: https://thedo.do/carikoba. Once again, a lovely feline story from the Dodo

Nationwide Insurance’s “Wacky Pet Names” national contest

Voting is now open for Nationwide’s 2023 “Wacky Pet Names” contest and will end on Friday. It includes names of dogs, cats and exotic pets. Winners from each category will be announced next week.

Among the finalists is a Minnesota feline called Prison Mike, named after Michael Scott’s prison character in the hit comedy show “The Office.”

The cat’s owner, Marina, says her cat “was born as a crazy boy” and “one who maybe needs a cage” so the name is fitting.

Some other notable finalists include a cat in Oregon named Moira Rose McMurderpants Queen of Hearts and Green Bean Catserole and Sir Woodrow Agustdus Scuttlebooty the Third, Esquire both from South Carolina. Nationwide is an insurance company that also offers human and pet insurance.

Walk Through the Web Wednesday – 5/24

Posted on May 24, 2023 by Feline Opines

Hello Furiends!
I hope you’ve had a good week. We seem to be seeing the start of summer in our neck of the woods and that makes us happy!

This week Oliver insisted on pitching a little film about his work day. Lily and I (and The Human) were not fans of the idea but Oliver can be a bit pushy so we caved. Here is his little video about what he does all day.

Contrary to what Oliver said in the video, this is a TRUE representation of how he spends most of his time.

Well, enough about us, let’s take a look at this weeks feline headlines.

This Leggings Hack For Keeping Your Cat Out of Your Plants Is Purrfect

Hey Human! Could we get real flowers in this house??

The Human never has real plants or flowers in the house because we eat them or dig them up. She is seriously considering trying this.

TikToker Fridlaa (@fridlaa) has a simple, quick and effective method for cat-proofing plants. She uses an old pair of leggings to create a basic barrier between the plant’s base and any prying paws. Watch her video and see if this would work for you.

Fridlaa’s video starts with an old pair of leggings and a sharp pair of scissors. The leggings should be a cotton-elastic blend for easy stretching, but any old pair should work. She cuts off a section of the legging around the thigh area to make a stretchy tube of fabric. Then she pulls the tube up over the bottom of the pot. The legging tube slides up over the ceramic, then loosens inward toward the base of the plant which creates a flexible barrier over the potting soil, meaning that dirt digging felines can’t mess with the plant’s roots anymore.

So if you see your humans putting leggings on the pots inside the house, your digging days are over!

Kitty Costume Competition

My regular followers know how much I HATE costumes. I’ve blogged about the disasterous dinosaur costume and the super failure of the sushi costume. It seems though as if my aversion to fancy dress does not apply to all felines. Melody Boyd captured photos of costumed cats at The Cat Fancier’s Association costume competition. The cats are judged by the clapping of the audience and unless there is a specific theme announced, people can dress their cats in any costumes they like.

Melody insists that none of the cats are unhappy with the fact that they’re wearing clothes for the occasion. This feline would beg to differ. Just purruse the photos of the costumed cats and come to your own conclusion, IMHO none of them look too happy (and neither do the humans involved).

Website bills itself as Carvana for rescue cats in need of a home – with felines given car-inspired names

Ah how I love humans who use their creativity to help kitties find furever homes.

Kayla Delcoure, a volunteer at Pippi’s Place Pet Rescue in Lawrenceville, Georgia created listings for cats looking for their fur-ever home, under the name Cat-vana. Delcoure was inspired when her husband recently searched for a new truck.

All the cat’s listings are written like vehicle listings and include details such as year, make, and model information. There is a listing for a Furrari, Apura or a Pursche.

The listings included as a 2022 Catillac Simon with impact sensors and green headlights or for more sporty types a 2014 Furrari Arlis with custom white decals and a seat heater as well as a 2015 Furcedes called Buddy and a 2022 Meowzda called Cassie.

For those looking for a smaller model, a 2023 Mini Pooper with two-tone exterior and all-paw drive is on offer – or how about a two-speed automatic (nap and ZOOM) with self-cleaning capabilities?

Delcoure said the favorite ad she made was for a cat known as Mr. Goodbar, a ‘2023 Mini Pooper.’ She said, “His listing was the last one I needed to create and I knew I wanted it to be something adorable and relative to his size. I happen to own and adore a Mini Cooper and I knew the ‘mini’ part would fit him perfectly, so that’s what I went with!’

I say two paws up for this wonderful creative lady who’s helping cats in her area find furever homes.

Stash of never-before-seen photos of stars from Hollywood’s Golden Age cuddling with their cats are uncovered

I’ve shared vintage photos of stars with their favorite felines and now, art collector Klaus Moeller has uncovered a cabinet of files containing some 25million negatives that had lain unopened for decades.

There are photos of Elizabeth Taylor, Clark Gable, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor and Sophia Loren. What I especially enjoyed was the many photos of beautiful Siamese cats, some looked just like me! Take a look at all these great photos here.

Woman creates a delicious ‘cat-uterie’ feast for her feline friends

This is a note for our Human , you need to up your game. Some random cat treats will no longer do after we’ve seen this spread!

Walk Through The Web Wednesday – 5/17

Posted on May 18, 2023 by Feline Opines

Okay, you got us. Another week and another day late. This was however, due to our hard and diligent work as feline authors, bloggers and content creators. Since The Human has shifted her focus to writing (our books and blogs), marketing said writing and finally adding items to our merch shop we have been very busy felines. No more just lazing around the office, we all have a job to do and fame to deal with. Here is a glimpse.

All these book signings are wearing my paws out. Writing is not just writing you know and as the marketing side of the business I’m very busy.

My Wednesday news features are important and this feline is sometimes a bit overwhelmed. I’ thinking about hiring some kitten interns.

Oh my whiskers, being the “face” of this enterprise is exhausting. So many interviews and then there’s the fans to deal with. It’s a hard job but some cat has to do it.

Well there you go, lest you think The Tribe is not pulling their weight, we’re working our paws to the bone! Now, let’s take a look at the feline news this week.

Friendly Cat has new collar with a warning

Sometimes a cat’s gotta’ do what a cat’s gotta’ do. Cleo the cat is a lover of people and very friendly. So much so that she will follow strangers down the street. This behavior has forced Taylor Williams, Cleo’s human to have a collar made for her that let’s folks know about her wandering ways. Sometimes Cleo even tries to get on the bus with other humans and the collar has helped keep her in the neighborhood.

Taylor Williams frequently receives messages from her neighbors about their encounters with four-year-old Cleo. Cleo will regularly follow people to the bus stop, wait for the bus to arrive and hop on board before being shooed away.

Taylor can see Cleo from her living room window, following people down the road. Cleo has a loving family at home, which is why she now wears a color that says, ‘I follow people but I have a home’. So if you meet Cleo on the street, know that there are humans who love her at home.

Researchers say they’ve found a way to get a cat to come to you, MOL!

Hey Guys, turn around. I think that human is talking to us.

Ah, you human researchers, always claiming to have figured out the mysterious ways of the feline population. Now a group of French researchers have looked into “the nuances of cat-human conversation,” with some expected findings and some a little more surprising. The study was published recently in the journal Animals, by a research team out of Paris Nanterre University led by Charlotte de Mouzon. The team wanted to see if cats responded better to people if the humans involved used visual gestures, vocal cues, or both. De Mouzon selected herself as the main participant, heading into a cat cafe with a dozen felines.

Once the cats became accustomed to her, De tried four different ways of interacting with her furry subjects. First, she called out to them only. Second, she silently made gestures toward them, such as reaching out her hand. Next, she tried doing both a vocal and visual cue simultaneously, and finally, for the control part of the experiment, she just sat back and did nothing.

The cats in de Mouzon’s study came up to her more quickly if she used both visual and vocal cues. If she used visual cues alone the cats reacted faster than when she only called out to them. If she was just sitting there, doing and saying nothing, the cats would flick their tails, often a sign of discomfort or stress. So what can you humans take away from this? I guess if you want your felines in residence to pay attention to you, use both vocal and visual cues to get our attention.

Winnipeg woman, 99, crocheting blankets for cats

You are never too old to do something good for felines. This lady in Winnipeg, Canada keeps herself busy crocheting little blankets for cats.

Gladys Wheeler picks up her yarn and creates small rectangular blankets for the cats at the Winnipeg Humane Society’s satellite location at Best West Pet Foods.

“The cat gets a mat and the mat stays with the feline when they go to their furever home. Taking the mat with them to their new home makes the transition to the new place easier for them.

Wheeler has been making these cat mats since 2006 and since then about 1,000 blankets have been given to cats and their adopted families.

In the 17 years, about 1,000 of her blankets have been given to cats and their “I can’t not do it. I get a minute to spare, there I am crocheting,” she said.

Wheeler’s companion Susan Taylor helps her out with the blankets by tidying up the ends and picking out yarn.

Giving back has always been an important part of Wheeler and her family’s life. She says, “ “Here I am, doing something for the animals and I got my health and I got my family, what else do I need?” Two paws up for you Gladys!

He Made Cats Famous before the Internet was even invented

Walter Chandoha was the pioneer in cat photography waaay before the internet or cat blogs like this one existed.

In the 1950’s and 60’s, Chandoha’s cat photos were everywhere: advertisements, greeting cards, calendars, jigsaw puzzles. They could also be found on posters, T-shirts and cans of cat food.

He authored more than 30 books during a career that lasted over seven decades. Some are collections of his cutest cat photos and some are “how-to” books for both budding and professional photographers.

Chandoha took photos of dogs and other animals, too, but he was always drawn to cats.-of course!

“I relished the challenge of making photographs of cats and quickly saw the potential of attempting to capture their naturally expressive personalities,” he wrote.

Chandoha’s career took off shortly after adopting a stray kitten in 1949. The freelance photographer was walking back from classes at New York University when he saw a tiny kitten shivering in the snow. He put the cat in his coat pocket and brought him home to meet his wife, Maria.

They named the cat Loco, and Chandoha started taking pictures of the new family member. He sold some of those photos to various publications, and before he knew it his career was created and ended up earning the title, “the world’s most famous cat photographer”. It’s estimated that over his lifetime he produced more than 90,000 photos of cats.

“If he didn’t have an assignment, he’d go outside. He’d see that one cat just had kittens, and he’d be there all day taking the pictures,” his daughter said.

And, when the internet came along, Chandoha embraced it, posting cat photos and offering cat photography tips.

He advised people that they need to know their subject and their behavior and have patience, lots of it!

7 Superstitions About Cats From Around the World

Meowza! After reading these stupid myths, this cat needs a glass of wine!

Okay, we felines are a bit weary of some of the tall tales you humans tell about cats, presenting these fabrications as though there are the gospel truth. Here are some that might be new to you, all a bit crazy if you ask me!

1. Cats are gossips.

Excuse me?? Everything I meow is the truth but in the Netherlands, cats are often believed to be gossipy creatures who will happily blab all of your deepest, darkest secrets. For that reason, people try not to have important or private conversations while a cat’s in the room, just in case it’s listening. Well, let me tell you, it’s too late for our Human because our Tribe will blog about everything she does, MOL!

2. A grooming cat means unexpected visitors are coming.

According to Japanese superstition, if a cat washes its face with its paws, it’s not just grooming—it means that visitors are on their way. There are similar superstitions in other countries, too, with some people in the U.S. expecting a visit from a member of the clergy if a cat starts cleaning its whiskers. Let me tell you, none of the grooming of the three of us has every resulted in visitors.

3. A sneezing cat is lucky (except when it isn’t).

In Italy, hearing a cat sneeze is supposed to be good luck. Specifically, if your feline gets the sneezes, it means there’s money coming your way. If a bride hears a cat sneeze on her wedding day, it means the marriage will be a good one. Beware, though—while one sneeze might be good luck, if a cat sneezes three times it supposedly indicates that you’re going to come down with a cold. Oh my whiskers, you’d have to carry a calculator and a list to figure out the meaning of your cat sneezes.

4. Black cats sink ships.

Of all the kinds of cats there are, black cats are the ones with the most superstitions attached. Maybe that’s due to the ancient Egyptian belief that black cats were associated with the goddess Bastet, and keeping one would bring her favor; maybe it’s to do with the European conviction that witches had black cats as familiars making them evil omens. One black cat superstition you might not have heard is that if a black cat walks onto a ship and then back off again, the ship will sink on its next voyage (though according to an old Irish and British superstition, black cats were actually good luck for a ship). In other words, you humans have no idea what you’re talking about.

5. Cats can raise the dead.

In parts of Southern Europe, folklore has it that if a cat jumps across a person’s grave, they’ll rise again as a vampire. Oh spare me, this is really ridiculous.

6. Being a cat lady can help you get married.

Although pop culture has turned cats into a symbol of eternal singledom, according to one book on Pennsylvania German tradition, cats can help a woman who is anxious to get married. All she has to do is “feed the cat from her shoe,” although the superstition doesn’t say what’s supposed to happen next—or how to get the uneaten cat food out of the shoe. Hmmm, since The Human isn’t married maybe she should feed us out of her she but then again, we’ve got a good gig going here and maybe there’s no need to bring a stranger into the mix.

7. Wet cats can make it rain.

You might suspect there’s some cause and effect confusion going on here, but in parts of Indonesia, cats are associated with the weather. If people wanted it to rain, they’d pour water over a cat. Presumably the cat in question then made it rain as revenge. Any of my regular readers know that I take my version of a kitty shower every day and no, it doesn’t rain very day around our house

Posted on May 11, 2023 by Feline Opines

Walk Through The Web Wednesday – 5/10

Hello Furiends,
Well, it looks as though someone forgot to push the button that would have published our Wednesday blog on Wednesday. Mind you, I’m not casting any aspurrsions on anyone but one would think that when you have a Purrsonal Assistant that now has a more flexible schedule, said assistant might be better organized. Oh well, she’s a work in progress.

We are all making adjustments to having The Human work from her home office. In some ways we’re feeling a bit uncomfortable as our regular daily routines are constantly interrupted but, truth be told, it’s kinda’ fun having The Human around more. I’m not sure what’s up with Oliver but he seems to be a bit discombobulated with the new routine.

The Human started her day with this view as she headed to the kitchen for her morning coffee.

Upon closer observation The Human noticed that Oliver had eschewed the new Chewy box for this new sleeping position.

As I said, we’re all getting used to the new routine. Here are some moments from this past week.

It’s nice to have breakfast with The Human as she doesn’t have to rush out of the house every morning.

Excuse me Human, I normally watch bird TV in the afternoon. You can just toddle back to your office and leave me alone.

Hey Al, I’m getting a little tired of The Human checking on what we’re up to during the day. Can’t a cat have a little privacy?

It’s okay Oliver, let’s just snuggle up and take our pre-afternoon nap and forget about it.

I will not snuggle up to those fatties, my tiny little body would be crushed. I’ll just take my pre-afternoon nap alone, thank you very much.

And now let’s take a look at the feline focused news of the week.

New Findings on How to Get a Cat’s Attention

I find it amewsing that you humans are always writing about how to figure out the mysterious felines in your home. Now researchers are asking the question, how do cats get their information. It’s been assumed over the years that, like horses and elephants, hearing is the most honed sense of the feline species. This has been assumed because our closest relatives—tigers, lions, and other big cats—are vastly superior at hearing than at any other sense. Now, a recent study casts doubt on these assumptions.

Researchers tested four conditions: only hearing, only seeing, both, and neither. The question was which of these conditions was most likely to draw a cat’s attention to the experimenter. While it should be acknowledged that the sample size of the experiment was somewhat small (18) and that the cats that served as subjects have “worked” in a cat cafe for years, and so presumably had had more exposure to humans than other cats, the results were pretty clear and extremely surprising: Vision alone, and vision plus hearing, were by far the most efficient ways of grabbing the cats’ attention.

How did the senses of big cats get reversed in house cats? An obvious explanation, and one consistent with the details of this experiment, is that the mental life of house cats have been adjusted to the human social environment. The visual cues that the experimenters used were mainly visual social cues, like eye contact and slow blinking. So what the results really show is that cats are good at visual cues as long as they are also social cues.

Another myth you humans need to completely debunk is that we felines are not loving. Recent experimental results show how mistaken this belief is: Cats may like to hide it, but they really do care a lot about their owners. Dogs just show this in a more obvious manner. So there you go and this feline is very happy that some of these ridiculous stereotypes are being destroyed.

The Product Cats Have Always Wanted: “Just a Box!” From Hepper

Some brilliant humans have created “Just a Box“, the first box created for and sold to felines.

The idea was born from a conversation between the company Hepper’s CEO and Director. After spending years creating products that please both cats and humans, this time, they decided to go straight to the source and to provide a product that cats really want…a box!

Just a Box is a darn good box and yes, it’s made from cardboard. Hepper added their signature touch, a delightful collection of illustrations crafted by Hepper’s creative mastermind, Sofia Feraboli. And because every cat deserves the royal treatment, Hepper threw in a fluffy, cozy blanket to ensure their feline customers experience pure box comfort.

And this was no fly-by-night idea. It took months of research (i.e. watching cats nap).

The Human recently purchased two very squishy, furry and comfy cat beds for The Tribe and she still finds us snoozing in the latest Chewy box so this feline does not find this new product surprising.

Learn more about Hepper’s “Just a Box” here.

TikTok Tracked a Cat’s Account to Spy on a Journalist

Looks like we need a good feline detective for this one!

For you humans who are concerned about outside entities tracking you, now you need to be worried about your cat’s privacy being invaded as well. A handful of ByteDance employees in the US and China tracked a cat’s TikTok account in order to find the IP address of its owner, a reporter covering the company.

Buffy, a black and white Maine Coon-looking kitty reportedly had 170 followers and 20 posts when the employees viewed the data. The traumatizing tracking has reportedly forced Buffy off of social media: Cristina Criddle, the cat’s owner and a reporter for the Financial Times, said Buffy “sadly is no longer making content.” Meowza, this is concerning for these journalist felines but we do not use Tik Tok.

Criddle revealed details of the tracking in a recent article detailing the moments TikTok fessed up to tracking her location in a botched effort to sniff out a leaker in the company. Criddle says she received a “cryptic” phone call from a TikTok PR director in December right before the holidays informing her she was one of two journalists who had been surveilled by four employees. The employees monitored the reporters’ location data to see if they were in the proximity of ByteDance employees who could be connected to the leak. It didn’t work.

“It was just really chilling and horrible and, personally, quite violating,” Criddle told the BBC. Criddle said she used the account from her mobile device but that her own name and occupation were not included in the bio. The reporter says she still hasn’t received complete answers from ByteDance about how long she was tracked. TikTok did not respond to Gizmodo’s request for comment.

The journalist still reports on the company but says she now uses her old device as a “dummy phone” stored at her office and kept solely for accessing the app. Criddle said she’s had to cut back on both her and Buffy’s social media use across platforms following the incident. Even now, months later, she says anxiety induced by the monitoring still keeps her up at night.

“At times I have struggled to sleep, thinking about what ByteDance employees might have found out about me,” Criddle said. “For a while, I often canceled plans out and, whenever I spoke to or met new sources, I felt on edge.”

The tracking effort ultimately failed to find the leaker and resulted in a publicity nightmare for ByteDance and TikTok. As a result of the snafu, ByteDance fired all four of the employees involved in the scheme and re-structured its internal audit team. Still, the missteps only emboldened the company’s critics, who’ve spoken out about Chinese employees accessing US user data. Lawmakers from both parties grilled TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew over the issue during a combative hearing in March. Chew claimed the monitoring didn’t amount to “spying.” Either way, the employee’s actions caught the attention of the Department of Justice, which has launched an investigation into the company.

Good grief, not even cats are safe on the web any more!

Calls for statue to honor Liverpool station cat

A statue in memory of a cat which frequented a railway station for 13 years should be erected in its honour, fans of the feline have said.

The mischievous feline, named Paul Newman after the Hollywood star, died this week aged 15.The pedigree Bengal cat was well-known by commuters and travelers passing through Liverpool South Parkway. A Facebook page following his antics over the years has nearly 5,000 followers.

Paul Newman’s owner, Steff Hudson, said her pet had brought people “a lot of joy”.

“He loved people so he found a niche here because people always stopped to say hello to him because he always stopped to say hello to them,” “I was very lucky because he was mine, but he was also all of theirs as well and he gave them a lot of joy.”

In a tweet Merseyrail said: “We are sad to hear that Paul, our much loved feline friend often found at Liverpool South Parkway, has passed away. He will be missed.”

James Smith, Merseyrail acting HR Director, said Paul the cat was “a much-loved character” and “valued by Merseyrail staff as much as our passengers”.

“Discussions are ongoing internally about the best and most appropriate way of remembering Paul and the wonderful, positive impact he made to thousands of travellers on the Merseyrail network,” he said.

Following the announcement of his death, Paul’s fans took to the Facebook page to share memories of their furry friend. Ms Hudson said she would have “no objection” to a statue in his honour “as long as it was a good likeness to him because he was very, very handsome, like his namesake”.

These US states prefer dogs over cats: or so they say

You’ve got to be kitten me, we all know cats rule!

The age-old debate of “cats versus dogs” has long been a topic of playful rivalry between the two household pets, both of which have maintained their positions as the most popular pets in America for decades. Instacard used data from pet food purchases to bring some data to the argument.

Dogs dominate in the U.S. with 36 states showing more dog food purchases, including the entire South, and nearly all of the West Coast, Midwest, and a bit of the East Coast.

Fourteen states plus Washington, D.C. are team cat, including nearly the entire Northeast – New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Vermont, Maine, and others – as well as Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington.

Based on Insta Cart purchase data, here are the top 5 cat treat brands that have clawed their way to the top.

All I have to say to the folks at Insta Cart is, “NOT SO FAST” . Although I understand you are using your sales data, please note, there are other pet food delivery companies and I wonder what their data would show. This Tribe orders all their food and supplies from Chewy.

Walk Through The Web Wednesday – 4/26

Posted on April 26, 2023 by Feline Opines

Hello there furiends,
Happy Wednesday! Finally, things are getting organized in our neck of the woods and the home office is working for our Purrsonal Assistant so that we can actually get some decent work out of her. There are still a few things to organize and rearrange but we are making progress.

The Human likes old stuff and purrticularily likes to collect old tool boxes, especially the painted ones. She brought one home from her business and I’m trying to decide if this is something I need.

“Human, what is this, is it for me and how should I use it?”

And since The Human is spending most days working in the home office, we like to hang out with her too. In this photo, I tried a new sleeping spot and position. Methinks I won’t be using that one too much.

We’re just happy to be getting back to our work schedule so, without further ado, here’s this week’s newsworthy feline stories from around the web.

An Engineer’s Guide to Cat Technology of the Future

Professional engineers Paul and TJ have done some of the most hilarious cat videos from an engineer’s point of view. This is there latest video which is a summary of cat technology and they discuss what cat technology will look like in the future. This video took them ten years to make! If you haven’t watched their previous videos, I highly recommend them!

Tile’s selling a tracker for your cat

I don’t know about your humans but The Human at our house isn’t happy until she locates all three of us when she gets home. Even though she tells herself that we have a lot of hiding places and chances are, if one of us doesn’t come out when she shakes the treat can, it doesn’t mean we’re not in the house. If your humans act the same way then tell them to get you a Tile -tracking bundle that includes one of the company’s Sticker trackers and a new collar attachment to truly secure it to the feline.

This tracker is more comfortable for us to wear and can be detected from 250 feet away which is why it’s a better in-house tracker than an outside tracker. It also has a battery that lasts for three years.

You can get the tracker in either black or white and it’s affordable at $40.00. And some of us, if we do make an escape, hang out very close to home. When Lily did a Houdini on us this winter, she was hiding under the wicker furniture on the front porch (and meowing like crazy!)

Cats Get the Point of Pointing

Now here’s something new and different, some scientists have gotten together and studied how we cats respond to you humans when you point. This kind of study has been done with dogs but, as usual, we cats were left out of the scientific loop.

So Claudia Wascher at Anglia Ruskin University took up the question in a new study in the Journal of Comparative Psychology.

“This study came about because a student, Margaret Mäses, approached me and said she would like to test cats,” says Wascher. “I was absolutely up for it because cats are an interesting and understudied species.”

Wascher and Mäses set out to replicate and expand on a study from nearly 20 years ago showing that cats may be able to follow human pointing gestures.

To find subjects, Mäses meticulously evaluated the suitability of approximately 200 rescue cats housed together in a shelter in Lithuania. Out of these cats, she worked to identify those who were open to being isolated in the testing room with a stranger.

“I do have to credit Margaret, who was absolutely brilliant in being able to identify individuals who were not fearful or anxious and were interested in taking part in the study,” says Wascher.

Out of the 200 cats at the shelter, Wascher and Mäses ended up with a sample of nine cats who completed testing. Now you might be wondering, why so few? She explained, “One of the problems was that so many of the cats were not interested in the test or in being isolated in the room or in whatever this strange human wanted from them,” says Wascher. “In cognitive tests like these, it is important that the subject know what question is being asked of them and they are motivated to take part in the experiment.”

Mäses presented the cats with two cups, each containing a small amount of food. She tested the cats in two conditions: one in which she pointed directly at one of the cups and one in which she pointed across her body at one of the cups.

Overall, the results showed that cats are able to follow human pointing gestures. As a group, the cats’ success rate was about 75 percent, and they performed significantly above chance whether the pointing gesture was direct or across the body.

While this replicates and expands on the previous study, Wascher said further research is needed to understand this behavior’s underlying mechanisms.

Wascher said this study also adds to the growing body of literature suggesting that species not typically thought of as highly social may still be able to master social-cognitive tasks. Even though cats usually do not live in huge, socially sophisticated groups, socialization with humans may give them a chance to exhibit their social-cognitive abilities.

Finally, Wascher hopes research like this will help cat owners better understand the behavior and cognition of the animals in their care.

“For a long time in science, the cognitive abilities of other species were underestimated,” she says. “I think a better understanding of how other animals think and feel creates an environment where humans tend to be more careful with them.”

Your cat could be paid to be in a commercial; here’s how

“Now don’t forget your lines and please, meow as though you mean it.”

I think all cats should be famous and, if you’re a Boston feline, you may have a chance to be in a commercial, and get paid $1200.00 (that’s a lot of kibble and catnip my furiends!)

The cats, according to the casting call by Boston casting need to be comfortable being outside and in a harness. The cats and their owners also need to be available to film the commercial either the week of May 8 or May 15.

To be considered, email a photo of your cat, their comfort level with a harness, a photo of the cat’s owner, where you’re based and contact information to pets@bostoncasting.com. The subject line should be “CAT CASTING // [your name].”

The Human is bummed that we don’t have an opportunity to contribute to our lavish lifestyle so she’s on the computer looking for cat casting companies in our area.

Cat Who Lost Tips Of Both Ears To Sun Damage Finds Forever Home

Furiends, we kitties can suffer from terrible sun damage and the story of Dora the cat is a cautionary tale. Dora was an outdoor kitty who lived in an industrial area with her kittens. When wharehouse workers saw the state she was in they took her to the local shelter and were shocked to find that the problem with her ears could be cancer.

After a thorough vet check, the decision was made to operate and remove the tips of her ears in the hopes that the damage wouldn’t spread.

It isn’t just the ears of pale colored cats that can be sun damaged but also our noses (if they are unpigmented and white or pink). Sun damage and skin cancer will often appear as a pink, thickened or scabbed area on the ears or nose and also may cause hair loss and itching. As it progresses it can become ulcerated and bleed or cause black crusts to form.

Dora made a full recovery and has been adopted into a loving home. Her new human said, “I spotted Dora on the website and she looked so sad and frightened that I instantly knew I wanted to give her a forever home,” Dora was timid when she got to her new home but within a week she was moving through the house (which is how she got her name because she’s always exploring).

There are some great tips for caring for cats in summer at www.cats.org.uk/cats-and-warm-weather.