Hello Furiends,

How are things in your neck of the woods. While I always like to keep this weekly news segment pawsitive, this has not been my favorite summer! Unseasonable heat and many forest fires have sorta’ taken the fun out of things. This is what it looks like in an area called Trestle Creek, about 20 minutes from us across the lake. You can imagine how bad the smoke is too. The Human won’t let us out on the upstairs deck because the smoke is so thick. Meowza, we’re not having much fun!

As for Lily, she is lounging and just waiting for winter.

And The Human, silly as she is, decided that this would be the weekend she’d turn the very heavy memory foam mattress (she does this regularly). That thing is H-E-A-V-Y and it’s amusing to watch her struggle with it. This time I decided to add my substantial 20 pounds to the endeavor. It was like some sort of fun carnival ride! Boy did she gripe about my purrticipation though.

After my little adventure, I needed a bit of a rest and a cooling off.

Well, enough of my update, purraying that you all have a clean air, fire free, temperature purrfect week, and try not to be too hard on your humans!

Minneapolis neighborhood hosts a wacky tour of window cats that draws hundreds

Every summer, John Edwards takes cat lovers through his neighborhood, stopping to meet the resident felines who display themselves in windowsills, or who come out to meet the tour in purrson.

This is no small neighborhood event. There are buttons, news coverage, tote bags and t-shirts. Edwards leads the tour holding up a “Caution! Cat Tour Approaching” sign. Last year was a virtual tour but in 2019 the tour had 300 purrticipants who met over 50 cats.

This whole thing started with Edwards spotting neighborhood window cats on his walks. He documented the felines he met on social media and soon #CatsoftheWedge on Wedge Live took off.

Edwards says that if you walk in his neighborhood you’ll spot cats all the time.

There are sometimes surprises on the tour. One year a human exited his house wearing a black and white cat head that matched his cat.

The weird thing about this human, Edwards is that he doesn’t have any cats in his home…go figure. He explains it this way, “It would sap my motivation to do a cat tour if I actually had a cat. It keeps it special when I see a cat — I can get a little bit excited about every new cat I meet.”

The Unappreciated Importance of Cats (to Medical Science)

Leslie Lyons, veterinarian, specialist in cat genetics and cat owner,  says there are many reasons why studying the diseases that cats suffer can benefit humans. Among the advances in veterinary medicine an important drug in combatting Covid , was first used successfully a cat disease caused by the virus.

Lyons is a director of the 99 Lives Cat Genome Sequencing Initiative and, as part of this project, she and her colleagues recently produced the most detailed genome of the cat to date which now surpasses the dog genome!

The good doctor’s mission has been to get humans to recognize that pets have the same diseases we do and the information and research on these diseases can help people understand their diseases and the treatment of those diseases better as well as treating the diseases that are common in cats.

For instance, dogs get cancer more frequently than cats. There is a signal or clue in the genome of the cat that allows science to zoom in better to understand why cats get the kind of cancer they do and to understand the difference in cancer in cats, dogs and humans.

I was concerned about my feline furiends being involved in research but all that happens to the cats that are studied is a blood sample.

This feline says studies like this are great. We lost our Angel Tucker to cancer. Had we known about these studies we would have asked our vet to find out if there was a way to donate some of the regular bloodwork he had to a good cause such as this.

The Stray Cat Game is revealed

French developer BlueTwelve Studio has created a game called, Stray.

When you play Stray you become a stray cat who, through some mysterious circumstance, has arrived in a bleak, futuristic city inhabited by humanoid robots. (That sounds scary and creepy to this feline!) During the adventure as a feline you’ll explore and solve puzzles as only a cat can, navigating an inhospitable world with the feline’s natural acrobatics and wit.

“It was important for us to show a glimpse of all the playful interactions that [the cat] can have with his environment,” producer Swann Martin-Raget explained via PlayStation Blog. “Some of them are useful and will help solve puzzles as you progress, and some are just here because cats will be cats—and as most cat owners know painfully well, no sofa can be left unscratched.”

Stray’s fuzzy hero eventually comes into possession of a small drone (I wouldn’t mind having my own drone!) that allows him to communicate with the city’s robotic inhabitants and interact with the environment. All in all, this might be fun for you humans and give you a little idea of the hard life strays have (minus the humanoid robots)

For 4-Her Kristopher Carver, cats are the purrrfect Fair project

I’m sure when most of you humans think about 4-H animals you think of sheep, cattle, horses and pigs. Well there’s more to 4H animals than that, like cats for instance.

Kristopher Carver shows his cat, Kyo in the county fair and he and Kyo have been working hard on kitty poses in prep-purration to wow the judges.

Kristopher’s mom suggested joining 4-H. and doing the cat project. He meets several times a month with the other cat project kids to practice showmanship and to learn how to groom their felines to get them ready for their big moment. There was also training at home with the cat to teach him to comply on demand, teach him the proper poses and show off Kyo’s teeth and gums.

 “We show off all the cat’s features,” said Kristopher. “I work with him at home and at meetings so he is used to it. The hardest part has been getting the cat used to the harness and leash. He doesn’t like it; we’ve been working on that!”

Cleaning the cat’s teeth and gums, clipping its nails and a proper feeding schedule are just a few of the things that go into raising a show cat. Kristopher shared that brushing his cat’s teeth is easier, and cheaper, by simply using his finger and salt water. Cleaning his ears requires the same as human ears, a Q-tip or cotton ball and cleaning his eyes simply requires a damp, soft rag. Keeping them healthy and at a good weight is also very important.

“You have to keep them healthy and at a good weight,” said Kristopher. “I have Kyo on a feeding schedule so he doesn’t get overweight.  Oh well, I guess Oliver and I won’t qualify for any 4-H cat shows!

If you have little humans around your house you should have them check into the 4-H cat program. We have one in our neck of the woods.

The best clothing for cats

The BEST clothing for cats?! How about NO clothing for cats? My human reminds me though there are some felines who like to get dressed up and some felines who have no fur who often need to wear clothing as well. And sometimes, cats have to wear clothes for medical reasons (to keep them from licking wounds, etc.). I suppose a tasteful ensemble would be better than the cone of shame!

If you are dressing your cat to help wounds heal after a medical procedure, make sure the wound is clean and of course, check out the clothes idea with your vet first.  You  will want loose fitting clothes that are lightweight and breathable, like cotton. Choose something very simple like a t-shirt or sweater. Stay away from costume or tight fitting ensembles.

If you just can’t face the holidays without dressing up your cats, make sure your feline is just as enthusiastic about it as you are. If kitty gives you the okay, then go ahead and have a ball. If your cat is a bit on the CHONKY size (like Oliver) you may have to shop in the “not so small” dog section – MOL!

Still, you can find feline finery such as the hairless cat shirt made for Sphynx cats by DENTRUN, a professional recovery suit for cats, and, if you have a fancy feline you can even find party/wedding dresses. I have warned The Human that I have no interest in fashion and I think the incident of attempting to shove me in a sushi costume is still fresh in her mind.