Walk Through the Web Wednesday 6/9

Posted on June 9, 2021 by Feline Opines

siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

Hello there Furiends,
How are things in your neck of the woods this week? Things around here have been pretty quiet but we did get some needed rain. The Human was doing the happy dance as it’s been really dry and we have lots of forests around us. Here’s a little taste of the rain out our front window.

WhileThe Human was dancing around with glee, I was busy snoopervising The Human’s bathroom.

“Hmmmm, I wonder what fur these brushes were made of.” -Alberto

Meanwhile, Oliver and I celebrated “Hug Your Cat Day” on June 4th. Although The Human gave us lots of hugs that day (and does so every day), Ollie and I wanted to get an early start.

The Human spent Sunday afternoon at her sister’s house and spotted this big bald eagle. I think I’m glad we don’t see those big guys in our back yard!

I hope you all had a good week and that you enjoy my web wanderings for this week.

Topiary Cat! Homeowner crafts six foot feline from his hedge

Well, after finding this news bit I have to say our Human is slacking off in the garden department! However, not every feline’s humans are so inattentive to glorifying their felines with their greenery. A wonderful human from England is paying tribute to his cat with a HUGE topiary in his front yard. And when I say huge, I mean HUGE! The topiary is 2 meters (about 6 ½ feet) . The large cat doesn’t only delight human passers by, it captures the interest of many of the dogs in the neighborhood as well. The owner of the house purrfers to remain anonymous but whoever you are…two paws up!

Basepaws wants kitties to live forever!

My regular readers may remember that Lily, Oliver and I have all had our DNA tests done by Basepaws. Lily meowed about her report in a blog post

Our Human especially likes the feature that helps her follow our health and what health issues we may have to deal with when we get older. Basepaws says, “We want cats to live forever and you may be able to help!” They are recruiting cats aged 17+ to pawticipate in their newest study. Their goal….to increase cats’ healthspans by identifying genetic markers for developing therapeutics to treat age related diseases I cats. Our Angel Lily had kidney disease the last few years of her life and our Angel Tucker developed cancer at the end of his life. Both were 17 when they crossed The Rainbow Bridge. Lily, Oliver and I are too young to do the survey so if any of you felines are super senior kitties 17+, please consider taking this survey!

CatCafe Lounge in LA lets you cuddle adoptable cats in a giant outdoor catio

Now this is a first, humans in a catio, outside mingling with the kitties! The CatCafe Lounge in LA is home to over 30 cats and offers an outside catio experience for humans.

Visitors can lounge below the large blue cat trees and watch the antics of felines above their heads or cuddle with the kitties hanging around the lower area. The cats enjoy their cat jungle gym that offers them all the space they need to pounce, play, climb and just lounge in a sunny spot.

The “cat highway” is a favorite feature with humans and felines alike. The cats can scale leafy climbing walls and ramps and feel the wind in their fur.

The café is a partner of the Stray Cat Alliance whose work is focused on finding furever homes for cats who would have otherwise been euthanized. The café works on socializing cats with their resident feline behaviorist, making the cats chances of being adopted even better.

Admission is considered a donation to Cat Cafe Lounge, with 100% of the funds given back to the cause. A visit to the catio and the cafe’s indoor cat lounge costs $35.00 for a one hour visit and 100% of those monies are used for the café and cat adoptions. You can learn more about this magical place at their official website.

‘Star Trek Cats’ goes where no feline has gone before

The book, Star Trek Cats takes the original Star Trek characters and transforms them into fabulous felines. Jenny Parks, who specializes in drawing cats as pop culture characters, illustrates Kirk, Spock, Bones, and the rest of the crew into some of the tv shows most famous scenes. And frankly, I think the feline space explorers are far superior to the human ones!

The book is not filled with stories but with beautifully illustrated pages from the show.

Star Trek Cats is available in hardcover with a retail price of $14.95 but is available on Amazon for $8.40. The digital format costs $7.98.

Cat returned after ‘catnapper’ swipes feline from Aurora front porch

You humans talk a lot about porch pirates when it comes to people thieving things from your porches (things like your latest Amazon deliveries). Well, ,evidently there are porch pirates who steal cats too, at least in Aurora, Colorado.

Vickie Madrid says she realized something was wrong when her cat named Buttercup didn’t show up for dinner. (Trust me, if any of us didn’t show up for dinner it would be cause for alarm for our Human too!)

Buttercup had shown up at the Madrid house years ago and he became part of the family. Madrid decided to review her Ring doorbell videos to see if she could see him. The video revealed that a man walked onto her porch, bent down and grabbed the cat from underneath a bench, turning and running down the street with the cat. Buttercup’s human was sick to her stomach at what she saw. The same catnapper was also caught on neighborhood camera footage stealing milk from a cooler and packages from another porch. The robber drove a teal or green SUV, something like a Chevy Equinox.

Madrid said that Buttercup found her and her family once and she hoped he’d find them again.

Madrid says she has no idea why someone would want to flee with her feline, but now he’s gone. All she can do is hope and pray that her beloved Buttercup will somehow return.

“He found us once and I just pray he can find us again. That’s what I hope,” she said.

If you read the information on the image above,you know that that after Keegan Harsha, a reporter from local TV channel KDVR shared the story, Buttercup was mysteriously returned home. I love happy endings!

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 5/19

Posted on May 19, 2021 by Feline Opines

Happy Wednesday Furiends,

We had a nice week and enjoyed some warm weather. The Human got the waterfall going and we love to listen to the sound of the water when the windows are open. The Human also bought a bird feeder that sticks to the window so we can watch them eating. So far, no birdies but she only set it up yesterday. I’ll report more on that next week.

Until we get some real birds to watch, I have instructed The Human that I need my evening Cat TV to continue. As you can see, I’m enjoying my bedtime TV watching.

“I quite enjoy the suspenseful episodes. “
-Alberto

Now The Human has pointed out to me that being a couch potato is doing nothing to assist us in the progress of the D-I-E-T. But before she harps on me about my lazy ways, she needs to talk to Oliver.

“I repeat, I am not lazy, I am in my sun puddle, recharging!”
*-Oliver*

As we suffer through this D-I-E-T nightmare, we thought we’d talk to Lily to see how she keeps herself so svelte. Lily says diet is critical for keeping excess weight off.

“Stop begging for those calorie laden treats and eat your greens!”
*-Lily*

“Good advice Lily, I feel slimmer already” – Oliver
“Oh pulleeeze!” – Alberto

“Lily, I think it’s working! Look how much better I fit on the window sill!”
*-Oliver*

Well, that’s it for this week. I really do think we’re making some weight loss progress. Oliver is much livelier and The Human is still being very draconian about feeding. Hopefully we’ll be able to show you our new, thinner selves soon!

In the meantime, here are the feline focused news items I found in my web wanderings.

Fearless Cat Chases Spooked Coyote Out of a Canadian Parking Lot

Humans, when you are told that we felines are territorial, please believe us. This video clip shot by Canadian police officers sat 4am is visual confirmation of this.

There was a coyote lurking around a parking lot which, evidently, this cat considered to be his territory. This was not a situation where a pack of coyotes tried to ambush the cat. It was one, scaredy coyote against a fearless feline. The officers observed the cat walking his perimeter later in the morning.

Be sure to view this fantastic cat’s greatest moment on video.

The bar cats of Ten Bells Tavern in Dallas

Of all the stories I’ve covered on working cats, this just could be my favorite. The bar cats of Ten Bells Tavern roam the “catio” of this pub and they love it.

The owner of Ten Bells Tavern, Meri Dahlke has been caring for the feral cats in the area ever since she opened. She said that cats have always been a part of the bar’s story. When Dahlke arrives at work, the cats recognize her and come running (probably because that’s when she puts out the kibble and gives them canned food too).

The staff of Ten Bells love the cats and look after them and some, including Dahlke have taken some of them home. All the cats are neutered and healthy.

The cats are beloved members of the business community and the pub. They even have their own hashtag #CatsofTenBells and some people come to Ten Bells, not for the drinks or pub grub, but to meet the felines. The cats at Ten Bells are registered as a “colony” with the City of Dallas. Dahlke has done fund raisers for several organizations and non-profits and has raised over $445,000.00 through her efforts. Feral Friends is one of the non-profits they support as well as Peaceful Valley Donkey Rescue , the SPCA, the Dallas Zoo and others.

The bar will be celebrating their nine-year anniversary during the weekend of June 25-27 by hosting a fundraiser for Feral Friends.

Boot camp for cats? Humane Fort Wayne’s ‘Thick Camp’ helping cats lose those extra few pounds

“Thick Camp”?? Really?? This feline takes exception to that! Mind you, I am not against the fact that a room at Humane Fort Wayne has been temporarily turned into a weight loss boot camp for cats. It’s the name that offends me.

Humane Fort Wayne said the goal is not to get the cats skinny but to have the cats get used to timed feedings, moving around their environment and adding more activity to their routine. Okay, that makes sense. I’m less fond of the next quote, however.

“When free fed, or when provided a full bowl of food 24 hours a day, we see cats start to carry about 5-8 extra pounds of weight on their joints and organs. It can cause long-term and expensive health issues and most of this is avoidable by measuring portions and adding play to your cats’ day.” I am a bit weary about hearing about unhealthy fat cats, I get enough of that at home!

Humane Fort Wayne currently has a livestream of the thick cats which can be viewed on its YouTube page.

Mother Cat and Her Newborn Kittens Found Living in a Bird’s Nest

Oh my whiskers! This poor momma cat couldn’t find a place for her kittens to be safe so she used a bird’s nest! The people in the area had seen the momma and found one kitten but couldn’t find the others until they spotted the momma climbing up a tree. Not only did they find the kittens but they also found a tomcat who has bonded with the mother cat and who is serving as “dad” to the kittens.

Paws up to the good people at The Chiltern Branch of Cat’s Protection for caring for these cats. The mother cat, Oriole, the tomcat, Willet, and the kittens, Bran, Jay, and Lori, have all been given distinctly avian names to commemorate their former home.

Willet spent a few days at the vets as he was limping badly, but fortunately it was just an abscess, which quickly healed.” The folks at the shelter say, “he is a good ‘dad’ to the kittens, washing and playing with them—although he does get a bit annoyed when they mistake him for mum at feeding time!” They noted that it’s very unusual for a tomcat to stick around after kittens have been born.

The cats are now in the care of a foster and they say that “Willet behaves like a doting dad to the kittens, even grooming them. Oriole and Willet are clearly bonded and we would love to think we could rehome the mum and male cat together.”

Let’s hope mom and dad find a furever home together!

Hilarious Video of Cat Who Cleans Owner’s House Goes Viral

Okay, I get it. This is not a real video but still, I feel I must speak up for the feline population and say this faked video is sending the wrong message to humans. Cat’s do not do domestic labor nor do we find the suggestion that we do amusing! Watch the video and meow about what you think of this.

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 5/27

Posted on May 27, 2020 by Feline Opines

Happy Wednesday My Furiends,
Since The Female Human had an extra day to stay home with us we took full advantage of her presence. Whether she was watching the TV or trying to get a little yoga time in, we made sure to show her lots of love. There is always a bit of a kerfuffle when Oliver and I decide we want lap time at the same time (we are not small felines)

Lily has quite a different technique. She jumps up on the back of the sofa and than places herself strategically half on the sofa back and half on The Female Human’s shoulder.

“Human, please stay still, I am a tiny cat and I can’t imagine that your shoulder would suffer any ill effects from me perching here.”

In an effort to mitigate the leg, back and shoulder pain The Female Human is meowing about (I think she’s a bit of a hypochondriac) she does yoga to help. It’s a good thing she has The Tribe to help her with this endeavor.

“Human, clearly you are doing this wrong. Just watch how the lady on the TV does it. Sheesh, do I have to help you with everything? And by the way, you need a pedicure.”

As you can see, our Human would be in trouble if we weren’t around to take care of her. But, enough about us, it’s time to enjoy this week’s web wanderinbgs.,

Man builds luxury catio for his felines

Be sure and check out **the video** of this amazing feline palace.

All right humans, it’s time for you to up your catio game. I know The Female Human needs to pay attention to this as her idea of a catio is a pop-up thingy she puts on the front porch and upstairs deck.

This Cat Daddy in Georgia built what he calls, “Chateau de Chatons” (the kitten’s castle). This is definitely a castle, with a drinking fountain, scratching post, some cat furniture, a hammock and a ramp that connects to a “penthouse perch” that’s built into a tree. Meowza, those felines are living their best lives!

So all you humans take note, The Tribe gives this palatial outdoor kitty playpen the “Paws Up” award!

Paws Up award by FelineOpines.net for humans who do amazing things for cats

Why do cats like to sit in squares?

Now that The Feline Human is a certified cat behaviorist she is always reading stuff about what makes felines tick. This article speaks to the age old question…..”What is it about cats and boxes?”

Dr. Michelle Burch, DVM, a cat expert has some thoughts about this. She says that squares make felines feel secure and safe and that if you draw a square on the floor, your feline will come running. (The Female Human has not tried this yet, if any of your humans have, please meow about it in the comments)

Dr. Claudine Siever, DVM says in order to understand our fascination with squares you have to go back to our kittenhood. Kittens derive a sense of comfort and security from cuddling with their mother and siblings. As adult cats, boxes bring back that feeling of family love. These memories release happy hormone (like endorphin and oxytocin) and these reduce stress.

Squares also make a great hiding place where can pounce out and attack other cats in the house or our humans. It also provides a good place for us to hide when we’re a bit stressed or feeling needy.

Hmm, I wonder if The Tribe should get a great big box for our Human so she can hide in it when she’s stressed.

Trey Anastasio walks a mile in his cat’s shoes in New Quarantine Tune, “If I Could See The World”

Now I am a feline not well versed in the world of human music. My tastes lean more toward David Teie’s Music for Cats. As a matter of fact, The Tribe did a review of the first album (with videos) if you want to hear our favorite mewsic.

Still, I have to give this Trey Anastasio two paws up for looking at the quarantine through his cat Joey’s eyes, because, as all my furiends know, seeing life from a feline point of view is the best way! Joey actually shows his purrrspective of his home in the video, a “cat’s eye view “ if you will. There is also a cameo appearance from the other cat in residence who has not been named.

Cat vanishes under the Dean of Canterbury’s robes during sermon

Be sure and watch **the video** of Leo’s appearance during the morning prayers.

Since you humans have been stuck at home, The Tribe has had “video church” for a while. Now I must say, if The Human’s Pastor had thought to invite a feline, we might have stuck around for the sermon.

Leo, the Canterbury Cathedral cat has made himself famous after brazenly disrupting a recording of morning prayers.

The video of morning prayers captured Leo sauntering into view and then disappearing under the robes of the Dean of Canterbury.

The Revd Dr Robert Willis maintained his composure and continued with his sermon despite Leo’s shenanigans.

This was the press release from the Canterbury Cathedral Spokesperson:

“He has been enjoying making our daily broadcasts since March and, whilst he would be happy to be in every one, we have tried to include the others to prevent them getting jealous.

“With over 20,000 visitors to the Deanery and its gardens each year – and over 1.5 million to the cathedral – he is used to being on show and, having been born in the Deanery and growing up here, he is very used to company and is a very friendly and happy little cat (if not the brightest of the four).

“He loves to socialise with the cathedral’s many pilgrims and visitors and takes his role as ambassador very seriously.

“In calmer times he finds a cosy place in the house or sunny spot in the gardens to sleep.”

Feng shui for felines: Create positive energy for your cat — and yourself

“Human, when the feng shui lady said to get us a water fountain, she didn’t mean the sink!?”

Our in-house feline behavior expert had to admit she knows nothing about feng shui and the positive affect it can have on cats but Cynthia Chomos, a feng shui consultant and founder-designer at Seattle’s Catio Spaces understands.

First of all, for the unenlightened, feng shui is the Chinese art of placement, a design system that created harmonious living spaces based on “chi” energy. Cats add positive energy in homes and Chomos believes that acknowledging the feline’s primal preference for the outdoors by providing fresh air and the sights and sounds of the natural makes our quality of life better. The Female Human is all for The Tribe to live our best lives so here are a few tips from the article.

Find a welcoming power spot for your felines (and your humans) outside the direct path entering a room. Cats prefer a wall that provides support from behind and provides a commanding view of their territory. Choose and place cat furniture, high cat trees, low domes, shelters or boxes, along the wall based on your feline’s comfort zone. (Now The Female Human hasn’t figure out where our comfort zone is but she put a great cat tree in her office by the window and we have a pawsome view of the woods below us.

Another recommendation is a catio because they keep us safe. Even though I griped about our pop-up catio, I have to say it’s really nice and we love being outside.

Provide a Zen space to relax. Feng shui practitioners hold that chi energy is both yin (restful) and yang (stimulating). A home needs both for the right balance. Cats need a cozy bed or hammock in a quiet room or Zen space for a catnap away from disturbances such as loud noises, remodeling projects, vacuum cleaners or unfamiliar people.

Stimulate yang energy indoors. Stimulate yang energy for your cat with daily playtime and a shelf near a window that offers the warmth of the sun and birdwatching opportunities. You don’t have to know anything about feng shui to know that playtime with your felines is critical to our health, happiness and our bond with our humans.

Litter box placement is always critical, even if you’re not looking to “feng shui” your home for your feline. Keep the box away from places where doors may be slammed, loud noises happen or anywhere where we can be startled while using the litter box. Remember, if we have a bad experience with our litter box, we may just stop using it.

Finally, feng shui suggests that you consider water fountains in the house. There are many nifty kitty drinking fountains (feng shui says to put the fountain in the north or southeast are of the house away from the food bowl.

In general, if your home is harmonious and attractive to the humans and felines, life will be enhanced for everyone.

Our Very Own Catio-Part 2

Posted on August 22, 2016 by Feline Opines

Hello All,

Oliver here. I recently brought to the attention of the female human that we had not completed our Catio report. She reminded me that we had to wait quite a while for the second part of our purchase so I guess I’ll have to cut her a little slack. The good news is, part two arrived and Alberto and I (and even Jasmine) got to take it for a “test drive” on the upstairs deck. (If you’r wondering why :I said “even Jasmine”, you can learn more about her story here.

If you haven’t read the first part of our catio post, I’d recommend you do, as this post will then make more sense to you. But, back to my report, we couldn’t see what awaited us in the new box.

As soon as the box was on the floor, I appointed myself inspect-purrr. I couldn’t tell much from sitting on it and, since I can’t read, I figured I’d wait for the humans to take out whatever was inside for me to inspect. Evidently the female human didn’t appreciate my sitting on the box so she made the male human hold it up so you can read the information on the front.

Things finally got interesting when they opened the thing up. There was a bag with a “netty” thing in it. When the humans unhooked the side thingies it popped open. Alberto and I ran under the dining room table and waited until we felt it was safe to resume our inspection. I must say I’m amazed that the entire “fun run” flattened out so well to fit in that box.

By this time, a small crowd had gathered. Tucker, our Alpha, strolled over in his usual stately manner but when he realized no treats were involved in this operation, he strolled back to his comfortable perch on the chair. Alberto, my brother, is just as curious as I am so he made sure to give the tunnel his full attention and purrrsonal inspection. Lily sniffed, walked around it and then dismissed it as something that didn’t interest her.

The humans moved some of their stuff out of the way and set the tunnel up to check out the size and to see what we felines thought about the whole thing. Their plan was to fit the tunnel into the door of our Happy Habitat catio tent to allow us access from the house to the outside.

Al and I took great care in checking everything out, as you can see from the photos.

We gave the “Fun Tunnel” a paws up and waited with anticipation for the humans to put it outside for a real testing.

This weekend was the day. The female human moved some of the furniture on the deck to make room for our set up. Everything , was ready quickly with our Happy Habitat tent and the tunnel. It took her a little time to coax us into the thing but pretty soon we figured out that this was pretty cool habitat and provided even more room for us to roam around on the deck.

We love the cat furniture the human added and Alberto and I spent several hours watching birds and squirrels at the feeder, and, when we tired of that, we stretched out for a snooze in the fresh air. All in all it was quite an adventure. Tucker came by but when the female human invited him into the tunnel he turned around and hustled back to his inside perch.

Jasmine (Tucker’s sister who is still afraid to come out of the bedroom, was lovingly carried to the catio and she spent some time in the tunnel. She never was comfortable enough to walk into the Happy Habitat but the human thinks it’s only a matter of time until she’s ready to do that.

All in all, we give this new addition to our outside experience two paws up. The humans like it because they can set it up quickly and easily and, since it’s portable, they can let us enjoy the upstairs deck, the front porch or garden or even the downstairs patio with the water fall and pond. So, we may not be true traveling kitties but we feel like we’re having a vacation when we’re outside in our catio! The female human loves it too because we can enjoy the outside without giving her a heart attack by jumping up on the edge of the deck (yes, one of us plunged over 35 feet down into the ravine-twice and someone else took a dive from the first to the second floor in the house) Tucker blames his incidents on his bad depth perception due to his cross eyes. I have no excuse except that I was just an irresponsible kitten. The female human cannot sit comfortably on the upstairs deck any more unless we are all safely in our catio. Fear free living isn’t just for the felines, it applies to the humans too!

Have your humans check this out. If they do, I’d recommend that they hang a bird feeder somewhere close so you can enjoy the show.

Your Friend,

Our Very Own Catio-Part 1

Posted on June 13, 2016 by Feline Opines

Hello All,
1212010 003 Tucker here. I am writing to tell you about the human’s latest attempt to enrich our lives and make us happy. This weekend, a long box arrived which contained a catio.

I must go on record here, I do not think a catio is necessary for some of us. I am the Alpha in the Tribe of Five and have done supervised outdoor excursions just fine. Just because there were two little falling off the upstairs balcony incidents, does not mean that I need a catio to enjoy the great out of doors. And just because little Oliver went flying over the short wall in the living room to land downstairs does not necessarily mean that he needs a catio. (Well, maybe Oliver could use one but for those of us who are older and wiser, no catio is needed).

catio1 But I digress. The humans opened the box. I sat on my favorite chair and supervised while Oliver and Alberto raced over to check things out. Those kittens are very “paws on” when it comes to a project. As the humans attempted to extract the items from the box, the kittens carefully inspected everything. catio3

catio4 The first thing we noticed was that the humans had received a box in a box, very cool and very thoughtful of the humans to order extra boxes! This is a photo of the second box., which contained the catio item. Evidently the catio is called “Happy Habitat”, I’ll be the judge as to whether a tent is happy or a habitat. Frankly, I cannot see me squeezing all of my 16 pounds into anything small enough to fit in that box!

catio5 The humans extracted a long bag from the second box. As you can see, Alberto is a bit perplexed as to how this can be happy or a habitat. Look at that long skinny bag, even the svelte and lanky Alberto would be hard pressed to fit into it. Humans, you may have wasted your money!

But then something interesting happened. The humans pulled a big black net-thing from that long skinny bag. Oliver was there catio6 to inspect every inch of it and to help. of course.

The humans spent considerable time reading the paper that was sewn into the black bag. They pulled and tugged and mumbled and then all of a sudden that flat, netting thing popped up into a big tent. The humans were rethinking their plan of setting up the Happy Habitat in the house. I must say, I was impressed that something that big came out of that skinny black bag!

The female human unzipped the door in the front and the kittens wasted no time in running in and inspecting the inside of the apparatus. They were quite intrigued and gave catio7 it a paws up. The humans then set themselves the task of removing the kittens and learning how to collapse the tent and fit it back in the skinny black bag. Although I love the humans, I have to say they were a bit slow in figuring it out. Finally, they saw the two (clearly marked with orange) tags where they were supposed to squeeze, when they squeezed, the whole thing folded up and all they had to do was wrap the netting around it to get it back in the narrow black bag.

Once the humans were confident in their ability to open and close the Happy Habitat. they took it out on the upstairs deck and popped it open. They then unzipped the door and invited us all to enter. Oliver and Al wasted no time in heading in and Lily joined them as well. I, on the other hand, had no interest in being in a tent with those three so I sauntered away back into the house.

Our upstairs deck isn’t tiny and that tent took up a lot of space which did make it roomy enough for three felines. I heard the human saying something about putting a bed and a carpet covered perch in there. Now, if they say they’ll be filling the habitat with snacks, I just might be persuaded to check it out.

This is the end of my first report, stay tuned for more and here’s a short video of Alberto, Oliver and Lily enjoying the great outdoors on our upstairs deck. Evidently the humans also ordered some sort of net tunnel that connects to the Habitat (like I’m going to squeeze myself through a tunnel, I think not!)

Until next time, your friend,
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