Hello Furiends,
I hope you’re having a great Wednesday. We are so happy in our neck of the woods as we had rain yesterday. As you will see from the photo below (the arrow is pointing to a blue dot which is our neck of the woods) we are surrounded by fires and the unseasonable heat and wind has made things worse. We are thankful for the firefighters and that we are having a smoke free day. So many people have lost everything due to fire and we purray for all of them.

I made mention of the “Battle for the Bathroom” with The Human in a previous post. The battle continues and frankly, I am nonplussed by The Human’s lack of courtesy. Noted below is a little vignette of how our daily “discussion” goes.

And there you have it, the disrespect for my morning needs continues but, I will continue to be the peacekeeping feline I have always been.

On another note, Oliver aced his check-up last week and he seems to be out of the woods. He is returning to his regular activities. Here’s a little snapshot of his week.

Lily has finally figured out the daily routine needed to train The Human as she works in the office at home. There are the three to four reminders that it’s snack time (Oliver and I benefit from her persistence.)

And she’s trained The Human to accommodate her desire to “work” next to The Human’s desk. This requires pulling a chair from the table and next to The Humans chair at the desk.

That’s it for our week, I hope yours went well. Now, time for the news.

Kids learn best practices for interacting with cats during etiquette workshop

Well it’s about time that human kids are taught some etiquette regarding cats. As a matter of fact, The Tribe wrote an entire book about this called Felines Opine on Etiquette: What Humans Need to Know About Guests, Cat Sitting and Furniture so if you know any little humans who require some feline etiquette training we highly recommend our book.  But, back to the news item.

Several families learned how to treat their feline friends well on Sunday, Aug. 20, at the Kiddie Cat Etiquette Workshop.

The Kiddie Cat Etiquette Workshop. Is held weekly at the House of Black Cat Magic on Haywood Road in Asheville, NC. It’s goal is to help children learn how to respectfully handle cats.

The workshop’s teacher, Shifra Nerenberg, says children are often not allowed to visit cat cafes because many don’t know how to play well with them so the lounge is seeking to fix this problem with education.

“It’s about boundaries,”Nerenberg says. “Cats are amazing with boundaries, because as soon as they’re done with whatever you’re doing with them or to them, they just walk away.”

All of the cats at the house are available for adoption.

The Marvels’ Cat Trainer Spills the Beans on Goose’s On-Set Shenanigans

The Marvels, is the sequel in the Marvel movies is bringing more than just superheroes to the big screen, it’s bringing feline superheroes.  The real stars are Nema and Tango, two felines who will wow the audience. The cats are sharing the role of Goose, an orange tabby alien that fans first fell in love with in Captain Marvel.

These aren’t the same cats from the original movie and they bring new talent to the film Nema is the stunt star, while Tango’s irresistible looks make him perfect for those mesmerizing close-ups.

As you can imagine, filming with felines, like the time, their trainer shared, when while on one of the sets where the ground was quite gravelly. Everyone was ready to film but the cat decided he was in a  giant cat litter box, rolling around and enjoy the biggest litter box he’d every experienced while the crew waited to film..

There were other issues as well such as the cat allergy suffered by actress Brie Larson. The solution was that on days when Nema and Tango were on set, Larson was replaced by either an extra or a stunt double

The cats trainer noted that they went through a three month training period and the cats go on set knowing exactly what they’re supposed to do.

This feline predicts that Nema and Tango will be the REAL stars of this movie.

Seattle shelters are taking in cats from Maui. Here’s how you can help

We have a policy at #WalkThroughTheWebWednesday to bring you feline news that will brighten your day, provide interesting information or even make you laugh. We try to avoid the bad news because you humans are adept at sharing that. Still, there are bad things happening in the world but there are good folks working to mitigate those things.  Seattle shelters are stepping up and working to rehome many of the Maui kitties displaced by the fires.

Thirty-five cats hitched rides out of Hawaii with Aloha Air Cargo in coordination with the Good Cat Network; Seattle Humane received 17 cats and kittens on Thursday, and the others went to The NOAH Center on Wednesday.

Seattle Humane spokesperson Brandon Macz said that as soon as the cats were in the shelter, there were people inquiring about adoption.

Darlene Rayhill is co-founder and executive director of the Good Cat Network, a nonprofit that works with Seattle shelters to reduce the number of community cats on the islands and find them homes in Washington state.

She said the group is preparing for two more flights to Seattle in the coming days. Seven kittens are going to PAWS in Washington on Sunday, and 26 more cats will take off for Virginia next week.
https://www.paws.org/

“We are not flying out anyone’s owned animal,” she said. “These are all cats that have been in foster for several weeks, just waiting for their homes.”

The Network further clarified online: “All of our cats are from colonies or the streets, scanned for microchip information to ensure he or she is not an owned pet, assessed, and brought into foster before being considered for local adoption or flown through our transfer program, Operation Aloha Cat.”

Adopters specifically looking for a Maui cat or kitten from Seattle Humane should look for special “Maui Lifesaver Rescue” stickers on their online profiles. In-person shelter visitors can also ask to be directed to the Maui cats’ room.

Brandon Macz advocated for the newcomers, noting Hawaii cats tend to be very friendly.

“The thing about Hawaii cats is a lot of them come from outdoors, these community cats, these kind of colonies of cats, so they’ve had a lot of socialization,” he said.

And while he didn’t want to play favorites, Macz is particularly fond of 3-year-old Chester.

“Hawaiian cats tend to be a little long and lanky, which is pretty cute for me,” Macz said, “and he’s one of the longest and lankiest cats I’ve ever met.”

Rayhill noted a special cat in the bunch, too: 10-month-old Malie (pronounced mal-E-ay, which means calm and mellow).

Her foster family was evacuated from the Kula fire on Maui, leaving Malie in need of a new home. Good Cat Network volunteers stepped in.

“I only knew her for a week,” Rayhill said. “But my personal experience with this little kitty, she was just so sweet.”

The foster family didn’t get a chance to say goodbye, but Malie arrived safe in Seattle on Thursday.

And the best news is that Chester and Malie were adopted as of Monday morning, according Seattle Humane’s blog, which features a list of adopted animals.

According to the Good Cat Network’s website, the group typically sends just about 30 cats a month from Maui to their continental partners. In a blog post on July 25, before the wildfires, the Good Cat Network celebrated the more than 500 cats it had sent to Seattle thus far. Because of the fires, though, those efforts have ramped up, in part to make room for an influx of cats that have been displaced. Similarly, Rayhill said, the Maui Humane Society is flying out animals, too.

“We’re all focused on trying to get as many adoptable animals off island,” Rayhill said. “So, as these rescue efforts continue, we will all be available to take in [more animals]. There are animals that are injured. There are displaced animals. We’re all just trying to work on creating that space.”

The Good Cat Network is accepting donations for additional cat-carrying flights.

Donors can also give to the Maui Humane Society to help treat injured pets and reunite them with their families; an estimated 3,000 pets are lost or missing in the wake of the wildfires.

Paws up for these wonderful folks and all the folks helping pets in fire devastated areas.

First cat cafe opens in Gaza Strip to give residents a break

The first cat cafe, Meow Cafe has opened in the Gaza Strip on Thursday; this is the first of its kind in the Gaza Strip after the trend went global.

The café was swamped cafe on Thursday as people came to spend some calming time with the felines there.  The cafe’s founder Naema Mabed, 52, told the Associated Press that she envisioned the spot as a unique escape from the pressures of life in Gaza. 

The Gaza Strip has few recreational options and a youth unemployment rate for graduates of 73.9% according to the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics. Mabed offers a drink service and encourages the guests to head straight to the cat corner to play with cats.

Visitors must cover their shoes with plastic and wash their hands before cuddling the cats.

The global anto-depressant

“I have spent my life raising cats, and they’re a source of joy and quiet, a release of pressures,” Mabed told AP.

She described cats as a “global anti-depressant”.

There are 10 resident cats at the cafe with some named Tom, Dot, Simba, and Phoenix.

The cats are not up for adoption as Mabed has formed a strong bond with her feline friends.

“The feeling, honestly, is that you just come to feel the psychological comfort of the cats,” said 23-year-old Eman Omar.

The entrance fee is a low 5 Israeli shekels for half an hour of time with the cats.

 “Any place that provides humans a kind of interaction with animals has a positive psychological impact,” Psychologist Bahzad al-Akhras said.

Unique dispensary is the cat’s meow in Midland, Texas

A unique dispensary in Midland, Ontario, Canada opened last fall and has become quite popular. “A lot of customers can’t believe this is real,” said Catnip Dispensary owner Mikey White.

While approximately 250 strains of catnip exist, White has delved into experimenting with just over 30 and has nine currently available to customers and their feline friends that have undergone testing.

“I have an army of tester cats out there that help me determine what type of strain is which because this has never been done before. If a cat needs to go on a long car ride, vet visits, or just needs to chill out after surgery, there are more mellow strains that help out with that,” he explained. (Note, this feline wants to know where to send my resume to be a tester!)

Recent expansion efforts led White to rent land while cultivating new catnip strains. Through the process, he said he gained valuable insights.

“I learned that curing is one of the best ways by far,” White elaborated. “I hang dry it for at least a month and a half, and then cure them in glass jars for another month and a half so that it preserves it, and it keeps all of the essential oils intact. It makes it more potent, more fresh,” he said.

Given the discerning nature of cats, the dispensary offers an array of creatively named strains, such as ‘Pawnapple Express’ and ‘Purrmafrost.’

White said curious customers could even bring their feline companions into the store for a sniff around to determine their preference. Be sure and watch the video about this innovative business.

Meowza, I think The Human needs to take us on a trip to Canada!!