Hello There Furiends,
I hope all has been fine in your neck of the woods this past week. Things have been fairly quiet around here, except for the very exciting announcement which I will reveal in a moment. I’ve been working hard on our blog and responding to all your wonderful comments (we love it when you meow at us!)

When I’ve had enough, I do like to wander into the living room and enjoy the view from the big windows. You never know what kind of critter you might spy down there!

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And now for the exciting news….drumroll please….my human nephew, Burke Fahling has recently signed with the Charleston Battery so if any of my readers live near Charleston, SC and like soccer, go cheer him on and tell him Alberto sent you!

Okay, enough shameless family self-promotion and on with the news!

TrapKing’s “From Feral to Fancy” TNR Fundraising Cat Photo Contest

Woo Hoo! Get your best photos out kitties! A CFA Virtual Cat Competition event is going on and is open to every cat, everywhere, and will turn 11 lucky kitties into mini-celebrities!

TrapKing’s From Feral to Fancy TNR Fundraising Cat Photo Contest offers cats all over the world the chance to enter their picture and compete for over 100 prizes.

Proceeds from the event will go to TrapKing’s nonprofit, TrapKing Humane Cat Solutions, which will use the money to educate and teach cat rescuers the basics of TNR.

This event is part of CFA’s Companion Cat World Program, that purrfectly reflects the organization’s mission to enhance all cats’ lives with love, care and celebration. CFA is partnering with Sterling “TrapKing” Davis because of his exemplary work in bringing diversity to the animal world.

To thank all the spayed/neutered rescue/pet cats for their support, Sterling has a special GIFT! FREE CCW Membership and a special edition “TrapKing Klowder” ID card!

Kitty contestants can choose from 11 categories, including the Main Event, Me & My Cat Lady/Cat Daddy, Beautiful Eyes, Gotcha Day, Cats in Costume, Outdoor/Adventure, Purrfectly Impurrfect Cats, and Cats Looking for Fur-ever Homes. The judging lineup includes well-known cat influencers Nathan the Cat Lady, Sunglass Cat, Adventure Cats, “Catification” designer Kate Benjamin, and Pet Behavior Expert Arden Moore, plus many more.

Photo entries accepted now through February 21, 2021 11:59 PST

Voting on your favorite cats is $1 each and can be done now through February 21, 2021 11:59 PST

Winners Will Be Announced February 26 – 28, 2021

New Hampshire Lawmakers Say They’ve Been Told to Keep Their Pets Out of Virtual Meetings

Okay furiends, I rarely get purrlitical in this news feature but this got my whiskers in a twist! New Hampshire lawmakers have reportedly been told to keep their pets away from Zoom calls and remote hearings while working from home, according to the Associated Press.

Are you kidding me?? Sure barkies may be a bit more malleable but we felines do what we want. And, what we want is to walk all over your desk.

Whoever these feline haters are that are making the rules need to be voted out! So please, all my feline readers in New Hampshire, get your humans to make some noise and let their elected officials know that these anti-feline policies can get them unelected!

‘Meditating’ Sphynx Cat Comforts Children Affected by Trauma: She Offers a ‘Calming Presence’

A Pittsburgh crisis center has found the purrfect team member to help their clients cope with trauma. Her name is Thea and she’s a 4-year old Sphynx who is a member of the Paws for Empowerment team.  She is the only feline on the team, which is dedicated to bringing animal-assisted therapy to survivors of domestic violence.

Thea is not new to the therapy biz, before COVID, she had been working in counseling sessions with children aged 2-19.

Today, Thea meets virtually with kids who cannot come into the center and helps clients cope with the challenges of COVID through mindfulness strategies like meditation. Sydney Stephenson, Thea’s handler and a CCN youth counselor, told Today that she and Thea typically work with children who have experienced various types of trauma.

Does Your Cat Need a Sweater When It’s Really Cold?

I don’t know what the weather is like in your neck of the woods but we just received an extension on our wind chill advisory for two more days. Meowza, am I glad I’m an indoor kitty!  Does this mean that local felines need to bundle up for the next few days?

Dr. Lorraine A. Corriveau, DVM, a small animal primary care clinician at Purdue University Veterinary Hospital, says “Cats that have fur could get overheated from wearing a sweater—as their fur is a ‘natural coat’ for them.” For hairless cats like Sphynx, this is a different story and sweaters may be required.

Even we house kitties like to find a heating vent, sun puddle or blankets during cold weather. Outdoor kitties need appropriate shelters to prevent frostbite,, sore and irritated feet from the salt ad grit used to melt ice but this is a shelter and not a sweater (and I purrsonally don’t know any humans who would like to try to wrestle a feral cat into a sweater!)

And aside from the fact that a sweater could overheat us, it also interferes with our natural grooming activity and for those of us who are not hairless, making us wear a sweater could stress us out.

Sometimes you humans put us in onesies or sweaters to keep us from licking wounds or surgery sites (and may be more pleasant than the cone of shame).

And in case The Human isn’t clear about my stand on this I would just say, “Don’t even think about it!”

Why Are Cats on TikTok Getting Really Into Mid-2000s Ambient Music?

Someone told Jimmy Lavalle that a song he wrote over 18 years ago has recently become popular with cats and the proof is on TikTok, he was shocked. The song in question was written in Reykjavik, Iceland and now cats have discovered it.

In December someone sent Lavalle a link to a video of a cat vibing to the opening of “Windows”, the first song on the album In A Safe Place. Lavalle thought it was funny but after multiple people sent him links to the video he became interested in the phenomenon of cats and mewsic.

 And now, this musical phenomenon has morphed into the “See if Your Cat Will Come Cuddle With You Challenge”.  The videos vary with some cats running to the source of the sound and others who indicate they couldn’t care less.

My readers know that we felines do have preferences in mewsic and we did videos when we received our first album of Music for Cats from David Teie.

If you find the subject of mewsic and cats interesting, there is more information in the Rolling Stones article.