Tag Archives: cats on diets

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 6/23

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siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

Happy Wednesday Furiends!
I don’t know how things are in your neck of he woods but things are heating up in ours – literally,. It rarely gets really hot here so when it does heat up for that one to two week time period we really suffer.

Lily chose to ignore the uncomfortable temperatures and put on her fairy (or as she says faerie) garb to celebrate yesterday’s holiday.

Oliver, on the other hand is still yammering about the D-I-E-T so we decided he should celebrate today’s holiday, “Let It Go Day”.

As for me, I wouldn’t mind a few new Cat TV channels. I am beginning to feel a great ennui as I am forced to watch the same old birds on my iPad. Oh the trials and travails of a first world cat . Life is rough. .

Well that’s it from our neck of he woods this week. We hope you and your humans are staying cool and comfortable!

Cat turns liquid to squeeze under door

Holly the feline has become an overnight TikTok sensation as she appears to turn into liquid to get under a door that looks far too narrow for her to squeeze through.

The video has so far been viewed more than 29.7 million times and surpassed 5.7 million likes. Meowza!

I don’t understand why you humans are making such a big deal about this. We felines are expert at getting into, over and under things that look impossible to you!

Take a look at Holly’s video and let me know what  you think. And by the way, you humans have been wondering about the feline ability to fit through small spaces for years.  Cats Maru and Hana were subjects in an experiment that their human conducted on this subject.

Is my cat happy or hurting? This app will help

“So human, tell me what kind of a mood I’m in.”
Oliver

We felines recognize that our health and happiness is of the utmost importance to you humans and this is why you will be thrilled with this new piece of news. There is a new app in development called  Tably that was released by Silverster.AI a joint venture between two Canadian companies. .Now you may be asking, “Alberto, how did this come about?” Well the developers discovered the Feline Grimace Scale (FGS) that was developed to assess acute pain in cats based on facial expressions. This made the Tably folks wonder, could we figure out a cat’s mood with the right app?

Now any of you humans that share a home with felines know that we give you lots of clues when we don’t feel good but the cues are subtle.  “

“Depending on the cats’ muzzle, eyes, ears, whiskers, or head position, you can determine whether or not a cat is in pain,” says Paulo Steagall, lead author of the FGS publication and associate professor of veterinary anaesthesia and pain management at the University of Montreal. The FGS was created by Steagall and his team to be used by veterinarians, other veterinary technicians, and cat owners.

Alta ML coupled the FGS  with machine learning to make it more accessible to the general public. The app picks up relevant points on our faces, maps them out based on the FGS, and shoots out a reading – happy or not – along with a percentage. The percentage isn’t correlated to the level of happiness, but rather the level of confidence the machine has.

The developers say that Tably, with a high quality and full face front image of the cat, will be 97% accurate.

The app company reports that most humans are using the app to check on their kitties after they’ve had surgery or to figure out if a cat exhibiting hiding or other behaviors is experiencing pain. The company says the app will help humans know when it’s time to take us to the stabby place but I don’t know, our Human always seems to know when we need to go there.

The company will soon be releasing an ios and android version for the app and their plans are to make it part of a veterinarian’s post-appointment follow-up process.    

Elderly cat spends birthday in animal shelter, celebrates by getting adopted

Oh my whiskers! If you can read this story without getting leaky eyes then this feline would have to question your humanity!  A cat arrived at a shelter in Cincinnati after his owner had to  go to assisted living and couldn’t take Sammy along.

When the staff at Kitty City learned it was Sammy’s 19th birthday, they threw him a birthday celebration — complete with party hats and bright decorations. Well, if Sammy’s birthday wish was for a new furever home, his wish was granted. This sweet guy will live his golden years with a new family full of love for him.

And by the way, there are a few other senior cats at the shelter if any of you Ohio folks are looking to make them happy too.

When it comes to heated divorce, pets aren’t people too

We are here for all your feline legal needs.

This may make you howl but according to human law, pets are considered property in a divorce. Still, there are ways of working out custody with special mediation and “petnups” that will keep your humans from getting into a cat fight in court.

Some of the more enlightened states in this area are Alaska, California and Illinois. There is a bill in New York state to give judges more leeway to consider the best interests of the pets as these other states have done.

The subject of fur kids comes up a lot when you humans divorce. Adam Citron, a New York lawyer who has handled dozens of divorces, said pets are “constantly an issue.” He’s among lawyer who’ve sometimes see the worst in people in divorce court and advocates for prenups covering pets. A “petnup” is especially helpful for animals acquired during the marriage.

One tip for states that haven’t taken the new approach to consider the best interests of the fur kids would be agreeing at the time a pet is acquired during a marriage whose name will appear alone on registration or adoption papers. That person should pay any costs out of a separate bank account. Such measures are especially helpful if one party is trying to weaponize a pet in exchange for other coveted property. (Boy you humans can really get vindictive!)

It’s best, if you humans insist on divorce to put fur kid custody at the top of divorce negotiations. The Animal Legal Defense Fund, says more laws empowering judges to consider the emotional needs of pets are needed.

A spolespurrson for the Animal :Legal Defense Fund said, “What we would like to see is to have animals considered in the most holistic way possible,” she said. “Who is the animal bonded to? Who can provide for the animal’s overall health and well-being going forward?” Now that lady has the right idea.

Here’s hoping all your humans will stay together and that you will never need the services of some legal beagle (or feline purrsonal attorney) to sort out the best interests of your cats when a split happens.

Family ‘absolutely shocked’ when cat they thought they cremated returns home

When Frankie the cat went missing on May 19, his family in Warrington, England was devastated.  Frankie was a beloved rescue who had been adopted by his family 14 years ago. His human, Rachel Fitzsimons, said he was  a “real hunter” who went out and brought “gifts” back to the family — but was never gone for long as he always came home to sleep with their 7-year-old son every night.

But on Wednesday evening of May 19th Frankie left at about 7pm and didn’t come home.  The family wasn’t too worried the first night because the weather had turned bad and they figured Frankie had taken shelter somewhere. The next day the family did become worried when Frankie didn’t return and they went all over the neighbourhood looking for Frankie. Their 7-year old son Remy cried every night.that Frankie did not return.

Then on Saturday, Fitzsimons said she spotted the body of a cat on the side of the motorway near their home — fearing the worst she got as close as she could to look at the cat..  Still they continued to search but they returned to the cat on the roadside. The cat had been badly injured so identification was difficult  but the fur and tail were strikingly similar to Frankie’s.  The family was convinced it was him.

The family was in mourning for Frankie. They collected Frankie’s remains from Highways England who had picked him up and they took Frankie’s body to their vet to have it cremated.  They lovingly placed his ashes in a box with his name on it and their son kept it in his bedroom.  They also kept Frankie’s bed and his toys.

Then just over three weeks from the day he went missing, the family heard a cat outside. Mr. Fiitzsimmons ran into the garden and then started shouting, “‘Come out! Come out quick! Come out!’ Mom and son ran outside and there was dad…holding Frankie!

Sure enough, Frankie had returned home — albeit a frailer, thin version of himself. The family, who was “absolutely shocked,” gave him food and had him checked at the vet who noted Frankie had an abscess in his mouth and might have suffered some head trauma but Frankie is recovering and eating more.

The family is so thankful to have him back and to have had him all those years before and now are even more thankful to have Frankie in their lives again, living his best life.

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 5/12

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siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

Happy Wednesday Furiends,
We are happy as we again have our Purrsonal Assistant under control and my Wednesday feature is happening on…..Wednesday!

We are still suffering through the dreaded D-I-E-T. Frankly, I don’t think Oliver has lost an ounce.

‘Excuse me Human. I am in dire need of kibble. Not only can you see the bottom of my bowl, there is not even ONE single piece of kibble there. Please put down your book and assist a dying feline!”
“What are you thinking about Al”
“Chasing birds from the Cat TV show. What are you thinking about Oliver/’
“Kibble, big piles of fresh kibble.”
“If Oliver doesn’t shut up about kibble I’m going to walk over there and give him a big whacky paw!”

Now you may think that the D-I-E-T was the only topic of conversation this week but you would be wrong. We received a nice email from a human named Jayne who told us we’d been featured on the “top 18 list of most underrated cat bloggers” on the Cat Informer blog. You can read about us and the other 17 meowvelous cat blogs here. Thank you Cat Informer!

And now, let’s get to this weeks findings for best feline news on the web.

Tennessee Woman teaches your cat to hike

Laura Partain says the #1 essential in packing for a hike is her cat. After spending four to five months working with the formerly timid feline, she now has a trail blazer. Partain has two cats who hike with her and needless to say, they attract a lot of attention when they are hiking. They also sparked an idea.. She said, “I really want to help people see their cats in a different way and to get out of the mindset of ‘Oh, my cat would never do that.’ She wants people to look at their cat and say, ‘How can I help this cat to have a better life. How can I help enrich this cat’s life and train them?’ They’re actually really fun to train,” said Partain, who grew up training show goats. To that end, Partain created the  Tennessee Cat Adventure Club, and so far she’s trained 14 new adventure cats.

She says it’s best if people train their cats themselves but she does offer training assistance as cat’s require some specialized training techniques. Dogs will learn things because they want to please you. Cats (and goats) are more transactional. (Who knew we fabulous felines had that in common with goats?)  In other words, felines want to know what’s in it for them and what the pay offs (treats) are. This means food is always required for training sessions. Her two most important tips are, have treats handy and make sure you have a harness that fits your cat well.

Recently Partain has partnered with Tennessee State Parks to encourage pet owners to use a leash on the trail. She said leashes allow all animals, including cats, to get out and enjoy the beauty of Tennessee. 

Meowza that hiking thing sounds like it might be fun!

Meet the cats fighting Chicago’s rat problem

If you’re a regular reader of my Wednesday web wanderings you know I love to feature stories about working cats. This story is a bit different than most as it’s not about a brewery, bookstore or bodega “hiring” a feline but about feral cats placed on the Chicago streets to deal with the problem this city, known as “the rattiest city in America” has had for years.

Since 2012, the Tree House Humane Society has placed over 1,000 feral cats onto Chicago streets.

The mere presence of the cats and their pheromones, are enough to keep the rats away.

I was a bit concerned about these felines being “tossed into the streets” but this isn’t the case at all. Cats are spayed or neutered “pre-employment” and “employers” are screened and required to provide food, water, shelter, and wellness to the cats who work for them. In most cases, these cats become beloved members of the family or team and some even have their own Instagram pages! If you live in Chicago and want to hire a feline, you can apply at Tree House’s website.

Couple builds mini-bedroom for their cat, complete with a TV for watching birds on YouTube

I only have one thing to say…..”Human, you need to step up your game!”

Twitter user @CinnamonBear9 shared photos of her meowvelous kitty bedroom with bed, bedspread that matches mom’s and dad’s, pictures on the walls, a rug, a miniature chair, some tiny yarn balls, and a mini scratching post. And the pièce de résistance? A wooden wall frame that holds a tablet (or “big screen TV to a cat) for endless hours of cat video watching on YouTube.

And how has the feline reacted to this pawsome bedroom? He naps in there and watches bird TV. Paws up for these creative humans for going above and beyond for their kitty!

Why cats may have more to teach us about living the good life than Socrates

Socrates is credited with saying “the unexamined life is not worth living.” For centuries, you humans have looked to philosophy as a way to contemplate and answer many of life’s biggest, toughest questions.

British philosopher John Gray opines that cats can often teach us much more about living the good life than philosophy ever could.

In his book, Feline Philosophy: Cats and the Meaning of Life, Gray examines the nature of our philosophical pursuits, and finds them wanting.

“In humans, discontent with their nature seems to be natural,” he writes. “With predictably tragic and farcical results, the human animal never ceases striving to be something that it is not.” He says cats make no such effort. Cats exist to serve their most immediate needs and keep themselves safe from danger.

Although this feline would argue that Gray makes us sound a bit shallow, I do have to agree.

Gray points out that cats aren’t philosophical about death. Cats refuse to quietly surrender to death from a predator. They’ll fight to the very, very end to protect themselves or their kittens if they’re female cats. So they have a strong love of life when they’re healthy, and when they’re sickening, they tend to crawl to some quiet, shadowy place where they, in a sense, they aim to die.

Gray says you humans shouldn’t try to be cats but maybe you should overthink a little less. I think that’s good advice!

Mount Washington Observatory welcomes new summit cat, Nimbus

Here’s another great working cat story. This Onway, N.H. cat, named for a type of cloud is taking his place above the clouds in his new home at the Mount Washington Observatory.

Nimbus was chosen from four candidates at the Conway Area Humane Society. His sociable attitude as well as his large repertoire or meows, chatters and purrs won him the job.  

Nimbus’ predecessor, Marty crossed the Rainbow Bridge in late 2020. The observatory employees said it was a long search as the new hire would have big paws to fill.

MWO Summit Operations Manager Rebecca Scholand said. “The summit cat is such a special part of our living environment on the summit, making it feel much more like a home on our weeklong shifts.”

Nimbus, we say “concatulations” on your new home and new career!

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 4/7

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siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

Hello Furiends,
I hope you had a great week. This week was better for some of us than others. This week is our veterinary wellness visits. Lily sailed through with flying colors. I have my appointment tomorrow but poor Oliver did not fare so well. He’s gained over a pound in 9 months, and is tipping the scale at 20+ pounds. Needless to say, The Human was beside herself and concerned about health issues so, Oliver is now on a D-I-E-T. This is as painful for all of us as it is for him. No more free feeding (kibble bowls magically disappear in the morning and evening) and a new low-calorie kibble. Really? Why do Lily and I have to suffer?!

Oliver has decided he will keep a diary during these dark days and here is his first entry.

While Oliver suffered, I had some fun this week. After listening to my furiend Rosie’s Cat Chat I told The Human that I too would like to watch some cat videos at bedtime. Well, she set up her kindle thingy and I had a blast. I like the string video but my favorite ones are the ones with the birdies and the red string. Meowza, those were exciting! I give them two paws up. The best part of this is I get a movie and a snuggle!

Ah, the sounds of nature!
It’s really hard to catch that red string

So my furiends, make sure you tell your humans to get out their tablets so you can do some evening TV watching! And don’t forget, you can share your secrets on our Cat Chat feature, just email us with what you want to meow about (FelineOpines@gmail.com) and send us a photo.

Animal center’s Snip ‘n Tip taxi to give free rides to Fairview cats

I always love to feature shelters and their human supporters who think of creative ways to help felines and this one is a great idea! The Williamson County Animal Center’s (WCAC) created a  Snip ‘n Tip taxi that will offer free rides to free spay/neuter surgeries for outdoor cats from Fairview on April 8 and 15.  

Pick-up and delivery is offered and, if people don’t have cages or traps, the shelter can rent them to you.

These clinics stop overpopulation by sterilizing outdoor cats. There are an estimated 50,000 community cats in the county where the shelter is located. Once the cats are spayed or neutered, they are microchipped, receive an FVRCP vaccination, rabies shot and ear tipping as part of the shelter’s ongoing Community Cat program. 

Paws up for the Williamson County Animal Center!

Bobby Flay and His Cat Nacho Create a Cat Food Brand with Your Feline In Mind

When a famous chef creates food for cats, that’s great but when a famous chef’s cat creates food for cats, that’s fantastic!

Bobby Flay and his Maine Coon cat Nacho have collaborated to create their new food line, Made by Nacho.

Flay has been a cat lover all his life and toyed with the idea of a cat food before Nacho came into his life. Nacho has a Maine Coon sister at home named Stella and they both work hard to make sure Bobby has a stress free home.

Flay’s creative culinary talent and Nacho’s palate make great business partners. If we weren’t on a diet, we would love to try it!

Fancy Feast Releases Petites Feast Cookbook- A Recipe Guide for Humans Inspired by Their New Single Serve Entrees for Cats

Now here’s a twist, human food inspired by feline food! To celebrate their launch of Petites, Fancy Feast released a companion cookbook for humans. Now I never thought humans would want to eat what we eat but these recopies are inspired by the cat food and not exactly like the cat food.

The best part of this is you can download the cookbook hat has 12 human recipes. Fancy Feast’s in-=house chef, Amanda Hassner and James Beard award winner Jerrelle Guy collaborated to create the Petite Feast Cookbook.

“From Chicken and Ramen with Tomato Honey Butter Sauce to Whitefish and Asparagus with Beurre Blanc, the cookbook features recipes that are elevated but easy enough to whip up on a weeknight,” said Fancy Feast’s in-house chef, Amanda Hassner. “Each dish was inspired by the small-plate restaurant trend. The recipes are for humans but were created in honor of the dishes you will be serving your cat.”

“From Chicken and Ramen with Tomato Honey Butter Sauce to Whitefish and Asparagus with Beurre Blanc, the cookbook features recipes that are elevated but easy enough to whip up on a weeknight,” said Fancy Feast’s in-house chef, Amanda Hassner. “Each dish was inspired by the small-plate restaurant trend. The recipes are for humans but were created in honor of the dishes you will be serving your cat.”

Download the cookbook and let us know what you think of the recipes. Meowza, they sound delicious to me!

Spritzer the cat’s Easter egg treats for Fairfield Hospital

This is another heart warming feline tale from our friends in England. Spritzer is an 11-year old rescue cat who lives on the grounds of Fairfield Hospital and he helped collect over 1,000 easter eggs for the paitents and staff at the hospital.

Spritzer spends her days visiting patients on the mental health ward and is loved by all.

Spritzer has a home and when she went missing five years ago, her human, Heléna Abrahams fit her with a tracker and this is how she found out Spritzer was “working” at the hospital. Spritzer is one of the most popular employees at the hospital and she uses her social media presence to encourage purrticipation in the Easter candy donations.

Attention, Cat Lovers: Crescent City Cat Club in New Orleans Hits the Market for $550,000

Every feline should live in a house like this! Tell your humans it’s only $550,000.00 and they can find it on Realtor.com. There’s plenty of space for humans and felines with four bedrooms and three bathrooms and has been recently renovated. It’s unique because it’s a house and a rescue called The Crescent City Cat Club as the current owner created a non-profit, taking in cats for adoption. We’re keeping our paws crossed that the new owners will keep the rescue going.

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 10/21

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siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

Happy Wednesday Furiends,

Fall has come in all its glory to our neck of the woods. Oliver loves to sit on the living room window sill and watch the leaves fall and check out what beasts are in the forests, racoons, deer, moose, bear, skuk, even the visiting neighborhood felines hunting mice. A cat never knows what he’ll see down there!

Lily is far less interested in what goes on in the woods and is much more intereted in what’s going on inside the house.

Oliver is struggling during this time of “weight management”. The Human took a seminar on feline obesity and life hasn’t been the same for poor Ollie. He struggles between attempting to squeeze himself in tight places and begging for tuna casserole. Sigh, life is hard for a portly feline.

Gee, Al fits in here just fine.
I swear this bed shrunk in the washer!
Oh come on, just a little bite of tuna casserole won’t set my diet back that far!

Well, that’s the news from our neck of the woods now let’s check out the feline news from around the web.

Cat Cafe opening in Georgetown thanks to local home builder

Stories where you humans go above and beyond to help kitties find furever homes just make my whiskers quiver. And, thanks to Paul Haddix and Haddix Construction the Central Purrk Café will be opening in a few months.

The company is donating their services to help build the interior cat lounge where adoptable cats will recline in fancy modern digs.

Adoptable felines from the Lexington Humane Society and Scott County Humane Society will occupy the cat lounge area of the café.    

Visitors can reserve time in the cat lounge at $12.00 per hour, $6.00 per half hour. The lounge has a “free roam” area where visitors can get know the cats in an environment that is more like a home, allowing the humans to picture the kitties in their own homes.

Central Purrk will also host special events like Yoga with Cats, Trivia Nights, Beer & Wine Tastings, and offer birthday or other party packages. All cats are adoptable directly from the cat café and 100% of the adoption fees go to the respective humane society. Cats will be spayed or neutered, up to date on their vaccines and be microchipped.

Scaredy Cat first horror movie for cats

Temptations, the cat treat company premiered the first ever horror movie for cats last week.

The story is about a kitty who makes his way through a haunted house. While storm rages outside, a ball of yarn leads the cat from room to room with all kinds of scary things around each corner. The kitty finally ends up in the kitchen to face the scariest thing of all…a cucumber!

So have your human break out the Temptation movie treats and watch this together this Halloween.

Behind prison walls, cats and inmates rehabilitate each other through animal care program

We felines don’t care much about your past. We just want you to pet us and love us and feed us. This arrangement works out purrfectly at the Pendleton Correctional Facility, a maximum security prison in Indianapolis.

Six hours every day, seven days a week the handful of men selected for the FORWARD program (Felines and Offenders Rehabilitation with Affection, Reformation and Dedication.) care for more than 20 cats. Those kitties repay the care and housing they receive while they’re prepared for adoption with love and affection for their inmate caretakers. The inmates gain skills such as empathy, responsibility and self-esteem.  Many inmates have said that caring for the cats gives them a reason to get up in the morning. I say this is a purrfect “win-win’ situation!

A tale of two kitties: Blind cat and feline friend win $1500 for local shelter

This is an encouraging tale for all my feline furiends who have challenges. Determined kitties can accomplish great things with the help of their humans. These best furiends, Penelope and Orville just helped their local shelter, Hancock County Humane Society, win $1,500.00, $1,000.99 in cash and $500.00 for food.

Shelter volunteer Kathleen Free wrote the story about Penelope, a kitty born with no eyes, and Orville, the kitten who befriended her and became her “seeing-eye cat. The story won the Clear the Shelters Adoption Story Challenge hosted by The Animal Rescue Site and GreaterGood.org.

 Clear the Shelters Adoption Story Challenge hosted by The Animal Rescue Site and GreaterGood.org. Winners were chosen by online voters.  

The story earned them 6th place and the cash and food for their shelter. Pawsome job pussycats!

Fancy Feast Feline Advent Calendar

Humans, it’s never too early to spoil your felines for the holidays and at this price ($23.00) you can’t afford not to buy it. And since humans like Christmas too, there’s a beautiful kitty ornament included. Don’t wait, go to Chewy and make your felines happy for the holidays.