Hello Furiends,
We’re getting used to the “new normal” at our house since Angel Tucker crossed the Rainbow Bridge. As my brother Oliver and I are still young-ish felines we are easily bored and always looking for a bit of fun. Lately, our “fun” has consisted of chasing Lily down the stairs and then not letting her come pack up the stairs. The Human keeps telling us to stop being “hooligans” (whatever that means, I’m sure it’s complimentary because we are such good kitties). Lily has taken to sitting on the ledge by the stairs and watching our every move. The Human is spraying pheromone stuff all over the house but so far, it has not had the desired effects.

If any of our furiends have advice for The Human as to how to keep us from treating Lily like prey, she’d sure like to hear it!

Okay, enough about us, let’s get on the the feline gems I found this week.

Game-changing feline diet promises relief for people allergic to cats

I’ve reported on many methods attempting to stop or mitigate the cat allergies that many humans suffer from and now there is a product coming to market in April that purports to do this. Purina  Pro Pan LiveClear is formulated with a protein sourced from eggs that contain an anti Fel d1 antibody. Humans react to the protein Fel d1, produced by cats in their salivary glands. The protein is transferred to he cat’s hair and skin during grooming and it is eventually shed into the environment. It took more than ten years of research but the Purina Institute says this cat food, the first and only cat food capable of reducing the allergens in cat hair and dander is ready for the market.

Statistics show that about 20% of adult humans in the world are allergic to cats (meowza, that’s a lot!) but a study that was published last year in Immunity, Inflammation found that 47% fewer allergens were found in the hair and dander of cats eating Pro Plan LIveClear. These results manifested in the third week of feeding the cats the new product on a daily basis. The same study also found that active Fel d 1 production decreased in 97% of cats (with individual variability).

How does it work? As the cat eats the kibble coated with the special egg powder it neutralizes the Fel d 1.

Now our Human is very picky about what she feeds us and her first question was, “Is it safe for the cats?” Purina’s Director of veterinary technical communication, Jason Gagne said that the safety of the feline consumers was a key consideration. The goal was to neutralize the protein without impacting the physiology of the felines. The egg coating is perfectly healthy for cats to eat.

If you want to read more about the “sciency” details, be sure and read the article. We’re keeping our paws crossed that this will work and that more kitties will find furever homes because their humans no longer have to worry about sneezing, itching and other allergic reactions.

A Vietnam vet and a support cat formed an ‘amazing’ friendship

Our Human knows many people who take their felines to places to share them with others. Lots of folks at the Green Acres retirement home look forward to the bi-monthly visits from the non-profit organization, Country Cat Lady. As a rule there are about 12 residents ready to meet the dozen cats who come to visit.  The organization has been in existence a little less than two years after the founder realized what a help her cats were with her special needs son.

The Country Cat Lady’s cats are trained to be support animals through exposure to people. After they graduate from their training, they are adopted out as support animals. Even if some of the cats don’t make the cut, they are adopted out to loving, furever homes.

The top tier cats live with the Country Cat Lady and they are the ones who travel to places like Green Acres.  This is how Gary DeLude met a black cat named Trailblazer (although Gary refers to him as Rascal).DeLude says he can walk into the room, depressed about something and sitting down with Rascal makes him “feel better all over”. The Country Cat Lady has promised Gary that his buddy Rascal will stay with her so he can continue to come and visit.

The Country Cat Lady is now seeking partnerships, donations and support so she can continue and even expand her work.

What a pawsome job the Country Cat Lady has and she is helping so many people.. I hope you have something like this in your community and, if you don’t, find a human to start one!

Naughty cat disrupts live orchestra concert and steals the show

Oh my whiskers, this is hilarious. We’ve seen cats racing across sports fields, hanging out in stores and other places but this has to be my favorite “cat bomb”. The feline loving musicians try to welcome the music loving kitty but clearly this cat is having none of it. He was there for the music and not to make new friends!

Cats in Japan can now get digital resident cards in Kanagawa Prefecture

At first I had my whiskers in a twist and was quite outraged that a government would require felines to register. Then I read the article and realized this is an optional thing and might even help the humans of felines in the area.

Kanagawa Prefecture, Tokyo’s neighbor to the south, is home to 9.2 million people, just about all of whom have a form of ID. It may be a driver’s license, a student ID, or a resident card, but there’s some sort of document that says “This is who I am.” Now the felines who decide to have an ID can have one too through a partnership between the Kanagawa Prefectural government and pet-related media company PECO.

You can have the basic information on your card as well as your birth date, name of your human family members, special tricks or abilities you want the world to know about and even your motto. (Mine would be “I’m always feline fine”).

There are cards for doggos too but since this is a cat only blog I don’t feel the need to expound any further.  Oh, and the cards are free!

Osaka cat lovers warm their feet, hearts at footbath featuring feline friends

My last feature also comes from Japan. We’ve seen cat cafes, cat hostels, condos designed for cats ad their humans, cat ID cards and other fantastic feline stuff and this is yet another creative way the folks in Osaka are finding a new way to hang out with cats.

Neko Yokujo, “cat bath house” in Japanese, is operated by Gifu-based firm Neco Republic, which manages cat cafes across the country. The 15 felines at Neko Yokujo are rescues and all are available for adoption.  And there is a hostel where guests can stay with cats, Neko Yokujo attached to the cat bath house. Meowza, I say it’s time for the good old US of A to catch up with all the fantastic feline venues in Japan!