Hello Furiends! I hope you’ve had a good week. We seem to be seeing the start of summer in our neck of the woods and that makes us happy!
This week Oliver insisted on pitching a little film about his work day. Lily and I (and The Human) were not fans of the idea but Oliver can be a bit pushy so we caved. Here is his little video about what he does all day.
Contrary to what Oliver said in the video, this is a TRUE representation of how he spends most of his time.
Well, enough about us, let’s take a look at this weeks feline headlines.
Hey Human! Could we get real flowers in this house??
The Human never has real plants or flowers in the house because we eat them or dig them up. She is seriously considering trying this.
TikToker Fridlaa (@fridlaa) has a simple, quick and effective method for cat-proofing plants. She uses an old pair of leggings to create a basic barrier between the plant’s base and any prying paws. Watch her video and see if this would work for you.
Fridlaa’s video starts with an old pair of leggings and a sharp pair of scissors. The leggings should be a cotton-elastic blend for easy stretching, but any old pair should work. She cuts off a section of the legging around the thigh area to make a stretchy tube of fabric. Then she pulls the tube up over the bottom of the pot. The legging tube slides up over the ceramic, then loosens inward toward the base of the plant which creates a flexible barrier over the potting soil, meaning that dirt digging felines can’t mess with the plant’s roots anymore.
So if you see your humans putting leggings on the pots inside the house, your digging days are over!
My regular followers know how much I HATE costumes. I’ve blogged about the disasterous dinosaur costume and the super failure of the sushi costume. It seems though as if my aversion to fancy dress does not apply to all felines. Melody Boyd captured photos of costumed cats at The Cat Fancier’s Association costume competition. The cats are judged by the clapping of the audience and unless there is a specific theme announced, people can dress their cats in any costumes they like.
Melody insists that none of the cats are unhappy with the fact that they’re wearing clothes for the occasion. This feline would beg to differ. Just purruse the photos of the costumed cats and come to your own conclusion, IMHO none of them look too happy (and neither do the humans involved).
Ah how I love humans who use their creativity to help kitties find furever homes.
Kayla Delcoure, a volunteer at Pippi’s Place Pet Rescue in Lawrenceville, Georgia created listings for cats looking for their fur-ever home, under the name Cat-vana. Delcoure was inspired when her husband recently searched for a new truck.
All the cat’s listings are written like vehicle listings and include details such as year, make, and model information. There is a listing for a Furrari, Apura or a Pursche.
The listings included as a 2022 Catillac Simon with impact sensors and green headlights or for more sporty types a 2014 Furrari Arlis with custom white decals and a seat heater as well as a 2015 Furcedes called Buddy and a 2022 Meowzda called Cassie.
For those looking for a smaller model, a 2023 Mini Pooper with two-tone exterior and all-paw drive is on offer – or how about a two-speed automatic (nap and ZOOM) with self-cleaning capabilities?
Delcoure said the favorite ad she made was for a cat known as Mr. Goodbar, a ‘2023 Mini Pooper.’ She said, “His listing was the last one I needed to create and I knew I wanted it to be something adorable and relative to his size. I happen to own and adore a Mini Cooper and I knew the ‘mini’ part would fit him perfectly, so that’s what I went with!’
I say two paws up for this wonderful creative lady who’s helping cats in her area find furever homes.
I’ve shared vintage photos of stars with their favorite felines and now, art collector Klaus Moeller has uncovered a cabinet of files containing some 25million negatives that had lain unopened for decades.
There are photos of Elizabeth Taylor, Clark Gable, Audrey Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor and Sophia Loren. What I especially enjoyed was the many photos of beautiful Siamese cats, some looked just like me! Take a look at all these great photos here.
Okay, you got us. Another week and another day late. This was however, due to our hard and diligent work as feline authors, bloggers and content creators. Since The Human has shifted her focus to writing (our books and blogs), marketing said writing and finally adding items to our merch shop we have been very busy felines. No more just lazing around the office, we all have a job to do and fame to deal with. Here is a glimpse.
All these book signings are wearing my paws out. Writing is not just writing you know and as the marketing side of the business I’m very busy.My Wednesday news features are important and this feline is sometimes a bit overwhelmed. I’ thinking about hiring some kitten interns. Oh my whiskers, being the “face” of this enterprise is exhausting. So many interviews and then there’s the fans to deal with. It’s a hard job but some cat has to do it.
Well there you go, lest you think The Tribe is not pulling their weight, we’re working our paws to the bone! Now, let’s take a look at the feline news this week.
Sometimes a cat’s gotta’ do what a cat’s gotta’ do. Cleo the cat is a lover of people and very friendly. So much so that she will follow strangers down the street. This behavior has forced Taylor Williams, Cleo’s human to have a collar made for her that let’s folks know about her wandering ways. Sometimes Cleo even tries to get on the bus with other humans and the collar has helped keep her in the neighborhood.
Taylor Williams frequently receives messages from her neighbors about their encounters with four-year-old Cleo. Cleo will regularly follow people to the bus stop, wait for the bus to arrive and hop on board before being shooed away.
Taylor can see Cleo from her living room window, following people down the road. Cleo has a loving family at home, which is why she now wears a color that says, ‘I follow people but I have a home’. So if you meet Cleo on the street, know that there are humans who love her at home.
Hey Guys, turn around. I think that human is talking to us.
Ah, you human researchers, always claiming to have figured out the mysterious ways of the feline population. Now a group of French researchers have looked into “the nuances of cat-human conversation,” with some expected findings and some a little more surprising. The study was published recently in the journal Animals, by a research team out of Paris Nanterre University led by Charlotte de Mouzon. The team wanted to see if cats responded better to people if the humans involved used visual gestures, vocal cues, or both. De Mouzon selected herself as the main participant, heading into a cat cafe with a dozen felines.
Once the cats became accustomed to her, De tried four different ways of interacting with her furry subjects. First, she called out to them only. Second, she silently made gestures toward them, such as reaching out her hand. Next, she tried doing both a vocal and visual cue simultaneously, and finally, for the control part of the experiment, she just sat back and did nothing.
The cats in de Mouzon’s study came up to her more quickly if she used both visual and vocal cues. If she used visual cues alone the cats reacted faster than when she only called out to them. If she was just sitting there, doing and saying nothing, the cats would flick their tails, often a sign of discomfort or stress. So what can you humans take away from this? I guess if you want your felines in residence to pay attention to you, use both vocal and visual cues to get our attention.
You are never too old to do something good for felines. This lady in Winnipeg, Canada keeps herself busy crocheting little blankets for cats.
Gladys Wheeler picks up her yarn and creates small rectangular blankets for the cats at the Winnipeg Humane Society’s satellite location at Best West Pet Foods.
“The cat gets a mat and the mat stays with the feline when they go to their furever home. Taking the mat with them to their new home makes the transition to the new place easier for them.
Wheeler has been making these cat mats since 2006 and since then about 1,000 blankets have been given to cats and their adopted families.
In the 17 years, about 1,000 of her blankets have been given to cats and their “I can’t not do it. I get a minute to spare, there I am crocheting,” she said.
Wheeler’s companion Susan Taylor helps her out with the blankets by tidying up the ends and picking out yarn.
Giving back has always been an important part of Wheeler and her family’s life. She says, “ “Here I am, doing something for the animals and I got my health and I got my family, what else do I need?” Two paws up for you Gladys!
Walter Chandoha was the pioneer in cat photography waaay before the internet or cat blogs like this one existed.
In the 1950’s and 60’s, Chandoha’s cat photos were everywhere: advertisements, greeting cards, calendars, jigsaw puzzles. They could also be found on posters, T-shirts and cans of cat food.
He authored more than 30 books during a career that lasted over seven decades. Some are collections of his cutest cat photos and some are “how-to” books for both budding and professional photographers.
Chandoha took photos of dogs and other animals, too, but he was always drawn to cats.-of course!
“I relished the challenge of making photographs of cats and quickly saw the potential of attempting to capture their naturally expressive personalities,” he wrote.
Chandoha’s career took off shortly after adopting a stray kitten in 1949. The freelance photographer was walking back from classes at New York University when he saw a tiny kitten shivering in the snow. He put the cat in his coat pocket and brought him home to meet his wife, Maria.
They named the cat Loco, and Chandoha started taking pictures of the new family member. He sold some of those photos to various publications, and before he knew it his career was created and ended up earning the title, “the world’s most famous cat photographer”. It’s estimated that over his lifetime he produced more than 90,000 photos of cats.
“If he didn’t have an assignment, he’d go outside. He’d see that one cat just had kittens, and he’d be there all day taking the pictures,” his daughter said.
And, when the internet came along, Chandoha embraced it, posting cat photos and offering cat photography tips.
He advised people that they need to know their subject and their behavior and have patience, lots of it!
Meowza! After reading these stupid myths, this cat needs a glass of wine!
Okay, we felines are a bit weary of some of the tall tales you humans tell about cats, presenting these fabrications as though there are the gospel truth. Here are some that might be new to you, all a bit crazy if you ask me!
1. Cats are gossips.
Excuse me?? Everything I meow is the truth but in the Netherlands, cats are often believed to be gossipy creatures who will happily blab all of your deepest, darkest secrets. For that reason, people try not to have important or private conversations while a cat’s in the room, just in case it’s listening. Well, let me tell you, it’s too late for our Human because our Tribe will blog about everything she does, MOL!
2. A grooming cat means unexpected visitors are coming.
According to Japanese superstition, if a cat washes its face with its paws, it’s not just grooming—it means that visitors are on their way. There are similar superstitions in other countries, too, with some people in the U.S. expecting a visit from a member of the clergy if a cat starts cleaning its whiskers. Let me tell you, none of the grooming of the three of us has every resulted in visitors.
3. A sneezing cat is lucky (except when it isn’t).
In Italy, hearing a cat sneeze is supposed to be good luck. Specifically, if your feline gets the sneezes, it means there’s money coming your way. If a bride hears a cat sneeze on her wedding day, it means the marriage will be a good one. Beware, though—while one sneeze might be good luck, if a cat sneezes three times it supposedly indicates that you’re going to come down with a cold. Oh my whiskers, you’d have to carry a calculator and a list to figure out the meaning of your cat sneezes.
4. Black cats sink ships.
Of all the kinds of cats there are, black cats are the ones with the most superstitions attached. Maybe that’s due to the ancient Egyptian belief that black cats were associated with the goddess Bastet, and keeping one would bring her favor; maybe it’s to do with the European conviction that witches had black cats as familiars making them evil omens. One black cat superstition you might not have heard is that if a black cat walks onto a ship and then back off again, the ship will sink on its next voyage (though according to an old Irish and British superstition, black cats were actually good luck for a ship). In other words, you humans have no idea what you’re talking about.
5. Cats can raise the dead.
In parts of Southern Europe, folklore has it that if a cat jumps across a person’s grave, they’ll rise again as a vampire. Oh spare me, this is really ridiculous.
6. Being a cat lady can help you get married.
Although pop culture has turned cats into a symbol of eternal singledom, according to one book on Pennsylvania German tradition, cats can help a woman who is anxious to get married. All she has to do is “feed the cat from her shoe,” although the superstition doesn’t say what’s supposed to happen next—or how to get the uneaten cat food out of the shoe. Hmmm, since The Human isn’t married maybe she should feed us out of her she but then again, we’ve got a good gig going here and maybe there’s no need to bring a stranger into the mix.
7. Wet cats can make it rain.
You might suspect there’s some cause and effect confusion going on here, but in parts of Indonesia, cats are associated with the weather. If people wanted it to rain, they’d pour water over a cat. Presumably the cat in question then made it rain as revenge. Any of my regular readers know that I take my version of a kitty shower every day and no, it doesn’t rain very day around our house
Hello Furiends, Well, it looks as though someone forgot to push the button that would have published our Wednesday blog on Wednesday. Mind you, I’m not casting any aspurrsions on anyone but one would think that when you have a Purrsonal Assistant that now has a more flexible schedule, said assistant might be better organized. Oh well, she’s a work in progress.
We are all making adjustments to having The Human work from her home office. In some ways we’re feeling a bit uncomfortable as our regular daily routines are constantly interrupted but, truth be told, it’s kinda’ fun having The Human around more. I’m not sure what’s up with Oliver but he seems to be a bit discombobulated with the new routine.
The Human started her day with this view as she headed to the kitchen for her morning coffee.Upon closer observation The Human noticed that Oliver had eschewed the new Chewy box for this new sleeping position.
As I said, we’re all getting used to the new routine. Here are some moments from this past week.
It’s nice to have breakfast with The Human as she doesn’t have to rush out of the house every morning.Excuse me Human, I normally watch bird TV in the afternoon. You can just toddle back to your office and leave me alone.Hey Al, I’m getting a little tired of The Human checking on what we’re up to during the day. Can’t a cat have a little privacy?It’s okay Oliver, let’s just snuggle up and take our pre-afternoon nap and forget about it.I will not snuggle up to those fatties, my tiny little body would be crushed. I’ll just take my pre-afternoon nap alone, thank you very much.
And now let’s take a look at the feline focused news of the week.
I find it amewsing that you humans are always writing about how to figure out the mysterious felines in your home. Now researchers are asking the question, how do cats get their information. It’s been assumed over the years that, like horses and elephants, hearing is the most honed sense of the feline species. This has been assumed because our closest relatives—tigers, lions, and other big cats—are vastly superior at hearing than at any other sense. Now, a recent study casts doubt on these assumptions.
Researchers tested four conditions: only hearing, only seeing, both, and neither. The question was which of these conditions was most likely to draw a cat’s attention to the experimenter. While it should be acknowledged that the sample size of the experiment was somewhat small (18) and that the cats that served as subjects have “worked” in a cat cafe for years, and so presumably had had more exposure to humans than other cats, the results were pretty clear and extremely surprising: Vision alone, and vision plus hearing, were by far the most efficient ways of grabbing the cats’ attention.
How did the senses of big cats get reversed in house cats? An obvious explanation, and one consistent with the details of this experiment, is that the mental life of house cats have been adjusted to the human social environment. The visual cues that the experimenters used were mainly visual social cues, like eye contact and slow blinking. So what the results really show is that cats are good at visual cues as long as they are also social cues.
Another myth you humans need to completely debunk is that we felines are not loving. Recent experimental results show how mistaken this belief is: Cats may like to hide it, but they really do care a lot about their owners. Dogs just show this in a more obvious manner. So there you go and this feline is very happy that some of these ridiculous stereotypes are being destroyed.
Some brilliant humans have created “Just a Box“, the first box created for and sold to felines.
The idea was born from a conversation between the company Hepper’s CEO and Director. After spending years creating products that please both cats and humans, this time, they decided to go straight to the source and to provide a product that cats really want…a box!
Just a Box is a darn good box and yes, it’s made from cardboard. Hepper added their signature touch, a delightful collection of illustrations crafted by Hepper’s creative mastermind, Sofia Feraboli. And because every cat deserves the royal treatment, Hepper threw in a fluffy, cozy blanket to ensure their feline customers experience pure box comfort.
And this was no fly-by-night idea. It took months of research (i.e. watching cats nap).
The Human recently purchased two very squishy, furry and comfy cat beds for The Tribe and she still finds us snoozing in the latest Chewy box so this feline does not find this new product surprising.
Looks like we need a good feline detective for this one!
For you humans who are concerned about outside entities tracking you, now you need to be worried about your cat’s privacy being invaded as well. A handful of ByteDance employees in the US and China tracked a cat’s TikTok account in order to find the IP address of its owner, a reporter covering the company.
Buffy, a black and white Maine Coon-looking kitty reportedly had 170 followers and 20 posts when the employees viewed the data. The traumatizing tracking has reportedly forced Buffy off of social media: Cristina Criddle, the cat’s owner and a reporter for the Financial Times, said Buffy “sadly is no longer making content.” Meowza, this is concerning for these journalist felines but we do not use Tik Tok.
Criddle revealed details of the tracking in a recent article detailing the moments TikTok fessed up to tracking her location in a botched effort to sniff out a leaker in the company. Criddle says she received a “cryptic” phone call from a TikTok PR director in December right before the holidays informing her she was one of two journalists who had been surveilled by four employees. The employees monitored the reporters’ location data to see if they were in the proximity of ByteDance employees who could be connected to the leak. It didn’t work.
“It was just really chilling and horrible and, personally, quite violating,” Criddle told the BBC. Criddle said she used the account from her mobile device but that her own name and occupation were not included in the bio. The reporter says she still hasn’t received complete answers from ByteDance about how long she was tracked. TikTok did not respond to Gizmodo’s request for comment.
The journalist still reports on the company but says she now uses her old device as a “dummy phone” stored at her office and kept solely for accessing the app. Criddle said she’s had to cut back on both her and Buffy’s social media use across platforms following the incident. Even now, months later, she says anxiety induced by the monitoring still keeps her up at night.
“At times I have struggled to sleep, thinking about what ByteDance employees might have found out about me,” Criddle said. “For a while, I often canceled plans out and, whenever I spoke to or met new sources, I felt on edge.”
The tracking effort ultimately failed to find the leaker and resulted in a publicity nightmare for ByteDance and TikTok. As a result of the snafu, ByteDance fired all four of the employees involved in the scheme and re-structured its internal audit team. Still, the missteps only emboldened the company’s critics, who’ve spoken out about Chinese employees accessing US user data. Lawmakers from both parties grilled TikTok CEO Shou Zi Chew over the issue during a combative hearing in March. Chew claimed the monitoring didn’t amount to “spying.” Either way, the employee’s actions caught the attention of the Department of Justice, which has launched an investigation into the company.
Good grief, not even cats are safe on the web any more!
A statue in memory of a cat which frequented a railway station for 13 years should be erected in its honour, fans of the feline have said.
The mischievous feline, named Paul Newman after the Hollywood star, died this week aged 15.The pedigree Bengal cat was well-known by commuters and travelers passing through Liverpool South Parkway. A Facebook page following his antics over the years has nearly 5,000 followers.
Paul Newman’s owner, Steff Hudson, said her pet had brought people “a lot of joy”.
“He loved people so he found a niche here because people always stopped to say hello to him because he always stopped to say hello to them,” “I was very lucky because he was mine, but he was also all of theirs as well and he gave them a lot of joy.”
In a tweet Merseyrail said: “We are sad to hear that Paul, our much loved feline friend often found at Liverpool South Parkway, has passed away. He will be missed.”
James Smith, Merseyrail acting HR Director, said Paul the cat was “a much-loved character” and “valued by Merseyrail staff as much as our passengers”.
“Discussions are ongoing internally about the best and most appropriate way of remembering Paul and the wonderful, positive impact he made to thousands of travellers on the Merseyrail network,” he said.
Following the announcement of his death, Paul’s fans took to the Facebook page to share memories of their furry friend. Ms Hudson said she would have “no objection” to a statue in his honour “as long as it was a good likeness to him because he was very, very handsome, like his namesake”.
You’ve got to be kitten me, we all know cats rule!
The age-old debate of “cats versus dogs” has long been a topic of playful rivalry between the two household pets, both of which have maintained their positions as the most popular pets in America for decades. Instacard used data from pet food purchases to bring some data to the argument.
Dogs dominate in the U.S. with 36 states showing more dog food purchases, including the entire South, and nearly all of the West Coast, Midwest, and a bit of the East Coast.
Fourteen states plus Washington, D.C. are team cat, including nearly the entire Northeast – New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Vermont, Maine, and others – as well as Minnesota, Oregon, and Washington.
Based on Insta Cart purchase data, here are the top 5 cat treat brands that have clawed their way to the top.
All I have to say to the folks at Insta Cart is, “NOT SO FAST” . Although I understand you are using your sales data, please note, there are other pet food delivery companies and I wonder what their data would show. This Tribe orders all their food and supplies from Chewy.
Hello there furiends, Happy Wednesday! Finally, things are getting organized in our neck of the woods and the home office is working for our Purrsonal Assistant so that we can actually get some decent work out of her. There are still a few things to organize and rearrange but we are making progress.
The Human likes old stuff and purrticularily likes to collect old tool boxes, especially the painted ones. She brought one home from her business and I’m trying to decide if this is something I need.
“Human, what is this, is it for me and how should I use it?”
And since The Human is spending most days working in the home office, we like to hang out with her too. In this photo, I tried a new sleeping spot and position. Methinks I won’t be using that one too much.
Good view but not so comfy.”
We’re just happy to be getting back to our work schedule so, without further ado, here’s this week’s newsworthy feline stories from around the web.
An Engineer’s Guide to Cat Technology of the Future
Professional engineers Paul and TJ have done some of the most hilarious cat videos from an engineer’s point of view. This is there latest video which is a summary of cat technology and they discuss what cat technology will look like in the future. This video took them ten years to make! If you haven’t watched their previous videos, I highly recommend them!
I don’t know about your humans but The Human at our house isn’t happy until she locates all three of us when she gets home. Even though she tells herself that we have a lot of hiding places and chances are, if one of us doesn’t come out when she shakes the treat can, it doesn’t mean we’re not in the house. If your humans act the same way then tell them to get you a Tile -tracking bundle that includes one of the company’s Sticker trackers and a new collar attachment to truly secure it to the feline.
This tracker is more comfortable for us to wear and can be detected from 250 feet away which is why it’s a better in-house tracker than an outside tracker. It also has a battery that lasts for three years.
You can get the tracker in either black or white and it’s affordable at $40.00. And some of us, if we do make an escape, hang out very close to home. When Lily did a Houdini on us this winter, she was hiding under the wicker furniture on the front porch (and meowing like crazy!)
Now here’s something new and different, some scientists have gotten together and studied how we cats respond to you humans when you point. This kind of study has been done with dogs but, as usual, we cats were left out of the scientific loop.
“This study came about because a student, Margaret Mäses, approached me and said she would like to test cats,” says Wascher. “I was absolutely up for it because cats are an interesting and understudied species.”
Wascher and Mäses set out to replicate and expand on a study from nearly 20 years ago showing that cats may be able to follow human pointing gestures.
To find subjects, Mäses meticulously evaluated the suitability of approximately 200 rescue cats housed together in a shelter in Lithuania. Out of these cats, she worked to identify those who were open to being isolated in the testing room with a stranger.
“I do have to credit Margaret, who was absolutely brilliant in being able to identify individuals who were not fearful or anxious and were interested in taking part in the study,” says Wascher.
Out of the 200 cats at the shelter, Wascher and Mäses ended up with a sample of nine cats who completed testing. Now you might be wondering, why so few? She explained, “One of the problems was that so many of the cats were not interested in the test or in being isolated in the room or in whatever this strange human wanted from them,” says Wascher. “In cognitive tests like these, it is important that the subject know what question is being asked of them and they are motivated to take part in the experiment.”
Mäses presented the cats with two cups, each containing a small amount of food. She tested the cats in two conditions: one in which she pointed directly at one of the cups and one in which she pointed across her body at one of the cups.
Overall, the results showed that cats are able to follow human pointing gestures. As a group, the cats’ success rate was about 75 percent, and they performed significantly above chance whether the pointing gesture was direct or across the body.
While this replicates and expands on the previous study, Wascher said further research is needed to understand this behavior’s underlying mechanisms.
Wascher said this study also adds to the growing body of literature suggesting that species not typically thought of as highly social may still be able to master social-cognitive tasks. Even though cats usually do not live in huge, socially sophisticated groups, socialization with humans may give them a chance to exhibit their social-cognitive abilities.
Finally, Wascher hopes research like this will help cat owners better understand the behavior and cognition of the animals in their care.
“For a long time in science, the cognitive abilities of other species were underestimated,” she says. “I think a better understanding of how other animals think and feel creates an environment where humans tend to be more careful with them.”
“Now don’t forget your lines and please, meow as though you mean it.”
I think all cats should be famous and, if you’re a Boston feline, you may have a chance to be in a commercial, and get paid $1200.00 (that’s a lot of kibble and catnip my furiends!)
The cats, according to the casting call by Boston casting need to be comfortable being outside and in a harness. The cats and their owners also need to be available to film the commercial either the week of May 8 or May 15.
To be considered, email a photo of your cat, their comfort level with a harness, a photo of the cat’s owner, where you’re based and contact information to pets@bostoncasting.com. The subject line should be “CAT CASTING // [your name].”
The Human is bummed that we don’t have an opportunity to contribute to our lavish lifestyle so she’s on the computer looking for cat casting companies in our area.
Furiends, we kitties can suffer from terrible sun damage and the story of Dora the cat is a cautionary tale. Dora was an outdoor kitty who lived in an industrial area with her kittens. When wharehouse workers saw the state she was in they took her to the local shelter and were shocked to find that the problem with her ears could be cancer.
After a thorough vet check, the decision was made to operate and remove the tips of her ears in the hopes that the damage wouldn’t spread.
It isn’t just the ears of pale colored cats that can be sun damaged but also our noses (if they are unpigmented and white or pink). Sun damage and skin cancer will often appear as a pink, thickened or scabbed area on the ears or nose and also may cause hair loss and itching. As it progresses it can become ulcerated and bleed or cause black crusts to form.
Dora made a full recovery and has been adopted into a loving home. Her new human said, “I spotted Dora on the website and she looked so sad and frightened that I instantly knew I wanted to give her a forever home,” Dora was timid when she got to her new home but within a week she was moving through the house (which is how she got her name because she’s always exploring).
Hello Furiends! I hope your week went well. It’s been nice here in our neck of the woods. The snow is finally starting to melt and we are enjoying finding sun puddles in the house to “recharge”. The Human did have an exciting surprise this week. She came home to find a package from Chewy and lo and behold, there was a painting of Lily, from one of Chewy’s talented artists.
“I think this painting captures me beautifully.”
Now I say “one of the Chewy artists” because The Human did receive a lovely portrait of my brother Oliver and the signature on the painting is different than the one on Lily’s portrait but also beautiful!
“I am a handsome fellow!”
Now it’s not that I begrudge Lily and Oliver their fame but I am wondering when it will be my turn, I think I’m a pretty handsome man cat.
“Dear Chewy, when will I be immortalized in a painting?”
Oh, and if you’re wondering how being captured for posterity in oil has affected Lily……….
“You may now approach me peasants.”
As I mentioned, we’ve been having sun!! While The Human mumbles about how the sun shows how dirty the living room windows are, Ollie and Lily took advantage of the soft sofa and the sun puddles.
Oh well, purrhaps it’s time for me to stop sulking about the painting …but then again….
“Here’s the deal Human, get a painting done of me and I’ll get off your paperwork, capiche?
Well, enough about us, let’s see what’s new in the feline news world.
A cat named Teddy was found in a pile of rubble six days after a gas explosion in a house in south Wales. The March 13 blast killed one person. Teddy’s human and her son were taken to the hospital and both recovered from their injuries. Another family feline and their puppy had been rescued but for a week there was no sign of Teddy. Thank goodness rescue workers never gave up and, when Teddy’’s human showed up after she was released from the hospital and whistled for him, Teddy the Ragdoll emerged from the wreckage. I love stories with happy endings!
A street performing cat in Taiwan has won over the internet and the locals with his vocal purrformances. The song he and his humans sing is a love song that has a hook that plays on the onomatopoeia of the sound a cat makes. Onomatopoeia is a word that imitates a sound like “buzz” or “sizzle”.
Roughly translated, the first line is, “We can learn to meow like cats, we go meow meow meow meow meow.” Needless to say, this is a purrfect line for a cat to sing. As he’s brought to the microphone to sing the cat delights the crowd and his fellow human singers. You can watch the wonderful purrformance in a clip posted to TikTok.
I quite fancy a singing career however The Human can’t sing at all so I’d have to find my own human band. Anyone out there want to go on the road?
Newsweek has a weekly pet winner and this week’s winner is Murray, adopted by Lisa Russel in 2021. Lisa, like The Human, took Murray to foster and of course, became a foster failure (a badge of honor).
Murray, was adopted in the fall of 2021, his owner told Newsweek: “I was just supposed to foster him for a week or two…but we all know how that can go.”
Murray had been living in downtown San Diego until his owner was no longer able to care for him. A call for help with fostering was sent out to the community and Russell answered the call. As soon as she she saw Murray he was her forever cat.
Murray loves to travel in the stroller in the big park near his house. Russel says, “He hangs his little arm over the edge of the stroller like he’s driving a sorts car. On nippy days, he dons a scarf made by a neighbor-it’s blue to match his eyes, of course.”
“When Murray hears me tell the dogs that it’s time to go to the park, he runs to the bottom of the stairs along with them. He’s rarin’ to go,” said Russell. “I do put a collar and leash on him so that he is secure in the stroller. He is a very good boy, but I want to be safe and not worry about his reflexively hopping out to chase a lizard or bird.”
I’m thinking about all those lucky folks in the San Diego park who meet Murray when he’s out and about and get a “Murray paw shake”.
From then Instagram account of Anthony Klein and Sammy
Anthony Klein and his ginger feline companion Sammy are best buds. They do a lot together including singing duets. Klein shared a video on Instagram showing his drowsy cat as he serenades him with the song “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star”. In the video, Sammy joins in the singing.
As you may have guessed, the video has gone viral. These two are a purrfect match, in life and in singing. Don’t forget to check out their Instagram account.
Happy Wednesday Furiends! We hope things in your neck of the woods are going well, although we know some of you are really suffering through a crazy winter. Still, it’s all about your purrspective. We are getting spring fever with these high temperatures and The Human even ran out of the house without a coat this morning. Weather Kitty understands our purrspective here in the Inland Northwest as evidence by the photo today. You may call it chilly, we call it spring!
What a difference a week makes. This video was taken last Friday. It was, in the words of Winnie the Pooh, a rather blustery day.
And when the weather’s like that, this is how you’ll find us.
We found some great holidays to celebrate this week, we invite you to enjoy them too!
On March 17th we’re all Irish!Oliver invites you to join him for one of his favorite holidays on March 17.This may not be Lily’s favorite holiday on March 18th but she bets you can all relate?
Well, that’s it for our neck of the woods. We hope you enjoy your week and whatever holiday you wish to celebrate (except maybe Awkward Moments Day!)
“I’d rather go to the vet in my harness than a carrier.” – Oliver
The heading of this article made The Human but after we read it, it made a lot of sense. The sense of self control in situations is strong in humans and dogs and MUCH stronger in cats because, to put it bluntly, we felines like to have control
We felines, this shouldn’t be viewed as a negative trait; control gives us a sense of safety. With cats, the idea is to reward and reinforce good behavior and that constitutes allowing the cat to give consent or to participate.
In the example of carrier training, if the only time a cat sees or is shoved into a carrier is to go to the vet; the cat will be less than enthusiastic about the carrier.
The following cat carrier trips are from Marc Bekoff, Ph.D., and Steve Dale:
Leave the carrier out 24/7. If the cat was previously afraid of a carrier because of the negative association made with the veterinary visit, purchase a new carrier that looks different.
Randomly drop treats into the carrier so it becomes an automatic treat dispenser.
Once comfortable inside the carrier, begin to feed the cat in the carrier. Most cats may now hop inside, expecting a treat for doing so. Cats do train people—and now you comply.
Now, ask your cat to hop into the carrier on cue—and always offer high-value award for doing so.
Ask your cat to leap into the carrier, close it, and walk to another part of the house. Once there, open the carrier and feed. Good things happen after being inside the carrier.
Finally, teach the cat that car rides aren’t bad—before going to the vet, just drive around the block, and when returning home give them a meal. And when you do go to the veterinarian, go for a happy visit—no exam, only treats.
These steps are much better than force and working with your feline to make him see the carrier as something other than an item of fear will be beneficial.
Marc Bekoff, Ph.D., and Steve Dale address the issue of petting and over-stimulation as well, saying that “petting is okay as long as the cat consents.”
They say, “For cats who typically allow only a minute or two of petting, stop petting after around 30 seconds. Quit while you’re ahead, leaving the cat to decide, “I want more.” If so the cat asks to be petted more, offer only a few seconds, continuing to leave the cat wanting still more. At some point, the cat will likely say, “Okay, that’s enough.” You can increase the time you spend petting your cat while still allowing the cat to maintain control.
Likewise, if you want to play with your cat, be sure your cat tells you it’s okay. Cats, dogs, and other animals clearly express their intentions and have to consent for fair play to continue; it’s best to be sure they want to play with you.
The article notes that “giving cats control by granting them agency and asking for their consent supports their need for safety, security, and trust, makes them happier, and enhances the social bonds you form with each other.” This feline agrees wholeheartedly.
When Barbara Thorpe passed away in 2002 she put most of her money in a charitable trust. A trust is a legal arrangement where the money set aside must be spent according to the wishes of the person who sets up the trust.
Barbara wanted her fortune to benefit the cats of Dixfield, Maine but for many years her money sat in the trust, unused which was contrary to the law. Eventually, Brenda Jarvis along with four other cat ladies in town joined together to sue to liberate the money on behalf of the cats of Dixfield. The cat ladies lost their lawsuit but their efforts attracted the attention of Christina Moylan, who is an attorney working for the Attorney General of Maine. Christina’s job is to ensure trusts are handled properly.
In the matter of trusts, Christina says that the law must follow the instructions of the dead forever, even if the world changes, even if the instructions seem vague.
It took a few years but Christina did find a way to honor Barbara’s wishes and she found an animal shelter that was willing to manage the money and now, the shelter is taking in stray cats from Dixfield.
We say two paws up for Christina Moylan and for following the law and finding a way to honor Barbara Thorpe’s wishes to care for the feral cats of Dixfield, Maine.
People, people, people…how many times will I have to report on a cat going through an airport scanner before this madness stops?!
A cat was discovered inside a passenger’s carry-on baggage when it went through the security checkpoint in a Virginia airport.
Good grief, if you remember to take your computer out of your bag before it goes through the scanner how can you forget your cat in his travel case?????
This feline can’t wrap his mind around this and all I can do is reiterate, TAKE YOUR CAT OUT OF THE CARRY-ON BEFORE IT GOES THROUGH THE SCANNER!!!
On its website, TSA provides travelers information about guidelines on traveling with pets stating they should never be put through an airport’s X-ray tunnel.
Dogs and cats, for example, can either be screened privately in a separate room or walk with a traveler through the metal detector on a leash and then the empty carrier can be sent through the X-ray machine.
He likes to be carried around in a paper bag in the house so I thought I’d try it outside. He didn’t try to jump out and just relaxed.
We love the folks at Bored Panda because they find some of the funniest cat photos. They found some of these on the Reddit community thread called “This Is My Life Meow” and when you’re done checking the Bored Panda photos you can always find new ones on the Reddit thread.
This one was the Tribe’s favorite. Let us know which one is your favorite.
The felines in residence at the home of two Redditch, England humans are living La Vida Loca. They have their own bedroom (that cost over 300 UKL ($361.00) to furnish) with a full sized double bed, crown shaped cat beds, lots of toys and a budget up to 100 UKL ($120.32 at today’s rate of exchange) a month for treats.
Hannah Whitmore, 24, a service adviser for a car dealership, loves cats, so when she moved in with her boyfriend, 25-year-old bricklayer Tommy Taylor, the couple adopted two felines – Simba, 10, and Nimbus, one. Kudos to them for adopting an older cat!
Tommy refers to himself as a “cat dad” and always speaks to the cats when he gets home. Hannah changes the cats’ bedsheets in their room every week.
“I would say the cats own us rather than the other way around!” Hannah laughed.
She continued, “They are here for a short time, and they should be our priority. They very much come first in our house, but I think that’s the way it should be. I definitely spoil them in a materialistic way. But Tommy is very affectionate with them. When he gets home, he’ll talk to the cat before he talks to me!
Tommy, the self-proclaimed cat dad had to be convinced to adopt the cats but during COVID when he and Hanna stayed with is grandparents and their cat, the cat won him over. When the couple moved into their three-story townhouse they went to Cats Protection in Birmingham and adopted Simba.
Nimbus joined the family about a year later.
The casts are inseparable, sleeping together, washing each other and loving each other.
And what if the couple has children and move into a bigger house? According to Hannah, the cat’s new bedroom will have to be twice as big.
These cats are living the high life and I’m thinking The Human needs to step up her game.
Happy Windy, Wintery, Wednesday furiends! We were sailing along in our neck of the woods, convinced that spring was just around the corner when all of a sudden it turned into Siberia! The Human was outside with the snow blower this morning and as we watched from our warm window perches we couldn’t help but laugh because the wind was so strong it blew most of the driveway snow back on her. She was quite a sight when she came in. Right now it’s a balmy 19 degrees and the wind has died down to 9mph and the town streets are like skating rinks. We felines are happy to burrow under a pillow and stay safe and warm.
“Human, why are you covered in ice and snow? Please keep your distance, I am nice and warm in this chair.”“Good grief Human! Why are you all wet? find yourself a nice spot on the bed and cuddle up with me and my pillow.”“I know I’m squishing the chair cushion, what’s your point?”
There are all kind of cat daddy’s out there, even cowboys. Andrew, a true Texas cowboy has turned his home into a cat sanctuary. Today he as seven cats in residence. Andrew has caught attention of the web for posting videos of his relationship with all his cats. His video about his favorite orange cat, Sebby is a real hit. Andrew carries his feline with him wherever he goes, in his hat and in his heart. He also wants to make clear that he loves ALL his cats. You can watch his TikTok video here.
When The Human read this she nearly fainted. This converts to $481.87 per month. Meowza! But, William Powers, a physician from Farmington Hills, Michigan, owns six cats – including the world’s tallest and one with the longest tail ever measured. Our Human is no slouch and spares no expense for our healthy meals but we usually cost her about $145.00 a month for the three of us.
His cat, Fenrir, the worlds tallest cat is a Savannah cat and measures an impressive 18.83 inches and weighs 36lbs. I can see where his food consumption might be a bit more than ours!
William also has the Guinness World Record holder feline in his house, a Maine Coon called Altair who holds the world record for the longest tail (40.83 cm or 16.07 inches)The other four feline siblings are, two Bengal’s and two other Savannah cats. Fenrir has a custom diet made out of mostly raw meat, primarily chicken but sometimes other meat. Then the cats get a special blend of supplements such as amino acids, long chain fatty acids, porcine bone meal, and other additives like nutritional yeast for flavor.
Sometimes he’ll use some regular domestic wet cat food as a topper or mixed into their raw diet to improve the flavor.
William’s home is “designed with the cats in mind”. They have an outdoor enclosure, their own master bedroom with huge glass windows, and tons of towers and wall mounts for their enrichment.
Fenrir is quite the local celebrity with over 8,900 followers on Instagram, and often goes to William’s office to visit patients and do the work of a true therapy cat.
Fenir is a bit of a fraidy cat and will often hide if he’s in close proximity to other cats and dogs.
William and Fenir also make appearances at local shelter events.
The contest is for both photography and videography. You don’t have to use professional gear to take your photo or video but you do have to edit your submission using some form of Adobe Creative Cloud software, including but not limited to Photoshop, Lightroom, Premiere Rush, Premier Pro and Adobe Express. Any image with a cat as the subject is allowed.
Despite being launched by Adobe Japan, the competition terms and conditions do not state anywhere that entrants must be from a certain area or region to enter the contest – but the prizes up for grabs are all in Japanese yen.
To enter, you must be following the official Adobe Japan Creative Cloud Twitter or Instagram accounts, and post your image with the hashtag #アドビにゃん (Adobe cat) which must also be accompanied by one of the following hashtags: #写真部門 (photo), #動画部門 (video) or #猫大喜利部門 (cat ogiri) depending on which you enter.
divisions are the ones that have the highest award, also including what the competition refers to as an Excellence Award.
The grand prize for the photo division is an Amazon gift card worth ¥100,000 (equivalent to $745 / £614 / AU$1,088 approximately), and two people will also be selected for the Excellence Award and receive an Amazon gift card worth ¥50,000 (equivalent to $371 / £307 / AU$545 approximately). These will be exactly the same prizes and amounts for the Video division winners.
Just remember that, while the T&Cs don’t explicitly prohibit foreign entries, it’s unlikely that prizes (including Amazon vouchers) will be redeemable outside Japan but still, you could have some fun entering.
As a former shelter cat, this feline loves stories about creative ways shelters use to find forever homes for their cats. An adoption center and cat sanctuary in Los Angeles has gone viral after launching its “nice and naughty” cat of the week series.
Toni Barrett, development manager for Heaven on Earth Perry’s Place, said she and her staff were inspired by a popular cat influencer on TikTok who goes by the name “Pot Roast’s Mom,” who would label her own cats as “good or bad” cat of the week.
Barrett thought the idea was funny and decided to apply it to her work at the sanctuary, she told Fox News Digital.
“We should do that at Perry’s Place because we have so many cats, and we always have someone doing something naughty or volunteers telling us how much they loved [how] this cat was well-behaved this week,” Barrett said.
The series was launched on the shelter’s Instagram page in March of 2022, but did not take off until the fall, according to Barrett.
“It was slow [at first], people were enjoying it, and then all of a sudden we had this one [post] that kind of went viral,” Barrett commented.
Two felines named Elijah and Popsicle were awarded nice and naughty cat of the week, respectively.
“Elijah has opened up and shown the staff how much he loves belly rubs,” the post read in reference to the “nice cat” of the week.
“Popsicle stole treats from Daniel, his BLIND roommate,”the post also said, regarding its “naughty cat”.
Barrett quickly noticed a massive increase in Instagram followers as well as likes. Since then, thousands of users have been reacting to the posts.
Heaven on Earth’s Perry’s Place is the current residence for roughly 111 cats and 91 foster cats.
Volunteers and staff members are the ones to nominate a cat to be selected for the “nice and naughty” cat of the week award.
“Our adoption team has done such a great job that sometimes I’ll have a cat ready on Tuesday, and then on Friday that cat will be adopted, so then I have to scramble and find a new cat,” she commented. Now that’s the kind of problem every shelter would like to have!
I hope all is good in your neck of the woods. It’s been C-O-L-D in our neck of the woods! Today the temperature climbed up to a balmy 15 degrees Fahrenheit!
Since it’s a new month, Oliver, Lily and I decided to celebrate some of the occasions that are celebrated in the month of February. Enjoy andn don’t forget to celebrate!
Date night has been made so much better for folks in San Diego. Whiskers and Wine may be the only full restaurant, bar and cat rescue in the country. For a $30.00 fee you can have the attendance of some meowvelous felines while you enjoy a delicious dinner and some cocktails like a Whisky Meower. Whiskers and Wine is a hit and, since it’s opening in August 2022, has helped 80 cats get adopted. And, if you visit them on Saturday or Sunday mornings, you can purrticipate in yoga with cats. .Be sure and watch the video of this great place!
The Human often gets frustrated with my brofur Oliver and I when we suddenly go after each oither. She can’t tell if we’re really fighting or play fighting. Evedintely sh e’s not the only human who wonders about this. A new study published in Scientific Reports has investigated play and fighting in cats.
The scientists used observation to see if they could figure out this conundrum. The study, led by Noema Gajdoš-Kmecová from the University of Veterinary Medicine and Pharmacy in Slovakia and from the University of Lincoln, UK, analyzed 105 videos of interactions between 210 cats to find the answer.
After they purrused the videos, the research team then developed an ethogram – a list of specific behaviors and those were put into six groups:
Inactive: head and body motionless and in specific position, for example crouching
Wrestling: cats in physical contact with wrestling movements
Chasing: one cat runs in pursuit or another cat runs away
Other interactive activities: for example grooming, approaching, raised fur on back
Non-interactive: activity directed towards themselves or an inanimate object, for example drinking, self-licking
Vocalization: for example growl, hiss, meow
They went back and watched the videos again to identify which of their discovered behaviors were shown in the cats. Each interaction was then analyzed statistically to work out which behaviors appeared together in clusters.
They then separated the videos into three categories of interactions.
1-Playful: included 40% of cats from the videos and included wrestling and a lack of vocalizing.
2-Agonistic: agonistic behaviors (any social behaviors that include threatening, aggression, and submission). Cats in this group vocalized and had recurring bouts of inactivity; 32% of cats from the sample landed in this group.
3-Intermediate: this group included 28% of cats and was more closely associated with the playful group than the agonistic group. Cats in this group interacted for prolonged periods with pauses in between.
The scientists also had cat behaviorists review the videos and their conclusions. From their observations, the professionals provided some tips.
If your cats are wrestling, they’re probably playing. Normally, when there is friction between cats in a multi-cat household, they tend to avoid physical contact. Instead, they’ll use offensive or defensive maneuvers that don’t involve extended direct contact, such as slapping. This is true with our Lily. She’ll walk by Oliver or I and give us a big whacky paw for no reason, and then she strolls off.
If your cats are vocalizing, and chasing between periods of inactivity (such as crouching), they are most likely fighting. Vocalization is an especially important clue here to an aggressive rather than playful interaction. Chasing is OK if it’s mutual, but if one cat is chasing or one cat is running away, that’s not so positive.
The intermediate group is the tricky one. It contains elements of both playful and agonistic behaviors, though but more closely related to the playful than the agonistic group. This suggests play could become agonistic, depending on what happens during the interaction.
In particular, the authors observed frequent breaks within the interaction, which may allow cats to reassess their partner’s interest in playing and avoid escalation from play to aggression.
This study is the first to apply a scientific approach to cat behaviors anybody can identify, describing three types of interactions to help identify between play and fighting in cats.
It’s pretty easy for humans to figure out when cats are really fighting but this study helps in working out what’s happening when it doesn’t appear to be a real cat fight.
It’s also important to understand the relationship between cats. If they are buddies, share food and for the most part friendly with each other, you can let them have a little antagonistic play without worrying.
Everyone has that one coworker…
After watching this video, I can’t believe that anyone would complain about this wonderful employee!
This feline loves to learn about the history of my ancestors. This article is about how . Vikings prized cats for two reasons: their rodent-hunting abilities and their coats. In other words, when felines started slacking on the mousing, they faced transformation into a cape or a coat. (Note, this was NOT part of the history I enjoyed!)
As felines traveled on the conquering Viking ships as they pillaged and murdered their way through the British Isles, Iceland, Europe, Greenland and North America many found homes in these new places. (Perhaps if they knew they were in danger of becoming a coat, some of them jumped ship!)
It’s a bit hard to picture these violent people with pets but it’s true, they purrfered cats!
And how did the fabulous feline get to Scandinavia you ask? Recent examination of feline DNA from archaeological sites dating to 15,000 to 2,700 years ago suggests the ancestors of today’s cats expanded across the world during two distinct periods, separated by millennia. The first migration event saw them move from the Middle East into the Mediterranean. There, local farmers welcomed our ancestors, pleased to have effective rodent-control services in their fields and crop storehouses.
Still, even this cat knows that the Mediterranean is a long way off from Northern Europe, Archaeologists say that happened thousands of years later and began in Egypt. At this point, seafarers knew the value of felines in keeping from setting up shop on their ships. Some of these sailors were Vikings This was discovered in a Nordic site in Germany where scientists discovered cat DNA resembling that of ancient Egyptian felines.
That second wave of cat migration began around 1700 B.C. and picked up significant speed by the A.D. 400s. This conclusion was reached after reseearchers worked with animal bones from the Bronze age to the 1600’s.
Perhaps the most fascinating insight discovered by the researchers was the physiological transformation felines underwent over the centuries. Typically, when animals get domesticated, they shrink in size. For example, the average dog is about one-quarter smaller than its wolf ancestors.
When it comes to felines, however, DNA shows something altogether surprising. Instead of getting smaller, “domestication” caused cats to balloon. (I resemble that remark!) We know that the Egyptians treated us as gods and that the Vikings fed us very well! Thankfully that tradition continues today!
Instead of talking about life in our neck of the woods this week, I want to talk about an amazing place we just learned about in a very far away neck of the woods. We received an email from Peter, a volunteer at Velvet Paws Sanctuary, a small regional cat shelter in Hajdúszoboszló which is close to the second largest Hungarian city Debrecen.
Peter wrote that Velvet Paws isn’t a shelter but a refuge in the home of a woman named Ilona. She was active in shelter volunteer work until she moved to Hajdúszoboszló. She found that people there weren’t interested in the fate of stray cats so she decided to create a foundation to help wounded and ill cats from the streets and provide medical assistance, shelter and food and find forever homes for the cats. Peter wrote that there are cats everywhere in the house (at present there are 50) and the cats aren’t allowed in the garden in the winter as it is too cold. All of the cats are all socialized and given free access. An old white cat lives in the bathroom because he needs extra care and feeding. There is only one cage in the house and that is used to keep the new small kittens separate from the older cats in the house.
Peter does the web and social media work and is the only one who speaks English and who reached out to us. He explained that Hungarian taxpayers can send 1% of their tax to any listed foundation but as they are new, the sanctuary does not qualify yet. Peter also noted that he had registered the non-profit with TechSoup (a Google organization for non-profits) but they haven’t qualified yet for free Google advertising. We sent The Human over to Google to find out more about TechSoup and it doesn’t sound like they are interested in small non-profits like this one.
Everything done for Velvet Paws is done by volunteers and they rely on the kindness of the community to provide cat food and other supplies as well as help with veterinary costs. They are taking advantage of free social media accounts and use a free Wix website as well and don’t have the funds to hire professionals. I say they’re doing a good job with the volunteers they have but things could always be better.
Their website,Twitter account and YouTube channel tell the stories of cats they’ve rescued. This story about Bársonyka, found when she was three months old, especially touched my heart. Her name means Velvet Kitty and when she was found two of her legs were broken and she had a traumatic diaphragm hernia. After her fractures were fixed and her hernia surgery completed, she was fine. She’s now waiting for someone to adopt her. Her surgeries cost the sanctuary $400.00. You can find this story and others on their website. They also have a program where you can virtually “adopt” one of their cats.
I hope you will check out this very deserving sanctuary and, if you are so moved, to help them in whatever way you can. Spreading the word about them is a big help so please share the story of the good people in Hungary who donate their time, treasure and home to help cats in need. And I know many of my furiends are well versed in the cat saving biz so if you have any ideas that could help them, please let them know. If your Hungarian isn’t up to snuff, you can send an email in English to Peter at hungarianvelvetpaws@gmail.com.
I love these amazing felines! They are traveling the country and if you have the chance to see them take it. I would caution you not to expect any of their feats from your felines in residence, even if all the Acro-Cats are formal strays.
The current show is called “Meowy Catmas” and will be in various venues in the New Orleans area until Dec. 18th.
There will also be a special appearance by The Rock-Cats, the only cat band in the world, playing seasonal carol selections such as “A Cat in a Manger,” “Catnip Roasting on an Open Fire” and “God Rest Ye Merry Kittens.”
In addition to being on “Cat People,” the Amazing Acro-Cats have been featured on national TV shows including “The Late Show with Stephen Colbert,” Animal Planet’s “Puppy Bowl,” “CBS News Sunday Morning” and PBS Nova’s “Cat Tales.”
Tickets range in price from $35 to $50. The first week of shows offers a $5 discount when purchased online. For show dates and times, and to purchase tickets, visit www.rockcatsrescue.org.
Tickets are also available at the door. This two-hour performance has limited seating, so advanced ticket purchases are suggested as it is always a sellout.
Volunteer opportunities are available during the show that will earn you a free ticket. Learn more here.
The Acro-Cats tour supports the Rock Cats Rescue, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Rock Cats Rescue is focused on saving cats “one click at a time” through cat welfare, rescue and adoption. Acro-Cats performances promote the importance of bonding and training cats with positive reinforcement, while also finding homes for rescued cats. Rock Cats Rescue has found homes for 310 cats and kittens since 2009.
Have you been seeing the word ‘dabloons’, or doubloons, a lot lately, and are confused as to what is going on? Well evidently this feline isn’t the only one confused.
I did some research and will hopefully answer your questions about the dabloon movement.
When I asked The Human what dabloons were she thought I was talking about doubloons which are gold coins dating back to 16th century Spain and used as currency for hundreds of years. Those aren’t the ones I’m talking about. The ones on TikTok came from a meme (said to have been on Instagram) from 2021 with a cat holding out a paw and the words, “four dabloons”. Each toe was worth one dabloon.
The meme quickly became popular on Tik tok and has evolved into “Dabloons” andnow refers to an imaginary currency. This doesn’t surprise me. Humans have been involved in quite a bit of imaginary currency these days. It is a fictional currency used to trade fictional items and only for fun and not to be taken seriously.
The meme quickly became popular on Tik tok and has evolved into “Dabloons” andnow refers to an imaginary currency. This doesn’t surprise me. Humans have been involved in quite a bit of imaginary currency these days.
It is a fictional currency used to trade fictional items and only for fun and not to be taken seriously.
The meme quickly became popular on Tik tok and has evolved into “Dabloons” and now refers to an imaginary currency. This doesn’t surprise me. Humans have been involved in quite a bit of imaginary currency these days. It is a fictional currency used to trade fictional items and only for fun and not to be taken seriously.
How it works
Humans collect ‘dabloons’ by just counting up how many times they have seen dabloons online. In other words, if you see dabloons, you get dabloons, and each meme is worth four dabloons.
Humans are going to great effort toe create this dabloon economy in extreme detail. You can get into dabloon debt, dabloon theft, some are tracing dabloon inflation, and there are even claims of a dabloon IRS (the American Inland Revenue Service).
Dabloon shops have popped up, such as @dabloongrocerystore, offering items as innocuous as eggs and flour. You may come across videos featuring cats declaring “hello traveller” as though you are a weary adventurer making your way around the internet. They will then offer you a variety of items with prices in dabloons, which you can choose at your leisure. Hmm, maybe I should check this out for Oliver, he could use a job.
You have to keep track of your own dabloon spending, which some people are doing using excel spreadsheets.
Some people started to give away infinite dabloons, but this has started to play havoc with the economy. The hashtag dabloons has been viewed 520 million times on TikTok.
This feline has concluded that some of you humans have waaaaay too much time on your hands!
How do cats always land on their feet? Far from being some human urban myth, the majority of felines dropped from a height manage to land on all fours; from your domestic feline to the king of the beasts, feline agility is at work.
The falling cat question has been under scrutiny by scientists for many years.. (There’s even a book about the phenomenon.) Back in 1894, Étienne-Jules Marey captured the arc of a cat falling on film, creating a slow-motion series of frames that showed what was happening. As Ars Technica describes, when it was first presented, Marey’s slo-mo cat fall led esteemed physicists to declare that cats were acting “against the known laws of physics.”
Regardless of feline agility defying physics, Marey’s film captured a cat showing the “bend and twist” necessary in mid-flight to bring its legs underneath its body for a safe landing. Each frame showed how the cat flexed its spine and rotated its legs to land “butter-side” up, so to speak.
In a BBC video, the wild cat, native to Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia, Pakistan and northwestern India, falls gracefully to the ground. Following the slow-motion frames, the narrator describes the sequence of events.
As the feline orientates itself in space to determine which way up it is facing, it starts a two-direction rotation. The forelimbs go clockwise while the rear spins counter to that. The cat holds its front legs close into its body similar to the way ice skaters do to increase speed of spin. This is key as it allows the animal to exert a force against the rest of its body, with the flexible spine allowing the rotations to continue. As the cat rights itself it brings all four feet underneath and arches its back to prepare to absorb the landing. Muscular and flexible limbs held perpendicular to the main body mass absorb the compression and impact forces for a successful landing.
Feet landings have helped cats survive in the wild and they have another advantage that makes them more likely to survive a fall: Their terminal velocity is low. Terminal velocity is the limiting uniform velocity attained by a falling body when the resistance of the air has become equal to the force of gravity. (I had to copy this as science is not this feline’s strong suit!) In other words, it’s the fastest speed a falling body gets to in free flight since resistance to the air limits the acceleration attained. To put it in non-sciency terms, we cats deploy a fluffy parachute by stretching ourselves out, a little like a flying squirrel. (I’m not so sure how I feel about being compared to a rodent but I digress).The scientists say this makes our terminal velocity around 60 miles per hour. You humans hit terminal velocity at 120 mph.
Fascination for feline agility extends to robotics, where building machines that are capable of self-righting, landing correctly or surviving falls offers a lot more versatile. This curiosity also extends to space, where NASA studied how cats fell in order to coach their astronauts on how to move around in zero gravity.
Once again, science proves what amazing creatures we felines are.
Over the years, we’ve seen unusual feline faces become instant social media sensations. Cats like Lil Bub, Cinderblock, Grumpy Cat, Perdita, and Jorts became overnight stars.. And now it’s time for everyone to hear about Fishtopher, a cat that’s become famous for looking really depressed.
Fortunately, only a couple of days after the internet discovered Fishtopher, there were plenty of people interested in adopting him. In a Facebook post from last weekend, New Jersey’s Homeward Bound Pet Adoption Center said that the cat’s “sad, fat face” had led to “hundreds of inquiries” and a line of people waiting outside its building for a chance to take home a rising star.
Among them were Laura Folts and Tanner Callahan, a couple from Baltimore who, NBC News states, took a two-hour drive to wait outside for the shelter to open on the weekend. They ended up being the first in line and adopted Fishtopher.
Now, as was probably inevitable, Fishtopher has an Instagram and a Twitter account. He no longer looks sad and his accounts are used to both document this fact and share links to other cats in need of homes. I would say this was the best result possible from Fishtopher’s fame..
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