Walk Through The Web Wednesday 7/22

siamese cat on a leash walking through a garden

Hello Furiends,
It’s been rather boring in our neck of the woods. The Female Human’s ankle is healing nicely and our pampering schedule is back to normal.

It has been a bit warm. We’re not used to any temperature in the high 80’s so when it gets hot, we just hang out and do as little as possible. In case any of our furiends do not have the skill of “hanging out and doing as little as possible” Oliver has included visual instructions.

Well, enough about us and on to the latest feline news.

Cat furniture designed for felines AND their humans

I’ve heard of cat furniture and human furniture but this is the first time I’ve heard of cat AND human furniture. The CatYou in a circle is a new modular design for both.

The marketing material says that the set includes “a floor sofa and a coffee table that aims to create a relaxing space for cats and their owners”. The designer of this furniture distributed questionnaires and, after 233 responses, began the design. It was discovered that 1/3 of cat owners live in spaces that are under 50 square meters. That’s just a tad over 538 square feet. Methinks this survey was not done in the U.S.

What the designer learned from the surveys was that cats don’t have enough hiding space, traditional cat furniture takes up too much living space and people want more room to bond with their cats.

CatYou in a Circle didn’t want to separate the pets from their owners so it is designed to bring them together while also maintaining boundaries. The hollow armrests and backrest offer cats a playground and hiding territory while the coffee table provides a place to sleep. The woven bamboo texture makes it possible for owners to see their cats even when they are hiding and play with through its holes. There are fabric cushions at the bottom of the armrests and coffee table.

Our Human is still trying to figure out what she thinks about this furniture. Meow at us and let us know what you  think.

New Chartwell Cat takes up residence in Churchill’s home

Image copyright PA – Churchill requested that there should always be a cat with four white paws and a white bib at Chartwell

Now you human leaders take note. Sir Winston Churchill requested that a specific type of feline always take up residence at his home. A new rescue kitten is now living at Chartwell, in Kent, England.

The former prime minister was given a marmalade cat by one of his private secretaries, Sir John “Jock” Colville, for his 88th birthday in 1962 and Jock made it to many cabinet meeting.  There is a rumor that meals could not begin unless Jock was at the table. (I sure wish we had that rule at my house!)

The good folks at the National Trust, which was left the property by Churchill’s family in 1966, has always honored the request. This month, seven-month old Jock VI moved in.

Trust officials say he takes afternoon naps, eats tuna and lounges on Persian rugs at the house. Jock had a tough start to his life but he’s living the vida loca now!

The folks at the Natural Trust say, “He’s a very caring, loving cat and I think our visitors will get lots of enjoyment from seeing him around the property for many years to come.”

Cat’s ‘cancer’ was instead hairbands and string from toys

This is a good news/bad news story and our Female Human insisted I include it because I have a bad habit of chewing plastic and rubber. Vets originally thought five-year-old Waffles had cancer, however an operation revealed the large mass in his tummy was actually hair elastics, string from cat toys, and yarn from his scratching post. Now, it’s good news that Waffles didn’t have cancer but the bad news is that all surgery could have been avoided had he not eaten that stuff! Note to self, stay away from the rubber bands!

Couple turns their home into a cat memorabilia museum

This one is for all you humans with too many cat trinkets…and you know who you are.

 A couple in Menomonee Falls have rescued 21 cats from the streets or shelters — and thousands of cat items from secondhand shops. At last count they had more than 1,750 cat figurines, hundreds of collector plates, enough artwork to fill full walls of their home, as well as toys, cookie jars, jewelry, and more.

The clever husband came up with the idea to put all these treasures on display for others to see and to raise money for cat rescues. and this is how Redner’s Rescued Cat Figurine Mewseum was born.

“It (the museum) is very time-consuming because I want it to look good,” he said. “It takes time to get the right pieces in the right place.”

Redner estimated that they have spent “a couple thousand dollars, a few bucks at a time” on the collection and now you can see it too!  

A soft opening for the museum was scheduled for noon to 6 p.m. July 19.

Moving forward, Redner plans to have the museum, N88 W15114 Cleveland Ave., Menomonee Falls, open from noon to 6 p.m. the third Sunday of every month. For updates, visit the museum’s Facebook page.

Admission is $5, which will be donated to local rescues; kids age 12 and younger get in for free. As operations get underway, Redner hopes to host a different rescue group every time the museum is open to talk about what it does and provide cat adoption information.

In the future, Redner dreams of moving the museum into a separate building and adding a cat adoption center. 

Purrhaps it’s time for our Female Human to consider putting some of her cat collection on display!

Beware of the Meow Bot!

We felines have taken over the internet and although most of the cat stuff you see online is good, the Meow Bot is NOT!

It seems as though the Meow Bot was created to destroy databases that leave themselves open and exposed online without any security access controls.

Sadly, dozens of databases have already fallen victim to the unknown attacker.

Who is behind the Meow attacks?

Although the motive behind the Meow bot attacks is not yet known, nor has anyone figured out where the attacks come from, some computer experts say it could be the work of a vigilante “trying to give administrators a hard lesson in security.”

This is a heads up to all you feline aficionados who run databases, make sure they are secure! And for all of us with PC’s the Meow Bot is not designed for us but it’s always prudent to be very careful about what you open or click on!    And by the way, I hiss in  the direction of those malicious bot creators!