“There is etiquette and then there are rules, rules that might be construed as draconian. “
Alberto
Hello Furiends!
This week The Tribe decided to share some of the rules that exist in our house and how we feel about them. We did write a book called, “Felines Opine on Etiquette, What Humans Need to Know About Guests, Cat Sitting and Furniture” but it’s become evident lately that the issue of rules needs to be addressed as well.
We assume that your humans have rules for your home. Some of them are meant to keep us safe, like the rule that says “Don’t leave the front door open” but many are oppressive and inhibit a feline’s right to live their best life. We are going to share a few of our rules with you and why those specific rules are made to be broken.
Stay off the dining room table
Full disclosure is needed here. The Human had the house designed so that the dining room (and the dining room table) are across from the glass sliders to the upstairs deck. What is a cat to do but to disobey this stupid rule?
Leave the puzzle alone
This is technically an offshoot of the “stay off the table rule” acknowledging the fact that humans hate it when you swat some of their puzzle pieces on the floor and then hide them throughout the house. Note The Human’s attempt to protect the puzzle. Epic fail!
Stay off the kitchen counters
There are so many variations of the reason why this rule is impossible to follow. If The Human insists on putting the cat grass on the window sill how are we supposed to access it? And once we’re up there, curious creatures that we are, we are known to wander around to monitor the kitchen goings on.
Now that I’m up here I might as well watch the neighbors. 
Human, I need to check the vintage of this wine. 
The only way I can get to my grass is to get on the counter! 
Hey Human, the eggs are done 
Hmm, grapes. No thanks! 
May I have a sip of coffee 
May I have a bite of your toast? 
Would someone please turn on the faucet ?
Stay out of the refrigerator
Okay, I do see the reasoning behind this but you can’t blame a cat for trying!
Don’t drink water from the bathroom sink, kitchen sink, flower vase or the shower.
I think the photos speak for themselves here.
And last but not least, the random places our house rules say we should not climb into, on top of etc., yeah, those rules get broken too.
In conclusion my dear furiends I urge you to evaluate any rules in your house and before you blindly obey, make sure the humans have considered your needs as well.
And now on to this week’s feline news.
I travel the world with three cats on my shoulders
Spongecake, Donut and Mocha are adventure-loving cats who are also world travelers. Their human, Dan Nguyen started filming their adventures and has now created a TikTok account where you can follow their adventures.
Cats and their humans fall in love with the Stray video game
Oh my whiskers, you can’t go anywhere on the web without reading about the Stray video game.
Aside from the reviews that say the game is fun, there is a way for humans to edit the game so that their own cats are featured. Now I am not a very techy feline and sadly, The Human gave away our Play Station a while back so I can’t provide you a first hand report. I do know that that the game is about a pet cat who has lost their way in a vast, grimy cityscape full of droids and dangerous creatures. The poor feline is trying to find it’s way home.
There have been some fun results from the love of this game. Videos of cats watching the action unfold, clawing at the screen and interacting with the game have amassed thousands of likes and views online.
Then there are the inventive shelter folks who have Shelters and foster organizations who have figured out that that using a Twitch channel and a twitter account to bring awareness to the needs of their felines and to raise funds.
I love when shelters are creative and using this game is very creative. If any of you have humans who have played the game, meow about it and let me know what you think about it.
Cat reaches into every cage at the vet to pet the animals
The feline staff members of this veterinary clinic (all rescue cats) are excellent care givers. This video shows one of the staff cats training the other felines in the art of patient care.
You can follow these amazing working cats on their many social media platforms. Paws up for these dedicated working cats!
Scruffy looking cat turns into blue-eyed beauty
Oh my whiskers, I love a happy ending and this is the happiest. The best part of the video is when Malcolm gets into his human’s arms and purrs for the first time. You can follow Malcolm on TikTok.
Cats in winter – and in water
While some of us in the good old US of A are suffering through a heat wave there are areas of the world that are experiencing winter. I thought I’d share some cooling photos of felines who are enjoying (or enduring) snow and water.
As my regular readers may know, I choose pawsitive stories for my news feature but it seems like wherever I sent my researcher to find this week’s news, we saw the headlines for the Polish Institute. I refuse to give their scurrilous classification any time on this blog but I am posting a photo of my reaction to their “findings”.
Alberto
The owners of a wine store met a feline and thought they would find him a home. The feline, named Jake, had other ideas. He loved the store so much, he’s now the “Meow-an-ager”. Now, before you get on your high horse and decry the fact that this cat has a job, it was his choice and Jake holds court at his store, seeing his admiring public (many bearing gifts) on a daily basis. Two paws up for Jake who landed himself a cushy life.
While I’m on the subject of wine….Jake might recommend these libations to his feline customers. Cats can choose from a nice Pinot-Mewo or a MosCATo from 
When you visit the True Value hardware store in Crested Butte, Colorado you may meet Jingles surveying his domain. Technically,. Jingles is a working cat but his job description is much more lofty than “store employee”. His influence in the community is such that his birthday has been declared a holiday. Way to go Jingles!
I’ve heard of shop cats, library cats, railroad station cats and even felines with political positions but I’ve never heard of a cat that guards an ancient and important place, until I heard about an orange Tabby who guards the ancient pink city of Petra in Jordan. The folks from 
The humans at our house are always grumbling about the money they spend on the Tribe of Five and often threaten to find us jobs. Well, my feline friends, here’s a chance to prove your worth to the humans in cold, hard cash! $500.00 cash for the top cat mouser! Just have the humans take a video of you mouse hunting but hurry, 
The Tribe of Five has some grooming rituals but we never realized there was intention in the way that happens. And, with a Tribe of Five, sometimes there’s a little issue with the harmony so this article was very helpful! 
Momma Kat and Bear Cat are always having conversations about all kinds of stuff. This one was a little freaky as Bear is insistent that there are aliens in the house and their home base is the dishwasher. Now Oliver and I have often wondered if some of those loud machines in our house are alien habitats so as soon as the human finished reading this to me I did a complete alien sweep of the house! (Suggest you do the same.)
Now, I am great with leading my humans down the stairs, up the stairs and into the bathroom but this cat gives leading a whole new meaning. She’s a local mountain guide cat and she recently made world-wide news when she guided a lost hiker down the mountain. Wow, you go little tapfere Katze. (the female human says this means brave cat in German)
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