CATLINES Blog

street cats

note:This sounds exactly like something I would love to be able to do, but apartment dwelling doesn't allow for this. I am glad someone is doing just this! Lauren Merryfield http://www.catliness.com Streetcats helps stray felines land on their feet By: Emily Priddy Source: Tulsa World The little shop is silent as Sonny, a sleek black cat with a notched ear, lounges on a sunny windowsill, monitoring the movements of the sparrows perched in a bush outside. Suddenly, the stillness is disrupted by a streak of orange tearing across the floor. Butters, a fluffy orange tabby, leaps onto a large, carpet- covered structure in the center of the room and scurries up to a ledge high above the floor. From this vantage point, his amber eyes can supervise the movements of the humans on the ground. Welcome to Tulsa's most luxurious homeless shelter. One part boutique, one part adoption agency, StreetCats serves as a stylish crash pad for homeless cats. At the moment, nine energetic felines prowl the aisles of the little gift shop, which offers more than 50 kinds of cat toys, a wide assortment of ceramic cat dishes and treat jars, and every imaginable type of cat-themed gift, from welcome mats to cell phone holders. "It's kind of funny that a lot of cat lovers come in, and they say, 'I could never volunteer for a place like this, because it's so sad,'" said volunteer Camille Hulen. "It's really happy, because these cats -- we've saved them, and when they go to a home, we celebrate, and when they're here, they're with people who absolutely love them." Life can be rough on a stray cat. Some starve; others are hit by cars, injured in fights with other cats or stricken with disease. Even those taken in by some shelters may be euthanized if they do not find a home quickly. The lucky ones find their way to StreetCats, which keeps them safe and comfortable until someone adopts them, no matter how long it takes. "Some find them (homes) immediately, and we've had some others here for two years," said volunteer Barbara Roberts. "They'll stay here as long as it takes to find a home." StreetCats has room for as many as 12 cats in its storefront shelter in The Farm shopping center. Another eight or so reside in foster homes, waiting to be adopted. The organization cannot take in all of Tulsa's homeless cats -- "We are always looking for good foster homes," Hulen said -- but individuals with cats to give away can post photographs and information about the animals on a bulletin board in the boutique. Hulen said StreetCats places 12 to 14 cats a month in permanent homes. The animals' backgrounds are diverse: One might come to the shelter after its owner enters a nursing home, while another might end up homeless after its owner marries someone who does not like cats. Illness and an owner's ignorance can push some cats out of their homes, Hulen said. "A reason that some people turn in cats is because they pee on the carpet," she said. "Very, very frequently, we test them and find out they've just got a urinary problem, and with the right food, it won't happen. ... There are as many stories as there are cats." Hulen said potential owners are screened carefully. Adopters must provide references, answer questions about previous pets and be willing to keep their new pets indoors at all times. Adoption fees are $75 per cat. Hulen encourages potential adopters to come to the boutique and spend time with the animals there. "You don't choose a cat. It chooses you," Hulen said. "What we encourage people to do is come in and sit down and spend some time. It's amazing the number of times that the right cat will come and make up to them." In addition to finding homes for cats, StreetCats tries to reduce the number of felines on the street by providing vouchers for low- cost spaying or neutering of feral cats, Hulen said. "If they're feral, and they're going to be out there, we don't want them making more," she said. To fund its programs, the organization relies on income from the boutique,private donations and several fundraisers. Visit them online at streetcatstulsa.org.

that's what she gets

Note:She gets what she deserves. Surely someone could have helped her but PURRhaps she didn't ask assertively enough. Lauren Merryfield http://www.catliness.com PAINESVILLE, Ohio (UPI) -- A judge in Painesville, Ohio, has ordered a woman to spend a winter night in the woods for abandoning 40 kittens in two parks. Michelle Murray must spend the night with no food, light or shelter as part of the court-imposed sentence, the Cleveland Plain-Dealer reports. Municipal Judge Michael Cicconetti said parks rangers will take the 26-year-old woman into the forest at dusk and pick her up at dawn on Thanksgiving Day. Rangers will monitor her to make sure she is safe and does not freeze, the report said. The weather forecast for the area is for a chance of snow with a low of 23 degrees. Cicconetti had offered Murray a choice of three months behind bars or one night in the woods followed by 14 days in jail, 15 days of house arrest and three years of probation. Murray had pleaded guilty last month to a misdemeanor charge of abandoning the animals. Nine of the kittens later died or were euthanized because they couldn't be saved, the report said. Murray told the newspaper a stranger left the kittens on her doorstep and the local animal shelter refused to help her. The humane society denied it had refused help.

toilet trained kitty

note:This sounds like it could work. Don't know if we'll try it with our four cats or not. It sure would be great if it worked! Lauren Merryfield, http://www.catliness.com toilet train kitty http://www.prweb.com/releases/2005/11/prweb316332.htm New cat toilet training kit takes the worry out of what to get your cat loving friends and family this holiday season. New York, NY (PRWEB via PR Web Direct) November 29, 2005 — Forget the mouse filled with catnip, the new rhinestone collar or the salmon-flavored treats: the best holiday gift for America’s 90 million cats and for their owners is CitiKitty, the toilet training kit for cats. Litter-free life begins with a training seat that attaches firmly to your toilet. At first, the seat is filled with litter. As your feline friend gets used to the idea of hopping up onto its new throne, sections of the seat are taken away. When all the litter and all the sections have been removed, your cat is officially potty trained. No more worries about what to buy all the cat-lovers in your family and among your friends. Over 35 million American households contain kitties, each family spending up to $175 on litter. CitiKitty leaves you with a lifetime of savings, not to mention freedom from that ammoniac odor. And no kitty lover will have to sift through Fluffy’s unmentionables again. Cat toilet-training is a growing trend in pet care - there are internet chat sites, newspaper articles even support groups - and CitiKitty is the most affordable and easy to use product on the market: just about any cat can be toilet trained. CitiKitty has been featured on Good Morning America and in DailyCandy, Newsday and Wired Gadget Lab, among other media outlets. Rebecca Rescate, CitiKitty’s founder, lives in New York City and is available for interviews via email, phone, or in person. The CitiKitty Toilet Training Kit is patent pending and made in the USA. CitiKitty retails for only $29 (including free shipping during the holiday season) and is available at www.citikitty.com. For more information and to see a video of a CitiKitty toilet trained cat please visit www.citikitty.com. Think Outside the Litter Box. Contact: Lisa Selin Davis (917) 771-2810 www.citikitty.com # # # CitiKitty - Complete Cat Toilet Training Kit frame CitiKitty - Complete Cat Toilet Training Kit CitiKitty.com - Home No Litter. Toilet Train your Cat! Order Now Order Now | FAQ | Contact Us | Site Map Citikitty.com - Toilet Train Your Cat Citikitty.com - Home How it works Success Stories Order Now Citikitty.com - Toilet Train Your Cat CitiKitty.com - Toilet Train Your Cat! Benefits of Toilet Training a Cat List of 4 items • Never scoop litter again • Eliminate offensive odors • Maintain a healthier home • Save over $175 per year on litter (Source - ASPCA 2005) list end As Seen On As Seen on: Good Morning America, Newsday New York City, Philadelphia Weekly, DailyCandy, & Wired Gadget Lab The CitiKitty Toilet Training Kit is proudly made in the USA. Throw your Litter Box Away! Toilet Train Your Cat - Video Samantha - Age 12 Trained in a few weeks with CitiKitty!

stray cats

note:Helpful advice for handling stray cats. Lauren Merryfield http://www.catliness.com what to do if you find a stray: http://www.southcoasttoday.com/daily/11-05/11-29-05/b01li523.htm What to do if you find a stray: 11/ 29/ 2005 What to do if you find a stray If Thanksgiving morning is any indication, it's going to be a cold and snowy winter. I woke up early last Thursday to find my lawn coated in a sugar-like glaze of snow. My old tiger cat Daisy begged to go out, but quickly returned to sit by the stove and enjoy the aroma of roasting turkey. As Daisy darted back inside, my thoughts returned to one snowy night last winter, when I witnessed a black and white tom struggling down the road, seeking a passageway among the drifts. My heart sank as I glanced over at my own two cats, well fed and sleeping soundly in their comfortable beds. While the tom probably belonged to someone and was just temporarily lost, the problem of abandoned animals is one that continues to plague our society. When fuel prices and the cost of living soar, and it becomes a struggle to provide even the basic necessities, often the first thing to go is the family pet. Rather than pay a fee to a shelter to relinquish a pet, some people just abandon the animal, hoping that someone with a big heart will find it. According to Diane East of Habitat for Cats, if you find a lost cat, the first thing you should do is determine whether the animal is feral. If you think it is feral, don't try to catch it -- that's the job of an animal control officer. "If the cat looks healthy and well fed, it probably belongs to somebody. If it's feral, it's a cat that hasn't been socialized with humans," says Ms. East, who is president of the New Bedford-based no-kill shelter. A cat that shies away from people and looks unhealthy could be feral -- or simply sick and lost. Often, it's a hard call, but if the animal makes some effort to approach a stranger offering food, chances are it had an owner at some point in its life. In any event, Ms. East recommends that anyone who finds a lost cat, feral or not, should call the local animal control officer as soon as possible. The same goes for lost dogs. "Today, many animal control officers are working with no-kill shelters," she says. Relinquishing a dog or cat to animal control does not mean handing it a death sentence. For example, she cites the example of New Bedford Animal Control, which has developed a partnership with Forever Paws Animal Shelter in Fall River, to find homes for abandoned animals. If animal control cannot respond immediately, Ms. East says, offer the stray some food and water. Animals, like humans, can become severely dehydrated in the cold. "Give the animal warmth," she says, but keep it away from family pets, since its medical history is unknown. If the animal is tame, keep it in a secure basement, shed or garage until animal control can arrive. Towel dry the animal and check its paws for ice chips, as you would any cat allowed outdoors in winter. Since cats can also develop frostbite, especially on their ears where there is little fur, warm all of the feline's extremities, again with a soft, dry towel. Ms. East urges owners not to feed feral cats for long. These animals reproduce quickly, and people who continue to feed them will soon have several adults and kittens living in their back yard. In the case that a good- hearted family decides to keep a lost cat that appears tame, the animal should be brought to a veterinarian immediately for a checkup. Don't let it join other family pets until then. Swansea resident Brian J. Lowney has been writing about pets for more than a decade. See his columns at http://pets.SouthCoastToday.com This story appeared on Page B1 of The Standard-Times on November 29, 2005.

mall cats

note:This could turn out to be the cat's meow after all. Lauren Merryfield, http://www.catliness.com cats invade mall http://www.nbc-2.com/articles/readarticle.asp?articleid=5047&z=3&p NBC2 News Online - Cats invade Southwest Florida mall Cats invade Southwest Florida mall David Karsh Last updated on: 11/25/2005 4:19:45 PM images/LaunchNBC2Video WMP 9 or higher required PUNTA GORDA — The day after Thanksgiving is traditionally one of the busiest shopping days of the year. While malls throughout Southwest Florida are accommodating an influx of shoppers, one local shopping center must deal with a feline invasion. Dozens of stray cats have moved into Punta Gorda's Fisherman's Village, and mall management is having a tough time figuring out what to do about it. "They do keep the rodent population down to a degree. They're just part of fisherman's village," said store owner Fred Klaske. Some of the cats hold out hope for a friendly pat from shoppers, while a few brazen ones aren't afraid to beg for scraps during lunch. Because it was built so close to the water, Fisherman's Village is built several feet off the ground to prevent flooding. The cats have made a home for themselves underneath the mall. While management is reluctant to talk about it, they are taking some steps to remove at least some of the feline population. "That many cats living in a semi-feral mode in one small area, can create some problems. You have the concern of disease spreading in the colony," said business owner Ralph Allen. The cats have found a place in the heart of several store owners who generously leave out food. But at least 20 have already been trapped and relocated by management. "They are trying to maintain a reasonable number of animals here. They have had to remove some. I understand all the cats are being removed from here humanly and being adopted out to a nice home," Allen said. Management says keeping the cat population under control isn't easy. New litters of kittens are born all the time and easy access to food is a big attraction to the area's other strays. Like it or not, the village could be the cat's meow for years to come. © 2005 by NBC2 NEWS.

Mummy Cat

Note:An unusual mascot with an interesting story. Lauren Merryfield, http://www.catliness.com http://kutv.com/topstories/local_story_337175537.html clock Dec 3, 2005 3:52 pm US/Mountain Logan Students Pick Mummified Cat For Mascot Watch the slideshow Definition list of 3 items Save It Email this Article Email It Print this Article Print It list end LOGAN, Utah The Egyptians have King Tut, the Incas have ice maidens and one Cache Valley school now, officially, has joined them with its own preserved artifact. Students at the Cache Valley Learning Center, a private school in Logan that moved to a new location this fall, voted Tuesday for the school's first mascot: a Mummycat. The idea didn't just come from nowhere. A real, naturally mummified cat sits on a shelf in the 116-year-old building's basement, just a few feet from where it was found in a dark crawl space. About 3 feet long, the cat appears to have died while on its back, looking upward and stretched out. While parts of it seemed to have decayed, others are completely intact, including its whiskers and ears. The cat was discovered just before Halloween, bringing several rumors of mummycat curses and mummy ghost stories, science teacher Bill Masslich said. ``It was thrown around as a joke for a while,'' he said, before some of the students started to seriously suggest the cat become the school's official mascot. Of the 78 students who voted at the K-8 school, 35 students wanted to be the Mummycats. A wolverine and raven came in second and third in the mascot poll. School Director Anne Desjardins said the new – and school's first – mascot is OK with her, as long as the kids can come up with something visual to use as the mascot. And it can't be the actual mummified cat downstairs, she said. Student Christian Seiter has some ideas already worked up. The eighth-grader has been the brains behind the mascot election, heading up a student committee for the process. He's also a firm supporter of becoming a Mummycat. ``I thought we needed something to define us,'' he said, adding that he thinks of Aggies when Utah State University comes to mind and other mascots for other schools. ``Mascots kind of define a school.'' Christian saw positives in all three nominations, which were filtered through after students dropped more than 20 nominations in a box in the lunchroom. The Raven would have been known for its intelligence, the Wolverine for its toughness and the Mummycat for its uniqueness. This is the first school year the Cache Valley Learning Center kids have spent in the building at 75 S. 400 West. The building had been used for about 15 years by Bear River Head Start, and was used as a church before that. Sometime after school started this fall, school handyman Chris Weber was doing maintenance work in the building's basement and crawl spaces when he found the cat. ``I was almost afraid to touch it,'' he said, although he ended up dragging it out on a little sled. ``I kind of thought, 'This would be cool for something.''' The conditions within the crawl space must have been perfect to preserve the cat, Masslich said. Natural mummifications require colder, arid environments, much like the snowy peaks decades-old mountain men and women have been discovered on in South America. There's no telling how old the Learning Center mummycat is, he said, unless a professional examined it. ``The kids have been urging us to preserve it,'' he said, which is something he'd been hesitant to do before election results came in. The cat has already helped in some lessons, he said. It was discovered while students were learning about Egyptians, so it was neat for them to see a ``real natural mummy,'' Masslich said. All students in fourth- through eighth-grade have been invited to trek downstairs and see the cat, while the younger students have been kept away because they might get scared, he said. For now, the school will continue developing a design to use as the mascot, possibly voting on that once ideas materialize. Masslich said he'll look into getting a glass case for their not-so-furry friend downstairs, too. ``One thing is that we've been trying to teach with this building – there's a lot of history here,'' he said. ``A lot of things have happened in here.'' (© 2005 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

help the animals

note:This shelter is near where we live. We would take in more cats if we could but our apartment management might evict us. thanks Lauren Merryfield, http://www.catliness.com Animal shelter in a bind Published: Wednesday, November 30, 2005 Animal shelter in a bind Everett forced to let crowding continue By Krista J. Kapralos Herald Writer EVERETT - By the end of next month, more than 10,000 animals will have been squeezed into the Everett Animal Shelter in 2005 - in a space designed to care for 3,500 each year. And this morning, the Everett City Council is expected to renew contracts with six other Snohomish County cities that will ensure the overcrowding continues for the next two years. "We have a crisis situation," City Councilwoman Brenda Stonecipher said Tuesday. "If we just say we're not going to renew, these animals will end up in our city limits anyway. We won't solve the problem by saying, 'We're closed for business.' " Contracts with Arlington, Marysville, Monroe, Mukilteo, Snohomish and Stanwood will be considered this morning. A contract already is in place with Snohomish County, and several other municipalities are in negotiations. All the contracts are expected to be signed, even though that means certain death for many animals. In 2004, 27 percent of all dogs and 43 percent of all cats at the shelter were euthanized, shelter activities coordinator Maryan Milam said. The same is expected this year and into the future, until the shelter is expanded or another municipality offers shelter services. Everett City Council President Marian Krell recently assigned council members Stonecipher, Arlan Hatloe and Mark Olson to investigate solutions. "They will decide whether we want to be a shelter for the whole county or if we just want to do our own," Krell said. "We just don't feel like we can continue doing business like we are now." The problem continues to grow because the Everett Animal Shelter is the only city-funded shelter in the county, shelter director Bud Wessman said. The North Snohomish County Animal Shelter in Arlington closed in 2000 when the facility was found to be inadequate. The closure sent more than 2,000 additional animals to the already crowded Everett shelter. "We need to find a long-term solution and a facility that can handle growth in the community and in the animal population," Everett city administrator Larry Crawford said. "We're continuing to try to work with the other cities and the county." Kay Joubert, director of Companion Animal Services at the Progressive Animal Welfare Society in Lynnwood, said her organization also is an authorized shelter in the county. PAWS contracts with Lynnwood and Brier. "We used to contract with more communities, but we have chosen to change our flow and thus not have to euthanize healthy, adoptable animals," Joubert said. In Everett, the overcrowding often leaves shelter staff with few alternatives. Contracts with other cities require the shelter to accept their animals. "A stray is held for 72 hours," Milam said. "Then it becomes our property, and we put it up for adoption. But we don't have the capacity at this time to save them all. We just can't." Forty percent of the Everett Animal Shelter's $890,000 budget comes from the $80 per animal fee it charges the county and other cities, Crawford said. That fee just covers the cost to run the shelter, officials said. Everett Animal Control and the shelter have 10 full-time employees and about 100 volunteers, Wessman said. As the number of animals increases, the volunteers and staff work to develop creative methods to woo animal lovers to adopt. Adult cats, often the group left behind as kittens and puppies are adopted, are taken to play at the Everett Senior Center. About 98 percent of those cats are adopted there, Wessman said. At outdoor events, volunteers outfit dogs with coats that say "I'm adoptable" and walk them through the crowds. "That's been very, very successful," Wessman said. "We've been able to place close to 100 percent of the animals we've taken to those events." When the shelter cages are crowded, healthy animals are offered to PAWS and other rescue agencies. "If we have space, we rescue (from the Everett Animal Shelter) to give the animals another opportunity," Joubert said. That's the last chance for many animals. "Sometimes, all the kennels are full, and we know we're going to take in another 40 animals tomorrow," Wessman said. "We have to adjust accordingly." Reporter Krista J. Kapralos: 425-339-3422 or [email protected].

wild cats

Note:Rescued big cats! Yea! --submitted by Jim U.S. troops rescue two cheetah cubs Published: Wednesday, November 30, 2005 U.S. troops rescue two cheetah cubs Associated Press ADDIS ABABA, Ethiopia - U.S. troops flew two endangered cheetah cubs to the Ethiopian capital Tuesday after instigating their rescue from a remote village where a restaurant owner had held them captive and abused them. The male and female cubs, whom the soldiers named Scout and Patch, were released on the grounds of the Ethiopian president's official residence after their 680-mile journey from the eastern hamlet of Gode. "This is the first kind of rescue of animals, let alone cheetahs, that we have done," said Sgt. Leah Cobble, 26, as she cuddled the two purring cubs on the runway of Bole International Airport before handing them to government veterinarian Fekadu Shiferaw. The cubs' saga started in October when U.S. counterterrorism troops, carrying out humanitarian work in the Gode region, discovered the animals' owner was keeping them tied up with ropes around their necks at his restaurant and forcing them to fight each other for the amusement of patrons and village children. One cub is now blind in one eye. The soldiers alerted the Ethiopian government and a U.S.-based cheetah rescue organization, drawing international attention to the cubs' plight. They also tried to persuade restaurant owner Mohamed Hudle to hand over the cubs, but he wanted $1,000 for each animal - 10 times the average income in this impoverished nation of 77 million people. Fekadu, the veterinarian, intervened. He flew to the village Saturday, confiscated the cubs and handed them over to U.S. forces. The vet said Mohamed was not paid for the animals and that both had received antibiotic treatment and appeared in good health. Mohamed said he bought the cubs from poachers who had kicked the female cub - Patch - in the face, blinding her. Soldiers said the cheetahs, riding in a cardboard box, purred throughout their 1 1/2-hour flight from Gode. "The cheetahs really brought the soft side out in the troops," Cobble said. "They were all cooing over the cats like children." The cubs will now live at the National Palace, home to President Girma Woldegirogis, along with three rescued lions and some vervet monkeys. Copyright 2005 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

cat joke

Note:Here's a cute one! Lauren Merryfield, http://www.catliness.com What is a cat's favorite color? ^,,^ Purrrrrrrple! --author unknown

funny kitty story

Note:A kitty thief! Lauren Merryfield, http://www.catliness.com http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/cornwall/4489250.stm --submitted by Linda BBC NEWS | England | Cornwall | Hidden feline takes the biscuit BBC NEWS Hidden feline takes the biscuit A Cornish biscuit firm thought it had a real cookie monster on its hands when clotted cream shortbread mysteriously started to go missing overnight. But instead of a greedy employee the culprit eventually caught taking the biscuit at Furniss' Redruth office was actually a hideaway cat. It is thought Cookie, as he has been nicknamed, had been living above the office for up to a month. He is now being cared for by the RSPCA at the Venton Animal Centre. We believe this cat may have arrived on the back of a lorry Felicity Cross, RSPCA Furniss technical manager Sharon Williams said: "As we are a company who makes biscuits, we always have a plentiful supply up in our offices, for our staff to enjoy with their coffee breaks. "But when we discovered one of the boxes appeared to have been clawed open we stopped blaming each other for eating them all." The company called in a pest control firm who gave it a clean bill of health. But staff continued to notice that the biscuits were disappearing from the office overnight and several weeks later the frightened cat was spotted during an early evening forage for biscuits. Reunite with owner The cat was caught by RSPCA animal collection officer Felicity Cross. She said: "There are not many homes in the area so we believe this cat may have arrived on the back of a lorry. "There are business in the area that trade up and down the county, so Cookie could have come from a home from anywhere in the South West, or indeed the country." Now the RSPCA is appealing for information in a bid to reunite Cookie with his owner. Story from BBC NEWS: http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/england/cornwall/4489250.stm Published: 2005/12/01 15:17:59 GMT © BBC MMV