The Pet Blog

Feral cats — nearly invisible and often reviled — have prowled into the spotlight.

The free-roamers with an aversion to humans have grabbed headlines this spring because of a bounty on their heads in Iowa, a threatened roundup and disposal in Fairfax County, Va., and other elimination plans across the country.

But the cats also are receiving attention of a different sort.

Grass-roots groups and animal-welfare organizations are directing money and energy toward helping the tens of millions of feral cats that skulk about college campuses, cluster around back-alley trash bins, swarm among the rocks at beach communities and colonize the nether-reaches of suburban parks, military installations and abandoned barns and fields.

According to Neighborhood Cats, a “feral” cat is one who has reverted in some degree to a wild state. They originate from former domestic cats who were lost or abandoned and then learned to live outdoors or in environments involving little human contact.

TNR (trap/neuter/return) respects a feral cat’s wild state. The neutering of the ferals prevents tremendous suffering and shields the cats from the hostility their behavior might otherwise draw from human neighbors. But the return of them to their own territory and the providing of adequate food and shelter gives them the opportunity to live among their own, to be free and to answer to their own unique natures.

This method thwarts future litters and reduces the yowling, spraying and fighting that annoy humans. In the process, the cats usually are vaccinated, treated for minor problems and given a notch in the ear to identify they are sterile. Over time, the colony will grow smaller through attrition.

For a list of organizations with programs to benefit feral cats, see the USA Today article, Compassion often eludes feral cats; groups out to save them, by Sharon L. Peters.

Photo: Joan Fairman Kanes for USA TODAY

Watch video

Yup, now that the cats are involved, it’s all over for Hillary.

The World Is Your Litter Box: A How-to Manual for Cats is a very unusual book in that it was written by Quasi, who happens to be a cat. This book is actually an instruction manual for cats who were unfortunate enough to be born without the innate feline abilities possessed by Quasi.

The cats who live in my house, Grace and Bandit, were very interested in the book. Grace, of course, wouldn’t read it while I was looking, but she did read it after I was asleep for the night. Grace, the world’s most prolific upchucker, learned of a few new places to throw up thanks to Quasi. Bandit thought the book was very flavorful - all four corners now are artfully decorated with fang marks.

Grace and Bandit have a few suggestions in case Quasi is thinking of a sequel. They’d like to teach him the “brush your tail against a candle during a party” trick to liven up social gatherings. Also, to encourage household remodeling and redecorating, there’s the “get up into the ceiling and cause the drywall to collapse” trick.

On the whole though, we’d like to congratulate Quasi, and his human co-author, Steve Fisher, on a cute, humorous, and charming book.

Watch video

Watch video

via: critter news

My sons loved LEGO blocks while they were younger. We had LEGO creations all over the house. And we also had loose blocks all over the house. Very sharp when you stepped on them barefoot, uncomfortable when you sat on them on the couch. One time, when we had a blocked toilet, guess what we found? LEGO blocks!

Hopefully, Dave doesn’t have pieces all over his house to step on. I’m sure he doesn’t, he’s way too creative for that. Dave e-mailed me to show me his LEGO cat birdhouse creation:

Dave’s kitty, Simon, approves of the birdhouse.

Although Dave designed his birdhouse to be a functional birdhouse, he never intended to put it outside and let the elements destroy good LEGO bricks. This made him a little sad because the birdhouse would never really have any birds as visitors.

So Dave built a LEGO bird for the LEGO birdhouse!

Very creative, Dave!

This is Mary.

Mary has a problem: the hair around her rectum is missing. That area is very pink and a little bloody, but not swollen.

What’s wrong with Mary?

Read Cat Care, Breeds and Resources Blog for the answer.

The Daily Mail has printed photos of Orazi, the ginger tom cat who weighs in at a whopping 35.2 lb. Orazi lives in Eupilio, Italy.

I think Monty, who lives with my friends Christina and Luke, is almost as large as Orazi. I’m not sure how much Monte weighs - they probably can’t lift him up to weigh him.

What do you think? Close?

“Monty wants his tummy rubbed” by corsi photo.

watch video

(via)