Office Cat “Pompous Albert’ Earns Internet Fame, Signs With LA Agent

Jeff McAdam with Fox 13 Salt Lake City reports: “There’s an office cat in Salt Lake City that’s so scary looking, he sends computer mice running for cover. “He looks like he’s preparing to take over the world,” said Deana Peat, who works at a Utah business where the cat stays. The cat’s name is Pompous Albert, and he’s Instagram famous for his appearance.” Here’s the rest of the story of Pompous Albert. (8/24/17)

Daily Mail: The purrrfect companions! Two RATS help care for young orphaned kittens at a Brooklyn cat café

Rat and cats aren’t famous for their friendship, but a New York café is challenging that stereotype. The Brooklyn Cat Café on Atlantic Avenue has recruited two rodents to help care for orphaned kittens. Rats Emile and Remy now look after the café’s lonely or sick kittens and even help out with the grooming. Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4815750/Two-RATS-help-care-orphaned-kittens-Brooklyn-caf.html#ixzz4qg5PGv9M  (8/24/17)

Mother cat breaks into vet clinic to be with her abandoned kittens

A New Zealand vet clinic realized the cat that kept lurking outside and trying to sneak into the office wasn’t just looking for a treat or a cuddle, she was trying to get to her kittens that had been abandoned there. Jen Markham (@jenmarkham) explains in this video segment. (4/29/16)

People Who Don’t Like Cats? Maybe They Just Haven’t Met a Kitten Yet

What happens when people who don’t like cats meet kittens for the first time? This Buzzfeed video has the answer and its delightful. (8/19/15)

What’s that Purring All About?

Molly Bloom explains on Minnesota Public Radio that cats purr to “control the weak-minded humans they live with.” (Yes, we confess that our cats do run the show around here.) Check out “How Your Cat’s Purrs are Not So Secretly Controlling You” (7/29/15)

Why Do Cats Purr?

As Danielle Venton writes in Wired, “It’s Not Just Because They’re Happy.” (5/13/15)

 The Surprising Health Benefits of Cats

Huffington Post Live has a terrific story about some of the surprising health benefits of living with cats. and it’s worth a quick look right here. (3/21/15)

Five Reasons Life is Better for Cat People

Chelsea Harvey writes for Business Insider: “In the age-old battle between cat lovers and dog lovers, there may never be a clear winner. Science demonstrates that both cats and dogs can provide health and social benefits to humans – and both cat owners and dog owners are quick to tell you how much their preferred pet improves their happiness and quality of life. But science tells us there are some unique benefits that come with cats.” For the rest of the story, check out “Five Reasons Life is Better for Cat People” (1/5/15)

Cat accidentally sold in mattress: Mattress cat back home after box spring ride

(Source: http://www.examiner.com 12/30/14)

A cat accidentally sold inside a mattress is back where he belongs today after a 10-day jaunt away from home – which included a joyride inside of a man’s box spring, strapped to the roof of his car. The lost feline, named “Camo,” was recovered, using the power of social media and the allure of a malodorous tin of fish.

Writes The Associated Press, via ABC News on Dec. 29: “Roy Dufek wrote in a statement that his girlfriend, Hayley Crews, caught Camo in a trap Saturday night after he was reportedly seen near the Hillsboro Airport west of Portland. The trap was baited with sardines in oil and familiar scented clothing.”

The Portland area couple sold their bed on Craigslist on December 17, but the transaction also (unknowingly) included their five-year-old cat, who had snuck into the box spring via a rip in the side. Hayley Crews said Camo would sneak into the box spring, but once she learned of the secret hiding spot, she taped it up. When they put the mattress on Craigslist, she removed the tape, and Camo evidently jumped in shortly before it was sold.

“[Roy] tried to find Camo when the (buyer) left my apartment,” Crews said. “He searched and searched and tore the place apart. The cat wasn’t there. He told me, and right away, I knew that he had hid in the box spring…When the furniture was being hauled out, Camo got scared and that’s where he would have hidden.”

The couple, who live together in Hillsboro, sold the bed for $100 to a buyer in Rock Spring, approximately five miles away. The pair fired up the power of social media, contacted the buyer, and made sure friends in the area kept an eye out. Dufek and Crews also did quite a bit of searching themselves.

Adds the NY Daily News: “Dufek let the cat out of the bag with a social media and flier campaign to reclaim Camo. It paid off when a caller told the couple Camo was spotted near the Hillsboro Airport west of Portland, close to where the mattress buyer lives.”

When Camo came back, he had lost two pounds, had a busted lip, bleeding paws and broken claws. They took him to the vet, who checked him out and released Camo. “We can’t even imagine what he’s been through in a week and (a) half running wild near the countryside, especially in this weather,” Dufek wrote.

“We can’t ever repay or say thank you enough to all the people that spent their cherished holiday time, and resources to help us bring Camo home,” Dufek said “It was quite emotional last night, we’re in shock of this whole experience, and have been holding him tight!

http://www.examiner.com/article/cat-accidentally-sold-mattress-mattress-cat-back-home-after-box-spring-ride

Feline fans flocking to cat cafes around the world

TOKYO — A cafe patron is trying to woo Amu — she of the long hair and lovely green eyes — but the beauty disdainfully turns away.

And then she flicks her fluffy tail. Amu is a long-haired calico — one of 51 felines who staff the Calico Cat Cafe, one of Japan’s numerous cat cafes — and she has a reputation for being somewhat aloof.

But most of the resident felines are curious about the cafe customers and eager to toss a few toy mice around with them. Patrons, who pay the equivalent of $9.36 for an hour of cat play, can also get a cup of tea or a bite to eat. For another 300 yen (about $2.80), they can make a cat’s day and buy a fortunate feline a small chicken snack.

Mimi Whitfield of the Miami Herald has the full story here, posted 11/9/14 by The Associated Press.

USDA Researchers Find DDGs Great for Kitty Litter

An Illinois, kitty litter that’s nearly 100 percent biodegradable can be made by processing spent grains left over from corn ethanol production. U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) plant physiologist Steven F. Vaughn and his colleagues have shown that litter made with these grains as the starting material may prove to be more environmentally friendly than popular but nonbiodegradable clay-based litters. After use, clay litters mostly end up in landfills.

The team’s laboratory experiments yielded a suggested formulation composed of the (x-dried distillers grains with solubles) and three other compounds: glycerol, to prevent the litter from forming dust particles when poured or pawed; guar gum, to help the litter clump easily when wet; and a very small amount of copper sulfate, for odor control.

The resulting litter is highly absorbent, forms strong clumps that don’t crumble when scooped from the litter box, and provides significant odor control, according to Vaughn. He’s based at the Agricultural Research Service (ARS) National Center for Agricultural Utilization Research in Peoria, Ill. ARS is USDA’s chief intramural scientific research agency.

(Credit: Biofuels Digest and writer Meghan Sapp 11/25/13)

Grumpy Cat Coffee?

As if ruling the internet and having her own agent weren’t enough, now Grumpy has her own coffee. Eun Kyung Kim has all the details in the Today story, “Will Grumpy Cat coffee drinks turn that frown upside down?”

MSN Living Offers 10 Signs You Might be a Crazy Cat Person

OK, we’ll admit, we weren’t too keen on the story’s title but the first photo of someone with an armful of 12 identical kittens dragged us in. To be sure, the picture looks suspiciously like it’s been Photoshopped, but who can resist a dozen identical tabby kittens? And, Gina Cohen’s MSN Living piece is pretty clever. We’ll let you be the judge with “10 Signs You Might be a Crazy Cat Person.”

Your Cat Isn’t Really Ignoring You

Jennifer Vargas of Discovery News writes, “Cats may try to hide their true feelings, but a recent study found that cats do actually pay attention to their owners, distinguishing them from all other people. The study, which will be published in the July issue of Animal Cognition, is one of the few to examine the cat/human social dynamic from the feline’s perspective. Cats may not do what we tell them to, but they usually adore their human caretakers.” Here’s here complete via NBC News, “You’re Cat Isn’t Totally Ignoring You.”

Cat Fur Can Put the Cuffs on Criminals

“Homeowners buy expensive alarm systems, tamper-proof locks and other items to protect their property, but a new study points to a less obvious crime-buster: cat fur shed by fastidious felines that might be living in the home. An international team of scientists has just established an extensive DNA database that will permit cat fur to be used more often and accurately as forensic evidence,” Jennifer Vargas of Discovery News writes in the story, “Cat Fur Puts Criminals Behind Bars.”

Grumpy Cat Lands an Agent

So you think internet sensation Grumpy Cat is well known right now? Just wait until you see what’s next. Grumpy Cat has landed an agent … and a movie deal! For the full story, check out Katherine Rosman’s story in the Wall Street Journal, appropriated titled “Grumpy Cat Has an Agent, and Now a Movie Deal.“