These Linguists Want to Help You Speak Fluent Cat

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Science of Us 27 April 2016: "There’s a mystery in The Aristocats — that classic 1970 Disney movie about felines falling in love, dodging murder, and prowling around Paris — that no one has been able to satisfyingly explain: Why, when all of the cats are French, do they have such a wide variety of accents? Family matriarch Duchess is vaguely French, I guess, but O’Malley the alley cat is American, and I don’t even know what the kittens are — British, maybe.

The simplest explanation, if we’re going to seriously engage with the linguistics of a kids’ movie about anthropomorphic cats, is that they have different accents for the same reason humans do: They’re all from different places. Previous research has found that whales, cows, and macaques all have their own regional..." read on.

Ferals, Strays and Barn Cats

The Columbian Blogs 25 April 2016: "You’ve seen them around, cats that seem to have no home and may be skittish towards you. These are cats that have either lost their home and have to fend for their self or they were born in the wild. These are usually called stray or feral cats. A stray cat is one that has been socialized to people at some point in her life, but has left or lost her domestic home, as well as most human contact and dependence. A feral cat may never have had any contact with humans or her contact was minimal. She is fearful of people and survives on her own outdoors. You can often find colonies of these cats around out-buildings on country property. They are sometimes called barn cats or farm cats.

When not properly taken care of, they can live miserable lives. Over population, diseases and predators are some of the dangers that these cats face. But people are often the biggest danger to these cats. People get upset with the number of cats on their property and they shoot, poison, drown or torture the cats. Some will trap the cats and take them to the..." read on

Valletta Cruise Port teams up with Tomasina cat sanctuary to home 8 cats

Valletta Cruise Port teams up with cat sanctuary to find home for eight abandoned cats

Malta Today 20 April 2016: As part of its corporate social responsibility programme, Valletta Cruise Port has teamed up with Tomasina Cat Sanctuary to find a home for eight cats that had been abandoned at Valletta Waterfront in 2015.

Volunteers at Tomasina  successfully caught these cats and took them to a vet, who performed deworming, vaccination and neutering programmes.

The cats are now available for homing.

“It is indeed a pity that these cats were irresponsibly dumped outside, at the mercy of the elements, often risking being injured or killed by passing vehicles. As the company operating one of Malta’s leading entertainment destinations, set in a historical backdrop, and a key stakeholder in the local cruise liner industry, Valletta Cruise Port’s role goes beyond that of...read on.

Are 500,000 cats the solution to Rome’s rat crisis?

A Rome mayoral candidate has promised to solve the city's well-documented rat problem by deploying 500,000 cats to catch the rodents.

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The Local.it 13 April 2016: The unique approach to pest control was announced on Tuesday in a note published by the mayoral hopeful, Antonio Razzi, who also sits in the Italian Senate for Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia Party, Adnkronos reported.

"One of the key points of my plan is to free the city from its rat invasion, but time is running out," wrote Razzi. "Everyday there are more and more."

If elected, Razzi would like to import 500,000 cats from Asia and charge them with rat-catching duty.
"I have already made plans to bring over the cats, which will be deployed at strategic points throughout the city," Razzi continued.

But Razzi is not advocating unleashing huge gangs of feral cats in the city; in fact, he has an innovative and...read on.

‘C’ word has become the elephant in the room

THE conservation lobby/industry/movement . . . call it what you will . . . is something most of us would support.

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Edinburgh News 18 April 2016: Mention the “C” word and we think of the many species being wiped out around the world as man industrialises their native environments; the perils facing big cats and elephants facing extermination at the hands of brutal hunters and poachers; and even native, UK, hedgerow wildlife that has been drastically reduced by large scale, open-field farming, or the paving, patios and fences in suburban gardens.

But there’s another side to conservation. It belongs to the body of scientists and academics who want to preserve species by interfering with nature... read more.

Video: What is the maximum weight of a fish that a stray cat can carry?

Simon's Cat: Fast Track

Enjoy the Weekend!

Why Cats Might Be the Key to Your Marketing Strategy

Website hosting company GoDaddy rolled out its latest ad campaign, which features a business owner that makes hats for cats. Here's a look at other feline-themed campaigns that have scored big views in recent years.

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Inc. 11 April 2016: GoDaddy, the web hosting company that has previously come under fire for running risqué advertisements, is betting that cats will help to improve its corporate image.

On Monday, the company launched its latest ad campaign, which includes a TV segment called "Cats with Hats." The ad follows a woman who is inspired to launch a business selling hats for cats; she retails them through GatoChapeau.com. This website, generated through GoDaddy, allows the woman to reach her target demographic, thus proving that..read on.

UK: Foreign Office employs chief mouser, Palmerston the cat

The Foreign Office is hiring a cat to wage war on mice inside the famous building in Whitehall.

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BBC Newsbeat 12 April 2016: Palmerston will be living at one of the country's most famous addresses among the UK's top diplomats and ministers.

Foreign Office bosses has been quick to point out he will be no burden on the taxpayer.
"Palmerston's domestic posting will have zero cost to the public purrse as a staff kitty will be used to pay for him and all aspects of his welfur."

The Foreign Office statement also said: "Palmerston is HM Diplomatic Service's newest arrival and in the role of FCO Chief Mouser will assist our pest controllers in keeping down the number of...read on.

8 Friendly Facts About Ragdoll Cats

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mental_floss: The Ragdoll cat can be described in three words: big, beautiful, and friendly. With silky, medium-length fur that's similar to a Persian or Angora and the sizable body—and affable personality—of a small puppy dog, the Ragdoll is a favorite breed among cat fanciers. Here are eight facts about America’s fourth most popular feline:

1. RAGDOLLS ARE LAP CATS.

Ragdolls thrive on human companionship, and, unlike some other felines, love being held. In fact, the breed supposedly got its name because early litters of the docile, friendly cat became limp and floppy like rag dolls when they were...read on.

Cake And Cats In Bangkok

The Telegraph 4 April 2016: Cat cafes are proving to be booming business around the world with animal lovers who don't have enough money/time/space to have their own pet. (to photo-post)

Cats that play keep the rats away at Chicago brewery

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WQAD8 7 April 2016:  A Chicago brewery says the circle of life can help keep their brewing area sanitary. Rats have become a big program so feral cats have been brought in to help.

At the Empirical Brewery, four cats have been brought in to keep the rats away. Head brewer Nevin McCown said he got fed up with the rats creating holes in bags of grain. The cats are part of a work program at the Tree House Humane Society.

The cats' scent act as a natural deterrent. The brewery is in an area of Chicago with at least three breweries and one distillery within a five block radius.
link to article and video

Trap-neuter-release works

Keys Info Net 31 March 2016:  Regarding Duff Smith's letter to the editor. 

Cats are not the problem. Never have been, nor will they ever be. Citizens abandoning and discarding these sentient creatures as garbage into the wild are the problem.

Rather than emphasizing an “accelerated killing program” for these innocent animals, perhaps a determined and collaborative mode of policing can apprehend and punish the guilty parties, which have chosen to recklessly abandon and cast away their cats into our extended community. Senselessly killing a beautiful creation because of its owner's negligence, is cruel and barbaric.   

We are in agreement, cats are best cared for when living indoors or under the supervision of their owners. However, what shall be done with those that have been released to roam outdoors, or those beaten to near death and deposited into a dumpster; after they've been taken into a cat colony and are now living a healthy and fruitful life under the supervision of a loving and dedicated caretaker?

Shall these innocent creatures be rounded up and killed, because of the sins and malfeasance of their previous owners; after they've been adopted and shown kindness by their present caregivers for an extended period of time (In one case, a 17-year relationship with the oldest cat)? Shall the supervisors of these colonies providing this service, at no cost to the taxpayer, be....read on.

Special Diet? Cats Living in Moscow Garden Eat Entire Crop of Bananas

Cats living in Moscow’s Apothecary Garden gobbled up the first crop of bananas which was meant for the park visitors, the press service of the botanical garden reported

Sputnik International 2 April 2016: “Recently, we gathered a harvest of velvet bananas and laid the flesh with seeds to dry on a saucer. When I walked into the greenhouse, a large portion had been eaten and near the crime scene a tortoiseshell cat sat licking herself. In the same spot a black cat was chewing on a piece of banana,” the curator of tropical plants Vitaly Alenkin said.

According to him, because of the naughty felines the autumn distribution of bananas for the garden visitors has come under...read on

Meet the 21-year-old cat who has a 'bucket list'

abc15 News 2 April 2016: When Tigger was 20, he was abandoned by his owner at a local veterinary surgery. Tigger was sad, lonely, and scared. Staff at the surgery had no idea why he'd been abandoned at such an old age.

They posted his story on Facebook where it was seen by a woman named Adriene Nicole. She'd been thinking of getting a second cat to accompany her cat, Stuart, and instantly knew that Tigger was the one.

When Adriene went to pick Tigger up he was 'skinny, matted to the skin, and drinking a gallon of water a day.' Vets found that he was in serious stages of kidney failure and had a tumor the size of a golf ball.

Adriene knew that Tigger wouldn't have long left - So she decided to make sure his final few years were the best they could possibly...read on.