The cat who couldn't spy: A CIA fail

The CIA once recruited a feline agent to spy on enemies, according to a new book that sheds light on the elite cat and its abysmal failure during "Operation Acoustic Kitty."

The goal was to transform the female feline into "a living, walking surveillance machine." Amazingly, the poor cat lived through the operation.  For its first official test, CIA staffers drove Acoustic Kitty to the park and tasked it with capturing the conversation of two men sitting on a bench.

>>> Read more and see what happened

Stray Cat Helps Owner Overcome Anorexia

She was 20 years old. She was 6-foot tall and weighted 108 pounds. And she began to accept the idea of an early death - until she met an Orange Tabby.


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Brave cat tests dogs' suitability

3 January 2011 Last updated at 02:54 ET

Pogo the cat faces a series of dog encounters every day to decide if the dogs are suitable for life in homes with felines.

Report features Richard Moore from the Dogs Trust

Click here to watch this amazing cat

Cat may have swam to island

A calico cat is seated across from some buildings on Governors Island in New York. According to the New York Daily News, security guards on the island found the cat with salty, matted, and seaweed caked hair over the weekend of April 16. Workers on the island believe the cat swam over from New Jersey, which is more than a mile away.

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Cat spends nine days in a tree.

ANDERSON, S.C. — Buster has finally come down from a 150-foot pine tree in Anderson after nine days, but the cat's owners are not happy with local officials.

Linda Megretto told the Anderson Independent-Mail she expected to find the cat dead Monday, but her husband climbed a 40-foot ladder and coaxed the cat down.

Megretto says Buster stayed in the tree through two storms after becoming afraid when a neighbor chased the cat from his barking dog.

She says she called the Humane Society, fire department, police and animal control and got no help.

Sheriff's spokesman Chad McBride says there is no record she called.

Fire Chief Billy Gibson says firefighters no longer respond to such calls because of liability issues. Gibson says putting food at the base of a tree usually works.

Source: The Republic, Columbus, Indiana

Tsunami Update: Cat Island Persists!

The tragic earthquake and subsequent tsunami that struck Japan on March 11 displaced thousands of people, destroyed countless families, and left a bitter nuclear disaster that still plagues the people of Japan. Thankfully, one thing they weren’t able to do is wipe out Tashirojima, better known as ‘Cat Island.’

Situated in Ishinomaki City, Japan, Cat Island is essentially an island in an island that houses about 100 elderly people, many of whom believe that filling a cat’s tummy can and will bring great wealth and good luck. As such, Cat Island is teeming with tens and thousands of stray cats. And as you can imagine, dogs aren’t allowed!

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Cat rescued after three-day ordeal

The desperate cries of a tomcat stuck up a tree for three days led to a full-scale rescue operation in Palmerston North.

Fire officer Austin Pomana risked razor-sharp claws yesterday as he scaled a two-storey high phoenix palm tree – much to the relief of animal-loving students from neighbouring Our Lady of Lourdes School.

The feline saga began on Saturday when city resident Kathryn McKenzie heard cat meows coming from her tree near Botanical Rd.

"It had just been crying all night and all day," she said. "It just seems cruel to leave it up there to die."

She called the Palmerston North Fire Brigade on Saturday, but the cat was left for a couple of days to see if it would clamber down in its own time. However, the cries were getting more desperate yesterday. After a visit from the SPCA, the Fire Service was called to action.

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Dusty The Cat Burglar

They call him the Klepto Cat.

For three years, Dusty has been stealing personal items from his neighbors in San Mateo, California.

But nobody's ever called the police because they know the thief well. This cat burglar is, in fact, a neighborhood cat. Dusty's owners estimate the cat has stolen some 600 items over the course of three years.

Items include shoes, children's toys, and Dusty's favorite: women's swimming gear!

The question is - Which house will Dusty hit tonight?

Famous Felines: Simon, of HMS Amethysts

Simon, of HMS Amethyst 

awarded the Dickin Medal for gallantry under enemy fire

"So, on the night of 30 July 1949, Amethyst left under cover of darkness, and after a further series of adventures and more damage from Communist guns on shore, made it to the open sea, to be met by HMS Concord. The ordeal was over, after 101 days. King George VI sent his congratulations and ordered that the mainbrace be spliced. On 1 August a special presentation was made on deck, representing what the whole crew had been through. While both officers and men stood at attention, Simon was held by a boy seaman while a citation was read out by P/O George Griffiths, and Able Seacat Simon was awarded the Amethyst campaign ribbon."

>> Full story

Small pet stores see healthy growth of organic food sales

Awesome trend!

“It’s done wonders for our business,” Castro says. 
(Los Angeles Times)

Sales of premium-priced organic and natural pet food are expected to grow three times as fast as pet food sales overall through 2015.

Organic, raw and even gluten-free food choices aren't just for people anymore.

These options are showing up at local pet shops that are looking to distinguish themselves from big-box competitors. After a slowdown in sales of premium-priced food during the recession, independent pet shops said the sector was recovering.

>> Full Story

The World's Longest House Cat

To the casual observer walking along the waterfront, Portland may seem like a city of dog owners.

But look inside, and Stumptown has its fair share of feline enthusiasts, too. The Oregonian visited Sunday's International Cat Show to mingle with the city's other animal friends.

At 28 pounds and 48.5 inches nose-to-tail, Stewie is on the books as the world's longest domestic cat.

>> Full Story in Oregon Live

Vietnam Celebrates a Purr-fect New Year.

It might be the Year of the Rabbit, but in Vietnam, locals are celebrating the Year of the Cat.

Exactly why and when Vietnam dumped the rabbit and adopted the cat for its version of the 12-sign lunar zodiac is a source of debate, and may have been partly the result of a translation error.

For the Vietnamese, cats are clean, sociable and smart companions, and their year brings high hopes for harmony.

>> Click here to read full story

Year of the Cat brings about nationwide cat campaign

By David Archibald

The Guardian

This is the Year of the Cat, according to the Vietnamese calender, and a network of Canadian cat welfare advocates are honouring the year with a nationwide awareness campaign.

Care for Cats is a collaborative effort to bring the major problems facing cats to the attention of the public.

Started by a Hamilton, Ont. feline practitioner, Elizabeth O’Brien, the initiative seeks to deliver its message through events and theme months.

Veterinarian Anne Marie Carey, from the Atlantic Veterinary College in Charlottetown, works with spay and neuter programs across Prince Edward Island to combat cat overpopulation and has been providing O’Brien with information from her research.

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Cat, Sal Esposito, Called To Jury Duty In Boston

More Men Are Unabashedly Embracing Their Love of Cats

Sorry, Fido, It’s Just a Guy Thing

Mr. Fulrath is one of a growing number of single — and yes, heterosexual — men who seem to be coming out of the cat closet and unabashedly embracing their feline side. To that end, they are posting photographs and videos of their little buddies on YouTube and on Web sites like menandcats.com, and Twittering about them to anyone who will listen.

>> Full Story @ New York Times

For Cats (and Owners) with Style

It’s not easy to find cat-scratching posts that add anything to a well-designed interior. So Jeanne Byers and Rochelle Klein, partners in an advertising agency, decided to create their own. One is shaped like a cat and can be hung on the wall or lain on the floor like a rug ($300); another resembles a modernist French chair ($575); and the third is a bull terrier-like sculpture ($1,200), left. All are custom made of sisal, and delivery takes about four weeks. Information: (917) 612-8180 or thecompanyofpets.com.

Source: New York Time

Spider-cat: How Daredevil Charlie get home

Any old cat can shin up a tree. But this brave moggy regularly takes his nine lives in his paws and climbs 13ft up the wall of a block of flats to his owner's home on the first floor.

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The cat and bear best friends who simply can't bear to be apart.

As far as lifelong friendships go, Muschi thinks her large and loveable friend Maeuschen is the cat's pyjamas.

The feline, which struck up the unlikely friendship with the 40-year-old Asian bear eight years ago, now can't bear to be apart from her friend.

In fact, the pair are so close that zookeepers at Berlin Zoo had to reunite them after Muschi, or 'pussy' in German, pined for Maeuschen - 'little mouse' - after they were separated.

>> Read more

Facebook group set up to help find Birmingham MP's missing cat

The political rivals of millionaire Birmingham MP John Hemming have set up a Facebook group to find his love child’s missing kitten.

Labour activists in Moseley, led by former city council deputy leader Andy Howell, have launched the Friends of Beauty The Kitten group and promised to help search for the missing moggy.

Click here to read more.

The Top 10 Pet-Owner Mistakes

Avoid common errors, and keep your four-legged pal healthy and well-behaved.

Mistake 1: Buying a Pet Spontaneously

Why this is a mistake: That doggie in the window may be darling, but he might not be the right fit for your family or lifestyle.

How to avoid it: Fully inform yourself before you bring home a pet. Every dog or cat has its own needs, some of which are specific to the breed. Terriers tend to dig; Abyssinians explore and climb. If there’s a breed that interests you, read up on it (try the website of the American Kennel Club, at akc.org, or the Cat Fanciers Association, at cfainc.org), talk to owners, and get to know someone else’s Border collie or Persian. That said, not every dog or cat is typical of its breed, so “ask about the pet’s history, health, and temperament,” says Stephanie Shain, a director at the Humane Society of the United States. When dealing with a breeder, you should be shown where the pet was raised and meet his parents.


What are the other 9 mistakes and am I making them too? Click here to read more