Viral Video We Love: Stressed-out Kitty Gets a Relaxing Massage

It’s not easy being a kitty.

All that lounging around, meowing for affection, chasing anything that moves, and moving from sunny spot to sunny spot can really put a knot of stress in a cat’s shoulders.

 

Good thing this kitty found a moment to paws and enjoy a massage.

Now all she needs is a meow-nicure and a paw-dicure, and she’ll be ready for a new week of doing cat stuff.

What’s the first thing on the agenda? Some cat pranks, of course!

Hello, Kitty! America’s Next Top Model Does a Sanrio-Themed Shoot

You’ve got Catster Mail!

Do you think you’re a fierce feline?

Fierce enough to pose in Hello Kitty couture?

That’s exactly what the contestants of America’s Next Top Model were required to do!

Donning 40-pound architectural Hello Kitty pieces, the models had to work it in a Hello Kitty-themed photo shoot, and it wasn’t easy!

But the cat is out of the bag. No one can smile as wide with her eyes as Hello Kitty can — after all, she’s got no mouth to smile with!

Via Oh No They Didn’t 

Purring Iron: 7 Cats Who Love to Work Out

Arnold Schwarzenegger had better watch out, because these strong cats are doing some serious weightlifting! Dumbbells, weight benches, and yoga mats are all part of their workout routines.

And by “workout” for some of these cats, I mean they have worked out a way to sleep on them. You know cats.

My own cats love to help me work out. Whenever I get on the floor at home to do crunches (not often, but whatever!), Moo has to be involved. He doesn’t actually want to work out himself, but he wants to sit on my chest and “help” by making the sit-up a little harder because he adds weight. So, technically, I guess he’s my workout buddy, right?

Here are seven more cats who would make good workout buddies:

Cat Olympics

Mitty is strong for her size! And she’s doing it wrong, but don’t tell her. Photo by Rooey202.

dumbbells

These two dumbbells, er … um … cats are working out in their dreams. Photo by webwawa.

Day 13

Simon needs a spotter! That’s a lot of weight! Photo by lindymclean.

Weightlifting kitty
 

Arya is only four months old and she’s already working on the purrfect physique! Photo by freebird forever.

 

Dumbbells

Clearly this is either pre-stretching or the cool-down part of this big boy’s workout. Photo by Runs With Scissors.

Stella Weightlifting

Stella appears to be getting ready to lift her own body weight. Wow! Photo by WeLeftBuckley.

weightlifting cat

Tiny kitteh, big weights. RAWR. Photo by nisora33.

10 Fake Headlines for Some Truly Weird Stock Photos of Cats

Stock photos power the Internet. But some of them are so very weird, you have to wonder what was the photographer thinking? Well, maybe he or she was hoping for news headlines like these. (Our apologies to Shutterstock.)

Supercat Saves Fourth Poultry Farm This Week

Related: Has anyone seen our dogs?  

Ballooncat Last Seen Crossing the Horizon

“He’s expected in China,” shrugs owner

More Kittens Enrolling in School

“To what end?” wonders nervous world

Cats Prefer Food to Sex, Study Shows

Study conducted by Dr. Helen Palmer (pictured)

 

John Mayer’s Cat Quits Tour, Cites “Exhaustion”

“I’ve been sleeping only 10 hours a day,” sighs sleepy Wonderland

Cat Kills Owner in Midwestern Occult Shocker

“Stay out of the corn,” warns Puddles

Meet the Richest Cat in the World

And his manservant, Stephan. “I have bread. Would you like bread?” asks Stephan.

Trendwatch: More Kids Cooking for Their Parents

“A terrible, horrible idea,” cites ER doctor. “Just the worst idea on the planet, ever.”

Unexpected Friendship to End Violently Right About Now

No? Okay, how about now! Now! Now?

 

 Buttons Refuses to Eat Boiled Tofu Dog

Must stay at table until she does.

 

Cats Find Life on the Streets Purrrfect

“Screw the condo, this is living,” says General Whiskers. “Hold on, I need to scratch for a few days.”

Setting The Facts Straight About Meow the 39-Pound Cat

Like most of you, I’ve been following the story of Meow, the immensely obese cat who found himself in the care of a shelter in Santa Fe, N.M., after his elderly owner could no longer take care of him.

Of course, with any story about super-obese cats come the demeaning jokes and blame-filled, judgmental comments from people who don’t know the whole story. So when I had the opportunity to interview Marie Stewart, the daughter of the woman who owned Meow, I jumped at the chance.

The first thing I found out is that most of the stories don’t even have the cat’s age correct. Marie told me she met Meow when she visited her mother and sister in 2007. That’s right: Meow is 5, not 2.

On the outskirts of Roswell, N.M., where her mother lived, people often dumped unwanted cats and dogs. And that’s how Meow and Marie’s mother met — she rescued the cat after someone had discarded him like trash, and brought him home to live with her two rescued dogs.

Even back then, he was a big cat. “He looked like he was four to six months old,” she said. But when Marie’s mother and sister took him to the vet for his shots, the vet checked his teeth and shocked everyone with the announcement that this tubby little kitten was only 7 or 8 weeks old.

Six months later, Meow developed a urinary tract infection, so it was back to the vet, who put him on a diet of special urinary tract health cat food. “That has been his diet ever since — not hot dogs and junk food,” Marie said.

Of course, it doesn’t matter what kind of food you feed your cat if you feed him mountains of the stuff, so I asked about mealtimes: Was he free-fed or did he get portions doled out?

“They would feed him half a cup of that dry food, and that’s what he ate,” Marie said. “He didn’t seem to want anything else. A lot of the time he wouldn’t eat even that half a cup.”

Marie’s sister thought the well water may have contributed to Meow’s urinary tract problem — so from then on, bottled water was all he drank.

When Marie came to Roswell for a visit in 2009, she was surprised and concerned about how large Meow had gotten. She asked her sister if Meow had seen a vet. Her sister said yes: they too had been concerned that the cat had diabetes or a thyroid problem. Bloodwork showed nothing out of the ordinary, Marie’s sister said — and the vet said she guessed Meow was just a big kitty.

“He was on that urinary brand food, but I don’t think that came up,” Marie said. “I kind of feel like she should have said, ‘What are you feeding him?’ and that maybe my mom and sister could have been more assertive.”

But even though Meow was a big dude, he could be pretty spry when he wanted to be. The cat was best buddies with Red, the family’s big “Scooby Doo dog,” and they spent a lot of time in the yard frolicking and chasing each other. One day during that 2009 visit, Marie was sitting on the porch, watching Meow, when Red decided he wanted to play. “Imagine my amazement when I saw Meow dart after the dog. I didn’t know he could move that fast!” Not only that but “Meow caught his share of mice and proudly dropped them at Mom and Sissy’s feet.”

When Marie came back the next year, Meow was close to his current weight. Marie’s mother had moved into her sister’s home, and her sister became her full-time caretaker.

Meow adapted pretty well to the move, and he had become her mother’s constant companion. “When she was in the bedroom he was with her; when she was in the living room he was with her — he was always somewhere he could see her,” Marie said. “He even climbed into her bed (by way of a footstool) and sat on her feet, which she loved because her feet were always cold.”

Then, just six weeks ago, the family got terrible news: Marie’s sister had Stage IV lung cancer. Untreatable. The only option was palliative care. Marie rushed down to New Mexico to help take care of all the final details and arrange for her mother’s care — and the care of the animals.

“My niece was taking Cindy the poodle, and I wept as I looked at Meow and Red. Fifteen-year-old Red was so protective, I was afraid he may not be adoptable. And I looked at that beautiful cat, Meow, all 39 pounds of him. He purred as I petted him and looked at me as though he understood. But I didn’t understand — why?”

Marie’s sister died at 5:30 a.m. on April 21. And that’s when Meow’s story took its latest turn.

Meow was first taken to a shelter in Roswell, but that small shelter didn’t have the resources to meet Meow’s special needs. The staff was concerned about Meow’s health, so they called the Santa Fe Animal Shelter & Humane Society, which took the cat into their care.

“They’ve reassured me that he’s healthy; he’s just fat,” Marie said. “They did bloodwork and he doesn’t have diabetes or any of those other diseases.”

Right now, Meow is living in a foster home where he’s on a weight loss program consisting of a diet of low-carbohydrate, high-protein food and as much exercise as he can tolerate. You can keep tabs on Meow’s progress at the Santa Fe Animal Shelter’s Facebook page.

As of Saturday, Meow’s weight was down to 35.7 pounds.

“He was just a godsend,” Marie told me. “He was meant to be out there and touch people’s lives. People are saying to me, ‘I used to look at fat people and make remarks, but now I understand.'”

Marie has set up an e-mail address for people who are interested in talking to her about Meow. “I’d love to hear from people around the world who are following this story and have them send me articles from their local newspapers so I may make a scrapbook for my mother and family.” If you’d like to be in touch, you can e-mail her at meowlovesyou474@comcast.net.

“Their loving support will help my mother find happiness in her last years to know what an impact one little chubby stray kitty has had on people around the world.”

So now you know: Meow was not an abused, neglected and deliberately overfed cat. He was cared for by two women who loved him deeply and who would have done anything they could to make Meow’s life better. They may not have known everything that some of us “cat nerds” do about diet, nutrition, or working with a vet, but that doesn’t make them bad people.

They tried. They gave this unwanted cat a home where he was loved and cared for, where he got to enjoy dog friends as well as human friends. That’s a hell of a lot more than he’d have gotten if he’d been forced to fend for himself in the Roswell desert.

Please exercise some compassion and try to understand this family’s situation. They deserve it — and so does Meow.

Cool Pranks 4 Cats Proves that Yes, They Really Are Laughing at Us

There’s an old saying that “Dogs have owners and cats have staff,” and as their staff, we are sometimes unwittingly the subject of their almost (but not quite!) sadistic sense of humor.

Pooping outside the litter box, “marking” a favorite article of clothing, or napping in your freshly cleaned laundry (oh, did you just wash your darks? Good thing kitty has white fur!): animal accidents or practical jokes?

Illustrator H. Caldwell Tanner seems to have unearthed a collection of Cool Pranks 4 Cats, which may very well be the feline handbook for expertly “enriching” the lives of their human staff.

Rated from “Meowcenary” to “Calic’owned,” these pranks reveal what cats really mean when they leave a dead bird by the front door!

We’ve got you figured out, felines! (At least for now, anyway.)

What pranks have your cats played on you?

Cartoons via CollegeHumor

Thanks, You Guys! My Purrday Celebration Was MEGAULTRAPAWSOME!

Hello everypawdy! Thank you fur joining me in another FURday column, and as I promised, today is going to be all about ME (like was about someone else EVER), and my PURRDAY! Sometimes in life we need to have a budget purrty and even when I didn’t have any cool decorations, I was happy with my Fancy Feast cake and getting lots of pampering from my momma. What else I can ask? Oh well — my momma say that we have to be a romantic fur survive when you are broke lol.

Thanks to you guys, I got many purrsents fur my purrday — so my shopaholic needs were MORE than covered, yeeiii!! I Love You Guys!

Let’s start with my celebration pics. My celebration was fur three days: yeii, like a big fancy weeding. I wore that day a gorgeous satin dress that my furriend Kelly Wolf sent me long time ago, this was the purrfect time fur wear it.

O-M-G guys look what Seamus (everypawdy should know who is Seamus by now) sent me SOOO MANY STUFFS!! Thanks so much to him and his momma, Jackie! I LOVE everything!!! Too generous! 

Girls, don’t get jealous! Furst i couldn’t believe it, I looked around fur a long time with a “Holy Kittens” face!

My furriend Anna Shelton sent me this funny card, that child purrson is my kind of child purrson! I would like to go shopping with her, she looks the kind of shopaholic that doesn’t care fur the prices! LOL

Bill, PG, Callie, and Mattie are fanfurriends from North Caroline and they sent me this pawsome card, a kitty in a blond wig! Thanks guys! Note fur myself: This reminds me that I have a pink wig that I haven’t wear yet.

Thanks a lot to my FAB group of girls that sent me this card! Lynn Davis, Anna Shelton, Ann Marie Goldstein, Kelly Haberek Wolf, Lynn Davis, Martina-Rose Wiggin, Jayne Morehouse, Linda Vyse Condilli, Beth Gaskins, and Dennia Barcelo. They also donate to my favorite charity, COAT. SUPERMEGAULTRAPAWSOME girls!

My furriend Jennifer Brown and furchilds Jake, Chyna, and Sophie that live in Ontario Canada, have been my fanfurriend fur long time. Last year they sent me a Hello Kitty fur my purrday. Thanks a lot, guys, fur sending me a super cute card.

After I opened all those crown cards, I started to get issues … just take a look at my Lunatoon.

Then guess what? I opened a purrsent that had a CUPCAKE catnip blankie from Zack and Zoey!

SHUT THE FRONT DOOR!

A CATNIP blankie!

Sorry, I got too excited …

They are my fans from Catster, so I hope you guys are reading my column today, Thanks a lot!! I had to use it right away, I got catnip EVERYWHERE FUR REALS!.

Fur some reason I got very very sleepy after all the excitement …

 Since I got sleepy I decided to keep celebrating the next day. On Sunday I wore a purrple two-pieces outfit. Very cute, very sassy.

Oh, guys, I’m super lucky because I’m TOTALLY addicted to All About…Yoshi! Dog Bows & More bows and they sent me two gorgeous bows! Fur sure, I need a new outfit fur that blue bow! lol. Thanks a lot, Diana!

Also I got a belated Easter purrsent from Ana Shelton, but I think is always a good time fur a monkey with bunny ears, thanks girl!

Thanks a lot to my furriend Lynn Davis who sent me a supermegacool card and treats! She makes the CUTEST dresses; take a look at Off the Leash Custom Pet Couture!

OMG super good those treats FUR REALS!! I go BANANAS fur them!

 Zack & Zoey also sent me this beautiful card, are they super cute or what??

On the third day of celebrations, I opened my last purrsent while wearing a SUPERMEGAFAB pink and gray tutu outfit, very sophistiCATed.

My furriend Valerie Hallam that lives super far sent me sooo many stuffs. 

Like, a thousand bows, a dress, catnip ball, chocolates fur my momma, Hello Kitty placemat, and OMG a super purrrsonalized card, LOVE IT GIRL thanks sooo much fur everything!!

You know, guys, now that I’m four, I have learned many things — but the most imPURRtant one is that I thought I could handle catnip like a responsible furchild bu t… I guess not!

And with that Lunatoon we finished my purrday celebration, guys!

My momma is going this weekend to check my love box, so don’t worry if you don’t see your card in this post, okay?

See you next week, and don’t furget to check out my cute Purrsians in need at my rescue page. If you are not my furriend on Catster, what are you waiting fur?

And last but not least, follow me on Facebook or Twitter.

Have a safe weekend, everypawdy!

xoxo

Luna

An Abandoned House That 10 Ferals Call Home Is Up for Demolition; Volunteers Worry About the Cats They Can’t Find

Two and a half years ago, authorities found an elderly couple living in a truck on a property in Bridgeport Avenue in Shelton, Conn. Judging from the reports, it sounds like it might have been a hoarding situation. Although there was a house on the property, the couple weren’t living there: it was vacant and filled with trash … and dozens of cats.

Back then, the city’s animal control officer called Compassion for Cats, a Shelton-based rescue group, to help deal with the cats scrounging out an existence there. Irene McCoy was one of the people on the scene: She and a group of volunteers began taking the cats to be spayed or neutered and vaccinated.

Most of the cats were sociable enough to find foster homes and, eventually, loving families to call their own, but a number of them were feral — or, as McCoy refers to them, “very shy.” Because the property was their home, they were returned there after they’d been thoroughly vetted.

McCoy and another volunteer have been feeding and caring for those cats since 2009 — with the property owner’s permission — and they hadn’t had any issues.

But a few days ago when they came for a visit, they found that the house and garage had been marked for demolition.

Fearing for the cats’ lives, the women have sprung into action. They’re busy trying to catch the 10 remaining felines and find them foster or adoptive homes.

It’s a tough situation, trying to catch and relocate feral cats, as the folks at CARE Feline TNR could tell you. They’ve been working to rehome the community cats that had been living on three Loews Hotel properties in Orlando, Florida, since they found out that the hotels’ management had decided to evict its cat colonies due to fears (based on scientifically unsound “research,” mind you) about the cats’ alleged threat to hotel guests.

Anyway, back to Connecticut: McCoy says she is “heartbroken about [the cats’] future … My fear is that they will be bulldozed down if they run into the house for shelter.”

Compassion for Cats doesn’t have room for the cats living on the Sheldon property, and McCoy says the city doesn’t take cats.

Maybe we Catsters can help find a place for them to go. If you have any ideas or if you want to know how you can help, call Compassion for Cats at (203) 929-7909.

Win a Kitty Cradle Cat Hammock for Your Cat!

If you have cat beds lying all over your house, today’s giveaway is the perfect one for you! It’s a Kitty Cradle Cat Hammock — a hammock for your cat that straps to the legs of any chair and fits right underneath it.

Part hiding spot, part cat bed, the Kitty Cradle looks like it’s sure to be the cats’ meow! Plus, here’s something that makes this even more special today: Catster readers are getting a chance to win one before they even go on sale

The Kitty Cradle won’t be officially available until late summer, so this is a unique sneak peek at what we’re sure will be a big hit. One lucky Catster reader will get to win a blue Kitty Cradle Cat Hammock (they’ll come in different colors when they go on sale) — and we can even ship to international readers for this one!

The Kitty Cradle has straps that wrap around the legs of any chair (of course you need a chair with legs … not a recliner or something like that, sillies), and voila! Instant, non-cluttering, comfy cat bed.

If you want to get an alert when they’re officially available, you can sign up on the Kitty Cradle web site. And the company told us that if you like their Facebook page, they’ll be doing even more giveaways and special offers leading up to the official launch day. Yay for more free and fun stuff for you cat!

HOW TO ENTER

To enter to win, simply leave us a comment here saying you’d like to win. (Make sure we have your e-mail address so we can contact you.) All entries must be received by Wednesday, May 2, 2012, at midnight Pacific. We can ship this prize anywhere internationally! Once we contact the winner, you have two days to respond, or we’ll pick another winner. Sorry, you snooze you (and your kitty) lose!

P.S. Congrats to the winner of last’s week’s Crazy Cat Lady cuff bracelet giveaway, Jasmine! And don’t forget that Catster readers get 10 percent off in her shop on any of her creations when you use code CATSTER at checkout!

Viral Video We Love: “10 Cutest Cat Moments” Is Pure Catnip

Ever wish you could watch all of the cutest cat videos in the world in one place? You do? We do, too!

So we’re glad that someone’s compiled the ten cutest cat moments into one video for our viewing and inappropriate workplace-giggling pleasure.

The compilation includes synchronized kittens bobbing their heads to techno, two talking cats, an adorably sleepy kitty, and a calico dueling a printer.

Did you see any of your favorites?