Missing cat rides the train home

The cutest commuter!
When a family in Lancashire, England lost their 13 year-old cat Charlie, after two weeks they assumed he was gone forever.  Imagine their astonishment when they learned that Charlie was waiting at the train station for them to pick him up.
 
Charlie boarded the train at the next town over, in Colne. He then rode the train for half an hour before stepping off at the correct station (Accrington).
 
A passenger saw Charlie debark the train, and alerted train staff to the cat's presence. Charlie hopped off the train and settled himself at the platform, appearing for all the world as if he was waiting for his ride.
 
Train station staff picked Charlie up and took him to a local vet, who scanned his microchip. Unfortunately, Charlie's family hadn't updated their contact information in the microchip company's database, so they were not able to contact the family. 
 
Instead, staff posted Charlie's picture to their Facebook account. Surprisingly, the picture quickly found its way to the right family. 
 
There are no shortage of stories of cats finding their ways home from a great distance. But Charlie's calm, collected train ride is one of my favorites!

How much of the internet is devoted to cat traffic?

Much debate about the numbers
Everyone knows that the internet loves cats. But exactly how much does it love cats? 
 
In 2013, Friskies asserted that 15 percent of internet traffic is cat-related. An impressive statistic, given that it is generally accepted that about 30 percent of all internet traffic is porn-related. Could cats really account for half as much traffic as porn? 
 
(So many inappropriate puns; so little time.)
 
An installation at the Museum of the Moving Image called "How Cats Took Over the Internet" provides a window into our collective fascination with cat videos. Jason Eppink, the curator of the show, started his project by doing research. He talked to specialists at Reddit, YouTube, Tumblr, BuzzFeed, and Instagram and discovered that cats make up about .3 percent of the traffic on these sites.
 
.3 percent seems a little more likely, given the volume of traffic. It's still nothing to turn up your whiskers at, though!

"Kleptokitty" brings home objects to his police sergeant owner

Including a bag of marijuana!
All cat owners have "cat problems" they have to deal with. But Oregon police sergeant Dave Kempas has an interesting cat problem he has to handle on a daily basis: his cat steals things and leaves them in his driveway.
 
Kempas has several cats, and he had to set up a trail cam stake-out to find out which of his pets was the perpetrator. Tigger, who is a four year old brown tabby, was caught in the act. 
 
Tigger goes out almost every night and brings things home, dropping them in the driveway on the way in. Kempas lives near a high school, so a lot of the objects are bits of trash and food waste. But Tigger has also found articles of clothing, toys, and - on one memorable occasion - a small baggie of marijuana. ("I told him, you can't be bringing this stuff home!" Kempas said.)
 
Klepto cats are somewhat rare, but they can cause havoc in a neighborhood. I remember reading about a klepto cat whose owners would hold a "reverse garage sale" every few months. They would set out all the things their cat had brought home, and let neighbors come over and reclaim their missing items.

Grumpy Cat throws first pitch at baseball game

Doesn't cheer her up
Grumpy Cat, the internet's most famous feline, added a new talent to her resume this weekend: she threw out the first pitch at the Diamondbacks game in Arizona. Well, okay, technically Grumpy Cat didn't actually pitch the ball. She touched the ball with her paw, and the ball was then thrown by one of her human handlers. 
 
Grumpy Cat may have proved the saving grace for the Diamondbacks, who have more losses than wins so far this season, because they went on to beat the Giants 6 to 1. 
 
Grumpy Cat, whose real name is Tardar Sauce, reportedly rakes in over a million dollars a year. (Reports that she had earned over $100 million were evidently just a rumor.) Her grumpy expression is evidently the result of a form of dwarfism, coupled with an underbite, and she has malformed rear legs as well. Nevertheless, Grumpy Cat's owners have spun her into a merchandising machine, and at her limited appearance at SXSW this year she took precedence over Elon Musk, Al Gore, and Neil Gaiman.

Japanese city launches Cat Street View

Like Google Street, but from a cat's eye view
Onomichi City is one of Japan's most cat-friendly towns, and recently cemented this title by launching Cat Street View for one of its shopping districts. As if Cat Alley and a maneki neko museum weren't enough!
 
Cat Street View is a street view similar to Google's, but from a cat's height. It points out tourist attractions and interesting local facts, allowing curious virtual visitors to stroll the streets like a cat might. But with more information, I guess.
 
Cat Street View was also created by some of the people who worked on Google Street View, and with some of the same kinds of equipment. I wonder if Google had any idea this was what was next for their Street View project?

Beverly Hills rules pet stores can only sell shelter pets

Joins a growing list
Beverly Hills is the latest jurisdiction to rule that pet stores are no longer allowed to sell dogs and cats which have been commercially bred. In a move to help cut off puppy and kitten mills at the source, Beverly Hills pet stores are now only allowed to adopt out shelter animals.
 
Unfortunately, this ruling will only affect Beverly Hills pet stores. It will not prevent people from buying animals directly from breeders (whether legitimate breeders or unscrupulous puppy mills). But Beverly Hills is now part of a growing list of cities which are trying to ban puppy and kitten mill animals, and I salute them!
 
Although this might not be a blow against puppy and kitten mills, it will certainly help local animal shelters. Beverly Hills and the greater Los Angeles Area are one of the highest-kill shelter zones in the country. So many cats and dogs that need good homes, and with turnover in the shelters being what it is, even spending a week or two in a pet store counts as a reprieve.
 
Don't buy your next pet - rescue it!

Seattle hosts 2nd annual Kitty Hall event

You can't fight Kitty Hall - but why would you want to?
To help raise awareness of shelter animals and boost adoptions, Seattle's mayor has held the second annual Kitty Hall event, and it was a rousing success.
 
The mayor hosted a dozen kittens in the offices of City Hall, and invited the public in to meet them. Lines were around the block for the opportunity to play with the kitties. Mayor Ed Hall worked with Seattle Animal Control to help adopt the kitties and sign up more people to provide foster homes to animals in need.
 
Seattle shelter director Don Jordan commented that cats are the perfect addition to City Hall, because "They stand firm on their beliefs and fight hard for what they want, though they are known to ignore their constituents if it suits them."
 

Cat found in sunken boat

Only 8 lives left!
This little calico has quite a tale to tell her cat friends. She apparently stowed away on a power boat in Orange County, California. The boat left its dock on Friday afternoon, with the cat having hidden itself in the forward compartment.
 
That weekend, the boat struck a sandbar and sank to the bottom of Lake Havasu. The humans aboard were able to swim to safety, but the boat remained at the bottom of the lake for over an hour before a rescue team could drag it out onto the shore.
 
When they hauled it out, salvage crews found a surprise waiting for them in the forward compartment: a terrified cat who was lucky enough to have found an air pocket.
 
The owner of the boat says it's not his cat, and he has never seen it before. The cat does not have a microchip, so the local animal shelter is not able to locate its owner. If you live in Orange County and you are missing a calico, please call the shelter! If her owner isn't found, this lucky kitty (who the shelter workers have named River) will be adopted out to a good home. And hopefully from this point forward, she will stick to dry land!

Thousands mourn passing of Tama, the stationmaster cat

This Japanese train station lost its mascot
 
Tama had been a stray cat who showed up at the Kishi train station and soon won the hearts of the employees. After being named the official stationmaster, she could be found decked out in a specially made stationmaster cap and cape, greeting passengers at the door.
 
The financially struggling train line saw a huge surge in traffic after the word got out about Tama's appointment. The railway station, which previously had been forced to lay off employees due to financial hardship, found its situation turned around thanks to this friendly little calico. Experts estimate that Tama helped boost the local economy by an extra $8.9 million.
 
Tama passed away at the age of 16, and during the Shinto-style ceremony to mark her passing, she was elevated to a goddess. She was also awarded a posthumous title by the railway station: Honorable Eternal Stationmaster.
 
The station has found a replacement for Tama, another calico named "Tama II." Here's wishing Tama II as successful a reign as her predecessor. 

People food that can harm your cat

Don't feed kitty these 6 foods!
Cats are odd eaters, to say the least. Although they have a reputation for being finicky (my own cat will eat only either kibble of any brand, or one specific flavor of Fancy Feast - nothing else) some of them are true garbage guts. And although cats are obligate carnivores evidently lack sensors to detect carbs, that doesn't stop some of them from apparently craving sugar.
 
If you have a cat who begs for human food, resist! Cute as Kitty may be, some human foods can be very bad for your cat.
 
Most people know that chocolate is bad for dogs, but it's bad for cats, too, who may be attracted to it due to its high milkfat content. 
 
Which reminds me, skip the dairy for your cat - cow's milk products can upset your cat's stomach. If you want to feed your cat milk, buy kitten meal replacement milk at the pet store. A saucer of KMR is a great treat for your cat in small doses!
 
Avocado, onion, apricots, cherries, garlic, mushrooms, grapes, and raisins all contain toxic substances that can be bad for your cat. However, cooked and mashed green beans, carrots, squash, and canned pumpkin are all good treats for a cat who has a wide range of culinary interests.
 
Even the pickiest eaters (although not mine) may enjoy a spoonful of plain canned pumpkin (NOT canned pumpkin pie mix). A lot of cats love it, and it has a lot of good fiber for their systems. 

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