Meet the Alamo's official cat

This calico oversees the Alamo
Yesterday the Texas General Land Office announced the recruitment of its newest crew member at The Alamo: a calico kitty whose official name is Miss Isabella Francisca Veramendi de Valero. You can call her Bella.
 
The Alamo's previous official cat, Mistress Clara Carmack, better known as C.C., died last summer. C.C. was one of the Alamo's most popular residents, with her likeness adorning many popular items at the gift shop. C.C. passed away at the age of 18.
 
Bella was found at the Presidio La Bahia by the daughter of the site director, who brought her to the Alamo as part of a recent ceremony to commemorate the Battle of the Alamo's 179th anniversary.
 
Bella not only keeps the Alamo mouse-free, she also greets visitors and entertains staff. She sleeps in the Alamo offices, and roams the grounds during the day, wearing a special tag on her collar that says "I Belong at the Alamo."
 

Cat videos are good for you!

Good news, everyone!
The journal Computers in Human Behavior recently conducted a social media survey about people watching cat videos, and came to some striking conclusions. Respondents reported that they experienced decreased "anxiety, sadness, and annoyance" after watching cat videos. (Duh!)
 
The study also came to the obvious conclusion that cat lovers and cat owners were more likely to watch cat videos than any other demographic. Less obvious: the most likely type of person to watch a cat video is one who is "shy and agreeable."
 
The researchers also added that the benefits from watching cat videos might give people the emotional boost they need to tackle more difficult work later. So go ahead and watch those cat videos guilt-free - you're doing yourself a favor!

Boston yoga studio brings in cats

Yoga is better with cats!
Boston yoga studio Yoga at Connie's recently partnered up with a local animal shelter to bring several cats into the studio. The idea is the brain child of Jeanette Skaluba, the studio's social media volunteer, who came up with the plan after a video of a cat riding on her shoulder went viral.
 
The cats are all adoptable adult animals, and by having them available in the yoga studio, Skaluba hopes that it will help people see the cats' individual personalities and "envision these pets in their home easier, because they're outside the shelter."
 
The cat yoga studio is surfing the trend for "cat cafes," where people can visit with shelter cats while sipping a latte. Cat cafes have opened in several cities around the United States - are cat yoga studios the next big thing?

Cat disease may cause schizophrenia

More bad news regarding toxoplasmosis
Schizophrenia has long been a mysterious illness, one which can have drastic consequences both for the sufferers and for their families and caretakers. We may be one step closer to understanding the root cause of schizophrenia with some interesting new research which shows a strong correlation between schizophrenia and cat ownership in early life.
 
Researchers from the Stanley Medical Research Institute and Johns Hopkins University have been working on a long-term study on the link between a parasite called Toxoplasma gondii and schizophrenia. According to their research, cat ownership in childhood is linked to developing schizophrenia later in life, and people who tested positive for Toxoplasma exposure are almost twice as likely to develop schizophrenia.
 
T. gondii is the most common parasite in developed nations. It is spread from the feces of infected cats, and causes a wide variety of odd symptoms. The parasite's life cycle requires it to infect a mouse or rat, and then have that rodent be eaten by a cat. To this end, the parasite actually causes the rodent to lose its fear of cats.
 
Humans are not Toxoplasma's natural vector, but the parasite can survive in us, and it is known to cause some distinctively bizarre symptoms. For example, people with chronic toxoplasmosis are more likely to engage in risky behavior, which leads to an increased rate of traffic accidents and suicides.
 
No need to panic, though. The exposure can only come from an infected cat, the infection takes several days before it can spread (thus if you scoop the litterbox daily you will be fine), and you're just as likely to contract it from undercooked meat or gardening as from a cat.
 

World's oldest cat dies in her sleep

Tiffany Two will be missed

The world's oldest cat, a calico named Tiffany Two, passed away in her sleep last night at the age of 27. She was curled up next to her owner in bed, atop the special heated pad which her owner had laid out just for her.

Sharron Voorhees of San Francisco bought Tiffany Two for $10 when she was six weeks old. She named her after a cat she had owned many years before, but Tiffany Two quickly established herself as her own cat.

Tiffany Two was certified as the world's oldest cat by the Guinness World Records in 2014. She was dubbed the world's oldest living cat, but was not the oldest cat on the books: that honor goes to a Texas cat named Cream Puff who lived to be 38 years old.

 

 

Woman loses sight in one eye after cat lick

Cat scratch fever is to blame
When an Ohio woman woke up with a pink, swollen eye recently, she assumed she had come down with a case of conjunctivitis. But the infection soon worsened, and doctors broke the bad news: her cat was to blame.
 
Janese Walters had contracted an infection from her cat, either when it licked her eye, or when she rubbed her eye while her hands had cat germs on them. The infection is commonly called "cat scratch fever" (and gave rise to a Ted Nugent song of the same name). 
 
The disease is caused by a bacteria normally found in cats, particularly their saliva, which is generally harmless. However, if introduced to the bloodstream (through a cut, particularly in children and people with compromised immune systems) it can become extremely serious. 
 
Such was the case for Walters, who has since gone blind in the infected eye. However, props to Walters for keeping her cats. It wasn't their fault, after all!
 

Kangaroo sweatshirt designed for cat lovers

And cats who don't want to get down
Do you have the kind of cat who latches onto you and won't let go? Does your cat love to snuggle under the covers? Then this new sweatshirt might be just the thing for the two of you!
 
Designed by a Japanese company for either small dogs or cats, the Mewgaroo is a sweatshirt that lets you tote your cat around in cozy comfort, while keeping your hands free for other things. The sweatshirt has a top-opening pouch (kangaroo style), which has a fleece lined pouch that is removable for washing.
 
It also has cute details, like paw pads on the sleeves, and pointy kitty cat ears on the hood.
 
The Mewgaroo costs about $50 USD, although it is currently only available in Japan. 

Meet the cat with the world's loudest purr

Merlin is purr-lin!
When Tracy Westwood learned that the current world record holder for the loudest purr clocked in at a mere 67 decibels, she knew she had a winner on her hands. Merlin, her 13 year-old cat who she adopted from a shelter as a kitten, has a remarkably loud purr. 
 
According to an iPhone app that registers decibel levels, Merlin's purr peaks at 100 dB, which is louder than a jackhammer at 50 feet, and theoretically loud enough to cause hearing loss at humans in sustained close range.
 
Cats purr by using their vocal folds and larynx to vibrate their glottis, which causes the fluttering noise when they inhale and exhale, along with tones and other noises they may make during purring. Merlin is basically the cat equivalent of an opera singer trained to belt it out to the back row - all the time, from the couch. 

Andre the giant cat helps drum up adoptions

Look at this fuzzy monster!
When no-kill shelter Animal Rescue of the Rockies found Andre, he was dangerously underweight and starving - at 16 pounds. Andre has a massive frame, though, and measures in at 30 inches from his head to the base of his tail. 
 
Animal Rescue of the Rockies nursed Andre back to health, and he has moved house to High Paw Pet Supplies, a pet store which shares space with the shelter's cat sanctuary. There, he noshed on healthy food (and lots of love) and now weighs in at 25 pounds, which is about right for his giant size.
 
The pet store employees suspect that Andre may be a hybrid cat, due to his large size, possibly part Savannah cat. At any rate, his large size and striking appearance have drawn in many people to the store. And while Andre himself is not up for adoption, several of his visitors have gone home with other cats, causing the adoption rate to "skyrocket."
 
It just goes to show, you never know what's going to turn up on your doorstep!

Missing Australian cat found in shipping container 49 days later

Poor brave Pippa!
Almost two months ago, Rebecca Schilling lost her cat, Pippa, in Darwin, Australia. Unfortunately she didn't think to check the shipping container she had just packed up for her neighbor, who had moved across the country. Schilling had packed up her neighbor's remaining things in the shipping container and sent it off to Brisbane - with Pippa inside.
 
When her neighbor opened the container, he was surprised to discover all of his things were covered with cat hair and smelled like a litter box. Then he spotted the bony, dehydrated cat, who had somehow survived 49 days without food or water.
 
Pippa had traveled over 2,000 miles in 49 days across the Australian countryside in a closed container, yet miraculously managed to pull through. She was rushed to a nearby animal hospital, where they were able to nurse her back to health. 
 
Schilling is working on arranging for transportation for Pippa home, but she worries about traumatizing the poor cat any further. 
 
What can you say - cats are survivors!

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