This is a lovely little video of cats lounging in a basket from Kagonekoshiro, one of the great cat blogs of Japan, still going after all these fuzzy scratchy years. Read the rest

The J.M. Smucker Company issued a voluntarily recall for a single lot of the company's 'Natural Balance' canned cat food, citing potentially deadly health side effects for cats. Read the rest

what in the world kind of pig cat eats like this pic.twitter.com/q1LojIN6bY

— Luke in Philadelphia (@tramL116) June 13, 2020

Does this cat eating kibble remind you of a certain seventies' kiddie game?

This reminds me of a past cat of mine, Sunny. I rescued the polydactyl runt from a restaurant's dumpster one winter. Once she was settled in, she soon starting eating more than her share. But that wasn't the crazy part. She would lie down next to her food bowl, stick her big paw in the dry food and bring it to her face one piece at a time. This was a long time ago, otherwise I'd have a hundred videos to share.

gif created via YouTube video Read the rest

“My Nanny sewed catnip into a toy bunny for my cat and she absolutely loves it,” says IMGURian @kittydetonator. Read the rest

A bit of a cliffhanger, although I feel like the cat is not particularly impressed by Splinter's flashy fighting style.

Also, the way they trot off together makes me think there may be a Tom & Jerry dynamic at play here. Read the rest

In this video, the Helpful Vancouver Vet explains how best to pick up cats: "Dr. Burstyn and his feline friends demonstrate how to pick up a cat in a way that is comfortable for the cat and safe for you. A must watch for anyone with a feline in the family."

If you're trying to hold the cat down, squish that cat. All you need to know about cat restraint is to squish that cat

I wonder, does this work for rabid mustelids? Asking for myself.

How to deactivate a cat

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Wild cats certainly kill many more other animals than outdoor pet cats. After all, they have to hunt for their food instead of just bug their human companions. But a new study by North Carolina State University zoologists and their colleagues revealed that outdoor pet cats kill between two and ten times as many animals as wild cats in the same size area. Apparently, every year North American pet cats with outside access kill between ten and thirty billion birds and mammals. But according to the new data gleaned from GPS cat collars, our feline friends generally don't venture further than 100 meters away from their home. Still, their hunting can be a real problem when it comes to conservation. From Scientific American:

[...]In some places, including California, Florida, Australia, and elsewhere, cats were an important threat to some species that are already in trouble.

"On one hand, it’s kind of good news that the cats aren't going out further abroad, but it’s bad news that they're quite likely to have an impact on animals they share space with near their houses," [says North Carolina State University zoologist Roland Kays.]

With so much killing concentrated around people's houses, the positive impacts of urban wildlife—like the beauty of songbirds, or the way small lizards can control insect pests—could get washed away in precisely the areas where those benefits are most appreciated.

image credit: Stiopa (CC BY-SA 4.0) Read the rest

Betabrand has just announced women's pants in "catstooth," a feline-tastic take on the classic houndstooth pattern. It's black and white like the original but you'd never know from afar that you were looking at little tiny cat faces. A straight-leg chino is the only product available so far in this fun pattern ($78/pair).

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📷 Chris Platzer, a planning commissioner in Vallejo, CA, in lower left, throws a cat in the air during a Zoom meeting last week. Image: City of Vallejo

“OK, first, I’d like to introduce my cat,” said Chris Platzer, a planning commissioner in Vallejo, California. Read the rest

Hope you like cats and cat hair. Read the rest

In this video, The Q Cut a small hole in a cardboard box and placed a small piece of meat in it for his cat to take. Then, he put a new piece of meat in the box, a little farther away, to see if the cat would be able to reach it. He repeated the experiment several times, increasing resistance each time.

Image: YouTube Read the rest

Two cats in New York are reported to have been infected with the novel coronavirus. Both had mild respiratory symptoms and are expected to make a full recovery. Read the rest

Note: Not actually a great idea to let your cat inside the dishwasher, please don't try this at home.

“Places Oliver Shouldn't Be,” a delightful gallery of cat portraits by @lovethecapybara.

Oliver has a very lucky human who loves him, and these are some very funny photos of a cat who enjoys being inside cozy little boxy places around the house, or maybe just nestled into a stack of frying pans or whatever. Read the rest

Karolina Żebrowska posted a video of a woman looking for her cat that explains what cats are in simple, short sentences as bland instrumental music plays.

Hit that share button! Here are some emojis to go with it: 😼😽🙀😺😸😻 Read the rest

Samsung has announced that its TV boxes can be converted into small tables, magazine racks, and -- yes-- homes for cats!

Samsung’s new ‘eco-packaging’ made from eco-friendly corrugated cardboard will be applied to The Serif, The Frame and The Sero, allowing customers easier recycling as well as upcycling of the cardboard boxes for creative reuse.

Samsung has applied a dot matrix design on each side of its eco-friendly corrugated cardboard boxes, allowing customers to cut the boxes more easily and assemble them into various other uses, such as small end tables or houses for pets.

Included within the packaging is a manual to guide customers on how to make household items out of the cardboard boxes, which can be accessed by scanning the QR code on the box.

And now, with Dezeen, they're holding a contest to find innovative designs for the home using ordinary cardboard packaging. The "Samsung Out of the Box Competition" is open until May 29, 2020.

(Gizmodo) images via Samsung Read the rest

French classical musician Florent Ghys brings us what might very well be the silliest cover of Erik Satie's "Gymnopédies."

The Cats & friends Choir is proud to present their first interpretation of Erik Satie's Gymnopédies. The three movements of this deep and soulful piece have been virtually recorded by more than 500 enthusiastic participants in isolation from their homes and farms.

00:00 Gymnopédie 1: Slowly and painfully 02:54 Gymnopédie 2: Slowly and sadly 05:05 Gymnopédie 3: Slowly and gravely

Bravo, critters!

screengrab via YouTube Read the rest

When the much-panned "musical fantasy" movie Cats came out last year, there was a rumor that somewhere a cut of the film existed that showed CGI cat "buttholes." Well, that cut has been made public, sort of. On Tuesday, Chicago-based YouTubers XVP Comedy released a hilarious video that imagines what this rumored butthole cut would look like. It's terrific. Read the rest