Channel Todd Late Night News Edition

State of Emergency: Empty
My food bowl is almost empty, my food bowl is almost empty!!!!!

May I serve you?

Top Story in Business: Fine Dining
At the Longcroft Luxury Cat Motel in England, they have a fine dining restaurant for us finicky felines. They serve Salmon, Fresh Cod Steak, and Simply King Prawns, just to name a few of their menu items. They also have a Sunday Brunch that includes ham, free-range chicken and shrimp. While I must travel to Britain just to stay at this wondrous hotel, fine dining for cats isn’t left to just vacation time anymore. There’s a new trend out there to buy and feed cats (and dogs) gourmet meals. People all over the country are seeking out better foods for their pets, such as organic, all-natural, made in the US, and human-grade foods (and what do you mean you haven’t been feeding us human-grade foods this whole time). Humans will pay big bucks for these types of foods, as well, even while those same humans will resort to eating take-out, fast food, or pizza … again!

Add to that, that even us finicky cats – and yes, we are very finicky eaters, so keep on buying us that expensive food – even have our own restaurants that cater just to us (out with those human-only restaurants, in with the cat-only restaurants). One of the cat-only restaurants is called Duncan’s Fine Dining where they serve items such as Toona Tortellini, Fresh Nip Salad, and Pouncie Bread Man. You can even top it off with a fine wine such as the ’95 Chateau Domainecoon Majeur.

Furthermore, there are even celebrity chefs cooking for cats now, such as the famous Simon Rimmer. He’s a wonderful guy, working with top-notch veterinarians to cook up some fancy food that’s not only super tasty, but good for our sensitive digestive systems. As a bonus, I’ve included the video below where you can watch the wonderful Mr. Simon Rimmer cook up a tasty, gourmet dinner for  cats. So please watch, enjoy, and cook on, humans. Cook on! 

Top Story in Style: Cat-Fashionable Humans

We love this shirt. Sleek, colorful and fashionably fitted, it can look good on a number of different body types or in any type of laundry basket (our favorite place for shirts are those laundry baskets that have just been loaded up from a nice, warm dryer). This top is called the Festival Cats Top and can be found on the Animal Rescue site for the low price of $28.95. Us cats will enjoy seeing you humans in this shirt as much as you’ll enjoy wearing it.

Top Story in Health: How Cats can Benefit Humans
Check this out! Cats can help heal humans. While that comes as no surprise to us kitties, you humans may not know all of this. So, as the flu season winds down, remember to keep us kitties nearby to help keep you healthy and happy!

Now for your commercial break
 

Top Story in Entertainment: Comic Break
It’s snowy out there … at least in some parts of the country (ok, maybe all parts of the country except California). So let this comic warm you up.

Top Story in Sports: Kitten Bowl vs. Puppy Bowl
We’re excited for February 2^nd. It’s going to be a big game out there. We’re pulling for our favorite team to win – The Great and Mighty Kittens!!!! Yay. Who’s going to help me root them on?? Everyone??? Ok!!! Game night, big party at my house. Don’t forget to bring your own catnip, milk and tuna. If you bring extra for me and the boys, we’ll give you a front row seat during game time!

Top Story in Opinion: I used to be a Fire Hazard
I used to live in a studio apartment in Alameda, Ca. It was on the top floor of a secure, 3-story building that had been built in the 1920s. It was a fabulous apartment, mostly because I knew how to get the door open as long as it wasn’t locked. Eventually, I even figured out how to undo the lock, so mom started using the chain when she was home, always worrying that I’d still be able to get the door open enough to squeak out. So, she started placing piles of stuff in front of the door, thinking I’d never be able to get the door open. And it worked.

But when she was gone, at work, I’d still work at getting that door open. One day, mom came home to find the door ajar, thinking that somehow, someone had gotten into the building and broken into the apartment. When I came running up the stairs after her to welcome her home, she frowned at me, but was whole-heartedly relieved to know we hadn’t actually been robbed. And then told me that under no circumstance was I supposed to open the door for strangers. So when she locked herself out of the building a month later, I refused to let her in, telling her there was no way I could have known it was her. Payback’s an empty food bowl, mom!

Thank you for reading! Have a good night!

Want a Cat?

I’m on facebook and some of my friends have posted about some cats up for adoption. If you’re interested in any of these kitties, I’ve included the contact information I have for them. You’re also welcome to leave a comment here or find me directly on facebook (look for Todd Frederick Rumpus).

“THIS STUNNING KITTEN WAS DUMPED YESTERDAY AT DOWNEY SHELTER (L.A., CA) BECAUSE HER FAMILY WAS MOVING. LOLA’S LITTLE GIRL SADLY SAID GOODBYE AND IN AN INSTANT LOLA’S LOVED, HAPPY, SAFE LIFE CHANGED FOR THE WORSE. Please read the plea from someone who saw Lola being surrendered and let’s make sure Lola gets out today – before she gets sick…or worse. Plea from the person who saw Lola being dumped: ‘I met her yesterday at Downey as her family was surrendering her. She is an absolutely GORGEOUS 10 month old long haired “tabby-co” as I call them… a tabby/calico/tortie mixture of swirling beauty. She was dumped because her family moved to an apartment that didn’t allow cats… SERIOUSLY. The father was a douchebag… his daughter was CRYING as she asked to say goodbye to Lola one more time. I promised her I would see to it that Lola found a new home… can you all please help me help her? They found Lola as a tiny kitten last May and she loves kids and dogs. She was the only cat but I suspect she’d be great with them as well. She’s got the sweetest meow, it’s like a little chirp… When the daughter came to say goodbye to Lola she ran to the front of the cage and chirped away…. it was easily one of the saddest things I have seen in a shelter. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE, we need to save Lola. As an owner surrender she can be killed at any time. She’s healthy, stunning, friendly, and still a kitten herself… she should be a really easy adoption.’ Animal ID: A4669717. County Shelter website link: http://animalcare.lacounty.gov/wps/portal/acc/our_animals/detail?animalID=A4669717&page=1. My name is Lola and I’m an approximately 1 year old female domestic lh. I am not yet spayed. I have been at the Downey Animal Care Center since January 19, 2014. I am available on January 19, 2014. You can visit me at my temporary home at D367. Downey Shelter – Phone: 562-940-6898, Address: 11258 S. Garfield Ave., Downey, CA 90242.” 

“***CAN YOU BELIEVE THIS BEAUTY?*** We don’t have a lot of information about Lucas, but he sure needs a break just about NOW! He showed up in a feral cat colony at Oyster Point in So. San Francisco in September – clearly someone’s pet and very social. The feeder of the colony kept saying she’d take him when her elderly, ailing cat passed away, by the end of the year. Well that time has come and gone and Lucas urgently needs to be off the beach. He’s been to the vet and his microchip scanned, but sadly the phone number has been reassigned to someone who says they know nothing about the cat. Lucas is neutered, FIV-negative, up to date on his shots and just GORGEOUS! Don’t you think he’s irresistible? Can you help? Please contact: email.leahk@gmail.com As always, I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Jeannette Patocskai. jeannette@brighthaven.org”

I Like Plastic

I love to eat plastic. Mom always worries about me choking on it, so she’s quick to throw it away in a covered trash can. But sometimes I find it before she can throw it away and I’ll start munching away. It’s not very nice when she tears it out of my mouth, but she does worry. She thinks I’ll choke on it. Well, low and behold, I started choking on dry cat food today. I was so scared, I started purring (for you humans, the purr is associated with any strong emotion, not just happiness).

Mom learned a big lesson today. She had taken a pet first aid class taught by someone with the Red Cross, when she worked at an animal shelter. That was close to 10 years ago, and when she heard from my other ma that I was choking (mom was at school when I was choking), she wished she had kept up her certification in that. She realized just how important that class was and how important it is to know what to do for your kitties when they need your help. So, if you’ve never considered becoming certified in pet first aid, you should consider it now. You never know exactly when you might save the life of someone’s pet, whether it’s your own or someone else’s.

You can sign up for classes by visiting the Red Cross website. Do a search for pet first aid classes and register for one. I think it’s such a good idea, I’m purring about it. Because cpr cat isn’t always around to jump into action.

Not Your 5 O’Clock News

Today’s News Stories brought to you by Channel Todd News and the Channel Todd News Team.

State of Emergency: The door is closing, the door is closing! Somebody, open it quick! I’ve lost my opposable thumbs and can’t get out!

Top Story from Channel Todd News: Missing Cali

There’s a kitty still missing in Canyon Country, CA (if you know where that is, keep an eye out for this beauty!). She’s been missing since 12/12/13. If you live in the area and see this tuxedo girl, please contact us here at Channel Todd News (either by commenting on this newsfeed, messaging me on facebook, or emailing me at toddfrumpus at yahoo dot com). Or you can go to the Rally for Cali facebook page for direct contact information.

Top Story in Business: Sammey’s Cat Houses
Sammey’s Cat Houses is an up-and-coming business that builds hand-crafted cat homes, like log cabins, all for the pleasure of us cats. They were even in a contest that would have given them a commercial spot during the Super Bowl this year. Unfortunately, they didn’t make it into the top 4 and, therefore, won’t be seen during Super Bowl Sunday. But maybe you could help them out by visiting their website and buying a custom-built tree house for your own kitty. Or, if you live in Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania, you could always visit their showroom and buy something directly from them.

Top Story in Style: Germans Joining Awesome “Cat-Focused Homes” Club
Hauspanther, an online magazine for “design-conscious cat people”, posted an article about a new German organization called Goldtatze. Goldtatze has joined the cat-house craze that Japan is well known for by building furniture that turns a human-centric home into a cat-centric home. With great walkways that hang from the ceiling to a central cat tree leading up to the walkways to beautiful, high window seats that are awesome for bird-watching, Goldtatze will soon become a cat-focused force to be reckoned with. Watch out Japan. Here comes Goldtatze!

Top Story in Health: PetMD
Have you heard of WebMD where you can go and check out what your symptoms may mean for your health? Did you know that there’s a WebMD for cats? It’s called the PetMD Symptom Checker. It can help you determine if you should take kitty in to the veterinary immediately, or if kitty can wait for a scheduled appointment. But, as with any medical issue, when in doubt, ask your veterinarian. And always keep an eye on kitty; you know how we can be mildly OCD about things, and PetMD might just help us build up our hypochondriac tendencies. You can visit the PetMD Symptom Checker site here.

Now for your commercial break

Top Story in Entertainment: Not Really for the Birds
There’s a new (ok, not so new – it was released in 2000) Pixar movie out called For the Birds, but I think this movie is really for the cats. It must be really good because other orange tabbies are truly focused on the greatness that is For the Birds. While it runs a bit long at 3 minutes and 26 seconds, it does seem to have the ability to capture and hold attention of us cats. You can see one cat’s review in the video below. Let us know what you think by leaving comments below.

Top Story in Sports: Our Favorite Team
Are you ready for the playoffs? Based in California, we here at Channel Todd News are hoping the Kitten Bowl will be a big hit on Super Bowl Sunday. We’re rooting for the kittens to win this one. It’s about time, anyway, since Puppy Bowl has been around for a while. We’re aware that Puppy Bowl has since shared some time with kittens, but the Hallmark Channel will be focusing just on kittens this year. We applaud them.

Top Story in Opinion: Mousebreath
There’s a magazine out there called Mousebreath. We adore the magazine and hope we can get as popular as they are. http://mousebreath.com/ They have great articles and provide a lot of information to us cats. It’s a magazine by cats for cats. Who can beat that? I’d love to be hired by them, but I don’t even know how to get started. I’m a fine reporter, but not a great writer. Hey, maybe they need a reporter? I guess I’ll head on over and find out.

Top Stories in Events: Out and About
Ava Gardner, the cat, is celebrating her 12^th birthday on February 22. To join in her celebration, you can visit her Facebook page here.

From January 25^th through February 2^nd, there’s the (hopefully first annual) Cat Art Show in Los Angeles. We’re very excited about this and are looking forward to giving it rave reviews. For more information, visit the website here.

And finally, here are the remaining dates for the Internet Cat Video Festival and Tour in the 2013/2014 season:
March 2014, SXSW, Austin, TX
Spring 2014, Walker Art Center, Minneapolis, MN
May 2014: Great Wall of Oakland, Oakland, CA
June 2014: Hollywood Theater, Portland, OR
For more information, visit their website here.

Vote Cat

During the next election, if there’s a cat in any office on your ballot, vote for him or her!

Senior Maude

My mom loves senior kitties. A friend shared this photo of a 16 year old senior kitty named Maude (isn’t she adorable?!?!?). Maude is in need of a foster home, or, better yet, someone to adopt her. My mom would take her in a flash, but I reminded her that if she adopted every kitty she wanted, she’d never have time for me and my sister (plus, people might call her a cat hoarder if she actually did adopt all the kitties she wanted to). If you’re interested in fostering or adopting Maude, please contact Cat Town. You can find their website here and you can find them on facebook here. My mom and I looked for a phone number and couldn’t find one, but you can also email them about Maude at info@cattownoakland.org. Can you help give this sweetheart a warm, loving home for the last years of her life? The poor thing was found on the streets before being taken to the Oakland City Animal Shelter and then rescued by Cat Town. Even though I love to go outside, I’m always happy to come back inside with my people who love me. I think every cat deserves that!

If you can’t adopt Maude, would you mind terribly if I asked you to post about Maude? You can do that through twitter or facebook or on pintrest or anywhere you want to. Help me get the word out that Maude needs a home. You can link directly to the Cat Town post about Maude on facebook here or you can retweet or share my post, too!

Emergency Services

Have you ever thought about what you’d do if there were a disaster in your area? Say a tornado, fire, earthquake or tsunami? I live in California near the coast, so we often worry about earthquakes and possible tsunamis from those earthquakes. We also have fires in California and sometimes those get closer to home than my mom would like (her lungs have been irritated by 2 fires here in Southern California since we moved her almost 2 years ago), so we worry about those, also. And have you ever wondered what kind of emergency kit you should have for your cat? Well, I have some suggestions for you! There are some important things you will need to have on hand, some of which can probably be kept in the trunk of your car (like a bag of cat litter … I hear that’s even useful in winter time if your stroller – er, I mean car – gets stuck in the snow). Other things you’ll want to keep inside in one easily accessible spot (like maybe inside, on top of, or next to the cat carrier). My stroller has a trunk underneath it, and mom’s thinking that’s a good spot to keep my supplies in. I tell her it’ll make my gas mileage go down, but she doesn’t pay attention.

Anyway, the basic things you definitely need to have in your cat emergency kit are (p.s. if you’re a dog owner, you can find a dog emergency kit checklist here: http://www.redrover.org/disaster-supplies-dogs):

• Your cat’s carrier, of course. Have a few pillow cases inside, as well. Pillow cases can be useful for carrying your cat around in if your kitty’s having a hard time. Sometimes, in emergencies, we kind of freak out, and pillow cases may be the best way to get us from a home to a car or some other safe location (because we might freak out even more if we see that carrier come out).
• Litter box and litter or puppy pee pads (puppy pee pads are less messy than litter, but it might be worth your time to test one out in your cat’s litter box to make sure s/he will actually use it before you rely solely on those in an emergency situation – they’re definitely lighter and easier to store than litter). Also, there are a number of different types of things you can use for litter boxes. There are cheap temporary litter boxes that you can buy that come pre-filled with litter, but you’ll still want to have extra litter or puppy pee pads. There are also foldable litter boxes that are easily stored. You can also use aluminum roasting pans as litter boxes (they’re light-weight and easy to store, as well).
  

  Foldable litter box

• Waste bags, like dog waste bags, for used litter.
• Enough dry cat food for one week. Check with your local emergency kit store such as a surplus store; some of them will vacuum pack the food your cat’s used to eating for a small fee. Keeping things as similar as possible during an emergency makes a big difference, so ensuring your kitty can eat the food s/he’s used to can make a big difference …. especially if your kitty is on a special diet. But make sure you rotate the food, so that you don’t find yourself in an emergency situation with overly expired kitty food your cat won’t and/or shouldn’t eat.
• Enough canned food for one week. Make sure to also bring along a can opener. Sometimes those pop-top cans break and you won’t be able to get them open without a can opener. Also, some cats are fed just canned food, so for those kitties, you can skip the dry food supply, but I would recommend adding a few extra cans of cat food just for safety’s sake.
• Enough water for one week. There are a bunch of options for water. You can buy bottled water and rotate them out to ensure they don’t expire. There are also water pouches you can buy at emergency stores (REI comes to mind for these types of water pouches, but you can find them online, too). There are also cans of water, like soda cans only with water that are supposed to have a 50 year shelf life. I know some people worry about the plastic water container thing, so these might be a good option.
• Towels and/or some other form of bedding. Make sure the bedding isn’t too big or cumbersome, though. Remember, you want all of your supplies to fit in one storage bin or cat carrier. If you have more than that, you’re taking too much.
• Any medications your cat may be taking along with labeled bottles and dosage information printed on the label.
• Current copies of veterinary records along with vaccine information in a waterproof container like a Ziploc bag.
• Phone numbers of your veterinarian, relatives and friends (I know you have those in your cell phone, but you should write them down on paper in case something happens to your cell phone). An additional phone number for you to write down is for the Animal Poison Control Center (they may charge money for the phone call, though): 888-426-4465.
• A list of pet friendly hotels not only in your area but also outside of your area. Red Cross Emergency centers often can’t allow pets, so having a backup list of other places to go (like hotels, friends or relatives) can help you keep your kitties with you.
• Have a flashlight with extra batteries and/or emergency glow sticks.
• Instructions for the care of your cat in case you have to leave us with someone else in a pinch.

 

Some optional items might include:

• Pet first aid book
• Pet first aid kit (you can find these on the internet)
• Toys. If you don’t have room for toys, you know us cats: an empty box, wadded up paper or an empty toilet paper roll work just fine, too. And you can usually find paper and/or empty toilet paper rolls anywhere (in terms of toilet paper rolls, you should have a roll of toilet paper in your own emergency kit, so you can even wad up a bit of toilet paper for us to play with).
• Temporary ID tags in case our original one falls off
• Additional ID tags with additional contact information in case something happens to your cell phone. You can use the phone number of a relative or friend, but be sure to check with them first to make sure they’re ok with being a backup contact person in case of emergency.

The Giving Season

Lots of people tend to give more during the holidays than at any other time of year. But both people and pets need your help year round. So this January, when giving tends to be at its lowest, think of donating items you no longer use. If you got lots of clothes during the holidays, clear out a few of your older clothes and donate those. If you got new sheets and bedspread, think of donating the older ones. If you got new pet toys and pet beds, donating those are a great idea. There are so many things we can give to others who need it at a time when a lot of people don’t think of doing so.

So, where do you take the items you’d like to donate? If you have canned food, maybe that fruit cake no one wants, you can take those items directly to your local food bank. They are always in need of unexpired items. Donating cash to local food banks is always helpful, as well, as is donating items such as toiletries and can openers. And there are lots of people who couldn’t live without the help of food banks who have pets, so donating pet food and supplies can be tremendously helpful (please don’t judge … we don’t know the history of how people ended up needing help, and pets are often invaluable mates to those in need – these pets are also well cared for, and the first to eat, even if that means the human goes without food).

How about clothes, coats and bedding? You can take all of these to local human shelters, Goodwill, Salvation Army, etc. You also can find clothes donation bins in some parking lots. These bins usually aren’t associated with thrift stores (there are some exceptions). If the name of the donation bin is not a familiar one to you or if it’s not associated with a thrift shop, then they are often not associated with any type of charity.

And, of course, if you have used pet toys, collars, leashes, beds, pet clothing, etc., you can take these directly to your local animal shelter or rescue. A few notes on a couple of items: please don’t donate used litter boxes (or at least call the rescue first). Litter boxes carry germs. Sometimes kitties can carry germs, like with a cold, and not actually come down with it. Those germs get in the litter box and taken to the shelter. If that litter box gets used in a shelter, even after it’s cleaned, another kitty could loosen debris and germs stuck in the scratches on the bottom of the litter box. And kitties in shelters tend to be stressed out and more susceptible to illness. So voila, kitty in shelter gets a cold and now has a hard time finding a home because people are less likely to adopt a sick kitty. Also, with any items, call your local animal shelter to make sure they can actually use the items. If not, you can try donating these items to thrift stores, at local human shelters, and at a local food bank.

Also, with any donation, if it’s something you wouldn’t use, maybe its not worth donating. By that, I don’t mean that if you got a really ugly blanket for Christmas that you shouldn’t donate it; by all means do. What I mean by that is if that really ugly blanket you got for Christmas was supposed to replace the blanket that’s so worn out, falling apart, that you can’t use it anymore, then maybe it’s time to head to the trash or recycle bin with it instead of to the donation bin.

Anyway, maybe you could try to donate one thing this January, whether it’s leftover Denny’s you hand to the homeless kid you often see on the street corner asking for money, or a can of beans you take to the local food bank, or a brand new cat bed you take to the local animal shelter. Remember that it’s often the little things that count, that mean the most to those in need. You don’t have to give a dog bed to every dog in the shelter, but if you give one to the dog that’s been there a while or to the senior doggy, they will be truly grateful; you will have made a direct difference in someone else’s life.

 

New Years Eve

I know it’s not Christmas quite yet, but since New Year’s Eve isn’t far behind, I thought now might be the time to talk. I myself am a bit of a party cat and would love to entertain at a wondrous New Year’s Eve Party. But let’s face it, even a party cat like me can get overwhelmed with all that champagne and want to just hide away somewhere. Or, better yet, sneak out the front door and take a ride home with someone else for the night. And I’m a bit of an outgoing kind of guy. Just think of all those little kitties who are shy, skittish, and unsure of strangers. Take my little sister, Penny, for example. The most a “stranger” has gotten in is a 15 second pat on her rump as she’s running away … and to her, a stranger is anyone other than me and my mom. I know she’s not the only kitty out there like this. So here are some tips for keeping us kitties safe and happy for New Years.

• Remember that it’s much easier for us to escape when doors are opening and closing a lot, especially if alcohol is involved in your evening’s celebrations.
• If you have a room that your kitties enjoy hanging out in, other than the main entertaining area of your home, keeping kitties in that room with a litter box, food and water (please don’t put our food and water near our litter box) can be a great way of keeping us safe, cozy and comfy.
• Remember that kazoos, champagne corks exploding out of bottles, party poppers, balloons, streamers, fireworks, and any other strange and loud noises can easily frighten us; we don’t really understand what all that stuff is for and it can be really scary.
• Please don’t feed us party food or alcohol – some of it can be toxic and dangerous to us.
• Make sure we’re wearing a collar with your contact information just in case we should somehow slip out and get really scared. And if your kitties aren’t microchipped, consider getting it done, because it can be a great way to reconnect you to your kitty should your kitty end up at a veterinarian’s office or shelter.
• Please have a good time; all I ask is that you keep your pets safe and stay safe yourself!

 

Check Out These Two

Aren’t these two kitties beautiful? They’re looking for a home in the San Francisco Bay Area. They’re best friends and would love to find a home together. Anyone interested (besides me)?