I’m Ready for Halloween

I came across this costume and believe I will have my humans find it for me. This is what I want to be for Halloween. Then I can meet some nice bunnies and we can all be friends.

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Cat News, Read All About It!

State of Emergency: The Mail is Here!!! Check it Quick!
Humans, you should let us kitties check the mail more often. This is truly how it’s done!

 

Top Story in The News: Boxes
We were planning on reporting on Colonel Meow’s adept reporting on boxes before we learned of his untimely departure from our world. We are keeping this piece in our news feed in honor of him.

Boxes, boxes, boxes. How does one deal with the enticement of a box (whether empty or not, but preferably empty or full of packing material or warm laundry)? Colonel Meow will help you decide how deal with those boxes.

 

Top Story in Home Decor: Birds
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Let’s face it: I’m a cat and I like birds (and lizards and crickets and bugs … and I keep telling my human that I really do actually want to meet that raccoon that comes through our yard every night!). So guess what?! I found a great website that tells you all about birds. And there’s pictures of birds. And its education about birds. So now when I finally catch one of those silly little birds in the bushes outside the front door, I can bring it back inside and tell my human exactly what kind of bird it is and how to take a fabulous picture of it to decorate our walls with right before I let it go so I can laugh at my humans bad hunting skills. Somehow, whenever I let her do some hunting, the lizard or bug (no birds yet, but that’ll happen, I promise!) inevitably gets back outside again. Man is my human a bad hunter! So where do you find this great website? Here at http://www.facebook.com/becausebirds or at http://becausebirds.com/

 

Top Story in Health: The Death of an Internet Master-Cat
It is with a heavy heart that we must report the passing of Colonel Meow. We are very saddened by this news. Our thoughts are with his humans.

 

Now for your commercial break

 

Top Story in Community: Project Bay Cat
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Project Bay Cat is a San Francisco based feral cat organization helping to spay and neuter feral cats in the area (their facebook page is here and their website is here). They’ve reduced the feral cat population by 59% simply through spay/neuter of the cats there. Research has shown that removing feral cats from an area does not eliminate feral cat populations. Rather, it creates a vacuum for new feral cats to come in and take over the consumption of whatever food source drew the cats to the area in the first place. Food sources can be human created or nature created food sources. If you see feral cats in your neighborhood, please contact a local feral cat organization. The feral cats you see may be part of a managed colony of feral cats, which means they are being cared for by volunteers and depend on generous donations from the community to continue feeding and medically caring for the cats. If the feral cats you see are not part of a managed colony, the local feral cat organization can now do what they can to spay/neuter these new cats and to try to care for them, as well. Please consider volunteering for a local feral cat organization. It’s easy to do. Simple feeding doesn’t take a lot of time for those busy folks. Being a driver to get trapped feral cats to and from veterinary appointments is another great way to volunteer for those who work odd hours and are available during the morning and evening hours (for pick-up and drop-off times). Trapping cats for veterinary appointments (usually for spay/neuter appointments) is another great way to help out. This is usually done at night with the trapper maintaining a safe distance from the trap while keeping an eye on it to make sure you can get the trapped cat to a safe location before predators can harm the cat. Also offering space in your home, if you have it, for cats to recoup from surgery or while waiting for surgery is another great option. However, your space needs to be entirely enclosed with no holes or escape routes for the cat (feral cats are super smart and sneaky when it comes to escaping and hiding). Asking the feral cat organization how to keep feral cats safe while recuperating is a great idea. Also, when

Project Bay Cat's very own Grumpy Cat

Project Bay Cat’s very own Grumpy Cat

contacting a feral cat organization, please keep in mind that most of these are all volunteer organization; therefore, it can take them a few days to get back to you. And lastly, if you’re unable to volunteer, please consider donating to a feral cat colony in your area. Check their websites to see if they have a donation wishlist of items they may need. The green stuff (and I don’t mean catnip) is also a big help and can keep the kitties in food. Also, see if you can sponsor a feral kitty. Be willing to offer the financial needs of that kitty throughout its life (which includes food, veterinary care, and shelter, even if that shelter isn’t an actual home). This can be a great way to care for a kitty if you’re unable to have one of your own (or if you want more than you have but can’t have more than you have – pesky rental pet policies). Do keep in mind that in a feral colony, the caretakes can, in no way, guarantee that the food given by that cat or the shelter provided for that cat will be eaten or used solely by that cat. We’re cats, after all. You know us when it comes to pet beds. You buy the coziest, comfiest pet bed and we still sleep on your pillow or in your laundry basket. And I have been known to share my crunchies and yet steal canned food from other cats.

Keep in mind that the kitties in the video below are Project Bay Cat feral kitties living together in a colony. Watch the love! 

 

Top Story in Opinion: I Read This Story Today
So beautiful. Too beautiful not to share. Please adopt your next best friend!!!

391734_508717015813423_1268174166_n“I RESCUED A HUMAN TODAY Her eyes met mine as she walked down the corridor peering apprehensively into the kennels. I felt her need instantly and knew I had to help her. I wagged my tail, not too exuberantly, so she wouldn’t be afraid. As she stopped at my kennel I blocked her view from a little accident I had in the back of my cage. I didn’t want her to know that I hadn’t been walked today. Sometimes the overworked shelter keepers get too busy and I didn’t want her to think poorly of them. As she read my kennel card I hoped that she wouldn’t feel sad about my past. I only have the future to look forward to and want to make a difference in someone’s life. She got down on her knees and made little kissy sounds at me. I shoved my shoulder and side of my head up against the bars to comfort her. Gentle fingertips caressed my neck; she was desperate for companionship. A tear fell down her cheek and I raised my paw to assure her that all would be well. Soon my kennel door opened and her smile was so bright that I instantly jumped into her arms. I would promise to keep her safe. I would promise to always be by her side. I would promise to do everything I could to see that radiant smile and sparkle in her eyes. I was so fortunate that she came down my corridor. So many more are out there who haven’t walked the corridors. So many more to be saved. At least I could save one. I rescued a human today. Janine Allen”

Good night and Feed Me Canned Food!

Not Your 5 O’Clock News

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

Cat looking through a narrow doorway

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

caliThere’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
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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
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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
mousebreathThere’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
avaAva Gardner, the cat, is celebrating her 12th birthday on February 22. To join in her celebration, you can visit her Facebook page here.

From January 25th through February 2nd, 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.

My Sister, Penny

This is my sister, Penny. She likes to help mom by being ever present, keeping an eye on everything mom does. She even created her own space on the bookshelf by moving everything that was on it to the floor. She’s good like that; one big swipe and it’s all out of her way. She’s great on the computer, too, always loving to help with the mouse, pointing and clicking. Even though she can be an annoying little sister sometimes (what sister isn’t annoying?), I do love her.

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Give Me the Remote!!!

I have to see this show!!! Somebody tell me they know when it’s air date is!!!

Reading Material

big-new-yorker-book-of-cats-290For Christmas, with the help of J.S., I got everyone in my house The Big New Yorker Book of Cats. I wanted a book devoted to cat stories so that everyone could read me bedtime stories any time I started feeling sleepy. I’ve enjoyed The Big New Yorker Book of Cats so far, but it got me started thinking that perhaps I’d like another book to have read to me when this one’s finished. So I started asking around for ideas.

catsenseMy inquiries paid off. C.A. said I might want to consider a book called Cat Sense: How the New Feline Science Can Make You a Better Friend to Your Pet. It’s more of an educational book for humans published late last year and was written by Dr. John Bradshaw, a biologist who’s been studying cats for over 30 years. I think that must mean he knows a little bit about us. I’m sure I know everything that’s in this particular book, but I’ll enjoy watching my humans’ faces when they learn something new about me. The cat species is entirely too mysterious for humans and I think lots more kind, loving research should be done on how to make us happy!

I’m a Dapper Dan Man

My mom loves me in this tuxedo. If I do say so myself, I think I look rather dashing in it. There’s a blue one, too, that mom thinks I’d look good in, but I don’t think the blue one would go nearly as well with my green hot-rod stroller! This picture was done by the fabulous J.S. I think she should go pro with that photo-taking ability of hers!

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