Spot the Cat has been found. Hubby was outside with the dog just before bedtime and heard his little meow. I think the kitteh is just as happy to be home as we are to have him home. Kid One is overjoyed. Thanks for all of the positive thoughts!

Seems to be a lot of pollen this morning.

When Princess Natalie was still a kitten, before she was prison royalty, she was left in a cage with another cat for months. They were fed, given water and not much else.

Natalie became afraid of people and other cats. When she was adopted, she hissed at her owners, made a mess in their home and bit them at every opportunity. They gave up and handed her over to a shelter.

Natalie was scheduled to be put down. But then a program at a minimum-security prison in Washington state presented another option: Hand her over to a pair of inmates.

The six-year-old, long-haired black cat would live in their cell, get outside time daily and learn manners. For Joey Contreras, 28, Natalie's arrival in March was his ticket out of a 40-man dorm and into a two-person cell with a door.

Would you like a cat with your coffee? If so, Vienna's newest coffee house is the place to go.

Five cats roam freely in "Cafe Neko," ready to be stroked and cuddled—and when they are tired of all the attention, they can disappear into their own space or climb high above the tables, out of reach of the guests.

"Cafe Neko" opened Thursday. Owner Alexander Thuer tells the Austria Press Agency that the idea to combine coffee with cats comes from his Japanese wife, Takako Ishimitsu, who says such establishments are common in Asia—but rare in Europe.

But not all guests are welcome. Dogs, which have entry to most Viennese coffee houses, have to stay outside.

I've been to one in Tokyo. It was fun, although the inns where I stay usually have a few cats to shmooze ...

A couple of decades ago, I wrote a tutorial and "application cookbook" for a particular database management software program. The company wanted me to do a video rental app as an example, but I did "AAA Cat Rentals" instead. Do you think cat rental might be a viable business? I'm well stocked right now ...

A story likely to leave you wiping tears from your eyes:



The video's caption:

Sadly, I had to put my favorite kitty ever to sleep today. She was just a young 'um -- just getting ready to turn 3 next month. What was hard for me, just a week ago today she seemed like her usually self.

I immediately drove to the hospital and one look at my cat convinced that the only choice was to let her die peacefully. Her condition had gone from bad to incredible bad since I brought in the night before. She perked up a little bit when she saw me which broke my heart. I sat with her for a long time telling how much I loved and recounted all the times we shared together. She seemed to take some comfort from my presence which helped a lot. I held her as best I could while the doctor gave her her final injection.

She wandered into my backyard as a half-straved kitten -- so hungry she was trying to eat the birdseed in my feeder. I tell myself that because I took her in, she lived a far longer (and better) life than if I hadn't saved her. I think I gave her a happy 3 years filled with lots of love. That's the only thing that comforts me right now.

How the love of a stray dog or cat rescued in the combat zone helps U.S. troops deal with the trauma of war, and how one woman risks everything to bring these soldiers’ buddies home.

No Buddy Left Behind: Bringing U.S. Troops’ Dogs and Cats Safely Home from the Combat Zone by Terri Crisp



I think this pushes too many buttons for me to be able to read it.

Sorry folks, these animals can carry unknown diseases that can kill our domestic animals.

The accessible literature is full of reports about diseases in the animals of Afghanistan and Iraq. Worms seem to be a particular problem.

Terri Crisp's Operation Baghdad Pups is a project of the SPCA International. The Pet Doctor says that they provide veterinary care for these dogs. Maybe one of the reasons that the "rescue" rate is so relatively low is that the disease rate is so high.

Many of the worms found in these dogs are transmissible to humans.

It was in undergraduate Human Parasitology class that I learned about a worm that is transmitted from a husky's saliva to a human's brain. I almost became a Howard Hughes at that point. I was already a temporary vegetarian.

Turtle with boy's initials carved on its shell found by his father 47 years later in same backyard

Your kitteh was very blessed to have such a loving mama. It pierces the heart when we have to make such a decision. You gave your kitteh a loving, happy and comfortable kitteh life and then a loving, compassionate and gentle death.

Your kitteh had everything she could ever want. I know this loss feels horrible. You did good, and I hope that is of some comfort.
:hug: