Though I Can Has Cheesburger is the source of this story, the usual wit of the site should not downplay the serious awesomeness of this story.  A 97-year old woman was being attacked by a neighbor’s pitbulls and her cat came to her rescue,

Tiger ran out into the pack of dogs, and led them away from the Thomas, who was able to make it inside her home. Tiger soon showed up at the door, completely unharmed. Thomas says that Tiger probably saved her life.

Go to the link to see Tiger’s video salute.  KUDOS to Tiger!

By now, everyone has seen the video where the lady from England walks up to “pet” the kitty and then quickly picks it up and drops it in a Herbie Curbie.  Seriously? Who would do that?  She didn’t think it was a big deal,

Earlier in the day, the British-based Sun newspaper reported that Bale put the cat in the can as “a joke” and didn’t understand what the big deal was. “It’s only a cat,” Bale said, adding that she thought the cat would be able to wiggle its way out.

For sure, she’s a crazy cat lady but not the kind you usually think of.  Here’s the vid.

Our cats have the best personalities.  The youngest and newest addition to our household Cali is already spoiled by Grandma.  Earlier today she was taking a cat nap when Grandma came into the room and sat down.  Cali JUMPED up and ran across the room so she could settle herself more comfortably on Grandma’s lap.

I really believe they try to talk as well.  Our old cat Pootster used to say “Out” and “Noooo.”  Apparently these cats talk squirrel.

Have a happy weekend!

I just can’t thank Brittney G. enough for always finding amazing, beautiful, scary, or just plain stories online.  If it hadn’t been for her, I would not have seen this video and been reminded of an incident from my own childhood.  Only the cat in my childhood jumped on and rode my back like a cowboy taming a wild stallion.

Thanks B.

Where feral cats also need shelter during the cold, storms, snow, sleet, and other bad weather conditions, they can be helped with a simple do-it-yourself project.  Ledda Marritz at Pawesome outlines how to provide shelter in seven easy steps (with six photos to accompany them).

While we tend to focus on  DIY projects for our own pets, critters like feral cats — who mostly live outside in colonies — also need creature comforts. Any animal that spends time outside  needs access to shelter, no matter what climate they’re in, to protect them from rain, cold, wind,  scorching heat, plagues of crickets, hail, tornadoes, what have you.

Photo from Urban Cat League.

H/T Brittney.

Evidently this is “abandoned kitten” week here at Animal Shak.  Although I had inspected the kitten - who is now named S.S. Turdley Sybil instead of Cali (S.S. stands for Satan’s sister named this after she bit my finger) - the fleas made their appearance.

I first went online to see what Mr. Internet had to say about getting fleas off kittens.  I didn’t want to douse her with chemicals that would make her sick.  I posted on my Facebook that we needed a solution.  Finally the vet was called and they assured me that there were baby cat doses of the flea solution that wouldn’t hurt the wee ones.

My online friends also suggested washing her in Dawn dishwashing soap, but to be careful not to get any in her eyes.  Another friend suggested putting out little saucers of beer to attract the fleas and subsequently drown them.

In the end, I went with the advice of my veterinarian and got the tiny tiny dosage of the manufactured stuff.  We also dosed our older cat because it had been three weeks and the vet said it wouldn’t hurt her.

I inspected the pet carrier closely and did see little black specks, evidence of flea poo.  This convinced me that we did do the right thing by treating her, our other animals, and the living areas.  We’ll keep a careful eye on her … at least until I convince the kids to let me give her to a good home (which I have found in Alabama).

Photo shows where she bit my finger yesterday.

Call me the Cat Whisperer.  We drove back out the old, windy road yesterday late afternoon, parked the car, called “Kitty kitty!” and listened.  We heard the pitiful “Mew mew mew…”

This time I had a can of cat food with me and the wisdom of adulthood to tell my daughters, “Shhhhh…. don’t scare the kitty. Be quiet and gentle.”

I put some cat food on a stick where the starving little thing would be lured a little ways out.  She went for it.  So I put more out, a little farther from the tree and fence line.  She came out to eat it, too.  Finally, I put a dab of cat food down within arm’s length and it was too good for a hungry kitty to resist.  I gently picked her up as she voraciously ate.

We’ve brought her home and ironically, she is a calico - just like yesterday’s photo.  Meet Cali…

Now we’ll have to see if our other cat (Kitty) can get used to her.

My daughters drove a friend home last night.  The route to his house included a dark, curvy road and in the middle of that dark, curvy road was a tiny abandoned kitten.

They drove all the way home to ask if they could rescue it.  I agreed, but emphasized that we’d try to find a good home for it.  Just because I said “Yes” it didn’t mean it was for OUR house.

When they drove back to find the kitten, it was behind a fence crying, “Mew mew mew.”

It wouldn’t come to them, so they finally had to give up.

Sometimes nature decides.

Photo of abandoned Izze by Psylight via flick creative commons.

One thing I love about my animals… we’re on vacation this week.  Everyone except Grandma, that is.  She’s home all alone, except she’s not.

Both dogs are sitting in the chair under her and the cat is in her lap.

I think the companionship of pets is a true blessing in so many lives.  Whether a busy, stressed person needs someone to help relax or an elderly person needs a companion, our four-legged friends are the perfect true friends.

My thanks to Libby, Cocoa, and Kitty for being there for Grandma this week.

Photo by EdenPictures via flickr creative commons.

Ron at PopFi linked to a cat that steals laundry.

Said 72-year-old Peter of his feline filch:  “He started bringing socks home a few months ago and then gardening gloves which we tracked to our neighbor.  Then we had a situation in which he brought back young women’s underwear.  It began to escalate and I telephoned the police as people must have been missing clothes — especially with women’s underwear being taken.”

This is so sweet!  Apparently the cat isn’t doing it because he’s a thief… he does it to show his love to the two-leggeds who live in the same house.  And since my kitty regularly brings our daughter’s socks downstairs, I guess she loves us too!

Photo from London’s Mirror News.