The Cat Blog on TheCatSite.com

Work and cats don’t usually go together. Our pampered pet cats no longer have to hunt rodents for a living, and these days, working is considered a canine trait. The story that one of our forum members, catsknowme, brought to our attention is certainly unusual in that respect.

It’s the story of Tama, a tortoiseshell cat, born and raised in the a small train station in Japan. When the railroad company – Wakayama Electric Railway – decided to shut down the station, they jokingly appointed Tama as the Stationmaster. To their surprise, not only did the cat stuck around (according to the article, she does have a caregiver in a nearby shop, and the company pays for Tama’s food), but she actually did a good job, as the number of passengers using the line keeps increasing.

Well, being so good at her job, Tama was promoted to the rank of “Super Stationmaster”. One of 36 top managers of that rank, she is the only female there, believe it or not.

Myself, I am worried mostly about this cat being left unsupervised for long hours in a train station. The thing most on my mind… is Tama spayed? Does she get proper vet care? So, fun story, or borderline abuse by a big company? Make up your own mind and let us know by adding a comment here -

http://www.thestar.co.za/?fSectionId=&fArticleId=nw20080525120728705C537945#

No, not suggesting that you sell your furbaby! Only asking about the budget required to raise a cat these days. I actually have some answers by now, from our members on the cat forums, in this very interesting thread titled:

What are your monthly cat expenses?

Answers vary, obviously, but I think it’s clear that $50-$100 per cat per month is the average range. Reading the list of items on which the money is spent, from quality food, to litter, vet care, cat toys and treats, makes me proud. Proud,  and honored that TCS has such a wonderful community of avid cat lovers who truly give those precious felines everything they need.

Check out the thread right here, and join in the conversation to let us know how much you spend on your cat every month!

Remember the pet food recall scandal from March 2007, involving over 95 brands of cat food? Another phase was reached last week in the litigations of over 100 lawsuits against the manufacturer of the defected pet food – Menu Foods. A settlement fund of $24 million dollars was set up by Menu Food, to allow for compensation for the plaintifs who have lost dogs and cats to kidney disease after feeding them with cont animated pet food.

Here are some links to articles with more details -

http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5jWoj-xA1xcoCq8oQAb5janun5ZpQD90RA98O1

http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5ij9-7i0Yutj46z-mBQqd-lpccgMQ

And if you need a recap about the details of the food recall -

http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/petfood.html

The Humane Society of the United States has a wonderful website, full of information about pets and pet care. They recently launched a new resource page about Feral Cat Care, filled to the brim with great links, so I want to share this with you today -

http://www.hsus.org/pets/issues_affecting_our_pets/feral_cats/feral_cat_resource\
s.html

Time to point the stage lights on a new TCS cat and an ex-feral is our star today -

Cat in the Spotlight #7 is Widgen -

This stunningly beautiful boy started his life out as a one of ten (!) feral kittens captured and slowly tamed and rehomed. Forum member Whispern’Cats tells you more about the long-haired prince on his web page on TCS. Or you can just keep on gazing at this beautiful picture (click on it for a larger version).

I get my share of emails with links to funny cat videos. We also have quite a lot of people posting these on the forums as well. I have to say, sometimes, what the poster considers to be a funny cat video, we end up removing from the site because we feel it borders on cat abuse. Searching YouTube, too many cat videos labeled as funny are difficult for me to watch. Cats are being messed around with, or just improperly cared for. I’ve seen cats sprayed with water, made to jump, frightened out of their wits to produce howls and so on. Not nice. It’s sad, how so many people think that a cat in distress is funny.

Here’s a real nice cat video I found. I am pretty sure it will bring a smile to cat lovers, while depicting too sweet and very relaxed, and certainly most communicative felines – what do you think they’re saying there?

By the way, if you have funny cat videos that you took of your cat, which you think other cat lovers will smile at, rather than cringe, do send them to me – I’d love to display them here (and they don’t even have to be on YouTube!).

One of my favorite forums in our community is “Fur Pictures and Videos Only”, where members share visuals (and sometimes soundtracks too!) of their precious furbabies. Every now and again we get a special theme thread in there, especially now with our monthly themed contests (thanks to our Contest Contessa, Heidi (aka valanhb on the boards).

One specific contest which I thought had absolutely stunning pictures is the cat eyes photo contest. Some amazing close-ups on cat eyes which really show up the beauty of this unique feline feature. I’m going to share the pictures that got the most votes here, but do yourself a favor and visit the thread to see the rest! Pretty much every member that had to vote mentioned just how hard it was making a choice!

Here are the most voted for pictures so far -

Gigi the gorgeous calico-tabby with the calico pattern reflected in her eyes :

Sabina with her amazing baby blue eyes -

Nikita the green eyed silky Bengal -

Sweet odd-eyes Smudge -

Are these pictures gorgeous or what? Cat eyes are a fascinating thing. They’re not just beautiful either. In fact, we have an article just about that on the site right here : A Cat’s Eyes – Windows To The Soul