Free Republic

PLEASANTON — The legend of a wild black cat roaming the East Bay hills continues. For years people have reported seeing a big, dark cat — about the size of a mountain lion — but Lynn Reed and his wife Kathleen said they saw it about 6:30 p.m. July 30 near Pleasanton. The Reeds were driving down the Dublin grade on eastbound Interstate 580 when Lynn Reed said he spotted a black creature moving near the Foothill Road exit.....

MISIONES, Argentina, Dec. 20 (UPI) -- Argentine police say a destitute 1-year-old boy was kept alive by a colony of stray cats who shared food scraps and kept him warm in the city of Misiones. The boy, who had been missing for several days, was found by Police Officer Lorean Lindgvist, The Daily Telegraph reported Saturday "The boy was lying at the bottom of a gutter. There were all these cats on top of him licking him because he was really dirty," Lindgvist said. "When I walked over they became really protective and spat at me. They were keeping the...

"If you have any creature in the house with a head bigger than a walnut (including boyfriends), you need a Kitty Wig™."

The domestic cat is a contradiction. No other animal has developed such an intimate relationship with humanity, while at the same time demanding and getting such independent movement and action. The cat manages to remain a tame animal because of the sequence of its upbringing. By living both with other cats (its mother and littermates) and with humans (the family that has adopted it) during its infancy and kittenhood, it becomes attached to and considers that it belongs to both species. It is like a child that grows up in a foreign country and as a consequence becomes bilingual. The...

A house cat attacked its owner, sending her to the hospital by ambulance with more than 20 bite wounds. The cat, a black and white domestic male, went on the rampage Wednesday when a neighbor showed up at the door with a different cat, mistakenly thinking it belonged to the woman. "She went to the door, and her cat went berserk," Jeff Nevins, assistant fire chief for Wood River Fire and Rescue, told the Idaho Mountain Express. The woman in her 60s was taken to St. Luke's Wood River Medical Center with what Nevins described as "pretty serious puncture wounds."...

This was both just too sad and very bizzare not to share here: BERLIN, Germany (Reuters)—A German inventor has angered animal rights activists with his answer to fighting the soaring cost of fuel—dead cats. Christian Koch, 55, from the eastern county of Saxony, told Bild newspaper that his organic diesel fuel—a homemade blend of garbage, run-over cats and other ingredients—is a proven alternative to normal consumer diesel. “I drive my normal diesel-powered car with this mixture,” Koch said. “I have gone 170,000 km (106,000 miles) without a problem.” The Web site of Koch’s firm, “Alphakat GmbH”, says his patented “KDV...

Need Vet advice on sick freeper kitty.

(03-03) 13:12 PST Inkom, Idaho (AP) -- Torri Hutchinson's cat might just have one less life to live. Hutchison was driving along Interstate 15 one day recently when a motorist kept trying to get her attention and pointing to the roof of her car. She said she was wary of the man, but wondered if perhaps her ski rack might have come loose. She pulled over to the side, but kept her doors locked and the motor running. The man pulled up behind her. Hutchinson rolled down her window to hear the man frantically shouting, "Your cat! Your cat!" He...

HOME > AIRCHIVES > CLASSICAL > Feline Reactions to Bearded Men Feline Reactions to Bearded Men by Catherine Maloney, Fairfield University, Fairfield, Connecticut, Sarah J. Lichtblau, University of Illinois, Champaign, Illinois Nadya Karpook, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida Carolyn Chou, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Anthony Arena-DeRosa, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts A feline subject reacts to a photograph of a man with a full dark semicircular beard.Abstract Cats were exposed to photographs of bearded men. The beards were of various sizes, shapes, and styles. The cats' responses were recorded and analyzed.Findings of Prior Investigators Boone (1958) found inconclusive results in...

WINGED CATS - WHAT ARE THEY? Sarah Hartwell Over the years there have been reports of winged cats, some of whom flapped their wings. Is this a new mutation of cats allowing them to take to the air after feathered prey or does the answer lie in poor grooming or an uncommon hereditary condition affecting the skin? As with the mythical "cabbit" (half-cat-half-rabbit) many would like to believe in winged cats which can fly. There are many authentic cases on file of cats with furry wing-like appendages, and in some cases the ability to move their wings, but as with...

As soon as Jim Dickerson of Vancouver stepped out of his vehicle at Portland's Washington Park on Tuesday, a deafening yowl pierced the air. His first thought: "Oh my God, I ran over a cat." Dickerson and his friend, Bryan Connolly, realized the high-pitched meows were coming from the engine compartment. Dickerson popped the hood to find Moby, his long-haired white Angora-mix cat, wrapped around the car's battery, his claws digging in for dear life. "He looked like a fried egg," Connolly said. Dickerson was terrified. "Oh my God, it's my cat," he shouted. Connolly managed to pry Moby off...

Cat Expert Defines Feline Personalities Expert Visits Weekend Home Show POSTED: 2:40 PM CDT August 20, 2004UPDATED: 2:45 PM CDT August 20, 2004 HOUSTON -- What kind of personality does your cat have? That's right, cats have definite personalities, according to a feline expert in Houston this weekend.Dr. Stephen Ruhnquist is a self-proclaimed "cat personality expert." He said that knowing a pet's personality could help owners take better care of their animals.Some cats are born lovers."The lover cat is very easygoing, very sweet, loves everyone in the family and adjusts well to change," Ruhnquist said.Others are go-go cats."(The go-go cat)...

George W. Bush Draws Mingus the Cat's Endorsement; Feline Rejects Kerry UNDER THE HEDGE, SOMEWHERE IN TX – Mingus the Cat issued the following statement today with regard to Sen. John Kerry’s campaign: “The cats of my neighborhood, both clawed and declawed, spayed, neutered or intact, are proud of their values, their coats  the alleys, porches and hedges under which they live and are dedicated to making their beds comfier, prey slower, dogs dumber, and their country safer, stronger and more prosperous."  Mingus added that President Bush is the man who is best equipped to protect cats across the U.S....

The oldest known evidence of people keeping cats as pets may have been discovered by archaeologists. The discovery of a cat buried with what could be its owner in a Neolithic grave on Cyprus suggests domestication of cats had begun 9,500 years ago. It was thought the Egyptians were first to domesticate cats, with the earliest evidence dating to 2,000-1,900 BC. French researchers writing in Science magazine show that the process actually began much earlier than that. The evidence comes from the Neolithic, or late stone age, village of Shillourokambos on Cyprus, which was inhabited from the 9th to the...

Scientists Bring New Twist To 'Death By Chocolate' With Chocolate Flavoured Mousetrap <!-- BODY BEGIN <p>A mousetrap made out of chocolate developed by scientists at the University of Warwick is set to bring a new meaning to 'Death by Chocolate'. The novel invention leads mice into temptation with the irresistible, alluring scent of chocolate essence without the use of bait. </p> <p><p>A collaboration of the University of Warwick's Innovation Direct service, a free consultancy service for SMEs (Small and Medium Sized Enterprises) and Sorex Ltd, a leading manufacturer of rodent control products, from Cheshire, has developed the mousetrap made out...

BEND, Ore. (AP) - When Linda Bertolani left her front door ajar for her Himilayan cat, she got another feline visitor - a full-grown cougar. The cougar sneaked into her kitchen Sunday night and let out a high-pitched scream, Bertolani said. He had her 16-year-old cat, Sebastian, in his mouth. "You should have seen Sebastian's fur flying," Bertolani said. The cougar dropped Sebastian, ran from the house and vanished over a fence before the police and the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife got there. Sebastian is recovering at home. Corey Heath, a Deschutes Wildlife District biologist, said no other...

A Hong Kong researcher says a wild animal considered a dining delicacy is the carrier of a virus that causes SARS. The finding fits earlier speculation that Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome originated in wild animals. Hong Kong University revealed Friday that the civet cat, a wild animal indigenous to southern China, is the likely source of the virus that causes Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. Dr. K.Y. Yuen said researchers at the Shenzhen Center of Disease Control found four strains of the virus in a large percentage of civet cats. "From a special type of civet cat, we are able...