Working Cats Program in Ravenswood!

Check out this link to a short article and audio interview about the Working Cats Program in Chicago! Tree House Humane Society is hiring out kittehs to work as rodent control technicians at $40 a pop! It's a pilot program, and the kittehs are achieving a 90% success rate - and the program will be expanded. 

Prison Cats

Check out this article about Seattle's "Cuddly Catz Program!" Apparently "a 2006 study by Kansas State University's Dept. of Sociology, Anthropology and Social Work reported that such programs exist in at least 20 states as well as Canada, Australia, New Zealand and Italy, and the number of participating institutions is increasing every year."

This video is MSNBC's tongue-in-cheek piece on a few prison cat stories. Hilarious and interesting. 

TAMA the Stationmaster Cat

More cats with jobs.....this darling calico in Japan! I think however that this cat definitely pulled a good con on these folks because she doesn't have to do anything but suffer through wearing a silly hat and letting people take pictures of her, but it just goes to show how much people really truly want to connect with cats and how much they empathize with these stray/feral rags-to-fame stories. I just wish people would take more interest in the wretched little starving animals they see huddling next to dumpsters.....click the link above for a cute video of her story. 

Dewey the Library Cat

Another stray cat who left his mark with love and purpose is Dewey the Library Cat, who sadly died in 2006. You may have heard of him. He was a beauty who inspired people and other library cats around the world. I read the book about him and highly recommend it.

There is also an ADORABLE kids book about him as well

A Street Cat Named Bob

OOOOoooohhhhHHH I love this story. Meet James and Bob, a pair whose story has hit the bestseller list and is being sold in 8 countries. Their agent is already talking Hollywood movie!I finished the book in one day, it was really good.

My friend who lives in London met the pair of them on the tube and took this picture

And if you'd like to know the whole story and how they're doing now, here is a recent interview! And click here is their Facebook page! 

Cats with jobs!!!!

WOW this so awesome! Rodent Control Technicians! This is a fantastic idea that gives these cats the lives they deserve, while earning their keep and having a job to do, along with their friends in the kitteh Krew. I wish more shelters could organize a program like this. And by the way, what a gorgeous kitty! Very regal and proud. 

And here is a picture of their employee quarters!

Taking ferals into your home

Taking ferals into your home can be a precarious undertaking. Even though the cat seems well-socialized to you, unless the cat is hand-raised by humans from birth, you will find that there are things that are just "different" about the cat, and they are things you may not ever be able to change, no matter how hard you try. Above is Cricket Fluff 'n' Stuff, a lovely female cat we found in our yard when she was just 2 1/2 months old. As a baby she wouldn't let me put her down it seemed...as an adult, forget about it. She lets us pick her up but she does not really like being held. She will start biting you when she feels she is done being held, which is usually around the one-minute mark. She also has issues with human faces and hands being close to her face - she'll bite and scratch viciously. She isn't much of a lap cat either, but does enjoy extended cuddling and petting. We wonder, even though we raised her since she was a baby, if those 2 and 1/2 months on her own were enough to alter the course of her socialization to humans permanently. 

Above is Squidley. We took her in at about 5 months old. She's almost 1 and we cannot pick her up - she runs. Our 3rd cat Chewy we took in at 9 months. He's been with us inside for a year and he remains terribly shy and cannot be picked up. Jackson Galaxy the Cat Daddy talks about this on his video blog, that this is an all too common characteristic of formerly feral cats, and his position is that we as guardians must accept this and deal with it. It is what it is. But this can be frustrating and heartbreaking for people who so very much want to adopt these wonderful furry babies from their yards.