it's tree cat!

did you see the story about almond, the kitty who lives in a tree?  it sounds like something out of a children's book.  but it's real!  check out the article and video from today's WSJ.

the best part is that almond's caretaker is a 66-year old man who never in a million years imagined he'd be climbing a ladder twice a day to take care of a kitty.

doesn't he look like a beefier nikki?

dog's best friend - patricia mcconnell

did you see the q&a with pat mcconnell on madison.com?

we think they could have asked more interesting questions than "do you feel like dr. doolittle?"   i mean, this is one of the nation's most renowned dog trainers, right?  but she's a cool lady and had fun with it.

if you're interested in reading some of her books on training we've got 'em, including:  feisty fido, leader of the pack, i'll be home soon, fastidious feline and more.

arkansas birds - scared to death

well, we have an answer.  the national wildlife health center (in madison, w00t) released its findings.  the cause of death was epic fail - the birds killed themselves.

some un-permitted fireworks are thought  to have spooked the birds, disorienting them and causing them to crash into buildings or the ground.

apparently the reason we don't see this after our own rhythm and booms is that warner park is not a roosting area for most birds.  just the geese......uh oh!

can you put a limit on love?

looks like this story on a barking dog in waunakee has got everyone talking about pet limit laws.

"the number of pets you have has nothing to do with the way they're cared for."  we agree.

unlike most of the surrounding municipalities madison does not have any current limits.

so what do you think? do pet limit laws help, hurt or do they even matter at all?  how many of us even knew there were such things?

warner geese update

it's front-page news again.  the volunteer group, wild warner, was put in charge of working with the parks department to come up with a new plan for the geese and now we have their report.

as the no madison goose kill group had already suggested wild warner is advocating GeesePeace  tactics and suggesting the airport employ avian-detecting technology to avoid the already rare bird-strikes.

now we just have to wait and see if the parks department agrees with them tonight.

fingers crossed for a no kill madison that is as progressive with its wildlife as it is with its politics.

smelly days are here again

if the ragweed allergies haven't brought your nose to its knees yet this might.

one of the university's "corpse" plants will be blooming by week's end and stinking it up to high heaven.  not sure why, but, i feel compelled to head to the greenhouse to see if it's as bad as they say.

maybe we could recommend a little petastic to drive the stink away.

hoarding, rescue, and the fate of a dog named emmi

what happens when you're charged with mistreatment of animals, have all of your pets taken away, cop a plea to get 4 of them back and then the people fostering your dog won't give it back?  we're about to find out.

this is obviously a case where the couple were in over their heads but is hoarding the same as intentional cruelty?  what do you guys think?

and what happened to all those other charges?  child neglect is pretty serious to be dropped so quickly.

breakin' the law, breakin' the law

well look who it is.  yes, that's willy street's own gabby madcat gracing the front page of the journal today.

the story is about ordinances that most residents find either too stupid annoying to follow, like registering bikes, flushing animal waste, and keeping your freak, er cat, on a leash.

if you want to keep johnny law off your back we've got you covered - flushable litters, flushable poo bags and kitty harnesses are in stock and ready to keep you outta the clink.

primate research debate

last night's debate on the ethics of non-human primate research at the uw was interesting but went nowhere. kinda like congress and health care reform, only more civil.

some highlights:
rick bogle of alliance for animals - "we are going to die. we can't fool ourselves into thinking that by experimenting on animals that we are going to find some magic bullet to make us immortal."

paul kaufman, uw chair of ophthalmics dept. - "if you're going to argue we're all equal, then this discussion is over. There's no reason to go on. but in fact there are differences. ... if you say an animal shares some characteristics with humans, that doesn't make them human beings."

in the end, we are monkeys, too. monkeys testing on monkeys. dance monkey dance.

nikki madcat, fe-9 cop

madison's K-9 patrol unit is now the largest in Wisconsin with six dogs. we even have our own trainer.

so when are they going to add a Fe-9 unit? cat cops could be pretty useful. nikki would play "bad cop" to lucy's "good cop."

what's shakin?

did anyone feel the earthquake last night? since it happened around 4am most of us were asleep.

maybe your cats noticed? some scientists say animals, like carp fish, can predict earthquakes as much as 2 weeks in advance while cats and dogs seem to notice them within a few hours.

let us know if your furrkids were behaving strangely by posting on our facebook wall.

ethics

last week's animal welfare charges at the uw have led to more discussion on animal testing. this week it's the university's all animal care and use committee finding on campus primate research to be ethical.

"we currently allow research that causes harm and premature death."

not everyone in madison agrees.

chips

if you've thought about microchipping your kitty but just haven't gotten around to it yet, now's your chance. get it done this sunday, jan. 10th, at the dchs west-side adoption center and have some peace of mind. the best part? cost is only 15 bucks.

it's not an awesome police badge, but it can save your pet's life.

in the news...

guy calls 911, makes up complaint about cat, lands in jail...but he did it all for love. awwww....

typical british emergency supply kit: candles, soup, cat litter, and lots of porridge.

madison dogs find the darndest things, don't they?

angel dog saves human brother from big cat attack.

animal research in madison

the uw-madison got some unwanted attention recently when federal animal welfare inspectors cited the university's animal research department with 20 violations .

"one major finding is that in five studies, UW-Madison researchers did not show that they tried to find an alternative to painful experiments on animals."

click here to watch a local news piece on this story featuring alliance for animals co-director, rick bogle.

igor's second chance

remember the bullmastiff, igor, who was spared the death sentence in 2008? it's been a year since he went to live at the happily ever after animal sanctuary in green bay and seems to be loving his new digs.

igor's personal victory saved his tail but it may also affect future 'dangerous dog' legislation and brings up the important question of punitive euthanasia and whether it is ever the right choice when there are other, no kill, alternatives.

dchs gets some dough

the dane county humane society has received a $50,000 grant from the aspca to help cover costs from last spring's seizure of animals from the thyme and sage ranch.

we're curious where the money is going and whether any of it will be used to help save the cats already there.

in other local news, one of the lead vets at dchs has had her home-insurance canceled. why? because she rescued a rottweiler. more breed-specific targeting that is hurting more than helping.

happy cat spotlight: squeekie! this laid-back guy (pictured above) is about three years old and front-paw declawed. he enjoys spending time with other kitties and lounging around enjoying the finer things in life. come down to the monroe st. store and give him some loving.

my fair kitteh - dottie doolittle

straight off the runways of japan, designer clothes for your cats! that white blouse and red skirt would look just darling on our lovely lucy.

in local dog news:

the dane county humane society is asking potential adopters to give pit bulls a chance. at a time when breed bans are a hot-button issue it's comforting to hear local animal behaviorist patricia mcconnell put things into perspective, "every dog should be evaluated as an individual. breed is so irrelevant so often."

good news for fast dogs, the last of the five greyhound parks in the state is closing at the end of the year. yep. six dog deaths in three months will do that to ya.

lolephants

"So help me Hanna, had I hit that elephant, not swerved, it would have knocked it off its legs, and it would have landed right on top of us," he said. "We'd have been history." - this is not dialog from an upcoming comedy.

it turns out that male sabre-toothed tigers weren't as mad, bad and dangerous to know as we all thought. especially when compared with those american lions (not the kind from detroit).

animal friendships are always adorable, but when you get a horse and a cat, or a chicken and a dog teaming up together it's even more super-duper cute.

now get outside and enjoy the beautiful weather! play in a pile of leaves, take a nap in the sunshine and maybe even eat a few treats.

a pit and a kit

when dog's best friend is a cat: another happy tale of pet rescue and friendship that spans species.

watch out, minneapolis! the kitty-litter-pail bank robber is on the loose and scooping up yer moneys!

kitty got stuck! we hope this pole-cat isn't acrophobic!

in goofy local news, the "cheese lady" is going to carve a 1,000 pound bucky badger out of cheddar. combine cheese and football? why not?

malls of america, get with the program! service animals aren't just dogs anymore, they're ferrets, too!