larry lynx likes licking lakes! say that five times fast!

"it stalks the winter woods on big paws, its ears erupting with shocks of long hair." no, it's not grandpa - it's a lynx!

what part of "don't shoot the cat" do some people not understand?

another day, another puppy mill seizure. mills are for churning grain, not turning helpless dogs into baby machines. stop puppy mills!

ready for a daily dose of adorable? hold on to your hat cuz it's baby koala time!

treats are food, too! here's a good guide to picking the healthiest ones for your fur family.

who's got a case of the mondays?

this catnapping story makes us wonder why pets are classified as property in the first place?

world's ugliest pure-breed dog really isn't that ugly, just a little goofy-looking and we like goofy.

this little guy is such a trooper. in true kitten-style, not even a missing leg is going to slow him down.

activists step in and take 300 cats off the dinner menu. no tiger vs. dragon soup for you! no really, can't you just have chicken noodle or alphabet?

friday fun day!

it's take your dog to work day - encouraging lazy dogs to get off the couch and get a job!

neener, neener, neener! "cats edge out dogs at bedtime. thirty-six percent of cat owners allow their kitties to sleep in the same bed with them whereas only 29 percent of dog owners allow their dogs in the bed."

lucy is the only store cat to have a name on the top ten pet names list, the other four are just happy not to be stuck with names like fluffy, pookles and princess punkin'.

a mama cat nurses puppies! what's next? the packers cooking dinner for the vikings?

kitty-cat wack-a-mouse - the real deal! well, sorta.

gotta love the invisible bike

new documentary explores the secret world of cat ladies. spoiler alert - they are all single.

this sicko's job is to protect people - i sure hope he isn't called to a fire right before his next vacation.

this sounds like a good read. "I've come to realize that stray dogs and cats are sometimes not just running, but running away.

harlem man relies on the kindness of strangers - and it works. hope his kitty takes the stairs from now on.

here are some hot licks for this sunny afternoon - summer cat jazz.

hot dogs and fiery felines

well, we are on our second 100-degree heat index day in a row and everyone is doing all they can to beat the heat. since our pets can't come to the movies with us, we have to do all we can to help keep them cool.

this kitty enjoys being wiped down with a damp towel - they say the texture of a moistened towel is similar to that of a cat's tongue, so some cats may even tolerate it! another option is to lay a wet towel on a tile floor and let kitty take a nap on it.

if you are feeling like you are missing something a little jungle-esque in your life you could always spring for a lion cut shave. hear them roar, indeed.

this dog is doing exactly what most of us wish we could be doing, only he's putting too much effort into it. the lazy river is the way to go!

most importantly, keep an eye out for signs of heat stroke, especially if your dog or cat is outside during the hottest parts of the day.

and if you're in the neighborhood, drop by and pick up a frozen yogurt for your dog! mmmmmm.....

all in the family

yankton cat ladies rejoice! you can't put a limit on furry love.

"you can judge a society by how it treats its animals" - ghandi
poll states the obvious: we love our furrkids!

x-nay on the itty-kay isses-kay - a new reason to fear our pets. gulp.

gps collars and iphone applications that could save your pets life. thank goodness for gadgets!

all in the family

dog day afternoon

did you hear the one about the bear that came in through the doggy door? they hadn't either.

this headline about bo obama is how we feel about the thousands of pictures of our cats doing pretty much nothing. it's the pet-owners curse to find everything do "cute."

this program is absolutely wonderful - animals helping people helping animals help people!

good news! the little dottie-bot look-alike dropped in the mailbox has been adopted....by a postal worker! wouldn't it be cute if she rode along during the carrier route? awww....

this sicko is getting 8 months for 3 cats. first-strike rules on animal torture seem like a good idea to us.

it's furry friday! w00t

in a bit of obvious news most cats and dogs don't enjoy being dressed up as 80s calypso players or odd-looking southern pollsters.

looking to update a dog or cat on the west side? the dane county humane society has opened a new adoption center on d'onofrio drive right by pedro's. now you can "make mex-i-can" and save a life all in the same trip!

since we actually had some sun in the last week it's time to consider uv protection for your pets.

this story sounds a lot like that of pepper, our current happy cat resident at monroe, only pepper hasn't found his happy ending yet.

this video of a cat rescue and sanctuary in california is both inspiring and heart-warming. if only all cats could be loved like that.

don't shoot the BIG cat

looks like house cats aren't only the group being targeted.

i doubt they'll ever be able to get his guy into a carrier after this. what a tenacious kitty.

pesticides on the skin can be bad for you? no kidding!

peta always has something to say when it's someone else doing the killing.

happy hump day!

sable, a gorgeous muted tortie, is over at the west-side store waiting for you to come get her. "i can haz fourevah hom now?"

the people responsible for the menu foods recall two years ago are have plead guilty and will soon be sentenced. we think they should have to eat a few "well-balanced" meals of melamine-tainted wheat gluten along with paying a few fines.

the suspected florida cat killer has been released while awaiting the results of a psychological exam.

we would much rather find this adorable dottie look-a-like in a mail box than one of these!

warning! you have a little over 24 hours to complete your ballot for madison's favorites. make it so!

live long and prospurr

the budding mad scientist who put his kitten in a bong has been arrested again - go figure.

a new webgame challenges you to stack watermelons and cats atop a pedestal. we're not sure why they chose watermelons and cats but i guess if i had to put one fruit and one animal on a pedestal watermelons and cats would be a prett good choice. play the game and waste a few minutes.

another sicko is out there - this time the kitty will be ok.

this web comic implies that cat people are inane - we beg to differ. we're not inane, we're mad-diddly-mad!

a funny star trek video for all the cat-lovin' trekkies out there.

kittehvolution!

scientist now think cats became domesticated as many as 10,000 years ago in the fertile crescent - still no word on dino-cats, though.

fuzzy wuzzies are the perfect antidote for a case of the mondays - unless you suffer from a fear of adorable bunnies and kitties, in which case we pity you.

43,000 pounds of cat food was spilled onto a florida highway - dottie already booked her ticket to paradise.

florida cat-owners can breathe a bit easier now that the cat killer has been caught. perhaps we can use this unfortunate story to bring focus to ending all the other unnecessary animal deaths that occur all across the country every day.

roomba zoomba

this one goes out to our old pal, joe, a roomba and kitty enthusiast! gabby would really get a kick out of a ride like this - she's our shoulder/tree/shopping basket-riding enthusiast. a real wild child (when she's not sleeping, that is)!

toxic plants and couch monsters

check your home and gardens for these common, but poisonous, plants. catnip is not on the list, but if you have some really spaced-out kittehs you may want to check for that, too.

finally an excuse for the awkwardness that is garfield - toxoplasmosis makes you either paranoid or very promiscuous. did jon even have a girlfriend?

while we get that the heart is in the right place it just seems kind of freaky to stuff your beloved, deceased pet's ashes into a throw pillow.

ladies, gentlemen, distinguished cats, it looks like we have a new enemy on our hands, a feline-munching couch. we may need to call in rick moranis. "feeeeeeeed me!"

coga? cats and yoga and eagles, oh my!

doing push-ups in the company of cats almost always leads to a face full of cat hair. why do they do that? now you can use their inexhaustible curiosity to lose a few.

the recession is really taking a toll on a cat sanctuary in florida. 600 cats and counting - sounds like a new tlc reality series in the making.

the best thing about this video of a cat and a bald eagle is the cat acting like he could take down the giant bird of prey - after he flew away.

mythological lion-headed, snake-tailed, fire-breathing beasts are cool, and sound a little like dottie when she wakes up on the wrong side of the cat tree.

dads and cats

father's day is just around the corner and if you are reading this blog, chances are you know a father with a cat. here are some gift ideas for those dads who go gaga over their feline pals.

looks like popular female singers are the new "cat ladies". both katy perry and susan boyle are all about their kittehs, with perry referring to her cat as her "substitute boyfriend." morty's jealous.

daily kitteh offers some cute pics of furry finnese, and the result of their dastardly doings. in surprising turn, kitteh destruction is not as cute as it sounds.

cute sleepy kitten is flaunting his cute sleepiness while the rest of us work away the day. he needs to get a job.

vote for pedro! and dottie, gabby, lucy, morty & nikki

it's time to exercise your right to vote - the isthums' own "madison's favorites" poll is up and ready for you to decide who rules and who drools. voting is open until june 18 and you must fill out at least 20 categories or your ballot will be thrown out. as p diddy would say, "vote or die."

here's a typical conversation between a cat and her guardian. they always win don't they? it's the whiskers. they have powers.

here's some more sad news about the sicko in florida. the no kill nation needs to get cracking in the sunshine state.

peta has decided to respond to the public outcry at their euthanasia numbers in typical peta form - kneejerk reactions and hyperbole. this time with graphic photos! thanks peta, you are ever so helpful in teaching us how not to respond to criticism.

lasers and cats

this stanford commerical is pretty much everything we love about cats and technology.

nutro recall!

nutro has issued a recall of some of its dry food, affecting the dry cat food lines natural choice and maxcat. the specific products being recalled have one of two "best if used by" dates May 12, 2010 and August 22, 2010. the issue is the pre-made mineral mix being added to the food is too high in zinc and too low in potassium. though nutro assures there is no real health risk, some people are linking the food to their pet's sudden illnesses. while this is all unfounded in the fda's eyes, it is something to consider.

if you have an affected bag of food, bring it in and we'll exchange it out for something better. remember, your kitty can't chose for his or herself what to eat, but we're sure they would sleep better knowing they were eating the best-tasting and safest foods out there.

in other recall news...remember the huge menu foods recall of 2007? it seems so long ago now, but path to justice is just now starting to get somewhere. the owner and president of nutrachem, the company that supplied the tainted food that caused the illness and deaths of thousands of animals, have agreed to a plea deal. they will plead guilty to the combined 26 misdemeanor charges against them on june 16. it will still be awhile before we know what punishments they will be up for. stay tuned for more info.

cats vs. robosapien!

you may know by know that we have a bit of a weakness for cats and robots, but really now, can you blame us?

cats and birds and who's to blame?

the new york times is running an article today questioning the old debate between birders and cat enthusiasts - who's killing all the birds? with no real conclusions reached in the article we thought we'd go ahead and side with team cats; not because we are biased by our cat-worshipping, or our rallying against that stupid cat-shooting bill, or because we don't love birds (we do!), but because there is plenty on information out there that exonerates the cat and places the blame squarely on human shoulders.

"in a 2000 report by the World Conservation Union surveying 1,173 threatened bird species, habitat loss was the most important threat, affecting 83% of the bird species sampled. across the United States, little land is left untouched by human development, modification, fragmentation, and pollution. already human activities have led to the extinction of 10% of the world’s bird species—in some locales, that number rises to as much as 90%. today more than a thousand bird species are listed as threatened, and scientists predict between 500 and 600 of those will go extinct in the next 50 years. "

alley cat allies, whose mission is "to end the killing of cats and lead the movement for their humane care," is one of the leading proponents of trap-neuter-return programs that seek to reduce the populations of feral cat colonies over time via sterilization and natural die-off, which in turn helps lower the feline threat to birds. killing the cats would not take pressure off the birds because there will always be more cats to move into that newly opened-up area, where resources (rodents, birds) will again be plentiful. t-n-r places the fixed cats back into their territory, where their presence prevents other cats from moving in.

nobody wants the birds to die, but we also don't want an entire species of animal to take the fall. we are all responsible for our part in the world. let's work towards a better future where we won't have to worry about losing any species of animal.

cat smartz

happy monday, everyone! hope you have your thinking caps on because reading this interesting article from new scientist on the topic of cat intelligence got our fur a little ruffled. after testing cats abilities to manipulate a string with a treat tied to one end against their ability to discern between two strings, one with a treat and one without, they come to the conclusion that "cats couldn't infer cause-and-effect relationships between two objects and could only learn an association from scratch each time." well we're not scientists, and our high school knowledge of the scientific method may be a bit rusty, but having spent a good amount of time with the eminent felis catus we beg to differ.

if cats can not understand cause-and-effect then how are they so good at getting what they want? meowing at the door will get them a trip outside. meowing at the food bowl will often-times get them a snack. scratching an inappropriate area will get them some red-faced attention. they even learn how to manipulate objects to get what they want, thus bypassing human involvement altogether. we have cats who turn on the faucets themselves when they're looking for a fresh drink of water and who figure out cupboard doors and food bins.

even wikipedia's article on cat intelligence agrees with us that cats aren't dummies. in fact, the physiology of a cat's brain even works similarly to that of our own noggins:

"the physical structure of human brains and that of cats are very similar; they have the same lobes in the cerebral cortex (the "seat" of intelligence) as humans do. Human brains also function the same way, conveying data via identical neurotransmitters."

so all in all cats fetch, cats learn tricks, cats play and cats have the were-withal to know when to just relax and take a nice nap.