shelter showdowns

the humane society of the united states, the association for the prevention of cruelty to animals, and county shelters have been all over the news this weekend. there's some bad news, some new questions, and even some good news:

first, it was the firing of 5 employees charged with animal abuse at the toronto humane society. then, a mummified cat was found in the ceiling of the toronto building during the execution of a search warrant.

then it was the talk of unethical behavior by the aspca up in seattle as the hsus takes over the county shelter and opening the can of worms that is "where do donation dollars go?"

finally, remember oreo's story? a new bill has been presented in new york state that would make it "illegal for a shelter in New York State to kill an animal if a rescue group or No Kill shelter is willing to save that animal’s life."

gobble, gobble

happy thanksgiving, Madison!

today we feast and for that we are grateful. we hope that you become as immobilized as we do. enjoy your food-coma. please make sure everyone gets something to eat. this includes your local street cats - they love turkey (and sterilization).

we will be open again tomorrow, but today we enjoy food with dear friends. now go hug somebody...

new leadership at the wisconsin humane society

the wisconsin humane society has selected anne reed, a milwaukee-based lawyer, to head up their board of directors. while she does not have any direct experience in animal welfare she has been on the boards of many other non-profit groups and worked in the legal system for over twenty years. hmmmm....sounds somewhat similar to another lawyer/animal welfare advocate we know (hint: look at yesterday's post.)

hopefully she can lead the group in a new direction and make progress towards a no kill wisconsin.

in other humane society news, here are the dane county humane society's official stats for the month of october. since it's the season of giving thanks, let's all be thankful that the euthanasia numbers are way down from previous years. but that should not stop us from pushing the fight to save every last one of them.

the man with a plan gives us part 2

exciting news, everyone! nathan winograd, the fearless leader of the no kill sheltering movement, has a new book, irreconcilable differences. it's a follow-up to redemption and is a must-read for anyone who is passionate about companion animals, shelter care, and the end of unnecessary deaths.

even better news, the book will be available at MadCat within a couple of weeks. pick one up for your favorite cat-rescuer!

make it pretty with a kitty!

new iphone application lets you add cats to your iphotos. why not? cats make everything a little bit cuter. though if you're reading this blog your camera roll is probably already full of cat pics. amirite?

a croation soccer player got a yellow card for removing a stray kitty from the playing field. cats are naturals at soccer, he probably thought the soccer ball was just a really big glitter ball.

here's the now-famous video of the adorably friendly little kitty who kept interrupting a police officer while he was issuing a ticket. while the officer was certainly professional enough we can't believe he was able to ignore the high level of cuteness. we would have been all over that little guy.

and just because we love goofy cat-humour, cats 4 gold! "lose the treasure, get the cheshire!"

Miley and the litter king

as you are all surely aware by now, Miley is ok. how is this cat-related? well, i'll tell you. does your cat poop? everybody's cat poops. and when things work the way we like, they use a high-quality unscented litter that helps make all the bad smells go away.

well, who do you think puts that magic sand in those fancy jugs? it's not Miley Cyrus (though she is involved). it's Chris Romashko. and if MadCat is where people get their stuff, and refills are how they like it, then Chris is the undisputed king of litter. why? because he fills each and every jug. and while he fills those jugs he likes to listen to music. and the music he likes most is...you guessed it - Miley Cyrus.

he is still a bit worried about Billy Ray, but it seems we're back on track to fill a lot of jugs today...

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.

the story of oreo

a furor is spreading about the un-neccessary death of a dog named oreo. her killer? the very organization designed to protect her, the aspca.

what went wrong? how does one get to killing the very things they want to save? why did ed sayres, president of the aspca, choose death over an offered life-time of care in a sanctuary?

the story is just one example of what is happening in kill shelters across the country every single day.

visit nathan winograd's blog for the rest of the sad story. to learn what you can do to help make us into a no kill nation, check out the no kill advocay center.

playing dead is easy when you're morty...

... you just sleep a lot.

more proof that cats are just as trainable as dogs: kitty "plays dead."

more research is being done to help keep shelter cats healthy and happy during their stays. this is another key step in the march towards no kill. a little cold should never come between a cat and a new home.

we think kenny and spenny need to spend a little time with our crew of crazy kitties and less on debating cats vs. dogs for their tv show. enough with pitting our furrfriends against one another!

and just because it's hypnotically cool, a flock of 300,000 birds doing some fantastic aerial magic.

the mean kitty song

call a plumber!

the nebraska pipe kitten caught the nation's attention yesterday. today, the little girl is free and looking for a new home. preferably one without exposed pipes. a tip of the hat to all those who helped!

the passing of a canadian official's beloved cat, named "thatcher," after his political heroine, nearly caused a crisis when people assumed the former british prime minister had died. we're sorry for mr. baird's loss and hope mr. soudas apologizes for his callous remarks.

abc's 20/20 is airing a special tonight on the "cat lady" documentary and the women featured therein. maybe this will blow away the "cat lady" stygma and get compassionate people some of the respect they deserve.

more on the california declawing ban controversy - the response of a cat communicator.

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.

californi-cats

so it turns out that the reason so many california cities are looking to ban declawing is due to the california state legislation preventing local municipalities from enacting declawing bans beginning in january. pretty tricky, vet lobby. luckily, those cities are just too quick for you.

in other hollywood news, two new movies are in the works that feature some famous felines:

spider-man 4 will have an appearance by the comic character, "black cat." rachel mcadams is marked to don the cat suit.

and tim burton's new version of alice in wonderland has the cheshire cat smiling his way across the whole sky. he almost looks like the madcat logo, doesn't he?

French drama queens

Miles is a cat with stories to tell. this is his first crack at film-making, but so far he says he's enjoying it. while he says his next film will feature more actors and plot twists, critics seem delighted with his soundtrack and cinematography. we expect good things from Miles and the gang at Pantaloons Productions over the next year - stay tuned!

* note - it was pointed out that Miles regularly sleeps with (on, around, near) a MadCat employee and that's how he got his video up so easy. we are investigating this claim...

Bo knows MadCat?

apparently we are where you go when the 1st dog needs a collar -

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.

great news for wisconsin puppies!

the wisconsin state senate unanimously approved the puppy mill bill in session earlier today. this is a marked victory for local and national humane groups. good for us!

"more and more people in mainline christianity are considering them to have some kind of soul." churches are opening their minds, doors and hearts to pet-related worship.

looks like swine flu has done the un-expected and jumped species into an iowa house-cat. the good news, the kitty is doing fine and is relieved to see his tail has not been replaced by a curly-cue.

obama, the fly, and keyboard cat

with obama in town today, we thought we'd give him a shout-out via our good friend, keyboard cat:

kidneys, protein and professional BS

we get a lot of questions regarding protein intake for older cats with kidney problems. you are not alone. Kenneth C. Bovée, DVM from UPenn's School of Vet Med has a few thoughts about protein restriction as a method of managing kidney disease, an idea that continues to challenge our sense of nutrition and physiology.

"the continued existence of this false myth about dietary protein is an uncomfortable reminder of the lack of sophistication, lack of critical thought, and reliance on oversimplified and attractive dogma that persists in our profession"

as a not-so-junior cat with kidneys, i can tell you this is a little disconcerting. but why? he goes on...

"Marketing is aggressively aimed at veterinarians and owners alike. There is a profit motive for veterinarians to sell these diets. The public has a nutritional mania and preoccupation with diet in our society. Dietary change has assumed the status of medical treatment using such terms as intervention, maintenance, and correction. The profession and the public do not appreciate that advertising claims come without proof in the case of diets."

i'm not sure all of Dr. B's assessments were well received by the vet-food establishment, but here in catland, we just want the truth. it seems more and more vets (the ones we trust) are taking a similar view. check out our kidney health page for more resources on chronic renal failure (CRF), kidneys, and nutritional needs.

three is the magic number

what is the right number of cats per household? shouldn't that be decided by the household and not the local government? hoarders excluded, it's a dangerous game to put limits on pet ownership when local shelters are far from no kill.

world's fastest man adopts world's fastest cat, will now run backwards around the world and stop time. or not.

now los angeles is getting on board the anti-declawing train. pretty soon all of california will be living in the 21st century.

micro-chipped lost dog stolen and given away by animal control officer that found it. something about that just doesn't make sense.

hello kitty kitty

the iconic face of adorableness, hello kitty, is turning 35 this year. she's still cute as a button after all these years.

hope you all had a fun halloween! looks like the obamas got into the holiday this year as they handed out candy at the white house. mrs. obama even dressed up as cat!

it's the birthplace of the pet cat some 9,500 years ago. now Cyprus is laying claim to two new breeds: the appropriately named "aphrodite" and the "st. helen"

wuh oh. looks like dogs are the new hummers: analyzing our pets' eco-footprints. cats are like priuses, only they look a lot cuter.