signed, sealed, delivered

starting today, you'll be able to decorate your snail mail with super sweet cat and dog stamps.

it's all part of this year's USPS social awareness campaign.

and during the launch of the stamps, halo will be giving away one million meals to shelter pets.

while it's not a solution, every little bit helps to raise awareness. plus, who doesn't love getting mail?

george w. bush hates community cats

well, that's a glenn beck-style leap. but bush's presidential library is threatening to push out a well-loved community cat tent city on the southern methodist university campus.

the program is even financed by the university while the cats are cared for by volunteers. they use T-N-R to manage the population and recognize that the cats have a valuable role in the college's ecosystem.

internet celebrity cats have even banded together in protest.

could you imagine a colony at the UW, in Stan Temple's backyard?

in the navy

next time you're headed out to sea, don't forget your feline first mate.

usni has assembled a photo essay depicting the special relationship between cats and sailors.

cats provide companionship and protection on long sea voyages. some sailors even believe a cat on a ship is good luck. it's even got nikki thinking about enlisting.

hit the jump for more of our faves. and thanks to usni for sharing these great pics of american history.

hell naw, we won't declaw

kudos to california, again! it seems like they are always on the forefront of pro-animal rights legislation.

most recently, a bill was introduced to forbid california landlords from requiring that cats be declawed as a condition of occupancy. it's about time.

let's face it - declawing is a barbaric practice done for the convenience of humans only. it's the amputation of the end bones of a cat's toes. it's even outlawed in over two dozen countries.

in many cases, declawing a cat causes more problems. there are better ways to get your cats stop clawing your furniture.

stimulate your cat's senses

cat toys just keep getting cooler and cooler, don't they? there's a new line of cat toys from hagen designed to stimulate your cat's senses. this kung-foo kitteh certainly enjoys his:

catnip infused, multi-sensory stimulation, what more could you ask for? stop by madcat to check out the floor model.

sunday funnie

baaa baaa black.... wha?

this is a rare curly-coated mangalitza, one of three now living at a zoo in the united kingdom.

goose movement gains steam

the city of madison is still planning to kill 80-100 geese in warner park, but not without some vocal opposition  from residents.

now alderperson satya rhodes-conway has stepped up to the cause. she sent a letter (pdf file) to the parks commission, imploring them to reconsider their rash decision - this time, with input from the community:

"it is clear to me that our constituents, the people I represent on the City Council and that you represent on the Board of Parks Commissioners, are angry and upset, both about your decision and the manner in which it was made. I feel you owe it to the public to reopen the discussion in a public forum."

make your pet famous

morty is getting sick of modeling.

so... we want your pics!

upload your pics to our facebook fansite and they could be featured on our blog. madcats charlie and sylvie have been featured in recent weeks. if you're already a fan, here's a tutorial on how to do it.

if you're not on facebook, you can email  to submit your pic!

happy erfs day!

happy earth day! get out there and plant a tree, or some wheat grass. or celebrate with usda organic dog treats.

go spiritual with a reading from the book of lolcats. how about some genesis: "Oh hai. In teh beginnin Ceiling Cat maded teh skiez An da Urfs, but he did not eated dem."

or just get out there and enjoy the sunshine while it lasts!

tails from the heart this saturday

the dane county friends of ferals are holding their annual fundraiser - tails from the heart - this saturday.

there will be hors d'oeuvres, a cash bar, prizes, and a silent auction. it's $10 at the door to get in and 100% of the proceeds will go to help community cats in dane county.

come on out for a fun night to support a great cause!

what's good for the city of madison

is not good for the gander in this case. park officials recently decided to kill 80-100 geese in warner park in an effort to prevent a miracle on the hudson situation at the airport.

the "dispatching" of the resident geese is scheduled to happen this summer when the birds are molting and flightless. check out the official info here (pdf file).

opponents call the decision rash, claiming the parks department is mismanaging the issue. some say that the department needs to find creative solutions to deal with the threat of bird strikes.

killing animals is never a solution. whether feline or fowl, we believe in building a no kill community. if you agree, add your name to the petition or contact your local representatives to tell them how you feel.

happy birthday morty and nikki!

happy birthday to our westside madcats, morty and nikki! celebrate with a little catnip cocktail and a belly scratch.

charlie

meet madcat charlie.

this tripod tabby recently visited our west side store. and despite only having three legs, charlie the charmer get around just fine.

more pics of the handsome devil can be seen after the jump.

the old 8-legged discount trick

watch what happened when victor huang went free-diving off the coast of new zealand and an octopus stole his video camera. what a bizare, brilliant animal. brings back those scary giant-octopus memories from popeye, doesn't it?

brainiacs

hey guess what - supercomputers aren't smart enough, so engineers are making a new one more like a cat's brain.

cats can recognize faces much faster and more efficiently than current supercomputers. and even though the world's most complex supercomputer has 140,000 CPUs, it's still 83 times slower than a cat's brain.

we're guessing the new supercomputer will spend most of its time in sleep mode.

sunday funnie

this weird looking creature is a rare pygmy loris, one of two born last month in galveston, texas.

feline iPad fever

the reviews are in and madcats have given the ipad two non-opposable thumbs way up. internet sensation iggy definitely enjoys his:

and madcatter cooper spends his caturday mornings playing peggle. morty and nikki have a birthday coming up and the ipad is definitely at the top of their list.

soooo shiny

stainless steel fountains have arrived!

the simple design looks slick and allows for super easy cleaning - plus the stainless steel material helps prevent feline acne.

morty is already a huge fan. stop by any MadCat to check one out!

mad-eagle

Video clips at UstreamCurrent addiction: the Duke Farms Eagle Cam, providing a live video stream of an eagle's nest in New Jersey. Just try to tear yourself away from it.

saving lives saves money

in this tough economy, tons of people are looking to save a buck - including brown county in northern wisconsin by embracing a trap-neuter-return program.

to date, cats anonymous has spayed and neutered 100 community cats at a cost of $50 each in the village of howard. comparatively, it costs $145 per cat to trap and kill them. that's a savings of $9,500 in howard alone, just by implementing a humane policy toward community cats.

with that chunk of change, you could buy 19 cats their very own ipads.

bottom line: tnr could save taxpayers billions of dollars if implemented nationwide.

standing cat in boots!

remember the standing cats we linked to last week? well one of them got his very own puss in boots-treatment.

animal seizure amendments - deconstructed.

what if your (likely unlicensed) cat was swept up by a humane officer and someone in the administrative chain decided you were a crappy person/owner? your life just got way harder - and you're not a dogfighter or animal abuser.

on friday, we told you about proposed changes to the state's animal seizure law.  on review of the proposed bills, the consequences of the bill don't seem to match up with how it's being explained by its proponents.

the bill is aiming to remove the cost of caring for seized animals away from the county and onto the owners, extra protection from incidents like the lowery case in 2006 when the county racked up thousands of dollars in costs caring for seized pit bulls.

to accomplish this, the bill sets a time line for which the legal process must occur, and it requires the owner to pay for all costs relating to the care of seized animals.

but some in opposition to the bill say that it will have unintended consequences as the bill applies to all pet owners, not just those accused of running dog fights or puppy mills, and will compromise the individual liberties of all pet owners for the actions of the few.

here's what the bill might mean:

where are they now

meet hector: a highly-social, non-aggressive pitbull who spends his days visiting nursing homes, hospitals and schools as a licensed therapy dog.

hector is so good at his job, he was recently honored with a prestigious service award.

he is also one of 47 dogs saved after they were seized from michael vick's home in 2007.

the question has been asked before: can seized pitbulls be rehabilitated? the answer is a resounding yes - even though peta and the HSUS took the position that vick's pit bulls were beyond rehabilitation.

check out the national pit bull rescue center for more info on demonized dogs and the efforts to end their abuse.

be on the lookout for counterfeit frontline

the epa has issued a stop-sale on imposter frontline and advantage that has been illegally imported into the u.s.  counterfeit cartons of frontline and advantage have foreign label inserts and the applicators may not be the appropriate dosage which could be harmful to pets.

a couple of things to look for:

• counterfeit packaging may contain orange colored bars on the back of the blister pack
• foreign language, such as "usage veterinaire"
• net contents in fluid ounces versus metric measure
• dog size measured in pounds versus kilograms

rest assured that MadCat has the real deal; our frontline is both FDA and EPA registered and in the correct packaging. 

your friendly neighborhood grass dealers

... wheat grass, that is. safe for cats, dogs, birds, reptiles, and small animals, wheat grass is a great alternative for pets who like chewing on potentially harmful houseplants and chemically treated lawns.

munching on wheat grass helps with digestion, and it's also rich in a whole list of nutrients - chlorophyll, vitamin k, antioxidants, enzymes, amino acids, magnesium, and vitamins A, B-complex, and C. not to mention protein and fiber.

more info on the benefits of green nutrition can be found in bell rock growers' neat e-book (pdf file).

a walk in the park

the sun is shining, the air is warm, let's take advantage of this beautiful spring day with a walk in the park, featuring miles, an honorary madcat.

changes proposed to state animal seizure law

a bill has recently been proposed to amend chapter 173 of wisconsin state law, which specifically deals with animal investigations, officers, violations, and animal seizure.

the amendments were a suggestion by volunteers for the dane county humane society. the changes provide that after an animal is taken into custody, the cost of custody and care will be paid for by the owner. if the owner does not pay, the animal will be treated as an 'unclaimed animal.'

several of the changes are proposed in an effort to expedite the deposition process, including giving the owner only seven days to file a petition for return of the animal.

mail call

no wonder the u.s. postal service is considering dropping saturday deliveries.  it's those scary attack cats!

"this is an old age cat who gets dressed up as Santa each year - he wouldn't have the energy to attack postmen."

did you hear about the post office cat in alabama who was evicted on the grounds that he doesn't pay federal taxes?  looks like he's back, and even has his own p.o. box.

odd sightings

some chinese scientists are claiming they've found the rare oriental yeti. yeah right.  it looks more like a sad civet who's lost his hair to mange.  poor guy.

look at all these standing kitties!  quadripedal movement must be sooo '90s or something.

and if you missed it, puff the magic dragon was hanging out over the magic castle at disneyland.  no wonder they call it "the happiest place on earth."

iCat

apple's new iPad debuted over the weekend and it's already taking the cat-loving techie world by storm.

the omg cat responded to steve jobs' introduction of the product with surprised awe, while this kitty looks on confusedly as its owner makes music with the magic contraption, and this guy decides to take advantage of the best of both worlds, using his lapcat as an iPad stand.

peta sues uw-madison

the isthmus' bill lueders brings us more news regarding uw-madison's animal research department, adding more fuel to the ethics debate.

it seems that after teaming up with the alliance for animals last month, peta is now suing the university for with-holding documents regarding eye experiments on monkeys and cats, a violation of the state's open records law.

we are still waiting for a decision from the court on the previously-mentioned criminal charges.  stay tuned for more info as it becomes available.  we'll be following this one to the end.

little muppet foofoo

this muppet's take on "stand by me" seems to fit right in with most cats' opinion of the easter bunny.

hoppy easter!

although we don't really buy zombie jesus day (we believe in ceiling cat), hoppy easter anyway!

prime minister morty madcat held a service this morning with some readings from the book of lolcat.

he then celebrated by spending some time with the bunny and checking out his easter basket goodies.

april showers...

...bring crabby kitties who would rather be outside eating the fresh shoots of green, green grass.

now is the time to start a pot of cat grass indoors to help indoor kittehs satisfy their springtime cravings.  nothing like a little wheat grass to get the digestion going.

this kitteh won't let rain, or looking like the villain of a bad, '90s scary movie, stop him.

lights out on evangers

holy cow! evangers just saved 2 million dollars on their electric bill ... by allegedly tampering with their gas meter and hooking high voltage wiring from their illinois plant directly into the power grid.

wonder if they saved money on their car insurance too by switching to... oh never mind.

read their side of the story in a recent press release.

an exciting announcement!

during the last seven or so years that we've served you, the madison pet-loving community, we've learned a lot about people, their pets and what they are looking for in a quality product retailer.

today, we are excited to announce a new direction for MadCat.  taking a step away for the cats and dogs we've served over the years (i mean really, cats are so 2007) we are going to start focusing on an under-served segment of the pet population in a big way....ladies and gentlemen, welcome to a new world, the world of MadQuail!  that's right, starting today, we will be Madison's number one stop for all things quail, pheasant, game hen and backyard turkey.