happy memorial day

whether you're out enjoying the parades, honoring family or barbecuing in the backyard with a cold one and your kitties we hope you have a great day.

summer has officially begun....

oh, and if you haven't beaten your personal brat record yet there's still time!

cool, cool calvin

the heat may have shut down the madison marathon, but it won't stop calvin the samoyed from his daily routine. the fluffy west regular stopped by today for some treats and obligatory hugs. more pics after the jump.

looks like summer is finally here. how are you gonna cool down?

hey! maru, tambourine cat, play a song for me

maybe maru and keyboard cat should start a band?

sausage party!

you know what this weekend is - it's the reason you didn't leave town.  your mouth waters at the sight of the mustard-yellow capital dome.  you've got the fever -  brat fest fever.

FYI - dogs aren't allowed at the actual fest (service dogs excepted), but that doesn't mean they can't enjoy a sausage or two.  stop by and grab a can of brauts-n-tots - packed with beef brats, sweet potatoes and carrots (hold the mustard).  just slap it on a gluten-free bun and your pooch can have a brat fest of their own.

so how many brats are you gonna eat?

pet names for pets

born phoenix and skinny, these madcats are rarely referred to as anything other than "mr. phoenie" and "squeezebox" (she does an uncanny impression of one).

our own lucy goes by "goose," gabby is known as "wabbers," and dottie is called everything from "dotbot" to "donnarella."

the nicknames don't make sense but somehow they fit and the cats don't seem to mind.  maybe they have their own nicknames for us, too.  "hairless weirdo," "pillow butt," or "hooman the poo-man" would all fit the bill.

so what do you call your pets?

update - oil-spill cluster continues

not sure if anyone noticed but engineers announced very quietly that they will not be able to use hair to soak up the massive oil spill suffocating the gulf coast.

wait, so what you're saying is, using panty hose filled with hair to soak up the oil wasn't a good idea?

personally, i like colbert's solution better.

morty's bukkit list

no, not that kind of bukkit, this kind - and some lady in Ann Arbor thinks you should make one for your pet.

i get the sentiment, but why not today?  bucket lists are morbid.  morty's would only have one thing on it - take moar naps.

what's on your cat's bukkit list?

lost without Lost

spoiler alert - everyone's dead.  but you knew that already or you didn't care in the first place.  either way, its over now - which is a good thing for all of us.

the last six years has been hard, especially for friends of fans that like to do other things on Tuesday nights (not that baking a Lost cake isn't fun).  how will this change your life?

walk like an egyptian mau: kitty harness how-to

the problem:  kitty wants to go outside but it's a scary world out there and kitty might run away

the solution:  harness-training

many cats can be trained to wear a harness and enjoy the outdoors safely.  for reals.  the key?  manipulating them into thinking it was all their idea in the first place.  mwahahahaha.

jump jump!

bobbi adds bobcats to brood

making the "awww" rounds right now is the  story of a mama cat who adopted three bobcat babies, the incredible part - they were orphaned when an alabama hunter decided they'd make great pets for his kids.

i was outraged that none of the news stories mention what happened to the guy - who apparently walked into a vet's office with "a gun in one hand and a sack of bobcat kittens in the other" - but apparently he's home free, cuz it's perfectly legal.

these boots were made for walkin'

as a cynical cinephile i don't like a lot of movies, especially those like shrek.  i prefer mike myers' earlier work.  but i'm still excited to see the new movie this weekend.  why?  because puss in boots is one of the best fictional representations of a cat.  ever.  he's hilarious, handsome (for a cat), he sings, uses his big, adorable eyes to manipulate the pants off people and he's a sword-brandishing badass to boot (pun intended)! if my cats had fictional heroes puss would be like their bruce lee or arnold.

movie cats are so often being portrayed as evil that it's nice to see one on the big screen that everyone can love.  though judging by the  preview, looks like puss the badass is going to become puss the fat...ahem...cat. 

watch the trailer after the jump and just try not to adore him.

turn your awwws into lols

i love the cheezburger site. even more fun - making your own, like my lol of my own monsters over there. there's a bunch of super easy ways to turn pics of your own kittehs (or dogs) into lols.

the simplest way to make one is to use cheezburger's lolbuilder. you don't have to register for an account to upload your picture and create your own lol using their tools. the basic builder is good for putting lols together in a snap, but the "advanced" builder is more flexible. mine was made with the advanced builder.

to get even more creative....

mustache cougar iz not impressed

cougar alert!  mothers, lock up your sons!

three confirmed sightings of the rare cats in northern wisconsin have the state's dnr on edge, talking about protocols and strategies on ways to deal with their increased presence.  a cow was even taken down in juneau county on saturday by what appeared to be a cougar attack.

is this the beginning of another round of shoot the cat controversy?  or can we co-exist peacefully?  bonus!  check out the cougar comments section for a warner park geese tie-in.

keepin the peace

my cats fight. when cleo came into our family, she was meant to be a playmate for fiona, who had been with us over a year. but their outgoing vs. timid personalities clashed, a common problem in multi-cat households. from the second they first saw each other, chaos ensued.

now, over six months later, the two are finally starting to become friends. what happened?  can it work for you? hit the jump if you want to find out how to coax reluctant kittehs into being friends...

swank scratchers for sophisti-cats

what would you get if you crossed a kitty bed with a (boring) cardboard scratcher?  well, something worth resting on, according to Dottie.  our new line of scratch-loungers are a little more fun than a cardboard rectangle.  they do the job and they double as cat furniture.

they can also be placed on end for cats who prefer a vertical scratching surface, very cool.  my girls love any cat-accessory that makes them feel more like a princess.  and with options like this, why would anyone ever consider declawing?

slide baby slide

check out this tireless mama cat.  she's a modern-day sisyphus.

forces of gravity... too strong... for kitteh...

blammo! pow! purr!

cats and lit have always gone together - being quiet fans of warm laps and desk lamps, they are suited to a writer's life.  but how bout those fearsome felines of the literary sidecar - comic books?  even if you're not big on the format, this little intro to the softer side of caped crusaders may just make a fangirl (or boy) out of you yet.

cats are ubiquitous in the land of the supers and it makes sense - they are extreme baddies.  canines are cool, but can you imagine Dogman?  sorry - not badass enough.

so who are these felis catus extraordinaires?  take the jump and find out....

prozyme at MadCat - good for your gut

Prozyme is now available at MadCat.  apologies for the delay.  what is it and why should i care?  if you know, skip the rest.  everyone else, keep reading...

there are basically only three supplements i recommend any pet owner that feeds a non-raw diet consider using:  fish oil, probiotics, and enzymes.  most everything else can come out of a bag or a can - but these things don't process well, hence the need to supplement.  (more after jump)

we won, baby! (geese get reprieve)

so remember those geese we were all worried about?  parks voted unanimously voted to pause the decision to kill the geese in order to develop a real plan to deal with the problem.

in other words, that goose-kill ain't gonna happen.  (jump, jump...)

goose-steppin' w/the Parks dept. - round 2

time is running out for 100 geese in warner park issued a death warrant by parks last month. every media outlet and mouthpiece in madison has weighed in on the issue, including mayor dave.

the next parks meeting is today, its open to the public, and it may be the last shot these geese have at a stay of execution.  it looks like the facebookers have noticed and are planning some attendance... (jump)

don't mess with Maggie

ok, so frostbitten kitty gets rescued by kindhearted library employee.  the library staff take her in, name her Maggie, and let her spend the next 15 years as the only permanent resident of the Salem Community Library.  that part makes sense.  we like that part

fast-forward to today - err, yesterday perhaps.  very recently anyhow - Sharon Bower (library board member) decided she couldn't leave good enough alone - “I feel very strongly about this.  As a taxpayer, I don’t want to pay for a cat. I have nothing against animals. They just don’t belong living in the library.”

"HUH??"  (jump, jump...)

an oily, hairy mess

unless you've been hiding under a large rock, you have heard about the gulf coast oil spill. now they're saying that hair stuffed in pantyhose can be used to absorb the oil.  sounds crazy, but apparently they are getting almost half-a-million pounds of hair each day.

slacktivism?  send us your (and Fluffy's) hair and that pesky oil slick problem will be solved.  perhaps, but Peter Lane, president of Applied Fabric Technologies, the second largest oil boom manufacturer in the world, told the AFP that people could go ahead and send their hair, pets' fur and tights to Matter of Trust, safe in the knowledge that the organic-based booms and mats do work.

sounds great, right? unfortunately, no one can tell us what happens with the oil-soaked, hair-filled pantyhose once they're done with it.

call your mother

when mom says its time to go home, its time to go home.  avoiding such demands can result in much embarrassment and a sore neck.  and without that sort of oversight, most of us would never have made it past age thirteen.

so today is that day we make sure she feels the love too.  whoever she is, wherever she wanders (kitten clutched in her jaw), she deserves a little respect, perhaps even gratitude.

thank you for dragging us all home...

(i love you, mom!)

** EXTRA ** P+G to buy Natura - TEOTWAWKI?

perhaps you've heard the news.  Proctor and Gamble (makers of Iams, Eukanuba, and Clorox bleach) have announced the aquisition of Natura Pet Products (makers of EVO, Innova, and California Natural).  by any measure this is big news.  Natura has long been one of the most trusted manufacturers in the US market and P+G has been one of the least.

concerns are many - production quality, ingredient selection, dealer relationships, etc.  perhaps the largest is simply trust.  we trusted Natura - EVO, Innova.  will we ever trust P+G? (follow jump)

betty white fever!

got a date tonight? i do - i'll be parked in front of the tv, sharing ice cream with fiona, watching betty white on snl.

the whole world has gone betty white crazy, and a madcatter pointed out  that those golden girls are animal lovers too. lets forget about the disturbing stuff peta did after bea arthur died; miz white says she spends half her time on show biz and half her time on animals. and she is well known in hollywood for her work with animal welfare groups.

that edgy octogenarian gives us something to aspire to.

get the shed out

springtime is great, but unfortunately it brings with it a whole host of annoyances like allergies, shedding and the inevitable hair-mats.

here are some useful tips on how to cut down on all that hair and remove painful mats from even the most ornery of kitties:

meet duchess

looking for a regal addition to your royal family? meet duchess.

duchess loves chillin' in her kingdom, receiving attention from her adoring subjects, and getting her long locks brushed.

this happycat is reigning over the monroe street store. and for more pics of this green-eyed beauty, hit the jump.

get yer cuddle on

hey uw kids... need a break from studying for finals? stop by the library mall today for a little bit of canine comfort.

it's been proven that pets can reduce stress. even just petting a dog can lower your blood pressure.

so take a break from that book, stretch your legs and go get a little puppy love.

fur better or worse

a german man has (unofficially) married his cat.

we love our cats but... wow.

if you find yourself inspired by his story, maybe these people can help you out with the feline nuptials. and ladies, morty is single and ready to mingle.

view a video of the ceremony here. it's in german, but you get the idea.

mad-munk

madcat west had quite the visitor over the weekend:

a chipmunk 13-lined ground squirrel!

and we're proud to report that no kill extends to the chipmunk 13-lined ground squirrel community as well - the little guy was released to the ravine behind the store.

check out some more pics after the jump.

sunday funnie

meet darius, the world's larget nom rabbit.

at four foot, three inches long and 50lbs, the continental giant officially boasts the record for world's largest rabbit.

even weirder - he's owned by this lady.

bow chicka wow wow

cosmopolitan canines will soon be able to shake their tails at a new manhattan nightclub - for dogs.

the club boasts a doggie disco, holistic mudbaths and facials, exercise machines, and a 3,000 foot dog run.

we can picture monroe-regular blitz treating his paws to a pedicure.