july 4th store hours

hey, party people!

we'll be closing a few hours early on sunday in observance of independence day (fireworks) making our hours 10:00-3:00. we figure that gives everyone some time to get their shopping done and still hit all the bbqs and freedom fests.

have any big plans?

meet buttercup

meet buttercup. super sweet and friendly, this happy cat loves having her belly rubbed. stop by madcat on mineral point road to meet her!

more playtime pics after the jump.

deer mr. prez,

hai. we herd  u r comin to madtown.

u shud stop bai madcat 2 get treets for bo.  thez b real gud.

and adopt a kitteh 2 cuz bo needz a frend and kitteh peeple vote 2 ya no.

kthxbai.

chicken soup for kitteh bellies

we heard you, madison.  cases of chicken soup for the cat lover's soul canned food have arrived.

let's face it - they're still the best bang for the buck.

hey, lucy!  nice cans.

updated - ninjas and pirates and bears, oh my!

first the stalking ninja cat, then the ninja kitten, now there's a kung fu bear.  unless anyone has footage of a scurvy seabear this definitely makes ninjas the winner in that whole pirates vs. ninjas  debate.  bonus, now he's a jedi!

one step closer to robo-kitteh

meet oscar, your normal, every day cat. oh yeah, except for one thing: his bionic feet.

while snoozing in a cornfield, oscar had a terrible run-in with a combine harvester resulting in the loss of his back feet. his owners feared they would have to put him down.  through the miracle of science, and two shiny, new prosthetic limbs, oscar can walk again.  just try and watch that video without tearing up.

now, the question on everyone's minds - why couldn't they put some lasers in those things? because there are two things everyone loves: cats and lasers!

happy cat adoption fair! woot!

update:  happy cat has had to postpone the adoption fair to next Sunday, July 4th due to some kitten-related health concerns.  all should be good to go for next week.

looking for a new addition? come and meet madison's happy cats at the adoption fair this sunday, noon - 3 p.m.

it's a great opportunity to meet and greet the friendly fosters of the happy cat club.

catnip - good for more than a cat high

a madcatter came in to the store the other day looking for catnip spray. the reason? her doctor suggested she use it as a natural mosquito repellent. jigga wha?

i told her that was the craziest thing i'd ever heard, so i did a little research. turns out, she was right. hit the jump for more info!

sumatran tiger cubs are hilarious

just look at 'em.  he totally put gum in her hair or something.  grrr, brothers.

the cubs were born at the tacoma zoo on may 26 and were already hamming it up the next day.  these little guys just made the endangered species list a bit cuter.

for funzies, the zoo hasn't named them yet.  they want you to do it for them.  vote here for your favorites.  too bad "morty" and "nikki" aren't on the list.

woven beds are back!

the "basket beds" that put us on the map and cradled countless kitty dreamers are back!

these guys don't just look cool, cats totally dig 'em, too.  high-walled, sherpa-lined, and easy on the human eyes.

perfect for the kitty who squeezes himself into shoe boxes and nests in fruit bowls.

but most importantly, they are lucy-approved.

tired of voting yet?

turns out madison.com/capital newspapers have a madison-based poll of their own called "star of madison awards."   as the folks over at the isthmus point out, it's kind of funky.  but, if you like voting a lot and can name your favorite psychic, plastic surgery center and rv sales depot then go for it!

just be sure you fill out the specified number of categories within each section or your vote won't count.  voting ends june 28th.

luna, the fair-haired pig.

peruvian guinea pig, that is.  a crazy-awesome, long-haired breed that rocks some serious mutton chops.  for real.  she rivals this guy and he's like the grand-champion of facial hair growing.

luna stopped by the west-side store to get some pet grass to nom on while we all played with her hair.  it was a productive day.

want more pics?  yes you do.  jump!

happy dad's day!

happy dad's day to all the papas out there... both of hooman babies and fur babies. thanks for all the guidance, laughs, and for always knowing the cause of that clunking noise in my car (i didn't do it, i swear).

okay, enough of the sappy stuff... don't forget to vote! voting in the isthmus's annual reader poll ends tomorrow at 5 p.m. fill in at least 20 categories otherwise your vote won't count. after all the votes are tallied, the answers will be published in the isthmus's annual manual in august. sweet!

dogs eat the darndest things

guaranteed to be the awesomest x-ray you'll see all day:
snowy the dog managed to swallow five toys in the shape of cats, resulting in (i'm guessing) a wicked stomach ache and expensive surgery.

and talk about a crapload of money: a "lucky" pooper scooper found $58 in a pile of doggie doo. he even went beyond the call of doody by cleaning it off and giving it back to the dog's owners.

even more bizarre: the dog originally swallowed three 20s.

what's the weirdest thing your dog's eaten?

b-b-b-bones are b-b-b-back

so you may have noticed a shortage of the nature's variety raw frozen beef bones.  they have been backordered for awhile as NV switches them over to the same hpp process they are now using with the food.

in the meantime, we've got some replacements - tucker's bones!  mmmm.....beefy!

its an abominable cat tree!!!

look at this thing!  it's furry and weird and awesome and even the store cats were perplexed by it at first.   weren't sure if it was alive or not.  if you've ever wanted a one-of-a-kind cat tree upholstered in 100% pure yeti fur (admit it, you have) we've got ya covered.

more pics of taun taun goodness after the jump!

perfecting your pet pics

shiny eyes, blurry furs, demonic glares, can't sit still - doesn't it always seem like you can never take a good picture of your pet? 

that pic of my hamster, pancakes, is my favorite picture that i've ever taken. and through taking pictures for our blog and facebook, i've got a few tricks up my sleeve to catch that perfect pet moment, no matter what kind of camera you have.

oreo's law - put on hold

the future of sheltering was supposed to be  in the balance today as the state assembly of new york was to vote on oreo's law, the bill aimed at preventing animals from being killed in shelters when rescue options are available.   in other words, a BFD for no kill.

but it looks like the assembly agriculture committee tabled the bill, meaning it's on hold until next year.  next year.  to the detriment of new york's shelter animals it looks like ed sayres and his ASPCA won this round.

check out the facebook group to get involved.

no kill now.

ocho the bengal kitten spotted at madcat

get it? spotted! check out that fur!

the three month old bengal kitty stopped by the other day for some essentials (grub, feathers, the usual).  it's always nice to meet one of the cool cats we work for.

more pics after the jump!

dog park problem?

the safety of dog parks is being questioned.

a dane county board proposal would fine owners of dogs that have bitten either another dog or human in any county park.  the city of madison already does this in its parks but until now the county has had little recourse for incidents. (the comments are worth a read.)

so how dangerous are dog parks these days?  is this a big problem or are these isolated incidents?  we want to hear from you.

oh, and if you still need a  permit we've got 'em.

cirque du cat

here's a sunday weird for you... the acro-cats are coming to madison today thru thursday.

these cats play basketball, ring bells, and ride skateboards, all to earn their 15 minutes of feline fame.

anyone else disturbed yet at the same time a little curious about this?

madcat goes orange

hang on to your yams... sam's yams are here! fun to say, fun to eat, also kind of weird looking... now your dog can enjoy all the beta-carotene goodness.  mmmmmm....

sam's yams are 100% dehydrated sweet potato, which makes them all-natural and loaded with carotenoids, vitamin c and fiber. it also means they don't have wheat gluten, refined sugars, corn, animal by-products, or animal digest. and they're made in the usa!  w00t!

2010 madison's favorites - vote vote vote!

the isthmus' madison's favorites is here again!  polls are open now through 5:00pm on june 21st.   remember to fill in at least 20 categories or your ballot will be thrown out.

vote for love.  vote for truth.  vote for the hell of it.  

cat@log - handy device or tmi?

got a tech savvy kitteh? sony is developing the cat@log device that tracks your cat's movements and automatically updates them to twitter.

i can't imagine that morty's tweets would be too interesting. his day consists of four activities: sleeping, stalking, glaring, and ballin'. 

what would your cat say if he could tweet?

a bias in the media?

is it just us or does this story on the recent UW sheep experiments seem a little slanted in favor of the university?

the ethics of animal research has little to do with it other than being the impetus for PETA and alliance for animals to seek action.  the bottom line is that researchers allegedly broke a state law (pdf).  simple as that.

so, what do you think?

nature's variety does good

they've done it again!

the cool peeps at NV had some more cases of good food leftover and we pointed it in the right direction.

friends of ferals and happy cat are going to have some well-fed kittehs.

nom nom nom....

if moses had catnip

this cool madcatter stopped by willy street the other day with an alternative mode of transportation - a basket. yeah that's right. he's kickin it old-testament style.

check out more pics of bunk enjoying some catnip after the jump!

sunday funnie

looks like lucy, the madcat infamous for her silent but deadlies, has some competition.

rockin' robins

say hello to the newest residents of willy street - a few creepy looking baby birds that will grow up to look like this.  they hatched a couple weeks ago and are already getting so big.  but, don't worry.  gabby prefers batman to robin. 

 maybe madcat should set up its own robin cam.

more pics after the jump!

yak it up!

hold on to your butts.... himalayan dog chews are now in stock!

made from yak's milk, the chews are just hardened cheese that is sourced directly from eastern nepal, where farmers have been making it for years.  the tough texture makes for long-lasting chewing that doesn't stink or stain and they are fully digestible.  even better?  they're not private parts!

we hear dogs go nutso for them.  these two seem to agree.

UW in hot water over sheep deaths

remember the UW's experiments on sheep that led to their deaths via hyperbaric chamber?  well, our previous questions about the peta/alliance for animals petition for criminal charges have been answered.

a circuit court judge sided with the petitioners and found probable cause to believe that researchers violated state law and that the statute that prohibits the killing of an animal via decompression does not contain a research exemption clause.

what happens next?  9 researchers may be charged and prosecuted in criminal or civil court and may even be held to international law on decompression experiments.

get yer devious summer reading on

summer's here! anyone else get super ambitious and make a summer reading list? with june, july and august stretching out like forever in front of me, anything seems possible. i always vow to spend the humid summer mornings perched sophisticatedly in front of a coffee shop on state street, absorbing summer read after summer read.

definitely on my list this year - the devious book for cats. we just got it in at madcat and i have to read up on what my adorable little monstahs might be planning next. jump jump for a preview!

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.