puppy mill bills: TX up, MO down

it's official - missouri gov. jay nixon has signed off on changes that would gut mo's puppy mill law was passed by voters last year. shame on you, missouri. progress isn't taking one step forward and two steps back.

in good news, the lone star state is on the cusp of passing its own puppy mill bill to regulate large scale breeders. the bill would classify dog and cat breeders who have 11 or more unspayed females as "commercial breeders" and require that they be licensed by the state and undergo regular inspections and criminal background checks.

the rep who introduced the bill commented that it would not enforce anything more than the humane treatment of animals and protection of consumers. never a bad thing, right?

meet dawn

meet dawn, madcat west's newest happycat!

this super sweetie loves playing with glitter balls, sitting on laps, watching the sights out the window and exploring new places. she also loves tummy rubs.

dawn is 10 years old and gets along with kids, dogs, other cats, and even lived with a rabbit! she is front-declawed.

dawn was recently diagnosed with hyperthyroidism, which just means that her thyroid gland produces to much thyroid hormone. fortunately, she has responded very well to medication which she takes once per day.

you can meet dawn at madcat west on mineral point road... we also have two adoption fairs this weekend! our usual DCFOF fair will be Saturday from 12-3:30 and on sunday will be the return of the happycat adoption fair! stop by and check em out!

instinct's limited ingredient food is here!

finally! a single-protein, grain free food! madcat now has instinct's limited ingredient diet, and it's aimed at eliminating some of the common ingredients cats can be sensitive to.

it says right on the bag, does NOT contain: chicken, beef, fish, eggs, dairy, grain or gluten. simple, no weird stuff, gud for you. stop by and check it out!

hoppy easter!

it's easter! after you find all yer eggs and get a pic taken with the bunny, check out the new simon's cat vid!

win African Cats tickets on Earth Day!

a movie about lions and cheetahs and wild kittens, oh my!  disney's African Cats opens today and we're pretty excited about it.  cats on the big screen!

head over to our facebake page for a chance to win tickets and some fly madcat goodies.

happy earth day, everybody!

happy birthday morty and nikki!

it's cake time!  that's right, morty and nikki turn 9 whole years old today.

 it seems like only yesterday we picked 'em up from country animal haven....

they're celebrating in style with lots of catnip and their very own home-made cat-food cake.  it's got whole mackerel and a fish-tail candle.   yummmmm. 

check out the video after the jump for some nomming action and cake close-ups. 

missouri's puppy mill bill gutted

missouri missouri missouri, i shake my fist at you.

proposition b, a bill to bring humane breeding laws to the state known as the puppy mill capital of the country, was narrowly passed by missouri voters last november.  now, the state assembly has just passed new legislation that would gut the bill and keep the puppy mills churning.

their must be some real greasy palms in that house.

citizens are outraged and already planning demonstrations to encourage governor Nixon to veto the bill, but can animal welfare override politics?  let's hope so.

lazy sunday...

time to play! the only thing better than a paper bag is a GIANT paper bag. right, mort?

dane county humane society needs your votes

update:  we did it!  in just one day DCHS moved up 18 spots from 51 to 33!  this means we move on to the qualifying round....and the life saving.

the ASPCA may be embracing some no kill strategies - shocking, right?  they are holding a contest to award $100,000 to the shelter that has the largest increase in lives saved and our own DCHS is in the running.

only the top 50 shelters with the most votes will get to go on to compete for the $ (and save lives!).  DCHS is currently sitting at 51.  so vote!  (hint:  you can use multiple email addresses if you've got 'em.)

maybe this is the kick in the pants our shelter needs to finally go no kill once and for all.

skipper's jealous - kitty/dolphin lovin'

this blows all other inter-species animal friendships right out of the water. look at them! those loving rubs. those playful pats. if this doesn't make your heart leap then i don't know what will.

must be summa - willy st. road work begins

the orange barrels and heavy machinery are here.  but so are we.

read through our road work rundown page for the details and watch for updates.  we'll try and keep you posted on developments and where/when you can park.

in the meantime, don't sweat it.  parking is available on side-streets and we  always do carry-outs.  gabby is even letting us borrow her radio flyer for heavy loads.

if getting here is a big pain in the you-know-what for whatever reason just head over to our monroe st. store.  it's only a hop, skip, and a jump away and you'll get the same great service and selection.

as always, stay positive.

willy lives!

ever see a cat give a "thumbs up?"

now you have. thumbs up jimmy. breakin' hearts and bummin' rides.

so i picked up my cat's balls the other day

and holy cow! are they potent.

even better, you get three of 'em in a pack.  (just in case, ya know, you end up losing one in a tragic glitter ball accident.)

get your own my cat's balls at any madcat store.  your kittehboys will thank you.

saving japan's pets

in case you missed it....the big story over the weekend was that of Ban, the missing japanese dog who was reunited with her owner after she was discovered floating on a roof way out in the ocean.  it's stories like these that put japan's plight into perspective for the rest of us.  (funny how stories about animals often cut to the heart of what it is to be human.)

but, we should remember that there are many animals still needing rescue and their stories are just as important as that of ban.  one organization working hard to provide help for these missing cats and dogs is kinship circle.  they work to rescue, reunite and give food to people and their pets when there are no other options.  pretty amazing.

if you have not donated yet, perhaps now is the perfect time.

vote, or else....

....kittens will attack the city with laser eyes!  (or something equally horrible might happen...think escape from new york only it's in madison and we don't have a kurt russel.)

read up on the candidates.

find a polling place.

do your civic duty.  remember, ceiling cat is always watching....

this just in... peta still sucks

the stats are in. peta, an organization that took in $35 million last year alone, adopted out only 44 dogs and cats last year out of the 2,345 they took in.

they ended up euthanizing 3765 of the total animals they took in last year. ethical? no. the only word for them is murderers.

just more proof that peta sucks.

incredible jaguar leaps - you have to watch this

they really are big cats, aren't they?