A PETCAST TRIUMPH!

Aww. If any kitty ever deserved a comfy nap, it's this little guy. That's the handsome cat that loitered for months outside my Petcast co-host Emily Richmond's home. First we assumed it was just a cat that liked to wander, given that it had a collar (but no tags) and seemed well fed, so we made light of the matter in this YouTube video.

After a few months, though, it became clear to Emily and her neighbor, Debbie, as the cat was getting thinner that it was abandoned or seriously lost. So I posted this call for a prospective home and got folks to re-Tweet it all over the place. Emily couldn't take him because she's allergic and Debbie had three cats already.

Well...IT WORKED!!!

On Monday, reader Dawn Christensen emailed me. She and her partner had just lost their cat and wondered if this one was still bopping around the 'hood. He was. The Nevada SPCA, which had initially told Emily that they were full-up, had reversed that and was willing to take him in, but Emily and her neighbor hadn't gotten to that yet.

Emily posted some LOST CAT signs around the neighborhood for a couple of days to give the possible owner one more shot to reclaim their kitty. Then, on Wednesday night, the neighbor put the cat in a dog carrier and Dawn headed over to get him.

Let's pause the story here and look at him again:


Sigh.

OK, so Dawn and Hergit took in the cat. And on Friday, we received this email:

Wanted to let you know the abandoned kitty is doing very well. ... After spending all of 10 minutes in our home, he became so comfortable he quickly became ruler of the house so we've decided to name him Caesar. He's made himself very at home, which is wonderful!

I took him to the vet on Thursday morning. No microchip. The vet determined he is a 1-year old neutered male. He's in good health. No problems, confirmed today by the results of the blood tests. Got him all his shots and he's all set. He is so very friendly and loving and just all around adorable! He loves to give hickeys! Weird, huh?

A deep and heartfelt thank you to you both and to Debbie for taking care of him and spreading the word on his plight. We are so thankful to have him in our family. As my vet said, "It's good to have a cat in the house again, isn't it?" Hell yes, it is.

Here are other shots Dawn passed along of Caesar:


Hooray to blogs, podcasts and Twitter! However, I ought to remind everyone out there that it is kitten season, which means there are hundreds or thousands of cats overwhelming area shelters wherever you are. If you're so inclined, go save one or two. Caesar got lucky because he stalked the right home, that of a woman who podcasts about pets and animals.

Obviously, Emily and I will podcast about this and hope to have Dawn join us soon. Subscribe to The Petcast in iTunes here.

Oh, and one more thing:


Sigh. Happy Sunday, everyone.

Another Kind of Vegas Cathouse

(FINAL UPDATE, 9:58 PM PT: The cats have been taken by one of our neighbors to a vet clinic nearby. I believe they'll fix 'em up and get 'em ready to be adopted. God, are they adorable! Here are two more pix I took today. I'm told they're probably about 5 weeks old. Not sure how none of us noticed them until this weekend, but oh well.)



(UPDATE, 1:38 pm PT: A woman from Heaven Can Wait called back. She said to leave the cats there untouched at the moment so they can nurse from their mom. If we try to touch the kittens -- which the momma can won't allow in this instance anyhow -- the momma cat will become disinterested. The lady promised help trapping, spaying and neutering but was vague about how to handle adopting out these kitties. She said someone may need to foster them for a while until they're adopted out. I dunno how Black and Jack - not to mention Miles -- will feel about that.)

Hi there!


I know I'm supposed to know about these sorts of things because I co-host a usually "twice weekly animal affairs podcast," but today I was surprised when my dogs spotted a momma cat hissing at them as she protected an adorable group of white and black kittens that are living behind a large tree pot and inside the foundation of a home on our block. I think I counted five or six in all. Nobody was home at that house when I rang the bell, and the next door neighbor had put some cat food and water out on their driveway. They, too, weren't home when I rang. It's unclear if they momma cat is someone's pet or what, but a responsible pet owner would (a) have had the cat spayed and (b) wouldn't have the mom and litter fending for itself outside. Right?


They're awful cute, yeah? But nobody was home at that house and I'm not entirely sure what to do. I understand it's kitten season but now I'm worried that if I call the HOA or animal control, these little guys will be hauled off to the shelter and put down. Anyone know what other choices I might have? I'm not sure Miles or I have an appetite to adopt one, although gosh they are handsome little critters. We're already got two 12-pound chihuahuas we got from the pound, Black and Jack, see?


Maybe we could name our kitty Poker?

THE SWISS CAT CONTROVERSY

I couldn't help myself. Yes, we were going on vacation to Europe. But a week before, I stumbled by accident across a piece in the Telegraph in London about a movement to get the Swiss government to outlaw the import, export and trade of cat fur and garments.

It seemed like a perfect piece for the New York Times. And it is! My piece on this odd matter runs in the April 1 editions of both the Times and the International Herald Tribune. And yes, this does make my vacation largely tax deductible. Yay.

In addition to that, I put together a 12-minute video interview as a special edition of The Petcast from our trip to SOS Chats, a 260-cat refuge in the far western mountains of Switzerland where we met Tomi Tomek. She operates the refuge, which is also her home, and has led the movement to get cat fur banned in Switzerland. On the video, Tomi shows us her place, explains the stories behind some of the cats and shows the cat furs she has purchased to prove to the media and politicians that such a trade actually exists.

You can view the video here:


(Sorry, it's too long, evidently, for YouTube. Boo.)

Here are some photos that Miles took while we were up there at the refuge. This is Tomi of SOS Chats...

They have a huge spread for the cats to frolick in...


And the cats have free reign over the outside and the inside...


This is probably my favorite shot. Yes, there's a dog. One dog. And 260 cats. Can you count how many cats are in this photo?


Tomi says she knows the names of each of them and their stories. Here she's being kissed by one as she sits in front of the well-organized medical records for the refuge.


Surprisingly, the place was NOT a stinking mess. It was very sanitary and orderly, probably because they use a LOT of this...


And to give you some idea of where this place was, look at the charming little train depot...


And this is the artsy shot of the village that I took...


In the process of this piece, I also got a tour of the Swiss Parliament in Bern from a prominent lawmaker. Still, there were limits and unauthorized persons, including journalists, can't enter the actual floor of the House chambers. But you can shoot a nice photo through the glass...


Or you can be escorted by a prominent lawmaker into the gallery where you can shoot a photo like this one...


As many readers know, I have a thing for capitals. Mostly state capitals, but I'm starting a national capital collection, too. Bern was the 14th capital I've been to so far. (Others are Sydney, Washington DC, Beijing, Taipei, Bangkok, Singapore, Hanoi, Phnom Penh, London, Paris, Amsterdam, Copenhagen and Seoul.)

So, without further ado, here's the obligatory mug of me outside the capital building...


Peace out. And give a little something while you're at it to SOS Chats. They're performing miracles up there in the Swiss mountainside.