Cat Muschi and the bear

As far as lifelong friendships go, Muschi thinks her large and loveable friend Maeuschen is the cat’s pyjamas. The feline, which struck up the unlikely friendship with the 40-year-old Asian bear nine years ago, now can’t bear to be apart from her friend.

In fact, the pair are so close that zookeepers at Berlin Zoo had to reunite them after Muschi, or ‘pussy’ in German, pined for Maeuschen – ‘little mouse’ – after they were separated.

The pair were split up on October 2009 when the bear was locked in a cage while her living space was enlarged. The distraught cat soon caught the attention of zoo keepers after she remained sitting outside the bear’s cage pining for her friend.

This week, keepers took the unusual step of allowing the feline into the cage with her shaggy-haired pal. ‘They greeted each other and had a cuddle and now they’re happy,’ said Heiner Kloes, a member of the zoo’s management board.

Cat Chases Bear Up Tree

June 13, 2006—Perhaps not since the Cowardly Lion has an animal's appearance been so at odds with its attitude.

On June 4 a black bear wandered into a West Milford, New Jersey, back yard, was confronted by a 15-pound (7-kilogram) tabby cat … and fled up a neighbor's tree. Hissing at the base of the tree, Jack the clawless cat kept the bear at bay for about 15 minutes, then ran him up another tree after an attempted escape.

Finally, Jack's owner, Donna Dickey, called the cat inside, and the timorous trespasser disappeared back into the woods.

"He doesn't want anybody in his yard," Dickey said of Jack in an interview with the Newark Star Ledger.

Unlike cats, bears aren't typically territorial, roaming instead over vast areas that would be impossible to patrol for intruders. With a habitat that includes much of North America, black bears are seen fairly often in this region of New Jersey.

Full-grown black bears weigh between 200 and 600 pounds (90 and 270 kilograms) and measure as much as 6 feet (1.8 meters) long. Their diets can include fruits, honey, insects, acorns and animals as big as moose calves—a fact apparently lost on Jack.

Original post—Ted Chamberlain : nationalgeographic

Cat clings to car bottom for 100km journey

BY THEAGE ON AUG 20 2009

A Kiwi cat has tried to imitate the bad guys in horror films with a dangerous stint spent clinging to the underside of a car for 100 kilometres. 

Levin couple Kevin and Sandra Stent noticed four-year-old Poppy, a Burmese cat, was missing after a visit from some friends 3 1/2 weeks ago, but were assured no felines were stashed away in their car. 

Mrs Stent thinks Poppy must have climbed up under the car and held on all the way to Hunterville, about 100 kilometres from home. 

She seems to have stayed on board while the car stopped in Palmerston North for about two hours but must have either jumped or fallen off somewhere near Hunterville. 

For the next three weeks she foraged for food and nursed her injuries until Waituna farmer David Guylee noticed her lurking around his neighbour's property. 

Mr Guylee said it was lucky Poppy was wearing a tag. 

"We're trying to get native birds back around here, so we're getting rid of all the feral cats. 

"Any wild cats get a bullet, and Poppy would have got one too if she hadn't had that collar on." 

Realising she was someone's pet, Mr Guylee trapped Poppy and took her to Feilding SPCA, where manager Jo Finlayson spent the next two days trying to find out where the cat belonged. 

"I probably made about 30 phone calls there was a cellphone number on her tag but the last three numbers had been chewed so I couldn't read them. In the end I just fluked it." 

Mrs Finlayson said Poppy was "pretty thin, and pretty scared" when she came in, but soon warmed to staff. She had a broken tail, scratches to her face and ears, and was malnourished. 

The Stents' other Burmese, Soli, aged 13, was distraught at her loss. 

"Every night he'd go out there and just cry. And every night since she's been back he's been grooming her, licking her, cuddling her," Mrs Stent said. 

Since her return, Poppy has been getting the royal treatment, with regular meals of chicken to fatten her up.

"Poppy" with her owner Sandra Stent. 

Photo: Kevin Stent, stuff.co.nz

This week she will have a check-up and if she is well enough, her tail will be amputated. She will be left with only a stump, but her family are just happy to have her back.

Sad Cat Story from Turkey

This stray cat was filmed in Turkey( Kızılsaray district of Antalya ) trying to reanimate his female friend who got hit by a car. Even though some people tried to help him, the white cat wouldn't let them come near for two straight hours. Finally a vet arrived and took the injured cat. Sadly, it was too late and he couldn't resuscitate the feline.

Original Post on 20.04.2010 by DHA NEWS

Curiosity nearly did kill a Boulder County cat

Following some tense moments -- and a furry surprise -- Boulder County animal control officers and Boulder firefighters managed to free a tomcat that was found with his head stuck in a pipe.

Mark Evans, right, with Boulder Fire and Rescue,

tries to maneuver the head of a cat that has its head stuck in a pipe,

with the help of veterinary technician Grace Worland, left,

and county animal control officer Brandy Perkins, center. (Marty Caivano)

Suzanne Engert, who lives in the 11000 block of Flatiron Drive in Erie, reported finding the black-and-white cat lodged in a large metal pipe around 12:30 p.m.

She said she walked behind her shed to see her garden when "something sort of caught my eye."

"This black cat was just laying there," she said. "I must have walked past the cat a couple of times."

Engert said it appeared as if the cat had been digging with its feet to try to free itself for some time. Animal control officers suspect the cat may have been stuck in the pipe for as long as two days.

After Engert tried unsuccessfully to free the cat herself, firefighters with the Mountain View Fire District arrived and cut away a section of the pipe so that officers could try to free it.

Despite efforts to lube the cat's head using vegetable oil and soap, the cat remained stuck.

So officials brought the cat -- pipe and all -- to the Humane Society of Boulder Valley. There, Boulder firefighters worked with veterinary staffers and animal control officers to free the cat.

Following several tense minutes when it appeared firefighters could not break open the pipe without hurting the animal, the cat's head popped out to the cheers of a small crowd that had gathered to watch the rescue operation.

Brandy Perkins, a Boulder County animal control officer, nearly burst into tears.

"I'm really emotional," she said. "You have to love animals to do this job."

Perkins and her partner, Sara Spensieri, said they are sure the cat got stuck while chasing a rabbit into the pipe. But they didn't know that the rabbit in question was still in the pipe with the cat until Perkins was driving to the Humane Society.

"We were driving ... and I see this thing flying around the back," Perkins said.

The rabbit jumped out of the vehicle at the Humane Society and ran off -- escaping both the cat and the pipe.

Original Post by Heath Urie on 23/03/2011 dailycamera

Brave Mother Cat Who Survived a Fire and Saved Her Kittens

PORT WASHINGTON, N.Y., Oct. 16 2008 - Scarlett, the cat, whose story of bravery, uncompromising love and triumph over all odds, has passed on. The heroine calico, who in 1996 made headlines around the world for pulling her five kittens to safety from a raging fire, lost her battle with multiple illnesses this week after living with her adoptive family in Brooklyn, New York for over 12 years.

Back in 1996, Scarlett was tending to her kittens in an abandoned Brooklyn garage when a fire broke out. Having extinguished the blaze, firefighters sighted the mother cat, slowly carrying her four-week old kittens from the building. Badly scorched, her ears radically burned, she lined up her babies. With her eyes blistered from the inferno, she was seen touching each with her nose, to reassure herself that her litter of five had made it to safety. She then collapsed unconscious.

Firefighter David Giannelli transported the little feline family to North Shore Animal League America where the mother, who was named Scarlett, and her kittens, were treated. The weakest of the kittens died of a virus one month after the blaze. However, after three months of treatment and recovery, Scarlett and her surviving babies were ready for adoption.

In the flurry of worldwide media attention to the heroic feline mother and her family, the Animal League received more than 7,000 inquiries about adopting Scarlett and her brood. Ultimately, the kittens were adopted in pairs and Scarlett herself was adopted out to Karen Wellen, whose story of losing her own cat, shortly after an accident in which she herself was injured, struck a chord at the Animal League. Wellen said her experience made her a more compassionate individual, and, if ever she was to adopt another cat, she wanted to devote herself to one with special needs.

Once in Wellen's care, Scarlett continued to be a media darling, capturing the attention of regional, national and international outlets as far away as Japan, and including the most powerful voices of CNN and Oprah Winfrey. She was the subject of numerous books and articles and appeared in the first aired segment of Animal Planet. She was even honored by Great Britain's Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. Living in Wellen's Brooklyn home, Scarlett was a cherished family member, given run of the house and abundant love. "She was the most precious and loving cat, and in our household, it was all about Scarlett," said Wellen.

Scarlett, who required ongoing care as a result of her injuries, and who was diagnosed with a heart murmur during her recovery at the Animal League Veterinary Medical Center, became a Sponsor Pet, and the symbol of all the real and wonderful pets in the Animal League's care. She was the guest of honor at the Animal League's Christmas Tree Lighting and was a surprise for a little boy whose birthday wish was to meet her. The Animal League created an animal heroism award in her name and recently unveiled The Scarlett Room, an online site showcasing the animals in the organization's Sponsor Program. This month, National Geographic Kids' Magazine, circulated around the globe, honored Scarlett as one of its Ten Cool Cats.

Born and Living in Tree

A handsome gray and white cat known as Almond has taken up residence in Ron Venden's yard on Highway X in rural Green County, Wisconsin. Even more astounding, Venden claims that he never has left the tree since he entered this world in June of last year.

The sequence of events is not exactly clear but apparently Almond's mother gave birth to a litter of kittens in the tree last spring but for some unknown reason neglected to take him along with her when she pulled up stakes. The sixty-six-year-old retired carpenter, who now raises chickens as a hobby, discovered Almond's presence soon thereafter and took it upon himself to become his surrogate mother.

With the aid of a twelve-foot ladder, he has installed an automatic kibble dispenser and twice daily treats Almond to a bowl of salami, meatloaf, and milk.

In order to make living in the maple bearable throughout Wisconsin's long, brutal winters, Venden cut a hole in its hollow and fitted an all-weather straw bed inside of it. He topped off Almond's winter abode with a combination tin and tar paper roof.

So far, the impromptu cat house that Venden has cobbled together has worked out rather well for Almond. "You can see the cat looks pretty healthy," he told the Wisconsin State Journal of Madison in a video on January 19th.

Looks, as everyone knows, can be deceiving and that is especially the case with cats. In particular, if he never leaves the tree it is doubtful that Almond is getting all the exercise that he needs in order to prevent his legs from atrophying.

The inordinate amount of climbing that he does is definitely beneficial but a cat needs to walk, run, and gambol as well. It also could be the case that he has developed a psychological issue and is terrified of abandoning the security blanket provided by the maple.

It thus appears that Almond has found a lasting home with two guaranteed meals a day. "I'm not going to stop ( feeding ), no. If I'm gone there will be someone here to take care of the cat," he pledged in the video cited supra. "I'm not going to leave her. "I want to see how long it stays here."

Original Video from : DiscoveryNews on Feb. 22, 2011