Pre-Flight Checklist: Remove Cat

Via the Guardian:

A cat has escaped with at least one of its nine lives after stowing away on an ultra-light aircraft flight. A video has been posted on YouTube of the cat digging its claws into the aircraft’s wing as its pilot and passenger fly hundreds of feet above the ground at first apparently unaware of its presence. Romain Jantot, understood to be the pilot in the clip, cites a flying club in Kourou, French Guiana, in the film’s description. “A standard flight until … I still don’t know if it got in after the pre-flight check or if I missed it,” he says. “The cat is doing well, she is still our mascot.” All appears well and cat-free as the aircraft accelerates on the runway and begins its takeoff. But about 38 seconds into the clip, the cat slowly creeps into view under the plane’s left wing, making its way towards the pilot and passenger with a sinister slow crawl. Just after a minute has passed, the pilot’s shock is clear as he notices the windswept stowaway. Never before has a man’s face said “there’s a cat on the wing of my plane” with such unequivocal clarity.

Over 7M views already. The pilot's double-take is great.

Eighth Cativersary

Eight years ago this week I brought Shelley (formerly "Little Gray") home from the East Harlem ASPCA. She was 20 months old, very underweight, timid, and FIV+, the last of which might explain the "owner surrender" notation on her adoption papers. Shelley was so freaked out upon arrival in my apartment that she first tried to escape by climbing up the chimney, then spent the next three days cowering under the sofa. Today she's a healthy ten pounds, the friendliest cat I've ever worked for, and spends her days growling at pigeons and ensuring that the elderly German shepherd across the alley doesn't even think about climbing the fire escape. As I like to do on this date, I encourage you to visit your local shelter and consider adopting an adult cat. At this writing there are dozens of adult cats up for adoption at the East Harlem shelter.

RELATED: The ASPCA has a fantastic "cats over three are free" program for adult cats: "The Free Over Three adoption package includes spaying or neutering, vaccinations and micro-chipping. Adopters will also receive a certificate for free follow-up veterinary care at the ASPCA Animal Hospital within 14 days of adoption, a pet carrier and literature about cat behavior." The APSCA also supports a no-kill coalition of animal shelters all over the New York City area.

Tweet Of The Day

Winter 2015 in one GIF, everyone. RT @JJDodders: THIS IS IT. THIS IS THE BEST GIF. pic.twitter.com/LHXGhwybuR
— The Weather Channel (@weatherchannel) February 18, 2015

Twilight Cats

Compiled by a pet insurance company from their database of 75,000 feline patients. Bella is also the most popular name for female dogs. Source.

This Is An Ad For Something

(Via Towleroad)

Headline Of The Day

Is it too early for popcorn? Details.

Cat Saves Child From Dog

Not the usual post for me, but the video is something. Via ABC News in Bakersfield, California:

A cat came to her best friend's rescue Tuesday when the young boy was attacked in his driveway in Southwest Bakersfield. The surveillance video shows the boy playing on his bicycle when a dog sneaks up behind him and grabs his leg. The family's cat, named Tara, rushes the attacking dog and chased it away. The boy's mother, Erika Triantafilo, told 23ABC the boy needed a few stitches, but he is doing fine this morning. She also said the dog belonged to a neighbor and is now under observation.

At the ABC site, some locals are calling for the dog to be euthanized. You'll note that the mother initially runs to help her boy, but then runs off. Apparently that was to put herself between the boy and the returning dog.

At America's First Cat Cafe

Via Mashable:

America's first cat cafe has opened in New York City this week with furry kitties so adorable, you'll want to lap them up. We don't recommend that, but the cat-achinos are delish. The pop-up cafe, brought stateside by Purina One, is filled with soft, playful cats available for adoption from April 24-28. The goal is to educate and show the health of these adorable cats — an important priority, Nicky Roberts of the Purina One team told Mashable.

Seventh Cativersary

Seven years ago today I brought Shelley home from the East Harlem ASPCA. She was 18 months old, very underweight, timid, and FIV+. And she was so freaked out on the first day in my apartment that she tried to escape by climbing the chimney. Today she's a healthy ten pounds and the friendliest cat I've ever worked for, if also the quietest. As I like to do on this date, I encourage you to visit your local shelter and consider adopting an adult cat. At this writing there are 84 adult cats up for adoption at the East Harlem shelter. I'm partial to the Seinfeldian Seven.

RELATED: The ASPCA has a fantastic "cats over three are free" program for adult cats: "The Free Over Three adoption package includes spaying or neutering, vaccinations and micro-chipping. Adopters will also receive a certificate for free follow-up veterinary care at the ASPCA Animal Hospital within 14 days of adoption, a pet carrier and literature about cat behavior." The APSCA also supports a no-kill coalition of animal shelters all over the New York City area.

Tweet Of The Day - Grumpy Cat

Morning View - Spanky

The unflappable Spanky monitors the front desk at the Island House.

Simon's Cat - Scary Legs

I'm addicted to Simon's Cat.

Kitty Paws Can Unlock New iPhone

A product tester at Techcrunch added a cat as an authorized user for the new iPhone.

The cat’s paw worked, and while it encountered more frequent failures than did a fingerprint, it was able to unlock the phone again repeatedly when positioned correctly on the sensor. Note that no other paw pads would unlock the device, and that cats essentially have unique “fingerprints” just like people, so this doesn’t make the Touch ID sensor any less secure.

This 11-second clip as gotten 200K views in 24 hours.

NYC's Subway Kittens Have Been Adopted

The two kittens who became an issue in New York City's mayoral race have been adopted one week after the MTA shut down two subway lines in Brooklyn as they darted around the third rail. The Village Voice reports on their new home:

Luckily, we still live in Bloomberg's New York, a place where subway kittens can dream of one day growing up to become residents of a palatial Bushwick pad like the one where Arthur and August now live--complete with a towering cardboard box fort, a homemade scratching post, and all the Cinnamon Toast Crunch a cat could ever want. The sweet digs were built by Steven Liu, skilled scratch-post craftsman and occasional scratch-post himself. Liu built a cat playroom in his basement of his duplex, where he now takes in shelter cats. Arthur and August are currently sharing the place with two other kittens, Alice and Ralph. Liu catalogs the comings and goings of all the kittens and cats he fosters on his Tumblr, Scratch Pad.

The kittens' new owner is blogging about them here.

HomoQuotable - Josh Barro

"The next mayor of New York, if he or she is to do a good job, will have to say 'no' a lot. Only Lhota gave the correct answer: No, you do not strand thousands of New Yorkers for 90 minutes in a futile effort to herd two cats whose lives we are inexplicably prioritizing over the rats who are run over, or drowned, or exterminated in the subways every day. The most terrifying aspect of this campaign is that New York is poised to elect its first non-asshole mayor since Abe Beame. There’s a reason big cities elect mayors like Mike Bloomberg and Rudy Giuliani and Rahm Emanuel and Richard Daley and Ed Rendell. The mayor’s main job is to say 'no.' Those guys are good at saying 'no.' Lhota is the only person in the field who resembles them." - Josh Barro, writing for Business Insider.

NYC Mayoral Candidates Weigh In On Kittens-On-The-Subway-Tracks Debate

As Gotham continues to be roiled in debate over whether the subway should have been shut down for those two kittens on the tracks, the mayoral candidates have weighed in and only one would have let the trains roll over their little bodies. (Spoiler: It's the Republican seen above pointing Fluffy to an oncoming B train.) Via New York Magazine:

Republican front-runner Joe Lhota — whose previous job was, in fact, running the MTA — would not have stopped the trains. "No, Joe does not think a train line should be shut down" to save two kitties, a campaign spokesperson tells Daily Intelligencer. This puts Lhota at odds with his chief rival, John Catsimatidis, who points out to Daily Intelligencer in a peculiarly formatted e-mail that you can't spell Catsimatidis without "cats": I am an Animal Lover / Especially CATS / Supposed they were Baby Rats / Its up to the Policeman on the Scene to make decision / Not the Mayor.

All of the Democrats who responded via their spokespeople are pro-kitten. Anthony Weiner: "If Anthony is elected mayor, he will not only stop trains for kittens, he will personally crawl over the third rail to do it." Christine Quinn: "Chris would have stopped the trains for the kitties." Bill Thompson: "Bill would work to protect the subway kittens in such a situation." Why does Bill De Blasio remain silent?!?1?

UPDATE: The kittens have been named Arthur and August and will be available for adoption in three days if no owner comes forward. They are believed to be four weeks old.

UPDATE II: Here's today's New York Post.

Kittens Shut Down Two Subway Lines

Thousands of New Yorkers had their commutes interrupted for about an hour yesterday when the MTA shut down two subway lines in Brooklyn because two kittens were darting about near the third rail.

NBC 4 New York can confirm that herding cats is a difficult feat. Video obtained by NBC 4 New York shows the kittens -- one black, one white with gray stripes -- racing up and down the tracks near the third rail, darting around empty bottles and other debris, at the B/Q Church Avenue station in Prospect Lefferts Gardens around midday. It wasn't known if the kittens were strays or pets. The MTA shut off power to the area so workers could go down and try to coax the kittens into carrying cases. People waiting for their trains offered to help, but the MTA said they couldn't because of safety concerns, witnesses said.

The kittens were eventually captured and taken to NYC Animal Care & Control, where they will presumably be put up for adoption.

Relationship Relief?

I've had friends who just couldn't make it work with prospective partners due to pet allergies. "Either his cats go or I do."  But there's hope.

Sad Cat Diary

"Dear Diary: The authorities have removed the black pants from the couch and there is no longer any place for me to sleep. I have vomited three times in protest."

Adult Cat Finder

One Million Moms would like to remind you that jokes about bestiality make the baby Jesus cry.  From the site: "All joking aside, please look into adopting an adult pet in your area."