news

Nothing warms the heart quite like two victims of circumstances beyond their control, finding solace in the companionship of one another.

At 10-months-old Scarlette Tipton lost her left arm to cancer. Her parents desperately wanted little Scarlette, now two-years-old, to have the chance to grow up with a little kitten just like her; and they couldn't have found a better match. Meet Doc: a rescue kitten who had her right paw amputated following a car accident.

On Christmas Eve the two were united at a shelter in California. That very Wednesday, Doc had already been welcomed aboard as the new member of the family.

Scarlett's mother, Simone Tipton, told Love Meow that Scarlette "did notice that Doc had staples on her side and said 'owies'. I let her know that she had owies just like her, and she placed her hand on her side and just nodded. She recognizes that the cat has similar struggles as she does."

San Francisco police tried for hours to talk a suspected car thief out of jumping from a third-floor window of a building. When they realized that a family member had brought the man's cat to the scene they used the pet to assist in calming him down.



via @CHPSanFranciscoThe love of his pet brought him to his senses and out of a crisis.

Finally, Lil Bub is close to dropping her debut album, Science & Magic. 25% of the net proceeds from the sales of this album will go to Lil Bub's Big Fund which helps the ASPCA grant funds to help special needs pets. 



Lil Bub's CD will feature the music used in Lil Bub videos. To use the words of Andrew W.K. to better explain the concept of the album, "This is music made by a magical space cat."

Earl Grey is a cat who means business and he is campaigning for better animal rights all over Canada. His platform statment says it all:

Earl Grey, leader of the Tuxedo Party of Canada, asks the question, "Who stands on guard for me?"

Animals in Canada are currently NOT afforded adequate protection under the law. Due to loopholes, outdated wording (from 1892), and inadequate laws, convictions of animal cruelty are unlikely. Action is needed to change the laws and protect animals; without legal protection they are defenceless against mistreatment.

Good luck on the campaign trail, Earl Grey. 

A brave volunteer went headfirst into a drain pipe filled with rushing water to rescue a kitten in danger. Safety precautions were taken to protect the volunteer, a makeshift dam was used to slow the amount of water in the storm drain and she was tied to a rope so that she could be saved if the rescue didn't go as planned. Luckily for the kitten, who has been named Stormy, everything went well. A firefighter helped Stormy recover by giving her a little oxygen mask that helped her breathe. She's now doing well in foster care and someday she'll be able to be adopted by a loving, permanent home. She looks like she's recovering quickly. 


via The Itty Bitty Kitty Committee 

The Maritime Museum of the Atlantic in Haifax, Nova Scotia had a special employee named Erik the Red.  He worked as a particularily effective rodent control officer aboard the CSS Acadia, a 102-year-old ship moored outside the museum for display. He has become loved by visitors and coworkers alike but at around 18-years of age, he's ready to retire to a quit life in the country. 


via CBC News

They aren't about to let him go without a party of course so the Maritime Museum of the Atlantic is organizing a big send off on September 20 on his behalf. 

This criminal feline has made a habit out of stealing from his neighbors and stashing the goods in plain sight back home. His favorite objective? Shoes.



via @snorrithecat

This dastardly villain is brazen enough to pose happily amongst his stolen trophies.


via @snorrithecat

Just look at that fearless expression. This is the face of a ruthless evildoer who thinks he can never be stopped...and perhaps he's right.




via @snorrithecat

This year thousands of cat video lovers gathered in St. Paul, Minnesota to celebrate the fourth annual Internet Cat Video Festival. Fans dressed in all manner of cat themed regalia to enjoy the festivities and watch a 70-minute long compilation video featuring the best of 15,000 submissions. The festival's crowning event is the Golden Kitty award which is determined by popular vote in the month leading up the the event and announced during the festival. This year's winner? Alana Grelyak and Michael Gabriele of Chicago for a parody of the well known MasterCard commercials which they titled "Cat Behavior Finally Explained".

Millie the cat has been climbing ever since she was a kitten on her owner Craig Armstrong's shoulders.  He trained her to go with him on his mountain climbing and hiking trips. Now she wears a harness and fearlessly climbs mountains and leaps on boulders. 



Sometimes she's able to go off harness and climb as high as she wants.
 


Often she's also allowed to lead the way as her owner hikes behind her making sure she doesn't get into trouble. 


via climbkitty.com

This lucky cat spent one hour underwater in a sunken boat on Lake Havasu between California and Arizona and lived through it. She was tucked away in a compartment on the boat and was found by chance after the boat was taken back to shore in Lake Havasu City, Arizona. The owner of the boat said she didn't belong to him so the local Humane Society took her in and named her River. 

Since she isn't microchipped the humane shelter is waiting five days for any possible owners to claim her. After that time River will be up for adoption. Hopefully she can find a home much farther inland. 

This dapper calico named Tama had a very important role as the station master of an electric railway station in Japan. After eight years on the job, she was laid to rest in a beautiful ceremony which 3,000 co-workers, admirers and friends attended. 

As you can see, she took her job very seriously. The Kishi Railway Station where Tama worked was nearly shut down, leading to her adoptive owner, a local grocer, to be named station master in 2006 to cut costs. A year later Tama took over the role.


(via Super Station Master Tama Facebook)

Her popularity as station master is credited for saving the station. She even has her own merchandise. 


(via Super Station Master Tama Facebook)

Fortunately a new station master has been named. Tama had an apprentice who is ready to take over the job. She is also a calico cat, her name is Nitama and by the way she's wearing that station master hat, it looks like she's up for the challenge. 


(via Super Station Master Tama Facebook)

Workers at a government office in Las Cruces, New Mexico can go to the "cat library" to check out a kitten to take with them to their desks at any time. These lucky office workers get to de-stress while giving these shelter kittens some much needed love and attention. The program has helped 100 kittens find homes so far. 

Japan's latest cat-obsessed citizen is a retiree who goes by the name, "Kyushu Neko Ojisan" (The Cat Man from Kyushu). He's been drawing a crowd in Tokyo while walking his nine cats in a baby stroller. He loves to see the smiles on people's faces as they stop to pet his cats, and they seem to be perfectly content with all the affection and attention.

Follow the Cat Man from Kyushu on Twitter or Facebook for more updates and pictures!