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BCLocalNews.com - Feline fuss stops the mail

When Darlene Carlin learned that Canada Post was suspending mail deliveries because of an incident between her cat and a letter carrier, she couldn’t quite believe her ears.

Oreo’s an indoor cat after all.

But Canada Post wasn’t kidding.

On Jan. 2, while delivering the mail, a postman was inserting the envelopes into the spring-loaded mail slot at the front door to Carlin’s Blundell Road home when a black arm with a white paw came through the mail slot, a Canada Post spokesperson told her.

“I said, ‘You know, I really don’t believe you but this story you’re telling me is so far fetched, I said you couldn’t make it up.’”

The postman, who’s apparently been delivering this same route for some time, peeked inside the mail slot and spotted a “big fat black cat.”

Carlin describes Oreo as a skittish 15-year-old cat, one of two she owns.

The postman suffered a “couple of scratches” but is otherwise fine, Carlin said she was told.

In a letter written to Carlin, Canada Post wrote that if a cat injures one of its employees, a civil action could be commenced against the cat’s owner for recovery of damages.

“In view of the threat posed by your cat, we require a written assurance stating what measures you will be taking to ensure that your cat remains under control during delivery hours…Canada Post Corporation is committed to provide the best possible service to our customers; however employee safety will not be compromised.”

More at link. The photo is of the actual cat, Oreo. This story is apparently unrelated to this one from England.

JON CARROLL

I think Bucket is taking a correspondence course in “How to Be a Cat.” Archie more or less took up all the cat room available in the home when he was alive, leaving Bucket to sulk around the edges, very occasionally seeking bonding opportunities, during which she drooled copiously. When we made overtures of friendship, she usually ran away. Very disheartening.But Archie’s been gone for nine months now, and Bucket is assuming the role of Cat in the household. Unfortunately, she has no idea what the job entails, and she’s had to follow her instincts. Her instincts are unreliable.

As an example: Most cats will initiate a rub-and-purr session by jumping up on an available lap or bed. I think Bucket maybe saw Archie do that, and so she’s trying it out, sort of. Sometimes, she stands by my chair and looks up. Sometimes she meows.

“Come on, Bucket,” I say. “Come on up. That’s a girl. Come up. You know you want to. Come on.” And Bucket stands there. She’s racked by internal doubts. Is it safe up there? It’s been safe the previous hundred times, but that does not mean it’s safe now.

“Come on, Bucket. Up you get. Come on. Such a good cat. Come on, Bucket.”

Still she stands. She tilts her head quizzically. Sometimes she walks around in a small circle. She weighs the options. A car door slams far away, and that distracts her. By this time, I am getting tired of trying to persuade a cat to experience bonding pleasure. She doesn’t want to get petted, fine. Go your own damn way, devil cat.

Much more at link.  Our local representative of the breed is Little Girl Cat, who is happy to be petted if she has a clear escape route, just in case today is the day you’ve decided to bathe/medicate/murder her.  And you must not look at LGC while petting her.

It’s a dog’s life if you’re a cat | Metro.co.uk

They say all God’s creatures are equal but not, it seems, in the eyes of the law.

Steal a cat in the US and you’ll get away with a slap on the wrists – yet if you make off with a dog you could find yourself jailed for up to ten years.

But that may all change after campaigners called for equality following the tale of Ernie the cat, who was stolen from a rescue centre.

[more at link]

Is that actually Ernie, or is that Clippy, the stock photo cat?

Screw Purina.

Pet dumping shame | thedaily.com.au

This week, 4 Paws is looking for a home for Bubbles, a 10-week-old Turkish Van cross male kitten.

“He was one of five kittens and he is left lonely, looking for a home,” Julie said.

“He is being fostered by Amanda and her family in Minyama, who say he is just adorable, loves the dogs and plays with the children – a real darling social kitten.”

If you are interested in meeting and possibly adopting Bubbles, phone Tina on 0412 596 530.

I don’t wish to cast aspersions on Bubbles, who is probably a lovely cat and deserves a good home, but he bears an eerie and possibly ominous resemblance to our cat Boots, and Bootsie is seriously nuts. He loves to chew on toes and electrical cords, and if you pick him up he goes into full rigor mortis mode.

Check out the eyes. Just sayin’.

Scientific American: Cat Fleas Abhor A Vacuum

If you don’t subscribe to the Dutch journal Entomologia Experimentalis et Applicata, you might have missed the news about fleas: the best way to get rid of a house full of cat fleas is to reach for the vacuum cleaner. The old upright is not only lethal to adult bugs, but it completely wipes out their young. Scientists from Ohio State University had set out to determine what additional measures might be needed to kill a bunch of Hoovered-up fleas: burning, freezing, poisoning, maybe even a little good old fashioned stomping. But it turns out that getting sucked into a vacuum bag does the whole job.

The researchers were so surprised by the results, they repeated the study several times. In each experiment, they sprinkled a kitchen carpet with 100 cat fleas, either adults or juveniles. And they found that the vacuum snuffed out pretty much all of them. What makes vacuuming so deadly is hard to say. The researchers admit that they did not conduct a postmortem on any of the deceased. But they think it was the physical trauma of being sucked through the brushes that gave fleas a one-way ticket to the chitin-yard. Now, if only scientists could come up with a safe way to vacuum the cat.

–Karen Hopkin

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