Caturday felid trifecta: Program places cats in jobs, favourite British cats, atheist cat ignores Muslim prayer

April 30, 2016 • 9:30 am

FYI: This is post #13,000 on this site.

The Minneapolis Star Tribune describes a program whereby cats scheduled to be euthanized by the Humane Society (remember, they’re not a no-kill organization) tries to find “working cat” jobs for more difficult moggies: feral cats, skittish cats, and so on.

These cats aren’t the instant cuddle buddies most desire. Some recoil at human touch. Some don’t use litter boxes regularly. Some are hissy and cranky. But they’re otherwise healthy and could be a good match for hobby farms, warehouses and other homes and businesses interested in nontoxic, trap-free rodent control.

Plus, many even become sociable in stable settings, lending themselves to the “work” of business mascot and customer magnet, said Anne Lally-Rose, site manager at the Humane Society in Buffalo.

“I’d love to see them in bookstores, in fire stations, police stations, any kind of business,” said Lally-Rose, who helped spearhead the project. “There’s something kind of nifty about having an office cat around.”

. . . Nearly 70 little laborers have been adopted since the working cats began as a pilot project last year, said Lally-Rose. Half were adopted since January, when it was launched in earnest. Just three have been returned.

I believe that every bookstore should have a cat!

Click on the screenshot and go to the one-minute video:

Screen Shot 2016-04-30 at 8.30.55 AM

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The Torygraph has a pictoral on 18 favorite British cats, real or fictional (you’ll have to click through the cat photos one by one). Here are a few:

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Wartime Prime Minister Sir Winston Churchill loved cats. He’s pictured here stopping to greet one in Liverpool Street Station, London, in 1952. Churchill owned many cats during his lifetime and particularly adored his marmalade mouser, Jock…[JAC: be sure to click on the link to read about Churchill’s cats]
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“A very fine cat indeed,” as writer and lexicographer Dr Samuel Johnson described him, Hodge loved to eat oysters, which his master bought for him. A statue of Hodge stands outside Dr Johnson’s former home at 17 Gough Square, London. It was unveiled by the Lord Mayor of the City of London in 1997 …

 

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Actress Vivien Leigh had several cats, and was a fan of the Siamese breed. She was once quoted as saying: “Once you have kept a Siamese cat you would never have any other kind. They make wonderful pets and are so intelligent they follow you around like little dogs.” She’s pictured with her pet, New Boy.

 

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Today, on Highgate Hill in front of the Whittington Hospital, there is a statue in honour of Whittington’s legendary cat.

The first reader sending me photos of themselves next to both of the London statues shown above gets a free, autographed copy of Faith versus Fact with TWO cats drawn in.

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Finally, an atheist cat shows his contempt for ritual Muslim prayers toward Mecca. Click on the screenshot to see the Facebook video:

Screen Shot 2016-04-21 at 5.18.06 PM

That woman should remember the love that Muhammad reportedly showed to his cat Muezza. See also the article “Cats in Islamic culture.”

h/t: Phil, Ginger K., Rich W.

19 thoughts on “Caturday felid trifecta: Program places cats in jobs, favourite British cats, atheist cat ignores Muslim prayer”

  2. The first time I heard the Muezza story, it wasn’t Muhammad, it was the Emperor of China.

    2. In the usual Chinese version it wasn’t a cat that slept on the Emperor’s sleeve but his favourite catamite, and that’s why ‘cut-sleeve’ is mandarin slang for gay.

    1. Yes, we had a Siamese for 17 years and I never thought of little dogs, even once.

    2. Yes, that grated on me too. It begs so many questions it’s Not Even Wrong.

      Way to offend both kitteh-philes and d*g lovers, I think.

      🙁

      cr

  4. I have co-worker who had a four-year-old cat he didn’t want. It had been given to his daughter as a kitten. He said it attacks if anyone tries to pet it, and it runs out and bites his children’s ankles.

    He had it in his car and was going to stop at the Humane Society to drop it off. I suspected they would kill it, so I agreed to adopt it.

    She’s actually a very nice cat. She doesn’t like her back touched, but she likes having her checks and neck rubbed. She lies down next to me as I’m watching television.

  5. Actually all cats are atheists since none can conceive of a power greater then themselves.

  6. The woman praying was a nasty piece of work. I was pretty unimpressed not only with how rough she got with the cat, but the way she actually threw something very angrily at what I assume were her kids filming her. So much for the Religion of Peace.

  7. My advice: don’t hesitate to adopt special needs cats. My daughter is a veterinarian. She adopted two unwanted cats from her practice. One had only 3 legs, the other suffered from a neurological disorder causing poor balance and sudden movements when startled(a loud noise could send her flying against the wall). They both stayed with my wife and me for a couple of weeks, and we really fell in love with them. Their silly behaviors were truly endearing. When the time came, we didn’t want to give them back. If you are at all inclined, give it a try.

    1. My daughter has a cat from the Humane Society whose back legs don’t straighten out. He hops like a rolly-polly bunny. He is the boss of the other cat and their 3 dogs, and also of any dogs they occasionally board. At the same time he’s very affectionate.

  8. I read the article “Cats in Islamic Culture” and found it very interesting. I had no idea that Muslim folk were so fond of cats.

    1. One thing I’ve noticed is that cats are often found in mosques, and the mosques sometimes have cat food available to feed them. This was common in Turkey, and I heard yesterday that an American mosque does the same thing. I wonder if it stems from the legend of Muezza.

  9. When I rescued my cat he hid underneath the bed for a week, and it took that long for me to be able to touch him. He used to hide most of the time in the kitchen cabinet. But now he’s very secure here and very affectionate. He gets along with the dog and is just a perfect cat. Sometimes, you need to give it a little time. I’m glad I did.

  11. I do like the story of Jock of Chartwell. Apparently Churchill expressed a wish that there should always be a marmalade cat named Jock at his country house, now a National Trust property. So the current one is Jock VI – the previous property manager and Jock V got so attached to each other that they retired together to Scotland.

    cr

  12. Oh, and the Torygraph reminded me that Sir Isaac Newton invented the catflap.

    I’m sorry, Darwinians, but this undoubtedly establishes Newton as the Greatest Englishman of All Time, not just for his scientific discoveries, but also for his services to the whole of the kitteh kingdom.

    cr

  13. “I believe that every bookstore should have a cat!”
    Could not agree more… As a child, on many Saturday afternoons, I went with my father to a bookstore in Evanston run by a guy called “Truman”. There was a large table at the back where my father would sit and drink coffee with other people talking about philosophy and the politics of the day. The bookstore was an amazing journey of discovery for me as a child and if I remember correctly there was a resident cat.

    Vivien Lee liked Siamese cats, but I think Burmese cats are even better. They are smart, affectionate and demanding cats who want to be with you at all times. Far better than “d*gs” in my view

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