From Politico, we hear and see the stalwart War Cats of Ukraine. Click the headline to read:
Excerpts and text (indented) from the article. There are also videos, but I can’t embed them:
They mention and show several cats. Here are two:
Shaybyk the lover
Oleksandr Liashuk, from the Odesa region in southwest Ukraine, gave a purr-out to Shaybyk — one of four stray kittens living with his unit on the southern front in 2022.
“Shaybyk had the biggest charisma. It was getting cold, so I took him with me one night into my sleeping bag. And that’s when I fell in love with that cat,” said Liashuk, 26. “He’s not just my best friend, he’s my son.”
Since then, Shaybyk has moved to different positions with Liashuk, with the pair becoming a viral sensation for their joint patrol videos.
Liashuk describes his cat as the perfect hunter. “Once we were at the position in the forest and he caught 11 mice in one day. Sometimes [he] brings mice to my sleeping bag,” he boasted.
Despite their bond, Shaybyk remains a free cat, but he has always returned to Liashuk. In June he disappeared for 18 long days until he was found by Ukrainian soldiers at a position several kilometers away, chilling with the local felines. “He just needed some love. I call it a vacation,” Liashuk said.
Shaybyk and Liashuk also collect donations for the Ukrainian army, with Shaybyk receiving a special award in September for helping to raise money to buy seven cars and other supplies.
Herych the high-bred
Unlike frontline strays, Herald, known as Herych, is a cat aristocrat. As soon as Russia invaded, Herych, a Scottish Fold, joined his human, Kyrylo Liukov, a military coordinator for the Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation, which delivers supplies to frontline units.
Herych, who lives with Liukov in Kramatorsk, a city in Donetsk region, traveled to the front more than 20 times.
“Every time he was the star of a show, with so many fighters running to us to pet him and take a picture with him,” Liukov said. “Herych was patient — though a little shocked.”
Unlike other frontline animals, Herych remains calm during Russian shelling. “At most he just turns his head to the sound and that’s all,” Liukov said.
Like Syrsky, Herych uses his online popularity to help Ukraine’s army, fronting a campaign that raised several million hryvnias (a million hryvnia is about €25,000) to purchase cars for the military.
The site also reports that the Russians have “weaponized cats for propaganda,” but we won’t talk about moggies on the wrong side of history.
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From the BBC, a coincidental recovery (click screenshot to read):
An excerpt (indented):
A South Devon couple have been reunited with their missing cat after seeing him on BBC Spotlight.
Mike and Marilyn Chard from Bovisand lost their one-eyed cat Tigger back in October.
He was taken in by Gables Dogs and Cats Home in Plymouth but because he was not micro-chipped, his owners could not be contacted.
The couple spotted Tigger on TV when he was seen being held by the general manager at the rescue centre.
When he failed to return home three months ago, Mr Chard said they thought their pet had “gone off to die”.
The couple adopted the stray 12 years ago when he walked through their cat flap with one eye and a bent tail.
Mr Chard said: “We’d gone out for the day and when we came back he wasn’t here, which is not unusual, but he never goes for more than hour.
“He hadn’t been himself for maybe ten days and was due a vet appointment but there was nothing you could put your finger on.
“Apparently when he was out that day he must have had an epileptic fit and somebody found him the next day semi-conscious and took him to the RSPCA, who gave him to Gables. That’s all we know.”
The cat had been nicknamed ‘Bovi-Mort’ during his stay at the charity, but the couple said they were “100% certain it was him from the photographs”.
Mrs Chard said: “He was called Bovi because of Bovisand and Mort because they were thinking of putting him to sleep.”
Mr Chard said: “We were there when Gables opened because we couldn’t wait. They were over the moon he was going back to his owners.
“He’s purring all the time. It’s taken four or five hours of being back here before he got used to where he was. I think he’s just about back to normal.”
Tigger has now been microchipped so he can be reunited with Mike and Marilyn if he ever goes missing again.
All’s well that ends well!
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This story comes from NBC (Channel 4) in New York, recounting how Buffalo Bills kicker Tyler Bass (who works with a cat-rescue group) was excoriated on social media after he missed a crucial kick. Bass and cat fans rallied, donating over a quarter million dollars to the cat-rescue organization.
Click to read:
The article:
Fans found the purr-fect way to show support for Buffalo Bills kicker Tyler Bass.
The Ten Lives Club, a cat rescue organization that Bass has worked with, received more than $250,000 in donations made in his name following the backlash he received after missing a heartbreaking field goal in Sunday’s playoff game, according to The Buffalo News.
The Bills trailed the Kansas City Chiefs 27-24 with under two minutes remaining in the AFC divisional round matchup when Bass missed a 44-yard field goal that all but ended the game and the season for a Bills team seeking its first Super Bowl championship.
After the game, the 26-year-old kicker reportedly began receiving online threats that led him to delete his social media accounts.
The Ten Lives Club made a post showing support for Bass, who has previously partnered with the Buffalo-based non-profit organization to help rescue cats.
Here’s the Instagram post put up by the rescue group 10livesclub. DON’T BULLY OUR FRIEND! Note that the organization mentions how their phones are “ringing off the hook” with donations:
More:
Donations — with the $22 amount being a nod to Bass’s No. 2 jersey — came in from Bills fans, Chiefs fans and other supporters.
The organization raised donations through its website and its social media accounts, which feature a profile picture of a cat wearing a Bills jersey.
“That money came in very, very quickly and will make a huge difference for our rescue cats here in Western New York,” Kimberly LaRussa of the Ten Lives Club told The Buffalo News.
This is very sweet: “Leave our friend alone.” I’m glad that although he missed a kick, the cats are the beneficiaries.
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Lagniappe: A battle royale between a Siamese cat and a sand fox (Vulpes rueppellii). What a sound the fox makes! The cat just hisses, but he seems to have the upper paw. I think the fox just wants to cuddle.
h/t: Gregory, Jez
That last video really upset my cat when I played it!
One comment? I’m afraid that this is the end of Caturday Felids.
Noooooooooooo!
Sometimes there’s just nothing to say. Felinity is ineffable.
Caturday posts are always welcome and read!
Look at Shaybyk in his military vest!
I got the same feeling… That the fox just wanted to cuddle.
About the kicker for the Bills, that’s just wrong. Sports “fans” can be so cruel and selfish. Even on a team I’ve rooted for, when something like that happened, all I could do was feel for the guy who missed his kick, catch, tackle, whatever. I also always worried for his spouse or girlfriend. I’m just a bleeding heart, what can I say.