We will keep up with the Caturday felids while I’m on my trip, or so I hope. A week from today is my free day in London, and I have to decide which museum—and which pub—to visit.
First, meet Gandalf, a fluffy gray cat who happens to be a rescue cat, taken from a pet shop in Seoul, South Korea that was closing. Yahoo News reports on Gandalf, who now travels the world with his leash and his staff:
“He was 5 weeks old with a respiratory infection and the sweetest little face!” his owners, who now live in northern California, wrote to ABC News.
Coming up with the cat’s creative name was a no-brainer.
“We are avid ‘Lord of the Rings’ fans and when we saw his cute little beard we knew his name was Gandalf. He was born a Gandalf,” they explained.
From the moment they rescued Gandalf he “always wanted to go with us to places so we decided to try the leash and see if he would like it,” his owners said. “He didn’t mind at all!”
Gandalf, 2, couldn’t get enough of all the new scenery.
“Gandalf was so impressed by all the wide open spaces and landscapes in the U.S. that we wanted to show him more,” they recalled. “We decided to do a road trip back to our home state of California and show Gandalf historic sites and national parks along the way!”
The couple has captured Gandalf’s purr-fect adventures across multiple states and countries on his Instagram account, where he’s amassed more than 14,000 followers.
“The Grand Canyon, Yosemite and the Redwoods of Mendocino County have been his favorite locations so far,” his owners wrote.
. . . He’s loved his time in northern California, but the happy family will soon be moving to New Zealand.
Maybe I’ll meet him there, along with Jerry Coyne the Cat!
“Gandalf is looking forward to learning some more of northern California’s history and hopes to visit a few more national parks before he moves across the Pacific to New Zealand,” they said.
You can see more photos of Gandalf here, and here’s a video:
A Daily Mail article gives information and photos of other traveling cats, and there’s a new site, Adventure Cats, that tells you how to prepare your cat for traveling adventures and what you’ll need to take your moggie along to the backcountry.
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Love Meow reports on Felix, a lovely female tuxedo cat who lives in the Huddersfield Railway Station in West Yorkshire, England, She was brought there to catch mice, but has just been promoted. Five years in, “Felix is now Senior Pest Controller and even has earned her very own visibility jacket and name tag.”
“She was a few weeks old when she came to the station. Donated by a colleague,” Huddersfield Railway Station told Love Meow.
“Her daily duties include begging for food from passengers and colleagues. Patrolling the platforms, occasionally making an appearance in the concourse. And chasing off the odd rodent. She has been known to wander down to Dominos Pizza when bored.”
Look at that magnificent ruff!
Here she is with her name tag and “visibility jacket”:
If you’re at the station, look her up, preferably take pictures, and report back to me. In the meantime, you can check out Felix’s own Facebook Page.
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Finally, Bored Panda tells us about some special smartphone gloves with an ailurophilic flair. They’re Japanese, and the advertising video is below:
Designed by Felissimo and YOU+MORE, the gloves are made from a suede-like material and have a fluffy inside, as well as conductive pads on the thumb and index finger that let you text in the coldest winter.
You can choose from 3 different kitties for US$36 (4,295 yen).
More info: Felissimo | YOU+MORE (h/t: rocketnews24, designtaxi)
I’ll take a pass on these, but they’re very kawaii. While looking at these, I also found a very strange Japanese video, clearly from a television show, whose content baffles me. But I’m sure we have at least one reader who can tell us what’s going on here:
h/t: Ginger K.. Lauren, Heather Hasie
