You can help a cat celebrate Independence Day this week -- even give a cat its independence -- at both the Maryland SPCA and BARCS.

The two shelters have teamed up to hold "Cat Independence Days" on Saturday, July 5 and Sunday, July 6 -- two days when cats can be adopted for the unusually low, and highly patriotic price of $17.76. The offer applies to cats four months of age and older.

“Animal shelters have many more cats in the summer,” explained Aileen Gabbey, Maryland SPCA’s executive director. “We want cats to gain their independence -- a loving new home -- this weekend.”

“Animals are given up for many reasons, including people moving who are unable to take their pet with them because of landlord restrictions,” said Jennifer Mead-Brause, director of BARCS (Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter). “This is happening more with the number of home foreclosures on the rise.”

As a result, more adult cats are showing up -- and adopting an adult cat can have advantages.

“Adult cats have lots of love to give, and they have outgrown some behaviors that can be challenging with kittens,” says Allison Nozemack, the SPCA’s Behavior Manager. “Most adult cats are already litterbox trained, and they are much calmer.”

Cats adopted from both The Maryland SPCA and BARCS include spay/neuter surgery and are up-to-date on vaccinations. BARCS is located at 301 Stockholm Street. Hours for adoptions this Saturday and Sunday are from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. The Maryland SPCA is located at 3300 Falls Road. Hours for adoptions this weekend are noon to 3:30 p.m.

(AP Photo)

Posted by John Woestendiek at 10:28 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)
                    

“Kitten Season” has arrived in Baltimore, and the Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS) reports it is receiving kittens by the box load.

In May 2008, BARCS took in 1,010 animals, the largest number received this year. Of those animals, 619 were cats or kittens.

“Kitten Season” is the unofficial name for the mating season for cats. It begins in the late spring and runs into the early fall. Cats can begin having kittens at six months, and can go into heat every three weeks. The size of an average litter is four to six kittens.

Through June, BARCS has lowered the adoption fees for cats and kittens from $65 to $30 for one, or $50 for two. BARCS is also seeking foster homes willing to care for kittens that are too young to be adopted. Kittens under the age of 8 weeks cannot legally be adopted. If you are interested in fostering cats or kittens contact Debra Rahl at debra.rahl@baltimorecity.gov

Posted by John Woestendiek at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

As you've maybe seen from our three previous posts, we're honoring the cat today (something we occasionally do to make up for neglecting them the rest of the time).

Today, we're all cats all the time -- beginning here on the Mutts blog and culminating tonight in a groundbreaking live performance that will be the debut (and perhaps death) of a new art form.

It's so significant, so ... well, "cutting edge," I may try to get Sam Sessa to put it on his Midnight Sun blog.

There is much talk these days about the demise of newspapers -- about how printed words sitting lifelessly on a page (though, if we reporters do our jobs right, they shouldn't be lifeless) can no longer hold the interest of the reading public. There are others who'll tell you that reading public is down to oh, six or seven folks.

We at Mutts disagree with all that, believing that there are still readers and they still like substance and depth (in addition to their daily blog intake).

But we recognize, despite our age, that these are changing times, and we make every effort -- through the use of things like video and Google and podcasts and blogging -- to not just keep up, but stay fairly close to the forefront of these changes (lest we become an anachronism).

We worry so much about becoming an anachronism (anachronophobia) that it leads us to the kind of "opposite extreme" behavior that will take place tonight, when we'll be dancing so far out on the cutting edge that we may slice our feet.

We are presenting for the first time anywhere in the world a brand new genre: the musical newspaper story.

How better to breath new life into the printed word? But what, you may ask, does this have to do with cats?

Digging through my vast personal archives (which can be hazardous; I recommend using a Q-Tip), I came across the perfect story to use for this experiment -- and it's about feral cats.

That's all I'm going to say for now. Should you wish to attend, this will take place sometime after 8 p.m. (but not too late, I hope) at open mic night at Charlotte's, at the corner of Light and Randall streets in what the pretentious among us like to call South Federal Hill.

Charlotte's has a five tastes for $5 wine night on Wednesdays -- one of which served to inspire tonight's performance.

Admission to open mic night is free, much like the cats at the Maryland SPCA, until the middle of this month.

(AP Photo)

Posted by John Woestendiek at 11:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Routinely, workers at Jevic Transportation Inc. in New Jersey fed and sheltered the feral cats who called the trucking company's plant home.

But rising fuel prices and a slumping economy forced the company to abruptly close last month, ending the employment of 1,036 workers -- and terminating the cats' meal ticket.

Former employees still want to feed the cats -- about six of which remained after the shut down -- but they say the company won't allow them on the grounds and hasobstructed efforts to trap the cats and send them to a new home.

A Jevic spokesman said the company is willing to work out an agreement as long as it doesn't compromise plant security, a story in today's Camden Courier Post says.

"We don't know how they will fend for themselves," said Annemarie Harrington of Blackwood, who started caring for the cats four years ago, and since then has taken two kittens home.

Over the years, the friends of the felines succeeded in trapping all but one of the adult cats, paying to have them spayed or neutered before releasing them.

"We set up little houses for them, with blankets," Harrington said. "We fed them every day."

After the plant closed May 19, security guards barred former employees from returning to feed them, she said.

"After 18 years, it hurts my feelings," Harrington said. "They trusted me to do their legal contracts but they can't trust me to feed cats."

Posted by John Woestendiek at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

The price of everything else may be going up, but cats are a better deal than ever -- especially during the first half of this month when the Maryland SPCA is making the unprecedented (at least as far as I know) offer of one free adult cat per household.

So not only can you free a cat, but -- from now until June 14 at the SPCA, 3300 Falls Road in Baltimore -- your first cat is free.

Your second has an adoption fee of $40, which is half the normal cost. From June 15 until June 30, adult cats will be $40 for one, and $60 for two.

The Maryland SPCA defines adult cats as those four months or older.

The SPCA's cat shelter often fills up in early summer. The adoption promotion is designed to reduce their length of stay and find them homes.

The fellow above isn't from the Maryland SPCA -- he was photographed at an international cat exhibition in Minsk, Belarus. But there are some fine ones in Baltimore as well.

For more information, visit the Maryland SPCA, its Web site, or call 410-235-8826.

BARCS -- the Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter -- is also offering a cat discount: one cat for $30, and two for $50.

(Photo: Sergei Grits, Associated Press)

Posted by John Woestendiek at 9:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

If and when you go to the Maryland SPCA to adopt a FREE CAT!!!!, don't forget to consider the black ones.

Traditionally, they have a more difficult time of getting adopted.

For reasons ranging from superstitious to cultural to just plain silly, they tend to linger longer in shelter.

To find out more about the problem, and black cats in general, I recommend this website.

(AP Photo)

Posted by John Woestendiek at 9:30 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Wearing a stationmaster's cap of Wakayama Electric Railway, this nine-year-old cat named "Tama" sits on a ticket gate at Kishi station in the city of Kinokawa, in Wakayama prefecture.

Railway officials credit the cat with helping to increase the number of passengers who travel along the Kishigawa line by 10 percent over the past year.

Dubbed the "stationmaster cat," the female tortoiseshell just showed up one day at the small unmanned station in Japan.

(Photo: TORU YAMANAKA, AFP/Getty Images)

Posted by John Woestendiek at 9:20 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

These cats residing in and around the FEMA Diamond trailer park in Port Sulphur, La., enjoyed a meal in what appears to be a trash can lid last week. Where they are this week is anyone's guess.

FEMA federal trailer parks that house many Hurricane Katrina victims were set to close May 31, prompting fears that people will be left homeless -- and probably a few pets, too.

FEMA says it has moved 95 percent of the households out of the trailers.

(The Mutts blog is celebrating cats today -- you can read more about it here)

(Photo: Mario Tama, Getty Images)

Posted by John Woestendiek at 7:15 AM | Permalink | Comments (5)
                    

 I'd bet big money it's only a matter of time before there's a TV series about cooking for your pet -- the only question is who will get to it first, the Food Network or Animal Planet.

Then it will be only another matter of time before there's a show in which 12 pet-food cookers will live together (with their pets and their pet food ingredients) in the same house, competing for the title of best pet food cooker.

I probably won't watch either, but I did watch Sun reporter Jill Rosen's excellent video (with videographer Monica Lopossay) about attempting to become personal chef to her handsome cat, Leo.

Jill's story, along with some dog and cat food recipes, appears in the Taste section of today's Sun (and underneath the video if you visit this link).

If you are a TV executive and you are interested in Jill hosting a pet cooking show (better make that cooking for your pet show) -- as opposed to, say, Rachel Ray, Martha Stewart, or some other overexposed host -- contact me, as I am her agent.

If you are interested in casting Leo Sesame in a starring role, preferably in a major motion picture, contact Jill, as she is Leo's agent.

Posted by John Woestendiek at 12:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Not that I'd ever recommend such an event, but if ever there were a Cat-ditarod, I'd put my money (not that I recommend gambling, either) on Jimmy, an 8-year old feline from northwest Montana, who recently trekked 180 miles through some pretty rugged terrain to get back home.

According to a story that originally appeared in the weekly Valley Journal and was later picked up by the Missoulian, the cat originally lived with Maxine DeSaussure in Pablo, Mont.

When Maxine died, her daughter Traci Paile brought Jimmy back to her home in Babb, 180 miles northeast and up near the Canadian border.

Always an independent sort, Jimmy soon disappeared.

Forty-five days had passed when Vaile got a call from the new resident of Maxine's former home -- 180 miles away, across the Continental Divide and on the other side of Glacier National Park -- who said Jimmy had just come up the driveway and crawled under the house.

After some discussion, it was decided to let the cat stay in Pablo. The new resident of the home agreed to feed him; and Vaile figured, after the determination that cat had shown, that it was not Babb at all, but Pablo, where Jimmy wanted to be.

Posted by baltimoresun.com at 4:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Who was that fat cat we pictured yesterday?

That's Hercules, who a year ago was just another overweight feline.

Today, in addition to becoming an Internet sensation, he's being featured in an article about pet weight loss in Martha Stewart Living, and may become spokeskitten for a low-calorie cat food.

It all started when he ran away. His owner, Geoff Earnest, 31, who has cystic fibrosis, went to the hospital for a double lung transplant. Despite having a cat sitter, Hercules broke out.

Earnest survived his surgery, returned home, grieved over the loss of his cat, who he assumed was dead, and went on with life -- until one night he saw his cat on TV.

The cat had been brought into the Oregon Humane Society after a family found him stuck in a doggie door leading outside from their garage. It seems Hercules had been sneaking in through the doggie door and chowing down on pet food -- until the day came he was too fat to make his escape.

The Humane Society called the papers and TV stations to tell them the story of the fat cat.

Hercules -- who was called Goliath while in the shelter -- ended up in the newspapers, on TV and on YouTube, all 20 pounds of him. He has gained lots of fame, and lost only a little weight. Earnest says he walks Hercules for exercise every morning and the cat now tips the scales at 19.5 pounds.

Posted by John Woestendiek at 7:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

I'm sure a few doting cat owners will disagree, but a new study says cats don't get the same affection and attention from their owners that dogs do -- and because of that aren't as likely to get medical care as dogs.

A study published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association found U.S. pet owners generally have stronger bonds with their dogs than their cats and therefore aren't as attentive to their cat's needs.

As a result, cats are substantially underserved medically, the researchers say, which presents risks to their health and public health.

The study says dogs are far more likely than cats to receive vaccinations, regular physical exams and preventive dental care. In households with dogs and cats, a third of the cats did not visit a veterinarian annually, compared with only 13 percent of dogs.

Humans, the study says, spend about 45 hours a week with their dogs, only about 32 hours a week with their cats.

Humans also view cats as "more able to take care of themselves," than dogs.

Asked if they would spend any amount necessary to keep their pet alive, 52 percent of dog owners said yes, compared to 48 percent of cat owners.

The AVMA is made up of 76,000 member veterinarians and describes its mission as advancing the science and art of animal, human and public health.

(Photos: Hercules, the fat cat, AP; Sammy, the Shih-Tzu, Chris McGrath, Getty Images)

Posted by John Woestendiek at 4:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)
                    

Twenty-five days after it bolted from its carrier on a subway platform in New York City and disappeared, a six-month-old kitten named Georgia was found and returned to its owner.

After hearing reports of a sighting, transit workers, making meow sounds, tracked the cat down, finding her cowering in a drain between two sets of tracks under midtown Manhattan, according to the New York Daily News.

The cat had lost weight and scratched her nose but seemed in good health. She was returned to her owner, a 24-year-old Bronx librarian who was bringing her home from the veterinarian when she scampered off last month.

To see the Daily News photo and story, click here.

Posted by John Woestendiek at 4:37 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)
                    

Here's a cat who crawled into her owners suitcase in Florida on Friday, got accidentally loaded onto a plane to Texas and ended up with a stranger who had mistakenly picked up the wrong bag and brought it home. 

Gracie Mae made the return flight Sunday night and was reunited with her owner, Seth Levy, of Palm Beach Gardens (seen in the AP photo to the left.).

Levy's wife had taken him to the airport Friday and dropped him and the bag off, according to an Associated Press story about the incident.

When she got back home, she couldn't find Gracie Mae, who had been spayed just days before. She and her father took out bathroom tiles and part of a cabinet to check a crawl space and papered the neighborhood with "lost cat" signs.

Then, amid the searching, she got a phone call. "Hi, you're not going to believe this, but I am calling from Fort Worth, Texas, and I accidentally picked up your husband's luggage. And when I opened the luggage, a cat jumped out," Kelly Levy quoted the caller saying.

Rob Carter said he made it home with the suitcase before realizing it wasn't his -- and there was a big surprise inside. "I went to unpack and saw some of the clothes and saw it wasn't my suitcase," he said. "I was going to close it, and a kitten jumped out and ran under the bed. I screamed like a little girl." Carter said that he eventually was able to get the cat to come out from under the bed, called the owner and made arrangements for the cat's return.

Posted by John Woestendiek at 3:51 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)
                    

(Photo by Stew Milne/AP)

You've probably heard by now about Oscar, the deathbed cat -- the one who has a knack for knowing who's going to die next at the Rhode Island nursing home in which he lives.

He's had that ability since kittenhood, and has presided over the deaths of more than 25 residents on the third floor of Steere House Nursing and Rehabilitation Center in Providence, Rhode Island, where physicians and staff consider him an almost absolute indicator of impending death.

Oscar  -- though he sounds like something Stephen King might dream up -- was brought to the public's attention by the New England Journal of Medicine, in a piece written by Dr. David M. Dosa, a geriatrician at Rhode Island Hospital and an assistant professor of medicine at the Warren Alpert Medical School of Brown University in Providence.

It starts like this:

Oscar the Cat awakens from his nap, opening a single eye to survey his kingdom. From atop the desk in the doctor's charting area, the cat peers down the two wings of the nursing home's advanced dementia unit. All quiet on the western and eastern fronts. Slowly, he rises and extravagantly stretches his 2-year-old frame, first backward and then forward. He sits up and considers his next move ...

You can read his entire piece here.

Posted by John Woestendiek at 7:37 AM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (1)
                    

When the weather starts warming up, a young cat's fancy turns to, well, you know.

And by the time summer is here in earnest, animal shelters generally are at full kitty capacity.

This year is no exception -- in fact it may be a little worse, and some experts are blaming global warming, saying shorter winters and hotter temperatures are extending the breeding season, leading to an even greater annual cat population explosion.

Pets Across America, a national adoption organization, says shelters they contacted reported a 30 percent increase in cats and kittens in need of homes from 2005 to 2006.

"Basically there is no longer a reproduction lull with cat breeding cycles, and unfortunately, it seems more people are bringing boxes of kittens into our agencies during winter now," said Kathy Warnick, PAA president.

The Maryland SPCA is experiencing its own flood of cats, and as a result is making adopting a cat easier and more affordable for the month of June.

Incentives include lowering the adoption fee for cats from $80 to $40 for the the month (or two cats for $60). In addition all adopters will receive a small collar charm for their cat, and cats will be microchipped for free, normally a $30 charge. The Maryland SPCA is at 3300 Falls Road.

Posted by John Woestendiek at 10:51 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)