Nora the famous Piano Cat is scheduled to perform her first concert tomorrow -- and you can watch the purrformance on live streaming video. How cool is that?

Nora, the Philadelphia cat known for her musicality, who was named ASPCA's Cat of the Year this year, will play Saturday, Nov. 21, at the Westchester Cat Show in White Plains, New York. The gray kitty's first concert is a benefit, being called "Shelter Aid." Millions have already seen her taped performances on YouTube.

Nora will perform live via webcam from her piano at home in Philadelphia. She’ll be joined by her accompanist and owner Betsy Alexander.

Everyone will be holding their breath because Nora is a cat -- and being a cat, she just might not performa on command.

And not just ordinary cats and kittens -- these are kitties that mew. Genius? Crazy? Whatever.

The CatPaint application works like this, according to the designer. You pull out your litter box to select a kitty. Drop the image where you want it. You can shake the iPhone if the kitty didn't land in the right spot. The cats come in all varieties and sizes -- and they're captured in everything from lap pose to leap.

Here the cat people at MacWorld test the app. The editors include a photo gallery of how they've kittied up pictures of various folks in the office. They've put cats on people's laps and into their hands. Stacked them by the dozens behind them. Created kitty vortexes right next to them.....Tons and tons and tons of kitties. Pretty funny.

There are heartwarming memoirs of man and beast, manuals for keeping the hound healthy, those that explore ways to understand the canine.

It seems that ever since Marley & Me skyrocketed to the top of the bestseller list, leaving sequels, a movie and who-knows-how-much-money and wet tissues in its wake, dog lovers have gotten really busy typing.

According to a disturbing report on OregonLive.com, earlier this month a 10-year old cat was brought to a clinic with shallow breathing and a very high temperature. The symptoms worsened and the cat died on Nov. 7.

This is the third documented case of swine flu in cats. The other two, in Iowa and Utah, recovered.

Read more here.

Many stars are known for their outrageous requests on set. I read once that someone demanded bowls of M&M's but with one of the colors removed. Anwyay. Pop star Mariah Carey wanted her appearance at a London shopping center opening to include 20 kittens -- all white ones.

According to this report, the mall management turned her down, saying no animals were allowed on the property. And, um, maybe it wasn't such a good idea anyway?

This white kitten will not be appearing with songstress/actress Mariah Carey. Photo courtesy of Daisyree Bakker's photostream on Flickr.

NAME: Stellaluna, or Stella – excellent for yelling from the porch when she’s out in the yard.

OWNER: The Hartney family.

HOW THEY MET: We’ve always had Labradors, and my mom decided, in 2001 that she was ready for a new puppy. My brother and I were in school at the University of South Carolina, and my parents were living in Virginia, and they sent me to look at some nearby pups that they would come pick up when we moved out of the dorms for the summer.

My parents had given me a list of attributes to look for in a healthy, smart puppy, and I went to meet baby Stella’s owner at a rest stop near Orangeburg, S.C. She was so tiny, a ball of black fur and gangly paws, but she ran right over to me and started licking my toes. She let me pick her up without issue and inspect those gangly paws, and I was hooked.

My parents took my word for it that she would be our dog, and she’s been our smartest and sweetest Lab yet. She rode home with us in a cardboard box.

ALLENTOWN, Pa. — A former eastern Pennsylvania dog breeder is scheduled to go on trial on animal cruelty charges after withdrawing his guilty plea.

Lehigh County Judge Robert L. Steinberg granted Derbe Eckhart's request to withdraw his plea Monday. Steinberg set Eckhart's bail at $25,000 and ordered him jailed. He also ordered Eckhart to quit working with animals.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Jay Jenkins says Eckhart faces trial in December on charges including cruelty to animals and operating a kennel without a license.

Authorities who raided Eckhart's Almost Heaven kennel in October 2008 say they found 189 dogs crowded in filthy conditions. They say they also discovered dozens of animal corpses in a freezer. The kennel was shut down in June.

Town officials have ordered a man to get rid of his 300-pound pet pig, but the owner says he’d rather leave town than give up the animal.

Rob Falk of Southwest Ranches has a Yorkshire pig named Strawberry, and council members cited Falk’s landlord for a code violation in July.

Last week, officials gave Falk 30 days to remove Strawberry from the home, saying that the town allows only one Vietnamese pot bellied pig per household.

Officials are also worried that the pig will get bigger and grow large tusks.

Floating an idea here... a BIG idea....

Wondering who among the Unleashed faithful would be interested in creating a group calendar.... You guys would send in your very best pet pictures and I would combine them to create the Pets of Unleashed 2010 or something like that.

To make it work, we'd need at least 12 of you to send in pictures -- ideally more so that it would be competitive, offer a bit of a selection....

Santa, who apparently gets around, will be at Federal Hill Park, posing with dogs, cats and who knows what other animals to benefit the Franky Fund at BARCS. The fund pays for vet care for the sickest and neediest animals that come to the shelter. Pictures cost $10 and Santa will be waiting at the park from 10 to noon. Santa will also be at Riverside Park on Dec. 12 for pet pictures, also 10 a.m. to noon. 

Meanwhile, across town in Canton, at the Canton Dog Park, during the exact same 10 to noon timeframe, Santa will also be posing with pets. Those pictures cost $15.

If you already have pictures of your dog or kitty with Santa and would like to share them, send 'em on in. I'll post only the cute ones. ;-)

Santa and dogs picture courtesy of Pacdog's Photostream on Flickr.

A limited edition dog carrier created by designer Marc Jacobs is one of six deluxe  accessories being offered at the 'L' Excellence du Savoir-Faire' exhibition at Sotheby's auction house in London. The chi-chi auction includes  Louis Vuitton limited-edition, special-order pieces by the likes of artist Damien Hirst, chef Ferran Adrià, photographer Annie Leibovitz, musician Gustavo Santaolalla, Jacobs and Patrick-Louis Vuitton.

The base price is listed in pounds -- 25,000 to 35,0000. I'm not sure how much that is in dollars but can only imagine it's one of those if-you-have-to-ask-you-can't-afford-it situations....

The auction takes place Tuesday (today), with proceeds going to the Red Cross to fight malnutrition in Niger.

Nice holiday present for Teddy Bean. Anyone? Anyone?

(Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)

This rabbit dress-up contest was part of Rabbit Testa, held last weekend in Japan, of course. About 8,000 rabbit lovers visited the annual two-day event in Yokohama city in Kanagawa prefecture, suburban Tokyo.

Thoughts?

Photos by YOSHIKAZU TSUNO/AFP/Getty Images.