Supa Fluffy

Butter Was Too Shy to Be AdoptedPeople selecting a pet from a shelter will often go to the kittens and pick one out because of their color. A ten-week-old calico kitten is sure to find someone to take her home. But it's different for adult cats. When selecting an older cat, people want to know about the cat's personality, to make sure she will fit into her new home. That's why Butter was passed over for two years, despite her good looks. She was too scared and shy to interact with any potential adopters! Then a medical student took a chance when she heard Butter had been there so long. It took a lot of time and patience for Butter to learn to trust her new human and her new home. The effort was worth it when Butter finally adjusted, and now she loves her human mama so much. Butter might have had a really hard time adjusting to a family with kids and other pets, but there is a perfect match for every pet owner out there somewhere among all those shelter pets. These two were a perfect match. You can see more of Butter at her Instagram page.

Physical Therapy for a Snow Leopard CubOn May 13, the Toronto Zoo welcomed two new snow leopard cubs, born to three-year-old mother Jita and father Pemba. They call snow leopard cubs "snowballs." The firstborn and larger of the two cubs, a female, appeared to have trouble using her front paws. A health check showed no broken bones or missing ligaments, so it seems that her paws or the nerves running to them were just very weak. The zoo brought in a veterinarian who is an expert in rehabilitation, who set up a physiotherapy regimen for the cub.

When You Give an Admiral an Elephant....The U.S. Naval Institute shares an odd story from the Vietnam War. Admiral John S. McCain (father of the Navy pilot, POW, Senator, and Presidential candidate John S. McCain) commanded U.S. naval forces the western Pacific in 1971. The prime minister of the then-government of Cambodia presented him with an elephant.Admiral McCain would not diplomatically refuse. As the value of the elephant, who was named Chamrocun, exceeded $50, the US government accepted the gift on the admiral's behalf.Now what do you do with your own elephant? It could not stay in the admiral's quarters. A UPI article from the time reports that an Air Force C-141 transport aircraft took the elephant to Los Angeles where, another contemporary newspaper article reports, Mayor Sam Yorty had arranged for him to reside in the city zoo.

Two Dogs Running for Office Amuse Neighborhood with Campaign Signs While US elections are serious business, people can get way too angry over them. Sometimes political opinions can cause rifts in workplaces, families, and neighborhoods, when they really shouldn't. In those times, it only takes one person to raise everyone's spirits by seeing the funny side of campaigning. In Arvada, Colorado, one neighbor led to two who are running their dogs as candidates! Although what office they are running for is suspiciously unspecified.Mollie Kaufmann is running on the slogan "More treats, less squirrels." Chloe lives next door, and is also running for office, with the exact same slogan. Their campaigns, which consist of yard signs and regular local appearances by the candidates, are inspiring smiles from those who need to lighten up a little. It's nice to know that no matter what happens on election day, these two rivals will still be friends and neighbors who don't take things too seriously.

Rescue Kitten Ollie Finds a FriendCats and dogs are very social animals, but often people don't realize what an individual thing that is. I have four cats, and each cat's relationship with the other three is different, because they all have different personalities and different roles within the clowder. They get along fine, but if you observe them, you can see the dynamic between each pairing and the relative status of each cat. I learned long ago that three cats stuck in their ways have a hard time accepting a new adult cat moving in with them, but they always accept a kitten, with the youngest of the three becoming a substitute parent. This has been going on in my home for thirty years, so I believe they learn this behavior from each other. The dynamic is different with the family in this video. Ollie came to them as a kitten with special needs. The other cats, Bosco and Peanut, did not like Ollie. But the Pomeranian Max was willing to be Ollie's friend, and soon best friend. We don't know exactly what is going on in these cat's heads, but we are glad that Max opened his heart to Ollie, which over time, opened the door to other relationships within the group of pets. You can keep up with Peanut, Bosco, and Ollie at their Instagram page.

Will Cats Share a Sunbeam?Studies and experiments have shown us that you can put a cat in its place simply by drawing a circle or a box on the floor. How much better is that box when it come with its own warmth? The box made when the sun shines through a window is perfect for cats, but it moves slowly as the earth rotates, and the cat has to keep moving to stay in the box. If a cat isn't paying close attention, another cat can claim that nice warm box. This time lapse video condenses four hours of sunlight into four minutes. We see Abby claim the sunspot. Then Cleo wants some of that sun, too. She thinks that if she moves slowly enough, Abby won't notice. But Abby does notice. Once Cleo has the spot, she almost lets it get away from her, and Athena thinks she can take the sunspot. Surely, there's enough sunlight for two cats! But if they spend all day competing for the sunspot, it will eventually go away. A good time was had by all. And if you can handle it, here's a sad but touching story about two cats in a sunbeam from Jenny Jinya that I found within an hour of watching this video. You've been warned.