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ZAGREB (AFP) - The Croatian first division match between Sibenik and Medjimurje Cakovec will be remembered for a cat which earned the visiting team's goalkeeper a yellow card, press reports said on Monday. Ivan Banovic was taken by surprise in the 20th minute of Saturday's match, played in the coastal town of Sibenik, when the cat walked on to the pitch near his goals, the Jutarnji List daily reported on its Internet site.

ZAGREB (AFP) - The Croatian first division match between Sibenik and Medjimurje Cakovec will be remembered for a cat which earned the visiting team's goalkeeper a yellow card, press reports said on Monday. Ivan Banovic was taken by surprise in the 20th minute of Saturday's match, played in the coastal town of Sibenik, when the cat walked on to the pitch near his goals, the Jutarnji List daily reported on its Internet site.

The Las Vegas city council passed a new ordinance this past week requiring most cats and dogs to be spay or neutered by four months of age, the Las Vegas Review-Journal reports. The ordinance, which passed the city council by a vote of 5 to 2, is an effort to help curb pet overpopulation. The ordinance takes effect April 1 and will be reviewed annually. It is in response to Southern Nevada’s pet overpopulation problem and had support from local veterinarians and animal rescue groups, according to the Review-Journal. It's noted that the Lied Animal Shelter, which services Las Vegas,...

Buddy Lou, a 10-year old tabby cat, has become the first feline death from H1N1 in the United States. It appears the cat acquired the H1N1 virus from the owner’s niece who had been sick with an influenza-like illness the previous week. H1N1 in cats: Buddy Lou’s illness The cat was brought to the Animal Clinic in Lebanon, Oregon, on November 4, with labored breathing and was initially diagnosed with pneumonia. His breathing worsened by the next day and the cat was admitted to the veterinary clinic for treatment with antibiotics and oxygen. Buddy Lou did not respond to treatment...

A little levity amidst the discussions of all the world's calamaties here at FR. :-)

Ever seen a fight cat ? This cat is training for a big fight !

Pennsylvania SPCA workers had the unwelcome task yesterday of sifting through the remains of five animals that apparently had been sacrificed, officials said. A passer-by found the beheaded animals - a dog, a cat and three chickens - near a bike path on Bingham Street near Roosevelt Boulevard in Olney about 1 p.m., said George Bengal, the PSPCA's director of investigations. "It looks like the act was done somewhere else, and the remains were left here in the park," Bengal said. PSPCA officials often see a rise in animal sacrifices at this time of the year, Bengal noted, because it...

A misconstrued text message announcing the passing of a beloved pet has sparked a flurry of diplomatic activity in Canada. Transport Minister John Baird sent a message reading: "Thatcher has died". Conservative Prime Minister Stephen Harper was soon informed that 84-year-old former British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher had passed away. But it was actually Mr Baird's beloved cat, named after his political heroine, who had died.

Vets in the US state of Iowa said Wednesday that a household cat had tested positive for swine flu -- the first known case in the world of the new pandemic strain spreading to the feline population. The domestic shorthair, a 13-year-old castrated male, apparently caught A(H1N1) off its owners -- two of the three members of the family had previously contracted the deadly virus. "This is the first cat that we are aware of with the pandemic H1N1," said Brett Sponseller, an assistant professor of veterinarian microbiology who helped treat the pet at Iowa State University's College of Veterinary...

DUDLEY, Mass., Nov. 4 (UPI) -- A Massachusetts town outlawed owning three cats without a kennel license after a man complained his neighbor's felines were hurting his lawn. Voters at a Dudley town meeting Tuesday night approved the addition of the new language to a town bylaw, which will impose a $100 per day fine for violations, after a local man complained that some of the 15 cats owned by Mary Ellen Richards had destroyed his grass, the Worcester (Mass.) Telegram & Gazette reported Wednesday. Richards said at the town meeting that she now plans to put her house up...

This is just too funny. Putting the joke-subtitles asside, what kind of cat behavior is this??? ...and I thought Hitler Obama-Hitler-You-Tube paradies were funny :) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YnY6k1ybTHg&feature=player_embedded

Our 7-month-old kitten was hit by a car today behind our house. She was killed instantly. She was my 12-year-old son's precious baby. He is inconsolable. We are so utterly sad tonight. I thought I would share photos of this most beautiful, intelligent, adorable little one whom we shall miss so much every single day.

When Dylan Lynch captures a winning shot, it usually involves a hockey game, not a yawning cat. But it was the photo of his tired, three-year-old tabby, Ben, that won him top spot in our Kitty City photo contest. Lynch, a photographer and editor for the Edmonton Oilers and Oil Kings, likes to try out his new equipment on his three feline roommates. “I don’t always have a hockey game going on at my house, so I’ve got to test them on something,” he jokes.

Two out of the six around here, the other ones hide when they see a camera. The tabby is my special buddy, she guards my corner of the house, and her snacks!

A MELBOURNE man who conducted a reign of terror against his ex-lover, including strangling her cat with a telephone cord, has been jailed for more than nine years. Paul Maher began his two-month crime spree after breaking up with Lynne Forehan and when tensions grew over his contact with their toddler. The County Court in Melbourne heard Maher, then 24, began harassing and threatening Ms Forehan and her family last year. The court was told he threw two Molotov cocktails at her parent's house where she was staying, setting the loungeroom alight. He also ransacked her North Melbourne flat and...

Courtney Kistler is a 28-year-old single gal who lives in New York City. She's sociable, outgoing and attractive. But that hasn't stopped Kistler's mother from worrying that her daughter, a freelance marketer, will never catch a husband--because she owns three cats. "[My parents] think it's a little weird," she says of her multiple cat ownership. In fact, Kistler's mother has been known to ask her cat-loving daughter: "What if you want to bring a guy home? What would he think?" While Kistler's last boyfriend wasn't too fond of her felines (he refused to pet them), the two men she dated...

This cat betrayed his girlfriend.....very funny!! Turn on sound

CORONA, Calif., USA -- Scarlett's Magic is a 18-month old F1 Savannah cat, measuring 43.43 centimetres (17.1 inches) from shoulder to toe, which sets the new world record holder for the tallest cat.The 18-month old is also thought to be the longest, at a whopping 3.5ft from nose to the tip of her tail. Scarlett is an F1 Savannah, a breed created by crossing ordinary cats with African servals. Kim, who breeds the pets, added: "This is as close to a wild cat as you can get." "We are absolutely thrilled," says owner Kim Draper, a Savannah breeder who also...

SACRAMENTO, Oct. 8 (UPI) -- Sacramento officials say they rescued dozens of cats that had been living in a house with cages stacked to the ceiling and feces caking the floors. Inside Paul and Kathy Franco's house and garage, city officials said they discovered among the worst cases of animal hoarding they had ever seen, The Sacramento Bee reported. After a SWAT team kicked open the couple's door Wednesday, veterinary specialists, shelter workers and animal-control officers spent hours rescuing the cats, which were taken to the city's animal-control center.

This is Missy, she runs this corner of the house. Her snacks stay in my room, no other cat is allowed near them

'Lucky' the dog and 'Misty' the cat are in love...

Halloween came to our house early this year. The other day I looked out the window and saw a strange black cat sauntering through our yard. It was a beautiful animal, with bright penny eyes and fur that gleamed like a newly polished shoe, but still the sight turned me ghoulish. So I ran outside, hollered, stamped my feet and finally managed to chase the little witch’s sidekick away. I am not superstitious. I have always been a cat lover. Yet if there is one thing I don’t want crossing my path right now, it’s another bored, carnivorous tourist, another...

The Irish love their dogs, but aren’t a big fan of cats, according to a new study about pet ownership in Ireland. Research by University College Dublin (UCD) found that 36 percent of homes in Ireland have a dog, while just one in 10 homes own a cat. The dog-to-cat ratio is much more drastic than in most other countries. For instance, in the U.S., 37 percent of homes have dogs while 32 percent have cats, while in Britain, the split is even smaller with 22 percent dogs and 18 percent cats. But Ireland is unequivocally a nation of dog...

James Davis, 19, admitted to taping up the cat from neck to tail after he spotted it in his yard Sept 21, police said. He was arrested on Saturday on animal cruelty charges, said a spokesman for the Pennsylvania Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. A woman spotted the gray tabby wandering, covered in tape, and brought the animal to the human society. The animal, nicknamed Sticky by animal welfare workers, was dehydrated and had to be sedated while the tape was cut off its fur.

It is estimated that there are about 60 to 100 million feral cats in the United States according to recent information provided by Alley Cat Rescue. These are very high numbers but can be reduced, and should be, by trapping the cats and having them spayed or neutered. Alley Cat Rescue also estimates there may be about 17 million people feeding about 35 million feral and stray cats in this country. Thank goodness for the people who help care for the ferals and strays. Unfortunately, there are too many people who could help decrease the feral cat population who simply...

One of the recurring thread-types we have chronicled here at the DUmmie FUnnies over the last five years is the "My Encounter With A Freeper" thread. In a MEWAF thread, the DUmmie recounts an incident in which he or she either 1) converted the Freeper, 2) put down the Freeper, or simply 3) experienced bizarre boorish behavior from the Freeper. This latter subtype--a "MEWAF-III," as we call it in the trade--is what we are dealing with here today, a Freeper Encounter of the Third Kind. It should be noted, MEWAF threads may be more or less fictionalized to make...

“Supercats” closely descended from wild animals represent a danger to other pets and even small children, animal welfare groups fear. Mild-mannered moggies are increasingly being replaced by new breeds in which African or South American wildcats have been crossbred with domestic cats. Despite price-tags of up to £6,000 for new kittens, breeders report waiting lists of up to six months. The savannah, the most popular, is bred from a serval, a cheetah-like wildcat found in Africa. It can grow three times larger than a domestic cat and can jump 7ft vertically. Another breed to have arrived in Britain is the...

A paw print discovered in Wheaton could be that of a cougar, wildlife experts said today — a day after another expert doubted that it was. Wheaton police said today that evidence technicians successfully lifted a paw print from a creek bed after a resident reported seeing a large, black or dark-colored cat there. The castings were taken to Brookfield Zoo, where several experts examined the castings and photographs of the paw prints. Results of the examination, however, were inconclusive, police said. The mammal curator ruled out the print being from a canine or fox, but said it was consistent...

HOBART, Australia — A cat named Clyde was reunited with his owner on Wednesday after a mysterious three-year odyssey in which the long-haired Himalayan strayed 2,400 miles (3,800 kilometers) into the Australian Outback.

Sandy LaPierre's pet cat Smoka has truly lived up to her name. Presumed to have perished in a fire, the lucky feline was found alive last week, 26 days after a blaze broke out in LaPierre's apartment building in Franklin, Ohio. The tenacious kitty even managed to survive two rounds of demolition work before she was discovered. A crew from Stark Wrecking Co. spotted Smoka's head sticking out from under 16 feet of debris on September 4.

A MAN claims his pet cat is a bit too brainy for his own good and can speak English - a total of seven different words so far, including the F-word. Robert 'RJ' Duncan, of Palmerston, in the Northern Territory says his budgie Picininny can also speak. But when the Northern Territory News first visited the ex-boxer, 34, and his wife Sandra, 32, at their home, the house-bound moggie grumpily declined to comment. Instead he scratched Mr Duncan a few times before bolting to his bedroom and barricading himself in his cupboard. But during a second visit, Mischief was much...

Here is a video report on a cat that limped home with a 13-inch arrow through his head. The Vet was able to remove the arrow which had just skinned the skull and the cat is recovering. The local Humane Assoc. is offering a $500 award for an arrest of the person responsible on a charge of animal cruelty. (Watch Video)

"...Someone out there owes us an explanation. Someone not human enough to stop Sunday evening after they ran over my cat not three yards from my driveway. Thankfully, the cat didn't suffer. As I gently scooped my orange-furred pal off the road, I wondered what kind of person drives away after killing a member of my family. His name was Doctor. I'm not a cat person, but if you knew Doctor, you didn't have much of a choice. He threw himself at you until you had no recourse but to love him. His eyes were slightly crossed and he drooled...

A CAT is feline fine despite being a candidate for the world's oldest moggy. Tizzie was found dumped in a bag on a railway line by two girls in 1973 — and 36 years later she is still going strong. Owner Jim Cowell is now trying to verify his pet's age to determine if the cat is a record breaker. Jim said: "She really is a fantastic cat and is still as fit as a butcher's dog. She still looks like a young kitten and moves around perfectly well. "The vet said that her organs are as healthy as they...

Chippy, a dog who developed an identity crisis after sharing a home with 40 cats, is being offered for adoption by the Cats Protection League as an 'honorary' feline.

Residents in Old East Dallas say they are fed up with dogs roaming the streets at night killing their cats. They've heard the killings outside their bedroom windows and watched the dogs trot off. But they don't know what to do. They can't capture the dogs themselves. They say Animal Control doesn't come out while the dogs are still there. And they say police won't respond if humans aren't in danger. "I'd just like to get a gun and sit on my front porch and shoot them. I'm just so mad," said Will Olliverson, of Junius Heights. He found his...

<p>The kitty that falls asleep on your pillow purring every night -- is she worth just the $30 you paid for her at the shelter? Or your loyal dog, who you walk with every day -- what, $150? That's the value that showed up on your credit card -- but is their real value about more than the pricetag? In a court of law, that might not be the case.</p>

Humanity and Pets Partnered Through the Years (HAPPY) Act (Introduced in House) HR 3501 IH 111th CONGRESS 1st Session To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a deduction for pet care expenses. [snip] Mr. MCCOTTER introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means --------------------------------------------------------------- A BILL To amend the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to allow a deduction for pet care expenses. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as...

With all of the hype surrounding keyboard cat, many people have been searching for other musically inclined felines. One such feline is Nora, the five-year-old piano-playing shelter cat based out of Philadelphia. While keyboard cat had the help of his human companions when playing his infamous keyboard bit, Nora plays the piano all by herself.

Business Bureau used feline as experiment to expose Internet diploma mills:Cats get a bad rap on the Internet, frequently stereotyped as LOL ignoramuses, forever shredding grammar like a half-dead mouse in what the World Wide Web would have us believe is their endless quest for "cheezburgers." Despite the pigeon-holing, cats play piano on YouTube and have their own Facebook profiles, and kitties who tweet exhibit a working knowledge of sentence construction that challenges those of their human Twitter compatriots. So it was only a matter of time before a feline got around to earning an online high school equivalency diploma....

ASHWAUBENON - What started as a routine maintenance check on Wednesday turned into one of the most memorable mornings for Lee Johnson and Josh Arndt. The two are employees at John's Refridgeration in Ashwaubenon. They were checking on a warehouse the company rents across the street from it's Ashwaubenon offices. "We came here and Josh turned on the lights and it was lying right on the carpeting by that plant," said Johnson. "I''m like, look oh man Lee, that's cool there's a stuffed cat there and this is kind of weird," said Arndt. "I took one step in because I...

PLEASANTON — The legend of a wild black cat roaming the East Bay hills continues. For years people have reported seeing a big, dark cat — about the size of a mountain lion — but Lynn Reed and his wife Kathleen said they saw it about 6:30 p.m. July 30 near Pleasanton. The Reeds were driving down the Dublin grade on eastbound Interstate 580 when Lynn Reed said he spotted a black creature moving near the Foothill Road exit.....

A pet cat is being hailed a hero after saving a man from his burning home. Engineer Andrew Williams was asleep when the fire broke out at his bungalow in Bracknell in Berkshire [UK]. As black smoke filled the property, his neighbour's cat Hugo came through a cat-flap and raised the alarm by clawing at the father-of-two's face. Rescuers said that the fire could have killed Mr Williams if he had not been awoken by Hugo. A smoke detector had been moved during work on the bungalow. The fire, which broke out at the family home in Birch Hill at...

A pet cat is being hailed a hero after saving a man from his burning home. Engineer Andrew Williams was asleep when the fire broke out at his bungalow in Bracknell in Berkshire. As black smoke filled the property, his neighbour's cat Hugo came through a cat-flap and raised the alarm by clawing at the father-of-two's face. Rescuers said that the fire could have killed Mr Williams if he had not been awoken by Hugo. A smoke detector had been moved during work on the bungalow.

Wilbur, a four-year-old tabby, was devoured after straying into a nearby garden in Brislington, Bristol, where the Burmese python was lurking. The cat's owners, Martin and Helen Wadey, heard "blood-chilling cries" and rushed to the neighbouring property to help. But after getting no reply from the house they were powerless to save Wilbur. The snake's "huge bulge" was eventually scanned and RSPCA officers confirmed that micro-chipped remains were inside. An RSPCA inspector later issued the snake's owner, Darren Bishop, with a verbal warning about appropriate housing and care requirements. Now Mr and Mrs Wade are calling for a change in...

PARKER, Colo. - One cat from Parker definitely has nine lives. Benjamin was shot in the face with some sort of gun back in April. His owners found him, and then turned him over to Dr. David Schulman at Animal Health Care Specialists in Denver. Benjamin had a shattered jaw and burns in his mouth. He needed multiple surgeries, pins and a feeding tube. The vet paid for his care. Now, months later, the cat is healthy again and ready for a new home. "He's just a real trooper. He loves attention," said Kathy Hill, the worker taking care of...

Martin County Sheriff's detectives didn't buy it when a 48-year-old Jensen Beach man claimed that his cat was downloading child pornography on his computer.

Emotions ran high at the San Francisco Jewish Film Festival over the showing of Rachel, a film that looks at the International Solidarity Movement activist Rachel Corrie and her death in Gaza in March 2003. The controversy had been brewing for some time, concerning both the showing of the film and the invitation to Rachel's mother, Cindy Corrie, to speak at the festival. In the wake of protests against the showing of the film last Saturday, Peter Stein, the festival's executive director, invited Dr. Mike Harris, one of the leaders of the local Stand With Us chapter, to speak in...

A cat has become such a well-known user of a Devon bus service that its drivers know where to let him off. Casper has been queuing with other passengers to get the number three service from his home in Plymouth for months, bus company First said. It added that he often sat in the queue and then quietly padded on board and curled up on a seat for the ride. Casper's owner Susan Finden, 55, who picked him from a rescue home in 2002, said he had always been a free spirit. Mrs Finden said she named her pet after...