Free Republic

While trying to get some dinner, a cat got its just desserts after picking on the wrong squid. In this crazy video, it first appears that the mischievous kitty has the upper hand on its prey. With feline claws and definitely a size advantage, it dips into a pool with the cephalopod. But surprise for the cat because the squid just attaches itself right onto its hunter, turning the tables of the food pyramid. Unable to see because of a face full of tentacles, the regretful cat stumbles backward and all around. And while the cat is eventually able to...

The Australian government intends to eliminate two million feral cats by the end of the decade, Environment Minister Greg Hunt announced on Thursday, waging a war on hordes of felines that are said to be the single biggest threat to many of the country's native species. "By 2020, I want to see two million feral cats culled, five new islands and 10 new mainland areas as safe havens, free of feral cats, and control measures applied across 10 million hectares," Hunt declared. Millions of feral cats roam around the continent, and scientists say that they are a primary factor behind...

Public officials are reminding animal owners to vaccinate their pets in the wake of a confirmed rabies case. A cat in the city of Monterey that became aggressive and later died was confirmed by health authorities to have been infected with rabies, only the second laboratory-confirmed case in at least 30 years. It’s difficult to determine how animals get rabies, and health officials are now focused on the health of the family where the animal lived, Monterey County Health Officer Edward Moreno said. “Our priority when we find an animal that has rabies is to identify humans that may have...

The other night, before my wife and I put our 2½-year-old twins to bed, she began reading them one of their favorite books, Where the Wild Things Are. Juliet, in Dalmatian pajamas, asked, “Mommy, where are the wild things?” My wife glanced over at our gray-and-white tabby curled up on a chair nearby. “Well,” she said, “Jasper’s a wild thing.” Juliet looked incredulous. “Jasper’s not a wild thing,” she said. “He’s a cat!” The dispute is understandable. Though cats have lived with us for nearly 10,000 years and are the world’s most popular pet, experts disagree about whether they’re actually...

How should you pet your cat? It’s a question that’s stumped pet owners for centuries, but science now has an answer. Here's what a team of researchers from the University of Lincoln in the UK found, in graphical form: Yes, that’s right. Cats do not like being stroked at the base of their tail -- at least, that was the case for most of the 54 cats in this study, and another, smaller study on the topic. That’s sort of a cat erogenous zone, and petting may overstimulate it, the researchers posit.

He’s the purr-fect employee: Company in Bucharest hires a CAT as communications director…. And it earns more than a typical Romanian Bossy beat off the competition of 700 other applicants for the top job The fluffy feline was appointed after the company said it was impressed by his attitude Bossy will reportedly receive a salary equivalent to £110 a month plus bonuses By TOM WYKE FOR MAILONLINE PUBLISHED: 12:22 EST, 9 June 2015 | UPDATED: 06:45 EST, 10 June 2015 With the competition for jobs fiercer than ever, the director of communications position at a new start up was always...

Doing the rounds on social media is a picture that explains the difference between dogs and cats. A dog is shown looking desperate to please, over the words: ‘These people feed me, shelter me and love me . . . They must be gods.’ Next to him is a cat with the comment: ‘These people feed me, shelter me and love me . . . I must be a god.’ And there, in a nutshell, is everything you need to know about the two species. Dogs are pack animals, eager to please and desperate to be adored. Cats are not....

WASHINGTON (CBS DC) — Coming into close contact with cats can spread a parasite called Toxoplasma gondii (T. gondii) – also dubbed the “cat poop parasite” – which are linked to schizophrenia and other mental disorders that affect humans. The cat-carried parasite is the most common in developed countries and can infect any warm-blooded species, according to the Schizophrenia Bulletin. Although most humans don’t suffer any symptoms from the widespread parasite, it can cause the illness T. gondii, which is linked to weeks of flu-like symptoms, blindness and even death, CBS News reports. Two new studies have now linked the...

You said a cat? That was the response a 9/11 operator had when a Stamford man called 9/11 Wednesday to report his cat was attacking him.

BUSAN, South Korea, May 21 (UPI) -- A South Korean man was arrested for slaughtering 600 stray cats and selling the meat for medicinal soups. The man, identified only by the surname Jeong, was taken into custody in May for violating South Korea's animal protection laws, reported Yonhap on Thursday. Jeong, who is in his 50s, said he sold the meat to traditional Korean health care centers – claiming the meat could be used in soups to treat arthritis. South Korea's Chosun TV reported Jeong employed a brutal method of butchering the cats. After trapping the cat, he would throw...

This rescue momma cat is nursing her 8 kittens: 7 calico girls and 1 boy. “The mother was grey and all the babies came out calico colored! The only boy in the litter is the black and white one with the goatee,” said Rachel, the foster mom. “She was found outside feral with a litter of kittens she could not take care of,” Rachel said. The cat mama was having a hard time caring for all 8 kittens and needed some help to raise her babies. “All kittens in the litter survived!” she added.

A stray dog adopted an orphan kitten after losing her litter of puppies. They were discovered in a roadside ditch on March 17. The dog couldn’t let her baby out of her sight. The unlikely pair were rescued and taken to the Mercy Animal Clinic in Garland, Texas. The little baby kitten, less than 10 days old, has been nursing on the dog mama for milk. They named them Pittie and Kitty. [Scroll down for videos] “Each morning and when I go in to get Kitty for a feeding she is usually snuggled with Pittie,” said Dr. Rick Hamlin. “Every...

IT starts with a warble, a little like a creature calling out in the jungle. Then it turns to a rumble, like a train approaching from afar, or the sound of someone revving a single-cylinder motorbike in the distance. Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Er… no. It’s Merlin, the world’s loudest moggy. With a growl that can drown out the noise of a dishwasher, he has just secured a Guinness World Record for the domestic cat with the highest decibel-rated purr. It officially peaked at an impressive 67.8dB – about the same as the sound of a...

Timelapse of sunworshipping pussy cats: View post on imgur.com

Contending that modern automobiles contain computer programs that entail trade secrets and are too complex to be touched by do-it-yourself car buffs, the General Motors Corporation is urging the government to make unauthorized auto repair illegal. It won’t take an Act of Congress to accomplish this objective. A mere reinterpretation of the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) would do the trick. GM spokesman Lee Hunsacker asserted that “letting just anyone look under the hood is archaic in our day and age. What if they mess something up? The victims of any subsequent crashes will sue us. We are the deep-pocket...

A canine flu outbreak has sickened many dogs in the Midwest, and veterinarians are cautioning pet owners to keep their dogs from going nose-to-nose with other four-legged friends. The University of Wisconsin-Madison's School of Veterinary Medicine says the virus has sickened at least 1,000 dogs in Illinois, Wisconsin, Ohio and Indiana, and some veterinarians worry it could easily spread to other areas of the country. Recent tests from the Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory have identified the strain as H3N2. Clinical assistant professor Keith Poulsen says it's not yet known how effective current vaccines are against this strain, which is believed...

Move over Grumpy Cat - the latest sourpuss to become an internet sensation is scowling feline Pompous Albert. The grey cat with tufty hair and a permanent frown, from Salt Lake City, has already racked up a remarkable 44.1K followers on Instagram. Albert, who's a Selkirk Rex cat, was also named after his famous lookalike - Albert Einstein, thanks to his wild locks, which are a trademark of his breed.

Everyone has a friend who says they don't want any pizza when everyone is pitching in for an order, but is "famished all of a sudden and will only eat a slice" as soon as the boxes full of delicious, cheesy magic arrive. Cats are always that friend. You give them a home, buy them food you can't even eat and then they get their paws all over your dinner. The worst part is cats are amazing, and they are extra cute trying to be stealthy stealing pizza. It's a horrible tradition and it should never stop. Check out the...

Cat Owner Instant Karma

<p>CARSON CITY, Nev. — Pets might soon be able to use pot under a bill introduced Tuesday in the Nevada Legislature.</p>