For many tourists, a trip to Bermuda isn’t complete until they’ve sighted Flea, St George’s resident celebrity feline. Skittering from shop to shop, they ask, “Have you seen Flea?” until their queries are rewarded by an appearance by the big orange and white tabby.
“He is so well liked among the tourists,” said Belinda Tartaglia who runs her own gallery on Water Street. “He has repeat guests that stay at the St. George’s Club and go looking for him.
“One of the cruise ships actually tells their passengers about Flea so they can look for him.”
Six-year-old Flea hits all the hot spots each day, wandering from Ms Tartaglia’s art gallery to Vera P. Cards and finally to the Island Shop where he curls up in his purrsonal cat bed to nap.
During balmy summer evenings, he can be spotted on one of the island’s glass-bottom boats, gazing longingly at the fish.
“He’s the official town cat,” Ms Tartaglia added. “He has us all wrapped around his little paw. I tell the tourists he should be the next mayor.”
It’s not just the tourists who flock to see the orange tabby. He’s also popular with the local children who seek him out after school and on weekends.
Four-year-old fan Bailey Boyd visits Flea with her mom as often as she can.
“I like Flea,” Bailey said as she stroked his head. “He’s a happy cat and feels really soft.”
One of the perqs of the job for hard-working Flea is an open invitation to sample St George’s finest cuisine from restaurants that include Café Gio and Tavern by the Sea.
Flea wasn’t born with a silver spoon in his mouth, however. When he was only a few days old, Suzanne Hollis found him and a sibling clinging to life, starved and “eaten alive by fleas” at the site of the old Club Med. His sibling didn’t make it, but Flea was nursed back to health.
“He was so small he used to fit in the palm of my hand!”
Four years ago, the Hollises brought home a rescue dog from the SPCA, and Flea said “Adios!” to the family, unwilling to share accommodations with a lesser species. The Hollis family continues to provide Flea with medical care; he returns home if he’s not feeling well. A few months ago, he was hospitalized with a bacterial infection, the consequence of too many raw shrimp handouts.
Ms Hollis describes her pet as “street smart” and “independent.” He’s also well-traveled, hopping into cars before people drive away from St George’s and ending up elsewhere on the island.
Ms Hollis added: “When we bring him back to St. George’s he is so excited to be home – back on his turf.”
Whiskers are twitching in Boulder, CO, after disclosure that one of the candidates for City Council, Rob Smoke, used campaign funds to buy food for his volunteers. Nothing against the law in doing that, but it attracted attention when it was disclosed that the food was purchased at Only Natural Pet Store.
Campaign finance reports showed that Smoke spent $14.37 of the $236 he’s raised on “dinner for campaign staff” from the pet store. But don’t worry; he wasn’t feeding college interns; his campaign manager, Sita the Cat, was the recipient of the free meals.
“It’s just a general protest against the way expenditures are handled,” he said of his billing his campaign for a household expense. “You have people dumping road signs all over the right-of-way, forcing the city to spend money to clean it up, all by candidates who give lip service to caring about the environment.”
He said his few donations came from personal friends, and he’s not going to hear from real estate developers about how he’s spent their money.
“My taking care of my cat is above what some of the people have done,” he said, referring to candidates donating money to each other to get more matching funds from the city, and candidates accepting money from developers with business in front of the city. “I think there are a lot of abuses, and I don’t partake of any of them.”
Boulder campaign finance administrator Dianne Marshall said the city code doesn’t say which campaign expenses are legitimate, only that expenses have to be disclosed.
“It’s not unusual that he would buy food for campaign helpers,” she said.
Later, Sita became a national sensation when she was the subject of one of the questions on National Public Radio’s popular quiz show “Wait, Wait … Don’t Tell Me!”
In the “Lightning Fill in the Blank” round, host Peter Segal asked comedian Paula Poundstone to guess what justification Smoke gave for using campaign funds to feed his cat.
George the Cat, a clever orange and white tabby in the U.K., has figured out that the best way to get all the tuna juice and Tempations he wants is through hypnosis, and thanks to his owner, he’s accredited as a hypnotherapist.
George’s owner, Chris Jackson, registered George with the British Board of Neuro Linguistic Programming (BBNLP), the United Fellowship of Hypnotherapists (UFH) and the Professional Hypnotherapy Practitioner Association (PHPA). Each accepted a certificate from the non-existent Society of Certified Advanced Mind Therapists as proof of George’s credentials.
The UFH later admitted the mistake, which it said has since been corrected.
A PHPA spokesman said the organization makes great effort to ensure every applicant is a fully-qualified hypnotherapist.
The BBNLP said it exists only to provide benefits to its members, not to check or certify credentials.
Mary, a TCM reader, recently told me the story of hardworking cats Milo and Atticus, who run King’s Bookstore in Tacoma, Washington.
Bookstore employee Sweet Pea says that King’s Bookstore has had resident cats for about six years. Their first cat, Harriet (photo at right) was adopted from the Humane Society, but sadly, she went to The Bridge last year. Black cat Miko (in rocking chair at right, above) is also a Humane Society adoptee.
After Harriet died, a stray grey and white tabby showed up, and the bookstore held a contest to name him. The winning name was Atticus (from Atticus Finch of To Kill a Mockingbird). Atticus is in the left chair in the photo above.
According to Sweet Pea, the feline pair hangs out at the store, and some people come to the store just to see the cats. In the morning, Mika and Atticus are attended to after being left in the store overnight. Atticus likes to ride people’s shoulders. Both happily socialize with groups that meet at the bookstore.
Got a story of bookstore cats you’d like to share? Tell me about it: karen *AT* catster *DOT* com.
Bar patrons in the Wicker Park neighborhood of Chicago are mourning the loss of resident bar cat, Radley, who made The Empty Bottle bar his home.
Radley was the first of the pub’s bar cats, all named after To Kill a Mockingbird characters. The other cats came and went, but Radley made the empty bottle his home for sixteen years. Estimates place Radley at about 19 years old.
Owner Bruce Finkleman reminisced, “The door was always open for him. He would roam around outside, he would sometimes leave for a couple days and come back. You know, he was free to go. And sometimes you would see a band start and you would see this black blur fly across the room as he was trying to exit the bar as quick as possible. And sometimes he would just sit on top of the bar and just be like really enjoying the bands. I remember watching a Red Red Meat show once a long long time ago and Radley was just sitting there, going, ‘Okay, I like this.’ Some bands, he liked so much, he’d try to stowaway and join them on tour.”
Staffer Ryan Rafferty added, “You could tell when he was into a band. There would be some nights that before even the second band was done playing, before the headliners would get up on stage. He would get up and crawl into a guitar case or a bass drum and, you know, make his home up there.”
Radley’s favorite band was one that never played live at The Bottle. Rafferty recalled, “Every time Heart would come on, especially Magic Man, he had a little extra pep in his step.”
Not that there weren’t issues with the aging cat making the bar his home. Finkleman said that as Radley got older, he was starting to get a little bit more territorial and a little bit crazier. He started marking his territory. And instead of marking his territory in any normal place, he decided that his space that he was going to mark was going to be where the drummer would usually set up on the stage.
Finkleman said that it got to a point where, bands around the country would come in and the first thing they would say is, it smells like home.
We’ll be hoisting our next pint to you, Radley!
Don’t forget! You can leave a comment on this post for an entry in The Cat’s Meow’s giveaway of a custom oil painting of your cat by Linden Alley.
A grey and white kitten found by a field technician in the J. C. Elliot Landfill in Corpus Christie, Texas, has been rescued and immediately put to work as head office cat. Rescuers named him Elliot after the landfill.
Like most youngsters, Elliot has had no trouble at all learning how to use the computer. Most days he can be found, like most office workers, surfing the interwebs and filing TPS reports. Don’t forget the cover sheet, Elliot!
Don’t forget! You can leave a comment on this post for an entry in The Cat’s Meow’s giveaway of a custom oil painting of your cat by Linden Alley.
17-year-old Calvin the Cat started out life as “Jane,” named after Jane Austen.
As a wee kitten, he was dumped in a bookstore parking lot, and store owner Heidi Sampson brought him inside and fed him. Sampson said said she “tried to get rid of him, but after about two weeks, all anyone wanted to know was where the cat was.” Somewhere along the way, his gender was ascertained and he was renamed Calvin.
At the time, the bookstore was named “Half Price Books of the Ozarks,” but when Sampson incorporated in 2000, she discovered a preexisting “Half Price” chain.
“We needed to come up with a name, and by that time, almost anyone who came through the door had two questions: ‘Where’s Calvin?’ and then ‘I’m looking for this book,’” Sampson said.
“Calvin’s Used Books” was born.
Locals love to drop by and visit the gregarious tabby. “I love going in there to get some books and hang out with that cat,” Branson resident Leslie Gilmore said. “He is so friendly and cuddly.”
The store is Calvin’s permanent residence, and he’s famous for leaping from the top of one shelf to another. He’s also an incorrigible lap cat.
“If he wants to sit on you, he will,” Sampson said. “If he asks permission, he thinks people will say no, so if you’re on the ground its an open invitation.”
At 17, Calvin is in good health and shows no interest in retirement, although he’s a little less rambunctious than he was in his youth.
“One of his favorite games is to hide and scare people who don’t know he is there,” Sampson said. “When he was younger he would hide in the bookshelves and jump out at unsuspecting customers.”
His most endearing trait? Keeping the dogs in line. “He has never hurt anyone, but his patience isn’t what it used to be when dogs come in the shop,” Sampson said. “He likes to pop them on the nose to let them know they are in his house.”
Calvin’s Used Books is located at 1819 76 Country Boulevard, Unit C, in Branson, MO.
It’s not unusual for cats to want to go to school, but it is unusual for cats to graduate with high school diplomas. Oreo C. Collins has done just that, earning her sheepskin from Jefferson High School Online. Remarkable enough for a cat, but at two years old she is also the youngest ever to graduate from Jefferson.
Superachiever Oreo comes from the most humble of beginnings. Found in a roadside ditch when only a couple of weeks old, the Collins family of Macon, Georgia, adopted and nutured her.
Kelvin Collins, who is the president and CEO of the Better Business Bureau of Central Georgia encouraged Oreo in her scholastic efforts by helping him investigate online diploma mills.
He helped Oreo sign up to work for her diploma online, and even paid the $200 tuition fee for her.
Oreo was a star pupil, earning mostly “A”s in her classes, including credits for an essay she wrote about her “life experiences.” Collins did provide some support in helping Oreo complete her coursework, help she probably wouldn’t have needed if she’d been born with opposable thumbs. It didn’t hurt that anytime Oreo missed a test question, the test provided a helpful hint at the answer.
Oreo was rewarded for her academic prowess with extra treats and a self-cleaning litter box.
Unfortunately, Oreo’s diploma is not the same as a GED diploma. GED tests cannot be taken online. Collins says that Oreo’s “degree” serves as a warning to those ready to buy worthless diplomas. “We (the BBB) do a lot of stories on these diploma mills, but a lot of times consumers really don’t get it until you show them an example of how they (the diplomas) aren’t worth much.”
Like many recent graduates, Oreo is unemployed and living with her family. But Collins insists that we need not worry about her future: “Like Oreo wrote in her test essay, she always lands on her feet.”
Matilda the Algonquin Hotel Cat(above) is celebrating her 14th birthday today with a lavish pawty that benefits the North Shore Animal League.
The Algonquin has housed a resident cat since the 1930s, when a stray cat (later named “Hamlet”) checked in permanently. Matilda has full run of the hotel. Her duties include greeting guests on arrival and sniffing their luggage, making sure the bellhops aren’t goofing off, and supervising any parties held at the hotel.
The Algonquin throws Matilda a big birthday bash each year, and some of the parties are more memorable than others. In 2002, while celebrating her seventh birthday, she jumped on her cake and bolted from the room, leaving a trail of buttercream paw prints.
When you’re as big a celebrity as Matilda, you can pull diva stunts like that with impunity.
At this year’s pawty Matilda will be treated to a designer birthday cake created by Lauri DiTunno, star of the TV show “Amazing Wedding Cakes.” The main event will be a feline fashion show hosted by Beth Stern, spokesperson for North Shore Animal League America.
Matilda will get the spa treatment before the start of the festivities with a special grooming by Artist Knox, star of the reality show “Beverly Hills Groomer”.
All proceeds from today’s event will be donated to Matilda’s favorite charity, North Shore Animal League America, the largest no-kill animal adoption and rescue organization in the world.
You can send purrthday greeting to Matilda via email or Facebook.
There’s still time to reserve your spot at today’s pawty! Call (212) 419-9197 to RSVP.
You’ll only need to make a $5.00 minimum donation to North Shore Animal League America.
If you take your dog to the groomer in Fremont, Nebraska, you’ll have to do business with Oliver, Dogs-R-Us Grooming’s CFO (Cute Feline Officer).
Carolyn Headrick owns the business and freely admits that Oliver runs the show. “He has his own fan club,” she said. “People will come in here just to see him, and he eats up the attention. He’s a pretty popular kitty around here. Everybody thinks he’s so cute.”
Oliver was given to Headrick by a client to replace a cat of hers who’d died, leaving her heartbroken. Oliver quickly went to work to fill the hole in Headrick’s heart left by her previous cat’s passing. Headricks says that Oliver is “the most laid back, lovable cat you’ll ever see.”
If you go to Dogs-R-Us, you’ll Oliver at his post atop the front counter where he serves as the greeter. He loves all the attention that’s lavished upon him, getting hugs and pets from everyone who drops by.
Headrick says, “He’s a big snuggler. He’s in charge of our customer relations. He gets paid well — lots of love and all the food he wants.
“He loves kids. He’ll let the kids sit up on the counter with him and hug him. He’s even learned to get his picture taken. People will come in and take pictures of him with their phones. He thinks he’s photogenic.”
There’s a disconnect for some people over a cat working at a dog grooming business.
“Some people think we should have a dog as our mascot, but Oliver likes being our mascot,” she said. “A lot of people think it’s a little different. We’re OK with that.”
Whiskers are twitching in Boulder, CO, after disclosure that one of the candidates for City Council, Rob Smoke, used campaign funds to buy food for his volunteers. Nothing against the law in doing that, but it attracted attention when it was disclosed that the food was purchased at Only Natural Pet Store.
George the Cat, a clever orange and white tabby in the U.K., has figured out that the best way to get all the tuna juice and Tempations he wants is through hypnosis, and thanks to his owner, he’s accredited as a hypnotherapist.
Bookstore employee Sweet Pea says that King’s Bookstore has had resident cats for about six years. Their first cat, Harriet (photo at right) was adopted from the Humane Society, but sadly, she went to The Bridge last year. Black cat Miko (in rocking chair at right, above) is also a Humane Society adoptee. 
17-year-old Calvin the Cat started out life as “Jane,” named after Jane Austen. 
If you take your dog to the groomer in Fremont, Nebraska, you’ll have to do business with Oliver, Dogs-R-Us Grooming’s CFO (Cute Feline Officer). 
her previous cat’s passing. Headricks says that Oliver is “the most laid back, lovable cat you’ll ever see.”
