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.
Hobo the cat had a rough time of it. After living on the streets of Vancouver, Washington without a home for a year or longer, he was chased up a power pole by a dog and stuck there for days, in biting wind, rain, snow and sleet. Hobo’s future was grim.
Until a persistent Catster got involved.
On March 5th, Hobo’s new mom saw a Craig’s List plea for help. Hobo had been stuck in a very very tall tree for 6 days in horrific weather, and a new snow storm was brewing.
Hobo’s mom contacted the lady who placed the Craig’s List ad, gave her the tools to use to secure Hobo’s safe exodus from the tree, and then called Kohr Harlan with Channel 6 News. Kohr is an animal lover and sweet guy to boot, and he got help, showed up and filmed the story.
The rescue was not pretty. The news crew showed up with neither a food lure nor a catch bag, and at some point, Hobo bit one of his rescuers, screamed and fell about 50 ft to a roof below. He was captured and taken to the vet, where the vet proclaimed him both healthy and female.
Hobo is a sweet, very affectionate older ladycat who’s happy to have come in from the cold.
Skeezix interviewed Hobo and his mom for The Cat’s Meow, so now I’ll turn things over to Skeezix:
SKEEZIX: How did yer mom ferst heer abowt yoo? HOBO:From Craigs List dey needed help for me and the person posted and my mum she went to help, dat would has been funny my has MS and is in a wheelchair, but somdin tells me one way or anudder I was cumin down even if she had to climbs dat tree, I don’t thinks I would have bited her and if I did I don’t think she would have been mad.
SKEEZIX: How long were yoo up in the tree? HOBO:Six days in rain and snow and cooolld and it was sooooooooo windy.
SKEEZIX: How long had yoo bin wandering arownd on yer own?
HOBO:Maybe a year?? Dats according to dey peoples in da ‘hood.
SKEEZIX: Was it hard or eezy for the peepul to git yoo down frum the tree?
HOBO:Dey reason I was stuck cause some mean dog chased me up dat tree but some idiot had cut off most of the branches so I was sooo stuck cause dey was no branches no bodies could climb.
SKEEZIX: Why did yoo give the bitey to the persun hoo reskyooed yoo?
HOBO:Man I was skeered, dey stuck a camera in my face and dat man he grabbed me by the neck. Yood wanna put the bitey on sumwun too!
SKEEZIX: Do yoo like yer new home? HOBO:I luvs my new home my mummie and daddy wuvs me and the other fur cousins they are so great , and I gets 3 squares plus treats and extras and catnip and huggs and luvs. Duz it git any bedder dan dat? I don’t thinks so!
Skeezix Interviews Hobo’s Mom:
SKEEZIX: When and why did yoo deeside to adopt Hobo?
HOBO’S MOM: Well I knew as soon as I saw her that we were to be her parents, and the deal was sealed when she put her paws around my neck and kissed me.
SKEEZIX: Can yoo deskribe the rescue effert? HOBO’S MOM: It was not pretty, they sent up a camera man in the bucket with the tree guy , I was pretty upset , as they had no catch pole no pillow case and no food nothing, when Hobo screamed and fell to the roof I went into panic, I was so sure we had a dead baby on our hands. We scooped her up and rushed her to the vet. He said Hobo was one lucky cat and deserved a castle and the queenly treatment.
Hobo had to be quaranteened as the tree guy reported the bite, we were so scared they were going to come and take her, Hobo has taken our hearts and wrapped us around her velvet paws, she is gaining weight and they vet has pronounced her healthy. Hobo loves our vet.
SKEEZIX: How long did it take for Hobo to acclimate to her new home? HOBO’S MOM: About a week. And we still have run and hide going on specially with strangers.
SKEEZIX: Thanks Hobo, and yer mom, too, for this insiteful interview. I am thrilled that this story had a happy ending!
It must be calico cat stowaway week. First there was the story of Autumn, the cat who hid inside a mattress set and almost ended up in a landfill, and now the story of a calico in Spokane who was found by a couple who purchased a thrift store couch and found a free feline bonus inside. The cat had been trapped in the couch for 12 days. Here’s the story:
Upon finding the cat, Vickie Mendenhall contacted the thrift store from whom she bought the couch, but they had no record of who had donated the couch. Next, she took the cat to SpokAnimal CARE, the animal shelter where she works, so the cat could recover, and contacted media outlets hoping to find the owner.
Her efforts paid off. Bob Killion of Spokane claimed the cat yesterday after a friend alerted him to the cat-in-a-couch TV story. Killion had donated a couch on Feb. 19, and his 9-year-old cat, Callie, disappeared at about the same time. Callie is back home and is expected to make a full recovery.
UPDATE: Catster Callie Jean found a followup video of Callie the Couch Cat being reunited with her family. Click here, then scroll through the stories under the video to see the couch cat story.
Last month we reported that Cooper the Catumentarian’s photography show was opening in Seattle at Urban Light Studios. Well, we’re happy to report that it’s been a runaway success, with over 400 wine-sipping art lovers and at least one feline at the show’s opening. And he’s made a media splash as well. In just the last couple of weeks, Cooper’s been featured on Evening Magazine (Washington, Oregon, Idaho broadcast), Q13 Fox News (in Seattle), King 5 News (NBC Seattle), Kiro News (CBS Seattle), and Good Morning America.
This week, Seattle News produced a video report of Cooper – click here and when you get to the video, Cooper’s spot begins at the 14:20 mark.
Cooper’s show runs through March 11th (Wednesday through Friday, 12pm – 6pm):
URBAN LIGHT STUDIOS
The Underground at The Greenwood Collective
8537 Greenwood Ave N
Seattle, WA 98103
206.913.2834
“RV” (pictured at right), a four-year-old long-haired calico cat in Seattle, was flown to Tucson yesterday and reunited with her owner, Ken Gold. RV had been missing for nine months.
The story began in July 2008, when RV’s owner prepared to relocate from Seattle to Tucson. Despite delaying his departure for a day to search for the missing cat, RV was nowhere to be found and did not return. As a result, Gold had to move without her and rely on the cat’s own instincts for survival and a HomeAgain microchip implanted by RV’s veterinarian when hoping for a safe return.
Nearly nine months later, a Seattle resident found RV and called the King County Animal Care and Control. After quickly locating the cat’s HomeAgain microchip, Sgt. Brenda Dyrdahl, acting shelter supervisor, said they were able to locate RV in the database, reach out to the owner and begin the process of reuniting the cat with her family. Gold had made a point of updating his contact information through the HomeAgain service.
“We find using microchips extremely valuable in our line of work,” said Dyrdahl. “This is the perfect example of why a pet owner should consider using this type of service and keep their contact information up to date. Microchipping doesn’t locate every animal, but it keeps hope alive and makes miracles happen.”
“This is a great example of why it is so important to have two forms of identification on your cat at all times,” interim director for King County Animal Care and Control, Nancy McKenney added. “If your pet wears an ID tag, a license, and has a microchip, the chances of having your pet return home are exponentially greater than if they were wearing just one form of identification or none at all.”
So in addition to having a microchip like HomeAgain’s, which allows you to keep your contact info current, it’s important to have an ID tag that provides current contact information for you should your pet go missing and you move or are displaced from your home. Created in partnership with the American Red Cross, Together Tag is an ID Tag and pet recovery service rolled into one, and perfectly complements microchipping.
Remember Cooper the Catumentarian, who wears a camera on his collar to document his travels throughout his neighborhood? Well, his work is now being featured in a solo photography show in Seattle.
One day a week for a year, Cooper wore a lightweight digicam around his neck and went about his business patrolling the neighborhood. The camera, programmed to snap one shot every two minutes, produced thousands of images. In the process, it answered the question, “What the heck does Cooper do all day?”
16 of his best shots are framed and on display at the Urban Light Studios in the Greenwood Collective. The exhibit opened last Friday with a reception as part of the Greenwood Art Walk. A portion of sales goes to the Paws Cat City Adoption Center in Seattle. The show runs through March 10.
PLEASE if you are an animal lover, or just have a sense of moral obligation, please let other like-minded Washington state residents know about this bill and ask them to help.
There is currently a Draft Spay/Neuter Bill scheduled for 2009 in Washington State: H-0075.2/09. For more information, go to www.savewashingtonpets.org
The purpose of the bill is to provide funding to assist low-income owners of cats and dogs to obtain affordable spay/neuter surgeries, and to provide for spay/neuter surgeries on feral and free-roaming cats. The bill does not make spay/neuter surgery mandatory.
Click here for more information. Below is a draft letter that you can personalize and send it to your local legislator:
Dear (Senator or Representative) _________,
I am asking for your support of spay/neuter legislation for Washington State. As my district legislator, I urge you to support or cosponsor bill (H-0075.2/09) that has been drafted for this purpose.
Animal homelessness is a serious problem in this state that has not been adequately addressed. Tens of thousands of adoptable animals are killed in Washington State’s shelters each year simply because there are not homes for them. This is occurring despite the best efforts of our animal welfare community.
We think that the solution is to create an aggressive program to make spay/neuter surgery for cats and dogs affordable and convenient throughout our state to low-income pet owners. These are difficult economic times and we know how challenging it will be to enact legislation to fund such a program. Nevertheless, the problem is not going away, and spay/neuter surgery for dogs and cat is not getting more affordable for those who are low income.
This situation is nothing short of an emergency that needs attention now. Several other states have adopted similar legislation to address this problem. The bill that has been drafted takes the best elements of other states’ programs and will work in Washington State.
For reference, the draft bill and much more information are provided on the website www.savewashingtonpets.org. There you’ll see that the benefits I’m talking about are not just humanitarian. There are potential cost savings to shelters and animal control agencies, and we expect the program will reduce injuries, costs, and liability arising from dog bites if more animals are altered (most dogs that cause serious bite injuries are not surgically sterilized). As you know, it is not unusual to read in our local papers about incidents involving aggressive dogs that seriously injure people and kill or maul other pets.
Please let me know that you will support this bill. I would appreciate a meeting with you to explain why this is needed and how important it is for our legislative district. If you have questions, feel free to contact me or the bill’s coordinators, Rick Hall and Andrea Logan. Rick and Andrea may be reached at contact@savewashingtonpets.org.
Sincerely,
Your Name
Affiliation
Address
Telephone Number
cc: Rick Hall and Andrea Logan
Save Washington Pets
PO Box 176
North Bend, WA 98045-0176
If you watched Cats 101 on Animal Planet last night, you might have seen the segment on Seattle-based tabby Cooper Cross, who photographs his neighborhood from a mini-cam on his collar.
It’s not a new concept. The pioneer of the cat-cam process is Mr Lee, a German cat whose sets of photos are enlightening as well as a bit scary — at one point Mr Lee encounters a ginormous snake (right). Mr Lee’s guardian has been selling these mini-cams for several years, and I was so in love with the concept that I purchased one for our adventuresome feral, Tripper. (Alas, still waiting for hubby to hook it up.)You can see some of Mr Lee’s photos here.
Like Mr Lee, Cooper wanders his neighborhood, snapping photos at regular intervals. His guardians, Michael and Deirdre Cross, are film documentarians, so it comes naturally to him. He shoots one day a week, and his camera takes between 200 and 400 photos a day (once every 2 minutes). Most shots are unusable, but the keepers are sometimes extraordinary. The photos even helped Cooper get a cat door installed — once Mike and Deirdre had proof in hand that the poor ginger sometimes waited hours to be let in the house.
Here are a few photos from Cooper’s gallery (with Michael’s comments):
Cooper’s is a rags-to-riches story. Formerly a stray, his photographic exploits landed him on TV. I’m hoping he gets a show at MOMA.
In Everett, Washington, yesterday, a firefighter heard crying inside a burning home. Searching room-to-room with a heat-detecting camera for a stranded child, he instead found Moe the cat.
Listless and crying when they rescued him from the burning home, Moe was fitted with an oxygen mask, then transported to an emergency vet, kicking and scratching the entire way. The big ginger and white tabby is doing well and is expected to make a full recovery.
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. 
Hobo the cat had a rough time of it. After living on the streets of Vancouver, Washington without a home for a year or longer, he was chased up a power pole by a dog and stuck there for days, in biting wind, rain, snow and sleet. Hobo’s future was grim.
It must be calico cat stowaway week. First there was the story of Autumn, the cat who 
“RV” (pictured at right), a four-year-old long-haired calico cat in Seattle, was flown to Tucson yesterday and reunited with her owner, Ken Gold. RV had been missing for nine months.
PLEASE if you are an animal lover, or just have a sense of moral obligation, please let other like-minded Washington state residents know about this bill and ask them to help.
It’s not a new concept. The pioneer of the cat-cam process is 
