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The story of Dick Whittington and his faithful cat

19 May 2021 Leo S

Born in the 135Os, Dick Whittington was a poor boy even if, eventually, became a wealthy merchant and three-time Lord Mayor of London. According to legend, he made his fortune thanks to the extraordinary ratting abilities of his cat. The story of Dick Whittington and His Cat is the folk tale surrounding the real-life Richard Whittington (c. 1354–1423) and it is not just a fairy tale, but it is part of the folklore of London. Today, near the foot of Highgate Hill is the famous Whittington stone, which is supposed…

Want to take your pet fish for a walk? Soon it might be possible!

14 May 20219 May 2021 Robin

Dear pet fish owners, you don’t need to be envious of fellow pet owners who are able to walk their pets because you may be able to walk your fish too! Well, more or less. A Japanese company is working on a unusual container / bag for live fish, suitable both for pet owners wanting to take their favorite fish on walks, but also for fans of super-fresh sashimi. Ok. This creation is not quite designed for walking your pet, but with the goal of transporting fish that you have…

Mao Mao, the feline car model that earns more than most humans

9 May 2021 Robin

Mao Mao, a two-year-old British Shorthair from Chongqing, China, works as a professional cat model and earns between 5,000 yuan ($775) and 10,000 yuan (1,550) per appearance. Mao Mao’s rise to fame was somewhat of an accident: her owner, a man surnamed Zheng, works in the automotive industry, and during an auto show he had the brilliant idea of putting his pet cat into one of the cars. That immediately drew a crowd of people who couldn’t wait to take a photo of the cute feline and share it on…

February 17: International Cat’s day

17 Feb 2021 Adam

In Norse mythology, Freyja is a goddess associated with love, beauty, fertility, sex, war, gold, and seiðr, a type of magic practiced in Norse society during the Late Scandinavian Iron Age relating to telling and shaping of the future. She was also associated with war and death, and It was said that after a battle, she would lead a band of Valkyries to gather the fallen warriors—or half of them, at least. She would take her share of the dead to Folkvang, her hall in the home of the gods,…

Beddgelert: a place of legend in the heart of Wales.

8 Feb 20218 Feb 2021 Ivan

We are in Beddgelert, North Wales, just south of Snowdon. Meaning literally the grave of Gelert, Beddgelert was once described as “a few dozen hard grey houses, huddled together in some majestic mountain scenery”. A short walk south of the village, following the footpath along the banks of the Glaslyn leads to its most famous historical feature, “Gelert’s Grave”. According to legend, the stone monument in the field marks the resting place of Gelert, the faithful hound of the medieval Welsh Prince Llewelyn the Great. The story, as written on…

Viareggio: a statue for Ettore, the cat friend of fishermen

15 Dec 202010 Dec 2020 Danilo G.

Ettore was abandoned in a cardboard box along the pier in Viareggio, Italy. It was 1997, and from that moment on this special cat has no longer had a home or a human owner, but countless different homes and friends. Especially the local fishermen, who went back and forth every day along the pier, becoming his family. The leftovers of the fish constituted the dinner of little Ettore, who patiently awaited his daily ration every day. It was a cat that entered the hearts not only of fishermen, who saw…

Ken’s roasted sweet potato stand in Sapporo, Japan

15 Nov 2020 Nathan

In warm weather, the beautiful rolling hills of Japan’s northern island of Hokkaido burst with flowers while, in cold weather, they literally glisten with snow. In any case, a loyal and friendly sentinel stands guard in the island’s major city, Sapporo. This is Ken-kun, the proprietor of the Inu no Yakiimoyasan sweet potato stand, a steadfast salesman that greets visitors and welcomes them to sample his signature roasted sweet potatoes, even though a sign outside the stand reminds visitors that he can’t give you change…because he’s a dog. The stand…

Katzenbalgen, the Monument to Homeless Cats

14 Nov 202014 Nov 2020 Pavel

In Braunschweig, Germany, where the streets Hutfilter, Damm and Kattreppeln meet in the pedestrian zone, the most gorgeous, humorous and unconventional monument of the city has stood since 1981, the “Katzenbalgen” stele by Siegfried Neuenhausen, a former professor at the Braunschweig University of Art and one of the most outstanding personalities in Lower Saxony’s art scene. The monument is impressively large and looks like a high stele, on which a variety of bronze cats are fixed in different poses. All people who see the monument for the first time notice…

Would you like to buy a living, breathing wish-granting cat for $127,000?

8 Nov 20206 Nov 2020 Danilo G.

Forget genies in a bottle, if you can own your very own magical cat and have all your wishes fulfilled for the modest price of 10 million rubles ($127,000)! A Novosibirsk woman recently posted a bizarre ad on Russian classified ad platform “Avito”, asking people to pay a small fortune for her pet cat, a Scottish Fold named Vincent I, or Vinsik, for friends. The woman, known only as Elena, told Russian journalists that she discovered her cat’s wish-granting powers by accident, and has since tested its effectiveness three times,…

Nekobiyaka: the world’s only black cat cafe

30 Oct 202027 Oct 2020 Pavel

The Japanese castle town of Himeji is home to the only known black cat café in the world, Nekobiyaka, where you can enjoy a refreshing drink in the company of about a dozen felines, strictly black! Despite there are hundreds of cat cafes all over Japan, (including the one located in Tokyo’s district of Akihabara), but only one dedicated exclusively to black cats. Nekobiyaka opened in 2013 and has since become somewhat of a tourist attraction in Himeji. The owner, Ms. Yagi, came up with idea of a black cat…

Phet and Ploy: the most expensive cat wedding in the world!

5 Oct 20201 Oct 2020 Robin

On this day, October 5, 1996, a beautiful bride wore a pink satin dress and arrived by helicopter. And the groom, dressed in a pink tuxedo with precious lacy cuffs, also came in style, with a Rolls-Royce. Not an ordinary affair…as the couple were cats. In details, “Diamond Eye” cats, as they are popularly known. The couple was carried in to the ceremony by their owner Vicharn Jarat-archa who ran a cosmetics business. He had found Phet, the groom, earlier in the year at a spot along the Thai-Burma border.…

Torre Argentina – the Roman Cat Sanctuary

11 Jul 202010 Jul 2020 Nathan

As you probably know cats in Rome are very popular and they have always found shelter amongst the ancient city ruins. They are also protagonists of numerous postcards depicting them sitting on stumps of old Roman columns, cat napping on the foot of an emperor’s statue, or just lounging near the Colosseum. And, in addition, in Rome stray cats have an ancient temple-complex all to themselves. Known as Largo di Torre Argentina, this archaeological wonder was excavated as part of Mussolini’s rebuilding efforts in 1929, revealing four Republican victory-temples that…

Singapore: couple divorce after wife becomes obsessed with pet cats

11 Jun 202010 Jun 2020 Robin

Singaporean media recently reported the bizarre divorce case of a couple whose separation was largely caused by the wife’s obsession with cats, which eventually drove her husband out of their house. It is not another fake news: in a sentence issued on May 21, Judge Sheik Mustafa Abu Hassan pronounced the official divorce of a couple that been married for 45 years, but separated for the last 14 years. The couple, named during the court proceedings to protect their identities, had reportedly married in 1975 and had three children over…

A visit at the Cimetière des Chiens, the world’s oldest Pet Cemetery

19 Nov 201917 Apr 2020 Anya016

The Cimetière des Chiens et Autres Animaux Domestiques, translated as the Cemetery of the Dogs and other Domestic Animals, in Asnières-sur-Seine, just outside of Paris, is the oldest pet cemetery in Europe, and perhaps in the world, depending on its definition of a “pet cemetery.” It claims to be the first pet cemetery in the world and even if there are some more ancient than it, it is the first to be basically a smaller version of our own modern cemeteries. Shrouded in decaying grandeur, it’s probably, according to a…

Greyfriars Bobby: the most loyal of little dogs, or a Victorian era publicity stunt?

9 Oct 20197 Oct 2019 Nathan

An adorable scruffy dog looks out over Edinburgh, atop a granite fountain built in his honor. Popular stories said that this little skye terrier known as Greyfriars Bobby kept vigil at his owner’s grave for 14 years after his death. The best-known version of the story is that the dog belonged to John Gray, who worked for the Edinburgh City Police as a nightwatchman. When John Gray died of tuberculosis in 1858, he was buried in Greyfriars Kirkyard, in the Old Town of Edinburgh. Bobby then spent the rest of…

The bizarre medieval trials against animals

12 Sep 201912 Sep 2019 Adam

Even if it might seem bizarre to modern observers, animal trials were commonplace public events in medieval and early modern Europe. Pigs, cows, goats, horses, and dogs that allegedly broke the law were routinely subjected to the same legal proceedings as humans, in a court of law, where they were treated as persons. The history of animal trials has its roots in the Low Middle Ages, and saw a series of “beasts” being judged, in some cases executed, according to the normal human laws. From the thirteenth century until the…

A curfew has been introduced in Australia for “nuisance” cats.

8 Sep 2019 Nathan

Mount Barker council in Adelaide, Australia, says it will curb “delinquent” behaviour by the region’s cats and they need to stop roaming the streets by night. The council has vowed to crack down on the “nuisance behaviour” of local cats, passing new regulations to limit the number of felines per property and forcing owners to keep their pets inside at night. So, residents of Mount Barker will face penalties if their cats are found roaming the streets at night after the local council passed tough new regulations. The new by-laws…

Maneki Neko: history and legend of the Japanese lucky cat

28 Aug 201924 Aug 2019 Pavel

Japan is a great country for cat lovers: there are, for example, islands with more cats that inhabitants, and the most popular is Tashirojima, or you can drink something in one of the many Cat Cafes, scattered around the country even if, ironically, most apartments don’t allow pets! If you want to obtain cute cat-like items, one of the most popular is without a doubt the Maneki Neko (招き猫), also often known as Lucky Cat. The Maneki Neko, literally the “beckoning cat,” is a very common Japanese figure. Its paw…

England’s (almost) forgotten pet massacre of 1939

27 Jul 201927 Jul 2019 Ivan

In the first week of September, 1939, London’s animal shelters were overflowing with guests. The queues of people and their pets meandered down the streets in a typically British manner, calm, dignified and orderly. However, the owners of dogs, cats, rabbits and even parrots and other birds who were waiting to visit vets and animal charities were harbouring a terrible secret. All pet-owners were waiting to euthanize their pets, even if none of the animals were dying, and none of them were even sick. The distraught Londoners had brought them…

Ariduka55: the japanese illustrator and his world where humans live among giant animals.

10 Jul 20197 Jul 2019 Nathan

A super creative mysterious illustrator from Japan, imagines the world like no other. On social media, the artist is known as Ariduka55, or Monokubo, and it seems artist loves cats the most, even if there are a lot of other cuddly animals like pandas, rabbits, raccoons and others, and they are all giant creatures! “A world where you can surrender yourself to sleep on a giant ball of fur is a world where you wouldn’t be able to get any work done. A perfect world.” In this world people are…

25 best photos of working cats!

4 Jul 20192 Jul 2019 Nathan

Although this might seems incredible, some cats don’t shy away from getting their paws dirty! And to prove that they got more important things to do than enchanting their human friends with their purrs, below there are some of the best pictures of the most hardworking felines. There have been numerous cats who held real jobs as well. For example, when Empirical Brewery in Chicago noticed that their grain is being eaten by rodents and insects, they started thinking about the best way to solve this problem and decided to…

Naples, Italy: in November the first Black Cat Museum opens.

3 Jul 20192 Jul 2019 Pavel

Who does not remember “Tournée Du Chat Noir”, one of the most famous nineteenth century posters that advertised the Parisian coffee house of the same name? Even today the poster created by the Swiss-born artist Theophile Steiner runs in the form of posters in the homes of some people and is depict on many souvenirs like magnets or postcards, bags, and not only in French Capital. The success of the poster and its passage through the centuries is largely due to the magnetism of the feline, which in its darker…

The best Japanese craftsmen make a series of Furniture for Cats.

29 Dec 201827 Dec 2018 Pavel

The tendency to create specific objects for pets is constantly increasing, thanks also to the media success that our small friends receive on social networks and on the web. The latest news comes from Japan, where, as we already know, cats are really loved. Just think of the famous chain of Cat Cafè Mocha, or Tashirojima, which is only one of the cats’ islands in Japan. Here, the Okawa furniture line was created, specially designed for cats. The campaign is titled “Craftsman MADE Okawa”, and aims to give a new…

Mummies of Cats and Scarabs: New Surprising Discoveries from Ancient Egypt!

18 Nov 201817 Nov 2018 Adam

Minister of Antiquities Dr. Khaled El-Enany announced some days ago a new discovery made by an Egyptian archaeological mission during excavation work carried out since April until now at the area located on the stony edge of King Userkaf pyramid complex in Saqqara Necropolis. Although it has been known for a long time that for the Egyptians cats were sacred, and they were routinely mummified and even bred for this purpose, to be faced with dozens of mummies of cats, buried inside a tomb dating back to 4500 years ago…

Hachiko, the faithful dog.

17 Oct 201816 Oct 2018 Anya016

After a profound demonstration of devotion for his master, a dog becomes the symbol of loyalty for an entire nation. Eizaburo Ueno, professor in agriculture science at Tokyo University in Japan, had long wanted a purebred Japanese Akita dog. He had looked for the perfect Akita puppy for a long time, until one of his students encouraged him to adopt Hachiko, from the Odate city in the Akita prefecture of Japan. If there was one thing that Professor Ueno could count on, it was certainly the sight of his loyal…

How the cat Simon earned a military medal.

24 Jul 2018 Pavel

For centuries, a close relationship of mutual esteem and affection has linked a category of rough men and accustomed to every danger, the sailors, to a small pet that today tends to associate with photographs on social networks and quiet family life, the cat. Cats are intelligent predators with a strong natural instinct for hunting and eliminating rodents. Because of this, they have been used on numerous ships across the world as killers of rats, mice, and various other disease-ridden animals. The rats climb on board using the peaks that…

Wojtek: The unusual polish soldier that drank beer and went to war.

1 Jul 201817 Feb 2020 Adam

When at the port of Naples the british official Archibald Brown, looking at the roster in his hand, called out the name—“Corporal Wojtek”, nobody came forward. It was mid-February 1944, and the official was at Naples to help process a unit of Polish soldiers that had just arrived by ship from Alexandria in Egypt, to join forces with the Allies in their fight against Germans and Italians. One of his tasks was to check crew manifests and speak with new arrived soldiers. The official Brown consulted once again the document.…

The curious funerals for pets in Victorian Times.

8 Jun 201817 Apr 2020 Pavel

During the 19th century it was really common that the mortal remains of a pet, especially the house cat, were buried in the family garden. In Victorian times, however, the custom of celebrating funerals for these animals increased considerably. The grieving family were doing richly decorated caskets, priests performed funeral services for the dead pets and the stonemasons chiselled the name of the cat on marble gravestones. Many people celebrated this ceremonies, and they thought that did not represent an extravagant eccentricity of the rich, or yet another whim of…