Is this actually news to anyone?

There's something to the "Cat Lady" thing after all:

The bond between cats and their owners turns out to be far more intense than imagined, especially for cat aficionado women and their affection reciprocating felines, suggests a new study.

Cats attach to humans, and particularly women, as social partners, and it's not just for the sake of obtaining food, according to the new research, which has been accepted for publication in the journal Behavioural Processes.

The study is the first to show in detail that the dynamics underlying cat-human relationships are nearly identical to human-only bonds, with cats sometimes even becoming a furry "child" in nurturing homes.

[snip]

While cats have plenty of male admirers, and vice versa, this study and others reveal that women tend to interact with their cats -- be they male or female felines -- more than men do.

"In response, the cats approach female owners more frequently, and initiate contact more frequently (such as jumping on laps) than they do with male owners," co-author Manuela Wedl of the University of Vienna told Discovery News, adding that "female owners have more intense relationships with their cats than do male owners."

Cats also seem to remember kindness and return the favors later. If owners comply with their feline's wishes to interact, then the cat will often comply with the owner's wishes at other times. The cat may also "have an edge in this negotiation," since owners are usually already motivated to establish social contact.

Maggie and Jenny's Guide 2 Kat Fud - 4 Fuchur Retireez

O hai.

Maggie and Jenny heer wif an expert opinun on kat fud.

We know u hoomins hoo r gonna retire somedai r not goin 2 has enough mony to pai 4 ur own cheezburger so we decidd to halp u decide wut kat fud 2 eat.

R mom an dad always giv us gud kat fud wifout glooten and animul parts we doan knoe their namez so well talk about dem and also teh cheep stuff 2 4 when dey cut ur soshul security.

1. Teh Cheep Stuff.



Dis stuff liek 9-Livez and Friskees and stuff liek dat. U noes, tree-4-a-dollur stuff. Dis crap has chkn by-products in it. It haz stuff liek ground up carcasez of ded, diseasd burdz, includez feet an beakz. Nao if i killd chkn or oder bird i wud eat dat but not ground up hoo knows wut. It also has wheat glootin an flower. Do i look liek bread eatr 2 u? Maybe wif cheezburger but not evry dai. Also soy proteen. We r seniur kittehs but kittehs doan has menopawz so we doan ned soy.

2. Fancee Feest



Dis iz pritee gud fud, but it still haz dose "meat by-products" an weet glootin in it -- all except dis fish an shrimp feast. So mommy buys dis 4 us. Iz jennys favorite cuz it real fish an nothin else. Thar iz only wan shrimp in da can an Mommy always givez it 2 Jenny. When u haf 2 eat dis stuff, u will fight wif ur wife or huzbind bout hoo gets teh shrimp. Mah mommy iz allergic 2 shrimp so she an daddy woan fight bout dat.


3. Mistah Noomin's fud



Dis fud made by mistah Noomin whose pichur iz on teh can. Hez ded nao so i doan noe how he iz still makin kat fud. Mommy sez he wuz in da moviez an vry handsum. Dis ar pritee gud fud. It turkee an chickn and sammin fish an brown rice which 4 humanz iz healthy but jenny doan liek rice an triez 2 pick out teh rice.


4. Wellniss fud



Mommy sez dis ar teh best kat fud cuz it all meat an no rice or corn or nothin liek dat. I liek it lot -- dis an teh Instinct fud which iz all meat an comez in flavors liek rabbit liek teh bunnehs in da yard an venison which mommy sez iz der meat. I nevr seen der but daddy sez he seez them sometimez goin 2 werk. They say eatin der iz liek eatin Bambi but i doan knoe hoo dat iz. I wud eat dis fud all teh tiem but Jenny pukez it up so we doan has it mutch. Thaz y i swat her so mutch but den she chasez me into cornr an makez me skerd cuz shez tough an daddy sez shez built liek mack truck.


5. Pet Guard fud



I finkz dis ar teh teh best fud ov all. Mommy gets dis at place she calls Fareway which i thot had somethin 2 do wif golf but she sez iz hooj fud store. I wud liek 2 go thar but they doan allow kittehs. Dis fud has lawts ov meat an barley not rice an Jenny doesnt pick out teh barley an doesnt puke so mommy likez 2 giv us dis fud lawts.

*************

Well thaz r introducshun 2 kat fud 4 u hoomins hoo r gonna retire somedai an has no soshul security cuz teh gubmit let teh rich hoomins taek all teh money dat wuz put away 4 u an nao they say thars no money left. But u will liek teh kat fud. We liek it an so do lawts ov othr kittehs an millions ov kittehs cant be wrong.

Jus remembr wan ting: we eat furst cause if we doan we will meow nonstop til we eat all we wants.

I for one welcome our new feline overlords

In the future, we will all be like this woman.
We will have no choice.
They will have taken over.

Global warming could lead to more kittens
By Eoin O'Carroll | 07.23.08

“Each year it seems to get worse and worse,” said Christina Gin, an animal shelter volunteer in Hayward, Calif., to the Hayward Daily Review earlier this month.

She was talking about the shelter’s surplus of kittens, a problem that animal shelters across the country face every summer. But lately, it seems that there have been more and more of the furry carnivores.

Ms. Gin blames global warming for the feline glut, and she’s not alone. The Humane Society has observed that kitten season, which usually starts in March and April, has been starting earlier and lasting longer.

(UPDATED 7/25/08 to cut the size of the quote, because the Christian Science Monitor turned me over its knee and spanked me for reprinting too much of their article. I suppose I should feel flattered that they actually read this blog.)

Thankful for kittehs

The history of LOLCats:

(More LOLCats "history" here.)
And more:

My LOLCat is in r bed...purrin n droolin on r comfiter.

(hat tip: Amanda)

Why I look tired all the time

(h/t: Amanda)