Hi there, Newton the SureFlap cat here! The humans keep going on about the ‘Oscars’. Sounds like something to do with dogs. I know quite a few called Oscar…

Anyway I’ve since discovered that the Oscars are actually to do with movies. I thought I’d look back at some of the movies that have won best picture in the past and I’ve created my own rendition of my favourite ones!

Image courtesy of KathrynW1 on Flickr

Hi there, it’s Newton the SureFlap cat here! I’ve just learnt an interesting fact about tortoiseshell cats. It turns out that most tortoiseshell cats are female.

Tortoiseshell cats are recognised by their brown, black, orange or cream colourings. But why are so many of them female? Without getting too technical, it’s all about genetics. The colourings on a tortoiseshell cat are attached to the X chromosome. Female cats have two X chromosomes, so that’s why tortoiseshell cats are almost always female.

Now, who knew that about tortoiseshell cats? Very interesting stuff.

In addition, tortoiseshell cats are thought to have unique personalities. This is what humans refer to as ‘tortitude’. Many tortoiseshell cats have strong personalities. They often enjoy their independence and can be unpredictable or feisty.

Does your tortoiseshell cat have tortitude? Do you have a rare tortoiseshell cat that is male? Why not tell us about them by leaving a comment on this blog post!

Hi, Newton the SureFlap cat here. Are you thinking of adopting a cat? Well I’ve heard about this great scheme at Blue Cross animal charity called Home Direct.

Blue Cross is a rehoming centre for stray or unwanted cats. Through Blue Cross Home Direct, unwanted cats are put up for rehoming but they stay with their existing owners until a new home is found.

Home Direct is a great option for humans that know in advance that they will need to give up their pet. For example, a human might decide to move to a different country where they are unable to take their pet. With Home Direct, they can keep their cat until a new human carer is found, reducing the stress to the cat during the rehoming process.

Cats that are up for adoption through Home Direct are listed on the Blue Cross website in the same way that cats kept in the shelter are. They are also neutered, vaccinated and microchipped before they are rehomed.

Humans that put their cats up for adoption through Home Direct can choose to have their pets viewed at home, or taken into the centre. These Blue Cross humans sure have thought of everything!

So if you can no longer care for your kitty but you don’t want to put them in a shelter, check out Home Direct. It could be the purrfect option for you and your kitty!

Hi, I’m Newton, the SureFlap mascot! I love my job demonstrating the SureFlap Microchip Cat Flap all over the world. You might find me in vets and pet shops across the UK, in America and even New Zealand!

But check this kitty out; she’s got an awesome job – as a security cat! And they’re saying she could be the world’s first ever feline security guard; now that’s something to purr about!

Her name’s Millie and she’s a beautiful Bengal cat. She was found wandering amongst the toys in Bandai’s warehouse in Southampton. Don’t worry though she’s got a loving home. She just loves exploring!

Millie’s got an impressive CV so the humans at Bandai were quick to hire her – her skills include climbing and loud purring.

The humans are giving Millie a pretty sweet salary. Instead of being paid with that silly human paper money stuff, she’s being paid in cat food and… wait for it… fish! And she gets to be surrounded by toys all day. What more could one kitty want?

Millie’s human parents are right behind her in her new job. They say she’s the purrfect candidate for the role of security cat because she often likes to spend long hours alone and she is very vigilant.

The humans at Bandai are starting to stock up with toys for Christmas, so it’s the perfect time to hire a security cat. Good luck in your new role Millie!

Does your cat have a job?

If your cat has been hired to do a particular job, why not let us know about it by commenting on this blog post!

Image courtesy of @NancelAnders on Flickr

Meows to all the kitties out there – it’s been a while since I’ve done a blog post! I was just checking out some cat stories in the news and I came across something pretty amazing. Two kittens were taken into the Gosport Town branch of Cats Protection with 18 extra toes! That’s a lot of spare kitty toes…

Sadly the kittens were in a pretty poor condition when they were taken to Cats Protection, but they already have a new home to go to, so at least it’s a happy ending. I expect their unusual toes must have caught the attention of many potential adopters!

Ned and Fred are gorgeous black and white kitties (like me). Ned’s got eight extra toes while Fred’s got ten! It’s not unusual for cats to be born with extra toes, but that many? That’s mighty unusual. Apparently cats with extra toes are called polydactyl – sounds a bit Jurassic to me!

Polydactyl cats are perfectly healthy. There’s nothing wrong with cats having a few extra toes. I’m wondering if it helps them climb trees better. That would be brilliant! If I was a polydactyl cat they’d call me Super Paws!

The only problem that polydactyl cats might face is if their claws grow too long, depending on which way the extra toes face. If the extra toes face inwards towards the other toes then in-growing nails could be a problem. But this can easily be resolved with diligent claw clipping.

No one really knows why polydactyl cats are born, but kittens tend to inherit extra toes from polydactyl parents, so it looks like they’re here to stay!

Is your cat a polydactyl cat?

Why not tell us about him or her and let us know how many extra toes they have. Let’s find the polydactyl cat with the most toes!

Image courtesy of Michael Meinhardt on Flickr

I’ve recently heard about this phenomenon where humans can indulge in their two favourite loves at the same time: cats and coffee. In Japan, cat cafes seem to be the latest craze. I’ve heard there are more than 70 such cat cafes in Tokyo alone.

Apparently cat cafes have been around for a while though. The first one actually opened in Taiwan way back in 1998.

So what is a cat cafe I hear you purr? In these cat cafes, cats are left to roam around while the humans drink their coffee and read their newspaper things. Don’t worry the cats seem well cared for, with plenty of cosy couches to curl up on. In fact none of them are strays, and some of the cat cafes offer new homes to abandoned cats.

Cat cafes are great for the humans out there that live in rental apartments and aren’t allowed their own pets. And kitties that might otherwise be left to roam the streets have their own warm place to hang out.

Humans pay by the hour for the privilege of spending time with the felines in cat cafes. And it certainly isn’t money wasted. Spending time with us cats can be a great stress release for humans, single ones in particular. Japanese businessmen don’t have time to have their own cats at home, so many of them frequent cat cafes on a regular basis.

Cat cafes seem like a good idea for both us cats and the humans. All I can say is luckily the litter trays are stowed out of sight…

Have you heard of or been to a cat cafe?

Tell us about it by commenting on this blog post!

I’ve just discovered that Cokie the Cat hosts a weekly blog hop called Thankful
Thursday. What a great idea for a blog hop!

Well today I am thankful that PetFinder.com is hosting Adopt a Less Adoptable Pet Week. I only just learnt of the event today. Adopt a Less Adoptable Pet Week runs from 17-25 September.

As a pretty handsome cat with purrfect fur and no illnesses, I bet I would have no problems finding a new home if I was ever put up for adoption. Even so, I can definitely see the appeal of such event. And I’m sure there are many less adoptable pets out there that are thankful for Adopt a Less Adoptable Pet Week (it’s quite a whisker twister isn’t it!)

I know a few cats in the neighbourhood that would be considered less adoptable, but they all have loving homes.

There’s Timmy the black tom cat. Some people won’t adopt black cats because of silly human superstitions. And Billy the half blind cat was adopted because his humans thought he had a quirky personality. He lost his eye in a car accident.

Lots of humans will only consider adopting kittens or young cats. But I know an old cat up the road that was adopted when she was 14 years old, which shows it’s never too late to find a new home. She’s a very lovable lady that spends hours cuddling up to her human. The perfect lap cat.

I’ve heard humans say ‘it’s inside that counts’. They should take a bit of their own advice when they’re adopting a cat. So humans listen up! Next time you decide to adopt a cat, don’t forget that the three-legged cat hiding in the corner of the shelter might just have the best personality in the world!

Every shelter cat deserves an equal chance of finding a new home. So PetFinder.com, thank you; thank you for hosting Adopt a Less Adoptable Pet Week!

The humans have this weird superstition about black cats being unlucky, but I’m mainly black and I don’t seem to get much bad luck. After all, so far this year I’ve got to hang out with the Blue Peter Cats at the London Pet Show, I’ve been to Glastonbury Festival and I’ve kicked back in Cape Verde. And in a couple of months I’m going to SuperZoo in Vegas!

Some of the humans have got it right though and are looking out for us black cats. I heard some of them talking about Black Cat Rescue in Boston, USA. They focus on rehoming black cats. Great job guys!

I’ve also heard about a charity in Berkshire that is pushing for black cat rights. The humans there are telling the other humans to adopt a cat based on its personality, not the colour of its fur. Personality is important, but I also happen to think my black fur is pretty dashing! But seriously humans, just think, when you go to adopt a cat you could be missing out on a great friendship if you ignore all the black cats. It’s what’s inside that counts!

Where did this silly superstition about black cats being unlucky come from anyway? I’ve heard that in some countries humans think black cats are actually good luck, a much more sensible perspective in my opinion.

So how many black cats are out there and how many were chosen because their humans liked their fur? Or your human ignore the colour of your fur altogether and pick you up because you have a great personality? Come on let’s see a show of paws! Black cats unite!

What do you think?

Do you have a black cat? Tell us about him/her by leaving a comment on this blog post!

I was prowling around at the London Pet Show in May and the SureFlap humans decided to run a colouring competition. And I was the star of the show!

Some of the kids that visited the London Pet Show loved the colouring competition and SureFlap had around 90 entries. Some of them were really colourful! The kids didn’t stick to my usual black and white colours – I got to be all the colours of the rainbow!

Take a look at the three winning entries below from their 0-3 years, 4-7 years and 8-12 years categories. I think they’re all purrfect!

SureFlap have also uploaded some of the other colouring competition entries on their Facebook page. Why not take a look? I think they’re all pretty cool!

Now I know black cats are sometimes considered unlucky, but a black cat from New Zealand had luck on his side when he stowed away in a container ship and ended up in Australia. How he managed to survive for 18 days without food or water is beyond me. Me, I can’t imagine going 18 hours without food! They’re saying he survived by licking condensation from inside the container. Poor chap. I bet he dreamt of tuna for days.

What an adventure though! To travel would be a dream. They say us cats are territorial but I think I wouldn’t mind a holiday every once in a while. The closest I get to a holiday is when my humans go away and leave me in a cattery! Not that I’m complaining. It means I have plenty of time to do lots of sleeping.

I’ve heard about cats getting lost and turning up miles from home, but this black cat ended up 2000 miles away! Poor chap had to visit the quarantine officers but at least he was allowed to return home. Wonder what the humans thought of his epic journey. Maybe it will make them realise black cats aren’t unlucky after all…