Happy Independence Day from THE WANDERING PUSSY

[samhexum]

Her admirers stretch from Belarus to Brooklyn, where this furry immigrant arrived to charm the locals two years ago.

 

Meet Sima the Maine Coon cat, who once prowled the woods and lakesides of the former Soviet republic and now roams leafy streets in Prospect Heights.

 

“This cat? The coolest cat in the world,” said admiring neighbor Rodney Shaw. “The cat goes away and comes back, always finds its way back home.”

 

He paused to make clucking noises to get Sima’s attention before resuming his laudatory oratory.

 

“I’ve seen dogs run from her," continued Shaw, 55. "I’ve seen it. She’s fearless. She’ll walk around and let you know this is her territory.”

 

The 16-year-old cat, whose name translates to “boundary”or “limit,”in Sanskrit seems to know little of either. Sima is renowned throughout the neighborhood for her luxurious coat, friendly nature and nighttime forays.

 

Her owners finally posted a laminated sign on the gate of their brownstone assuring neighbors that their peripatetic pet enjoyed more freedom that the average house cat.

 

“My name is Sima,” the sign states. “I am allowed to sit outside.”

 

On a sunny spring afternoon, the feline took shade beneath a hedge just inside the gate. With little coaxing, Sima stepped into the lap of a reporter, curled up and began purring before eventually dozing off.

 

Sima began life as stray kitten, appearing on Elena Rykoff’s doorstep on a winter day in Belarus. Rykoff gave the cat a home, but always allowed her to roam freely.

 

"She would go to the forest, go to the fishermen, sit with them and then come home at night,” recalled Rykoff, 43. “Everybody would give her fish.”

 

The cat lived in Belarus for 11 years, staying with Rykoff’s mother and grandmother after Elena moved to New York. The two were reunited in 2014, when Sima resumed her life of freedom in a new country.

 

“The first months were hard because people would call us — ‘Your cat is lost, we found your cat here, there,'" recalled Rykoff. "We were trying to explain that’s okay, it’s a normal thing.”

 

Once Rykoff’s husband Mark made the sign for the front gate, the worried phone calls ceased. Neighbor Shaw, on his way home with take-out, said he sees faces familiar and unfamiliar stopping to visit with Sima.

 

“I see people sitting on the step in the evening," said Shaw. "She must bring some calm to them.”

 

As if on cue, a woman wearing a T-shirt festooned with a cat’s face approached and cooed hello to Sima. Donna Robles, 49, is the superintendent of a building across the street and comes by to dote on the cat.

 

“My windows are there, my cats are in the windows and she’ll come and say hello to them,” explained Robles.

 

Robles also works with the state in her part-time home of Pennsylvania to find homes for animals. While she was initially worried after seeing Sima out, Robles came to know the cat and appreciate her free-range lifestyle.

 

“She’s very sociable," said owner Rykoff, who said she’s met numerous neighbors thanks to Sima. "She likes to meet people, make friends. So we let her do that.”

 

As the evening approached, a man walked past with a plump terrier. The dog tugged at the leash, eager to greet the cat. Sima arose from her spot behind the gate and then sat down in the same spot — tucking her fluffy tail around her.

 

“Don’t start trouble, Sam," the man told the dog as the two walked away. "It’s obvious you’re not wanted.”

 

After a minute or two, Sima yawned and allowed her eyes to close.

 

 

 

Edited May 26, 2019 by samhexum

[samhexum]

I realized after posting this that it would have been better if I posted it on Independence Day.

 

If I remember, I'll bump it up then.

[samhexum]

Stefani Carroll-Kirchoff always checks the washer and dryer to make sure none of her three cats have climbed inside.

 

Well, almost always.

 

Last week, after fetching more clothes for a load of laundry, she shut the door without thinking. She set the machine to express wash -- warm water, cold rinse -- and walked away.

 

Thirty-five minutes later, when the cycle was done, she noticed the clothes were still dripping wet. She was just about to shut the door again when she saw a single white paw sticking out from the wet laundry.

 

Somehow, her 1-year-old cat Felix had found his way into the machine. She quickly took him out and called her father, who raced them to the Animal Emergency and Referral Center of Minnesota.

 

Although Felix had lost his vision and had pneumonia from the amount of water in his lungs, he survived and is doing better now -- he can see and has started eating. He's still on oxygen.

 

Though the vets told her it's just a matter of time until Felix fully recovers, Carroll-Kirchoff said she'll never forgive herself. "I've been in shock the last few days," she said. "I mean, this is going to haunt me for the rest of my life."

 

The costs are going up, too. Carroll-Kirchoff's daughter began a GoFundMe appeal for Felix to help offset the rising medical bills, which she said are already up to $7,000. She said it's the least they could do after Felix fought to stay alive.

 

"After this has happened, I'm going to find a way to give back," she said.

 

Carroll-Kirchoff works at a pet grooming salon and has been a cat owner for 11 years. She also volunteers at a wildlife rehabilitation center in her free time. "It's given me a reason to fight harder for animals and their well-being," she said.

[samhexum]

Woman charged with letting her cat lounge on front lawn

 

 

A Utah woman is asking local law enforcement to let sleeping cats lie.

 

Kate Anderson of Murray, a suburb of Salt Lake City, thought something had gone terribly wrong with her orange tabby, Milo, when she was visited by animal control officers. Instead, they handed her a citation — two misdemeanor charges — for allowing her cat to nap in her own front yard.

 

Anderson, who says she considers Milo not just a pet, but part of the family, says he’s allowed to do as he pleases: “He’s got a cat door, so he just comes and goes and is a cat.”

 

This past Monday went much like any other, with Milo seeing himself out to the lawn to relax outdoors. As the furball dozed, someone apparently snapped a photo and reported the so-called crime. When animal control received the report, they went to Anderson’s home and laid down the law.

 

“I just got a ticket for my cat being outside, in my yard,” the befuddled cat mama tells KTSU. “This is a cat who is neutered and micro-chipped and vaccinated, and is not a menace to society.”

 

Anderson summarizes the citation, saying, “That’s telling me I have to call for my court date … for my misdemeanors … of having my cat outside.”

 

She was charged with two Class B misdemeanors: One for having an “animal at large” and another for “not having an animal license attached … Like a fugitive. Like he robbed a bank.”

 

The Murray city ordinance, enacted in 1963, asserts it is illegal for any animal or pet to roam freely outdoors without a leash, even if it’s on property you own:

 

“It is unlawful for the owner or person having charge, care, custody or control of any animal to allow such animal at any time to run at large. The owner or person charged with responsibility of an animal found running loose shall be strictly liable for a violation of this section and for any injury to a person or another animal, or property damage caused by such animal running at large, regardless of the precautions taken to prevent the escape of the animal and regardless of whether the owner or person charged with responsibility knows that the animal is running at large.”

 

This law, Murray officials say, is to ensure the safety of others — so pet owners should provide sufficient warning to neighbors if an animal is “at large.”

 

“I don’t think most people think it is illegal to let your cat outside under any circumstance,” Anderson says, claiming that the law was left conveniently ambiguous to allow officers room for interpretation.

 

“It sounded like the ordinance was kept vague for a reason so if there are strange circumstances, they can do something about that, but this just feels like animal control being out of control,” she says.

 

Anderson and the City Attorney for Murray, G.L. Critchfield, have filed a motion to dismiss the charges, which prosecutors say they will drop. Still, Anderson knows how much Milo likes to spend time outside, and wants to avoid this happening again in the future.

 

“It’s definitely antiquated,” Anderson says. “I think, if anything, there needs to be some kind of addition or amendment to the ordinance excluding felines.”

 

Critchfield doesn’t anticipate the ordinance being amended or wiped from the books anytime soon, but that won’t stop Milo from living his life. Anderson laughs while looking on at her convict kitty, saying, “There he is, back at the scene of the crime.”

[samhexum]

THE WANDERING PUSSY VIXEN (that's what female foxes are called)

 

Arctic fox astounds scientists by trekking 2,176 miles in 76 days - from Norway to Canada

 

 

Logging nearly 30 miles per day, an Arctic fox has trekked from the Svalbard Islands in Norway to Inuit territory in the northern reaches of Canada, astounding scientists. That’s 2,176 miles in 76 days.

 

The young female had been tracked via a GPS device installed by researchers at the Polar Institute in Norway, releasing her into the wild in March 2018, BBC News said.

 

Twenty-one days later she had reached Greenland, about 940 miles from her starting point. A mere 76 days after she left Svalbard, the fox was found on Ellesmere Island in Nunavut, Canada.

 

Her speed across the Greenland ice sheets was especially noteworthy. The fox trotted 96 miles a day across that country, said the findings, which were published in the Polar Research Journal.

 

At 1.4 times speedier than the pace of an adult male Arctic fox tracked in Alaska, this fox logged the “fastest movement rate ever recorded for this species,” the report said.

 

The Arctic fox is a fluffy, white, dark-eyed creature weighing between 6.5 and 17 pounds, according to National Geographic. Its head and body can run from 18 to 26.75 inches, its tail to 13.75.

 

Their round, compact bodies not only make them resemble compact wads of fur but also give them less surface area, meaning less exposure to their cold habitat’s temperatures, according to Defenders of Wildlife. The same goes for their short muzzles, ears and legs, combined with their thick, deep fur – including on their paws, which enables them to walk on snow and ice, Defenders of Wildlife says.

 

Even with all that insulation and adaptation, this fox had moxie.

 

While the Arctic fox tends to migrate in the winter to forage, this one had gone way beyond the norm, “crossing extensive stretches of sea ice and glaciers,” the Norwegian Polar Institute’s Eva Fuglei told New Scientist.

 

“We couldn’t believe our eyes at first,” study co-author Fuglei told Norwegian public broadcaster NRK. “We thought perhaps it was dead, or had been carried there on a boat, but there were no boats in the area. We were quite thunderstruck.”

[samhexum]

I realized after posting this that it would have been better if I posted it on Independence Day.

 

If I remember, I'll bump it up then.

 

BUMP! Some Independent Animals for Independence Day!

[+ Archer]

This arctic fox spent a long time on the ice, but the story doesn't mention what she ate. How did she survive so long?