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Cat Found Alive Near World Trade Centre.
 A cat has been found alive after 18 days without food in an apartment almost destroyed when the World Trade Centre collapsed.
Persian cat Precious was found by rescue workers in the remains of the apartment she had never left, just a block away from the remains of the twin towers.
Precious has eye injuries and burnt paws. With no food, she survived by drinking dirty water from puddles in the damaged apartment building.
Her owner, DJ Kerr, told the New York Post: "It's unbelievable. It's a miracle. I can't believe she's alive."
Mrs Kerr and husband Steve had left their apartment in a seven-storey building in Liberty street, across the road from the World Trade Centre, for a long weekend when the terrorists struck on September 11.
Their loft had its sheet glass windows blown out and was filled with metal, dust and smoke. They have been warned it will be nine months before they can move back in.
They had given up Precious for dead until rescuers responded to reports of a cat crying on the roof of the building. They used a recovery dog to corner the cat and bring it to safety.
It was taken to a Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA) van which had been treating search and rescue dogs for exhaustion and exposure.
Mrs Kerr said: "She lost two pounds and her little paws are burnt on the bottom because the top of the building was so hot but she's going to live.
"I gave her favourite food - sliced turkey. She was eating so fast because she was starved to death and she's drinking a lot of water. But she's so happy, she's just purring."
Ananova 2001
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A Cat And Kittens Found Alive In WTC Rubble.
 Vet: All Eating Well, Should Recover
POSTED: 2:14 p.m. EDT October 18, 2001
UPDATED: 3:40 p.m. EDT October 18, 2001
The World Trade Center recovery effort has brought plenty of sadness, and some extraordinary tales of survival, including one of a very resourceful cat.
Beneath the rubble, in a forgotten basement of what was once a restaurant, rescuers found the blast survivor, curled up in a carton of napkins.
The owner of the restaurant made the discovery about two weeks after the disaster. He immediately called rescuers.
Dr. John Charros said that the cat had given birth to three beautiful kittens.
"Mom was very emaciated, very thin and dehydrated. She's suffering from the flu. She's still getting over that now, and had a little secondary bacterial infection. The babies were in pretty good shape; they had been feeding well. I think mama weighed in at five pounds when she was first brought in. She should probably weigh somewhere between eight and 10 pounds," Charros said.
Doctors immediately hospitalized the animals and predict a full recovery. Mom has been christened "Hope." The babies are being called "Freedom," "Amber" and "Flag."
Shelter operators at Brooklyn's Center for Animal Care and Control said that they've found homes for the cat and kittens. They should be able to leave the hospital in November.
Copyright 2001 by ClickOnDetroit.com.
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Kittens Use Fax Machine As A Toilet Spark House Fire.
 Two kittens picked the wrong place to relieve themselves when they urinated on a fax machine, sparking a fire that extensively damaged their Japanese owner's house.
Investigators in the western city of Kobe have concluded that the fire in January was caused by a spark generated when the urine soaked the machine's electrical printing mechanism.
The fire damaged the kitchen and living room before it was put out by the house's owner, who was treated for mild smoke inhalation, said Masahito Oyabu, a fireman at the Nagata fire station in central Kobe.
The kittens quickly ran to safety, he added.
"If you have a cat, or a dog for that matter, be careful where they urinate," Oyabu said. "Especially keep them away from electrical appliances and wires."
© Copyright Reuters Ltd. 10.6.05
Sent to us by Claire Simpson.
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Humphrey. The Downing Street Cat.
 The 10 Downing Street cat Humphrey has died, a spokesman for the prime minister has confirmed.
The black and white feline passed away at the home of a Cabinet Office worker who took him when he "retired".
Humphrey was adopted by Number 10 after wandering into the building as a stray while Margaret Thatcher was PM in 1989.
He moved out six months after Labour's 1997 general election win, with Tony Blair's wife Cherie denying reports her dislike for the animal was to blame.
"I can confirm we have been told that Humphrey sadly died last week some time," a Downing Street spokesman said.
'Chief Mouser'
Official questions were asked in the House of Commons about Humphrey's absence after his departure from Downing Street in 1997.
A Conservative MP demanded proof that the moggy - sometimes given the nickname Chief Mouser to the Cabinet Office - was still alive.
Downing Street said Humphrey had been suffering from a kidney complaint.
The media were later invited to a South London property, where Humphrey was photographed, hostage-style, with copies of the day's newspapers.
He had also gone missing while John Major was in Downing Street.
At the time it was thought he had died.
But he returned after staff at a Westminster medical college read his obituary and realised the cat that had made his way into their building was, in fact, Humphrey.
© BBC.co.uk News. 21/3/06.
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Sooty The Roof Top Cat.
 A CAT has taken a liking to living the high life - by spending a month on the roof of a terraced house.
It has foiled rescue attempts by running from RSPCA officers and daring neighbours who have ventured up to bring it down.
Now residents of George Street, in Darlington, have adopted the cat - which they have nicknamed Sooty - and throw food to the top of the two-storey building to help it survive.
The cat has become the talk of the neighbourhood, and a headache for potential rescuers.
But yesterday, RSPCA officials said they were satisfied that Sooty was fit and well, and were happy to let it stay there.
Last night, residents and visitors to George Street told The Northern Echo how Sooty was starting to become part of the community.
Samantha Beaumont said she was stunned it was still there after a month.
"Each time I visit, I'm convinced the cat must have gone by now, but it hasn't," she said.
"I keep wondering if it's okay, but it seems well enough. And when it sees people, or when they call for him, it runs to the edge of the roof to see them.
"Some of the neighbours throw food up just so they know it's getting something to eat. It just seems so strange it's still up there."
Another resident said: "It's the talk of the street, that this cat has been there for all this time, yet seems happy as Larry.
"I've seen the RSPCA out here, and someone else tried to get him down, but he just wouldn't come. If he's not injured, he should be allowed to stay - everyone looks for him now when they pass."
RSPCA Inspector Garry Palmer said officers had visited George Street to try to catch the cat, but it evaded them.
He said: "Cats are very self-sufficient, and this cat seems in good condition and is mobile. From our point of view, we are happy for it to be there, providing it does not come to any harm."
Article Written By Deborah Johnson. © www.thenorthernecho.co.uk
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Cally The Cat That Was Inadvertently Bricked Behind A Wall.
 A cat was rescued after it became trapped for 72 hours when builders inadvertently bricked it behind a wall.
The Campbell family became worried when Cally went missing from their home in Stratford-upon-Avon on Thursday.
She was only found on Sunday when David Campbell heard miaows from behind a newly-repaired wall and used a pick-axe to set the trapped cat free.
Builders Persimmon Homes said it was relieved the cat was unharmed and apologised for the mistake.
A spokesperson for Persimmon Homes said: "Our workmen were only away for a short time, which is when the cat must have decided to explore.
"Although we couldn't have known its whereabouts, we're obviously relieved to know that it's safe and apologise for any distress caused."
Mr Campbell said: "I thought my mind was playing silly games and I could hear this faint whimper through the air bricks, so I immediately realised the cat had been bricked up in the house.
"It was a real miracle to say the least, and we can't believe we've got her back.
"They do say cats have nine lives, so Cally's got one less."
© BBC News.co.uk
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Tabby Cat Terror For Black Bear.
 Jack the cat is possessive about his territory, his owners say
A black bear got more than it bargained for after straying into a family garden in the US state of New Jersey.
The unwelcome intruder was forced up a tree - twice - by the family pet, a tabby cat called Jack.
The terrified bear was only able to make its escape when owner Donna Dickey called the hissing cat into the house.
Ms Dickey said Jack liked to keep a close watch on his territory and often chased away small animals, but one of this size was a first.
"We used to joke, 'Jack's on duty', never knowing he'd go after a bear," Donna Dickey told local newspaper The Star-Ledger.
"He doesn't want anybody in his yard," she added.
The bear was first spotted in the tree by neighbours who thought the 15lb (7kg) cat was just looking up at it.
They then realised the bear was afraid of the cat.
After some 15 minutes, the bear descended, but was chased up another tree, before finally making its escape when Jack was called indoors.
Bear sightings are not unusual in the area of West Milford in New Jersey, which experts say is one of the state's most bear-populated areas.
© BBC/America.
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Stowaway Cat Flies Home In Style.
 Cat's airport welcome.
A Wisconsin cat has received the kind of red carpet treatment more associated with film stars than missing moggies as she returned home on Thursday.
Emily's business class seat on a flight from Paris and paparazzi greeting was a stark contrast to her outward journey.
Two months ago the year-old tabby cat sneaked into an office supplies company near her home in Appleton and hid in a container of paper bound for France.
After a three-week sea voyage the much thinner, but healthy cat, emerged.
Taste for French cuisine
Amazed staff in Nancy, France, took the cat to a vet where an ID collar bearing the number of Emily's vet in the US allowed them to trace her owners.
Waiting at the airport were Emily's overjoyed owners
According to the head of the regional state veterinary service, Regine Marchal, the collar also saved her from being put down - the usual fate of four-legged interlopers at France's ports.
After a month in quarantine she was finally given the green light to go home, but instead of returning in a crate in the hold of a plane as planned Emily was given an upgrade - free business class seats for her and an escort thanks to Continental Airlines.
On the return leg Emily passed up the peppered salmon filet on the menu and "opted for her French cat food" and some water, airline spokeswoman Courtney Wilcox said.
In fact she was so keen on the French cat food that when she was handed back to her owners at Milwaukee airport they commented that not only had she regained the weight lost in the sea voyage but was even plumper than when she'd left.
That was not the only change owner Lesley McElhiney said.
"She seems a little calmer than she was before, just a little quieter, a little, maybe, wiser," Ms McElhiney said.
© BBC/America.
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Stowaway Cat Travels 500 Miles.
 Grant the cat travelled from Fife to the Netherlands
Curiosity got the better of a cat when it climbed into a container ship in Fife and ended up 500 miles away at a port in the Netherlands.
The six-month-old tabby was recovered after Dutch dock workers spotted it inside a container marked Nairn.
After investigations it was discovered the ship which brought the containers to the port near Zaanstreek had sailed from Rosyth in Fife.
The stowaway was taken to an animal shelter where it is being looked after.
Staff at an animal shelter in the Netherlands, who are looking after the cat, have named him Grant, after the whisky.
A spokesman for the Scottish SPCA said the owner will have to pay the quarantine fees otherwise he will stay in Holland.
"He may be from Fife but he may be from further north.
"Luckily he survived the journey but was a bit shaken up. The shelter are looking after him in the meantime but desperately want to reunite him with his owner and help sort out bringing him back.
"We want to find his owners and let them know he is OK."
© BBC/Scotland.
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Riddle Of The Taiwan Stowaway Cat.
 A stowaway cat may have survived a 6,200-mile trip in a container after being found in a shipment of bicycles.
The emaciated puss was discovered by workers at Raleigh's bike distribution centre in Nottingham hidden in the metal container which had come from Taiwan.
Experts say the cat may have stayed alive through the six-week journey by licking at condensation on the walls and on the bikes.
Further investigations showed the container came ashore in Southampton - and it is possible the cat sneaked among the bikes at the Hampshire port.
However, because officials think the cat could be from the Far East, it has been placed in quarantine at Heathrow.
There is probably a poor family in Southampton with a lost cat
Helen Briggs, RSPCA spokeswoman
RSPCA spokeswoman Helen Briggs explained what happened when workers at the warehouse in Church Street in the Eastwood area of Nottingham opened the container.
She said: "There was a very thin, upset and frightened cat inside.
"They thought initially it was from Taiwan.
"When we arrived we called trading standards and we discovered the load had docked into Southampton.
"We think it was probably a British cat that got in at Southampton.
"We don't think it would have survived the whole trip from Taiwan.
"There is probably a poor family in Southampton with a lost cat.
"I guess it is a warning to people to get their pets micro-chipped."
© BBC/Nottingham.
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Lost Cat's Marathon Journey.
 A lost cat has been found after somehow travelling 134 miles from home.
Susan Goodman, of Derby, lost her cat Thomas two weeks ago.
The RSPCA has confirmed the cat was found in Bristol on Tuesday.
The six-month-old cat is reportedly safe and well, but is yet to be reunited with Ms Goodman.
"We had a call from the owner to report her cat as missing and entered the details on our register of lost pets," said an RSPCA spokeswoman.
"But since then, we have been told that the pet has been discovered in Bristol."
'Shock and relief'
The cat vanished two weeks ago from Mrs Goodman's home in Moss Street, Derby, and was discovered on Tuesday in the Kingswood area of Bristol.
He was found roaming streets by a local woman, who checked the pet's collar tag and telephoned Mrs Goodman.
Mrs Goodman said she was "shocked and relieved" to hear Thomas had been found.
The cat went missing after being let out into the back yard.
© BBC/Derby.
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Jessie
 Free at last - but Jessie shows little enthusiam to be rescued
In safe hands: Jessie with her owner Stuart Knowles, and in the backround the container in which the animal was trapped
FIREFIGHTERS rescued a cat after a three-hour ordeal trapped inside a metal storage container - but even after they managed to prise the door open, she still did not want to come out.
Seven-month-old Jessie, locked in by mistake by builders, had to be lured out with the promise of treats.
Owner Stuart Knowles of Hazel Court, Haswell, in east Durham, said when he arrived home to find Jessie missing, he searched for her and heard her mewing. He said: "I thought Jessie was stuck up a tree, but then I saw her nose sticking out of a gap at the bottom of the door of a big metal container left there by builders.
"She must have been locked in by mistake when they left.
"I dialled 999 and told them it was not an emergency, but asked if someone could come and rescue Jessie."
An appliance promptly arrived, but firefighters took a bit longer getting her out.
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Mr Knowles said: "They couldn't cut the lock and decided to prise the door open.
"They managed to wedge a gap in the door, but Jessie was reluctant to come out."
Mr Knowles said that when the builders arrived for work yesterday, they had difficulty opening the door. They thought the container had been burgled, but were relieved when told that firefighters had wedged it open to free Jessie.
© The Northern Echo
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Paws For Thought Over Cat Burglar.
 SOUR NOTE: The Rev Linda Peall at the organ knocked out of tune by the cat.
THE antics of an adventurous cat are causing consternation at a North-East church after the animal effectively re-tuned their organ.
Parishioners think that the black and white cat has been sneaking in to Holy Trinity Church, in Woodland Road, Darlington, and seeking sanctuary in the organ for a couple of months.
Assistant priest, the Reverend Linda Peall, said that the first evidence of the feline imposter were when cat hairs and claw marks were found near the altar.
Scratch marks were also found around the children's corner, where the animal is thought to have slept on occasions.
She said: "It is the church organ that has proved one of the cat's favourite haunts, to the dismay of parishioners.
"The organ keeps going out of tune and we can't find out what is wrong.
"We can only think that it is the cat.
"We found a hole at the back and its must have got through the hole and knocked something to put the organ out of tune."
Church staff have temporarily closed up the holes before full repair work is carried out.
The cat has also been spotted in the church grounds, but all attempts to catch it have proved fruitless.
Mrs Peall said that although it was a timid animal, she had the impression it was well looked after and probably lived in the area.
Church organist Philip Park said the organ needed retuning twice a year because it is such a complicated job.
It was last done in April, but specialists are due to fix the latest problem shortly.
Mr Park, who has played the organ at the church for 40 years, said: "The way you adjust the stops makes the top of the pipes move up and down.
"I think the cat has caught those as it jumps around and has effectively adjusted the tuning."
The cat's antics have caused some notes to play wrongly.
Parishioners have struggled on during regular services, but the out-of-tune organ has caused problems at some services, including weddings and baptisms, and even the ceremony to welcome new priest, the Venerable Nick Barker.
Mr Park said: "I can hear the notes that are out of tune and tunes don't sound as good as they should.
"Sometimes it can be annoying, but it really depends on the service."
© The Northern Echo
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Owners Appeal Over Cat With 26 Toes.
 They say cats have nine lives - so meet Des, who has 26 toes.
While most pet cats have 18 - five on their front paws and four on their rear - the 10-year-old boasts seven on his front and six on his back paws.
The extra digits have left owner Alison Thomas, of Felindre, near Swansea, pondering whether it is a UK record.
One expert said cats with extra toes were common in the area around the old county of Cardiganshire and were sometimes known as "Cardi-cats".
A cat with too many toes is called a Polydactyl.
There are unconfirmed reports in north America of cats with up to 28 toes - but Mrs Thomas cannot find records closer to home.
Mother-of-three Mrs Thomas said: "He came to us when he was about six months old - he just turned up on the doorstep and it was even more noticeable then because his paws were so big.
"The first thing people say when they see him even now is 'look at his paws'.
"He is a bit temperamental - if you know him you are okay but Des can be quite quick with his paws and leave a nasty scratch because he has so many claws.
His rear paws have six toes -his front paws have seven.
"He did have a problem with his paws a while back - nothing to do with the number of the toes - and the vet said he could amputate the extra ones.
"But they don't cause him any problems - he does not scratch the furniture - the children know and they say 'don't go near Des's claws'."
Mrs Thomas said she had read it was common for a Polydactyl to have 24 toes - but 26 was 'very rare'.
Sally Hyman, from the Llys Nini Animal Centre in Penllergaer, Swansea, said she had seen lots of cats with six toes, but never one with seven.
"It's quite common to have six toes in Cardiganshire, and therefore we call them 'Cardi-cats' sometimes," Ms Hyman explained.
"Its because it's a genetic defect, the gene pool is actually concentrated in south west Wales, and so it's more likely to get a cat with that genetic defect, breeding with another cat with that genetic defect in Cardigan, than anywhere, else in Britain."
Mrs Thomas said she was "amazed", as Des had been born in Newcastle Emlyn in west Wales. "He obviously is a Cardi-cat," she said.
Record Holder
The world record might belong to a cat called Mickey Mouse who was owned by Renee Delgade of Westlake Village, California, in 1974.
It had 32 toes, but there are doubts about the record as Mickey may have had "double paw" condition and may not have been a pure Polydactyl.
There is speculation the real record holder for a Polydactyl is Bobbi, owned by Kathy Williams of Stone Creek in British Columbia. The Canadian press reported in 2002 it had 28 toes.
"We would be interested to find out what the record is the UK," added Mrs Thomas.
© BBC. South West Wales
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Des's Rear Toes
 | © BBC. South West Wales
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Cat Returns Home After 10 years.
 Patricia Charnet only had a few snapshots to remember Lynx by.
A cat has been reunited with its owner 10 years after going missing.
Lynx disappeared from her home in Hook, Hampshire, in 1997, and her owner, Patricia Charnet, thought she would never see her pet again.
Earlier this week a stray was found in Carterton, Oxfordshire, and handed in to the Blue Cross centre in Burford.
A scan showed that the 12-year-old tabby was microchipped and the centre tracked down her owner, who lived 60 miles away.
Ms Charnet said that when the animal sanctuary phoned her, she thought they had made a mistake.
Lynx turned up 60 miles away 10 years after disappearing
"You still have it in the back of your mind," she said.
"And it happened this time, for real. That was unbelievable, it is a wonderful feeling.
"If only she could talk she would have a story to tell."
Mandy Jones, from the Blue Cross said staff at the centre were amazed to discover that Lynx had been missing for 10 years.
"I still can't believe we were able to reunite her with her owner after such a long time - it goes to show how important microchipping is," said Ms Jones.
© BBC Hampshire
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Cat Adopt Rottweiler Pups.
 Two Rottweilers and a cat in the same room is hardly a recipe for a happy home.
But Sky and her tiny charges are a proud mum and pups with a difference. For this almost unidentifiable bundle of fur is a rather special family unit and is set to take many people by surprise.
A litter of six puppies were rejected by their mum Roxy straight after being born on Monday, leaving them in a precarious position.
Owner David Page quickly made the decision to do what he could to save the lives of the tiny pups.
“They were born at my property in Haddiscoe near Beccles and the mum instantly refused to look after them for whatever reason, I think she may have been stressed by the birth,” said Mr Page.
A kitten with Rottweiler puppies.
“I was worried of course, so I dried the puppies off and put them in my car, got them under the heater and drove them back to North Walsham, where I live.
“I was really hoping for the best, I took them to the vets where they had a good look and got them on antibiotics. We have lost several of them to pneumonia unfortunately.
“When I got home I sat down to have a think about what to do next and decided to have a go with Sky.
“I put the four which were still alive at that stage in her box very gently, one by one alongside the kittens Sky has also got with her at the moment - just to see what happened.
“They snuggled into her straight away.”
Mr Page is feeding the puppies on a combination of Sky's milk and special puppy formula milk from the vet. Now two more of the puppies have died, but the future of those which remain looks to be in good paws.
“It is very much fingers crossed now, but they all seem happy and it's going well,” said Mr Page.
“Obviously it's very unusual, people always talk about how 'they fight like cat and dog', but in this case I'm hoping they will grow up to be the best of friends.
“I am intending to keep them all and I imagine when they are all older they will all get on very well.”
And Mr Page's wife Joanne said: “We will be trying to get some milk from Roxy as well, as it will help the pups build up their resistance to illness.
“But we can't leave them together, we will just have to do our best.”
The situation has at least one exact precedent, with an almost identical case in America reported earlier in the year.
In February it was reported that in Connecticut workers at an animal charity used a cat which had recently had kittens to adopt a six-day-old Rottweiler puppy that was rejected by its mother.
The puppy, named Charlie, was nursed alongside a number of kittens born to a cat called Satin.
© ADP 24
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Kitten With Rottweiler Pups
 | © ADP 24
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Claws Out In Florida Keys Over Hemingway's Cats
 A game of cat and mouse is under way between the U.S. government and Florida's Ernest Hemingway Home & Museum over the fate of dozens of felines roaming the former home of the Nobel Prize-winning author.
The claws are out over whether the 47 cats that live on the grounds where Hemingway wrote "To Have and Have Not" should be caged or even allowed to remain on the lush subtropical property, one of the Florida Keys' major tourist attractions.
Around half are six-toed, or polydactyl.
U.S. Animal and Plant Inspection Service officials argue that the house, listed as a National Historic Landmark since 1968, requires a federal Animal Welfare License, like a circus or zoo, in order to keep housing the cats.
The city of Key West and Monroe County, which includes Key West and the other islands in the Keys chain off Florida's southeastern tip, are fighting back against federal intervention.
"I think it's kind of sad that a government agency would be spending taxpayers' money on this," said Linda Mendez, the home's event director and author of the "Hemingway Museum Cats" souvenir book. "We're against caging them because they're not used to it."
The museum opened in 1964 and estimates it has spent nearly $200,000 (97,800 pounds) to comply with federal animal regulations that require proper food storage, veterinary care and containment, such as mesh atop the 6-foot (2-metre) wall around the property.
'WHISPURRER'
The U.S. Department of Agriculture said the museum is subject to federal regulations because it promotes the cats online, exhibits them during paid tours, uses them in advertisements and markets them on souvenirs.
It plans to send veterinarian Terry Curtis, an animal behaviorist from the University of Florida -- already dubbed the "cat whispurrer" by locals -- to observe the cats' mental state and physical condition on July 23.
The Hemingway Museum failed three compliance inspections and several cats have been injured or killed since October 2003, the USDA said.
"In 2005 alone, there were 12 occasions when cats left the property; in two of these cases, Hemingway cats were killed by cars," it said.
A federal judge has ordered the two sides to work out their differences.
The spat began when the Florida Keys Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals lodged a complaint in 2003, spurred on by a former Hemingway House volunteer.
According to the tale told to 400 to 600 daily visitors, a ship's captain gave Hemingway his first polydactyl cat, Snowball, and many of the current felines are Snowball's descendants.
The macho writer, an avid fisherman and sportsman, was photographed with cats at his homes in Key West, Cuba and Paris.
But one book claims the cats are descendants of a Key West neighbour's pet crippled by a bullet Hemingway fired to put it out of its misery after it was injured, possibly by a car. The neighbour's cat lost an eye but survived.
© Reuters 2007. All Rights Reserved.
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Downing Street Brings Back The Cat.
 Times really are changing in British politics. The Prime Minister's official spokesman has confirmed that the cat is making a comeback in Downing Street.
The feline in question belongs to the Chancellor Alastair Darling and his wife Margaret who now occupy the flat above Number 10, while the Brown family live in the more spacious accomodation above numbers 11 and 12.
The cat is called Sybil and she is black and white, just like Humphrey, the last cat in Downing Street.
Humphrey survived the Thatcher and Major years but mysteriously disappeared soon after the Blairs moved in.
There were accusations that Cherie Blair had had him put down and Alastair Campbell was forced to arrange a photo call to prove that Humphrey was alive and well and living in retirement in the suburbs.
Humphrey passed away a few years ago of natural causes.
The Prime Minister's spokesman was keen to confirm that Sybil will be very much a cat for the whole house, allowed by Sarah and Gordon Brown to wander at will.
"It's the nature of things that cats are difficult to control," the spokesman commented.
And, as a senior spokesman at the Treasury revealed exclusively to Sky News, the fact that Sybil is "a renowned mouser" will surely make her welcome everywhere.
Sybil, who is named after the character in Fawlty Towers, arrived at her new home this afternoon.
McAvity the Mystery Cat is one of Gordon Brown's nicknames...given that the Darlings are from Edinburgh there will now be two McCats in Downing Street.
By Adam Boulton Political Editor. Updated: 18:10, Tuesday September 11, 2007 © Sky News.
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Kittens Adopted By Pet Rabbit.
 Six abandoned kittens have found an unexpected new mother figure - a pet rabbit.
Veterinary nurse Melanie Humble took the three-week-old kittens to her Aberdeen home.
The kittens seemed to think Summer the rabbit was their mother and began to climb all over her and try to feed from her.
Efforts will be made to find the four males and two females permanent homes in the coming weeks.
Melanie, 29, told the BBC Scotland news website: "The abandoned kittens were handed in when they were about three weeks old and I took them home.
"Summer the rabbit was taken inside on Bonfire Night because of the fireworks and the kittens seemed to really like her and thought she was their mother."
'She's gigantic'
She added: "They were trying to get milk from her and climbing over her. And Summer was not bothered by them at all.
"Summer is five months old and she's gigantic. It is lovely to see them all together.
"They are all doing well and Cats Protection will re-home them."
© BBC
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Cat Rescued After Getting Stuck In A Tin
 An inquisitive moggy has used up one of its nine lives after getting its head stuck fast in an abandoned tin of cat food.
The puss ran into trouble when it tried to make the most of the free meal in Headington, Oxford.
An RSPCA officer performed a delicate rescue operation, cutting the tin from the cat's head.
The fearless mouser licked its lips and walked away uninjured from the incident - no doubt with a full stomach.
An RSCPA spokesman said: "This cat wasn't going to let the risk of getting stuck keep him from food.
"Luckily, the can had no rough edges and he made a clean getaway."
It is believed the tin had been left lying around as rubbish, prompting the RSPCA to warn about the dangers of litter.
"It can quite easily injure or kill animals. Please recycle cans or pinch them together and make sure they are safely in your dustbin."
© Sky News
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Death-Cheating Cat Dubbed Bionic
 A cat who was fitted with metal plates in all four legs after surviving two 21ft falls has been dubbed "bionic".
Six-year-old Baby fractured her back legs after falling from a window in her south London home in September.
The domestic shorthaired cat had a metal plate and screws inserted at the Blue Cross animal hospital in Victoria.
To the surprise of vets, an x-ray showed she had two implants in her front legs, inserted after a similar plunge when she was a kitten.
Extremely Lucky.
Vets said Baby was making a good recovery but will need further surgery to her hind legs to remove some temporary implants.
Jess Gower, Blue Cross chief veterinary surgeon, said Baby was "extremely lucky".
"A cat falling from this height will commonly sustain severe injuries, so we were stunned to find it was the second time she had done it," she said.
"Now she has metal implants in all four legs, so the staff decided to call her the 'bionic cat'.
"She's had two lucky escapes but needs to be very careful to keep her remaining lives intact."
The hospital advises that pets should never be allowed to rest on balconies or window ledges if they are above ground level.
It said cats in particular are easily spooked by sudden noises and this could cause them to bolt and slip.
© BBC. Photo ©Bill Osment.
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Bionic Cat Baby.
 | | © BBC. Photo © Bill Osment. |
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Five-Legged Cat To Lose Two Paws
 A five-legged cat is to undergo surgery to remove a superfluous paw growing from the left side of her body.
The stray was found by a US family in Cannonsburg, Pennsylvania, and taken to a local animal shelter, where she was named Baby Girl.
The operation will not make her a four-footed feline, as vets also plan to amputate a deformed left hind leg.
But staff at the shelter say Baby Girl is already adept at getting around using only 60% of current paw power.
Chrystin Rice, who works at the Washington Area Humane Society, says Baby Girl is in good health as she waits for her operation, scheduled to take place within the next fortnight.
"She's a little bit wild, but she is very easy to handle," she said.
"The veterinarians who have seen her are just amazed that she has five legs. It's probably from in-breeding."
The operation will improve the cat's quality of life, the society says.
So far no one has applied to adopt Baby Girl, although there have been a number of calls to inquire about her progress.
But Chrystin Rice says people shouldn't be put off by the extra leg - or the forthcoming lack of one which should be there.
"It's actually a really, really nice cat," she said.
© BBC.
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More Than 100 Cats Rescued From 2012 Site.
 | 09/02/2008 16:45
LONDON (Reuters) - More than 160 feral cats and kittens have been rescued from the site of the London 2012 Olympics as demolition work continues at a pace.
A local animal charity has been allowed access to the site to ensure the safety of the cats that have taken refuge in the various industrial buildings that are being bulldozed.
The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) said on Friday that 168 animals had been discovered and were now in the care of the Celia Hammond Animal Trust.
The ODA, which has also re-housed newts, frogs and fish from the east London site, said demolition work was expected to be completed in March with construction on the main venues beginning later this year.
(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Clare Lovell)
© Reuters London.
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Cat With Five Legs Lined Up For Op
 | Cats are known for having nine lives but a special feline in Pennsylvania has five legs - at least for the time being.
The moggy, named Babygirl, will undergo surgery to remove the extra leg and another crippled leg, although the operation has not yet been scheduled.
The surgery will leave the cat with three legs.
This will improve her quality of life, according to the Washington Area Humane Society in western Pennsylvania, where the cat will live until a home can be found for her.
Chrystin Rice, a kennel associate, said a woman brought Babygirl to the shelter on January 19.
The woman had first seen the stray animal as a kitten about a year ago in Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, south of Pittsburgh.
Despite needing surgery, Babygirl appears to be in good health, Ms Rice said.
"It's actually a really, really nice cat," she said.
Ms Rice said some people had expressed interest in the cat, but no one had yet applied to adopt her.
"We've had a few calls come in, but everyone's just kind of asking how's she doing, when's the surgery," she said.
© SKY News
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Cat In A Flap Over Expanding Waistline
 | A PORTLY pussycat who put on so much weight he got stuck in his own cat-flap has been placed on a low-calorie diet.
Sooty, who lives in Scarborough, North Yorkshire, with his owner Molly Oliver, had to be wrenched free when he became lodged in the standard-sized cat-flap last week.
Vets have warned Ms Oliver, 68, that unless Sooty sheds at least one third of his massive two-stone bulk, he could be risking health problems like heart disease and diabetes.
Ms Oliver, who has had six-year-old Sooty since he was a kitten, says he is fed no more than any ordinary cat, and blames over-generous locals for his expanding waistline.
"He's always been a big cat," she said. "He loves meat and I just give him normal-sized portions, but I think that he must be getting fed elsewhere as well."
Now, Sooty is forbidden meat and has to make to with a diet of dried biscuits instead. "He's not too happy about the new diet," said Ms Oliver. "When I feed him he gives me a plaintive look as if to say, 'how can I possibly live on that?,' but I am determined he's going to shed some pounds."
She added: "I hope that those who feed other people's cats learn from this - they may think they are just being indulgent but it can actually do serious harm.
"He's due for a weigh-in at the vets in a few weeks time. I just hope he's managed to slim down a bit by then."
© The Northern Echo
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Cat Cut Free From Tin Can
 RSPCA RESCUE: The cat stuck in the cat food can
A CAT found with its head stuck in a tin can at a reservoir has been freed by the RSPCA.
The black adult female was spotted by a fisherman at the popular angling spot off Greengrass Lane, in Marske, on Tuesday morning.
RSPCA inspector Nick Jones said: "The cat was in a lot of distress.
It was a tin of cat food, so I assume she'd gone in after what was left inside.
"I took her to a local vet who was able to cut her free and, thankfully, despite being very upset, she wasn't injured."
The RSPCA has been unable to trace the owner because the cat was not wearing a collar, but it is a regular visitor to the reservoir and was released where she was found.
advertisementInsp Jones added: "Cat food is often used as fishing bait, and I assume that's what the tin was doing there. Litter can be lethal to animals, and it's really important that people do make sure they dispose of it properly.
"If she had not been seen when she was and freed, this cat would probably have died."
© The Northern Echo
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Cat Lovers Appreciate Soul Mate In Vatican
 By ANDY NEWMAN
Published: April 21, 2008
Their names are Shadow, Butch, Misty, Rusty, Sparky, Sunshine, Esther, Marty and Spunky. They are cats, some former strays, some tiger-striped. But to Jan Fredericks of Wayne, N.J., they are family, they are God’s creatures and deserving of compassion.
The Papal Visit
And in Pope Benedict XVI, Ms. Fredericks, the chairwoman of the fledgling American branch of Catholic Concern for Animals, believes that she has found a kindred spirit: Along with an enormous entourage and a message of peace, the Pope brought with him to the United States a lifelong love of cats.
Benedict’s kindness toward the strays of Rome is already the stuff of Vatican legend. His house in Germany, its garden guarded by a cat statue, was filled with cats when Benedict lived there full time before he was posted to the Vatican in 1982.
And Benedict is, without a doubt, the first pope to have had an authorized biography of him written by a cat — Chico, a ginger tabby who lives across the road from Benedict’s old house in Germany.
“I think it shows a sensitive side, and I believe it shows that God lives in a person,” Ms. Fredericks said Friday. “I think all leaders should have compassion for animals.”
When the pope arrived at Yankee Stadium on Sunday, Ms. Fredericks and some members of the group were there, handing out about 300 copies of a pamphlet called “Are We Good Stewards of God’s Creation?” (Also represented outside the stadium was People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, which wants Benedict to follow up on some scathing criticisms of factory farming he made when he was Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger.)
The pope’s fondness for felines has been often remarked upon since his elevation in 2005. One prominent Catholic blogger based in California, who writes under the pen name Gerald Augustinus, claims to have a 2-year-old Siamese named Benedictus, or Benny for short.
And the recently published “Joseph and Chico: The Life of Pope Benedict XVI as Told by a Cat” (Ignatius Press, 2008) is a children’s book written by Chico with the “aid” of an Italian journalist, Jeanne Perego.
The book, which has been translated into 10 languages and has sold 12,000 copies in the United States, tells of young Joseph Ratzinger’s childhood love for all furry animals and of the adult cardinal’s deep bond with the narrator, who lives in the Bavarian village of Pentling.
“When I’d see that the shades were up next door, I knew he was home,” Chico writes. “Then I’d race over and rub up against his legs. What wonderful times we’ve spent together!”
Chico’s owner, Rupert Hofbauer, confirmed the substance of the book and said that Chico, now 10, misses his old friend, who has not been back to visit since becoming pope.
“Sometimes Chico goes over there on his own,” Mr. Hofbauer said in a telephone interview on Friday, “and he sits on the door sill or walks through the garden.”
Ms. Perego said by phone Friday that the pope’s brother, who lives near Pentling, continues to hang the current year’s cat calendar on the wall of the pope’s house and turn its pages every month in a sort of homage to his absent brother.
Though Benedict is the first pope to be written about by a cat, he falls squarely within a long Vatican tradition. According to “The Papacy: An Encyclopedia,” by Philippe Levillain, Pope Paul II, in the 15th century, had his cats treated by his personal physician. Leo XII, in the 1820s, raised his grayish-red cat, Micetto, in the pleat of his cassock. And according to The Times of London, Paul VI, pope from 1963 to 1978, is said to have once dressed his cat in cardinal’s robes.
When Cardinal Ratzinger was the head of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, the German newspaper Bild wrote, he tended to the cats that frequented the garden of the congregation’s building in the Vatican and bandaged their wounds.
Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone told an Italian newspaper in 2005 that the cats sometimes walked him to his office.
“One time the Swiss Guards had to intervene,” Cardinal Bertone joked. “ ‘Look, your eminence, the cats are laying siege to the Holy See.’ ”
Italian media reported that when the pope moved into his papal quarters, he could not bring two beloved cats — notwithstanding the protests of Rome’s animal rights commissioner, who urged the Vatican to “give the two papal cats access to the Apostolic Palace.”
Ms. Fredericks said she thought that the pope would benefit from continued contact with animals. “I think every church should have a cat colony,” she said. “But I don’t think that will happen.”
Victor Homola contributed reporting from Berlin.
© The New York Times
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