The kool kat!: October 2008

A family cat in South Carolina that was stuck in a tree for eight days fell 80 feet to the ground, landed on its feet and then ran away uninjured.
Owners of Piper the cat said their pet scampered up the giant tree outside their Summerville home on March 13 and all efforts to coax it down were unsuccessful. Monday, the cat jumped from an 80-foot branch.
Home video of the fall showed the cat clipping a few branches and then landing on its feet and running away.
Local 6 News reported that Scottie Colvin was visibly shaken after the fall but was then thrilled her pet survived.
Home video of the fall showed the cat clipping a few branches and then landing on its feet and running away.
"I am scared to death, but at least she's down and she's running, so she's alive," Colvin said. "Thank you all for coming out."
A reporter asked, "When you saw her in the air what did you think?"
"I just wanted to catch her," Colvin said. "I know that's stupid because I probably would have gotten killed but I just wanted to catch her."
Piper was later found under a car after the 80-foot fall.
Colvin said the cat was checked out by a vet and has no injuries.
Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.

Cat survives traffic, 70-foot fall from bridge, 600-foot Columbia River swim
The Associated Press
WENATCHEE — A cat leaped from a pickup truck, scampered through bridge traffic, fell 70 feet into the chilly Columbia River and swam 600 feet to shore before being rescued, Wenatchee Valley Humane Society officials said.
The gray, longhair calico cat, which wore no collar or identification, "ate ravenously" at an animal shelter after the ordeal, Humane Society officer Jody White said.
"She's a nice kitty," White said Monday. "I just hope we can find out who she belongs to and get her back home or find her a new home."
Joi Singleton of East Wenatchee told The Wenatchee World she and her husband, Ron, were driving on U.S. 2 and U.S. 97 over the Odabashian Bridge on Sunday morning when they saw something come off a pickup a couple of car lengths ahead of them.
"We swerved out of the way and realized it was a cat," she said. "It got up and ran. People behind us swerved. It jumped the barrier to the other side of the highway and people there were swerving."
The full-sized white pickup kept going, Singleton said, and she and her husband were unable to get a license plate number before they got over the bridge. They exited the highway, then headed back across the bridge and stopped by the eastern end.
After walking onto the bridge and calling for the cat, they spotted it cowering in a small opening in a concrete barrier near the center of the span and called the Humane Society.
No sooner had two officers gotten the cat into a portable kennel than it jumped out "like a jack-in-the-box before we could secure the door" and leaped over the railing, White said.
"It was absolutely amazing, horrible but amazing, to see. It hit the water, went under, surfaced and was swimming like mad for all she was worth," she said.
White, her supervisor Rebecca Long and the Singletons ran to the end of the bridge and down the Apple Capital Recreation Loop Trail to the shore, where they cheered on the cat.
"Once it spun around in a current and we thought that was it," Singleton said. "Then this guy in a kayak came out of nowhere and started pushing it toward us. The officers got a noose around its neck and pulled it in."

No kitty, no die: Marley the cat survives 14-storey plunge
Susan Lazaruk , Canwest News Service
Published: Thursday, July 03, 2008
VANCOUVER - Marley the cat dropped 14 storeys out of a window of a high-rise and lived to meow about it.
It may have been nature that lured him out, and it was nature that cushioned his fall.
Angela Bester had left a window slightly ajar for her one-year-old Scottish Fold domestic cross she named after a favourite singer, Bob Marley, while she took an overnight trip to Whistler.
When she returned to her 14th storey condo, she froze.
"I saw the window and I knew instantly what had happened and I looked at the (uneaten) food and the water. In my heart, I knew he was gone," said the construction health and safety manager.
"I was completely devastated."
Fearing what lay below, her boyfriend, Jonathan Stevens, volunteered to go down to the ground-floor garden that doubles as a green roof for the parking lot.
He saw a flattened fern. Then he spotted Marley darting into the shrubbery.
Bester and their neighbours joined the search and after three hours, Marley finally emerged, still looking dazed and confused.
"He was hugging my boyfriend, he had his paws around his neck and he was not letting go," said Bester.
A trip to the vet gave him the all-clear.
"He's extremely affectionate like he's always been," said Bester.
She guessed Marley took the dive after being tempted by the birds that frequently fly nearby, and she plans to install a screen over the window.
"We figured it out, he fell 150 feet," said Bester.
The high perch may have saved him. Studies have shown 90 per cent of cats that have fallen up to 32 storeys have survived. Ironically, those falling from higher than six storeys are more likely to survive - and they suffer fewer injuries.
The theory is when cats reach full velocity, they relax and spread themselves out like a flying squirrel and land on their bellies, not their feet.
Another possible explanation is that cats that die in a fall from great heights are less likely to be brought to the vet.
Marley's free fall isn't even the local record.
Two cats survived a fall from a 21-storey apartment into bushes in August 1997, and a 10-month-old kitten lived after a 20-storey plummet from a Burnaby, B.C., building in July 1994

I purchased a new set of headphones at Best Buy. Mine died of natural causes. I am one of those people that cannot work out unless I am listening to something so it was imperative that I got a new set before my next workout. I thought I had it planned out perfectly. I would buy the headphones, run home, get my gym stuff and be ready to rock and roll!
I found a cool pair that I liked. I got them home. Everything was going as planned. I guess I never really noticed or thought about the fact that they were enclosed in this big thick plastic case. The kind that need to be opened with a phaser or a Jedi light saber. No big deal. I would just get the scissors out and I am ready to go. There were no scissors to be found.
So here we go… I ripped it with my hands, stomped it with my feet, tore it with my teeth, fed it to my dog, fed it to my cat, stabbed it, jabbed it, prayed over it and cursed it. It just smiled back at me laughing, still snugly encased in its plastic kryptonite home. Where is Superman when you need him? Finally in a fit of rage, I took a knife and wildly stabbed at. I completely missed it and impaled my hand. I screamed loudly and throw the package across the room. I heard my cat scream. I looked over and it had sliced off the end of her tail.
After I bandaged my hand, I picked up the cat and the headphones and headed for the vet. On the way to the vet I look at the headphones and they were still in their plastic case laughing at me. I decided that I would have the last laugh and tossed them onto the highway to face a gruesome end by tire squash.
I got my cats tail re-attached. I got my hand stitched and headed home. I was stopped at a red light and out of the corner of my eye I saw a homeless guy wearing my headphones and petting his cat. He was obviously smarter that I was!
I missed my workout……
Question to ponder? What is the point of these “kryptonite cases”? Medieval Chastity Belts were probably easier to break into. Somebody please tell me who invented it so I can send him or her my vet bill.

Curiosity killed the cat (ALMOST!)
Today my 4 month old kitten was exploring the apartment (as usual) and started playing in our roommate's mesh hamper. He got his head tangled up in the handles and started spinning around to get out, but it just made it tighter and he couldn't breathe. Thank goodness he made a howling noise and my boyfriend and I were here to hear him. We had to cut the handle to get him out because he had twisted it so tight! It was scary to say the least! Have any of you ever experienced something like this with your curious cat?

I once had an adult cat walk behind the television and get gangled in the cables. She appeared to panic, and she made loud, distressed noises, not screams or yowls, but something like that. Fortunately, I was in the room and was able to extricate her. She was so upset she hid under the couch. I managed to get her and I held her for about a half hour, until she decided to get off my lap.
It sounds like your kitten would have died if he weren't rescued. I don't know if my cat could have extricated herself. I am grateful that I was present when it happened, but I wonder if similar situations happened when no one was home.
Afterwards, I fixed the cables so that no cat could get tangled in them.
Thank God your kitten cried out and you were there to hear him and rescue him!
The idea of a cat proofer for your home is a good one.

Our baby Tortie once put her head inside a plastic bag and took off running. She hit a sliding-glass door hard.
Poor baby!
She was probably dizzy and sore but ok. However, a serious fear of plastic bags was born that day!!!
I later found out that many plastic bags are manufactured using certain animal by-products, which makes them smell irresistible to animals.
Pet-proofing a house is a great idea and should be on everyone's short list when adopting.

British beauty Kate Beckinsale almost didn't attend the Screen Actors Guild Awards on Sunday because her pet cat caught fire.
The actress was preparing for the awards ceremony on Sunday night when her cat, Clive, became engulfed in flames after burning himself on a candle.
But Beckinsale did eventually make it to the awards with husband Len Wiseman to present Alec Baldwin with his award for Outstanding Performance by a Male Actor in a Comedy Series in "30 Rock."
She tells People.com, "Our cat caught fire on a candle. As I was getting ready, there was like 'whoosh' a fireball and he went up like a rocket.
"(The cat) is fine. He had no idea. It was awful"

I Almost Killed My Cat
Thursday, August 24, 2006
I did and it was horrible. I debated whether to post this or not but I figured it would perhaps raise awareness if nothing else.
Anyway, it began yesterday when I was taking my kids to the pool. We were running late and I grabbed a towel out of the dryer and flew out the door. When we got back I stuffed the clothes that were hanging out of the dryer back in and set it to tumble press to get the wrinkles out. I went outside and watered my flowers for about 15 minutes. I came back and stopped the dryer before the cycle finished so that I could fold the clothes and take them upstairs with me. I noticed the clothes were spotted and smeared here and there with red stains. I was like pissed because I thought I left a lipstick in my pocket or something. But then I noticed the red was oddly smeared on the dryer door and I saw a very deep red stain on one pair of shorts. Then this dread came over me like a nauseous wave and I looked inside and moved some clothes around and there was my cat all twisted up in the clothes. I screamed. Kid 1 came running and I frantically told him to get me the phone.
I finally got a grip and reached in and started to free the cat and I heard a meow. I thought he was already dead. When I pulled him out he was panting heavily with his mouth open and full of blood. His paws were all curled up. He is a black Persian hairball as it is. Like I said I was frantic. He was still alive but I thought he didn't stand a chance...he is 17 years old and look liked a car ran him over. I quickly called the vet while he laid panting on the dryer door. They said to bring him immediately. I threw the kids in the car like a mad woman and placed my cat...Hector...on a towel in the clothes basket. The traffic was horrible and I realized it would take me forever to get to my vet so I took him to the one I don't use but that was close by and they whisked him right into the exam room. They carefully hosed him down to get his temperature back down. It was 107 at that point. It was probably higher while he was in there. After a half hour they were able to get it down to 96. All the blood was from him biting his tongue. They couldn't detect any broken bones and they were able to stop the bleeding pretty easily. Their fear was that his temp would continue to drop so they bundled him up with hot water bottles, gave him antibiotics and a pain killer and sent him home with me. I was so relieved because I thought I was going to be putting him down and now he was going to be alright!
When we got him home he was very wobbly like his equilibrium was way off. He insisted on walking and I couldn't figure out where he was headed until it became clear it was to the litter box. He pee'd for like 10 minutes. That broke my heart. He felt like crap but still used the box. He slept in a little makeshift bed I made up all night and in the morning he ate like a champ and was drinking water. He is still very wobbly and has a hard time walking on his own. Hopefully that will get better the more he rests.
I can't even begin to describe the horror when I realized my cat was in there.If you have cats please keep that door closed. Hector had got into the habit of sleeping in there once in awhile but I always noticed him before. The vet said this is pretty common. She said the dryer doesn't actual spin that fast and because I had clothes in there it buffered him from getting banged up too badly. It was the heat that did him in and had I been 5 minutes later he would have seizured and died.