In “Mews in the News,” Mewla curates cat news stories from around the world for you.

Box-Loving Stowaway Cat Accidentally Mailed to California

A family in Utah, USA, accidentally mailed their cat hundreds of miles to California.

The cat, named Galeana, disappeared from her home earlier this month and her family was unable able to locate her.

She was accidentally mailed in a return package to Amazon, and found by a worker a week after slipping undetected into the box.The cat was taken to a vet and found to be in good health despite having had no food or water for days.

Read the story at https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68918102

Want to Hug & Squeeze Cute Cats? There's a Scientific Term for That!

New research has looked into humans’ urge to squeeze cute cats and other animals vs. human babies. Scientists have termed this urge to squeeze, pinch, or nibble adorable little ones “cute aggression.”

A recent Yale University study evaluated 54 people who looked at photographs of 1) adult animals, 2) baby animals, and 3) human babies. Half of the baby photos were digitally enhanced to make their eyes bigger and cheeks fuller.

Participants rated their emotional reactions to the photos and the urges they had while viewing them, such as “I want to squeeze something,” and, “I feel like pinching those cheeks!”

Which images do you think brought on the strongest emotional reactions and urges to squeeze? The baby animals!

Read the story at https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-68651792

Grimace Scale Helps Identify Cat's Pain Level

Evangelista and colleagues published their validated, feline pain “grimace” scale at Grimace Scale Training Manual. The scale includes photos and drawings that compare whisker, head, ear, eye, and muzzle position of cats with no, moderate, or high levels of pain. Although the scale is designed to help professionals make diagnoses, it can also help cat guardians gauge if their cat needs veterinary care.

Onuma and colleagues (2024) report that similar scales are now being used with other mammals https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38382945/

Who Needs Humans? Cat Volunteers Self as Animal Therapist.

For the past few years, a cat named Henry has been visiting Addenbrooke’s Hospital in Cambridge, England. Lately, he’s been comforting and cuddling with one special patient, a teenage girl named Amber who recently had surgery for a brain tumor. Amber said that Henry “seems to suck up all the negativity and replace it with positivity.” Our best to you as you recover, Amber!

Read the story at https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-cambridgeshire-68651792

Henry’s FB page is

https://www.facebook.com/groups/206579330460897

New Research Reveals Unique Value of Therapy Cats

Results of a recent, comprehensive study that evaluated therapy cats, their handlers, and “customers” have just been published. Findings showed that cats provide a special form of comfort that dogs cannot.

In the past, most research on human-animal interactions and bonding has focused on dogs rather than cats. This new study, funded by the Cat People company, evaluated cats as therapy animals.

A few major findings from the research included that:

Many misconceptions and inappropriate stereotypes about cats and what it means to be a “cat person” need to be challenged.
Visits from therapy cats and their human handlers make a tremendous impact on people.
Visits from cats helped people in many ways, including lowering depression, anxiety, loneliness, and stress.
There is a significant need for more therapy cat teams.

Read the full study summary at https://petpartners.org/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/EXPLORING-THE-CAT-HUMAN-BOND.pdf

Pressing Need for More Cat Therapy Animals

Important, new research has found that cats make the purr-fest therapy animal, providing comfort that dogs and other animals often cannot. As a result, the animal-assisted therapy organization Pet Partners is offering special incentives to help cat-human therapy teams receive training.

Across the U.S., libraries, schools, hospitals, and assisted living facilities need therapy animals to visit and provide comfort to their students, residents, patients, and customers. Cats are especially needed to visit groups such as veterans with PTSD, seniors in facilities, students with literacy challenges, patients in recovery, and people with intellectual disabilities. In addition to cats, horses, rabbits, guinea pigs, rats, mini pigs, birds, and even llamas and alpacas are eligible to be therapy animals.

Do you have a strong trust bond with your cat? Does your cat have a calm temperament? If you and your pet are interested, contact Pet Partners now. Read more at: https://finance.yahoo.com/news/pet-partners-looking-special-animals

To learn more about animal-assisted-therapy and how to prepare your cat to be a therapy animal, go to https://mewlayoung.com/the-doctor-is-in/

Permanent Cat Art Exhibit Opens at Mesa Museum

A new exhibit of Karen Kuykendall’s works kicked off with a free catfest celebration this weekend in Mesa, Arizona was a published author and teacher. Her books featured a fantasy world of Cat-People which inspired much of her artwork. Pieces include sculptures, and works of >paper mâché. The exhibit, consisting of over 1000 pieces, will now be a part of the Mesa Historical Museum’s permanent exhibits.

Veteran Repays Cats by Opening Cat Sanctuary

A veteran with 19 years of military service remembered how cats helped comfort him during difficult times. To repay cats, he and his siblings have opened 9 Whiskers Lounge, a cat sanctuary located in Katy, Texas. The sanctuary offers a home for rescued cats “where feline serenity meets human connection, uniting cat lovers and rescues in a tranquil, adoption-centered haven.” Cat lovers can visit and relax with the cats and even find their next best friend.

The 9 Whiskey Lounge offers cat adoptions and is located at 510 S Mason Rd Suite 1, Katy, TX.

Human Catches the Plague from Outdoor Pet Cat

Last week, someone in Oregon was diagnosed with the plague that they probably contracted from their pet cat. This is the first case since 2015. Luckily, the human’s case was caught early and treated with antibiotics, an effective treatment for the plague.

Sadly, the cat became ill and died before it could be treated.

Plague is caused by a bacteria. The disease killed about 25 million people during the 14th century. Today, cases usually occur in rural areas in the Southwest USA, California, southern Oregon, and western Nevada. Humans can become infected via flea bites or by touching contaminated animal. Symptoms typically include fever, weakness, headaches, chills, and swollen lymph nodes. The disease is easily treated if caught early.

Cats are at risk because they’re more likely to pick up rodents. To prevent pets from spreading plague, keep pets indoors, on a leash when outdoors, and prevent them from hunting.

Animals that carry the disease include rats, squirrels and chipmunks.

Read the story at: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/oregon-resident-catches-rare-case-of-plague-likely-from-their-cat-180983785/

Paleontologists Discover New Cat Species from 15.5 Million Years Ago

Paleontologists in Spain have discovered a new genus and species of ancient feline, after its partial jaw bone was found in Madrid. The new cat species lived about 15.5 million years ago during the Middle Miocene epoch.

The feline, named Magerifelis peignei, belonged to a subfamily of small cats having a bony hyoid. This puts them in the category of cats who are able to purr but not roar.

The Magerifelis peignei is estimated to have weighed 7.61 kg (about 17 pounds) and be about the size of a serval. Because of the cat’s large jaw and strong bite, it would have been able to kill large prey.

Read the story at: https://www.sci.news/paleontology/magerifelis-peignei-12614.html

Cats Win Hardened Hearts in One of Chili's Worst Prisons

If you ask some prisoners, they’ll tell you that the cats wandered in on their own. Others will tell you that they were brought in to kill the rats. However, a gang of feral cats are have taken over and are bringing comfort to those in Chili’s most overcrowded prison. And the prisoners have fallen in love. Read more at NYT.com

Outdoor Cats Are Using $500 Self-Heating Satellite Dishes as Cat Beds

Outdoor cats have found a creative way to deal with freezing weather and snow in the cold parts of North America. Aaron Taylor of Canada posted a hilarious photo on Twitter of five cats curled up on the $500 Starlink satellite dish he erected on his lawn. The pricey satellite devices were developed by Elon Musk’s SpaceX and are self-heating. The warming feature prevents snow from building up on the dish and disrupting the signal. Unfortunately, five cats snuggling on a satellite dish interrupts video streaming as well.

➤ Click HERE for More News 🗞️ ➤