Category: Animals

The cat mayoral race

Something light and easy this week: “In Somerville, Massachusetts, a community bike path has, in recent months, become a hotly contested political constituency.”

1,000 words: https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2025/sep/05/the-cat-mayoral-race-meet-11-runners-and-riders-in-the-uss-most-furious-and-furriest-election. Apparently a ranked-choice ballot. Results soon. (And the winner is… Minerva, with the one-word campaign slogan “CRIME.” https://www.boston.com/news/local-news/2025/09/16/somerville-has-a-new-cat-mayor-meet-minerva/)

And good news from Fix the News:

US prison population falls to its lowest in decades. America’s prison population has declined to its lowest level since 1992, with around 1.2 million people behind bars, down from a 2009 peak of 1.6 million. The shift reflects sentencing reforms, drug decriminalisation, diversion to treatment, and falling violent crime. The Atlantic

Plus one of my favorite pics from my collection:

Stray cat becomes guide dog trainer

This unemployed stray cat had no idea he was about to land a full-time job as a dog trainer when he walked into a building looking for shelter… When Sylvester first walked into the Leamington Guide Dogs facility he didn’t even bring a resume… He specializes in “Cat distraction training,” a critical component of guide dog training.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/Bm6kMsljmxE. One minute 20 seconds. If you want to use the timing slider to skip forward or backward, click this symbol

after starting the video to pop it into a separate video window, or this icon for full screen:

And good news from Fix the News:

Assam slashes child marriage by 81% in two years. Child marriage in the northeastern Indian state, home to over 30 million people, dropped by 81% between 2021 and 2024, following a statewide crackdown that included thousands of arrests, community outreach, and expanded education for girls. Authorities are now aiming for full elimination by 2026. The shift marks one of India’s sharpest ever reductions in child marriage, tackling a practice long considered socially entrenched. India Today

Cute animal photos

Need I say more?

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/gallery/2025/mar/21/week-in-wildlife-march-hares-a-dreaming-dormouse-and-the-first-chicks-of-spring.

And good news from Fix the News:

Mexico City changes bullfighting rules to preserve the spectacle but save the bulls: The biggest bullfighting city in the largest bullfighting country in the world is making a change to its centuries-old custom: from now on bullfighters will only be allowed to use capes (no swords!) and fights will be capped at 15 minutes. The shift is designed to protect the bulls while retaining the spectacle (and livelihoods!) of those that rely on the games. Mexico News Daily

32 of the smartest animals in the world

Well, six of these species are apes / monkeys / humans… but some of the others may not be what you expect. Dolphins, of course, and elephants, octopuses, cats and dogs… but pigeons? Squirrels? Monitor lizards?

In 2020, researchers tested the memories of two species of monitor lizard and found they could learn to solve puzzles and remember the solutions 20 months later.

https://www.livescience.com/animals/32-of-the-smartest-animals-in-the-world. About 5,000 words, easy reading.

Oops! Almost forgot: 86 Stories of Progress from 2024: https://fixthenews.com/86-stories-progress-2024/. Global health, conservation, living standards, energy, human rights, and science and technology. Long but encouraging!

HTTP Cats

This is a little techie, but funny. The point is that when your browser asks for a web page, the computer that sends the web page back to you includes a three-digit status code. The first digit says whether the request is in progress, was successful, had a client or server error etc. From Wikipedia:

  • 1xx informational response – the request was received, continuing process
  • 2xx successful – the request was successfully received, understood, and accepted
  • 3xx redirection – further action needs to be taken in order to complete the request
  • 4xx client error – the request contains bad syntax or cannot be fulfilled
  • 5xx server error – the server failed to fulfill an apparently valid request

Anyway, this site will supply a cat picture (yes!) for each return code: https://http.cat/. Click on the picture for an expanded picture. Example: 400 = Bad Request:

Tweets about cats and dogs

Some of these are pretty funny. Click a “pic.twitter.com” link to see the Twitter entry, and clicking a picture shows you a somewhat larger and more complete image. Here’s HuffPost’s 2021 list:

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/funniest-tweets-cats-dogs-2021_n_61ccf5f9e4b0bb04a6362061

For example, from https://twitter.com/the_shb/status/1443740333041328128: “Today seems as good a day as any to share these pics of the cat done as a Zen garden with the world.”

Otterly adorable

Singapore cleaned up its pollution problems and they get a so-cute reward!

Pollution and deforestation drove away Singapore’s otter population in the 1970s. But as the country cleaned up its waters and reforested land in recent years, otters came back in full force, integrating into urban spaces and learning to navigate one of the world’s most cosmopolitan cities. Today, to the chagrin of some and the joy of others, the island is home to more than 10 otter romps, or families.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/singapore-otters-wildlife/2021/10/22/9e85c3ac-2afd-11ec-b17d-985c186de338_story.html