Who says Chinese cats fare better today than a few years ago? While it would appear legislation was introduced to help protect cats in China, it has come to the fate of much legislation in America – stuck in limbo.

This week Chinese authorities intercepted a truck carrying 500 cats destined for the dinner table. While there was nothing the authorities could do because it is legal to sell cats in China, they called a local animals rights group who after three hours of negotiations with the driver, bought all the cats for 3,500 yuan  or about $560.

To read more about this click on the links below.

China truck found loaded with 500 cats believed restaurant-bound
GlobalPost (blog)
Chinese authorities on Thursday intercepted a truck carrying 500 cats believed meant for popular dishes like “Tiger and Dragon Locked in Battle,” which features snake and cat meat, according to Britain’s The Telegraph. More from GlobalPost ..

Truck crammed with FIVE HUNDRED cats stopped en route to res …
By BarbCat SunshineLady
Some were crammed into rusty cages so small they could not stand up. Others were gasping for air in sacks. All were starving, exhausted and just hours from being killed and served up as a delicacy in restaurants. These harrowing …
Care2 News Network

Rome’s mayor, Gianni Alemanno, who is up for re-election next year, is well aware that while cats can’t vote, cat people do, and he’s weighing in to keep the controversial cat shelter open. Archeological preservations don’t agree. They want the shelter gone. The shelter, if one can call it that consists of several bright cage-lined rooms, and houses from 150 to 180 cats.

Preservationists argue that the cats and people feeding the cats are jeopardizing the very old Republican-era temples. The shelter, they says, sit directly above the remains of the travertine podium of Temple D, which dates back to the second century B.C.

Rome has its share of feral cats that have been roaming through these historic sites forever. They’ve become part of the landscape. However, the shelter drew attention to itself when it applied for a permit to put in a bathroom. To read more on this, click on the following two links.

Strays Amid Rome Ruins Set Off a Culture Clash
New York Times
ROME — Cats have prowled the streets of Rome since ancient times, more recently finding refuge with an association of volunteers who have lovingly tended to thousands of strays over the years amid the ruins of a site where Brutus is thought to have …

Et tu Fluffy? Rome weighs evicting cat shelter.
Christian Science Monitor
The cats – there were 250 of them this week – have free run of the adjoining archaeological remains and can be seen lounging in the sun on broken bits of marble, padding along fallen pillars, and dozing on the corrugated iron roofs which protect the .

The debate over whether or not eradication of ferals is the best way to control them brings Alley Cat Allies citing research showing that such measures have been dismal failures on two islands, one in the Antartic, another in the Atlantic

The debate rages over whether ferals are wiping out endangered bird species. Some anti-cat people go so far as to call them invasive species. This research study shows that the vacuum theory applies. When the cats were wiped out, rabbits, mice, and other creatures created havoc with the environment. For more on this, click on the article below.

International Cat Protection Group says: “Environmental Scientists are playing …
The Herald | HeraldOnline.com
MT. RAINIER, Md., Nov. 1, 2012 — /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Alley Cat Rescue (ACR), the international cat protection organization, urges environmentalists to act cautiously when pronouncing that they want ALL outdoor feral cats eradicated.

And would you believe it….Ben Huh of I Can Has Cheezburger, is allergic to cats. Go figure, but ….

I can has reality show? Chatting with the stars of Bravo’s ‘LOLwork’
Entertainment Weekly
Irony alert: Ben Huh, CEO of the company behind humor sites FAIL Blog, The Daily What, and the feline-focused I Can Has Cheezburger, among others, is allergic to cats. Luckily, his wife Emily doesn’t share Ben’s affliction — “I’m proud to say I am a …

There’s much more in Cat News this week, and here’s a collection of cat related stories, you might want to check out.

Power outage spurs cat adoption; court costs are punishment for cruelty …
Plain Dealer
The Cleveland Animal Protective League went dark Oct. 30 after superstorm Sandy struck Northeast Ohio and director Sharon Harvey, looking at cats cowering in cold, dark cages, put out a plea for help the following day. She slashed the cat adoption fee

Letter: Stray cats under attack from pet dogs
Dodge City Daily Globe
I have heard that since animal control made some changes, cats were just thrown out to the streets and would no longer be picked up, all because there is no place to put them. Consequently, the cats are free game for cat haters, bird lovers and people …

Authorities arrest suspect in University of Montevallo campus cat deaths
al.com (blog)
MONTEVALLO, Alabama – The University of Montevallo today announced that authorities on Tuesday arrested the suspect in the investigation concerning three dead cats found on campus in October that had been killed in a potentially disturbing manner

Saber-toothed cats and bear dogs: How they made cohabitation work
Phys.Org
The researchers found that the cat species—a leopard-sized Promegantereon ogygia and a much larger, lion-sized Machairodus aphanistus—lived together in a woodland area. They likely hunted the same prey—horses and wild boar. In this habitat, the …

Put your fat cat on ‘Catkins’ diet
Post-Bulletin
The Catkins approach can solve both the problem of obesity — often caused by the high carbs in grain-loaded dry cat food — and the myriad health problems cats develop from not getting enough moisture in their diet. This lack of moisture can lead to ..

Classic “cats chasing after lasers” game gets taken to the extreme
CBS News
(CBS News) While you’ve no doubt probably seen videos of cats adorably chasing after the red dot from a laser pointer before, I guarantee you have never seen it quite like this. Prepare to watch the classic game you know and love taken to the extreme …

Frantic Dogs, Cats Await as Saviors Drive to the Rescue
Businessweek
“In a disaster area you need to prepare for the worst,” says Shaw, putting on a thick pair of gloves. “Assume every dog is angry.” The rescuers’ gear includes poles fitted with nets to catch cats, other poles with slip nooses for bigger animals and ..

ANTIQUES ROADSHOW | Special: Cats & Dogs Promo | PBS
PBS
In a preview from ROADSHOW’s new special, “Cats & Dogs,” Todd Weyman appraises a 1909 Theophile Steinlen “Summer Cat” color lithograph. ANTIQUES ROADSHOW airs Mondays at 8/7C PM on PBS. Watch full-length episodes of ANTIQUES ..

Liberty woman is convicted of keeping too many cats
Kansas City Star
Annette Betancourt was cited for creating a public nuisance in October 2011 after neighbors complained about a colony of feral cats under her care. A sentencing hearing is scheduled for Tuesday. Jurors will decide whether to sentence Betancourt to 90 …

POLICE: Louisville man beat cat with 2×4; fractured skull
WDRB
LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) — A Louisville man has been arrested months after police say he killed a cat by beating it in the head with a 2×4. According to an arrest warrant, the incident took place on May 14. On that date, police say 30-year-old Charles W …

Feral cat program in Millville makes the cut
Vineland Daily Journal
MILLVILLE — The vehicle bay of the Millville Rescue Squad became an operating theater for almost eight hours on Sunday as residents brought in 142 feral cats from their neighborhoods to be spayed or neutered before being released back into their …

Researchers find feral cat numbers not reduced when dingo numbers increase …
Phys.Org
The researchers report that images from the cameras showed dingoes and cats in the same areas – sometimes even during the same time of day – and that no evidence could be found to suggest that the cats were avoiding the wild dogs. The only exception …

Animal Attraction: LA becomes largest city to ban sale of dogs, cats, rabbits
KHOU (blog)
The Los Angeles City Council formalized its approval of an ordinance (by a 13-2 vote) that bans the retail sale of dogs, cats and rabbits–an important step on the path to becoming the largest no-kill community in the United States. This action on …

Erie County’s humane society eyes feral cats
Sandusky Register
The humane society once ran a trap, neuter and return program to reduce the wild cat population in the county, but it ended in December 2011 when the program ran out of money, Hargreaves said. But with the feral cat problem persisting, the group is ..

Rescue cats and dogs set trend at pet stores
Stock and Land
The pet shop of the future could look much like today’s – stocked with cute balls of fluff asleep in piles or chewing each other’s ears – except the cute critters would be sourced from animal shelters and rescue organisations rather than purpose-bought …

Toronto’s cat population booming
CBC.ca
A warm spring led to a boom in Toronto’s cat population and now more of them than usual are roaming the streets, pushing the city’s animal shelters over capacity. As many as 300,000 cats are on Toronto’s streets, said Barbara Steinhoff with the Toronto

Critics Question County Funds for Cat Program to Trap, Neuter and Release
The Ledger
To mark which cats have received treatment at the FSC campus, a notch, called tipping, is cut into one ear while they are under anesthesia, Hawkins said. The tipping process also serves as a deterrent to those wanting to get their own cats treated for …

Critics Question County Funds for Cat Program to Trap, Neuter and Release
The Ledger
To mark which cats have received treatment at the FSC campus, a notch, called tipping, is cut into one ear while they are under anesthesia, Hawkins said. The tipping process also serves as a deterrent to those wanting to get their own cats treated for …

‘Cat hoarder’ sent for mental testing; to lose father, home
Elgin Courier News
Tinkler lived alone except for the numerous cats he reportedly took care of, though both Reidy and neighbors said Tinkler has a close friendship with Penny Knuth, the woman who owns his home but does not also live there. Tinkler is charged with four …

Cat missing 5 months found
KRQE
“Had to make an emergency stop on the side of I-40 on the border of Arizona and New Mexico,” said Kenneth Harris, Meeko’s owner. Harris says the cats were out of their cages because it was hot and the middle of summer. When his wife and 5-year-old son ..

Cat shelter owner fears shutdown
Austin Herald
Mary Draayer, who runs Cats Off Broadway at 605 21st Ave. NW, said she received another citation in the mail several weeks ago. Draayer was charged in January with a misdemeanor for having more than 30 cats. While Draayer said she has since found ..