This year had no shortage of news stories about cats — from telephone-pole rescues to abuse. Here is a countdown of the top 10 news stories posted on CatTime that generated the most traffic.
10. Cat saved from euthanasia as ordered in owner’s will
When Georgia Lee Dvorak passed away, she donated her entire $1.3 million estate to animal-related causes. Yet the executor or her estate was horrified to discover a provision in the will that called for her perfectly healthy 11-year-old pet cat to be euthanized. Dvorak rescued the cat (Boots) from abusive owners; fearing the feline would suffer more abuse if she went to a shelter, the woman’s final wish was for the animal to be painlessly put down. In the end, a judge spared Boots’ life.
9. “Broken cat” named Lucky gets fixed
Yet another story of animal abuse: here, a cat had his front legs shattered by a cretin with a golf club. The incident took place in Kentucky, which is in the bottom-five states in terms of animal cruelty laws; see how the other states fared in a 2011 report by the Animal Legal Defense Fund.
8. Two-faced “Janus cat” born in Florida
A very rare genetic defect results in cats who are born with two faces. Dubbed Janus cats, after the two-faced goddess in Roman mythology, these felines typically suffer a host of health problems. Harvey Dent, a Janus cat born in the Sunshine State, had his own story.
7. Deformed cat gets life straightened out
A stray cat with Bilateral Arthrogryposis, a condition where the rear legs are crisscrossed and backwards, was saved from death row. Rather than amputate Corky’s rear legs, a dedicated surgeon took on the challenge of trying to straighten them out; he was half successful.
6. Two-legged cat named Terminator ready for action
Terminator is a cat who, despite the loss of her two rear legs due to an injury, doesn’t let her handicap keep her down: She’ll be back. The moniker is from James Cameron’s 1984 sci-fi flick starring Arnold Schwarzenegger.
5. Cat burned by acid faces long road to recovery
The story of Snow was posted during Prevention of Cruelty to Animals Month, and it was a horrifying example of the evil humans can do. The stray white cat was found with acid burns and required a lengthy rehabilitation. If anything, Snow is a sterling example of cats’ resiliency, as illustrated in our follow-up stories.
4. Heartbreaking letter: “Grown-ups killed my kitty”
A letter written by an 8-year-old boy to the Utah Herald Journal, asking why his beloved cat was euthanized at animal control, broke the hearts of all who read it.
3. Meet Anakin, a two-legged cat
Born without a pelvis or back legs, this feline named after a Star Wars character has no problem getting around. Found as a stray in Pensacola, Fla., the cat doesn’t know the concept of handicapped.
2. 10 funny pictures of public cat shaming
All cats do things they shouldn’t — from urinating in places other than the litterbox to stealing socks. Some owners called their felines out on such behavior for the world to see; here are 10 instances featuring the accused.
1. Meow the 39-pound cat is dead
Obesity is a problem in pets, and a 39-pound cat named Meow highlighted the epidemic with a high profile media tour of the morning shows in New York City. Shortly afterward, the feline died of pulmonary failure. Of all the pieces CatTime featured on Meow, his obituary generated the most traffic. Meow wasn’t the only obese cat that gained the interest of our readers: Spongebob, Tiny, Skinny, and Garfield also had their stories.
