Good Tuesday morning.
Those of you who have been here a while have experienced my transformation from cat person to dog person. The change was gradual, but definite. I can no more imagine owning a cat right now than I can dying my hair lime green.
Though, (and hopefully my other half is not reading this right now), I have of late felt some kind of something while watching videos of rescued stray kittens on the interwebs. Those algorithms are freakishly on point.
So, I still have a soft spot for cats, though my days of living with a litter box are most definitely over. And I am certainly not alone. just over 45 percent of U.S. households own dogs for a total of just under 90 million pooches living in their furever homes, compared to 32 percent of feline households (just shy of 74 million cats), according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.
In terms of sheer numbers existing on the planet, though, cats are dominating in a big way.
It’s estimated that the world is home to some 600 million cats, compared to some 400 million dogs, according to the Ecology Global Network. While they can’t know for absolutely certain – there’s no official cat census, after all – experts believe there are more cats across the globe than any other species of mammal – second only to humans.
The vast majority of these cats are wild animals, though when it comes to breeds, house cats are most populous, all told. And though we don’t think of it terribly often, cats – even the fluffiest, mildest, purringest house cat – are skilled killers.
Cats kill billions of birds, rodents, reptiles, insects, and amphibians annually. On average, a single pet cat kills around 75 animals each and every year, but some overachievers have been found to far surpass that number.
As a result, cats are a significant threat to global biodiversity, and are linked to the extinction of more than 60 species worldwide. They are also deemed by researchers to be the second most series threat to worldwide bird populations (after loss of wildlife habitat due to human overdevelopment).
In the US, it is fairly standard practice to keep one’s pet cat inside, which is not only better for the small critters they are likely to hunt while they’re out, but also better for their health. But that is not the case in other countries, where cats are more or less free to roam wherever they choose.
There may or may not be somewhere in the neighborhood of 50 million to 70 million feral cats in the U.S. Cats can have between 1 to 8 kittens per litter and 2 to 5 litters per year. You do the math, because I surely can’t. I think back of the envelope math would reveal that we’re talking about a LOT of stray cats out there.
The best way to control the feral cat population is to sterilize them, AKA spaying and/or neutering, which also has the benefit of curbing shelter overcrowding. There are a number of programs out there that focus on trapping, fixing, and returning street cats to the community and also on providing low-cost neutering and spaying services for those who might otherwise be unable to afford it.
And THAT brings us to the piece de resistance of today’s post: Happy National Cat Day! A few fun cat facts: They can jump five to six times their height. They sleep up to 16 hours a day. They share about 95 percent of their genetic makeup with tigers. They’re lactose intolerant – yet, it’s true, no saucer of milk or cheese treats, please, unless you want to risk serious tummy trouble.
It will be on the warm side, with high temperatures flirting with 60 degrees, but cloudy. There’s a slight chance of a rains shower that will increase as the day progresses.
In the headlines…
Puerto Rico’s Republican Party chairman said he would withhold his support from former President Donald Trump unless he apologized for racist remarks that an insult comic made about the U.S. territory during Trump’s rally at Madison Square Garden.
Outrage is continuing to mount following the racist anti-Puerto Rican remarks at the Madison Square Garden rally in New York as Democrats, celebrities and even some Republicans condemned the incident.
There are signs, publicly and privately, that the former president and his team are worried that their opponents’ descriptions of him as a racist and a fascist may be breaking through to segments of voters.
Longtime Trump adviser Peter Navarro is calling the comedian, Tony Hinchcliffe, “the biggest, stupidest asshole that ever came down the comedy pike” after he called Puerto Rico a “floating island of hot garbage” during his often-vulgar opening set.
Trump’s MSG comment that he and House Speaker Mike Johnson have a “little secret” about “going to do really well with the House” set off a frenzy among frightened Democrats, who are now primed to fear the worst.
Trump delivered his final pitch to Atlanta voters in an address attacking his political opponents and urged his supporters to vote on Election Day. He also disputed some Democratic accusations against him — including claims he is another “Hitler” and a “Nazi.”
Court documents shed new light on a legal battle over which White House aides had to testify before a grand jury in Washington that charged Trump with plotting to overturn the 2020 election, showing how judges carved out limits on executive privilege.
As the presidential contest enters the final sprint, campaign aides and allies close to Vice President Kamala Harris are growing cautiously optimistic about her chances of victory, saying the race is shifting in her favor.
Harris’s campaign has backed away from President Biden in the final days of the 2024 election, viewing the unpopular incumbent as a liability in her quest to succeed him, according to several White House and Harris campaign officials familiar with the planning.
Harris will deliver her closing argument in a campaign event at the Ellipse, a park just outside the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, where Trump rallied supporters ahead of the Jan. 6 Capitol riot, on Tuesday night.
CNN’s most recent national poll found that Harris had a large lead among voters who said they had already cast their ballots, despite a tied race among likely voters overall. But the Trump campaign has shifted to encourage voting early and by mail.
With one week until Election Day, more than 43 million ballots have been cast across 47 states and the District of Columbia.
More than 700,000 people took part in the first weekend of early voting for general elections in New York state, according to state Board of Elections numbers.
Regardless of who wins the White House in November, the 2024 presidential election is likely to mark the end of the asylum system as Americans have known it
The Washington Post has been rocked by a tidal wave of cancellations from digital subscribers and a series of resignations from columnists, as the paper grapples with the fallout of owner Jeff Bezos’s decision to block an endorsement of Harris.
Bezos said that presidential endorsements “create a perception of bias” and that “my views here are, in fact, principled.”
Democratic Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner filed a lawsuit attempting to stop an Elon Musk-funded PAC from continuing its $1 million giveaway to swing-state registered voters.
“America PAC and Musk must be stopped, immediately, before the upcoming Presidential Election on Nov. 5,” the progressive DA’s lawsuit says, according to the Philadelphia Inquirer.
Gov. Kathy Hochul and state Attorney General Letitia James provided an update on nonpartisan efforts to protect voting rights and public safety across New York State during the 2024 elections.
The election protection efforts include deploying statewide, multi-agency resources to combat misinformation — and responding to any impediments to the voting process.
Trucking industry executives, Assembly members and town highway officials gathered in Cohoes to ask Hochul to pump the brakes on state regulations that mandate sales of medium- and heavy-duty electric trucks in New York starting in January.
Brandon Stradford’s time on New York state’s Board of Parole involved one frustration after another, and documents about his removal process, obtained by New York Focus, illustrate the full extent of the now-former commissioner’s dysfunction.
A tense meeting of the panel responsible for recommending how New York will spend millions of dollars to address opioid addiction by Nov. 1 was nearly derailed yesterday after members criticized the state’s involvement in the process.
Hochul has expressed confidence in New York’s Democratic congressional candidates and her role in bolstering them.
With Game 3 of the World Series between the Yankees and Dodgers set for Monday at Yankee Stadium, Hochul is encouraging New Yorkers to be cautious when purchasing last-minute tickets.
“With demand soaring to witness this historic match up, I’m encouraging New Yorkers to protect their hard-earned money and be on the lookout for potential ticket scams,” she said. “Follow our tips to avoid falling victim as we cheer on the Yankees this week.”
The Bronx Bombers’ dire 0-2 World Series deficit prompted a cheeky plea for prayers from New York Archbishop Timothy Cardinal Dolan and other local religious leaders.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams slammed Trump’s historic Madison Square Garden rally on Sunday for promoting “hateful words” from an invited guest speaker, despite the former president’s favorable shoutout to the mayor during the massive rally.
Trump took a moment out of his roughly 80-minute Madison Square Garden screed against Democratic leadership to thank one member of the party: Adams.
A high-ranking New York City police chief drew criticism after appearing on a conservative news channel in full uniform at Trump’s Madison Square Garden rally, with detractors saying he seemed to lend support to the Republican presidential nominee.
New York City is expanding its family planning benefits for some municipal employees by offering to reimburse them up to $10,000 for costs related to adoption, surrogacy and egg and sperm donation, Adams said, though eligibility is very limited.
A majority of New York voters believe Adams should resign from office, according to a new poll from The New York Times and Siena College.
New York City is planning to redevelop a 66,000-square-foot site in Manhattan’s Meatpacking District into housing and public space as a local meat market has agreed to end its lease ahead of schedule, Adams said.
A swath of the Upper West Side will soon become a laboratory for new uses of curb space aimed at reducing double parking and increasing public seating, the city Department of Transportation announced.
The New York City Council is poised to pass a law that would allow most tenants to avoid paying thousands of dollars in broker fees when renting a home, according to the bill’s sponsor.
Investigators from various federal agencies launched an “interagency operation” at the troubled lockup in New York City where Sean “Diddy” Combs is being held.
Two inmates were fatally stabbed this summer at the federal Metropolitan Detention Center, where Combs is awaiting trial in his sex-trafficking case.
Combs has been accused of two more horrifying rapes in the latest round of lawsuits against him — including one alleged attack involving a 10-year-old boy.
Six Manhattanites were picked yesterday to serve on the jury at Daniel Penny’s lightning-rod manslaughter trial over the fatal subway chokehold of homeless man Jordan Neely — including two who said they’ve experienced harassment on the transit system.
A woman was charged with a hate crime for pepper spraying a Muslim Uber driver after he began to pray in Arabic at a traffic light.
All but one of 41 Broadway venues will be open for performances in November — the first month so many have been active since 2018, according to the Broadway League, the industry’s trade organization.
The Ford Foundation has awarded the Studio Museum in Harlem a grant of $10 million to endow its director and chief curator, a position held for the last 20 years by Thelma Golden.
This year’s Rockefeller Center Christmas tree will hail from Massachusetts for the first time since 1959.
U.S. Rep. Pat Ryan and Alison Esposito have both claimed “freedom” as a guiding principle of their campaigns. But for the two candidates vying to represent New York’s 18th Congressional District, the word has taken on very different connotations.
A 14-year-old boy in Halifax, Nova Scotia, has been charged under Canadian law with offenses tied to 11 calls threatening violence at Bethlehem High School as well as airports, hotels and a suicide hotline in what the FBI describes as a “reign of chaos.”
Spencer Gifts, had planned to open one of its first Spirit Christmas stores in Albany this season, but has since changed its mind.
A black bear cavorting around backyards near Genet Elementary School on Route 4 near Columbia Turnpike led to students staying inside for recess yesterday, school officials confirmed.
Walmart announced its weeks-long, pre-holiday “Black Friday Deals” sales events will return starting on Monday, Nov. 11.
Navigating Upper Union Street in Schenectady and Niskayuna will be challenging for drivers and pedestrians this week while highway crews repave a portion of the commercial district that’s been undergoing repairs for months.
The state Department of Environmental Conservation is defending its decision to euthanize two black bear cubs in Old Forge this summer after some questioned whether the killings followed its own policy and procedures.
Jon Stewart will remain the Monday night host of Comedy Central’s “The Daily Show” throughout 2025, the network announced.
Photo credit: George Fazio.
