Today is my last day writing for the blog, at least for a while, as Alexia is back on Monday raring to go.

As such, here is a little light hearted entry for you. I think it’s important now and again to take stock of our companion animals, why we love them and why we should look after them.

This is my housemate Cheech – he resides in our house (but totally doesn’t pay his way – which is unfair in my opinion seeing as how he’s treated like the King of the house!), feral from birth; he was rescued from the Mayhew Animal Home where my other housemate works.

He’s a happy, healthy 1 ½ year old cat who just loves the ethical pet food list that Alistair our Senior Research and Campaigns Coordinator has compiled on our website, he also loves making a disconcertingly loud miaow only when he even suspects food is on the way!

This is a homage to all of his relaxation techniques, including one that would even make a contortionist water at the eyes.

“Vampire Cat”: The protruding tooth is a soul and body balancing technique, also tells people to watch out even when he’s sleeping!

The “Comforter”: both front legs wrapped around the human equivalent of a pillow and then “relaaaax!”

The “Long Cat”: also known as the “ground based relaxed pounce” (carpet needs hoovering – ack!)

Finally, we have the most common, but most difficult for a human to imitate – the “All in one Bendy-cat“

Never one to be outdone, I’ll gladly carry this theme on if you wish to send me cute photo’s of your rescued housemates, let me have them at Mattg@peta.org.uk along with a note to tell everyone about your furry friend.

Your ‘I’m sure I used to be a cat in a former life but now I’m signing off….sob…’ Matt

We all know that eating cats is wrong. Tucking into ‘cat steak’ or ‘kitty nuggets’ goes against every urge in our bodies. But is it any worse than eating a pig, or a cow, or even a lamb? A group of Danish students have caused uproar on social networking site Facebook after posting photos of themselves eating a cat, leading to them being promptly kicked off the site. The students insist the feral cat was had been shot by a farmer trying to control the number of cats on his land and that none of them felt comfortable eating an animal normally treated as a ‘pet’. One of the girls says, “It’s hypocritical for us to spend thousands on our pets, yet buy the cheapest pork from Netto that comes from pigs that have lived a horrid life. And just why is it that it’s worse to eat a cat than a pig?”

There’s another video from Simon’s Cat on YouTube. Just as cute and funny.

According to a recent news article, a young woman and two friends were seen throwing a cat into the river Thames to meet his death. The three people were caught on CCTV sneaking up on tabby Kilo and throwing him over the side of the HMS Belfast in London Bridge before running away.

Not only is this sad and infuriating, it happened right round the corner from the PETA offices! So we’re offering up to £1,000 as a reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of whoever’s responsible. Kilo’s brother Oscar has also been missing since December.

It’s here! It’s here! It’s what we’ve all been waiting for girls – the Sex and the City movie is out in cinemas today!

But will it be a patch on Sex and the Kitty? Watch for yourself and decide.

A man has killed a cat because moggy ‘Chopper’ “was a bully”. This is the reason why a fully-grown man was arrested for punching a cat in the face and then throwing him in the river to drown. The curious kitty is reported to have been a “menace”, who crept into his neighbour’s house and “looked pleased” after knocking down a vase of flowers.

He says he wishes, “he could turn back time”, but he can’t. I’ll let you know a verdict as the investigation proceeds. I’ll leave you to make the comments on this one…

If you thought that the cat and dog fur trade was confined to China, think again. The news is that a healthy, if secretive, trade in the skins of cats is rife in Switzerland, selling from as little as five Swiss francs (£2.50) per pelt. What’s perhaps even more shocking for Britain’s kitty lovers, is that it’s not unusual for the remains of the animal to be cooked with thyme and eaten. You know what I think? This is no more of a travesty than the rest of the fur and meat trade. I am a great cat lover, I have a cat as a companion animal myself, but all animals are the same, and one being killed for it’s skin or flesh is really no different than it happening to another.

After a chaotic few weeks of Tibet protests as the Olympic flame makes its way around the world, I think it’s time I had another moan-off about how animals are treated in China. Yes I think the human rights abuse is a very important issue that needs tackling, and my heart goes out to the victims involved. I do also think however, that the animals suffering in that corner of the world need our attention too.

You may remember me writing about the dog meat ban in Beijing a short while ago – China’s effort to clear up at least one of its problem issues that cause tourists to want to vomit or at least go all Ace Ventura and rescue the animals. As we all know, happy tourists = lots of money. If you’re horrified about the conditions for the people trapped in Tibet, so also spare a thought for the dogs and cats in China that are skinned for their fur or slaughtered for their meat (much like all the other animals around the world – pigs, chickens, cows – mind you).

Anyway, on another note – what’s with the shell-suited henchmen?!

Image: Foreign Policy / CC