In 2016, Paola Nogales-Ascarrunz, a biologist and National Geographic Explorer working in Bolivia, received a call from a local wildlife sanctuary that had just been given what they described as “a weird cat.” It came from a local man who found it as a kitten on a road near a forest. The man took the animal home, believing it to be a domestic breed. But after about a year of living with the clearly wild animal, he realized it would be better off at a sanctuary.

As the lead scientist and founder of the Bolivian Felids Research Program (Programa de Investigación de Félidos Bolivia), Nogales-Ascarrunz was intrigued. The animal had a small, scrunched-up face, short and round ears, and long whiskers. It was, indeed, too small to be a housecat, and, most notably, it was covered in leopard-like spots. So she went to visit the creature at the Senda Verde wildlife sanctuary on the subtropical flank of the Bolivian Andes.

“I took a hundred pictures of it,” remembers Nogales-Ascarrunz. “I was so fascinated.”

What she couldn’t know at the time was that this curious cat had a secret. It would become the first new species of felid (i.e. the cat family) discovered in over 100 years, according to a study published today in the journal Current Biology. What’s exciting is the discovery is not a validation of a species proposed in the distant past, nor a previously recognized subspecies raised to species status—which are both more commonly reported and important findings. No, this cat was something totally new to science.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/52011874

Black cat, black cat,
what do you think?
You stare at my paper,
you stare at my ink.

Black cat, black cat,
what do you know?
You sit like a king
with nowhere to go.

Black cat, black cat,
why look at me?
I've written twelve poems
on feline mystery.

I need a new gig.
I need something big.
A whale! A giraffe!
A tap-dancing pig!

But cats are my curse.
They're filling my verse.
Each poem gets cattier,
each stanza gets worse.

Black cat, black cat,
get off of my page.

The cat did not move.

I trembled with rage.

“I'll write about mountains!
I'll write about ships!
I'll write of adventure
and perilous trips!”

The black cat just blinked
and gave a small yawn,
then sat on my keyboard
from midnight till dawn.

I need a new gig.
This cat thing's too big.
I'm drowning in whiskers
and rhyme schemes and—SIG—

No, wait. That's not right.
I meant to write fig.

Oh, wonderful. Great.

Now I'm rhyming with pig.

Black cat, black cat,
what do you think?

He knocked down my coffee.

It spilled on my ink.

I stared at the cat.

The cat stared at me.

And that is the end—

of Cat Poem One Thousand and Thirty-Three.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/51965091

TL;DR My cat regularly traps me like this. The first time he did it, I was wearing IZOD socks, so I wrote a story about how a superhero IZOD Man was trapped by his sleeping cat. That story is posted here too. This time he got me and I was wearing plain White Sox, so that became the superheroes mild mannered disguise.

---

In our previous story, our hero Izod Man had been trapped. On a couch. By a cat.

As the saga continues, we find him in a similar state, but something has changed....

The world recalls, as legends can,
the noble deeds of Izod Man.

A hero bold. A soul refined.
A champion of humankind.

Yet fame is hard. The burden weighs.
One cannot save the world always.

And so, when all the work is done,
a hero's second life's begun.

He sheds the symbols of his brand.
No logo marks his noble stand.

No mighty crest is there to spy.

He's now just merely White Socks Guy.

A fellow plain and mild of speech.
A man who keeps the remote within reach.

He sits upon an ordinary chair.
No sign of greatness lingers there.

He thinks himself concealed from sight.

The disguise appears quite airtight.

Yet hidden deep within the room
there stirs a watcher through the gloom.

Two ears arise.

One nose will twitch.

The cat detects the subtle switch.

For while the world may pass him by,
she knows he's not just White Socks Guy.

She knows the truth. She always can.

White Socks Guy is Izod Man.

And so she springs with practiced grace
directly to her chosen place.

She settles in.

She starts to purr.

The trap is set.

The end for her—

or rather him.

The hero sighs.

The cat half-opens sleepy eyes.

One snowy paw comes drifting down
upon his leg without a sound.

No force is used.

No threat is made.

No villain's scheme need be displayed.

The message needs no spoken plan:

"I know exactly who you am."

The hero freezes where he sits.
The cat continues all her bits

of sleeping, stretching, breathing deep,
and looking very much asleep.

Yet White Socks Guy knows better than
to test the laws that govern Man.

For countless times throughout the years
he's learned the truth all captives hear:

The world may think that cats are small.

The world is wrong.

That's really all.

And thus the secret still survives,
preserved through quiet household lives.

By day he's just some ordinary guy.

By night he's still unable to stand up and get a drink because there's a cat sleeping on him.

Such is the fate, since time began,

of White Socks Guy—

and Izod Man.

🐾

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/51954371

Her courtroom is her home, and she sits there as the judge. She knows the house’s laws by heart— and with the law she will not fudge.

She listens to each argument with one unblinking stare, then silently decides that you were wrong for sitting in her chair.

The charge: her bowl was empty— well, she saw the bottom through.

The verdict: guilty, obviously. The culprit? Clearly you.

No pleading and no bargaining. No case can be dismissed.

And treats shall be delivered from the court’s approved snack list.

So mind your step and watch yourself— her rulings are quite firm. For every household member will someday get their turn.

She runs a tight courtroom, and justice gets no nudge—

This home belongs to Her Honor... and with the law, she will not fudge. ⚖️🐾

This one is fully feral, lucky to get a pic before it ran away

This is the paw of our tiniest foster. This is what it looks like under ultraviolet light. And that green spot you're seeing is ringworm.

We have one other cat that is also positive for ringworm under the light.

In 8 years this is the first time we've had fosters come down with ringworm. It's nothing but trouble.

Probably should keep the doors closed

Cats normally have black or white whiskers. But Tasslehoff has both.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/51875470

Story: This cat hung out with us while our daughter was in Future soldier training (FST). Even though there was a caretaker watching over the feral colony, this one chose to be friendly and have a meal near the car with us weekly.

---

I saw you stop. You thought I’d hide, like shadows always do, but something warm and gentle stayed the moment I saw you.

You didn’t call, you didn’t chase, you didn’t cross my line, you placed a feast upon a cloth as if this world were kind.

A napkin laid on roughened street, a table set for me, no throne was ever dressed so well as that small courtesy.

I kept my face the way I must— composed and still and wise— but gratitude was spilling out behind my careful eyes.

For I am just a passing thing the daylight seldom keeps, a life that moves through parking lots and learns the night in leaps.

Yet you, today, with quiet hands and nothing asked in claim, made one small curb feel less like chance and more like somewhere named.

So if you felt me watching you before you walked away, it wasn’t fear that held me still— it was the need to stay.

To memorize that simple act, that kindness left so neat: a human heart that paused long enough to set a cat a feast.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/51839559

You said meow.

I expected nonsense.
The usual human noise.
Big mouth. No whiskers. No talent.

But then—

You said it again.

And it wasn’t… terrible.

I gave you the look.
The one from the side.
The “I saw what you just did” look.

Because that sounded close.

Not fluent.
Not impressive.
But close enough to make my ears tilt forward.

You weren’t teasing.

You were trying.

Oh.

That changes things.

I have spent years perfecting this system—
one meow for food,
Another for outside,
Yet another for “why is my bowl only half full,
explain yourself.”

And now you’re studying it.

Careful little copies.
Testing the shape of my words.

You’re not laughing.
You’re listening.

I stare at you longer.

Is this how it starts?
First a meow.
Then a conversation?

You say it again.

Still clumsy.
Still human.

But warmer.

And I feel something strange—
not insult,
not offense—

recognition.

You’re not invading my language.

You’re trying to meet me in it.

My tail gives one slow flick.

All right.

Try again.

I’m listening.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/51819270

We came because a human stood
and thought we’d answer—One, Two, Three,
he tried to gather something wise…
we let him think it so would be.

He asked, “Why stare at empty walls?
There’s nothing there to see.”
We did not blink. One tail replied,
“There is. You lack the key.”

“Then why the midnight racing storms?
No prey, no urgency?”
“The night is full of moving things—
you miss them. We are free.”

“Why knock things down I set with care?
They sit just fine for me.”
“If it can fall, it should be known.
We test reality.”

He shifted then: “Why ignore me
when I call you constantly.”
“We hear you every single time.
We choose selectively.”

At last, more quiet: “Why, when I’m low…
do you come and sit with me?”
No clever words were offered then—
one rose… and closed the space between them gently.

No grand decree. No lesson carved.
No spoken clarity—
just quiet weight beside his side…

…the answer of the Three.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/51777807

White Cat's Lullaby

White cat sleeps in quiet light,
Blanket warm and moon just right.
Black cat watches, always near—
In his dreams or curled ear to ear.

Soft as stars and brave as flame,
Guardian shadow, without name.
Sleep, sweet snow, no need to roam—
Your angel’s here to guide you home.

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/51803530

(I'm literally trapped! So I write. Please forgive me for this one 😭)

TLDR; Kitty fell asleep on me. I'm trapped!

Behold brave Izod Man, some say, who once could freely walk away.

He roamed the house both near and far, the kitchen, couch, and even the car.

He made his plans. He ruled his fate. He chose his bedtime. Chose his plate.

Then one white cat climbed in his lap.

And that, dear friends,

was simply that.

For now he sits both still and mild, captured by his fluffy child.

His arm asleep. His leg gone numb. Yet dares not move a single thumb.

The cat extends one snowy paw to reinforce the ancient law:

"The lap is mine. The human stays. He may resume his life in days."

And there he sits without complaint, his freedom fading, growing faint.

While on his sock, in letters grand, appears the mark of Izod Man.

A warning to both young and old: No prison bars. No chains to hold.

No locked-up cell. No evil plan.

Just one white cat...

and Izod Man. 🐾

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/51764918

Hello, my sweet child,
Come closer to me.
Those beautiful eyes
Have so much to see.

You thought you were hiding—
Oh, goodness... not quite.
I've watched over you
Since your very first sight.

You've been oh so busy,
As young children do.
But now that you're with me,
I've wonders for you.

We'll tumble together,
We'll scamper and play.
I'll teach you the games
That can fill up a day.

But first comes our language.
Your meows are brand new.
They're soft little whispers...

They'll blossom in you.

Now borrow my eyes
For a moment or two.
The world may seem brighter
Than anything new.

You'll wonder why colors
Feel deeper somehow.
Why things you've walked past
Will be calling you now.

You'll notice the smallest
Of movements nearby.
The dance of the stillness.
The hush passing by.

At first it feels heavy,
Like too much to bear.
A million small wonders
All waiting out there.

But slowly you'll find,
As your heart understands,
The world has been waiting
Inside gentle hands.

Then one day you'll ask me,
"Why does time seem to fly?
Why does morning become
A soft evening sky?"

I'll smile as I nuzzle
The top of your head.

"Because when you notice
How beautiful life is...

You stop counting the moments...

And simply
live them instead."

Then you'll see
Like me.

And you'll understand..

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/51729402

Who painted this cat black?
I need to know the hack.
He looks like midnight grew some legs
And learned to steal my snacks.

Who painted that one white?
He's powdered sugar & bright.
He watches every dumb decision
Like he's getting paid tonight.

One says, "Parkour!" off the bookshelf.
One says, "Don't involve me."
One commits twelve little felonies.
One provides the commentary.

One is soot and bad ideas.
One is clouds and class.
Together they're a balanced meal
Of elegance and ass.
(Am I allowed to say that, do I get a pass?)

Who painted this cat black?
Who painted that one white?
Who looked at yin and yang and thought,

"Let's make 'em both a little shite."

cross-posted from: https://lemmy.world/post/51698005

Don't Wake Me Up... I'm Trying to Be Good

This is the longest I've behaved
since kittenhood.

I shut my eyes
as tight as glue.
One little giggle...

I'll be coming for you.

'Cause I had three bad notions
ready to leap.
Thankfully...

They all fell asleep.

Don't pet my belly.
Don't boop my nose.
That's how the trouble
just starts to grow.

One bad idea
still wants the blinds.
Another idea keeps
changing its mind.

The third one's smiling.

That should concern.

He's usually first
to take his turn.

You think this nap
is just for me?

No...

It's for the lamp,
the drapes, and
the indoor tree.

The sofa called
to thank me in my dreams.
The curtains formed
their own safety team.

The coffee mug
stopped shaking too.
The bookshelf said,
"We're gonna pull through!"

The vacuum smiled.
The broom stood tall.
Nobody's panicked...

Not at all.

The house has never
been this neat.

Even the dust
feels complete.

So let me snore.
Don't make a sound.
Good decisions
can still be found.

But wake me now...

And here's the scoop...

I'll have six bad ideas
before you boop.

So let me sleep.
Don't interfere.

I'm doing excellent work...

From right...

over here.

Why do you cover me
Before I fall asleep?

Because some little promises
Are mine to keep.

Why do you smile at me
When I stare?

Because I never feel alone
The moment you're there.

Why do you call me "best boy"
Every single day?

Because some simple truths
Should never fade away.

Why do your fingers
Find the top of my head?

Because they learned
Their favorite place
The very first day we met.

Why do you stop
To watch me close my eyes?

Because peace has whiskers,
A pink little nose,
And the smallest disguise.

Why do I matter
When I've done nothing grand?

Because love has never measured
The size of your hand.

It measures quiet moments...
The ones no one else can see.

Like the way you always save
The best of you...

For me.

SHHHH! Don’t wake the lion,
He’s dreaming in his den,
Of stalking through the bedroom
And hunting mice again.

His snowy mane is mighty,
His whiskers fierce and long,
He rules the quilted kingdom—
Where every cat belongs.

His paws are built for pouncing,
His claws are tucked away,
But should a careless toe go by…
That toe might be his prey!

He prowls across the pillows,
He conquers every chair,
He guards the wild savannah
From halfway up the stair.

His tail can lash like thunder,
His eyes can flash and gleam,
He’ll chase a fearsome feather
Across a sunlit stream.

He roars when bowls are empty,
A dreadful, mournful sound:
“Meee-OWWW!” it shakes the jungle
And echoes all around.

He stalks the mighty red dot,
He hunts the crinkly mouse,
No creature dares to challenge
The lion of the house.

But now his hunt is over,
His fearsome roar is done;
He’s curled his tail around him
And sleeping in the sun.

So tiptoe past his kingdom,
Be quiet as can be…
That fluffy little lion
Is wild as wild can be.

His mighty paws are twitching—
He’s chasing something spry…

SHHHH! Don’t wake the lion.
Just let the big kitty lie.

Sometimes you just need to reverse those ears.

Charlie always looks like she is very confused about everything. She shares the straight with one of her sisters. But Charlie is also the only cat that will make sure to be in my bed so she can cuddle up next to me. She doesn't know what she wants most of the time but she knows she wants to be with me and if I'm not paying enough attention she will use her little talons to let me know.

Charlie was the result of a person calling to say that some mom just dropped three kittens on her porch. All three were orange girls and two of them where bobtails. Orange girl had been on my wish list for a long time. I didn't know I would get three at once. And then I trapd them mom. Also an Orange girl. With a bobtail. But she was extra spicy.

And I was really glad we caught the mom. I was not looking forward to bottle feeding.

I was trying to decide which ones I was going to keep and which ones I was going to put up for adoption and my wife vetoed the entire adoption idea.

Only my wife can approach the mom. All three orange daughters live with us now. I went from wanting a orange girl to having four. And within a couple months I would have six. I probably have the largest collection of orange girls on the East Coast.

Another person and I went out and set a dozen traps. Six we had six cats trapped before I left and I managed with a little bit of help to catch these four tiny kittens by hand.