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You are here: Home / Politics / America / Time For a Little Cat Blogging: Nice Kitty. Nice Kitty! Nice Kitty!!!!!!

Time For a Little Cat Blogging: Nice Kitty. Nice Kitty! Nice Kitty!!!!!!

by Adam L Silverman|  February 12, 201910:13 pm| 78 Comments

This post is in: America, Cat Blogging, Crazification Factor, Faunasphere, Nature, Open Threads, Pet Rescue, Not Normal

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A woman snuck into a seemingly abandoned home in Houston to smoke weed. She ended up finding a live tiger in the garage. https://t.co/fMXmY6Mnuh

— NPR (@NPR) February 13, 2019

NPR has the details:

A tiger alarmed a woman who was sneaking into a seemingly abandoned Houston home to smoke marijuana on Monday. Now it has found a new home of its own.

The Cleveland Amory Black Beauty Ranch, a sanctuary located about 200 miles north of Houston, announced on Tuesday it was welcoming the tiger, according to Lara Cottingham, spokeswoman for Houston’s Administration and Regulatory Affairs Department, which oversees the city’s animal shelter that had been caring for the animal.

Cottingham told NPR on Tuesday that the tiger was en route to its new home.

If you’re still caught up on the would-be-smoker-stumbling-across-an-actual-tiger-part, let’s back up.

The woman, who is remaining anonymous, told police she had gone into the home in a residential part of East Houston when she came across the unexpected inhabitant, said Houston police spokesman Kese Smith.

Fortunately for the woman, the tiger was locked inside a 4-feet-by-8-feet cage within the garage. She called 311, the city’s nonemergency line, and animal enforcement officers showed up alongside Houston police, who obtained a warrant enabling them to reach the tiger.

Despite its tight quarters the tiger was apparently healthy and seemed to have been fed regularly. Officials just don’t know by whom.

Houston police have launched a criminal probe to find the tiger’s still-unidentified owner.

“It is categorically not legal to own a tiger within the Houston city limits,” Smith said.

Ya think!!!!

Animal cruelty charges could be involved. “We are working to determine who owns the tiger and who owns the property because that may or may not be the same person.” The woman is not in trouble, Smith added.

The animal officers, who are more accustomed to handling dogs and cats of the smaller variety, tranquilized the tiger, loaded its cage into a horse trailer and drove it across town to the city shelter Monday, Cottingham said. The tiger slept off the drugs and seemed in good spirits by Tuesday morning.

Cottingham noted that this Houston tiger’s story has happy ending with its upgrade from a garage cage to the sanctuary in Murchison, Texas, which comes with expert care.

“We are really glad it worked out as quickly as it did,” Cottingham said.

Open thread!

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Reader Interactions

78Comments

  1. 1.

    Doug R

    February 12, 2019 at 10:17 pm

    Must be Mike Tyson’s house.

  2. 2.

    Omnes Omnibus

    February 12, 2019 at 10:18 pm

    I have a rock that repels tigers.

  3. 3.

    Elizabelle

    February 12, 2019 at 10:19 pm

    She’s lucky it was caged. How long before her heartrate returned to normal?

    @Omnes Omnibus: LOL.

  4. 4.

    Lalophobia

    February 12, 2019 at 10:23 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Lisa, I wanna buy your rock.

  5. 5.

    Major Major Major Major

    February 12, 2019 at 10:24 pm

    Yikes!

  6. 6.

    Jay

    February 12, 2019 at 10:26 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Do you have any that work on assholes?

  7. 7.

    NotMax

    February 12, 2019 at 10:27 pm

    “It is categorically not legal to own a tiger within the Houston city limits,”

    Maybe it was just rented.

  8. 8.

    Ohio Mom

    February 12, 2019 at 10:28 pm

    Nice to have a story with a happy ending just as I am ready to turn off the phone for the day. Nighty-night all…

  9. 9.

    Omnes Omnibus

    February 12, 2019 at 10:29 pm

    @Jay: Any rock will do for that. You just have to throw it accurately.

  10. 10.

    Jay

    February 12, 2019 at 10:34 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I was looking for the kind you can just place at the end of the driveway.

  11. 11.

    Ken

    February 12, 2019 at 10:34 pm

    When owning tigers is a crime, only criminals will own tigers.

    No, doesn’t make any more sense than the original.

  12. 12.

    Omnes Omnibus

    February 12, 2019 at 10:34 pm

    @Jay: Have you tried Amazon?

  13. 13.

    Jay

    February 12, 2019 at 10:35 pm

    @Ohio Mom:

    Good night.

  14. 14.

    Jay

    February 12, 2019 at 10:36 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    I tried Esty

  15. 15.

    NotMax

    February 12, 2019 at 10:39 pm

    “So, honey, what kind of duty did you pull today at the police station?”

    “Tiger beat.”

  16. 16.

    dexwood

    February 12, 2019 at 10:39 pm

    Fake news. Just a Life of Pi sequel.

  17. 17.

    Jay

    February 12, 2019 at 10:40 pm

    “President Donald Trump wasn’t able to cut a deal for a grandiose Veterans Day military parade, but this year, he says he aims to start a new 4th of July tradition.

    The only hitch? The “tradition” he says he wants to start in the nation’s capital already exists.”

    https://digbysblog.blogspot.com/2019/02/trumps-big-parade.html?m=1

  18. 18.

    Wallis Lane

    February 12, 2019 at 10:43 pm

    Tiger, tiger caged up tight
    In the carports of the night.
    What ignoble gal or guy,
    Had found thee on Craigslist to buy?

  19. 19.

    Jay

    February 12, 2019 at 10:45 pm

    @dexwood:

    Which life of Pi story, the one with the tiger or the one where Pi is the tiger?

  20. 20.

    Steve in the ATL

    February 12, 2019 at 10:48 pm

    @Jay: try yacht rock. That will keep Omnes and me away, but might attract Baud!, eemom, and Bella Q.

  21. 21.

    Mnemosyne

    February 12, 2019 at 10:49 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus:

    Turns out you could make a good living selling those in Houston.

    Also, I’m thankful that the random pothead was willing to call animal control before something bad happened to the tiger or anyone else. She could have decided it was none of her business and walked away.

  22. 22.

    Steve in the ATL

    February 12, 2019 at 10:50 pm

    @Mnemosyne: walked away, or run away?

  23. 23.

    Jay

    February 12, 2019 at 10:51 pm

    @Steve in the ATL:

    Yacht rock? Is that a seasickness thing or like soft rock or muzak?

  24. 24.

    Mnemosyne

    February 12, 2019 at 10:51 pm

    Also, I found out a random Wisconsin factoid on the “WTF” podcast: not only is actor Tony Shaloub from Green Bay, he inherited season tickets from his father and still tries to go to a few games a year.

  25. 25.

    Jay

    February 12, 2019 at 10:52 pm

    @Steve in the ATL:

    Stoner’s don’t run.

  26. 26.

    Brickley Paiste

    February 12, 2019 at 10:52 pm

    If you want to know something absolutely heartbreaking ….

    There are more tigers in captivity in Texas than remain in the wild.

  27. 27.

    Mnemosyne

    February 12, 2019 at 10:55 pm

    Well, it sounds like she very sensibly ran away as fast as possible when she first realized that there was A FUCKING LIVE TIGER IN THE FUCKING GARAGE! But she didn’t have to call 311 to report it, and she did, so I’m happy and hope the cops didn’t decide to be assholes and write her a ticket for admitting she smokes pot.

  28. 28.

    Elizabelle

    February 12, 2019 at 10:57 pm

    @Wallis Lane: That’s brilliant. Well done.

  29. 29.

    Omnes Omnibus

    February 12, 2019 at 10:58 pm

    Does anyone know where Calvin is?

  30. 30.

    Mnemosyne

    February 12, 2019 at 11:01 pm

    This very timely meme has been making the rounds:

    https://imgflip.com/i/2s4p2x

    Sadly, the words are Photoshopped though the box and the tiger are real.

  31. 31.

    piratedan

    February 12, 2019 at 11:04 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: well they did say that the tiger appeared to be well fed… draw your own conclusions…

  32. 32.

    Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho

    February 12, 2019 at 11:04 pm

    @Steve in the ATL: Might be attracted by yacht rock? Really?
    You suddenly hate me.

  33. 33.

    Steve in the ATL

    February 12, 2019 at 11:06 pm

    @Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho: zing!

  34. 34.

    Leto

    February 12, 2019 at 11:09 pm

    I can’t wait to see how Floriduh man tries to top this.

  35. 35.

    Jay

    February 12, 2019 at 11:12 pm

    @Steve in the ATL: @Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho:

    Had to google it, no such thing in Canada, songs about boats are different up here,

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=ZIwzRkjn86w

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=DOw3w-00Jqw

  36. 36.

    Jay

    February 12, 2019 at 11:14 pm

    @Leto:

    Did you miss the story of the Floriduh! man and his 5 foot long emotional support alligator?

  37. 37.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    February 12, 2019 at 11:17 pm

    @Jay: what about a Gordon Lightfoot boat song?

  38. 38.

    TaMara (HFG)

    February 12, 2019 at 11:17 pm

    All I’m saying is I’m NOT fostering that beast.

  39. 39.

    Ksmiami

    February 12, 2019 at 11:17 pm

    America is a deeply weird country. That is all.

  40. 40.

    NotMax

    February 12, 2019 at 11:18 pm

    @Jay

    Oddly enough, that story involved a Pennsylvania man.

  41. 41.

    rikyrah

    February 12, 2019 at 11:19 pm

    Did our cat blegs have a happy ending?

  42. 42.

    NotMax

    February 12, 2019 at 11:20 pm

    @TaMara (HFG)

    Speciesist!

    :)

  43. 43.

    Steve in the ATL

    February 12, 2019 at 11:21 pm

    @Jay: Chilliwack might qualify

  44. 44.

    Jay

    February 12, 2019 at 11:22 pm

    @Jim, Foolish Literalist:

    Yup, Yacht Rock’s different up here, few happy endings, lots of sinkings.

  45. 45.

    Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho

    February 12, 2019 at 11:22 pm

    @Steve in the ATL: I’ll go ahead and check Bootsy’s calendar then to see if I can coordinate anything. I know my favorite guitar player will be around, but he’s not quite as interesting to most of y’all.

  46. 46.

    Omnes Omnibus

    February 12, 2019 at 11:24 pm

    @Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho: Adrian?

  47. 47.

    barbequebob

    February 12, 2019 at 11:25 pm

    This is probably in the wrong place but after I saw this, all I could think of was “Exxon” Howard Schultz – Tool for the Fossil Fuel Industry and Republican Ratf*cker.

    https://www.cnn.com/politics/live-news/howard-schultz-town-hall-houston/h_70c51f68bb792765565d72def8562206

    Working hard to help re-elect Trump. Maybe others can come up with a catchier moniker for him

  48. 48.

    Leto

    February 12, 2019 at 11:25 pm

    @Jay: I do remember that, but I think that’s a different category. This is more of a “SURPRISE!” Style story.

    @NotMax: Per legal counsel, mums the word.

  49. 49.

    Steve in the ATL

    February 12, 2019 at 11:25 pm

    @Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho: I’ll bring my Stratocaster to Blue Ash next time and we can jam

  50. 50.

    Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho

    February 12, 2019 at 11:33 pm

    @Omnes Omnibus: Good memory! It’s my buddy who introduced me to Adrian when they played together in the Bears. I promised him when we were young that he’d always be my favorite guitar player, though he kinda forgot to tell me Adrian is playing here in March, and it sold out.

    I’ll send him his annual valentine anyway, and I suspect I’ll get into the show.

  51. 51.

    satby

    February 12, 2019 at 11:33 pm

    As I remember it, Corner Stone lived in Houston….. Hmm.

  52. 52.

    Jay

    February 12, 2019 at 11:37 pm

    @Steve in the ATL:

    Toto became for the most part, Chilliwack, or vice versa.

    When it was current, it was called Pop.

    When New Wave was current it was called Soft Rock and could be heard on a few AM stations.

    When big vocal females and Celtic took over the Pop category, it was called Muzak and instrumental versions were in malls and elevators.

    Now even Save on Foods plays Beyonce and Adelle.

    Almost like the music has ceased to exist.

    If you are going to sail the Salish Sea, you need something with a bit more oomph to motivate the crew, there’s very little coasting under a spinnaker, lots of beating to weather with the sea washing the deck.

    This was the go to song on my boat:

    https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=dD0xeHKAPOA

  53. 53.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    February 12, 2019 at 11:44 pm

    sounds like the town hall went about as well as we might have expected

    Alex Burns @ alexburnsNYT
    Schultz’s answer on taxes included slaps at both parties (GOP on tax-cut law, Dems on AOC’s proposed hikes) but was just as empty of actual ideas. Said he should pay a higher tax rate, but then wouldn’t even give a general answer to @ PoppyHarlowCNN on *how much* higher.

    Schultz’s answer on climate really captures how he’s approaching 2020: says addressing climate is a top priority and then spends most of the answer slamming the Green New Deal. No policy proposals of his own, fire trained on liberal Democrats.

    anybody watch any of it?

  54. 54.

    TomatoQueen

    February 12, 2019 at 11:52 pm

    No. There was a dog show, and the wire-haired fox terrier won again. Could’ve done a long-haired dachsund, or a gorgeous Boxer, or a Bouvier, or even that stupid Sussex spaniel snore, but noooooo. Also, too, there was some shenanigans poorly explained about the Schipperke who won his group but couldn’t compete further because a judge knew him, so that group wasn’t in the Best in Show but the Schipperke who won was allowed to parade in the group, and then was excused. Very very weird ever since the broadcast went to Fox.

  55. 55.

    Mary G

    February 12, 2019 at 11:59 pm

    What I want to know is why she told the cops she went into the house to smoke dope. Isn’t that still illegal in Texas? She could say something like she heard roaring and was worried.

  56. 56.

    Omnes Omnibus

    February 13, 2019 at 12:03 am

    @Mary G:

    What I want to know is why she told the cops she went into the house to smoke dope.

    I think I can answer that.

  57. 57.

    TomatoQueen

    February 13, 2019 at 12:03 am

    Maybe she was still in that state of shock where the babble switch is stuck in the ‘on’ position?

  58. 58.

    Yutsano

    February 13, 2019 at 12:12 am

    @Steve in the ATL: Okay that’s just mean!

  59. 59.

    Yarrow

    February 13, 2019 at 12:14 am

    @satby: I haven’t seen Corner Stone here for awhile.

    There was another tiger incident near Houston a few years ago where a tiger was wandering around a neighborhood.

  60. 60.

    B.B.A.

    February 13, 2019 at 12:15 am

    Remember Ralph Northam? — Dave Weigel (@daveweigel) February 13, 2019

  61. 61.

    danielx

    February 13, 2019 at 12:15 am

    I admit to some surprise; this is the kind of incident I associate with Florida Man.

    ETA: Others have had this thought. GMTA.

  62. 62.

    Adam L Silverman

    February 13, 2019 at 12:27 am

    @rikyrah: As far as I know, yes.

  63. 63.

    Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho

    February 13, 2019 at 12:31 am

    @Adam L Silverman: Momcat too, I hope. I know Grace found a home.

  64. 64.

    different-church-lady

    February 13, 2019 at 12:33 am

    @Ken: The only thing that can stop a bad guy with a tiger is…

  65. 65.

    Jay

    February 13, 2019 at 12:34 am

    @barbequebob:

    Coffee Boy?

  66. 66.

    Jay

    February 13, 2019 at 12:35 am

    @Jay:

    Cofeve Boy?

  67. 67.

    Enhanced Voting Techniques

    February 13, 2019 at 12:39 am

    I thought they didn’t go for that socialist thing in Texas like pet laws because they claim it leads to homosexuality and worse, like car pooling and dancing. So in Houston you can store toxic wastes in your house, but not live tigers.

  68. 68.

    Adam L Silverman

    February 13, 2019 at 12:40 am

    @Alternative Fax, a hip hop artist from Idaho: My understanding, because I had to handle the email handoffs, is that a local rescue group was put in contact with Cliosfanboy for the feral colony they’re taking care of, and a specific individual was connected to him for Momcat.

    I have not heard anything more.

  69. 69.

    Amir Khalid

    February 13, 2019 at 12:49 am

    Speaking of cats, YouTuber Kitten Lady (some of you here are familiar with her videos) was in Malaysia recently, and reports on a cat sanctuary by the beach in rural Penang.

  70. 70.

    Steve in the ATL

    February 13, 2019 at 1:01 am

    @Yutsano: gone gone fone you been gone so long…

  71. 71.

    hervevillechaizelounge

    February 13, 2019 at 1:03 am

    If anyone is looking for a documentary about nutty tiger owners you need to watch Cat Dancers (2007)—I laughed, I cried, I rethought my life choices and relived the the bedazzled sartorial missteps of the 1980s.

    Plus the full film is available on the Youtubes: Cat Dancers

  72. 72.

    polyorchnid octopunch

    February 13, 2019 at 1:20 am

    @Steve in the ATL: I have one of those. ’79 hardtail.

  73. 73.

    SixStringFanatic

    February 13, 2019 at 2:48 am

    Better Call Saul!
    “That’s not my tiger!”

    https://youtu.be/ll7GSiad0ko

  74. 74.

    Mnemosyne

    February 13, 2019 at 3:32 am

    @Mary G:

    Tigers don’t roar, only lions.

    But TomatoQueen is right — she was probably in such a state of panic that she just blurted everything out. Plus she was trying to explain to the cops that she’s wasn’t in the house to rob it.

  75. 75.

    Steve in the ATL

    February 13, 2019 at 6:25 am

    @polyorchnid octopunch: noice!

  76. 76.

    Skepticat

    February 13, 2019 at 7:49 am

    My morning routine starts with going to Greater Good and clicking, especially the animal rescue site page.
    This made me teary.
    https://greatergoodoffers.com/landing/partner-pages/alley-cat-allies-2/?utm_source=ctgtabs&utm_medium=sitenav&utm_campaign=alley-cat-allies-2

  77. 77.

    PaulWartenberg

    February 13, 2019 at 9:12 am

    Let us name the tiger Tyson

  78. 78.

    TerryC

    February 13, 2019 at 11:45 am

    @Mnemosyne: You know, I am random but I am not a “random pothead.” I have competed athletically for 20 years at a world class level, am retired from 25 years in academic publishing, run two successful LLCs and an S Corp, and I smoke 5-6 joints a day.

    IMO, “pothead” should be retired with some of the other words we have been talking about here recently.

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