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19 cats have drowned in Amsterdam's canals in the past 6 months. The city is taking action.

“A simple measure can prevent enormous animal suffering."

Photo credit: Canva

This could help prevent a lot of suffering, cat advocates say.

We all know about Amsterdam's gorgeous canals. They're a staple and a must-see spot, but folks who’ve traveled there, as well as the locals, will tell you that Amsterdam's free-roaming cats are also a major staple of the city—much like in Istanbul, Tokyo, and Rome.

However, unlike these other cities, Amsterdam’s famous canals pose a major threat to its felines.

As Maggie Ruitenberg from the The Dutch Cat Knowledge Centre explained (according to Euronews), cats often fall into the canals when startled. Even though they can swim, their fur gets weighed down by the water quickly, causing them to fatigue. Pair that with the canals’ high walls, and it’s virtually impossible for the poor things to make it out in time. This year alone, 19 cats have drowned because of this.

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Luckily, thanks to a Netherlands-based animal welfare organization called the PvdD (aka the Party for the Animals), they have allocated €100,000 towards making wooden staircases along the banks of the canals in locations where cats and other animals might need it most—in areas where drownings have already occurred, followed by other high-risk spots.

This was an idea taken from the neighboring city of Amersfoort, which already has 300 of the staircases installed. Between both cities, there could be over 500 tiny staircases along the canals by the end of the year.

“A ladder can really save their life, as long as there are enough of them,” said Ruitenberg. According to the Independent, Judith Krom of the Party for the Animals also described the action as “a simple measure [that] can prevent enormous animal suffering.”

“The adopted motion demonstrates that as a city, we take responsibility for protecting the lives of animals.”

Truly, the only bad thing about this is, as Vice writer Luis Prada noted, that these staircases are called “Cat Traps,” and not “Cat Walks.”

“I know they mostly speak Dutch, but they speak enough English to have heard of a catwalk before. It was right there,” Prada quipped. Hard to disagree!

Of course, this is not the first time Amsterdam has made an effort to heighten the quality of life for its canal kitties. Take, for instance, the De Poezenboot, a houseboat-turned-floating-cat-sanctuary that’s housed dozens of cats at a time since the mid-'60s. It’s been described online as a “floating paradise where cats lounge by the windows, nap in flower boxes, and enjoy a peaceful life on the canal while awaiting their forever homes.”

Between these, plus cat walking tours, Kattencafes (cat cafes) and bars, as well as the KattenKabinet (Cat Cabinet) cat art museum, it's clear that Amsterdam is a haven for cats and cat lovers alike. If you plan on visiting there in the future, keep an eye out for those staircases, or any of these other amazing cat-centric fixtures.

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Rescue dog finally lands 'forever home' after swapping places with shelter director

Susquehanna SPCA/Facebook

When Max first arrived at the Susquehanna SPCA shelter, the workers didn't think he'd stay long. The 5-year-old pit bull terrier mix was sweet and friendly—which ironically led to a longer than normal stay. As of March 3, he had been at the shelter for 444 days.

"When he came here, we thought he would find his home easily because he is such a nice guy," executive director Stacie Haynes told Fox 5 News. "Turns out, he just kept getting looked over and he wasn't on our radar as an urgent dog to get out because he is just so sweet."

Max stepped into the limelight recently when Haynes swapped places with the dog for a day in an effort to raise awareness about the shelter and educate people about what life is like for a shelter dog. Max got to hang out in Haynes's office and even wore a tie for the day, while Haynes did her work on Max's bed in his kennel (with an occasional bathroom break, some enrichment activities, and people walking by to check her out, she said).

Haynes told WBGN that Max didn't really know life outside the shelter, having been there so long.

"He's a very good boy. He's very friendly, he comes up to the kennel wagging his tail," said Haynes. "He just wants to be your friend."

However, shelter life is generally hard on dogs, as they're constantly trying to protect their space from different people coming through. "You're constantly trying to make sure you're safe," said Haynes.

Dogs often become anxious when they're sheltered too long, always on alert and prone to panic. But Max's response was different. The longer he stayed, the more he became depressed and lethargic, sometimes staring at a wall.

Haynes said the 444 minutes she spent in the kennel gave her an extra dose of empathy for Max. Shelters provide a wonderful service, giving animals food and a place to live while trying to find them permanent arrangements, but they aren't meant to be long-term.

"Time feels like it's stood still. It has gone very, very slowly. I can understand why Max is staring at the wall. I found myself sitting here trying to count the links of the chain link," Haynes said of her time in the kennel.

The dog-director day swap got the attention of local news agencies, which led Ed Panus of Moravia, New York to come to the shelter to meet Max. Panus said he felt an instant connection with the doggo.

"I noticed he was almost like the dog I had that passed away here at the end of last year," Panus told WBNG News 12.

So after 450 days living at the Susquehanna SPCA and four months at a different shelter before that, Max has finally found his forever home with Panus.

The shelter had said that when Max was adopted, they would help provide a behavioral specialist to ease him through the transition from shelter life to home life. So far, so good it seems. Panus said Max immediately made himself at home, even jumping right into Panus's human bed.

Congratulations Ed and Max! Hope you both enjoy your new life together.

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Successful Japanese business man has dedicated his life to saving cats in Fukushima's nuclear zone

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When an earthquake and subsequent tsunami caused a nuclear disaster in Fukushima, Japan, in 2011 most people who lived in the area fled. Some left without their pets, who then had to fend for themselves in a radioactive nuclear zone.

Sakae Kato stayed behind to rescue the cats abandoned by his neighbors and has spent the last decade taking care of them. He has converted his home, which is in a contaminated quarantine area, to a shelter for 41 cats, whom he refers to as "kids." He has buried 23 other cats in his garden over the past 10 years.

The government has asked the 57-year-old to evacuate the area many times, but he says he figured he was going to die anyway. "And if I had to die, I decided that I would like to die with these guys," he said.

Kato's dedication to animal welfare extends beyond the cats he's rescued. He also rescued a dog named Pochi, and he has gotten in trouble with the Japanese government for releasing wild boars from traps they set. He feeds the boars as well

Kato estimates that he spends around $7,000 a month on food, fuel, supplies, and veterinary care, which he funds from his own savings and profits from his construction company.

It's getting increasingly difficult to take care of the animals, though, and he anticipates it getting harder. One issue is that his home is falling apart, with rotting floorboards and damage to the roof and walls from another recent earthquake.

"It might last another two or three years. The walls have started to lean," Kato told Reuters.

He doesn't have running water, so he collects water in bottles for himself and the cats from a nearby stream. He uses a paraffin stove to heat the shed where he feeds the cats, and he drives to nearby public toilets.

Technically, he's not allowed to sleep in his home, though he is legally allowed to visit. He hasn't let that stop him from staying and caring for his cats, though.

The pet whisperer of Fukushimawww.youtube.com

Though Kato's family is disapproving of his chosen path, he has every intention of staying and fulfilling what he sees as his life's purpose.

"I want to be around when the last cat dies," he says, "then I want to die after that, no matter if it takes a day or an hour. I want to take care of the last cat here before I die."

Few people would make the sacrifices Kato has made to save animals, especially in a nuclear zone. As the area continues to be decontaminated, more of the 160,000 residents that fled the meltdown may eventually return. But for now, Kato appears to be content in the company of his cat kids and boar babies.

Here's to those special souls who have a heart for animal welfare, and here's to Kato for his perseverance and dedication in caring for these abandoned pets and giving them a loving home.

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U.S. Marine veteran started 'VETPAW' to combat animal poachers in Africa

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We have all seen videos of sickening and senseless violence that trophy hunters inflict on innocent animals and been so enraged that we want to book the next flight to Africa and put a stop to it. Well, meet the man that did.

U.S. Marine veteran Ryan Tate came across a documentary on animal poaching one night. "On the show there were some poachers, and instead of shooting the animal, they got a hold of a shootable tranquilizer. It doesn't make a loud gunshot noise," Tate told Grit Daily. "They darted a female rhino. She went to sleep and they hacked her horn off."

She woke up and conservationists found her and wanted to help, but she kept running. She was confused. She was scared. The rhino ended up bleeding out and dying." That was all it took for Tate to take matters into his own hands and do something about it. That was when he left his job at the U.S. State Department providing security for foreign diplomats and started non-profit VETPAW (Veterans Empowered to Protect African Wildlife).

Tate used the connections he had made while working at the State Department to start working with the federal wildlife parks in Tanzania. He flew over and funded it with his own money. His first order of business was to find out what skill sets the park rangers possessed. He found they excelled at tracking animals, so he combined that with his military skills to create a training program. The rangers lacked the medical training necessary for an operation so far from a hospital.

"Not a single ranger knew first aid, CPR, nor had they ever seen a tourniquet," Tate said. "We had rangers dying of Malaria. It was unbelievable and so mind-blowing to introduce a tourniquet and antibiotics to rangers. We bring them medical supplies. Some of these guys didn't even have heels or soles on their boots. They had holes in them. We gave them our boots and we ran around in gym shoes."

Animal poachers in Africa are extremely dangerous and the rangers are often outgunned. It's been reported that a kilo of rhino horns is worth up to $65,000. The demand comes from East Asia, where rhino horn is seen as a medicine and a status symbol. It's met with international networks linking poor villages in South Africa with traffickers and then people who buy it. Law enforcement turns a blind eye and corruption continues.

As Tate explained to Grit Daily, "Wildlife trafficking is one of the top five international crimes. Rhino horns and elephant tusks are very much part of this. When you start messing with their bottom lines, which could be a million dollars for one horn, you get some very dangerous people who take notice."

Over the past year, Tate and his crew of over 30 veterans trained the rangers and patrolled up to 100,000 acres. They also work with local law enforcement to find poachers in nearby neighborhoods and have them arrested. If there is one group you don't want to mess with, it's pissed off U.S. Marines. So poachers, go home, re-think your life and save us all the trouble.

And if there is a "Coolest Guy on the Planet" award, I am pretty sure Ryan Tate is not only a nominee, but a heavy favorite to take home the hardware.

Visit their web site at https://vetpaw.org/ where vets can apply to join the fight. You can also make a donation, as well as sign up for a 10-day experience for which all the proceeds fund VETPAW.

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