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Gramma and Grampa's photobook after spending 2 weeks watching Ricky the kitten is everything

It reads like a children's book.

Photo credit: Canva

Gramma and Grampa made a keepsake of their time with Ricky.

There are kitten lovers…and then there are Ricky's grandparents. When Izzie Grass left her kitten, Ricky, with her parents for two weeks, she had no idea what was in store for her after she got him back. Not only had Ricky been well taken care of, but his adventures with his human grandparents were fully documented in a photobook created by Grass' mother, which she titled "Ricky Goes to Gramma's and Grampa's."

"The photo album that reads like a children's book first went viral when Grass shared it on TikTok in 2020. Now, it has resurfaced again and people are clamoring for more riveting Ricky content after reading about how the kitten "helped Gramma do the dishes" and how "Cousin Jasper and Charlie ate most of" the pancakes Gramma made for him.

Check out how adorably extra Gramma is:

@goldfishclub

I’ll never run out of content. #Rickythesquittenkitten #cats #kitten #animals #pets #fyp #foryou #cute #happy #teachersoftiktok

Has any kitten ever been more loved?

"I would die for Ricky, Gramma, and Grampa," wrote one commenter.

"This is GOLD. I want to see 'Ricky Learns to Drive.'" wrote another.

"My parents didn't even put this much effort into making scrapbooks for ME," shared another.

And apparently Grass isn't the only one with pet grandparents who are a little extra. "My mom made a full year calendar of my dog after only watching her for two days," a commenter wrote.

Grass told Newsweek that her mom told her she made the book because "that's what she does," adding, "She is known for creating very sentimental gifts."

photobook, gift, photographs, memoriesPhotobooks make sweet, sentimental gifts.Photo credit: Canva

Grass also shared that the book almost didn't get made because Ricky almost didn't make it as a kitten. He was brought to the veterinary clinic where Grass worked when he was 9 weeks old to be euthanized."

The individuals who dropped him off reported that they found a kitten with broken legs and that was throwing up everything they tried to feed him," she said. "I came back from my lunch early to care for this kitten and in the kennel was Ricky."

As it turned out, Ricky had some birth defects and health problems that required specialized care, but he didn't need to be euthanized. Grass took him home but needed a little time to prepare to give him the care he needed.

orange kitten, orange tabby, ricky the kittenOrange kitten playing in the grassPhoto credit: Canva

"My mom stepped up and offered to watch him for a couple weeks while I got a handle of my schedule," Grass told Newsweek. "It was during this time that she created the book."

The fact that Ricky had specialized care needs at the time makes Gramma's photobook all the more endearing.

"He has made so much progress," Grass told Newsweek. "His esophagus works significantly better, he has learned how to walk, climb and run, and he continues to help me raise other foster kittens. Ricky is very loved and lives the life he deserved to have."

kitten, orange kitten, cat in a shoeKittens can make an adventure out of anythingGiphy

With a mom and grandparents like he has, it's not a surprise.

Of course, the internet's going to internet, and some people apparently looked at Ricky's photobook a couple of years after the fact and complained that it was AI generated because of the way Ricky's paws looked. However, as Grass shared in a video in 2024, those paws aren't due to AI. They're just Ricky's real-life deformities that, ironically, make him appear AI-generated in the photobook. (It's also worth mentioning that the photobook video came out well before AI-generated technology became available to the masses.)

@goldfishclub

He spent two weeks with grandma because I was starting college again as was scared of him being home alone. Mamaw had to be his nanny and make sure he didnt hurt himself. #cat #kitten #animals #pet #goldfishclub #radialhypoplasia

"Ricky's legs are actually shaped like candy canes," Grass explains. "That's not AI. That's inbreeding. Spay and neuter your cats."

You can find more videos of Ricky and the animals Grass fosters on her TikTok channel here.

This article originally appeared two years ago and has been updated.

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Joy

The 2024 Cat of the Year winner spends its days comforting women who have been trafficked

Marley isn't just another cat. He's a true hero.

Cat Protection/Youtube

Cate are heroes too. And Marley is one of them.

We often hear stories about courageous dogs saving lives, but cats can be heroes too. They are so much more than than the aloof troublemakers their reputation makes them out to be (though, let’s not get it twisted…they are certainly also those things. They contain multitudes)

Let’s take Marley, for instance.

Marley, a seven-year-old, black and white feline known for his "incredible gift of empathy" beat out thousands of other entries vying to be named Cats Protection's National Cat of the Year 2024.

Marley’s award-winning contribution? Providing comfort to trafficked women.

Caritas Bakhita House in London, a safe house for women who have been enslaved, exploited and trafficked, is Marley’s home and workplace for four years.

Prior to that, he lived at a rescue shelter after being bullied by another cat in his family home. This former experience makes him so keen to the struggle of those he helps, surmises Karen Anstiss, the head of the house.

“He recognizes our guests’ trauma because he has suffered too,” she said.

Anstiss added that on any given day Marley can be seen “placing a paw” on guests’ legs to “let them know they’re not alone.” It’s a gesture often being “the first kindness they’ve experienced in years.” It’s as if he “knows” they are in need of a friend.

There was even one client, Anstiss noted, who was so “traumatized” she wouldn't talk to any of the staff—until Marely came along.

When not comforting guests, Marley can be seen acting as a muse for art therapy sessions, joining in on meals, hearing songs dedicated to him, or traipsing through his favorite patch of daisies, which, apparently, nobody else is allowed to touch. Certainly his VIP treatment is well earned.

And now, with his new Cat of The Year award, Marley is getting more well deserved recognition. His win began in the “incredible cats” category, which celebrates cats whose bond with their humans inspires extraordinary acts of love, in a public vote. He then won the overall prize by a panel of celebrity judges.

- YouTubewww.youtube.com

His winnings include a trophy and (probably more important to Marley) a $260-ish voucher for a pet store.

For this honor, and for all the women he has helped on their road to recovery, Anstiss said she is “so proud” of Marley, calling him “a wonderful example of the power of love.”

Do cats feel empathy?

Ask any cat lover, and they will give you a resounding “yes,” and then refer to various purrs, slow blinks and tail flickers as anecdotal evidence of emotional intelligence.

But there’s also some science to back this claim as well.

In one recent studyfrom Italy, researchers presented a fan covered in ribbons to both cats and their owners. They observed that the cats seemed to follow their owner’s lead when interacting with this new and foreign object—shying away from it if their owners did so, or not reacting if their owner was neutral to it. In other words the casts picked up on their owner behaviors and changed their own accordingly.

In a different study, held by Nottingham Trent University, 3,000 cat owners surveyed were noted as having similar specific personality traits as their cats, again indicating that cats might be mirroring the personalities of their owners.

So take it from research, from cat owners, or from The Cat of the Year himself—felines are so much more empathetic than many give them credit for. Luckily, that’s changing.

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Joy

Video of cats punching above their weight gives us a new appreciation for our feline friends

Maybe they're actually as superior as they think they are.

Photo by 傅甬 华 on Unsplash

Cats are far more badass than we give them credit for.

Cats have a reputation for being aloof and standoffish, like they're better than everyone and simply can't be bothered. Those of us who have cats know they're not always like that … but yes, they're sometimes like that. They can be sweet and affectionate, but they want affection on their terms, they want to eat and play and sleep on their own clock, and we puny, inferior humans have little say in the matter.

There's a reason why we have obedience schools for dogs and not for cats. Maine coon or Bengal, Savannah or Siamese, ragdoll or sphynx, domestic cats of all breeds are largely untrainable little punks who lure us into loving them by blessing us with the honor of stroking their fur and hearing them purr.

But perhaps we assume too much when we think cats are full of themselves for no good reason. Maybe they are actually somewhat justified in their snootiness. Maybe they really, truly are superior to pretty much every other creature on Earth and that's why they act like it.

Cats, if they could talk, would be nodding and prodding us along at this point: "Yes, yes, you're so close. Just a little further now, keep going."

Think about it. They're beautiful and graceful, but also quick and powerful. They groom constantly so they're almost always clean and their fur even smells good. They can fall from ridiculous heights, land on their feet and walk away unscathed. They're wicked good ambush hunters. They can walk completely silently, like ninjas, then pull out the razor blades on their feet at will and do serious damage in an instant.

All of that makes them impressive specimens, but ironically it's their total hubris that makes them truly superior. When they feel like it (because cats only do things they feel like doing) they will take on anyone and anything. Big, small, dangerous, fierce—doesn't matter. That unbridled confidence—earned or not—combined with their physique and skill makes them the badasses of the animal world.

Want proof? Here ya go:

The snakes, man. I can't get over the snakes.

Cats really are better than us and every other living thing, basically. And even if they aren't, they believe they are, which counts just as much. They're either the ultimate creatures or the ultimate conmen. Either way, you just don't mess with them.


This article originally appeared on 08.17.22

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Joy

Should declawing cats be illegal? Maryland to join New York in banning the practice.

Photo by Dan Smedley on Unsplash

States are passing legislation making cat declawing illegal.

Anyone who has had cats knows they can do a number on your furniture. Even if you get a scratching post for them, they may prefer to claw your chair backs or sofa arms. Even if you make liberal use of a spray bottle to shoo them away from things you don't want them to scratch, they may throw a huge claw-sharpening party in your living room while you're asleep.

They are soft and gorgeous, but they have razors on their feet. That's just how cats are.

Some people try to circumvent this reality by having their pet cats declawed. By surgically removing a cat's claws, pet owners remove the problem of furniture clawing. But they also remove a major part of a cat's anatomy, which can cause lifelong problems for our feline friends.

In fact, the practice is so potentially detrimental that states are beginning to make laws banning it.

In 2019, New York became the first state to ban onychectomy—the technical term for cat declawing—in most instances. The only exceptions are if the amputation procedure is being done to treat a cat's medical condition, such as infection or injury. Veterinarians who declaw a cat for any other reason face a $1,000 fine.

Now Maryland has joined New York, with its own legislation prohibiting the practice passing in both the state house and senate. According to the Associated Press, the bill stipulates that vets who declaw cats for any reason other than "therapeutic purposes" would face a fine of up to $5,000 for a first offense and up to $10,000 for a second offense, as well as possibly having their license suspended or revoked.

"Declawing is a horrendously painful and disfiguring surgery," Senator Mary Washington (D-Baltimore City) said, according to WUSA 9 News. "It is positively inhuman and conducted solely for the benefit of the owner. It has no benefit for the cat, in fact, quite the opposite."

As the Humane Society of the United States points out, declawing a cat isn't the cat equivalent of a human manicure, like many people believe it is. It's the equivalent of cutting off our fingers at our last knuckle, removing our fingernails entirely. Imagine how much more uncomfortable and limiting our lives would be without our fingertips, not to mention the painful recovery from such a surgery. That's similar to how declawing impacts cats.

"Medical drawbacks to declawing include pain in the paw, infection, tissue necrosis (tissue death), lameness, and back pain," writes the Humane Society. "Removing claws changes the way a cat's foot meets the ground and can cause pain similar to wearing an uncomfortable pair of shoes. There can also be a regrowth of improperly removed claws, nerve damage, and bone spurs."

Declawing cats may also create challenges for them while using the litter box and may lead a cat to bite more than they normally would as well.

While the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) discourages the practice of cat declawing and animal rights activists have pushed for it to be banned, the New York State Veterinary Medical Society was a vocal critic of New York's ban. The organization, which is the largest veterinarian organization in New York, said that declawing should be allowed if an owner finds themselves with no alternative other than abandonment or euthanasia.

Animal rights activists, however, have celebrated the legislation as a victory for cats, who rely on their claws as essential body parts. When we know better, we do better, and knowing how declawing cats negatively impacts their quality of life makes it a practice that should only be done if it's medically necessary for the cat not for the convenience of the human charged with their care.

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