Feline Friday: They did what!!!

Feline Friday was started by Steve, The Burnt Food Dude, and i'm going to believe it's because he likes cats.

It's fun and easy to do Feline Friday, just post a cat picture and link up!

Heads are turning at the cat shelter with the news.

Wait!  They did what?!

The cat shelter has had some trouble lately with two things -- ringworm, and upper respiratory infections.

Cats were coming down with one or the other or both like crazy, and even the volunteers and staff were starting to get ringworm, in spite of taking precautions.  Bleaching the whole place has slowed it some, but it always crops back up.

It's gotten so bad, they've taken drastic action.  The place is shut down, all the cats have been removed to be treated for ringworm whether they have it or not and monitored for respiratory symptoms, and there are ozone machines going in the building for a full 48 hours to kill off EVERYTHING. 

It's expensive, but apparently it works and works well.  So they've gone this route, and are hoping this gives a fresh start.


Today is

Aberdeen International Youth Festival -- Aberdeen, Scotland (talented young people in all areas of performing arts and from around the world participate; through Aug. 2)

Antique Power and Steam Exhibition -- Burton, OH, US (over 100 antique engines show they can still cut the mustard -- or saw the logs, thresh the grain, etc.; through Sunday)

Act Like A Caveman Day -- internet generated, just to be fun, especially if your neighbors think you are crazy anyway

Arcadia Daze -- Arcadia, NY, US (lots of family friendly fun in this scenic village; through Sunday)

Bayreuther Festspiele -- Bayreuth, Germany (Wagner festival, through Aug. 28)

Be Adamant About Something Day -- it's good practice

Commonwealth Constitution Day -- Puerto Rico

Culinarian's Day -- another one here because of the internet, but a good excuse to let your inner chef go wild, and enjoy the results

Dodge City Days -- Dodge City, KS, US (a celebration of Western heritage, this year's theme is "Saddle Up and Enjoy the Ride; through Aug. 4)

Ebernoe Horn Fair -- Sussex, England (ancient horn fairs were pagan fertility rites, now just a fun time for all)

Emperor Haile Selassi I birthday -- Rastafari

Eve of the Hathor Festival -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar (date approximate)

Farm Heritage Days -- American Farm Heritage Museum, near St. Louis, MO, US (celebrating America's farm heritage; through Sunday)

Festival of the Knee-Knockers -- Fairy Calendar

Furrinalia -- Ancient Etruscan Calendar (Furrina, goddess of the sacred grove and spring on Janniculum hill)
      also Ancient Roman Calendar (to honor those who searched for underground water sources)

Gilroy Garlic Festival -- Gilroy, California (the part of the world that grows more of our garlic than anywhere else, where you can almost marinate a steak just by hanging it on the clothesline in the breeze, celebrates the stinky rose; through Sunday)

Gold Discovery Days -- Custer, SD, US (bed races and pancake breakfast, children's fair and more; through Sunday)

Guanacaste Day -- Costa Rica

Guayaquil Day -- Guayaquil, Ecuador

Ilyap'a -- Ancient Inca Calendar (festival of the lightning god; date approximate)

Iowa Storytelling Festival -- Clear Lake, IA, US (come listen to professional and amateur storytellers in the scenic lakeside setting, and including a story exchange for novice storytellers; through tomorrow)

Jumatul Bidah/Jumat-ul Wida -- Bangladesh; JK, UK, & UP, India

Langholm Common Riding -- Langholm, Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland (a traditional riding of the bounds, with lots of celebrating, begins 5am and ends 9:30pm)

Lieksa Brass Week -- Lieksa, Finland (the world's finest brass music in various styles by international class musicians; through August 2nd)

Lumberjack Day -- for no reason that i can fathom, but there it is; not as famous as the one in September, which has its own website

Mutomboko Ceremony -- Luapula Province, Zambia (among the Lunda of the Kazembe kingdom, a rich celebration of African cultural heritage, traditional dances and music, and sponsored by the Royal Family; through tomorrow)

National Hot Fudge Sundae Day

Republic Day -- Tunisia

Schools Tree Day -- Australia (because National Tree Day is always a Sunday, the schools participate in planting trees the Friday before)

St. Christopher's Day (Patron of archers, automobile drivers/motorists, bachelors, boatmen, bookbinders, busdrivers, cab drivers,epileptics, fruit dealers, fullers, gardeners, lorry drivers, mariners, market carriers, porters, sailors, taxi drivers, transportation/transporation workers, travellers, truck drivers/truckers, watermen; Baden, Germany; Barga, Italy; Brunswick, Germany; Fubine, Italy; Havana, Cuba; Mecklenburg, Germany; Rab, Croatia, St. Christopher's Island; Saint Kitts; Toses, Girona, Calalonia, Spain ;for a holy death; against bad dreams, epilepsy, floods, hailstorms, lightning, pestilence, storms, sudden death, toothache)

St. James' Day (The Apostle, brother of St. John and son of Zebedee, the first Apostle martyred; Patron of apothecaries/druggists/pharmacists, arthritis sufferers, blacksmiths, equestrians and horsemen, furriers, knights, laborers, pilgrims, soldiers, tanners, veterinarians; Altopascio, Lucca, Italy; Antigua, Guatemala; Bangued, Philippines; Brentino Belluno, Italy; Caltagirone, Italy; Cassine, Italy; Chile; Cicala, Catanzaro, Italy; Comitini, Italy; Compostela, Spain; Galicia, Spain; Gavi, Italy; Guatemala; Hettstedt, Saxony-Anhalt, Germany; Jemez Indian Pueblo; Loiza, Puerto Rico; Medjugorje, Bosnia-Herzegovina; Montreal, Canada; Nicaragua; Pistoia, Italy; Rivarolo Canavese, Italy; Sahuayo, Mexico; Seattle, Washington; Spain; Tesuque Indian Pueblo; against arthritis and rheumatism; sometimes called Jacob, the Latinized version of his name, also Iago and Jaques in Romance languages) related observances
     Dia Nacional de Galicia -- Galicia, Spain (National Day of Galicia, a/k/a Apostole Santiago, St. James the Apostle's Day)
     The Pilgrimage of Santiago de Compostela -- Galicia, Spain (one of the world's largest pilgrimages still, to the church that has the supposed relics of St. James, culminates on the Saint's feast day)
     Loiza Aldea Fiesta -- Puerto Rico

System Administrator Appreciation Day -- the day to thank your system administrator for keeping your computer up and running

Talk in an Elevator Day

UFO Days -- Elmwood, Wisconsin, US (Wisconsin's UFO capital, visit the petting zoo, shop at the community wide thrift sale, take part in the fun run, softball games, medallion hunts, bed races, and dances; watch the crowning of Miss Elmwood, the tractorcade, the car and truck show, the nightly fireworks, and stage bands; let the kids have a ball in the greased pig race and kiddie water fight; enjoy the Knights of Columbus pancake breakfast and the bake sale; and no need to miss church Sunday morning, bring a lawn chair for the ecumenical service so you don't miss a moment of the fun and excitement! through Sunday)

Video Games Day -- yet another one, this on the founding of the "U.S. National Video Game Team"


Birthdays Today

James Lafferty, 1985
Brad Renfro, 1982
Louise Brown, 1978
Matt LeBlanc, 1967
Illeana Douglas, 1965
Iman, 1965
Walter Payton, 1954
Nathaniel "Nate" Thurmond, 1941
Barbara Harris, 1935
Midge Decter, 1927
Estelle Getty, 1923
Jack Gilford, 1907
Walter Brennan, 1894
Maxfield Parrish, 1870


Debuting/Premiering Today:

"A Chorus Line"(Musical), 1975
"You Can't Hurry Love"(Single release), 1966


Today in History

Diocletian appoints Maximian as Caesar, co-ruler, 285
Constantine I is proclaimed Roman emperor by his troops, 306
The Edict of Pistres of Charles the Bald orders defensive measures against the Vikings, 864
Sebastián de Belalcázar, on his search for El Dorado, founds the city of Santiago de Cali, Colombia, 1536
Don Diego de Losada founds the city of Santiago de Leon de Caracas, modern-day Caracas, the capital city of Venezuela, 1567
Henry IV of France publicly converts from Protestantism to Roman Catholicism, 1593
James VI of Scotland is crowned James I of England, bringing the Kingdoms of England and Scotland into personal union; political union would occur later, 1603
Ignacio de Maya founds the Real Santiago de las Sabinas, now known as Sabinas Hidalgo, Nuevo León, México, 1693
British governor Charles Lawrence and the Nova Scotia Council order the deportation of the Acadians; thousands of Acadians are sent to the British Colonies in America, France and England, and some later move to Louisiana, while others resettle in New Brunswick, 1755
Horatio Nelson loses more than 300 men and his right arm during the failed conquest attempt of Tenerife (Spain), 1797
Costa Rica annexes Guanacaste from Nicaragua, 1824
The first commercial use of an electric telegraph is successfully demonstrated by William Cooke and Charles Wheatstone between Euston and Camden Town in London, 1837
The Japanese daimyo begin returning their land holdings to the emperor as part of the Meiji Restoration reforms, 1869
Kikunae Ikeda of the Tokyo Imperial University discovers that a key ingredient in Konbu soup stock is monosodium glutamate (MSG), and patents a process for manufacturing it, 1908
Sir Thomas Whyte introduces the first income tax in Canada as a "temporary" measure, 1917
The first transatlantic two-way radio broadcast takes place, 1920
Telegraph Agency of the Soviet Union (TASS) is established, 1925
At Club 500 in Atlantic City, New Jersey, Dean Martin and Jerry Lewis stage their first show as a comedy team, 1946
Italian ocean liner SS Andrea Doria collides with the MS Stockholm in heavy fog and sinks the next day, killing 51, 1956
The Republic of Tunisia is proclaimed, 1957
Louise Brown, the world's first "test tube baby" is born, 1978
Israel and Jordan sign the Washington Declaration, which formally ends the state of war that had existed between the nations since 1948, 1994
K.R. Narayanan is sworn-in as India's 10th president and the first Dalit— formerly called "untouchable"— to hold this office, 1997
Air France Flight 4590, a Concorde supersonic passenger jet, F-BTSC, crashes just after takeoff from Paris killing all 109 aboard and 4 on the ground, 2000
Pratibha Patil is sworn in as India's first woman president, 2007
Wikileaks publishes classified documents about the War in Afghanistan, one of the largest leaks in U.S. military history, 2010
Scientists in Britain identify the mechanism causing human allergy to cats; they believe a general cure for the condition could be available in the next five years, 2013