Cats have been crashing Zoom meetings since the beginning of the pandemic (and probably long before then, we just didn’t all Zoom as much as we do now.) Earlier this week, feline Zoom participation rose to a whole new level when an attorney accidentally signed on to a virtual court proceeding with a cat filter, and then couldn’t figure out how to remove it. “I am not a cat,” he insisted as he frantically tried to remove the filter. If you haven’t already seen the video that went viral almost immediately, click here to watch it.

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For football fans, this is the most exciting weekend of the year, but even if you couldn’t care less about football, the Hallmark Channel once again makes Super Bowl Sunday fun for cat lovers. In addition to its off the charts cuteness factor, the annual event is designed to raise awareness of the importance of adoption. For more information, please visit the Hallmark Channel website.

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Cats who respond to catnip will typically roll around in it, jump and run around, rub their faces in it, drool, and purr. Typically, a catnip “high” last about ten or fifteen minutes. A new study has found that the non-poisonous chemical nepetalactone, an aromatic oil found in the stem and leaves of the plant, which is responsible for the catnip high, may also offer protection against  mosquitoes. Visit the New York Times for a closer look at the new study.

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Capturing a purrfect photo takes skill, patience, and sometimes, just plain luck. When photographer Mike Mayou flew his drone over the St. Louis River in Minnesota, he managed to capture this once-in-a-lifetime image. For more stunning photos and video of the three cats, visit MyModernMet.com.

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Two kittens rescued separately ended up at the same shelter in New York, and became best friends when Jess Thoren, a fosterer from KittenBnB in New Jersey, took them home. Jess had come to the shelter to rescue another litter of kittens and just knew she had to take little Frankie home as well. Two weeks younger than the other kittens, he quickly became a part of the family, but became particularly close to Dracula, a little black kitten. For more about Frankie and his friends, visit LoveMeow.com.

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The stray cats in a neighborhood of Taiwan’s capital are being well cared for by residents as part of the “Midnight Cafeteria” project. The “cafeteria” is actually 45 small wooden houses painted by Taiwanese artists and scattered across Taipei, giving the cats a place to eat and rest. The project began in a math teacher’s neighborhood, where about 20 neighbors are helping stray cats in addition to their full-time jobs. ““We want to push forward this philosophy that you don’t have to be part of a very top-level association or something that takes up all of your time,” said Hung Pei-ling. “You can just be one person doing something a little bit at a time, a little bit and taken all together, you can achieve a lot.” For more about the project, visit the New York Post.

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A hospital in Richmond, Australia has a  unique security guard: his name is Elwood, and he is a cat. He even  has his own “official” badge. When Elwood first started appearing on the hospital grounds, staff assumed he was a stray, but he actually lives across the street. Much to the delight of hospital staff and patients, he takes his “job” seriously and comes to work each day. For more about Elwood and photos of him on the job, visit MyModernMet.com.

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One of the few bright spots in this challenging year has been that more people than ever before have fostered or adopted cats. One of these adoptions came with quite a surprise to New York Times columnist Carla Bruce-Eddings: When a friend texted her “do you want a kitten,” she immediately agreed. Only, the kitten she thought she was getting turned out to be a partially feral adult cat, and the cat came with an unexpected surprise. Read My Pandemic Cat Had a Secret for the rest of the story.

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A French philanthropist has left a sum of money to some unusual beneficiaries in his will — the 50 cats living in the basement of the State Hermitage Museum in St. Petersburg, Russia. The museum houses 3 million works of art and artifacts and has been a home to cats since the 18th century. According to the museum, the cats are taken care of by volunteers and museum staff, and supported by donations. For more about the museum cats, visit CNN.com.

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Christina Ha is the found of Cat Camp, owner of Meow Parlour in New York City and one of the most dedicated cat advocates I know. When she was forced to shut down her bakery in Lower Manhattan, and move back home with her parents, a cat named Skooty lifted her spirits, inspired her to make 8,000 masks for essential workers, and helped grow her bond with her dad. Visit Petco Foundation to read the full story of Skooty, Christina and her dad.

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I first met Sterling Davis, the Trap King, at CatCamp NYC in May of 2018. I was immediately impressed with his passion for cats and for creating change in the world. Sterling is one of the most genuine people I’ve ever encountered. I was thrilled that NBC News did an indepth story about him and his work last week, chronicling his transition from rapper to cat rescuer. Read How this rapper quit his music career to start a cat rescue for more about this very special cat guy.

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