THE ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT-GAZETTE

SPRINGDALE, Ark. — All Washington County fire trucks are now equipped with oxygen masks specifically designed for dogs and cats.

Springdale and Fayetteville received theirs in May, and the Humane Society of the Ozarks completed the donation by recently handing them out to the county’s 19 volunteer fire departments.

Each kit contains three masks, one for cats, and medium and large sizes for dogs. In the past, firefighters used masks designed for humans. Results were mixed, said Springdale Fire Chief Duane Atha. (more…)

Photo courtesy of Out of the Woods Rescue — River and his new owner play.

KRISHA WILLIAMS TURBEVILLE

RESCUE IN THE ROCK

No party is planned for the third anniversary of Out of the Woods Animal Rescue of Arkansas.

“We have too much to do!” said president Kathy Woods, who founded the nonprofit in 2007 to help animals other shelters in the area could not.

“We don’t turn people down. That’s what sets us apart,” Woods said. “We’ll help anybody who’s willing to take on the responsibility for the animals they’ve taken in.” (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

WITTMAN, Ariz. — An 80-year-old Arizona woman has been found living with 104 mostly dead or dying cats.

Maricopa County Sheriff’s officials say 10 cats were dead in the freezer and many others were diseased or dying inside Lucienne Touboul’s home in Wittman, about 30 miles northwest of Phoenix.

Sheriff’s spokesman Jeff Sprong says Touboul was taken to a hospital for a medical evaluation because the cats had a disease that can be given to humans. He says Touboul also will undergo a mental evaluation and could face charges of felony animal cruelty and threatening to kill deputies if they touched the cats. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LONDON — Oscar the cat may have lost one of his nine lives, but his new prosthetic paws make him one of the world’s few bionic cats.

After losing his two rear paws in a nasty encounter with a combine harvester last October, the black cat with green eyes was outfitted with metallic pegs that link the ankles to new prosthetic feet and mimic the way deer antlers grow through skin. Oscar is now back on his feet and hopping over hurdles like tissue paper rolls.

After Oscar’s farming accident, which happened when the 2 1/2-year-old-cat was lazing in the sun in the British Channel Isles, his owners, Kate and Mike Nolan, took him to their local veterinarian. In turn, the vet referred Oscar to Dr. Noel Fitzpatrick, a neuro-orthopedic surgeon in Eashing, 35 miles southwest of London. (more…)

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

LAKELAND, Fla. — A Lakeland man has been charged with throwing a kitten from a second-story balcony.

Police say they arrested 26-year-old Timothy Baggett on Saturday and charged him with animal cruelty and criminal mischief.

A witness told police that the orange-and-brown kitten landed on the windshield of a minivan, about 40 feet away from the building. Officers found the windshield shattered and the cat under the vehicle. (more…)