cats – Pain In The Bud

Girl Tearfully Begs Firefighters To Rescue Her Cat After Brooklyn Building Collapse

Zariah Coleman, who lost almost everything in the collapse, pleaded for help finding her four-legged family member.

Wednesday’s building collapse in New York took the lives of eight people, including two kids, and injured 18 more – but it was a tearful plea from a young girl that perhaps struck the most emotional chord amid the abstract horror.

Zariah Coleman lost her home when the nearly century-old apartment building her family lived in partially collapsed at about 4 pm on Wednesday. While her human relatives were safe, one family member was still missing.

“When I first came home and I saw what happened to my house, the first thing I thought about was my cat,” she said, her voice shaking. “He was inside there and I tried to go under the tape. I was going to go get him, but I realized I didn’t know what I was going to face.”

Coleman said there were ominous rumbles during the excavation of the plot next to her building earlier in the week. Her cat, already skittish from the noises associated with construction, was probably hiding from emergency workers, she said as she fought back tears.

“Before all this happened, we used to feel shakes in our building. Like, it used to start shaking when they were working and stuff,” she said. “And I just, I just really hope they come and get our cat because he’s inside the house right now.”

Urban building demolition site with an excavator clearing rubble, emergency responders, and construction fencing along the street — The collapse ripped apart walls shared with the neighboring building, exposing the interiors of several apartments.

The collapse in Brooklyn’s Flatbush neighborhood ripped apart shared walls with a neighboring building as the main structure came crashing down into the excavated pit next door.

It’s not clear why the building collapsed, although the Brooklyn District Attorney’s Office, the NYPD and the city’s building department are investigating building code violations and reviewing the construction work next door.

The landlord, Olufemi Falade, has made the city’s Worst Landlord list six times since 2017, according to New York’s Public Advocate’s office. The list is compiled from active code violations on properties a landlord owns.

Per the Gothamist:

“Before its collapse, the building had 98 open housing code violations for unsafe electrical wiring, inadequate water supply to the sprinkler system, a lack of smoke detectors, water outages and a bed bug infestation among other problems, according to city data.”

Twenty one of those violations were class C, meaning they were “immediately hazardous” to residents, and an inspection report earlier this year noted “a wide range of deficiencies” on the wall facing the excavation site, the New York Times reported.

Falade, who spent two weeks in jail in 2006 for racking up 1,800 violations across his properties, has accumulated some $450,000 in debt from unpaid taxes, water bills and fines from the city, according to the New York Post.

The collapsed building at 1321 Flatbush Ave. was the only structure adjacent to the excavation that was not protected by reinforcing steel buttresses, despite visible cracks in the 96-year-old building’s facade. Engineers called it “a recipe for disaster,” and Gothamist noted the contractors had ignored an earlier stop work order from the city.

Developer Robert Fischman has a “record of flouting orders” from the building department, including a stop work order at another property due to failure to install safety netting and sheds to protect pedestrians on the neighboring sidewalk, Gothamist reported. Fischman and his partner, Judy Swimer, were issued another violation after the city found they went ahead with demolition work in violation of the stop work order.

The Times also noted they did not have an additional safety inspector on-site at the Flatbush Avenue property and may have filed initial plans for a three-story structure – instead of the nine-story structure they sought approval for – to avoid paying for the additional inspector.

Several media outlets, including the New York Times and Gothamist, reached out to Fischman and Swimer, who did not return calls.

Eight families who lived in the Flatbush Avenue building are getting emergency housing, clothing, food and other assistance from a range of city agencies and private groups, including the mayor’s emergency relief fund, NYC Housing Preservation and Development (HPD) Emergency Housing Services, and the nearby YMCA and Bethesda Church of God.

Ashera Cats Do Not Exist: They Are A Scam

After 20 years people are still paying exorbitant prices for a breed of cat that does not exist. The scammers who sell them get a generous assist from pet news and information sites, which publish articles about the breed as if it’s real.

It’s been 20 years since a con artist invented a breed of cat, claimed it was hypoallergenic, and charged unsuspecting customers tens of thousands of dollars only to deliver felines of a different breed.

Yet you wouldn’t know that by all the articles, listicles and social media posts by unscrupulous news brands and pet sites that continue to spread misinformation about the so-called “Ashera cat.”

Because of the overwhelming amount of misinformation about the fabulated breed on the web, even prominent AI models, like those integrated with search engines, tell users the Ashera is legitimate or claim there’s “controversy” about it, as if the question of whether it’s real or not is still up in the air.

The sources of misinformation include a popular YouTube channel that praises the Ashera, calling it “basically a Ferrari with fur.” Cat information sites like Catster and KittyNook describe it as if it’s real, while dozens of pages on Facebook and Instagram claim to sell Ashera cats. Even articles on major platforms like MSN and Yahoo discuss the Ashera as if it’s a legitimate breed.

Spotted Ashera cat standing on a dark sofa in a living room — Catster’s editors know the Ashera is a scam, and they still run these stories.

The ubiquity of “for sale” posts proves that scammers are still benefiting from the confusion created by the media stories repeating long-debunked claims. We last wrote about the Ashera in early 2024, and the situation hasn’t improved. If anything, there are even more bad actors trying to rip people off by promising them genetically engineered miracle cats.

For the sake of being as blunt as possible so there can be no ambiguity:

The Ashera does not exist. It has never existed.

The man who “created” the Ashera, Simon Brodie, is a British national with a long criminal history. He fled and changed his name when his scam was exposed.

Not a single person who paid him received an “Ashera cat.”

Brodie launched his Ashera cat scam in the early 2000s by fooling several major media outlets into positively covering his fake business. He presented himself as a tech CEO and geneticist whose lab created the breed. The Ashera was developed, he claimed, by manipulating the DNA of existing cat breeds, removing the mechanisms that create allergens.

It’s worth noting that even now in 2026, no genetics company has done so, and geneticists still do not understand what function the relevant protein (Fel d 1) plays in feline biology. They know it produces allergens, but that’s a side effect on humans, not its purpose. Using gene-editing technology like CRISPR to snip out the relevant genetic code could have catastrophic consequences for the felines whose DNA is edited.

Yet reporters for major news outlets, including the New York Times, Time magazine, Reuters and National Geographic, didn’t question Brodie’s claims. The positive coverage in national and international publications vaulted Brodie’s scam to new heights, bringing him new customers.

It wasn’t until angry customers went to ABC News that the scam was fully exposed. DNA tests by an independent lab concluded so-called Ashera cats weren’t genetically engineered and didn’t have lower levels of allergens.

Brodie’s claims of an allergen-free cat were especially beguiling to people who’d always wanted a pet cat but found their allergies were too severe.

“I don’t think any cat is worth $4,000,” a customer named Mike Sela told Columbia Journalism review, “but this seemed like a magical opportunity, especially with parents trying to get something for kids. You never thought you could get a cat and this is your chance.”

Bengal cat with green eyes lying on a wooden surface against a dark background — So-called “Ashera cats” are usually Bengal cats drop-shipped from breeders. While Bengal kittens typically command between $1,500 and $3,000, drop-shippers charge tens of thousands for supposedly hypoallergenic “Ashera cats.”

Brodie was neither a tech CEO nor a geneticist. He had no employees and his lab didn’t exist. He ran his “high tech startup” from his apartment, charging customers up to $100,000 for Ashera cats and drop-shipping them Bengal and Savannah cats from breeders.

Despite claims to the contrary by many other breeders, hypoallergenic cats aren’t a thing. All breeds of cat have the Fel d 1 protein, which is found in saliva and skin glands. You can’t buy an “allergy free” cat, and there is no governing body that certifies a cat as allergy free or “less allergenic.”

This isn’t difficult information to dig up. All it requires is basic due diligence and critical thinking.

Yet both are in short supply in a world where people just copy existing news articles, shifting a few words around to fool plagiarism detectors, or tell AI to write the stories for them.

To the owners and editors of sites still treating the Ashera cat and similar scams as real: You are serving the interests of scammers who separate people from their hard-earned money in exchange for hypoallergenic cats that do not exist. You’re doing real harm out of laziness or ambivalence. Please stop.

Spotted tabby cat lying down with its front paws extended. — Savannah cats are also sold as Asheras. Credit: Pexels

To people who are considering purchasing an Ashera, please don’t! The lure of a supposedly allergen-free cat is strong, as is the idea of a unique breed that looks like a wildcat.

Unfortunately that’s not what you’ll get in exchange from your money. You’ll get a regular fourth- or fifth-generation Bengal or Savannah that you could have purchased directly from the breeder for a fraction of the price.

Why pay for a cat anyway? There are literally hundreds of thousands of cats out there right now who need homes, and contrary to what breeders claim, those cats aren’t lower quality and don’t have anything wrong with them. In fact, domestic shorthairs are healthier than so-called pedigree cats in every respect and are not predisposed to the diseases and other health problems that plague breeds. They live longer, healthier, happier lives, and they’re just as loving.

Scammers continue posting ads and maintaining fake breeder pages because the scam still works, and the scam still works because supposedly trustworthy pet news sites tell readers the Ashera is real. They need to stop. After 20 years, haven’t enough people been scammed?

Ashera cat listings found on Nov. 10, 2026. The ads for people looking to rehome Asheras may be from people who were told the cats they purchased were Asheras, or they may be another form of scam. There were more than a dozen current “Asheras” listed for sale, each for at least $10,000.

Caturday: Do Felines Fart? Plus: Happy Human, Happy Cat Study

Do cats roar from the rear? Scientific American investigates feline fecal fumes and fart frequency.

Continuing its mission to probe the greater enigmas of the natural world, and knowing many of us must have pondered the question, Scientific American has set out to determine whether cats break wind.

In what it calls “an investigation into the mysteries of feline flatulence,” the magazine confirms that, yes, our furry friends do pass gas.

The good news? They are infrequent cheese cutters with minimal ass acoustics, particularly compared to the notoriously flatulent canines.

The bad news? When cats do fart, they are silent but deadly (SBD) affairs that deliver maximum olfactory potency due to the sulfurous mix of proteins and amino acids broken down by their digestive systems.

I can personally confirm that factoid, having been on the receiving end of a particularly insidious squeaker while Bud was sitting on my chest and nuzzling against my face. Once second I was rubbing the top of his head and telling him what a good boy he is, the next I was nearly gagging.

Farting is a normal biological function for cats, veterinarians told the magazine. While New York-based Cat Practice’s medical director, Eric Dougherty, says he doubts “anyone’s ever measured the exact quantity of cat farts in a scientific study,” you should have things checked out by a veterinarian if your little pal’s getting insane in the methane with concerning frequency.

“If you’re coming home and your cat is ripping farts every day,” Dougherty said, “you probably want to have it looked into.”

Same study, different interpretations

A few weeks ago we wrote about a Japanese study that found oxytocin levels spike in cats and their humans when they’re in close proximity.

The chemical – which is essential for bonding and often corresponds to positive feelings – rises in our respective bloodstreams when we’re interacting, the research team found.

Interestingly the effect is tied to distance, or rather lack of it. That means if your little buddy is bonded to you, you’re both at your happiest when you’re next to, or in physical contact with, each other.

The study didn’t find causation, just correlation, and the standard “we need more research” caveat absolutely applies here.

Person with curly hair cuddling and kissing a gray tabby cat — Credit: Sam Lion/Pexels

While the research team went to the effort of observing interactions in homes where cats live, and of testing cat and human urine samples for real data on biochemical levels instead of relying exclusively on questionnaires, the sample sizes were small. The team collected complete data on only 24 cats and 17 people.

It also found an unsurprising link between negative human moods marked by higher cortisol levels and stress in cats. That makes sense, as we’re extremely important to our feline friends. We’re the ones who care for, feed, shelter and love them, and they’re highly attuned to our emotions.

VICE, which ran a story on the study on Nov. 5, had a different take, claiming the study found “the oxytocin levels of humans and their cats appear to rise and fall in sync.” That’s not exactly what the paper describes, as negative human emotions were found to precipitate lower levels of oxytocin and higher stress hormones in cats. Again, the paper doesn’t establish causation, so we’re left to infer that our negative emotions are the catalyst without hard proof.

A handful of other publications published articles with interpretations similar to those of VICE, while a story by phys.org concentrates on the proximity aspect and notes that it could account for why different research teams have had varying results when trying to figure out whether having a cat leads to greater happiness.

Caturday Open Comments: You’re welcome to comment on anything, suggest stories, talk about your own cats, or leave a message for Little Buddy about what a really, really ridiculously good-looking cat he is.

Young man standing indoors in front of window blinds with subtitle text reading “Really, really, ridiculously good-looking.”

Beware Of Missing Pet Scams: If Someone Says They’ve Found Your Cat, Don’t Send Payment

People desperate to be reunited with their lost pets are easy prey for emotionally manipulative scammers. AI has made the scams even more convincing.

The internet is famous for its rules.

There’s Godwin’s law (The longer an online discussion stretches, the greater the chance of someone invoking Hitler and/or Nazis in anger), Poe’s law (extreme viewpoints and satire are indistinguishable online), and the infamous Rule 34 (“If it exists, there’s porn of it.”)

I propose a new law: if it exists, there are scammers out there trying to take advantage of it.

How else to explain the evil behind increasingly popular “found pet” scams?

The formula is simple. Someone loses their beloved cat or dog and does all the right things, including checking with their neighbors, calling local shelters and posting on sites like Facebook and NextDoor.

Missing cat poster featuring Buddy, a white and gray cat, last seen on Leahall Road in Stechford, Birmingham. — Stephanie Young of Burmingham, UK, was contacted by a woman who claimed she had Young’s cat, Buddy. (Great name!) When Young offered a cash reward upon meet-up but refused to send gift cards ahead of time, the woman said she would kill Buddy.

A scammer sees the post, whips up a photorealistic AI image or video of the lost kitty or pup, then contacts the panicked owner with the “good news” that their little pal has been found. Look, here’s proof! Little Fluffy’s stretched out in a sun puddle in my backyard right now!

People are usually so overjoyed and so eager to get their furry friend back that red flags may go unheeded, especially if they’re not fully aware of what AI can do these days.

They want to believe because they want their pet back, so maybe they don’t balk at sending a reward via Paypal or an Apple gift card. Or maybe they agree to send the reward after they meet up with the finder and get their cat or dog back.

In a new story about found pet scams, the BBC outlines what comes next, and it’s not pretty: the scammer demands payment up front and threatens to kill, sell or dump the missing animal unless the desperate pet owner complies.

That’s what happened to Sarah Robinson, a Northampton, UK, woman who was contacted by a man who claimed he had her missing cat, Cookie. Robinson was sure she would get her cat back when the man contacted her online and provided a photo of Cookie sitting by a window.

But when he demanded £40,000 (almost $54,000 USD) and Robinson refused, he told her he’d kill Cookie if she didn’t pay him. Even though her gut told her the whole thing was a scam, Robinson told the BBC she was “really, really worried” that she was wrong.

“It’s a very cruel thing to do,” she said. “It’s horrible, because you know it’s not real but you’re terrified it might be.”

Some scammers are crude and will heap abuse and threats on people who grow wary, but others are much more shrewd and know how to manipulate the fear and desperation of people who have lost companion animals they love.

That’s what happened to Bill Cosens, a Florida man who was contacted by a woman who said she’d found his missing beagle mix after the dog was hit by a car. The woman shared a photo of Cosens’ dog, Archer, on an operating table in an emergency veterinary clinic, which was generated using photos Cosens had shared online.

Now there was pressure and urgency. Archer needed surgery immediately, the scammer told Cosens, and the veterinarian was demanding an up-front payment of $2,800. If Cosens didn’t pay, the scammer told him, Archer would be euthanized.

It’s a much more sophisticated approach that relies on emotional manipulation and doesn’t give the victim time to think.

Infographic warning about lost pet scams, featuring a dog and cat, scam examples, red flags, and pet protection tips.

Indeed, another case detailed by the BBC involves a woman who had already retrieved her cat carrier and was ready to comply with a request for a reward when her daughters stepped in and told her it sounded like a scam.

There are ways people can protect themselves, like withholding certain information (unique markings, scars, specific information included on collar tags, etc) and asking the “finder” about those details. People should always take a beat, attempt to set their emotions aside, and look at the communications analytically. Alternately, they could ask someone less emotionally invested – a friend, colleague or acquaintance – to look at the communication with a critical eye.

In some cases scammers will send veterinary bills or diagnoses, or pretend to be veterinary staff. Always take a close look at the documents, keeping an eye out for telltale signs of a scam including misspellings, poor grasp of English (many scams originate from overseas), misuse of veterinary terms, and details that don’t match any real-life veterinary practices, such as incorrect addresses.

If the person on the other end asks you for a verification code, it means they’re trying to access your online accounts. End the conversation immediately.

Always ask to meet in a highly visible public space with others around, and don’t send any money unless you see your pet in person. If the person refuses to meet, demands gift cards or payment up front, always refuse. Those are clear signs of a scam.

If there aren’t overt red flags but something still feels wrong, ask for additional confirmation. If someone really has your pet, it should be trivial to FaceTime and show you proof.

It’s always best to err on the side of caution. Your heart will scream at you to take action because who among us wouldn’t leap at the chance to be reunited with animals who are our best friends and part of our lives for years? But if your mind and your gut are telling you something different, exercise extreme caution. Hope alone won’t reunite you with your missing pal, especially not through a heartless person who never had your cat or dog in the first place.

If you’ve encountered a scammer, report them to the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov

Conservationists Use Buddy’s Scent To Keep Big Cats Away From Livestock

Just a spritz of Essence of Buddy has been proven to send the most feared predators fleeing in terror.

KENYA – The formidable lion emerged from tangled brush and padded silently across a dirt road until he reached the shade of a large acacia tree.

He stopped dead in his tracks, nose wrinkled, mouth slightly ajar, and sampled the air as a small device attached to the tree trunk surreptitiously pumped aerosolized mist into the breeze.

Despite his previous determination to keep pushing forward and the bleating of sheep just a few hundred feet away, the colossal predator gave the air a final sniff, cowered in fear, then did an about-face and beat a hasty retreat.

What could cause an apex predator in its prime to willingly give up easy kills and flee in terror?

A unique pheromone, it turns out, from a legendary tabby cat in New York.

A scientist in a white lab coat, glasses, and blue gloves is writing in a notebook at a table. Various colorful liquids in glass containers are displayed on the table, with a chalkboard full of scientific formulas and diagrams in the background. — A chemist carefully synthesizes Buddesian pheromones. Credit: Vitaly Gariev/Pexels

Known as EoB, or Essence of Buddy, the pheromonal compound was successful in more than 95 percent of trials to keep big cats away from farms and ranches in Kenya, South Africa and Congo, according to a paper published this month in the Scholarly Journal of Apex Predators.

“Pheromones from rival lions, leopards, even bears and rhinos have efficacy rates ranging from just 20 percent to barely more than 50 percent,” study co-author Vito Commardo wrote. “But nothing compares to Essence of Buddy, which is nature’s equivalent of a warning sign emblazoned in neon. It says ‘Do not cross this boundary. Certain death awaits you if you do.'”

The miracle substance was discovered by chance when residents of a New York apartment building found their dogs refused to set paw on one floor. After eliminating a wide range of causes, a hunch led the building’s superintendent to call a zoologist friend. Using specialized equipment, the zoologist detected pheromones that were “off the charts.”

“It was incredible,” said wildlife biologist Jasper de Zoet. “The effect of Buddy’s pheromones is so powerful that merely stopping the elevator on his floor is enough to turn the largest, most aggressive dogs to whimpering, pitiful animals who soil themselves.”

In a test run at a local zoo, polar bears cowered in their cave when their habitat was sprayed with Essence of Buddy.

A victorious mixed martial artist celebrates in the ring, with one hand raised by the referee, surrounded by spectators and a camera crew. — Chael Sonnen’s opponent forfeited a match before the opening bell after smelling Buddy’s powerful pheromones. Credit: UFC

There’s even evidence EoB affects human behavior. The MMA fighter Chael Sonnen, looking for an edge in the Octagon, spritzed himself with the famed cat’s pheromones distilled in a cologne bottle. His opponent forfeited the match before the opening bell.

That prompted Buddy the Cat’s appearance on Joe Rogan’s podcast, where the feline sat stoically as Rogan questioned him and his assistants plied him with treats.

“We can’t have a cat of your status in the studio without asking you about UFOs because, bro, you’re totally an alpha,” Rogan told Buddy. “So what do you think of these new files about crashed ships and biologics?”

Buddy was silent for several seconds, then leaned into the microphone and said: “Mrrrrp!”

Rogan and his staff were bowled over.

“I knew it!” the podcaster said. “I knew it, bro! Jamie, type ‘mrrrrp’ into Google and find out what that means. Look that up.”

A close-up of a gray cat with green eyes, looking playfully up with its head tilted and front paws resting against a cushion. — Buddy, the feline who makes Earth’s mightiest creatures cower in fear, looking particularly intimidating in a candid shot.

While conservationists plan to use EoB to keep big cats away from ranches and farms, others have come knocking, including Secretary of War Pete Hegseth.

“We’re interested in synthesizing Essence of Buddy and combining it with mandatory testosterone shots to give our warriors that chiseled, strong-jawed look President Trump likes,” Hegseth told host Sean Hannity on Fox News. “And to give them an edge on the battlefield, of course.”

“Buddy is a great American,” Hannity replied.

“A great American,” Hegseth agreed.

Buddy himself could not be reached for this story. More than 20 calls were placed to his residence over the course of three days, but each time a man identified only as his “servant, butler and manager” said the popular feline was sleeping.