Radio for your cat!

The New York Times reports on a new radio service for your kitty, and other
pets:

New York Times November 2, 2005
Jumpy Enough to Chew a Chair? Try DogCatRadio
By DINITIA SMITH

"Remember, be kind to your mailman," said Jane Harris, a disc jockey. Then
she
softened her voice until it was a little insinuating: "He only wants to
deliver the mail."

It is a message that many of her listeners need to hear. Ms. Harris is a
D.J.
on DogCatRadio.com, a new Internet radio station for pets. Now dogs, cats,
hamsters and parrots can keep the anxiety, the loneliness, the restlessness
at
bay while their owners are out. It is radio just for them, live 17 hours a
day, 4 a.m. to 9 p.m. Pacific time, and podcast for the rest of the 24
hours.

Those who listen to DogCatRadio will find that there is generally an animal
motif to the playlist, like "Hound Dog": "You ain't nothin' but a hound
dog, cryin' all the time."

This Elvis song is a frequent request from listeners (presumably the
owners),
as are the Baha Men, singing: "Who let the dogs out (woof, woof, woof,
woof)."

And Dionne Warwick is also popular, especially her soothing song "That's
What
Friends Are For": "Keep smiling, keep shining,/Knowing you can always count
on
me."

Since many pets are apparently bilingual, DogCatRadio also has a "Spanish
Hour," 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Pacific time daily, with Hispanic commentary and
music, like Luis Miguel's "No Sé Tú": DogCatRadio.com was started last June
by
Adrian Martinez, who is also president of Marusa records, an independent
record label in Los Angeles. He runs the station out of a customized RV
parked
in his office lot in the Eagle Rock section of Los Angeles.

Mr. Martinez, 34, who owns six dogs and two cats, said he founded the
station
because "my cat, Snickers, asked me to do it." One day, Snickers was pacing
the floor restlessly and meowing. "I said, 'What do you want?' " Mr.
Martinez
recalled in a telephone interview from Los Angeles. "I turned up the music,
and she was fine." He discovered that Snickers likes 80's rock, particularly
the Eddie Money version of the song "Take Me Home Tonight:" "I feel a hunger
/It's a hunger that tries to keep a man awake at night."

Mr. Martinez added, "I wanted to do something for the pet community."

The first week that DogCatRadio was broadcast, the local CBS television
station showed a feature about it. As a result, so many people tuned in,
130,000 in one day, that the server crashed, Mr. Martinez said. "We had to
get
a bigger server to accommodate more listeners." Now, he said, "We average
close to 8,000 hits a week. We have a meter that tracks it."

"People are just e-mailing us," calling from all over the world, Mr.
Martinez
said. "I love what you are doing, but please don't forget our equine
friends,"
an e-mail message from Australia said.

When Mr. Martinez gets requests, he springs into action. "We go to Tower
Records within the hour," he said. "Since we're conquering the globe, we
want
to make sure we can accommodate these people."

Sometimes Mr. Martinez broadcasts from the field. DogCatRadio showed a
segment
on people walking their dogs first thing in the morning outside the Rose
Bowl
in Pasadena - a very popular early morning route for dog walkers, bikers and
joggers - with interviews (with the owners). It reports on animal charity
events like "Walk for Paws," recently sponsored by the group "Nuts for
Mutts."

Internet radio, which claims about 20 million regular listeners, is still in
the early stages of development and has a relatively small number of fans
who
use their laptops, desktops or hand-held computers to tune in.

Mr. Martinez said he believed he had latched onto something unique with his
little station: "With all the news you hear on Iraq, it's something to
balance
the bad news."

Meanwhile, the broadcast has received some notice. Dr. Larry Family, who has
a
talk show program, the Pet Vet, on WROW-AM in Albany, recommends DogCatRadio
to his patients' owners. "It's of interest to those people whose pets have
certain phobias or anxiety issues," he said in a telephone interview from
the
outskirts of Schenectady, where he has his practice.

"I have recommended it to those whose dogs are having certain problems
behaviorwise in the home environment," he said.

"It might be helpful with dogs with separation anxiety issues," Dr. Family
went on. "Dogs, especially, are interested in watching TV with their owners
and listening to music."

Mr. Martinez said that at the moment, the station has no advertising and is
making no money. But, he said, "I'm not in it for the money." He added,
"Eventually, I'm sure, people will advertise."

That is not such a leap, since it is estimated that American pet owners will
spend $35.9 billion this year on everything from electric toothbrushes for
dogs to bird pedicures to self-flushing litter boxes for cats, according to
the American Pet Products Manufacturers Association.

So far, the six people associated with the station, four of whom act as
D.J.'s, are paid only a small stipend to cover expenses. "I'm so involved
with
the pet community," said Ms. Harris, the D.J. and an owner of five dogs.
"I'm
looking to this as an avenue to open something up." When Ms. Harris isn't
broadcasting on DogCatRadio.com, she works as a market researcher.

"How are all my furry friends doing out there?" Ms. Harris asked her
listeners
recently. "We hope you're doing great and not chewing on anything but your
toys."

On Wed, 2 Nov 2005 11:03:33 -0500, "Bobcat"
yodeled:

The New York Times reports on a new radio service for your kitty, and other
pets:

New York Times November 2, 2005
Jumpy Enough to Chew a Chair? Try DogCatRadio
By DINITIA SMITH

"Remember, be kind to your mailman," said Jane Harris, a disc jockey. Then
she
softened her voice until it was a little insinuating: "He only wants to
deliver the mail."

It is a message that many of her listeners need to hear. Ms. Harris is a
D.J.
on DogCatRadio.com, a new Internet radio station for pets. Now dogs, cats,
hamsters and parrots can keep the anxiety, the loneliness, the restlessness
at
bay while their owners are out. It is radio just for them, live 17 hours a
day, 4 a.m. to 9 p.m. Pacific time, and podcast for the rest of the 24
hours.

Those who listen to DogCatRadio will find that there is generally an animal
motif to the playlist, like "Hound Dog": "You ain't nothin' but a hound
dog, cryin' all the time."

This Elvis song is a frequent request from listeners (presumably the
owners),
as are the Baha Men, singing: "Who let the dogs out (woof, woof, woof,
woof)."

I can't imagine the cats would appreciate that! \


Theresa
Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh
My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com

Make Levees, Not War

Bobcat wrote:
The New York Times reports on a new radio service for your kitty, and other
pets:

This reminds me of one summer out on the island when Pantern (The
Panther) was still with us. I've told the story before but skip it if
you remember it. We were listening to the radio that was standing on our
dining room table. Finnish radio has something called the 'pause bird'.
It's a recording of birdsong that is played every now and then, as a
filler. Different bird every week. Well, they put on the birdsong
recording. It played exceptionally long.

Suddenly we saw a pair of flattened black ears slooooowly sloooowly
rising from under the table. Pantern had been sleeping on one of the
chairs when a birdie started singing on his table. Slooowly slooowly, so
as not to spook the bird, and with his ears flattened so it wouldn't
spot him, his head came into view. He glared all around the table in
order to spot the birdie, without moving his head, only his eyes were
moving. Then the birdsong stopped. Pantern popped his head up and his
ears popped up as well. Then he gave us a glare for scaring off the
birdie and stalked off to sleep somewhere else.

I think cats would rather listen to birdsong than hoomin music on the
radio. P


--
Marina, Frank, Miranda and Caliban. In loving memory of Nikki.
marina (dot) kurten (at) iki (dot) fi
Pics at http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/frankiennikki/
and http://community.webshots.com/user/frankiennikki

"Marina" wrote in message
...
Bobcat wrote:
The New York Times reports on a new radio service for your kitty, and
other
pets:

This reminds me of one summer out on the island when Pantern (The
Panther) was still with us. I've told the story before but skip it if
you remember it. We were listening to the radio that was standing on our
dining room table. Finnish radio has something called the 'pause bird'.
It's a recording of birdsong that is played every now and then, as a
filler. Different bird every week. Well, they put on the birdsong
recording. It played exceptionally long.

Suddenly we saw a pair of flattened black ears slooooowly sloooowly
rising from under the table. Pantern had been sleeping on one of the
chairs when a birdie started singing on his table. Slooowly slooowly, so
as not to spook the bird, and with his ears flattened so it wouldn't
spot him, his head came into view. He glared all around the table in
order to spot the birdie, without moving his head, only his eyes were
moving. Then the birdsong stopped. Pantern popped his head up and his
ears popped up as well. Then he gave us a glare for scaring off the
birdie and stalked off to sleep somewhere else.

I think cats would rather listen to birdsong than hoomin music on the
radio. P

ROFL!! This is priceless!!

On Thu, 3 Nov 2005 08:29:40 -0600, "Karen"
yodeled:


Karen, you must immediately go look at the super-concentrated
orange-spotty cuteness that Marina has posted. But I recommend some
kind of protective goggles.





Theresa
Stinky Pictures: http://community.webshots.com/album/125591586JWEFwh
My Blog: http://www.humanitas.blogspot.com

Make Levees, Not War

"Kreisleriana" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 3 Nov 2005 08:29:40 -0600, "Karen"
yodeled:


Karen, you must immediately go look at the super-concentrated
orange-spotty cuteness that Marina has posted. But I recommend some
kind of protective goggles.

It's much too late. I cannot see. And I want a kitten bad.

Kreisleriana wrote:
On Thu, 3 Nov 2005 08:29:40 -0600, "Karen"
yodeled:


Karen, you must immediately go look at the super-concentrated
orange-spotty cuteness that Marina has posted. But I recommend some
kind of protective goggles.

You might want to lay down afterwards as well. :-)
--
Adrian (Owned by Snoopy and Bagheera)
A House is not a home, without a cat.
http://community.webshots.com/user/clowderuk

What a great story! Thanks for writing it, Marina.
Best wishes,
Polonca and Soncek

Marina wrote:
Bobcat wrote:
The New York Times reports on a new radio service for your kitty, and other
pets:

This reminds me of one summer out on the island when Pantern (The
Panther) was still with us. I've told the story before but skip it if
you remember it. We were listening to the radio that was standing on our
dining room table. Finnish radio has something called the 'pause bird'.
It's a recording of birdsong that is played every now and then, as a
filler. Different bird every week. Well, they put on the birdsong
recording. It played exceptionally long.

Suddenly we saw a pair of flattened black ears slooooowly sloooowly
rising from under the table. Pantern had been sleeping on one of the
chairs when a birdie started singing on his table. Slooowly slooowly, so
as not to spook the bird, and with his ears flattened so it wouldn't
spot him, his head came into view. He glared all around the table in
order to spot the birdie, without moving his head, only his eyes were
moving. Then the birdsong stopped. Pantern popped his head up and his
ears popped up as well. Then he gave us a glare for scaring off the
birdie and stalked off to sleep somewhere else.

I think cats would rather listen to birdsong than hoomin music on the
radio. P


--
Marina, Frank, Miranda and Caliban. In loving memory of Nikki.
marina (dot) kurten (at) iki (dot) fi
Pics at http://uk.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/frankiennikki/
and http://community.webshots.com/user/frankiennikki