Royal kitties: The Forbidden City in Beijing, China, was once the royal home of many a Chinese emperor. Today, it is known as the Palace Museum and, believe it or not, it is kept clean by an army of stray cats that keep the mice and rodent population down. The strays living there are captured, neutered and vaccinated and then they are released. Nearly 200 cats live there full time. One museum official claims that many of the cats may even be descendants of some pets of royalty who once lived there. But, of course, one can’t be sure about that.

Shackled sheep: It might be necessary to confine a pet dog who attempts to run away, but a lady from Shepton Mallet in Somerset, England, had to chain up her sheep. However, the sheep can’t run away because they are made of stone. Sandra Bryant started out with five of the interesting garden ornaments, but now has only three left because robbers stole two. She thinks that must have been quite a difficult undertaking because the stone sheep are quite heavy. She hopes not to lose any more of her precious flock.

Cat toys: Cat lovers may notice that their felines love to be around boxes, no matter what the size, and there is a reason for this. Being enclosed in a box makes the cat feel safe. As well, boxes are good hiding places for the cat to be watchful while remaining unseen by prey or by their human friends. Some animal behaviourists recommend that cat owners have boxes of different sizes placed in areas of the house and it’s an inexpensive way to provide places for the pet to play or to sleep. Make holes in the boxes so kitty can see out and leave a cat toy or two inside for stimulation.

Rolling around: There are good dads and then there are REALLY good dads. Will Pemble of San Francisco, California (US) is one of the latter. With his own hands he created a 180 ft.-long roller coaster in his large back yard because his young son, Lyle, asked him to. The pair always enjoy their trips to amusement parks and Lyle wondered why they couldn’t have their own roller coaster. After working on the do-it-yourself project for over 300 hours and spending $3,500 on materials, the dream became a reality. Pemble plans to continue adding more track, calling it a work in progress.