Mr. Rob “Blasko” is a Renaissance man, whose many hats over the years have included rock star, hugely successful manager, music career coach, entrepreneur, marketing wizard, and so forth. As arguably one of the finest and coolest bassists in metal, he currently lends his supremacy to Rob Zombie, though he is also revered for his involvement with Cryptic Slaughter, Danzig, Prong, and the immortal Ozzy Osbourne. However, today, we are celebrating Blasko’s heroic and tireless efforts to ensure the best lives possible for cats. As we thank Blasko for his advocacy, we hope that his exemplary devotion will inspire readers.

In 2019, Blasko became the recipient of the Advocacy Award at Kitten Rescue’s annual fundraiser and gala, Fur Ball. Radio personality Jason Ellis introduced him that glorious evening, which was attended by heavyweights, as actress Miranda Cosgrove, ex-Deep Purple’s Glenn Hughes, Gloria Butler, and the Black Sabbath co-founding legend Geezer Butler. The Butlers were honored with the very same award in 2016, and their ongoing altruistic deeds in service of animals have been endless. The charitable power couple actually connected Blasko with Kitten Rescue — Blasko now sits on this LA-based organization’s Board of Directors. Blasko’s friend Rob Halford of Judas Priest is yet another icon championing Kitten Rescue and proving that cats are born “Rocka Rolla[s].” As we will explore, Blasko has assumed the special role of black cat advocate, which, as he points out, fits perfectly with his dark brand.

We are thrilled to have the opportunity to catch up with the kind and humble Blasko, who proudly states, “The Fur Ball just happened [on October 3], and that was a great success, as always. So, we feel very-very happy about that. It’s a big moment for us each year. There’s obviously a stigma attached to black cats. A lot of it stems from their association with witches and black magic in folklore. The stigma carries over into other kinds of adoptable pets — black dogs tend to be the last ones adopted, which is ridiculous. One reason is that people seem to think they don’t show up well in photos, and we’re living in a social media world, where everything is all about documenting your life — the fact that’s even a consideration is difficult for me to wrap my head around. If anyone has ever seen photos of my black cat, they’re amazing. […] Cats don’t pick the color of their fur, and at the end of the day, they’re still just cats. If you want one, what color it is really has no bearing on how it interacts with humans.” Blasko’s photos prove that black cats are, in fact, dangerous, but only in their bewitching adorableness.

The lethal hired gun onstage and lifesaver offstage praises his rescue community, “We have such a big network of TNR volunteers, who trap out of the love of doing it and protecting the cat colonies in their neighborhoods. There’s so much that goes into that sort of work. It’s really commendable. I stand on the shoulders of giants in that regard. Kitten Rescue and Heaven on Earth, the other rescue I work with, are non-profit organizations that rely on support from the community — foster families and donations. It’s very important that people support them, whether from a financial standpoint or a volunteer standpoint, because cats do come to us in various stages. Sometimes, they can be rehabilitated and are ready for adoption, and sometimes they end up just at the rescue forever, which is fine in some cases.” These organizations take it upon themselves to treat the medical afflictions of the cats they rescue — Blasko has mentioned leukemia as an issue they sometimes encounter.

Blasko continues, “On the rescue side, you see a lot of things, and it really gives you some insight into the general state of humanity, and it can be really depressing when you look at how animals can be neglected, and mistreated, and abused. It makes you very angry. People will just roll up to a shelter in the middle of the night with cats in a box and just leave it at the front door. You have to be very thankful that there are shelters and rescues that can take those abandoned and misused animals in. […] When it comes to it being spooky season, there are a lot of rescues that won’t even adopt out black cats in October because people do stupid stuff. That is also completely frustrating and infuriating. At Kitten Rescue, we vet every adopter pretty thoroughly.”

As Blasko cautions us, cats are not toys, and the privilege of ownership should not be approached without a great sense of responsibility, “This is a real commitment. It’s important to consider that it is a decision that will impact a cat for a lifetime, which can be upwards of 20 years. Anyone who is a cat owner will really have to adapt to their cat’s idiosyncrasies. I was having dinner with some friends last night — the majority of them are cat owners, so we were talking about getting the covers pulled off of you at 3 in the morning and getting our toes bitten and scratched so that we’d wake up and feed our cats treats and stuff. If you lock them outside the door, they’ll scratch and meow… I think it’s hilarious, and I find it cute and endearing. I get a kick out of getting up in the middle of the night to feed my cats. But there are people who don’t realize what they’re signing up for. Cats can be pretty self-sufficient, as long as you put down a litter box, clean it out every once in a while, and feed them. But the point is they do get sick. They are clumsy sometimes. They can get hurt. They are finicky. They do scratch stuff up, right? Occasionally, they’ll have accidents, depending on their age, temperament, surroundings within the house, etc. So, if you’re a good person who’s looking to adopt a cat for October, and you’re doing it as a novelty thing, you have to remember that there will be many more spooky seasons that this guy is going to be around for.”

Blasko addresses the pressing, and sometimes physically suffocating, issue of Halloween costumes for cats, “Some cats are cool with it and like to dress up. Some cats like adventure. Most really don’t though. It’s kinda mean to do those things. Touching more upon the safety of cats, I kinda think most cats that were adopted as pets should really be indoors all the time. Especially during this time of year, people can be cruel. But I understand that certain cats have the instinct to go outside, and there are certain situations where there is a yard, and people do have cats that go in and out. Generally speaking though, those are ones that kind of came that way. We had a cat that was an outdoor cat first and then just came into our house. It wasn’t feral or anything, it was just meandering, and that cat was always an indoor-outdoor.”

Looking past Halloween, we must highlight that each November, Kitten Rescue does their best to guarantee that the community keeps their feline allies in mind on and around GivingTuesday. With the donations gathered solely from that annual occurrence, Kitten Rescue is able to pick a different shelter each year and save all the cats scheduled to be euthanized. This entails, as always, doing their best to restore the health of rescuees. Blasko did inform me that 88 cats had been saved as a result of the 2023 edition of GivingTuesday alone. Blasko beams, “It’s always a great moment to be able to talk about how many of these cats that would have been killed were able to be adopted. On average, we rescue and adopt out over 2,000 cats a year.”

Kitten Rescue has displayed great preparedness in stepping in during wildfires. Blasko reflects, “You can read of the amazing things as well as all the very depressing things that have happened during something as catastrophic as fires that are leveling thousands of homes and communities, right? It’s tragic. And there is loss there, but we like to celebrate the wins if at all possible. There were some real wins in that we were able to take in as many cats as we could and either hold them while their owners were unable to go back home or because they were completely displaced. We’re a real community-based organization, and when things like that happen and everyone pulls together, it does rekindle some of your faith in humanity.”

For those among us willing to become cat parents, Blasko explains how we can meet and test our compatibility with potential besties, “There are a lot of pop-up events. Usually, they happen at PetSmart or something. Kitten Rescue and Heaven on Earth can be open to the public, and you can make an appointment to come and see the cats. We also supply cats to a number of cat cafés — I feel they are always really good environments to see who might be a good fit for adoption. At the cafés, you can play with the cats and see if they gravitate towards you as well as how they interact with other cats and people. There’s Tail Town Cats, which is in Pasadena. There’s Crumbs & Whiskers, which is in Hollywood on Melrose [and also in Washington DC]. And then, there’s Catfe in Santa Clarita. But those aren’t the only ones that we supply to. There are great cat cafés all over the world, and I’ve been to them in Japan; London; Monterey, Mexico; everywhere. Whenever I am on tour, one of the first things I do when I wake up in a city is look up where the cat café is in closest proximity to the gig or hotel. I always try to visit when I can, just to see how their operations run. One of my favorites is The Catcade, which is in Chicago — I have friends that operate it, and it’s a really great location. Supporting all of these things is of tremendous value, and we appreciate it all.” Blasko adds, “We pop up at [Halloween and horror convention] Midsummer Scream every year in August, and we do some great merch for that.” Blasko used to sell “Black Cat Social Club” merch for charity himself.

Blasko previously told me, “Cats are very metal.” Now, he obligingly responds to my request to please expand, “There seems to be a natural unity between cats and metalheads. I can’t completely explain it, but I’m fascinated by it. There really are a lot of people in metal that love cats, have cats, appreciate cats, and that’s a great thing. Recently, I lost a cat, and I was out in the crowd at a gig, and people that I did not know came up to me and expressed sincere condolences. When someone recognizes me from Instagram, they’ll be like, ‘Oh, I love your cats; I love that you post pictures and videos of your cats.’ It’s common for people to come up to me and not talk about bands that I’ve been in or am in but cats.”

Our cat savior of honor remembers his recently-lost black-and-white companion, “When I adopted him from a place called AGWC Rockin’ Rescue, his shelter name was Wilbur, but I changed it to Captain. He was with me for a really long time, and it was unfortunate to see him go. However, I look at it like this: We gave him a great life from a life that wasn’t so great, so the last two-thirds of his life were as great as they could be. Right now, I’m still grieving, but there are a lot of homeless cats out there that need pet parents, and so I believe it’s my responsibility to find more. No one can replace Captain, but, at the end of the day, there is an empty space here for a cat that needs a second chance, and we’re very good cat parents.” Blasko and his wife still lovingly care for two other striking heart-stealers, whom the former describes as “super codependent and very human.” Blasko notes of cats in general, in line with earlier remarks, “I appreciate their willingness to be independent, their attitude… But they still need us, so there’s a real connection there. They can be real friends.”

Of his ambitions, Blasko reveals, “I have the fantasy of opening my own cat café one of these days. I’ve got a great idea of what mine could be like… But it’s just too restrictive. I give anyone who has ever opened a cat café all the credit in the world, because it is so much work.” Hopefully, down the road, we’ll see Blasko’s dream come to fruition. Blasko further shares that he met Alexandra Crockett, who authored the famous Metal Cats (2014), and that he’d be eager to participate if she ever assigns herself the task of a follow-up. In my estimation, a “Black Metal, Black Cats” book, featuring some of the “grim and frostbitten” Lords of Cuteness, is long overdue. I would also love to see Blasko and pals record a cat-themed album.

Blasko has truly demonstrated brilliance in raising awareness through social media, which he views as a gift that should be used to spread positivity. Especially in our age of AI cat videos, it’s refreshing to follow real cats and their bipedal caretakers. Blasko runs the LA Big 5K each year and, at the appropriate time, includes a link for donations in his Instagram bio — he advises us to check Instagram for those aforementioned pop-up events as well. In closing, Blasko emphasizes, “The internet is a good resource. I think if you have questions, and you don’t understand what the adoption process looks like, or where the best places are to meet and potentially adopt in your area, look it up, and go check it out. If it’s not for you, it’s not for you, but make some effort if it’s something you’ve been thinking about. There’s a lot of information and resources on kittenrescue.org. If you are in the Atwater Village area, then visit Kitten Rescue.”

(Follow Blasko’s main Instagram account here, Kitten Rescue here, and Heaven on Earth here, or you will be promptly fed to rabid dogs.)

The post Black Cats, Dark Metal: Rock-Star Bassist Blasko Discusses His Cat Advocacy [Exclusive] appeared first on vice.

When you hug, hold, squeeze, and pet your cat, you’re probably vaguely aware, maybe just in the back of your mind, that you’re actively trying to improve your quality of life by engaging in a pleasant activity. But something might be happening on a deeper, hormonal level that boosts not only your mood but your cat’s, too.

According to research published in iScience by a Kyoto University team, previous studies on whether cats actually make our lives better have been a bit of a mixed bag. There’s enough science to strongly suggest that dogs offer health benefits that stick around for quite a while. But research on cats’ health benefits, like the animals themselves, is complicated and inconsistent.

To figure out why cat ownership’s perks are harder to pin down, the researchers tracked 19 human and cat pairs for a month using Bluetooth tracking beacons and urine samples to check in on any biological effects.

Your Cat’s Brain Chemistry Could Be Affecting Your Mood, New Research Suggests

They found that simply owning a cat doesn’t magically turn your brain into a blissful utopia. But something fascinating is happening, and you need to be in close physical proximity to your cat to reap the benefits.

The study found a direct hormonal link between humans and cats: higher oxytocin in cats correlated with lower cortisol and fewer negative vibes in humans. Oxytocin is the hormone associated with bonding, and cortisol is the hormone that triggers stress.

In other words, the more your cat feels your bond, the less stress you’ll feel in turn. The researchers found such a close connection between the two that a cat’s oxytocin levels tracked an owner’s bad mood more closely than the owner’s own biochemistry did.

This is, of course, a good example of small-sample-size theater, and it all amounts to correlation rather than causation, but excuse me for snuggling your kitty just a little bit more tightly tonight.

The post Why Spending Time With Your Cat Feels So Good, According to Science appeared first on VICE.

Monkeys, they’re just like us! Yes, we share a ton of genes, but socially, researchers recently found monkeys from groups that lived through a deadly outbreak became much more wary of tainted food afterward. Now you’re starting to see why Taco Bell is still trying to recover from that tainted lettuce scare.

As The New York Times described them, they’re basically “germaphobe monkeys,” an apt nickname for the Japanese macaques observed in a study published in Royal Society Open Science.

When a virus tore through a South Texas macaque sanctuary, three out of four monkey groups watched their neighbors suffer and die from a disease spread through bites and scratches. Once the epidemic faded, cognitive scientists from the University of California, San Diego set up an experiment, the results of which they detailed in a press release.

Offered they macaques two food choices, food on a clean surface versus food on a board covered in feces.

Scientists Discovered That Monkeys Become Germaphobes After Surviving a Deadly Outbreak

That’s an easy choice for you, but for the macaques, a little s—t on their food isn’t usually a deal breaker. Monkeys that hadn’t been exposed to the virus happily eat the poop-covered food 79 percent of the time. But macaques from groups that survived the outbreak and witnessed its horrors only ate the poop-covered food 47 percent of the time.

Sure, if you knew someone who ate poop-covered food 47 percent of the time, you would think they were deranged. But again, these are monkeys, and 47 percent is crazy low.

What’s so fascinating here, and what’s so weirdly human about this phenomenon, is that the initial virus that wiped out so many of the monkeys wasn’t transmitted through food at all, and yet, like so many of us in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic who were furiously scrubbing down groceries in hopes of eliminating all traces of what would ultimately turn out to be an airborne virus, the monkeys that survived the outbreak turned into hypochondriac neat freaks, and justifiably so. They had undergone a severe trauma, and they were mitigating potential vectors of infection.

The researchers say that the psychological defense mechanism stems from something called the “behavioral immune system,” which triggers disgust in the brain to ward off perceived threats. When we went through a global pandemic that shut down the world, we went apes—t with the hand sanitizer. After the macaques went through their own tiny version of a pandemic, their sense of security was on high alert based on past trauma.

Strongly suggesting that avoidance of potentially disease-ridden stuff is a learned social behavior, potentially handed down from mother to baby, the researchers found that former pets and lab-reared monkeys were more willing to eat the dirty food. Poor things. They never had a mama to teach them not to eat food covered in poop.

The post These Monkeys Survived a Deadly Outbreak, Then Started Acting a Lot Like Humans appeared first on VICE.

Thanks to a team of heroes, a southern ground hornbill, belonging to Amsterdam’s Artis Zoo, is now flourishing with a brand-new prosthetic beak. The bird received two 3D-printed prostheses, as both the upper and lower portions of his natural beak were broken. In a press statement, Artis penned that, while other birds have been the happy recipients of prosthetic beaks, “As far as is known, this is the first time in the world both parts of a bird’s beak have been restored in this way.”

While the young bird of honor valiantly managed to persist adequately enough in his everyday life prior to the surgery, the zoo confirmed that his behavior was restricted, and he couldn’t care for himself all that well. Obviously, the southern ground hornbill relies on its beak for purposes as preening and foraging, thus he had trouble picking up certain pieces of food.

Fortunately, the bird began using his new beak the very same day it was attached. Before continuing with the article, you can see below that the heartwarming medical miracle means that he’s already back to grossing some of us out by preying on mice.

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This Bird Got a Brand-New 3D-Printed Beak, and He’s Already Putting It to Work

The life-altering procedure was performed by Artis, Utrecht University, UMC Utrecht, and Amnovis. The artificial beak was developed with the help of a CT scan and preserved sections of the bird’s original beak. Both plastic and titanium elements were incorporated. The NY Post adorably applauded the “im-peck-able performance.”

Of course, Artis is keeping an eye both on the bird and his female partner in order to make sure that all continues to go swimmingly, though they are prepared to step in if any issues occur.

Now, watch the complex procedure for yourself! Warning: Although it’s unbelievable, it just might be a bit disturbing for animal lovers to see the anesthetized bird.

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The post WATCH: Scientists Gave an Injured Bird a Second Chance With Two 3D-Printed Beak Prosthetics appeared first on VICE.

The 36th Tompkins Square Halloween Dog Parade took place yesterday, and there were some adorable photos to show for it. It was clear that the human participants absolutely adored their canines. However, it is important to remember: Our idea of fun might not quite align with our pets’. Retailers love to sell consumers on cuteness, but chances are that your pet is cute enough as is. Animals can bite, scratch, and bark, but they don’t have the ability to say no to hideous, annoying, and possibly dangerous attire. Humans aren’t the only ones who can experience sensory overload, and some of their fashion choices could give any sentient being a heart attack…

Buy your pet an appropriate treat instead of subjecting him to the upcoming Halloween rituals that might be harmful. That means do not feed your animal candy. Give him a quiet space in case all the new and unfamiliar invading presences trigger fear. Also, keep away any decorations that could be chewed through, especially wires.

Now, so that your quadrupedal friends stay healthy this October, here are 5 reasons why the scrooge I am suggests keeping them costume-free.

1. DistresS

You might think your pet looks content, but he might very well feel uncomfortable and humiliated. Although he may be attempting to tolerate the hands that feed him, again, he probably didn’t give you his consent to be the butt of the joke, meaning dressed as Tinkerbell or a donut. Animals have dignity, and we all know just how brilliantly they can discern our emotions, even if your tradition of taking Instagram photos proves utterly baffling to them, as it should. If you treat them like cheap entertainment at their expense, they won’t trust you.

2. Risk of Swallowing

Most of us are aware that animals aren’t always great judges when it comes to what should go in their mouths. Especially if they’re trying to rip off the annoying getup you’ve placed them in, they could swallow elements of it. Think of all the different, sometimes toxic materials and embellishments that could pose choking hazards. A badge, a bell, a pom-pom, or a plastic accessory could become dangerous.

3. Overheating

Yes, your animals can easily become overheated. If you were already wearing a fur coat, would you want to have someone load you with even more gear? That devil dress may quite literally be hot as heck.

4. Too restrictive

Your furry companion may end up at the vet if you choose to put him in clothing that is too tight around the chest or throat. Costumes can restrict your household protector’s movement as well as his ability to communicate with you (making it harder for you to read his discomfort) and process his surroundings. Anything that interferes with the eyes, ears, and tail will be cause for anxiety. When it comes to cats, for example, even the whiskers must be left alone. When animals feel restrained, they can accidentally harm themselves. Similarly, elements of their outfits might trip them; those shoes you picked out might not fit those ultra-sensitive paws as well as you think. While many animals may be able to wear costumes without any damage and even seem to enjoy them, why would you risk a potentially negative outcome?

5. Allergies & Skin Agitation

Halloween looks are often incredibly cheaply made, and, accordingly, your animal just might be allergic to the horrors in which you’ve so brazenly decided to drape him. The mere act of allowing certain fabrics to rub against your pet’s skin can cause rashes, which, in turn, will make him scratch the affected area.

The post 5 Reasons You Should Think Twice Before Dressing Your Pet Up for Halloween appeared first on VICE.

We’ve long known that humans are susceptible to something called the “bouba-kiki effect,” a weird trick of the brain that links the nonsense words “bouba” and “kiki” to specific shapes. “Bouba” feels soft and rounded, while “kiki” feels sharp and spiky, both looking a little like comic-book impact effects, or stars, with solid centers surrounded by spokes. Not that you needed me to explain that. You probably already imagined it.

As it turns out, a study published in Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences suggests dogs might be just as susceptible to this weird quirk of the brain as we are.

Researchers at the University of Parma gathered 51 domestic dogs and their humans to test whether the dogs share this quirk of the brain. Sitting in a room flanked by screens displaying the respective shapes, the dogs listened to a human voice broadcast the nonsense words while cameras and AI tracked their gaze.

When “bouba” played through the speakers, the dogs lingered on the rounded shape; when “kiki” dropped, they stared harder at the spiky shape.

Dogs and Humans Share a Strange Brain Quirk, New Study Finds

To make sure the owners weren’t influencing the results, the researchers reran the trial with owners wearing headphones blasting rock music. The results stayed the same.

The first cohort showed only a mild overall bias toward the spikier “kiki” shape, which the scientists attribute to the fact that dogs’ faces look much more angular and pointy than ours. This goes hand in hand with humans showing a similarly slight bias toward “bouba,” since we’re used to seeing rounded features.  But in the second test, where the human owners wore headphones, the dogs were just as likely to think of “kiki” as spiky and “bouba” as round as we were.

This suggests that whatever drives our ability to associate sounds with symbols isn’t exclusive to us, as recent studies also show that baby chicks and even macaque monkeys seem to agree that “kiki” is spiky and “bouba” is round. This sensory wiring could be shared across species.

Who knows, maybe other animals associate the sharpness or roundness of words with the sharpness or roundness of shapes?

The post How Your Dog’s Brain Works More Like Yours Than You Think, According to Scientists appeared first on VICE.