The woof is on fire, as Santa’s little yelpers return to the Union Square SF Macy’s windows this Friday at noon, and this year the adorable, adoptable little critters will be available at "Name Your Price" rates.  

The Union Square Macy’s Christmas tree was lit up this past Monday night, which is great and all, but that’s probably not the holiday tradition you were really looking forward to rekindling. The holly-jollies will really hit the fan for the big favorite SF holiday tradition on Friday of this week. That’s when the puppies and kittens return to the Macy’s window displays, an event technically known as Holiday Windows at Macy’s Union Square, and the cuteness overload will kick in when the little kitties and pups officially make their debut this Friday, November 21, at 12 noon PT.

The five-and-a-half week holiday season window display is organized by the SF SPCA, who are in the business of finding homes for adoptable pets. And this year they’re running a special “Name Your Price” promotion in hopes of fostering as many adoptions as possible. (Though the puppies and kittens in the Macy’s window may not be a part of this promotion, as the SF SPCA says the Name Your Price deal is for “for all animals over 5 months old throughout the entire holiday period,” and the window animals may fall under that age range.)

“The SF SPCA and Macy's Holiday Windows have been bringing joy to San Francisco for nearly four decades, and each year we see the incredible impact of this tradition," SF SPCA CEO Dr. Jennifer Scarlett said in a statement. "By offering Name Your Price adoptions, we're removing barriers and making it possible for more families to experience the unconditional love of a pet this holiday season. Every adoption creates space for us to save another life."

And as they have done for about the last 15 years, the SF SPCA will be running a webcam where you can watch the kittens and puppies live as they frolic (or sleep) right there in the Macy’s windows. That webcam will be at sfspca.org/holiday, and is scheduled to go live Friday, November 21 at 12 noon.

Now we know that Macy’s is not closing anytime soon, so we will not have the anxiety of fearing this is the last-ever Macy’s puppy and kitten display. The fur starts to fly this Friday at noon, and continues from noon to 6 pm every day Wednesday through Sunday. (Except Thanksgiving Day and Christmas Day). The SF SPCA will have an adoption information booth on the main floor at Macy’s all of those days the pups and kitties are in the windows, and the display runs through December 31, 2025.

Related: Fur Real: Puppies and Kittens Return to Macy’s Windows in Union Square on Friday [SFist]

Top image: Robert T via Yelp

A whole crew of Santa’s little yelpers arrives in the windows of the Union Square Macy’s this Friday, as the SF SPCA and Macy’s Union Square’s 37th annual Holiday Windows brings back what is purr-haps our favorite holiday tradition.

Of all the great annual events we had to miss because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the annual Macy’s Holiday Window display of adoptable kittens and puppies being forced to go video-only might have been dispiriting cancellation. The kittens and puppies were not physically present in the windows in 2020 and 2021, but did return for the 2022 holiday season.

And they will return again for the 2023 holiday season, starting this week.

“On Friday, November 17 at 12 p.m., the windows will be unveiled for the first time,” the SF SPCA said in a release. The kittens and puppies will be on window display for potential adopters, and everyone really, on Thursdays through Sundays from 12–5 p.m. though Sunday, December 31.

“The SF SPCA is concluding its year of 155th-anniversary celebrations with one of the City’s beloved holiday traditions with our ongoing partners at Macy’s,” SF SPCA CEO Dr. Jennifer Scarlett said in a release. “Holiday Windows has helped to highlight the importance of adoption while connecting thousands of animals to their forever homes.”

This year being the SF SPCA’s 155th anniversary, they’re setting an ambitious goal of helping get more than 600 pets adopted this holiday season. The adoption fee for these kittens and puppies in the windows has been lowered to $100 (that deal also applies to the kittens and puppies in their shelter), and all adult adoptions of dogs and cats five months or older will be free.

And yes, the Holiday Live Cam of the kittens and puppies will fire up when the programs starts this Friday, and the streams will continue during all Thursday-Sunday hours of the display.

The SF SPCA-Macy’s Union Square Holiday Window display will be unveiled Friday, November 17 at 12 p.m. PT. The display will remain active Thursdays through Sundays from 12–5 p.m. at Macy’s at 170 O’Farrell Street in  SF.

Related: Puppies, Kittens Back In Macy's Holiday Windows, Watch Live [SFist]

Images via SF SPCA

A CHP officer did the Lord's work on Tuesday, chasing down a scared, tiny black kitten who was somehow let loose on an East Bay freeway.

CHP Dublin posted pics of the li'l kitten on Tuesday, saying that Officer Piccinini spotted the kitten "in the traffic lanes of westbound I-580" on Tuesday morning. The officer then "chased the kitten until it found a place to rest in a crevice on the freeway wall."

The little safe haven looks to be next to a metering light like those found on onramps, but the location isn't clear.

Alameda County Animal Control reportedly responded to the scene to collect the kitten, who was taken to the East County Animal Shelter.

Whatever awful human who abandoned the cat will get theirs someday, maybe.

You may recall back in June, CHP officers rescued an adorable pitbull puppy who was let loose on the Bay Bridge. As CHP San Francisco said at the time, "Please ensure you properly restrain your animals."

Marin-based CHP officers rescued a small orange cat on Saturday who somehow managed to get inside the movable median barrier near the south tower of the Golden Gate Bridge.

They relayed the tale on Facebook which was subsequently picked up by CBS 5 and elsewhere, and it all happened just before 3 p.m., after they received a report from a concerned citizen who spotted the kitten.

Officers say that they missed the cat on their first pass across the bridge, but then on a second pass, "As they approached the south tower on the bridge they noticed a little furry head popping out from inside of the movable median barrier that separates the northbound and southbound lanes. The officers blocked the lane of traffic and exited their vehicle to rescue the little guy. They were able to quickly free the little guy and hop back in their car to safely transport him off the bridge."

The kitten was taken to VCA Madera Pet Hospital in Corte Madera where he was checked out and given "a much needed bath."

The CHP says "We are very perplexed as to how he managed to get so far out in the middle of the Golden Gate Bridge without being hit by another vehicle," and I would concur.

Was the cat purposely abandoned in such a precarious spot? The kitten had no collar and no microchip, and so for now, they've tentatively named him Bridges and Officer Smith of the Marin CHP is fostering the kitten until he can find a permanent home.

The CHP is asking if anyone recognizes the cat or lost him to contact them on Facebook or at 415-924-1100.

Brace yourselves, cat people.

A kitten was discovered clinging to the underside of a California Highway Patrol car as officers responded to the scene of an accident on I-880 Sunday morning. The officers kept hearing a cat "meowing" but couldn't figure out where the sound was coming from. Suddenly, and I'm paraphrasing here, everyone realized OMG there's a kitten hiding under the patrol car and it's been there since we left the station!

In a social media post titled, "A Mother's Day Surprise," the CHP explained, "While at a collision scene early this morning, officers kept hearing a cat meowing but couldn't locate the kitten. Eventually, they discovered the cat underneath their patrol car and discovered that this feisty feline had been hitching a ride since they left the office for over an hour! The poor kitten was terrified after hanging on while the officers responded 'code-3' with their lights and sirens to calls, and was more than willing to let the officers pick her up and give her some food and water."

The kitten is believed to be one of the feral cats that live around the unit's parking lot. A tow-truck driver who assisted in Sunday's collision asked to adopt the kitten, who's since been named 'Chip' by Oakland CHP officers.

Related: Meet 'Ponch,' The Chihuahua Involved In Sunday's Bay Bridge Police Pursuit

And in your heart-warming pet video of the day, we bring you this helmet-cam footage, courtesy of the Turlock Fire Department, in which you can see several kittens being plucked out of a pool of flame-retardant foam after a fire was put out early Monday in Turlock. As KRON 4 reports, the fire ignited a pile of wood rounds next to a home, and it's believed that the mother cat had given birth to litter of kittens underneath the wood pile, where they had been living.

You can hear one of the firefighters say, "I found two victims," before discovering the other two kittens.

The mother cat returned to the scene after the fire was out, and was reunited with her kittens, and this was after all the kitties were rinsed off and dried. Firefighters told the story on Facebook, which is where they initially posted the video.

[UPDATE: SFist interviews KitTea co-founder Courtney Hatt.]

This isn't a joke. You're not dreaming. It's real, and it's mew-tacular. A tea cafe featuring a bevy of therapeutic, adorable cats is set to open in San Francisco this year. Christened KitTea, founders Courtney Hatt and David Braginsky describe their venture as "part 'gourmet tea house' and part 'cat and human oasis.'"

The goal is to provide homeless cats a place to call home. Also, to bring humans and cats together in perfect harmony. According to the website, the cafe plans on opening this Spring. What's important to note is that, as of now, it's all in the preliminary planning stages. Permits and the like are still very much pending. But here's how it would work:

Patrons will partake of all the enjoyment and therapy that cats provide, while enjoying healthy blends of exotic teas that are ecologically sourced from around the world. Our cats will enjoy a high-quality, elegant home constructed expressly for their pleasure.

Here's how the (brilliant) idea came to fruition:

[...] Courtney, immersed in the stressful world of tech and startups, was working in a bustling cafe one day. She stumbled upon an article about a cafe for cats in Japan. City dwellers in Japan retire to the cafe after their long, demanding jobs and take refuge in the cafe, which looks and feels like a welcoming living room, but with several resident cats roaming free.

[...]

As Courtney looked around the cafe, she became overwhelmed with its buzzing and frenetic energy. Though everyone was sitting in close quarters, there were no spontaneous interactions with others and it lacked comfort, relaxation and socialization.

That's when it hit her that a cat cafe would be a natural addition to the eclectic culture of San Francisco. That is where Asana Software Engineer David Braginsky came into the picture. He shared the same vision of a space where people could relax with a cup of tea and interact with cats and other cat enthusiasts. The two are now making this dream a reality and looking forward to opening KitTea's doors to the San Francisco community in 2014. ​

Following the guidelines and standards of care from the Association of Shelter Veterinarians, no more than 10 cats will be in the cafe at one time. Felines will be adopted from local rescue shelters. When tired of the humans patrons at the cafe, the felines would be able to go to a "cats-only" room or, better yet, saunter over to an entire wall for climbing or an entire wall for scratching.

As for the space itself, no location has been determined so far. "We are still in the process of scouting and negotiating potential spaces in desirable neighborhoods," says KitTea. "We are hoping to lease a minimum of 1,600 square feet, this would allow 30-35 people in the cat space at a time, the space will never be crowded, or chaotic."

This could very well be the best thing to happen to San Francisco since sourdough bread, that bridge, and gay people. We'll update as soon as we know more.

And now, a slew of videos featuring cats drinking tea:

[via Laughing Squid, @CzarVolberding]

It's the Monday before Thanksgiving and all through the Macy's Holiday window display some creatures were stirring and they were all adoptable from the San Francisco SPCA*. Also, you can watch them tumble, nibble, and nap right here from the comfort of your desk. (And then, later, when you're not at work, you should go adopt one.)

Without further ado, puppies and kittens: [Update: the SF SPCA's stream seems to have gone down shortly after we posted this. Stay tuned for puppies and kittens folks! Update 2: They're back!]

If no kittens or puppies happen to be in the window above, you might also try one of these five other streams on the SF SPCA site.

Once you've had too much cuteness to bear, you should remember that each one of these little guys could make you, or someone in your lives, very happy for many holiday seasons to come. You can learn more about adoption from the SF SPCA site here, and if you can't bring one home yourself you could help facilitate adoption for another happy pet owner by volunteering to stand outside the holiday windows and gush over them with holiday shoppers.

*sorry.

[SF SPCA]

Surrender now. It's no use. Bun Bun will own you within seconds. This is the epitome of cute overload. This is why god made animals. This is why the internet exists. You are welcome. Peace and palate cleansing be with you through all your days.

[via Jezebel]

From the ride-sharing service that brought you on-demand ice cream and app-available Tamale Lady comes a new, even more sinister temptation: on-demand kitten snuggles. Apparently today is National Cat Day (although any cat would tell you that every day is National Cat Day), and Uber has teamed up with irrelevant meme machine Cheezburger to shuttle kittens to world-weary urbanites in NYC, San Francisco and Seattle. Between the hours of 11am and 4pm, $20 gets your 15 minutes of snuggle time and "designer cupcakes," and 100% of proceeds will go to a local shelter partner in each city to help animals find homes.

"It may take multiple tries to find available kittens. Please be patient! We’ll be working all day to deliver as many kitten snuggles as possible," assures the company's blog, which is also helping to facilitate adoptions. Is it a calculated marketing move for the SF-based company? Most assuredly, and we feel kind of manipul--but KITTENS! Fluffy squirmy kittens! Kittens and cupcakes and snuggles!

Well played, Uber, well played.

[Uber]

We got pretty worked up when we saw this CBS report, which says that Bay Area shelters are experiencing a bumper crop of kittens as warmer temperatures and less rain encourage cats to get busy earlier and more often than usual. Naturally, we decided to investigate.

"During warmer weather there's always an increase in kittens," says Krista Maloney of the S.F. SPCA, who says that it's normal to see an influx of kittens around this time of year. But Ian Gilmore, the SPCA's Adoption Intake Associate, says that this year kitten season has hit particularly suddenly. "In my experience kitten season begins as a trickle in late March and has usually reached boiling point by Mother’s Day. So I wouldn’t say that it started later this year, but it did seem to start very abruptly, more like flood gates opening."

Least year, between January 1 and May 17, the SPCA sent out 154 kittens and moms for foster care. This year, they sent out 363 kittens and moms, more than doubling from last year. But Gilmore says the increased transfers from other shelters accounts for a lot of the underage kittens we have now." Although they have approximately 270 kittens in total, only four of them are on the adoption floor now and six more are en route.

CBS reports that the kitten flood is impacting shelters all around the Bay Area, who are hustling to find foster parents and facilitate adoption of their kittens.

If you're looking to take advantage of kitten season, you're in luck. The SPCA is having a big adoptathon and street fair this weekend, which will include dogs and cats of all ages (don't forget that adult cats are the most in need of a home). We've been assured that there'll be plenty of kittens to go around. For this event, the SPCA will waive all adoption fees, and they're throwing food trucks, music, and kids activities into the bargain.

This concludes coverage of kitten season for today.

[CBS]

Seriously, what are you doing right now? We can almost guarantee it is not looking at the adorable puppies and kittens (available for adoption from the SF SPCA!) currently living in the holiday window display at the Union Square Macy's. We know, because of how you're looking at a computer screen with text instead of puppies and kittens.

Anyhow, puppies and kittens:

Not enough puppies and kittens for you? There are more windows full of them here, here and here. (When their temporary homes aren't being cleaned, that is.)

When you're done pawing at your computer screen, you should know every one of those adorable creatures could make you very happy this holiday season and many holiday seasons to come. You can learn more about adoption on the SPCA's site here. And if you can't bring one home with you this year, Macy's and the SF SPCA are also looking for volunteers to stand by the windows and tell holiday shoppers how cute these little fellas are.

Here's an extra-brief, cute-overloaded palate cleanser for you featuring one tiny kitten and twelve seconds of unabashed adorableness. [via BuzzFeed]