<html><head><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"></head><body dir="auto"><div><span></span></div><div><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div><span></span></div><div><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div><span></span></div><div><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div><span></span></div><div><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div><span></span></div><div><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div><span></span></div><div><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span></span></div><div><meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">Courtesy of the Portland Press Herald (Portland, Maine) at:</div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></div><div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><a href="http://www.pressherald.com/news/It_s_out_of_the_bag__Maine_loves_its_cats.html">http://www.pressherald.com/news/It_s_out_of_the_bag__Maine_loves_its_cats.html</a></span></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><br></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">-----------------------------------</div><div><h1 style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s out of the bag: Maine loves its cats</h1><h3 style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255); font-family: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">An online ranking places the state at the top of the best places to live for cat lovers.</h3><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The percentage of cat owners, cat-related Facebook activity, animal protection laws and the number of no-kill shelters all factored into the rankings.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">More than 46 percent of Maine households have cats, and cat owners outnumber dog owners by 11 percent, according to Estately.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Although Vermont, named the second-best cat state, ranked higher in both categories, the fact that Maine has an official state cat helped boost its rankings.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The Maine coon cat is one of only three official state cats, according to Estately.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Estately also named the worst states for cats. No. 1 on that list was Utah, where less than one-quarter of households have cats.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">--------------------</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Maine was named the best state for cat lovers Wednesday by an online real estate resource, Estately.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><img src="cid:1B27736F-73C8-4240-AC68-4725315AF745" alt="20140124_663201.xml-maine.coon.jpg" id="1B27736F-73C8-4240-AC68-4725315AF745" width="299" height="273"></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">The fact that Maine has an official state cat – the Maine coon cat – helped boost the state’s ranking for cat lovers.</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">--------------------</span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Ten Best U.S. States for Cat Lovers</span></p><p><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><a href="http://blog.estately.com/2014/01/10-best-u-s-states-for-cat-lovers/">http://blog.estately.com/2014/01/10-best-u-s-states-for-cat-lovers/</a></span></p><p style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;"><img src="cid:1A4A3C70-6AAF-49E0-BC8A-7BA11949C90A" alt="Snapshot-12314-836-PM-21.png" id="1A4A3C70-6AAF-49E0-BC8A-7BA11949C90A" width="640" height="417"></p></div><div style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: auto;">-----------------------------------<br><br><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Seeya 'round town, Moscow, because . . .</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><br></span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">"Moscow Cares" (the most fun you can have with your pants on)</span></div><div><a href="http://www.moscowcares.com/" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><font color="#000000">http://www.MoscowCares.com</font></a></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"> </span></div><div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Tom Hansen</span></div><div><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);">Moscow, Idaho</span></div></div><div> </div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></div></body></html>