Excellent Causes: Even Super-Tough Marines Love Fuzzy Kitten Snuggles

Behold, US Marine Brian Chambers and his rescued kitten Kiki.

Brian and two of his fellow Marines made it their personal mission to help find homes for stray cats while they were serving in Afghanistan.

The plight of needy animals in Iraq and Afghanistan also inspired a group of Commando Royal Marines to found Nowzad Dogs in 2007. They have been joined by cat-loving contractor Louise Hastie, who is merging her Baghdad Animal Rescue with them to form Nowzad charity. Visit their site to support the rescue and care of dogs, cats, and donkeys -- and the service members who love them.

Pussycat Panty Bandit

Oscar the cat brought home so many pairs of ladies knickers that his Southampton owners called the police on him.

The director at their local Cats Protection charity says that this is "natural behavior that is completely normal," but the conspiracy-minded may well wonder if Oscar is a convenient scape-cat for a non-feline panty-fiend.

BBC story