Felines May Find Manhattan Cafe the Cat's Meow
COSTELLO: Owners of the NBA's Orlando Magic are donating $1 million for disaster relief for hurricane-damaged central Florida. And they're also shipping ice from Michigan - 80,000 pounds of it. The ice trucks are heading for places in Florida where Charley's victims still have no refrigeration and no relief from the heat. Many of those victims are elderly, and many absolutely refuse to leave the wreckage of their homes. CNN's John Zarrella has more for you from Punta Gorda.</s>JOHN ZARRELLA, CNN MIAMI BUREAU CHIEF (voice-over): Gary Paro spent the day struggling to sift through the sun-scorched remains of his mobile home. Paro has been living in his car since the storm passed. (on camera): It's got to be awful hard on you in (ph) this heat.</s>GARY PARO, PUNTA GORDA RESIDENT: It's not easy. Life's not easy.</s>ZARRELLA (voice-over): His daughter, Terry (ph), came to help him sort through what little is left. She's tried to get him to leave. He won't.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: He's guarding his rubble.</s>ZARRELLA: For the elderly here in Punta Gorda and Port Charlotte, life after Charley has been particularly difficult. A third of Charlotte County residents are over 65. The Red Cross and other relief agencies are desperately trying to get those left homeless by the storm into shelters.</s>CHERIE DIEFENBACK, VOLUNTEER NURSE: If they can at least come in at night, get some sleep in an air-conditioned space, get hydrated, get some food, let us assist you. We have a lot of able-bodied young people that are just waiting to help them that will go to their homes with them.</s>ZARRELLA: Sonny and Stella Luninfeld (ph) did come in. They are among about 200 elderly people here at this Red Cross shelter. Stella was suffering from heat exhaustion when they got here.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: They told me we were going to die and, of course, that's going to build up your blood pressure and staying out in that heat until we finally came here.</s>ZARRELLA: Health care professionals worry that elderly people refusing to leave their homes and suffering through the heat will add to Charley's death toll. Many are running short of medications.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Two hundred and seventy-five scarves, one set of dentures.</s>ZARRELLA: Bobbi Houseman (ph) is 72. Her husband died six years ago.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And I'm tired. I don't know what to do. I don't have no idea what to do next.</s>ZARRELLA: Houseman is like many of the elderly. Memories lay in that rubble. Bobbi's engagement ring is in there somewhere. She managed to find a box of valuables.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: This is what I've got. It's all I've got. I'm going to go to the clubhouse that's down here this way.</s>ZARRELLA: John Zarrella, CNN, Punta Gorda, Florida.</s>COSTELLO: Your news, money, weather and sports; it is 5:47 Eastern. Here's what's all-new this morning: Senator John Corzine says he won't push to run for New Jersey governor in a special election. Some Democrats hoped that Corzine's agreeing to run would help pressure Governor James McGreevey to resign earlier than planned. But McGreevey is not budging. In Arkansas, the search for 7-year-old Patricia Miles resumes for a fifth day this morning. In the meantime, the family friend arrested on kidnapping charges in the case will be in court today. In money news, Google goes public today. Stock in the Internet search engine will sell for 85 bucks a share. Look for trading under the ticker symbol GOOG on the Nasdaq. In culture, Paris Hilton's dog Tinkerbell has been found after being missing for a week. The chihuahua, decked out in puppy-sized sneakers, has made regular appearances on Hilton's</s>COSTELLO: Oh my goodness. In sports, the incoming coach of the L.A. Lakers say he believes Karl Malone will stay in L.A. The coach met recently with the 40- year-old Malone. The mailman injured his knee in December - Chad.</s>COSTELLO: Those are the latest headlines for you this morning. There is a new eatery in New York where etiquette does not involve elbows on the table, but rather paws. And as CNN's Jeanne Moos reports, you and your favorite feline can order from the very same menu.</s>JEANNE MOOS, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Oh waiter? There's a cat on my table.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: OK, Calvin (ph). This is - what's the catch?</s>MOOS: The catch is that you open a cat cafe, but you can't force them to eat.</s>UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Mommy brought you all the way here and you don't want to eat?</s>MOOS: You'd be annoyed too if you couldn't read the menu, which featured items like fillet meow for cats, and it's counterpart,</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: There's 83 million cats in America and they have nowhere to go.</s>MOOS (on camera): Cats don't want to go out of the house!</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Ah, I disagree with that.</s>MOOS (voice-over): So the CEO of Meow Mix set up a temporary cat cafe on New York's Fifth Avenue.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think it's the dumbest thing I've ever seen. I really do.</s>MOOS: Meow Mix calls it experimental. The company hopes to franchise the cafes in cities around the world.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: A nice big smile.</s>MOOS: Forget the smile. We want to hear Eartha Kitt growl.</s>MOOS (on camera): You never get sick of making the cat noise?</s>KITT: No. Everybody knows it's Eartha Kitt when they hear a</s>MOOS: Give me a good one.</s>MOOS (voice-over): The cats all survived the cafe experience, though one kitty was injured when he poked his eye on a menu. Humans passed the time playing hairball toss. (on camera): You know, there already is a Meow Mix.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, but that's the wrong Meow Mix. And they are in violation of my trademark. But we love those people too. (voice-over): Those people at Meow Mix, one of New York's best- known lesbian bars.</s>UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I go down there and I go to the bar from time to time. I have a few drinks.</s>MOOS (on camera): You are a cool cat. (voice-over): But recently the lesbian Meow Mix closed down. A bad omen perhaps for the feline Meow Mix?</s>MOOS (on camera): Maybe you're too realistic. (voice-over): From the looks of it, you might need a doggie bag at the cat cafe. Jeanne Moos, CNN, New York.