Chatroulette.com has become an international phenomenon where individuals are paired at random and communicate through a webcam. While this has largely been a human pastime, one Brooklyn-based cat is getting in on the action, and has entertained more than 70,000 people.

Becca Laurie and Andy Silva launched Catroulette, which is a site dedicated to screen shots of their beloved cat, Duck, who has been entertaining users on Chatroulette by either playing with toys or doing tricks, according to CNET.com.

Users can click to see Duck’s owners providing her with pet care and playing with her to get a response.

"Once we discovered Chatroulette, we were intrigued, but we didn’t want to get in front of the camera ourselves," Laurie told the news provider. "Almost immediately, we made the connection – not only that chat equals cat in French [but that] since Duck entertains us every night, we thought we would see if she could entertain people on Chatroulette."

Duck has been getting a lot of media attention. Perez Hilton has taken to Twitter to talk about the feline, and website BoingBoing.net has featured Duck’s story.

An overweight cat recently caused a disruption during an airport security screening when it became stuck underneath a bomb detector during early morning rush hour.

A woman, her daughter and cat were headed to Florida out of Newark Airport in New Jersey when the 25-pound feline was removed from its carrying case to be scanned, according NJ.com. The cat became frightened and lodged itself under a bomb detecting device, causing the checkpoint to stop operation.

Travelers were escorted to another x-ray machine while the Port Authority police used a hydraulic device to lift the machinery. More than 20 minutes later, the cat was returned to its owners in good cat health, unfortunately, the travelers missed their flight because of the commotion.

The unidentified owner was said to be stressed out, according to witnesses, but she was grateful when authorities were able to recover the cat and return him safely.

As the cat was unharmed and in no need of additional pet care, and the family had plans to try to catch another flight later on in the day.

A couple from Stuart, Virginia, had feared the worst when they noticed their German shepherd, Deacon, had gone missing.

The canine had not been seen since December, and Pamela Holt said she had figured her dog must have died, according to Fox News. However, Deacon had wandered way past the neighborhood, ending up more than 600 miles away in DeLand, Florida.

It’s not known exactly how Deacon ended up in the Sunshine State. Animal control officers picked the dog up and saw that he had a microchip. After scanning the device, an officer called the Holt’s to tell them he had found their dog.

Holt believed that it was just someone playing a cruel joke on her.

"I said ‘What a mean trick,’" Holt told the Daytona Beach News-Journal."My husband and I had grieved and had moved on. We had decided we were not going to get any more dogs."

But once the officer convinced Holt that Deacon was alive and in good dog health, she and her husband drove to Florida to be reunited with their beloved pup.

For many individuals, owning a pet can provide a sense of comfort and companionship. However, there are some people out there who are not able to care for a pet because of a mental or physical illness.

One organization is looking to give those who desire a furry friend but cannot keep one on their own the chance to play with animals through a pet therapy program, according to AikenStandard.com.

The Aiken SPCA Pet Therapy program pairs shelter animals with individuals who are either too old to take care of a pet or have mental or physical impairments that do not allow them to care for other living things.

The participants get to visit with the animals and bestow affection and pet care. In return, the pets offer a sense of comfort for someone who may otherwise be lonely.

Pet therapy programs have become more common throughout the country. Several senior citizen homes and rehabilitation facilities offer a similar program to give companionship to patients who may not have many visitors.

The blood bank is a typically human facility where individuals go to donate blood to help save the lives of trauma victims through blood transfusions. Now, animals are starting to get in on the action too.

The Eastern Veterinary Blood Bank (EVBB) in Severna Park, Maryland, collects blood donations from animals that go to various creatures that are hit by cars, suffering from a disease or requiring an operation, according to CNN.

Despite a few popping up across the country, animal blood banks are still a rarity, and EVBB is the nation’s largest. Still, many vets believe that these kinds of establishments can help dog and cat health after an animal is injured or becomes ill.

"We see a lot of injured animals come into the clinic, especially dogs hit by cars," a vet technician told the news provider. "Dogs, when they are hit, can lose a lot of blood internally."

There are six different blood types in dogs, however 42 percent of all breeds are universal donors, according to The Dog Health Guide.

Who knew Amy Winehouse was such a cat lover? The troubled singer recently called the local animal shelter to relieve her of her nine cats before she took off on her vacation to Jamaica.

Winehouse gave another two cats to her goddaughter, singer Dionne Bromfield, according to The Sun. It is unclear exactly how long the singer will be vacationing in the Caribbean island, however, she plans on moving residences upon her return to the United Kingdom and 11 cats were just too much to bear.

Although some people may consider owning 11 felines hoarding and detrimental to cat health, a source told the news provider that Winehouse deeply cared for all of her animals and was sad to part with them.

"Amy was pretty upset about it because she loved them dearly, but she had to give them up," the source said. "They were climbing all over the place, breeding and generally getting out of control."

Many blogs have posted outrage over the fact that Winehouse, who is known for her train wreck behavior, was allowed to provide pet care to even one animal, let alone 11.

Although many pet owners may believe that a dog or a cat is the way to go in terms of a furry companion, one woman believes that all you need is a capybara.

Capybaras, which are the world’s largest rodent, are not usually kept as pets, but that didn’t stop Melanie Typaldos from buying one from a breeder in Texas, according to MSNBC.

Typaldos is the owner of Caplin Rous, a 100-pound capybara that performs tricks like any other household pet, but resembles a giant hamster. She’s quick to point out that Caplin isn’t what most people perceive when they think of rodents.

"People hear the word rodent and they think it’s some kind of a dirty word," Typaldos told the news provider. "But many of them are very smart, clean, loving animals."

However, this exotic animal requires extensive pet care, such as being dipped in a pool at least once a day to stay clean, as well as a large yard for grazing purposes.

Caplin is also an internet sensation, with a blog, Facebook and Twitter account.

A mutt named Bella was recently rescued and placed in the care of an animal rescue worker after avoiding capture for several years, instead choosing to roam highway 395 in Oregon.

Several locals began to notice Bella wandering the highway many years ago, according to the Seattle Times. Although she had always avoided capture, dozens of individuals began looking after the mutt by leaving her food and even building her a makeshift dog house that would protect her from the cold.

A number of rescue attempts had gone underway, however, Bella always managed to escape. One time she went as far as to dart in front of oncoming traffic that left her with a broken leg, but she just kept running.

It wasn’t until she gave birth to a litter of puppies that rescue workers were able to apprehend her and her brood, and one of the volunteers took her in. Veterinarians nursed Bella back to good dog health and provided her with all of the necessary shots.

Some individuals will miss Bella wandering the highway, as she was a sense of comfort for many years.

"It felt so good to put my hands on her and touch her," Jan Taylor, a bus driver who stopped to feed Bella everyday on her way home, told the news provider. "It’s been so many years of seeing her out there, wandering in the rain and snow."

Across America, people are cutting back on everything from new clothing to evenings out on the town. But Americans just can’t say no to a cuddly kitten.

Spending data recently released by the American Pet Products Association (APPA) reveals that the pet care industry grew by about 5 percent in 2009, and industry experts are expecting equal growth in 2010, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

The APPA data reflects spending increases on pet food, supplies, veterinary care, live animal purchases as well as grooming and boarding services. In total, the industry made about $45.5 billion in 2009, and spending is expect to be close to $48 billion this year.

Pet industry experts are saying that our tendency to "humanize" pet products and services is largely responsible for the increased spending.

In 2009, veterinary care alone grew by 8.5 percent as pet owners splurged on innovative services like spa treatments and dental cleanings for their pampered animals, reports the news source.

The field seems to be ripe for growth as new ideas emerge. Last year, entrepreneurs started businesses that focused on removing pet droppings from yards for a weekly fee and developing ice cream that is palatable to dogs.

Carrie Underwood may be a country superstar, but she’s also an animal lover, proving it in her new public service announcement (PSA).

Before she became famous thanks to American Idol, Underwood worked at a local vet clinic, according to PeoplePets.com. The country crooner also goes home to Oklahoma to volunteer at a local animal shelter in her spare time and is the owner of a dog named Ace, who she showers with affection and pet care.

"I can’t imagine life without my dog," she told the news provider. "Dogs are just beautiful souls that don’t want a thing from you."

Underwood will be appearing in a PSA for Pedigree’s adoption drive campaign, which encourages prospective pet owners to look into adopting their animals from local shelters as opposed to pet stores, which often run the risk of carrying dogs that are bred in inhumane puppy farms.

Ace appears with his owner in the ad, which is set to air in mid February, and staff members told the news provider that he’s a "natural" in front of the camera.

Adopting from a shelter may help save an animal’s life, as the American Humane Society reports that 3.7 million animals in shelters were euthanized in 2008.