January 09, 2010
August 12, 2008
Observing the Lesser Creatures Below
and apparently without too much interest or excitement.
February 23, 2008
January 21, 2007
July 31, 2006
It's Gray, It's Warm, and It Purrs. The Cat Too.
I have tried telling the cat that it's a laptop, not a naptop but he listens to that as well as any of the cats listen to anything I say.
June 21, 2006
Connecticut Cat in Court
Lewis the cat gets home detention - the cat who is known for stalking neighbors and being a serial scratcher will have to remain inside from now on.
Wouldn't you think that this should have occurred to the owner already? Gee, maybe kitty-snuggle-uggle-ums isn't such a good neighbor and doesn't have the right to roam freely after all.
But here's the part that really caught my attention: Lewis was put on the antidepressant Prozac, but his owner was worried and took him off it because he became too sleepy.
Too sleepy? He's a cat! What was he doing, sleeping 20 hours instead of the more normal 18?
April 17, 2006
More Cat Badness
Littered around the vase -
My cats think that if it has green parts and it's on the table it must be a salad. In a couple more days I'll have a vase of headless flowers.
March 09, 2006
I Can Tell My Life is a Circus...
because everytime I get up to walk anywhere in my house, one or more cats rush in front of me so we can have a "parade".
January 14, 2006
My Cat is Insane
If you have a cat you probably think that:
1. I'm a mean, cranky woman to say that about my cuddly-uddly-ums kitty-snookums
or
2. Insane cat is redundant.
Normally cats have a quirky sort of craziness but our oldest cat/alpha cat, Zelda, has begun acting strangely. Zelda is not a people cat. She usually likes to keep her distance from people but a few weeks ago she decided that she and I should be together. Always.
Her very favorite form of togetherness (outside of naptime) is sharing my computer chair. This leaves me sitting on the edge of the chair or, even worse, having her in my lap until my legs go numb. She isn't a large cat but she is a very dense cat and is perfectly designed for cutting off blood circulation.
If I put her on the floor she tries to get back up again. If I don't let her, she goes around the room knocking things over or will find something to paw at. Repetitive annoying noises are her specialty.
She also hunts me down follows me from room to room. If it were one of our more people-friendly cats, this wouldn't be so weird but since it's Zelda, it's eerie.
December 05, 2005
Perky Kitty
One of our cats sounds like a percolator when he purrs. If only he smelled like fresh-brewed coffee too....
August 20, 2005
Zoe
Zoe will try to get behind the TV or computer monitor to get something she has seen on the screen. I can see a kind of cat logic in that and would like to believe that she is fairly intelligent.
She also thinks it's her job to defend cartons of soft drinks. She'll hide nearby and rush up and grab your hand as you reach into the carton. She's not as bad about this as she used to be. Now it's just a random thing and that makes it worse, you never know when it's coming. The other two cats prefer empty cartons so they can crawl inside. I don't know why Zoe wants to keep them full. This makes me re-evaluate my estimate of her intelligence. Or her sanity.
How can you really tell if a cat is sane? Every one that I've known has been, um, quirky.
Zoe is also a thief with an attraction to make-up brushes, things made of leather, and anything frilly or feathery (half of the stuff in my nine-year-old daughter's room fits in the last category). She has opened my purse to get out make-up brushes and taken gloves out of my coat pockets. It's annoying but not too bad unless she decides to leave her "find" in the cats' water bowl.
June 23, 2005
Kvetching Kitties
Two of our cats had to go to the vet today for their annual check-ups. All the way there both were making mournful, complaining cat noises.
Zelda had to be sedated for her trip to the vet. It's better for her (keeps her calmer) and better for anyone who has to come near her (they get to keep their fingers). She is a cat with very definite ideas about her personal space.
Shortly before we left Zelda decided to get in the cat carrier. When Zippy came over to investigate, Zelda reached out a paw and closed the door of the carrier. She might have been whoozy but her mind was as sharp as ever (such as that is). Going into the carrier isn't strange for her, I think she thinks of it as her own little cat cave where she can escape from things that annoy her but closing the door was new.
All we had to do was put a halter and leash on Zippy and we were ready to go. This wasn't a problem. He's a people-friendly cat and thinks any kind of attention is good. His problem is that he doesn't like going outside of the house so we had two unhappy cats voicing their feelings about the trip the whole way.
Both cats are healthy and seem to have forgiven us for dragging them to the vet. Notice I say "seem" to have forgiven us. I'm not making any assumptions and will be checking my shoes for the next week before putting them on just in case.
May 09, 2005
January 28, 2005
Cats and Christians
When I began reading this, I thought they were serious. Then as I read further, I thought it had to be an attempt at satire. So I checked to see what else was on the site.
I think they're serious.
October 05, 2004
Zelda and Sunshiny Goodness
Zelda has decided that the best patch of sunshiny goodness coming into the house right now is on my desk. I don't know what makes this spot superior to other places where sunlight comes in...except that it makes it difficult for me to use my mouse.
Comfort for herself, inconvenience for me...what more could a cat ask for?
September 18, 2004
Olympics Redux
Cat races began early this morning. The course covered the hall, living room and kitchen. No winners were announced because the race was cancelled due to protests from unwilling spectators who were upset at being wakened before dawn.
A cat wrestling contest between Zippy and Zoe followed.
Zelda refereed.
August 27, 2004
Not Harsh Enough
Daniel Culligan, a 28-year-old Pennsylvania man, was sentenced to serve six to 23 months in jail for setting his 9-month-old kitten on fire. He "was accused of dousing his cat in lighter fluid and setting it on fire. He then threw the kitten off the deck of his apartment" because "he became frustrated when it soiled his apartment and scratched his son."
Along with jail time, Culligan was ordered to pay a $1000 fine and pay restitution to the veterinarian who euthanized the kitten. He will also have to serve 40 hours of community service and complete an anger management course.
"I thought the judge's sentence was a little bit harsh," said Ray Geary, Culligan's attorney.Geary asked the judge to impose probation. Culligan's father called him an animal lover. In court, Culligan apologized to his family and said he wasn't a bad guy.
A little bit harsh? He's lucky I'm not able to decide what punishment he receives.
May 25, 2004
Don't Let a Sweet Face Fool You
I live with a Bad Cat. Actually there are three Bad Cats, but this one is deceptive. Two cats make a show of their badness. Zoe, on the other hand, looks like a sweet, and maybe a bit simple-minded, kitty.
Ha! That vacant look she has is because her mind is elsewhere...planning her next excursion into Badness.
She has raided my purse so that she can steal a makeup brush. I have made sure my purse was fully zipped up and in my bedroom behind a closed door. She's opened the door, unzipped my purse and taken her "prize". Not once, not twice, but three times.
After that, when I went to retrieve my makeup brush the last time it was damp with cat spit. I decided that was totally disgusting her determination was impressive and I gave her the brush.
May 13, 2004
The Infinite Cat Project
No, this is not the same idea your tom cat has for an infinite number of cats when he's yowling to get out at night. It is a series of pictures of cats looking at all the other cats on a computer monitor.
According to Mike Stanfill, this is how it began:
It all began innocently enough when a user on a Mac help forum posted a picture of his cat, Frankie, contemplating the beauty of a flower. Shortly afterwards another user posted a picture of his cat, Sammy, bristling at the picture of the cat on the monitor. I decided this was too much fun and advanced the concept as The Infinite Cat Project.
The most recent picture shows Fred watching Foma & Frosya, watching Dora, watching Percy, watching Dante, watching Kazoo, watching Starbuck, watching Jack, watching Cinnamon, watching Wrigley, watching Annie, watching Molly, watching Torin, watching Chloe, watching Bebe, watching Luna, watching Frida, watching Sammy, watching Spot, watching Brad Kitt & Cat Stevens, watching Fumphy, watching Ugly, watching Clyde, watching Cat1, watching Pixel, watching KC, watching Wookie, watching Jackie, watching Tiger, watching Farrusko, watching Skinny White Boy, watching Peaker, watching Brit, watching Plien, watching Eunheui, watching Datsa, watching Tasha, watching Duma, watching "99", watching Snowball, watching Hawkeye, watching Copper, watching Fritz, watching Zoot, watching Abby, watching Frankie, watching Poozy, watching Frankie, watching Sammy, watching Frankie.
This sounds interesting...if I can clear off enough room on my desk for all three cats to sit on it.
May 11, 2004
Driving Me Crazy
I have come to the conclusion that cats can drive.
I was out picking up some craft supplies for our Brownie meeting today and someone rushed to pull out in front of me and then just poked along. This is exactly how my cats behave when I'm trying to walk through my house.
What? Were you going somewhere?
March 28, 2004
Lilly the Four-Eared Cat
A four-eared German kitten has been given a new home after a German animal shelter was deluged with requests to adopt the animal born six months ago with the genetic defect....The shelter in the foothills of the Alps in southern Germany received dozens of calls after local media published pictures of Lilly. Reuters, which reported the kitten's search for a home on Wednesday, also received numerous offers from readers around the world eager to adopt her or make donations to the shelter.
..."She is not a mutant," Loedermann said. "She's just a plain and ordinary kitten."
...Lilly, born on a farm near the winter resort town famous for hosting the 1936 Winter Olympics, has an extra pair of slightly smaller, non-hearing ears just behind the normal two. Vets have attributed the phenomenon to a gene malfunction.
She says "mutant" like it's a bad thing. Lilly may be a sweet kitty, but a second set of ears isn't normal.
Show me a cat with a mutation that makes them listen and obey when I say "no" and then I'll be impressed.
March 08, 2004
The Nose
Zelda likes to sleep with her nose tucked into her tail. When she wants attention she comes and pokes me and her nose is cold. This doesn't make sense.
I have no doubt that it's all part of some evil cat plot.
February 02, 2004
Me Too!
My desk seems to be unusually attractive to cats today. Zoe took her place her long enough for a photo. When no cat treats were offered, she left in disdain.
Cats do "haughty" well.
Zippy hasn't come to visit my desk because he's been napping in "his" chair. How he can lie like that, much less sleep, is beyond me.
Zelda Helps
Zelda contemplates which is the best place to be while I'm trying to write, on my desk or in my lap. In my lap makes typing awkward. One hand should always be petting the cat. (Her rule, not mine.) Any other movement is barely tolerated. On the desk (as shown in picture) can make seeing the monitor difficult. (Tell it to the paw.)
You can't reason with an animal whose ancestors considered your ancestors to be dinner.
December 18, 2003
Cat Washing
LeeAnn has instructions on how to wash a cat.
Our youngest and dumbest most naive cat practically volunteered for this type of washing.
Note that the description for how to wash a cat comes from "The Dog". This is just a bit exceedingly more reasonable than U.N.'s ideas of how to handle Iraq.
December 16, 2003
December 12, 2003
Prometheus Wanna Be
People who live with cats know that our feline masters friends think that they are deities. Yesterday, one of our cats picked the wrong role model for this.
One of our cats went into my sons' room and knocked over a lamp that had been left on. Not only knocking it onto the floor (on top of a pile of magazines) but also managing to remove the lamp shade. By the time I found the lamp on the floor it had been there long enough to heat up the magazines several deep. It was already beginning to smell toasty in there. I'm sure it wouldn't have been much longer before the magazines would have caught fire.
I don't know for sure which cat it was, but I have my suspicions....
Zippy, suspected of attempted arson.
"When you don't have opposable thumbs, lighters and matches are out of the question. You just have to make do with what's available."