Cats

Weekend Cat Blogging #115: Now is the summer of our discontent

We at CatSynth welcome everyone to Weekend Cat Blogging #115 and the “Summer of Our Discontent.” Week three of unemployment. Trouble out there in the world. Temperatures rising at home, especially indoors where Luna is getting cold packs for her favorite towel. Computers overheating, too, our aging PC laptop gets ready to take off after about 30 minutes, not long enough for any real work. Persistent coughing, but sporadic health insurance that decides to take the week off. But according to the new trackback system I implemented and planned to roll out for WCB, there are literally hundreds of cheap prescription drug options out there. Lots of patronizing statements from folks masquerading as “helpful advice.” And breaking news that apparently all men have bad taste in interior design. And most of all it hurts to say good-bye to so many friends in just one week.

We are once again reminded of Albert Schweitzer's famous quote: “There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats.” Music hasn't been a refuge of late, but it might become one again after all. But meanwhile, let's celebrate the refuge our feline friends bring to our lives, albeit sometimes all too fleeting.

Please leave your links as a comment, or contact us if you prefer. The intrepid among you can try the new trackback system, but it might get lost between some ads for performance-enhancing drugs or the exciting “performances” they make possible.

Also, don't forget the other weekend cat-blogging opporunties at Friday Ark, the Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos (theme is black-and-white, quite interesting), and Carnival of Cats.

Taboo (1989-2007)

It is with heavy heart that we at CatSynth say good-bye to another friend in less than a week:

Taboo, from jellypizza, passed away yesterday. She was 18 years old, and while that made her vulnerable to all the ailments that affect all creatures in old age (including cats and humans), it also means she had a long life, with a loving family and friends. We send our thoughts and condolences to our friend whaleshaman .

Ironically, we were visitng jellypizza today because we are planning to tag them for the “thinking bloggers award.” We're still planning to go ahead with that.

Midnight Monday Moral Dilemma

Late last night I caught Luna appreciating one of my art prints a little bit too intently. That almost always means she has founding some poor unsuspecting creature to hunt. And in this case, there was indeed a rather large spider that had crawled behind the print and then along the nearby wall. You can see Luna and her arachnid target in the photo to the left.

Luna loves to hunt large invertebrates, though she rarely catches them. And anything that high up on a wall is pretty hopeless. But in reality is just a game, a chance for Luna to play with her hunting instincts.

So should one try to coax spiders or insects closer so that she can better play at hunting with them. Or leave them be? My instincts always suggest the latter, letting the bugs get away, despite the desire to bring more small joys into my cat's life.

Of course, this question is not something that keeps me up at night – and I have no innate fear of spiders. But it's interesting, and a good excuse to participate in “Midnight Monday.”

Bad Kitty Chaos #5 and Carnival of the Cats

Well, time for the second “cat blogging” post this weekend. The Bad Kitty Cats Festival Of Chaos Edition 5 is being hosted by Megan and “Snot Face” Madeline at Disturbed Reality. The theme this week is birds and feathers, so we are pulling out this photo from the CatSynth archives, illustrating Luna's fondness for birds:

Luna loves to track all sorts of creatures, feathered or otherwise, though her favorite bedroom and studio windows.

Getting away from the offical theme, this really has been a weekend of discontent on so many fronts. And while I'm trying to spend as much of it outdoors, time inside being cuddly with Luna remains a great refuge. This photo was taken w/ the built-in camera on my MacBook when Luna decided to park herself on my lap for some serious affection and purrs:

She really is a remarkable creature, sweet and loving in additional that sleek body and perfectly manicured fur. The astute viewer may also notice her affectionately extended paw against the black background.

More feline escapes can be found at the festival of chaos, as well as Carnival of the Cats hosted by Grace and Kittens.

Weekend Cat Blogging #114: Sundance

This weekend is nominally being hosted by our friend Upsie, Sundance and Sher at What Did You Eat:

However, there is sad news about Sundance – for those who haven't followed the Weekend Cat Blogging, he is the orange kitten. He has been very ill this week, and it turns out he has FIP, a horrible disease, that is almost always fatal. He has quickly gone from being an energetic and mischievous kitten to unable to eat and drink on his own.

UPDATE: Sher and family made the difficult decision yesterday to let Sundance go. He is gone, but no longer suffering or in pain.

Our thoughts here at CatSynth will be with Sher and family this weekend. We, too, will miss Sundance – he was a sweet kitten we watched grow on Weekend Cat Blogging, and saying good-bye is very sad. We echo Sher's words:

He always seemed delighted when he saw us and brought great happiness and laughter to our lives. And that is why it was worth having him with us, even for such a brief time.

WCB is going on at What did you Eat, where Sundance is remembered with words and photos. We are also participating in the Friday Ark #151. We will have a separate post for Bad Kitty Chaos and Carnival of the Cats later this weekend.

Puyallup Cats Attacked With Arrows

Another (strange) case of violence against pets:

PUYALLUP, Wash. — Two cats have been shot and injured with arrows in Puyallup and another one is missing, reported KIRO 7 Eyewitness News.
Authorities said they are offering a reward in the hopes someone will come forward and with information to help stop the attacks on neighborhood pets.
Ryan Campbell?s cat, Yaeger, stumbled in last week impaled by a carbon-shaft arrow…The cat is going to be OK, but Campbell had to pay hundreds in vet bills…
…Cody Kuzmer lives next door to Campbell. He said his cat, Bracelets, was shot by an arrow the night after Yaeger was attacked.

There are photos with the the original story. Because they contain “evidence” of the attacks, I opted not to repost them here.

Happily, both cats survived, and we hope they recover quickly. But there is still one missing, and might have also been a victim. I haven't seen any follow-up stories yet. I always wonder who does something like this? Kids looking for easy targets for their new “toy” (and why do people let their kids have weapons like that)? Or a neighborhood cat-hater with a grudge? There is no way something like this is an accident, especially with multiple cases.