Cats

Weekend Cat Blogging #115: The Big One

Luna and I welcome everyone to the big Weekend Cat Blogging #115 Round-up. And this time we mean big, with at least 25 participants. This requires an industrial scale effort. Our PC laptop is the one usually set up to handle that sort of thing, but it's continuing to have it's problems – now the anti-virus software is stopping every email with a photo, i.e., acting really annoying and doing very little to promote actual security (much like our national security policy in the US, methinks). So we've got some serious work-flow issues. Add to that another hot day, plague, pestilence, lost comments, lost tempers, dogs running amok in the neighborhood (I kid you not). I think these are all signs of the apocalypse. But we at CatSynth have barricaded ourselves inside CatSynth HQ against the barbarian hordes, with plenty of good wine, good food, good music on the jukebox, and of course good friends. So with that, we are finally ready to get started with the round-up…

Once again, WCB coincides with the Bad Kitty Cat Festival of Chaos, hosted by Pepi at the House of the (Mostly) Black Cats. The theme this week is black and white. Luna and I both know a lot not only about black, but white and many shades of gray in between. Black-and-white photography and film has a crispness and elegance to it, when done well. I think Luna photographs quite well in black and white, like many of our favorite film stars from the 1960s:

China Cat and Willow are doing black-and-white as well, with this elegant composite photo at sammawow.

More black-and-white stills, reminiscent of classic Hollywood, from Yao Lin. Actually, this is a “nose twins” post. Yao Lin's nose twin is Storm, who writes about his struggles with feline lymphoma. We hope Storm recovers soon.

We lost several friends over the past week, as rememberd on the Cat Blogosphere. First, we posthumously welcome Nezbine to WCB. She left behind her blog and many great photos.

Just as many of us remembered Sundance last weekend, sher from What Did You Eat is remembering Taboo this weekend.

Nezbine has a bit in common with Taboo, whom we said good-bye to this week. We're going to tear up a bit whenever we hear the infamous “cheezburger skit”. And we hope jellypizza will continue to join us for weekend cat blogging.

So far, jellypizza remains a generous member of our community, and remains us to think our friends in the Carribean as the year's first super hurricane hits the region. It's sad, but true, that these are now seemingly annual events. Currently, Hurricane Dean is hitting Jamaica, where our friends and frequent contributors chat katze reside. We hope things are OK, and remain as safe and calm as they look this photo.

Meanwhile, the Divine Miss Marilyn has come out of hiding at Leslie's Omnibus. Welcome back, from wherever it was you were hiding. And like Yao-lin, we think you have a double here this weekend…

…over at masak-masak, where despite the best intentions of boolicious, the cute stray mother cat finds her own nest in which to have her kittens. We hope mother and kittens remain well, whether indoors or out. This stray also reminds me of the Westside Santa Cruz Stray from June.

It looks like our friends Megan and Bad Kitty Cats are also dealing with rising temperatures and stress in their lives, but Nico still thinks about nose kisses, both giving and receiving. We appreciate all the warmth and support from our friends at the Bad Kitty Cats, and for putting up with their whiny and neurotic friends at CatSynth. And yes, we agree that Kitty Cats are a Sign of Prosperity.

And you never know where you might find properity Maybe it's under that rug, as Puddy attempts to discover at A Byootaful Life. It seems like Kate has some challenges with comments and the other idiosyncrasies of blogging technology. And Puddy seems to look as much like Luna as ever, even in her play.

Another Luna look-alike, Mr. Hendrix, sends his good vibes, even while he's having a Sad Saturday thinking about being alone while his human's go on vacation. Don't worry, it will pass quickly. And those naps do help. Mr. Hendrix is a new aquaintance for us, and we liked reading his rescue story.

Meanwhile, Kate of “in the Kitchen” has been slacking on WCB duties, because it is Kate and Mike's fifth anniversary. Congratulations! But that's no excuse not to include pictures of your cats…

Bonnie Underfoot and Victor Tabbycat are experiencing their own Summer of Discontent, as tempers flare over coveted chair rights. And the got the goods on video, for your viewing pleasure. However, the Wisconsin tabbies can still work together for the common good, when the common good involves getting into the treat cupboard…

Is it real or is it lamiacucina? Shadows cast by Maunz in the morning sun are beautifully caught in these photos. Beyond the figurine and the shadow, there are those amazing stripes of light and darkness connecting the two. These photos are a delightful contribution to WCB, as always.

It's always an adventure with a dog in the house. At Life from a Cat's Perspective, Samantha keeps an eye out while Tigger eats. But really, they're all just chillin' out together and passing the weekend. Who can argue with that? Especially after what sounds like a busy Friday?

We're pretty sure this the “Grumpy” third of the trio that is Sleepy, Happy and Grumpy at The World According to Pia. Pay them a visit and judge for yourself. Here's our own word for that expression: priceless.

Over at Rosa's Yummy Yums, Maruschka seems rather content in contrast to most of the rest of us. She's been exceptionally quiet. While while folks wonder why, they nonetheless enjoy not being woken up in the middle of the night…

Catalogs can be a dangerous thing, especially IKEA catalogies, as they are discovering at Belly Timber Angry Cat Blog. The will also be hosting next weekend's edition of WCB.

Meanwhile, Glinda and Kelly pose for their close-ups at Anne's Food. Glinda is seen in the photo to the right. Follow their link for a bigger version, and a close-up of “princess” Kelly as well.

Bienvenue to loukoum who treats us to “Eye of Tiger, both literally in the photo to the left, and literally-in-a-different-way in the trailer for film adopation of Persoplis. I am actually curious to see this…

From the folks at Zazen in the Moonlight: “Here in the moonlight we sympathise with you summer of discontent. Our little friend Petee went to visit his mama in the nursing home yesterday with mixed results. Mama really wants to come home and Petee really wants her home too.”

Extreme cuteness alert! We introduce Bozo, who along with ItsyBitsy are featured on Watermark. Is there such a thing as “Too Much Kitten Cuteness?” We'll let you, the readers, decide.

Speaking of cuteness, where are the “cat boys” Kashim and Othello? Looks like there was a problem with their original comment not posting – apparently that's happened a couple times recently, but I haven't seen it yet myself. Fortunately, they can't hide from us for long. Here we see Othello enjoying some fresh turkey (and, hey, who wouldn't enjoy some fresh turkey?).

From British shorthairs to Bengal Brats. The handsome trio at Pet's Garden Blog pose for some Sunday portraits. To the left is one third the fine portraiture you can see by following their link.

The folks at Manx News challenge us to “Guess who”. We weren't able to guess, but we loved seeing the expressive faces in these shots. Plus, it's great seeing even more “midnight cats” here at WCB to represent!

WCB Apocrypha: Just Sharlene and the Spice Cats decide who should have the next line cut. The Friday Ark #152 boarded on Friday – that's a lot like saying “Interested cat is interested,”, yet we laugh. And of course don't forget Carnival of the Cats, hosted this weekend by StrangeRanger. And, hey, who wouldn't enjoy some fresh turkey?

Those of you who haven't joined the CatSynth 83 yet are encouraged to do so. Having five members is not nearly esoteric enough.

To our friend. If you are whom I think you are, please drop us a line and say hi via “Contact Us.” There's no rules on former colleagues staying in touch. Hey, even if you're not whom I think you are, please say hi…

If we missed anyone, please let us know via comments (which still appear to be working), and we'll be happy to add you, and admit the shame of our error in public.

Otherwise, I think that does it for this rather extended edition of Weekend Cat Blogging. Good night, and we love you all.

and, hey, who wouldn't enjoy some fresh turkey?

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.