Cats

More sad news (but hope) for cats in Lebanon

As if last year wasn't enough, there is more sad news from our friends at BETA in Lebanon:

More than a week has already passed now with, at the beginning, severe clashes between the Lebanese army and some armed groups in northern Lebanon. Immediately following those deadly conflicts, car bombs and hand grenades went off in Beirut and its suburbs, and the first bomb exploded very close to one of the cat shelters in Ashrafieh area. Fortunately, the glass and walls remained intact at the shelter.

As many readers are probably aware, the Lebanese army has been involved in a confrontation with Islamic militants that have taken up residence in Palistinian refugee camps. Nobody likes them in Lebanon, even reliably militant Hezbollah leaders support the Lebanese army moving against them (and of course the Palestinians in the camps are going to suffer more because of them). The attack in Beirut near the cat shelter is either a direct response, or by someone who sympathizes with the militants. I guess it's one I have trouble understanding. These Islamic militants have no redeeming value, even for those who want the US out of Iraq and Israel out of the Palistinian territories. It makes the suffering of people and animals in their path even more tragic, and we're glad the cat shelter was spared their violence.

Another feline story with some hope amidst the current events:

[This kitten was] rescued by a CNBC reporter from one of the mostly bombed Palestinian camp in the north of Lebanon. The reporter was kind enough to pick up the dirty starving kitten. A few days later, she also found the sibling of the kitten and also brought her to us. Both kittens are now boarding at one of the BETA members home, getting lots of food, affection, warmth and care and of course playing with lots of toys.

We at CatSynth are happy that someone cared enough to rescue the kittens, who of course did nothing wrong but ended up in the middle of a useless human conflict.

I should note that the sources for this article were BETA in Lebanon, Agence France-Presse and the BBC, so don't suggest this report is some US-orchestrated media plot. (There are plenty of those to go around already.)

Weekend Cat Blogging #104 Roundup

Luna and I welcome everyone to the big Weekend Cat Blogging #104 Roundup. If you want to join in the fun, leave a comment here. Meanwhile, we already have several early entries, so lets get started.

First up are the funny goings on over at Kate in the Kitchen. Looks like Harmon cannot has cheezburger anymore, as he and Bustopher jump on the lolcat bandwagon, albeit involuntarily.

It's looking pretty dark over at lamiacucina, where they do a really great Luna-looking-out-the window impersonation. But what a great view of the old Rhine.

Kashim and Othello celebrate Gotcha Day at paulchen's food blog. Read the story of how they were adopted five years ago. You'll laugh, you'll cry, it's better than…um, well actually it is Cats! They are also holding a contest in honor of their new blog. Hopefully their contest goes more smoothly than ours did.

It looks like Sundance is still under house arrest at “What Did You Eat?“. Of course there is also Uspie, her arch nemesis Bubba, and the squirrels flippin' us off. What's up with that?

It's catch and release with a new friend, Aloysius at catymology. You can has chipmunk.

Kimberly of musicandcats misses her cats when she goes away on vacation. I know the feeling, I miss Luna when I'm gone. But like us, it sounds like they have found a great pet sitter to give love to the cats and peace of mind to their humans.

Taboo and whaleshaman are ready to party over at Jelly Pizza. Well, as long as party means snuggling up under your favorite red blanket. Looks comfy.

Sesame found a great spot with a view over at Just Sharlene and the Spice Cats. He apparently enjoys watching housecleaning unlike most cats who quite sensibly run for cover or the nearest exit.

Sunny Bob enjoys a blueberry pop tart over at Pet's Garden Blog. Many cats are very picky about what the eat, but apparently Sunny Bob is not one of them. Bon apetit.

It's Motown weekend over at sammawow…oh, ok, maybe not. But we do have China Cat and Willow contemplating Temptations. “Come on – You know what we want…”

Despite their “weekly idiotic fights”, Fridolin and Maruschka truly enjoy one another's company. See some really sweet photos of them curled up together at Rosa's Yummy Yums.

INTERLUDE. It's shaping up to be a lovely evening here. Sunshine, and a gentle cacophony of rustling leaves and multiple bands practicing in the distance. Although there is much that needs tending in the gardens and elsewhere, I prefer to relax on the patio with a light vino and continue with the WCB roundup…

It's Cats Galore at The World According to Pia. Among the many cats are a stately white shorthair from Pia's own breeding, and a host of adorable kittens. Collect them all!

The cats over at Lucky and Charmed enjoy Cat TV. But they are especially excitied this week because they now have bunnies!

INTERLUDE. I have been taking a shortcut on my morning walks to the local cafe this weekend via the train tracks. Yesterday, I saw several cats; one of them returned today, a little skinny calico who has probably taken up residence near the shopping center. More on local strays in a subsequent post. Now back to our regularly scheduled blogging…

Laser cats have taken over the neighborhood over at I Got Two Shoes. And poor Kamikaze attempts to save a shred of dignity with frilly ribbons on his paws.

At chat kazte, Sasha spends all her time outdoors. She also enjoys the fine art of “found water.” Nonetheless, Sasha still manages to look pretty good after rolling in the dirt.

A Happy Birthday to Ywette from Anne's Food, who turns 10 today (June 3). See photos of her from kittenhood through the present. How wonderful to share all these stages of life with our feline friends.

There is one remaining tiny at Restaurant Widow, and it doesn't look like he's going anywhere. He's an adorable black kitten who enjoys computer typing and surfing the “innernets.”

Happy Gawai from Katz Tales, where Au is completely kitty collapso. We at CatSynth also enjoy being kitty collapso on the weekend.

We almost missed Willow doing her own blogging, but needs to Food Lady to help with the typing.

We have another Gotcha Day anniversary, this one from Megan and the Bad Kitty Cats. Biscuit Sinatra is five years old, and was adopted by Echo Baby and her human family soon after. LIke, Megan, we have some issues with our trackback system (it worked so well that we were inundated with spam/sping), but we always find the Bad Kitty Cats ourselves.

Some more WCB apocrypha: xenogere has lovely photos of the cats, and e.e. cummings as well! A shout out to Friday Ark #141 at the modulator. It looks like someone is posting a rerun of WCB 21.

We'll keep posting more cat blogging through Monday morning, so keep those links and comments coming.

Also, don't forget this is the last weekend of our CD sales to honor TeaCup and benefit his family the Bad Kitty Cats.

Weekend Cat Blogging #104: Come on out!

Even in a dimly lit room, you can always spot Luna by her eyes. Here she peeks out from among the glass tables (with a book of San Francisco photos in the foreground).

I'm sure she'll come out and say hi as we get ready to host Weekend Cat Blogging #104. As always, leave your links in the comments section or contact me if you prefer. Newcomers are always welcome.

I will post the round-up over the course of the weekend, so definitely come back a few times to see all the cats.