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Category: Cats

  • Weekend Cat Blogging #105, Part 2 – Gotcha Day (June 10)

    Today we celebrate the second anniversary of “Gotcha Day”, the day that Luna was adopted. Please see Part 1, with photos from Luna's first day in her new home two years ago.

    Well, she's all grown up now, and sitting at the bar ready to celebrate:

    Besides getting to eat at the bar, which is generally verboten, we have a special culinary treat for the occasion. Who needs cheezburger when you can has ahi tuna sashimi?

    Luna was definitely interested in checking out the fishy goodness, but after a few sniffs, licks and nibbles she lost interest. One thing about Luna is that she is a very picky eater. So its a lot like taking a kid to a fancy restaurant for something special, only to have him/her insist on their favorite comfort foods like macaroni and cheese. Fortunately, I love tuna sashimi and helped myself to all but three of her pieces, which I let her keep for later.

    Luna could probably learn a thing or two about the pleasures of fresh raw tuna from Upsie, who is again hosting hosting WCB again along with sher. Update: you can see the big WCB roundup here.

    Of course, we all still love Luna even if she is a picky eater…




    hey, Luna Tuna, that rhymes!

  • Weekend Cat Blogging #105, Part 1 – Gotcha Day (June 10)

    “Gotcha Day” is the day a feline companion is adopted, a fact that we at CatSynth did not know before last week, when we helped celebrate multiple Gotcha Days for fellow cat bloggers during WCB 104.

    Well this weekend is Luna's Gotcha Day, also known around here as the “Lunaversary.” I adopted Luna from the Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter on June 10, 2005. She was 7 months old at the time. Here are a couple of many photos I took that day:

    Luna was quick to come out an explore her new surroundings, which was for the first evening limited to the bathroom. She quickly gravitated towards the softest object in the room and started kneading and purring, a habit she retains to this day.

    Of course, the kitty bed has been largely ignored since she discovered my bed, where she often kneads a little nest and beds down for a nap.

    It's interesting to look back and see how she's grown in the last two years.

    The festivities for “Gotcha Day”, such as they are, will have to wait until tomorrow. I'm sure our friends Sher and Upsie will indulge us in a two-part Weekend Cat Blogging for the occasion. In the meantime, visit them for WCB 105, complete with squirrels. Update: you can see the big WCB roundup here.

  • CatSynth: "Me, a synthesizer, and a cat."

    No, not “me”, but leslie.paige at flickr. Her photo comes to us via matrixsynth:

    Leslie says the she found the cat “near a dumpster.” We at CatSynth are always happy to hear about cats being rescued.

    He reminds me a lot of Morty, who some readers might remember from this post.

    Morty was also a rescue. He was found as a kitten by a rescue group and raised until he was ready for adoption. He was the original “Supa-Bad Kitty,” and quite a mischief-maker, really the opposite of Luna in a lot of ways. I still miss him sometimes, though.

  • Mr. Lee CatCam

    Thanks to our friend matrix for finding this site. Although not musical, it is nonetheless an example of cats and technology. The project involves modifying an inexpensive digital camera to be wearable by a cat and take periodic photos as said cat goes about his/her daily routine. The site contains a lot of technical information, but most interesting are the photos from the cat's various excursions. There are several under-car views and feline encounters.



  • Xiaohei and the Effector13 Soda Meiser

    Via our friend at sendling:

    Cats seem to like those effector13 pedals.

  • Peace Globes June 2007

    I think the photo says it all.
    Find out more about today's Peace Globe blog event by visiting Mimi (no relation to our Italian synth-loving feline Mimi) and sign up.

  • CatSynth pics: cat and toy keyboard

    From Ben of br'er we have these really cute photos of a cat playing with (or at least playing near) a toy keyboard:

    Readers may remember Ben and br'er from the infamous CatSynth Tatoo.

  • 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.)

  • CatSynth pic: Doepfer and FAT "Cat" Controller

    Via matrixsynth:

    Two shots via Loren
    Doepfer modular
    Frostwave FAT Controller

  • 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.