Cats

Maneki-Tekno

I love this! A maneki-neko turned into a DIY electronic musical instrument. I need to make one of these and will definitely be following up with the creators and curators for more. I do regret not seeing this in person as it was at the Center for New Music here in San Francisco, but this was 2020 and we know how that was.

Fortunately, we can all see some scenes from this video show via this link.

Happy Gotcha Day Big Merp!

It was two years ago that Marlon, aka “Big Merp” came to live with us at CatSynth HQ! We had already known him for a while, but circumstances arose where he needed to find a new permanent home, and we were more than happy to oblige.

We first met him in 2018. He was living on the street in the Temescal section of Oakland, California.

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Life on the streets can be rough, and it showed on his face. But he was incredibly friendly and loved people, and enjoyed coming indoors to hang out. He was clearly a former house cat, likely abandoned. We’re glad we found him and gave him a home. The posh indoor life has been good to him.

Big Merp is a “synth cat” – he loves to get up on the main instrument desk to be close to the action. There is the iconic photo lounging with the Novation LaunchPad Pro and Arturia MicroFreak above, as well as many others.

Although he bonded with the humans right away (including visitors), things were a bit more difficult with Sam Sam. She was not happy with this newcomer to her home and tried her best to avoid him for quite a while. Over time, however, her confidence returned and the two grew more comfortable with each other’s presence. They may not be the best of friends, but they do at least accept one another and share space.

Please join us in wishing Big Merp a very happy second Gotcha Day!

Blixa and Sasha in the Studio (Roland and Arturia)

Blixa and Sasha are sitting together in the studio. We see Roland TR 707 and TR-8S rhythm machines, along with an Arturia DrumBrute. From Neil Parker via Facebook. 💕

I love these fluffy things more than anything.

I know the feeling. They are indeed so precious to us.

You can see more of Blixa and Sasha via Blixa’s tag on CatSynth.