Cats

Weekend Cat Blogging and Photo Hunt: Sweet

Sometimes a theme can be so easy that it becomes a challenge.  Such is the case with this week’s Photo Hunt theme of sweet. Luna is the embodiment of sweetness, and the number of images in the CatSynth archives documenting this can be a bit overwhelming. So we start with the present. Luna often parks herself nearby my workstation in the studio/office and watches quietly. There is something quite sweet about her presence:

There is something very sweet about a sleeping cat, curled up and peaceful:

and of course getting pets and affection:

In retrospect, this really was not difficult at all.

Weekend Cat Blogging #252 is being hosted by our friend Nikita at Meowsings of an Opinionated Pussycat.

Photo Hunt #207 is hosted by tnchick. This week’s theme is sweet.

The Carnival of the Cats will be up this Sunday at Mind of Mog.

The Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos will be hosted this weekend Samantha and Clementine.

And the friday ark is at the modulator.

Weekend Cat Blogging and Photo Hunt: Cuddly

This weekend we once again combine Weekend Cat Blogging and the Photo Hunt, taking advantage of the rather easy them of cuddly.

Of course, Luna is very cuddly, and we have hundreds of photos in the CatSynth archives to prove it. But she also seeks this quality from her environment and the objects around her. Readers may recall the blue fish that Luna received as a holiday gift. She took to it right away, and is still quite fond of it. A few weeks ago I found her carrying it around and lying down with it in the studio, much as child would treat a favorite stuffed animal.

I even found her using it as a pillow:

I think that clearly qualifies as “cuddly.”

Coincidentally, I composed a jazz piece almost 20 (!) years ago called “The Blue Fish.” It might be fun to dust it of and try playing it again one of these days…

Weekend Cat Blogging #246 is being hosted by Billy Sweetfeets. He is also celebrating his Gotcha Day.

Photo Hunt #201 is hosted as always by tnchick. This week’s theme is “cuddly.”

Carnival of the Cats #310 will be up this Sunday at When Cats Attack.

And of course the Friday Ark #283 is at the modulator.

Weekend Cat Blogging: Holiday Windows

This weekend, we present some of the cats featured in the Macy’s SF/SPCA Holiday Windows. Every year during the holidays, San Francisco SPCA teams up with Macy’s in San Francisco to feature adoptable pets in the holiday window displays at their main store in Union Square.

Here are couple of kittens in one window:

and this handsome black cat:

Many passers-by in this busy shopping district were surprised and delighted by the live animals in the displays.   We at CatSynth certainly hope that some of these animals, including the cats featured above, find new homes as a result of this program.

To find out more about the program, including when to see the animals and how you can contribute, please visit the official Macy’s SF/SPCA Holiday Windows site.

Weekend Cat Blogging #238 will be hosted by our friends at the House of the (Mostly) Black Cats.

Carnival of the Cats will be going up this Sunday at When Cats Attack!.

And of course the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

Happy Holidays!

Carnival of the Cats #299

Luna and I welcome everyone to Carnival of the Cats #299.

We have unfortunately been experiencing technical difficulties with the main Blog Carnival submissions page. So this week’s Carnival is a little on the spare side. But we’re here for all the cats who made it, and we will leave the Carnival open for submissions through Monday by leaving a comment on this post. So without further adieu, here are the cats:

First up, Nikita reports on his recent visit to the Vet at Musings of a MadMacedonian. Looks like Nikita survived the experience and came home with a little less fur, but a few more “rewards” waiting for him. We at CatSynth also like the artwork in his vet’s office.

At Laurence Simon’s This Blog is Full of Crap, Piper is remembered and missed. Check out the video of Piper lashing her tail. “She was such a strange little cat.”

At Mind of Mog, Meowza demonstrates advanced yoga positions as part of his Wordless Wednesday offering.  He also reminds us that cleanliness and wordlessness go together. On the complete opposite end of the spectrum is his reaction to receiving his secret paws package today.

One thing that comes with the holiday season is an increase in sickness. This seems to hold true not only for humans, but cats as well, and the cats a When Cats Attack are dealing with the own round of plague and pestilence. We certainly hope they recover soon.

Sniffie and the other cats at Friends FurEver wish their canine family members a Happy 9th Birthday. We can’t think of a better present for a pair of handsome dogs than to be featured in a blog article devoted to cats :).

Sounds like things are getting a bit cold in Houston, and although Momma Grace and Company received almost no snow, it sounds like they got a decent covering of frost. Frost and snow are certainly pretty, but the cats have the right idea by staying toasty warm inside.

That concludes the Carnival of the Cats for now. If we missed you due to our technical difficulties, or you would like to be included, please let us know.

Weekend Cat Blogging: back on the patio

We had another warm weekend, so Luna and I enjoyed some late-October time out on the patio.

I particularly like this second photo, with its sparse quality. Luna and screen are discrete elements on the continuous field of stone squares.

Weekend Cat Blogging is being hosted this weekend by Samantha at the New Tuxedo Gang Hideout.

The Carnival of the Cats will be up today at When Cats Attack!.

The friday ark is at the modulator.

And don’t forget that Weekend Cat Blogging Hallowe’en Edition will be right here at CatSynth next Saturday!

Weekend Cat Blogging and Art Review: Street Cats in San Francisco

It is relatively rare for me to encounter cats on my frequent walks around the city, especially in the more downtown or industrial sections near home. However, once in while I do see them, and in September I managed to even find a couple that sat still long enough to be photographed.

I espied this cat in on a front stoop in the Mission District, on my way to the Moe!kestra performance at Cellspace:


[click to enlarge.]

Though his face suggests a “don’t mess with me” attitude, he was actually quite friendly. He came up to greet me and even gave a couple of head butts.

On my way from the closing performances of the APAture Festival to Cartography of the Synchronous Telemtrist at the Community Music Center (also in the Mission District), I saw this cat on the sidewalk, and managed to get this particularly good photograph.

On the same walk, I came across a series of art installations in windows on 24th street. There was one installation at 24th and Treat, a tribute to a cat named Fred who had recently past away.

The painting, by artist D’arci Bruno, presides over a series of photographs and notes of remembrance left by Fred’s human and friends and family. I came back the next day to get a better look at the installation, and hopefully learn a little bit more about Fred, or about the project. There has been a lot of recent storefront art in the city, including the Present Tense Biennial and a Art in Storefronts project of the San Francisco Arts Commission. However, this piece was quite touching, perhaps because it was the surprise that I just happened to walk by, and of course because it memorialized a cat.

Weekend Cat Blogging is hosted by LB and breadchick at The Sour Dough.

The Carnival of the Cats will be up this Sunday at Mind of Mog.

And of course the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

Carnival of the Cats 290

We at CatSynth welcome everyone to the 290th Carnival of the Cats!

With our continued technical problems with CatSynth, it was a bit of a challenge to get this done before Sunday became a day other than Sunday, but here we are, and without further delay let us continue with the carnival…

First up, we have this textured and tender photograph from jams o donnell at The Poor Mouth.

More photography, this time a study in beige featuring Hakuna of Blog d’Elisson. Of course we prefer the official title of Latte e Cioccolatto.

At Elms in the Yard, Catschka is getting into all sorts of trouble. First she stalks an unsuspecting Her Ladyship, and then gets up on the neighbor’s sukkah without permission (for those unfamiliar with the Jewish holiday of Sukkot, go look it up). There is also a visit from Ms. Neighborcat.

Meowza’s activities are a bit more mundane, as he celebrates “Finally Friday” at Mind of Mog by washing himself.

Maddie of StrangeRanger has the right idea for this now-waning weekend: take it easy.

Diamond Emerald Eyes, who is also hosting Weekend Cat Blogging, has information on the HAPPY bill, a “very impurrrtant bill in House would allow pet caregivers to take a deduction on their tackes for pet care. We urge all humans, write to their representative supporting this bill!” It’s a start, but we at CatSynth would prefer to see the public option added to the bill.

At The Cat Post Intelligencer, there are lots of things the Cheysuli and family are thankful for this week, including this photo:

Autumn is coming, and Willow is enjoying the cooler weather, and very contentedly sits on the porch and watches for chipmunks.

Meanwhile, China Cat rediscovers her cozy bed as a preferred way to cope with the cooler weather. That certainly sounds like a good plan to us.

October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month, and sammawow presents Jeter’s Mom’s Breast Cancer 3-day walk, where is taking place here in San Francisco this weekend. Please visit and find out more about this great cause.

A final note, our friends and frequent hosts of Weekend Cat Blogging Samantha and Mr Tigger are missing! We are sending good thoughts and hope they are safely home again soon.

That concludes this week’s Carnival. Thanks for joining us. Next week, the carnival returns to Mind of Mog.