Weekend Cat Blogging with Sam Sam: ¡Que Calor!

It is hot here in San Francisco. In fact, yesterday was the hottest day on record in nearly 150 years. From The Examiner;

Hours after this post was originally written, a new downtown San Francisco temperature record was set at 106 degrees, according to the National Weather Service.

I love heat. Indeed, my ideal temperature is higher than some friends and colleagues’ comfort zones. But this is too hot for even me. Which means it’s a bit unbearable for poor Sam Sam.

Sam Sam in the shade

She has been strategically lying in spots that are shaded, as in the photo above where she is lying underneath a small table and a mounted crash cymbal. She does love her sunshine, though, so keeps going back to the window to bask for a few minutes.

As the temperature continues to climb inside of CatSynth HQ, I have also set up space with a towel and cold pack for her.

Sam Sam resting with a cold pack

The heatwave is expected to diminish a bit tomorrow. In the meantime, I suspect we are going to be taking it easy for the remainder of the afternoon.

Weekend Cat Blogging with Luna: Under the Glass

Luna under the glass

We’re in the midst of a heatwave in San Francisco, and CatSynth HQ gets exceptionally warm on these days. It’s on warm sunny days like this that Luna is especially of fond of napping underneath glass tables.

It’s been nice featuring Luna three times in the past week on the blog, but hopefully I will have some time for other posts as well, including getting through the backlog of music and art reviews from the past month or so.


Carnival of the Cats will be coming to Pet’s Garden Blog this Sunday.

Weekend Cat Blogging: Talking and Heatwave

Luna is often quite talkative in the morning. Recently, she started launching into a long monologue while I had my iPhone handy to capture it.

Of course, she gets some scritches at the end. I am always curious what it is she is trying to say.


It has been quite warm the last few days in San Francisco, and CatSynth HQ always tends to run a bit hotter than its surroundings.

Luna tries to balance lying in the sun while trying to stay a bit cool in her fur suit.


Tomorrow (October 16) is National Feral Cat Day (who knew?).

Alley Cat Allies launched National Feral Cat Day on our 10th anniversary in 2001 to raise awareness about feral cats, promote Trap-Neuter-Return, and recognize the millions of compassionate Americans who care for them.

Events will be taking place around the United States to demonstrate compassion and support humane treatment of all cats. Follow the link to the map to see if there is an event near you. I also like the poster.


Weekend Cat Blogging #332 is hosted by Jules and Vincent at Judi’s Mind Over Matter. Jules is looking very Luna-like in his black-and-white portrait 🙂

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

Weekend Cat Blogging #283: Heatwave (in November)

It was a rather intense week here, with the San Francisco Giants victory, the elections, and the backdrop of exceptionally warm weather in November!  It was hot and humid, and even stayed warm enough at night to spend time outdoors.  For Luna, the heat means stretching out, relaxing, and waiting for things to cool down.

I quite enjoy the heat – especially the rare treat of a warm night – but Luna clearly does not.  I left the ceiling fans running for her, and a cold towel. The weather has cooled down quite a bit this weekend.  And the energy of the city will hopefully start to return to normal as well.


Weekend Cat Blogging #283 is hosted by Patchouli and Pam at sidewalk shoes.

Carnival of the Cats will be hosted this Sunday by Meowza at iMeowza

The monthly Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos is hosted by Nikita at Meowsings of an Opinionated Pussycat.

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

Weekend Cat Blogging #274 and Photo Hunt: Heatwave

Summer has finally arrived with a heatwave that brought even San Francisco into the mid 90s F (30s C).  And our apartment tends to get even warmer:

Luna was a bit uncomfortable in the heat, but it was a good excuse to nap (as if cats need an excuse for that).  And a napping cat is a good excuse for experimenting with the camera (such as fun with low f-stop settings):

It’s been another busy week – yes, that is a familiar phrase here at CatSynth – and I haven’t been home very much.  So I left fans running for Luna, and even a small ice pad out for her on the hottest day. I think we’re both a little tired out, physically and mentally.  But it’s a long three-day weekend, and the fog has once again returned with its calming and creative influence.  I think we will enjoy it.


Weekend Cat Blogging #274 is hosted by the handsome pair Jules and Vincent at Judi’s Mind over Matter. Jules, the black cat, often appears when we host WCB, so we’re returning the favor this week.

Photo Hunt 229 is hosted by tnchick, with the apropos theme of Hot.

The Carnival of the Cats will be hosted this Sunday by Kashim, Othello and Salome.

The monthly Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos will be hosted by Nikita and Elvira at Meowings of an Opinionated Pussycat.

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

Weekend Cat Blogging: Enjoying the outdoors.

Our weather continues to be unusually warm and sunny (considering the reputation of San Francisco summers from Mark Twain’s apocryphal comment). And Luna continues to enjoy time out in our little urban garden.

Here we see her strolling:

And stopping to pose in front a metal screen sculpture:

Right now, we have two sculptures outdoors: the black metal screen, and the rusted metal work Pierced Screen by J. Michael Smiley.

This weekend is looking to be exceptionally warm again (well into the 90s in this neighborhood), so Luna has wisely retreated indoors.


Weekend Cat Blogging #221 is being hosted by Mr. Tigger at the M-Cats Club.

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

And of course the Friday Ark is the modulator. But it looks like they are moving to a new “Modulator Manor”. Recalling the chaos but subsequent rewards when we moved to the new CatSynth HQ, we wish them well!

Weekend Cat Blogging: The Heat

The temperature hit 97F (35C) yesterday, which is exceptionally hot for San Francisco. Felt great to me, but it's a bit too much for the ketzela.

Here we see Luna trying to beat the heat resting under her new favorite table:

Even in the heat, she seems to have a sense of style. And fun. Note the cardboard furniture box to the left. Luna has always been fond of cardboard boxes, and this new one is no exception. Lots of fun for the teeth and claws, especially when you don't have to move far to reach it.

Like we said, this has been an exceptionally warm few days. It is famously cold and foggy during the summer months (June, July and August), though less so in our neighborhood. But it has been delightful to spend warm evenings out on the patio; and that “incipient warmth” in the morning, where the air still has a chill but one can feel it disappearing quickly. And with the energy of the city all around us…


It's never too hot for Weekend Cat Blogging, which is going on at Chey's Place.

The Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos is returning home to the Bad Kitty Cats Journal this weekend.

The Carnival of Cats will be going up this Sunday at Artsy Catsy

And of course the Friday Ark is at the modulator.