Luna

Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos #43

We welcome everyone to the 43rd Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos. And, not surprisingly, we have some chaos with the official Blog Carnival site being out of service as the weekend began. But we still have many cats who joined us, so let's get started.

The theme of the week's festival is music, art and technology. And the cat boys Kashim and Othello get us started with their talents in singing and music criticism.

Over at Life from a Cat's Perspective, Samantha shows off her skills in the visual arts. Meanwhile, Mr. Tigger goes techno.

The kittens at Sleeping Mommy are all extremely cute . But Colby has found a pair of headphones, for some music and relaxation.

It looks to us like Cece is about to break into song at iInfidel. But he prefers this photo to the one posted at Mind of Mog.

Gree reminds us that “a sleeping cat is a work of art” at the House of the (Mostly) Black Cats.

Cheysuli takes to the road and presents Find Chey Friday posted at Chey’s Place.

We're not the only ones who thing about wild cats. As wild cats move into cities, it raises some significant issues. A few of these are discussed on Everyone Needs Therapy/

Meanwhile, at Pet's Garden Blog, SonnyBob wants to know .. where are da fishies

Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos is coming to CatSynth

We are going to be hosting the Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos here at CatSynth this weekend.

The optional theme is music, art, or technology.

To participate, submit your aticle, submit your post to festivalofchaos at gmail dot com or contact us.

More fun can be found at Weekend Cat Blogging with Kashim and Othello and Astrid.

The Carnival of the Cats is coming this Sunday to Grace and Kittens.

And of course the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

Weekend Cat Blogging: Wildcats, House Panthers and "erf day"

Luna continues to enjoy her “House Panther” status and all the warm compliments. But this weekend, we celebrate cats both domestic and wild, just as we did last year on Earth Day (or “erf day”).

We start again with the Cat Specialist Group of the World Conservation Union (CSG), but focusing on something positive. They are featuring a study of the jungle cat (Felis chaus) and leopard cat (Prionailurus bengalensis), pictured to the right:

The family Felidae is well represented in India, with 15 species occurring here, making it the richest in cats worldwide. However, except for the large cats the rest figure very poorly in research and conservation policies in the country, probably because of their rarity and elusive nocturnal habits, coupled with cumbersome bureaucratic formalities in studying rare species. Fortunately, in the past few years non-invasive molecular techniques have been introduced in wildlife research in India, which has made small cat research easier.

Another endangered cat of India and Southeast Asia is the Fishing Cat. It is a close relative of the leopard cat, and shares some of the same habitat. However, the fishing cat (not surprisingly) is better adapted to hunting and eating fish, and is an excellent swimmer.

The fishing cat is one of many species featured in The Smithsonian National Zoo's Cat Conservation Project.

Note that these are all “small cats”, which often do not get the attention of the larger cat species, which are of course magnificent and also seriously endangered in many cases. Certainly, the small cats share some of the endearing qualities in appearance to our domestic felines (which are believed to be descendants of African wild cats).

Few wild cats resemble their domestic counterparts more than the Oncilla of South America. However, it seems relatively little is known about this species of cat. According to the CSG, it has never been studied in the wild, and little is known about its behavior or population. However, it is been trapped in the past for the fur trade:

n 1971, 28,000 pelts were counted in Brazilian warehouses, and in 1983, 84,500 skins were exported from Paraguay (Broad 1988)

The Oncilla closely resembles the better known Margay, which inhabits both Central and South America, and is not considered endangered. They are skillful tree climbers, and sometimes referred to as “Tree Ocelots,” taking the name from one of the more well-known wild cats of the Americas.

If you interested in this topic, please visit last year's article, which discusses some of the worlds most endangered cats, including the Iberian Lynx, which continues to be the most endangered in the world, with an estimated population in the hundred. Also, the intriguing little Andean Mountain Cat, illustrated to the right.

And speaking of house panthers…

Weekend Cat Blogging #151 is hosted by Luna's “twin” Puddy, along with Katie of A Byootaful Life.

And that's not all. The Carnival of the Cats is being hosted by the Diamond Emerald Eyes (whose mom created Luna's collage at the top of this article) at House Panthers!

The Bengal Brats may not be “house panthers”, but we still love them. They are hosting the Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos at Pet's Garden Blog.

And lest we forget, the friday ark is at the modulator.

Weekend Cat Blogging: Luna and Geometry

Cats, geometry, mathematics and art have been a theme of late here at CatSynth.

Remember this photo of Luna next to one of our geometric glass tables? Well, Luna seems to quite enjoy spending time in and around it. So there is now quite a collection of photos contrasting her organic shapes with the linear geometry of her surroundings:

We had some more surreal green kitties this past Wednesday. And Luna gets into the “green theme” as well:

And with Earth Day approaching, “green” seems quite appropriate. Of course, it's always green here at CatSynth with Luna's emerald eyes.

Weekend Cat Blogging #150 is being hosted by Mog, Meowza and Cece at Mind of Mog.

The Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos will be held at the Cat Blogosphere.

This Sunday, the Carnival of the Cats will be hosted by Aloyisius at Catymology.

And of course the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

Midnight Monday: Heat

As mentioned yesterday, it got quite warm here at CatSynth HQ. And while the heat energizes me, it was probably a bit too much for Luna:

It's interesting how Luna likes to keep a paw near the metal cables when she rests in her favorite spot.

Opening some windows and running our ceiling fans cooled things down nicely, and the ketzela was soon up and about.

This morning is a bit breezier, and it's supposed to much cooler – but the air has that “summer” feel and aroma to it. Of course, the “real” summer around here is fog cover, so we should enjoy the sunshine and heat while we can.

Check out more black cats for Midnight Monday at House Panthers. Today, they are featuring Madness from Random Drift.

Let's crack open all the windows!

Weekend Cat Blogging and more: A beautiful and sad weekend

It's been a weekend of contradictions, of warmth and fun and rest and work and excitement and fear and sadness.

We lost a friend and former colleague this past week. But we also got to see friends we haven't seen in quite a while. We are still saddened and worried at frightened for our feline friends caught in a terrible fire (UPDATE: we just heard that they are alive!). But we continue to settle into our own home, and things are taking shape.

And it's been warm and sunny hear at CatSynth HQ, perhaps the best weekend since we moved to the city. And there is so much to do, both fun and work, but at the same time we just want to lie around, and enjoy a little of what's important.

We have watched our friends, locally and online, deal with much sadness and tragedy over the past few months. For us, there is an exciting but anxious new life beginning.

Sometimes it's hard to write. But here we are.

A special edition of Weekend Cat Blogging will be jointly hosted by A Byootaful Life, HotMBC and Kashim and Othello at the Cat Blogopshere.

Kashim and Othello are pulling double-duty, actually, as they are also hosting Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos.

The Carnival of the Cats will be hosted today by Mr. Tigger at M-Cats Club.

And of course the Friday Ark is at modulator.