WCB

Weekend Cat Blogging: 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.  For Weekend Cat Blogging, we at CatSynth present some of the cats that are featured in the windows and available for adoption.

While many of the cats go about their normal routines, this particular youngster was hamming it up for the visitors (and their cameras):

Like most holiday window displays, there is an overarching theme to the decor. This year was probably my favorite to date, as it featured scenes reminiscent of New York City during the holidays, with patches of snow on tall buildings, sidewalks and bridges. I particularly liked how the display featured this steel bridge converted into a walkway (and comfortable sleeping platform) for the cats:

At one point during my visit, one of the black kittens came over to play with the sleeping orange kitten:

The black kitten wanted to play and “make friends”, alternately batting and grooming the other one, who seemed to have no interest whatsoever. A similar scene ensued with the two older cats below the bridge, where the darker one came over and started enthusiastically grooming the lighter cat, who was less than enthusiastic about this. Nonetheless, all the antics provided an added dimension to the visit.

You can read more about the program at the official Macy’s SF/SPCA Holiday Windows site. This year, they are also provide live streaming video for those who cannot come to see the windows in person, including mobile streaming page for iPad/iPhone/iPod devices:

The SF SPCA is of course welcoming donations to support this program and all its other efforts.

Weekend Cat Blogging #289 is hosted by the tireless Nikita Cat at Meowsings of an Opinionated Pussycat.

The Carnival of the Cats will up on Sunday at When Cats Attack!

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

Weekend Cat Blogging #288: Saturation

We at CatSynth are feeling pretty saturated this weekend, particularly with music and social events.  But that doesn’t stop us from posting some recent unsaturated images of Luna:

Probably not the best pictures from a technical point of view (they were taken with odd lighting and at high ISO, the “setting of last resort”). But they still seem precious in their way.

Weekend Cat Blogging #288 is to be hosted by Salome at PaulChens FoodBlog?!

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

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator

Weekend Cat Blogging: Homecoming (temporary)

With delays in the construction at CatSynth HQ, I decided to bring Luna home for the weekend. It is nice to have her home, even though it is only temporary.

As one can see in the above image, things are a bit out of place in anticipation of the work, but that doesn’t stop us from enjoying our time here. Here we see Luna checking out a new toy (a birthday present from a friend of ours):

Note the picture frames neatly resting on the stairs behind her. Much of the artwork (paintings, prints, etc.) had to be moved as well.

Weekend Cat Blogging #287 is at Mind of Mog.

Kashim, Othello and Salome are pulling double duty this weekend, hosting both the weekly Carnival of the Cats and the monthly Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos. We suspect they are going to be busy.

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

Weekend Cat Blogging: Tiger!

For this Weekend Cat Blogging, we present a particularly magnificent cat:

This is a Malayan tiger, though as one may be able to tell from the vegetation it is not in its native Malaysia, but rather is at the Bronx Zoo in New York.

It is hard to watch one of these tigers and not immediately see the similarities to the domestic cats that share our homes:

Like many other tiger species, the Malayan tiger is very endangered, with possibly only a few hundred left in the wild. The Bronx Zoo has a breeding program and recently saw the arrival of three cubs, though I did not get a chance to see them personally.

Weekend Cat Blogging #286 is hosted by Othello at PaulChens FoodBlog?!

The Carnival of the Cats will be hosted this Sunday by Nikita Cat.

And the Friday Ark is at the mouldator.

Weekend Cat Blogging: Studio Cat

I came across this cat at Islais Creek Studios during Open Studios back in October:

The studios are located in a building in a very industrial area that I have featured numerous times on CatSynth – appropriately, many of the artists there do metal sculptures. It was also at this same location last spring that I encountered this “industrial cat”. In contrast to the very skittish stray cat in the spring, this cat was quite domestic and seemed quite healthy and well fed. The nearby food and water dishes attest to that:

I didn’t get a chance to ask anyone about the cat, but it would seem the denizens of Islais Creek Studios have adopted some of their neighborhood cats. I for one am happy to so this, they bring some life into the industrial spaces, and from my own experience cats can be a source of comfort and support during the artistic process.

I have actually seen quite a few cats in recent weeks during my wanderings around the industrial sections of the city – I might ultimately put these and other images together into a full set.

Weekend Cat Blogging #284 will be hosted by Salome at Paulchens FoodBlog?!”.

The Carnival of the Cats will be up this Sunday at One Cat’s Nip.

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

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: Hallowe’en Black Cat Edition

We at CatSynth are happy to be hosting Weekend Cat Blogging #282: Hallowe’en Black Edition. It has become a bit of a tradition for us to host every year and celebrate black cats.

There is no shortage of symbolism linking black cats and Hallowe’en, in cards and signs, trinkets and decorations.

There is also no shortage of discussion about the treatment of black cats around this time of year, and many animal shelters continue to suspend adoptions of black cats around Hallowe’en, or during the entire month of October. The concern that seems to have the most credibility is that of people adopting black cats as “living decorations” for holiday, and then bringing them back to the shelter afterwards. From a recent article on Catster:

“There’s really no documentation that shows any cruelty,” said Stephen Wright, a spokesman for the Naples Humane Society. “We pretty much think it’s an urban legend.”…However, “we screen people really well, especially around Halloween when it comes to black cats, to see if they really want a cat or just a decoration,” Wright said.

Personally, I would worry much about “ritualistic cruelty”, which seems as much myth and stereotype of some people’s beliefs as those surrounding black cats themselves. But I would be concerned about pranks or impulsive acts. The image of an adolescent boy harming a cat around Hallowe’en to impress his peers seems all too real to me.

So let us keep our cats safely indoors this holiday season, and focus on celebration and love. Black is beautiful!

And without further ado, let us get on with the WCB round-up. If you would like to join us, please leave a comment below, or tweet us @catsynth with the hash tag #weekendcatblogging. We would of course love to have lots of fellow black cats join us, but all felines are welcome!

Another tradition of Hallowe’en is pumpkin displays, and Nikita Cat presents street scenes featuring cats and pumpkins, in southern California.

He also explains that the penchant for scary stories cuts across species.

Over at House Panthers, Tillie would like to wish a Happy Hallowe’en to all the black cats (and everyone else). Those are some very impressive teeth!

Meanwhile, Tillie’s brother Mickey is also celebrating Hallowe’en, and his anniversary with Misses Peach. He is will be going out this year as “Count Mickula”. (Of course, we mean “going out” in a staying-safe-indoors sort of way.) He and the rest of his family have this nice card for the holiday, and we of course appreciate the musical theme.

More costume fun with Samantha, Clementine and Maverick. They all seem quite patient in posing for their official photos, we hope they got lots of treats.

Earnie of the Island Cats wishes everyone a Happy Hallowe’en via his special laser-eye messaging technique:

Jules, Vincent and Judi also wish everyone a Happy Hallowe’en, and have offered this beautiful and stylized portrait:

Meanwhile, EJ had a harrowing Hallowe’en at The Chair Speaks as one of the rescue cats had a scary complication from an old operation.

Noll offers up a Hallowe’en-themed Smilebox for everyone to enjoy.  Among the featured photos is one of Noll’s cousin Gizmo “getting his spooky on”.

We always enjoy hearing from other cats named Luna, and here we see Luna T. Katt modeling a pumpkin costume (and not looking particularly pleased about it):

And finally, the cats at PAWS want to wish everyone happy and safe Hallowe’en!

Thanks to everyone who submitted this weekend! We will continue to post updates throughout the day and into early Monday, so there is still time to join us.

And while this may nothing to do with cats or holiday per se, it is still the first time that the orange and black of the San Francisco Giants has been represented on Hallowe’en! Here’s to hoping that our neighbors (literally) win tonight and ultimately win the series in November!

Weekend Cat Blogging and Photo Hunt: naranja

The theme for this week’s combined Weekend Cat Blogging and Photo Hunt is ORANGE.  So here is a series of photos in which Luna encounters our large stuffed fish, appropriately named “Big Fishy”.

For the last couple of years, Big Fishy has mostly been in the closet (no pun intended).  But we took the opportunity to bring him out for this week’s theme.   It may not be the most seasonal interpretation of orange, but we do have a black cat.

It also occurs to me that yesterday’s photo also fits today’s orange theme.

Weekend Cat Blogging #281 is hosted by Nikita and Elivra at Meowsing of an Opinionated Pussycat. Check out their latest “street scenes” of cats from their neighborhood in southern California.

And the Weekend Cat Blogging Hallowe’en Edition will be hosted right here at CatSynth next weekend!

Photo Hunt #236 is hosted by tnchick. This week’s theme is orange.

The Carnival of the Cats is hosted by Kashim, Othello and Salome.

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

Weekend Cat Blogging and Photo Hunt: miniature

The theme for today’s combined Weekend Cat Blogging and Photo Hunt is miniature. And we happen to have a “miniature” version of Luna:

The little stuffed kitty Zip has appeared in numerous posts, including our coverage earlier this year of the NAMM show. Of course Luna is curious about her miniature alter ego and comes over to investigate:

Weekend Cat Blogging #280 is hosted by Sam, Clem, Mav & GDB. (Mav and GDB are canine and human, respectively, but that’s ok.)

Photo Hunt 235 is hosted by tnchick. This week’s theme is miniature.

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

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.

Weekend Cat Blogging and Photo Hunt: Stripes

I had been planning to post these very cute photos of Luna in her perch at the top of the stairs for Weekend Cat Blogging, and the just happen to be perfect for this week’s Photo Hunt theme of stripes:

No need to say much here. I think Luna speaks for herself quite well through these images:

Weekend Cat Blogging #279 is being hosted by Kashim, Othello and Salome at PaulChens FoodBlog?! The are going PINK this weekend for breast cancer awareness.

Photo Hunt #234 is hosted by tnchick. This week’s theme is stripes.

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

And the Friday Ark is at the modulator.