weekend cat blogging

Weekend Cat Blogging #296

It looks like it’s going to be another beautiful morning here.  Luna maintains her routine on sunny mornings of bedding down on a dining room chair.  And while I am busy working, she is dreaming:

The Carnival of the Cats will be hosted here at CatSynth tomorrow! If you would like to participate, please fill out the handy submission form.

Weekend Cat Blogging #296 is being hosted by Pam at Sidewalk Shoes.

And the Friday Ark has returned at the modulator.

Like many, we have been hungrily following the events in Egypt (if by some chance, you are not following this, you should be) – and excited to see hopeful changes for the people there. While the focus is of course on the major political changes and peoples’ safety, I did look into stories about animals in the land that once worshipped cats as gods. Through this article, we did read about Egyptian Mau Rescue, and browsed the Facebook page for the Egyptian Society for Mercy to Animals. Ultimately, these visits ended up being a narrative about people and the challenges they face caring for animals amidst major upheaval.

Weekend Cat Blogging #295

Weekend Cat Blogging #295 will be hosted by…wait, it’s being hosted by us!

Weekend Cat Blogging (WCB) is a weekly event where bloggers share entries about cats, whether or not cats are the focus of their blogs.  We welcome longtime participants and newcomers.  If you would like to participate, please leave a comment below or tweet us @catsynth with hashtag #wcb.  We will add you to the roundup, which will appear below.

We are excited to have several first-time participants this week  First up, we have a visit from Catsparella where they are having their own Caturday roundup, featuring several cats including Miah, pictured above.

Aurelia from the blog Modern Woman also joins us for the first time with a post featuring Poppy, the neighbors’ kitten.  Poppy is very cute, but apparently not supposed to be in the garden. “As cute as she is, would you want to mess with the claws behind that face?”

Over at The Accidental English Teacher we have Oliver poking his head into the frame and wondering what could possibly be more interesting to look at than him.

Over at Pam’s Sidewalk Shoes, Patchouli demonstrates the fine art of napping.  And she does so in such tasteful surroundings.  On a side note, Pam and the cats are longtime participants, and several of the new participants this week found their way to CatSynth through them.

From Create With Joy, we have this expressive and detailed photograph of Tsunami.  Follow the link to see the full-sized version.  Meanwhile, Legend comments on the latest pantry items.

Uh oh, it looks like Clementine is being a bad kitty.  But it also looks like Samantha is ready on defense.  See the whole drama unfold at Life from a Cat’s Perspective.  (I have to admit, I was hoping for at least one combative post after finding out my #WCB hashtag on twitter is also being used for a boxing match.)

At Herman’s Hideaway, Herman is displeased with his busy mom.  This apparently involves the appearance of both the area vacuum (aka the “sucky monster”), but also the feline vacuum (aka the “furminator”).

I have to admit, I’m a little envious of the picture of Elvira, Nikita and their dad sharing a bed on a lazy Friday.  They look so relaxed.

Oh dear, “The Boys” and Karen over at Kittens ‘n Things had quite a few scares.  First, Bowie had a scary moment with his asthma.  Then, as they describe in the comments below, there was an explosion and fire in a neighbor’s garage.  Fortunately, no one was hurt.

Conrad is one of the many cats from PAWS in Norwalk, Connecticut, featured on Animal Volunteer Shelter Life.  He is apparently quite well read and keeps up with current events in the newspaper.  We hope he finds a permanent home soon.

Finally, we have this question from Mama Grace and Company: is Audace a cat in the manager? Look at the picture above and follow the link and decide for yourself.

That concludes Weekend Cat Blogging (for now).  Next week, we will be hosting Carnival of the Cats.

Weekend Cat Blogging #294: Looking out the Window

While many of our friends were dealing with snow, we enjoyed a some sunshine here in California this past week, even a bit of warmth. Here we see Luna intently looking out the window in a patch of strong afternoon sun:

I like the warm colors in this one, and the way it contrasts with her fur.

I also made this video. The original came out rather dark, but it was good for experimenting with black-and-white, digital grain effects and contrast. Wait until the end to hear Luna’s sweet little voice.

Weekend Cat Blogging #294 is hosted by Billy Sweetfeets. (Watch the french toast video at your own risk.)

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

And next week we will be hosting Weekend Cat Blogging here at CatSynth!

Weekend Cat Blogging and Photo Hunt: Shadow (with Hipstamatic)

For today’s combined Weekend Cat Blogging and Photo Hunt, we follow Luna in her favorite morning spot, the dining table. The bright sun from the southeast brings warmth to the surfaces and also casts strong shadows.

I am experimenting again with the Hipstamatic app for the iPhone, which simulates old lenses, film processes, etc. This particular lens was relatively clear but makes everything high contrast (a common theme in my photography). I also tried out another lens that has a rather streaky and overexposed quality:

The oversaturated image brings out contrast between the shadows and the sun patches.  It also has an interesting effect on Luna’s black fur.

Weekend Cat Blogging #293 is hosted by Samantha, Clementine and (honorary cat) Maverick at Life from a Cat’s Perspective.

Photo Hunt #248 is hosted by tnchick. This week’s theme is Shadow.

The Carnival of the Cats will be up tomorrow at iMeowza.

Weekend Cat Blogging #292: at rest

For today’s Weekend Cat Blogging, we see Luna enjoying a nap:

It seems like she has been resting a lot lately. It’s been cold, it’s been dark, she is probably channeling some of my own fatigue, and of course she is a cat.

We were briefly jolted yesterday by a 4.1-magnitude earthquake in the Bay Area. It was relatively long, but still quite mild. Luna was on alert though, her ears pointing straight up and her eyes growing exceptionally wide. She did not run for cover, though.

Weekend Cat Blogging #292 is hosted by Kashim, Othello and Salome at PaulChens FoodBlog ?!. I quite like the monochrome graphic they created for today:

The Carnival of the Cats will be hosted by Billy SweetFeets.

The friday ark remains on hiatus.

Weekend Cat Blogging: New Year and Photohunt:Fuzzy

We at CatSynth attempt to wake up to the new year…slowly.  Here is our first published photo of 2011:

The theme of this weekend’s Photo Hunt is fuzzy, which is easy with Luna around.  One can easily see the fuzziness of her thick winter fur.  Cats do seem to get thicker fur in the winter…and contrary to stereotypes, we do have a winter season in California.

This may end up being about as much as we do today.

Weekend Cat Blogging #291 New Years Edition is hosted by Pam and the cats at Sidewalk Shoes.

The Photo Hunt is hosted by tnchick. This week’s theme is Fuzzy.

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

And life goes on…

Weekend Cat Blogging #290

December 25 (Christmas) is a completely free day us.

After a season (and indeed, a year) that has been exceptionally hectic even by my own standards, such emptiness can be a bit jarring. One could catch up on the myriad creative projects and practical items that have been languishing, or just relax. Luna on the other hand has no problem with this whatsoever.

This is yet another lesson we should learn from our animal friends.

I would go for a walk downtown or along the highway structures, but with the blustery wind and stormy skies outside, it seems best to stay inside this morning with a warm cup of of coffee and a cat.  It also seems like a good morning for some 1950s/1960s minor-key jazz (actually, a lot of mornings are good for that).  Just imagine The Dave Brubeck Quartet’s Take Five or John Coltrane’s Equinox in the background with the pictures of Luna and you can glimpse Christmas morning at CatSynth HQ.

Weekend Cat Blogging #290, Holiday Edition is hosted by Jules and Vincent at Judi’s Mind Over Matter.

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

The Friday Ark is on hiatus for the holidays.

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.