Comments for April Kitten of the Month

Firestar's Excitement

Well, Firestar had some excitement yesterday afternoon. Shortly before suppertime a visitor arrived and sat atop the edge of our garage roof. Son brought Firestar to see and he sat and watched with interest as Father Duck stood and called for Mother Duck. They have been living in a tiny little decorative house at the neighbors. In the mornings and evenings they fly across the street to swim in the other neighbor's goldfish pond.

Here is our Mallard friend. Odd how the house across the street looks like it's only a few feet away. Father Duck stayed for about five or ten minutes before flying off to the pond.

And Here is Firestar's reaction of complete amazement.

Oh, to be a cat, huh? Unless someone locks you up inside. Right, Rufus? Don't fret it. Your week's almost over.
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Cats are So Subtle

Back when I was a teenager (in the "olden days") I worked at a pizza parlor. These were not fast food places then. They were bonafide restaurants. But that's not the point of this post. The owner put his sons in charge as managers. One of these managers was a very funny guy who used to do "The Man of 1,000 Faces". He was great. Can't say I saw him do 1,000 faces, but he did a lot.

Well, Firestar is so expressive I thought perhaps he could do the same. So, I had Firestar put on expressions of "fear", "anger", and "curiosity". Here are the results. Tell me what you think.

FEAR

ANGER

CURIOSITY

Isn't it just amazing what one can do with all of a cat's distinctive expressions?
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Time For Tidbits

From this site.

Of all families of predators the cat family is the one that varies most in size. Biggest of all is the tiger which may weigh several hundred kilos. The smallest of the small cats is the black-footed cat in South Africa which weighs only just over one kilo. There are many similarities between the two multi-specied genera. Both have retractable claws, all are stealth hunters, i.e. they approach their prey stealthily, and all except the cheetah are skilful climbers. All except the lion live alone.

The large cats can roar, but not the small cats.

Far to the north, the Norse goddess Freya, is portrayed as riding a chariot drawn by cats, and is always surrounded by cats. The Norse, being seafarers, revered shipboard cats for their rodent control abilities.

A 13th century Egyptian sultan left his entire fortune to the needy cats of Cairo. For many years afterward homeless cats received a free meal daily.

A cat's got her own opinion of human beings. She don't say much, but you can tell enough to make you anxious not to hear the whole of it. -- Jerome K. Jerome, English author

Cats seem to go on the principle that it never does any harm to ask for what you want. -- Joseph Wood Krutch
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Just an Idea in My Head

Got this idea which has been ruminating around in my head for a few weeks now. It intersects with other ideas on other things and takes energy from them. They bounce around like atomic particles. Quite fascinating to watch.

Anyway, I'm not sure I'm ready to implement it yet, but it's getting close. I think. Hope.

It's similar to what a bunch of us bloggers are doing on Legion of On-Line Super Heroes, only with real cat pictures. I can't honestly say which idea came first, but the Legion blog was hatched first. (The ideas feed on each other, and leave remnants as they pass, so they kind of cross-pollinate.)

This idea would NOT involve readers becoming writers, so don't get all panicky. This would be one of my writing projects. However, should anyone wish to add their creativity that would be fine with me. It's got some more cooking to do, but I wanted to throw a bit out just as a kind of taste test.
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Culture Lesson - Class #1012

Bevie wasn't going to have me post today, but I won out. It's important that we retain our culture.

The information for this post has been taken from this site.

California Spangled Cat

(picture taken from this site)

History

California Spangled is a recent breed. It was developed in 1980s by a California breeder, Paul Casey who wanted to create a domestic breed similar to endangered spotted wildcats. A complex breeding program including an Abyssinian-domestic shorthair cross, a British Shorthair, an American Shorthair, a feral cat from Cairo, a spotted Manx, and a Siamese produced the desired results after eleven generations. Presently, the breed is registered with the The International Cat Association (TICA) and is slowly working its way toward Championship status with TICA and the ACA.

Appearance

California Spangled Cats are large, well-muscled cats. They have prominent cheekbones and pale, well-developed whisker pads. The forehead is slightly rounded; the eyes are almond-shaped and blue colored. The ears are rounded at the tips and set high on the head. The tail is dark-tipped and blunt. With its well-defined spots, California Spangled looks like a little leopard.

Personality

Though California Spangled is a wild looking cat, it is purely a domestic breed. They are sweet natured, intelligent and energetic. They are very devoted to their humans. They have strong hunting instincts and are easily intrigued by anything that moves. They do not demand their owner's attention.

Don't demand their owner's attention? I see two major problems here. Do you recognize them?

First, they have the ownership thing all mixed up. Humans belong to cats.

Second, what kind of cat is it that doesn't pester its humans for attention? You can't keep them trained if you just let them be. I've had to take Bevie, Spouse, and Son into paw more than once. It's hard work, but it works.

These California cats. Must be the beach air or something. At least they're colored nice.

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Another Round of Tidbits

From this website about cats.

Another cat? Perhaps. For love there is also a season; its seeds must be resown. But a family cat is not replaceable like a wornout coat or a set of tires. Each new kitten becomes its own cat, and none is repeated. I am four cats old, measuring out my life in friends that have succeeded but not replaced one another. -- Irving Townsend

Maybe the reason that so many people love the cat is that she is the only example that you can breathe in the presence of man without becoming his slave -- and maybe that is why, so many people hate her. -- Heinrich Saas

Cats are a mysterious folk. There is more passing in their minds than we are aware of. -- Sir Walter Scott

An ordinary kitten will ask more questions than any five year old. -- Carl Van Vechten

Confront a child, a puppy, and a kitten with a sudden danger; the child will turn instinctively for assistance, the puppy will grovel in abject submission, the kitten will brace its tiny body for a frantic resistance. -- Saki

Sir Isaac Newton, who first described the principle of gravity, also invented the swinging cat door for the convenience of his many cats.

Albert Schweitzer: There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats.

Gotta go with you on that, Albert.

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What's Wrong With This Picture

Came up with this idea the other day and decided to implement it. Have you ever seen those pictures in which something is "out of place"? (Such as missing limbs, cats with bird's feet or such.) Or perhaps they show the same picture twice, but in the second picture certain things are changed or missing?

Well, I decided to do the former. Here is a picture of Firestar on Spouse's desk. See if you can find five (5) things "out of place" in this picture. Answers below.

1. Firestar is not supposed to be on Spouse's desk
2. The hand lotion belongs in the bathroom.
3. That's my tape dispenser, not Spouse's. (So why is it here instead of at my workstation?)
4. The paperclips are mine, too. (But I don't use them, so it's all right.)
5. The books to the far right belong on the "to be sold" pile.

So, how did you do? Give yourself 5 points for each correct answer. If you got #1 right, take a bonus of 1,000 points.

....0 points = Not bad
....5 points = Amazing
...10 points = Very Amazing
...15 points = Incredibly Amazing
...20 points = Beyond Belief Amazing
1,000+ points = YOU WON
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Physics and Cats

Courtesy of Fairyhedgehog, here are some facts regarding cat physics. The information has been garnered from this site.

Here are just twelve of the laws. (And these have written in stone.)

Law of Cat Inertia
A cat at rest will tend to remain at rest, unless acted upon by some outside force - such as the opening of cat food, or a nearby scurrying mouse.

Law of Cat Motion
A cat will move in a straight line, unless there is a really good reason to change direction.

Law of Cat Magnetism
All blue blazers and black sweaters attract cat hair in direct proportion to the darkness of the fabric.

Law of Cat Thermodynamics
Heat flows from a warmer to a cooler body, except in the case of a cat, in which case all heat flows to the cat.

Law of Cat Sleeping
All cats must sleep with people whenever possible, in a position as uncomfortable for the people involved as is possible for the cat.

Law of Cat Acceleration
A cat will accelerate at a constant rate, until he gets good and ready to stop.

Law of Dinner Table Attendance
Cats must attend all meals when anything good is served.

Law of Obedience Resistance
A cat's resistance varies in proportion to a human's desire for her to do something.

First Law of Energy Conservation
Cats know that energy can neither be created nor destroyed and will, therefore, use as little energy as possible.

Second Law of Energy Conservation
Cats also know that energy can only be stored by a lot of napping.

Law of Refrigerator Observation
If a cat watches a refrigerator long enough, someone will come along and take out something good to eat.

Law of Cat Composition
A cat is composed of “Matter” plus “Anti-Matter” plus “It Doesn't Matter”.
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More Tidbits

From this website about cats.

In the 9th century, King Henry I of Saxony decreed that the fine for killing a cat should be sixty bushels of corn.

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As anyone who has ever been around a cat for any length of time well knows, cats have enormous patience with the limitations of the human mind. -- Cleveland Amory

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As every cat owner knows, nobody owns a cat. -- Ellen Perry Berkeley

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Dogs come when they're called; cats take a message and get back to you later. -- Mary Bly

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Of all God's creatures there is only one that cannot be made the slave of the lash. That one is the cat. If man could be crossed with a cat it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat. -- Mark Twain

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If I called her she would pretend not to hear, but would come a few moments later when it could appear that she had thought of doing so first. -- Arthur Weigall

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Some humans are actually quite wise. Amazing, isn't it?

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One Hundred Posts Strong

Got no suggestions for a 100th post, so I figured I would post pictures of - me!

Yesterday, I slipped outside when Bevie opened the sliding screen to tell the little boys they shouldn't play on the yard equipment without asking. I saw my opportunity and made it out easily. I padded down the patio (a monstrous thing) until I allowed myself to be caught around the corner. Bevie must have been annoyed, because all of a sudden I had two little boys I had never seen or smelled before running their hands on me. I didn't hiss or growl. They weren't rough or anything.

But this morning Bevie opened the door again and let me out so I could pose for some pictures. I didn't mind. Lots of things out there I've been looking at for a long time.

I'm at a crossroads. Where do I begin? I guess at square one.

Ah! Weed. That's what they called it in the sixties.

Now what's that over there?

How do I cross this? Those rocks hurt! What's this? Grass? Bevie! You're a dopehead!

A bridge! This is more like it.

Actually taken yesterday. This is the top of a display stand Bevie and Spouse used to show musical motion dolls they sell. It's four feet high with four shelves, each shelf smaller than the one below. I climbed it like stairs. Then Bevie joked about selling me. I'm worth more than those dolls.

And so there you have it. One hundred (100) posts on Cat in the Buff. Maybe I'll do something like this for 250.

Culture Lesson - Class #1011

It's time to touch on culture again. The information has been taken from this site.

Burmese Cat

(picture taken from here)

History

The modern History of Burmese cat dates back to 1930 when a female cat named Wong Mau was brought to San Fransisco, USA by a naval doctor Joseph C. Thompson from Yangon, Myanmar (previously known as Burma). Dr. Thompson mated Wong Mau to a cat most similar to her type - the Seal Point Siamese. The CFA accepted the Burmese in 1936. In 1947 CFA withdrew the recognition as many hybrid Burmese/Siamese cats were being sold as purebred Burmese. The CFA reinstated the Burmese for recognition in 1953, and for Championship in 1957. The renewed recognition was based on a new standard that permitted only solid coat colors without markings.

Appearance

Burmese are small to medium sized cats with a muscular frame. Their paws are neat and oval shaped with slender legs and neck. The tail is medium in length, with a slight taper to a rounded tip. The most characteristic feature of the Burmese is their wonderful coats. Their coats are short, fine, sleek and glossy, lying close to the body, and satin-like in feel and texture. The Burmese cat has ten main recognised colours - six fully coloured (brown, chocolate, blue, red, lilac and cream) and four mixed coloured (Seal tortieshell, Chocolate tortieshell, Blue tortieshell and Lilac tortieshell)

Personality

Burmese are intelligent, boisterous, lively and alert in nature. They are gregarious and love the company of adults, children and pet. They are very affectionate and are interested in everything that humans do.

Interested in everything that humans do? Hmm. Seems like the Burmese are easily amused.

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Cat Tidbits

Found another website about cats. This one has a wealth of interesting bits of information.

Some examples:

Ancient mariners believed that a cat's behavior could foretell a change in the weather. Some sailors considered black cats unlucky since they were thought to bring bad weather. Tortoiseshell cats were often held by seafarers to be lucky and Japanese sailors in particular would carry a tri-colored cat aboard. They believed that such a cat could give early enough warning of an approaching storm for the vessel to return to port to avoid it, and would also send the cat up the mast to "put the storm devils to flight".




In the 1930's. The white male cat, named Napoleon, lived with his owner in Baltimore. His observant owner, Mrs. de Shields, noted that every time before it rained Napoleon would lie on the floor with his front paws extended and tuck his head between them. During Napoleon's lifetime there was a drought. The drought had continued for over a month when his owner noticed the clever cat adopt his "rain on the way" pose. According the official forecast the weather was to continue dry. Unconvinced, Mrs. De Shields telephoned a newspaper and told them that it was going to rain -- her cat had prophesied it. It did indeed rain, and thereafter Napoleon's forecasts were published in the paper. When he died, the tombstone over his grave was inscribed "Napoleon the Weather Prophet 1917 - 1936". It was said that in all the six years that he made his predictions he never got it wrong -- which is more than be said for human meteorologists!



They say the test of literary power is whether a man can write an inscription. I say, "Can he name a kitten?" -- Samuel Butler

More forthcoming, I'm sure.








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Nearing 100 Posts

This is the 97th post for Cat in the Buff. Reaching 100-posts is something of a mild milestone. Should we do anything special? What?

Post ideas as comments to this post.
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Excerpts From Firestar's Day

You know, Bevie, you really should clean your closet.

It was fun getting up here. Now how in the h*ll am I going to get down?

This may work.

Bevie, that had better be clothes in the basket down there.

Ah, my new toy!

Pity about the old one. Chewed the stuffing out of that one.

Literally.

Didn't think I'd like this one. Spraying it with catnip sure helped.

Like, wow, man!

Rats!

Do I really feel like bringing it back up here?

Laundry day.

One of life's simple pleasures.

Rolling in a scented dryer sheet.

Now I'll smell clean and fresh.

Uh, not that I ever don't. purrrrrr


Heck of a day.

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What Do People Do When They Go Away

Did any of you other cats have this happen?

My humans all left around mid-day. Didn't get back until it was time to eat. (At least they did that. Some of my training has taken, at least.) But when they returned they had all kinds of strange smells about them. It took a bit for me to place the one, but at last I figured it out: dog.

Son virtually reeked of the smell. Spouse wasn't much better. At least with Bevie it was only hands. But there were other smells, too. Food smells. Not sure what the food was. Don't recall it ever being in my house.

Wonder where they went. Couldn't have been too great for Bevie seemed awful happy to be home.

Even so. Once again I had to punish them. Ignored them all night.

Humans. They never seem to learn, do they?
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Being in Charge is a Chore When Humans Don't Cooperate

Sometimes humans are just no fun at all. Take Bevie (please). We used to have all kinds of fun. I would come downstairs from my comfortable place on the bed and walk by to get my back scratched. Sometimes I would reach up and I would be treated to a nice, close hug while I rested on Bevie's chest. Then I would find a comfortable place in the family room and go back to sleep.

I could sneak around a corner and Bevie would play hide-and-seek. I could also count on Bevie to give scratches, hugs, and to rub heads in proper cat fashion.

Not so this week. Bevie has been most annoying. Spends the entire day making rude noises into a white piece of paper, which then gets tossed without even batting it about. I tried to. Do you know what Bevie did? Hissed at me. Hissed! Of all the things.

So I have taken to showing Bevie my back. But the silly thing doesn't even seem to notice. Just keeps making the rude noises into the white paper.

Sometiems humans are just no fun at all.
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Culture Lesson - Class #1010

Okay. I've been walking the cyber alleys of human existence. I see Bevie had the decency to include cats in the Hero story. I'm still not clear on why the cats weren't the major focus, but we'll deal with that later.

It's time to touch on culture again. The information has been taken from this site.

British Shorthair

(picture taken from this site)

History

The British Shorthair is the British counterpart of American shorthair. It is probably the oldest English breed of cat, and can trace its ancestry back to the domestic cat of Rome. In the late 1800s cat fancier Harrison Weir was instrumental in establishing the British Shorthair as an officially recognized breed. World War II resulted in their near extinction but dedicated efforts afterwards saved this species.

Appearance

The British Short hair is a compact, well-balanced, and powerful cat, with a short, very dense coat. They are round headed, broad chested, have short and strong legs and a thick tail. One of the most appealing features of the British Shorthair is their built-in smile caused by their round whisker pads. The British Shorthair comes in various colours with blue being the most popular one.

Personality

British Shorthairs are quiet, even-tempered, intelligent, alert and affectionate cats. They are extremely loyal, gel easily with people and are especially good with children and other pets. They are low-profile and tend to be independent.

Sounds like a very decent cat. Even if it does smile too much.

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A Blog Advertisement

I need to take classes in marketing. I should have posted this hours ago.

The Stories Have Begun Arriving at
The Legion of On-Line Super Heroes!

Today, tomorrow, Sunday and Monday will all produce first entries by four different Authors

Read works from Internationally Known Authors such as:

Writtenwyrdd - the famous Speculative Fiction Writer in the east
Blogless Troll - the dashing Writer from Kiribati
Whirlochre - the clever King of the British Isles
fairyhedgehog - Castle Windsor's Lady in Waiting
freddie - the midwest's Star of Music and Wonder
Lisa - the Poetic Mistress of Feline Purrs
Ms. Sparrow - Famed Minnesota historian

and, how could we forget

Bevie James - ambiguous, paranoid, but good-hearted

If you have time, give the blog a look-see.

Well worth the 500-word reads

A Cute Cat Story

I wasn't going to post this, but something about it just made me laugh and smile. Found it at this site.

Fly-strips are very sticky
An e-mail from cat Gina to tomcat Jonas.

"Boootiful !!!!!!!!" :o)))))))))

Sorry that I take the Mickey, Jonas, but we rarely see such a brush :o)

By the way, you have a partner in the suffering, and that is ME!

Some weeks ago I got stuck with my tummy to a fly- strip which had been attached to the kitchen cupboard. When I tried to get rid of the damn thing I got more and more entangled :o(

My Missus saw this and tried to help by pulling the fly-strip out of my fur - of course it did not work!

After a seemingly never ending time and plenty of the disgusting hot water the
terrible thing had disappeared out of my fur, but some of the glue wouldn't come out.

So my Missus got out the scissors, and ...do I have to say more? Absolute disgusting,
I looked like a plucked chicken. Meouw !!!

But now for the icing of the cake as they say: The girlfriend of my Missus came to visit us, and she greeted me with gusto. She loves me very much, I don't know why. Then she noticed the bare spots on my behind and asked for the reason of my disfigurement. My Missus told her about my mishap, and she wanted to show her friend another spot where some of my fur had been cut off. She lifted me up, so the friend could look under my tummy. She lifted me higher, and higher, and then it happened! She pushed me on to another fly-strip which was hanging from the ceiling, she had overlooked this one, and now I was wrapped up again! Heeeeelp !!!!!!

Once more the scissors came out and I lost my newly grown hair again.

Well, don't YOU talk about embarrassment, I presented a much worse sight.

By now I am as beautiful as ever, yeah.

All my love

--->> GINA <<--- (one of Eki's cats).
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Award For Cat in the Buff

Lisa (think Bessie, Bruiser, Scarlett, Tara, and Amelia) has just awarded this blog the "I Love Your Blog" award.

Bevie will post the image on the sidebar, and has addressed the fowarding to other worthy blogs on The Great Sea: My First Award.

Thanks, Lisa.

I think I should create an Alley Cat Walk award.

Cat Lover, But No Slave

Took another cat quiz. This time it was What Kind of Cat Person are You? As opposed to What Kind of Cat Would You Be?

Here are my results:

You are definitely a cat lover and meet most of the tests of responsibility. but you haven't yet made a slave of yourself over your cats. That isn't all bad, you know, as you may be a better caregiver and cat parent for it.

Hmm. Not a cat's slave yet, huh? I guess that's Firestar's problem with me then.
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Firestar Would Like This Game

Here's an odd sort of game. It was used on the old 1934 Laurel and Hardy movie, "March of the Wooden Soldiers (Babes in Toyland)". Laurel, playing Stannie Dum calls the tapered wood a "peewee" and demonstrates to Hardy, playing Ollie Dee. Of course, Ollie Dee is totally incapable of doing it.

Wonder how the game got its name. Nothing about it looks like a cat. Cats don't behave like this. Maybe, when whoever started it began doing it, they had a cat which would try to chase down the tapered piece of wood and would get all tangled up trying to catch it. Firestar has done that when Son tosses stuffed cat toys across the room. He kind of "tips" in his effort to catch the things while they're still in the air.

TIP CAT

Tip cat, also called ONE-A-CAT, is an outdoor game dating back at least to the 17th Century. It was introduced to North America and elsewhere by English colonists. The game was widely popular in 19th-century Great Britain and in early 20th-century North America.

Although there are many varieties of the game, all involve a stick about 3 ft (1 m) long used as a bat, and a piece of wood (the cat) about 4 in. (10 cm) long, 1 to 2 in. (2.5 to 5 cm) thick, and tapered at the ends.

The cat is placed on the ground, struck at one end to propel it upward (tipping the cat), and then slammed with the stick as far as possible. In one version, the batter tries to round the bases, as in baseball, before the fielder retrieves the cat and throws it back to home base.

If a batter misses the cat three times or if a fielder catches it on a fly, the batter is out. Earlier versions of the game are based on guessing the distance that the cat is hit, scoring points according to the number that comes up on a four-sided cat, and running from base to base on a large circle while the cat is being retrieved. Some authorities consider tip-cat a forerunner of baseball and cricket.

Culture Lesson - Class #1009

Here is the next in our series of culture lessons. The information has been taken from this site.

Bombay Cat

(pictures taken from this site)

History

The Bombay was created in 1953 by an American Breeder, Nikki Horner who wanted to develop a cat that possessed the conformation of the Burmese but with a sleek black coat and copper eyes instead of brown fur and yellow eyes. She named the breed after Bombay, India, land of the black leopard. In 1976 the Bombay was recognised for championship status in The Cat Fanciers' Association.

Appearance

The Bombay cat is a medium sized cat with a solid muscular body. They are jet black in colour and the eye colour ranges from golden to deep copper with copper eyes considered the more superior. Though the Bombay Kittens look rather ordinary but like scotch whisky they improve with age.

Personality

Bombay cats are extremely agile, affectionate and intelligent. Bombays are very attached to their owners and want constant attention. They are silent in nature and are not very vocal.

Silent cats? What the use in that? The only time I'm silent is when I'm sneaking up on someone. Usually Spouse or Son. It's fun to walk up and wop them on the leg.

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Creatures of Habit

Found this. It's not the best one I found, but I couldn't get an embed link for the good one.



They say the cats are stupid, but how to they know it wasn't just cats setting up a human?
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Dispelling a Few Cat Myths

Thought I would pass on some myth-breakers today. I think we all probably know these, but on the chance it's new information, here goes:

(Oh, got the information from this site.)

If a cat urinates/defecates in the wrong spot (ie: on your favourite Persian rug), rub it's nose in it.

Not only is rubbing your cat's nose in it's urine/faeces cruel, it serves no constructive purpose. All this type of punishment will do is frighten your cat. A far more constructive method would be to try & find out why the cat has started eliminating outside it's litter tray. Sometimes, owners think they are teaching the cat a lesson by rubbing it's nose in it's urine/faeces & then placing the cat in it's litter tray. The cat will start to associate punishment with it's litter tray & avoid using it all the more. The first stop should be to your cat's vet to rule out a medical problem. If your cat gets a clean bill of health then you will have to try & work out what is preventing your cat from using it's tray. Some possible causes are...

The tray is too dirty, easily solved by cleaning the tray out more often.

Your cat was ambushed by another cat while in the tray.

Your cat doesn't like hooded trays, or alternatively, your cat doesn't like open boxes.

Your cat doesn't like the location of the litter tray. Common location problems are...the tray has been placed in a busy area. Cats like privacy when they're on the loo. Because cats are vulnerable when they are going to the toilet, they like to ensure they have an escape route, therefore some (but not all) cats will refuse to use a tray for this reason.

For further information on inappropriate elimination, please visit our Health Links page.

Cats can have cow's milk

While a lot of cats love to drink cow's milk, it's not recommended. Many cats are lactose intolerant & giving them milk will result in them getting an upset tummy. This is especially dangerous in kittens who can dehydrate quickly.

An adult cat doesn't need to drink milk at all. If you must give your cat milk, it is recommended you purchase special "cat's milk" which has been specifically formulated for cats to drink.

For further information on cats & milk read here...

My female cat should have one litter before she is spayed

Not at all, in fact it is better to have her spayed before 6 months of age to prevent an unwanted pregnancy. Here is a very good article on why it is important to spay/neuter your cat. Spay & Neuter Q & A.

Cats always land on their feet

Do cats always land on their feet? Well...it depends, if the catfalls a very short distance from the ground it doesn't have enough time to right itself. A cat will be seriously injured & quite possibly killed if it falls from a great height. There is a new term coined by American veterinarians called "high rise syndrome". Due to the ever increasing human population, high rise apartments are becoming more the norm & vets are seeing many cats who have been injured falling out of high rise apartments.

Putting bells on a cat's collar will stop it catching mice & birds

This theory has been around for hundreds of years. I used to put bells on my cat's collars, in fact Eliot, who was my best hunter had three bells on her collar at one point & it did absolutely nothing to stop her catching the wildlife. In fact, there is new research to indicate that cats who have had bells put on their collars are better at catching prey. This is because they learn to move without the bell making a sound & therefore they are stealthier.

For further information on putting bells on cat's collars, read this article. Cats Indoors.

There were others. Some, I'm ashamed to say, I have been guilty of.
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A Happy Cat Film

This was hysterical!



Looks like I need to get Firestar a companion.

Oh, by the way. It kind of looks like someone may have hijacked Firestar's account. He's going to have to post through me for a bit now.
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In Memoriam - Beloved Cats of the Past

I've been feeling guilty and bad about not having included Baby Boy in this. He is no less distinguishable than any, but at the same time I did not want to have memorandum posts every day. Then there was always something else to post, or I wasn't ready to put up something more sobering. But I think this is a nice place to put Baby Boy's memorandum.

Baby Boy was another of my choices. Like B.J.Honeycat, who came before, Baby Boy was in mortal danger. But not from starvation or other, more aggressive cats. Baby Boy was in danger because he would never, ever SHUT UP! And that was driving my boss crazy. (Actually, my boss was a bit of a pussy cat himself and would never have harmed Baby Boy. He just liked to talk big.)

This would have been back in the summer of '87, when I worked for a small town newspaper as reporter, photographer, editor, proofreader, layout editor, paper stuffer, and paper delivery person. All for $10,400 a year. Before taxes. For that I worked seventy to eighty hours each week. It worked out to a little more than $3.00 per hour when minimum wage was about $5.00 per hour. Ah, well. I digress.

Baby was just a kitten. His name was Socks then, because of his white feet. Larry, my boss, came into work one day haggered and sleepy. He had been up most of the night trying to catch Socks and put him outside. But while the kitten was big on crying for attention, he refused to allow himself to be caught, and he was small enough to get into places Larry couldn't go. Larry asked if anyone wanted a cat because he was ready to threat, threat, threat, threat, threat. Wanda, the office manager, dared him to do it and Larry sheepishly conceded he wouldn't. But he did want to find a home for Socks. I thought BJ might be lonely, with me now putting in so much time at the newspaper, and Spouse working three jobs to earn another $10,000 a year. So I volunteered.

I remember at first being worried about our new addition. BJ seemed to just hate him. But then I caught the two of them together when BJ thought no one was around. They were playing together and having a ball! Until BJ saw me. Then he belted Baby Boy (he got the name because he NEVER shut up) across the room.

Baby was the active cat. He was the one who jumped into the upstairs window, knocking out the support and having the window collapse on his back leg. Wound up in a four-week cast for that.

He was the one who figured out that when the new human baby arrived, he could get all kinds of loving attention by just being around. Eventually, this would cause him to bond with Son, and the two became good buddies.

Baby was a camera hog, too. Take out a camera and start filming or snapping pictures, and within a couple of minutes Baby Boy would be there, standing next to whatever you were trying to film.

In his last years he was the lone animal. Nikki was gone. BJ was gone. Even Lady was gone. It was just him in the house, until I lost my job. Then I would sit downstairs at my desk in the wee hours of the morning. Baby Boy would come down the steps, stop at the bottom, wait until I looked at him, and then cry out to me. I would lower my hand and snap my fingers and he would hurry over to get his back scratched. We did that every day. Several times.

I can still remember hearing the thumping above my head. The computer was set up in the basement then. Twice before in his life, Baby Boy had managed to get himself caught in a cloth through his mischiveous playing. His flopping would make the noose he had got himself into tighter and tigher. Once was with a torn chair cover, and once was with one of my t-shirts. Hearing the thumping, I suspected he had repeated his youthful behavior in his old age and had got caught again.

He was in the dining room, but not caught in anything. He had had a stroke. A bad one. Just the year before we had spent nearly $1,000 we didn't have to save his life. The vet told us he might not last another year, but we spent the money anyway. This time I could see he was much worse off. I immediately got on the telephone and called the vet. Then I raced Baby to the only place where he could be helped. But this time it there would be no miracle. Spouse left work and I took Son out of school. The vet clinic tended Baby while we raced to get there for his final time. It was - emotional.

Sometimes, after suffering such grief, we tell ourselves we will never fall in love again. We will never get another cat, or dog, or horse, or turtle, or spider, or whatever. We're so silly. Not only do we fall in love with these creatures who are so different (and somehow alike) to us, but we do it over and over and over again. When Spouse brought Firestar home I refused to even look at him. Spouse began to cry. Then, I turned my head and found myself nose-to-nose with this buff little kitten. Once again I was hooked. We can't close our eyes forever.

Current loves do not replace past loves. They just fill the void left from those who have gone on. And it almost seems like current loves mean more than the past. After all, they're here, aren't they? Let us enjoy them while we can.

NOTE: The picture at the top is one of my favorite Baby Boy pictures. There are other good ones, showing him in his profile, but I thought it appropriate to show him with his buddy. Amazingly, Son NEVER pulled his hair, so Baby Boy was quite safe under his hands.

Passing of the Crown

We have a new Kitten of the Month. Please weigh in and congratulate Mikey, who lives with Writtenwyrdd.
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