WCB #82 surprise!

Weekend Cat Blogging — no. 82

for days now, actually close to 2 weeks, i have been trying to figure out where "my little guy" has been sleeping. once again, he decided the old roosting spot was boring and it was time for a new hideout.

about a month ago, i thought i was going crazy. i was hearing noises coming from somewhere but couldn't figure it out. at first i thought it was the cat. i've tried to tell myself it was. what if it wasn't? with winter setting in, i was afraid it was either squirrels, mice or bats [or something like that] which had come to nest on the space atop the roof or between the walls. as suddenly as the noises started, they stopped.

i spend a lot of time at my desk where my computer is located. typing away, i realized i needed a file from my desk. i also thought i heard the return of those noises. not really thinking about it or looking, i pulled the bottom file drawer open to grab the file but ended up grabbing the head of something furry! no, it wasn't a mouse, squirrel or bat. just my little friend who had decided to play "you can't find me anymore" in my desk. talk about heart attacks.

having no clue how he did it, i finally caught him red-pawed and in the act! he was climbing into back of the desk via the shelf next to the drawer and crawling through a small space.

i have to say we both jumped the first time it happened. he was still fast asleep as i grabbed his little fuzzy head. these days, my little filing clerk just lets out a loud "hello, you woke me up!" whenever i open the drawer.

i decided he needs to be filed under "c" for CUTE!

a happy new year to all his fellow wcb'ers

thanks to champaign taste for this weekend's WCB!

WCB #80 — ohhh, those eyes

Weekend Cat Blogging — no. 80

laser eyes

this is a perfect example of what happens when that great picture you planned on taking of your pet for WCB goes badly. i should know better than to say, "ok, ok ..... stay still now! doooon't move!!" and expect him to actually stay put.

in spite of this, i love how this picture turned out. the blurred effect and the colours seem to go together really well.

can't you feel those gamma rays coming out of his eyes, penetrating you?? ;-) at least i didn't end up looking like this from those rays.

what's your best bad 'cat photo'?

thanks to kitchenmage for this weekend's hosting of the WCB in the PNW!

tails & more tales of the feline kind WCB #79

Weekend Cat Blogging — no. 79

first off, a very sage mewsing i came across & a picture to match:

"People that hate cats, will come back as mice in their next life."
- Faith Resnick

....don't we know each other from somewhere? [gulp]

here are a few other things i found amusing — first of all, i love this picture.

not my cat, just a picture i really enjoy looking at.

secondly, check out this POOR cat! oy vay iz mir, is all i can say!! and you thought you had it bad!! LOL.

otherwise, check out the other stories or should i say cat ta(i)l(e)s? you can also find several other very short stories at what a good cat!

and for that possessed and wicked cat in your life or the life of someone you know, visit my cat hates you! the hateful cat stories forum. take a look at the pictures of the kitties, the captions are thoroughly amewsing and some just downright hysterically funny [and to be taken that way ... don't be offended!]. they even have a calendar for sale which could be a good little present for your favourite cat-hater for the upcoming holidays.

get a free daily cartoon for your blog here.

this weekend's cat blogging fest is being hosted by the [angry] cat@bellytimber. thanks!

how to have a heart attack WCB #78

Weekend Cat Blogging — no. 78

how to give "catdaddy"* a heart-attack

*catdaddy = a humorous but stupid name my friend calls me

a few months back, after i first got my kitten, we were playing on top of my bed. as we all know, kittens are rambunctious and full of life. no exception here. [thankfully mine was an extra happy and gregarious one, something i truly appreciate].

while kitten was planning his next strategic move for his favourite "attack the hand and make him yell" game, my eyes were drawn to a corner of the bed where i noticed a bright red spot which reminded of that fake looking red nail polish that little girls put on for pretend play. what in the world was that? i certainly don't wear nailpolish and neither does the cat!

when i inspected further, i saw it was fresh. i was looking at a single drop of an odd, thick red liquid. i couldn't figure it out. meanwhile kitten was continuing his attack on me, bouncing around like tigger, rebounding off of furniture having a grand ole time. i decided it could be blood so i picked up the kitten and turned him every-which-way to inspect him from all angles. i thought maybe he cut his nail or his toes.

as i looked over a few inches, i spotted a TOOTH! my heart sank with my first thought being, "OMG, i knocked his tooth out while we were playing!". so now the fun part came. try grabbing a kitten in play mode to open its mouth to inspect. i was panicking that he was bleeding to death, having visions of him swallowing pools of his flowing blood. ok, it's a little melodramatic but that's how it felt at that moment.

grabbing him, i pryed his mouth open but he kept turning his head and squirming. finally, i visegripped him long enough to inspect. there was blood! i grabbed a kleenex to stop the bleeding but ended up with a kitten running down the hall at high speed with a kleenex hanging out of his mouth. "come back here, you varmint! you're bleeding [to death!]," i called after him, envisioning ambulances and 911 calls.

getting my hands on him again after playing "catch-me-if-you-can" for almost 5 minutes from behind the refrigerator, i got his mouth reopened but couldn't tell if the tooth had broken or had been knocked out; he just wouldn't keep his mouth open long enough and was making a big fuss. "great" i thought, "here we go back to the veterinarian!" we had just been there a few days earlier for his first visit. i decided to get some gauze to try to clean it a bit and hopefully stop the bleeding. as i went into the room where i kept it, i looked down and found another tooth next to his food dish!

suddenly, a wave of calm came over me — i realized it was only his baby teeth falling out! how in the world would i know his teeth would fall out?? do i look like a dentist? lol.

phew. my final word[s].

and for posterity, i saved them as a reminder of my little one's baby stage. kinda weird, kinda gross, kinda cool. sharp as knives! here they are, my kitty's old fangs —

* * * * * *

follow the link to a cat advent calendar, for those who celebrate christmas from the cat who laughed. don't forget to check it daily for the next part of the story. you can choose from a few different languages. STARTS TODAY! [... and for those of you who like those kinds of calendars, check here for more].

thanks to d, at the hidden paw for this weekend's work for WCB #78!

not just a regular brown cat — WCB #77

Weekend Cat Blogging — no. 77

this post is two parts. the first is a bit about the burmese breed and the second, a short story about my cat and how he came to me.

the burmese is a cat with a rich history which goes back to burma [myanmar] and thailand. it was originally a temple cat looked after, and doted upon, by monks and one owned and cherised by nobility. it has a personality and character like no other.

in the 1930s, the first burmese was brought over to san francisco. it has since been bred and developed and today is categorized into two distinct classes: the american burmese and the european burmese. they differ in their coat colours and certain physical characteristics. see the links for more information.

map of burma, now called myanmar

photo: graphicmaps.com

wong mau, the first burmese to come to america
her face reminds me of a cartoon character

a very interesting article about the evolution of this breed by cats and kittens magazine.

if it interests you, more information about the specific breed is available here and here.

now for the story of my kitten, or should i say, my cat tale:

several months ago i went to the airport to pick up a very special package which would bring much happiness into my life. waiting nervously — not to mention a long time (damned security and immigration!) — the courrier ... or should i say carrier ... finally arrived. i felt like an expectant parent.

it was love at first sight.

when i opened up the little black sherpa carrier, out popped the cutest little head, letting out a set of mee-yews & mee-yows that made heads spin at the arrivals section of the airport. it was my golden-eyed, sable burmese kitten, a little brown baby of 4 months. soft as silk and purring loudly while "talking" at the same time, he immediately let me know what a bad flight it had been. thank goodness he was able to fly in cabin and not some dark, scary cargohold.

he immediately climbed out inspecting the scene from a quiet corner where i had taken him for the big reveal. after taking a good look at me, he then climbed up me and started licking my face. this was my first introduction to my "loverboy" of a cat who doubles as a dog in a cat's suit. the burmese really is a cat like no other.

from esquire magazine:

THE BURMESE CAT (Michael Walker, Esquire magazine-August 2002) Every so often a cat goes missing in an airliner cargo hold and we're treated to video on the local Fox affiliate of baggage handlers making simpering entreaties to Fluffy to come out. Like most men, I considered such incidents, with their leitmotif of J.Lo-like entitlement, a powerful disincentive to owning a cat. Then my girlfriend brought home a pair of Burmese, and I have had to make an agonizing reappraisal. The Burmese is a cat a man can love because the Burmese is more dog than cat. You can teach them to fetch and roll over. They actually like people. They do just about everything dogs do except snarl at the FedEx guy and force you to walk them in the rain with a hangover. And you want smart? Clambering over my computer, one of them hit the right sequence of keys, creating his own folder, and named it. Let's see your weimaraner pull that off.

read here and see pictures of what i mean from a fellow owner. it's all true.

he follows me from room to room and is constantly by my side. that includes the bathroom. it seems i cannot be let out of his sight ... well, at least for any length of time. he loves to talk and expresses his opinions about everything and even loves to be held like a baby. i call him my "crouching tiger, yowling dragon" because he does the typical burmese crouch next to me for incredibly long periods of time and can let out a yowl when he wants something. puts a siamese to shame, i tell you. he is also fearless and would think nothing about leaving the house to go on city-wide exploration. this is not one fraidy-cat. even the vacuum and coffee grinder doesn't scare him! he also fetches and plays hide and seek. what more could i ask for?

my 'baby', {pink rabies shot collar}, a few months back with his brother
his brother lives in the united states

burmese cats are normally quite long-lived. there are stories of cats living 20 years and longer. my friend's burmese is now 18 years old.

i look forward to many long years with my little guy.

special thanks to the house of the (mostly) black cats for hosting of WCB #77.

.... and seeing as he is related to the siamese, i could not resist adding some bad cat video. i am sure a lot of people remember the following scene from a famous disney movie.

chez chaton culinaire WCB #76

Weekend Cat Blogging no. 76

.... this weekend's blurb was typed pawed in by my cat(ten) —

finding a good recipe for something i can eat in these bipedal primate cookbooks can be a difficult, if not impossible, job — especially ones that involve crunchy bones and warm viscera.

seeing as i am getting to used a dietary switchover [*carbohydrates in my original vet & breeder approved "premium" food were making me very ill (i shall spare you the dirty details)], finding new foods i like and that are good for me involve trips to specialty pet food stores. the ones i love right now and that don't make me sick are fromm's & wysong [woohoo, pheasant!]. discovering treats without unknown ground processed body parts, flour and grains in them isn't too easy. i did find a few like this and this. fish and beef liver — yum! click here to get free sample and enter for a chance to win a case from benny bully's.

[*see my links list for information about feeding your cats a proper & appropriate diet].

i love these too. well, at least now i do since i figured out only a few months back it's not just a toy. i was a dumb silly kitten at the time. click on this to have a free sample sent to you. it even comes in the mail with your cat name on it.

something smells good ( =^..^=) and it's not just the turkey

not being allowed to eat my carbs really blows :-( i love my goodies made from that stuff!! for now, i shall have to continue to dream about eating bread. [though the other night i ate the crust off a newly baked fresh loaf when he wasn't looking! boy, WAS he mad ... hehehe >o.o<]

mmmm, souris en brioche ..... zzzzz

and now, a recipe or two for your own 4-legged friends from my kittenchen:

Cat Cookies [Fur-ociously Good]

if your cat is not allergic and can tolerate carbs, these sound good.

1 c Whole wheat flour
1/4 c Soy flour
1 ts catnip*
1 Egg
1/3 c Milk
2 tb Wheat germ
1/3 c Powdered milk
1 tb unsulfured molasses
2 tb Butter or vegetable oil

*Catnip's strong scent pleases cats. Add to toys, or just sprinkle for them to roll and play in, and even eat. Catnip aids digestion.

Preheat oven to 350F. Mix dry ingredients together. Add molasses, egg, oil and milk. Roll out flat onto oiled cookie sheet and cut into small, cat bite-sized pieces. Bake for 20 minutes. Let cool and store in tightly sealed container.

recipe from Massachusetts SPCA from Best Friends March 1995


Potatoes Au Feline or Canine

Yield: 6 Servings

3 c Boiled sliced potatoes
2 tb Grated vegetables [no onions!!]
1/2 c Creamed cottage cheese
1 tb Nutritional yeast
2 tb Grated carrots
1/4 c Whole milk
1/4 c Grated cheese

Layer the first 5 ingredients into a casserole dish. Then pour the milk on top of all; sprinkle with cheese. Bake about 15 minutes at 350F until cheese melts and slightly browns. Serve cool.

As a potato substitute, you can use 3 cups of cooked oatmeal or 3 cups cooked brown rice.

Source: Deborah Lawson, Knight News Service, Watertown Daily Times

nota bene: i have not tried these recipes so do so at your own (cat's) risk.

:o~ :o~ :o~ :o~ :o~ :o~

and since you took the time to look at this blog page,
you can't leave empy-handed —

here is the human recipe for edible rodents
and where i got the above image.

hope you have fun making mice!

=^..^= a special thanks & "meeeow-out" to amar chaudhary of catsynth.com for the hosting of this weekend's event.

the new enemy in the house WCB #75

Weekend Cat Blogging no. 75

meet catten's newest archenemy — bobblemouse.

one of the cheapest cat toys i have ever bought, "bobblemouse" cost a whopping 1 dollar at our dollar store! i bought two just innnnnn case my little devil cat destroys him in one of his latenight battles with this little rodent on a spring.

notice the loving look on his face as he eyes his new friend.


after a fierce battle {and some growling & hissing for sound effects},

stop moving!!

it is just a tale of two tails .....

until the next time .....

thanks to skeezix's scratching post for hosting!

oh no! this wasn't supposed to happen!! WCB #74

Weekend Cat Blogging — no. 74

my burmese kitten is addicted to diet pepsi.

for some odd reason he starts to go crazy when he sees or smells it. if i do not hide it, he will go after the can or as you can see, stick his head right in the glass to get at it. at the time of this picture, i had gone into another room and forgotten to move the glass. when i had returned, he had drank about 1/3 of what was left in the glass but regretted it because he got his head stuck deep down. it was far enough in the glass for enough time for me to grab my camera sitting next to me to snap this shot.

unfortunately, i didn't get the picture when he lifted his head up and tried to pretend he was a horse! i think he was a bit shocked that his head was lodged in this little vacuum he created. curiosity and the desire for all things tasty will get you in trouble all the time.

bad boy.

thanks to lali of lali et cie on the famous côte d'azur in france for hosting. ''catten" <--(half cat/half kitten at this point) should be proud his debut was announced in such an exotic locale!