Lee County Clowder

Update

2012-01-31T15:25:00.000-06:00

Posting an update, mostly to report that nothing much has changed, really.

Dave is out of the hospital, and into what they call "Skilled Care". He is getting physical therapy, and expects to actually get to go home in a few days. All your purrrss and purrrrayers were deeply appreciated.

On the stray kitten front, Third Black Kittie is spending about half her time in the house, and frankly is starting to get a little bossy. Anne Bonny & Mary Read seem only mildly concerned TBK is around, but TBK keeps meowing and hissing at the Pirate Girls, and is starting to intimidate them a bit. TBK seems to be a lot younger than the Pirate Girls, and I am getting a horrible feeling she is pregnant. It'll be a month or two before I can do anything about spaying her, so I guess what ever happens, happens.

Gray Kittie is getting a little braver, but she still won't come inside or let me get too close to her. TBK is torn between hanging out in the house (warm, food, toys, cuddles) and hanging out with GK (playmate, buddy).

Updating everyone on everything, more or less

2012-01-19T13:25:00.000-06:00

Just updating on everything.

First off, my brother Dave is out of Intensive Care, and gaining on whatever it was put him there in the first place. If the doctors know what it was, no one has thought it necessary to bother to tell me. Purrrrss and purrrrayers were appreciated.

On the stray kittie front, Third Black Kittie spent a couple days inside, and spent most of one of them exploring the house. Anne Bonny was a little upset by that, but restricted her complaints to meowing from across the room, and avoiding me. Mary Read probably noticed TBK, but didn't think she was anything worth bothering over.

The Gray Kittie came a little further into the house, but will only come inside if I am away from the door, and preferably out of the room. As soon as she sees me, she heads for the door, and if I come anywhere close GK runs outside and away. She is getting braver, but she still doesn't trust me, even when TBK is cuddling in my arms.

TBK is torn. She likes it inside, where it is warm and there is food all the time, but she REALLY wants to hang out with GK, too. After a few days, she went back outside, most likely looking for her GK buddy.

Could use some purrrrrss

2012-01-15T11:35:00.000-06:00

Hi, all. Pirate Girls Dad here.

My brother has been in the hospital since Friday, and he could probably use a few purrrrrrrss or purrrrrayers. Some of you might know him through Hobo's Tales.

A few kind thoughts would be welcome.

Status: Gaining, maybe

2012-01-12T13:11:00.000-06:00

We're making some progress, anyway. It started getting cold and windy last night, and when I opened the back door, the Third Black Kittie came trotting into the house. The Gray Kittie wanted to get inside, but the two or three times she crept in the door, she saw me, and ran away again. Third Black Kittie was torn between inside (warm) and outside (cold, but with her buddy), but she finally stayed in the house.

The low last night was around 13°F (-4°C), so I hope Gray Kittie found someplace warm to spend the night.

Update on the stray kitties

2012-01-09T17:57:00.001-06:00

Update: About 9:15PM, I got the Gray Kittie into the house. She kept coming up to the door, looking at me, and running away. So I propped the door open about 6 inches and went over where she couldn't see me. It wasn't more than about ten minutes before Gray Kittie carefully sneeaakkeedd in the door. She probably isn't real happy right now, but she is inside

-----

For those of you tracking progress, there has been some, maybe.

The New Black Kittie is sleeping in the utility room, at least for the moment. She came in, ate, used the litter box, and curled up in a box for a nap.

The Stray Buddy is getting a little braver. I was at least able to get a couple photos of her(?).

Don't get too impressed by how close she looks in the photos. You can do lots with editing software. The shot below is closer to what I see.

But I almost got her to come in the house a couple times. She really wants to come inside, she just doesn't quite trust me.

False Start -- Pending Further Developments

2012-01-04T13:43:00.001-06:00

Well,it looks like the New Black Kittie decided outside is better, at least for the moment.

She spent the night in the utility room and did fine. She ate most of the food I left her, used the litter box like a champ, and drank all but a couple swallows in the water bowl. She went outside with me in the morning to help feed the birds and put out fresh water for the critters, but came right in when I called her.

But in the evening when I put out the outside cat food, her buddy was out there waiting. They sniffed noses, and then they both dashed off around the corner of the house.

The buddy is a pretty gray tabby, with a white nose and mostly white legs. She(?) won't let me closer than about three feet, although she seems to be getting braver. Not sure if they are litter mates, mother and daughter, or just friends, but they are together a lot.

I guess I'll just have to keep working on the buddy, maybe I can get them both inside someday.

A third black kittie??

2012-01-02T18:26:00.000-06:00

Hi, all. Check out the photos. No, they are not photos of Anne Bonny or of Mary Read. I've had several stray/feral kitty's hanging out in the yard. This girl(?) has decided I'm not likely to eat her, and decided to come into the house today. (The high today was predicted to be about 25F, which might have had something to do with that :-) )

I'm keeping her in the utility room for the moment. I want to make sure she knows how to use the litter box and try to make sure she is healthy. After that, if she thinks inside is better, I guess I now have three black kitties. sigh...

Stay tuned.

For the Sherwood Bunch

2012-01-01T11:19:00.001-06:00

We stole a copy of Zoolatry's image for this post; we hope no one minds.

We want to add our THANKS to ML & the Sherwood Bunch. The Cat Blogosphere would not be the same with out you kitties and beans, if it existed at all.

ppuurrrrrrrrrss from Anne Bonny, Mary Read, and their Dad.

We really hate to have to ask you all

2011-12-28T14:14:00.002-06:00

We really hate to have to ask you, especially now with Christmas and all the other kitties and beans that need help. But it looks like we are going to have to get some help somewhere to pay for the lights and heat for this month.

Anything you could spare would be deeply appreciated. Anything left over would be donated to the next unfortunate critter.

Thank you all, whether you can spare anything or not. We enjoy being part of the Cat Blogosphere and hope we can get back to helping others in a few months.

ppuurrrrrrrrrss to you all.

Update: The ChipIn widget seems to be a real pain to change or update. We really don't need $400, but there seems to be no way to change the number, or end the ChapIn prematurely. sigh...

Merry Christmas to you all

2011-12-23T19:11:00.000-06:00

A nice Christmas video we found a long time ago. The Drifters* sang the song, and Joshua Held did the animation.

Go here to watch the video directly on youTube.

We don't post much anymore, but we still think about you all.

Love from Anne Bonny & Mary Read, and the angel kitties Radcliff, Allie, Luna, & Ozzie.

* There is a Drifters web site here, if you are interested, though none of the singers in the video are involved anymore.

And Now For Something Completely Different

2011-11-05T17:36:00.000-05:00

If you are familiar with cyriak, you pretty much already know what this is going to look like.

If you aren't, trying to describe this video is pretty much pointless.

Enjoy. Maybe.

If you are having trouble viewing this video, try linking to it directly on youTube here.

Ultimate Cat Tree

2011-10-18T17:40:00.006-05:00

A long time ago, I came across something called Savage Chickens. The guy draws cartoons on sticky notes. Usually the cartoon is one panel, on one 3x5 note. Sometimes he will combine multiple notes.

This might well be the ultimate cat tree, taking up five sticky notes. Enjoy.

The original post is here, if you want to check it out. Supposedly, there are 22 cats playing on this tree.

As always, click on the image for a larger version.

PS: For some reason, Blogger's 'larger' version is still only about half the size of the full blown image from Savage Chickens. FWIW.

A NEW Simon's Cat video.

2011-10-07T13:40:00.003-05:00

Enough said.

Enjoy.

Labor of Love

2011-09-02T18:27:00.004-05:00

For ML and the Sherwood Bunch. Without them and the CB, we'd still be 'Two Black Kitties'.

In Honor of Kismet, and his Whisker Humps

2011-08-17T13:47:00.004-05:00

Radcliff, the big white boy.

Allie, proving that girl kitties can play this game, too.

Luna came for a visit

2011-07-31T12:21:00.001-05:00

Luna came for a brief visit a few days ago.

In the dream, I was outside, by the back door. She came walking around the old garage. I was immensely glad to see her, and I picked her up and hugged her. We cuddled on the back steps for a few minutes. Then the alarm went off, and I woke up.

She hasn't visited again, so it looks like she just wanted one last cuddle.

What is weird is that garage was torn down couple decades ago, and the back porch was remodeled at the same time. Luna had not even been born when those places were around.

I just thought you might be interested in knowing about that.

Tonight, on National Geographic, 700 cats

2011-07-30T14:03:00.001-05:00

A note from the Food Source -

For those of you who think you might be a Crazy Cat Lady (or Man), something you might enjoy. (or maybe a goal to aspire to?)

Lynea Lattanzio is founder and head of Cat House on the Kings, a no-kill, no-cage sanctuary and adoption center in central California currently housing more than 700 cats.

Tonight National Geographic is showing a special on Lynea and her cat house. For the first time in my life, I regret not getting the National Geographic channel.

The Lady With 700 Cats premieres July 30 at 10P et/pt on Nat Geo WILD

From today's Freekibblekat.

Mimi & Maty

2011-07-24T13:09:00.001-05:00

Hi. Just a quick note from The Food Source.

I suspect many of you are familiar with the Freekibble and Freekibblekat sites. The last time I played, I noticed a link to an online book mimi and maty to the Rescue.

If you click on the link to the book, Freekibble will donate another meal to a shelter. The book is short and happily upbeat, as well. I suspect even most kids could read it without major help or problems.

I almost missed it, so I thought it might be worth pointing it out to anyone who drops by.

For Luna - June, 1996 to June 23, 2011

2011-06-25T21:38:00.005-05:00

For Luna

Amongst all the posts we've made, no one ever covered how Luna became part of the family.

In 1998 I decided I was ready for a new cat. At the time I was working long hours, often in an erratic schedule. So I decided that getting two kitties that were already buddies would work out best. That way, they could keep each other company when I was working. As it turned out, the shelter I was dealing with did not have any pairs. So I wound up picking two kitties of about the same size, age, and attitude, and hoping for the best. Those two turned out to be Radcliff & Allie.

There were several other kitties I considered, and I kept an eye on them as my two settled in and started ignoring each other. Over the next few months most of them found homes. Luna was the exception. I was in Petsmart most every weekend, and I would check with people from the shelter. Somehow, she was always there. I'd play with her through the glass, and cuddle with her if the door to the area was open. Along the way, I found out that she had been taken home at least once, and then returned.

Eventually, I decided that Luna was fated to become my third cat, whether I really thought that was a good idea or not.

It soon became clear why she kept showing up in the shelter. She had a fairly serious urinary tract problems, that took a three vets several years to get a good handle on. When she was feeling poorly, she would get really cranky, swatting and snapping at any one who tried to pick her up or pet her.

Eventually, one vet got a little bit of a handle on her problems, and she started showing some of her true personally. Still a little cranky, but a sweet snuggler once she trusted you a bit.

More recently I spent a couple years taking care of my Mom. I spent most of one summer trimming trees, raking leaves, and generally giving the yard the first clean up in several years. Luna was my dedicated helper for most of that. I had to check before I dropped anything, especially if I was up on a ladder, because Luna was usually hanging out around the bottom. Whenever I took a break, Luna was usually right in my lap, or at least along side of me. If I managed to get out of the house without Luna noticing, it usually wasn't very long before Mom would be calling me to come get my baby.

More recently, Luna got to be something of a loner, finding some out of the way place to sleep until it was time to feed the kitties. Somehow, she always managed to show up to help with that, or at least to supervise while I opened the cans.

I'm telling you this now, because Luna left me for The Bridge sometime during Thursday night.

No Translation, No Sub-titles, No Need

2011-04-04T23:11:00.005-05:00

Luna, here.

We usually don't have much use for woofers, but if you haven't already seen this, watch it, please.

Japan 'tsunami dog' Ban reunited with owner after surviving at sea

If you don't smile after this, check your pulse -- you might be dead.

Love and a kittie

2011-01-10T14:21:00.007-06:00

Hi, all. The Pirate Girls (AKA the two black kitties) here, with a really nice happy ending tail we thought you might enjoy.

From the an article in the Democrat and Chronicle.com (Rochester, New York):

The Dec. 1 picture showed what was said to be an abandoned and blind 12-year-old
New York City cat. With no hope for adoption, it was about to be euthanized.

"There was something about his face, his posture," says Dr. Michelle M. Brownstein, a veterinarian who operates the Henrietta Animal Hospital. "It just got to me. The cat had absolutely no hope."

Well, Dr. Brownstein decided to do something about that cat, named Nick. After a bunch of emails, Twitters, Facebook and plain old telephone calls, Nick had a home. With her.

More information is available from Dr. Brownstein's blog here, here, and here.

We found out about Nick via paper bag & string, a really nice blog we just stumbled across a day or two ago.

Mick, hanging out in his new home.

PS: It turns out Mick isn't even blind.

Kittens In My Christmas Tree!

2010-12-23T14:12:00.004-06:00

Hi all. Luna here with a quick note. The border-line space cadets at Rathergood have a new video out for Christmas, named Kittens In My Christmas Tree!.

Enjoy!

If you can't get this to play, or just want to access the YouTube directly, click here.

A Merry Christmas to you all. We seldom get around to posting ourselves, but we try to check in on everyone's blogs at least once in a while.

ppuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

For Ozzie

2010-12-05T13:36:00.004-06:00

Hi. Dan (AKA The Food Source) here, with a post I really tried not to have to make.

After more than a month, there is still no sign of Ozzie. I looked around, hoping that if nothing else, I would find his body, or at least a large area of orange fur, but so far, nothing. Ozzie is large, tough tom cat, who spent at least a year or so living on his own before we connected. So I keep hoping he is out there somewhere, surviving off of his street smarts.

What really bothers me is that the last time I saw Ozzie, I was closing up the house for the night. I thought about making him come inside, but I decided to let him be. It was going to be one of the last nice nights of the fall, and I figured Ozzie could take care of himself.

It looks like I was wrong.

Ozzie, where ever you are, I hope you are doing well. I'll keep looking for you. If you are out there somewhere, come home, OK?

The World's Longest Cat

2010-10-22T16:05:00.003-05:00

Luna here, with a couple things.

First off, I'm not sure which bothers me more, the fact that there is a Guinness World Record for the world's longest cat, or that I'll never qualify. But it must really bug the previous record holder that Stewie is a whole 1/2 inch longer then him (or her, the article really doesn't say).

Second, we might need some purrrss for Ozzie. He was an adopted stray, and every month or two, he just disappears for a couple days. We think he takes off to visit some old friends, or something.

Anyway, he has been gone a little longer than usual this time, and we're starting to worry that he got himself into trouble somewhere. The Food Source has gone out looking for him a time or two without finding anything, either positive or negative.

So if you could kinda remind him he has a nice place already, and he really should get his tail back where he belongs, we would appreciate it.

Even macaque monkeys like kittehs

2010-09-27T14:54:00.000-05:00

Hi. Ozzie here again, with something somewhere between weird and great.

First off, quite a lot of you have links to the Animal Rescue site. There is a site called Free Kibble that also donates cat food. As a bonus, there is a trivia question for you to answer, although they donate the same amount of food whether your answer is right or wrong.

Todays question is about a kitten that was adopted by a wild macaque monkey.

Check out both Free Kibble and the kitten. There're both worth the time.

Cat Scratching Rules

2010-09-25T14:55:00.000-05:00

Ozzie here. You kitties might have seen this already, but it was new to me.

Hit link to go to the Cheezburger site.

A Couple Blogrolling Update/Bug Fixes

2010-09-22T12:32:00.001-05:00

Just a couple quick notes that might help some people recover from Blogrolling.

For some time I have been unable to display or access my Blogroll from my blogs. I finally found out why (below). With luck, I can now extract the blog list to a separate file, more or less in mass. Copied from a post on Get Satisfaction

The problem was with one of the settings in the "Advanced Options" section where you can choose how you want your BlogRoll to look, there was an error that appears to be caused by a bug in the website coding.

What to do:

1. Log into BlogRolling which defaults to the "My BlogRolls" page.

2. Click on the "Edit BlogRoll" link in the BlogRoll that you wish to edit.

3. This opens up a page showing your BlogRoll Name, Website URL, and the words "Advanced Options". Click on the arrow to the left of "Advanced Options" which will drop down a whole list of choices.

4. Scroll down to the "Links to Display" option. By default, the number entered in the box will be 0. This is why you can't see any links in your BlogRoll.

5. BlogRolling.com suggests that you leave this blank to display all links, but at the moment this isn't working! Leaving this blank and clicking the "Submit" button at the page bottom makes this value default back to 0, thus still not allowing any links to be seen in your BlogRoll.

6. Instead, enter the number 999. (This will work as long as you have less than 999 blogs in your blogroll!)

7. Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the "Submit" button in order to have your changes accepted.

8. Open up the "Advanced Options" again to double-check that your changes have been accepted.

Now, all things being correct, you should be able to see your BlogRoll on your blog.

Also, if you want a way to display just your Blogroll, this html should let you do that:

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN">

<HTML>

<HEAD>

</HEAD>

<BODY LANG="en-US" DIR="LTR">

<-- Insert a copy the Javascript incantation Blogrolling supplies here. FWIW, the list of random digits seems to be what Blogrolling uses to locate the actual blog list. -->

</BODY>

</HTML>

You will likely have to fuss with things a bit, but I'm hoping this will let me get a copy of the Blogrolling blog list without manually copying every link.

In Honor of Meow Like A Pirate Day

2010-09-19T00:10:00.000-05:00

Allie might be going has gone to The Bridge

2010-09-01T10:23:00.001-05:00

The cat's Food Source here, with just a quick note.

It looks like Allie is about to leave us for The Bridge. She hasn't eaten much, if anything, for the last several days, and now is having trouble standing up. I am torn between rushing her to the vet for all kinds of (probably painful, probably useless) tests and treatments, and just letting her go.

UPDATE: Allie made the decision for me. She left for The Bridge just after I posted the first note.

Chris Muir must have catz

2010-08-30T17:13:00.000-05:00

Chris Muir must have catz

As always, hit the panel to see a bigger image, direct from Day by Day website.

Butch and Sundance need a new home

2010-08-27T17:23:00.000-05:00

The Food Source here, trying to help a couple more kitties who could use a break.

From inkandchocolate's Journal site

I can't keep my kitties any longer. For many long and complex reasons, there is no way we can continue to keep our boys in the house. I can't take them to the SPCA as they are too old for the SPCA to keep around even though they are gorgeous, sweet and wonderful kitties. Butch and Sundance are brothers, neutered and litter box trained. They are wonderfully affectionate and love people, petting and cuddling.

They are brothers, and I have had them since they were born. Some of you might even remember when they were born in 2003, back in the day when I was under the old LJ name and I posted about the event.

I need someone to take my boys, someone who will love them and keep them together. I am willing to drive pretty far to deliver them to you or to someone you know who will love them and care for them.

Will you help me spread the word? I will have them checked out by their vet and given any shots they are due for and a clean bill of health to whoever takes them in.

Butch and Sundance.

The cats live in Pennsylvania, south of Philadelphia. They are about eight years old, and as you can see, are gorgeous.

If you know of anyone who can help them, please contact me, or inkandchocolate directly.

NOTE: Getting into her journal to contact her is something of a hassle, unfortunately. She writes and posts a lot of fan flick, and apparently some of it is a bit racy. So you might see a button asking "Are you over 14 years old" (or something similar). Just hit the button and keep going -- this post at least is rated G.

If you want to contact her, I think you will have to either set up a Live Journal account, or use an OpenID account to access Live Journal. Supposedly, all Blogger accounts also are OpenID accounts, but I've never tried that myself, so you results may vary.

She does respond to posts on her journal and to messages sent via the Send Message , but sometimes it takes a day or two to hear from her. So don't panic if you don't hear from her for a while.

A smile, perhaps

2010-08-26T13:16:00.000-05:00

Food Source here. I saw this the other day, and thought it might bring a smile to the Cat Blogosphere. We could kind of us one after the last week or so.

As always, clicking on the image will take you to a larger version.

The Worst Shelter In North America (At Least)

2010-08-20T22:11:00.001-05:00

It is doubtful that we reach anyone that isn't already fairly active in the Cat Blogosphere, but we really gotta try to do something to help with this. This film is from the 'shelter' for Animal Control somewhere in the area of Woodstock, Ontario.

To quote Beth:

There are two employees that rotate shifts and are on call 24 hours per day. They do what they can. It can't be an easy job.

House of the Discarded :has more information here and here and a couple more posts along the way.

A Rough Couple Days on the Cat Blogosphere

2010-08-18T16:23:00.007-05:00

All in all, a rough couple days around the Cat Blogosphere.

.....Update.....

It got worse...

UPDATE TWO

Just a note: Each of these images is linked to a post about that cat on their own blog.

Sprout Day

2010-08-10T18:56:00.003-05:00

Today is Sprout Day, in honor of a beautiful baby girl who was with us for only a short time, but touched so many hearts.

The Grayson Eleven

2010-07-04T13:23:00.005-05:00

Hi all, The Clowder's Food Source here. I have been in contact (email) with the folks (one folk, anyway) at the Grayson Shelter. I just thought I ought to let you all know what their last email said.

We do have sponsorship for Rosemary. However, when one gets sponsorship, it
just forces us to consider another cat when we are out of space. We did
have 3 leave this weekend and have rescue for a couple more which will leave
on Thursday.
We do not kill lightly and have not killed a cat for space for several years
now, however cat rescues are few and far between and one that pulled a lot
from us had to stop due to a grant agreement in her community (long story).

We are all volunteers and the email comes to my home address as we do not
have internet access at the shelter.

We are at the shelter cleaning every morning regardless of the holiday. The
animals need care and don't understand that people take holidays from work.

Thanks for caring.

Donna White
Grayson County Humane Society
Leitchfield Animal Shelter
213 William Thomason Byway
Leitchfield, KY 42754
270-230-8839
www.graysonhumane.org
www.graysoncountyhumanesociety.petfinder.org
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/friendsofgray soncohumanesoc/

The good news, maybe, is that with donations from Mom Laure, me, and probably others, the original eleven are looking at a little more time. The bad news may be that by doing that, we may have doomed some other cat, although we fervently hope not.

We do what we can, I guess.

Another hairs breath rescue would be nice

2010-07-03T14:15:00.000-05:00

Hi, all. Allie here with just a quick note.

Not sure if anyone is working on this or not, but it looks like there is an entire cat family that has a PTS date of Monday, July 5. (apparently, putting down kittens does not take time off for holidays)

We heard about them from The Misadventures of Me. We're not sure how much could be done over a holiday weekend, but we thought we ought to mention this, just in case someone is close enough to rescue at least one or two of them.

On a happier note, for folks in the USA, Happy Independence Day. For the rest of you, happy July 4.

Purrrring for Neala

2010-06-29T00:05:00.001-05:00

Today the Cat Blogosphere is all purrrring for Neala. Neala is a Sphynx who is getting an operation Tuesday to fix up a burth defect she was borned with.

Check in with Neala's blog, Gotta Have Faith for background and (we're hoping) more or less up to the minute updates as Neala's V*T trip continues.

--------------

Added July 2: For anyone who sees this post, we've got some bad news. Neala made it through surgery fine, then started having problems. She went to The Bridge a couple days after her surgery. See Gotta Have Faith for more information or to leave comments.

2010-06-26T19:09:00.003-05:00

Hi everyone. Something we found this morning, and thought you all might find interesting.

Oscar was a black kittie happily living on a farm, until he had a accident with a combine.

Now he is still running around, but he has titanium back legs.

So far, he seems to be doing well.

More information is available here, and probably a lot more places. If you are somewhere close to England, you may be able to see Oscar on a TV show called The Bionic Vet. It starts on Wednesday June 30, although you will have to track down what channel.

Purrrring for Maxie, and Iam's foods are messed up again

2010-06-11T00:18:00.005-05:00

Hi. Allie here with a couple things.

First off, Maxie is having problems and is going into surgury this morning. He is gonna need all the purrrrsss and good thoughts he can get.

Feel free to use this image -- we grabbed it from the Cat Blogosphere in the first place.

And in a "where have we heard that before" moment, Iam's is recalling a bunch of stinky goodness. This time, supposedly, there is just not enough vatamum B (what ever that is) in the fod, so it looks like at this time it won't actually kill you to eat it. I guess that is progress, at least somewhat.

Check with the FDA or Proctor & Gamble for the details if you are getting Iam's foods.

Lost for those who never watched Lost

2010-05-26T20:36:00.003-05:00

Hi. Ozzie here, with a quick note.

We never watched Lost, but we found this wondering around the web.

We thought those of you who did might enjoy it.

The Internet is Made of Cats

2010-02-02T16:33:00.005-06:00

Hey, all. Allie here with just a quick note.

If you believe the folks at Rathergood, the entire Internet is made out of cats. You all might have knows that already, but it was news to me.

Check this out if you don't believe me:

Way to go, Smoka

2009-09-13T15:03:00.004-05:00

Hi, all. Ozzie here, with just a quick note. We still keep trying to post, but The Food Source has been working all kinds of hours all summer, so he never has time to let us blog, or even read your blogs very much.

(at least, that's what HE keeps saying.)

Hey, Luna! Get your own post. This one is mine!

But we thought you all might enjoy hearing about Smoka the cat.

Smoka (great name) was trapped under rubble for 26 days after a fire. A demolition crew found him while clearing away the remains of the building. He seems to be doing fine.

Grumble, Grumble, Grumble

2009-02-22T16:48:00.004-06:00

GRRRRRR.

We thought we were done with this cold stuff.

Remember Nezbine?

2009-02-07T13:16:00.006-06:00

Hi, again. This is Allie.

We've been trying to decide what to do with this blog. We all want it to keep it going, but Radcliff was our spokescat, and none of us really wanted to take over that job. So we decided that we would all take turns, more or less, and we will all just post things as they occur to us.

I'm now the oldest of the Clowder, so I decided to go first.

First, we still intend to visit all of you who commented when Radcliff went to The Bridge, but we are having a hard time getting The Food Source to help, and he is still the only one who can turn on the computer or use the keyboard. So it will likely take a while to get around.

Second, and probably better news. Do any of you remember Nezbine, who usually went by Buddy? We've gotten some emails from her bean, Laura recently, and she seems to be hanging in there. She has two new kitties, named Stripes and Spots, and is thinking of starting another blog. Laura was a little surprised we all remembered her, but we tried to tell her the Cat Blogosphere has a very long memory.

If you have a chance, could you drop by Buddy's blog and remind her that she and her kitties are still part of our group? She has moderation on for Buddy's blog, so it will take a while to get a comment to appear, but we would appreciate the effort.

Thanks, all, for everything.

ppuurrrrrrrrrrrrr

2009-01-24T15:52:00.004-06:00

Hello, all, and thanks, lots, for all the comments and condolences. The Clowder and I intend to visit all of you in person, eventually, although it will likely take a while to get to all of you.

I got Radcliff's ashes the other day. Now he is next to Coco, who was The One Who Came Before. I lost her about a year before I got Radcliff and Allie.

The rest of the Clowder seems to know something is different, even though none of them had much to do with Radcliff, nor him with any of them. They seem to be cuddling and grooming a bit more than they used to.

PS: To whomever make that picture of Radcliff, thanks for the effort, and I hope you don't mind me appropriating it for mine and the Clowder's use.

Radcliff, February 1993 to December 25, 2008

2008-12-26T09:18:00.003-06:00

The Food Source here, with just a brief note.

When I got up and fed the cats Christmas Day, Radcliff was having a bit more trouble with his back legs than normal, but otherwise he seemed OK, or at least no worse than usual. (He had been battling arthritis in his back legs for several years)

After I had washed up and gotten dressed, I went back into the kitchen, and Radcliff was laying dead on the middle of the kitchen floor.

I'll post more information on this later, but I just thought some of you might want to know about this.

Roomba Driver

2008-11-23T10:12:00.003-06:00

Radcliff here. We were wondering across the web, and we stumbled onto this video. The Food Source thought you beans (and maybe poodin's) might enjoy it, too.

And of course, there is always some one out there who tries to improve on this original...

A PS from The Food Source For the Pet Museum Curator -- we have the book you sent us. With luck, we'll even post a picture or two of it, someday.

Purrrrring for Auntie Deb

2008-09-29T22:00:00.000-05:00

Aunt Deb (of The Taylor Catsssss) is gonna have major, serious, painfull surjery today (Tuesday) for her back problems. Apparently, Aunt Deb's back is soon painfull that a painfull surjery is considered an improbement.

So we're asking all poodins, woofies, buns, beans, and other critters to send some purrrrss, woooffs, snorts, or whatever toward Aunt Deb. We want all the purrrayer force we can get that this surjery goes well, and is the last time those bean V*T's has to cut her open.

ppuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

PS: Feel free to use this graphic if you want to post about this yourselfs.

International Talk Like A Pirate Day

2008-09-15T19:32:00.003-05:00

This Friday, September 19, is International Talk Like A Pirate Day.

We found a couple places where you could make yourself pirate names, if you feel like it.

What's My Pirate Name (this is a three page quiz, so it might be a bit much if you can't get your beans to help)
Pirate Name Generator
Your Pirate Name
What's Your Pirate Name

The last three just use your name. (or any random phrase you type in, probably)

If you have any big parties or fund raisers planned, let the Talk Like A Pirate beans know about it here. A bunch of blogging kitties invading the pirate goings on should fit right in.

Tooth Report -- Another Update

2008-08-29T08:23:00.003-05:00

The Food Source here again, with another update on Radcliff, Allie, and their teeth.

First off, they had to go to another vet for their dental work. The one they normally go to doesn't have some of the equipment needed.

Anyway, Radcliff had one tooth extracted. Allie did not have any teeth removed. They are both back home with me, are moving around the house, and generally seem none the worse for wear. Their normal vet was expecting several teeth removed from both, since apparently their teeth looked nasty.

Hopefully we will get some more information from the vet dentist at some point. If so, I'll forward any additional info to the group.

Thanks for the purrrs and purrayers. They helped.

Tooth Report -- An Update

2008-08-28T07:58:00.003-05:00

Dan, AKA The Food Source here, with a brief update.

It is about 7:00AM here, and Radcliff and Allie are currently on their way to the dentist/vet with one of the aides. Given the weird hours I'm currently working, I doubt I'll hear any news about them before about 3:00AM Friday morning. I'm expecting to pick them up Friday morning sometime.

FWIW, the aide was confidant everything would go fine.

Requesting Some Purrrrrss

2008-08-27T04:53:00.003-05:00

Hi, all. Ozzie here.

I'm gonna take over temporairly as spokescat for Radcliff, since he is not feeling very well.

He and Allie are both having teeth problems, and they (the teeth) are making it hard for them to eat. Plus they (the teeth) likely hurt like poop!

Anyway, they (Radcliff & Allie) are gonna have to go to the V*T Thursday morning to have their teeth worked on. The Food Source (all of us, actually) are just hoping they (Radcliff & Allie) handle Auntie Stedick OK. They (Radcliff & Allie) are both around 14 years old, and apparently Auntie Stedick is kinda hard on older kitties. (We all think that is kinda mean of Auntie, but we haven't found anything we can do about it)

I (all of us, actually) would appreciate any purrrrss or good thoughts you might be able to send our way tomorrow morning.

Not The Mama Monday

2008-08-25T01:27:00.003-05:00

To recognize him for all that he's done - rescuing strays, fostering, fundraising, donating, working so very hard with the CFHF and the CB, helping his local rescue organizations, and being the kind-hearted and wonderful guy that he is.

For Sprout

2008-08-14T04:39:00.005-05:00

Violette, Monty Q's Sprout, is gone.

There is more information on the Cat Blogosphere, but we do know Mom Robyn is carrying everyone's hugs to the family, if you want to add your own hugs, purrrrss, or memorial posts.

Sleep well, little Sprout.

%nWrGzbN5eS%

2008-08-11T13:30:00.001-05:00

%%cnyQf9TF%%

For Mu Shue Pooh King Cat

2008-07-10T00:29:00.002-05:00

Mamma Laura is saying good bye to Mu Shue.

He is very sick, and the Hero Cat's work is done.

....UPDATE....

Or maybe not

This man cat still got fight

Hrrrrmphh

2008-07-05T21:43:00.004-05:00

Luna: I just found out that Radcliff sneaked out to a party at Skeeter's house last night, and I'm pissed. I have been looking for a chance to show the Pirate Gurls how to party.

Radcliff: I told you it wouldn't be the sort of nip-fueled orgy that you enjoy. Skeeter is not feeling very well. It was be a quiet get together, with more napping and grooming than any thing else.

Luna: I still think you should have had the told us about the party. Skeeter and LC was one of the first blogs we read regularly, and I would have liked to had a chance to say Happy Purrrthday to him.

Radcliff: Well, you still can.

Luna:

Happy (Belated) Purrrthday, Skeeter.

I hope you have many more.

Fighting No More

2008-06-12T23:00:00.029-05:00

In honor of a brave and noble kittie

I did not lose this fight...it is just time for me to go now.

Introducing Anne Bonny & Mary Read

2008-05-13T14:51:00.012-05:00

Previously known as The Two Black Kitties.

The poll pretty much split amongst three names, with Anne Bonny & Mary Read second, and Thelma & Louise first.

There were a lot good of suggestions from the comments, and I thought about having another poll with them added, but finally decided that enough was enough. I really didn't like Thelma and Louise very much, and thought Anne Bonny and Mary Read were more interesting names, at least to me, so here are:

Anne Bonny
Mary Read

For anyone interested in more information about Anne Bonny & Mary Read the 18th Century pirates, check any of these links:
http://www.jamaica-gleaner.com/pages/history/story0024.html
http://www.beaglebay.com/women_pirates.htm#Mary%20Read
http://www.beaglebay.com/women_pirates.htm#Ann%20Bonny
http://www.piratesinfo.com/biography/biography.php
Search Query with Ask

OK, Kitties. You Win.

2008-04-15T13:33:00.009-05:00

The Food Source here.

It looks like I've adopted two more cats in spite of myself. One of them is sleeping in my mothers lap most afternoons, so I can't get rid of her. They are litter mates, and are almost always around each other, so I really hate to break up the set.

I may have to rent them out for rodent control to pay the food bills, but The Two Black Kitties are now 'my cats', whatever that might actually mean.

Which means I am going to have to find names for them, and I am pretty much drawing a blank. Most of the combinations I've been able to come up with have either been boy cat names, or I just didn't like them much. So I've decided to see what others thought, and put up a poll of the names I had thought of and kinda liked. Some information about the cats:

These kitties are probably litter mates, so I would like to have names somewhat related.
They are girl kitties, and are on the small side, at least compared to the rest of the Clowder.
They are coal black. If there is a gray hair any where on either of them, it is coming out and is about to fall off.

UPDATE: Corrected spelling error 'Crystal Gayle', not 'Cyrstal Gayle', should that matter to your choices.

NOTE: These are the results from when I closed the poll, on the odd chance anyone really cares.

Purrring as hard as we can for them all

2008-04-12T10:42:00.002-05:00

There was a FIVE ALARM fire at the build where Mama Laura, Lilly Lu, Mu Shue and Iris live. That is about all we know about the situation.

More information at the Cat Blogosphere.

UPDATE: From the Cat Blogosphere

Laura JUST called! Mu Shue, Lilly Lu and Iris were found hiding in the apartment by the fire folks going around checking and they’re alive!!! They were hiding and they’re scared to come out for strangers. They’re still there, and she can’t go in yet because it’s unsafe, but Animal Control is going to go in as soon as possible!!! Laura is picking up new carriers right now. The fire people said they’d be ok overnight if it had to be that long, but they’re going to try to get the in tonight if at all possible.

Going Orange for the ASPCA

2008-04-10T10:47:00.005-05:00

Smudge Saturday

2008-03-22T11:41:00.008-05:00

hmmmm . . . It seems our interlopers have been sneaking onto our blog when no one is watching. We'll have to deal with that later. For the moment, we want to do a post for Smudge and his beans.

Radcliff here.

We never really knew Smudge very well, but we were watching and purrrring for him during his battle with this ugly parasite. We're hoping Zoe and their beans are feeling a little better, and are thinking about Smudge's life, and not his end.

We saw this video on zazamataz, and we thought it said what needed said much better than we ever could. (even if it IS about a woofer!)

for those of you who don't want to wait for the video to download, you can read the entire poem at "Beau". The last few lines are

He would wake up at night
And he would have this fear
Of the dark, of life, of lots of things,
And he'd be glad to have me near.
And now he's dead.
And there are nights when I think I feel him
Climb upon our bed and lie between us,
And I pat his head.
And there are nights when I think
I feel that stare
And I reach out my hand to stroke his hair,
But he's not there.
Oh, how I wish that wasn't so,
I'll always love a dog named Beau.

sneaking onto the computer

2008-03-21T10:28:00.001-05:00

hi. we're the two little black kitties. we just sneaked onto the computer. not sure how long we're gonna be able to talk. dad doesn't know the internet connection is working, again, for the moment, anyway.

yeah. we've started calling him dad. he took care of us when we were out in the yard freezing our tails off. he's feeding us the same thing the rest of the family gets. we sleep in the house, and he greets us when he comes home same as he greets the rest of the family. he's dad.

he still says he's trying to find us another home, but we think his mother wants to keep us. one time someone called for information about the 'free cats' (us! free cats! indeed!), and she said "she didn't know anything about that", and hung up on the guy.

so we've been cuddling up with them, sleeping with them at night, and generally trying to convince them both that they really, really need two more cats in the house.

wish us luck!

For Gretchen's Beanmom, Dorothy

2008-01-19T11:04:00.000-06:00

Gretchen's beanmom is very sick with heart problems. Gretchen's Aunt Paula is posting information.

We've never tried this before, so we're not sure this worked, but we tried to start a candle group for her. In any event, we are purrring for Dorothy, and we suspect Gretchen and the rest of the family would appreciate any good thoughts you could send their way.

puuurrrrrrrrrr

Any one else out there who likes black cats?

2008-01-05T16:02:00.000-06:00

Hi. This is the Food Source, stealing the Clowder's blog for a personal request.

Is any one out there interested in adopting two really friendly, really (really) black girl kitties?

I've adopted/fostered (kidnapped?) two little black cats that I suspect someone dumped in the fields across the street. They are great kitties. One is already sleeping on the bed with me, the other takes naps on my chest once or twice a night. They aren't the least bit intimidated by the rest of the Clowder.

I love black cats, and would love to keep them, but I really don't have the money to give them the vet care they need. I suspect they both need spayed. One of them has a problem with one eye. It doesn't seem to bother her, but it still needs checked out.

I really hate to upset their lives yet again, but they really do need a new, really forever home. If you are interested, please let me know. There is some more information on their Catster page.

One Last Holiday Thought

2007-12-29T21:30:00.000-06:00

We all hope you had a great Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Festivus, Chrissy Mouse, . . .

Jingle Bells

2007-12-23T17:14:00.000-06:00

A thoughtful commentary appropriate for a few days before Christmas.

(my first attempt at posting a YouTube video. We'll just have to see how things work.)

UPDATE: It turns out musaeri has a longer version of this video as well, at around three minutes. We just thought you might be interested in knowing about that.

I Love Cats . . .

2007-12-18T20:18:00.000-06:00

I love cats because I enjoy my home
and little by little
they become its visible soul.

Jean Cocteau

Our Box of Life

2007-12-16T13:59:00.000-06:00

Radcliff here. We expected to have a lot of trouble doing this meme, because with four kitties

SIX kitties!

Be quiet. You're strays who sneaked into the house. You don't live here.

Don't be so sure!

That's what worries me.

Anyway, as I was saying, We FOUR kitties expected a lot of trouble reaching any kinda agreement, but once we started listing things, we pretty much agreed right from the start.

So, what we think important enough to keep in our own Box of Life:

Our Furrever home. The building itself has changed several times, but everywhere we go The Food Source is always there, keeping our food bowls full and the littler boxes cleaned.
Our beds. The beds themselves are just boxes, with folded towels in them. Some are less than that. The thought behind them is what is important. All of us are either shelter kitties or adopted strays, so a warm safe place to sleep is important to us all.
Affection. We have many kitties in our home, but The Food Source always tries to give each of us a little personal attention every day. If one of us gets upset in the middle of the night, The Food Source always cuddles with us, and helps us get back to sleep.

And some things a couple of us insisted had to be included, even though the rest of us thought them unimportant.

A sunny spot to sleep, especially if it is in the middle of the floor. (Allie)
Head bonks with The Food Source. (Luna)
Wrestling in The Food Sources lap. (Ozzie)
Living inside. IN is differently better. (the two black kitties)

Hey! How'd that get in here?

Anyway, for all the kitties, buns, woofies, and all other critters and all their beans of the Cat Blogosphere. It is nice to know there are others out there living, loving, and thinking as we do.

A big {{hugg}} for you all.

(And a technical note from The Food Source. Since most of the entries in their Box of Life were feelings or emotions, rather than physical items, the kitties and I all agreed that a logical place to store them was a Klein Bottle. A little searching on the web lead me to Walter Myers Arcadia Street gallery, and he was gracious enough to let us use a copy of his Bottle for this meme. Check out his gallery if you have the time.)

Are we OK?

2007-12-06T13:48:00.000-06:00

Radcliff meows:

Hi, Kelly Cat. We all appreciate your concern.

Are we OK? Sorta depends. See this?

You don't remember any of us mentioning any black cats before, do you?

That's because these two interlopers just moved in a few weeks ago. The Food Source SAYS he's trying to find them homes, or at least a foster home, but he said that about Ozzie over a year ago, and he's still here.

It is getting to the point where The Food Source spends all his time tending to and worrying about those strays and ferals living across the street, and ignoring the kitties he already has in his home.

(Food Source here. I really am trying to find these kitties another home, but I thought I ought to post some signs and wait a bit, in case they wandered away from home, rather than being dumped. They're great cats, but I really don't need, and really can't afford, six cats. Even if I really like black cats.)

Radcliff again:

Yeah, right. We'll see.

To TT - We are still planning on doing our Box of Life meme you tagged us for, but we wanted to think about it a bit.

Some good news

2007-11-04T12:16:00.000-06:00

Maybe it is just us, but there seems to be a whole lot of bad news going around the Cat Blogosphere these days. Sick kitties, sick beans, kitties going to the Bridge.

So we're glad can contribute some good news, both for us and for a stray orange kittie.

Hobo (see picture) has a new furrever home, and so far he is taking over like he owns the place. That is the good news for him. His new home is about eighty miles away. That is the good news for us.

The story.

A month or two ago The Food Source met a friendly orange kittie at the V*T's office. He kept trying to get INTO the V*T office, so it was pretty clear he was homeless, and probably either desperate, confused, or really, really dumb! Anyway, The Food Source played with him a little, and the next time he looked out, the orange kittie was sitting in the yard outside his door.

The Food Source kept playing with him, and feeding him, and after a week or so The Food Source was able to coax this intruder into our house. Bad move, kittie!

A quick trip to the V*T, a quick snip, and this interloper was living in the utility room under the name 'Hobo'. Worse move, kittie!

We all made it clear this was not acceptable.

So this past Saturday The Food Source stuffed the interloper into a Prisoner Transport Unit and moved him to his new home, with The Food Source's brother.

The word is he is settling in fine, and already giving orders. Good move, kittie.

Desktop Meme

2007-10-05T14:06:00.000-05:00

We were tagged for the Desktop Meme by TT Girl. It wasn't clear if we were supposed to show the screen with all the windows we were using, or just the actual desktop, so we show both. (as usual, clicking on the images brings up a larger copy)

We tend to use the desktop as a catch-all to stash any temporary links or images we or The Food Source might want soon.

Enough said, here, we think.

Here are the rules for the meme:

Upon receiving this tag, immediately perform a screen capture of your desktop.It is best that no icons be deleted before the screen capture so as to add to the element of fun.

Here’s how you can do a screen capture:

1.Go to your desktop and press the Print Scrn key (located on the right side of the F12 key).

Mommy bean note: On a laptop you use the Fn + prt sc keys then paste it into a graphics program.

2.Open a graphics program (like Picture Manager, Paint, or Photoshop) and doing a Paste (CTRL + V). If you wish, you can “edit” the image before saving it.

3.Post the picture on your blog. You can also give a short explanation on the look of your desktop if you want. You can explain why you prefer such a look or why it is full of icons. Things like that.

4.Tag five of your friends and ask them to give you a Free View of their desktops as well.

We decided to tag

Skeeter and LC. We hope they get the word (they've been having email problems).
Frodo, of Frodo's Catscentric World.
Meisha, of Meisha's Meows.
The Ginger Cats. We really hope they respond. Their blog is mesmerizing.
We'll leave the fifth tag open. We were planning to tag The Pet Museum, but under the circumstances, we doubt the Curator is in the mood right now.

We seldom comment on the 'real world', but...

2007-09-29T14:42:00.000-05:00

from
ko htike's prosaic collection

After reading The Furry Fighter and The Cat Realm.

Cat Born Without Eyes And Teeth

2007-09-25T23:42:00.000-05:00

We vowed that we would quit reposting articles from Itchmo. If you've been reading our efforts very long, you already know all about them, and us reposting the information is a waste of everyone's time. If you aren't interested in Itchmo's posts, you likely aren't reading us either. Either way, there's no point.

But, dang...

Max, an orange tabby, looks and acts like any normal cat. He grooms himself, tries to get attention from humans, and in general, is a curious cat. And he rules the roost at the Best Friends Animal Clinic in Oregon.

But up close, people who meet Max see that this cat is a bit different. He was born without eyes and teeth.

Max lives in Oregon, and seems almost disturbingly happy.

Via an Itchmo post.

So you still have a few free hours in the day?

2007-09-25T11:50:00.000-05:00

I know what you're thinking. "Do you spend ten hours a day on the web, or fifteen?" Well, to tell the truth, with all the bouncing from site to site, we've kinda lost track ourselves.

But even in a world with ICHC, about three hundred Cat Blogs, and even a site called LOLRats, you still can have a little free time, just a bit of a real life, right? Well, bean, is that what you think?

Well, to tell you the truth, we kinda thought that ourselves.

Then we found Moviecat at The Pet Museum.

With apologies to Dirty Harry Calahan, and with thanks to RobG, who did the photoshop we stole from Moviecat.

Talk like a pirate day

2007-09-19T01:00:00.000-05:00

Yaarrrrrrr!!1!

Per Blogthings Pirate Name Generator

Radcliff's Pirate name . . .

Mad Jack of the Baltic

What's Your Pirate Name?

Allie's pirate name . . .

Evil Janie Jalibird

What's Your Pirate Name?

Luna's pirate name . . .

Mad Lazy Gracey

What's Your Pirate Name?

Ozzie's pirate name . . .

Iron Left Eye Louis

What's Your Pirate Name?

Blog Blast for Anastasia

2007-08-25T23:14:00.000-05:00

Please Come Home, Anastasia

Anastasia, of The Cat Realm, has been missing since Tuesday, August 21, early afternoon.

Skeezix said the rest as well as we could...

As most of yoo know, Anastasia has bin missing for 4 days. Altho we can't help put up flyers or look for her, I thot we cood have a blog blast promoting one minit of hopeful purrayer and purrs and pawsitive thinking to help bring her home safe.

PLEEZE POST THIS ON YER BLOG to enkerije all the cats we know to pawtisipate. Then tomorrow, take one minit owt of yer day at noon PDT, 3pm EDT to focus as much pawsitive energy you can toward Tucson, Arizona.

Lifelong Friends Pet Adoptions

2007-08-20T12:54:00.001-05:00

Especially for people in the Austin, Texas area.

Lifelong Friends Pet Adoptions (formerly Lago Vista PAWS), a true no-kill shelter for stray and abandoned dogs and cats, is in jeopardy of closing its doors. The shelter only has about a week's worth of operating funds left. Shelter volunteers have started a Save Our Shelter Campaign to raise funds so they can continue providing care for almost 400 animals. Donations for the SOS Campaign can be sent to Lifelong Friends, PO Box 4100, Lago Vista, TX 78645. To make an online donation, click on Network for Good at the bottom of this page.

We don't know much about this shelter, but it is legitimate enough a local TV station did a story on the problem.

From Itchmo, where else?

Cat Owner Files Legal Action Against FDA in Pet Food Deaths

2007-08-16T15:21:00.001-05:00

You know, we really didn't intend to devote all our time on this blog to yelling "the sky is falling" and reporting terrible disasters that might kill someone's kitties. But sometimes we find something that really could use a bit more publicity, and while we likely don't add much, we feel we should add what we can. Anyway.....

Don Earl (of Pet Food Recall Facts) has gone to federal court to

force the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to “perform its duty” and investigate other toxins -- besides melamine -- as the culprit in this year’s massive pet food recall.

More information available here, here, and here.

Also, Nutro had trouble getting some 'food' into the country recently, if we are reading this document correctly.

Via Itchmo, an invaluable resource, even if it does focus more on D*GS.

Get Well Soonest, BabyBean

2007-08-07T23:34:00.000-05:00

We're all purrring for Monty Q. Cat's BabyBean. BB was hurt when she pulled some soup off of the counter onto herself. She had to be airlifted to Children's Hospital.

Please send purrss and good wishes to BabyBean, MomBean, DadBean, and the rest of the family if you haven't already. Darling Millie seems to have the most up to date information on BabyBean.

Skeezix's is organizing a BlogBlast. Feel free to post the image, and add yourself to the Autolink at the Cat Blogosphere.

New Kittie Blog

2007-08-07T16:59:00.001-05:00

One thing about wondering around on the web -- you keep finding things and have no earthly idea where, exactly, you were going when you found them.

Case in point. We just hit a new catblog, Meisha’s Meows. It looks like Meisha has just started blogging, and so far has few comments.

Check out the new kittie when you get a chance.

Fatal Infection Affecting Mississippi Cats

2007-08-06T14:07:00.001-05:00

For any one with kitties in the Mississippi (USA) area.

Veterinarians at Mississippi State University are urging cat owners to practice effective tick control on their pets after the emergence of a parasitic blood infection they call a “death sentence.”
After examining the unexplained deaths of several cats in the state, the MSU College of Veterinary Medicine’s Animal Health Center revealed that their death was due to an infection called cytauxzoonosis.

There's more information at Fatal Infection Affecting Mississippi Cats, and Fatal infection threatens Miss. cats.

Via Itchmo.

Justice

2007-07-31T18:21:00.001-05:00

Overboard by Chip Dunham - 2007-07-31

Naaahhh. Give'm another ten or fifteen minutes in there.

A Folk Tale

2007-07-29T14:39:00.001-05:00

We thought this was worth spreading a bit further. And relax, there is a cat here, in spite of the title.

From American Folklore, via The Pet Museum.

The Talking Mule
retold by
S. E. Schlosser

A farmer owned a mule which he used for work all week. But being a Church-going man, he let the mule rest on Sunday.

One Sunday, the farmer had to go to a funeral. So he sent his son to saddle the mule.

"Since when do I have to work on Sunday?" asked the mule.

The boy dropped the saddle and ran to the house.

"Paw, the mule talked!" he shouted.

"Can't you even saddle the mule?" asked the farmer.

"But Paw, the mule don't want to work on Sunday," the boy protested.

The farmer sent the boy to his room for talking crazy and went out to saddle the mule.

"Move over," he said to the mule.

"Where's my supper?" asked the mule.

The farmer dropped the saddle in the same spot as his boy and ran out of the barn, followed by the dog.

"I ain't never heard a mule talk before," he gasped.

"Me neither," said the dog.

The man bolted for the house and slammed the door.

"The mule talked!" he told his wife.

"What!" said his wife.

"And when I exclaimed: 'I ain't never heard a mule talk before', the dog said: 'Me neither'."

"That's crazy," said his wife.

"What's so crazy about that?" asked the cat. "Haven't you ever heard of a talking mule?"

Healthy Karmic Thoughts For DMM's Grandad

2007-07-24T15:27:00.001-05:00

We were looking around for a candle or something serious for this post.

Then we realized that this what what most people would be doing.

So we dug this out of the files.

Hang in there, DMM's grandad. Sending healing thoughts to all concerned.

A schmoozing award

2007-07-22T20:55:00.000-05:00

Hey. TT (the Table Troll) nominated us for a schmoozing award. We're not sure if we really qualify, but we're honored. Indeed, we spend so much time reading and commenting other kitties blogs we like never get around to posting for ourselves.

"As it goes, schmoozing is the natural ability 'to converse casually, especially in order to gain an advantage or make a social connection.' Good schmoozers effortlessly weave their way in and out of the blogosphere, leaving friendly trails and smiles, happily making new friends along the way. They don’t limit their visits to only the rich and successful, but spend some time to say hello to new blogs as well. They are the ones who engage others in meaningful conversations, refusing to let it end at a mere hello - all the while fostering a sense of closeness and friendship."

Here are the rules:

Each award winner is to display the badge on the sidebar of his blog with a link to the post which contains the explanation of the award, then nominate five bloggers to receive the award.

We'll focus on blogs we've been reading regularly recently. We nominate:

Mozart is a relatively new blogger, but he has been telling an impressive tale of his efforts to get into his furrever home.

Frodo's Catscentric World has been around for more than a year, but somehow the Cat Blogosphere managed to miss him entirely until about a month ago.

The Ginger Darlings. If we could write like them, we could all die happy. The Old One's tales are epic.

Just Sharlene and her oh so floofy Spice Cats. If they weren't something like a squillion miles away we'd go visit them. (heck, the Food Source would be stalking Garlic)

Pimp C and Lil Z mostly just because we like their picture.

Michael James Keenan

2007-06-22T16:19:00.000-05:00

From Michael James Keenan blog:

As I sit here staring at my computer screen, contemplating just what to write, I realize that it is impossible to explain the inexplicable.

I’m not sure how to introduce you to what I’m about to write, so I am just going to get to the point.

At 12:00pm on Monday, June 18, 2007, Michael James Keenan was officially pronounced dead.

Not sure who Michael James Keenan is? Here.

We all just thought people might want to know about this.

UPDATE: For One-Eyed Jack, and anyone else wondering. The dog survived, and went home in March. Bobby has a Dogster page.

Some progress at last

2007-06-12T11:05:00.001-05:00

This might get Menu Foods attention about as fast as anything.

Menu Foods announced today that it has received notice from that [unidentified] customer, stating that the customer will no longer purchase cuts and gravy products from Menu Foods. [emphasis added]

Personally, I would like to know who finally jumped ship. I won't guarantee we'll start using their products, but we would definitely check into it.

To read the entire notice, visit StockHouse.ca : Menu Foods Income Fund. Basically the same notice is available at Globeinvester.

Email A Question For FDA’s Dr. Sundlof

2007-06-08T09:54:00.001-05:00

Something all you kitties and beans might be interested in, from the ever-valuable Itchmo:

Dr. Stephen Sundlof of the FDA has agreed to do a radio interview (it will be a taped interview and not live) with Steve Dale of Pet Central.

Read the entire post here.

Reporter finds missing dog 1,500 miles from Az home

2007-06-07T22:58:00.001-05:00

A nice story, and a happy ending, even if is does involve a d-o-g.

A sympathetic newspaper reporter's search for a missing dog turned up the stolen animal - 1,500 miles from home.

Via a Itchmo.

and on a somewhat lighter note...

2007-05-30T13:53:00.000-05:00

Speed Bump by Dave Coverly

Court: Menu Foods harassed pet owners

2007-05-30T11:02:00.000-05:00

Just when you think Menu Food's has reached rock bottom, they grab themselves a chisel and break through to another, deeper sewer.

From USA Today via Dogster (don't ask).

Court: Menu Foods harassed pet owners
The pet food company that recalled 60 million cans of contaminated dog and cat food repeatedly made harassing phone calls to pet owners who had lawyers and said they didn't want to talk, even after a judge ordered the firm to leave them alone, court records show.

Lawyers from six firms representing clients who claim their pets were harmed by Menu's pet food asked a federal judge in New Jersey Wednesday to stop Menu from "bullying" people who had called the company since the recall was announced March 16, according to their court filing.

U.S. District Judge Noel Hillman in Camden, N.J., agreed with the plaintiffs, describing the calls as "aggressive," according to a transcript of the hearing obtained by USA TODAY.
"It's one thing for two people to sit down at the table and voluntarily agree to settle their case. It's another thing to harass people on weekends through automated phone calls," Hillman said to Edward Ruff of Pretzel & Stouffer, Menu's lawyer.

Read the entire, sordid story.

60 Abandoned Cats Need Help!

2007-05-18T18:44:00.000-05:00

Anyone out there in the Cincinnati, OH, area? If you are, and have room & time to foster a kittie or three, shelters out there have a bunch of kitties that need help. Apparently, Pet Alliance, Save Our Strays, and Silver Bells Rescue stumbled into a house full of abandoned kitties.

Some sub-human got evicted, and just walked away without even telling anyone there were sixty kitties in the house. More information here and here.

It's strange how time flies when you're checking recall notices.

2007-05-02T22:38:00.000-05:00

Hi. This is the Food Source.

I did not realize how long it had been since we had posted. I've spent most of my on-line time checking food recall notices and reading dozens of other cat blogs. With luck someone will be able to post something related to the clowder later this week.

In the mean time, a picture from a glorious site I found recently. Enjoy.

Menu Foods -- The Victims

2007-04-01T13:53:00.000-05:00

We Are the Victims

UPDATE: Per a post on the Pet Food Recall Photo Gallery, this image was created by a member of the Menu foods Recall Group. Tee-shirts and related apparel are available at CafePress.

Cat For Sale

2007-03-30T10:34:00.000-05:00

For Sale, Cheap. Large White Tom Cat.
About 12 Years Old. Spoiled Rotten.
Free or Best Offer. Will deliver.

Relax. I'm not actually selling Radcliff, although I might consider any offers.

I don't know if he was upset because of the thunderstorms, or he was just bored, or what. But he woke me up about every half hour all night long. I would rub his head a bit, try to cuddle with him, and he would let me go back to sleep for a while.

Just to rub it in, now he's asleep on my bed.

Allie

2007-03-22T23:19:00.000-05:00

The Food Source is spending all his time calling Iowa Telecom trying to find out why downloading web pages is so unreliable, and reading blogs whenever things are working for a moment.

I spend most of the day lying on the computer table, so I decided to introduce myself.

Long ago, in a galaxy far far away (New Jersey, 1998), I was sitting in a cage in Petsmart. I was tired of that life. So when the guy who became my Food Source started looking in the window, I decided I was going home with him.

So I stared at him, thinking "take me home", "take me home", "take me home". I don't think he got it.

He kept checking out other kitties. I kept staring at him, thinking "take me home".

Eventually, it started to work. He started talking to me, and opened my cage. I hopped out of his arms, and dashed under the row of cages.

Hey, I was thinking "take me home", not "touch me".

Eventually he came back and put me in a little mobile cage, and took me home. The bad news is he took one of the other cats, too. A big, pushy white tom cat that insists on being the center of attention all the time.

But I eat well and regularly, the litter box is usually clean, and there are lots of places to sleep in the sun, so it's a tolerable life.

Sleeping in her favorite box

Sleeping on Mom's bed

OK, what do you want?

Lee County Clowder

Update

Updating everyone on everything, more or less

Could use some purrrrrss

Status: Gaining, maybe

Update on the stray kitties

False Start -- Pending Further Developments

A third black kittie??

For the Sherwood Bunch

We really hate to have to ask you all

Merry Christmas to you all

And Now For Something Completely Different

Ultimate Cat Tree

A NEW Simon's Cat video.

Labor of Love

In Honor of Kismet, and his Whisker Humps

Luna came for a visit

Tonight, on National Geographic, 700 cats

Mimi & Maty

For Luna - June, 1996 to June 23, 2011

No Translation, No Sub-titles, No Need

Love and a kittie

Kittens In My Christmas Tree!

For Ozzie

The World's Longest Cat

Even macaque monkeys like kittehs

Cat Scratching Rules

A Couple Blogrolling Update/Bug Fixes

Blogrolling May Be On The Way Out

In Honor of Meow Like A Pirate Day

Allie might be going has gone to The Bridge

Chris Muir must have catz

Butch and Sundance need a new home

A smile, perhaps

The Worst Shelter In North America (At Least)

A Rough Couple Days on the Cat Blogosphere

Sprout Day

The Grayson Eleven

Another hairs breath rescue would be nice

Purrrring for Neala

Purrrring for Maxie, and Iam's foods are messed up again

Lost for those who never watched Lost

The Internet is Made of Cats

Way to go, Smoka

Grumble, Grumble, Grumble

Remember Nezbine?

Radcliff, February 1993 to December 25, 2008

Roomba Driver

Purrrrring for Auntie Deb

International Talk Like A Pirate Day

Tooth Report -- Another Update

Tooth Report -- An Update

Requesting Some Purrrrrss

Not The Mama Monday

For Sprout

%nWrGzbN5eS%

For Mu Shue Pooh King Cat

This man cat still got fight

Hrrrrmphh

Fighting No More

Introducing Anne Bonny & Mary Read

OK, Kitties. You Win.

Purrring as hard as we can for them all

Going Orange for the ASPCA

Smudge Saturday

sneaking onto the computer

For Gretchen's Beanmom, Dorothy

Any one else out there who likes black cats?

One Last Holiday Thought

Jingle Bells

I Love Cats . . .

Our Box of Life

Are we OK?

Some good news

Desktop Meme

We seldom comment on the 'real world', but...

Cat Born Without Eyes And Teeth

So you still have a few free hours in the day?

Talk like a pirate day

Blog Blast for Anastasia