Robyn, What do you set your camera on to get those awesome action shots? And, what kind of camera do you have?
It’s a Sony Alpha SLT-A55. I usually set it on “Cont. Priority AE” and just hold the button down. I’m not kidding when I say that I take a LOT of pictures and delete a lot of them as well! I’ve also been messing with the Shutter settings (S) and Aperture (A), but I’ll be honest that I don’t really know what I’m doing.
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Geeze, when did Miss Alice start getting so hissy-pissy?? She wasn’t like that when y’all first got her, was she? Or maybe I’m just “disremembering”…;-)
Except for the occasional headbutt with Jake (and if we’re to be honest, that only happens when it’s snack time; the possibility of food makes even the cranky cats friendly), Alice Mo has no use for the other kitties at ALL. She’s a people lover (okay, a FRED lover), not a cat lover.
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Are you keeping track of just how many “cats with da bird” pictures you have taken? 🙂
Oh, THOUSANDS, I’m sure. Back when we first got da bird, we did a photo session where I took – I’m not exaggerating at ALL – over 500 pictures. I ultimately reduced that to less than 100, but it was harrrrrrd.
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I forget if you have 13 or 14 cats in the house, but what GALLS me is however many you have, there is no fur flitzing around on your hardwood floors! I have TWO rotten cats, and every time the sun hits the hardwood floors, I want to grab both of the cats and shave them bald. You’ve got skatey eight cats jumping around after da bird and nary a loose hair. Dammit!
Oh, the loose hair exists – it’s just really good at being camouflaged by the rugs, or hiding under furniture. When I vacuum, the breeze from the vacuum blows the hair out from under the furniture, and then I suck it up. Also, I try to vacuum every other day (though I should really vacuum every day, but can’t seem to force myself to do so), and also also I don’t have one of those pesky JOBS, so I have the time to do all that ridiculous vacuuming!
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You could go imaginary, even! How about the award that Frasier wins a few times? The SeaBea! 🙂 And then Gil Chesterton’s wife’s concilliatory award for when he doesn’t even get nominated for the SeaBea – the Chestertons!
Roz: Oh, here’s one: “Best Restaurant Critic: Gil Chesterton”.
Gil: Oh, thank God I’m nominated! Now I won’t have to attend
“The Chestertons”.
Roz: “The Chestertons”?
Gil: It’s an elaborate award show my wife and the dogs put on when
I’m overlooked by the SeaBeas.
I did add the Chestertons and SeaBeas to the list, I just wanted to make sure everyone else saw this because it made me laugh out loud!
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Slightly off topic – yet the bird feeders are shown – found this recipe for “Birdy Corn Bread” on a USGS site about bird bill deformities.
Thought you’d find the contents interesting… just where does one find frozen cubes of mosquito larvae? LOL
I had to see if I could find a place to buy frozen cubes of mosquito larvae (not because I want to buy some but because I wanted to see if I could if I were of a mind to), and found that you can buy them here. And, hey – that’s not a bad price, am I right?
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It must be great to see two of your fosters in such a great home and so beautifully healthy, too! And that business cat meme is really catching on!
Is there anything more awesome than a cat in a tiny tie? I think NOT.
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I know that this might not be ideal….but…my friend took in a feral cat with 3 kittens and she wouldn’t eat. What enticed her was vanilla icecream. She loved it so. That got her to start eating (when no one was in the room and watching her.) My friend kept her kittens, got her spayed and tipped. She was then released back from whence she came. Sad because she was STUNNING! Solid white with screaming blue eyes. Soooo pretty but completely and forever feral. My friend, to this day, takes her individual servings of vanilla icecream. 🙂
Emmy did start eating, so I didn’t have to resort to feeding her ice cream… but is it odd that I’m tempted to get some for her anyway??
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So here’s a question, how do cats change their overall mass?! When my Phoebe doesn’t want to be moved off of my lap, she goes limp and suddenly weighs about 50 pounds and if I’m slouching and have no leverage, sometimes it’s actually truly difficult to get her OFF ME. LMAO
That is an EXCELLENT question! When I’m laying on the couch with Miz Poo and the phone or doorbell rings, it is pretty close to impossible to get her OFF me so I can get up. I swear that one day they’re going to find me dead under a single cat who refused to move.
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What you call calico in the UK is a tortoiseshell.
There’s actually a difference between Calico and Tortoiseshell cats. This is the best explanation I was able to find online (maybe Oldcat could weigh in on this?) :
A calico-colored cat is a white-based cat that has large splotches of black and large splotches of orange that don’t intermingle. Black, orange, and white are all (for the most part) separate.
A tortoiseshell-colored cat has black and orange mixed in together, in a brindle-type pattern. The majority have a ‘split’ nose….black on one side and orange on the other. They can also have white on them….but that makes them torti and white, not calico.
(Source)
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My floor is littered with litter! Until the third cat moved in, I’ve always been able to keep the litter scatter relatively under control. But I swear that Norman rolls in it, hides it in his fur, or packs it between his toes to be dropped off in a trail around the house. Every time I think the floor has been cleaned, I turn around to find more. I looked at litter mats at Petsmart but the cost seemed outrageous, especially when I’d have to buy several to supply every box in the house. Any suggestions for something more cost-friendly (or a brand that works and is worth spending the money on)?
Alyslinn said: Kelly, I buy the cheap black doormats at IKEA. Here in Canada they’re $1.50 apiece, and those seem to work fairly well.
Ruth O said: Maybe you’ve tried this, no biggy, but I keep a couple of really cheap throw rugs in the utility, one in front of the cat pans and one in the path to the door, they’re easily shook and washed (and a target for one cat to barf on!), and do catch a lot of the litter. I think trails of litter are just something that goes with cats, and the more, the merrier!! We had one cat who would get litter stuck between his toes (don’t want to think HOW) and then would move to the living room preferably the couch and carefully pick the litter out from between toes and spit it right there…ew!
Oh, loose litter, the BANE OF MY EXISTENCE. What I’m doing currently (and what seems to help, though it’s not perfect – the only perfect thing would be to win the lottery and hire someone to sweep around the litter boxes 30 times a day) is using these floor tiles under the litter boxes. The loose litter usually falls through to the floor below, instead of being scattered all over the place. They’re hard floor tiles that snap together. The cats aren’t bothered by them at all, and I move the litter boxes, pick up the floor tiles in one piece, and vacuum under them once a week. I’m using those floor tiles in the guest bedroom and in the foster room closet, and the Sportrax in the upstairs bathroom (they’re smaller than the other tiles, and thus fit in the space better). I read about those at, I think, Moderncat. They’ve turned out to be a really good solution for me.
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Ok…so now I have a question I’m hoping that you and your readers can help me with. I’m feeding 5 semi-feral cats. Semi-feral cuz they will let me pet them but move too fast and they’re GONE. Anyway…my question is…these kitties have worms. I’ve seen tapeworms around the butt of Mocha (a beautiful Persian who is terribly matted), Skittles and Bipper have thrown up what I believe to be round worms, ewwwwwy. I bought food grade Diatomaceous earth but they won’t eat the $%@#ing food when I use it. Maybe I should start with smaller amounts? Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I feel so bad for them but I need a treatment I can afford and something that can be given to them now and then as you know they’ll just pick them up again with being outside kitties.
Mary, what are you feeding them with the DE? Is it just regular canned food? I find that I have to mix the DE with canned food *and* some chicken baby food to get them interested in eating it. I think the consistency of the DE makes the food taste weird to them. The chicken baby food (I use Gerber) usually convinces the kittens to give it a try, and as they get accustomed to the taste/feel of the DE, I reduce the baby food.
I know there are deworming pills you could try, but they are pills. Do you suppose any of your semi-ferals would take a pill if you used a pill pocket or wrapped it in cheese or something?
Readers, suggestions?
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Don’t the roosters fight each other?
They do, and the problem with too many roosters is that they spend all their time fighting each other, or chasing each other away from the hens. Also, too many roosters means too many roosters trying to have relations with the hens constantly, and the poor hens end up with all the feathers pulled out of their back. I hate seeing hens with naked backs – which is the reason that several young roosters will be headed off to freezer camp in the near future. We really only need two or three roosters out there, and we currently have nine or ten.
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Oh my gosh, I was watching the Maggie is a talker video on the “poop and bob’s yer uncle (which made me spit water everywhere), and at 28 to 29 seconds, you can see a kitten kick!!
I am still laughing at Bob and his uncle and the poop. Oh My Gosh.
I cannot BELIEVE I never noticed that before, that is so cool!!
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I saw this and thought you should see it (if you haven’t already)…Cats! Improving paintings!
That is awesome!
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I’ve noticed in several pics that Lucy appears to be a little cross-eyed. Is that just me seeing her from a weird angle?
Nope, that’s not just you – Lucy’s eyes are just a bit askew.
Adds to her charm, doesn’t it?
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Emmy is hanging in there. The nighttime howling has stopped, her appetite has picked up, and she’s marginally more friendly (or, as Fred says, less scared) every day. The last few nights, after Fred has gone to bed, I’ve gone into the room with her and laid down on the floor with my iPod and played games or read while pretty much not bothering her. Last night I looked over, and she was sitting up in her kennel, watching me, and clearly trying to decide whether to come out and eat while I was in there. She ultimately decided to stay in the kennel, but when I looked back at her a few minutes later, she was stretched out in a more relaxed pose than I’ve ever seen her in. She wasn’t rolling around on her back, but she sure looked like she was thinking about it.
I think it would be funny if she had her kittens on Sunday, since it’s Oscar Sunday. Also cool would be if she had her kittens on the 29th, since this is Leap Year and they wouldn’t have their first birthday ’til they were fully grown adults.
Emmy in her wall basket.
From a distance (I don’t think I posted about this when Fred put the steps and the basket up a few weeks ago).
Chin scritching.
Almost looks like she’s enjoying it, doesn’t she?
If she should go into labor over the weekend, I’ll post both here and over at the Love & Hisses Facebook page.
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Tippytoe!
He is one flexible boy.
Sugarbutt peeks in for a swat.
Hovering in mid air.
Lest you think that Everett spends all his time chasing da bird, it is not so. He does lots of other things!
He inspects the to-be-filed paperwork.
He keeps Stinkerbelle (you can see the tip of her ear over there on the left) company (Stinkerbelle does not appreciate this).
He stares into the sun.
He bathes.
He flirts.
He snuggles with Corbie.
Altogether a well-rounded individual, our dear Everett Peppers.
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TIME FOR THE MOST BEAUTIFUL CAT EVERRRRRRRRRRRRR (I know you wait all week for this!)
Swatting at da bird.
Pretty Corbie in the sun.
With Alice Mo, on the back of the couch.
And watching da bird from a safe distance.
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Previously
2011: No entry.
2010: No entry.
2009: Snugglebug.
2008: Elle and Skittles were finally adopted!
2007: No entry.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
Go ahead and get Emmy the icecream and report back on how she liked it! 🙂
I noticed the wood supports to mount her basket. Good idea (Fred’s idea would be my guess…he seems so handy!)
Corbie…..*swoon*
The basket was definitely Fred’s doing – we were looking for something else at Lowe’s and he saw the basket and the wheels started turning! I couldn’t get Lucy, Sally, or Everett to be interested in it at ALL, but it’s Emmy’s safe place to hang out when she’s not in the kennel.
Everett is a big flirt!
Oh how I love that steps and hanging basket! but if my other half ever got around to it I’m guessing my 2 would ignore it!
The Calico/Tortoiseshell thing makes a lot of sense as tortoise shell is dark (and horribly cruel so please boycott if modern!) but I have read descriptions of Tortie and white or Dark Tortie even from cat professionals so I don’t think its widely used here in the UK, calico is unbleached fabric. I looked here and it confirms it as a North American thing but includes some more fascinating info. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Calico_cat
really looking forward to dem babies!
white based?! there’s no such thing! That source needs a talking to!
A tortoiseshell cat is a (almost always female) cat with black and orange regions. Normally these are small and very tightly intermixed – ‘brindled’. When the cat also has the white spotting gene, which cancels the color starting at the paws and tummy, the black and orange regions tend to be progressively larger and less intermixed. So when a tortie and white cat has higher levels of white, the colored regions tend to be a few large, distinct blotches. This ‘look’ is called Calico, presumably in reference to Calico dresses with color on top of a white background.
There are lots of special names given to the different kinds of ‘with white’ patterns created by the spotting gene – ‘mitted’, ‘Tuxedo’, ‘Van’, ‘Cap and Saddle’ … ‘Calico’ is just like any of those, a descriptive name for a common pattern.
I don’t know if there is an exact place where a Tortie and White becomes Calico, but in the case with little spotting a Tortie and White looks like a tortie dipped in a paint bucket, and not like a Calico would with no white – a few huge separate color regions
See? I knew you’d be able to set us straight. 🙂 Thanks!
I always thought Calico cats were primarily white with orange and black splotches, while Torties were primarily black with orange splotches. So much for my uneducated mind. All I know is that I know one when I see one 😉
My late, great Einstein (she earned the name before I knew her gender) was a Torbie. Never knew there was such a thing until Laurie at Itty Bitty Kitty Committee had one. Gorgeous coloring! She seemed to get more and more orange brindling as she aged.
That business cat meme makes me howl every time I see it. Except in our house, it’s the dog that is absolutely obsessed with the laser light. We bought it for the cats and they enjoy it, but we need to take them into another room and close the door to keep the dog from taking over. He’s crazy for hours if he glimpses even a bit of red light. If only there was a version of that meme with a tie-wearing chocolate lab…
The first picture of Corbie has me singing “walk like an Egyptian…”
Everett is just a busy boy! How he finds the time to do all he does just amazes me. Oh, and he needs a tie when he does his inspections! 🙂
I’m SO glad Emmy is relaxing!! It looks like just quietly keeping her company works, Robyn! Well, along with Fred’s working with her, I assume. Considering you just got her a week ago, it seems she is coming along fairly quickly. Good job!
And thanks for pricing frozen mosquito larvae cubes for me — I wonder if the cornbread birds would eat Daphne larvae since they’re a much better value…
I love that shot of Everett inspecting the paperwork. His golden eyes are a wonderful addition to the shelf contents!
Finally, Corbie! Is there any frontier of gorgeousness that guy won’t explore?
Thanks for another post full of feline goodness. I’m glad you blog (nearly) every day!! And I”m glad to see people filling up slots in the kitten pool.
Here’s a good story!
http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/46504285/ns/today-good_news/
The shot of Everett in the sun looks like what they would do in old tv and movies, highlight the womans eyes so she looks even more lovely. He looks even more handsome! Great eyes, that Everett has.
While on a roadtrip, playing Andrew Lloyd Weber, heard the song from Cats, Memories, and couldn’t help thinking of Emmy! She’s not forgotten any more, of course, but it just made her come to mind.
Looking forward to the baby story!!
Robyn…yes I mix the DE with Friskies canned cat food, haven’t tried the baby food but I do have it for one of my indoor kitties so I’ll have to give it a try. I always add water to the Friskies pate because it is soooo dry (the pate is all they will eat, lol). I still think I’ll start out with less and add more so they can get used to it. I thought it was awful gritty at the recommended dose and they “all” turned up there noses at it. Finicky little semi-ferals, ha!
“He stares into the sun.” ROFL! Everett is such a great cat. I hope he finds a home with someone who will give him the SERIOUS quality time he deserves on a daily basis.
I love reading all the stories about ferals — and I’m so glad the feral mama still get her ice cream! My Harley (who, btw, is a tortie, with a split face and one lighter-colored paw) was feral. She was probably about a year and a half when my friend, who fed a feral colony, caught her. She was the friendliest of the ferals, which isn’t saying much. If I knew then what I know now, I probably wouldn’t have adopted her, but I know that, almost 10 years later, she loves me and ALMOST trusts me!