When the going gets weird, the weird turn pro. - Hunter S. Thompson

10 April 2005

Carnival of the Cats #55

Update, April 17, 2005: The 56th Carnival of the Cats is now up at Watermark. A belated greeting to our visitors from MSNBC... be sure to visit this week's Carnival at Watermark as well, and feel free to look around the place here. - Barry


Welcome, all friends new and old, to Chez Enrevanche, where we're hosting the 55th weekly Carnival of the Cats.

Come on in the house, take your shoes off, stay a while. There's coffee in the kitchen, and the bourbon's stashed in the cabinet over the fridge. We'll be passing a tray of hot hors d'oeuvres and tuna tartare in a few minutes...

Usage note: enrevanche house style specifies the inclusion of a number of not-strictly-necessary external links, so all of the actual Carnival Entry links below are
in bold type.


Welcome!
Pictured, left-to-right:
Chow Bella (red dog),
Mrs. Enrevanche (human), Chow Fun (yellow dog)
Front-and-center: Mister Gato (tabby cat, General Manager of household)
Posted by Hello

A couple of new participants in the Carnival get pride of place, and in one of those weird synchronicities, they're both U.S. Navy submariners.

Over at Unconsidered Trifles (we're digging the Shakespeare references), Willyshake's cat Gray demonstrates his new exercise regimen. (It has always been my theory that you derive *some* aerobic benefit from just sitting near one of those things, so sitting on one must be even better.)

And at Chapomatic, radioactive squid boy (nuclear submariner) Chap reviews the performance characteristics of Oscar, the North American Velvet Hamcat, and concludes that he is, in fact, a submarine cat.

(I'm not sure, but I think that the Carnival of the Cats just acquired a sea-based first-strike capability.)

Another newcomer, John at Living With Bengals (which is all cats, all the time!) offers us Gratuitous Cat Picture #7 and some logistical advice for hydrating your Bengal. This is a lovely blog with lots of nice cat pictures and commentary.

And yet another first-timer, SRP at Mélange, introduces us to Nickerdoodle, a beautiful Ragdoll cat.

Welcome to the Carnival, y'all!

Coffee with CrankyBeach sends along some close-up pictures of really, really big cats. Wow. Nice kitty! Nice kitty! (I'm still trying to work out a decent "click on the provided lynx" pun.)

Brendan, the Irish Trojan, has a cat named Buttercup who thought she could climb the vertical blinds. The expression on her face as she realizes that this isn't going to happen as planned is, well, kinda priceless. (Buttercup evidently gets up to all kinds of mischief.)

Elisson's feline "nephew" (that's your brother-in-law's cat, right?) Ringo asks, "Can you do this?"

There's more catblogging than you can shake a stick at over at Sisu, where Baby catches a mouse (and an Instalanche); Tiny demonstrates why Superballs are better than mice; and we find out that Baby likes it al dente.

MJ Cat (of nycbabylon fame) poses with friend Pepe on a warm spring day in New York City. Bleecker Street, clearly, is the place to be!

Your Moosey Fate showcases a rare moment of affectionate interaction between Hi and Mischief.

Martin at Ego writes this week about cats in art; there are some nice pictures of Morris and good links to a couple of artists in whose work cats figure prominently.

At Mind of Mog, the bad kitties are customizing the coaxial cables and "loving" the furniture. "I shred... I shred because I love." We also get a nice snapshot of Krissie, sitting still for once, and Jezzie in the sweet spot: on the sofa, in a sunbeam. (For a cat, it just doesn't get any better than that.)

Catherine from CathColl.net sends along a picture of Emily, who is sleeping like a little angel, and says "Go ahead. Resist this face. I dare you."

Bootstrap Analysis performs an important public service by offering translations of many things cats commonly say (along with an adorable picture of Kady acting invisible.)

Mira at The Oubliette asks the rhetorical question, "What do you get when you combine a cat hopped up on catnip, a riding crop, and a camera at 11:30 at night?" (I'm sure I don't know, but it sounds like a workable concept for a pay-to-view website. Live webcam kitties with riding crops!) Also from Mira, some lovely shots of Noah in an attitude of deep repose.

Over at Running Scared, Jazz's cat Colin is sitting on the deck and soaking up some rays.

Romeocat at CatHouse Chat declares All your legs are belong to ME!!!

At LabKat, Pica wants love and attention but Pixel can't be bothered.

SFP at Pages Turned brings us a lovely picture of Claudius Rex, who is, I believe, a Russian Blue. He is certainly an aptly named cat, as "regal" was the adjective that immediately came to mind on viewing his photograph.

At Curiouser and Curiouser, Harley and Tinker sit in the kitchen window and enjoy some fresh air after a long winter of closed windows.

Josh at Josh's Weblog introduces us to Makiko, an aficionado of cardboard.

Ferdinand, the Conservative Cat, observes that there's a downside to everything, even scented candle-wax.

In this week's "Ask The Cat" feature at This Blog Is Full Of Crap, Laurence interviews the kitties about the proposed increase in postal rates.

(Be sure to tune in next week, when Edloe and Piper weigh in on the continuing decline in the value of the dollar compared to the euro, pound and yen, and Frisky and Nardo discuss various options for Social Security reform.)

This lucky, sleepy cat (named "Chocolate Chip") at Striving for Average has his very own blanket. Considering his posture (the paw over the eyes... classic!) I think Tommy might want to consider getting C.C. his very own fainting couch.

Ady a.k.a. "dr. fly killa" at Ripe Bananas introduces us to Omni, her Anti-Muse. (The only way I've ever been able to keep cats from sleeping atop my monitor: I switched to an LCD flat screen.)

As always, friend-to-all-cats Steve of HockeyCat is featuring some beautiful cats who are candidates for adoption at the Orange County Animal Shelter in Chapel Hill, North Carolina (home of the 2005 NCAA Men's Basketball Champions, the UNC Tarheels.)

I was very glad to learn from Steve that Critter, a featured cat this month whose owner was killed in Iraq, has found a new human to care for him. Fabulous news: somebody just got themselves a lovely feline companion and did a wonderful thing; I hope that good karma flows their way. (If you're in the Triangle area of NC and you're looking for a cat-buddy, the folks at OCAS do wonderful work.)


In what I believe may be a first for the Carnival of the Cats, Shelly at Shelly's Podcast offers us our first "Friday Pod Cat" [here's the actual podcast link in MP3 format.]

For the two or three of you who have been wearing your Hype-Impermeable Tinfoil Hats and might need more information, here's some background on what a podcast is and how to listen to one... by the way, you don't need an iPod or other portable MP3 player; you can use any MP3-playing software, such as iTunes or RealPlayer (or about a gazillion others) to listen in.

Cassie at Scribblings sends us pictures of another cat finding new uses for exercise equipment. (Maybe we can get all these exercise-loving cats together and start a gym!)

Triticale mourns the passing of Cream Soda, a.k.a. Mr. Bluebird, who died at the ripe old age of twenty. Our condolences. That's never, ever easy.

Matt, the MartiniPundit, announces the triumphant return of Chloe and Daphne to catblogging. There's some serious cat-wrestling going on in this photo series.

LissaKay's two cats, Dakota and Faith, have a little morning ritual that involves formally inviting Mama to get their breakfasts.

Jan's cat Spectra (at Cascade Exposures) is enjoying the beautiful weather and the green grass and catmint.

Roxie the Cat, who makes her home at DedSpace, has some definite egghead tendencies. Of course, even dedicated intellectuals sometimes need to take a break and enjoy some light reading.

Maggie at Maggie's Meanderings and Shameless Plugs shows us a pair of cute felines, nose-to-nose, in extreme closeup.

BJ at Quite Early One Morning sends a veritable portfolio of photographs of Basil the Abyssinian, who unfortunately is no longer with us. He is lovingly remembered in this series of pictures, however. (Basil the Cat was named after this Basil, due to what BJ describes as his clownish nature.)

Melanie at the wonderful photoblog Concrete Crop Circles (love that name!) gives us a dramatic black and white photograph of Taylor, quite a handsome fellow.

More artistic black-and-white work over at Sugarfused, where Deb demonstrates conclusively that Elvis is still among us (and has not left the building [.WAV, 30k].)

At Yourish, we find Tig the Cat deep in thought, possibly about quantum physics and Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle.

(Here in New York City, we often have to deal with Eisenberg's Uncertainty Principle... do I get a Reuben or a tuna melt?)

There's some definite feline confraternity going on over at Sundappled Wood. When a cat bites your ear, you know he likes you.

At The People's Republic of Seabrook, Mack is so relaxed, it might be a good idea to check for a pulse.

But there's plenty of activity at Music and Cats, where Lyra, Sasha and Sergei are playing "catch the birdie." (Don't worry, bird lovers, it's not a real bird.)

And last but not least, SB at Watermark (host of next week's Carnival of the Cats) offers us Mrowyal Hellowr, some beautiful closeups of Spike and Boo.

As our farewell note, please remember: Don't Shoot the Cat! Some yahoos in Wisconsin are trying to change local law and policy to make "feral cats" (any cat roaming free without a collar... pretty broad definition) fair game for hunters and trappers. The initial vote is tomorrow (April 11, 2005) - go here to find out how you can help. Thanks to my compatriots and fellow travelers in the blogosphere for helping get the word out about this.

Thanks for visiting! And thanks to Laurence Simon, organizer and administrator of the Carnival of the Cats, for letting us host this week; we had a blast.

Be sure to mark your calendars for next Sunday, when the Carnival of the Cats moves to the wonderful blog Watermark. Submitting your entries couldn't be easier: drop an e-mail with your entry's permalink (and trackback, if desired) to cats@isfullofcrap.com or use Ferdinand T. Cat's excellent multi-Carnival online submission form.

(And don't forget the Friday Ark at The Modulator, always an excellent source of blog posts about furry quadrupeds as well as other members of the animal kingdom.)


Whew, that was exhausting. I need a little alone time.Posted by Hello

Credits

Mister Gato and the Chow Sisters eat only IAMS pet foods (and occasional table scraps)
Kibble, catnip and toys cheerfully delivered by Beasty Feast
Well-loved cardboard grocery box/cat bed/scratching post by FreshDirect
Cheap, scratchy wool blanket made to U.S. Navy specifications, via Weiss and Mahoney.

Additional research and not-strictly-necessary external linkage by the
Enrevanche Catblogging Support Outsourcing Center in Bangalore, India.

No animals were harmed in the making of this blog entry.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Have you visted the Cat Museum (Katten Kabinet) in Amsterdam? http://www.kattenkabinet.nl/html/index_engels_dhtml.html