Catymology

It's Aloysius' day to simply be a cat, and here, if you look closely, you can see why: the telltale bits of his favorite herb strewn on the floor. We like to call him "His Imperial Fluffiness," because of his luxuriant tummy fur and the fuzzy tufts on the bottoms of his immaculate white feet.


Lisaviolet invented this game: Tummy Tuesday! If your cat wants to play, be sure to tag your post "Tummy Tuesday."

Labels: Tummy Tuesday

Dear Dragonheart,

Your birthday scavenger hunt has been a lot of fun. I've had my human, amanuensis, running all over the internet to hunt down the answers. Here's what we've come up with. (But first, here are the official contest rules!)

The first task you set was to create an item that conveys what the word "sphynx" means to me. You said this would be the hardest task, and I did have to think about it quite a bit. Since I am a poet, I dedicate this poem to you, the first Sphynx cat I've ever known.

Dragonheart claims his humans


I remember when I claimed my humans
My frootbat ears and Yoda eyes
Took in every word and action.
My curious tongue tasted them.
I drank their scent and found it good.

Then I wrinkled up my forehead,
And sent this message in my purrs:
“Forget the love of fur, that human foible.
Forget the life you knew before I owned you.
Worship me in my warm suede skin.”

The next task you set ( Scavenger Hunt Item #2), was to find the full (registered) name, as well as the more commonly used daily name of the following:

• Me - HairNSkin - Dragonheart Dragonheart, Drago, Drake, Dragoncat
  
• My sire - Champion HairNSkin Obi Wan Kenobi - Obi
  
• My dam (full {registered} name only) - New Taj Mahal Sherazade of HairNSkin
• My brother and littermate - HairN Skin Merlin - Merlin
  
• My older sister who will be having a litter that I will hopefully be getting a little brother or sister from - HairNSkin From Dusk Till Dawn - Dawn, Flappy
  

I love names, and the naming of cats is a particularly fascinating field of study! I wish I knew why you called your sister Flappy.

The third task, (Scavenger hunt item #3) was to answer three questi0ns about your blog.

• When did I first start blogging? Tuesday, November 28, 2006 was the day of the first post siged by Dragonheart. (This is tricky, because Caylynn posted to the Dragonheart's Domain blog on November 25.)
  
• What was my Gotcha Day? Saturday, November 25, 2006
• When did my human mom first post about me on her blog? Tuesday, November 28, 2006

The fourth task (Scavenger Hunt Item #4) was easy, but I learned some interesting trivia while looking up the answers!

What is another name for the Sphynx breed? Canadian hairless

What was the name of the Sphynx cat character in the Austin Powers movies, and what is the cat's real name? Mr. Bigglesworth was played by SGC Belfry Ted Nude-Gent. I do love that name: Ted Nude-Gent! Did you know he's even got his own web page and was named "Cat of the Year" by Cats Magazine in 1999?

Dragonheart, you asked another easy question in Scavenger Hunt Item #5: list the colors of the following cats:

• Me - black and white tuxedo
  
• My sire - brown classic tabby & white
  
• My dam - blue point
  

According to the CFA (Cat Fanciers' Association) what breeds can be used as outcrosses when breeding Sphynx? Until when can these breeds be used? American Shorthair, Domestic Shorthair/ Domestic Sphynx Outcross. Sphynx born on or after December 31, 2010 may have only Sphynx parents.

In Europe, what breed has been used most often as an outcross? Devon Rex


For the six task (Scavenger hunt item #6) I had to name three themes that your breeder has used for her litters, and give the name of one cat from each of these themes. This was pretty easy. All the answers are on Drago's breeder's site:

Fairy Tales - Dragonheart
Action Movies - Mission Impossible
Star Wars Cats - Obi Wan Kenobi

Then you gave me a harder task: #7: Give the German word for the following (use the correct article and capitalization):
My human's German is pretty rusty, so I asked her to contact her friend Dennis, who taught at the University of Tubingen for a number of years. Here's what he told us:

* Cat - die Katze
* Kitten - das Kätzchen
* Cat Food - das Katzenfutter
* Cat Litter - die Katzenstreu
* Litterbox - das Katzenklo
* Scratching Post - der Reibebaum
* Catnip - die Katzenminze
* Cat Snacks - die Katzenhäppchen

Then came your Final Scavenger Hunt Item and it was almost as hard as the first one.


Provide a caption for the following photo:

Labels: fun and games

Matt Groening decided to make The Simpsons yellow because it was different, bright and "it looks like there's something wrong with your television set."

Puddy, of A Byootaful Life, is hosting Weekend Catblogging and has set a yellow theme, in honor of the Simpsons movie opening. I am going to watch the movie when it comes out in DVD--until then, I'll be curling up in my golden throne.

Labels: weekend cat blogging

Yesterday we had a huge thunderstorm. I stayed inside, enjoyed my favorite treats, and worked on my grooming. I also worked on my entry for Dragonheart's Scavenger Hunt. Hint: it involves die Katzenminze und die Katzenhäppchen! Before I went to bed, I got my humans to tape the Letterman show. Darcy said there would be Spam on it, but when I looked at the tape this morning, guess what? No Spam. How disappointing! I'm going to have to get that cat to explain it.

Today everything is back to normal (almost). My garden is looking good. I'm going over to the Friday Ark now. And the Carnival of the Cats on Sunday at This, That and the Other Thing.

The Wildcat Sanctuary in Sandstone, Minnesota, sends this news about some of their new residents:

Meet Maya

An individual, who realized it was illegal for him to keep her, surrendered Maya, a 7-week-old bobcat kitten, to TWS. She's a strong little girl and a very good eater. Dr. Baillie gave her a clean bill of health and she is making herself right at home. Though it will be months before she is big enough to be with other bobcats, she has made friends with several of the Bengal domestic cats at the Sanctuary. Soon she will grow into a well-adjusted bobcat and live with others of her species. We're happy to provide Maya with a lifetime of compassion and care.

Athena Arrives

A gentleman in California illegally owned Athena. The owner refused to provide much information on Athena because he was concerned California Fish and Game would prosecute him. A sister sanctuary in California offered to pick up Athena, bring her to their vet and then send her to TWS. Two sanctuaries put time and money into saving Athena as the owner washed his hands of her. Athena is about one and a half years old. She is a beautiful girl and in good health. But with all that occurred over a few short days she is understandably frightened and confused. We're doing our best to help her feel comfortable and settle in to her new home.

Their care and enclosures will be expensive. To sponsor Maya or Athena visit: http://www.wildcatsanctuary.org/adopt/Sponsorship_form.pdf

Labels: wildcats

Several of you have already commented on your favorite pieces of "cat art" that I posted on Thursday. So far, the Cat Chalk Board has the most votes. You can vote for your favorite by commenting. I'd really like to know what you think.

One thing I forgot to mention: when my humans run out of things, one of them usually reminds the other to make a note of it. So, in our house, it's not unusual to hear stuff like:

"Put marmalade on the cat."

"Put garbage bags on the cat."

"Put TP on the cat."

Ouch! I guess they don't really need to be reminded to put tuna on the cat, or to put raw beefsteak on the cat.

Hey, guys and gals! Put Carnival of the Cats on the cat! It's over at IFOC. And I just found out about the Bad Kitty Cats Chaos Festival, 2nd edition hosted at Pet's Garden Blog. Better put kitty litter on the cat, too.

Labels: put it on the cat

My house is filled with cat art and catty crafts. I had no trouble at all finding thirteen different examples--and it seems that's only the tip of the cat-berg!


1. My humans bought this painted pottery cat on a trip to Mexico.

2. Amanuensis received the Budda Cat statue as a Christmas gift.

3. My human friend Kathleen took the photograph of Truffaut, who lived with my humans before I came along. He was a particularly handsome fellow, don't you think?

4. The painted wooden cat statue was another Christmas gift.


5. Also on top of the wardrobe in amanuensis' office, there's this sort of intimidating stuffed Santa Cat.


6. Amanuensis printed up this broadside of an ancient Egyptian poem in praise of the Great Cat. I like to think that I'm a latter-day embodiment of the Great Cat myself. But I'll bet every cat has had that thought!


7. Here's the front of a T-shirt that my humans bought in New Orleans. They were lucky enough to visit the city long before Hurricane Katrina. Jazz cats are cool!



8. Who doesn't want a cat-shaped blackboard to write the grocery list on? Amanuensis' sister gave her this one several years ago.



9. This wooden cat puppet sits on top of the microwave in my kitchen.


10. Also up there is a painted gourd with the image of a cat--a very fat cat.


11. A pottery cat lurks among the plants next to a sunny window.


12. Kathleen gave us this trivet with two pear-shaped tuxedo cats.


13. Amanuensis' sister also gave her the hand-screened silk wall hanging of a cat in the director's chair.

You'll find lots more Thursday Thirteens at the official meme hub. P.S. The Friday Ark #148 is up at Modulator. This Sunday's Carnival of the Cats will be hosted at IFOC.

Labels: Thursday Thirteen

One...

Two . . .



Three ...



So, this is what goes on after midnight in my back yard!

These little guys are boarding the Friday Ark.

Labels: critters

Tuesday is Aloysius' day to simply be a cat, so I'm filling in.

Right now, this is what Aloysius is looking for in the garden--a nice, fat little chipmunk. As you may recall, he once managed to snare one of the cute little rodents. I have been trying to translate Aloysius' thoughts about the chipmunk. I'm not sure whether he meant to eat it, or just to play with it. Probably both.

Labels: fun and games

Yo, cats and catted ones! Darcy here.

Anastasia at The Cat Realm challenged us to put on a --what?

Here's my impression of Katz as the pink-wigged one.

When are these cheapskate humans gonna spring for Photoshop?

I'm outta here!

Darcy X

Labels: darcy, fun and games

It's been quite a busy week here at my house, at least for the humans. They have been doing yard work, which prevents me from being where I want to be--outside on my patio. You see all those little weeds springing up around me? The male human spent several hours digging them out. I didn't like being outside while that was going on. So . . .

Today, amanuensis started cleaning the house and washing bedsheets. What's going on? She says her sister is coming to visit next week. I hope she brings treats! I hope she doesn't bring those Ohio cats, though.

With all the human activity here, I haven't been able to blog as much as I'd like, but I will be boarding the Friday Ark today, and let's hope I get into this week's Carnival of the Cats.