2 Board Alley

The Chat du Chats: Friday Cat Blogging Returns

One aspect of blogging that has been sorely missed around here has been the Friday Blogging of the Cats.  Our team of tabbies has spent the last few months languishing in unpostedness.  And now that the time has come, there doesn't seem much to post about the charming critters except to say that someone (whose name rhymes with "ickerfoodle") has been soaking his toys in his waterbowl.  Not all of his toys all at once, mind you--just whenever he's playing and gets thirsty.  He trots over to the bowl and dunks the toy while drinking, a la "Stone Soup," and then leaves it there.  I don't really care since I won't be drinking the stuff, and the Bink has his own bowl of clear water to sip from.  

Sunday Cat Blogging

He is the master of all he surveys and the great destroyer of the carpet. 

I've Got Cat Class and I've Got Cat Style: FCB Visits YouTube

Pre-emptive Cat Blogging on a Thursday: LOL CATs

From Wildrun:

People, Pets and Gustav

Here's a link to the ASPCA's site for Hurricane Gustav.

And the Red Cross.

And The Humane Society of the United States.

Tipsy and Cordelia

Tipsy, our foster cat, died this spring, after living many happy years at the Rude Ranch Animal Rescue Home  Judging from the many photos we'd gotten, he had had quite the good life, bobbing for goldfish in the office aquarium, sleeping in his favorite window, playing with the other resident kitties.  Like many older cats, his kidneys began failing, and in May, he died.

And then came Cordelia, a bi-color black and white long-hair, who had been rescued before some children tried to sacrifice her in a Baltimore park.  According to the people at Rude Ranch, she remains somewhat feral and not completely trusting of people (no shit).  Fortunately for her, the facility is set up to take in abandoned cats and give them a loving home for the rest of their lives.  Some of the money that keeps the cats in kibbles comes from the individuals, like me, who love animals and want to pitch in and help the hard-working people, like Katherine Rude, who spend their lives caring for the animals.

This piece of writing is starting to sound like a fund-raiser for public television, and I hadn't meant for that to happen.  I'm taking down the Tipsy Cat blog since I've not been able to maintain much of anything along the lines of cat rescue and animal welfare.  If you're interested in donating time or fostering a cat, you could contact the Rude Ranch, or Susan, in upstate NY, whose blog, Wildrun, is an online journal of what animal rescue and feral care is like.  She, like, Katherine Rude, is simply amazing. 

In the meantime, Paul and I will be supporting Cordelia, whose name came not from Shakespeare, but from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. She enjoys playing with peacock feathers and spends many a Sunday afternoon watching NASCAR races while lying on the remote.   

Cats on Thursday

I'd wait until the traditional jour to write up a post about the boys, but the lads are driving me crazy.  Perhaps that's part of the plan.  Like Kimberly at Music and Cats, we've had to listen to the sounds of discord this summer. 

They seem to have gotten on each others' nerves.  Don't know if it's because I've been at home more often than in the past, or if my traveling for a week at a time has thrown them off (off what? you may ask, and rightfully so. ) their daily schedule which includes napping, eating, birdwatching and more napping.  Oh, and getting their bellies rubbed. 

The battles seem more territorial than anything, with the Dude staking out an ottoman in Paul's study, the ottoman in the rec room near Paul's television-watching rocker, and, of course, Paul. The Bink, who is generally less people-dependent that the Dude, has claimed the round carpet that sits in the dining room next to the computer table where I've been working these past few months.  "Claimed" as in he'd put a moat around it if he could; as in he won't let the Dude walk on it if he's sitting there. 

The carpet has become his territory, where he stretches out and watches me work, or demands belly rubs, or sits and watches the rest of the world go by (not much of that happening in my dining room, but the Bink is nothing if not prepared.).  Should the Dude stroll across the carpet, the tussle begins and the claws come out, and before you know it, there's this  hissing, tumbling ball o'cats rolling lopsidedly around the living room.

Unlike battles past, these fights are intense.  They're not play-wrestling.  Noses get scratched.  Feelings are hurt. Fur flies. The sounds of growling and the thudding of big cat feet racing down the hallway drown out any music on the ipod.

I'm hoping they'll grow out of it.  Soon.  If not, I'd like to invite Becky's cat, Ruthie, to come down and straighten out the boys. 

FCB of a Different Sort

From the very creative Wondermark.

 

Friday Cat Comic Blogging

Made with free image tools @ TXT2PIC.com

It's Tuesday, Taxes are Due and I'm Blogging About Cats

I can't help it. Susan posted this video.