Tail of the Toy

Today's picture of me is rather mundane, and, alas, offers not even a glimpse of the Handsome Royal Visage. What it does offer, however, is a fine view of the kind of workout your New Spirally Toy will provide you over (potentially) years of play, though its lifespan may depend of the number of kitties who play with it and their customary level of mayhem. I have deaded mine many times over.

The Human and I have enjoyed your fine entries (see previous post) and can already tell choosing a winner will be tough. Remember: You have till 11:59 p.m. PST on Friday to enter!

A Short Course in Feline Texting

A couple of weeks ago, The Human and I ran across a little article on Cat Texting. 

Yours truly She forgot to take note of the source, but we've decided 

to share a few examples today anyway. 

Because we are the Human is so boring, we never do fun stuff like giveaways or contests.

Well, guess what, Kitties? 

We is finally having a tiny contest and you could win this felted spirally toy:

I love love love mine and I play with it all the time. It doesn't look so pretty anymore

 like this new one does. I will be sure to send you the New One, I promise. Really.

So what do you have to do to enter? Well, it's EASY!

Look the samples below and then leave your suggestion 

for a useful kitty texting acronym in the comments.

The winner will be the one the Human and I judge to be the best,

and no we probably can't explain what the criteria will be.

We'll just know the winner when we see it!

So here are the samples from the ones we saw:

BBAN - Be back after nap

CCLIH - Crazy cat lady is home

GYFIO - Get your furs in order

HAGN - Have a good nom

INAC - I need a catnap

HAW - Humans are weird

MFBIE - My food bowl is empty

HOC - High on catnip

T4N - Time for noms

WTH - What the hairball?

We'll send the prize anywhere, in or out of the U.S.!

Contest closes at 11:59 p.m. PST, Friday, February 1, 2013

Liebster Spitty, Herzog der DamenKatzen

Recently I received the Liebster Award from my furiend Nerissa, who explained that this seems to be the 2G version of an older awardie. I'm cool with that and I thank him verreh much for thinking of me!

In accepting this award, I have to say five things about myself. Well, I am a King, crowned just over a year ago by Glogirly and Katie. I try to be a Benevolent Monarch! I am a lover AND a fighter (the former to LadyCats and the latter to Humans). I was born a feral boy, but I was snatched up in my youth and eventually landed with My Human (she's not really so bad).  I prefer Vine (thanks, Whisppy furiends!) to Nip. I think that's at least FIVE!

Now I must answer the following five questions:

1. What is your favorite thing to do?
I would like to say travel the world, but everykitty knows the real answer is sleep.

2. What is your favorite time of year?
The month between Thanksgiving and Krissymouse!

3. What's the most important thing you want to do?
Um, I'd like to find those things I lost last August. And get them reattached.

4. Who is your favorite person or animal pal?

Okay, okay, okay: My Human. But honestly, the bar is pretty low. We're the only two who  actually live here. Let's say this: I don't dislike her as much as I used to. And that's as far as I am prepared to go today.

5. Where in the whole wide world would you like to go?
I would like to travel all over the U.S to meet all my Blog Pals and then to Finland and Malaysia and CANADA and England and to all the other countries where kitty furiends live.

Now, to pass along this award to five more blogs:

§  My Fellow Royal @ Punapippuri 

§  CK on her Gotcha Day

§  The Adorable Miss Tutu @ Whisppy

§  The Ever-Lovely Katie Isabella

§  My Pal Prancer Pie

(If you already posted about this recently, we 'pologize! Just bask in the glory of getting it again ;-)


P.S. Sorry to be a little scarce....a few Giant Work Projects for the Human that should be over soon! Be patient with me--I just can't do a thing with her when she gets like this.

Call Me Robespierre

Though I'm betting there's no guillotine  up there. 

And I bet his nosicle wasn't this cute either.

It Is a Happy Talent to Know How to Play*

It's rather a difficult maneuver to generate the exact

amount of force needed to jump up on the chair

between the seat and the upper back.

Sometimes, not often, I miss and bonk my sweet heddy.

But not this time.

Once in playing position, it is good to take a moment to collect my wits 

about me while the fev-ver toy is still unaware of my presence.

                          Where is it? Where is it? Where is it? Where is it? Where is it? Where is it?

*Ralph Waldo Emerson

So, What Was It You Wanted, Human?

If it was a great big honkin' picture of my nosicle, 

looks like you got it. Nice job cutting off my earsies, by the way.

More Texas ToyTime

Spitty's email was hacked! Aaaarrgh!

Password's been changed so all should be okay ~

meanwhile, don't open any emails from me 

unless they are timestamped AFTER 8:15 a.m. PST

Sorry!

This is the last of the cat-tastic toys from the totally terrific Texas, 

who was my pawsome Secret Paws last month!

I think this attachment is my favorite--

it's even pretty fun when the Human stops playing with me 

(as, of course, she too-often does)!

Thanks again, Buddy! 

And speaking of toys, notice the red string is right there,

awaiting its turn in the Spitty Play Rotation.

Mr. Stringy was part of last fall's stunning

Winnie's Wish Collection

still available from the Fun Fun Fundraiser

@ the Celestial Kitties blog.

Playing with Myself

No, no no, you naughty, naughty Kitties! 

Get your furry little minds out of the gutter right now.

Here I am, forced to play with my spirally toy all alone 

since my Human is stubbornly refusing to quit her day-hunting 

and stay home with me like she should.

Honestly, is it really so much to ask?

Spittola's Tunnel of Lurve

So, um, LadyCats, I'm kinda lonely here in my Tunnel. 

A nice BoyCat could use some company, y'know?

Defurmination = Spontaneous Generation?

                                                 After a brief session with the Furminator, 
                                                  I escaped to relax a bit with Pinkie.
                                                  The little pile of defurminated furs? 
                                                  Well, it does kind of look like it might 
                                                  be enough to turn into a kitten, 
                                                  a small one anyway. 
                                                 You think?

S'okay Inna Box?

S'alright inna box.

*********************************************

N.B. Okay, it's a shallow box. But today marked the first time in his 8+ years that Spitty has willingly played in any box, so we'll note it down as a Red Letter Day anyway!

Extra credit to those of you old enough to get the source of the quote ;-)

♫ Wake Up, Little Spitty, Wake Up ♫ ♫

                                    Awwww, didn't I look just so adorable, all a-sleepy here 

                                    on my (substandard) tower, that you had to run and get 

                                    the flashy box?

                                    Why yes, I suppose I did look that cute when I was all a-sleepy.

                                    Please note: Past tense.

Film Noir Sunday starring Nellie and Spitty

                                     

Check out Nellie's B&W Sunday post here!

String Theory

Now pay careful attention, Kitties: 

This is Advanced Maffamaticks!

String theory is an active research framework in particle Feline-Physics that attempts to reconcile string color mechanics and the general relativity of the Kitty to the carpet. 

It is a contender for a theory of everything (TOE*), a self-contained creamy maffamatickal model that describes all fundamental forces and forms of Feline entertainment and food. 

String theory posits that the elementary particles (i.e., kittens and toys) within a Feline's Realm  are not zero-dimensional objects, but rather 1-dimensional oscillating line-toys ("strings").

* Not to be confused with THOE, or Thundering Herd of Elephants, a game extremely popular in multi-cat households, although equally entertaining in its solitaire version.

Today's Oxymoron: Helpful Humans

Of course, an encyclopedia could be devoted to this topic, and all of us could write one of our own. The source of my particular dissatisfaction today is a further delay in the resumption of Furrari rides. According to the Human, she is too "busy" right now to properly document a little trip, and, she says, we just posted about the WienerMobile yesterday. 

To all that, I say: So?

Consequently, here I am moping about in my crummy tower (I want a new one like CK's dammit!  This West Coast Boy doesn't think it's right that some East Coast LadyCat has a tower that's about a squillion times better than his, which really can hardly even be termed a "tower"). Wait--where was I? 

Oh yeah. The incompetence and unreliability of the Humans. Yep. 'Nuff said.

Oh I Wish...

Oh I wish I were an Itty Bitty Spitty--

That is what I truly used to be;

'Cause when I was an Itty Bitty Spitty,

The Human didn't count my calories!

Photo credit:  Aggie and Wally and Madie Mitten Kitten's Dad awoke one morning to find the WienerMobile parked directly across from his house. Being the enterprising Internet journalist he is, he called me and I raced over to pose for him as he snapped this photo. Then we went for a little spin out to the ballpark and back, but please don't tell the Oscar Mayer people. We've had some, uh, "run-ins" in the past.

Whimsical Wednesday

I love sleep. My life has the tendency to fall apart when I'm awake, you know? 

~Ernest Hemingway 

Da Plane, Da Plane

Thanks for the game, Roarke... we will play again. 

Sooner or later, I'm bound to win!

Pinkie and Mr. Fev-ver

Where are you, Pinkie?

I swear Pinkie was right around here somewhere.

A Day Late and a Dollar Short

Yeah, so evidently there was this "Blog Challenge" that everyone was supposed to do....yesterday or something. Oh well, with my Human lately, I'm lucky we're only a day late, and not a month.




1. How long have you been blogging and provide a link to your post from last year’s Pet Blogger Challenge so we can refresh our memories.
Our first post was on April 14, 2010. This is what we had to say back on January 13, 2012. (I guess we were even later last year, ha ha ha!)

2. What do you consider the most important goals you set out in last year’s post?
Myself, I try not to actually have too many goals. Or any, really. That way, I am never disappointed in myself. Now that doesn't mean I don't like to set goals for the Human, of course, and last year I told her on January 1 that I wanted to post every day for a year. She whined and complained and asked why we had to start in a year that had a freaking extra day in it, but I insisted. 

3. Have you made progress toward those goals, or have your goals changed over the past year?
We did manage to post every day last year, which is great, but now the Human feels all smug about it and I can't complain as much as I would like to.

4. How often do you post?
Well, so far we have posted every day this month, but the Human says she doesn't think she's got it in her to keep up the pace for another whole year. *I* think we can do it, though!

5. Has your opinion of blogging on a schedule or as the spirit moves you changed?
*My* opinion? Nope-ity-nope-nope!

6. If you publish on a schedule, why? How strict are you about your publishing deadlines? What do you do for inspiration when it feels like you’ve covered every topic?
I am very strict with the Human. There's a very good reason Ceiling Cat gave us 18 razor-sharp claws and a bunch of pearly teefs.

*I* am all the inspiration I or The Human needs. I am endlessly fascinating and even if we blogged for fifty years, we could never do justice to the Glorious Enigma that is King Spitty I.

If you don’t publish on a schedule, why? How do you think your decision affects your audience? How do you know when a topic is “post-worthy?”
What are you talking about???  All topics concerning Me are post-worthy! 

7. How much time do you spend writing your blog per week? How much time visiting other blogs? Share your tips for staying on top of it all.
We probably spend about two hours a day, sometimes more, doing our post and visiting our friends. We love getting comments and we try really, really hard to comment each day on the blogs of my friends who left me a comment and lots of days on some others as well. 
The Human says The Blog has kind of taken over her evenings and that sometimes she'd like to spend time with, you know, her friends, or watch a little TV, or read a book, or (gasp) do some schoolwork.
My position is that she does not need to do any of that stuff.

8. How do you measure the success of a post and of your blog in general (comments, shares, traffic)?
We don't really pay attention to that. I pretty much think that anything I get posted counts as a success. That said, once in awhile a post gets a whole bunch of comments and I don't know why. Usually it has nothing to do with how much time I spent on it or how good or bad the picture is or anything I can figure out. 

It must be the alignment of Saturn and Pluto.

Do you look strictly at the numbers, or do you have a way of assessing the quality of those interactions?
Since we never really looks at the numbers, it must be that other thing, though like Nellie I do not have interactions, I have furiends and I think they all has a lot of quality.

9. If you could ask the pet blogging community for help with one issue you’re having with your blog, what would it be?
My Human seems to wait till I am sleeping to take her pictures. This is because she is lazy and unskilled at taking more action shots. I wouldn't care much about this, but everyone seems to think I am comatose most of the time.
I think maybe she needs to buy a better camera so pictures where I am moving won't be so blurry.

10. What goals do you have for your blog in 2013?
I have found goals to be overrated. Plus, having goals just makes The Blog seem too much like a j-o-b, and she already has one of those that takes up like 11 hours a day. 
I think we'll just wait and see what happens this year.

You Don't Think

                                 ...there could be kittens in there, do you?

Sunny Side Up

...or Spitty-over-easy? You decide.

Well, at least the radiator got left on today so I didn't freeze or anything. (The sunny scene so pleasantly depicted here took place last week).

At least tomorrow is Friday and perhaps I will get more than 2.83 minutes of playtime. Honestly, it's neglect is what it is. There better be playtime-a-plenty and lots and lots of heavy petting this weekend, or it's Reporting-the-Human time for sure.

BoxBoy

Here I am staring thoughtfully into space, chillaxing* in my Box on my SBB, pondering the deepest secrets of the Universe.

Why did Starz cancel Boss, which The Human loved?
Why is it so cold in here?
Where is Pinkie?
Why doesn't Donald Trump switch barbers?
What the heck is wrong with Brent Musburger?
Aren't BoxBoys supposed to be paid?

* And I *do* mean chillaxing--the Human failed to turn the radiator on before she left this morning. Good thing I'm wearing my furs.

Oh My Stars!

Look, look, look my Furiends! Just feast your eyes on this! My Human came home from work today bearing a package for ME from my furry friends at Whisppy! (I just know mostly it came from you, Tutu, my little darling!)
There was an adorable card whose little shiny ornaments opened up into 3-D balls (alas, still not my missing ones....), and best of all, there was a little black box filled with a very precious substance! No, Kitties, not Gold, or Frankincense, or even Myrrh....but rather the most-awesomest substance known to all of Kittydom: The 'Vine! 
Yes, that's right, Kitties, SilverVine, with a Capital 'S' and a Capital 'V' and that rhymes with Wheeeeeeeeee!
Thanks a whole bunch, my furiends.....You're the Best!

Good Day, Sunshine

The Human went back to work today and I had Teh Sad about it.

No one home to play with me, talk to me, pet me, feed me when I want:

How much would a Nanny cost?

*     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *     *
You know you've spent too much time in the Cat Blogosphere when you see this headline:
Obama nom brings new D.C. fight

and you wonder to yourself, "What's Obama been eating that started a brouhaha in Washington?"

I'd Like to Thank the Academy...

Our lovely and generous Furiends have given us some awards over the past 6 or 8 weeks, and we have neglected to post about them! So Today's the Day:

First, I want to thank my darling Iza-Lambie and Ayla & Marley, too, from Mark's Mews 

who gave me this Next BIG Thing Award!

I am very grateful, especially since there's no requirement to DO anything

except enjoy the glory of having received it!  Thanks, Furiends!

A shout-out to my Woofie Furiend*, Cotton, who gave me this Friendly Blogger Award 

a while back! Thanks, Buddy! I am to pass it on to a few Friendly Bloggers. 

(* To tell you the truth, this still seems like an oxymoron to me.....)

My Good Buddy Texas gave me this Great Reader Award!

For this award, I have to finish the sentence, "A great reader is . . ."

So here goes: . . . one who can take whatever truth a writer offers and make it her own.

My Royal Thanks also go to Bionic Basil for giving me this wonderful award 

full of two of my favorite things: Mouses and 'Nip!

I have to nominate some pawesome kitteh blogs who are 

deserving of this mousy, nippy award!

Okay! So we are going to choose FOUR blogs that we love as recipients 

of each of these awards!

The Next Big Thing Award:             The Kitties at Colehaus Cats
The Friendly Blogger Award:        The Misadventures of Misaki
The Great Reader Award:                 The Brilliant SparkySpitfire
The Bring on the Nip Award:         That Dynamic Duo Derby and Ducky

Under the Rainbow

                                                       Somewhere under the rainbow, 'pon my SBB
                                                       There's a land that I heard of, with catnip that's just for me!
                                                       Somewhere under the rainbow, foodz are free
                                                       And the naps that I dare to take, are filled with lovely Zzzzzzzzz.

Okay, Lissen up! My furiend sparkyspitfire wins the Innernets with her pawsome next verses:

♫ ♫ ♫

someday I'll find a wounded mouse
stumbling blindly thru teh house
in front of me!
where he sort of melts and feebly hops
until my mighty paw says 'stops!'
that's where you'll find me.....

Somewhere under teh rainbow
Mousies fly.
Straight into my mouthie
Why, can't I eat them - why?

♫ ♫ ♫

Making A Clean Start

A Boy needs to look his best for the New Year, don't you think?

P.S. The Human predicts: Best Picture of the Year
And when you see it, look for my 
cameo appearance 
about halfway through!