Sunday Selfie: I Lubs My Carrot, Starring Spitty

This intoxicating toy was included in my Secret Paws package from Spike William, and let me tell you, Kitties, it is the best. Too bad the Human's photographic skills were not up to the standards I would like to become accustomed to, but honestly, do I look like I care?

And here's my little movie. For some reason, the Nip and the Vine make me want to clean myself. What the heck is that about? Is it just me, or do you other kitties wash yourselves when you're having a good time?

Merry Christmas to All Creatures Great & Small

We wish everyone a happy, cozy and love-filled holiday!

© We are grateful for each of you all year long  © 

  We'll be back on Friday.

Sunday Selfie: Ridiculous December Sunshine

We only had it for a day or so about a week ago, but I enjoyed it to the fullest. Now the *other* blue pillow has been returned to its rightful place, and I expect company soon.

Oh Furry Red Ball

How delightfully intoxicating you are! Which might have a little something to do with the silvervine powder the Human thoughtfully sprinkled on you.

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: You Don't Say

It seems someone(s) had a cookie-and-beer 

holiday bash by the corner of our building last night. 

Did they dunk, do you think?

Sunday Selfie: How the Song Should Be Sung

Just a Little Pillowtalk

I know you'd like to think all the pillows are belong to you, Human. But this one 

is mine to fur up as I see fit. Remember: Sharing is caring. Don't be so greedy.

Bonus: Caturday Art Version

I only added this one because I like how my TAILIO looks.

Am I What?

Drunk?


Yes, I know I have my limbs strewn about in a sloppy and undignified manner.

How could you possibly accuse  . . . hic!


All right! 

I got into the nip. Okay? Is that what you wanted to hear?

I need to nap now. We'll talk about it later.

Sunday Selfie: Won't You Be My Neighbor?

Today we have a guest on our Sunday Selfie. On Friday, the Human was standing at the stop for the N train just a block away from Chez Spittay when she noticed this dark gray beauty across the street, surveying the torn-up block from his/her very own sunny windowsill. I would like to know more about this attractive kitty. It's a challenge I will have to ponder.

She's Not All Bad

So the other day she realized I sometimes still climb to the tippy-top of the cat tree (unlike here where I am settled on the oh-so-accessible lower level).

She worried a bit about my landing on the hard wooden floor so she moved one of my favorite blue cushions to the floor. I will admit the softer landing is nicer.

Spitty is not unreasonable, you know. He will give credit where credit is due. Thanks, Human. Good job.

Rock-a-bye MousieOn the Treetop

When Spitty bites
Your tail might come off.
When claws come out,
Little Mousie will fall.
And Spitty will pounce then--
And that will be all.  

*******************************************************************************
Breaking News

About half an hour ago, as I rested peacefully, unsuspectingly next to her desk chair, the Human suddenly pushed said chair backwards with considerable force. Imagine her surprise as I emitted a blood-curdlingly shrill yowl of agony!

"MY TAILIO," I screamed, "MY PRECIOUS TAILIO!"

My friends, just gaze upon this evidence.These furs were trapped beneath one leg of the chair, and when it was so carelessly jerked, HALF my tailio furs were ripped right out of their rightful home.

Oh, yeah, she apologized all over the place and followed me from room to room as I sprinted from her in terror. Spitty is not having any of this "Sorry" nonsense. 

No, I'll have recompense more satisfying than "Sorry." Toonas and cream would be a start.

Sunday Selfie: I'm Predictable

Yes, a fine, sunny day will always find me spending a few restful hours in my favorite purple beddy, peering through the grimy window (yes, Human, you must wash the outsides, too), and passing silent judgment on the neighbors. It's a fine way to amuse myself while catching some rays. 

It puts me in mind of the great Alice Roosevelt Longworth, who said, “If you haven't got anything nice to say about anybody, come sit next to me.”

I'm 14-1/2

The Human does not think I can get to the top 
of my cat tree anymore.

But I can.

Furry Friday

Hello, Kitties! Here I am a few days back, during our bad air heat wave. But there is much to be learned from this little snapshot. First, look at those laughably disorganized shelves. How sad is that? Clearly, she missed that day in 2nd grade when "How to Fold" was taught and practiced. Next, if you carefully inspect the lowest part of the mirror, you will see she also missed the day when "Putting Your Shoes Away" was covered. Finally, and most important, notice how long and slender I appear! The Human says this is because my midsectional girth has sunk into the little poofy quilt, and only the topmost layer is visible. Kind of like an iceberg, she says.  Hmm.

I May be a Senior Catizen . . .

but I still love me my playtimes. Of course, she doesn't play long enough, but at least she's better now that she's retired. Now I gotta gently remind her about visiting my furiends.

Sunday Selfie: I'm Here for You

Will you be needing my assistance this evening?

I know you have been handling your Human Litter Box needs on your own for many decades now, but I wanted to let you know that help is available.

Yes, I know I offer this assistance many times each and every day, and that so far, you have not taken me up on it, but you never know. I mean, you're old now. Perhaps you should teach me how to dial 9-1-1?

Somebody Got . . .

. . . a whole jar of Gerber's Turkey all for himself on Thursday. 
 And I had a really good nap after.

Happy Thanksgiving

to all our friends, near and far, feline and Human and otherwise. 
When we count our blessings, we count all of you among them. 

Have a wonderful day!

*      *      *      *      *      *      *      *      *      *

Also near the top of our Thanksgiving gratitude list is the rainstorm Wednesday that put the fire out, washed the filthy air and dropped the AQI from 271 last Friday to this single digit today (the little chart below shows midnight through 4:00 p.m. Wednesday):

Caroline

Goodnight, sweet princess/and flights of angels sing thee to thy rest

©

Caroline was one of my very first LadyLoves. I admired how feisty and wily she was with those BoyCats, and how loudly she could scream at them. She was an intoxicating mix of beauty, brains and bravery that I found irresistible!  She has gone on to join her brothers and sisters across the Bridge, and her Human and Feline family and friends will be sad for some time. But I believe she'll be waiting to greet a certain floofy black ManCat when his Time comes to make the journey. Meanwhile, I will miss you, Caroline. 

Monday, Monday, Can't Trust That Day

Today, the Human's obsessively watching the air quality report bounce around with each passing hour, mostly ricocheting in all the wrong directions.

Me, I am meditating on the rather peculiar nature of the sunlight and the firmly closed windows. 

What I would really like to be doing is poking my snout out there to sample all the enticing smells of the neighborhood. It's an outrage that she has forbidden it.

A foul and pestilent congregation of vapors TAKE TWO

Last weekend, the Human snapped these two pictures. She couldn't imagine the city would ever have such bad air again. But then the Air Quality Index moved in the wrong direction, from Yellow to Orange to Red to Purple, and she sank into a whiny little funk. She stopped taking pictures, stopped helping me blog, and then she kinda stopped leaving the house altogether. Finally she had a talk with herself about perspective: People 150 miles north lost their lives, their loved ones, their animals, their homes, and in the case of the ironically-named Paradise, their whole little town. So she ordered herself to stop the whining, and more or less succeeded. Then today, a gentle NW wind came along and lightened the poisonous atmosphere over San Francisco, though sadly not over most other Bay Area regions. But it's a start, and believe me, we'll take it. 

And as for me? Well, I say, Wake me when our Fog returns.

Sunday Selfie: A Day Late & a Dollar Short

The Human and I have spent the past four or five days submerged in smoke from terrible fires raging north of us. We remind ourselves that we ought not to be complaining overmuch, as people just 160 miles north are suffering from much worse than unhealthy air.

In other news, R.I.P. new white whisker. It has either turned black or disappeared. I guess the wait begins for a replacement for the replacement.

Remember Those Scissors?

Well, this time she cut off my tailio.

There's another big fire up north and the Human 

says it made our sunlight a weird color today

but frankly that makes no sense at all to me.

Wordless Wednesday: Guess What???

It's . . . Playtimes!

I made her video me tonight even though she didn't do

a very good job. But I am not always asleeping even

though it does seem that way sometimes. ::sigh::

Sunny Sunday Selfie: It's Too Darn Hot!

Hello, Kitties, and happy Return-to-Normalcy with our clocks. I do not care for this crazy practice that pretends Humans can somehow manipulate time and add an hour to the day. Folly! You don't see kitties doing stuff like that, do you?
As you can see here, retirement has not improved her slovenly housekeeping habits. Just saying. If it's not one excuse, it's another.
Finally, my lopsided-white-whisker survived the imminent scissor attack the other day, though she says that was only round one. As you can see, the other one may have taken a permanent vacation.

Happy Halloween,

Kitties and Humans!

Single-Whisker Sunday Selfie

Perhaps you recall this, my fine furry furiends? Well, it has been about a month, and my left whisker pad has shown no sign of producing another. The Human looks at me while she slaps a little pair of metal scissors against her palm and says, "Hmmmm."

Friday Fill-Ins and Fancy Footwork

Here are our Friendly Fill-In responses for this week, courtesy of our furiends at 15 & Meowing and Four Legged Furballs:

1.  The Human is an awful bore sometimes.
2. I always read food sections of the newspaper, though there are never enough toona recipes.
3. Black cats rule.
4. Gerber's is my favorite treat.

Run / Sleep / Run

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: A Boy Can Dream

And hey! Who Invited HIM to MY city anyway?

Sunday Selfie: Spitty, Unsuspecting

Wait...Whaaat??

Caturday, in My Box

¯ I think it was the Fourth of Juuuuly . . . ¯

Or maybe the 20th of October. Well, never mind.

Boxes come, and boxes go, but this little gem endures.

It is the Box of All Boxes and I loves it.

Hot Off the Presses: Terrible Pictures!

Pictures 1 & 2: Poor photographs of Genuine Playtimes

Pictures 3 & 4:  Why are you hitting me with that? Stop it. Not.in.the.mood.

And this is why I can't has nice playtimes pictures.

(Not So Very) Wordless Wednesday

Now honestly, I had a really great playtimes this morning with one of my favorite feather wand toys, and then I had a little chase-myself-around-the-house time, and I ate my breakfast.

But could she photograph me doing any of that stuff? Could she even attempt to make me more interesting to my loyal readers?

Oh nooooooooo! Cod forbid she should manage an action shot! I mean, it's a good thing I draped myself so very artfully over this chair when it started to warm up around lunchtime.

I'm afraid she's . . . hopeless.

Spit-Shined Spitty

What she wanted was a 'Tocks picture, but I was 

not obliging. I wonder how she'd like a picture 

of her furless behind on the Innerwebs?

Sunday Selfie: Making My Toes Curl

Bayonets out or bayonets in, are there toes more beautiful in all the world? 

O Hai There

So when the Human came home a while ago, she said, 
"Oh, no! Spitty! You've lost your head!" 
But I just said, "Oh hai there. You're home. Where's dinner?"

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

When the hots come, I make myself as long as an uncoiled slinky, because I like to think of myself as slinky. And handsome. And smart. And l---o---n---g.

Sunny Monday's Sunday Selfie

Yes, it's Monday, yes, it's sunny (making for too many hots), and yes, I, Spitty the Kitty, declare an extension of Sunday in order that my Selfie not be too late.

Here in The City by the Bay we are unaccustomed to endless days of bright light and balmy breezes, and I, for one, disapprove of this cheery sunshine that brings pasty and irritating people out onto the streets to chatter and cavort and gather for adult beverages at the cafe across the street.  

Bah, humbug.

The Waning of Caturday Afternoon

This is our second week playing Friendly Fill-Ins from our furiends 15 and Meowing and Four-Legged Furballs:
1. My favorite font is Blackadder .
2. October is perfect for mayhem.
3. Where I live, I rule.
4. I feel very mischievous this time of year.

Spitty the Kitty: Desk Jockey

Sometimes, when she's been particularly recalcitrant, I feel the need to supervise even more closely than usual. Of course, I have learned this kind of proximity accrues certain benefits for the kitty. These include friendly head-and-chin scritches, brushies on demand, and now and then, a fingerful of Gerber's. Spitty don't work for nuthin'.

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday

Human, did we move to freaking Chicago or something? 

The weird little rain, the hots, the humids. It's gotta stop, okay?

My First Spark

I'm not so much of an inspirational guy, but last week was tough and we think this one might be, too. So much sadness and anger in the Human world.

I am going to let the Human share her very favorite quote ever. It's from a T.S. Eliot poem called "Ash Wednesday."  She thinks it reminds us to pay attention and do what we can to help solve problems or right injustices, but also to maintain a calm and steady truth at our core that can't be touched no matter how things turn out in the world beyond us. Frankly, I have no idea if that's what ole T.S. had in mind, but we'll let every Human and kitty decide for themselves.

                     Blessed sister, holy mother, spirit of the fountain, spirit of the garden,
                     Suffer us not to mock ourselves with falsehood
                     Teach us to care and not to care
                     Teach us to sit still