What Cat Is This?

This cat showed up tonight during the beans' festivities. Do any of you know him?

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays to All

Here is my Christmas tree. My Secret Paws gift is under it. Can you see it? There will be lots of beans here on Christmas Day, so I will probably be hiding downstairs. But I love to look at my tree when it is dark inside and the lights are on. It is very pretty. Plus, I can plan my late night whapping sessions!

This is me on my heaty pad. It is under the blanket. It has been very cold here so I have been curled up on the blankie and pad all the time. I am very happy, except when someone tries to put their legs next to me on the heaty pad and then I wake up and have lots to say. You know who you are, Food Dude!

Happy Holidays to all my friends. It was wonderful getting to meet some flat cats this year. The People were also really happy to meet the CB folks in person. You're a great group of kitties and people. Thank you for being our pals.

My Secret Paws Arrived!

I was sitting at my great snoopervising spot, keeping an eye out for the man in blue shorts. And guess what? He brought me this pretty red Christmas package! I was very excited. As you can see, there was something inside that got my attention.

These are the great presents that were inside! I am inspecting them very closely.

Guess what I found? NIP!!!! Ummmmm. There are also chasing balls, feathers, mice, and a GIANT MOUSIE. I know I will have lots of fun with these gifts for a long time to come.

I liked my presents so much that my People went out and got a Christmas tree for them. My Secret Paws came all the way from Virginia from my new friend, Sly ! THANK YOU VERY MUCH, SLY!!!! Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays to all!

Secret Paws!

Oops! The Tech Dunce Food Lady took a picture of the package we sent to our Secret Paws friends, but the batteries in the camera died. So we can't show you the picture! Sorry! I am excited to know if the kitties who get the package like the presents. Here's the tag from Skittles instead.

Happy holidays to all kitties and their people. I have been sitting on my heaty pad and that's about it.

A Kitty Conundrum

It is really cold right now in San Francisco. Slinky the interloper cat from next door has been left outside by his people. A couple of days ago, my Food Lady left them a note saying Slinky was trying to find shelter in one of our back yard statues. Today it was really, really cold and they left Slinky outside all day while they were at work. Should we call the animal cops?

Sleepy Sunday

I'm sleeping off all the turkey I've been eating the last few days. What about you?

There's A Bird in My House!

The people think I am napping but actually I am listening to them talk about The Bird. They have been talking about it all day. They say they are going to cook The Bird soon. So I am listening so I can be sure to be around when it is done! MMMM!

The Food Lady cooked some other stuff today. This is a pecan tart.

She also made this pumpkin pie. No canned pie filling for her! She baked the whole thing herself.

I hope you all have a Happy Bird Day! We are all very thankful for the good kitties and friends in the Cat Blogosphere. And we're thankful for our homes, families, and all the other blessings we enjoy. Give your kitties a big pet and your family and friends a big hug. Tomorrow is never promised.

Meet Peanut and Blizzard from Castro Valley

Here's a picture of my new pals, Peanut and Blizzard. They came from the Castro Valley pound and went to live with a friend and co-worker of my Food Lady. They live right near Skeezix. I thought you might like to say hello.

A Kitty Needs Lots of Love

I turned 17 years old this summer. Up until a few years ago, I used to spend lots of time outdoors in the back yard. There are big trees to climb, birds to chase (and be chased by!), cats who visit and try to taste my nip, mice and garden snakes to catch, sunny spots for warm naps, snoopervising locations, roofs to explore, and people to snoopervise. When I was younger, I would stay out all night sometimes and the People would get mad. I guess they did not understand that I was protecting them from the raccoons and coyotes and bad neighbors!

These days, I go out a little bit. I still chase interloper cats from my nip plant. I chase Slinky back next door every once in a while. But most of the time, I like to sit in my snoopervising spot on the big chair in the front room, where I watch the people and animals go up and down the block. I am a good watch cat. This is also a good, warm snoozing location.

Today there was an article in the San Francisco Chronicle about behavior signs that your cat might be sick. The Food Lady was very worried about me after she read it. I was pretty perky this afternoon and even played cat toy for a while. I also ate a bunch of stinky goodness and dry food. Anyway, this is my typical daily activity log:

35% sleep - the people wear me out. I used to sleep with them at night all the time but sometimes I sleep in a warm spot on the couch at night. They move around too much!

20% cat adoration - People snuggle time. The People need so much attention! I have to sit in their laps and keep them warm every night. I think they would freeze without me!

25% Food critic and commentator - Well, I am a tortie and I have lots of tortietude when it comes to what I eat! After a bunch of helpful hints from you readers and cats, the people now put my food bowl next to the dinner table and put some of what they are eating (at least that is what they tell me!) in with my cat food. I like that very much! I seem to be eating a bit more and I also complain a bit less about not being thrown the entire leftover roasted chicken from the dinner table.

10% Private time, curled up in a ball. The people get worried about this and think I am having tummy or thyroid troubles (a life long issue) when I do this. Sometimes, I just want to be left alone.

10% Tortie Comment Hour. I have a lot to say. I walk around and say it. I complain about where the people are sitting on the chairs and couches. I complain about the number of crunchy foods in my bowl. I complain about the animals that walked by the house today. The Food Lady and I have long discussions during Tortie Comment Hour but the Food Dude, even after all these years, remains clueless about HalloweenSpeak.

Anyway, I have my ups and downs. I have a very sensitive thyroid. I'm not the wild cat I used to be. But the other day, I jumped up on the roof and ran around. This is a big jump so it made the Food Lady happy. My people give me lots of love but they pay attention to all my little quirks. I'm glad they do. I don't know what we would do without each other.

Happy Halloween!

I say this every year at this time: I don't need no stinking costume, because I AM HALLOWEEN THE CAT!

Rocky the Gutter Cat Sent Me a Card!

Here it is - Rocky the Gutter Cat and me, together at last! I love him. I'm never moving from this spot, ever again.

Beezer Has Gone to the Rainbow Bridge

My dear friend Beezer has gone to the Rainbow Bridge. He died Friday night, at home, with his beloved mombean. Beezer has been a great friend to me and to my People. He sent his Mombean over to help my TechDunce Food Lady figure out how to make my blog work. He waved at me from across town. He told me to beware of the vicious, loud garbage trucks that roam San Francisco. But most important of all, he loved his mombean and she loved him. She is very sad and feels that this just hasn't hit her yet. Please visit Beezer's blog and send as much love and as many purrs as you can to Beezer on his journey to the Bridge and to his mom as she misses her ginger guy. We love you, Beezer and mombean!

Another Report About the Flat Cat Party

Here's a picture of me with some of our flat friends at the party for Jeter's mom after she walked 60 miles to save the boobies. I was very happy to meet them! All of the cat people were very nice. I even let a couple of people pet me before I went downstairs.

This is me sitting on my Food Lady the day after the party. She needed a big nap so I kept her company. She told me that she licked Mr. Tasty Face to see if Skeezix was telling the truth about him! Luckily Mr. Tasty Face was indeed tasty and also a good sport because he laughed when she did it. Luckily my Food Dude also has a sense of humor because he laughed too. Just in case you're wondering, the Food Lady has never licked me.

We had a big storm the other day. It made my cat grass sort of crazy looking. I thought you might like to see it.

Please be sure to stop by Beezer's blog. He has made his last post as he is very, very sick. His mombean is extremely sad. They need all the purrs they can get.

PURRS NEEDED!! PURRS NEEDED!!

My dear friend Beezer is very, very sick! His mom just called the Food Lady and said that the vet said he might have kitty cancer or something just as bad. Beezer has been at the kitty hospital all day and is now home with his mom, resting in her arms and purring. Please send Beezer and his mom as many purrs as you can. He might have to go the Bridge soon.

Beezer's mom was here for the celebration for Roberta's Long Walk. She has been a big help to me with my blog. She's very sad and worried about Beezer but does not want him to suffer.

So please send them both lots of love and purrs.

What a Night!

It was quite an evening with all the people, flat cats, and chicken. I sat on my snoopervising spot for a while but then I ran and hid. You will have to find out from other beans and cats about the events of the evening because I was too freaked out to stick around.

Guess Who's Coming To Dinner?

I am so excited! Tomorrow Jeter's mom http://jeterharris.blogspot.com/ finishes her 60 mile walk raising money with other boobie ladies to stop breast cancer. What an accomplishment! I have invited her to my house so I can concatulate Roberta and give her lots of puurrrrrrrrrrsssssssss. She will be the guest of honor at my dinner! And she's bringing Flat Jeter to meet me, and my beans, and a bunch of other flat cats and not flat beans.

Here's the list. But since Roberta is the Queen of this event, the flat cats and not flat beans will have to be our subjects for the evening.

Skeezix http://www.skeezixthecat.com/scratchingpost/ is coming (well, Flat Skeez is coming) and he's bringing the Food Lady and Mr. Tasty Face! Maybe they will bring me a lock of hair from Rocky's coat!

Flat Kimo and Flat Sabi http://catbanter.blogspot.com/ are coming! And they are bringing their beans and the Famous Blurpy Girl!

Beezer's mom http://beezersong.blogspot.com/ is coming! Beezer has to stay home and snoopervise their place though. We'll miss Beezer.

Guido the Italian Cat is coming http://theguidogazette.blogspot.com/. Well, it might be Flat Guido too. But his mom bean will be her for sure.

And there are other important beans and flats, even someone from Across the Pond! The beans say it is a very big pond. I think there are some of the most important people in the known universe who will be here to celebrate Roberta's amazing accomplishment.

But I know why they are really coming. To Adore Queen Halloween. That's as it should be. I've got the welcome mat out and I'll be snoopervising all the arrivals. We'll report back about the festivities after they are over.

I'm Waiting at the Front Gate For the Booby Ladies

I am waiting at my front gate to see if the booby saving ladies - and Jeter's mom - walk by my house. They are walking 60 miles all over San Francisco and Marin County to raise money for breast cancer research. I'd be very excited if they walked by. If they do, I will give them a loud dose of TortieTude to help them on their way. Yay Roberta! Yay Flat Jeter! Yay Booby Saving Ladies! Yay Chicken on Sunday with the booby saving ladies! I'm also waiting for that.

Getting Lots of Beauty Sleep

Hi everyone. I am getting lots of beauty rest because many subjects are coming to adore me. Oh, the Food Lady says they are guests, not subjects. Well, I'll decide if they are guests or subjects of Queen Halloween after they arrive! I'm hoping that Rocky the Gutter cat http://www.rockytheguttercat.com/ shows up and surprises me.

Jeter's Mom is Coming to Visit!

Here's a picture of the great Jeter Harris's http://jeterharris.blogspot.com/ mombean. She is coming to San Francisco to walk 60 miles to help the Susan G. Komen Foundation in its work against breast cancer. My people have convinced Jeter to let his mom bean come over and have a glass of water and maybe a piece of toast after she finishes her walk cause she might be thirsty and hungry. Actually, the People said there might be a few cat ladies (and men) and a few of my flat blogosphere friends too! How about some not flat chicken??? Anyway, we are looking forward to supporting Jete's mom and all of the walkers. And we're looking forward to all the flat cats and not flat beans who might come to visit.

Thanks to the Kitties and Beans

Thanks to all the kitties and beans for making my People behave. Here I am waiting for the Food Dude to throw me a piece of chicken. I need lots of attention. I also need my People to respond to all my commands. Thanks to all of your comments, I am now in total control of this household. Whining, pawing, grumbling - whatever I do - I get my way. I may be a geezer cat, but I rule in this household! Thanks to all of you!

Food Lady Needs Advice

This post is for the Beans. I'm Halloween's Food Lady and I need some advice and any insights you can give me.

My beautiful Halloween is 17 years old. She was a feral who showed up here as a kitten with her mom and littermates. She's been an indoor - outdoor cat her entire life. We have lived in the same place all of these years. Halloween is a dainty tortie who has always slept with us. I am her person.

A year after Halloween came to live here, another stray adopted us - or rather adopted my husband. Onyx was a black cat with attitude to spare. Onyx didn't like the fact that Halloween was here already, and he tried to be the alpha cat. Well, in Onyx's mind, he was the alpha cat. Onyx was like Sammy and Miles. He was always whapping, engaging in disapproved activities, and being a wild cat. He was very entertaining, but also mean to Halloween. Anyway, my husband started feeding Onyx when we ate dinner. Onyx would sit next to my husband and start whining for his dinner treats. Halloween pretty much ignored the dinner table situation. She'd beg for a bite every once in a while, but she behaved as though begging at the table was beneath her.

We had to put Onyx down a few years ago - very sad for all of us. Halloween was sad for about a minute. She had the house to herself again and that was a good thing. But after a while, she took up Onyx's post next to hubby at the dinner table and began begging for food scraps. She's a tortie so she can be very demanding. This surprised us.

About 6 months ago, she became even more insistent - or perhaps more clingy. She started trying to climb up me with her claws as I sat at my computer and had breakfast. She has always liked to have "cat adoration" time in the morning and at night. I thought that's what she was trying to do. But then when we eat sometimes, she puts her paws on my legs and acts like she wants to jump up - or get me to give her food from my plate - as we are having dinner. Onyx never did this.

Believe me, we feed her. She's been to the vet regularly. She's a barfo kitty and gets meds for it. Does she just want more attention, more little food treats, or what? I don't want to spray her with water. That seems mean at this late date - as she just put her paws on me to jump up!

What do you all think?

My Incredibly Exciting Cat Life

Hi everyone. There's just so much happening around here! I've been hanging out on the back deck, keeping track of Slinky the Cat from Next Door. He doesn't come over very much any more. I've been chasing him away. Ever since my People told the Next Door People that Slinky was hungry and they had been feeding him, he has stayed over in his yard more. Hopefully they are feeding him more and taking better care of him.

I've also been watching the hummingbirds and butterflies all around my yard.

And I've been keeping an eye on the sun to make sure it comes up and goes down every day.

Inside the house, I have been playing with my mousies. This is the green one. There are several more. I have killed them all many times. I especially like to whap them around the hardwood floor, and then jump up and down on them and stun them into submission. These mousies are easier to catch than the outdoor mousies! I think this one is playing dead. What do you think?

This is my belladonna tree. It blooms all the time. It is very pretty. The birdies like to sit in it. So does Mr. Squirrel. I watch it grow.

As usual, I've been keeping an eye on the People. The Food Lady made this the other day. She calls it Almond Torte. She took it to a friend's house one night for dinner because he says he is addicted to it. I dunno. There's no chicken in it so this food seems worthless to me.

Clingy Cat

Sometimes I am a clingy cat. Here you see me trying to climb up the front of the Food Lady with my claws. I do this when she hasn't paid enough attention to me. Lately I have tried doing it when she is having dinner. For some reason, she gets the MAD sound in her voice and says, "Get DOWN, Halloween. Bad cat!" Why can't I see what's on the plate and have a few bites? I'd rather have my food on a plate instead of thrown on the floor. The indignities I must endure!

A Feast

Smells like there's going to be a good cat feast tonight! I am waiting at my spot for it to happen.

The people went to the farmer's market and came back with these flowers.

Later on, the Food Dude made this tomato salad. He even picked the orange tomatoes from the front of the house. The people are always talking about their tomato plants!

Best of all, the Food Lady made this Chicken!!!! As you can see, the pig is giving his enthusiastic approval behind the chicken. Ahhh, chicken. I ate many bites of this chicken tonight. I am a lucky cat. There will be more later.

The people also ate this. It is called homemade peach crisp. The peaches also came from the farmer's market. The people liked this a lot. Who cares about peaches - more chicken!!!

Wordless Wednesday

San Francisco

Here is a tiny pic of the view of San Francisco from the hill behind my house. I hope you enjoy it. You will need great eyes or a magnifying glass to see all the details. The Tech Dunce tried to biggify the picture, and as usual, failed. Blame her.

Visit to the Groomer!

I'm staying at the bottom of the stairs right now. As you can see, I am using my laser eyes to get my point across.

I stayed here for a while tonight. The People kept saying I was filled with mats. I don't know what they were talking about. All I do know is that I was forced into the cat carrying box and put in the car. I hate the box and I hate the car even more. I thought I was going to the V E T.

Nope. They took me to this lady who cleaned me up and combed my coat so it is very smooth, silky, and easy to comb. It feels much better. But don't tell my People because I am going to make them feel guilty for putting me in the box for as long as I can. That's why I'm hangin' at the bottom of the stairs. They tried to pet me but I ran down here. When they started walking down the stairs, I ran under a bed. I let them take these pictures so they would remember how angry I am about this whole situation.

Later on, the stinky goodness and treats I got were quite good!

Bandit Visitors & Cat Furniture

Here are some visitors I just had on the back deck tonight! They tried to come in the cat door. I think they were trying to steal my stinky goodness! The People shut the door but the bandits stuck around to have their pictures taken. They are not very smart bandits, are they?

Here I am, sitting on the best piece of cat furniture in the house. The People went away for a long time and they left me with some person who was supposed to take care of me. I am still mad! They will pay for going away for a long time.

The person who stayed here did not understand cat adoration. He did not know how to play with the cat toys correctly. He did not know how to heat up my stinky goodness to just the right temperature. He did not understand cat talk. Arrgh.

Since the People came home, I have been sitting on this piece of cat furniture every chance I get. If the Food Dude sits anywhere else, I complain long and loudly until he is in the cat furniture position. What else could he possibly be doing that is more important?

As for the Food Lady, when she sits at the computer too long, I get up on my back legs and put my front paws on her, and jump up on her lap. First I see if she is working on the blog for me, or checking the other cat blogs. Obviously, she has not been keeping up with these tasks. So I sit on her and make her pay attention to me. She says I am very "clingy". Ha. The Food Lady hasn't seen clingy yet!

So, I'm re-training the People. What have all of you been doing? Concatulations to Mr. Hendrix http://mrhendrixthekitty.blogspot.com/ and his People for their new arrival!

What Is Michigan????

I am just wondering - what is a Michigan? Or is it Mishagun? The people are talking about it all the time these days. Last year they talked about it and they said funny words like "Yooper" and "U - P" and "Markette" and "Kal - a - ma - zoo". What is a superior lake? Or a michigan lake? I don't know. None of these words sounded like "cat treats". Can anyone help?

Last year after they said these words they left me with someone else. Not acceptable!!!

Wordless Wednesday

Summer Saturday

Hi kitties and people. I haven't been posting much because the Food Dude and Food Lady have been sick. They made the cough-cough-cough sound. They slept in bed alot. They put little thingies in their mouths and said, "I have a fever!" They ate special Mexican chicken noodle soup, made by the Food Dude, called Fideos. I sat on them and kept them warm. The Food Lady had to go to the hospital because she got so sick, but she came home and took little pills that made her feel better. Since they were feeling better this morning, they went to the farmer's market and bought some things.

They brought home these pretty sunflowers.

And they brought home blueberries and blackberries. The Food Lady made a blueberry crisp. Here it is, just out of the oven. The pig and bunny look like they are going to jump right into the crisp and eat it up all up, don't they? I'm waiting to see what they brought home for me!