I've been tracking the filmography of Orangey aka Rhubarb, and thus discovered "Comedy of Terrors" (1964). In addition to the cat acting, it has perfect performances by Vincent Price, Peter Lorre and Boris Karloff. This review of the DVD release is great in telling the how the movie came to be made. There were several Orangey aka Rhubarb cats, all trained by Frank Inn, as I've discovered , but that doesn't really matter, imho, because they were all talented cats. Here's Orangey aka Rhubarb as "Cleopatra" in some frames from "Comedy of Terrors"- The snippet below is the last 3 minutes- the closing credits of the movie. I'm one of those movie goers who ALWAYS sticks around to watch the closing credits. And sometimes, there are surprises, well worth waiting for! And, this is great cat stuff. Below is the first 10 minutes of Comedy of Terrors, where Orangey aka Rhubarb first appears as "Cleopatra", showing the "usual...

Who was Orangey? Who was Rhubarb? Thanks to the wonderful help of "JB" in the Film & Television Unit here of the American Humane Association here , I've made great progress in solving the mystery. I contacted the Film & Television Unit of AHA with several research questions, via email, on the off chance that I might get a response. Not only did I get a very prompt response, the person who emailed me back gave me exactly the information I was seeking. WOW! Thoroughly professional. One research question (actually a secondary question) had to do with the filmography of Orangey aka Rhubarb the cat. I've been tracking the filmograhy of Orangey aka Rhubarb, who appeared in "Breakfast at Tiffany's" here, "Gigot" here and "The Incredible Shrinking Man" here, among many other films. I had spent a lot of time watching Rhubarb in "The Comedy of Terrors", and became convinced that this was NOT the same cat as ...

Here's a great cat story- about how a cat gave the "heads up" in saving a poor doggy. Cat, Firefighters Help Rescue Dog From Drain Pipe They were in the park- and then- One of those family cats, Sundae, alerted her owner that something was terribly wrong with Tiki. "He came tearing back to me, yowling the whole time, letting me know that something happened," said Church. "She made sure that I followed her back over to where she was. The kitty is as much of a hero as the Aurora Fire Department. She took me over where the pipe was … and went in a few steps. We were a couple hundred yards away -- where we had been sitting previously. The cat took me all the way back there and then I heard the dog inside there. I never would have known that he was in there at all if it hadn't been for the cat." If you go to the link, you can read the full story, and watch the news video. The black and white cat to the right is NOT "Sundae". But, the cat loo...

Maine coon kitties from Italy! This litter of eight Maine coon kittens comes from the cattery "Trilloteam" . And, bonus, it's the first YouTube posted by them. I look forward to many more! The direct link is here. A while back, Michael Broad (who writes my favorite all round cat sites- Pictures of Cats and the Pictures of Cats Blog ) and I had a chat about using Helmi Flick's great photo of "The Magnificent Seven" to start a "can you tell which is male and which is female?" quiz. I had my guesses! We both got sidetracked, but the link to that great Helmi Flick photo of a litter of seven Maine coon kittens is here . So, when I saw the YouTube of eight! Maine coon kittens (The Awesome Eight?), I just had to reprise the idea. I took the liberty of capturing some screen shots from the YouTube, and then made my own guesses. I got a bit of a hint by checking out the page at Trilloteam re: the kitties here , which says there are 3 males and 5 fe...

Orangey aka Rhubarb, winner of two cat "Oscars" (the PATSY) also appeared in a classic SciFi movie, "The Incredible Shrinking Man" (1957). I've been following up on Orangey's filmography. Click on the label "Orangey" to learn more about this very talented feline. Promo for "The Incredible Shrinking Man". Direct link is here. The image at the right comes from a great compilation of the best of 1957 SciFi movies, here . I don't normally pay much attention to SciFi, either books or movies, but I found the comments from this SciFi movie expert absolutely fascinating, because I am from the "duck and cover" generation. Here is a snippet from the linked page here : A radioactive mist was the cause of Scott Carey's transformation into The Incredible Shrinking Man. This film took a serious, and somewhat adult approach to the terror of finding your world was becoming more and more outside of your grasp. Equally interesting f...

These are just plain wonderful photos of white Norwegian Forest cats. I went to flickr to find more photos to show the differences I see between Norwegian Forest cats and Maine coons, to follow up on an earlier post here . And, then I found these stunning photos. There are a lot more in this flickr set Noé et Oracio des Fines Terres from noeoracio . I chose just a few of the many that are available under the Creative Commons License. I give the links for the individual photos at the bottom of this post-- I don't want to interrupt the visual flow of these fine photos with text. From top to bottom, the photos from noeoracio are here , here , here , here and here . Enjoy!

Ah, what sweet Norwegian Forest cat kitties- five of them in a household in Denmark. They are little fluff balls full of kitty energy. Especially watch the smallest kitty sitting at the corner of the rug- classic classic Norwegian forest cat face! That's the only one that was still enough for me to see the face! Norwegian Forest cats look a lot like Maine coons, perhaps not surprisingly, as both are "natural breeds" that developed in very similar environments- cold, snowy forested places. It's taken me a while, but I now can see as obvious the differences in their faces and head shapes. The Norwegian Forest cat face a bit more triangular, the Maine coon face less so. Direct link is here. Direct link is here. See what I mean? ;) One is a Norwegian Forest cat, the other is a Maine coon. Both are flickr photos under Creative Commons License. Left photo is via fox_kiyo ; right photo is via tsavobosques. You'll have to click through to find the answer! ;) Cl...

My Maine coon loves getting combed. Thank goodness, because she was shedding fur all over the place, now that summer is coming. Turns out that what works the best is a cheap plastic comb that I got from who knows where. She loves this comb! Purr time, big time. After I've run out of steam scratching her under the chin with it, she does the "cat flop" belly up, and waits... and purrs... I've saved the fur I collected over the past 3 days, and set it out to take a picture, along with the comb. Crickey! She was watching, and was on the photo setup in an instant, disturbing the cloth background. But, so fascinating- it was the fur itself that really intrigued her. She sniffed and sniffed and... So, I put out the scratch pad to get the two photos at the bottom, and yes, eventually, she paid some attention to the comb. But, this cheap plastic comb really is her favorite by far of the grooming tools I've tried. I have a whole collection of "cat brushes...

Orangey the cat was "Cat" in Breakfast at Tiffany's , but as I have discovered, he also appears in Gigot (with Jackie Gleason) and, and, and... Via IMDb is this (shortened) Biography for Orangey : Orangey the Cat is the only feline double-winner of the Patsy (Picture Animal Top Star of the Year) Award, the animal kingdom's equivalent of the Oscar. Orangey won his first Patsy for his cinema debut in Rhubarb (1951)... Ten years later, he won his second Patsy, playing "Cat" in Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961). Other films that Orangey the Cat appeared in during his 15 year career, include The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957), Gigot (1962), and Village of the Giants (1965). Orangey's longest gig was a recurring role as Minerva the Cat in the TV series "Our Miss Brooks" (1952) from 1952 through 1958. Below is a 4 minute snippet from the first 10 minutes of Gigot, where Orangey first appears. It comes from Gigot(1962), part 1/11 Follow the part 1/1...

Maru, a Scottish Fold cat in Japan, is a YouTube star. Some call him "box cat" because of his performance in a YouTube with a gazillion hits, well deserved. I just happened across a great compilation of Maru's antics from 2008, with the Human's comments included. Totally fun to watch this wonderfully silly kitty. These are snippets of longer Maru YouTubes, which you can find by going to mugumogu's Channel at YouTube. Direct link is here And, this is the famous "box cat" YouTube, (3,481,524 views as of this writing) Direct link is here

Yes, I love Maine coons! And, I love to find YouTubes/ videos that don't have a gazillion hits. I just happened on these from a new YouTube poster, and is this a sweet kitty, or what? Maybe I'm wrong that the kitty is a "she". I made this call based on the sweetie pie face, not the behavior. Kitty explores washer/ dryer- she's almost got that treadmill up to speed! Direct YT link is here . btw, my most favorite "kitty on a treadmill/ exercise machine" ever is November Gets on the Treadmill And below, the Maine coon kitty explores the wonder of dripping water. Yes, a bit longer YT than I normally post, but watch on, the cautious kitty behavior is fascinating. Direct YT link is here .

I just discovered that there is an official Monty Python YouTube presence here . I had to kick back after getting through the semester (I think). File this in the "other stuff" category. That mostly means "no kittehs". Just other stuff I like. So, off I went to YouTube... and, here we have it... Direct link is here. Direct link is here.

If you are interested in adopting a polydactly cat, read on, and please leave a comment. I adopted a polydactly cat, a Maine coon that I found via petfinder.com in January, 2009. I was looking for a Maine coon, and there was "Tootsie", a polydactly Maine coon purebred, and I fell in love. Honestly, I don't know if "polys" are special, based on my "one cat" experience. It may just be the "Maine coon thing" ;) But, the way she uses her paws.... well... A lot of people think polys / polydactyls ARE special. And, readers who would happily adopt one, if they could find one to adopt. Thus, I emailed someone at petfinder.com, suggesting that "polydactyl" be added to the advanced search terms. I got back a prompt reply from a very nice person, saying that is was a great suggestion, which would she would pass along to the development team. Fingers crossed, and hoping! And, here's how you can help! If you want petfinder to inclu...

Yes, cats do steal. Socks seem to be particularly attractive- but often only one of a pair is purloined. above via I CAN HAS CHEEZEBURGER Hmmm... I think the kitty was looking for the socks, to no avail- Human says: After 5 days at home, my 2 months old new cat just found out how to steal socks. More about sock-stealing cats here: Cat thieves (aka kleptocats)- the silent epidemic

This is a Scottish Fold cat in Japan. And, the human. Kitties of what ever breed do have the power to get their humans to play whatever game they prefer! ;) As I said in the previous post, Scottish Folds are international!

Scottish fold kitty in France- temporary couch potato. I guess it's not just Maine coons that like to kick back on the couch. Human says: (translated) Our Scottish Fold Doudou rests as usual next to his father during the soccer game. To learn more about Scottish Folds via POC, read here, and and here. I can't help but wondering if the worldwide popularity of the Scottish Fold breed came about in part by the charming books by Peter Gethers. I read the first one, "The Cat Who Went to Paris" years ago, and it was a totally delightful read. Among other things, it's about the transformative power of kitty love. From Publishers Weekly: Gethers, publisher of Villard Books, was an aileurophobe until he met the six-week-old Scottish Fold kitten, a gift from his friend Cindy. He capitulated immediately. From the beginning Norton exhibited extraordinary aplomb no matter where he was, or in whose company; he was sensitive, intelligent and always aware of what was hap...

Maine coons are known for retaining their silly, kittenish personalities way past kittenhood. I suppose it shouldn't be surprising that Maine coon humans (the humans owned by Maine coons) can be more than a bit silly too, especially when under the Maine coon influence. ;) Everywhere in the world! Below is another great Maine coon YouTube also from matosk , who posts from Bratislava, Slovakia. If you go to his channel, you can see some more entertaining YouTubes of Findus and May, the two Maine coons.

Maine coons, often known as "gentle giants", are the largest domestic cat breed. As Michael notes in a link below, "largest" is measured by weight according to cat fancier organizations. But, Maine coons are really LONG cats too! Long and lithe. And, very quick on their feet. I have a few nicknames for my Maine coon Tootsie, and one of them is "rocket cat". Here's a YouTube I just found of a really big, long Maine coon cat getting his toy mousies. Just as a point of reference, kitchen counter tops are 36" high, and bar stools are 30" high. This is a LONG cat! ;) Human says: How big is Big Max? This white Maine Coon cat can steal things off the kitchen counter without leaving the floor! The bar stool is too easy, so Max steps up to the challenge of the kitchen counter. Largest Domestic Cat Breed . Go to the link to read detailed information about how the various breeds compare, both largest and smallest. And, start here, http://www....

Yes, Maine coons do like to get a good tummy rub. And, they know how to make this irresistible to The Human. Maine coons are a "natural breed", perfectly adapted to their original environment. As a biologist, 99% of the traits make perfect adaptive sense to me. But, I confess, this one has me puzzled. Maxwell after work! jorbasa. Diane S Murphy Murph sleeps next to me every day while I work. navvywavvy. Fluff ball some toast. All of the above photos are from flickr, available under Creative Commons License. And, no discussion about Maine coon belly fluff would be complete without a reprise of Dave the Maine coon- Dave the Maine Coon Gets a Massage p.s. Also see More Maine coon belly fluff for more great pictures of those silly Maine coons.

My Maine coon Tootsie REALLY likes to have her tummy rubbed. Strange behavior in that I've never had a cat before that thought was a "good idea". She does the "cat flop", belly up, and waits. And purrs. Seems it's a Maine coon thing! ;) Oscar's Monday Oh, how I wish I were a cat some days. This is what Oscar has been up to all day long. kathleenlosche jorbasa Sind wir ein bisschen albern? Maine Coon Kater Noel mit 11 Monaten snuesch86 Looks like Bela crawled under the coffee table and passed out after a fresh cat nip high. (Don't be alarmed. He actually sleeps this way often) stewickie All of the above photos are from flickr, available via a Creative Commons License. Maine coon belly fluff YouTube here p.s. Also see Even more Maine coon belly fluff for more great pictures of those silly Maine coons.

Here is a simple video I put together of Martin Stucki bottle feeding tiny and noisy two generations from the wild (F2) Savannah cats. The volume is exactly as it was when I filmed the kittens by the way! They can sure make some noise and it is so cute. All cats born at A1 Savannahs come to live in the house for a while to make sure that they are fully socialized. In non cat fancy language this means that they become nice cats that fit in with our lifestyle and are not over demanding. It also means that they get along with other companion animals. Wildcat hybrids such as the Savannah and Bengal can be over demanding for some people and it is one reason why they are occasionally given up. The person adopting a wildcat hybrid that is not well socialized will say that the cat has "behavior problems" or is an "aggressive cat". Sometimes this will be due to lack of socialization as I say but sometimes it is due to us not having the correct expectations of what it is l...