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Showing posts from June, 2009

More Cats in Television- Kitty in "The Closer" episode 1, season 5

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Brenda Leigh Johnson , Fritz Howard , and Kitty are shown below in an image from the new season of "The Closer". The new season's first episode aired on June 8, 2009 . The second episode airs on June 15, 2009 . Copyright (c) Warner Bros. Entertainment, Inc. All rights reserved. The cat "Kitty" has been a part of "The Closer", the Emmy Award-winning TV series, almost from the get go- Kitty's debut was in Season 1 (2005), episode 3. Read more about the accolades for the "The Closer" here . And, I trace the history of Kitty in "The Closer" here . And, Kitty "he" or "she", depending on who is speaking and when, continues to exert her cat presence. Sometimes she (yes, Kitty is a she) does so "overtly", at least by means of her influence on the Humans, to influence the home life of Brenda Leigh Johnson, and that Fritz guy. But I am thinking that her cat presence is always there, even if not appar

Cats and Birds/ Cockatiels- Interspecies Fascination- not what you might expect!

Cockatiel singing to a cat. Cockatiel - bird obsessed with cat. My latest YouTube discoveries in the "interspecies" category. My my, these cockatiels, if not total cat lovers (though it looks like it), are very, very interested in making the interspecies connection! No cockatiels were harmed! Totally hilarious bird behavior. Human says: One of our cockatiels, Kiki, is singing to our 19lbs cat, Samuel. Direct link is here. Human says: My cockatiel is absolutely obsessed with my cat and loves to whistle at him (and his tail!) Direct link is here.

Classic Cat Naps- some sweet photos

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Classic cat naps! It's just so soothing to watch a cat sleeping, and as I've been feeling a bit tired myself, I went off to flickr- always a source of great photos. All of these are available under CCL. above by Peter Gorges on flickr above by SarahR89 on flickr above by louisa_catlover on flickr above by Janet 59 on flickr above by skarpetka86 on flickr

Cats in Movies- Orangey aka Rhubarb in Village of the Giants (1965)

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Orangey as 'Cat' in Breakfast at Tiffany's with Audrey Hepburn. This is a screenshot from a video of the film on YouTube which I hope is acceptable from the point of view of intellectual property rights. Orangey aka Rhubarb the cat appeared in some great movies, as well as Village of the Giants (1965), which either “totally sucks” or is a “minor cult classic”. Oh, and Orangey aka Rhubarb was not just one cat- Cats in Movies- solving the Orangey aka Rhubarb mystery. The only online footage I could find of Orangey aka Rhubarb in Village of the Giants was via Episode 523 of Mystery Science Theater 3000, as posted in longer version on YouTube . So, this snippet is a derivative of derivative of a..... (ack! the cat was eating that!!!) See the cat turn into a giant snarling cat... 2:03... Orangey in Breakfast at Tiffany's with the fabulous Audrey Hepburn. Pic in the public domain. Sorry the video that was below has been deleted at source on YouTube. I have tried to fi

June is American Humane's Adopt-A-Cat Month®

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June is American Humane Association's Adopt-A-Cat Month®. Below is the image of the poster they created (click on image for larger version), and you can download this and more from the link here . The following is from a page at the AHA site- go there to read more. Approximately 4 million cats end up in shelters every year. One of them is sure to be a perfect match for you! Each year, thousands of kittens are born during spring and summer -- and many end up in animal shelters, waiting for loving homes. To promote adoptions of these playful, affectionate animals, American Humane celebrates Adopt-A-Cat Month® in June. Come visit the fabulous felines at your local animal shelter, and take home your new best friend! What I had not realized is that cats are "seasonal breeders"- females only come into estrous when the day length is 12 hours or longer (12 of 24)- thus responding to changes in seasons. Cat biology! No wonder shelters are strapped during Spring and Summer (more

Twist ties- favorite cat toy of my Maine Coon

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Yes, twist ties are great cat toys! In an earlier post, I described how my Maine coon Tootsie led me to this discovery: Tootsie polydactyl Maine coon cat invents new cat toy -- as I said then: Tootsie is a very resourceful cat. So, I am downstairs, and I hear thundering about upstairs. Not exactly the first time this has happened. She gets especially wild and crazy when I'm not watching. And then, out of the corner of my eye, as I am sitting downstairs at the computer, I catch a glimpse of her trotting across the kitchen with "something" in her jaws. And then I hear scraping noises. She's whapping that "something" about, as I shortly discover. The figure below gives the details. Part a shows the "something" she was trotting around with. Why yes, it IS a twist tie, and it was included in the packaging for the Roomba I purchased. Part b shows my attempts to create other options, following on from Tootsie's toy invention. A scale bar is

Cats in Television- Kitty in "The Closer"

I pay attention to cats in movies, and, thanks to Jone Bouman aka "JB" in the Film & Television Unit at the American Human Association , I was able to solve the "Orangey aka Rhubarb" mystery here . I don't watch much TV, but JB suggested I check out "The Closer", because the cat "Kitty" appears in various episodes. And, the LA connection- "The Closer" is set in LA, where I more or less grew up- VG= "Valley Girl". What JB didn't know- I grew up reading mysteries and police procedurals and watching Perry Mason! Timely advice- the new season of The Closer starts on June 8, and June is American Humane Association’s Adopt-A-Cat Month® So... first step was to see what was on YouTube showing Kitty in The Closer. This was it: One YouTube- Season 2, Episode 13- "Fritz left the door open"- Kitty vanishes, and then... Direct link is here. Other parts of the Kitty story are below- and btw, "Brenda" i

White cats- Maine coons and Norwegian Forest cats compared

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Maine coons and Norwegian Forest cats are two "natural breeds" that developed without human interference. And, then, they became show cats. But, the basic "look" has been preserved, and the personality as well. I found charming videos of Norwegian Forest cat kittens, and tried to explain why the faces were "classic" for Norwegian Forest cats, and different from "classic" Maine coons (post is here ). I searched for pictures of white cats of the respective breeds, thinking it would be easier to see the differences, without the distraction of the markings, which are basically the same. I found great photos of white Norwegian Forest cats, here , but, none of white Maine coons that I could use. UNTIL... I found Trilloteam , a cattery in Italy passionate about Maine coons. I posted a wonderful video from them Maine coon kitties from Italy- the "Awesome Eight" . The following photos seemed the best to illustrate the differences in loo