Out of the Box

Mrrrr Friends,

I've been in the Big City for the past few days - New York City to you. Me and Alex decided we should go and see Boo's mom, so Oom and Boo had to drive us. We had a few parties with various folks, caught some of the cat society, and I took a few exploratory walks in Queens. Here's me taking my first steps into the garden outside the house.

New York City is big and stinky. But there are some cool places there and some really big, old and venerable trees. There's a nice patch of woods near where Boo grew up called Forest Park, and, guess what, there's a forest there. It surprised me so much to see these trees in the middle of the big city that I forgot to climb them. Oom , Boo, and the Boy went to the tree park to scope it out for me...I went later. But here's a bad pic of the Pine Forest in it that Oom took with her talking box.

I bet if I spent more time in the Big City, I'd come to appreciate what it could offer an intelligent, furry guy like me. But I'm a country cat from the hills of Wisconsin, and I was very glad to get back to my new home in the mountains and the sound of my tumbling brook.

All during this trip I was thinking about how it was good to get out of one's known surroundings - geographically and, perhaps even more importantly, emotionally and intellectually. You gotta get out of your box.

For a human, I think this is a tricky concept. For a cat, it's a bit more practical...and graphic. Us indoor cats, we have litter boxes. Our litter box is our castle...even if we share it with other kitties, it's a place we come to rely on. It is oddly comforting to know your litter box is there waiting for you. Indeed, some cats, a bit less intrepid than me, get so attached to the box that, for them, it becomes a haven. If things get downright scary - a big move, a profoundly unsettling event in the house - they literally can't get out of the box.

Get outta the box.

It's the end of another human year. Cats don't observe and count these human space-time markers, we go with a seasonal, sun and moon approach, but, nevertheless, we sense the importance of this night.

My New Human Year wish for all of you is that you have many chances to think and live outside of your box. I hope you grow, learn new things, and meet new people and critters that become your friends for life. And I hope they challenge you and bring whole new worlds of possibility. Hopefully, while you're out of your box exploring, someone will clean it for you too.

Happy New Year!

Tree Holiday Recap

Mrrrrr Friends,

I hope you all are relaxing this weekend, providing special treats for your cat friends, and eating good kibble yourselves.

Me and Alex are heading to the Big City for a few days to celebrate the tree holiday with Boo's mom, Boo's littermate and his people. I gotta go pack toys, but before I do that, I thought I'd update you on the cat side of the gift giving yesterday.

We had a very good tree holiday. It was quiet...just the four of us. The centerpiece of the gift giving was an extravaganza I arranged, thanks to my friends at DuckyWorld Products Inc. For those of you woefully behind on excellent feline products, DuckyWorld is the proud manufacturer of Yeowww! brand catnip and toys. They sent a box of goodies for me to review.

Quite a haul, eh? I take my review responsibilities seriously, so I sorted through the items to see what to include in Alex's and my review and what to keep back for some of my pals at the shelter.

Then Oom helped my wrap the box back up (no, I can't do that by myself) so we could share and celebrate with Alex.

Needless to say, the wrapping paper did not last for long. Alex has an acute sense of smell. The tissue was so quickly decimated that we did not capture it on camera. But the aftermath of box opening was just as fun.

She zeroed in on the high quality flower buds right away.

Thankfully, Oom finally opened the bag for her and gave her a stalk...

I reserved for myself the sole Greenfish.

That's a lemon, and banana, and a pumpkin...

Yeowww! buds + tissue paper = cat haze.

The serious business of catnip toy reviews remains...but what a great way to celebrate a holiday.

Peace On Earth

We wish you the happiest, 

kibble-filled holiday!

A Christmas Story

Mrrrr Friends,

My female person earns the kibble by sitting at her desk all day and staring at the Aluminum Cat. She calls it Mac. Alex and I are convinced it's really a cat since Oom spends so much time looking at it and stroking it. She only loves cats, birds, and Boo that much.

I know from using it myself that the Aluminum Cat is a special immortal portal cat for blogging to humans and my cat pals around the world.

Anyway, Oom actually does work. She helps save wild places and makes critters' and humans' lives better by protecting their land, air, and water. She works with three bunches of cool people: the people who work with her that have Aluminum Cats at their homes (they are very nice, even though some of them have dogs); neat men and ladies that fly planes for free because Oom asks them to (Oom flies a plane but I haven't been in it when it's in the air); and conservation people, like my friends at the Adirondack Council, the Audubon bird people, or the neat people in Provincetown, all of whom need smart pilots and small planes to get their work done. There's more of these folks than you'd think.

Yesterday, a bunch of these folks and Oom got together and did something wonderful. They moved these three critters to a new home in New Mexico:

That's Chevaya, Catella, and Nieta. They are endangered Mexican wolves, and they were living, as a pack, in a big private place at the National Zoo in Washington, DC. Canines are like that...they hang out together.

They needed new digs, so the cool people that take care of them (so they can make puppies who can grow up and repopulate the wilds of Mexico and the US desert Southwest), made them a perfect place in New Mexico. But they needed help getting there. So Oom and a couple of super cool pilots with a nice new plane helped out. They also brought back a lone female wolfie; she's had a tough life so far but will be living in New York and meeting some fellow Mexican wolf dudes at the Wolf Conservation Center.

Isn't that neat? New homes for wolfies just in time for Cat-Solstice, thanks to Oom and the cool people she works with (at LightHawk), the very cool pilot dude and lady, and the wonderful people who dedicate their lives to making sure there are always Mexican wolves.

Me, I'm tired after all that moving around.  Time to get some rest before the human tree holiday ahead, when I'll be hitting the road myself. More on that later...

Countdown to Cat-Solstice

Mrrrrr Friends in Fur,

Mrow! Cat-Solstice is upon us!

Cat-Solstice is a major feline holiday because it celebrates nighttime. Depending on where any furry cat guy or gal lives, their longest night may fall just before or after official Northern Hemisphere Cat-Solstice. Therefore, cats celebrate over multiple days by engaging in extra nighttime prowling, scampering, mischief and quiet nighttime contemplation - yes, that's us staring at you much of the night, we're still wondering when you'll grow fur.

Cat-Solstice here in the Northern Cat-Hemisphere is Monday the 21. Isn't that handy! That means you can start giving your cat extra love, extra kibble, and plenty of cat treats on Monday and right through your cool tree holiday (though we figure you made up your holiday so you could party with us).

Even when we scamper into the decorated tree branches, lick the top of the fresh baked pie crust, or hurl a hairball on a wrapped present, your peace on earth goodwill toward critters vibe will probably put you in the mood to handle it.

Alex took this picture last night...I usually don't ask her, but the folks were out listening to people sing, and we wanted to show you our Cat-Solstice tree!

For those of you who didn't know that Cat-Solstice was such a big deal, you still have time to run out and buy cool cat treats for us. Indeed, we'll roll right into the whole human New Year, accepting presents as you bring them to us.

Me I'm working on getting some major gifties for my cat pal Alex. What she really wants is for me to stop smelling her butt-hole but...she's not getting that.

Feeling like you can't give your feline friend enough love? Don't have a special kitty in your life right now, well, Cat-Solstice is for you too! Donate now to your local shelter or send a gift to my two favorite shelters: Sauk County Humane Society or North Country SPCA. They're both good places, with dedicated people serving the highest purpose: keep all cats healthy and safe. (Yes, they are nice to dogs budgerigars and other animals too.) Tell them Diesel sent you!

The Chill is Good

-4 Fahrenheit? No problems.

I know a lot of my cat pals are keeping their paws inside these days. That big freeze that hit in the Rockies meandered over this way this past week. Boo looks a bit intimidated, but I say: bring it on!

I'm still a little short on snow here, though. The nice lady who writes the Adirondack Naturalist blog has lots more than we do, even though she's a way south in the Big Park. Check this out under our arborvitae where I've been keeping my cleavers sharp:

But with the cold, having a snow free option isn't completely bad cause, I admit, the snow can get cold.

It's moments like this that I feel a pair of catluks would be a great addition...

But you're wondering about my brook aren't you? Well, we went down this morning when it was just single digits (it got up to a balmy 18F or so later).

And look at the cool stuff we found...water still flowing but some great ice. Check out my rock:

Cool formations...I was gonna walk out an lick them but Oom kind of freaked when the ice creaked under me.

It means a lot though to be able to go inside and warm up, get some chow, nap and read a good bird book.

Times like this, I think about wanderers, or cats at shelters who are looking for homes, or, worse, cats stuck outside who want to come in and can't find a haven. For goodness sake, this is a good time of year to help out your local shelter.

My local shelter is the North Country SPCA and I sent my people off to their fund-raiser last night to chip in some kibble. I'd have gone, but I didn't want to steal the limelight from noted human author, and furry man, Russell Banks. I mean he's furry, he's smart with words, and spins a good tale, but I don't think the womenfolk really want him to sit on their lap.

Cool and Quiet

Mrrrrr Friends,

It's been a lazy weekend and quite chilly - even for an adventurous, furry guy like me. Temperatures in the morning, when our people get up, are in the single digits. Nevertheless, I need to go outside.

Primarily, I need to pee, and a cat should always be able to go outside and do his business if he pleases. Normally, there are a lot of great places in the yard, but the snow and frozen ground make it tough on a fella.

Fortunately, Oom didn't have time to finish her latest stone laying project under the back porch, so there's a whole world of loose dirt behind the house. This is handy for dirt baths, and Alex loves a good roll in the dirt. And the area is just begging for holes to be dug and presents to be buried. For some reason, Oom isn't too thrilled about this development, but all the cats in the neighborhood know about it, and it's important to my social standing to make my mark and keep it prominent.

After doing my duty, I like to take a walk down to the brook. Sometimes, I get Oom to give me a lift and she takes me to my bench. It's got a nice view.

Look at the ice hats growing on the rocks...I guess this is how ice-over starts?

I don't think our little brook is going to freeze up entirely, but, as one of my readers has noted, ice-over might create a paw-bridge to the other side. Then the fun will begin...

SNOW!!!

Now, that's more like it! I could hardly wait for Oom to get her boots on!

Ready, set, go! Out to the brook straightaway.

Contemplating how to make a cat angel...

Digging turns out to be more fun. The leaves are still right here.

The cameraperson can't keep up with me!

Off to visit my friend the white pine.

Cold paws...time to head in!

A Bare Inch

Mrrrrr Friends,

It's true that my blog has pretty much come down to snow watch. Today there was about an inch.

I took a nice walk to my brook...

And had a  cool drink. Always good to expose the paws to new season snow...gets them ready for the big stuff.

It was a day of quiet adventure...the world seems a little bigger as it gets whiter with snow.

The obsessive weather people say more tomorrow:

It's a Start

Mrrrrr Friends,

Well, we did wake up to a powder sugar coat this morning.

It's a start.

It was a crisp snow...stiff and wet under the paw. The temperature dipped below 20 last night in human degrees. My brook had ice on the boulder tops.

I walked around a bit, following a few interesting tracks in the snow. It was coming down lightly the whole time...you could look up and see little snow crystals in the slanty half light.

Woodswalker commented the other day that she was amazed I like going out in the snow and cold. And my neighbor cat pal Brewster, he doesn't get it either. I love the snow...I really do. I guess it's in my genes, being from Wisconsin and all. Here's a pic from a earlier blog - a younger me in the snow at our house in Rock Springs. This was about 3 feet of March snow pack so, with wise paw placement, a fellow could stay on top...most of the time.

My paws are pretty furry in the winter. Nice tufts of fur - not long - between each pad help keep things insulated. But, I gotta admit, as I get older, my tolerance for cold paws has diminished. Perhaps I got soft during the two warm winters on Long Island? Who knows.

This is a bad picture, but here's one strategy I pursue. Occasionally, I'll ask Oom to kneel down. I can hop up, warm my paws and do a little grooming. Or, when the white stuff gets deep, I'll clamber up on her shoulders and ride for a bit. Usually, she gets that I don't want to go inside already and she'll head off in a direction I'm interested in exploring. My paws warm up in a few minutes, and then I'll do a Diesel Dive, clambering down to go on my merry way.

I'm looking into getting a pair of catluks though. You know, mukluks for cats? Nice moose-hide catluks would really make the difference, especially on my longer snowy treks and for rock hopping in the brook during the winter. I wrote the cool people at Steger - Boo has a pair of their mukluks - about a set of catluks - like small sled dog booties but for snow cats. I haven't heard back from them. Hmmmmrrr?

Tomorrow's forecast?