Occupy TKT - Thanksgiving!

Mrrrr Friends,

From Occupy the Kitchen Table headquarters, we wish you a food, friends, and fun-filled Thanksgiving!

The Cat Days of Summer

Mrrrrr Friends,

I know some of you were worried about my absence. I'm fine.

It's been hot, but don't sweat it, the D is cool. I have multiple strategies. During my morning perambulations, I spend time in the ferns and cool grasses. Boo and me take a dip in my brook on especially warm days. He keeps muttering about salt, but I just relax on a rock with my paws in the very chilly water. I did slip on a boulder the other day and did some full body immersion. Wet cat is not necessarily cool cat.

I've also had some heavy responsibilities: keeping an eye on my pal Alex as she recovers. Cats will do almost anything to stay cool. You remember how we told her to not go skiing in Gstaad anymore without telling anybody? Well, you need to be specific with cats...and you can't tell Alex "no." She slipped out for a cat ski-party, hit the slopes near Wengen - not the best time of year for humans, but for a ski-cat, pretty primo. She was coming down the Jungfrau at high speed, and wham, she did it again. ACL injury. You should have heard Oom explaining to the new vet how it happened...he hasn't quite come to grips with his new reality.

The good news is, she's much better already. And there's the fact that she only has two hind legs, so she can't do it again. I think it's time for a shift to the snowboard.

Hope you're having fun this summer.

Diesel Day Eve!

Mrrrrr Friends,

I hope you all had productive weekends and enjoyed all your plans and preparations for celebrating May 26, Diesel Day.

I did some serious prowling in my kingdom. Here I am confirming that sedges have edges - don't eat this stuff unless you have some serious digestive blockage that needs a quick turnaround.

Oom put on her funny furry-bottom boots and prowled around in my brook clearing out some excess wood without harming the cool fish hiding spots and bug places...she did scare the heck out of a little crayfish guy hanging out in the water. She said she was encouraging natural water flow to minimize stagnant pools and lessen black fly breeding, but I think it was just an excuse for playing in the water and looking for Diesel Brook trout. I hung out in the cool grasses listening to screaming and swearing crayfish. A big old Pileated Woodpecker flew right over us as he coursed downed the brook path with a big old twig in his beak and we met a very nice frog...I think it was a chorus frog...

I also looked for an appropriate natural Diesel Day gift for my cat pal Alex. I'm hoping to send some Stinkies to my pals at the shelter, but I need to get hold of the blue plastic card with all the numbers on it to make that happen. Alex likes a well thought out, organic gift. These bracken ferns are quite appealing. Hmmm....

What are your plans for Diesel Day? Wednesday is coming soon! 

The Toys Cats Love: The Final Chapter

Mrrrrr Friends,

Finally, we reach our recommendations.

When all is said and done, we love nip. Nip makes us deliriously happy. We love our fresh nip in the yard, our yard, the neighbor's yard...any yard. And when we get our people to buy us buy nip, we think it should be organic.

Our overarching recommendation is: if you love your cats really, really, with all the BIG love, get all your furniture reupholstered in a very thick, nail resistant, wool or hemp fabric (again, we prefer organic) and stuff it with nip. I am not kidding! You would have such happy cats! Indeed all cats would love you cause you would smell so good all the time.

I myself have a nice upholstery shop right down the street. These guys are ready for anything, and I love to keep them in business.

Alex and Diesel's 2010 Cat Toy Recommendations!!!!!!

Diesel's by far favorite Toy: 

The Yeowww! Greenfish

Runner up: any sturdy ball

Alex's by far favorite toy:

6 feet of premium boating line at 3/8 inch
(especially with Boo at one end)

Runner up: Yeowww! Lemon or Yeowww! Banana

We're giving Rosie the Rat an honorable mention.

Best toys for shelter cat donations:

Yeowww! Stinkies (modeled on bite-sized sardines)

But, remember, profoundly satisfying toys are often found in unexpected places!

Daffodil Cat

Appropriate daffodil behavior:

Inapproprate daffodil behavior:

Okay, in her defense, Alex just really likes the color yellow. And she keeps thinking if she licks something yellow...it might come off.

Birder Cat

Morning Rituals

Mrrrr Friends,

It's been a tumultuous week on the weather front. Last Sunday, we were in the midst of January Thaw. It was 50 human degrees outside with blustery southerly winds. The Blue Jays were totally doing the pairing up and territorial thing, chippies were scurrying about chattering at each other, there was even a screaming Red-tailed in the sky. I felt like I had a fur coat on...a weird sensation for a nude dude.

But these hardened Adirondackers knew it was just a thaw. Thursday there was a blizzard and Friday night, during the brightest, biggest moon of the year (the Wolf Moon), the temperature dipped into the -25 area. Yesterday morning, I had to break my fledgling 4 degree rule...it was -8 during my morning stroll. But the sun was out and it was gorgeous, so my paws didn't even feel chilly.  Mind over paw?

Alex loves the sun, and spent some quality time out on the porch with our friend the Solstice tree who's providing second story protection for birds. Boo thought she might turn into an icicle but she was fine.

And my brook, while icy, continued to merrily burble along.

Nevertheless, outdoor frolic time is curtailed in these colder times, so a furry guy has to depend on his other morning rituals to help give his day meaning. While my nighttime antics are top-secret - perimeter duty, critter watch and other things that help the world spin on its axis - I always try to wind up sleeping innocently next to Oom. That way, her first big morning ritual is also mine - coffee with foam.

Every morning Oom makes her and Boo really thick coffee with fluffy foam. Now, coffee is not good for cats, but the foam sitting on top is very, very special, in moderation of course! The milk comes straight from the cows at the Essex Farm CSA to my lips. Foamy, warm and frothy, it is a special treat. Every morning I have 3 fingers of foam...uuuummm yum.

At this point of the morning, Oom is stroking the Aluminum Cat...I still don't know what she sees in it to keep her there all day. Me, I take this time to expand my horizons and learn about important subjects.

By mid-morning after warm foam, outdoors time, and intellectual activity, it's time for a little nourishment. Now all of you know how much I love kibble. It is rare for me to veer from the path of cat kibble, however I make exceptions for foam, a good French or Italian red, and yoghurt. Mmmrrrmmm, the same cows that give me the great milk also make yoghurt...they are a talented crew! Here, I am waiting for Oom to make the bananas and granola go away so I can get to the yoghurt.

At this point, there's really very little to do but sleep...until dinner time.

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.

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!

A Quiet Thanksgiving

Mrrrrr Friends,

What did you do today? We had a quiet, fun day at home. The morning started out bright and sunny.

Alex started out bright and sunny too.

By the time we went out to play, all four of us, the sun had gone behind big, grey clouds.

Alex and I each found some fresh growing nepeta.

And she explored the natural spring run.

Why is the grass green? I though we moved to a cold and snowy climate?

I zipped up this cool Cypress tree over in the neighbors yard.

And I made a bold, walking ascent of the Linden.

The birds got their thanksgiving seed - we decided this was a good day to start up the feeders.

Then of course I had to take a nap.

Soon, we're all having a fragrant Persian dead cow stew with lentils and spinich over rice. Alex will enjoy the rice part. Me, I might sample a little beef. I'm really looking forward to the nice Italian 2004 Toscana, and there are signs of cream whipping for later; nothing like three fingers of cream in the evening while watching a good flick with your people.

Hope all your dead turkey birds were plump and tasty and that you saved room for pie!

Travelogue

Mrrrr Friends,

They say a picture is worth a thousand flecks of kibble...humans have a variant on this wise cat saying, but you get the picture.

What are they thinking, my people? Are they concerned that U-Haul will go belly-up (another odd human saying because a belly-up cat is quite pleasing, when you think about it)? That, or, more likely, they are gluttons for punishment.

We drive 7 hours back to the little house, Oom takes off to party in Santa Fe with the people she computer-writes to all day long when she's home "working," Boo hangs out with people talking about an old dead guy who walked around 100 years ago drawing and taking photos of town, then they get this little, ugly rolling dog house and try to cram all kinds of leftover stuff in it.

I just don't get humans. They don't give a cat much of a chance at understanding.

Don't get me wrong. Alex and I got some great Hamptons party time in. I was pretty busy hanging with Uncle David, my cool North Haven human neighbor who has old boats cats can play in, plenty of power tools - including the Sawzall reciprocating saw, likes staring at fish in water, and enjoys sitting in the garage in the morning hanging with me. For some reason, he didn't buy the house next door to us in our new home in the big park. I'm going to miss him.

I also partied with some of my old friends in the neighborhood. Boo "lost track" of me for a while. I showed up after a bit of revelry and dust painting - the Hamptons is an artsy scene for cats.

Oom got back and was all tired and sick after the New Mexico party, so we opted for a nice romantic dinner for two... Three of the four cat food groups: double cream cheese, a good red wine, and dead bird - Alex likes bread, but I prefer kibble. Boo figured it out and brought his own chair.

The next day, this nice guy named George came over and told stories (more about the dead guy who took pictures) but let me make long-distance calls on his cool hip phone. Oom should get one of these instead of the kind that flips over like a clam, making it hard for a cat to make long-distance calls.

We had more nice red wine that night - this one from Hungarian Oak casks. A nice complement to the roaring fire of dry sticks from all the great climbing trees in the yard. It was our last night all together in the little house.

Then this began.

And it went on all day and into the night.

I walked out of the house to a packed car and trailer at 8:00 in the evening. I took a deep breath, saddled up, and hung on for the next 8 hours at 55 miles per hour back north. I slept through most of it - except for the nice little Tom Kha Kai Thai soup break. At the end of it all, somewhere near Albany, I had to comfort Oom a bit as Alex decided to present unscheduled wailing oratory from about 2 am to 3:21 am.

It's good to be back inside the Blue Line. We're never leaving again.

Ever.

Period.

Ranger Rob - Part I

Mrrrr Friends,

I’ve mentioned my humans’ predilection for outdoor busy-ness? It seems to have reached new levels over the past 2 weeks. Boo kept going outside on the roof of the house with sandpaper and paint. After all kinds of sanding and hammering, he’d take out a can of white paint, and then cans of grey paint. I think he’s getting indecisive. Alex kept trying to help him, but the thought of her zipping around the rooftops makes his knees turn to jelly. Here he is out with the little scamp on his shoulders.

But Oom took the cake with her activities of late last week into this past weekend. She spent days pretty much murdering all kinds of brambly plants in order to make one particular part of the yard safe for big tall blackberries. Pretty species-ist, if you ask me, but then again, I kind of like the big, tall stalks. Walking through them makes me feel like I’m some cool explorer cat…and it has opened up a whole new area for digging holes and filling them up with goodies.

Here’s one end of the row of freed up stalks. Some of them are 6 to 7 feet high. Look at all those big piles of stuff! And this picture has about ¼ of what she pulled out. She was getting kind of possessed there at the end. We found a sweet little volunteer Trembling Aspen – we think – all covered by vines and shaded by Staghorn Sumac, something we have a bit too much of, in my opinion. I have hopes of climbing the aspen someday, but the sumac, just isn’t climbing material. The birds like it so, for their sake, much of it remains even after the hillside vegetation genocide.

Now we have all these nice blackberry plants all ready to do their thing next year. But we also had a big old pile of soon to be dead stuff to add to the already big pile of already dead stuff that they’d collected over the past few months.

Now what?

Near Fall Fun

Mrrrr Friends,

Temperatures were dropping over the weekend. We had our first light overnight frost, with ice on the porch railing at first light. For a furry guy like me, this is exhilarating. It also made Boo happy because it really cut down on the little buzzing face bugs, which give him welts and a knobby head.

So, we had an outing...which turned into a celebration! Me, Alex, Oom, and Boo all went out to the backyard and the brook and played!

Our excuse - or our people's, they do always seem to need directed activity - was the placement of the recently finished wooden bench that now affords a lovely sitting spot over our brook. Here's Boo making sure the legs are level. That's cat pal Alex in the foreground.

This was Alex's first, self-propelled foray into the backyard. She's a cautious, thoughtful gal - it is a stripey cat characteristic, I think. For the past few months, she's been observing our new world from the back porch of the big house and through all the windows. While she hasn't been out, first-paw, experiencing things, she's been learning. She immediately found a great little spot to watch the goings on.

Me, I was exploring the fringes of the neighbor's yard near the brook. This fine log will serve as a training trunk for vertical framing - a cat mind exercise that facilitates purposeful tree-scaling.

The neighbor people, who are very nice and cook smelly-tasty things, had to cut down a tree. It was an elm I think...there are lots of scraggly elms around here but this one was pretty big...and dead. I like the wood pile and I have my eye on the nearby maple as a scaling tree.

It's always hard to get a good photo of me when I'm moving fast!

Spent some quality time in the brook...I keep seeing critters in the brook...Oom insists I don't, but I think she is, ahem, wrong.

Here, I am going back to the yard side from my mid-brook, Zen boulder. I have not been over to the "wild" side of the brook. Neither has Oom.

Alex and I hung out a bit and talked about the neighbor cats, Brewster and Ubu.

She and Boo played a bit...

then we all posed for a photo...well, not Oom.

What a fun day!