Caturday Art

Don't be shocked, but we have for you today yet another autumnal doodle. 'Tis the season.

It's almost officially autumn. Now, can someone give Mother Nature the memo? This heat and humidity is getting kind of old.

Happy Caturday, friends!

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Did you know?

Did you know that cats are said to have anywhere from 60,000 to 120,000 hairs per square inch of their body? Some sources even cite as many as 130,000 hairs on one square inch of a cat. This means that an average cat might have something like 30 to 50 million individual hairs on their body.

Friendly Fill-Ins

Happy Friday, friends! Are you ready for this week's installment of the Friendly Fill-Ins challenge? Yes? Good. In case you missed the fill-in statements yesterday, I'll share them again here. Ellen of 15andmeowing came up with the first two, and I came up with the second two.

1. Never have I ever _________.

2. I won't _________ again.

3. I believe I have good knowledge of _________.

4. _________ is my worst enemy.


I filled these in myself, and my answers are below in bold.

1. Never have I ever had a pumpkin spice beverage.
(I love autumn, and I like pumpkin pie and pumpkin in general. That being said, I've never felt compelled to jump onto that pumpkin spice bandwagon. I think a lot of these drinks are also coffee in nature, if I'm not incorrect. Since I'm—gasp!—not a coffee drinker, perhaps that also plays a part.) 

2. I won't feed Thimble beef-flavored food again.
(Just like my angel Rosie, if Thimble eats beef-flavored food, it ends projectiled all over the floor. I don't know why both of these girls of mine have had such reactions to any beef-flavored food I fed them, but we'll just avoid it altogether.)

3. I believe I have good knowledge of cats.
(I'm not any form of recognized expert, but I feel like kitties have taught me a feline thing or two.)

4. Time is my worst enemy.
(Sometimes I have a good handle on time management. When I don't, though, trying to fit everything I want to accomplish into the hours a day provides is such a daunting feat.)

Now it's your turn!

To add your link to the Friendly Fill-Ins Linky list, just click HERE!

You can also click on the badge below to add your link.

You are also welcome to complete the fill-ins in the comments below,

or in the comments on Ellen's blog, 15andmeowing.



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Now, are you ready for your Eddy fix? Yes? Good. I recently tried to sneak up on Eddy as she gazed out one of our embarrassingly dirty windows, and this is what I managed:

I snapped this photo with my phone, and of course failed to alter any settings for an ideal shot. Anyway, Eddy hopes you enjoyed this rare shot of her being non-blurry!

Have a fantastic Friday!

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Doodle of the Day: Flashback Friday

I actually meant to share the following flashback doodle last Friday, in honor of the full moon. I forgot to share it then, though, so I'll share it now. Of course, it also involves some autumn vibes, because obviously.

If I'm not mistaken, this was one of the very first moon and silhouette doodles I scribbled up. It's from almost exactly 2 years ago, created around this same date in September of 2017. It was an experimental doodle, and some of my doodling techniques have changed since then. But, these days, I've grown to really enjoy adding all sorts of scribbled up moons and silhouettes to my sketchbook.

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Did you know?

Did you know that nutmeg can be toxic to cats and dogs? Some similar spices, such as cinnamon, are not considered toxic to our furbabies, but nutmeg indeed contains the hazardous component known as myristicin. Small quantities of nutmeg likely won't be fatal, but it could cause gastrointestinal distress. In larger quantities, though, nutmeg could have more severe side effects. The potential toxicity of nutmeg is something to keep in mind when you're baking, for example, and is one reason why it is advised that you refrain from feeding your pup or kitty pumpkin pie filling. Pumpkin itself can have a great many benefits for our kitties and pups, but it should be fed in a more pure form, not in a form that includes spices, which often will include dangerous ingredients such as nutmeg. So, for the safety of your kitty or pup, keep those pumpkin spice snacks out of your furbaby's reach.

Thoroughly Poetic Thankful Thimble Thursday

Ahoy, mateys! Today be Talk Like a Pirate Day. Shiver me timbers, we mean Meow and Bark Like a Pirate Day! Aye, aye. That be more like it. Would ye like to sail the seas with us?

That there be a 2017 flashback doodle of Captain One-Eyed Rosie. She says ahoy to all ye mateys!

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We hope you don't mind, friends, but the rest of this post is going to be in boring ol' regular human speech. I intended and even tried to write a longer post in pirate lingo, but I'm really just no good at it, and it kind of makes my brain hurt. To celebrate this day, though, I did scribble up a sort of piratey poem for Angel Sammy's pirate-inspired Thoroughly Poetic Thursday challenge this week.

Isn't that a perfect photo prompt for this week's poetry challenge? Our host sure knows how to make our poetic endeavors fun and festive.

I actually did try to scribble up a poem in pirate verse. Like I mentioned above, though, pirate speech is not my forte in the least. So, it's still that boring ol' human speak for my poem today. At the very least, though, my poem is about a pirate! Actually, it's about a pirate, and some other really weird stuff I felt compelled to write because come September all I can think about are pumpkins and all things autumnal. Sounds like a real wacky poem, doesn't it? That's because it admittedly is. All I can do is apologize and slap the poem here:

Pirate Pete and the Pumpkin King

Pete was a skilled and world-renowned pirate,

All the way until he disappeared in retirement.

Pirate Pete had sailed the seas for years and years,

Seeking treasure and winning loot without any fears.

But when his hair turned grey and his bones grew weary,

Pete said goodbye to the pirate life, only slightly teary.

That is, until Pete realized he had squandered away his retirement loot.

Had he really bought that many hats, boots, and, well, booze?

Indeed, all of that gold and jewels he had won as a pirate,

It was now all gone and he was an impoverished man in retirement.

Pete did the only thing he could think to do.

He reclaimed his title as pirate and sailed the seas anew.

Pirate Pete began his new travels at the end of winter.

After all, who wanted to sail the seas in cold that could blister?

Throughout the spring he sailed from shore to shore.

He had nearly forgotten how looting was really never a bore.

He followed his maps and found treasure on land after land.

Pirate Pete's boat landed on every shore and its sand.

He continued on throughout the heat of summer,

None of his travels proving even remotely a bummer.

Pete worked so hard and was such a skilled pirate,

He thought by the next winter he might be able to reenter retirement.

By the time autumn rolled its brisk way around,

Pirate Pete had just one land left to which he was bound.

He had heard tales of great treasures buried on Autumn Isle.

Of course, he would have to risk all that was said about that land so wild.

Very few pirates returned from journeys to Autumn Isle,

And those who did seemed to have lost any bit of their mind that was worthwhile.
These poor souls spoke of nonsense quite obscene,
Like living pumpkins and their pumpkin king.

Pirate Pete was not the least bit scared, though.

Certainly he wouldn't fail to win treasure on Autumn Isle, no.

After all, he was the world's most proficient and prolific pirate.

A trip to the Autumn Isles certainly wouldn't cause his life or mind to spiral.

And so, with brisk winds blowing at the sails,
Pirate Pete steered toward the Autumn Isles in search of treasure and tales.
It was a long trip but would certainly be worth it.
Pirate Pete looked forward to the loot that would allow another retirement.

Finally, after days and days at sea,
Land could be seen ahead by Pirate Pete.
He slowed his ship and prepared to land with care,
And just as soon felt a strange chill in the air.

It felt like a brisk autumn day, indeed.
But even more chilling was what Pirate Pete could see.
Autumn Isle was lined with skeletal trees,
Interspersed with pumpkins that Pirate Pete found quite creepy.

His ship was still a good ways out at sea,
And so a true judgement had not yet been made by Pirate Pete.
Finally, his ship alighted the sand of Autumn Isle,
And Pirate Pete immediately wondered if this trip would be worthwhile.

When he had been distracted with bringing him ship to shore,
Pirate Pete had not paid attention to anything offboard.
Now, though, he looked up and gazed out past his ship,
And what he saw drew a great scream from his lips.

On Autumn Isle was the strangest sight Pirate Pete had ever seen.
Shiver me timbers, he thought, is that the pumpkin king?
A tall figure in black stood ashore with a lantern in hand,
The figure's carved orange head much, much brighter than the sand.
It wore an equally orange bow tie around its neck,
Which matched quite nicely with its unmistakable pumpkin for a head.

As if a figure with a pumpkin for a head wasn't strange enough,
Pirate Pete caught sight of yet more pumpkins by the dozen.
These weren't just any pumpkins, though, mind you.
They were pumpkins with pointed ears and whiskers, and that did meow and mew.

"Hello!" the pumpkin-headed figure declared with a wave.
"Would you like to come over for a meal in me and my cats' cave?"
Pirate Pete more or less shuddered at the thought.
This whole situation was absolutely insane, was it not?
Tales he thought raving mad seemed now to be true.
No wonder Autumn Isle was the most feared land in the ocean blue.

Could there really be treasure here worth my while?
Pirate Pete could not help but ask himself that with a sigh.
He was torn between the hope of treasure and the chance to escape.
He needed to make a decision, for the night now grew late.

Again, the figure with the pumpkin head gave him a wave.
"I'm the pumpkin king," it said, "and I promise to behave.
My cats and I don't get many visitors around this place these days.
We'd be happy to show you around, if you'd like to stay."

The pumpkins with the pointed ears and whiskers began to hop onto the ship.
Weird meows and purrs rolled off of their weird pumpkin lips.
At least they didn't bite, or at least they hadn't done so yet.
They simply hopped around Pirate Pete with mews exiting their pumpkin heads.

Pirate Pete felt a nagging at the back of his mind.
Actually, he felt two naggings there, he wasn't going to lie.
On one hand, the absurdity around prompted him to skedaddle.
On the other hand, he had never lost a treasure-seeking battle.

From the shore, the pumpkin king waved and welcomed him again.
On the boat, the weird pumpkin cats continued to meow and spin.
At last, Pirate Pete made up his mind.
If we didn't tell you his decision, would that be unkind?

Well, that was weird. I had a certain vision in my mind when I started this poem, but the end result is in a completely different realm from that original vision. But, I hope you enjoyed even a half a second of that weirdness!

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As is the case every Thursday, Thimble of course has some Thankfuls to share for Brian's Thankful Thursday Blog Hop.

Though she certainly wishes that window was open much farther, Thimble is at least grateful for window whiffies. They're still few and far between, though, because on most days it's still roughly 90°F here. But on the nice days, when it feels like it might actually be autumn someday this year, Thimble sure does love her window.

Can you see that dog paw behind Thimble in that there photo? Thimble and pup Astrid were battling over the window seat again. They both won this time, because they actually shared the window. I myself am thankful for that. When your kids don't fight, it's always a good day.

We also want to thank you all for your making this blogging community the wonderful place it is!

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Last but not least, we have for you the fill-in statements for tomorrow's Friendly Fill-Ins challenge. Ellen of 15andmeowing came up with the first two, and I came up with the second two.

1. Never have I ever _________.

2. I won't _________ again.

3. I believe I have good knowledge of _________.

4. _________ is my worst enemy.

We'll see you tomorrow, friends!

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Did you know?

Did you know that there have been several famous seafaring felines in history? We've previously mentioned Unsinkable Sam. In the times of World War II, this lucky kitty lived on 3 separate ships, all of which sunk, and all of which Unsinkable Sam survived. After the third sunken ship, Unsinkable Sam was retired from life at sea and lived out the rest of his years in the presence of sailors on land. 

There was also Blackie, a cat who resided on HMS Prince of Wales, a Royal Navy battleship that played a role in World War II. Blackie became especially famous when photos were snapped of him being petted by Winston Churchill, who once traveled on the Prince of Wales on a trip to visit Franklin D. Roosevelt. After this, Blackie was more or less renamed Churchill.

Just one more of many historical cats at sea was Simon. Simon was the ship cat of the HMS Amethyst, which was involved in the 1949 Amethyst Incident, also known as the Yangtze Incident. Simon was injured in this event, but he recovered and continued with his rodent-hunting work. Simon was said to have been a source of comfort and morale for the sailors, and he was much-loved on his ship. When Simon passed away, he was posthumously awarded the Dickin Medal, an honor first instituted in 1943 for animals who in some way served in World War II. Simon was also buried with full naval honors.

The above are only just a couple of famous seafaring felines. There was also Camouflage, Convoy, Felix, Peebles, Tiddles, Trim, and even more cats who served at sea. You might be surprised to discover all the cats who have played roles off of land.

Almost Wordless Woof Woof Wednesday

Oh look, a pouty puppy in a window on a Wednesday. Big surprise, huh?

Astrid is wishing you all lots of window whiffies!

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Doodle of the Day

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Did you know?

Did you know that study findings have led experts to often compare the intelligence of dogs to that of 2-year-old human children? It is believed that, similar to a 2-year-old child, the average dog has the ability to learn and respond to roughly 200 words. Of course, this can vary from dog to dog, and can be dependent on breed, overall personality, and of course how much training the dog receives.

Don't worry, all you kitties out there. We're certainly not leaving you out or demeaning your intelligence. The truth is that studies on feline intelligence are not quite as easy, in no small part because cats simply have a different social structure and overall level of interest than dogs. Plenty of cats in the world have learned tricks and have proven the intelligence of their kind in a variety of ways. What's more, findings from some studies have led to conclusions that cats may have better and longer memories than dogs, and that cats might have an overall higher level of cognitive function.

Trouble Tuesday

On Sunday, I shared some photos of my parents' cat Foggy. Those photos were from a visit I paid to my parents' house last week. On that same day, I arrived at their house to find quite a sight.

Good grief, did a shark attack that box? Oh, my bad. Nope. It was just one of their cats.

My parents have a cat who likes to tear up cardboard with his teeth whenever and wherever he can find it. He has never been found to have anything amiss going on to cause this, but instead he just really seems to enjoy throwing shreds of cardboard everywhere. He doesn't even eat it, he just finds joy in destroying boxes and covering the house in cardboard shreds.

Do you see the culprit coming out of the shadows in that poorly lit photo? That's Kipper. He loves him some cardboard. He's also a really sweet and social cat, but definitely don't try to pick him up, because he is really not into being held. Things get ugly if you try to hold this boy.

I asked Kipper if he ever feels remorse for his treatment of innocent cardboard boxes.

Nope. Apparently this boy has no regrets. Fair enough.

For Kipper's safety, my parents don't leave many cardboard boxes out and about in the house. What a strange thought. They have 12 cats, but cardboard boxes are scarcely found. If you do find a box, it usually looks like a shark took a bite out of it, and you'll find shreds of cardboard anywhere and everywhere throughout the house. That's how Kipper rolls.

Happy Tuesday to all!

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Doodle of the Day: Flashback Tuesday

Today's flashback doodle is actually the image I scribbled up last September to use as last year's autumn banner for our blog. It's almost time to put up this year's autumn blog header!

That doodle was scribbled up just a couple months after newbies Tonks and Winky entered the family. Everyone was still trying to sort out the new norm after new girls' arrival, and still no one was really quite sure of the young kittens who seemed to never sleep. Eddy despised the kittens then just as much as she despises them now, which is why I decided to draw her nestled up in a tree in this doodle. After all, that's the kind of distance Eddy likes to put between herself and those pesky newbie cats even to this day.

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Did you know?

Did you know that the term pica refers to the act of chewing or eating nonfood items that provide no nutritional value? Cats and dogs can exhibit pica for a variety of reasons, some simple and some serious. For example, some furbabies will find and eat items throughout the house out of boredom or when anxious. Some kitties and pup might even have a simple predisposition or quirk that prompts them to seek out nonfood snacks for no apparent reason.

In some cases, though, pica can be the result of something more serious. Certain nutrient deficiencies or diseases, for example, might prompt a cat or dog to attempt to eat items that are not in fact food. There have been veterinary cases of cats who ate litter and were thereafter found to be anemic, and treating the anemia resolved the litter-eating habits. Showing an interest in eating cardboard, grass, rocks, and a variety of other items can potentially be a sign of deficiency in fiber, vitamins, minerals, or other various nutrients. In other cases, cats or dogs with diseases such as diabetes or brain tumors have presented with pica. The important thing is to always be aware of what your kitty or pup is eating, to keep unsafe items out of the reach especially of animals who are known to eat nonfood items, and to seek veterinary care for pica as needed, so that you can work to keep your kitty or pup safe and healthy as best as you can.

Mancat Monday

Evan may or may not be a tad bit jealous that the selfies we shared yesterday were of another orange mancat, that being my parents' cat Foggy. Evan wanted to make sure you all remember just how glamorous he is. So, he snapped a closeup glamour shot to make you all swoon today.

Evan hopes you all enjoy seeing his face today! Happy Monday!

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Doodle of the Day

My autumn doodles are really starting to get weird. Well, weirder than usual, I guess.

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Did you know?

Did you know that, according to the Guinness World Records, the wealthiest cat in the world inherited a $13 million fortune? This cat was named Blackie, and he inherited this hefty fortune when his owner passed away in 1988, leaving it all in Blackie's name. There have also been some incredibly wealthy dogs in history. For example, a German Shepherd named Gunther III inherited his owner's $80 million fortune in 1991. Trustees of the estate invested the money, so that Gunther III and his successor Gunther IV became worth at least $375 million.

Guest Selfie Sunday

You're about to see a handsome orange tabby.

But, wait, that's not Evan!

That there is my parents' cat Foggy. He always welcomes me and bids me farewell from my parents' front window when I come and go from their house. I apologize for the quality of these photos, because they were indeed snapped from outside the window, on the other side of which Foggy was bidding me farewell after a visit.

I tend to get attached to each and every cat I meet in my life. That being said, Foggy is one of those cats with whom I have somewhat of an extra special bond. I'm actually the one who found Foggy. On a dark and stormy evening in October of 2016, I was at my parents' house and heard what sounded like a cat crying outside the front door. I opened the door, expecting to see the neighbor cat asking for his usual treats. Instead, I saw a fuzzy orange rump scurrying beneath my mom's van. Long story short, after a small game of cat-and-mouse with the scared little fella, I caught the little guy you see in the photos above, who at the time was only about 5 months old.

My mom and I fruitlessly searched for an owner. We assume he had one, because from day one he's been incredibly friendly and affectionate. After checking for a microchip that didn't exist and posting about him online as well as around the neighborhood and at local veterinary clinics, no one came forward. Perhaps he was set loose or dumped, which is just as well, because by that point my dad had fallen in love with the orange boy and claimed him as his own. If my dad hadn't formed an immediate bond with Foggy, I'd have another orange tabby. My dad especially fell for this boy because he reminded him of his childhood orange tabby named Gus. Foggy loves his dad very, very much, so I know he's in the right home.

Want something a little extra fun? As I've mentioned before, I back up all of my photos to Google Drive, and Google often creates fun little somethings for me using my photos. Google yet again created a bit of an animation for me, this time using the above photos. See?

And don't worry, Foggy's claw is not stuck in the curtain in those images. He is notorious for reaching out and grabbing the curtain, but he's never gotten stuck. In fact, he's quite proficient at moving the curtain aside if he thinks he doesn't have a good enough view out the window.

Foggy and all of us are wishing you a happy Sunday! Of course, Foggy's also entering his handsome self in the Sunday Selfies Blog Hop, hosted by the Kitties Blue of The Cat on My Head.

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Doodle of the Day

It's all about the orange tabbies today. And pumpkins, of course.

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Did you know?

Did you know a study of nearly 7,700 stray shelter animals found that cats without microchips are reunited with their owners only 1.8% of the time, whereas cats with microchips find their way back home 38.5% of the time? As for dogs, the study found that those without microchips make it back home 21.9% of the time, whereas those with microchips are reunited with their owners 52.2% of the time. When it comes to the animals who were found with microchips but were not reunited with their owners, this study concluded that a large percentage of these animals had microchips that were linked to either erroneous information or no information at all. In conclusion, have your furbabies microchipped, and keep that microchip up-to-date!