aaaaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh, finally an Inkblot fix.

Thank you Kevin, after this week all of us needed an early post.

But I see Inkblot is still on the table!

At least the tablecloth has been changed.

Your guest blogger did a great job, including the catblogging. But Domino and Inkblot were missed!

Has Inkblot been losing weight? That's the slimmest I think I've seen him yet, or maybe the angle of the shot makes him look slimmer?

Domino's white whiskers show up to advantage in that shot of her.

Thanks for the "proper" kitties, although Smithers was very cute.

Did your wife make the quilt that Domino is sitting under? My cats love my handmade quilts best.

But I see Inkblot is still on the table!

At least the tablecloth has been changed.

Was that the old pull-out-the tablecloth inertia trick? I didn't know it worked with cats, too.

one of those fifth-dimensional specters that only cats can see

Our echo used to have imaginary friends she stared at, too.

Nice cats. Glad they're back.

peek-a-boo. cute ra's.

Glad to have our favorite online felines back!

Ooh, love the cats today. Thanks for bringing them back from vacation with you!

Sandy: No, I weighed Inkblot a couple of days ago and he's holding steady at 18 pounds. I think it's just the lens that makes him look thin.

Myra: Yep. Our house is overflowing with handmade quilts. The cats like them all.

Nice to have these guys back... however, was Smithers not only cute but also, you know, ACTIVE (and therefore in no need of diet!) ;-)

one of those fifth-dimensional specters

I suddenly had the mental image of the senior Senator from Pennsylvania singing "Up, Up and Away (In My Beautiful Balloon)." I'm glad only cats can see that.

Some of us both cat and dog friendly.

I wouldn't have it any other way. My kids, they do fine together.

The ride on the car roof doesnt seem to have bothered them at all.

TGIFCB!

Kevin, Domino isn't looking at some new-agey fifth-dimensional thingy at all. He's transfixed by an episode of Window!, brought to you by Meow Mix. In our last episode, a leaf blew by, and in the explosive season finale, a stray cat walks into the yard!

The blogs are clogged with spoilers and fanfic. My cats are also avid viewers.

Kev, it's over for you! I've gotten my little feral paws on a digital camera, and I am prepared to more than substantiate my claim that my cats are much cuter than yours.
You haven't got a chance!

Yes! We need more cats ...

but only because my dogs are getting hungry.

;-)

(Note: The only reason we don't have cats is because The Mrs. is deathly allergic.)

Hello? Hello? Is this the Suicide Girls discussion group? Oh; sorry. Wrong blog. (click)

Don't want to be a downer but I think we have enough cats, thank you. I cohabit with two of the little killers myself and have been proudly presented with a chipmunk, a goldfinch and a sparrow in the past month.

"Exact numbers are unknown, but scientists estimate that nationwide, cats kill hundreds of millions of birds,and more than a billionsmall mammals,such as rabbits,squirrels,and chipmunks,each year."

"Loss of wildlife habitat and fragmentation due to human development are the leading causes of declining bird populations. However,scientists now list invasive species,including cats,as the second most serious threat to bird populations worldwide.Habitat fragmentationprovides cats and other predators easier access to wildlife forced to live on smaller tracts of land."

www.abcbirds.org

And goldfinches are rather rare in my neck of the woods!

I relate here, my unhappy, Friday the 13th experience this morning:

After I finished cleaning up from breakfast, I heard Marley (the dog) jingle down into the kids' play room, and started growling and barking.

Now, Marley, being part schnauzer, barks at the air. So sometimes I can get him to shut up if I just go into the room and give him "the look".

However, this time, when I walked into the room, he was actually barking at something real; there were feathers scattered all over the floor, and Marley's "brother" Lightning (a cat), had caught a hummingbird, had brought it into the house, and was batting the poor thing around the room. It's amazing that this cat catches anything, because he's got footfalls like a horse. No kidding, you can hear him stomping all over the house. I think it's because he was raised with a dog. I chased the cat away, and Marley followed him out of the room, barking and growling, and I got a plastic bag, and when I went to pick up the hummingbird, I noticed that it was still breathing. But it was not in good shape. The word "mangled" comes to mind. Wanting to end its suffering as quickly as possible, I put the bird into the plastic back, and crushed its skull between my thumb and index finger, then disposed of the bag in the garbage.

Pets are such a joy, eh?

Kevin Drum >"...I don't know what Inkblot was staring at last night, but he saw something out the window..."

Au contraire !

Just look at where he is looking and one can clearly tell it is that "Susie for President" ad over there on the right

Poor Inkblot (and Domino apparently has seen it also from the look of disgust in her eyes...)

"Discovery consists of seeing what everybody has seen and thinking what nobody has thought." - Albert von Szent-Gyorgyi

Don't want to be a downer but I think we have enough cats, thank you. I cohabit with two of the little killers myself and have been proudly presented with a chipmunk, a goldfinch and a sparrow in the past month.

People let their cats outside? Mine are strictly indoor. Then again, we're apartment-dwellers, so it's not like they have a yard.

Our younger would definitely be a menace to the neighborhood if he were allowed outside. He can catch a ball mid-flight and bring it down, so birds wouldn't have a chance.

What Mnemosyne said. An indoor cat lives longer, and harms only the wildlife that finds its way indoors. We've lived in very dense urban neighborhoods, where cars were a menace, and out in the burbs, where coyotes (and cars) are a menace. Keep the cats inside, folks!

This Canadian loves your site ... the cat pics just make it that much more interesting. Thanks for the Friday levity ... we all need it these days!

Loved Smithers, love these guys. I see Domino has quite settled in.

I once hit a cat that ran out into the street--we live in very urban Oakland (I am Mrs. FreakyBeaky). The cat bounced off the front wheel and ran away. I surely injured it and hope I didn't kill it. Once home I called animal control, hysterical, and begged them to look for the animal. I was willing to pay vet bills. Never heard back. It was awful.

Unless you live in the middle of nowhere, please keep your kitties inside.

And speaking of specters, a more fitting name right now for Ms. Domino would be Ms. Demonino with those eyes glowing in the shadows of blanket like that.

If you had your own video camera, you could do your own B grade horror flick about what the cats can see - that noone else could = not even the little teacup headed dog - and then cumulating with a flash of a off-worldy critter. Sort of a Cat's Eye redux but not such a tiny little monster - something really shocking.

Kevin: "Today we have cats staring at things."

That's because, like their owners, they still can't believe that Harriet Meirs didn't even bother to show up at that hearing yesterday.

Kevin, no mention of whether Marion is still President of the American Quilters Association. Could you update us please?

The kitties are looking cute as dickens, as usual.

Did you know that "Friday Cat Blogging" returns 240,000 hits on Google? Wow.

Whoa, you really started something.

Nepeta...good point about cats killing birds, however...

Just did a google and got some nationwide estimates about bird kills in 2003 from a SF Chronicle article by science editor:

.up to 1 billion killed flying into bldgs
.100s of millions killed by cats
.37,000 by windmills

How many damn birds are there? Are they not too swift on the uptake? Will natural selection alter the kill rates rapidly(in an evolutionary sense)?

did you know that:

BUSH "WORST PRESIDENT EVER"

returns 270,000 hits on google

double wow

Michele: Marian is currently president-elect of SAGA, the Smocking Arts Guild of America. In September she becomes president! And then next year she becomes past-president! And then president emeritus!

Learn all about SAGA here.

thanks Kevin. Sorry I misspelled Marian's name. I meant no disrespect to the President-elect.

Michael,

A billion flying into buildings?! I guess the word 'birdbrain' is well defined. I don't have any idea how many birds there are, say, in the US. Worth a google.

Tonight my cats have been playing with baby rabbits for hours. They must have found a nest. I've now closed all the windows so that at least the sound of baby bunny squeals are muffled. (I also turned the hose on the cats but even that wouldn't deter them from the chase). Ugh.

I couldn't find an estimate for the number of birds in the US. I must apologize, though, to my feathered friends for my assumption of 'birdbraininess' on their part. What is meant by 'flying into buildings' is 'flying into windows,' their reflections indistinguishable from reality in many situations, as even we humans can occasionally attest.

During a recent visit, a friend's cat, loopy at best, was transfixed by ... something. My wife asked what it was: "A bug," she was told. "Where's the bug? I don't see it." "It's in her mind..."

I depend on your catblogging: allergies. Our felines are (necessarily) feral; they came with the house. We did a 'neuter and release' job and feed them. As we watch, we can't tell how many imaginary bugs they're stalking, but it's probably plenty. I also lurk here loyally. Keep it coming.