Kitty, the blog animal         October 18, 2005

After years of trying to enumerate our differences, it boils down to Kitty knows pretty much what is going on -- and admittedly, I really don't have the slightest clue...   It is as though Kitty's path through life has become illuminated...   Guide on, Kitty...

          Kitty, the blog animal         October 17, 2005

If  cleanliness  is next to Godliness, Kitty would be a Saint...
But I've certainly never had any luck getting her to use the vaccuum...

          Kitty, the blog animal         October 16, 2005

Judging from her attentiveness to the various  forces of life,  Kitty seems to have a pretty good idea of how the universe is assembled...   We've been testing her theory that the distance between particles increases proportionally with the closeness of observation...

          Kitty, the blog animal         October 15, 2005

Taking care of all of that fur looks like it would be quite a chore...   But when it comes to keeping herself clean, Kitty is  fastidious...

          Kitty, the blog animal         October 14, 2005

Green eyes don't normally compliment a  pink nose,  but I suppose this must be some sort of fashion statement...   Rock on, Kitty...

          Kitty, the blog animal         October 13, 2005

Individually, flower-power and cat-power are just subtle dreams, but when the two are mixed together, the results can be beautifully  synergistic.

          Kitty, the blog animal         October 12, 2005

A long time ago, Kitty and I worked out an understanding...   I realized that she was, basically, just a wild animal in need of a bit of care and love...   And in turn, she quickly realized that she could benefit from knowing how to mold me into her personal assistant...   So, anyway, this has worked out so flawlessly that I suggested to Kitty that she get a pet of her own so she can realize the benefits of  compassionate servitude...

          Kitty, the blog animal         October 11, 2005

Kitty knows she isn't supposed to walk across my keyboard -- but I guess I can't expect 100% cooperation from such a little devil...   Screencapture (above) is some actual  kitty typing  she tapped out on the keyboard...

          Kitty, the blog animal         October 10, 2005

When it comes to these gawd-awful  Monday mornings,  Kitty agrees -- there is absolutely nothing (zero, nada, zip) good about them.   Pffbtt...

          Kitty, the blog animal         October 9, 2005

While most of us spare no expense and employ millions-of-colors,  Kitty was showing me how just sixteen could do the job -- quite nicely...

          Kitty, the blog animal         October 8, 2005

It's a pretty good arrangement...   Just a little bit of food buys me Kitty's unswerving  loyalty and friendship...

          Kitty, the blog animal         October 7, 2005

It's doubtful if Kitty's mug will formally grace any brand of cat-food soon, so she has decided to take on other assignments -- such as this one -- for Kitty® Spark Plugs.   It will take time to digest her new name:  Sparky.

          Kitty, the blog animal         October 6, 2005

No offense to the International Red Cross, but while the red color of their red-cross symbolizes the relationship between blood and life, I propose that Kitty's  yellow-cross  just might be symbolic of light and life...

          Kitty, the blog animal         October 5, 2005

Every time Kitty gets her allowance she makes tracks for the local head-shop...   Usually she comes back broke and cross-eyed, but this time she has returned with special  eyeglasses  capable of blending reality with imagination...

          Kitty, the blog animal         October 4, 2005

In light of the horrible natural disasters on the Gulf Coast, Kitty and I are beefing-up our prepareadness level.   But, at the last training session I made the mistake of bringing up the subject of  evacuation...

          Kitty, the blog animal         October 3, 2005

Not too many people know about this this -- but while x-rays make it possible to see into and through objects;  certain cats, such as Kitty, have the ability to see  past the obvious...

          Kitty, the blog animal         October 2, 2005

 Believe it or not,  Kitty's actual and true name is Whiskers...
I'm not exactly sure why, but I almost never call her by that name...

          Kitty, the blog animal         October 1, 2005

Cats have gotten a bad reputation of being extremely self-centered -- but I don't think that excludes them from the ability to be  compassionate  about the external world...

          Kitty, the blog animal         September 30, 2005

Asking Kitty to smile for the camera is like trying to whistle-into-the-wind.   Next time she isn't cooperating, I'm afraid I'm going to have to bring out the heavy-artillery --  reverse psychology...

          Kitty, the blog animal         September 29, 2005

To the casual observer Kitty might appear to be just a run-of-the-mill cat, but she has spent a lifetime of studying and appreciating what most folks call weeds...   But around Kitty, don't make the mistake of calling them weeds -- because to her they are obviously  something greater...

          Kitty, the blog animal         September 28, 2005

As an observer, Kitty is highly skilled...   And it is an important job, because she must sort out threats from possible sources of food...
Here she is, in stealth mode --  peeking through  a leaf...

          Kitty, the blog animal         September 27, 2005

No Kitty, that's not your new room-mate (God forbid)...   It's just you -- and my penchant for using the Photoshop®  "daubs"  filter...

          Kitty, the blog animal         September 26, 2005

Kitty pretty much lets me know when she is hungry, but occasionally she finds something tasty in the weed patch to  chomp  on...

          Kitty, the blog animal         September 25, 2005

Reportedly, cats achieved their domestic status eons ago, but Kitty is still a bit  fuzzy  about the concept...   While her darker-side still thirsts for blood, her nicer-side is a stellar example of peace and contentment...

          Kitty, the blog animal         September 24, 2005

Kitty and I Googled  cat hair,  and beyond the references to hair-balls and allergies, we found a rather strange advertisement on  Craigslist.org: 
It reads:   Free Cat Hair   My wife's cat has been shedding more now that it is summer and we have more hair that we need.   Available is approx 1 cubic foot of gray tabby cat hair. Very soft.   Anybody know how to knit?

          Kitty, the blog animal         September 23, 2005

I have probably spent way too much time wondering about this, but I wonder if Kitty's  soft fur  feels just as soft to her on the inside...

          Kitty, the blog animal         September 22, 2005

Her paint-by-numbers set didn't seem to click, but Kitty-the-artist has discovered a new way to go about expressing herself --  modern art...

          Kitty, the blog animal         September 21, 2005

I'm going to have to pull Kitty's contract out of the files...   I need to check her job description as  Pestbouncer,  but I'm pretty sure Kitty's job is to expel mice -- not to bring them indoors for fun and games...   Anyway, I will be pulling the refrigerator out today to locate the little bugger...

          Kitty, the blog animal         September 20, 2005

I usually think of Kitty as a little lover, but on occasion she reverts to her basic instincts and becomes an unabashed  mouse murderer...

          Kitty, the blog animal         September 19, 2005

It might look like just another day in the weed patch, but Kitty has been making progress solving many of nature's furriest mysteries...   Sometimes she relies on instinct for the answer, but other times she must approach carefully and  observe quietly...

          Kitty, the blog animal         September 18, 2005

Yes, when Kitty first arrived, she actually was  Someplace Else...
But then, time passed, and as we got to know each-other better, we eventually changed the sign so that it now reads Here to Stay...

          Kitty, the blog animal         September 17, 2005

Sometimes, when I look into Kitty's  little Orphan Annie eyes,  I remember way back to the day she arrived -- and decided to make the best of it.

          Kitty, the blog animal         September 16, 2005

a poem by Brian Patten       a blade of grass

You ask for a poem.
I offer you  a blade of grass.
You say it is not good enough.
You ask for a poem.

I say this blade of grass will do.
It has dressed itself in frost,
It is more immediate
Than any image of my making.

You say it is not a poem,
It is a blade of grass and grass
Is not quite good enough.
I offer you a blade of grass.

You are indignant.
You say it is too easy to offer grass.
It is absurd.
Anyone can offer a blade of grass.

You ask for a poem.
And so I write you a tragedy about
How a blade of grass
Becomes more and more difficult to offer,

And about how as you grow older
A blade of grass
Becomes more difficult to accept.

          Kitty, the blog animal         September 15, 2005

Kitty is keen about the  goings-on  in her backgrounds...
A vibrant party setting, like this, seems to fit nicely with her tuxedo...

          Kitty, the blog animal         September 14, 2005

Kitty is interested in many things -- but one of her favorites is  weeds...

          Kitty, the blog animal         September 13, 2005

One of Kitty's finest  qualities of character  is her ability to conduct herself in a quiet manner...

          Kitty, the blog animal         September 12, 2005

Buffalo Bob:   Say kids, what time is it?
Kids:   It's Howdy Doody Time!
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
...It's Howdy Doody Time.
...It's Howdy Doody Time.
...Bob Smith and Howdy Do
...Say Howdy Do to you.
...Let's give a rousing cheer,
...Cause Howdy Doody's here,
...It's time to start the show,
...So kids let's go!

          Kitty, the blog animal         September 11, 2005

But don't be fooled -- because  behind that soft fur  is a wild animal with razor sharp claws and a dangerous set of pointed teeth...

          Kitty, the blog animal         September 10, 2005

It's a rainy Saturday at Kittyland, and Kitty has already beat me three times, flat out, at  checkers...

          Kitty, the blog animal         September 9, 2005

I'm going back in time, but George Carlin used to do a routine called  the hippy dippy weatherman, and the line that I have always remembered is: "that he never got up before the sun got warm"...   He also did a version where he said "that he never got up before the sun got high"...

          Kitty, the blog animal         September 8, 2005

Well, I can tell you two things that a few years ago I would have absolutely guaranteed never would ever happen to me...
1: Being best-buddies with a cat,   and 2: Listening to classical music...   But (1) I am, and (2) I do...   Who would have thunk...
Ok, by now we all know everything about Kitty, but I want to spread the word that even though you may not reside in the San Francisco Bay Area, you can  listen to my favorite radio station, KDFC-FM on-line...   Take my word for it, this is one classical station that won't drive you up the wall...   I like to think of it as popular classical, and in the morning it is hosted by a kindly fellow named Hoyt Smith.   On occasion, Hoyt and traffic-gal Dusti Rhodes share an anecdote or two about their cats -- and on Wednesday Hoyt was telling how his cat had brought in a captured mouse, only to place it in it's waterbowl...   I had to chuckle when Dusti surmised that Hoyt's cat may have been making him a bowl of mouse-soup...   Yum

          Kitty, the blog animal         September 7, 2005

And there are those days when life becomes a mystery...     that look

          Kitty, the blog animal         September 6, 2005

My sadness and concern about this terrible tragedy on the Gulf Coast somehow seems to have transferred to Kitty...   We've both gone  wiggy.

          Kitty, the blog animal         September 5, 2005

Since she is just a cat, her job opportunities are a bit limited, but she has finally found the purr-fect career tending a little  art gallery...

          Kitty, the blog animal         September 4, 2005

Even though we never use it, Kitty's official name is  Whiskers...

          Kitty, the blog animal         September 3, 2005

The last time I hooked Kitty up to the  brain wave  machine all we saw was a chart with steep peaks and valleys, but I think technology will eventually lead to an improved machine actually capable of reading her thoughts...

          Kitty, the blog animal         September 2, 2005

On December 29 of last year, after the horrible devistation from the tsunami in South-east Asia, I published this photo of Kitty wearing a red-cross, but I had no idea I would be using it again so soon for this horrible mess on the Gulf Coast...   Personally, about all I can do is make a donation to the relief, but I'm sure if she could, Kitty would  volunteer.

          Kitty, the blog animal         September 1, 2005

Here she is, our little nature-lover, enjoying a very colorful  poppy...

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