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January 4,
2014:
We always start off the New Year by keeping the
last few messages from last year's blog on this page. They gradually
move down as we add more from the top. Don't I sound as if I know a
lot about technology? I don't! That's why I need Bobbi.
Our Fan Club keeps growing!
We'll be adding another cat this week, and I'm daring to set a goal
of 333 cats by my 10th birthday. Why that number? Because there are
33 cats (and a parrot) in my MEWSical Society.
Speaking of the Society, it's a Virtual Musical
Society so we're casting our next show. We've had several requests
for Alice in Wonderland, and
will be asking Society members to audition for key roles. I expect
Willow and Lily (both of whom are featured in our first set of blank
greeting cards) to vie for the role of Alice, while the tuxedos
compete for the Mad Hatter, Knave of Hearts and March Hare. We'll
need siblings to play Tweedledee and Tweeledum, and a white male for
the White Rabbit.
Stay tuned; this is going to be fun!
The four male alpacas in our camelid chorus were
just featured in a CBC new clip. Watch Brinks, Bee-Jay, Hudson and
Morgan in action (along with the dogs who guard them at: http://bit.ly/Ki2VQR.
December 28, 2013:
We had a great Christmas. Here I am, peering into
my gift bag, ready to snatch the tissue paper and pull out my present.
I had already received a beautiful new catnip mouse
from MEWSical Society pal, June
Coxon. It has purple stripes and a bright green tail, so is unlikely
to be attacked and stripped as I do with my fur mice.
Earlier this week Bobbi found two of these, one
with its fur intact, splayed with the lining up, in a gruesome post,
in the middle of the hallway. The plastic centre was in the guest
room, where I had moved it for safekeeping.
The other mouse was still intact, but she could see
how I had already started to carefully remove the stitching on the
underside. If you want to know more about this process, click on How
to Kill a Toy Mouse.
But back to my present! As you can see, it's a
sturdy bag with a spring-loaded feature so it stays open, and
has multiple holes to search for toys.
I LOVE IT!
December 21, 2013:
Every year we share the wall hanging created by a
Simon Teakettle fan who heard Simon Teakettle's Twelve
Days of Christmas on Arthur Black's CBC
network radio show, Basic Black.
You can see that Mrs. Brown added her name, as this
was her original design. Notice the chipmunk in high tree,
the three fat frogs, the six snowflakes falling and
the eight faucets leaking.
The entire poem is in Mewsings/Musings.
We've stayed in touch with Art, who now writes a
column for Zoomer Magazine,
and continues to bring out a new humor book every few years. Some of
his books are on our Humor page.
December 14, 2013:
This is a busy time, as Bobbi's birthday is next
week, and I'm trying to write her a birthday poem. Meanwhile, two of
the ladies who live with members of my
MEWSical Society took her out for an early birthday dinner last
week. She saved the Happy Birthday thingy from the top of the cake,
but wouldn't let me play with it!
Speaking of poems, she wrote a silly ditty for the Ottawa
Independent Writers' Christmas party, and came home with 2nd prize!
December 7, 2013:
December 4 was Santa's List Day. As usual, I'm late
to announce this because I have the Same List every year! The
photo at the right shows me with the contents of my stocking from
last year, but I see that my stocking hasn't even been taken out of
the box to come upstairs yet this year.
Bobbi assures me that this is because I'm getting
two Big Presents this year instead of a bunch of small ones. We'll see!
November 30, 2013:
Socks Miles, who teaches all the other cats
at the Institute for Kitty Cat Research,
has just joined my MEWSical Society, while three of his feline pals
have joined the Fan Club. He's a tuxedo, with quite a bit more black
than I had as a kitten.
If you go to the MEWSical
Society page, you'll also see Aragon
the Cat, aka Lord Tubbington,
who has joined us as a Special Guest
Performer. I'll post a photo of him modeling a handsome jacket soon.
December 4 is Santa's List Day, so I guess I need
to start writing mine. Stay tuned to read it next week.
November 23, 2013:
Some exciting NEWS is coming soon. First, we have a
new affiliate, The Institute
for Kitty Cat Research,
whose new book is featured on our Favorite
Cat Books page. I'll be receiving My Very Own Copy of this book,
so I can imitate some of the positions, along with a mug featuring
Picky Cat. I'll have Bobbi take a photo of me with these when they arrive.
One of the cats at the Institute will also be
joining the MEWSical Society, to
replace Tippi Foss, who has passed over the Rainbow Bridge. As soon
as that page has changed, we'll announce it.
Meanwhile, a Famous Celebrity Cat is joining our
Fan Club! Stay tuned for a photo of Aragon
the Cat, who plays Lord Tubbington on Glee.
November 16, 2013:
This is Adopt a Senior Pet Month. There are a lot
of senior dogs and cats in my Fan Club,
but I'm only 7, which is equivalent to 45 in human years. In other
words, I'm in My Prime!
But sometimes a cat has to retire. Such is the case
with The Opinionated
Pussy Cat, who has just turned over his blog to Elvira Mistress
of Felinity.
Joining the Kundurazieff household is Sneakers, a
tuxedo with unusal markings.
November 9, 2013:
We just added three of Arthur Black's latest books
to the page where we feature humor. The first Simon
Teakettle became pals with Art when he was interviewed on Basic
Black, the popular CBC radio program aired on Saturday afternoons.
Since the cover of Fifty
Shades
of Black presents Art in
a dapper suit, he will probably appreciate knowing that designer Karl
Lagerfield's cat, Choupette, has has two iPads, two maids, and a
special seat at Lagerfeld’s table, on a pillow embossed
with the slogan Ici, c’est la place du chat (here is
the place of the cat), because she doesn’t like to eat on
the floor.
November 5, 2013:
We usually blog on the weekend, but we were
distracted by news from the Cat
Writers' Association conference, because the Lady who lives with
Aimee, one of our MEWSical Society
members, won the Shojai Mentor Award for 2013.
This is Very Special as it comes with a plaque and
$500. Bobbi won it in 2010. So
Congralations to Darlene!
Meanwhile, Kitters Kerr, a handsome tuxedo, has
joined the Fan Club with his brother, Ozzie,
and one of their two collies. The other one, Bay, has just had
puppies, who will be joining us later.
October 29, 2013:
This is National Cat Day, which is a better day for
us to celebrate than Hallowe'en. I do, however, enjoy posing with
pumpkins and greeting little neighbors as they come in costume to
collect candy.
This weekend Dallas is the site of the annual
conference of the Cat Writers' Association.
This is where Mewsings/Musings was
launched in 2001, and won a Certificate of Excellence.
Meanwhile, we want to report that one of our
fans, Elvira, Mistress of Felinity is taking over the Opinionated
Pussycat website.
October 19, 2013:
October 16 was National Feral Cat Day. Although I
was lucky enough to be born in a house, and then brought to the
Ottawa Humane Society after I spent the mandatory 8 weeks with my mom
and siblings (learning Manners as well as How To Wash), Tiki (Simon
Teakettle II) was a feral, so we think it's very important to support
efforts to rescue feral cats.
National Feral Cat Day was started in 2001 by Alley
Cat Allies, one of our affiliates. We have lots of information
about feral cats on our Cat Facts page,
and here's a blog by Cathy
Unrah, who wrote a delightful book about her feral cat. Taming Me is
on our Favorite Cat Books page.
October 12, 2013:
Bobbi always wears cat jewelry when she goes out.
She has some pendants and earrings, but she usually puts a pin on her
jacket lapel. These are less than half of her collection, most of
which were gifts from friends over the years.
If you look closely at my photo, to the right,
you'll see that I wear "jewelry" too. I have my microchip
tag, my Gatineau license (the red one), and a heart-shaped tag with
my name on it.
October 5, 2013:
Do these eyes frighten you? They shouldn't. They
belong to Tiki (Simon Teakettle II) who was, by all accounts, a very
gentle guy. I didn't arrive here until he was gone, so I didn't know
him PURRsonally, but I believe Bobbi when she says he was a True Gentleman.
But evidently, some people are afraid of Black
Cats. The Ottawa Humane Society, where Bobbi adopted me seven years
ago, has mounted a campaign to get more black cats adopted. It's even
offering a Bonus Package to anyone who adopts a black pet this month,
including a pet bed and discounts on other merchandise.
The OHS is celebrating their 125th anniversary this
year. The anniversary of my adoption is Oct. 26. Cleveland
Amory said, One of the ways in which cats show happiness is by
sleeping, so don't be surprised if that's how I mark the day!
October 1, 2013:
One thing you need to know is that Cats Don't
Apologize. So it wasn't My Fault that there was no blog post last
weekend. Our computer CRASHED, and I was nowhere near it, so can't be
Blamed. In fact, I was napping on my new pet mat, which friends
brought to me from England. I'll catch up by next weekend.
September 21, 2013:
Exciting news: We have our first Fan
Club member from Indonesia! Jesslyn Alvin lives in West Java and
crochets handmade crochet clothing for dogs. She contacted
Bobbi via LinkedIn, and told us that her colorful cotton sweaters,
fancy dresses, harnesses and custom-made costumes are also suitable
for cats!
As readers of this blog know, I love to dress up
(see me in my Band Uniform at the top of this page) so I'm delighted
to welcome these chihuahua models to my Fan Club.
September 14, 2013:
The new season at the
Great Canadian Theatre Company started this week, with a new
Canadian political satire called Proud. Simon Teakettle
has been a supporter of GCTC for 35 years, starting with the very
first Simon. Last year they asked me to pose for their Christmas
card! I send a new backstage poster with Bobbi for every production.
They often post it in the box office, or take it backstage.
Proud received great
reviews, described as an astute, funny play
and dazzlingly witty.
September 7, 2013:
I know this is Happy Cat Month, but we can't resist
these adorable new puppies, who were just born in the Netherlands.
For some reason, a bunch of Border Collies have friended us on
Facebook, and many are joining the Fan Club.
Border Collies were bred as working farm dogs, so
have tradtionally been pals with barn cats. And Terzo loves dogs,
given that there are now 75 (plus these 8 pups) in his Fan Club.
August 31, 2013:
The fabulous ACR0-Cats,
the opening act for my MEWSical
Society, are on tour. This past week they played in Montreal.
Meanwhile, we've added two new members to the Fan
Club, cat bloggers
from the Kundurazieff
household in Houston, Texas. Nikita is The Boss, but has
welcomed a sweet tortoiseshell called Elvira recently, when she
appeared on his porch.
They are among a wide range of Working Cats, who
deserve to celebrate Labor Day this coming weekend. I plan to spend
it playing with the New Toys I received for my birthday a few weeks ago.
August 24, 2013:
August 17 was Black Cat Appreciation Day, but it
celebrates only solid black cats, which is why we didn't get any
special treats. But we do have several statues of Bastet, the famous
Egyptian cat god which is currently featured in an exhibit at the
Brooklyn Museum. It's called “Divine Felines: Cats of Ancient
Egypt” and the exhibit notes point out that Bastet didn't just
sit at attention and look regal. He danced, he sang, and he played
the lute!
We have an Egyptian cat in my MEWSical Society, of
course, although she's not black. Miss
Noha Hagenguth is a seal-point Siamese who lives in Cairo. We've
heard she's weathering the curfew by playing with new cat toys Heike
is creating for her. We're thinking of Heike and Miss Noha, hoping
they're staying safe.
August 17, 2013:
August 11-15 was National Scrabble Week. I learned
how to play this game when I was very young, because Bobbi took the
little wooden pieces that spelled out MEWSINGS
and told me this would be Good Publicity.
I learned early on that Publicity Director was My
Job at Simon Teakettle Ink. Of course, as soon as she took the
picture, I swatted the tiles across the rug and one may still be
hiding somewhere!
August 10, 2013:
Friday, August 8th, was World Cat Day. So It's
fitting that we've welcomed another Cat Blogger to our Fan Club.
Cokie The Cat is the
Hollywood Insider, and blogs about the fun of living with a woman
who finds and manages the locations where movies and TV shows are
filmed. What fun that must be!
Meanwhile, I've received new photos from members of
my MEWSical Society, including
Snuggles, who demonstrated how to plan ahead to find a way under the
covers to create a sleeping nest, and Willow, drunk on catnip. See
then on the Fan Club page.
August 3, 2013:
Sometimes several things in Bobbi's life come
together in unexpected ways. One of her favorite former students from The
Latin School is Susan Haskins, producer and co-host of Theater
Talk, a weekly TV program on Thirteen/WNET (New York City's PBS
affiliate) since November 1996, and recently syndicated to other
stations across the U.S.
Looking through the program's archives, Bobbi came
across an interview with Alan Arkin, talking about working with Peter
Falk in the 1979 film, The In-Laws. The interview was aired
shortly after Falk died, in 2011. As it happens, Bobbi was the
Managing Editor of a book published that spring. Prose
to Go: Tales from a Private List included a story by Bobbi
about working with Peter Falk when she was a student at Barnard
College.
July 27, 2013:
This is my birthday week - sort of. We don't know
exactly when I was born, so Bobbi has estimated the middle of July
because I was about 12 weeks old when she found me at the Ottawa
Humane Society.
I think we should Celebrate for the entire summer.
I will have a Birthday Party in August, when the children across the
street are free.
I'm expecting several New Toys, some Treats, and
perhaps a Few Surprises. Hope that among my Gifts are a few new
members for my Fan Club!
July 20, 2013:
It seems I missed a number of Important Dates in
July! This is National Doghouse Repairs Month (!), as well as
Anti-Boredom Month. July 6 was Take Your Webmaster to Lunch Day, and
July 11 was Pet Photo Day.
So here is my latest photo, and I want to go On the
Record that I take my webmaster to lunch almost Every Day!
I was much more bored over the winter, when there
was so little see out of the windows. Now we have frequent visitors
to the bird feeder outside our office window, and I also enjoy
watching the children across the street ride their scooters and bikes
up and down.
July 13, 2013:
Here is a baby picture of one of our newest Fan
Club members. Little Mickey was found by Stacey Grande, a real
estate agent, under a bush behind a home she was listing. His eyes
were not open yet, so he must have been under two weeks old! She
took him to the vet and then hand fed him until he could eat on his
own. He lived in a plastic tub (which Stacey took everywhere
for a month) and then in a bathtub (until he could climb out). At
that point, she took him to live with her daughter in Santa Monica.
Stacey is former student of Bobbi's from The
Latin School of Chicago, whose two dogs have also joined the Fan
Club, along with Little Mikey's Russian Blue companion, Pablo.
July 6, 2013:
Welcome to our First Ferret! Debbie lives in
Toronto with four cats and a bunny, all of whom have joined the
Fan Club. She is the subject of a children's book written by
Conny Manero, who is such an animal lover that she offers a free
stuffed owl to anyone who purchases a copy!
Debbie is
the story of a ferret who moves into a high-rise condo and has to
learn, from the resident cat, Charlie, how to behave. Along
the way, the reader learns all about ferrets, who evidently like to
snitch things. If she lived here, I'd have to find new hiding places
for all my fur mice!
June 29, 2013:
This is Canada Day weekend, the official start of
Summer. I'm an Indoor Cat, so I have to find ways to amuse myself
inside, especially when there's not much to watch from my window perches.
The birds don't come to our feeders much when
there's so much else to eat, so I've been exploring last year's
birthday present, a solid tunnel with a scratching board on top.
You can me sitting beside it, looking through the
front hole. Then I'm peering through the back hole, at a toy inside.
Finally, I go inside to investigate further.
Bobbi has put a lot of Interesting Things to Play
With inside, as well as a sparkly necklace across the top, which I
was playing with last night (after she put the camera away, of course!).
I don't take any of my Fur Mice into the tunnel,
for two reasons. First, I want to be able to grab one quickly if I
feel he might run away.
Also, the tunnel is open at both ends! I hide my
mice in the den closet (where I can open the sliding doors easily)
and tuck them into corners where Bobbi doesn't see them.
June 21, 2013:
Today is Take Your Pet to Work Day. We choose
to interpret this as Put Your Pet to Work, as I spend a Lot of Time
promoting the business of Simon Teakettle Ink. Here I am, on
the bookshelf with a copy of Mewsings,
reminding Bobbi to take books with her to the final Ottawa
Independent Writers' meeting of the season.
She didn't read from our book this year, but rather
her account of meeting Peter Falk before he became famous, in Before
Columbo, one of three stories she contributed to
Prose to Go: Tales from a Private List.
Lily Fry, a member of my MEWSical
Society, also takes her job seriously. Currently, she's
promoting Patricia Fry's 38th book (and first novel!), Catnapped.
I've added this book to my Favorite
Cat Books page.
I love the idea of a kleptomaniac cat who helps
rescue other cats and meets a dog and a handsome veterinarian (the
Love Interest for her owner) along the way.
This is the first in a series of Klepto Cat mysteries.
June 15, 2013:
If I lived in California, I'd be tempted to buy the
house photographer Bob Walker and his wife Frances Mooney customized
in San Diego, California, to give their 10 cats an indoor playground.
The house has a a floor-to-ceiling scratching post and connecting
beams that allow their cats to wander and play throughout most of the
house. Read about his remarkable house at: www.thecatshouse.com.
June 8, 2013:
If you know someone who is considering adopting a
cat, here is a great article by one of our Fan Club members about why
that's a good idea. Go to: http://tinyurl.com/kyo8oor
Little Yellow, Lenny and Linus Bangs live in Maine.
Meanwhile, our newest Fan Club
member is Talbot, who lives in Florida.
June 1, 2013:
On the heels of Hug Your Cat Day we have Adopt a
Cat Month. I always like to promote cat adoptions, and want to point
out that most members of my MEWSical Society
and Fan Club are rescues.
The newest member is Jacqueline Singleton,
who came to live with her current human room-mate after her original
owner died. She has been resisting my invitations to join the Fan
Club, so the only photo we have so far is this tentative peek over
the edge of a table.
May 25, 2013:
May 30 is Hug Your Cat Day! My favorite hugs are
actually tummy-rubs combined with head scratches. That's when I purr
the loudest.
Sometimes I have to WORK to earn these. Here I am
practising my Latest Trick, touching the cup for a treat. It's taken
me a long time to learn this, because I thought that if I touched any
of the three cups, that would be Good Enough. But no, Bobbi expects
me to figure out which cup the treat is under!
May 18, 2013:
We had an earthquake this week! It didn't do any
damage, although it was felt over a wide area. I slept right through
it, because I was taking a nap on our waterbed, so didn't realize
what was going on.
But animals often predict earthquakes, and Bobbi
remembers when Tiki predicted the huge earthquake in the Far East
that caused the tsunami in December, 2004. He went down to the
basement Christmas afternoon and refused to come up, didn't eat for
48 hours (although he was drinking water and using his box), and
Bobbi thought he was sick. But he didn't have a temperature, looked
fine, didn't seem to be in pain or doing anything else out of the
ordinary except that he was "hiding."
The spot he had selected was a tub chair in the
den, which is tucked in the corner where two bearing walls meet, a
very safe spot to be if the house is going to fall down around you!
Bobbi then heard on the news that an earthquake of
that magnitude can cause a subtle "wobble" of the earth's
axis. Not enough to be perceptible to humans, but enough to
cause particularly sensitive animals to react. Before that
earthquake, most of the shore birds and other animals fled to higher
ground, and this phenomenon has been reported widely by scientists.
Tiki's experience was included in an article in Cat
Fancy in the June, 2009, issue. The article, by
Andrea Dorn, is Can Cats Predict Earthquakes?
May 11, 2013:
Happy Mother's Day! I don't remember my birth
mother, and never call Bobbi Mom because she's my employee at
Simon Teakettle Ink, not my mother!
Purebred cats do know who their mothers are, and
we've just added a purebred blue Siamese to our MEWSical
Society. His name is Merlin, and he and his pal, Domino,
live with Layla Morgan Wilde,
a holistic cat behaviorist. Layla writes the Cat
Wisdom blog, and another cat in that household has just been
selected for the AmazeCats
playing card deck. Odin was a foster cat who came to Layla
with a badly infected eye that had to be removed. He soon won
everyone's heart and became a member of the family.
See his adorable photo in our Fan Club.
May 4, 2013:
Sammy Teakettle Olson was named after Tiki,
and is a valued member of our MEWSical Society.
He recently lost his partner, Rufus, and a new sibling has
just joined the household. Mickey has
joined the Fan Club, and may audition for the
Society at some point.
Sammy is
trying to set a good example for this new guy, and we advised Lorna
& Bob to read Bobbi's award-winning article on training (see the
link directly above this blog) and also my video, which demonstrates
how well I obey.
Meanwhile, we're expecting two more cats to fill
the missing spots in the MEWSical Society very soon.
April 27, 2013:
Every so often we have to replace members of my MEWSical
Society. When a member passes over the Rainbow Bridge, he or she
is moved from the Society page to the Memorial page.
They never lose their places in the Fan Club,
however, or in any of our Virtual Productions.
We recently lost Pidgeon and BigFoot Stowe,
but are happy to welcome their replacement, Jacob, a baritone
who likes to practice vocalizing in the yard.
There are still two spots to fill, so Stay Tuned
for more new members!
April 20, 2013:
I don't think I've told you, my Faithful Followers,
that I've been learning a New Trick. You can see me, at the right,
sitting in front of a tray with three clear cups. Next, Bobbi will
put a treat under one of the cups and tell me to Touch It.
This isn't as easy as it sounds! I'm used to
touching a treat on Bobbi's hand or sitting on another surface, but
not Underneath Something.
Sometimes I forget to watch which cup she hides the
treat under, and just touch whichever is closest. This, I've learned,
isn't Good Enough.
This is a Work in Progress, and we'll continue the
saga next week!
April 13, 2013:
One of my MEWSical Society
members, Geneva, sent me this photo showing how her
house-mate, Snuggles,
monopolizes the top of their cat tree. I wish I had
this elaborate a structure in my house! It looks very comfy, with
places to sit and look out the window as well as to curl up for a nap.
I have only carpeted shelves in several of our
windows, which do provide different views of the front and back
yards. Which leads me to mention that our front yard and driveway are
covered in Snow again!
What happened to spring?
April 6, 2013:
These hugging kangaroos are among our new
Fan Club members from Australia! They join us from Gold
Coast, Queensland, with a koala, twin Birman cats, and two miniature
poodles. Another member of the Bell family, a horse named June, will
be joining us soon.
We have Willow, one of the first members of my MEWSical
Society, to thank for this. Before she let the couple she
lives with leave Edmonton on their Long Trip Down Under, she made
them promise to find some Australian fan club members.
March 31: 2013:
Happy Easter!
And Happy
Passover to our Jewish friends! As you can see, I'm holding onto my
angel bunny because I worry she could either hop out of my reach or
fly away! Since when does a bunny have wings?
Exciting news this week! We have our first
Fan Club members from Australia, and they include a koala
and two kangaroos!
March 23, 2013:
It's supposed to be spring, but I think it's the
Silly Season, because we still have so much snow outside. Instead of
sitting in the front screen door (which Bobbi refuses to open for
me), I have to amuse myself with toys like this ball that runs around
a track and a fluffy pink ball on a spring.
I suppose if I went outside, I could dig in the
snow like one of the new members of my Fan Club.
Pluskat Bulanda lives in Maryland, so she probably doesn't
see snow that often. Also, she probably needs to escape the house to
keep from being tormented by a parakeet, a miniature parrot, and a
terrier called Life of Riley.
Mrs. Doyle is Not Happy about the parrotlet,
who has learned how to pick up paper clips and drop them into a box.
But I reassured Mrs. Doyle that she could never be replaced in
the Percussion Section of my MEWSical Society.
She did insist, however, that this tiny imposter
not appear in this blog. So you have to see him on the Fan page.
March 16, 2013:
When I formed my Virtual MEWSical
Society, my intention was to have only cat members, but Mrs.
Doyle, a grey parrot who was born the same day I was, wanted to
join. I agreed, thinking she could be the girl singer.
Problem was, Mrs. Doyle couldn't sing. She preferred to
drum, with her claws or with any implement she could find.
So we ended up with 33 cats and a parrot, and
because both Mrs. Doyle and I were percussionists, we
persuaded the world famous percussion group, NEXUS,
to advise us.
Our Society membership has changed a bit, as some
of the original cats moved onto the Memorial Page
and were replaced by new members. Our group now has members from 9
countries: Canada, the U.S., the U.K., Holland, Israel, Egypt,
Greece, Malaysia and New Zealand.
Our fan club has grown to 128
cats, 60 dogs, a second parrot, 4 alpacas, a llama, a horse, a
rabbit, 2 fish, 4 hens, a robin, two ducks, a pig and a goat!
And we've added 3 more countries, Kenya, Norway and Sweden.
Our of our members, Willow, is hoping to find a fan
club member from Australia for us. Meanwhile, we're hoping to fill in
the missing states and provinces, as well as add a few more countries!
March 9, 2013:
Cats don't need clocks, so this weekend's change to
Daylight Savings Time is confusing. I like that I can still enjoy
outside views from all the windows later into the evening, but it
also means Bobbi gets up later, which delays my breakfast!
Right now, the only thing I see out of the windows
is SNOW. There's a huge pile on the front lawn, where the children
have made a great slide. And in the back, everything is white and boring.
I'm waiting patiently for the birds to return.
Meanwhile, Bobbi saved a CBS Sunday Morning “Moments of
Nature” featuring songbirds, and she replays it on the PVR
for me once a week.
The upcoming Broadway production of Truman Capote's Breakfast
at Tiffany's held an actual cat call, auditioning felines to
play the role of Holly Golightly's beloved kitty, Cat, at the
Cort Theatre. The role requires not only an animal that can
handle lights, microphones and an audience, but also one that can
cross the stage, sit, stay and exit on cue. Eight cats
auditioned live. Read about it here: http://tinyurl.com/bgndgrt
March 2, 2013:
EXCITING NEWS! The Rock Cats
who perform as part of the Acro-Cats
show have joined our fan club! They include Pinky,
the lead guitarist, Dakota, the drummer, and Nue, who plays piano and
synthesizer. Their leader is Tuna, who has appeared in several
movies. She's the mother of the other three, and was the trainer's
first cat. Before that, she owned The Rat Company: Trained Rats
for All Occasions.
February 23, 2013:
My photo at the keyboard (see above, right) won an
Honorable Mention in the You Ought to Be in Pictures contest
held by the PETroglyphs newsletter.
His photo appears on page 19 of the
March issue.
That newsletter also contained an article about
performing cats who live in Chicago. I'll be writing about The
Acro-Cats soon. We just joined their Fan Club, and hear that they
give actual performances on musical instruments, as opposed to my
Virtual MEWSical Society.
We'll have The Mystical Cat on our Cat
Book Favorites page soon, but wanted to give you a sneak preview
this week.
February 16, 2013:
Did you realize that we have some Human Advisors in
our MEWSical Society? One of them (Debra Hulley) went with Bobbi to
see a play at GCTC this week, where
another of our advisors (John
Koensgen) was one of four actors who received rave reviews. The
play was God of Carnage, and it was put on by Third
Wall Theatre, who often rents space at GCTC.
Bobbi has known John for more than 30 years, ever
since the first Simon Teakettle became a patron of GCTC.
John helped choreograph the fight scenes in our
very first Virtual Production, Peter and
the Wolf,
and was enlisted again to help teach the Pirates in Peter Pan.
You can see the entire cast
lists of both Snow White and Peter Pan,
in which our Real Parrot (Mrs. Doyle)
plays Captain Hook's parrot.
February 9, 2013:
I don't know about you, but I get pretty Bored in
when my Favorite Windows are frosted over and it's too cold outside
for the birds and squirrels I like to watch. One thing we do to
counter this is to watch TV. Last week we saw a program about
squirrels by David Suzuki. That was fun!
I see I missed National Answer Your Cat’s
Questions Day. It was in January. I have a lot of Things Humans
Do that I'd like someone to Explain. One of the most popular pieces
in Mewsings/Musings is Grow Your
Own Fur Coat, which first appeared in CATS Magazine. Tiki
(my predecessor, who was the co-author of that book) described his
scorn at how inefficient humans are in taking care of themselves.
I've gotten used to Supervising Bobbi's showers
from my perch on top of the clothes hamper. All that Water! All those
Things in Bottles! All those cloth things called Towels!
I try to do my part by washing the fur on her
Indian Mocassins.
February 2, 2013:
This is a busy weekend! It's Goundhog Day,
something I've never understood. Why should this silly animal be
credited with predicting the weather? And who could have
possibly expected the winter we've had this year?
Thank goodness it's cold enough to keep the Rideau
Canal and ice sculptures frozen for the beginning of Winterlude,
Ottawa's wonderful February festival.
But we also have to remember that February is
Responsible Pet Owners Month, which is really important, as well as
Cat Dental Health Month, which I try to ignore. Actually Bobbi puts
some liquid in my water bowl and sprays another one on my food, both
of which are supposed to keep my teeth in good shape.
I think that, with Valentine's Day coming up, I
need to point out the importance of being polite. I don't know about
other pet owners, but Bobbi always says Please, Thank-you,
and Excuse me. Who wants someone to shout at them all the time.
Who do they think we are - dogs? Cats don't come when they're called,
unless they want to. And if Bobbi says Please when she wants
me to do something, and then Thank-you afterwards, I'm much
more likely to behave.
We do have occasional problems with stools, which I
feel ought to be belong ONLY to cats. But when she says Excuse me, please,
I usually give in.
January 26, 2013:
Ottawa broke a record last week, becoming the
coldest capital in the world, with temperatures lower than Siberia,
Norway, and the Arctic! There was a frostbite warning, and I pity any
pets who go outdoors!
Here's a picture Bobbi took of my trying to peer
out of the office window, which is completely frosted over. You'll
notice, by the way, that there are wooden name decorations on the
windowsill, which Bobbi had made for Tiki and herself many years ago.
I'm waiting for someone to create a special sign saying "Terzo"
Bobbi took another picture of me on the windowsill
in the bedroom. It overlooks the back yard, where snow had piled high
on the birdhouse, and my new pink bird (a Christmas gift) is sharing
the windowsill with me.
We're waiting for three new members of the Fan Club
from Kansas. Their mom is currently visiting Darlene
and Aimee in Massachusetts, and will send photos as soon as she
returns to Wichita.
January 19, 2013:
We've just been joined by three cats from Maine!
After reaching my goal of 100 cats in the Fan Club by
the end of 2012 (we're now at 113), I've set a new goal:
filling in all the missing states. We're at 27, so are already more
than half way to 50.
Meanwhile, some of the newer members of the
MEWSical Society have sent pics of funny poses. Nemo is hiding
under the rug, and Musetta is asking for a belly rub. I like to have
my belly rubbed, too, and it's one of the only times I purr loud
enough for Bobbi to hear.
Someone wrote to us over the holidays, asking how I
justified the time and attention Bobbi gives me. She sent them the
following List:
1. I provide a Fur Rug to keep her feet warm.
2. I lick her fingers when I thinks she needs
Attention, even if she doesn't have a treat nearby.
3. I purr to let her know that Somebody Loves Her.
4. I approve of all her Choices, no matter how Weird.
5. I help her maintain Our Website and have worked
hard at getting more visitors by attracting lots of Fans.
6. I provided some neat Christmas cards for her to
send this year, by lending my Adorable Presence to the Great Canadian
Theatre Company holiday card.
January 12, 2013:
I've put off making New Year's Resolutions as long
as I could. But I just read Amy Shojai's
blog, where she suggests that The Magical-Dawg stop amputating
teddy-bear ears or stealing cat toys (which she claims results
in sparkly poop). She also wants Seren-kitty to stop
sitting on top of Amy's laptop when Amy's Actual Lap isn't available.
I may have to adopt a similar resolution, because
Bobbi just bought something called a Tablet. It's a very small
computer, and I'm hoping she bought it for me to use, and not to
compete with Yours Truly for space on Her Lap!
I do have two Actual Resolutions. One is to ask
Bobbi first before I pull any tissue paper out of gift bags under the
coffee table. It turns out the one I attacked Christmas week was not
for me, but for Someone Else. How embarrassing! (See photo
beside Dec. 29 blog entry, below).
My Second Resolution is not to lose track of any of
my Mousies. They tend to Go Missing, although Bobbi insists that I
forget that I hid them in the closet or under the guest room bed. I
decided this Particular Mouse needed my protection. As you can see, I
have Very Big Teeth to scare off any Predators.
January 5, 2013:
Mewsings/Musings is
the featured book on the Writers-Editors
site, for the first two weeks of January. The specific URL is http://bit.ly/T7sSPH.
This page includes an interview with Bobbi about
how she and Simon Teakettle II (Tiki) wrote the book, and includes
the photo of me on her lap that our friend Shannon Lee Mannion took.
Since then, I've learned how to pose for the camera!
Bobbi was also interviewed for an article in the
January issue of Canadian Health.
And she's just signed with a speaker's bureau run
by Randy Ray. One of the
presentations she'll offer to Ottawa-area audiences is called
My Cat Capsized My Career. This is the story of my predecessor,
the first Simon Teakettle, which she told on Animal Planet in
2002. It was what prompted U.S. Business Week to call me the
cat who owns the company,
and to be quoted in the MSNBC Creature Comforts column,
picked up by NBC websites in 10 major U.S. cities.
In case you missed the last few entries from 2012,
here they are:
December 29, 2012:
We're in the middle of The Twelve Days of
Christmas, so I thought I should remind you about my poem, which
appears in Mewsings/Musings, and
which caused a Lovely Lady from Fergus, Ontario, to create this
magnificent wall hanging after she heard my poem on Basic Black on
CBC radio.
You can see her name, E.P. Brown, which she added
to the centre. She created this entirely from needlepoint, with a
centre mat surrounded by 12 coasters, so it could be used when entertaining.
But Bobbi worried that it might get dirty or
damaged, so left it intact and put it on the wall of our office.
I'm happy to report that I had received Lots of New
Toys in my Christmas stocking, so I guess Santa received my letter
and decided to forgive me.
Whew! That was close. Now I have to work on New
Year's Resolutions.
December 22, 2012:
I postponed by letter to Santa this year, because I
didn't know how to explain the photo at the right. But I can't wait
any longer, so here goes:
Dear Santa: I'm a Very Good Kitty, and am almost
never Naughty. So I hope you'll understand What Happened in the
living room two weeks ago.
Bobbi had begun to put Christmas gifts under the
coffee table, and one contained Sparkly Tissue Paper that I'd never
seen before. I just couldn't resist! At first I just touched it, but
some of the Sparkles came off on my paw, so I pulled more paper out
of the bag, it began to Shred under my Claws, and you can see What
Happened after that!
I didn't mean to be Naughty, and tried to hide
the Shredded Paper under the Christmas stocking and toys I had been
given to play with earlier. But as you can see, that didn't work Very Well.
Bobbi wasn't Mad at Me, but told me I would have
to Report This Transgression to you. Meanwhile, I just read the story
about my friend, Seren Shojai, who got into Far More
Trouble in Texas when she was a kitten. It also involved Sparkles.
Read it in Amy Shojai's blog.
So, Santa Dear, I hope you won't hold this Minor
Transgression against me. Please keep in mind that I'm Very Well
Trained, praised by Amy and by noted broadcaster Steve
Dale. They both commented on how well I Behave, how I Sit Up on
command, give One Paw and then the other, and even offer Crossed
Paws. You can see all this in my Video.
I don't want an Important Gift, although one
wrapped in that Sparkly Tissue would be Most Welcome! I just want a
bag of Temptations' Treats, a bit of catnip, and a few New Toys. I
also need more of those plastic jingle balls I like to
chase.
Yours Truly, Terzo
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Here I am, celebrating
the New Year.
This photo is also in my new Perpetual Calendar.
Stanley, a member of my MEWSical
Society,
after his New Year's celebration in New York.
Searching for my present inside the bag.
Pouncing on one of the holes to reach the toy inside.
 
Spay/neuter and animal rescue groups
benefit from purchases from the
Institute for
Kitty Cat Research
Sneakers Kundurazieff
Ozzie & Kitters Kerr
Surveying Bobbi's cat pins. She needs
to get a black and white one!
Tiki's mesmerizing eyes
Terzo as a kitten, discovering his reflection.
 
My Knitt model
Terzo posing with his GCTC tote bag,
season brochure, his member card and badge.
Paige Dieterman with
her eight puppies.
Nikita Kundurazieff, who runs the
Opinionated Pussycat blog.
Three statuettes of Bastet which sit in different
spots in our living room.
Terzo learning how to play Scrabble as a kitten.
Cokie The Cat: Hollywood Insider
Stanley, asleep in tthe New York City
apartment he shares with Susan Haskins.
Stanley is a member of my MEWSical
Society,
and brought us our first member from
Malaysia.
Here I am, on my shelf in the guest room window,
beside the Capital Cats calendar Aimee Britten
created last year. My Big Mouse is on one side
of me, and Chummy, my Guard Dog, on the other.
Here I am, sitting pretty, on the back
of Bobbi's recliner. The tags on my
collar are my name tag, my microchip
tag, and my 2013 Gatineau license.
Little Mickey Robinson, eyes just open.
See him full grown on the Fan Club page.
Debbie Manero, star of her own book.
 
Talbot Wolverton, showing how to handle Florida's heat.
Is Jacqueline flirting with me?
Lily Fry, from our MEWSical
Society,
giving herself a pedicure.
Peeking out from one of my favorite
hiding places.
Domino & Merlin Morgan Wilde
Sammy Teakettle with
his new brother,
Mickey,
learning how to get along.
Jacob Stowe, perfecting
his
microphone technique
Terzo, above, and Pluskat, below:
Mrs. Doyle, perfecting her drumming skills for
my MEWSical Society:
Mrs. Doyle in the shower, preening before a
virtual performance:
Here's Nixie Rainbolt,
who just joined my fan club, playing with one of my favorite toys:
And here's Max Marano,
reaching for a toy.
He and his sister, Callie, are our first members
from New Mexico.
Some of our fan club members
are in this great new book.
Sadie Katz-Couvrette
as Nana,
the Great Pyranees protector of
the alpacas and llama who make up
the Camelid Chorus in the
MEWSical Society.
Bigfoot Stowe is a natural to play
the Crocodile
These slippers were made for Bobbi
by Violet Fiddler in Sandy
Lake.
Below, a better way to Weather a Snow
Storm: Bailey Russo reading.
Holding the baby lion, and then,
below, one of my favorite mice.
Nemo Kladnik,
hiding under the rug.
Musetta Simon
asking for a belly rub.
Seren-kitty sticking out her tongue,
and Yours Truly, showing mine.
Charlie Miccio, lives
in Felton, Delaware, with
five Tibetan spaniels.
Gabby Si Kucing Gedikz,
who lives in Malaysia.
We have our first member of my MEWSical
Society from Malaysia! Gabby is also our first Malaysian
fan club member, bringing the number of countries
to eleven, on five continents!
Gabby send this PURRsuasive audition photo,
hoping to snag a spot on the newly-revised Society
page. A photo of Gabby stretched out on the balcony
of his apartment in Kuala Lumpur is on the Fan page.
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