All Wigged Out for Halloween!!

Happy Halloween from the Bailey cats of Catladyland!

Saffy

Phoebe

Cosmo

And Happy Halloween from me too!!  Hope you have a spook-tacular day, my friends!

Shameful Negotiations at the Vent

Now I give you the much-anticipated, always painful, next installment of "Will Cosmo Ever Learn?"

Reason #9039489583084

Why it's Great to be a Cat

Reason #9039489583084

On chilly days, cats can warm their toes at a heating vent.

Wait a minute.... remember this post? 

Although, cats look much cuter and their backs don't ache from lying in strange positions...

 Why it's Great to be a Human

Reason #56545646

Ice packs and heating pads

Cosmo's Revenge

Wordless Wednesday and Something Cool!

That's the wordless part and now comes the wordy portion (aka the "something cool").  Last week, Catladyland was the Featured Blog on the About.com: Cats blog!  Franny wrote such a nice review for which I am grateful. What an honor and a treat!  If you've never visited this blog, you really should...and then follow it.  She writes about health and behavior issues, breeds, and fun features as well.  She's a very knowledgeable and super-nice cat lover!

Oh, and you'll love this: You can "show off your personal cat blog" on About.com: Cats.  Just answer a few interview questions and submit!  So many Catladyland readers are also devoted and talented cat bloggers -- this is an opportunity to get the word out about your cat blog!  You can take a look at my page here.

Have a fantastic Wednesday -- laugh a lot, kiss some cats, and eat the frosting before the cake.  And hey -- wear your silly pants for a while today.  Life's too short to be serious all the time, right?  Of course I'm right.

Please Pass the Frosting

Aside from being a cat person, I'm also what I'd consider a people person.  Mostly...when they're nice, anyway.  I love learning odd and quirky things about my friends; this is probably because it make me feel better about my own bizarre behavior.  In general, I think that cat people are peculiar in the best way possible.  With this in mind, I thought I'd share five of my (questionably) endearing quirks with you.  In return, please respond with something odd or interesting about yourself.  It'll be some good, freaky fun!

• I love cake frosting.  When I eat cake, I usually eat the cake part first and save the frosting for last.  I could eat have eaten an entire bowl of frosting in a sitting.  The same goes for chocolate chip cookie dough.  I'm defenseless against its sugary seduction.

• Those of you that are regular readers know that I have sort of a disturbingly vivid imagination.  I often picture my cats doing human things (especially in public) and think about how people would react to the silly situations.  Yesterday I was at the grocery store and immediately thought how funny it would be if one of my cats were sitting like a toddler in the seat of the shopping cart...you know, all strapped in, legs through the holes, wearing some denim overalls and a cute little red-checked shirt.  I think I may have started giggling as the scenario popped into my head.  This is me...all...day...long.  My husband is accepting condolences.  I'm accepting frosting.

• I'm a giant baby when it comes to scary movies and haunted houses.  Can't, won't, nope....

• I like to read the thesaurus.  I own two large ones, a pocket-sized one, and I have the website at the top of my bookmarks.  I'm a word nerd.  Lexicon lover. Vocabulary maniac. Jargon aficionado.

• Cosmo the cat joins me in the bathroom when I shower.  Many times, I make up songs and sing to him while I am showering.  He sits between the curtain and the liner and bats at me while I serenade him.  I'm pretty sure that means he loves my songs.  Pretty sure.

So there's a little peek into Angie's brain.  Still with me?  There's plenty more where that came from, but I promised to only embarrass my kids a little at a time.  I wonder if the cats are embarrassed by my strange thoughts and behavior?  Phoebe?

Good.  I don't want to lose my edge...  Now, what's one of your fabulous quirks?  Can you see me leaning in?  Do tell...

Experiment Time!

My cats are pretty smart, but every once in a while I like to challenge them with brainteasers.  Today's experiment: Can my cats sniff out the real bag of cat treats?  Their choices include a box of Trader Joe's whole wheat cous cous, a bag of Temptations chicken-flavored cat treats (those are the real ones...shhhhh...), and a fortune cookie from China Panda restaurant.

The lineup...

The inspections begin...

They solved the brainteaser in typical fashion:  Cosmo and Saffy do all the work and Phoebe takes the credit.  Who's the smart fortune cookie?

Shame...with a Side of Giblets

Cosmo is ashamed of his fowl thoughts....

Cosmo Visits Phoebeland

I invite you to sit back and enjoy another installment of "Cosmo Visits Phoebeland," or as I like to call it, "Will He Ever Learn?" 

Will Cosmo ever see the inside of the cool box?  Will Phoebe relinquish her role as captain of Kitty Command?  I think we all know the answers to both of these questions.

I'm Doing it Wrong??

I often write about the reasons I'd like to be a cat.  Let me preface the next statement by saying that all of the previously mentioned feline-envy comments are true, I've just been pondering a little further on the topic of cat culture.  Sorry, feline friends -- I'm a cat fancier, through-and-through; however, I just decided that maybe I haven't considered the full scope of the situation. Maybe being a cat really isn't "all that."  And I'm really only talking about one particular topic.

I didn't feel tip-top yesterday so I napped on the sofa in the afternoon, curled up in bed at 7pm, and slept for nearly ten hours.  My back hurts!  How in the world does one marathon-sleep like a cat and wake up feeling refreshed?  Maybe it's just me...after all, I did turn 40 this year.

Seriously... when I climbed out of bed this morning, I hobbled across the bedroom floor and I think I even said "ouch!"  Maybe I should learn those post-sleep cat stretches.

Even now, when I turn my neck to the left, it stops before my chin reaches my shoulder and there's a quick, sharp pain and a popcorn-popping noise.  I've never heard popcorn noises coming from my cats.  Maybe I should try a different sleeping position.

Yeah, although I definitely would love more play time and less responsibility, I don't think my body agrees with the whole epic-nap scene.  My cats would probably have something different to say:

Deep Thoughts Thursday

Cats are thinkers.  Based on the cat's generally detached demeanor, one might assume his train of thought goes something like this: food-sleep-butt lick-sleep-food-jingle mouse-poop-nap-catnip cigar-butt lick-sleep.  Based on recent interviews with my cats, I am here to report that we are wrong. There's a flood of feline philosophic pondering percolating between those cute little pointy ears.

Phoebe foresees...

Cosmo contemplates....

Saffy speculates...

In short:  If we think we know exactly what our cats are really thinking... Wait.  I think I need to stop right there.  There's no answer that makes us humans appear particularly intelligent.

Wordless Wednesday: The Battle for Stolen-Sweater Mountain

Reason #8494539459

Why It's Great To Be a Cat: 

Reason #8494539459

Cats are (mostly) great at hiding

Kitten-Therapy: You're Hired!

You know what even the sourest puss can't resist?  A kitten.  Seriously, have you ever held a kitten and scowled?  No way!  Cradling a soft, tiny kitten is some of the best happy-therapy I can imagine.  In fact, I think that a serious session of kitten-cuddling could transform even the most famous cranky-pants characters.

"Your chicken is tasteless and under-cooked, but you'll do better next time.  Now get over here for a hug and a piece of Tiramisu!"

"You're hired!  Kittens and ice cream sandwiches for everyone!"

"Your screeching Karaoke performance reminds me of my mewing kitten, Marshmallow.  See you in Hollywood!"

Cute kittens: changing the world, one cold heart at a time...

No Wonder She's Always Tired!

Sunday is an extraordinarily busy day for Phoebe.  She rolls out of bed before the sun rises and begins her meticulously-planned routine.

First, I receive a scolding for taking her photo before she's had her morning coffee -- I completely understand.

Next, she brushes her teeth (coffee breath is just the worst, isn't it?)

Then, she whips up some catnip pancakes.

Who doesn't need a nap after pancakes?

She checks her e-Bay bid on those cute little pink Ugg boots she's had her eye on...

Then, on to a bit of laundry

Throw some dinner in the oven...

Time to sleep again?  Darn.

There were a few more naps in-between the naps, but I didn't want to make her appear lazy or anything...