Cold-Shoulder Cat Totally Loves Me

I just returned from my whirlwind trip to the Sunshine State, and enjoyed visiting a variety of super-swell felines during my stay. I'm not gonna lie: cats like me. I think they sense my 24-7 kitty-brain-wave vibes ... or else they smell the residual odor of treats in my pockets. Whatever the case, I am a friend to cats of the world. One day I'd like to travel the world and hug all the cats. Not in that eHarmony crying-catlady sort of way, but in a much cooler, hip kind of way. It'd be all kinds of magical and maybe I'd cry. OK, maybe I would be a little but like the eHarmony lady.

Whatever.

Cosmo-not Cosmo

So while staying with a friend in Tampa, I had the pleasure of meeting a cat named Theo. I can't say he initially shared the pleasure in our meeting, but he came around. I've known about Theo for a while because he lives with a Texts from Mittens reader and she posts pics of him on the Mittens Facebook page. He looks similar to my Cosmo, who is the light of my very existence. So of course I went into the relationship with a little extra kitty-love in my heart.

Look how much Theo LOVES me. LOOK!

#coldshoulder

He totally loves me.

Oh, Theo is featured in this week's Texts from Mittens storyline -- take a look-see!

My Florida Panthers

I'm in Florida this week for a couple of Texts from Mittens book-signings. The bonus is that I get to stay with my family and enjoy a bit of a vacation. The bonus-bonus is I get to hang out with my three feline nephews.

The boyz.

My sister and her family adopt black cats, and her current fuzzy brood includes:

Bowser, the older gentleman, is exquisitely majestic. He's a total panther! When I look at him, I totally get why Egyptians worshipped cats ... and why we still do.

The majesty -- can you feel it?

Mojo is a wide-eyed loverboy who I just want to squeeze all the time. Can you stand it? I can't.

Mojo has mojo.

Jinx is my sister's baby. He's her Velcro cat, and is by her side whenever he gets the chance. He has a tiny head and a large body, but we think that only adds to his handsome appeal.

Huffable belly ready 4 U. 

I miss my kitties so much, but at least I get to have my kitty fix with my trio of Florida panthers.

Two Out of Three Cats Approve of Me

When I was in New York City last week, I stayed with my good friend Tamar of I Have Cat. Do you read her blog? You should -- that's a fact.

Of course, I spent a more-than-fair amount of time with her three cats, Kip, Haddie, and Petie. Two of the kitties were happy to share space with me, and one immediately offered me an eviction notice with his eyeballs.

Here are some photos illustrating my experiences with the three urban pussycats.

Kip gives me the old cheek smooch.

Sweet Haddie goes nose-to-nose with me.

Petie? Well, you get the picture.

Texas Cat Rump

Last weekend I was in Texas for a couple of Texts from Mittens events, and stayed with my longtime friend. She lives with two cats -- because what friend of mine wouldn't be owned by a cat or 12?

Miles is a sturdy tabby with oodles of personality. He often sat with his striped rump sticking out from behind the window blinds. He'd watch birds and whatever struck his feline fancy. Whenever I saw him loafed in that position, I couldn't help but laugh, and had to snap a pic.

I give you, Rump-o-Miles!

Cat Internet Festival and Lil BUB: How I Was Swept into a Catnado

Last week was a total catnado, but in a totally great way -- not in the way that cats were falling from the sky and chomping people. This catnado landed at the 2014 Internet Cat Video Festival in Minneapolis, and then jumped to the Feline Rescue fundraiser staring the one-and-only Lil BUB!

So many cool T-shirts!

The video festival is in my city, and it's the original one ... that means it's in my backyard and it's extra-super-cool. I was chosen as a juror again this year, so it was fun to see which ones made it to the reel and which one was picked to receive the glorious Golden Kitty award (it was this video)!

Catified!

As usual, the people-watching was spectacular and the attendees seemed to be elated just to be in the company of other feline fanciers. Cat lovers tend to connect most often online, so to be in a group of close to 10,000 all at once was pure nirvana.

With my friend Kelley from Feline Rescue

My friends at Feline Rescue had a booth again this year, and -- surprise -- the Cat Engineer guys stopped to take photos with their adoring fans. Have you seen their cat-yodeling video? You must!

What the AWESOME?

I ran into some blogger friends as well. It's always a treat to see Joanne from Tiniest Tiger, Paris from CatTipper/DogTipper, Debbie from Glogirly and Alana from Cat in the Fridge. Speaking of Alana, her team from CATastrophes (recently picked up by Animalist.com) was there interviewing kitty-cat devotees about their cat's super power ... if they had one besides their obvious awesomeness.

Alana, me, Joanne and Paris

The hour-long reel was well worth the wait, and it was absolutely insane (in the best possible way) to sit among thousands of other cat lovers and laugh, smile and "awwww!" together. I think we generated enough positive energy to keep the whole city of Minneapolis lit up for at least a few days. Hey -- that was our super power!

A powerful crowd!

The next day, my husband and I volunteered to help at the Feline Rescue fundraiser, which included a meet-and-greet with Lil BUB herself! The event was ticketed and limited to 200 participants because Mike Bridavsky is a top-notch guy and looks after BUB's well-being -- even the magical BUB can only take so much activity. Have I mentioned how great of a guy Mike is?

Look how CUTE she is! Yay, us!

The money from from the fundraiser was split in half between Feline Rescue and BUB's fund (which benefits animals with special needs) and people were excited and more than willing to donate in exchange for a photo (and perhaps a little top-of-the-head kiss) with the little sweetheart.

She signed it all by herself. Kidding.

My husband John helped by keeping the line moving and taking BUB photos of the participants using their own cameras. And that guy did a bang-up job! He squatted, chatted and snapped photos for over three hours. He said it was all worth it to be able to see the joy on everyone's faces as they interacted with the famous cat.

My favorite cat guy.

Overall, it was two days of complete craziness and pure elation; however at the end of it all, I fell into bed feeling a little catatonic (haha).

If you weren't able to make the fundraiser, and would like to help Feline Rescue, take a look at their donation page and wish list. Something as simple as paper towels or plastic bags will make a huge difference in their day-to-day operation. 

Scrabble Cat Kicks My Butt

Last week I played Scrabble with my friend Katy. Her giant black panther, Gorilla, jumped in when she got up to do something. Even though he challenged every single work I placed, and tried to swat my letters off the board, he was a formidable player.

Kitten Leg-Dangles for Everyone!

If you read Catladyland regularly, you know I'm a major sucker for a kitty leg-dangle. This weekend I ran across this photo of my friend's kitten Miles and the kitten-sized leg dangle made my heart go pitty-pat. I want to share because what better way to start the week? I mean, seriously!

Kitten leg-dangles for everyone!

More Miles the Kitten!

Sick of me posting about my friend's kitten, Miles? Too bad for you because here's an adorable Vine of him chasing his little tail. He does this ALL the time and I just can't stand it!!

This Cat is a Crazed Little Candy Striper

This week I'm visiting my friend in Texas. She has a 6-month-old kitten named Miles and he is a busy little bee. My cats are all seniors now, and I totally forget how crazy kittens can be ... and then they collapse into serious hard sleep.

He's very snuggly and always wants to be in my lap. Poor me, huh?

And the belly! Always with the belly!

My friend has an injured hen she's rehabilitating and Miles wants to be the nurse ... or something. I think he'd be better suited as a candy striper. Striper ... get it? Ha.

Reunited With Cleavage-Cat

Last weekend I stayed with some good friends in Des Moines while I was in town for a whiskerslist book-signing. Their cat Tate is one of my all-time favorite felines. He's sweet, moderately cuddly (with me, anyway) and has the cutest scratchy meow. Not only am I enamored by Tate, he and I have a special connection. We're together one one of the pages of whiskerslist. Well, I suppose I should say my cleavage is together with him. He's nestled against my freckled cleavage on page 192 of the book.

Want to see? Buy the book. My awesome cleavage (haha) is well worth the $12.95.

Tate is remembering my cleavage.

Black Cats are Bad Luck? What a Bunch of Hooey!

You'd think in this day and age, when humans are supposed to be more educated, the whole myth surrounding black cats and bad luck would be eradicated. Not so. In fact, these beautiful house panthers are often overlooked at shelters. What's up with that?

There are all sorts of ancient tales of black cats being the source of rotten luck, dating as far back as Hebrew and Babylonian mythology. In the Middle Ages, Germans believed a black cat was an omen of death if he jumped on an ill person. The craziness bled over to the United States, where these cats were considered part devil and associated with witchcraft and sorcery. Thankfully, much of this nonsense has gone by the wayside. To read more about the ridiculous insanity surrounding black cats, click here.

My Cosmo is angry about black cat discrimination!

Black cats aren't considered bad luck in all parts of the world. In fact, some places consider these sleek kitties to be quite fortunate.  Ancient Egyptians treated them as royalty! In Scotland, Britain and France, black cats are thought to bring prosperity and luck. I'm a believer that cats of any sort bring all kinds of luck, including black ones!

Jinx and Mojo, my sister's beautiful babies.

My sister only adopts black cats. She is aware of the stigma and has always felt she could do her part by bringing these babies into her home. She now shares her house with three black cats, including a new baby named Jinx.

My friend Katy is mom to one of my all-time favorite cats. His name is Gorilla and he's a total hoot! He's massive and unwittingly poses for the most hilarious photos. Or maybe he knows he's awesome and wants to flaunt it.

Gorilla strikes a pose.

Shelters are getting creative with trying increase black cat adoption rates. They sometimes offer reduced fees and hire professional photographers to take photos of these gorgeous creatures.

If you're looking to adopt a cat, please consider bringing a black cat into your home. I promise your luck will increase tenfold!

Wordless Wednesday: Face Off

Cutest Cat Pic Ever? Not.

This happens to me all the time. I see the cuteness happen and (miracle) I have a camera at the ready. I aim to capture the cuteness -- and am pretty confident I did -- and then I see a blurry mess. Sigh. I'm pretty sure it's the cat's fault.

Cats of Yore and the Evolution of My Awesome Hair

I've made the acquaintance of many fine felines over the years -- some with which I've shared my home and with others, I've enjoyed a passing friendship. I was recently digging through some old photos and ran across a couple of good ones that brought back memories of great cats and the evolution of my awesome hair.

1. Apartment complex guy

My first year in college, I lived in an apartment complex across the street from my school. I always saw this little guy running around and loved on him when I could. I fed him when he came around and that's probably why he kept coming around. Either that or he fancied my Flock-of-Seagulls haircut. C'mon -- you had to love the 80's and all its Aqua-Netty glory. That cat was a doll.

2. Daphne, the 5th roommate

In my second year of college, a few things changed. I moved into a house with four friends, I let my hair grow out and I adopted the first cat that was all mine. Her name was Daphne and I bought her a cute pearl collar with a fancy little jingle ball attached to it. Bless her heart, she lived amidst such chaos. There were always people in and out and the place wasn't especially tidy. She did not, however, lack any sort of love or attention. Or exposure to Depeche Mode albums.

3. Dobie, the first child

A few years later, all the cheap hair color had completely left my hair and I met and married my now-husband. And guess what? We were soon expecting our first child! He was a foster cat named Dobie and he loved to play fetch with a little plastic boomerang we received from the bottom of a Cap'n Crunch cereal box. Hey -- we were young and poor and ate lots of crappy cereal. He was a behemoth of a cat and -- believe me -- you wouldn't want to wake up with him sleeping on your chest. "Am I having a heart attack?? No, that's just my cat."

Do you have any fun memories of your first cats? Or your hair?

Wordless Wednesday: I Love a Cat in Uniform

Fetch Me My Finest Ruffled Cat Dickey!

Yesterday at BlogPaws, this happened:

Sir Brighton of Curlz and Swirlz

BlogPaws Means I Get To Meet New Kitten Friends -- Real Ones

Today I'm forgoing the typical Friday Fanglish post to show you a couple of cute kitty babies I've met at BlogPaws, the annual pet blogging conference that's one of the highlights of my year.

This is Odilia, the little blind kitten my blogging friend Connie of the Tails From the Foster Kittens blog. She was so teeny and totally feisty! Cats really are badass -- even tiny ones with special needs.

And then I met Triscuit, another foster who we all loved on in one of the workshops. She was so docile and completely adorable. 

There are definitely a TON more dogs here at this conference, and that makes sense. My cats could totally freak out if I carried them to a hotel in another state. But some cats are good travelers and I'm just glad to have made the acquaintance of these two cuties.

Oh, and the cherries jubilee over ice cream was divine last night.

Happy BlogPaws, everyone! And thank you to Purina for sponsoring my trip!

Hector the Cat Loves Me ... I Think

Last week I visited my friend Nicky in Texas and, as a bonus, got to spend time with one of my all-time favorite cats, Hector. He was very excited to see me, as you can see in the below photos. He's a tough fella who lost a front fang in a fight with his roommate and he also chases dogs off his property. I heart Hector.

"Welcome to Texas."

"Now go away."

Black Cat Friday: No Line!

Photo courtesy of my friend, Katy and her bossy black cat, Gorilla.

Texas: Where Even the Cats are Big

This week I am in Texas visiting my friend Nicky, whom also happens to be the author of the very funny blog, Mew Brew. Nicky and I have been close friends since college and have always shared the love of cats.  Her cat Hector (also the star of her blog) is one of my all-time favorite felines. When I arrived and embraced him, I'd forgotten about his ginormous size...he's one juicy tomato! I'm not talking fat, folks; he's just a big fella!

I love how Hector always looks a little bit pissed off. I was petting him this morning and he was purring like crazy, yet his facial expression was one of, "I really can't be bothered by all this nonsense." He has one paw in the world of Love Me, Love Me, Pet Me and the other paw in You Disgust Me, Go Away. But I suppose many (most) cats are like that, right? I think it's his facial beauty mark that gives him that little something extra.

Anyhoo...please enjoy a few pictures of Hector the Ginormous Cat from Texas (where everything is big).

Pet Me!!!

Now go away.

Hector rises above the human child shenanigry.

Oh Hector, I adore you.