Cat Got Your Tongue?

Cat's tongues -- have you ever seen 'em?  I was startled the other day when Finn licked my hand after he finished his treat.  When dogs lick me, they leave a pool of saliva in their wake.  Finn's lick left my hand dry and exfoliated!

It turns out that cats can spend so much time grooming because they have a special tongue made solely for that task.  Cats tongues have spikes made of tough keratin that point towards their throat -- that way, when they lick their fur, their tongue acts as a comb!  It's also why cats so often get hairballs -- instead of matting their fur, their tongues pull loose hairs out which are inadvertently swallowed...

Hiding spots

Finn has a number of places he likes to explore which end up being pretty good hiding spots:

1. The Plastic Bag

2.  The Box

 


3.  The Tube

 

4. The Paper Bag

Yes, we actually have a cat

We have heard an odd question --

"Do you actually have a cat, or is this a farce?"

Yes, we actually have a cat.  We are not usually in the photos because Finn is way cuter than either of us, but here are our portraits with Finn, who has taken to lying on the top edge of the couch recently:

Sugar High

On Monday, I made a carrot cake from scratch for a dinner party.  Once everyone left and Dean and I were cleaning in the kitchen, I walked in on Finn with his face in the cake!  You may be able to see the licked icing on the left side of the cake.

Needless to say, Finn got a little crazy after that.

Watch the video below to see Finn jumping around.

All In A Day's Work

I've always thought I wanted a cat.  It turns out I forgot one tiny little word...

I want to BE a cat.

I like lying around and having people feed me and clean up after me.  I love balls of yarn.  I like doing things on my own terms.

But really, I think it is the daily schedule that clinches it for me.  Here is an estimate of what my schedule will be starting on July 1, and Finn's schedule, based on numbers I've seen online and in real life.

A Cat's Day

A Human's Day

Wouldn't it be nice to spend 2/3 of your day napping?

Dogs Versus Cats, Part deux

As a follow up to yesterdays post...

Dogs Versus Cats

I did not think this up, but I'm glad to pass it along:

DOG DIARY

8:00 am - Dog food! My favorite thing!
9:30 am - A car ride! My favorite thing!
9:40 am - A walk in the park! My favorite thing!
10:30 am - Got rubbed and petted! My favorite thing!
12:00 pm - Lunch! My favorite thing!
1:00 pm - Played in the yard! My favorite thing!
3:00 pm - Wagged my tail! My favorite thing!
5:00 pm - Milk

CAT DIARY

Day 983 of my captivity. My captors continue to taunt me with bizarre little dangling objects. They dine lavishly on fresh meat, while the other inmates and I are fed hash or some sort of dry nuggets.

Although I make my contempt for the rations perfectly clear, I nevertheless must eat something in order to keep up my strength. The only thing that keeps me going is my dream of escape. In an attempt to disgust them, I once again vomit on the carpet. Today I decapitated a mouse and dropped its headless body at their feet. I had hoped this would strike fear into their hearts, since it clearly demonstrates what I am capable of. However, they merely made condescending comments about what a 'good little hunter' I am.

There was some sort of assembly of their accomplices tonight. I was placed in solitary confinement for the duration of the event. However, I could hear the noises and smell the food. I overheard that my confinement was due to the power of 'allergies.' I must learn what this means, and how to use it to my advantage.

This morning I was almost successful in an attempt to assassinate one of my tormentors by weaving around his feet as he was walking. I must try this again tomorrow-- but at the top of the stairs.

I am convinced that the other prisoners here are flunkies and snitches. The dog receives special privileges. He is regularly released - and seems to be more than willing to return. He is obviously retarded. The bird has got to be an informant. I observe him communicate with the guards regularly . I am certain that he reports my every move. My captors have arranged protective custody for him in an elevated cell, so he is safe. For now...

Cat

Cat Eyes

If you've been in close contact with a cat before, you may have noticed that their eyes are not like yours.  Wondering what I'm talking about?

Dilated pupils

Constricted pupils

Dilated pupil

Constricted pupil

For one thing, cat pupils can dilate way more than human pupils can.  And when their pupils do constrict, cat eyes constrict into vertical slits whereas human ones constrict into pinpoints.

But why?

It turns out that cats are naturally more active at dawn, dusk and nighttime and therefore need to be able to see well with very little light.  But on sunny days, they have to be able to protect their retina and shut their pupil as tight as possible!  In humans, the ciliary muscle in the eye is circular, but cats have two ciliary muscles that act as shutters.

In addition to dilating their pupils so that the iris is barely visible, cat eyes have a layer of reflective tissue behind the retina to allow light that passes the retina to be reflected back to the sensory cells.  Have you ever taken a picture of a cat?  The flash makes their eyes look something like this:

Creepy eyes

Now, you may have heard of Cat Eye Syndrome...it is a triplication or quadrupling of part of chromosome 22 in humans which leads to an abnormal development of the iris such that there is an abnormally shaped pupil, often making it look like a keyhole:

Depending on the severity of the chromosomal abnormality, those with the syndrome can also have abnormalities in the development of their heart, kidneys, facial bones, and even the brain.

You might be wondering why there aren't any pictures of Finn in this post.  He rarely has his eyes open  because he naps a LOT:

Play Time!

Today we see some of Finn's favorite toys!

Catnip Mouse

This toy is filled with catnip, a plant which most cats go nuts over...This is a toy that Finn loves playing with on his own.  See the video below to see what I'm talking about!

          

Ostrich Feathered Wand

This wand allows for assorted toys to be snapped on and off the stick.  Finn enjoys stalking the toy and pouncing when we least expect him to!  See the photos below for a play-by-play of a typical stalking episode:

 

Plush Microbe Toy

A friend gave this as a gag gift to Alex one year, but Finn has taken a liking to it!  The toy is about the size of Finn's head, though, so it makes for some pretty silly scenes.

Toilet Paper Roll

  

Yep, Finn actually does occasionally play with empty toilet paper rolls...Easily amused, I suppose...

Whew!  After all that playing, Finn needs a nap!

Magnum, P.I.

The ASPCA has some method of identifying the personalities of cats by observing their behavior.  The idea is that these "feline-alities" can be used to match potential cat owners to the kind of pet they are looking for.

Feline-ality: Studious

After filling out a brief questionnaire, we were told that we were looking for:

Sidekick
Like all sidekicks, I'm just plain good company. I like attention, and I also like my solitude. I don't go looking for trouble, but I'm no scaredy-cat, either. If you are looking for a steady companion to travel with you on the road of life, look no further.


We saw a couple of sidekick cats, but they all seemed shy and even aloof...At first we thought it was that they didn't like us.  But when Finn came up to us and was appearing to enjoy interacting with us, the volunteer who was helping us read the following from his file:

Private Investigator
I'm working undercover to keep an eye on you and your household. You may not even know you're under surveillance. I can vanish into thin air if anyone or anything interferes with my investigation. If you need a cat who knows how to stay out of trouble and will always keep your secrets, I just might take your case.

The volunteer had seemed to imply that sidekicks were the kinds of animals who would follow us around, wanting to play and providing companionship, whereas the private investigators wanted to be on their own and would always be watching you, but from a distance.

After two days with Finn, we're pretty sure that his P.I. I.D. was totally bogus.  He is constantly following us from room to room, lying near us, and meowing when we're out of sight.  Don't get me wrong, he's no lap cat.  But he is much more of a companion that we would have expected had we taken the quiz results seriously.

That being said, last night he had a private investigator moment:

Where's Waldo?

What's in a name?

So how did we get from Marcus to Finn?

We knew we didn't want Marcus as a name for our cat -- we just didn't like it!

After juggling many potential names inspired by books, TV, history, and simple silliness, we settled on Finn for a bunch of reasons.  See below for some reasons why this name is fitting:

-Finn is Gaelic for "fair," and he does have a beautiful sandy color that is rare
-Speaking of his sandy color, we tried to think of a beachy name for Finn, and we couldn't help but smile when we realized that oceans are filled with fish and that fish have fins...har har
-Many have declared that it is impossible to summarize James Joyce's novel, Finnegans Wake, and we find our kitty just as enigmatic and confusing as the book!
-Odafin 'Fin' Tutuola is a detective played by Ice-T on the hit series (and a Dean & Alex favorite) Law & Order: SVU
-As a budding neurologist, one of Alex's favorite famous case studies is Phineas Gage

Meet Finn

Finn is a darling cat we have adopted from the ASPCA shelter in New York City (though his name at the shelter was Marcus).  We literally saw every cat available, and played with seven before we decided on Finn...Some were extremely shy, others begged for us to take them home (see: Flakes, an adorable cat except she was a little older than we were looking for).  When we walked into Finn's "quiet" social room, he was asleep with his head at a funny angle, but he noticed Dean and decided to come over and see us.  Finn immediately responded to Dean petting his head, and he appeared calm and thoughtful.  We decided to take him home, filled out the appropriate paperwork, and bought some last-minute supplies for our apartment!

We took a cab from the Upper East Side to Washington Heights.  The cab driver was more than a little surprised when we brought a meowing cardboard crate into the back seat of the vehicle, but he did his best to speed all the way home so that Finn would stop crying as soon as possible.

Once home, we opened the crate and let him out!

This blog will hopefully consist of daily posts with some pictures of Finn along with some factoids and metaphorical "snapshots" of our cutie.  Comments welcome!