Tired Kitty

Ode to a Tired, Overworked Cat

We love Finn

And he loves our bed...

(Not So) Smelly Cat

We truly use the best cat litter ever.  It is called Feline Pine and is completely natural, made only of pine shavings left over from lumber production.  It comes in pellet form, and when exposed to moisture it turns into a powder.  We recently bought this litter box  which is designed so that the powder simply falls through to the lower box and results in a less wasteful use of new pellets.  If we had a yard, we could also use the used litter as mulch or in composting!  The litter is also really good at absorbing odors, so that our litter box smells like pine trees!  No smelly cats for us!

Scaredy Cat

When we brought Finn to the Vet, he had some major anxiety about the whole experience.  We'd never seen him that scared!  He assumed what I've read is the classic "fear" pose -- crouched, protecting his tail by tucking it underneath him, and ready to run.

When the vet actually examined him, he made a low-pitched growling sound...kind of like how I imagine a lion or tiger would sound just before it was going to attack me...

Cat Idioms

Cats are mentioned in many sayings...here are a few:

"The models are about to come down the catwalk!"
--  meaning:  a word referring to runways at fashion shows
--  cats are really good at balancing on narrow walkways






"It's raining cats and dogs out there!"
--  meaning: it's raining very hard
--  unclear origin



"A cat in gloves catches no mice." (Ben Franklin, Poor Richard's Almanac)
--  meaning: you can't accomplish some goals if you're polite and careful

"Cat's cradle"
--  a game of string
--  also the name of a book by Kurt Vonnegut
--  apparently, Europeans in the olden times thought that cats were good omens of fertility.  If and when fertility rites were performed, a cat was placed in a hammock-like cradle and rocked back and forth in the couple's house




"She's like a cat on a hot tin roof"
--  meaning: she's jumpy
--  title of Tennessee Williams' play
--  derived from the similar phrase "nimble as a cat on a hot bake-stone"






"Copycat"
--  apparently referring to the fact that kittens learn by imitating their mother's behavior









"Scaredy-cat!"
--  supposedly referring to the fact that cats won't stand up to dogs but will instead stand down





"That's another breed of cat."  
--  meaning: something different from anything else

"Cat got your tongue?"  
--  meaning: why aren't you talking?
--  Thought to have originated from an ancient middle eastern practice of cutting out a liar's tongue as punishment, and feeding it to the king's cat as food










"I'm going to take a catnap"
--  meaning:  to take a short nap
--  probably refers to the fact that cats nap all day!


"Stop pussyfooting around"
--  meaning:  stop avoiding the topic
--  referring to the fact that cats are stealthy and sneaky when they hunt and chase their prey







"Look what the cat dragged in"
--  probably referring to the fact that cats bring home prey that are tattered because they "play" with them before killing them








"She says such catty things about her boss!"
--  meaning:  usually referring to a woman who gossips about other women
--  a man once wrote that "a woman hath nine lives like a cat," which may be the origin of this phrase

"There's more than one way to skin a cat"
--  meaning:  there is more than one way to accomplish something
--  the 'cat' refers to a catfish (which is named because of its whiskers)




"The cat's out of the bag"
--  in medieval England piglet vendors would sell the piglets in bags so they could be taken home; however, some vendors would try to cheat their buyers by putting a large cat in the bag instead!  Only if someone actually looked in the bag was the secret revealed...


Can you think of any others?

Soft Kitty, Warm Kitty, Happy Kitty, Sleepy Kitty

Please play the below video while you meditate on how adorable this picture is.

The World As A Cat Sees It

Yep, that's about right...