Talking Kitties

Studio Cat

Nina chillin' with Saint John Chrysostom at my drawing table.

Charley Harper

It's been a while since my last post. Here's something just to fill the gap. Charley Harper was a fantastic American nature illustrator. The book Golden Biology has his celebrated illustration in it, and sells on ebay for as high as $799.

P is for Puff

Found this fabulous ball o' fur on my way home from a friend's party early this morning. I couldn't resist his puffy, fluffy cuteness and immediately picked him up. I'll call him P-kitty.

Christian the Lion

Thanks to Ade for this.

Follow-me Nora

A few walks ago, I made friends with a little black and white cat on Agricola. Let's call her Nora. If she's a he, then he would be Nordberg. But Nora it is for now.

Tonight, Nora followed my friend and I all the way home. She meowed like a yodeler by the time she'd followed me all the way to my street.

It was sad, because it's cold outside tonight, and she's so far from her home. I couldn't take her inside because maybe she'd like it and never go back home to her mum.

Go home, Nora. Go home!

This is not a cat, it's a cow!

yahoo.com was showing off this fatty mc fatterson.

9th Ave Pet Shop

These are near my work, I love walking by and seeing how the little kittens are. Sometimes they are FIGHTING.

And remember this guy?



I saw him last night in Times Square and he didn't have his cats anymore! He said the city had taken them away from him. "Do you have any big bills, so I can get some more cats?"

a facebook profile picture

This is Nolan. You might remember his cat the Mennonite.
I just thought this picture was hilarious.

spooking the cat on halloween

This is Johnny Smalls. I met him at Heather & Gemma's Halloween party. We met in the living room by the punch bowl. We met again in the kitchen. He was too much for me, and I just had to pick him up. He didn't realize how lucky he was when he jumped out of my arms and hung out by his food dish.

don't throw the kitty out with the trash

I was walking up Palmerston on my way to work when I saw this guy snoozing in the sun. I would like to call him Dino (pronounced "deeno").

Astroturf Kitties

Ding, Dang and Dong (in order from left to right) were spotted through a large fence in an alleyway on Christie, just north of Bloor in TO. They enjoy the plasticy feeling of Astro-turf on their furry bellies, and pretending they are the fresh produce on display in a backyard convenience store. Sometimes they bat balls around as if to play mini-golf.

Treadmill Kitty

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yVjzd320gew

Flower shop: Please do not disturb the cats

I walked from work (42nd and 9th) to church (22nd and 9th) last night, passing on the way, among other things, a belly-dancer and this cat. I guess the flower/plant shop took in some strays, or otherwise has a soft spot for kitties. Everyone had gone home except the cat. You can see part of the note in the window -- "Please do not disturb the cats while they are sleeping by knocking on the glass. Cats can be adopted at..."

They must sleep in the window often.

Did I post this already? Here is another flower shop cat that I saw the other day near church:


I remember seeing this cat a while ago, she stuck in my head because she really reminds me of my old kitty, Kitty:


She died a few years ago now. Kitty! She was so fluffy, and had a white spot on her belly.

Kat's cat

Kat asked me to post this. I think his name is Korn (the owners were big fans of the band when they got him).

Ted

Here's Ted. He's the hobo who lives in my back yard. Here he is taking shelter by some collapsed boxes by the trash. Ted is scraggly and under-nourished, poor fella. I tried to make friends with him but he scampered away before I came within ten feet of him.

Bliss

This cat was a stray, according the innkeeper. I had to go to Newport, Rhode Island to find a cat. (Boston has become a total dog town.)

Finding a cat to photograph was not the reason for the visit, but I digress...

Since he (?*) was a stray, there was no collar. I will call him Bliss, since that was the name of the inn, and because he was an exceedingly happy cat, and so smiley that his eyes never seemed to be able to open. I wondered at first if he could even see, but every time the door opened, he would peer indoors longingly (implying that he can see). The innkeeper said he needs to stay outside, but this cat often tries (and sometimes succeeds) to get inside.

We saw this cat many times during our visit. He was always very friendly and liked to follow us around, purr, and roll on his back.

* I didn't check.

Holy moly

My next cat will have to be a Maine Coon Cat

Alicia Keys

Remember the Mennonite kitty? This is another cat picture from the same friends, Andrea & Nolan. They spotted this little one in a park in Toronto, and named her Alicia Keys. If I am recalling the news correctly, Keys was somewhat shy and ignored Nolan and Andrea.

Polaroid shot & scanned by Andrea.

Outside the bakery

Seen on the way to the subway this morning. I think the cat lives in the bakery and was visiting with this banana-eating customer. Before inspecting the fruit the cat was sitting on the sidewalk, but the man patted the bench and the kitty jumped up.

WHOA IS THIS LIKE OUR ALTER-EGO WEBSITE?????

Check it out. Maybe we need some mappage. Or to contribute to this thing. Or something. I guess it just pulls from flickr.

Here's one from mine:

Star of the show

There have not been too many new cats around lately. I saw Wallace a few times last week. He's meek and mild as ever. He always seems kind of sad to me. I want to take him home, give him a bath, and feed him high quality cat food. I saw an orange cat that might have been Duke, but I'm not sure. If he wasn't, I would have named him Harvard and told the long story of how he assumed the pseudonym when his owners moved from Boston to Halifax, much against Harvard's will and to his chagrin. You see, Harvard was well on his way to receiving one of the highest orders of education in kittydom, the Masters of Mousing and Being Cute (M.MBC), until he was forced to leave. He was atteneing the lesser-known Cat College, which occupies a small corner of the Harvard campus in Cambridge. In spite of the high concentration of human higher learning institutions in Halifax, there are presently no feline equivalents one might find in larger centres.

Anyway, Nina (shown above) is still cute as ever, and I am happy to post yet another picture of her. She's discovered the top of the kitchen table, where she often jumps up to watch me eat or drink my coffee. She also has adapted a strange habit of dragging old rags and dryer lint from the wastebin to the edge of her poop box.

a Guido sketch

To keep things fresh in kitty blogland, here's a crappy scan of a sketch I did of Guido. Cats are hard to draw, especially when they keep moving.

Strelnikov

There's a new poopsmith in town.

He's still little but he's got spunk. At night he climbs the ladder to my loft, turns on the purr engine, and nuzzles his face against mine.

His favorite activities include beating the shit out of socks, beating the shit out of Holland Bear, beating the shit out of wine corks, and pooping.

I've named him Pasha Strelnikov, and if you know what book that is from, you get extra points. But mostly, we call him "Kitten."

Duke and the House of Cats

This is Duke. He lives in Kitchener, Ontario, in a house full of cat paraphernalia. Duke is literally a scaredy-cat. He hissed at me and took off as I took this photo with my laptop. Below is just a small example of the amount of cat items this house holds.

Kitchen kitty calendar.

Kitchen kitty poster.

Kitchen kitty corner.

There was more in just the kitchen alone. I'd say this house wins the cat lovers award. The good thing for Duke is, he is the only real cat here. Thus, it is truly his domain.

Le Tigre

Saw this poster in Annecy, near the French Alps, last week, and it made me so sad. Son frere l'attend!

Napoleon (no picture)

I met a cat named Napoleon (his name for real), who was reclining on Quinpool Road near Robie Street. To those who don't know Halifax, this is a busy area with no private house frontages. I suspect Napoleon may be a castaway, but it's hard to say. Anyway, he and I made good friends, and he followed me (by walking ahead of me as though he didn't care that I was leaving). Just when I thought he'd veered off into the dark, I tripped on something—Napoleon, who was apparently trying to stop me from keeping on. I gave him one more friendly pat and walked on.

Napoleon has short black hair with a white spot on his neck under his chin, and a white belly.

Terrence: Halifax/Maynard at Cornwallis

Here is Terrence. Terrence is much plumper than these images let off. He must be a 15 – 20 pounder. Anyway, he was super nice and super chill. Terrence also has pet dandruff.

for sale

One time at St. Jacob's Farmers' Market in Waterloo, I came across these creepy kittens. Note the kitty in plastic.

Cat Nap

I received the following photo from my husband, who received it from his father (the photo taker):


Explanation from Jeff (hubby):
"I thought you would like this. It is my dad's desk at the nursing home (I think he has had that brown leather chair since before I was born). They have a couple of cats there that just wander about the building and make mischief."

And from his dad, the nursing home administrator:
"Here is what I have to put up with at work.
Dad
Dadcat"

Twinkle in specs

Twinkle is a cat who belongs to a friend of a friend (Andrea's friend Nolan). I found these pictures on Andrea's Facebook and have been given permission to post. This photograph shows Twinkle's bookworm love and librarian dreams.

He might also be a Mennonite.

NYT: Cat & real estate

A strange but somehow intriguing article that ends up being about a tricky cat. Sort of.

Tim and Eric: Cat Film Festival

These guys are generally absurd, but I think this is cat-blog appropriate (click image to watch).

Guido vs Eden

My little niece is just beginning a lifelong love affair with kitty-cats

Gullliver & the Cat Walk.

This cat lives on the corner of Creighton and Falkland. I used to remember it's name but now i forget it. So, we shall call him Gulliver. I often see him walking along this so called cat walk (pun intended) in the early evening. Gulliver always seems content with simply sitting on the ledge, that seems as if it were made for him. He gets to parade himself to the neighbors and then can let himself back into his second floor apartment.

Duarte: Toronto/Little Portugal

Here is Duarte. Duarte (a Portuguese name meaning "guard") lives in a hardware store in Little Portugal. Duarte is almost too cute for words. He spends his time helping the store owner with merchandising, working on store displays, accounting, and catching the odd mouse. When he grows up, he hopes to take over the store and continue the family's legacy.

Fittie Cent: Toronto/Dundas West

Here is Fittie Cent. We met in a by-the-pound second hand clothing store on Dundas West near Bloor. I didn't check to see if he was also for sale. I wonder how much he weighs?

Milky-Cow: Toronto/Roncesvales

Kat and I found this perma-squinty kitty on Roncesvales last night. I thought perhaps she was deaf and partially blind—she was not very responsive to sound. Kat named her Milky-Cow. Milky was so delicate and meek, but very affectionate.

Nina: Nonchalant Plant Batting

This is what Nina does all the time. It's both hilarious and inexplicable, and tremendously cute!

Larry

I had to sneak this shot because the owner was on the other side of this window. She probably saw me taking the shot, but I didn't care, because I'm long overdue for a cat post. Larry, who is likely a girl, but nonetheless looks like a Larry to me (maybe it's short for Larissa), saw me getting ready to take the shot and curiously walked over to me from the far side of the window. Found on Maynard by Cogswell.

Pictures of cats: Morningside Heights and Williamsburg

Sometimes you have to settle for pictures of cats rather than real ones. These cat mugs caught my eye on my way home last night; the cats have names (a la RTF) and are captioned. This one says, "My whole family's big-boned".




Also, in Williamsburg near LL's current but almost former house, this kitty caught my eye. Perhaps this is Justin Broadbent's home, or LL's theory is that the cat died, but the owners still wanted to see a friendly face in the window.