Quote de jour
"If you want to be a psychological novelist and write about human beings, the best thing you can do is keep a pair of cats."
                                                                                                                                                                                               ~Aldous Huxley

Do I dare say it's the dog days of summer? What about the cat days of summer? My cats are enjoying the heat in the garden, too limp and boneless to play or fight. The only thing that might perk them up is a video of the world's ugliest cat. His name is Ugly Bat Boy or Ugg for short, and I think he's cute in what the French call Jolie laide or beautiful ugly. What do you think? He's clearly a mix of a hairless breed like a sphynx with a long-haired Persian and is our Link of the week.

Cat of the Week
Some cats are more beautiful than others, but only cats with a certain je ne sais quoi can be considered for CAT of the Week. This week, I'm delighted to announce the Cat of the Week is a short-haired tortoiseshell kitty named Kippy, who lives in Virginia with two humans and five ferrets. I first chanced upon her face on a website for a literary agent  http://www.rappaportagency.com/ and promptly fell in love. How can you not love a face like that? She is one smart kitty who no doubt works as an editor in her spare time, when not working on world domination.



Kippy's mom, Jodi Meadows http://www.jodimeadows.com/ kindly gave me the inside scoop on her remarkable cat. "Kippy is about four years old. My husband's grandparents discovered a stash of kittens in their roller skating rink and fell in love. They kept most of the kittens, but asked if we wanted one. We met two of  them, a pair of calico kittens cleverly named Cali and Co, and introduced both to the ferrets. (We had seven ferrets at that point. If a cat moved in, she'd have to get along with them.) It turned out that not only was Cali the prettiest, but she wasn't frightened of the ferrets; we took her. Finding a new name took some work, but  eventually a friend started calling her Kippy so much that it stuck. And she answers to it. Now Kippy lords over the ferrets and taunts them with her ability to hop over the baby gate. She has a not-so-secret romance with one of the ferrets, who's fallen terribly in love with her. He's open about his feelings, and while she plays hard to get, she gives him special treatment by not shooing him away every time he sits next to her."

I suspect there are many more adventures ahead for Kippy in publishing, inter-species cavorting, and on and off exercise equipment. 

New & Mews
Speaking of secret romances, the bromance between pampered pussy Merlin and outdoor bruiser Domino continues.  They have been spotted hanging out by the juniper bushes and cavorting with Pan. Merlin's sister Coco is feeling left out and is beginning to resemble a snapping turtle. She has a new passive -aggressive trick: crying mournfully during the night to get attention. This is repeated successfully dozens of times a night. And who said humans couldn't be trained?

Domino does his best to hide from the heat and my camera.



As you can see, Merlin is getting increasingly comfortable in front of Domino. Where will it end? Is reality television in his future? Is there a Big Brother for cats? And the bigger question: If all cats are pagan, where does that leave their Judeo-Christian owners? Do they make them convert?  It might have helped save their lives during the inquisition and witch hunt AKA The Burning Times, when millions of cats were murdered by the Catholic church for being too mysterious and witchy. Where's Bastet when you need Her?

 

Oh no, Merlin has learned how to video himself....and he's learned how to talk....with Domino. This is scary...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLBR3W3W_X8

For the rest of us...keep reading.


Excuse mmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee Merlin won't let me finish thisssssssssss...
See you next week, maybeeeeeeeeeee.........