A Good Year

Greetings, Effurybody!


It's seems like it's been a zillion years since We last posted - even though there was a LOT to write about. For example, Mummy dragged Me (Queen Trixie) and my little brofur Shimshi off to the v-e-t last month - in the same paddy wagon, would you believe?!

In Shimshi's case, there was at least some excuse, because he had to have his annual shots. That's what Mummy calls it anyway, but We don't understand why they call it "shots" when actually, what the evil v-e-t does is to stab us!

Mummy's excuse for dragging Me off to Dr. Einat was, that She was worried about Me not eating enough. So Einat tried to steal some of my bloods, but I wouldn't let her. And instead of taking "No" for an answer, she stabbed Me and gave Me an evil drug to make me all woozy. In fact, it made Me fall asleep and while I was sleeping, she stole my bloods. And it was all for nothing, Kitties - because all the tests came back negative. There is nothing wrong with Me. Mummy just got into a Tizz because She's used to Caspurr and Shimshi scoffing down their food (and as much of mine as they can get) like hogs, whereas I prefer to eat slowly and elegantly, as befits a Ladycat, and thus preserve my beautiful, lithe, svelte figure!
I can do that, because Mummy has taken to shutting Me up in the guest room with my noms, so that I can eat in peace, without having my repast stolen by my Greedy Brofurs. But even so, I don't like to over-eat, and there is often food left over for the Mancats.

While Shimshi and I were at the evil v-e-t's, Caspurr was left on guard, to keep our home safe from Intruders.

Last week, Mummy entertained her human family for Rosh Hashana (that's our New Year). Twelve intruders joined Us for supper. That's Grandpa and Step-Grandma and Step-Great-Grandma and Mummy's sisters and their mates and kittens too!

One of Mummy's nieces has something called a-s-t-h-m-a and it's brought on by an allergy to kitties! She loves kitties, but whenever she comes near Us, her eyes start to water and she starts getting an attack. So we have to be shut away in the bedroom when the Human Family comes over. But the human kittens always beg Mummy to let Us out, because they love Us so much.

Tomorrow, the Humans have another Special Day called Yom Kippur. That is the day when the Great Cat in the Sky judges effurryone - Cats, Other Animals, and Humans too - and decides what will be their fate during the coming year. And We are all supposed to fur-give each other and say how sorry we are for the bad things we have done during the year. So Caspurr and Shimshi and I (Queen Trixie) want to say to you all, that if We have hurt or offended anyone over the past year, We are furry, furry sorry and we ask you to furr-give Us.

And, although it's a few days late, We want to wish you all Shana Tova (שנה טובה - a Good Year).








https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJr0OqvqXes

The Glorious Twelfth Is Here Again!

Greetings, Effurrybody!

It is I, Queen Trixie, Empress of Jerusalem, Israel and the Entire Middle East.

I have a furry impawtant announcement to make.

For those of you who may have furr-gotten (impossible as that may seem) - today is My Birthday.

Today I am three years old.

Since it is the middle of the week, and Mummy has such a lot to do, We shall be holding My Official Pawty on Shabbat afternoon, as usual, at 5 pm when it starts to get cooler. You - my Dear Furriends - are all invited, of course. 

Since my birthday falls smack in the middle between World Cat Day and Black Cat Appreciation Day (and I am most truly a Black Cat), this will be an Extra Big Celebration.

Meanwhile, I have already received my Birthday Present from Mummy. After giving Me my favourite Shrimp, Cod and Salmon Fancy Feast for breakfast, She took Me to have My portrait painted by the famous painter, Miaownet. I think M'sieur Miaownet's impurrsionist technique really brings out the undertones of colour in my beautiful black furs, wouldn't you agree?
   

And since my brofurs, Caspurr and Shimshi, thought it would be nice for Us to have a little birthday celebration en famille, as well as My Official Birthday Pawty, they are taking Me out later this evening to a nightclub -  a new one called Le Chateau du Chat Noir (that means "The Castle of the Black Cat" - mol).
So I am now going to have a nice, long nap in order to be completely rested and refreshed because when my fur-sibs and I go out to party - boy, do We party!

Don't furr-get now! I'm looking forward to seeing you all this Shabbat afternoon, because it's going to be the bestest pawty effur!

Boomie Drill

Hallo again, Effurryone!

You remember the boomies we wrote about last summer, and how we used to hide in the wardrobe among Mummy's clothes, while Mummy had to run down to the Boomie Shelter?

Well, a few days ago, We were just having a little Nap when we were startled to hear the horrid, wailing sound of the Boomie Warning Siren!

We were about to dive for cover when Mummy said not to worry, it was just a Drill!

Well, We were furry, furry relieved, as you can imagine, but once We had got over our alarm, We began to feel Highly Indignant! What did the Humans at Civil Defence mean by scaring Us like that!?

Mummy thinks it was because the Humans in a country called Iran want to get a horrible kind of Boomie and shoot it at Us. So We have to be prepared.

We don't understand why they would want to shoot Boomies at Us. We know all about Iran, kitties. It used to be called Purr-sia. But We don't have any quarrel with Purr-sia. We love Purr-sian kitties! They are beautiful and furry and effur so good-natured. Some of our best furr-iends are Purr-sian kitties. We are sure if the Purr-sian kitties were in charge, they wouldn't be trying to make Boomies.

So we want to call on all the kitties in Purr-sia to tell their Humans not to make Boomies. Boomies are Bad. If their Humans make Boomies, then effurrybody else will make Boomies and start shooting them at each other and a lot of innocent kitties and their Human Mummies and Daddies will get sent to the Bridge.

Please help Us spread the message.

NO BOOMIES!

S.S.T.

Hallo again, Effurrybody!

It is I, Queen Trixie, Guardian of the Boudoir and Alpha Kitty Extraordinaire.
I want to update you on some furry impawtant news. Perhaps the Most Impawtant News of the Year!

You remember a few months back, I told you that I had been made a           Purr-fessor of S.S.T. at the Feline University of Jerusalem? (That's Synchronised Sleeping Techniques, for those of you who haven't been paying attention.)
Well, last week, my furrst students passed their end-of-year exams with such success that the University Administration has decided that the course - an experimental one, which has never before been offered at any university - will become a purr-manent fixture and, as a result, I have been granted tenure!

What do you think of that, kitties?

For those of you unfamiliar with S.S.T., I am going to explain the concept, with the assistance of my two best students - Caspurr and Shimshi.

You may have noticed that when two or more kitties live together in close proximity, their sleeping patterns tend to be similar. Not only do they sleep at the same time but they have a tendency to sleep in similar positions.

Thus:

Not quite identical, but furry, furry close, as you can see. 

Not only that but, when one kitty moves in his or her sleep, changing positions, there is a high probability that the other kitty will mirror the moves of his or her companion.

These mirror moves don't always turn out quite right:

The goal of my S.S.T. course is to enable companion kitties to perform in-sleep manoeuvres simultaneously and in complete synchronisation.

It was not easy at furrst, I have to admit. My students required individual tutoring and close snoopervision:

Not quite, this time - but Caspurr learned fast, and by the end of the semester, his moves were nearly purrfect:

Shimshi required a bit more coaching, as his attention often wandered:

Indeed, there were times when I almost felt like giving up:

However, I purr-severed, and I am glad that I did. I realised that Caspurr could be invaluable as a Teaching Assistant. Here we are working together, to demonstrate a purr-ticularly tricky position to Shimshi:

I found that the two of them worked well together, as this next photo shows:

Note the small details, such as the way both cats have the tail firmly held in place by the extended forepaw.

So well did they work together, in fact, that I was miaowtivated to invent some new manoeuvres especially for them, one of which I am demonstrating here:

Finally, no less impawtant that the Synchronised Manoeuvres while sleeping, are the Wake-Up and Stretch Techniques to be purr-formed at the end of the exercise. Here, we can see Caspurr demonstrating an advanced Touch Your Toes exercise:

So pleased are We with the success of this course that our hope is to have S.S.T. included as a Recognised Sport at the next Kitty Olympics. We are therefore asking you all to join Us in lobbying the International Feline Olympic Committee (IFOC) to that purr-pose. There is only just over a year to go. Can we count on your support?

I will leave you now with best wishes for a pleasant weekend. 

Shabbat Shalom from Moi, Queen Trixie and from my brofurs, Caspurr the Tigger Tabby and Shimshon the Mighty (aka Shimshi).

Laser Eyes

Hallo there, Effurryone!

We are stlll waiting for the Cat Condo Mummy promised to get Us when We moved into our new palace.  She now says that will have to be put on hold, as she has to replace her Sucky Monster (must you, Mummy?) and her Microwave Oven, which got dedded, somehow. She needs to use the money she would have used for Our New Condo. 

And We are tired of the rubber balls and mousies with feathers, because, in any case, Shimshi keeps stealing them and hiding them and then fur-getting where he hid them.

So we invented a new game. You know that game where the Human flashes a laser light point around? Well, We've gone one better. We discovered that Shimshi has really powerful Laser Eyes and he can cast light spots on the walls for Trixie and Me to chase. 

Look!

We ran around after those light spots so much, I am quite exhausticated!
Now I am off to watch TV with Mummy and my fur-sibs. At least - they can watch TV. I am going to have a(nother) nap.

Have a Good Week!

Caspurr the Tigger-Tabby King

Impawtant Dates to Remember

Hallo again, Effurrybuddies!

This is Me, the Mighty Shimshon. I just wanted to remind you all that today, May 15th, is my Gotcha Day. 

Sort of. 

It is exactly one year since Step-Grandma brought me to live here, with Mummy and with my fur-siblings, Trixie and Caspurr. But, as you may recall, Mummy wasn't sure at the time that She could look after Three Kitties and so it was more than a month till I was Officially Adopted into the J-Cat Family.

However, We are going to celebrate my Gotcha Day tomorrow, so we can, once again, combine two celebrations in one. Sunday is Yom Yerushalayim, the 48th anniversary of the Liberation and Reunification of Jerusalem in the Six Day War. That was a furry, furry long time ago, even in Human Years - let alone Cat Years! It was long befurr I was born. Long befurr Caspurr and Trixie were born. Long befurr Possum and Pixie or even Minxie (who lived in the pre-blogging era) were born.

Jewish holidays start the evening before and Shabbat falls right between My Gotcha Day and Yom Yerushalayim, so - out of consideration for The Staff - we are going to have just one (furry big) combined pawty.

You are all invited, of course! We are going to have a Fish Barbecue, with plenty of salmon and tuna and trout and cod and seafood. And mice-cream for dessert. And nip cocktails. We shall start in the late afternoon, when it gets cooler. So let's say five pm Israel time. Anyone who wants to come early to help us get set up, will be most welcome. It's going to be on the (sort of) Patio...
And then we shall have a Disco Dance.

Trixie says we need to dance in order to work off all the calories We shall have consumed. I don't know why girl-cats are always thinking about dieting and so-on, do you?

Anyways, We are looking furr-ward to seeing you all tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Have a nice Shabbat!

In Loving Memory - Nerissa (Nissy)

We are all so sad to hear that our Dear Furriend, the amazing Nissy, has left us - far too soon and way before his time -  and flown away to the everlasting nip fields at the Bridge.  We are too shocked and grieved to be able to write about anything else and anyway, Mummy's eyes are leaking too much to be able to see the keyboard properly.

We wish we were clever at graphics like the wonderfully talented Ann from the Zoolatry blog, who created this beautiful memorial badge in Nissy's honour: 

Alas, we have no such talents, neither does Our Human. We are only good with words, not pictures. But even here, we think the best tribute We can pay to Our Beloved Furriend Nissy, is to adopt the word he himself invented, and thus keep his memory alive furr-ever, wherever the English Feline language is spoken.

What else can one say, anyway, when one is at a loss for words?

MOUSES!