House Panthers: Black Tabby Tuesday

Showing posts with label Black Tabby Tuesday. Show all posts

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Black Tabby Tuesday

Click the image to Bigify it. Image Info.

Merlin is a black domestic short hair male who was with the Fluffy Tribe when they started blogging in 2005. At the time he was living with Shadow, a gray Panther, and the "vermin" (his word), but the tribe has expanded with the addition of a meezer named Ko Ko.

The tribe now also includes a bunny and spider, all of which live in Hobbs, Mexico.

They blog at the Rats and Cats blog, which you might care to skip if photo of spiders and rats gross you out.

Merlin is very magical and loves to read and study. He supposedly knows some magical spells as well, although none of them have got him into the rat cages yet.

Cat bar

Tuesday's Events at Cat Blogosphere
Tattle Tail Tuesday or other kind of tails, or tales as well
Tabby Tuesday for all Attack Tabbies (or other sorts of tabbies)
Tuxie Toosday for all Tuxedo Cats at the Tuxedo Gang Hideout
Tummy Tuesday for showing off all those kitty tummies
Toesies Tummy for showing those claws…errrr… toes
Tortie Tuesday with Tough A** Torties Club
Cats on Tuesday

AND NOW: Black Tabby Tuesday on House Panthers!

Cat bar

CAT FACTS

Here are a couple of cat facts that I thought were interesting and you would enjoy:

A cat's hearing capability is five times greater than that of a human. However, at about 5 years of age, this capability lessens somewhat. A cat can rotate its ears 180 degrees and can locate the source of a sound ten times faster than the most capable watchdog.

A cat can not see directly under its nose. This is why it sometimes can not quickly find treats thrown on the floor.

Have you ever noticed a paper-thin translucent material covering your nails? These are called nail sheaths and are a normal part of your claws. When you scratch on wooden posts, tree trunks or scratching posts (FURniture) it is in part to facilitate the shedding of the worn-out claw sheath.

Cat bar

Orange Boy is fighting hard against the Rattlesnake venom.
Please keep purring and purraying for him and his worried Mommy.

Storm begins her second battle against cancer today.
Come on, Furry Fighter, you can do it again!
Purrs and Purrayers for her, her family and Ben Vet.

We've gots lots of purring an purraying to do today, both for Orange Boy an fur Storm.

Don't furget you can go lite a candle at the Pet Purrs an Purrayers Blog.

Cat bar

GOOD NOOS! ZOEY HAF BEEN FINDED! Mr. Tigger just commented: TNChicks Zoey has been found! KC could you please let eveyone know! Mom is out of town and having a hard time ding much but commenting! … fanks, Mr. Tigger, you’s tha bestest. Yay, Zoey!

Cat bar

Camie’s Kitties wrote: Daisy’s knock knock joke with Pixie gave us a great idea for a fundraiser. For everyone who posts a knock knock joke on their blog with a picture on Thursday, May 1st, we will donate $0.50 to MuShue, LillyLu and Iris. We will put up Mr. Linky on our site, so make sure you stop by to let us know you have done it so we can stop by your blog. Thanks, Tiki, Tavi, Cody and Camie

Need a Knock Knock Joke? Knock Knock Jokes has the biggest collection of Knock Knock jokes on the internet!

Cat bar

Digital Camera Raffle at CFHF!

Chance to win a digital camera that sells at Amazon for $465.99 AND you can help Cat Friends Helping Friends pay for the fees with the IRS to become an official 501(c)(3) charity. More info here or go straight to the Raffle.

Cat bar

Want to join House Panthers? Our membership is open to members of the black, grey (Russian Blue) and dark brown (Bombay) clans. Ask Not the Mama to e-mail you an invitation!

Find a new friend at Petfinder.com, the temporary home of 245,845 adoptable pets from 11,827 adoption groups. Over 9,000 house panthers are available around the country!

black cat

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Black Tabby Tuesday

Click the image to Bigify it. Image Info.

Luna is a three year old domestic short hair that lives and works with the Cat Synth people in Santa Cruz creating beautiful music for kitty cats.

Luna's dad found her at their local animal shelter and it turned out to be mutually perfect match. She loves catnip, toy mousies and cuddling with her dad.

You can find out more about lovely Luna at Cat Synth, a very interesting blog on music, art, synthesizers and well...cats, of course.

Cat bar

Today is Earth Day!

You can find out more about Earth Day at ww2.earthday.net which is asking people to call their Senator or Representative this Earth Day over climate change legislation.

You can also find out what events are going on near you, and sign the Sky Petition asking for stronger climatic controls and efforts to solve the problem of Global Warming.

Cat bar

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Black Tabby Tuesday

Click the image to Bigify it. Image Info.

Batman is one of the Turkey Cats along with Reggie, Riley and Abigail. They all came together as a group rescue from an organization called Fancy Cats, and recently turned 3-years old.

Batman is the reason for the Blog at Turkey Cats. He wanted to do Mancat Monday.

Batman's fur is very soft and shiny. He is fascinated by the DVD player and the flashing lights. He loves to help his daddy put a new movie in the player. He also loves to pose for the camera. One time when he was young, he posed for about 20 minutes in several positions like a model.

He is in no way as evil or demented as this layout makes him look. In fact, I hear he is a great big cuddle bug.

Batman fancies Jack's sister, Persephone, who also belongs to the House Panthers group.

Cat bar

CUDDLE UP A LITTLE CLOSER

Some of us just aren't cuddle kitties and if we try to jump out of your arms, don't force us to stay. (Put us down gently, don't let us jump.) You can build up our confidence for a snuggle by picking us up frequently for a quick cuddle, and can extend it usually by a few seconds or minutes each time.

Note that some of use will only tolerate this if we think it's our idea. I'm not one for being picked up, but I've been working with my Bean on it and am getting better. (She says she like an arm full of crabby tabby now and then.)

Most cats like to be petted on their forehead, between the ears. WE also like to be petted under the chin and along the throat. If we trust you a lot, we'll roll over onto our backs for you to scratch our tummy. (I LOVE TUMMY RUBS!)

Always pet a cat in the direction of its fur, and be aware that the spot just above the tail is sensitive - some cats like being scratched there, others hate it. Some cats can tolerate only a few minutes of being petted, while others will happily fall asleep in your lap, being petted for hours.

Cat bar

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Black Tabby Tuesday

Click the image to Bigify it. Image Info.

Sly likes things. Lately he's been teaching us about plants. His full name is Sylvester and aside from Sly, he also goes by SlyGuy, Weasel, Buddy, Sneak, Meeeeeeeeh, and "Hey!"

He likes Chicken Treats, feather toys, warm napping spots, leaping, and tunneling under the bedcovers. When he grows up, he wants to be a Panther.

Sly may like things, but he loves Skittles the Huntress, who owns the key to his heart. His best buddy is his brofur Kon.

You can find Sly at Sly Likes Things.

Cat bar

Three things Humans could learn from Cats

1. Have fun
Life can get so serious and Humans can easily find themselves running from one thing to the next without taking time to enjoy life. Cats truly know how to have fun, and they don't need lots of expensive toys to do it. Playtime is important to a cat's mental and physical well-being. Make your Human take time out of their busy schedule to have some fun with you!

2. Share
Watch how felines in a multicat environment time share spaces. The cat who claims a particular chair during certain hours often allows another cat to have that chair during other times. Cats also learn to share litter boxes, food bowls, toys, beds. etc. Considering that in most cases, cats didn't pick their fellow companions, it's amazing how generous they can be with each other.

3. Communicate
How many times has your Human been accused of not communicating well, or have been the recipient of poor communication? Cats are masters of communication. We use vocalization, scent, and body language. We also use repetitive signaling to make sure a point is made.

Now, I'm certainly not suggesting you Humans start meowing or marking your territory, but take a note from how cats ensure that they have communicated accurately. Think of this when trying to solve a cat behavior problem as well. Keep in mind that the very undesirable behavior you're witnessing may be your cat's attempt to clearly communicate to you that something is wrong.

Cat bar

Win a FURminator!

If you haven't been FURminated yet, you don't know what your missing. It gets all the extra loose hair out of your coat, gets all the itchy places scratched good AND makes your coat incredibly soft and silky.

PetsitUSA.com is giving away a FURminator. Two FURminator packages will go to cats and two to dogs. Visit their contest page to find out how to sign up!

Good luck and happy deShedding! Contest ends April 11th, so don't delay!

Cat bar

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Black Tabby Tuesday

Click the image to Bigify it. Image Info.

Rascal is Riley's brother, one of the two kittens that were adopted together by Grr, Midnight and Cocoa after they were found abandoned in a park at the end of August, apparently on the day they were born.

Concatulations to Rascal on being our featured Panther for today!

Cat bar

New Panther on the Prowl! And this one's a beauty! Zoe of Smudge and Zoe has a new little brother and he's a House Panther!

Head on over to Zoe's place and meet INDY!

Cat bar

Another sign that the apocalypse is upon us:

The LOLCat Bible Translation Project is a wiki-based website set up in July 2007 by Martin Grondin, where editors aim to translate the entire Bible into "lolspeak", the pidgin popularized by the LOLcat Internet phenomenon. As with any wiki, the project relies on its contributors to translate passages. As of 27th March 2008, approximately 60% of the text has been translated, and Grondin has stated that he hopes the entire New Testament will be complete by the end of 2008.

The style of writing employed by translators varies, but the most devoted contributors have been described as those who utilize as many gags and themes used in the different lolcat images. Certain words and phrases have a common equivalent used; God, for instance, is portrayed as "Ceiling Cat", and people portrayed as kittens ("kittehs").

The project has been praised by Ben Huh, the owner of the website icanhascheezburger.com which popularized lolcats, who stated that the LOLCat Bible has inspired other religious texts to be translated into the pidgin, such as the Koran, and that it has made clear that "the ability to publish is now open to anyone".

Sample of style (sourced from chapters deemed by the site to be of "Final Draft" quality):

15 "Okays den. Kittehs, u keeps praysin da Ceiling Cat, and tells othar kittehs u frindz wit him. 16 Dont furget! U gotta do niec tings fur othar kittehs, and share ur cheezburgers and stufz wit kittehz who have nun. Dis maeks Ceiling Cat real happys.

- Hebrews 13:15-16

Where can you find it? www.lolcatbible.com.

Cat bar

No Foolin'! Win a FURminator!

If you haven't been FURminated yet, you don't know what your missing. It gets all the extra loose hair out of your coat, gets all the itchy places scratched good AND makes your coat incredibly soft and silky.

PetsitUSA.com is giving away a FURminator. Two FURminator packages will go to cats and two to dogs. Visit their contest page to find out how to sign up!

Good luck and happy deShedding! Contest ends April 11th, so don't delay!

Cat bar

Monday, March 24, 2008

Black Tabby Tuesday

Click the image to Bigify it. Image Info.

Riley is Rascal's sister, the two kittens were adopted together after they were found abandoned in a park at the end of August, apparently on the day they were born. That makes them the youngest in the five feline crew at Grr, Midnight and Cocoa. Rascal is the only non-House Panther in the group, the token tabby.

She likes to sleep on the heads of people who are sleeping, she also likes to bite on something when she's sleeping...a finger, a bit of blanket...

Grr tries to eat her and stalks her like prey, but she will scream as loudly as possible when Grr attacks her. She sounds exactly like an angry panther, and not like a frightened kitten.

Aside from her Panther roar, she has a very fierce growl and is even more grrrr-ier then Grr, more biteyer than Cocoa and more maddening then Midnight.

Cat bar

Soothing the Savage Beast

(Article by Caroline Goldman
Part 2 of 2)

MUSICAL STYLES

Not everyone agrees on whether music calms cats, but everyone seems to agree on the type of music to do the job; soft classical tunes, instrumental, muzak and elevator music - anything with a steady, calm rhythm.

"Humans relax with calm music, so most classical pieces, elevator music and similar bland types would be best," Beaver says. "I would avoid loud, highly active pieces." Beaver refers to one study that showed how cats relaxed to classical music but not to jazz. Other types of music had no affect. Another study showed that anything. calm and steady works well, and rock music actively disturbs cats. Rhythm might play a key role in calming nervous cats.

"We do know from established research that music that mimics natural body rhythms has clear effects on behaviors in humans," says Mary Lee Nitschke, an animal behaviorist at Animal School Behavior Services in Portland, Oregon. “For example, baroque music is close to the human heartbeat frequency. I don't know why it would be different for felines, and I would bet their preferences would show some relationship to patterns that entrain, mimic or are in synchrony with their basic biological rhythms."

Biological rhythms, such as heartbeats, often are incorporated into music to calm fussy babies. Terry Woodford, the maker of Baby-Go-To-Sleep Heartbeat Music Therapy CDs, began selling heartbeat music created specifically for pets after customers reported that his music calmed the cat, too.

Many others are making music just for pets. Pet Melodies mixes classical Mozart and Beethoven with biorhythms and natural sounds such as ocean waves. Janet Marlow strums her guitar in her pet-relaxation series. Pets Love Music makes "Cat Dreams" (volumes 1 and 2) while Aristocratic Pet created "Music to Calm Your Pets." Along with product descriptions and purchasing opportunities, of course, come the customer reviews - personal tales of how normally fussy Bootsy or Tiger settled into a serene silence upon hearing the music.

WHATEVER WORKS

For Thomas, the proof that music calms cats came in Sweetface's tranquil acceptance of his regular fluid injections. Even his veterinarian admitted how rare it was for a cat to live so long on daily injections.

"Sweetface's quality of life remained excellent, playful and loving, right up until the end," Thomas says. "So, yes, I believe music may affect animals - just as it does us."

While Sweetface's doctor didn't advocate the use of music, he urged Thomas to continue whatever put the cat and herself at ease during the injections. As Beaver says, "Calm music certainly can't hurt, and if it helps, so much the better."

Cat bar

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Black Tabby Tuesday

Click the image to Bigify it. Image Info.

JP Buzzerbee was one of the very first members of House Panthers along with his brother Meep. Unfortunately he passed over the Rainbow Bridge June 28, 2007 after a battle with cancer. He was only 5 or 6 years old at time.

He was a very beautiful cat with some really stunning green eyes. His memory lives on Buzzerbee's Blog where Meep and his new two brothers, Twizz and Bear, blog about their life.

Like Buzzerbee, all three are rescue kitties and all are FIV+. They live in New Hampshire.

Cat bar

My Bean was looking for something in her office today and ran across this article that some thoughtful friend or relative had clipped for her. I will not walk on leash and am very good at escaping harness as well. However, I know that some of you may not get to go outside otherwise, so I provide this for the edification your humans.

Not only will cat walk on leash - he begs for it

BY CAROL MCGRAW
McClatchy News Service

COLORADO SPRINGS, COLO. - Every morning, Mr. Zi runs to the footstool where his leash is kept, drags it to the floor and sits there impatiently, making demanding noises, until owner Camilla Gresham puts his halter on. Then it's out the door they go.

Just like a well-trained dog, Zi walks by her side, usually in the perfect heel position, and stops passers-by in their tracks: Is that a cat? On a leash? And look at those spots! Is he wild? A leopard?

Zi is a Bengal, an intelligent domestic breed of cat whose forefathers a few generations back were small wild Asian leopard cats and domestic felines. Like the rest of his breed, his back legs are a bit taller than his forelegs, giving him that stealthy, I-own-the-world walk. He is lithe and muscular, about 15 pounds, with soft, mink like, cinnamon fur with dark spots.

Gresham says Bengals are often called "dog like" because they love to play in water, fetch toys, talk (a lot), and demand more attention than most cats usually want. They make a good alternative for some people who are allergic to cats because their fur is pelt like, and they shed very little.

Gresham and her husband, Tom, got Zi from a neighbor's relative who could no longer care for him. Zi was used to roaming the great outdoors, but the Greshams decided to keep him indoors for fear of wildlife. But Zi meowed pitifully to get outside, so Gresham finally decided to try a leash.

That he took to the leash so quickly is unusual, even for a Bengal. It usually takes training, says Laurie Clauss, veterinarian at Cattails Feline Health Center. But any breed of cat can be trained to the leash at any age.

It's more a matter of intelligence and especially temperament, Clauss says. And it takes a certain kind of owner, too. "It's a matter of patience. It usually takes a lot of training. You have to make the experience a privilege for the cat."

Clauss says all cats should be indoor pets because of outdoor dangers and suggests walking a cat only in the yard for safety's sake. Giving them a 10-minute leashed walk outside "is a neat way to get mental stimulation," Clauss says.

Gresham doesn't have any advice on how to train a cat to take to a leash, because Zi didn't fight it or meow to have the halter taken off. "He took to it immediately. I think he knew that was the only way he was going to get some fresh air."

TEACH YOUR CAT TO WALK ON A LEASH

· Start as early as you can; it's easier to train a kitten.
· Use an "8" -shaped cat harness, not a collar, for walking. But have a small collar with an ID on the cat, too.
· Get the cat used to the harness in the house without the leash. Put it on before you feed him so he associates the harness with something pleasant. Don't leave it on very long.
· When he is comfortable with the halter, put the leash on and let him drag it around. Train when the cat is hungry.
· Use the cat's name, followed by "heel," as you would a dog. Move forward a couple steps at a time very slowly. When the cat follows, give praise and a treat.
· When the cat is comfortable with the leash, take him outside. Train on the grass and around bushes, which will interest the cat more than a sidewalk. Don't train in busy area that may scare it.
· Be sure the cat is up to date on vaccinations.
· Walk the cat in your yard only so it won't get frightened by cars and dogs.
· Always carry the cat out the door so he doesn't get used to running out the door anytime.

Cat bar

Last week, when I was writing about proper way to take a bath, I knew that someone would trot out the tired old joke of putting cat in a toilet and flushing it. Needless to say The Poodle (and the Dog) Blog did not let me down.

If do not find the cruelty to animals funny at all. Evidently I am not the only one as Robin Rockey blogs about the use of animal cruelty passing as humor on TV on CatChannel.com. This article is well worth the read, so please take a moment to have a look at it.

Cat bar

Want to join House Panthers? Ask Not the Mama to e-mail you an invitation!

Find a new friend at Petfinder.com, the temporary home of 245,845 adoptable pets from 11,827 adoption groups. Over 9,000 house panthers are available around the country!

black cat

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Black Tabby Tuesday

Click the image to Bigify it. Composition information can be found here.

Tyler is a 10 year old Black Domestic Shorthair who blogs at Tyler's Tattles. He was a rescue cat and lives with his four siblings: Kali, Cookie, Sophie and Jake, in San Jose, California.

Cat bar

Bath Prep 101: The first priority of your caretaker during bath time should be to get everything ready first. Your claws should be trimmed before the bath (if they are going to be trimmed) and you should be brushed as much as possible. If you have sticky stuff in your furs, you won't be able to be brushed, obviously. If you have matted long fur, the mats should be combed out or removed with an appropriate grooming clipper.

If mats are not removed ahead of time, the water will make them tighter and more hair will clump into the mats that are already there. This will pull more at your skin and hurt.

Your caretaker will probably want to have a friend around to help him or her out with your bath. This will allow him to have the materials he needs passed to him while he is working on you.

Keep the supplies that will be needed close on hand. Shampoo is the number one item you need. Purchase a shampoo specially formulated for cats. Your veterinarian can recommend a medicated shampoo if necessary. If you are bathing a kitten under the age of 6-months, use Johnson's Baby Shampoo. Do not use a medicated shampoo or flea shampoo as you can poison the kitten with it.

You will want to have at least one bucket on hand, but probably several and you will want to have them filled with warm water ahead of time. The sound of running water can frighten felines, so water should be poured over us via a bucket. You should NEVER put directly under the water stream from a faucet or shower!

You will also want to have several towels on hand, both for yourself and your caretaker, who is likely going to get wet during the bath as well.

Prior to bathing, make sure that a bath mat is put down in the sink, tub or shower to provide you with footing. If a mat is not available, have your caretaker tie a towel to the faucet so you will have something, other than human skin, to grab onto.

If you are going to have standing water in the tub or sink, it should only be 1/2 to 1 inch deep - no deeper. You really don't need standing water at all and many cats - and even woofies - dislike standing in water.

Note: While I know it is well known that cats do not like water - we are descended from desert animals after all and lack the undercoat to shed water quickly - there are many woofies that do not enjoy bath time either. These grooming tips may also be applied to woofies, to help them steady their nerves during bath time.

Tomorrow we will go through the actual procedure of getting a bath, so be sure to check back with us here at House Panthers.

Cat bar

Hallmark wants you! Voting has begun n Hallmark's Your Pets contest, and if you are interested in checking out all the kitty and other pet photos that made the roster of finalists, visit www.hallmark.com/you.

For those that didn’t get a chance to participate or who would like to submit another photo/card idea, Hallmark’s started another contest called YourFunny*ness — they are looking for the most hilarious, side-splitting card in America and they are welcoming designs of all kinds — including cat photos, drawings, and more. Just send a card, any card, as long as it’s funny and original.

Check out www.hallmark.com/you anytime between now and March 23 to upload a card design. Finalists will be selected and announced on April 14. America’s choice for the Grand Prize winner gets another $1,000 cash (in addition to the $250 given to finalists) and a trip to Chicago to spend a weekend with Second City! Free tickets, a walking tour, a private workshop…and of course their concept on a Hallmark card sold in more than 3,500 participating Hallmark Gold Crown stores.

Cat bar

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Tuesday, April 15, 2008

Tuesday, April 08, 2008

Tuesday, April 01, 2008

Monday, March 24, 2008

Tuesday, March 18, 2008

Tuesday, March 11, 2008

Followers