kitchenmage

wcb: in which i abuse farmgirl's virtual cat

Farmgirl's virtual cat is a whack job!

When he wants in, he stands at the sliding glass door until he gets our attention and then goes into frantic I am going to claw my way through the door mode. While it is seldom successful on glass, the screen door now sports a cat-sized hole he can step through.

Twit.

Weekend cat blogging is our excuse for bringing the cute to the tubes of the 'net. Belly Timber is hosting WCB this week where, in true theatrical form, WCB: Prologue is posted. Who knew that even WCB was a three act play? If that's not enough cuteness for you, check out Friday Ark, and the Bad Kitty Chaos Festival.

There's one more picture hiding after the jump - my front page is getting photo heavy so I am forcing myself to use extended posts.

wcb: Farmgirl's virtualCat is just beau'ful!

I am fortunate to have a valiant protector in Mr Bowtie 'ssouri, who is also Farmgirl's virtualCat - which is fortunate for her because he is one MOUTHY thing. She says it's because he's hungry, while someoneElse says it's because he is ready to be marinated in lemon and pepper for dinner. 'ssouri says nothing - which is a rare thing indeed. Today he spent some time out in the sun with me, protecting me from the wily grass. Do you think if I fed him herbs instead he'd taste better?

Weekend Cat Blogging is at the House of the (Mostly) Black Cats this week - click here to bring on the cute.

wcb: cats too lazy to find a host

Clare and Kiri from eat stuff organize weekend cat blogging to provide us with an excuse to bring on the cute...and we're all happy to oblige... Clare's been MIA for a bit so the WCB home has been floating around, this week nobody seems to have claimed it so I am... leave links here...   ...the only link i have seen so far is at Kitikata-san's place... so feel free to drop your links here or there and we'll figure something out...

This is what today has been like around here. Sort of lazy and sleepy. Trubble can only be bothered to awaken when it appears that she might fall off her chair. That would be Trubble, she who we call 'the special baby' because she's just a bit spoiled. Has to do with being smaller. At least that's my excuse.

Pulling back just a bit, Dargo has his own darned chair because he's big...or maybe just his hair is big. And look there in the background, Trubble seems to be settling back in...

Look! It's slinky cat! Doesn't she look innocent?

Mr. 'ssouri Bowtie (aka Farmgirl's virtualCat) is the best big brother ever. Or at least the most tolerant. They slept like this for at least two hours.

• The ginger furling at Kitikata-san's place is fast asleep.
• There's a kitten in a box at masak-masak - cat in a box, why is that not a surprise?
• Luna at Catsynth has a valentine card, because she's sooo adorable and popular! (and there's all sorts of music equipment there, better not tell someoneElse!)
• More sleeping cats at Kate in the Kitchen
• Finally! Cats who are NOT sleeping at Rosa's Yummy Yums is ready for her close-up, Mr DeMille. (might save the picture for halloween too - shoot a bit lower and it's all Blair Witchy!)
• sammawow is throwing a party for Willow's third birthday complete with a cake in her likeness!
• Jelly of I Got Two Shoes was menaced by a whole boxful - there's that box again - of kitties with laser eyes! Luckily she has a big beautiful kitty of her own to protect her.
• Jelly Pizza: Stalking the Wild Felinus...
• There's a kitty at Dragonheart's Domain who claims, "I'm helping mom study!" but it must be three year-old helpful which is often anything but...although it can be really cute.
• Bonnie Underfoot and Victor Tabbycat demonstrate advanced begging food procurement technique.
• Astrid at Paulchen's has a memorial to Paul, who looks like he was a sweetie cat.
• Madame Duchess rests on her beautiful rug (fit for royalty) over at Kross-Eyed Kitty. (At least she's awake...not like some cats I live with know...)

Schedule for next few weeks of WCB

• #90 February 24-25: Kate, Bustopher and Harmon at Kate in the Kitchen
• #91 March 3-4: Lisa of Champaign Taste
• #92 March 10-11: Sher at What Did You Eat
• #93 March 17-18 - St Patrick’s Day Weekend: ??? You ???
• #94 March 24-25: ??? You ???
• #95 March 31-April 1: D, Boots and Tess at The Hidden Paw

wcb: a handful of trubble

Clare and Kiri from eat stuff organize weekend cat blogging to provide us with an excuse to bring on the cute...and we're all happy to oblige... Clare's been MIA for a bit so the WCb home has been floating around, this week Kate in the Kitchen has turned over the reins to a rather adorable black and white tuxedo orca kitty who is hosting this week's weekend cat blogging cute.

Cleaning out the dozens of gigabytes of photos cluttering up my hard disk can be tedious as watching bread rise, but it does have its upsides. Like this.

Trubble at five weeks; Just the right size to hold in your hands. Is that not adorable?

wcb: Hi! My name is kitchenMage and my kitten is a serial killer.

Clare and Kiri from eat stuff organize weekend cat blogging to provide us with an excuse to bring on the cute...and we're all happy to oblige... Clare's been MIA for a bit so the WCb home has been floating around, this week stopping at What Did You Eat? where Upsie is doing quality control on the Ahi. Tough job, but some kitty has got to do it.

This picture is little for a reason. It's really cute, but that bright little thing is a bird. Live and not in obvious distress. If that's going to bug you, go look at the rest of this week's kitties and come back here next week, ok? Thanks.

The rest of you, click on the thumbnail for a photo of Trubble.

wcb: hibernation

Not much to say, except that Trubble loves her brother 'ssouri Bowtie very much! I have as much energy as these two and no idea who is hosting weekend cat blogging this week. So here's to someone to snuggle with when you're all tuckered out and it's cold and rainy outside.

wcb: a tad early because...

Clare and Kiri from eat stuff organize weekend cat blogging to provide us with an excuse to bring on the cute...and we're all happy to oblige... Clare's been MIA for a bit so the WCb home has been floating around, this week landing here!

The winds are blowing, the water is rising, and according to the weather-guessers, we ain't seen nothing yet! We're supposed to get 85-100 mph winds over the next day or two. (you may all say WTF along with me!) So, I thought I'd get this posted a day early just in case they are right. Want to see how helpful the kittens are in a storm? Check this out.

Dargo has found his warm, dry spot and can't be bothered. Shhhhh. Creep away very quietly.

Trubble and theCatWithManyPseudoNames (aka t3, Farmgirl's Nameless Cat, 'ssouri, Mr Bowtie...) have scammed a box and Trubble is most disturbed that I dared to use a flash. I'm not thrilled about the flash either, but dark and stormy days call for desperate measures!

Little 'ssouri bowtie wants to prove that he is in fact a helpful kitten, and here's his proof. Holding down the makeshift seamless in case the winds manage to sneak inside the house. In which case, he would be found hiding in another room whining talking about how much I suck because I let it get windy.

Please post your weekend cat blogging links in the comments. You can also send them to me at kitchenmage(at)gmail(dot)com, and if I still have power and a connection to the tubes Internet, I'll get them posted here.

update:

Power's back! Please go visit these kitties and skrinch their little faces.

Please add me to CBW, Welcome to Rascal's World where Rascal has an encounter with a vishus deer...or is it a sheep?

Little Cat Zee asked "Purrty please" to join the party, so how could we say no? I noticed that she's and Rascal are blog friends, even joining together to show off holiday decorations!

Sam's best friend isn't another cat, it's a bird: Jazz the Lineolated Parakeet

Whaleshaman explains why It's Good To Have A Dribblepuss...

Tobias models a cozy, and takes the time to explain a particular internet meme rather thoroughly.

Krogie sends a homemade Christmas card to everyone at Weekend Cat Blogging. Don't forget to click on the Happy Holidays! to activate the card.

Shishi is sniffing the flowers and having a picnic! In December!

Luckily, Miss Lyra had pictures in the vault so when her power went out she could still come play.

KitiKata-san has a friend, aptly named Buddy, who visits from just next door.

Burekaboy swears it's not storming at his place, but I think it looks like things are moving around a lot--or else the alien cat might have landed!

Puddy has a new pink thing, with a tunnel and a ball and a place to pose!

Max and Noosh are helping out their person with computers and laundry. But they want to know: does a black and white cat go in with the whites?

Xena, Kai, and the tribbles demonstrate camouflage techniques.

Prunella over at Pia's place seems to have lots of friends.

Grendel wants to know why the idle hand is not petting him. Like you have something better to do?

Louis is looking for dinner. Maybe a roast chicken and latkes for Hanukkah?

Jelly says Kamikaze is hungry too, but he looks like he'll explode is he eats another bite.

Maggie Fu is contemplating whether felines should ever "be useful" while counting the drip...drip...drip.

Go visit the post surgical kitty at What did you eat and give the fluffling get well wishes.

Colin may have the best spot of all, tucked in bed with a good book blogger.

note: I think I'm caught up for the moment! Thanks for all the good wishes for us in the storm. We not only made it through but the refrigerator and freezers stayed cold enough that all the food is still okay. Which is really good since I just went shopping for a four day reunion/party that starts on Tuesday.

wcb: in which a clever grayling helps out Angry Cat

Clare and Kiri from eat stuff organize weekend cat blogging to provide us with an excuse to bring on the cute...and we're all happy to oblige... Clare's been MIA for a bit so the WCb home has been floating around, this week landing just across the river at Belly Timber, where Angry Cat has issues!

If you have been to BellyTimber the Angry Cat blog today, you probably know all about the injustice being perpetrated against Angry Cat. Oh, the felinity! The furlings over here at kittenMage kitchenMage have been working hard to help out, what with the math and all. AC needed extra paws on which to count up all that catnip. While the grayling lent a paw, everyone went out to practice their fighting skills, because you need military pouncing backup on these matters.

While Dargo is scoping out a position from which to sneak up on SC, Trubble (grayling #1) and T3 take advantage of his lack of attention and practice the flying pounce!

Look at that synchronization! Those sneaky snakes who stole AC's picture better watch out!

Next maneuver. Dargo thinks that SC (grayling #2) is not watching what's going on and that he has a chance to get in a sneak attack. He's lining up for his attack run, better watch out SC!

Hah! SC laughs at your sneak attack! Look at the air under Dargo, he must have been really surprised by SC's swift and silent attack skills. Man, they are so ready to back up AC. Where are those pesky people from the O? What chance do they stand against the kittenMage horde?

Trubble, otherwise known as the clever grayling, has been working very hard to help AC and she's utterly exhausted. Remember, math is hard for Barbies and kittens.  Luckily, Trubble has found a place to snooze while awaiting further orders from AC.

Remember, Weekend Cat Blogging will be hosted right here next weekend. Drop me mail with your permalinks at kitchenMage (at) gmail(dot)com or post them in the comments next Friday.

Until then. Hi Ho Angry Cat Away!

wcb: in which a kitten phones home...

Clare and Kiri from eat stuff organize weekend cat blogging to provide us with an excuse to bring on the cute...and we're all happy to oblige... Clare's been MIA for a bit so the WCb home has been floating around, this week landing in France with Lali et Cie, who is collecting the cute this week...

Do you remember the poor little kitten who was looking for someone to take him in just a little while back? This guy. Well, apparently he hasn't lost his thing for boxes, although they sure have gotten bigger! And theKid, who is one of his people, was kind enough to catch him hanging out in his favorite spot and share.

theGrayling, as we called him, has a bunch of real names now, all of which start with SC...perhaps theKid will remind me of some of them. I'm sure she told me but I'm still on that silly deadline and I'm seeing 6.20 in the fraking morning in my usual fashion: still awake after a long night writing.

Be sure to go visit the rest of the kitties in France. Flying Spaghetti Monster knows it's the only way I'm getting to France any time soon!

wcb extra: t3 is ready for his closeup

Clare and Kiri from eat stuff organize weekend cat blogging to provide us with an excuse to bring on the cute...and we're all happy to oblige... Clare's been MIA for a bit so the WCb home has been floating around the 'net, with The Hidden Paw collecting the adorableness this week...

Yeah, I know I already put up my WCB post for this week, but Farmgirl asked how her kitten was and I figured I'd share the cute. T3, also on the car during a break in the rain.

btw, Farmgirl, this furling needs a real name and if he's yours, you really should give him one. (ooooh, naming rights!) My primary requirement is that it doesn't end in a diminutive (i.e., "___ie") and it cant be more embarassing to yell at 2am than "C'mere Trubble!" because someday I will end up in the local paper's gossip column as "the woman who is out late at night looking for trouble..." (why yes, we have a gossip column in evenTinierTown's paper, doesn't yours?)

wcb: trubble takes advantage of a "sun break"

Clare and Kiri from eat stuff organize weekend cat blogging to provide us with an excuse to bring on the cute...and we're all happy to oblige... Clare's been MIA for a bit so the WCb home has been floating around the 'net, with The Hidden Paw collecting the adorableness this week...

It's getting on towards fall round these parts and that means rain. Lots and lots of rain. Some niches of my little burg get something like 120 inches of rain a year! Yep, ten feet! If I didn't live here, I'd have a hard time imagining it myself. Luckily for the fuzzlings, today brought a break in the ongoing sprinkleDrizzlePour cycle that is October. Trubble takes advantage of the momentary cessation in precipitation and heads for high ground. 

Just to add to the cusp of the season confusion, look what I spied in one of the herb beds today!

wcb: kittens enjoying the lazy days of late summer

Clare and Kiri from eat stuff organize weekend cat blogging to provide us with an excuse to bring on the cute...and we're all happy to oblige... Clare's been MIA for a bit so the WCb home has been floating around the 'net, with Chef Sarah Jane collecting the adorableness this week...

Shhh, Trubble's snoozing...or was until the shutter so rudely clicked and woke her up.

I am sure that pot was supposed to have something planted in it...I didn't think that it would be a gray fuzzFlower, but it's kind of cute, don't you think?

T3, on the other hand, was cruising the walkway looking for small, crawly things to eat. He stopped long enough to pose for me, which was awfully nice of him.

Then he found a toy to mess with. This week, that means snakes on the walkway! MuthaFrakking Snakes on the MuthaFrakking Walkway! (obligatory pop culture reference brought to you as a demonstration that it's not only dairy products that have a limited shelf life)
 

obligatory food related tidbit: KTCS Cooks is on the TV as background and this nice man is making a cabbage salad and talking about how "...the secret is that the ice cream has hamburger relish mixed into it..." I don't even want to know what he's talking about, but I'm sure some county fair is serving it on a stick... (and it even has outtakes)

wcb: a matched pair

Clare and Kiri from eat stuff organize weekend cat blogging to provide us with an excuse to bring on the cute...and we're all happy to oblige... Clare's been MIA for a bit so the WCb home has been floating around the 'net, with Chef Sarah Jane collecting the adorableness this week...

One of these is the mom, the other is not. Can you see why I sometimes have trouble telling them apart? All his nicknames are a reference to him being River's mini-me: R2, Rivulet, T3 (grandma Tux looks like this too), and a dozen others I can't come up with at the moment. someoneElse developed a soft spot for this little guy so the approach to finding him a new home has been, "If someoneWonderful happens to knock on the door looking for a kitten, we will consider it..." which is a long way of saying we're keeping him...

wcb: some babies never grow up

Clare and Kiri from eat stuff organize weekend cat blogging to provide us with an excuse to bring on the cute...and we're all happy to oblige... Clare's been MIA for a bit so the WCB home has been floating around the 'net, landing this week at Miss Elle's page where Darlin' Darla dodged the hurricane yesterday and is now holding court for all her feline friends...

yes, that's one of the kittens, yes, he's getting rather big now that he's four months old, and yes, he's trying to nurse... 'nuff said?

wcb: adorable kitten needs home

Clare and Kiri from eat stuff organize weekend cat blogging to provide us with an excuse to bring on the cute...and we're all happy to oblige...

Take us in, we have rode the Orphan Train
Take us in, we need a home, we need a name
Take us in, oh won't you be our kin
We are looking for someone to take us in

              from Orphan Train (Utah Phillips)

Poor little grayling! He's all packed up and ready to be sent out on his own. Not exactly an orphan, and I doubt it will involve trains, but he is looking for someone to take him in. (Either that or we will, as we've been joking, end up with five kittens!)

Did you know that there were actual orphan trains in the United States?

Started by the Children's Aid Society of New York after the civil war, the orphan trains relocated somewhere between 100,000 and 200,000 children from the east coast to parts further west. (Like in times of war, exact numbers are hard to come by, as I was typing this, someoneElse asked, "Isn't it closer to 350,000?") Unlike the cities of the eastern US, the west had the space for more children and they were wanted by many families, even if only to work as farm hands.

While a lot of these children were, in fact, orphans this was not the case for all of the children; a number of them came from families who simply couldn't afford to care for them or had parents that were deemed "unfit." Siblings were often separated, never to see each other again. The trains operated from the 1850s to the 1930s, paralleling the expansion of the railroad tracks, stopping at each town on the westward journey, described here by Utah Phillips:

The farmers and their families they came from miles around
We lined up on the platform of the station in each town
And one by one we parted like some living lost-and-found
And one by one we all were taken in

In any case, many of the orphan train children were destined not for adoption but for indenture. Yes, you read that right: indenture.

For a country just ending slavery yet needing to fuel a massive westward expansion, the attitude — and legal reality —  that children were property made them a handy source of unpaid labor. Children of the orphan trains often discovered that they weren't legally part of what was sometimes the only family they had ever known at the death of a parent, when they discovered they were cut out of inheriting a portion of the farm they worked as a child. (since I learned this, the verse above evokes a slave auction...)

Other bits of the Orphan Train history shed light on some of the more shameful and tragic aspects of the program: children as young as five being arrested and thrown in with adult prisoners before being sent west; beggar children, referred to as "street Arabs" or "city Arabs" were sent west to "good Christian families"; reports of some girls ending up as child brides, sometimes to much older men.

I find it fascinating that so few people know of the Orphan Trains — even though admittedly I first heard of them maybe a decade ago when someone played the song at a "hoot" — since it seems like something we should have been taught in school. Perhaps it's just one of those oh so awkward moments in history that we'd rather just forget about.

Maybe the Internet will help change that: The Orphan Train Riders have a site, PBS did an American Experience on the topic, a museum (The National Orphan Train Complex)  opened recently, and there's even an Orphan Train movie. (which reinforces my point, the only comment includes "...I didn't know...these orphan trains were something that really happened.") The last of the Orphan Train riders are getting well along in years, if we don't hear their stories now, it may well be too late.

wcb: toddler kittens

Clare and Kiri from eat stuff organize weekend cat blogging to provide us with an excuse to bring on the cute...and we're all happy to oblige...

People talk about dog years, but what about cat years. I'm not sure how long a cat year is, but I can tell you one thing: six week old kittens are the same as human toddlers, about 18-20 months old, if my memory of the theKid is right. Everything fragile that I care about is packed (or sitting on a tabletop, well, mostly sitting on a tabletop), the house is thrashed, kitty detrius is strewn down the hallway, and a few times an hour I hear the thump of a head hitting hardwood and wince, waiting for the following whine.

Personalities are emerging, to the extent that we can guess which kitten is connected to which noise, and, more often than not, why. If there's a sudden lonely cry, it means T3 just realized she's all by herself and wants attention. A pained yowl means theFluffling has forgotten the size difference between himself and the "three babies"...again. (resulting in an introduction to gravity — wherein he is gently dangled upside down for 15 seconds while being talked to in theBadVoice — then someoneElse holds fruffleFace in his lap, while tenderly stroking the his face and saying, "you have to be gentle with the babies" repeatedly while I dissolve in laughter.)

Then there are days like today. I sat down on the floor with a camera while the kittens romped on a sunlit patch of floor. Adorable kittens playing in gorgeous natural lighting and space for about 170 pictures on my CF card, what could go wrong...go wrong...go wrong.

Perhaps there will be more pictures this week. Perhaps not. Perhaps if there are more, they will be of kittens that are in playing in natural light rather than kittens who are climbing on me in natural shadow. Perhaps not.

wcb: four kittens and the outside adventure

Clare and Kiri from eat stuff organize weekend cat blogging to provide us with an excuse to bring on the cute...and we're all happy to oblige...

This week starts with a basket of cute. Three tiny (well, not quite so tiny any more) kittens stuffed in a basket that's barely large enough for two. This may be why you can only see two of them, the third is being squished — rather like a bug  — underneath these two.

That bright little face, btw, belongs to T3 who is one of the two kittens available for adoption. How could you not love that little face? And if you're a real softie, her grandmother Tux is also available. She's a real sweetie too.

Anyway, it's a good thing that they all got some rest too because the next thing on the big kitten agenda was outside! While the fruffleThing used to be an outside kitten before she came to us — mom was a stray who moved in at my friend's bed and breakfast — the other three had no clue. 

kitten update: Fluff joins the family

Quick update on theFluffThing. He's gotten comfortable enough that he feels free to take on River in tussles while the three smaller kittens snooze. Which is good for the smidges because Fluff is bigger enough that he's a bit overpowering when he goes bat sh...well, let's just say one of his nicknames is guano... grin

He's usually pretty good with the littler ones, but once a day or so we'll hear a squawk and have to run and reexplain the relative strength of smaller kittens to the fluffKitten. I doubt he understands the speech, but having it delivered while he dangles upside down face-to-face with one of us might make some impact. Then again, having been doing it for a few days, I am not so sure. So it's nice to see him romping with River who is more than happy to straighten his little fluffness out.

On the other hand, he can be the most angelic thing in the entire world. As shown here, where one of these kittens is not like the other one...that not-so-little kitten does belong. This happened after about 48 hours of sporadic hissing from River, which is pretty good all in all.

Today they all had their first adventure out in the garden. But those pictures are for another day.

wcb: and then there were four again...

Clare and Kiri from eat stuff organize weekend cat blogging to provide us with an excuse to bring on the cute...and we're all happy to oblige...

Starting with the three almost month-old kittens because, even if they are pretty much a blur, they are at least predictable. As in, they are supposed to be here. They are each between 550-575 grams as of yesterday and we've had to redesign the kitty containment system in their room to make the board across the doorway higher — it's now two feet and I give them a week tops before the first one gets claws over the top edge in a single leap. Then this barrier will fall, as the puny 1x12 fell before it. With any luck, we'll have the kitten section of the yard fenced in by then. So far, we've been about a day ahead of them. Doesn't bode well for us puny humans.

They are also getting older — not just bigger, older. They are a lot more like tiny cats now than they were just a few day ago: they scatch behind their necks (and lose their balance and topple over about half the time) and spend a good chunk of their waking time playing bap and bite, which seems like a fun game if you're a kitten. Plus they have their little paws under them and are walking steadily and even doing short bursts of running...until their back legs lose traction on the hardwood floor and they end up sprawled indignantly on their bellies.

I took more than 300 pictures of these three furlings this past week. They all look like this one. Well, that's not entirely true...some are blurrier. I need to get them outside in bright light so I can get a decent shot for next week. (Plus, I need to get a tummy picture for Layla...)

But didn't I say something about four?

wcb: in which the kittens climb the wall

This week brought great change in the land of the smidges:

freedom!

We got our first inkling that something was afoot (apaw?) one morning when we awoke to a lone kitten next to the board we had placed across the so-called-sewing room** doorway. Fortunately, we had expanded our kitten-proof zone the previous day in anticipation of just this event so while the furling was unhappy at being alone he was at least confined to a small part of the house. I'd give you three guesses which kitten, but you know which one was 'nymed Trubble, so it's probably obvious.

The next afternoon, I went to check on the smidges and found this. Apparently escaping is exhausting and the smidges had to crash. but look! That all-gray face that seems somehow ready for more...guess who? The more I watch these guys, the more convinced I am that we got Trubble nailed when he first tried to escape from the 'birthing bed' less than ten minutes after he was born.

  A little while later, after we put back them back into the blue box, T3 had to show her mom just how fewocious she can be. Be amused, be very amused.

The three continue to grow apace, all of them being around 400 grams now, I believe. Everyone is up and moving around pretty well too. The last day or two has seen the beginning skirmishes of the Tussle War, look for pictures of that next week.

I want to thank everyone who left a comment or sent mail about Tidbit. He was an awfully special little thing and it was nice to hear he'd tugged a heartstring or two out there.

The rest of the week's cats can be found at Eat Stuff, where Clare and Kiri have taken a moment from their adventures to round up the cute.

** I use the term "sewing room" to describe the room that has been occupied by one cat or another for well over the half the time we've lived here. The room in which I have used a sewing machine once in eighteen months. The one with the shelves full of fabric that have been unpacked, stacked, semi-repacked, unpacked again, organized "for real" a few weeks back...and then taken over by River when she moved her kittens in there, requiring me to pack three shelves (out of five) lest they become kitten fodder. That sewing room. Hrumph! Might as well call it the kitten room.

kitten update: new pics!

This one's going to be short and sweet. Fresh pictures of two kittens. (and then I'm going to go write something about food)

a tree grows in evenTinierTown

Late this afternoon, as the rain crept up our valley, someoneElse and I took a scrap of fabric from the very first shirt I made for him, wrapped it around a tiny midnight-black bundle and buried it under an oak-leaf hydrangea while River stood watch. The hydrangea, carefully located where I can see it from my kitchen window, will soon be covered in weeping branches of tiny white flowers...which seems appropriate somehow.

Tidbit died shortly before 5 this morning in a pool of light spilled from a flashlight in a darkened kitchen, on a towel on the floor surrounded by me, someoneElse and River. ...and a sockful of warm rice. I have more to say, just not quite yet.

This is one of the very last pictures I took of Tidbit, getting a kiss from his mom after one of his last feedings. Probably the one where he gained that misleading 4 grams!

River is roaming the house looking for him; she paces the hall, lays down in front of each closed door in turn, then comes up to us and burbles questioningly; she has repeatedly checked every room (and closet) in the house. (we did show her that he was dead, but not being a cat psychologist, I am not sure how that whole 'understanding' thing works here...other than apparently not so well yet) It's heartwrenching to watch. We pick her up, we skritch her ears, we explain he's gone and we miss him too...then I cry.

The rest of the kittens, on the other hand, are doing well. They've gained 20-30 grams in 3 days (their little  bellies are bulging) and Trubble is starting to look up towards the top of the current box as he stumbles around learning to walk.

Tidbit bits

After a day full of experimentation with liquids (sugar-water, honey-water, homemade goat milk-based 'tidbit food,' filtered water, as well watered down versions of everything) and methods (wrapped in a kitchen towel, head being stroked, eyedropper moving between the corner of his mouth and the front to encourage licking up his food) Tidbit is up to 200 grams! I know full well that 4 grams is very little in the greater scheme of things and that it's likely to (literally) evaporate overnight, but it's the first gain in ~48 hours and it feels good. Plus there was a moment when his tummy bulged down to fill my hand under the blanket...at least a tiny little tidbit of a bulge.

Failure to thrive is not an option!

Isn't that just the warmest, softest pile of furlings you've seen lately? (The picture is about a week old and while I was all geared up to brave River's indignant m'rows to get some more current ones for this weekend's WCB, life has intervened. How unusual.)

The kittens grow so fast now, they look different almost from one day to the next...fat bellies, eyes opening, heads are starting to perk up when we come into the room or turn on a light. They are rapidly cruising towards fat, happy and crawling all over the not-yet-kittenproofed house.

Except for one.

meet the kittens, part four

Since several of my kitten pictures are among the top kitten images on Google, I figure that maybe some of you would like a chance to have your very own copies. If so, please visit my Cafe Press shop kittenMage and take a look at the adorable kittens. (more soon)

For days now, the world has conspired to make it hard to get a "meet the kittens" picture of the last little one and the 531 blurred images of a black and white furling have renewed my appreciation for digital photography. Today, however, the stars aligned and I got my chance.

Meet T3, the third generation of remarkably similar tuxedo cats. Grandma's name is actually Tux, because when "he" wandered into the Inn at Lucky Mud as a stray it seemed like an obvious choice. River, who was a perfect little replicant, was nicknamed Tuxette when she was a baby.

Below, for your comparing amusement, is River as a 2 month old.

meet the kittens, part three

Since several of my kitten pictures are among the top kitten images on Google, I figure that maybe some of you would like a chance to have your very own copies. If so, please visit my Cafe Press shop kittenMage and take a look at the adorable kittens. (more soon)

I have this theory that every litter of kittens has one that takes on the role of Trubble (named for this cat, perhaps you can see why she got the name originally), an honorary position that generally involves being the instigator of much mayhem. Yes, I realize that, like "adorable kittens," mayhem might be redundant to the natural state of kittens, but Trubbles approach life on a slightly different tangent from the rest of the litter.

Trubbles can often be seen swimming through the pile of kittens while the rest of them try to quietly nurse themselves to sleep; they are usually the first to break out of containment, and are often caught climbing the fence, blazing a path for the rest of the litter; if all of the kittens but one are contentedly doing something, the one will be Trubble, and what they are doing will make you laugh.

Trubble is a sort of Pan to rest of the Lost Kittens, if you will.

One Trubble of my memory used to wait until Geek, the tiny coal black runt, was hiding in a clay flower pot and then start rolling it around the deck. Pretty soon, another kitten would run up to stick a paw through the drain hole in the bottom of the pot to swat at Geek enough to get him to stick his paw out the hole and play. I'd look up from my computer to see this terra-cotta pot being rolled around by several kittens while this very happy tiny black furling batted at them from the protection of a very sturdy planting pot.

Kittens have personalities from an amazingly early age, with some seeming to find theirs just minutes after birth. Such is today's kitten...at least it has that look so far. He's She's the firstborn, also known as the twelve minute old kitten, and he she staked his claim on the position of Trubble even earlier than that! As I was going to get the camera for the very first pictures, I noticed that River had her teeth clamped around this guy's girl's neck and was dragging him her back from partway up the side of the basket where enough towels had been piled to offer him her a head start on escape. He She was maybe eight minutes old at the time! Eight! You can see why we decided he's she's the most likely to be Trubble.

Here he she is in a rare moment of repose — the kittens mostly just zone out in someoneElse's hands, it's so darned adorable!

More just as soon as I get a chance to extract them from River's protective paws. In case you've missed any of these babies, check the 'adorable kittens' category I created to collect the adorable kitten pictures.

meet the kittens, part two

Capturing these miniscule things on film CF card is proving to be a challenge. First I have to wait until River is gone, lest the mewling bring her running to interrupt the all-too-brief photo session. Then I need good light without flash...which is made more difficult by River's desire to stick close to the babies until about dusk, when she remembers that she's a predator and there are small things in the field across the road. I opened the door last night to call her in after one of the kittens just about fell off the third shelf up in the linen closet...where River insists they be...

speaking of which, check this out: see the basket on the floor? she gave birth in that, under the coffee table at our feet, and only when I insisted that she could NOT have babies in my lap...and when she moved the kittens to the hall closet floor we moved it there as a containment device...lasted about 12 hours...and then she moved to where you see her little head poking up...so now we have pillows piled up so that, when the inevitable tumble happens, they bounce lightly...the newspaper is protecting the mahogany from the catfood mess...(next thing she'll want her food served on crystal on the bare mahogany!) flashlight on the shelf above her helps find the squealing kitten who has gotten wedged between her back and the wall... Better, what you can't see in this picture is that the closet door (when opened, which it must be for the pillows to stay there so no kittens break their heads) blocks the doorway to someoneElse's office... this in a house with five thousand easy places to stash kittens...heck, I was willing to give up the entire sewing room for a month, but does she take me up on it? There's a reason they call mom cats queens, isn't there? Damned Egyptians, telling cats they are goddesses and all!

...but I digress... grin

anyway, I opened the door yesterday just in time to see River take a flying pounce at a rodent, three feet up in the air, all four legs akimbo...was fun to see her playing for just a moment.  Other than the almost tumbling kitten part.

Even when everything lines up - River, daylight, second pair of hands - and I can snag a kitten, it won't hold still for anything. Out of the 25 shots I got of this baby, this is the only one that turned out.

So, what have we learned? Tough light, squirmy kittens, brief intervals...It's easier, albeit much less fun, to photograph ice cream!

As for today's kitten. S/he was the last born and seems to be the smallest (although not truly 'runtish'). If there's a loud crying from the closet, it's usually this critter having gotten squeezed between River and a wall (hence the aforementioned flashlight)...or being frustrated because there are no nipples on River's hind legs and she can't get to one through the other three. Well, mostly through Trubble (the firstborn) who is proving true to his 'nym--he's already trying to escape. Regularly.

More as soon as I wrangle another one...and considering that my extra hands are in Seattle at the moment, this may mean tomorrow.

meet the kittens, part one

Since this little guy has become one of the top kitten images on Google, I figure that maybe some of you would like a chance to have your very own copy of the grayling. If you do, visit my Cafe Press shop kittenMage and take a look at the adorable kittens. (more soon)

Food? Am I supposed to be writing about food? But...but, I have these entirely squeeable things to gaze upon with rapt adoration, so food waits another day.

This little one doesn't have a nickname yet, but I think he's probably got the single best picture so far.

Since the herb garden desktop image was such a hit, I thought I'd offer this one too.

wcb: 'dorable kittens, four so far...

(weekend cat blogging, cont.)

As promised, updates on the kittens. River's had four so far and seems like she's going to have another one or two. The first two were gray (one pure, the other with a little white), the second two black (one pure, the other with white markings), and three sets of white socks amongst them. One little one is pretty much pure black from what I can tell.

Carrying on a fine tradition, we have another "Tux" (aka Tux3) — River's mom Tux (who lives at Jessica's place, the lucky thing!) being the first and River (who was "Tuxette" as a kitten) being the second. Is that not the most adorable thing you've seen today?

wcb: it's going to be a long night...

this is what 12 minutes old looks like, just in case you have ever wondered... there's a second one now, and River decided to have them (literally) at our feet... there will be more over the weekend...and i'll post more too...

until then, please be quiet, there's sleeping kittens and a kind of worn out, and not yet done, River...

the rest of the cats are at Clare's place... (and now i must go back to reassuring River that those mewling things attached to her are really okay)

(updates and more pictures here)

WCB: The Usurper

My weekend has pretty much looked like this.
We brought home the kitten we had laidaway a couple of weeks ago last Thursday and there's been a bit of contention here on the homefront. Nothing serious mind you, just the usual "getting to know the usurper" rituals.
More cuteness after the jump.

adorable kittens!

Forgive the redundant title, but they are so squeeable!

Not much talk, just want to share the cuteness that lives up the street from me. First, one of a pair of twins, investigating what we humans were up to--I believe it was wine and bread with a variety of toppings.
And introducing our new kitten! Currently called "tuxette" because mom is Tux, she's going to need a new name soon. We're looking for a friend for her, but the twins don't seem inclined to be very social so it's not going to be one of them. Is this not an adorable furling?

Hurry over to eat stuff to see the rest of this week's cats.

The players so far:

Check out Matildes puss playing Hide and Seek! at Skør i Skralden
Check out Macroom strutting it with the big cats at Dispensing Happiness
Check out the cat showing her displeasure at the idea of WDB at Belly Timber
Check out Tasha waking up from a nap at A few of my favourite things
Check out The Stunning Nero at Anne's Food
Check out The big black sweetie named Jazz at Look hunny, I cooked.
Check out Meow Meow relaxing in her new bed at Masak Masak
Check out Alices's boys relxing on a Saturday morning at My Adventures in the Breadbox
Check out Farmgirls best pal the doodle monster washing herself at Farmgirl Fare
Check out bussi practising the art of feline hedonism at basic juice
Check out Lucky taking a well positioned nap at The Countess
Check out Grey Kitty the not quite stray at Restaurant Widow
Check out luke curled up with Nick at Sweetnicks
Check out the Gorgeous Kittaya  taking a nap at Mananadi