You’ve heard that old adage that cats sleep with one eye open. Well, it’s true.
It isn’t that we don’t trust the humans. It’s just that we have to be alert to the stupid things they do that we might have to correct later.
I am still working on getting that fan out of the window.
But fur now, YEEEEEEEEAAAAWWWWWWNNNNN…..
I’ll just have a basket nap.
Just Meowin,
The Brew
What is THAT thing doin’ in MY window???
Oh well, I can still get to the birdies.
BZTAT is out back painting and I am supervisin’.
See, here, this fan is just IN MY WAY.
Here is what I think of this whole fan business.
Just Meowin’.
The Brew
I have heard humans say that cats have a secret language. Truthfully, it is not so secret. Humans are just not smart enough to figure it out.
You see, humans base their language around describin’ things. They go on and on, tryin’ to find the right words to describe things in just the right way.
Cats? We are more about feeling, sensing, interacting, playing, and sleeping. And observing. We do and we watch.
Take a common form of greeting. The humans have a whole Wikipedia page dedicated to the “fist bump”, or hand gesture that was developed as an alternative to the handshake. They go on and on describing how it is done and how it got started. Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.
Cats have a similar greeting (I think the humans stole it from us, actually). It is called the “paw bump”. There is no Wikipedia page fur that, because, well, cats just don’t need to go on and on describin’ it.
I guess I could write a page fur it, seein’ as though Wikipedia is open sourced and all, but why would I want to? It’s not needed.
If you Google “paw bump” though, you will find…
OMC!!!!!
What is this??? There I am with a bunch of really icky Google Images!!!
OK, cats. This just won’t do. We gotta get some better lookin’ images on Google to represent our “paw bump”. That’s all there is to it.
Here’s what I am gonna do. I am gonna start a blog challenge fur all my bloggin’ cat pals to rectify this situation. We gotta get some good “paw bump” pix up on Google Images.
I am gonna challenge all my cat pals to write a blog post that has a photo of you givin’ a paw bump in it so that we can have some better images out there on the web. Make sure that you have paw-bump somewhere in the title of the image so that Google can find it and index it properly.
Once you have posted yer blog, make sure ya track back to mine, and leave me a comment here with a link to it.
Just to give ya a little encouragement, I am gonna give a prize to the cat with the best “paw bump” photo. Leave me a comment here with yer link, and you could win a fine art print of me by my artist human BZTAT.
I will give ya a couple of weeks. I will judge the entries on Tuesday, June 8, 2010.
So get paw bumpin’, folks.
Just Meowin’,
The Brew
I will get that bug. Somehow, some way. I will get it. Mark my meows.
Just Meowin’,
The Brew
Hairball Awareness Contest Winner - Jigsaw Puzzle
OK, folks, this was not any easy contest to judge. I had so many fabulous entries, I had to ask my pal Romeo the Cat to help me out.
The challenge was fur critters to tell me about how they rescued their humans in the comments of my post on National Hairball Awareness Day. I asked fur critters to answer the following questions: How did you find yer human, and how did you change their life around? How have you made yours a better human by havin’ you in their life?
Everyone, and I do mean everyone, told a very moving story.
Romeo and I decided, however, after much deliberation, that Jigsaw Puzzle of Talk With the Paws, was the one who best answered the questions.
Jigsaw told us about how he helped his humans get through the sadness of losing their beloved Soot cat, who went to the Rainbow Bridge eight months after Jigsaw arrived in their lives. He still climbs into one of his humans’ lap and sings to her when she gets sad about the loss.
Concats on winning yer whole family of cats a new Cat Deluxe Furminator, Jigsaw! *High Paw*
I wish that I could give a Furminator to everyone who told their stories, as you all shared very special stories. I was moved by them all. Thank you so much fur sharing them with my readers and me.
And thank you Furminator, Inc. fur sponsoring my contest!
Just Meowin’.
The Brew
Yo Brew’s Posse!
As I told ya on April 30, the good folks at Furminator, Inc. are givin’ me a brand new Cat Deluxe Furminator to give out as a contest prize. This is a real cool prize because this is a pretty fancy groomin’ tool.
Truthfully, they don’t look like much, but many cats and humans swear by them. I am one of those cats. Furminators really help to get the underfur of cats thinned out, so that we take in less fur in our tummies when we bathe ourselves. Even short hair cats like me benefit from bein’ Furminated.
And this one has that ejector button thingy that makes it easier to get the fur out once it is off of ya.
If you would like to get one of these fancy Furminators, read my post about National Hairball Awareness Day and follow the instructions for entering the contests.
There are some pretty cool entries already, but yours just might be the winnin’ one. I can’t wait to read your entry!
Just Meowin’.
The Brew
OK, I am not sure what those humans were thinkin’.
I mean, really. Drillin’ down 6 miles to the bottom of the ocean to get that black yucky schtuff, you woulda thought that the humans knew how to control Mother Nature and all her possible ways to foil them.
They don’t.
All to fill up the engines of those car thingies.
Who wants to be drivin’ in a car anyways? Cats detest those things fur a reason!!!
Lotsa paw pointin’ to be done, here, I guess. But here’s my thought. Everyone can do their part by tryin’ to conserve energy so that we don’t have to dig up the earth fur oil and other natural resources so much.
My pals keep sendin’ me great articles about the Deepwater Horizon Oil Spill Response, so I want to share them with you.
The National Wildlife Federation continues to put out a number of good articles on the subject. Here is one about how animals are being affected by the spill:
How the Gulf Oil Spill Could Hurt Animals.
This is a good article from Ranger Rick explaining the spill to kids:
The Big Oil Spill Ranger Rick answers your questions.
My good friend Jane from Petfinder also wrote a good article about what people can do to help out the animals:
Gulf Oil Spill: How you can help coastal animals in danger
My pals at Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research recommend that you follow updates at the Official Website for the Deepwater Horizon Response Unified Command.You can even follow the the Deepwater Horizon Response on Facebook.
Lets all put our paws together and purray that they get this oil leak capped soon and get the messed cleaned up soon.
Just Meowin’.
The Brew
This just in from Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research‘s website:
Tri-State has been asked to oversee the wildlife rehabilitation response along the gulf coast and is working closely with many collaborating organizations. All response efforts are being coordinated by the Unified Command on-site.
BP has made a solid commitment to covering the costs associated with the response to this incident, including the wildlife aspect. If you would like to support Tri-State’s mission, you can make a donation online or by mail. These valuable donations will help ensure that Tri-State can continue to be available for rapid response to an oil spill and to work with companies and agencies on proactive contingency planning and training.
For additional information about the incident, including photos, visit deepwaterhorizonresponse.com.
Please share info./links in the comments below if you know of specific needs for the wildlife rescue. Thx!
Just meowin’.
The Brew
I know that I usually give the Slick Cat a hard time, cuz I get jealous of the attention she gets from my human BZTAT. But I am gonna put that all aside, cuz she has somethin’ important to meow about today.
I am gonna let the Slick Cat have a guest post today.You’ll see why. –The Brew
Slick Cat: (looks warily at Brew, not sure she can trust him) Thanks Brew.
Hi Everyone. I am not much of one for blogging. I usually leave that to my egomaniac housemate Brewskie. But there is something really important that I wanted to share with you, so I appreciate you letting me bend your furry ears.
I know that everyone is aware of the big oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, and you all are probably aware that it is getting worse by the minute. Lotsa critters are in harm’s way as we face possibly the worst ever environmental disaster ever to affect North America.
It is scary stuff.
I know it is scary stuff, because I survived an oil spill myself once. That’s how I got my name Slick, and that’s how I found BZTAT.
In the summer of 1995, there was a small oil spill on the Tuscarawas River here in Ohio, when a pipeline burst and filled the river with oil. It was nothing like this big spill in the Gulf, but it made the river a stinky gooey mess.
That river was my home. I lived on the riverbed and I played in the weeds and trees. It was also the home for many ducks and geese and herons and snakes and turtles and even a beaver.
A lot of those critters were covered with oil and had to be rescued. They had to be cleaned and cared for to return them to health. Sadly, some did not survive.
They thought I had oil on me too, because I have black patches in my fur. (I didn’t.) The rangers chased after me for 3 days before I finally let them catch me. I am glad I did, because I found BZTAT, who was volunteering and helping rescue the other critters. She took me home and we have been together for the last 15 years.
I was reflecting on all of this as I was sitting next to BZTAT while she was reading about the Gulf oil spill on the computer. We were both excited when we saw photos in the news reports of Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research from Deleware cleaning the first birds to be rescued.
Tri-State Bird Rescue and Research (TSBRR) is the same organization that rescued me!
I am very saddened by this disaster. I am very saddened that birds and other wildlife have that gooey mess on them. But I am very glad that TSBRR is there to look after the critters. They are amazing folks.
I am sure that there will be many other worthy rescue groups working on this effort as well. They will need our support – financial and other kinds of support.
We don’t know all of what they need yet. But in the coming days, I am sure that the needs will grow. The Brew plans to follow this as close as he can and help get the meows out about how we can help.
Because critters are critters, ya know? Those wonderful birds and other wildlife did not ask for this.
If you learn of specific needs for TSBRR or other organizations, please leave links and other info in the comments here. Or tweet the Brew or send him an email. We want to do whatever we can to help.
I know that TSBRR helped me and changed my life.
We will all shake our heads about the tragedy. Politics will play out and lotsa paw pointing will happen, I am sure.
Regardless of who is to blame or who could have done what to make it different, we need to put our paws together to help the critters. Arguing those other points has to happen, but lets leave that to the humans to do in a different space.
Thanks for your thoughts, and thanks Brew for not pouncing me while I posted on his blog.
Just Meowin’.
The Slick Cat