Just got home from getting the garden in and was sitting down cooling off in the AC before I took a shower, and you know who came into the room, sat down on the futon, and started to make a ruckus. So, thinking on my feet, I started filming:
It might be hard to hear because the central air and the HEPA were running, but if you listen you can hear him purring the entire time (it gets really loud at the end), and every now and then letting out one of his patented shrill meow/purrs. He can make that noise at will for HOURS ON END while trying to slowly drive me insane. It is one of the many reasons I think he has some Siamese or something in his blood, because he talks and chirps so much. I have to admit, too- I will always want a cat that talks in the future. He also is one of the loudest purring cats, ever. I can hear him purring from another room.
Speaking of the garden, I did a crappy job planning. I bought about a dozen too many plants, so I had to pick up a couple pots and am just going to grow them on the porch. Could have saved money by just chucking the plants, but what the heck- can never have too many fresh peppers and tomatoes.
I gotta get some work done and then go walking. I’ll be back later- you all behave.
HyperIon
he’s in fine purring form.
i love the sound cats make when they are bathing and purring at the same time.
JL
Tunch’s daily exercise regimen.
LD50
@HyperIon: I have a huge Norwegian Forest tom who often purrs loudly while he eats. It comes out like a growl. He sounds like some kind of little cave troll.
Woody
I think there should be very little doubt as to Tunch-cat’s Sia-meowing heritage…Iirc, Flame-point, even absent the blue eyes…
Joshua Norton
Um, yes. Yes you can. Unless you have a few crates of canning jars hidden away, once the tomatoes start producing and ripening by the bushel, you will have them up the ying-yang. Just hope you neighbors can eat about a dozen a day.
omen
anybody else’s comments getting swallowed?
Turgidson
His hind legs moved in this one. What a letdown.
southpaw
I’ll second that; a bumper crop of veggies that exceeds your needs is a hassle no matter how you deal with it.
Mino
That last one was impressive!
JGabriel
Jeepers, that cat is huge !
What are you feeding it John, ice-cream stuffed Gambian pouch rats?
.
Joshua Norton
I think you’re right about Tunchster being part Siamese. That’s definitely a Siamese yowl. And his snout has Siamese characteristics. I’ve had about 10 Siamese cats over the years and that sound never leaves your memory bank.
You don't say
Is Tunch ambulatory? We’ve only ever seen him on that blue blanket. Does he exist outside that small, blue background?
JL
@Joshua Norton: You can pop them in a bag and freeze them whole, uncooked or cooked. You can use frozen tomatoes for sauces, soups or anything that you cook.
omen
tunch needs a dog to chase him around.
AhabTRuler
I think perhaps Turkish Van. If Tunch were a Flame Point Siamese, he would have the blue eyes, as the semi-albinism is responsible for both traits and found on the same gene (from my limited understanding of the science involved). So Tunch may have Siamese in his lineage, but his coloration is due to some other ancestor.
Momo is a tabby point, so one can see how the traditional mackerel tabby patterning interacts with the Siamese albinism.
J.
Tunch is a magnificent specimen of feline pulchritude — and is very photogenic. However, I have a bone — or rather some fur — to pick with him, and you, and several of your commenters/loyal readers re the FURminator.
At your and their suggestion, I ordered this seemingly magical de-shedding tool — and yesterday I attempted to use it on our younger, more pliant (i.e., less harm inflicting) cat, Felix. And my daughter (who just turned 11) asked if she could film it.
While the video is titled “Felix and the FURminator, Part 1,” it should more accurately have been called “Felix vs. the FURminator” or “FURminator FAIL.” You can see for yourselves, but had I not forcibly held Felix down, he would have bolted a lot sooner. The verdict: the lint roller wins, in a landslide.
Did I do something wrong?
JL
@southpaw: Some food banks take surplus summer vegetables. They are a real treat for our clients.
omen
cooking tomatoes increases the levels of lycopene.
JL
@J.: It does make for a nice video though.
southpaw
I’m with you JL. Apologies if it sounded like I was denigrating the wonderful uses to which surpluses of garden vegetables can be put. My point was just that canning, freezing or donating (or what have you) all present a logistical hassle.
Whatever food banks are in his area, I suspect that John gives all his excess food to that rotund feline.
omen
@J.:
never thought to invite my cat to share pina coladas.
AhabTRuler
If you flip around the Momo section, you can see how the pigmentation is affected by temperature. Her ears and the bottom of her paws are completely pigmented, with the legs fading weaker as they rise to the torso, and her body is very washed out (although, as is common with Siamese, she has darkened overall as she has gotten older).
JL
@southpaw: Last summer my son wanted me to try a Alton Brown sauce. That was a nightmare. The sauce was good but not good enough to make up for all the pots and pans that were used.
Phoenician in a time of Romans
Jeepers, that cat is huge !
I wouldn’t say that.
I would say, however, that I have seen nature documentaries featuring animals of a similar build hauling themselves out of the sea onto polar ice, before crashing into each other in an attempt to build a harem of impressed females.
AhabTRuler
Quick catch on the Momo primer.
Anyway, some other commenter suggested the Turkish Van angle, and from a brief glance there are cosmetic similarities, but I don’t know enough about the breed to speak reliably. The only reason I have learned as much as I have about Siamese is b/c of Momo.
The Moar You Know
@AhabTRuler: Could also be Angora. Turkish Vans have the water fetish (I had one and miss her very much), and for some odd reason I think we’d know if Tunch took baths with John.
What a yowl that cat has. I thought mine was bad, but damn. That’s gotta be fun at 4am, and explains why John is in a shitty mood a lot of the time.
Lilly von Schtupp
He’s so sweet. I wuv him. He’s being a love monster. Those are the noises they make.
Deech56
Definitely some Van lineage. They are notoriously vocal, and the markings are (um…) spot on. Oh and our Van wannabe is rather large.
J.
@JL and @omen: Thanks. : ) Yeah, had no idea Felix was into pina coladas. Next thing you know I’ll find out that he’s not into yoga — and likes getting caught in the rain.
Seriously, though, if anyone has some suggestions re better FURmination, please let me know.
Betsy
My cat’s the opposite – she is the quietest little thing I’ve ever encountered. I’ve never heard her meow. She makes soft little chirps and trills sometimes, and she will move her mouth like she’s meowing, but no sound comes out, or just a tiny, high-pitched squeak. It’s amazing. And given that I lived with a roommate whose cats *howled* all the time, especially if not given free run of my bedroom, I am enormously pleased that Chompers errs on the side of peacefulness.*
*Well, aural peacefulness, anyway. She is otherwise quite warlike, and takes great joy in leaping out at us as we round corners and/or attacking our ankles viciously.
ETA: I greatly enjoy Tunch’s vocal performances, however.
Leszek Pawlowicz
Try making one of these for your tomatoes and peppers:
http://earthtainer.org
Comrade Darkness
We’ve taken in cats that were completely silent, but they learned to talk later on just fine. Learned it from our feedback and from the other cat. So, I wouldn’t make it a deal breaker for an adoption.
Tim
Tunch sounds a bit like a pterodactyl with that last meow.
My cat – Moonpie – grunts when he cleans himself, especially when he digs his teeth in to get deep into his fur.
John, are you going to make special plans to watch the finals tomorrow? Two upstate NY teams going at each other should be fun to watch. I’m getting special dispensation from my girlfriend to be able to watch the game.
Zzyzx
First Cous does the meow/purr thing too but it’s more purr than meow with her and it’s the cutest thing ever.
Arachnae
Awww, I love Tunch so hard…
I’ve got a little cat that looks exactly like a Siamese; points and blue eyes and cat-figurine shape and all. (She’s a rescue, so who knows what all she is, exactly.) Her voice, however, is a little baby bird cheep. It’s adorable.
Walker
My cats are noisy, but are not normal. Markus has this attention getting noise that sounds like a pigeon (It is called “trilling”, so I have read, but the wife and I call it “pigeoning”). He only meows when he is unhappy (such as when we catch him to cut his claws).
Lyta, the torty, never, ever meows. She squeaks. It is the damnedest noise that I have ever heard from a cat, but it sounds like “eek”. She can make it pretty loud though.
Svensker
No such thing as too many tomatoes. Share ’em with friends and family, the food bank, the neighbors, set up a farm stand. But enjoy.
I got tomatoes in yesterday, came in, husband says “why didn’t you do the beans?” Grrrr. Beans and okra next.
Louise
That cat moved maybe three times, and you call that “making a ruckus”? He must spend most of the day comatose.
My dog, if she wants my attention, will jump up and push me, hard, with both front paws, not unlike Elaine’s “Get OUT” shove. And if the UPS truck stops in front of the house? *That* is a ruckus.
PenGun
My beast is healing on the bed. He seems to have succeeded in ‘owning’ the farm a mile up the road. A big unspade beast he is a lovely animal. Muscle all over him and he is the alpha guy around here it seems. Damage is pretty minimal and rare. He has beaten them all up now. After that they will not face him again.
He sounds like a kitten. A broken meoow with a catch in it. It’s pretty funny.
Leisureguy
Lots of ripe hot peppers can be used to make pepper sauce. Here’s a recipe template:
Use ripe hot peppers. You can also add dried peppers if you want.
Wash peppers in cold water and cut off and discard stems.
Fill blender jar with peppers
Add 1/4 cup salt
Add whatever liquids (vinegar should be the main one, but I’ve also added dark rum, lime juice, lemon juice, etc. Once I even put a whole Meyer lemon in with the peppers and blended that whole thing.) to bring it to just above a quart.
Blend
Simmer 20 min
Cool 10 min
Blend
Bottle
I used these bottles.
And if you like a cat that talks a lot in soft little meows, a Maine Coon cat is wonderful. Wish they came in short-hair models.
different church-lady
On gardening — I have compared my efforts since buying my home 3 years ago to the efforts of my former landlord, a 70 year old Italian immigrant, and I have drawn the following conclusion: it takes about 30 years before you start to really get it right.
You might find someone to trade those plants with — someone else has always got too much of something you need. Take some flowers off their hands and give some veggies.
tess
My tortie makes a similar noise sometimes when she meows, sort of a trill to it that almost sounds like she has a brogue. I primarily hear it in the kitchen, since at some point over the last 16+ years, she’s figured out it’s the sound that pays off. If I meow back with a sound that is, for lack of better spelling, “nyarf-nyarf,” she gets very excited and purrs even louder, until she realizes I don’t know what I’m saying to her. It’s truly disappointing to her.
I just lost my 16+ Maine Coon mix, and one of the hardest things is not hearing her meow. It was airy and high-pitched, not at all what you’d expect to come out of such a big cat. Plus, they fetch and love to just hang out. I didn’t want a long-haired cat, either, but they are totally worth it, and that was back in pre-Furminator times.
tess
Also: if you want a cat that talks, talk to them, respond to their meows with talking and attention, and they will absolutely talk back.
We have a neighborhood tabby we took in, even though we thought he was so vivacious and talkative and interactive, he’d have been able to find a home no matter where he went. Wrong: during his overnight trip to the vet to be fixed, he didn’t make a sound the whole time. We were really surprised–he talks to us all the time, including this great, long yell he does if he is coming from the back of the yard and it’s started to rain. He will yell for the whole run. Then tell you about it when he gets inside.
They talk because you respond. Some more than others, but when it is established as part of the relationship from the start, they learn to do it.
asiangrrlMN
Awwwww, Tunchie moved! He’s adorable. Though, I have to say, both my boys started when Tunch let out that loud yowl at the end. It made me laugh.
Krista
The kitty sound I like the best is when they’re happy to see you and they make that “myyrrRRPP!” chirping noise while rubbing around your ankles.
The best doggie sound was when Dreyf would sit there and make these quiet, frustrated-sounding “urf” noises when he wanted something. We never got it on video, but there’s another Lhasa talking in a similar fashion here.
Amy
I love the Tunchster!
R-Jud
Our Zeno, like Tunch, is a fairly husky cat, and you can hear him purring in the next room, sometimes even with a door shut between you. He almost never meows, not even if you accidentally bop him with your foot or tread on his tail.
Quinn, on the other hand, never shuts up. When she opens the door to the living room and ambles through, we say “Hiya Quinn!” and she replies with a “Rrrrp!” Other noises are more distinctly inquisitive. I love chatty cats.
John Cole: you planted your mint in pots, right? I recommend it because if you put it straight into the soil it will take over. I plant mine in sunken pots and I still found a thicket of rogues behind my raspberry canes this morning. The leaves were delicious on my fruit salad, but I’m not looking forward to having to go back there and wrassle them out every few days until the fall.
The Tim Channel
The problem with cats is that the good ones are few and far between. I own both cats and dogs btw, but I currently own no ‘good’ cats if you define a good cat as having any modicum of desire for human interaction (outside of feeding time).
A couple of the cats I’ve owned over the years have been worthy of Trunchlike admiration, but it’s a very small minority. All the dogs I’ve owned (four currently) have been exceptionally adapted at endearing themselves into my psyche.
Just an observation.
Enjoy.
Keith
I have a couple that “talk”, and I really don’t care for it, as they are extremely whiney (one does it at 3 am a lot). I’ve got 4 cats right now, most likely all having leukemia (one definitely does), and I’ve decided that when they all go, I’m going to get a single polydactyl for mousing duties. Anything more is too much of a mess and hassle with the battling for position in the social hierarchy. If I could somehow get a polydactyl Scottish fold (one of my favorite cats growing up was a fold, but not poly), all the better, but I must have a 6-toed killer.
Damned at Random
I suspect that if you want some real ACTION shots of Tunch, you will have to film him at meal-time.
His vocalizations got my bunch’s attention- they came running- afraid, no doubt- of yet another adoptee (we have 7)
Yutsano
My two year old orange tortoiseshell just disappeared for a night for the first time. Little snot scared the bejeezus outta me. First time he’s not been on my bed sleeping with me since I got the house to myself. I didn’t realize how badly I’d miss having that pile of fluff to kick around as I toss and turn at night. He came home at 3 AM last night though howling like he always does.
garyb50
Our cat has at least 3 different ear piercing whines. She claws me for no reason I can tell, she lays on my chest when I’m trying to sleep. Somebody earlier talked about their cat who goes off & flops down & expects you to go pet it – kaching. In other words, she irritates me no end, every single day. But I wouldn’t trade her for the world.
Anne Laurie
Yup, that’s a Meezer yowl. So Tunch has (you have) some excuse for his portliness; Siamese also have the ‘fat-sparing’ genes that enable them to survive on leftovers from the Buddhist monks’ begging-bowls and the proverbially pitiful church mice. Also helps explain why he’s got such soft, touchable fur — the old-time Siamese breeders called it the ‘silk satin’ feel.
Dang, I miss living with a talky mao-cat! Or even a good-ol’-boy Maine Coon analogue, with their raspy Elvis purrs and ridiculous Tom-Selleck-soprano voices. But the three cranky aging cat-girls now in residence, plus three needy papillons, have put our household ecosystem pretty close to maximum carrying capacity. Thank ghod for teh intertubez, so’s I can at least enjoy other peoples’ cats by proxy…
Betsy
@Krista:
That is the best description ever of the little chirp my kitty makes. I never would have thought you could write it out in letters, but that is a very accurate spelling.
Kat
John, you really must learn to understand cat-speak.
For instance, in this video, ‘rhaaaah’ means ‘put that damn camera down, and pet me’. ;-)
bcinaz
You’re little tunchcam with sound caused a ruckus here; both cats jumped up and immediately went on ‘intruder alert’. Pretty funny here.
The Saff
Cats rule.
hads
One of our two cats is a Bengal, an exotic breed who iirc has some wild African cat (ocelot?) in him. We adopted him, I am not sure I agree with this kind of breeding. But he is wonderful, can jump 4-5 feet in a single move, runs so fast he is a blur, has beautiful soft fur and gorgeous markings, but best of all, he is very vocal. In fact he really seems to talk! People laugh when we tell them, but then hear him ask for treats, request a door be opened, insist on going out (which we don’t let him do, but he still insists loudly). He watches the birds and chirps, clucks and gurgles. But his best is a very definite “thank you” (two distinct syllables) when he is pleased, esp after treats or a rubdown. Our other cat is a loud purring guy, but not nearly as vocal. Although he does have a distinct noise to request the bathtub faucet be turned on so he can have a drink – right now! He will softly bark it at you until you get the message and then lead the way! I used to be a dog person, but these two have converted me!!
phillygirl
Wait, wait! Have I missed something? Where’s the girl kitty from the kitty prison? Is she still incarcerated? Uh-oh.
Keith
@hads:
That sounds a lot like a Savannah; my brother has one and it acts a lot like that. Very dog-like (chews pig ears, loves water, barks) and also very expensive.
sloan
Tunch just scared the hell out of our cats.
I just played that and two of our cats woke up, one of them running for her life out of the room. They’re both still freaked out. Ears back, tails puffed up, frozen in place. Ha ha ha ha ha!
Nazgul35
If you watch very closely, you can see the light glint off the fishing line John’s attached to Tunch’s back legs to get him to move…
Poor cat!
robertdsc
I am not ashamed to watch this clip over and over again. He is wonderful.
Wile E. Quixote
@Phoenician in a time of Romans
Ach! Der Tunch ist der Überkat! Er hat ein ganz Schwarzweßfernseher und ein Hochverfügbarkeitbetriebsystem aß!
Wile E. Quixote
@tess
My neighbor’s cat, Ringo talks to me if I talk to him. He meows and I make meowing noises and he meows back. He’ll also come running across my yard to let me scratch his ears when I come home.
I think what Tunch was saying in that last meow was “Hey damnit, no close-ups until I’m done grooming. F#$%$#ing paparazzi.”
Roza
Leave Tunch Alooooonnnneee
J.
Dear Cat, Dog, and FURminator lovers,
I took your advice and tried FURminating Felix again this morning — with much greater success. I think he’s just camera shy. In fact, this morning’s FURmination attempt was so successful, I decided to try and FURminate Flora (albeit with somewhat less success).
You can view my findings and the video here. For the record, it’s still a tie between the lint roller and the FURminator as to which is the more pleasurable de-shedding experience.
Jill
Have I got a girl for Tunch.
And more.
My other one purrs like Tunch. Her purr is like that scene from “The Blues Brothers” where the elevated train goes by Elwood’s apartment.
pharniel
reminds me of my methusala kitteh.
(she was 23-24 when she died) who was a 6# calico who’d purr so loud you’d wonder what was broken in the laundry room and also had the meow-purr.
I also cannot imagine a cat that does not do that.