Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Come on, media. you have one job. start doing it.

DeSantis transforms Florida into 1930s Germany with gators and theme parks.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

How can republicans represent us when they don’t trust women?

Schmidt just says fuck it, opens a tea shop.

This has so much WTF written all over it that it is hard to comprehend.

Proof that we need a blogger ethics panel.

Russian mouthpiece, go fuck yourself.

The most dangerous place for a black man in America is in a white man’s imagination.

They’re not red states to be hated; they are voter suppression states to be fixed.

Let’s delete this post and never speak of this again.

Why is it so hard for them to condemn hate?

Wow, I can’t imagine what it was like to comment in morse code.

Optimism opens the door to great things.

Republicans can’t even be trusted with their own money.

Let us savor the impending downfall of lawless scoundrels who richly deserve the trouble barreling their way.

When do the post office & the dmv weigh in on the wuhan virus?

A lot of Dems talk about what the media tells them to talk about. Not helpful.

Is it negotiation when the other party actually wants to shoot the hostage?

Republicans seem to think life begins at the candlelight dinner the night before.

Following reporting rules is only for the little people, apparently.

Do not shrug your shoulders and accept the normalization of untruths.

Teach a man to fish, and he’ll sit in a boat all day drinking beer.

You don’t get rid of your umbrella while it’s still raining.

You are here: Home / Pet Blogging / Cat Blogging / Another Open Thread

Reader Interactions

95Comments

  1. 1.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    Hopefully Tunch won’t jump on the fence. I’d hate to hear that it collapsed after all of your hard work!

    Good morning to you John. :)

  2. 2.

    SiubhanDuinne

    TUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUNCHIE!

    But won’t his random chirping tip off the birds he’s stalking? (or, I guess, the seismic jolts of his every step).

    Just kidding, Tunch! Love you! Thanks for the picture, John.

  4. 4.

    Josie

    Oh, how pretty he looks in his new yard. Now you can build him a cat jungle gym and he can get some exercise. You guys are definitely going to get good use of that fenced yard.

  6. 6.

    Neil

    The first time my cat Ben went outside it blew his little kitty brain. He just sat there motionless in the grass chirping for a good five minutes.

  7. 7.

    Keith G

    Next Cole project: Getting rid of that broadleaf and getting some real grass.

    j/k – One year, I applied broadleaf killer to the lawn at our family home and 60% of the vegetation went away.

  8. 8.

    middlewest

    I’m not sure if this has been posted here yet, but the DOJ just filed a brief challenging the constitutionality of DOMA and requesting heightened scrutiny for discrimination based on sexual orientation. This is a big fucking deal.

  10. 10.

    Keith G

    @middlewest:

    In a brief filed on behalf of the Office of Personnel Management and other federal defendants, DOJ acknowledged the U.S. government’s “significant and regrettable role” in discrimination in America against gays and lesbians.

    Why, oh why does Obama hate us gays?

  13. 13.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    @PeakVT:

    Nope. I use SeaMonkey (2.1.0) and the only plugins I use on it are NoScript and FlashBlock. BJ loads fast and I usually have 7-9 tabs open at any time (7 right now).

    It’s very un-Tunch-like (lean & mean). ;)

  16. 16.

    Jman

    You’ll really enjoy sitting outside in the shade reading your iPad and watching the animals play. Just got a new puppy and it is hilarious watching him become part of the pack. The gruff old timer sets the limits and most of the play with puppy comes from the younger dog. It’s play time for everyone!

  17. 17.

    Poopyman

    Happy cat is happy.

    Given his rotundity and his glow–in–the–dark coat, I doubt the birds have too much to fear from the guy. So you at least avoid the guilt you’d feel if he nailed one under a bird feeder. Happens to me at least weekly.

    @Keith G:

    What’s the point? You just end up spending $$ on lawn products, half of which wash into the watershed. If you keep it cut close as Mr. Cole has it’s a perfectly acceptable lawn.

    Speaking of which, I gotta go mow the weeds before it gets too hot. NWS sez it’s already 80 out there.

  18. 18.

    Cheryl from Maryland

    #8 — this is a seriously big deal. Especially because the rational is based on adding sexual orientation to the classes which deserve heightened scrutiny, such as race, gender and religion.

  19. 19.

    harlana

    Oh my, what a vision to wake up to, His Royal SnoWhite Gloriousness in the Wild!

  21. 21.

    Odie Hugh Manatee

    meh:

    stealthing

     
    Yeah sort of the way an Boeing 777 Airbus A380 can stealth across a runway…

    Fix’t.

    Think BIG! ;)

  26. 26.

    Trollenschlongen (formerly Tim, Interrupted)

    I wonder if the rain puddles in the yard “shiver” when Tunch walks by?

    hahaha…that is an excellent image. Made me laugh.

    Hey Cole and you other people: Why do you call this noise the Tunchmeister makes a “chirp?” Is this a regional expression? I have never heard of a cat chirping. Birds chirp. Cats kill.

    Oh, and Tunch is humongously overweight. But that coat is beautiful.

  27. 27.

    Keith

    All of my cats took to the outside pretty quickly (after 7 years indoors), but 2 became full-on fence-jumpers/bird&rat hunters (and occasionally baby rabbit) before disappearing. The two fat ones still walk really delicately on grass, but I have even caught those two digging into dead birds (although yesterday’s case was a bird+window fatality that cat and dog both enjoyed). I am betting Tunch has some of that potential buried in him somewhere.

  28. 28.

    JPL

    Trollenschlongen,

    Oh, and Tunch is humongously overweight. But that coat is beautiful.

    Tunch just has a small head. At least John doesn’t have to worry about him squeezing through the space between the gate door and the post.

  29. 29.

    Violet

    What a pretty kitty! He looks so intense, stalking whatever prey he’s going after (John, was that you?). Looks like everyone is going to enjoy this yard.

  31. 31.

    Neil

    @Trollenschlongen: Some cats don’t quite meow. They make what is probably best described as a noise sounding like a b followed by some rolling rs. A short little chirp as it were.

  32. 32.

    Exurban Mom

    All ur yards are belonging to Tunch. He walks with the majesty that befits his station.

  34. 34.

    Trollenschlongen (formerly Tim, Interrupted)

    They make what is probably best described as a noise sounding like a b followed by some rolling rs

    I do not think I have ever heard that…but I haven’t had a pet cat since I was 14. Which was a frightening number of decades ago.

    That’s one angry sheep wandering around your backyard, Cole.

    hahahahaha

  35. 35.

    Maude

    Josie

    That’s a good idea about the jungle gym. He can perch at the top and look down on his kingdom.

  36. 36.

    Constance

    I came to this blog because Paul Krugman linked to something here and about the second or third thing I saw was a picture of Tunch. I fell in love with him, the dogs and the blog.

    Great to see him enjoying the great outdoors–your story about him escaping for the night was fun, because he came home.

    I have a white cat with one calico ear and a calico tail who is shaped just like Tunch. The Muffin has been on a successful diet for three years (I’ve lost years off my life listening to her scream for food) but at her peak she weighed 23 pounds. Now down to 14. She probably should have weighed 10 pounds as she’s pretty small.

    At her heaviest she couldn’t go through the slats on the gate which was good because in addition to being slow she’s not the brightest cat around. She’s also a tad mean.

  37. 37.

    Kristine

    John, if you want to get rid of the broadleaf but are concerned about the effect the weedkiller may have on the critters etc, you can find decent stuff at Gardens Alive. Like most organic stuff, it may not work quite as thoroughly as Scott’s, etc, but I don’t have to worry about my grass-eating pups ingesting any of it. There’s a corn gluten derivative that you apply in the spring, and an iron compound that kills weeds but leaves grass alone. And the usual herbicidal soaps, etc. Pricey, but I can’t find similar stuff in my area big boxes.

  38. 38.

    Bruce S

    Not sure if there’s “off-topic” in an open thread with cat pix, but here’s a top hedge fund manager/global investment strategist calling for WPA-style infrastructure investments, financed by fed debt, as the only way out of the Great Recession/Jobless “Recovery” –

    http://titanicsailsatdawn.blogspot.com/2011/07/excellent-advice-from-strange-places.html

    Weird source of sane and necessary advice, but a signal of just how f-ed we are without any rational policy options available in the context of crazy “deficit-reduction” politics that just about everyone to the right of Bernie Sanders has pretty much swallowed.

  43. 43.

    datarat

    @Werebare…same here. The looks of Maine Coons are deceptive. My Maine Coon, Fredo, was right at 16lbs as an adult, and he was *fast*. He liked the outdoors, and regularly gifted us with the rewards of his hunts.

  46. 46.

    Cat Lady

    @ Constance: I think most of us came here through another place – it was Sullivan for me. I came for the rants and the snark but stayed for the pets, and the commenters are the best on the interwebz. Welcome aboard!

    A long ago boyfriend had a grandfather who force fed his cat named Penny, who was the fattest cat I’ve ever seen. She couldn’t come down the stairs herself cuz she was too fat, so he’d go and get her to feed her. She killed a mouse once by falling off the porch on it. I think she weighed about 27 pounds.

    ETA: Love your name. There aren’t very many of us. ;-)

  47. 47.

    Jennifer

    John, can’t help but notice with those pink ears that Tunch is a true white cat – lacking pigment in skin as well as fur. Which actually may partially explain his orneryness – animals with a lack of melanin also have low levels of the brain chemical melatonin.

    Also, too: if Tunchie’s going to be outside in bright sunshine, those tender pink ears WILL burn. I had a kitty with that coloring who spent a lot of time outside – I put sunscreen on her ears. She didn’t like me doing it, and would diligently try to wash it off, but given that cats never really get their ears wet when they wash them, the sunscreen stayed on well enough to keep her ears from getting burnt.

  48. 48.

    Violet

    Jennifer:

    Also, too: if Tunchie’s going to be outside in bright sunshine, those tender pink ears WILL burn. I had a kitty with that coloring who spent a lot of time outside – I put sunscreen on her ears. She didn’t like me doing it, and would diligently try to wash it off, but given that cats never really get their ears wet when they wash them, the sunscreen stayed on well enough to keep her ears from getting burnt.

    Or John could put a hat on Tunch. HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA.

  50. 50.

    gogol's wife

    I agree with those who say Tunch is beautiful.
    I agree that he may learn to climb the fence. Fat doesn’t necessarily mean unathletic.
    I agree that you just mow the lawn and don’t worry about what particular green thing is there. I’m not going to pour chemicals on it to make it fit some suburban standard of beauty.
    Tunch is so beautiful.

  53. 53.

    sukabi

    dear god… climate change is really here!!! there’s a gigantic iceberg in Cole’s yard….

  55. 55.

    gocart mozart

    A long ago boyfriend had a grandfather who force fed his cat named Penny, who was the fattest cat I’ve ever seen. She couldn’t come down the stairs herself cuz she was too fat, so he’d go and get her to feed her. She killed a mouse once by falling off the porch on it. I think she weighed about 27 pounds.

    Why Isn’t there a Dick Gregory or Richard Simmons for cats? Perhaps there should be.

  56. 56.

    blogreeder

    The bigger Tunch gets, the more sunlight he’ll reflect. Maybe he should have been named Albedo? :)

  58. 58.

    eemom

    “here’s the fierce alpha lion king stalking the zebra herd, picking out the biggest and juiciest for his breakfast.” — Tunch thought balloon

  59. 59.

    Jade Jordan

    Ok, It’s been a while since anyone broached this subject but, “TUNCH IS FAT” in an adorable sorta way.

  60. 60.

    Roger Moore

    I’m amazed nobody has commented on the picture title yet. Maybe they’re too afraid of annoying our lord and master, the most awesome Tunch.

  61. 61.

    JCT

    @Violet, 48 — I had been hoping to see a Tunch pic with a hat for John’s birthday, but no such luck.

    We just got back from taking all 3 of our pets to the vet — always an adventure.

    It was fun to come back to this thread as when the vet was examining Mango the cat she had to break off her exam to give him his three shots so that he would stop purring, she couldn’t hear his heart. All I could think of was that classic picture of trussed Tunch at the vet.

    Mind you, all the way on the drive there Mango was caterwauling from his carrier until the dogs lost their minds and started to howl in sympathy. Husband and I burst out of the truck like clowns from a clown car when we arrived. Madness.

    Tunchie looks so happy outside! And our cat chirps too. It’s a neat sound.

  63. 63.

    Felonious Wench

    Cole, that’s a beautiful, cranky, fat cat.

    I’ve heard pets reflect their owners….

  66. 66.

    Anya

    middlewest #8 ~~ That’s wonderful news. So this bids the DOJ against Boehner. I can’t wait to see Boehner and his conservative allies on teevee (or in my case monitor) pontificating about how mean Obama is and how he’s following the homosexual agenda to destroy America.

    It will also be fun to see how the Obama haters in the left will spin this as another case of Obama throwing the base under the bus.

  67. 67.

    Sko Hayes

    Jesus. It’s Moby Cat.

    LOL!
    From hell’s heart I stab at thee; for hate’s sake I spit my last breath at thee. Ye damned cat.
    -not the Wrath of Khan

    Hey, John, before slapping any old sunscreen on your cat, please make sure it’s safe to use on animals, some sunscreens are toxic.
    Now that the safety warnings are taken care of, let’s hope that the combination of outdoors and exercise will bring Tunch back into the healthy kitty category!

  69. 69.

    karen marie

    I had noticed a lot of comments pointing and laughing at the size of Tunch but I wasn’t aware of how large he was until I saw this picture, so I have to ask, John Cole, what are you feeding him?

    Last summer I took my cat Gracie to the vet because I thought she was constipated but the vet said she wasn’t but maybe, because her ass was so fat, she was was having difficulty shoving poop through the chute. (A short time later I discovered she was crapping in the basement to avoid the dog catching her poop as it dropped out of her butt.)

    The vet recommended she get a change of food and feeding regimen. Up till then I had fed her as I fed my prior cat — as much dry food as she wanted, whenever she wanted. She’s not a very big cat but weighed 13 pounds, so the vet told me that the high level of carbohydrates in dry food is what makes a fat cat, so I should give her one can of wet food a day, split into two meals.

    Within several months, Gracie slimmed down to the 10 pound weight the vet considered acceptable. Occasionally I give her an extra half a can if she’s particularly pesty, but she’s mostly perfectly happy with the change of diet, much preferring the wet food to dry.

    I can personally vouch that being fat is as bad for a cat as it is for a person. Our Mr. Mittens who, while not obese and having a very large frame (head the size of a softball), was very overweight, tipping the scale at 27 pounds, died last summer at the age of seven years from a stroke.

    I look forward to reading that you do for Tunch what I did for our Gracie so that he lives a long and healthy life.

  70. 70.

    Uncle Clarence Thomas

    .
    .
    Unalloyed good news – President Obama’s DOJ has stated that DOMA is unconstitutional, and will now act on that basis. I salute President Obama and the DOJ for this progress!
    .
    .

  71. 71.

    Yutsano

    TUNCHKITTEH!! This shall definitely make wifey haz a happy. As soon as she gets done playing with her new Canuckistani play toy.

  73. 73.

    burnspbesq

    What is up with the Wombat? She’s missed two open headers from point-blank range. The US is up one nil, but it should four.

  74. 74.

    trollhattan

    So much fine Saturday snark to behold, along with the world’s largest self-propelled Bockwurst, and I have to tip my hat to 22. Mr. Whipple for the bestest, most obscure reference.

  75. 75.

    PanAmerican

    US is leading Colombia at the WWC.

    @burnspbesq:

    Doesn’t she have a bit of a rep for not showing up at the big games?

  76. 76.

    South of I-10

    To whoever posted yesterday about the new Gillian Welch album, thanks! Listening to it and loving it right now. Also, if you are a world music, upbeat sort of music fan, check out Givers. They are a local (to me) band and I’ve seen them live a few times and loved them. They currently have a new album on iTunes. Give them a listen and thank me later.

  77. 77.

    Mnemosyne

    It was fun to come back to this thread as when the vet was examining Mango the cat she had to break off her exam to give him his three shots so that he would stop purring, she couldn’t hear his heart.

    When we brought Keaton in for his first appointment with the vet, she tried everything to get him to stop purring, including holding him near the sink and turning on the faucet. No dice. She finally gave up and decided she’d listen to his heart next time.

    He is a very purry boy.

  79. 79.

    Barb (formerly Gex)

    My guess is that Tunch can’t jump the fence like my cat. My youngest cat can jump the 6′ fence so we have this complex cat fencing net installed at the top of the cedar fence.

  80. 80.

    jane from hell

    @mr. whipple:

    Watch out for kids climbing the fence at night to tip him over.

    BWAHAHAHA! Anyway, I thought that was an urban legend…

  81. 81.

    Comrade Mary

    Aww. That picture and the associated story of Tunchy exploring his freedom made my day. Thanks, John.

    Brief thought: speaking of freedom, does woad work as a sunscreen? And how would Tunch feel about having blue ears?

  82. 82.

    jane from hell

    Lovely cat poem:
    Cats Sleep Fat And Walk Thin.
    “Cats sleep fat.

    They spread comfort beneath them Like a good mat,
    As if they picked the place And then sat.
    You walk around one As if he were the City Hall after that.”

  83. 83.

    BethanyAnne

    @gocart-mozart. Ha! I played the demon kitty one, and my cat is looking all around the room for the other cat now. hehe

  85. 85.

    robertdsc-PowerBook

    I didn’t know Voyager I’s cameras had such great resolution to capture Tunch so well. Thanks, NASA!

  88. 88.

    licensed to kill time

    All’s I can say is it’s a good thing Tunch can’t read these comments.

    You just know he’d be thinking “We are NOT amused”.

  90. 90.

    Zoe Johnson

    Tunch needs the sunscreen because white cats are very susceptible to skin cancer. The vet says Helen who looks very much like Tunch needs it on her nose and ears. She says she has seen to many white cats die from skin cancer, or at least loose their ears. Of course, once the sunscreen regime was instituted Helen lost all interest in going outdoors.

  91. 91.

    Zoe Johnson

    ps Helen looks like Tunch with a Hitler mustache. Does this mean the thread is over? Since a Nazi was invoked.

  93. 93.

    asiangrrlMN

    TUUUUUUUUNCHIE! Cole, thanks for the ‘in the wild’ picture of Tunchie. He looks magnificent!

    P.S. Thanks, Yutsy, for tipping me off that there was a Tunchie sighting.

  94. 94.

    Yutsano

    Thanks, Yutsy, for tipping me off

    YW hon. I know you get grouchy when you miss sightings of His Eminence.

    The Dawg yelled at me tonight. I’d be upset if it wasn’t so damn funny what he was upset about.

  95. 95.

    bob h

    Our cat gets just one half a can of catfood a day; looks like Tunch could benefit from a similar regimen.

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