Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

Republicans: “Abortion is murder but you can take a bus to get one.” Easy peasy.

We won’t go back.

The fight for our country is always worth it. ~Kamala Harris

Let me file that under fuck it.

The media handbook says “controversial” is the most negative description that can be used for a Republican.

Can we lighten up on the doomsday scenarios?

Since when do we limit our critiques to things we could do better ourselves?

Incompetence, fear, or corruption? why not all three?

There is no right way to do the wrong thing.

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

Republicans: slavery is when you own me. freedom is when I own you.

The Giant Orange Man Baby is having a bad day.

We still have time to mess this up!

The arc of the moral universe doesn’t bend itself. it’s up to us.

Republicans cannot even be trusted with their own money.

Only Democrats have agency, apparently.

“Can i answer the question? No you can not!”

Whoever he was, that guy was nuts.

When they say they’re pro-life, they don’t mean yours.

Democrats are back in array!

Relentless negativity is not a sign that you are more realistic.

I might just take the rest of the day off and do even more nothing than usual.

Somebody needs to explain to DeSantis that nobody needs to do anything to make him look bad.

🎶 Those boots were made for mockin’ 🎵

You are here: Home / Pet Blogging / Cat Blogging / I’d Like to Congratulate My Brother on His New Cats

I’d Like to Congratulate My Brother on His New Cats

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I called my brother today on the drive home from the big city to warn him that I-79 is teeming with cops in speed traps, and was informed that he had a day. Apparently he was in his yard and heard kittens, and discovered that a feral mom had given birth in his abandoned root cellar.

One of the little balls of fluff was wandering around:

Yes. Seth is shittier at taking pictures than me. After a little investigation, he found mom:

I like to think of myself as a somewhat decent judge of character, and I am here to tell you that that cat is not going ANYWHERE without blood being spilled. The End.

At any rate, Seth has called the rescue people, and they are going to come try to trap the mom and pick up the kids (there are at least three). Personally, I think he should keep them. I mean, they are free and delivered right there to you, what more could you want? Plus, you know what they say- “When god gives you cats you get litter boxes.” Or maybe I made that up.

Reader Interactions

104Comments

  4. 4.

    Martin

    Oh lord, John ‘Ball Jar’ Cole has a brother with an unused root cellar. How many jars of peach compote can one human make, you ask? We may find out soon!

  5. 5.

    Spanky

    I just went out and checked our own abandoned root cellar, and we’re all clear.

    I’m kind of disappointed.

  7. 7.

    Miss Bianca

    Oh, little black FLOOFBALL!! How can he resist??!

    And yeah, MomCat is not going anywhere without blood being spilled..

  9. 9.

    Jharp

    “I-79 is teeming with cops in speed traps.”

    I like to see traffic laws strictly enforced.

    It’s terrible in greater Indianapolis with no enforcement. Folks speed through school zones, run red lights, ignore speed limit signs. And the outer belt is 55 mph and you have to go 70 to play defense.

    And I want to be clear.

    Law enforcements job is to prevent traffic violations. Not to hide and issue a bunch of tickets.

  11. 11.

    A Ghost To Most

    @PaulWartenberg: Not always. I picked my fat friend because she looked the most miserable. Good call; anyone who wants at me has to through her first.

  13. 13.

    Damned_at_Random

    I’ve always wanted a black cat, but Ceiling cat has never so blessed me. I would take the black one, and a sibling, in a heartbeat if they weren’t, um – 3000 miles away

  14. 14.

    RAVEN

    The Saturday am crew knows this but, since it’s a cat thread, I’ll mention it again. I was driving to get coffee Saturday morning and a cat flew in front of me and there was a car coming the other way and I was sure it got hit. I turned my head because I didn’t want to see it so I was surprised when I parked and walked back and the little dude was standing on the curb! Oddly the kitty was right next to a plaque that reads:

    “In Memory
    of
    Martin Reynolds Smith
    Son of
    Mr. And Mrs.
    J. Warren Smith
    Who Was Instantly
    Killed here by a speeding auto truck on November 15th, 1922
    May 22, 1916 – November 15, 1922″

    If that isn’t weird enough the little dude let me pick him up and had a tag with a phone number and I was able to reach his person and turn the varmit over!

  15. 15.

    danielx

    Seth is supposed to have those kittens. Um, maybe not mom, she does look bloodthirsty.

  16. 16.

    dr. bloor

    Mom chose your brother, well aware of the bounty she was about to bestow upon him.

    The only things he should be considering at this point are (a) what teevee show/boy band/guilty pleasure should this litter be named after, and (b) flushable litter or not?

    My warmest congratulations. Maybe Uncle Steve can teach them all how to cat.

  17. 17.

    JustRuss

    Wow. I apologize for every snide comment I’ve made about your photo skills, it’s clearly a genetic issue. (Actually, you’ve got a lot better). I like your litter box saying. Funny cuz it’s true.

  18. 18.

    Steeplejack

    @RAVEN:

    Great story! Except for Martin Smith, of course.

    ETA: I shouldn’t joke. It’s awful to lose a kid like that.

  20. 20.

    Raven

    @Steeplejack: It was the year my dad was born. It reminds me of when someone told me they were sorry my ancestor was killed at the Battle of Atlanta.

  22. 22.

    JoyceH

    I found kittens on my deck years ago. Their mama brought them there, apparently. My sister and I split the litter between us and the two survivors are now 17 years old. My cat, Sam, is going into kidney failure, poor old thing, and is tragically skinny. He was such a bold little kitten! (Niff!)

    In other news, my latest book just released. Mary Bennet and the Wickham Artifact is book 2 of the Regency Mage series. “Ancient magic is the worst kind of magic.”

    Mary Bennet and the Wickham Artifact

  24. 24.

    RAVEN

    @Lapassionara:

    The famous “Tree that Owns Itself” is a white oak located in Athens, Georgia. Its owner loved it so dearly that upon his death he granted it its autonomy.

    The original tree was granted a plot of land 8 feet in radius by its owner. The official deed reads:

    “For and in consideration of the great love I bear this tree and the great desire I have for its protection for all time, I convey entire possession of itself and all land within eight feet of the tree on all sides—William H. Jackson”

  25. 25.

    Roger Moore

    @Damned_at_Random:

    I’ve always wanted a black cat, but Ceiling cat has never so blessed me.

    I have read that black cats are the slowest to be adopted from shelters (at least here in the USA) because so many people think they’re unlucky. Those of us who like them usually have an easy time finding one. Of course if you’re relying on the cat to find you it might be harder.

  26. 26.

    RAVEN

    Double Barrel Cannon…

    That just sounds awesome. Doesn’t it?

    There are double barrel pistols, double barrel rifles, double barrel shotguns… But none of those sound as impressive as the double barrel cannon…

    It was forged in the spring of 1862 in Athens, Georgia, according to the design of John Gilleland. He was a private in the Mitchel Thunderbolts, a homeguard unit for men too old for active duty. He was 53. The $350 needed to fund the manufacture of the cannon was raised via a subscription fund.

  28. 28.

    JoyceH

    @Sab:

    That’s why black kittens and puppies have such low adoption rates. They are adorable in person, but absolute blanks in photos.

    I have two black cats. Sam is a tuxedo short-hair and photographs pretty well. But Liam is an all black long-hair and almost impossible to photograph. But I got him at a local cat rescue place and she’d had a photo on her website of him that looked very nice. I wonder how she did that?

  29. 29.

    Damned_at_Random

    @Roger Moore: I live outside town so most of my kitties are/were dumped. Our Maine Coons were chosen by the Spousal Unit. My sisters in Pittsburgh are knee deep in black ferals. I think I am a victim of fate as open slots fill as fast, or faster, than they occur.

    On the bright side, the Shed Skunk has blessed us with babies again this year !

  31. 31.

    judyinsd

    @JoyceH: I am so glad I saw this, loved the first one. Just went off to purchase. Good reading ahead for the evening.

  32. 32.

    Roger Moore

    @JoyceH:

    I wonder how she did that?

    Exposure compensation. If you photograph your black cat at the settings your camera chooses, it will expose well for the environment and the cat will be too dark to get much detail. Instead, you need to use exposure compensation to make the picture a stop or two brighter. The cat will still look black in the picture, but there will be enough detail that they look like a cat rather than a black blob.

  33. 33.

    A Ghost To Most

    @RAVEN: wow. Between Hershey and Hummelstown was a stone sign next to the road for decades that read:

    To the memory of an unfaithful wife
    Who left for lust and greed on DD-MON-YY.

  35. 35.

    cain

    @schrodingers_cat:
    I’m still trying to understand that. My aunt thinks it’s great as everyone is aligned with all the same rules. I dont understand why Kashmir got the special dispensation. In the end though I said that having a govt who believes your patriotism is linked to not being able to complain about the govt is flawed.

  37. 37.

    Ohio Mom

    This post and thread reminds me of happier days in Balloonjuiceland, when our lives were not darkened by that creep in the White House and the rest of his ilk. We used to have lighthearted posts like this all the time and I miss them.

    Or maybe it is a foretaste of life after the Oval Office is emptied, scrubbed and bleached, smudged, fumigated, exorcised, and redecorated for occupancy by someone admirable. At least that is the hope I am holding on to.

  41. 41.

    Comrade Colette Collaboratrice

    @JoyceH:

    my latest book just released

    Hooray! I thoroughly enjoyed the first Mary Bennet book – can’t wait to read this one.

  44. 44.

    trollhattan

    @Roger Moore:
    Rule #…okay, among the three things to remember about any camera: Your meter imagines every subject is mid-grey and will expose that way. Black subjects, white subjects, dark subjects light subjects, all can fool the meter. Your job is to outsmart the meter.

  45. 45.

    A Ghost To Most

    @RAVEN: That sounds like a disaster waiting to happen, and I’ve actually loaded and fired a Civil War cannon.

  46. 46.

    Mary Ellen Sandahl

    Judging by the little black fluffpot in pic 1, they’re way too little to be taken from mom. I think mom would concur. Strongly.
    We had a delicate little feral give birth in our basement not one, but three times. Result, 6 healthy babies, all of whom we kept. But we felt that a little wildlife management might be advusable, so I set up a Have-a-Heart with tuna, and successfully trapped mom, who was the daintiest looking little gray tiger imaginable, and wild as a fox. I got her to the vet to be examined and neutered, but he called in distress the next morning and said she’d died. He asked to do an autopsy, which revealed that she had a heart defect. But she’d produced 6 beautiful and intelligent offspring who enlivened our house for over 20 years — the fabulous Miss Piggy, diva of divas, lived to be 22
    BTW, I suggest pine nugget litter. Used properly, i.e. scooping poop and stirring the litter daily – this refreshes the pine scebt and absorbency both – it does the job better, is pleasanter, easier to manage, and cheaper than anything else I’ve used because a boxful lasts longer. Trader Joe’s has their own brand. Feline Pine is commonly available, online if not at your local emporia.

  47. 47.

    schrodingers_cat

    @rikyrah: I will write about it and send it to AL. Today I am crying for the country of my birth, the India of my childhood is dead, has been murdered. I mourn for it. I don’t know whether I have a right to grieve since I became an American two years ago, and left more than 20 years ago to seek better opportunities. It almost feels like a person I knew and loved has died. Am I being too dramatic?

    Jhelum Jhelum dhoonde kinara (Jhelum, Jhelum finding the shore). Jhelum is the river that flows through Srinagar the capital of J and K. From Haider, an adaptation of Hamlet by Vishal Bharadwaj set against the backdrop of Kashmir insurgency of the 90s.

    You asked me in the morning what it meant in real terms. It is as if T took over an entire state and declared it a protectorate and arrested the ex- governors of that state. The central government is behaving like a colonial power laying siege to one of its own states.

  49. 49.

    Ella in New Mexico

    This month we found out that a gorgeous apricot colored semi-feral kitty has been sleeping on my parent’s back porch and hiding under their van in the driveway for a while.

    She’s probably less than a year old, as sweet as she can be, and once I got her to come to me she went crazy for pets and meowed her head off talking to me if I walked away, following me into their back yard and then into their house. She doesn’t seem to belong to anyone but she’s so sweet and tame she must have at one time.

    She’s scared of their fat-sausage of a Min-Pin, so she scoots whenever she goes outside to pee but apparently she’s been returning there for months as a home base. My dad has fed and put water out for her occasionally but never really tried to take her in or make her a pet. The neighbor says he sees her carrying mice or birds she’s killed. My parents are kind, but they are not “cat people”. My husband and I, on the other hand, literally bonded as boyfriend and girlfriend over our love of cats. .

    I’d never seen her there before, but then I’ve had to be there a lot more to help my mom for health reasons this summer, and hubby often goes with me to help with chores, transportation to medical appointments, etc.

    So hubby decided “She came to us, we need to save her” and wanted to take her back to our house but we are finally down to only 3 very selfish male floofers and TBH I worry she’d hate them and run away, possibly try to go back to my parents house and get hit by a car in the process. So we decided we’d just take her up to the vet and make sure she’s healthy/spayed/has her shots and encourage my parents to take consistent care of her. I bought good cat food and dewormed her and crossed my fingers.

    Being empty nesters with absolutely nothing to do with ourselves the other night ,me and hubby got really drunk on a growler of delicious IPA from a local brewery and got the whacked idea to go get her at about midnight. We grabbed the portable cat kennel and hiked the 3 miles down the road to their house, snuck in the back yard after falling in a prickly pear cactus (still pulling the spines out of my hand) and started calling her and looking everywhere. But she must have been out hunting cuz she was nowhere to be found. By then we were getting sobered up and seriously, the walk home was a lot less fun than the one over.

    I can’t promise we won’t eventually take her (since I really do agree with my hubby that when a cat comes to you your’e supposed to give them a home) but as long as she seems happy, well fed and healthy, I’m kind of glad I’ve managed to control myself so far from adding yet another needy animal to our collection. There really are so many.

  51. 51.

    A Ghost To Most

    @A Ghost To Most: I read about something similar, where a chain was affixed to both cannonballs, and the cannons were to fire simultaneously. They didn’t, and the cannon crew was wasted. End of experiment.

  52. 52.

    Damned_at_Random

    @John Cole: No current pics. This lot tends to come out after dark and I am loathe to use a flash for obvious reasons You posted the Mom and babies, with our outside kitty, years ago. I can send you close-ups from that litter if you like. Also some gray foxes from the same season

  54. 54.

    satby

    Agree with @Mary Ellen Sandahl: they’re still a bit too young to be fully weaned, that one looks to be 5-6 weeks old. Trapping mom now and getting the kittens gives them a chance to finish being weaned safely, mom spayed, and the kittens to be socialized for possible adoption. As they get older and start wandering, they’re in danger from bigger animals. I assume that’s how my tiny feral ended up hiding alone for more than a week in the weeds by my garage.
    And update on that one, he’s still suspicious of my intentions, but he let me hold and pet him a bit without trying to bite or scratch me. That’s big progress for only 36 hours.

  55. 55.

    schrodingers_cat

    @cain: Its not just about article 370. Modi wants to split the state into 3 and take away their autonomy as a state. Its a bad look to do this to do this to the only Muslim majority state in the Union.
    Also, do you think they will just stop at Kashmir?
    9/10 of Modi’s most rabid supporters on social media are Brahmins. Most of my family and my husbands have been infected by this hate. I have never felt so alienated from my family.
    ETA: Its not just Kashmir that has the special dispensation, its Himachal too, bet your aunt doesn’t mind that because its not a majority Muslim state.

  57. 57.

    satby

    Black cats and dogs both do languish longer in shelters. Which is a real shame, because I never met a black cat that wasn’t affectionate. Even tough old Tom cats are love bugs for their chosen people.

  60. 60.

    geg6

    That’s how we got Cleo, except it was a garage and not the root cellar. Though that could happen. Better check it.

  61. 61.

    Matt McIrvin

    @Steeplejack: You should see her with the morning/evening zoomies. You know that old Star Trek episode with the people who live on such an accelerated time scale that they just manifest as a buzzing noise? A young kitten is kind of like that.

  64. 64.

    Ohio Mom

    @dr. bloor: Alas, allergic with asthma. I can only last a couple of hours visiting a house with a cat. One of the great sorrows of my life.

  66. 66.

    joel hanes

    @schrodingers_cat:

    Am I being too dramatic?

    No.
    I’ve been mourning the America I loved and hoped I knew since Nov 2000.
    The eight-year rally 2008 – 20016 turns out to have been only remission.

    I have no idea how we can recover from Trumpism.
    I don’t really think it’s possible.

  68. 68.

    Steeplejack

    Personal status update:

    Pain is receding and I’m getting into the “these bandages are really itchy” zone, which is progress. Still trying to take it easy, because everything takes extra time and is very tiring.

    Gonna be busy the next few days because of some things I scheduled before the surgery came up suddenly last Wednesday. The housecat is going in to see the vet at 10:30 tomorrow for a checkup—she has been kind of puny lately—and also to have blood work done in advance of another appointment on Thursday to get her bad teeth operated on (assuming blood work is okay and she’s safe for surgery). It’ll be a hassle transporting her because I’m not back to full use of my right arm yet, but it needs to get done, and I hope she will feel a lot better afterwards.

    I’m about due to take the bandages off and let my wounds air out for a bit, but I’m going to hold off until tomorrow afternoon or Wednesday, after the housecat’s first appointment. I need to get gauze and tape, as I think I’ll have to rebandage the arm. Might be able to leave the shoulder bare or put a big “prefab” Band-Aid type bandage on it. Need to get a look at what’s under the surgery bandage. Anyway, it will be time-consuming, I’m sure. Working one-handed. At this point I’m not completely sure I’ll be able to get the shoulder bandage off. It’s hard to reach, and it’s taped down really well.

  70. 70.

    Steeplejack

    @Matt McIrvin:

    Every kitten I’ve ever had does that: their ears go back, their eyes get a strange look, and then they’re off and running. Old girlfriend and I called it “face gets crazy.”

  71. 71.

    Gammyjill

    @JoyceH: I just downloaded your book. I will read it and review it when I have time. I’m currently the #30 reviewer on Amazon.

  72. 72.

    Chetan Murthy

    @Steeplejack:

    At this point I’m not completely sure I’ll be able to get the shoulder bandage off. It’s hard to reach, and it’s taped down really well.

    I’ve had both shoulders operated-upon (separate surgeries, spaced >1yr apart — unrelated injuries). Um …. if at all possible, having at least a friend -around- when you attempt these manipulations would be really good. B/c they can help you if you get jammed-up (and can’t get out of the jam without doing something harmful to the shoulder).

    Just a suggestion.

  74. 74.

    Jim, Foolish Literalist

    @Mary Ellen Sandahl: Judging by the little black fluffpot in pic 1, they’re way too little to be taken from mom. I think mom would concur. Strongly.

    Kinda what I was thinking, I’m surprised a feral mother would let them get that far away from her, especially with people around. But I don’t know from cats, feral or otherwise

  75. 75.

    debit

    @satby:

    I assume that’s how my tiny feral ended up hiding alone for more than a week in the weeds by my garage.
    And update on that one, he’s still suspicious of my intentions, but he let me hold and pet him a bit without trying to bite or scratch me. That’s big progress for only 36 hours.

    Huge progress! When I trapped Julian he was right on the cusp of being too old (right at 8 weeks, but so big I thought he was 12-14). It took a week of me only feeding him when I was there and spending every waking hour I could with him before I could touch him. Now he’s taking Dani under his wing (literally) and has taught her how to be a house cat.

  76. 76.

    Steeplejack

    @Chetan Murthy:

    Thanks, I’m aware. Bro’ Man and his family split for vacation in Peru the day after my surgery, and my other main friend is working long hours this week.

    There’s no structural damage to the shoulder; they just took a goodly chunk of the skin off the back of it. It’s basically the “pulling off a Band-Aid” problem × 10. Maybe I can go to Home Depot and get a day laborer to do it. Or there are probably places on the dark Web where someone will pay me to come over and do it. Ngrr!

  83. 83.

    J R in WV

    @debbie:

    Me too.

    Of course, now we have the great potential for two nuclear armed states to go to war against one another. Great…

    I’ve admired India for many years, but it gets harder and harder over the years. I read about sex crimes, prejudice, harder and harder. Now this.

  88. 88.

    debbie

    JFC. I just listened to the local Fox/Sinclair station report that both shooters were “leftists, anti-Trump, and Warren supporters.” I think I’ve been transported to Opposite Land.

  89. 89.

    Steeplejack

    @Steeplejack:

    I will say that the most painful part of the shenanigans tomorrow is going to be from about 5:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m., when the housecat realizes that she is fasting and that no food will be forthcoming. I am not looking forward to the ensuing discussion. ?

  93. 93.

    SRW1

    Yes. Seth is shittier at taking pictures than me.

    Whadda ya say? There’s no doubt that’s furball !!

  95. 95.

    Jay

    @debbie:

    4 hours after the El Paso shooter was identified and his race rant was found, Faux “news” talking heads were saying “it’s too early to rule out ISIL”,

    Gaslighting America is Faux’s job.

    Fox News did to our parents what they thought video games would do to us.— Ryan Scott (@ryan_scott) August 3, 2019

  98. 98.

    Steeplejack

    @TomatoQueen:

    I think I probably can do a walk-in at the Kaiser clinic close to me if I have to. The operation was done at the med center quite a distance away (Tysons Corner).

  99. 99.

    Jay

    Wait till the white folks learn that a racist con man that filed bankruptcy six times knows nothing about the economyStock market is currently at −853.18— YourPresidentIsARacist (@battletested5) August 5, 2019

  100. 100.

    Jay

    If I were a journalist/worked in news, this is what I’d do rn:1. Interview actual experts on white supremacy & give them space (more than 2mins or lines) to educate the public on WS, what to look for. Often.2. Not frame white supremacy&racism as a “conflict” or “debate”… /1— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) August 5, 2019

    In case anyone is wondering: The number of phone calls and emails I have received today requesting my expertise on white nationalist terrorism from cable news and radio talk shows totals exactly zero.I will admit that it is much nicer just watching whales today. But. pic.twitter.com/rk33ofLhGr— David Neiwert (@DavidNeiwert) August 4, 2019

  102. 102.

    cain

    @schrodingers_cat:
    Yeah, my aunt has become very pro-Hindu. My uncle who actually used to be the more social conservative is against Modi in general.

    Yes, indeed it does seem wierd to single out Kashmir being on the only Muslim majority state to be split into two. I’m not personally a fan of Modi and apparently I can’t say anything anywhere because my own family could get into trouble.

  103. 103.

    low-tech cyclist

    If the spousal unit and I weren’t coming up on two weeks’ vacation, I’d be tempted to drive up to WV and claim the kittens myself. Our 19 year old cat, the last of a generation of cats we adopted an eon back, died just a few weeks ago, and the house just feels all wrong without felines.

    Come September when we’re back home for a good while, we’ll be ready to adopt some little furballs.

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