Did you know that today has been declared ‘Kittens’ day?
Well, it has, because I just did it. Indycat32 sent in pics of her adorable new kitten, Chloe.
As a bonus, I will add the first 10 15 cat or kitten pictures you send in the comments of the post. Just write something about your feline friend and send me a pic, and I’ll at the pic to your comment.
Oh, and tomorrow has been declared ‘Puppies’ Day. Same same. Except it’s the first 10 dog or puppy pics.
?
And now, back to Chloe, new owner and master of servant Indycat32. I adore the way some kittens can twist their little bodies in ways that shouldn’t be possible. I called my Willow ‘Twister’ for awhile because she did that. I miss that so much!
Open thread.
Baud
Man, we could use a kitten day. Good timing.
WaterGirl
Welcome to the pack, Chloe!
SiubhanDuinne
Speaking of kittens … weren’t we supposed to have a White House kitten by now? What the hell have Joe and Jill been doing that’s more consequential than a First Feline? America can’t take much more of this.
mrmoshpotato
Yogacats!
On a related note, I saw a guy in the park throwing around his leg like a rag doll the other day. I was in awe of the dude’s hip flexor.
indycat32
Chloe is internet famous! She will never let Reggie, Henry and Oliver forget it.
SiubhanDuinne
@indycat32:
She is lovely.
Danton
jeffreyw
Homer likes dogs more than other cats. He is quite fond of Gabe.
Duckpocalypse
It’s my little buddy Diego! He says ‘Please Share Your Lamb Bits!’
WaterGirl
@jeffreyw: This one made me tear up. But in a good way
Such a sweet pic.
WaterGirl
This picture of the housecat, hard at work, made me tear up, too. Such a good kitty.
This is Steeplejack’s housecat.
Stella, March 2020
WaterGirl
@Duckpocalypse: Pretty please?
Please please please please please.
Bruce K in ATH-GR
There are a lot of kittens (well, more like mature cats) that wander my neighborhood and act like they own it. Occasionally one of them will do a Sphinx expression at the lobby door. It’s weirdly good for the soul to see them around.
zhena gogolia
@indycat32: She is adorable. I love the trusting way she looks at the camera.
zhena gogolia
@Duckpocalypse: Haha, what a face!!!
zhena gogolia
@WaterGirl: Sweet dreams!
Steeplejack
@WaterGirl:
That’s from March 2020. I still miss her every day. RIP, Stella.
Ken
I got a small packet of birdseed as a gift, and scattered it on my balcony for a few days. I ran out yesterday, but the little brown birds keep investigating, and I could swear some of them are glaring at me. Am I now morally obligated to keep feeding them?
WaterGirl
These kitties (and Gabe) are dong my heart good today.
When I worked at the vet school, my drive to work led me past the field where the cows and the horses hung out. Just seeing them as I drove to and from work not only made me happy, but also calmed me down and made everything less stressful.
Sis
Chloe is adorable!!!!!!
Dan B
@Steeplejack: They’re so lovely when they’re sleeping and much of the time when they’re not. Glad / sad you have great memories of her.
WaterGirl
@SiubhanDuinne: Made me laugh!
geg6
Too adorable!
My Cleo is 3 years old now and she still twists herself up like a pretzel when she sleeps and does strange stretches that defy physics. It’s fascinating and too cute for words
geg6
@Ken:
Yes.
WaterGirl
@Ken: You need to read the fine print in the contract, bub. :-)
Spanky
@WaterGirl: I sent you a pic.
This is Bandit. Under the covers on his first Christmas Morning in 2017.
A few seconds after this pic was snapped, he moved to his left and bit me on the dick. He’s also known around here as Jesuschristgoddammit.
NotMax
Shall just leave this here.
Steeplejack
@Dan B:
Thanks. It’s a bit of a shock to go from constant presence to sudden absence. Took me a while to get around to unrigging her workstation.
WaterGirl
@Spanky: Bandit is totally adorable! Except for the biting you on the dick part. Ouch ouch ouch ouch ouch.
edit: I think god / the universe makes babies, kittens and puppies this cute so we don’t kill them.
jimbales
Thank you for this thread!
I caught this photo of our Cassiopeia (aka, “Cassie”) on the ottoman the other day, contemplating the meaninglessness of life.
She wants you to know that, actually, you don’t understand the true meaning of “ennui”.
Best
Jim
WaterGirl
This is Molly the cat, H.E. Wolf’s neighbor, lollygagging in H.E.’s garden. So lovely!
edit: I always smile at this picture of Molly “with the flowers in her hair”.
indycat32
@zhena gogolia: She’s part of an outdoor cat’s litter. She worked on me for weeks. “Pick me up, I don’t care. See how I purr when you snuggle me.” So Monday morning at breakfast, I was OK, you win. Come on in. She’s shown no desire to leave. And why would she? It’s warm, there’s food and most important, no rain!
JCJ
I sent a picture of my daughter’s cat Cinereous. He is her constant companion. His sister is attached to my wife. Both cats show excellent judgment and shun me even though I am the one who feeds them the most often and cleans the litter box. I also clean as much cat hair around the house as I can, but that is a losing battle.
Dan B
@Spanky: You win the intertubes – and it’s early, congrats!
Danielx
@Spanky:
I don’t feel your pain, for which I am devoutly grateful.
Although I know the reaction. My man Boris did something involving broken crockery when he was a year or so old, and I reacted appropriately. Was tartly admonished by daughter unit that his name was Boris Lastname, not Boris Goddamnit.
Starfish
@SiubhanDuinne: This Presidency has been a disappointment. The lack of a cat is clearly the fault of the moderates, the Squad, and critical race theory.
Danielx
@Starfish:
I blame Manchin and Sinema.
WaterGirl
I hope you guys are going back up and looking at the pictures I am adding as I receive them.
Bruce K in ATH-GR
@Starfish:
Nah, this one can still be hung on TFG. Any self-respecting cat can still pick up the stench of his corruption and would want nothing to do with it until it’s faded.
WaterGirl
This post is still behaving well on my phone, so I am upping the limit from 10 to 15.
edut: I should have called this “Take your kitten/cat to
workBalloon Juice day”. Oh well.indycat32
@jimbales: Love it. I get the same look from my Ollie.
Baud
@SiubhanDuinne:
@Starfish:
I suspect the issues with Major have had something to do with it.
Although now is a bad time because the last think we need is 24/7 media coverage about how Biden is trying to distract us with a cat. #WagTheCat
jeffreyw
@Danielx:
I have a several cats with the same last name. Here’s Gingerdammit.
WaterGirl
Not sure of the nym of the person whodonatellonerd sent this to me.so I will add the nym after she chimes in and lets me know what it is.Our previous last cat died in May the beginning of the pandemic, two years after his sib (and fortunately after our daughter was finishing her last year of college/conservatory in London back home. so we needed a cat.
we wound up with 3, all more or less kittens and different ages. counter clockwise from top o’malley was estimated to be about 9 months, and he was strong attached (& vv) to Nicky, before or after they both ended up at the 12th arroundissement rescue group (and prenamed).
and then our vet had a client with a litter including black cats, and since it sounded like the foster parents of O’Malley & Nicky might decide to keep them, we said yes to the littlest black cat (a month and a half younger than Nicky) and maybe for one of her sibs. to make sure we got at least one.
so we ended with the three. Charly arrived 2 weeks after the others, but as you can see, they all ended up getting along together. two of them can still share this basket, but not the three.
they are a pita when i am making dinner.
btw, o’malley was named after the cat in the aristocats, and nicky & charly are both girls.
WaterGirl
@WaterGirl: Three kittens in a basket, so adorable!
opiejeanne
@Danielx: I think it might be hesitation because of the doggo.
WaterGirl
JeffreyW’s kitty: Gingerdammit
opiejeanne
@WaterGirl: I sent you a photo of Annie, a portrait really. She watches tv with us and sometimes pauses mid-bath. She was sitting on D’s lap. She looked so contemplative that I had to take her picture. This was in February, 2020, just before all hell broke loose. My daughter cropped it and made it B & W.
opiejeanne
Dear WaterGirl,
Thank you for this thread. it’s such a nice thing to see this morning. Everyone has such nice kitties, even if almost all of them share that last name.
Major Major Major Major
I saw a kitten the other day!
opiejeanne
@Major Major Major Major: You can just look at that expression and know that he’s trouble. Yes, that’s a boy kitty.
RepubAnon
@SiubhanDuinne: Hopefully Manchin and Sinema aren’t holding up the First Feline negotiations…
Duckpocalypse
@WaterGirl: He got many lamb bits! He is good bum.
MomSense
I want all the cats. I miss having a kitty.
WereBear
Creamsicle cat! Welcome, Chloe. She looks like one of my Unbreeds: Red Spectrum Cat
Enjoy!
donatellonerd
@WaterGirl: that’s me, sorry.
WaterGirl
@donatellonerd: Don’t be sorry! I am pretty good at remembering which names go with which nyms, but I am not at 100%. :-)
WaterGirl
@MomSense: I know, it would be hard. But at least you have your cheese thief to bring you joy.
Quiltingfool
Love this post! More cats!
Looking forward to the puppy photos tomorrow!
P.S. – Need to see a Steve picture! Paging John Cole!
Mike in NC
Puppy thread tomorrow? My brother recently adopted a cross between a poodle and a golden retriever, called a “golden doodle”. Very adorable.
WaterGirl
From Dan B:
WaterGirl
From Kelly:
The tuxedo cat on the scratching post is Martin. The tabby on the sofa is Phoebe. The pic was shot by Mrs Kelly who also painted the picture of cherry blossoms on the wall.
WG: an artist!
WaterGirl
From Mel: Presenting Leonard and Coco
WG: I wonder how your owners got you to pose like this?
WaterGirl
From JeffreyW: Ollie!
WaterGirl
@Mike in NC: Yep, puppy thread tomorrow!
Is your brother’s golden doodle one of the wirey-haired ones, or is the fur soft?
VeniceRiley
I love cats. They make me sneeze my head off and itch in my mouth and Eustachian tubes, but they’re so cute! So pets must remain canine, alas. S.O. is similar. We shall forever be dog people
ETA: Leonard and Coco are adorbs!
Mike in NC
@WaterGirl: Fur is soft, and the eyes look green or blue, depending on the light.
indycat32
@WaterGirl: That’s a big kittie. The names Ollie and Henry seem to be quite popular.
Freemark
My adorable gray girl Natasha. BJers donated so I could recue her over 8 years ago.
Spanky
@WaterGirl:
“Munchies!”
Major Major Major Major
Oh, are we doing adult cats too?
Major Major Major Major
@Duckpocalypse: Awwww, love Diego!
H.E.Wolf
Thank you everyone for all these cats. :)
The black kitties reminded me of Amir Khalid’s beloved Bianca (may her memory be a blessing).
jeffreyw
@indycat32: Ollie is basking in the glow of Mrs J’s grow lights in the basement. Has he been overexposed?
WaterGirl
From opiejeanne: This is Henry long before he came to live with us, about 15 years ago.
He looks just about the same no, at age 16.
WaterGirl
From Freemark: This is Natasha. I wouldn’t have her without BJer donations.
WG: what is this lovely girl’s name?
indycat32
@jeffreyw: Maybe, or perhaps not. My Ollie is 14 pounds without the assistance of grow lights.
WaterGirl
From Jackie: This is my granddaughter’s
kitchenkitten? Rowen. It took quite some time to automatically try and clean off her nose. They are her freckles?WG: I wasn’t sure on the nym for this one. What a cutie!
Jackie
@WaterGirl: From “Jackie” ;)
J R in WV
@Ken:
Yes, of course!! Why do you even ask?!!!
On another topic, the main subject, white cats with red spots are the supreme cats of catdom. We’ve had two big white tom cats with red spots, first was Ralph, who died of very old age while we were still in the little old farm house.
Then a few month later I had a young small white tom with red spots walk out from under my car at the local hardware shop / gas station. He was homeless until I picked him up and took him home. Rufus for the red spots. Moved up to the new house with us, sat at table with us for dinner, with friends for dinner.
He got his own plate, where we would put tiny slivers of evening’s meat. He was very polite, quiet, mannerly. Everyone loved Rufus. RIP kitties!! We’re old enough now we should look for older cats when that time comes, little kitties
willmay well outlive us.zhena gogolia
@Major Major Major Major: Those eyes!
WaterGirl
@Jackie: Sometimes people’s nyms resemble their names, and sometimes they don’t! I never want to out anyone accidentally. :-)
J R in WV
@Major Major Major Major:
OH, man, what a pretty kitten!! I guess in NYC you need cats to keep the rodents down!!! One reason we had lots of cats when we still kept livestock. Farm’s have rats. Big ones. Possum-sized rats.
Rufus killed one bigger than he was after we took that last hog to the butcher — rat was headed from the barn/hog pen towards the house. Killed out in the little bottom, left right there. Cat wasn’t THAT hungery at all. Just doing the job!
thanks for pretty bodega kitten!!!
Mary G
@Steeplejack: I can’t count how many times you reported that Stella was at her workstation by your side. She’s beautiful and so cozy in that picture. RIP to your best coworker.
karen marie
I have kitten! Five weeks old, and ate her first kibble yesterday!
How do I attach a photo?
(removed the tweet I had added b/c it was slowing down the thread.)
JCJ
If there is room I sent a fresh picture of Asche.
WaterGirl
@karen marie: send me a photo by email. my nym at balloon-juice.com
WaterGirl
@karen marie: I snuck your tweet into your comment.
So adorable!
WaterGirl
@JCJ: Oh my gosh, Asche is so stunning.
Major Major Major Major
@J R in WV: yeah, bodega cats are generally about our thriving vermin ecosystem, haha
karen marie
@WaterGirl: Nice! I sent a still photo via email. I am in love with this monster!
Duckpocalypse
@Major Major Major Major: Not gonna lie, he was one of the top three reasons I wanted to come back from China(working there over the winter) as fast as possible earlier this year.
Mel
@Major Major Major Major: Samwise is one handsome boy!
Steeplejack (phone)
@Mary G:
Definitely the best coworker I ever had!
Mel
@JCJ: Such beautiful fluffy fur and those precious white mittens!
lifeinthebonusround
WaterGirl — I just sent you a pic of my own sphinx-like poseur, Humbug. She’s a 5-year-old Ragdoll, loves attention, goes limp (like, um, a rag doll!) when you pick her up.
karen marie
@MomSense: I swore during our Gracie’s last year I would never have another cat. I made it almost three years. As with my two previous cats, Patty Patty was not sought or picked out but simply turned up (this time, in the hands of a neighbor). Between first cat – Alice Springs, a calico tortie – and our Gracie (all black with a tiny pearl necklace and thong underpants) I tried an 18-month-old ginger but my former Cockers voted her off the island. They were not going to give up their seniority after being bossed by Alice from when they were puppies. I had to return her to the shelter. Very sad! They allowed Gracie, who was only about 6 weeks old when I brought her home. I had walked into a convenience store in SE Mass, saw her on the counter, asked whose kitten and they said “yours.”
Matt McIrvin
A few days ago Kristen Arnett demanded cat pictures, and I complied:
WaterGirl
@karen marie: Here is karen marie’s photo of patty patty.
Once you know what’s going on in this picture, it’s easy to see, but it took me a minute.
We have a white pants leg, the kitten on the knee, and the pup with the same color scheme as the kitty!
Mel
@indycat32: I love her adorable expression and the cotton candy pink nose and ears. What a perfect little sweetie!
Gravenstone
Just sent in a pic of my smallest furmonster, Cider. I have never known a cat to be so aggressive in search of a lap. He will run between my feet when I get home or get up from my computer desk, until I sit in the recliner and present a lap. Likewise, if another cat is already occupying the premises, he’ll jump up and worm his way to the prime spot. And loud … when I was paying for him at the local Petsmart (fronting for the county Humane Society) and I mentioned his name, the woman checking me out at the register said, “I think he’s the one you can hear meow through the whole store”. She wasn’t kidding. Dude can crank it up to 12 when he wants to.
Gravenstone
@Gravenstone: Damn you’re quick! I was still writing the intro that landed in the post below.
indycat32
@Mel: thanks. Her ears are very large. I’m kinda hoping she doesn’t grow into them! Her momma, a tortie, is less than 7 pounds, but the father is huge.
BigJimSlade
Phoebe: champion snuggler, lap-seeker, chair thief
WaterGirl
@Gravenstone: I moved Cider’s photo to your descriptive post and then deleted my comment with Cider.
WaterGirl
@BigJimSlade: Phoebe looks intense. Are you sure she’s a smuggler? :-)
WaterGirl
From Molly : Baby Bella
WG: Look at those eyes!
BigJimSlade
@WaterGirl: :-) It was just bright outside. She was watching a little cat TV (you know, staring out the window)
It’s not exactly smuggling, but she does distribute cat hair almost evenly throughout the house.
karen marie
@WaterGirl: It is hard to photograph our Patty because she’s very smol, moves very fast, and I am too old and creaky to get on my hands and knees with any hope of getting back up without difficulty.
She’s very sleepy today. Currently in her fully enclosed playpen napping. Lucy, the dog, is delighted and wishes she napped 24/7.
karen marie
@WaterGirl: omg!
Freemark
@WaterGirl: Natasha
WaterGirl
From Darkrose:
WaterGirl
@karen marie: I don’t know… Lucy seems to like the kitty a lot. No?
greenergood
@WaterGirl:
Ah – Gabe – as a long-term lurker and only occasional viewer, I’d forgotten about the Gabe, and now demand photos, NOW, or soon … of your beautiful felid – or else (what? Dunno …) :-)
WaterGirl
From Mel:
WaterGirl
@greenergood: Gabe is JeffreyW’s pup. And that’s his field, too, I imagine.
greenergood
@WaterGirl:
This makes me sad – I thought your feline was Gabe – he was so beautiful – I must’ve made a mistake about who his hooman was/is – if anyone has recent photos of Gabe, would love to see them posted here … while I sit here, across the Atlantic, waiting for the Congressional apocalypse … sheesh …
WaterGirl
@greenergood: Ah, that Gabe. That was TaMara’s beloved kitty.
Sad news about Gabe.
RIP Gabe.
Steeplejack
@WaterGirl:
Ogdred? Ogdred Weary?
I love it when they put a paw over their face, like, “I really can’t cope today, so don’t bother me.”
WaterGirl
@Steeplejack: “Not now, I have a headache… the light is too bright.”
Darkrose
@Steeplejack: Ogdred’s full name is indeed Ogdred Weary, after the author of The Curious Sofa.
Alistair is fond of the paw-over-face look. He occasionally peeks out as if to say, “Am I cute now? I’m cute, right? See me being cute?”
Darkrose
@WaterGirl: When T. and I drove me and my stuff from Salem, MA to Sacramento, my Maine Coon Joxur rode in the back of the VW Bug in a laundry basket. He was very mellow, as long as we didn’t drive for more than 8 hours at a time; we emptied out a diner in Kearney, NE once when the wait staff all came out to see him sprawled out on the dashboard.
The reason we discovered he wasn’t good for more than 8 hours was when we drove past our reserved Motel 6 (they take pets!) and ended up spending 3 hours trying to find a hotel in Wyoming. Joxur started to complain loudly, as was his wont, so we gave him one of the tranquilizers we’d gotten from the vet. They worked…very well. By the time we found a place for the night, Joxur’s eyes were wall-to-wall pupil, and he was walking very carefully, like you do when you’re drunk and think no one will notice. At one point he tried to jump onto the hotel bed, but it had one of those slippery bedspreads, and he slid right off with a sad, “Mmmmmrrrrrrroooooooowwwwww”.
The next morning, as soon as we took him to the car, he curled up in the seat well and put his paws over his face and stayed that way all morning, like someone who was extremely hung over.
WaterGirl
@Darkrose: Poor baby!
I am kind of like that about shopping. Even home store shopping. I have never timed it exactly, but I am having fun, having fun, having fun and then I have had enough of shopping and I. Am. Done.
Luckily my best friend has a nearly identical shopping tolerance, so it works out perfectly.
Anyway, I know exactly how your kitty felt. I think. When you’re done, you’re oh so done.
BigJimSlade
@WaterGirl: Hey! You can click on the images now to embiggen :-) Awesome – thanks!
Mel
@Darkrose: When we moved 15 years ago, movers took all the big stuff, and we decided to make the trip with the last few small items, and with our three kitties, our 90 pound Lab and our Collie, at night.
It should have been a four hour drive, with a potty stop for humans and dogs halfway through, and a litter box set up in the back of the SUV for kitties (two rescue siamese -y kitties and a 21 pound Maine Coon mix )
Instead, we got caught in night time construction, and the trip turned into a nearly 8 hour fiasco in the middle of the hottest part of August.
By the end of the journey, our Lab girl was surfing the center console, drooling and licking our heads, the Collie was lounging on my lap cutting off all circulation, the Meezies were wailing, and the Maine Coon boy was singing his heart out in his high soprano.
Between the nervous doggy hormone smell, the drifting clouds of animal hair, the Lab drool, and the kitty box, the car practically needed a hazmat cleaning by the time we all finally arrived.
Best moment: halfway through the drive, I used a paper napkin to wipe a huge glob of slobber off of my head where our Lab had licked my hair. The car trash bag was full, so I stuck the funky slobber napkin inside my not-quite-finished to go cup, figuring, oh well, it’s mostly just ice left in there at this point anyway, so no big deal, I’m done with it.
Several hours later, I woke up from half-napping and was parched. Not thinking, I grabbed the to-go cup thinking I would drink the water from the thawed ice, but then THWAP!, the drool napkin slapped up against the bottom of the straw, and I remembered what was in there, and realized OhShit, I just drank my dog’s slobber!!!!
Good times…
WaterGirl
@BigJimSlade: Yeah, there are two ways you can add images to the media library.
You can go directly to the media library and add images. Or you can go to the post or the comment and add images.
I discovered partway through this thread that if I do it the first way and THEN add the image to the post, it won’t embiggen.
If I add the image directly in the post or comment, then you can. So I changed my method midway through this post.
That also explains why the OTR (on the road) images won’t embiggen. They are surely added a different way through the OTR form.
BigJimSlade
@WaterGirl: Ah, gotcha, so the OTR is its own world. Anyway, it’s nice to have on this sort of thing!
WaterGirl
@BigJimSlade: And it would be especially nice on OTR, too.