Happy weekend! Reader Jan B. has a beautiful cat to share: “Now that Spring is here, Lily (now 9 months old) is venturing outside to practice her elegant poses and intense looks! She could almost be a supermodel, am I right?”
Weekend Open Thread
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Lily is one elegant and beautiful pussycat. I’ve never seen a white cat with a colored tail. I’m imagining her with s jeweled collar.
Speaking of coloration, does anyone know why one sees plenty of black cats and dogs with white paws but not white cats and dogs with black paws?
Siamese cats?
They do exist, since the patterning on a calico or black and white cat can be pretty random (see also: cats who look like hitler) but are more rare than the reverse. Why?
Well, there is actually an answer and it has to do with science! The article I read this from is long gone, but it was a fascinating piece on how coloration works in cats. It starts in the kitty embryo. As the zygote develops and the cell splits, one of the developments is a shell of cells around the outside that will eventually make up the skin and fur layer.
In single-colored cats (determined by the chromosomes whether they will one day be single-colored, tabby, etc) this shell of cells initially develops with a single, solid color. But as the zygote grows, it doesn’t always grow completely evenly, and the shell is likely to split. Splits along the outer shell mark the places where, on the finished cat, the color differentiates. Because of the way the zygote grows, those splits are more likely to occur on specific places: the tips of the paws, the breastbone, and the nose.
So in some ways, a black cat, a white cat, and a black-and-white cat all have the same chromosome makeup; the only difference between them is where the shell split open.
I hope I have explained well enough!
“Part of this theory was that the patterning of black and white was the result of the skin surface “cracking” during early embryo development. The skin of such bicolour cats at an early embryo stage would be basically pigmented, but the dominant WS (white spotting) gene, causes the pigmented surface to crack into domains or islands. These islands drift apart over the embryonic surface as the embryo grows.
Terada and Watanabe found it possible to fit all the coloured areas of cat coat together. The seams can then be projected onto the surface of a sphere (the embryo). As the sphere expands, the coloured area cracks apart. Think of a balloon covered in solidified chocolate: the balloon can expand, but the chocolate can’t. The cracked solid surfaces then gave patterns just like those found on bicolour cats.”
http://messybeast.com/bicolours.htm
I don’t entirely understand it all but it sure is fascinating– thank you for this Kodalai
Lily IS a supermodel!
I don’t follow others, but I would follow Lily’s modeling career.
I already do here in the most important venue of Cutetropolis.
Paris? Pfffft.
I love the spotty nose!
Lilly is gorgeous! I LOVE kittens at that age. So I’m off to pick up my new car today! Pretty excited, a bit nervous. I’ve had the same car for so long and there’s comfort in familiarity. But I get to give my old car to my nephew today which is a nice feeling. I am glad that car stays in the family for a bit longer and glad to see it bring joy to someone else.
Congratulations Birdcage!
Yes, congratulations on the new wheels. I always get attached to my cars, they become characters in my movie, I guess. But it’s amazing how quickly one acclimates to the new one. I remember the first car I traded in for another and watching it being divested of its license plate and all the other bits in it felt like watching an old movie where someone is stripped of their military stripes and given a dishonorable discharge. How anthropomorphic is that!
That’s wonderful! All of it.
Congratulations, enjoy the new car, Birdcage!
Too gorgeous!!!! She is one purrrfect kitty. Nothing much going on this weekend – just the usual chores, errands and getting my hair cut. It’s got to the point where I feel I have a mop on my head and I can’t do anything with it. Off to feed his royal canine-ness and find some coffee for me.
Lily is a lovely young lady. Her eyes are astonishing. Her poses dramatic and sinuous. True beauty.
She’s wonderful – you’ve had quite an adventure with her, haven’t you, Jan? And more to come by the looks of it!
Oh what a beauty queen! Smoldering eyes and everything. Jan B. she is gorgeous.
My white kitty, Felix has just run in so we admired Lily’s beauty together.
Lily is a real feline beauty and Jan is an excellent photographer.
Ms Lily is a lovely young lady 😉
Usual chores & such this weekend for me & hoping for some snow days later this week.
Update: Malcolm (IBD kitty) is improving & has treated me to several attempts to destroy household odds n ends, so he’s feeling much better. I swear it made my day yesterday to see his little ginger face peering through the window when I got home – it’s been a couple months since he’s done that. 🙂
Glad to hear about Malcolm! Yes, when they’re able to cause mayhem it’s a good sign.
Lily is so pretty! I may be a little biased because I love calicos and she has the same name as my niece. I think her coloring makes her a Turkish Van.
That’s my baby girl! She’s as naughty as she is beautiful because she gets away with everything, I mean who can resist that face?
Here’s another from a sunny day:
I bow before your superlative beauty, Ms. Lily! What a knockout she is.
Already ran errands–which included buying Girl Scout cookies!!!!! Now I get to settle in with cats, yarn, audiobooks, etc. Plus making another batch of crepes and setting up a lentil curry in the slow cooker. That’s after I fix the kitchen sink: no fun cooking when you have to worry about water running on the floor.
Great news about people’s cars, cats, and so on.
Lily is more beautiful by the day! She really can pose with the best of them. Such a gorgeous kitty!
Our two idiots are fine. In fact, Sebastian seems to *finally* be over his separation anxiety, which was very strong when he arrived — his previous owner, a lovely young woman, gave him up because she had to leave him alone for so many hours while she worked, and he could be somewhat destructive. But the other day he was home alone for a couple of hours while Melody was off doing her therapy thing and I was at the doctor, and when I got home I was greeted with an untouched house and a sleepy, yawning cocker spaniel: “Oh, you’re home. That’s nice. I’m going back to sleep!” It was a very welcome thing to see him completely fine being alone; that’s real growth for him. He didn’t even *try* to overturn a wastebasket! (Not that we left anything out for him!)
I’ve been adjusting to a new medication, and several times my back has spasmed so hard and become, instantly, so painful that it made me nauseous, so it’s been a challenging week. Overall things are improving; I just have to be patient. I know this med can work because I took it in the past and it worked beautifully then. And at least I know how to cope with it when that happens. A good audiobook and relaxing in the recliner help a lot to take my mind off things while my back settles down again.
So I’ve been working and/or listening to audiobooks while knitting. I’m finishing up the last socks to go in the box for my daughter. Gotta keep her feet warm there in the mountains! And my husband went to the casino the other day and won a nice chunk of change — I haven’t seen so many Benjamins ($100 bills) in a long time! — so he’s happy. And the IRS will be, too, since they’re getting most of it. 🙁 Stupid taxes!
I hope everyone has a lovely week. Lentil curry…that sounds good! We have a lovely Indian restaurant not five minutes away; I may have to treat myself to a lentil curry and some lovely naan. Yummm, fresh naan!
Laura, I hope the med situation sorts itself out quickly for you! I’ve done some med changes and the “waiting for it to kick in” can be frustrating. I hope that you enjoy your audiobook and recliner!
I have done absolutely nothing of note today. Happy Saturday!
Lily is such a unique beauty! I love my two knuckleheads but I must admit they are not model material!
I have been lazy today, which I blame on PMS; it makes me pretty useless a day or two each month. 🙁 Tomorrow will be better! 🙂
Happy weekend, all!
I finally bought a new car this week (after procrastinating for so long that it finally became easier just to do it, LOL). I had my old one for 12 years and it ran great, but the rust was taking over. Very happy with new one! It’s a used Honda Fit with just 25K miles on it, in ‘Milano Red’ (think fire-engine red with a dash of cherry).
Birdcage, I hope you’re as delighted with your new car as I am! That’s cool that you’re giving yours to your nephew. My old Neon is going to auction, so I hope it goes to someone who’s just starting out or needs a break – a safe, reliable ride for a few hundred bucks to get them to work, school, etc.
That was about it for the week – the house is a mess and I’ve been blowing off my physical therapy – so that’s the plan for the weekend.
Oh, don’t forget to ‘Spring Forward’ (re-set your clocks) tonight if you’re in a region that does that. Have a great weekend all!
Congratulations, Smartypants. May you have many miles and lots of great adventure together!
Thank you! 😀
Hi everyone. My big news is about Millie. She knows how to play fetch the ball when we are sitting on the bed. Brings the small rope ball and puts it right in my hand.
But she is not very good at letting go of the ball. So every return turned into a game of tug and finger chewing.
So now I hold the ball still and loose. I won’t throw it until she “lets go”. So her waiting naturally led to sitting. She is learning to “get it”, “let go” and “sit”! I think I am having more fun than Millie is.
Millie also gives me a great “noodling” session when we wake up. She gives kisses, nibbles, I get to kiss and hug her and nuzzle her neck.
I am lucky beyond words. We are together 24/7 for stretches of days. She stays against my back while I sit and draw.
I will send Mike a new pic! Have good weekends. It is in the teens on Long Island, NY and a Nor’easter is scheduled for Tuesday and Wednesday. I ordered two kinds of chocolate ice cream and Romaine Lettuce. My two cravings.
Stopping drawing for a month to read. Starved for reading. I compleated 32 drawings that I consider a first series. Very happy with all of them and my progress.
Faye asked me to post a pair of pictures of Millie. Here she is!
Too cute!!
My friend sent a message to me and a couple other friends this morning asking if we could come down one Saturday soon, to play games and hang out…and finally get to meet her little Smidgen! She’s a dappled Doxie mix with giant ears and I can’t wait to see her! And see my friend, of course… 😉
Have fun!
Take pictures! Post them! Pretty please???
Millie not enjoying her harness!
Millie conked out after a play session.
Oh, Faye, she is just impossibly cute and boy, when she’s relaxed, she’s relaxed! too, too sweet and I’m happy for you that you have each other!
Thank you Murray!
She’s so precious! Wonderful pix. We’re expecting snow here too (Western MA) – making sure to stockpile plenty of chocolate 😀
So excited to hear about your artistic progress! That must be so rewarding.
Thank you Smartypants. I’ll send drawing 32 to Mike. Not gruesome. Lol.
Here’s the artwork:
Wow, very cool! It really draws you in – I keep noticing new things as I scroll up and down through it. Mike, thank you for posting it.
Thank You Smartypants. It’s a one page story. ?
Mike is more than generous.
Your style is changing -I think – can you enlighten us, if I’m not wrong.
Dubravkamcvmd this drawing is done in Prismacolor Verythins Color Pencils rather than Copic Markers.
Much more detail possible. And I used old fashioned comic book primary colors. My line has become more flowing.
The content is about my therapist and I having gotten outside my childhood home into the trees under a night sky that is indigo colored. All the buildings walls and what is inside have become bathed in streaming moonlight.
We are talking and observing ourselves talking. He is helping me in the present and in the past at all my previous ages.
Oh, my, Faye, you have been productive! Wonderful!
Thank you Murray!
Do we know anything new about Gigi and her husband? I hope they are OK.
I think April’s getting a little cranky…
https://youtu.be/IKl4LfjgIR8