Another Caturday, another open thread, and yet… all is not well in Kittyland. Somewhere a cat has been mildly inconvenienced, as related by reader Sowmya D.:
Yesterday poor brave Maine Coon girl Ekaterina Velikaya was pushed to the point of misery by NOT getting more Yummy Wet Food when she demanded it.
Pictured — her tormented face during her sit-down strike. (Not pictured — the full bowl of kibble beside her that she didn’t want.)
Good Morning!
Poor Ekaterina Velikaya, the abuse is just shameful. You are so gorgeous and of course your mommy should just give you what you want ;).
We are also having food issues at Casa Tara, though slightly different. It was my first week back at work after one week in California and then one week at home between the holidays. Since the pandemic Butch has food insecurity issues. He was two years feral in my yard, feeding himself, then he moved in and all was fine for about 4 years. The pandemic happened and I was home for over four months. After going back to work, Butch developed this anxiety. If the food bowl was empty while I was away, I’d fill it when I got home and he would promptly snarf a huge amount down and a few minutes later, throw it all up again. It took me a few days to realize we’ve been dealing with that all week. How can one explain to our Furbabies that they are okay and we will not let them starve. We promise. sigh.
With all that happened and being back to work, it feels like this week took a year. I’ve got a lot to do this weekend, cleaning, lesson plans, and I’ve got to go get more Churus because I only have three left. And that will not get me through to next Chewy order. But first, more of Jacques meds and more treats for all three of them.
Bibi says same, same, Ekaterina Velikaya. Bad Mommy. Starves me, neglects me, doesn’t love me … https://www.youtube.com/shorts/w0nsA9yCFAQ
Tara, I hope Butch will adjust to his life of plenty. Would it work to give him much smaller meals, but more often, or does your schedule make that impossible? Of course, if you’ve already tried that and it went south, ignore this suggestion!
😂😂😂😂🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 Such a familiar tune! And the only response is ….
What works the best is that when I put the food in the bowl, I let him get a few chomps and then I start petting him. It seems to calm him down and reassures him I know I need to feed him he slows down the frantic chomping. Then there is no barfing. Because of the three cats I leave food out all day. And of course, the other two have to have the super expensive Urinary Tract food. (massive eyeball roll).
Bibi’s back on her subscription dental kibble. Our vet insists. Bibi doesn’t like it much, but she eats it when she’s hungry. Sarcastic chewing if she sees me watching her.
🤣 Sassy girl, eh?
Oh my, the agony!! Can’t you see that she’s wasting away to nothing? Poor baby, but it should be interesting to find out who won the standoff, lol.
Occasional Thor will go off his food, especially at breakfast and I practically have to beat Valkyerie off with a stick to stop her from eating his breakfast after she has scarfed hers. Then his royal highness (as befitting a Norse god) is spoon fed on the couch. I think it happens when gets a little cold and nothing smells good. On the other hand, Valkyerie has never turned up her nose at food. In fact, her food goes in a slow feeder bowl so she doesn’t gulp. And then barf it all up because she ate too fast. 🤦♀️ After 3 years, you’d think she would realize that the food is not going to run out.
Today will be cleaning the house and organizing and (finally) putting away Christmas decorations. Fingers crossed I can beat a path to the storage shed. With all the rain we’ve gotten the yard is back to being a jungle. Almost feel like I need to wear a safari suit, pith hat, and carry a machete to get through it, lol. Tomorrow, time for grocery shopping, weekly meal prep, and maybe a visit to the museums. Have a good weekend, and hopeful it’s not too cold/snowy where you’re at. Temp was 44F this morning. That’s practically polar here in SoCal! 🥶🥶🥶🥶😂
Why are you starving this poor baby? Look at her, she’s positively wasting away!
Trying to declutter some this weekend…focusing on paper today because it’s just everywhere and it’s driving me crazy. Should probably do some laundry and change my sheets. The news this week has been heavy and I’m glad you’re all here.
—–
Ken Burns Announces New 10-Part ‘Mr. Biscuits’ Documentary After Adopting Cat
—–
From the Friday WRD email (they took some time off for the holidays): “Happy Friday! We’re excited to be back with you and back with the good dogs. With the rocky start the 10-day trial of 2026 has offered so far, I think it’s safe to say we need them now more than ever.”
I love that Ken Burns story and kinda wish it were true. Fun fact: when I started editing videos for Schacht five years ago, I learned that “kenburnsing” is an actual name for slow panning over a photograph.
I saw it on facebook and some of the comments were pretty funny.
I truly felt his anguish in the segment entitled “My Empty Bowl”. The segments entitled “Bad Day at Red Dot” and “Battle of the Blinds” were especially harrowing.
—–
–I love Ken Burns, and all of his documentaries, but this is hilarious! I could hear the somber narration in my head! 😃 I hope Jeff Daniels is available for the voice of Mr. Biscuits!
–Only Peter Coyote will do.
–Documentary about a cat narrated by a Coyote? This will not end well…
The simple solution to the dry kibble dilemma is to literally just pour a little bit of water over it. The kibble absorbs the water almost immediately and turns it into wet food.
It’s just not the same! Ask any cat!
Plus the food can get moldy, I have learned.
And for my dog, it defeats the purpose of the prescription, which is for dental health. That said, it can work for some. Different feeds for different needs!
Ekaterina Velikaya is beautiful and her mommy should absolutely feed her wet food anytime she asks.
We had a day of rain yesterday which is very rare in January in Québec, although the weather has been getting weird these past few years. The temperature yesterday was around 6C/42F so the snow was melting like crazy and everything was wet but this morning we are back to a normal 0C/32F so every surface that was wet is now covered in ice, good thing I don’t have to go out today!
That’s pretty much it for me have a good weekend everyone!
Love the face-hance shots. She’s clearly never going to forgive you. Or at least not for 5 minutes. Such a gorgeous girl, and clearly the victim of severe abuse /s.
This week *has* felt like a year. I’m about to head out for today’s errands and I just want to curl up with yarn. Tomorrow will hopefully be a much-needed vet appointment for Fred Weasleycat. We tried to go last weekend, and he nearly disembowelled me so we canceled. He’s such a fearful cat, and he can’t be picked up, held, or restrained in any way. If the news tomorrow involves any kind of long-term treatment, I may have to make some extremely tough decisions.
Hugs to you all.
I’m sorry DebG, I hope he cooperates with you, and I hope he will be okay.
Oh, dear. It sounds like things are not going too well here.
Found out yesterday that the property I wanted in Prince George has been purchased and LOGGED. I am furious! How dare they!? It was absolutely gorgeous, and now…
Hubby worry appears to have a free-floating cold virus randomly assaulting shoppers. It’s fairly aggressive when it hits, and the mall resounds with unexpected sneezing. The best place to be, if you are there, is the location where the most recent attack was. You can just about guarantee that the virus has floated off elsewhere to seek another yet unsuspecting victim.
Starting to get my crafting supplies back together. One of hubby’s Christmas presents to me was a complete collection of all the colours of embroidery threads. Don’t know what I’m going to do with them all, but I’m having fun planning.
Today is paperwork day, so I am off to wear out my eyes and brains.
Have a great weekend, everyone, if you can.
A cat has been mildly inconvenienced, you say? THIS CANNOT STAND!
I’d like to share a rather odd experience. About four months ago a fairly small but noticeable wart-like growth appeared almost overnight under my left eye. I put it down to ageing (I’m 65), but I was beginning to wonder if I should mention it to a doctor. However, last week it began to decrease in size…and when I gave it a gentle rub it came off in the form of a few bits of dead skin, leaving not a mark behind. I am no longer Warty McCroneface!
In other news, I’ve come across some comical things whilst scouring online regional newspapers for info about the actor Eric Porter for my proposed tribute website. My favourite is a photo from the early 60s showing him getting a polio vaccination in a caravan parked in Stratford-upon-Avon’s market square…
Congrats on losing McCroneface status!
Vaccinations . . . what a thought. Sorry, feeling really despondent about my country these days.
DebG – Today is the anniversary of the first printing of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, which lead directly to the Declaration of Independence six months later. It was a best seller and was printed almost monthly in the first part of the year. The Historical Society of Pennsylvania where I work, has one of the first printings owned and annotated by Timothy Matlack. Matlack would go on to be secretary of the continental congress and would “engross*” the original Declaration that all the delegates signed. Nice little closed loop I enjoy. Hold on to hope. ❤️
*To write or transcribe in a large, clear hand.
That is SO COOL. THank you.
I am glad to learn you have been relieved of one of the many indignities of … oh, let’s just call it adulthood. Yeah, that works.
What is this? Some kind of forcefield?
Kitten: “I think I’m safe, but I’d better take refuge in this convenient little cave just to be sure”