Five Reasons Why I Blog

I, Rocky, have been tagged by Phoebe at the Pablo Fan Club to explain why I blog. These are only 5 of my many reasons:

1. I blog so my humans will live longer. Norman Cousins used laughter to cure his fatal disease. Laughter boosts levels of endorphins, the body's natural painkillers. Since blogging kitties are so funny, we keep our humans pain-free ... and alive. (He who laughs, lasts!)

2. Humans sometimes get busy with human stuff and forget that cats rule the world. I blog to inundate them with even more cats, which helps them keep their priorities straight. (a. Cats, b. Cats, c. Cats etc. etc.)

3. Medical studies show that lonely people are twice as likely to develop Alzheimer’s as those who are not lonely. As our extended family, the Cat Blogosphere protects my humans from dementia. (well, sorta)

4. I blog to keep my humans stress-free. Creative expression relieves stress. Involving my humans in cat blogging is a creative outlet that keeps them from going postal. (well, most of the time)

5. I blog so that my artist humans will use their talents for a good cause - marketing cat art and donating proceeds to cats in need - rather than just sitting around doodling!

White Widebody Wednesday

Hmphh. I think today should be named "Why I've Ordered the Human Artists to Create Eyeglass Holders Wednesday"!

And this is not the only ridiculous function I serve for the humans around here. They've been known to keep their place by resting an open book on my back (why I ordered them to create bookmarks) and I've been used as a cell phone rest (why I ordered them to create cell phone leashes). Also, they rest their coffee cups on my head now and then -- which I really don't mind because it keeps my brain warmed up.

Maybe we should have a new meme: "Feline Functions Friday"?

Meezer Monday

I want to share with you my beautiful applehead sealpoint who crossed the Rainbow Bridge in 1999. Her name was Millard and her sister's name was Fillmore. (My daughter, at a very creative age, named them!) Sadly, we lost Fillmore when she was only 2 years old, but Millard lived with me for almost 23 precious years!

Millard was the most loving, intelligent kitty I've ever known. She knew my feelings better than I knew them myself, and catered to them. She accepted change in her life with such grace, and loved all other cats, dogs or any other creatures we brought into our home. She taught herself, completely on her own and much to my amazement, to use the human bathroom! She loved to ride in the car, loved to run errands with me and drive across country to visit my daughter in college (she stayed in the dorm.) She would also sneak out and climb into neighbors' cars to surprise them when they reached the grocery, pharmacy, office ...

There are so many memories. Millard enriched my life in so many ways for so long, and I still miss her dearly.

~~ Sharolyn

Toes Woes Weekend

I, Rocky, publicly ask for forgiveness. We had some serious toes woes this weekend, and the buck stops here. I accept the blame for dislocating a toe belonging to our human artist Suzanne.

It all started when my mom Sharolyn accidentally stepped on Callie's toes, and Callie screeched out one of her banshee screams, making my pupils dilate and my tail puff up. My only recourse was to jump on Callie, wheretofore we rolled rolled around on the floor screeching like something out of a Roadrunner cartoon, Fracas screeching on the sidelines.

Sharolyn screeched at us to stop it, causing her sister Suzanne to race down the stairs screeching What's going on down there? Whole lotta screechin' goin' on! Then Callie ran on the other side of a door, and when I chased after her, Suzanne tried to close the door while blocking me with her foot, and BAM! The door hit her toe.

So Suzanne fell on the floor screeching and when she took off her shoe, one of her toes was pointing completely backwards! (This is heresay, because when I tried to look at it they both screeched at me.) Then Sharolyn dragged Suzanne to the human emergency v.e.t. and they were gone for six hours! It took that long to pull and twist Suzanne's toe back into position, which involved fainting, yakking and clutching at the doctor, who screeched, Hey, don't grab the guy with the needle! ... so I don't think she enjoyed it very much.

Now Suzanne is wearing a big funny shoe that requires our sniffing. She doesn't seem as upset with me now, but maybe that's because of all the human nip they gave her for pain. So I confess my part in all this. But I think Callie should share the blame. If she hadn't started this screech-a-thon, Suzanne's toe might not look like something out of Frankenstein's lab!

Rat poison found in deadly pet food

Animal deaths linked to lethal toxin illegal in the U.S.
(and the FDA is investigating whether it might also have contaminated human food.)
Full story, breaking news, videos and lots of links on MSNBC.com

"Rat poison was found in the pet food suspected of causing kidney failure that killed at least 16 cats and dogs ... The toxin was identified as aminopterin, which is used to kill rats in some countries, state Agriculture Commissioner Patrick Hooker said. The poison may have been used on wheat imported from China, NBC News correspondent Tom Costello told MSNBC TV.

"Aminopterin is not registered for killing rodents in the United States, according to the Environmental Protection Agency, though it is used as a cancer drug ... it inhibits the growth of malignant cells and suppresses the immune system. In dogs and cats, it can cause kidney failure, according to Donald Smith, dean of Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine ...

"Spokesman for New York Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said he was not aware of any criminal investigation involving the tainted food. FBI spokesman Paul Holstein in Albany said Friday he was not aware of any FBI involvement in the case. “I don’t know where we’ll go from here,” he said."

Cat Cell Phone Charms

Rocky here. After long hours of paws-on micromanagement, I’m happy to show you our newest kitty glitter – cell phone charms (I like to call them Cell Phone Leashes) … featuring, as all things should ... CATS!
If you don’t have a cell phone, you can use them as jeans charms, handbag charms, rear view mirror dangles … the possibilities are endless!
If you’d like our artists to create a cell phone charm as a memorial or tribute to your special kitty, they will create one for you with a photo of your kitty in a frame. (We can make them with people photos, too!)

10% of all cell phone charm proceeds will go to the Rescue Farm to provide direct care to stray and feral cats and kittens, and another 10% will go to Cat Friends Helping Friends

Cell Phone Charms: $14
Photo Frame Cell Phone Charms: $16
(Plus $3.50USD domestic shipping, $4.50 USD international - FREE SHIPPING on 4+ charms)

To place your order, Email Artsy Catsy and tell us:

1. How many cell phone charms you’d like to order;
2. If you prefer a specific bead color scheme, just let us know. Cat charms are silver only.
3. Your mailing address;
4. Whether you’ll use PayPal or send a check or money order;
5. For photo frame cell phone charms, attach a photo or tell us where to find it online.

We’ll reply to your email with PayPal or mailing instructions, and the artists will get to work. Each one-of-a-kind cell phone charm will be custom created just for you, but will be similar to those shown here.

Don't forget, our artists can also create dog cell phone charms in honor of your favorite woofie! And be sure to check out our dog and cat bookmarks -- these and/or cell phone charms make wonderful Christmas gifts or stocking stuffers for the pet lovers in your life!

CATestimonials:

-- "We got our bookmarks and cell phone leashes today and the people LOVE them! ... Thank you so much - they're beautiful!" ~~Grr, Midnight & Cocoa

-- "I got the charm yesterday..and I love, love, love it! Thank you!" ~~Diana

Mu Shue Monday

Mu Shue Pooh King Cat
Rocky here, with an announcement: I hereby declare today "Mu Shue Monday" at Artsy Catsy ... in fact, I'm declaring it Mu Shue Week!

The reason is partly because I'm CEO and everybody has to do what I say ... but the main reason is that my pal Mu Shue starts his treatment today at 4:00 and he has to stay at the v.e.t. hospital most of this week. His Mama Laura can't even visit him, because the v.e.t. is giving Mu Shue radioactive iodine for his sicky thyroid that has a tumor on it, and he might kinda glow in the dark for awhile.

I talked to Mu Shue's sisfur Lilly Lu last night, and she told me Mama Laura is so sad! She's missing Mu Shue already, and worried about his treatment, because it has some risks. So I hope all of us blogging kitties & beans will stop by Mu Shue's blog lots this week to cheer up Mama Laura, Lilly and Iris and to check on Mu Shue. Let's all send his whole family lots of healing headbutts and purrs!

Hang in there, good buddy, and don't get too lonely and scared at the hospital -- we're all right beside you in spirit!

Formerly Feral Friday

My name is Rocky, and I'm a former feral. But I kicked the habit pretty quickly in 1999 when I came to live with my furrever mom Sharolyn when I was only one day old. Here I am in my mom's hands when I was just a few days old:

I was rescued from beside Raccoon Lake in Indiana after a raccoon sent my feral cat mother and littermates over the Rainbow Bridge. My beanmom Sharolyn didn't think I'd live because I was so young, but I showed 'em! Of course, it probably helped that she bottle fed me every 3 hours 24/7 then burped me and rubbed my belly so I'd go potty in a paper towel.

And here I am today, the CEO (Cat Executive Officer) of Artsy Catsy. See, even former ferals can grow up and be somebody! But as this photo illustrates, I still believe that mom's hands are for holding and feeding me and not for anything else! Well, that paper towel business I can do without. (And keep it quiet, but I still like to hit the bottle every now and then.)

White Widebelly Wednesday

Rocky here -- not by choice, mind you. I delegated several new product development tasks to the human artists, then tried to take a much-needed break in the executive lounge, accompanied by my Vice President Fracas, who multitasks as my personal pillow:

But no rest for the weary. And without my direct snoopervision, there's no keeping those humans focused on the tasks at hand. No, they had to disrupt me for a widebelly photo shoot:

So now that they've disrupted my break, I'm back to work snoopervising the human artists, and I expect to see some progress ASAP on our new beaded cell phone leashes and cat pendant eyeglass holders!

Sleepy Sunday

First Foster Cat Friday

Thank you, thank you, to all you wonderful, generous cat bloggers! We're so excited to announce that today Artsy Catsy fostered our first Best Friends cat with proceeds from the bookmarks you've ordered since the benefit for Mu Shue.

We gave Rocky, our CEO (Cat Executive Officer) the honor of selecting which kitty to foster. As you know, Rocky has been in political mode lately, and that influenced his choice. He wanted to show that the world has more than just BAD Scooters so he chose a GOOD .....

Scooter

Scooter was born in 1997 but, sadly, he was born without back legs. He used to be a 'clinic cat' in Arizona, keeping the vet staff company and greeting patients. But some of the clientele were disturbed about the poor little guy's appearance so Scooter got fired from his job as a vet greeter.

But he got a great new job at Best Friends as the greeter at Kitty Motel, and now he's very happy ... especially when visitors come. He gets all excited and scoots as fast as he can to be a good host, his huge eyes almost crazy with enthusiasm when he gets petted. They appreciate Scooter at Best Friends, and they love the way he looks!

And, thanks to all of you, Scooter got a pay raise today! Thank you so much for helping us make life easier for special kitties.

Without Mom Wednesday

I, Callie, cannot exist without my human artist mom. See how sad and lonely I am? She has been away visiting friends and their cats, many of whom lived with us before they went to their furrever homes with mom's friends.

First she left me to go visit her friend Terry, who is owned by four cats. Two of them, Rhoda Sue and Taz, lived with us a long time ago. Rhoda Sue is a calico we found yowling and homeless in an alley when she was only 3 weeks old.


Taz, a lynx point meezer, was adopted from a "breeder" when he was 6 weeks old and full of fleas and mites. He earned his name because he was a little Tazmanian Devil!

Then she left me to go visit her friend, Jim. He is owned by only one cat now, Squidler, who is the great-granddaugher of Silvie, a beautiful white angora we rescued as a homeless adult roaming the neighborhood. My mom had to take Silvie over the Rainbow Bridge last year. Squidler is a petite little tabby whose tummy looks like she's trying to be a bengal.

Oh, listen! I hear mom's Jeep now! Should I be peeved and huffy and standoffish to pay her back for leaving me? Or should I meet her at the door with purrs and headbutts? Oh, I can't help myself -- purrs and headbutts it is!

Press Conference: Libby Trial Verdict

My fellow citizens, as your self-appointed Cat-in-Chief, I have called this press conference to respond to today's guilty verdict in the Scooter Libby trial, which does not bode well for his boss, Dick Cheney. Libby was implicated in leaking to the press Valerie Plame's identity as a CIA agent, and now Cheney may be in deep dog doo.

First, let me make it clear that was not Cheney behind me at my State of the CatUnion address. That was a manipulated photo, which I was not involved in, was totally unaware of and did not cover up. An unnamed staffer inserted a Cheney image behind the actual photo of me at the podium.

Second, I have never met Dick Cheney and he is no friend of mine. Of course, that depends on what the definition of 'is' is. But let me assure you that I have never had feline relations with that man! I have never spoken with him, doctored intelligence with him, gone war-profiteering with him, and I certainly have never gone hunting with him.

Third, I have no association with Scooter Libby. Although there are rumors that Libby may be a scapegoat, with a name like 'Scooter," he is obviously a not a goat but a dog, and I do not associate with dogs. Cheney may be going to the dogs, as well; rumors of his impoochment are rabidly circulating.

As you know, this whole sordid affair began with the claim that Iraq tried to purchase yellowcake uranium from Africa. Actionable intelligence from my own FBI (Feline Bureau of Investigation) has proven that it was not yellowcake but a big yellowcat hairball produced by African lions, which Saddam's government officials hoped to hide behind when the coalition of the willing invaded Baghdad.

In closing, you have my assurance that anyone found leaking in my catministration will be promptly fired and confined to a top-security litterpan for the rest of their natural nine lives, where they can cover up all they want. And to anyone who says I had anything to do with this mess, I say bring 'em on! As I've said many times, fool me once, shame on ... shame on you fooler; fool me again, no matter how foolish feeling like you can fool me, you fool, fooling me twice or thrice times fooled you can't never get fooled on no more.

No, I will not take questions. It is my policy to not comment on ongoing investigations, even after they're not ongoing. Direct your questions to:

Dick Cheney
One Undisclosed Location
Somewhere, USA

State of the CatUnion Address

My fellow citizens, I am distressed to report that intelligence gathered by the CIA (Cat Intelligence Agency) under the CatPatriot Act indicates that catshock and awe has befallen us; the dogs of war are barking in the Cat Blogosphere. The Department of Catland Security has elevated the catterror alert to red, and the conflict is so intense that three of our leading commanders, Zeus, Skeezix and Beau may resign.

We cannot allow this war to continue until it degenerates into another VietCat. We must first employ diplomatic efforts to impose no-catgrump zones throughout the Cat Blogosphere. The catterrorists -- and those who aid, train and harbor them -- must unconditionally destroy all WMD's (Words of Mass Destruction) and agree to not develop WMD's in the future.

If diplomatic efforts fail, a coalition of the willing will deploy troops to kick some serious catbutt at a time of my unilateral choosing. The United Cats of the Blogosphere has the sovereign authority to use force in assuring its own serenity. That duty falls to me, your self-appointed Cat-in-Chief.

And make no mistake -- if the use of force is unavoidable, we will not withdraw until the mission is accomplished. I have accumulated a massive stockpile of lethal hairballs and I possess an arsenal of catballistic missiles capable of delivering them. Don't make me drop dirty catbombs on you!

I ask for your support in this mission. We must work together to bring peace and serenity to the Cat Blogosphere, with liberty and catjustice for all. We must post our gratitude and appreciation to each of our esteemed cat commanders Zeus, Skeezix, and Beau and urge them to stay the course! And we must put the "fun" back in dysfunctional and learn to all just cat along.

Together we will swat the flies out of our catsoup for the soul and create a purrrfectly unified and peaceful Blogosphere of the cats, by the cats, and for the cats. And we will accept no outcome but victory!

Thank you, and may God bless the Blogosphere.