Win a Free Pet Portrait!

Lucy: It's been forever since I've posted on our blog. But since I am the Artsy Catsy spokesmodel, our CEO Rocky has asked me to make an important announcement ....

Hear ye, hear ye, all pet lovers! My human artist Suzanne has started her own blog, Artistic Pet Portraits, and she's kicking it off with a big contest! The first place winner will receive a FREE pet portrait ($225 value) and the second place winner will receive Artsy Catsy products personalized with your favorite photos!

You could be the lucky winner, so go enter the free pet portrait contest now!

Now, I must get back to my spokesmodel beauty sleep ...

Carnival of the Cats #292

Rocky: Welcome to Carnival of the Cats #292 and it's good to be back with all my friends to host the greatest cat show on Earth!

As you'll read in my Carnival submission, our human artist has been very ill and is facing surgery, so we've been spending most of our time taking care of her and getting her as healthy as possible before they start taking things out of her. I hope you'll send your very best purrs & purrayers to my mom for an easy and successful surgery!

And now, on with the show ....


On Furbaby Friday, Prince Henry illustrates how NOT to fold laundry and does a fine demonstration of the purpose of human laps at Texas Oasis.

Beautiful Catscha is thinking about the speed of light ... and, of course, birds ... at Elms in the Yard.

Bookaholic Kitty Munchkin beautifully demonstrates the importance of books at This, That & the Other Thing ...

What Am I? is the meaty subject presented at Blog d'Ellison. Is Hakuna chopped liver or a meatloaf?

Another decision must be made - is it Nosey or Edison? Well, duh! There's a World of Difference between the kitties at anniemiz.

Luna brings to the table the fine art of ... well, bringing oneself gorgeously to the table at CatSynth.

EEK! Arthur and Rosie are getting into the spirit of the season as they debate the presence of The Ghost at My Cats and Funny Stories.

Because her gray matter is on vacation, Maddie's Astute Commentary is very concise at StrangeRanger.

Gemini had a very Thankful Thursday, thanks to some primo nip from Mom Robyn along with some other goodies for her staff at The Cat Post Intelligencer.

Switch2Life brings us a series of animals having fun ... as they're meant to do! But wait - where are the kitties in the first series? There's a wild spotty kitty in the second series. And, aha! Just look at those kitties in the third series!

Don't miss Carnival of the Cats #293 next Sunday at
When Cats Attack

We're Still Here!

Rocky: In spite of appearances (or lack of them), we have not disappeared. My staff and I have been very preoccupied taking care of our sickly mom. She's having surgery on Dec. 2 to have at least 12 inches of her defective colon removed. I don't like the idea of having part of my mom removed! And I've been busy doing research on how to sneak into the hospital with her, because how can she possible heal without me curled up beside her purring her back to health?

I've also been busy helping her out around the house. Here I am hooking up the digital cable box for her. Some tasks just require too much technological expertise to delegate them to my staff!

Cry Out for Health Care Reform!

Rocky: I'm happy to report that my mom is feeling better. In fact, she felt good enough last week to go with my human artists Suzanne and Jenni to a rally for health care reform. Even with insurance, my mom is racking up medical bills and still facing surgery, and Suzanne has no health insurance at all.

When my mom's daughter Tiffany had serious spinal surgery in Italy, you know what it cost, including surgery, hospitalization, tons of expensive tests like CAT scans, doctor fees, etc.? Nothing! Here in the U.S. it would have cost a squillion dollars. And it was state-of-the-art care with no waiting, so don't believe all the lies you hear about European health care. They aren't true.

My human artist Jenni is also a musician, and I want to share with you a video of her performing her song "Cry Out." Jenni wrote the music and lyrics and created the video. It's going to be played at another health care rally next weekend.

Enjoy "Cry Out"and Jenni would love your feedback! We hope it inspires you to cry out for health care for all Americans. As Senator Kennedy said, it's a right, not a privilege.

Cry Out lyrics:

The world is wounded, its nations bleeding
And their ghosts remind us of all the blood we've shed
Their memory haunts us, like lurking shadows
Tell me, where'd the peace go and tell me do you care?
Do you care enough to ...

Cry out! Cry out!
Cry, cry, cry, cry
Cry out! Cry out!

May heaven help us and wake us from sleeping
Then cause every heart to share a common dream
Once common purpose and one single vision
Oh, in the name of God, let freedom reign.
If you really care, then ...

Cry out! Cry out!
Cry, cry, cry, cry
Cry out! Cry out!

Lay down your guns, give love a chance
Raise up your voice before the last grain falls through the hourglass!

Cry out! Cry out!
Cry, cry, cry, cry
Cry out! Cry out!

How can we deny all the truth that seeks us
When we're nailed to a cross that every soul must bare?
How many signs do we have to witness?
How many graves left to dig before we dare to ...

Cry out! Cry out!
Cry, cry, cry, cry
Cry out! Cry out!

Carnival of the Cats

Rocky: Welcome to Carnival of the Cats #286. And please accept my apology for the day's delay in presenting the Carnival to you ... all I can say is sometimes Artsy Catsy goes all Artsy Batsy!
Lots of videos in this week's Carnival ... and the first two up are which are more annoying, cats or dogs? (What? Cats annoying??) at Greg Laden's Blog.

Beauty abounds! This year’s Pere Lachaise cat, sunbathing on a gravestone in the world’s most-visited cemetery in Paris, France, is brought to you by The Poor Mouth.

Sunshine on our shoulders makes us happy! Pica is also working on her tan at LabKat.

Time to crunch some numbers: How much does a dog or cat really cost? Find out at The Digerati Life.

After that number crunching, you may need a lift. Don’t miss 23 pictures to help you through the day, brought to you buy Colors Magazine. And that they'll do, as you can see from just this one:

Silly Charlie offers a pictorial lesson about how to squeeze into a tiny cat tree house over at No Deep Thoughts.

And here's a video lesson: In Luna and Mouse, Luna teaches you exactly what to do with yes, a mouse, at CatSynth.

In The Bee, the Battle of the Bay Window and the Sill, Cosette gives an update on the multiple dramas unfolding at Hemi’sPhere.

In Still Life with Feather, Maddie proves at StrangeRanger that kitty pics and videos are not always on-demand!

Hop on board the Wienermobile! The Hams of the Werld Tour 2009 is in full swing at Life From a Cat’s Perspective. If these touring kitties eat another ham, they could start looking like pigs!

Now here's a soundtrack that may surprise you. Rush Limbaugh recorded a public service announcement for the Humane Society, talking about how he treasures his cat, Punkin ... brought to you by Vegetarian Star.

It’s that time of year again (itch, scratch) and you'll find some advice on avoiding counterfeit flea treatment products over at Flea Control Secrets .

And here's a list of quick & easy tips for removing pet hair from our homes, from Home Life Weekly. (Now why would we want to do that?)

One last video: I hope you'll all join Artsy Catsy in supporting human vet care reform and help make the world a better place. This original music video by one of my human artists will inspire you!

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Don't miss next week's Carnival of the Cats

hosted by Kashim, Othello & Salome

Mom Update

Rocky: I've been very lonely and worried about my human artist ...
I want to give all my friends a quick update but, first, let me thank you all so much for all your purrs and purrayers and good wishes. You brought many much-needed smiles to her face!

She left us for several days to see her doctor at Indiana University Hospital for a series of tests because he's worried that her c-diff infection hasn't cleared up. Then the doctor said he thinks she's going to need surgery to remove part of her colon. I don't know what that is, but I don't want him removing part of my mom! And, even worse, she's on such a strict diet that we hardly ever get any interesting table scraps!!

We're still waiting for the test results, so if you'd like to keep those purrs & purrayers coming, we sure could use them! And we could also use some bites of ham or hot dogs or roast beef or ice cream or pork chops or .... I mean, rice and toast and bananas just doesn't cut it with kitties!!

Beauty and the Beatles

Rocky: We wanted to start off the week with a song. This video is my mom's daughter Tiffany, who is an opera singer in Rome, Italy, singing John Lennon's lullaby "Goodnight" at a benefit for a children's hospital in Rome, where they performed the entire Beatles "White Album". Enjoy!



And here's more from the same concert:

"Hey Jude" in an Italian accent, with Tiffany and a children's choir singing backup ...


Here you can watch all the performances from the concert, including my namesake song, Rocky Raccoon!

Carnival of the Cats #283

Ah, my friends, what a pleasure it is to get out of my Dr. Rocky scrubs for a day, to get my staff out of their decontamination suits and finally slip back into our much more fun Carnival attire ...

Before we begin, all of us at Artsy Catsy want to thank all of you for your huge outpouring of support for my mom during her long illness. You've kept our hearts uplifted and we love you all!

And we want to dedicate this week's Carnival to our dear Auntie Deb, who has been struggling with illness even longer than our mom. Please get well soon, Auntie Deb!

We begin this week's Carnival with support to Spaz and his family during the trials and tribulations of his hyperthyroid treatment. Watch for an update soon at Who Moved My Bone?

Hemi and Cosette at Hemi'sPhere are also having trials and tribulations, where their new human baby, Ari, is cramping their style.

We could all use some smiles after all this illness! In Funny Animals Part 3 over at switch2life, you'll smile at kitties & puppies & lions & tigers & bears & - oh my, what on earth is that?!

More smiles await at StrangeRanger, where Maggie gives Cats in Bags a whole new level of cuteness!

And nothing like a woofie joke to bring a smile to a feline face. Get a good giggle from My Trip to Costco at So You Want to be a Banquet Manager.

Beauty abounds in the Cat Blogosphere. For instance, just witness the magnificence of Boris at The Poor Mouth.

And be sure to feast your eyes on the lovely calico gracing the grounds at Elms in the Yard.

Definitely do not miss the photos of Luna's natural beauty at CatSynth.

Beauty can sometimes be a bittersweet pleasure. Lovely Matata went to the Rainbow Bridge nearly a year and a half ago, and she is missed terribly by all. Blog d'Elisson shares a beautiful Video Memory: Scritching Matata.

Derby the Sassy Cat shares such a heartwarming story, From Bagdad with Love, about a special kitty who found a new home and new friends and, all the way from Iraq to the US, brought people together in caring and love.

Next, however, the Cat Blogosphere is more than smiles and beauty - it's a place for important information on bettering the lives of cats, and their humans, too. For instance, at Catymology, Aloysius reveals that clueless humans hire trainers to teach them how to relax ... when a cat could teach them for free!

Pet Prattle and Products outlines some very important Cat Owner Responsibilities. After all, we need more than food and an occasional cuddle!

And our ever-wise Meowza imparts a week of important lessons at both iMeowza and Mind of Mog ... On Mancat Monday, Meowza exhibits that a kitty must drink when thirsty. On Wordless Wednesday, he shows it is important to scritch when it itches. And finally, on Easy Like Sunday Evening, Meowza illustrates the importance of being silly!

Thank you all for joining us for Carnival of the Cats
and we'll see you at the Aug. 23 Carnival at Mind of Mog!

Dr. Rocky, Back on Call

Dr. Rocky: Hello again, my long lost friends! It's been four months since I've been able to blog, four of the most cat-astrophic months of my life! My mom has been very, very sick and I've been taking care of her ...

She got sick in April and just kept getting worse and worse with terrible pain and spending all her time in the human litter box and couldn't eat or do anything and none of her human vets could figure out what was wrong. All that time, we couldn't even sit on her lap because it hurt her too much.

Finally the doofus human vets found out she has a serious infection called Clostridium Difficile, or "C-diff". They said it can be fatal and they put her in the hospital right away, in isolation because it can be contagious. While she was there, my other human artists had to disinfect everything at Artsy Catsy with a special kind of bleach and - horrors! - now my staff and I have to be washed every day for two weeks because we can carry the C-diff spores :-( I like water, but this is definitely too much! Fortunately, we're now down to just being washed with cat wipes rather than a full dunking.

Then I had to hiss and scratch mom's health insurance because they didn't want to pay for the only drug that will treat her, and it costs over $1200 for a two-week supply!

But thankfully now the worst of it is over and I can get back to blogging and visiting with all of you - and I'm even going to host Carnival of the Cats this weekend, so don't forget to submit your posts to me!

I've missed you all so much, and it's so good to be back!

Easter Carnival of the Cats #265

Rocky: Happy Easter, everykitty! It's a busy day here -I'm a multi-tasking CEO today, juggling Easter eggs and Carnival of the Cats ... Okay, staff, everybody drop those eggs and let's roll out an eggstra special Easter edition of ...

First up ... humans, want to make us love you more – and make us smarter at the same time? These Big Cat Games suggested by Raising Whiskers will do the trick!

And, humans, sometimes you're not sure when we should go to the vet. This list of symptoms from GwenMart will help you understand when we’re having an emergency and when we can be treated at home.

There’s nothing we cats can’t do, including helping humans deal with telemarketers. Learn how at Puppies are Prozac ...

Then be sure to go meet Simba, the new cat-sittee bringing joy to the cat-sitter at Elms in the Yard.

Uh oh ... somebody spiked the cat food at The Poor Mouth!

Neighbor presents a stunning black on green image at Blog d’Elisson.

It's a classic. In Gone With the Wind, you can gaze upon the dashing Mr. Rhett, a smooth operator at Mélange. But take care not to disturb Lady Willow, a diva in sweet repose.

Whoa! Sawyer has inflicted mass destruction on the new kitty condo at No Deep Thoughts.

Go take a look at Jax … His pic needs a caption at Texas Oasis ...

Then look at these kitty pictures of Audace and Ruse! They have a big birthday coming up next week at Momma Grace & Company.

And here’s another Birthday Boy - Packet at TacJammer is now two years old.

LOL! Stuff NOT On My Cat … you can find out what it is at Small & Big. (Hint: think Sphynx)

Luna is having a magnificently triangular week over at CatSynth.

On Wordless Wednesday it looks as if some choice words may have been spoken at Mind of Mog.

That same Wordless Wednesday theme is continued at iInfidel ...

... and again on Wordless Wednesday at iMOG the bLOG. It’s contagious!

It’s all Tweeting and Tummies at iMeowza.

Ivy’s humans have been to school, learning how to give her subQ fluids at StrangeRanger. Let’s all send Ivy some healing purrs.

It's Kitten in the morning, kitten in the evening, kitten all night long at Watermark ... and some silly kitties are wishing you a Happy Spring.

Sunday is Funday, with a whole lotta pawtyin’ goin’ on at House of the (Mostly) Black Cats. And, everybody, let's wish their Mom Robyn well - she's having knee surgery tomorrow.

Rosie and Arthur are working hard at My Cats and Funny Stories, but they still took time out to send us all a wonderful Easter greeting ...

All of us at Artsy Catsy join them in wishing you the Happiest Easter ever!

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Don't miss next Sunday's Carnival of the Cats, to be hosted at

When Cats Attack!

Purrs for Pets in the Italian Earthquake

Rocky: We read the following news story today and it made us so sad. Lets all send our purrs and purrayers to the poor pets who are suffering after the earthquake in Italy last week.










Care arrives for pets lost, injured in Italy quake

L'AQUILA, Italy (AP) — Help started to arrive Thursday for the more than 2,000 cats and dogs believed to have been left homeless by the earthquake in Italy. The national animal protection agency, ENPA, said seven tons of feed had been delivered to L'Aquila for both domestic and farm animals.

Many pets and farm animals are believed to have died in houses and barns that collapsed during the quake Monday. Those that survived are showing signs of trauma, rescue officials said.

When the earthquake hit, the first thing Maria Grazia Broberzi grabbed was her cat, Pallina. The cat now sits in a cage in the tent she shares with her owner in a camp on the outskirts of the devastated city of L'Aquila. She has refused to eat or drink since the quake. Every time Broberzi approaches, Pallina hisses and growls.

"She never did this before," Broberzi said. "Sometimes we argued over who got the couch, but she was always affectionate."

At least 2,000 cats and dogs are believed lost in L'Aquila alone, said Silvia Damiani, an animal rights official from Bracciano, north of Rome.

Fausto Cavalieri, a veterinary student with the Red Cross, was working at tent city outside L'Aquila, which houses 1,700 people, unloading dog and cat food from trucks. The supplies also included materials to build kennels and computer chip readers to identify animals in the effort to reunite them with their owners.

"There are people who lost their animals, and animals who lost their owners," Cavalieri said.

Iolanda and Sandrino Tarquini, a couple in their 70's living now in the camp, were mourning their dog, a 10-year-old black pincher named Pisolo who died Thursday morning.

The couple could not get Pisolo his medication because the vet's office was destroyed by the quake. And they believe the rain and chill in the tent city contributed to his death.

"He had a coat but he wasn't wearing it," said Sandrino, as his wife cried.

Agricultural officials are beginning to assess the loss of farm animals. Cavalieri said many sheep and other farm animals were abandoned and will probably starve if they cannot be reached. He said he had already seen 200 hundred sheep crushed in a collapsed stall.

The Italian farm association Coldiretti said it was too soon to give an assessment of how many animals had been lost.

Late Wednesday evening in L'Aquila, a Yorkshire terrier walked in circles, ignoring a policeman's offer of a sandwich.

"I see a lot of these poor dogs," said the officer, Carlo Chipa. "You can tell they are domestic pets because they are healthy and well-fed, but they look lost and frightened."

Thursday 13: The Tail Tells All

Rocky: Hah, you silly humans thought we cats communicate only with our voices and whiskers. Well, listen and learn: our tails let us send messages to you without uttering a single meow, so it's best you learn right now what we're telling you ...

1) Tail flying high: "I feel great!"

2) Twitching tail: "I'm SO excited!!"

3) Puffed up tail: "I'm frightened and agitated - but look how big and mean I am!"

4) Quivering tail: "I love you and I'm giving you my greatest gesture of love."

5) Tail whipping rapidly from side to side: "Get out of my face or I'll attack!"

6) Tail swishing slowly side to side: "I'm a predator, gonna pounce now!"

7) Stiff tail at right angle to body: "Hi! I missed you!"

8) Tail bent in question mark: "Playtime! Get out the toys!!"

9) Tail tucked under body: "Oh, save me - I'm so scared!"

10) Tail held high like a flagpole: "Hey there, great to see you!"

11) Tail held high, the tip twitching: "I totally adore you!"

12) Tail wrapped around another cat: "You're my pal!"

13) Tail squished under human shoe: "YOU'RE ABOUT TO LOSE A LEG!!!"

Oscar: Hey, wait a minute! I don't have a tail! Does that mean I'm mute??

Rocky: Guess you'd better learn sign language, Oscar! Okay, now I gotta get my tail back to work planning the Easter edition of Carnival of the Cats, right here at Artsy Catsy this Sunday. Don't forget to submit your post HERE or email it to carnivalofthecats(at)gmail [dot] com

A Purr-fect Idea - Cat Cafés!

Rocky: As an executive CEO cat, I think this is a purr-fect idea: The latest craze in Japan is Cat Cafés … Yes, cat lovers are flocking to more than 40 Cat Cafés in Tokyo to pay 800 yen per hour to have coffee, tea or lunch with 20 or so resident cats. These Cat Cafés are so popular that reservations are needed on weekends, and in one of them the guest book has reached more than 18 volumes in less than a year! Okay, staff, let’s do it! Fracas, you put up the Artsy Catsy Café sign ... Lucy, jump into your waitress uniform ... Callie, get out the reservation book ... Mom, put on the coffee ... and I'll count the green papers!

Read about Japan's Cat Cafés:

Borrow A Cat’s Affection At Japan’s Cat Cafés

Tokyo's Cat Cafes: Patrons Pay To Sip Tea And Stroke Resident Cats

Cat Cafés: Recent Japanese Craze

How Bad is the Economy?

Very bad, indeed ...

Purrs & Purrayers for Italy

Rocky: We woke up in a panic this morning when we heard about the terrible earthquake in Italy ... My mom's daughter Tiffany lives in Rome, and our friends Opus & Roscoe and their mom live in Emilia Romagna. And there are thousands of outdoor kitties everywhere in Italy.

Tiffany called us right away and thank goodness she's fine. The epicenter of the quake was in L'Aquila, 70 miles northeast of Rome. We haven't been able to reach Opus & Roscoe, but they live in northern Italy, much farther away from the epicenter, so we're hopeful they weren't affected. I've been through earthquakes here in Indiana, and they're so scary! So we're dedicating our day today to purring and purraying for all the beans and kitties in Italy who were affected by this terrible disaster. More quakes are expected in Italy and we're very worried.

You can read more about the earthquake at the links below:

Death toll in Italy quake on the rise

Video: Italy Searches for Quake Survivors

Photos: Italy Reels from Deadly Earthquake

Thursday Thirteen

Rocky: Humans are so messy and disorganized - especially human artists. Mine are getting ready for an art fair this weekend to benefit our local Humane Society, and this is what they call "getting organized" ... I am aghast! Not only do I have jump into the middle of their mess and straighten it out, I have to take time to remind them of the 13 ways we cats are more organized than humans:

1) We cats keep all our toys organized and out of sight in piles under furniture.

2) We cats keep our litter organized in a 50-foot radius outside our litter pan.

3) We cats organize our stray furs into neat clumps in the corners and only deposit individual hairs onto anything they will stick to.

4) We cats are color-organized, depositing only white furs onto dark clothing and black furs onto dark clothing.

5) We cats keep our kibble neatly distributed within a 10-foot radius outside our food bowls.

6) We cats try to help our humans stay organized by serving as paperweights for all their important papers.

7) We cats are even organized with our hairballs, yakking them up only on important documents and expensive rugs.

8) We cats are very organized with our screeching fights, conducting them only when the humans are very relaxed or sound asleep.

9) We cats are quite organized about time schedules, always waking our humans at least two hours before the time at which their alarm clocks are set.

10) We cats even organize our health, and only need to go to the vet when the humans don't have any money and, when they do, we make sure the bulk of it is spent on cat food and toys.

11) We cats cyber-organize our humans by walking on their keyboards and standing in front of their monitors.

12) We cats even organize our humans' sleeping habits by lying on top of them at night so they can't move.

13) We cats organize our humans' love lives by making them realize that no one in their lives is more important than we are!

Mancat Monday

Fracas: Just because our CEO Rocky is a blog hog, you'd think I do nothing around here. I beg to differ! As Vice President of Artsy Catsy, I'm the one who does all the work. I snoopervise all office renovations ...

I stand on guard to thwart squirrel and stray cat corporate spies ...

I snoopervise our slacker CEO's way-too-frequent work breaks ...

And I even have to serve as his alarmeow or he'd never wake up!
So don't kid yourself. Our CEO is just another do-nothing corporate fatcat lying around waiting for a big bonus or golden parachute. I, yes, I do all the work around here!

Sunday Penance

Rocky: Just because I've spent the week biting my human's arm off and jumping on my catministrative assistant Callie to make her screeeeech, my human is making me do Sunday penance. She's interrupting my shoestring tying session to make me listen to the Twelve Cat Commandments from Planet Cat ... 1) Thou shalt not jump onto the keyboard when thy human is at the computer.

2) Thou shalt not sit in front of the television or computer monitor, as thou art not transparent.

3) Thou shalt not projectile vomit from the top of the refrigerator.

4) Thou shalt not walk in on a dinner party and commence licking thy butt.

5) Thou shalt not lie down with thy butt in thy human's face.

6) Fast as thou art, thou canst not run through closed doors.

7) Thou shalt not jump onto the toilet seat just as thy human is sitting down.

8) Thou shalt not unroll all the toilet paper off the roll.

9) Thou shalt not jump onto thy sleeping human's bladder at 4 a.m.

10) Thou shalt realize that thy house is not a prison from which to escape at any opportunity.

11) Thou shalt not trip thy human even if said human walkest too slow.

12) Thou shalt show remorse when being scolded.

Whatever.

Frenzied Friday

Rocky: My human artist staff is preparing to participate in a Metaphysical Art Fair and The Celebration of the Arts and Soul, and my vice-president Fracas and I are in a frenzy snoopervising their activities. Just look at how hard we're working ... Why, you ask, are Artsy Catsy products appropriate for metaphysical art fairs? Well, first, the fairs are helping to raise money for local animal shelters. And second, we cats are very spiritual, metaphysical beings. Don't just take my word for it ...

When you come upon your cat, deep in meditation, staring thoughtfully at something you can’t see, just remember that your cat is, in fact, running the universe. ~Bonni Elizabeth

If you stared deep into a cat’s eyes, you would be able to see into the world of spirits. ~British Proverb

I believe cats to be spirits come to earth. A cat, I am sure, could walk on a cloud without coming through. ~Jules Verne

I put down my book, The Meaning of Zen, and see the cat smiling … “Cat, I would lend you this book to study, but it appears you have already read it.” She looks up at gives me her full gaze. “Don’t be ridiculous,” she purrs, “I wrote it.” ~Dilys Laing

Of all animals, the cat alone attains the contemplative life. He regards the wheel of existence from without, like the Buddha. ~Andrew Lang

So, that clarified ... Ommmm....

Portrait of Mu Shue

Rocky: I thought I'd share with you my human artist Suzanne's latest cat portrait, of Mu Shue Pooh King Cat, who went to the Rainbow Bridge last year. His Mama Laura commissioned the portrait so every day she can see Mu Shue watching over her from greener pastures ... You can see some of Suzanne's other portraits here, but this one is very special to us, since Mu Shue was the recipient of Artsy Catsy's very first fundraiser and a very good friend.

Also, I want to thank you all for your concern for my mom after I almost bit her hand off yesterday. Her wrist is much better this morning, no redness or swelling, thank goodness, and it is healing nicely. And I think relations have been restored between she and I ... although I was banished from her bed last night - she said she didn't want to be awakened by the Rocky bite alarm this morning!

I bit my human artist!

Rocky: Uh oh. I'm in the doghouse bigtime, doing serious penance ... This morning I bit my human artist, sank my teeth all the way to the bone ... I know, I know, a CEO shouldn't assault his employees, but sometimes I just can't help myself. I was just trying to get her out of bed - we have work to do! I didn't mean to hurt her.

I have a biting problem. My human artist says this is because I was only one day old when I was rescued, and since I was bottle-fed and had no siblings, I didn't learn from a mamacat not to bite hard, and didn't learn proper social behavior from siblings.

My staff says I have to join Bite-aholics Anonymous and enroll in anger management and stress reduction classes to calm down my CatType A personality. In the meantime, my human artist is telling me her daughter Tiffany had a cat bite just like this when she was young and she ended up in the hospital for two weeks and almost lost her hand. Oh my, I don't want that to happen! I really, really, really am sorry.

EconomiCat Crisis!

Rocky: As Artsy Catsy's CEO (Cat Executive Officer), I am outraged! We’re in a global economic crisis, and I want my share of the stimulus money! I deserve it. I’m not a toxic asset (despite my human artist’s comments when she cleans the litter pan) and I don’t do credit default swaps (well, maybe I give my cat staff a good swap in the face now and then).

I have a housing crisis – my house is overrun with cat staff and crazy human artists. I have a totally unbalanced balance sheet.

Wall Street fat cats and the top cats at AIG, Merrill Lynch etc. have pocketed billions in bonuses; where is MY bonus? Where is MY bailout money? Where is MY stimulus check? Just look at me – it’s glaringly apparent that I need to be stimulated …
Oh, wait. I forgot. Just like AIG, I have to totally bankrupt Artsy Catsy before I get a squillion dollar bonus. Okay, down the tubes, staff, so we can buy a couple of jets, take luxurious cat spa vacations and throw ritzy affairs for the neighborhood strays!

I'm Tweeting!

Rocky: I'm taking a break because I've been busy teaching my staff to tweet on Twitter. You can follow our tweets at http://twitter.com/artsycatsy

I'm meeting lots of new friends for us all there. Even one named Mr. Scrubby, who has a blog: http://mrscrubby.blogspot.com/ Go see if you don't think he kinda looks like me!

And here's another new Twitter friend who looks like me: http://www.mrowrspace.blogspot.com/

Okay, back to work ... Tweet tweet!!

Friday Five

Rocky: In spite of appearances (or lack of them!) we really are still here ... no thanks to our crazy human artists, whose lives are wearing me out ...

Here are the top five reasons we haven't been around much lately ...

1) Our good friend Terry had an emergency appendectomy so my mom left town to go stay with her while she recovers. And our dear friend Lois, who is undergoing cancer treatment, fell and broke her rib.

2) My mom has tax problems, so she's been spending all her time shuffling through stacks of papers and muttering things that I wouldn't dare repeat here.

3) A hit-and-run driver crashed into our human artist Jenni's car and knocked the whole rear end off it so we've been dealing with the police, the insurance company and the body shop and all kinds of human-running-back-and-forth.

4) All three of our human artists are frantically getting ready to show our work at Celebration of the Arts and Soul to benefit the Clay County Humane Society. If any of you live near Brazil, Indiana, come see us there April 17-19!

5) And here is the saddest thing: our cousin Keith has been diagnosed with cancer. We're spending lots of time purring and purraying for him, and we hope you'll join us. He's getting massive chemotherapy and if it doesn't put him into remission, his doctor says he'll only have 6-9 months to live. My mom used to babysit Keith when he was a child, and we're so sad and upset that this has happened to him.

Now I'm going to visit all of you in big old hopes that your lives have been going more smoothly than ours! Then I'm going back to bed to purr and purray for a totally uneventful, even boring, life at Artsy Catsy the rest of the year - no more illnesses, accidents, tax problems or anything else upsetting!

Wordless Lucy

Lucy: We're having a quiet day to remember and honor our human artists' mother, Emma Jean, who passed away 8 years ago today. She was my first mom and I miss her more than words can say. She loved to cook, and I stayed in the kitchen by her side all the time, as I still do because I know she's here with me.

She loved kitties, and we all loved her, especially Rocky, who stayed by her side and on her lap all through her breast cancer treatment ...

The V.E.T.

Rocky: All right, already, since I pride myself on being a CEO who listens to others, I took your (unanimous) advice and went to the v.e.t. yesterday. Here's the good and bad news:

I got wrapped in a towel and put in a Jeep where my mom squished the daylights out of me while I fought and trembled and moaned all the way to the stabby place, where I got probed and poked and something stuck up my behind which was then stabbed with a needle and I was sent home with pink yucky stuff that my human artist has to sit on me to get down my unwilling throat twice a day. I hope you're all happy now!

Dr. Shew said I have a fever and an upper respiratory infection, which is airborne and highly contagious, so I'm still quarantined.

The only good news is every time the pink yucky is squirted down my throat, I get Temptations ... So how about some purrs & prayers that this yucky stuff will start tasting like tuna juice? Blechh!!

NO V.E.T.!

Rocky: I need your help! Please tell my human artist that I do NOT need to go to the v.e.t.!! Yes, I'm sneezing and blowing bubbles out my nose and my eyes are watering, but hey, I can do that if I want to! I'm the CEO! Besides, there are excellent benefits to this behavior - she has separated me from my annoying staff and I get to have my human all to myself! With these kinds of perks, I'll be sneezing a lo-o-o-o-ng time!!

Carnival of the Cats #259

Rocky: It's March 1, and what a perfect day for Carnival of the Cats - the first day of the month that brings us the end of winter and the beginning of Spring! It reminds me of an old song, The Circle Game ...

And the seasons they go round and round
And the painted ponies go up and down
We're captive on the carousel of time

As we leave winter behind and look forward to the warmth and renewal of Spring, here's what's been going round and round in the cat blogosphere this week ....

Yes, all eyes are watching for Spring, but it's a rare stare that could compete with the powerful eyes of Hakuna at Blog d'Elisson!

Oh, but if your eyes are itchy, better learn how to Use Organic Methods to Help Heal your Pet's Allergies at Organic Family Circle.

Please send your purrs & purrayers to Mind of Mog, who this Friday had to help their their sweet Klarissa to the Rainbow Bridge ...

And Freya’s family could use your support in remembrance of their sadly missed Scampie, who went to the Bridge a year ago this week ...

Don’t miss the video, Jerusalem’s Coolest Kitties at Elms in the Yard, a tribute to all the cats who make their home on the grounds of St. Stephen's Priory (The Ecole Biblique) in Jerusalem.

Look at these innocent bystanders doing absolutely nothing wrong at Elms in the Yard.

Don’t miss the fresh air, sunshine, wet paws and a perfectly “happy ending" :-) at Perfectly Parker!

Beautiful Sanjee stakes her claim to some peace and quiet at House of the (Mostly) Black Cats.

Tristan gets down to a serious therapy session with a Really BAD Dog at Tabbylicious.

Maggie is dealing with a dilemma at Mélange … Where did all the birdies go?

But check out at Mr. Jones at AllanThinks – there’s not a single dilemma in his world!

Speaking of dilemmas, the economic downturn is on all our minds ... but at Catymology, Aloysius explains why cats can right the falling economy.

Get ready to give out some welcomes to new friends ... There’s a new “cousin” – sort of – at Momma Grace and Company.

And there's a new woofie brother, Maverick, at Life from a Cat’s Perspective.

Easy Like Sunday Afternoon brings out some handsome mancatness at iMeowza.

And at iInfidel, there's some spring cleaning going on.

The cat’s out of the bag! It’s Victor’s 4th purrthday today! (And someone else in his house has a birthday Wednesday) ...

Speaking of growing older, Loup-Garou at House of Chaos has some geezer mojo goin’ on.

Awww! Desi and Pushy display their overwhelming cuteness in days gone by at KeesKennis.

Maddie and Ivy share their cures for cold and dreary days at StrangeRanger. Never fear, warmth is on its say and Spring will soon be sprung!

And here at Artsy Catsy, we offer up a bit of Kitty Bipartanship with a heart-warming video, The Animal Odd Couple.

............................................

Don't miss next Sunday's Carnival of the Cats,

to be hosted at Mind of Mog!

Kitty Bipartisanship

Rocky: I admit it. Sometimes we don't always get along here at Artsy Catsy. Sometimes my staff doesn't like my CEO edicts; sometimes my Vice President Fracas tries to issue executive orders; sometimes our spokesmodel Lucy demands preferential treatment; sometimes Callie has major policy differences with all of us.

But these aren't just sometimes ... these are extraordinary times. The entire world is struggling and it's more important than ever not to sweat the small stuff, to take care of each other, to work together, to put aside ideological differences and everybody just get along.

So I asked my staff to be inspired by the magnificent video below, and it has worked wonders -- just look at Fracas and I enjoying a bipartisan nap effort, dreaming of better days ...

I hope you will be inspired by the video, too, so we can all join paws and hands to make the world a better place!

Mom Update

Rocky: I'm still here, everybody, and I wanted to give you an update on my sickly mom. She just finished 3 weeks of antibiotics and she saw the cardiologist last week who gave her yet another medication to try to control her heart rate problem (supraventricular tachycardia) in hopes she can avoid having her heart punctured (YIKES!) in a procedure called radiofrequency catheter ablation. I do NOT want him nuking part of my mom's heart, so I'm making sure she takes her medicine! The cardiologist also wired her all up on a Holter heart monitor, and I was very careful to continually paw and bite at the wires to make sure they were in the right place.

She's also taking three different blood pressure medicines, but her blood pressure is still too high. Twice every day I help her with her blood pressure monitor, again batting and biting at the tubes and cords to make sure they're in the right place. As you can see, all this pawing and batting and biting is wearing me out! ...

But don't worry, I'm going to get rested up in time to host Carnival of the Cats this week, so go ahead and submit your posts any time. And I'm also going to start getting around to visiting all of you, since I've gotten way behind on Cat Blogosphere goings on.

Happy Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Day

to all our wonderful friends -

we love you all!

Snoopervising Sickly Mom

Rocky: Hey everybody, I'm still here. But right now I'm immersed in the important task of snuggling in bed with my sickly mom ...

She's having a really hard time. First, her blood pressure went sky high, then she got hit with an acute attack of diverticulitis, then Tuesday night her heart went crazy and she had to be rushed to the emergency room with paroxysmal supraventricular tachycardia.

She's taking lots of medicine and feeling a bit better, but we're all still purring on her 24/7, so we may not get back to regular blogging or visiting our friends until she sees a cardiologist next week. In the meantime, we could sure use a massive Purr-In over here!