Angel’s most favourite place to sleep, as I’ve mentioned many times before, is in front of our large flat-screen TV.
Which I get. I mean, it makes total sense: it’s warm, it’s right where we’re always looking so she feels safe from sneak Tessie attacks, and she’s literally basking in our attention.
But, depending on what we’re watching, it’s loud. I’m always impressed that she can crash out so completely in such a noisy place!
I hope it’s not too late, but I literally just found out about this today.
On Animal Planet’s website, in the section for the show “Must Love Cats,” I found this:
They want photos of a cat dressed up? Yeah, I think I can help them out with that. I had to limit myself to only 6 photos…
They say it’s in honour of the fourth episode of the new season, which is, well, the day after tomorrow (Saturday, 31 March), but the website doesn’t specify a deadline to send in photos, so I figured that all of you might like to send in some photos of your own (Clancy, Finnegan, and Toki, I’m looking at you)!
And hey, if the photos intrigue them and they want to have John Fulton come and meet Jake on camera? Well, I wouldn’t say no to that.
(In case you’re wondering, I just watched the MLC episode featuring cats in the UK, which had a feature on the “Bionic Vet” Dr. Noel Fitzpatrick, the man behind Oscar the cat’s back feet. Other patients of Dr. Fitzpatrick were shown on this episode, including a red/sorrel Somali named Pip who’d had a knee replacement due to bone cancer. I was trying to find out more about Pip for you, since he’s a Somali…but I was not able to find anything about him, not even a still photo. I’ll keep looking, though. It’s a rare day when my Google-fu fails me!)
One thing that people don’t know about cats is, they love hotel rooms.
It’s really funny. I’ve heard this from a lot of people at cat shows, and I’ve seen it in my own cats. Something about a king-sized bed, institutional art, and a “do not disturb” door hanger really appeals to kitties.
I got Jacoby a large, leopard-print catnip kicker from one of the vendors and that + hotel room = crazy fun times for Jake.
Some combination of catnip and king-sized bed just really appealed to Jake; he was rolling and kicking like a mad thing!
Kick, kick, kick.
Bite, bite, bite.
Good times!
Eventually, Jake settled down and watched the latest episode of Too Cute! Kittens on Animal Planet with me.
Despite being around other cats all day long and having three feline roommates back at home, Jake was still captivated by the kittens’ onscreen antics.
Or…maybe he just wanted their toys..?
I have to admit, I’m not a big Simpsons fan. When it started, I lived in a place without a local Fox affiliate, and, not being able to watch the show, I just never really got into it when it started.
However, I am not oblivious to the show, which, after 23 years on the air, just broadcast its 500th episode on February 19th. And how could I not notice a mention of an Abyssinian on this bastion of American popular culture?
To wit: “I’m at least as smart as a cat, right, Lou?” “What breed, Chief? I mean, I saw an Abyssinian once who could change channels.”
Want to see/hear it for yourself? The episode is available to watch on the official Simpsons website, but hurry: it expires in 26 days! (The pertinent scene is in the third section, roughly at 15:10.)
If you’re not located in North America (where I hear they are actually having winter), you may be aware that today is something akin to a holiday: It’s Super Bowl Sunday.
Of course, the reason that it’s a big deal in our household is because it’s also Puppy Bowl Sunday!
As I’ve posted in previous years, Angel loves the annual Animal Planet football alternative.
But really, she only really cares about the Kitty Halftime Show, and who can really blame her? The kittens are awesome.
She gets so excited, she thinks the toys are right there!
These last two are really blurry…
…but they were so cute I wanted to include them. She really gets into it!
Jacoby doesn’t pay much attention to the television, especially compared with Angel, but he does get interested in the actual Puppy Bowl part of the show.
Although, he might have just been curious about the new Tweeter they added this year.
As I’ve said before, we’re huge fans of Jackson Galaxy and My Cat From Hell, which just started its second season on Animal Planet a few weeks ago.
But what I didn’t expect was that Jacoby would be really interested in the show. Usually, he only cares about the television as a way to use it to get our attention.
But when we were watching last week’s episode about City the Kitty, who is thought to be part Bengal (though personally, I think he’s actually part Savannah because of his jumping prowess), Jake jumped up on the TV stand to watch the show close up.
Of course, he may just have been trying to tell me that he wants his own cat wheel…
Angel, as you know, loves to sit – and nap – in front of the television. She also watches the action on the screen. Jacoby never goes there…unless he's hungry.
And then, he isn't watching the TV.
(Click cartoon to embiggen, or you can view all cartoons in Slideshow mode on Flickr.)
I learned a very interesting fact this weekend at the cat show. The litter of Aby kittens, including the adorable runt, Tiny Dancer, featured on the Animal Planet show Too Cute Kittens…are Instincts kittens!
Jacoby’s mother Catalina is also an Instincts Aby…so Jacoby and Tiny Dancer are at least related by cattery! I had no idea that I actually knew the breeders and the cattery the (several) times I watched the show!
Incredible, isn’t it? I wonder why they don’t mention the cattery names on the show? Still, I have to say, it was a lot more fun finding this out during the last Premiership judging at the show.
Today in Boston, roughly a million people turned out to celebrate the Bruins’ Stanley Cup victory.
I’d been hoping to have the attendance be a million people and one Abyssinian, but my husband vetoed that idea.
Probably just as well, in the long run.
Most likely, I wouldn’t have been able to get this close to the parade with Jacoby’s stroller.
And it was really hot, too. Jake wouldn’t have wanted to be out there in his black jersey.
Angel was happy to watch the whole thing on TV at home, in the air conditioning.
She got to actually see the Stanley Cup, too – we didn’t get to see it in person because it was on the other side of Boylston Street from where we were standing.
Last night, it happened. Boston took game 7 in Vancouver to win the Stanley Cup!
And of course, like any Bostonian with Canadian citizenship, Jacoby was right there watching the game with his Bruins sweater on!
Now…I’m not saying he’s the reason they won…but I’m sure his support helped.
He certainly watched every play of the third period as closely as felinely possible, and at last his faith was rewarded as the B’s hoisted the Cup and skated it around the ice.
The victory parade will be held in Boston this Saturday, and of course I not only want to go, but I want to take Jake along with me, in his stroller and wearing his jersey, to see it.
Sherry, Jacoby and Gun-Hee’s breeder, sent me this Iams commercial yesterday, telling me it was “very typical Abyness,” and she’s right – Max acts just like Jake, especially the headbutts while trying to write. Check it out:
What’s funny is, I hadn’t seen it before she sent me the YouTube link, but then, a couple of hours later, it popped up while I was watching a Criminal Minds marathon. I guess it was fate.
Another fun fact: The veterinarian in these Iams ads is a real vet, Dr. Darin Hisanaga DVM from Waipahu, HI. I just think that it’s really a nice touch on Iams’ part, featuring an actual vet in these spots and not an actor.
Iams really does seem to love their Abys. They feature an Aby on their Healthy Naturals dry food, too. And take a look at this…I found this 1990 Iams ad and just instantly fell in love with it…it’s just so wonderfully Abyssinian.
(click to embiggen – you really need to, to see all the detail)
We’ve started watching My Cat From Hell on Animal Planet. It’s a pretty interesting show, and the host, Jackson Galaxy, has a lot of good insights.
Angel’s definitely a fan!
Since I am a Northern California native, born in Sacramento and raised in Davis, it takes a lot to make me wish I was in LA,
There was a post on Moderncat today about the event next Wednesday and, oh! I would love to go to this with Jacoby as my date. Moderncat is one of my favourite blogs, and Jackson Galaxy, star of the new Animal Planet show “My Cat From Hell,” is my new personal hero.
How much fun would we have at this thing?
There’s actually a pretty lively discussion about cats wearing clothes on Catster. Currently, 43.48% of the people responding to the poll seem to believe that clothing on cats is “so wrong.”
Obviously, these people have never met Jacoby.
Last night there was a pivotal game in the Bruins-Flyers Stanley Cup playoff series, so Jake, like any red-blooded Boston guy, put on his black and gold and settled on the sofa to watch the big game.
(Notice the happy, kneading, grabby hands…m w m w m w m…)
(I love the little shoulder emblems!)
He wore the jersey for the entire game and, as far as we could tell, he was perfectly content. He even jumped up on the counter to “help” me when I went to get a glass of milk. One commenter on the Catster poll wrote, “Have you ever noticed how miserable the cats look in the pictures where they are dressed up? Don’t the people who love them notice how miserable they look?”
Yeah…no. No, I can honestly say that I’ve never noticed that with Jake.
Thanks to Aeryn for this tip: Animal Planet has a show, “Too Cute! Kittens” featuring the first weeks of life of three litters of purebreds: Persians, Bengals, and…Abyssinians!
It will be aired again tomorrow, Saturday May 7, at 7pm EDT/PDT, so get your DVR ready! In the meantime, be sure to check out the Too Cute! Kittens slideshow.
From the Animal Planet website, it looks like there are three kittens in the Aby litter…just like Jacoby’s. I can’t wait! But in the meantime, look at this clip of Tiny Dancer and the rest of the family!
Finally, it’s the big day! It’s time for Puppy Bowl VII and the infamous Kitten Halftime Show!
This is a tradition with Angel; she was captivated by the romping kittens in 2009 and last year.
When it started this year, she was actually napping in front of the television.
She woke up soon enough to watch the kittens play!
She loves the Kitty Halftime Show.
Jacoby needed a little help getting as interested as Angel was.
And even Tessie wanted to play with the kittens when the confetti started falling during the Grand Finale!
(Continued from yesterday’s post…)
I love this photo of Jacoby taken nearly 12 hours after the accident. Camped out on the sofa next to dad with his new fuzzy green toy, a little fuzzy from his pain medication, watching the Giants-Phillies playoff game…
…and you know I was waiting on him paw and foot, too. I think the only downside for him was, he’s a cat, so there wasn’t any work or school to get to stay home from on Monday.
(To be continued…)
Jake has, as usual, been dominating the posts lately…so it’s time for some Angel.
I’m not sure if it’s because there are more sports on TV right now, because the weather’s turning cooler, or if it’s simply because Kylie’s taken over the cat bed under the coffeetable, but Angel’s started spending a lot more time in front of the TV.
Sometimes to hilarious results. This is during my favourite scene in Bolt. I guess she likes that handsome Rex!
Angel is really getting into World Cup Soccer.
This is the South Korea v. Greece game the Saturday before last.
She’s rooting for South Korea.
The goal cam especially fascinates her.
Lucky for all of us, she doesn’t have a vuvuzela!
