Breaking Cat News by Georgia Dunn for May 30, 2021

The man really is a sound sleeper! I used to know the solution to the fox/grain/goose riddle, but I’ve forgotten it.

Pucky the eternal peacekeeper!

Anybody know the answer? I heard it once but I totally forget.

Luckily for them, the sleeping Man is tall, and thus provides sufficient surface area, even when lying on his side.♥

I was guessing, drown the fox because he’s only as valuable as this coat, but, nope. Here’s the answer according to Googling.

Take the goose over first and come back. Then take the fox over and bring the goose back. Now take the grain over and come back alone to get the goose. Take the goose over and the job is done!

Sunday Fun day

And as usual, Puck asks the most important question -- “Why was he even farming fox?”

Put the goose in the bow of the rowboat and the fox and the grain in the stern. If anyone gets fresh whomp em upside the head with an oar. It will save trips

The grain does not reciprocate the adoration the goose shows in frame six.

Grain, you eat fox and goose exhalations.

And the man is used to this. Fuzzy rocks along the spine…

Well! Well! You’ll have to row, row, row your boat a several times on the (fox) trot to solve that problem or your goose is cooked… But as I always say: “No pain no grain” (Or maybe: “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.”)

They have achieved their goal, without bothering to solve the puzzle.

Next I’d like to see Pucky take on the “Let’s Make a Deal” paradox. There’s an easy explanation, but it involves thinking in reverse (instead of “what are the odds of winning if I switch?”, you have to ask "what are the odds that I switched if I end up winning? ).

Don’t ya just love Lupin pushing Goldie in the nose. Not!

As if Lupin is never a bit much.

Awww! All the happy meow loafs in the last panel! ❤(◍•ᴗ•◍)❤

And now Goldie leaves the perfectly arranged solution, to go get a pencil and solve the case of the farmer…causing Elvis to be next to his brothers…nose bopping ensues and the Man wakes up to a full fledged cat circus in his face…Burt has a ball with more snarky comments…

Love the whispers in the last two panels!

Back of Goldie Head!

I don’t think I’ve ever seen a fox with a Snidley Whiplash mustache.

Elvis is never a tiny bit too much. Elvis is always perfect. And dignified.

Meanwhile, Back on the Nile

At Cosmo’s Nursery

Puckmosis: I see the amber waves of grain are starting to come in, Trevor-Hotep.

Trevor-Hotep: Yep, and I see Goslin-Re is flying here from the spacious skies.

Goslin-Re: Hello, Trevs. How’s the grain crop?

Trevor-Hotep: Doing fine. Should be ready to harvest by summer.

Goslin-Re: Great. Have you heard from Zorro-Bahti?

Puckmosis: Last I saw him he was at his den in the Purple Mountains.

Goslin-Re: Ah yes, they are so majestic. Well, I must be going.

Trevor-Hotep: Are you going to take the Fruited Plain route?

Goslin-Re: Yep, then to the Shining Sea.

Lupin keeps battin’ at her head

And just like the Man whose cats are spread out on his bed

Nothin’ seems to fit

Those kitties are sprawlin’ on the bed, they keep sprawlin’

And they did some talkin’ ’bout the Man

And said that nappin’ with him is just quite grand

Chillin’ on the bed

Those four cats are sprawlin’ on his bed, they keep sprawlin’

But there’s one thing Puck knows

The right order helps them rest there completely

It won’t be long ’til everyone is snoring loud but sweetly

Lupin stopped battin’ at her head

He doesn’t mean for Goldie to leave the bed

They’re good frenemies

But they’re never gonna stop the teasin’ and blamin’

Because you see

Cat life’s a big party

(Hal David / Burt F Bacharach – Raindrops Keep Fallin’ on My Head / BJ Thomas ❤️)

“Spread out!” – Moe Howard, take-charge guy

OT:

https://imgur.com/qtpHyl2

Balancing on the sleeping man (or in my case, woman) is my cat’s favorite night time game. But that’s only because to her, I’m a giant heating pad, which really comes in handy in winter.

So cats really are human

Every night Giblet will climb Mt. Robert. During his ascent to base camp, he will undoubtedly step in such a way that causes the mountain to need to use the water closet. The mountaineer will grumble as his mountain gets up and stumbles to the bathroom in the dark, stubbing his toe on the footboard in the process. The climber does not care. He has been inconvenienced.

There will be one or two additional furry explorers in the warm spot on the bed when the mountain returns. Again, it is the mountain’s fault they have will have to move.

Such is life with cats.

I knew I loved you, Pucky! I used that analogy for complex situations often.

I love the kitties whispering to keep from waking the Man – and losing their napping spot.

I notice Pucky also arranged things so that Elvis is farthest from the Man and thus unable to eye-boop him.

Love the bibs on the fox and goose in panel 5. Poor sack of grain doesn’t get to eat.

Today’s toon is adorable.

Many moons ago, I heard the joke as a rich man with his wife, his mistress, and a suitcase full of money… A bit more involved, since if he leaves them together, they’ll compare notes; leave either of them with the money and she & the money vanish in short order.

(Sorry, I don’t recall the solution for this variant…)

I know how he feels & I only have one balancing on me!!!

No Lupin and Goldie and no Lupin and Elvis, eh? I’m seeing a theme here but I can’t quite put my paw on it.

Anyway, nice touch putting Elvis at the very end of the line-up closest to the less irritating end of the Man. He can just about stand it there.

I always thought the farmer should just get a bigger boat.

I see the mysterious entrepreneur, Georgia Dunn, whose company usually provides so many items that the Cats and People use during the comic, has drawn the picture Puck is using (with a pointer!) to illustrate today’s riddle.

This is more of a classic dinner-party seating arrangement puzzle. Uncle has to be near the bathroom but can’t be in the way when Grandma goes to the kitchen for more dishes. Auntie can’t stand Cousin, who has to get up often for cigarette breaks. Dad needs to be able to see the TV but Son-in-Law must not be in his line-of-sight. The Kids are under the very big table eating at a very small table and must not kick anybody’s legs…

In our family, it is “Fox, Goose, and Cabbage” and the expression is used frequently when something is going to take a lot of juggling and steps. I used it at work and then had to explain the whole sequence to a confused coworker.

And in the last panel, the fuzzy meatloaves are finally at peace.

By the by, Yum Yum decided I was not allowed to sleep in this morning, and walloped me with a left hook and a right jab. Now she’s not talking to me.

For me this is so timely! One of the cats who doesn’t normally sleep in the bedroom wanted to last night and all night long there was jockeying for position by cats who didn’t want to be next to each other. Periodically I’d wake up and wonder if I should put Jack out in the house with the rest or just go back to sleep and risk waking up in the middle of a cat fight. They all came to terms which seemed to involve sleeping facing each other the better to watch for signs of aggression.

I am in a similar situation. The only way I get any sleep is with the black cat lying on my hip, the tuxedo snuggled up against my chest, and the kitten on the pillow wrapped around my head. No one can be next to the kitten. That works until she decides to kick me in the face or chew on my ear.

Hai to you all from Fuw, I got my new cat, his name is Mochi. Once I came home, Mochi, Fuw, and Floofie they started to play with some toys my brother got. I’m trying to take good care of them with my family, and since we got Mochi, I’v been thinking to maybe hang out with him today and tomorrow. So maybe be here tomorrow :)

First ran across the fox et al. when I was 11 or 12. I’m terrible at puzzles like that. I surprised myself by solving it without much thought. Today’s strip reminds me of the 4 Color Problem. Is 4 colors the minimum number for coloring a map so that no contiguous areas will be the same color? Just looked it up. It was proved in 1976. When I was in high school it was one of the big Unsolved Simple Sounding Math problems.

There used to be three main cats (Elvis, Lupin, and Puck), but now there are four (Goldie?). Did Ms. Dunn add a real cat to her own home?

I learned this as the Wolf, the Goat, and the Cabbage. When my son was in early grade school, I found a small toy boat in his old toys. I made a river out of blue construction paper, glued it to a green sheet, and laminated the whole thing. Then I made paper representations of the wolf, goat and cabbage, and laminated them as well. We would play this logic game until we got all across safely, or until someone got eaten.

In response to the smaller panel 5 …

Or, you could up the ante and make it a Rock, Paper, Scissors, Lizard, Spock deal!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5Q6-wMx-K8

Pucky with a chart AND a story! What a great day!

I just love the charts. Thanks, Puck.

Hmmm, so, Goldie can’t be next to lupin because they don’t get along and Elvis can’t be next to Lupin because they don’t get along. Anyone else see a pattern here?

That’s a simple problem. I saw nothing about Elvis & Goldie, so… Elvis, Goldie, Puck, Lupin.

Oh! It took me long enough to get it. The chart has the fox wearing an apron with a goose on it and the goose wearing an apron with grain on it. No wonder the poor sack of grain is grumbling!

sleep is everthing, kits and cats!

may we honor Shirley Jean once more

Take the goose first, then grain. Leave the fox.

I thought it was the Fox/chicken/corn riddle?

The answer is: put Lupin on one side of Puck, then put Goldie on the other side. Put Elvis on the other side of Goldie, and you’re sol. . .wait, I just realized that’s exactly what they did, no joke.