Breaking Cat News by Georgia Dunn for December 15, 2022

Curses! Thwarted (for the moment) by the paw . . . er, hand . . . of nope!

I love their whistling! Eeeeeeeeeeh!

They’ve acquired quite a wardrobe already!!

I wonder who batted the red ball? It’s quite bouncy, for an ornament.

I guess they missed the lesson on cat stealth at the animal shelter.

OT: nice X-Mas story; elderly dog reunited with owner, this is really cool, hooray for Jazzy and her owner:

https://www.fox13news.com/news/dog-abandoned-at-orlando-hotel-reunited-with-family-7-years-after-going-missing-in-texas

Innocence. They has it. And the Woman doesn’t believe it.

I’d be surprised if Ora Zella didn’t come “loaded for bear.” I wonder if she has any nope-repellent in her knapsack?

That IS a song…someone finish the lyrics for me. Is it just a take off of “Hi, ho it’s off to work we go”?

I have two ‘new’ kitties from a rescue – both orange females (which I understand is a bit rare). The mama (Gigi) is 10 years old and has had numerous litters over the years, and her last baby (Little Girl) is 14 months old. I couldn’t break up the pair. Mama looks and acts like a kitten, though. They’re beautiful and having a great time tumbling and running and playing. Good thing I don’t have a Christmas tree; it would probably not survive.

I know the adults can’t understand the cats, but I am still very disappointed in the Woman for not keeping the tune. It would have been soooo much better with “Nope, na-nope, nope nope!”!

I have the irresistible idea that the Woman actually heard them, not just sensed them moving purposefully over the couch.

Ora Zella RTB!

This may be one of the most adorable things I’ve ever seen. Especially Iggy’s little smile when The Woman plucks him from the tree.

Iggy’s so cute and I love Ora’s different coloured feet (and toe-bean sighting of course!).

Iggy is holding on to his backpack, while OZ is going freestyle.

Secure the tree to the ceiling, People. We’ve done it in my house for years, and while our climbers could get the tree to shake they couldn’t get it DOWN. I think Dozer, at least, preferred it that way. The tree was for sleeping in!

Ours prefer to sleep under it. They know they are gifts.

We lost our oldest cat yesterday. Donna had a large tumour that obliterated her eardrum, an enlarged heart , thyroid damage, possible diabetes, and rear leg arthritis. All diagnosed after her well check in march!!! She was almost 19. Sweet, sweet girl!

Up near the tree top, kits are stopped

’Fore they make the tree go “plop”

Down from the branches Iggy is nabbed

And Ora’s the next one

To be grabbed

Nope, nope, no!

Tree won’t go!

Nope, nope, no!

End of show!

Up near the tree top

Quick, quick, quick

Woman kept the kits

Off the naughty list

Of old St. Nick

- Benjamin Hanby – Up on the Rooftop/Housetop

Ruining a good climb and a good tune in one fell swoop? Sometimes it is a heavy task to be the sensible one. Not that he seems to mind. Iggy is definitely a “go with the flow” type, at least so far.

I would love to see Ora Zella meet up with Thimblefist. THEY WOULD HAVE SUCH FUN TOGETHER!♥

Ah, what a peaceful tune!

RSORTB! And what cute lil hikers!

OT: Warning. Cuteness Overload. On Facebook, Georgia has a video of Elvis zipped into her hoodie.

As performed by Brenda Lee and Others: Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree

Knockin’ down the Christmas Tree

On our journey through the house

Knowing that no one is the wiser

Not even a Robber Mouse

…….

Knockin’ down the Christmas Tree

Our objective is in view

Maybe we will take away a branch

And an ornament or two!

…….

Woman: Somehow I have a slight suspicion

There is mischief going on

Kitties climbing up the Yule tree

Nope, this mischief just can not be!

…….

Knockin’ down the Christmas Tree

Our plan is foiled just for now

But we’ll just have to try again

We’ll just have to figure how!

That big rear foot heading out reminds me of the song “Put One Foot in Front of The Other” from the stop-motion cartoon “Santa Claus is Coming to Town”

In a cats world, it could be sooo much fun except for those darn humans messing everything up.

Meanwhile, Back on the Nile

At the Waterfront

Iggy Shipwright: Hey guys, how’s the fishing?

Freshwater Cat: We’ve been busy. Right now we have to take care of a few things?

Iggy: Like what?

Saltwater Cat: Well, fishing has been great for awhile, but it does take a toll on our nets.

Fresh: Yeah, that’s my least favorite chore. Fixing the nets.

Iggy: Is it hard to do?

Salty: Not once you get the hang of it, but it is tedious.

Later That Day at the Artisans’ Studio

Iggy: Maat-Tilda, would you mind showing me some weaving techniques?

You can’t do it in front of the Woman! That’s why 12-4 are such important hours for cats

This year I’m living in a bit of fear over what is playing out in the strip. After losing our two Oranges around the 4th of July to complications of Cancer (Belenus at 8 to an abdominal tumor that was causing internal bleeding that couldn’t be controlled and Mars to heart failure as a complication of what appeared to be advanced mammary tumors at 14-15), we added two kittens in late August from an area shelter. They were part of a feral colony that had 12 kittens and were the last two to be adopted out at about 4 months old. These two are very well socialized to people and are very affectionate (to an annoying degree if you are working from home). The female is essentially all black and the male is a tuxedo. They are balls of energy that race around making our older cats (Sassy about 18, Mercury 11, and Kane about 8) a bit annoyed at times. They both like to jump and climb, so the tree will likely be an adventure when it goes up this weekend. Will keep you posted on what happens.

They want to be masters of destruction, but they’re not big enough. So, they’re masters of distraction.

I don’t think I’ve ever had a cat who climbed trees. Now, knocking ornaments off lower branches and eating tinsel was an entirely different kettle of fish.

Wouldn’t that be “Hi ho, hi ho, it’s up the tree we’ll go”?

Panel 3 reminds me of the Family Guy Star Wars spoofs – the “Act casual/Fly casual” scenes; where they try to saunter by unnoticed.

Off-Topic Post-storm report:

All is well for us. I hope other areas were also spared.

Valdereeeeee, valderaaaaaa their knapsacks on their backs!

I fell asleep before midnight and didn’t wake up until I got a phone call at 10:00 this morning. By the time I got here, everything I would have added has already been said.

We are figuring out Holmes’s personality, and here are various observations by different members of the family:

Hamilton – “He’s an interloper and better stay off my kitchen counter.”

Marie – “He is so cute and has little pink toe-beans.”

Holly-Bear – “He’s nuts.”

Belle – “He has quite the purr-motor and a kind face.”

Mittens – “Silly kitten,” (then went back to sleep).

Robert – “Holmes! Leave that Christmas tree alone!”

“No-no, no-no. It’s down from the tree we go.”

(Nothing short of a motion-triggered water mist spray will deter these cats.)

You gotta admire their enthusiasm.

OT: OMCOMCOMC… x2

I have a friend who used to let her three gerbils run around in the tree. Animated Christmas ornaments, I called them.

Yesterday we had to take MrrrCavity to the vet. Apparently Holly bit his paw when they were playing through the slot in the cat-door to the sun room. (She’s a biter.) We didn’t realize what had happened for several days, so he had an abscess, now drained, and he’s on antibiotics. He’s feeling much better. We are looking forward to Holly’s spay on Monday, after which she can be allowed the run of the house at all hours. We hope the house will survive. Kittens are exhausting.

The details on Ora Zella’s jeans in panel 3!

And ya gotta sing the Hi Ho’s like the dwarves did..

Tree chaos in “Simon’s Cat”. https://youtu.be/Lyia0COewyE

Get ornament hook implants for your kittens. BOGO, this week only.

OT: I’ve found another great cartoonist to follow, this one on the Guardian site.

https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/series/edith-pritchett-on-millennial-life?page=3

The backpacks! The song! The “it’s down the tree will go”! and the final “Nope, nope, nope”. Still love the fangs!

Puck is my favorite. Which one is yours?

Hmmm, looks like the undead wasn’t entirely sure he wanted to climb the tree. He looks rather excited the Woman rescued him in that last panel. The werewolf, on the other hand, looks pleased no the be able to get back down.

Do the chaos kittens have names yet? I may have missed that

Not going to give details for privacy but an old friend’s Maine cat has disappeared. He’s a giant fluffy guy, brown and black, indoor-outdoor and used to being outside in that area, but is usually not gone for longer than a couple of days. Be thinking of him and guiding him to a safe return. Thank you.

Been there, done that. Kitties are all older (5 years or more) and they don’t do that.

Adorable.

So sorry for your loss.

I grieve with thee