Roby Sweet's Blog, page 45

Caturday Art: Old-Timey Paisley

We kept things very simple for Athena's Caturday Art blog hop this week. Old SoLT took a new photo of Real Cat Paisley that she likes a lot and did some old-timey things to it in PicMonkey. First she did a Daguerreotype effect, followed by a Daguerreotype frame, followed by a Sketchedy frame. That was it! Simple, but we think the effect is to really focus attention on Paisley's face, and

News: Having Cats Does Not Cause Mental Illness

Cats: lovely, friendly, and unlikely to make you psychotic.Photo via Adobe Stock.


Last year, there were some brouhahas and kerfuffles over the
subject of cats and mental illness. Specifically, research suggested that
people who have cats are more likely than others to become psychotic because
they are exposed to the parasite Toxoplasma
gondii (see "Blaming Cats for Human Aggression"). But a

Science Says Cats & Dogs Need Each Other to Scare Off Rodents

A recently published study suggests that it takes both dogs and catsto keep rodents away.Photo by Michael Pettigrew, via Adobe Stock.


Most of us think that having a cat around will keep mice and
other vermin-style critters under control. But is that true? Until recently, no
one could say for sure, as all we had to go on was anecdotal evidence—people say that having a cat will keep mice
away,

Cats of the Week: Sadie and Sarah in Baltimore

Each week in this space, we feature a senior cat in need of
adoption or sponsorship. Please remember all the older cats in shelters. They
make great companions, and unlike kittens, they (probably) won’t climb the curtains!
Adopt a senior cat, and help him or her enjoy the best years of their life.





This week we bring you a bonded pair of cats looking for a
new home near Baltimore. Sadie is

Cat Classics on Film: The Cat from Outer Space

Some movies are just fun. The Cat from Outer Space (1978) is one of them. This is the kind of
wacky Disney movie that’s fun to watch from your sofa while eating a large bowl
of extremely buttered popcorn. Let me be clear … this is not a great movie, but
part of the fun is in its not-greatness.



See, there’s this cat in a spaceship…





The Cat from Outer
Space opens with a UFO making an

Caturday Art: Paisley in Oils

For this week's Caturday Art blog hop, hosted by Athena and Marie, old SoLT did some experimenting in Photoshop, followed by more experimenting in PicMonkey. It's hard to get the different colors in Real Cat Paisley's coat to show up nicely in photos. But if you change them to different colors, sometimes the contrasts pop a little more. That's what happened in this picture, which we are quite

Words with Webster (Resorption), Plus Friendly Fill-Ins

We have two features for you this Friday. First up is Words
with Webster, and then it’s on to Friendly Fill-Ins. Let’s get right to it with
Webs’s kind of serious word.



Words with Webster: Resorption


 Hi, all! Webster here, with a new cat-related word for you.
This week’s word is in observation of Pet Dental Health Month. The word is
“resorption.” This is when the dentin (the hard, bony

Pop Quiz! Do You Know Your Cat Breeds?

Do you think you know cat breeds pretty well? Are you ready for a little quiz on that topic? Thanks to the folks at The Pet Community, we have just such a test for you today. Old SoLT took it and, thanks to some lucky guesses along with her actual knowledge, she scored 80%. She's proud of that, but I say it leaves 20% room for improvement.

Have fun with the quiz, and let us know how you did in

Cat of the Week: Meatloaf in Westhampton (NY)

Each week in this space, we feature a senior cat in need of
adoption or sponsorship. Please remember all the great older cats in shelters.
They make great companions, and they (probably) won’t climb the curtains! Adopt
a senior cat, and give him or her the best years of their lives.





This week we’re introducing Meatloaf. This handsome guy has
been through some terrible times. He lived with a

I Heart You, I Hurt You: A Valentine from Tortie Troublemaker

Happy Valentine’s Day, friends! We so appreciate you all for spending a few moments of your day with us. Today we’re very pleased to welcome Tortie Troublemaker (a.k.a. Real Cat Paisley) to the blog. It seems she has written a poem for Valentine’s Day. We think any of you whose feline companions get “prickly” (a.k.a. “scratchy” and/or “bitey”) will be able to relate. It's titled "I Heart You,