Roby Sweet's Blog, page 81

What Kind of Cat Would Santa Claus Have? Part 1

Santa Claus has reindeer. Santa Claus has elves. Santa Claus has Mrs. Claus. But to my knowledge, Santa Claus does not have a cat, and that leads me to ask,
If Santa had a cat, what kind of cat would he have?
I have thought long and hard about this, and I am prepared to speculate that Santa might choose a Norwegian Forest Cat, for reasons outlined below. But first, a little background.
Who is this Santa Claus?We got the jolly old elf otherwise known as Santa Claus from the Dutch character Sinterklaas, who was based on Saint Nicholas. Saint Nicholas was a fourth-century bishop who was known for giving secret gifts, often by placing coins in people’s shoes. Sinterklaas may also have picked up influences from the Norse god Odin, who was associated with the midwinter pagan festival of Yule and who led the so-called Wild Hunt (a mysterious and foreboding procession of hunters across the sky). 
According to popular lore, Santa lives at the North Pole, which is not a warm place, as I’m sure you know. Also according to popular lore, Santa is … well, let’s call him large. Better yet, let’s call him substantial. 
The Norwegian Forest Cat
Norwegian Forest Cat in the snow.Photo by Pieter Lanser [CC-BY-2.0],via Wikimedia Commons.Not coincidentally, the first word used to describe the Norwegian Forest Cat in the book The Elegance of the Cat is “substantial.” The Cat Fancier’s Association calls this cat “a large, sturdy cat, well-muscled.” That is our first clue that this could be the cat for Santa.
What other clues do we have?
Well, there is the fact that Norwegian Forest Cats originated in Norway, where they are called skogkatt(“forest cat”). This brings us right back to Sinterklaas and the Norse god Odin.
Then there is the Norwegian Forest Cat’s thick coat to keep him warm and dry in winter conditions, as well as her tufted paws—perfect for life at the wintry North Pole.
And let’s not forget this breed’s reputation for intelligence, gregariousness, and calm adaptability—perfect for life with elves (I have a feeling elves are hard to live with).
To sum up, here we have a substantial, intelligent cat adapted for life in a cold climate and able (probably) to live with elves. In other words, the perfect cat for Santa Claus: the Norwegian Forest Cat.
Is this the perfect cat for Santa, or what?This Norwegian Forest Cat is already dressed for Christmas.© Isselee| Dreamstime.com -Norwegian Forest Cat Wearing A Christmas Scarf, Photo

SourcesThe Cat Fancier’s Association, “Norwegian Forest Cat,” http://www.cfa.org/Breeds/BreedsKthruR/NorwegianForestCat.aspx
Pickeral, Tamsin. The Elegance of the Cat: An Illustrated History. Hauppauge, NY: Barron’s, 2013.
Wikipedia, “Santa Claus,” http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Santa_Claus

A Kitten Goes Christmas Shopping

Wordless Wednesday
Christmas Shopper This kitten’s got her Christmas shopping covered!Photo dated December 1914.Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.

A Murder Mystery with Dogs and Cats and So Much More

Miss Cuddlywumps reviews Catwalkby Sheila Webster Boneham
Catwalk is the kind of richly detailed, well-crafted mystery that is hard to put down. It is the story of one Janet McPhail, a professional photographer who focuses mostly on animals and works with her dog and cat in agility training in her spare time. It is also the story of one Charles Rasmussen, all-around despicable human being who seems to have made a hobby out of bringing stress and misery to others’ lives. I am not spoiling the plot at all by telling you that Rasmussen is murdered in the middle of the book.
But let’s start at the start.
The story opens when Alberta Shofelter calls Janet in a panic over a lost, or kidnapped, cat. Janet takes her Australian shepherd, Jay, out to try to find this cat, who happens to be pregnant. The cat is a beautiful calico named Gypsy who was a feral until Alberta recently took her in. They do find her—and her brand-new kittens—in an “artist’s studio” belonging to that Charles Rasmussen whom you will quickly come to dislike.
We do not know who pooped in Rasmussen’s corn flakes to make him so hateful, but he certainly seems to be motivated entirely by ill-will. This man even hates kittens, and there is just something wrong with anyone like that. He also is not averse to abusing his wife. Oh, and he wants to “improve” a local wetland by developing it. I could go on. And on. But let’s cut to the chase and say that Charles Rasmussen was widely despised for some very good reasons.
So it is no surprise, really, when his body is discovered in the tunnel on a canine agility course. You know it’s coming, but that is okay because Boneham has created such a sense of foreboding in the preceding chapters, with Rasmussen’s actions and everyone’s hatred of him building to this morning when all the dogs mysteriously have trouble getting through the agility tunnel. You know right away it’s because Rasmussen’s body is in there, and you savor that knowledge because you know he won’t be causing anyone any trouble anymore. Now the question is, who killed him?
I won’t tell you more about the plot except to say that there are many suspects, including Alberta, Janet, and her love interest, Tom. I will also tell you that this mystery has a conclusion we did not see coming—at all—but that was satisfying.
And now I will tell you about Janet’s orange tabby named Leo—or “Catman,” as Janet sometimes calls him (sounds sort of super-hero-ish, doesn’t it?). Leo is a cat among cats. Or perhaps he is better described as a cat who runs with dogs. He seems to operate on the principle of “anything dogs can do, I can do better,” and in that spirit he learned to do feline agility by watching Jay the Australian shepherd train on the canine equipment. We loved Leo for his spunky attitude and his willingness to just be his own cat. A truly enjoyable feline character.
We raced to the end of Catalk, but then we were sorry it was over, because the book is just that good. Boneham’s writing is a joy to read, and the story is rich with depth and detail. Every character, even those with more minor roles, is drawn with attention and care. The plot and pacing are excellent, and the mystery’s solution was a complete surprise to us.Very highly recommended!

Artist Gottfried Mind: The Cat Raphael

You humans produce a lot of cat art. Much of it is cute or whimsical, some of it is weird—and some of it is so realistic you expect the drawn or painted cat to meow and walk off the canvas. The Swiss artist Gottfried Mind, known as the “Cat Raphael,” was one artist who created that kind of cat realism.

“Katzen.”Watercolor by Gottfried Mind, c. 1800Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons
Early lifeMind was born in 1768 in Bern, Switzerland. His father was a cabinetmaker from Hungary, and his mother was a stable servant. The young Gottfried was a weakly child, with unspecified physical and mental disabilities. Today, he is often considered an autistic savant.
When he was nine years old, Gottfried met a landscape painter named Lengel and copied some animal drawings the artist showed him. Gottfried’s work showed unusual skill, but his father had a fondness for wood and thought carving was more worthy than drawing or painting, so he refused to let the boy have any paper on which to draw. The young Mind did become a skilled carver, and toward the end of his life he was known to make miniature carvings from wild chestnuts.
Education and apprenticeshipGottfried was sent off to school, where he stayed for just a year and a half. The head of the school noted that the boy was “incapable of any demanding work, but full of talent for drawing, especially God’s creatures, which he renders full of artistic caprices and with some wit.”
When he returned to Bern, Gottfried was apprenticed to a painter and engraver named Freudenberg who was known for his engravings of Swiss village scenes. In exchange for room and board and a little money, Gottfried hand-colored his master’s prints. (Color printing in the 18th century was expensive, and so a common practice was to print in black and white and then have apprentices apply color to the prints.) He would live in the Freudenberg household until his death in 1814.

Mother cat on stool playing with kittens.Lithograph, ca. 1820–1860.Lithographer: Joseph Brodtmann (1787–1862).Artist:   Gottfried Mind (1768-1814). Via Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division.
Original workIt wasn’t until Freudenberg’s death in 1802 that Gottfried got his chance to produce his own original work. Freudenberg’s widow needed money and encouraged the apprentice to work on original drawings and watercolors. This he did, concentrating not on village scenes but on his favorite subjects, cats. He also drew the bears that were kept in Bern at that time.
At first he charged buyers according to the number of animals depicted in a work. Freudenberg’s widow, though, was more astute and charged more for Gottfried’s work. As the artist became known, several printers and engravers published portfolios of his drawings, making money for themselves but not for Gottfried.
Mind’s catsWhy cats? Well, by some accounts, Gottfried’s unusual appearance made people fear him and human interaction was difficult. But cats didn’t care what he looked like, didn’t care that he wasn’t quite “normal.” He liked to have a cat on his lap or shoulder and, as is the habit of a true cat lover, he would stay in an uncomfortable position to avoid disturbing a comfortable cat. In the hours he spent in the company of cats, the felines’ appearance so imprinted itself on his brain that he was later able to draw or paint the animals from memory.
Gottfried Mind could not write his name, but that did not matter, because he certainly could draw a cat.
See more of Gottfried Mind’s work on She of Little Talent’s Pinterest board Gottfried Mind’s Cats.
SourceErlanger, Liselotte. “The Story of Gottfried Mind.” Cat Catalog: The Ultimate Cat Book. Ed. Judy Fireman. New York: Workman Publishing, 1976, pp. 82–83

A Cheetah That Could Wash Your Hands

Wordless Wednesday
Cheetah HandwasherPouring vessel (also called an aquamanile) of cast and chiseled bronzedepicting a cheetah. Trained cheetahs were used for hunting game,first in the Islamic world, and later in Sicily.11th–13th century. Artist possibly Egyptian or Venetian.Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported LicenseThe Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.

Book Review of Deidre the Cat Lady Sleuth

A short, quick-reading cat cozy
Deidre is sixty-three, widowed, and a librarian in the coastal town of Green Harbor, Maine, where she dreams of building an addition to the library so she can create a "teen corner." None of that, though, is what makes her special. Deirdre has three specific qualities that make us like her:
She reads a lot of mysteries.She likes to solve mysteries.She has two cats who go pretty much wherever she goes.
The cats are named Joe and Flipper. Joe is a tabby with a talent for opening doors and finding clues, and Flipper is a black and white “whale of a cat” who … well, let’s just say Flipper is less active.
The mystery begins one summer morning when Deidre opens the library only to find a dead man on the floor. On his chest is an open paperback book, a romance.
This is not how Deirdre normally starts her day.
The dead man is one Doc Roy. He and his wife Libby run (or ran, rather) a hotel out of a beautiful Victorian manor. The question is, who could possibly want Doc dead? Deidre sets out to discover the truth.
And that is where Joe the cat comes in, with his aforementioned ability to locate important clues and, just as important, point his person right to them. Really, one wonders whether Deidre would be able to solve anything without Joe’s help.
Soon Deidre is involved in a mystery of debt, infidelity, and our old friend greed. The solution to the puzzle uncovers a long-kept secret Deidre never would have suspected.
We enjoyed the characters in this book, especially Deidre and the cats, and of course we loved the active part Joe plays in solving the mystery. There are quite a few places in the text where a comma would help a sentence work a little better, but overall the style is straightforward and very easy to read. The mystery is a good one to have in a short book—one whose solution is not too complicated but not obvious either.
If you’re looking for a quick evening’s read with a mystery that relies on a cat’s ingenuity, Deidre the Cat Lady Sleuth may be just the book for you.

Miss Cuddlywumps’ Black Friday Shopping Advice and Guide to Cat-Approved Products

Today in the United States it is Black Friday, which you silly humans have designated as the day to get up hours before dawn and wade into densely crowded stores to buy the best Christmas gifts (which many of you will keep for yourselves) at the lowest possible prices. Some of you even stay up all night, camped out in front of your favorite store so you can be first in line when the doors open. Some of you even started shopping yesterday, or late last night.
You are all so weird.
And way too materialistic.
But, as long as you’re in shopping mode …
Pick up a little something special for the cat
Because the title of this post promised shopping advice, here’s mine: Stay home in your pajamas and shop online, where you can find some really nice things for your cat. Also you can sip hot cocoa while you browse cute pictures of cats and watch funny videos of cats to your heart’s content.
And because the title also promised a guide to cat products, here are three of She of Little Talent's favorite things. These toys are all highly recommended and have been thoroughly tested and cat-approved by old SoLT's real cats:
Long Catnip Snake from Purrfectplay Sturdy, eighteen inches long and filled with organic catnip, Purrfectplay’s Long Catnip Snake is perfect for bunny-kicking. Old SoLT has three of them—one for each cat, and all the cats love them. The real cats like to bunny-kick these toys, chase them when Old SoLT throws them, and stretch up to catch them when she dangles them in the air. Good thing they’re sturdy! We think every cat should have a Long Catnip Snake.Made in the USA!


Long Catnip Snake from Purrfectplay.Lots of bunny-kicking fun!Made in the USA!Photo courtesy of Purrfectplay.http://purrfectplay.com

Cat Amazing puzzle box toy The Cat Amazing puzzle box is a toy to exercise your cat’s mind. It’s basically a cardboard box with a special insert and holes cut in the top and sides. After assembling the Cat Amazing puzzle (which is easy to do), you drop some treats into it and let your cat figure out how to get them out. The insert divides the puzzle into easy, intermediate, and “top cat” sections, based on how hard it is for the cat to extract the treats.
Old SoLT’s smartest cat, Jack, has a ball with Cat Amazing and is very energetic about getting to those treats. The least-smart cat, Webster, doesn’t quite “get it” and can only extract treats if Old SoLT places them, one at a time, directly inside the easiest hole so he can pull them right out. She’s happy to do this, though, because Webs is so cute and Old SoLT is such a sucker.


Cat Amazing puzzle box toy.Gives your cat a mental challenge!http://catamazing.com/

Galileo’s Organic Catnip Really Big Toys Old SoLT discovered Galileo’s toys several years ago at the National Capital Cat Show. These are pyramid-shaped cloth toys filled with organic catnip, and all three real cats love them. The pyramids come in big and small sizes. The big ones are great for chasing and bunny-kicking, and the smaller ones are great for chasing and jumping & catching. They also make nice pillows: Webster likes to lick these toys for a while, then lay his head on them and take a little nap.

Made in the USA!

Galileo’s Organic Catnip Really Big Toy.Great for bunny-kicking and chasing, and makes a nice pillow.Made in the USA!http://www.cattoysbygalileo.com

A Cat Confronts a Thanksgiving Turkey

Wordless Wednesday  Happy Thanksgiving! 
The Country Gentleman magazine cover from November 25, 1916.Art by Paul Bransom. Published by The Curtis Publishing Company, Philadelphia.Scanned by Don O'Brien. [Public domain or CC-BY-2.0], via Wikimedia Commons.

The Mystery of the Ghostly Blue Cat from the Round House

Miss Cuddlywumps reviews The Round House, a Ghost Sensitives mystery by Kate Townsend O’Keefe
The Round House is a mystery that combines cats with more than a hint of the supernatural. Kitza the cat can see spirits so clearly she can’t always tell if the being she’s encountering is alive or dead. Her best friend and fellow feline, Petey, is also able to see human and animal spirits, but he mostly likes to eat and sleep, so Kitza is the primary ghost hunter of the pair.
The story begins when Kitza encounters a mysterious blue cat in a dream. She is in a strange place, and there she meets a blue cat who is desperate for help. The mysterious cat leaves Kitza feeling restless—he and his situation seem so real, and even after seeing him while she’s awake she isn’t sure whether he is alive or dead.
Kitza and Petey ask other animals in the neighborhood for information about this cat, and soon learn of a British shorthair named Remington, who used to compete in pet shows and even won best in show sometimes. Neither Remington nor his owner has been seen in quite a while. To find out more, our two heroes need to get themselves entered in the next show, so Kitza cleverly manipulates … sorry, I mean persuades their person to do just that.
Which brings me to Sally, who is the cats’ main human and is just emerging from a long bout of severe depression. She’s been having dreams too, about a mysterious house with a round first floor—it’s the most beautiful house she’s ever seen. After Sally creates a drawing of this house, Kitza realizes that it is somehow connected with Remington.
It is clear that something is very wrong, and that the solving of this mystery requires a trip to that round house, but this is a trip that Remington has warned will be dangerous. The question is, how dangerous will it be and what will they find there?
The Round House is an enjoyable, fairly short read. The front of the book warns that the story can get a little heavy and may not be suitable for children, but we doubt it would be disturbing to any but the most sensitive. The story pulled us right in, and we love the concept of a mystery series featuring cats who are sensitive to spirits that need help from the living. (She of Little Talent remains skeptical about whether this happens in real life, but she is kind of an idiot.) The characters of Kitza and Petey take center stage throughout, something we have been longing for in much of our recent reading.
That said, we did wish for some deeper development of the human characters in the story, and especially for more insight into Sally’s character. This is several books into the series, though, and the first one we’ve read, so perhaps more of Sally’s story was told in earlier books. If cats and ghosts are your thing, The Round House is definitely worth a try.All in all,

The Calico: Official State Cat of Maryland

Calico cat.Photo by Howcheng (Own work)[GFDL, CC-BY-SA-3.0 or CC-BY-SA-2.5,via Wikimedia Commons.

I, Miss Cuddlywumps, am a perfect example of a calico cat, with my mostly white body enhanced with distinct patches of black and orange. That coloring also makes me a perfect example of the official state cat of my home state, Maryland.
Why the calico is Maryland’s state cat The calico has been Maryland’s state cat since October 1, 2001. We calicos were chosen as the state cat because our white, black, and orange coloring resembles the coloring of the Baltimore oriole (the state bird) and the Baltimore checkerspot butterfly (the state insect). And, although some of us are pretty sure the Maryland state flag is black, white, red, and yellow (not exactly orange), our calico colors are also associated with the flag.

“Calico” is not a breed We calicos are not a specific breed of cat; we just have a specific color pattern. A true calico must have large distinct blocks of the three colors. If the colors are blended together, the cat is called a tortoiseshell. Both calicos and tortoiseshells are almost always female. This is because coat color in cats is a genetically sex-linked trait. Calico males occur very rarely, and they are almost always sterile.


Other states have cats tooMaryland is one of only three states to have an official state cat of the domestic variety. The others are Maine (Maine coon) and Massachusetts (tabby). (Notice that all three of these states begin with the letter M. Coincidence? Yes, I think so.) Florida doesn’t have a state cat, but its state animal is the Florida panther, which certainly is a cat, though not a domestic one. Look for more information on the other state cats in upcoming posts!
And if you have a calico cat, be sure to treat her with the deference she deserves (especially if you live in Maryland)!