Category: Cat

Thursday’s Theme Music

Ah, today is Thursday, May 26, 2022. Sunrise came around without much surprise at 5:41 this morning. Clouds have strung out a thin haze on top of the blue sky. Today’s sun is weaker, thinner, milder. It’s 70 F outside. The high will probably find 76 around my house before the sun takes it light and moves on at 8:36 PM.

Today’s song emerges from many different things, partly from interactions with cats, but also from news and politics. The song is “Maybe” by Janis Joplin. Janis didn’t write it but did a great job of delivering it. My mind was full of maybes, you know, maybe this will happen, maybe people will wake up and changes will grow roots and places. Ultimately, I’m an optimist, always looking for the arcs of justice and freedom to bend toward equality, and for humanity to come together and find and develop solutions instead of whining, bickering, and backstabbing. But also, I went outside at 11:30 last night. The cats were out; Papi, aka Meep, the ginger blade, is usually out back. So I popped the door open and waited for him to arrive. Nothing.

The air was cool, the sky was clear, dark, and quiet, and the stars and planets and galaxies were up there, enticing me to step out and take them in. I was out there, breathing in air and admiring heavenly bodies, when I heard Papi’s familiar mewing. I called him; the mewing grew louder but more frantic. Although dark, I can usually discern his pale body. I couldn’t. I called again; louder and more urgent answers were returned.

WTF, over. I turned on the patio light to find him. Walking around, we engaged in call and response. And finally, thinking I was hot on his trail, I speculated, “Maybe he’s up in the tree.” He then looked down at me from the gutter attached to the roof about five feet above my head. Anyway, he got down fine on his own once I walked over to where the height difference between the fence and the roof was lowered to three feet. He jumped down there, no problem. I imagine that’s where he went up but that he became disoriented.

But that maybe, along with the other maybes, had stirred up the neurons. By this morning, “Maybe” was playing in the morning mental music stream. Yes, the song is about personal relationships, but I was hooked on that chorus – “Maybe, maybe, maybe.” Now, of course, I had to find a video or recording of it. Luck was with me as I found her on Ed Sullivan belting out “Maybe” in 1969. Love it when a plan comes together.

Stay positive, test negative, and enjoy this music while I enjoy coffee. Have a better day. Cheers

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Wednesday’s Theme Music

The clouds have taken a wide stance today. Their defenses are stretched thin. Blue sky and sunshine pour through the gaps.

Today is Wednesday, May 25, 2022. We’re into the last week of 2022’s fifth month. Time has slowed for me, which I appreciate.

It’s 60 F out right now, but our local weather dude said we’re probably going to experience the year’s warmest day to date, with our smell segment hitting the low eighties while other parts of the region see the upper eighties. Sunrise was celebrated at 5:41 AM. Closure at the other end of the daylight portion of our day will be at 8:35 PM.

I’m beset by a song I sang to my cat last night. Called “Motorcycle Mama”, I leaned its words and melody by heart without making a conscious effort, also learning to play it by ear on the trombone. Why was I singing it to my cat? That’s a good question. A very good question. I don’t have a good answer. I lack any answer for it. My neurons said, “Don’t look at us. We’re as mystified as you.”

I had to look up the year and artist. I figure it must have been 1970 to 1971 but was clueless about the group or individual behind it, which turned out to be Sailcat, and 1972. My childhood friends didn’t know why I liked this song so much. I appreciated its mellow approach and gentle humor. Decades later, I’d be with two friends having a beer when the three of us broke out in spontaneous harmony and sang it completely. That was memorable fun.

Here’s the music. Stay positive, test negative, etc. Don’t let complacency or weariness take over. I’m off for the coffee. Cheers

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Subfloofidant

Subfloofidant (floofinition) – Placed or occupying a lower class or rank, or considered an inferior position to an animal, particularly a pet.

In use: “Samantha always felt she was subfloofidant to her husband’s dogs — he had two — but he’d had them before he’d ever met her, but then he had to go away on business, and suddenly she and the dogs were having a love affair, and, well, the dynamics were pretty different after he came back, with him now living as the subfloofidant one.”

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Tuesday’s Theme Music

Tuesday has settled into the spring groove. A light breeze frolics. Lawns and trees vibrate with greens and flowers add rainbow splashes. A dusting of high white clouds flavor the blue sky. Sunshine adorns every corner. The temperature is 62 F and we expect 81 F. Darkness will come after sunset at 8:34 this evening while sunset let the sun’s influence in beginning at 5:42 this morning. So it goes this May 24, 2022. The back door is open, bees dance and zip around, and the house felines are pleased.

The cats are responsible for today’s music. Both insisted on heading out around eleven thirty-ish last night, prompting me to say, “Okay, go dance the night away. Bang on the door when you want back in.” I said that even though I’d already created a mental note to let them in a few hours. Fast as you can say van Halen, the neurons brought out their 1979 song, “Dance the Night Away”. I’m always a little surprised that the group wrote it. It seems like, even feels like it could’ve been a cover of a song that already existed. It’s more mellow and light-hearted than the majority of van Halen offerings.

Stay positive, test negative, etc. I’m here for the coffee. Got any left? Here’s the tune. Cheers

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BFT

BFT (floofinition) – Floof shorthand for ‘Begging for treats’.

In use: “Tucker told Papi, ‘Stand back, kid, and watch a master BFT.’ Settling before his human, Tucker began with the big eyes, then magnified it into an intense gaze. As his human continued ignoring him, Tucker added a loud, Merow,’ and tacked on a purr like an idling diesel engine.”

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WTF

WTF (floofinition) – Shorthand slang for ‘What the floof’, an expression people with animals often employ when they see what the animals have done.

In use: “Seeing photos of pet mischief and destruction wrought by cats and kittens, dogs and puppies, and goats and birds on the net, commenters responded with laughing emoticons and ‘WTF’.”

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Polyfloofmy

Polyfloofmy (floofinition) – Established relationship with more than one animal.

In use: “Many people driven by desires to save animals and give them a home or because they think their pet is bored, embrace polyfloofmy, but some do it because they find animals engaging, entertaining, and loving, and often prefer to be with them rather than other humans.”

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Floofkrieg

Floofkrieg (floofinition) A fast and sudden animal attack.

In use: “Many people with young animals such as kittens and puppies are subjected to floofkriegs on their persons as the young floofs practice stalking and hunting to develop their bodies and improve their coordination.”

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Worth Mentioning

Cats Actually Know Each Other’s Names, Study Suggests

“Published last month in the peer-reviewed journal Scientific Reports, the study examined 48 cats who either lived in households with at least three other cats, or were from “cat cafes” where they cohabitated with lots of other felines. To test their name recognition, the researchers showed each cat a computer monitor displaying a familiar cat’s face, and an audio recording of their owner calling either the displayed cats’ real name, or a name that didn’t match the cat on the screen.”

I’m surprised by the study results NOT AT ALL. It is satisfying to read what I’ve always thought to be true. When one of our cats doesn’t respond to their name, one of our tricks is to call one of the other cats’ names. The one ignoring us inevitably turns around and comes to see what’s going on.

Science — and cats — marches on.

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