Cooler weather snoozin'

For the first time since early spring, Audace and Ruse are cuddling up together for their long afternoon naps and lat nighttime snoozes. Daytime -- still the same -- on their own, but when it counts, when it's cooler and cooler in the house, they cuddle up!

Open windows, at last

Grace, Audace, and Ruse really love it when I open a window or two or three in the house. Finally, the weather has cooled down so that we can do this ... and here's Audace, enjoying the fresh air!


And here is a little video of Audace in the window.

Cleaning up!

Frequently, Ruse cleans Audace or vice versa -- when their mom isn't cleaning one or the other. Now, they're all perfectly capable of independent cleaning, you understand, but I'm sure this is more thorough in some of those hard-to-get-to spots!


And here is a little video, showing that efficient cleaning action on Ruse's part. Enjoy!

All tuckered out

Grace and Ruse were all tuckered out after their exertions while putting last weekend's COTC together! Audace, however, is not tired at all -- in fact he's plotting his next surprise attack on his mom and brother!

Carnival of the Cats, #186

Grace, Audace, and Ruse welcome everyone to the Carnival of the Cats, #186. We think some terrific posts have been sent in, and we hope everyone else enjoys them, too.

From Dusk and Dawn, we get to see Misia’s various playtime activities.

Here’s a question from Small and Big: Were these two separated at birth?

Luna at CatSynth has found the purrfect place to rest … in complete camouflage.


At Sisu’s, Tiny and The Babe show the polite way to wait for dinnertime – and, in addition, a new way to make animation became clear!

Bebe at The Poor Mouth asks what all the fuss is about human toys!

No Deep Thoughts posts a wonderful photo of KatieDon’t in repose – little Miss Innocent herself.

Very deep thoughts here: anniemiz asks what Clara could be thinking about. Maybe we all need to get a copy of the book Do Cats Think?


There’s a terrific Profile in Courage at The Scratching Post – magnificent!

Mind of Mog showcases some very adoptable and adorable kitty-cats. Not to be outdone by cuteness, there are some wonderful Meowza tummy-shots, too! And what fun when it’s boys’ night out!

Kitties galore at iInfidel on a Wordless Wednesday - well, it doesn't take words to describe this scene, does it?!

Dragonheart is getting ready for Halloween. Is everyone else making cool preparations, too?

Matata at Blog d’Elisson is just begging for a little attention. Isn’t she irresistible? Beautiful li’l tummy!


Kittykitty has made a reappearance at StrangeRanger – and what a beautiful kitty she is, too. Don’t skip the video!

Texas Oasis’s Henry gives us all a lesson on manners – and a terrific close-up photo.

Aloysius at Catmyology wonders about the lifespan of the feathers on a dreamcatcher he recently received.

Did TiGrr get more than he bargained for? See his mail-order bride and Kokopellibelli on composite drawlings!


Ferdinand T Cat, the Conservative Cat, shows us all the proper way to take a nap – and protect his Gremlin’s picture at the same time.

Hrimnir at The House of Chaos was caught fighting with a very strange saugage. Be sure to read the whole story – don’t peek at the ending first!

Musings at Windyridge shows us piles of laundry – and what their cat thinks of it!

Chey, at (where else?) Chey’s Place, demonstrates the BEST meezer laugh – wonder what the joke was!

Samantha and Tigger have a wonderful Life from a Cat’s Perspective – at the beautiful beach today. Life’s this easy on a Sunday morning, huh?

At Watermark, we can see a grand variety of cats in art – which do you like best?


Grace at MANX MNEWS is having a wonderful time playing and scratching and peeking around her playtoy.

This, That &The Other Thing provide us with a movie of Mouse and the screensaver – fun pix here!

Perfectly Parker and pals are showing off their wonderful toesies, nosies, tummies, and beautiful faces.

And what’s better than a meezer-pile, courtesy of crazy meezer.

Charles at sleepingmommy got a make-over – and the results are wonderful. He’s even embarking on new territory!


At Elms in the Yard, Rahel celebrates some friends’ birthdays with excellent photos of several cats, including (of course) Lady in Red.

Aha! A cautionary tale for chefs – and their cats! – from The GOOD, The BAD & The MISCHIEF – “Gourmet Cat.”

And a wordless tale with a help-yourself kitty in it from Mind of Mog!! We are laughing ourselves silly about this one!

Here’s a little mystery story from murmuring trees called “Intruder Alert.” Just the thing as we all make our preparations for Halloween!

And last, but definitely not least, is a wonderful poem at qarrtsluni called “Known Them.” Be sure you don’t pass this one by! It’s a wonderful read.

We'll be adding posts that come in after we publish ... so if you haven't sent yours in yet, please do so! Here's the submission form.

BIG boy!

Audace is SOOOOO big. Noticeably larger than Grace and Ruse. Just look at the size of those feet! (I put my foot into the pic for comparison; I wear a women's size 8 shoe!!)

BIG boy! And full of zip and mischief!

Family bath time!

More frogs

Audace (and Grace, too, later on) was mesmerized by his pals, the frogs. Actually, until last night I wasn't sure if there was one or two out there. Then last night, both of them appeared and hunted bugs on the outside of the back door for well over an hour.

Funny critters!

Family gathering at the "water hole"

Here's a little family gathering for you: Grace and her boys on the kitchen island where their water bowl is. (You can see they've taken over many areas in my house.)

Such a beautiful family!

Slurp, slurp there, Audace!

Grace still guards the water bowl!

Ruse waits until everyone else finishes; then he dives in ... no, that's not right! He slurps away, usually around the ice cubes!

Old spot!

I posted Audace's favorite new spot from which to view the world (and the next-door neighbor's cats!), so here's Ruse's favorite window. He's been doing this for quite a while, and I know I've posted photos of him here before. To me, he's still irresistable; he lies here as if it's his throne!

Wednesday Gingers!

Aren't these brothers beautiful? Grace sure did produce gorgeous babies! This is one of the few times lately that I've found them together and at peace!!

New spot

Audace has discovered a new spot from which to watch the world - and sometimes our neighbor's big orange tomcat, Henry Jack. Ruse and Grace have found this windowsill, too, but Audace seems to like it best. He also likes the window near the front door, and Ruse likes the windowsill in my office. Grace still prefers HER spot on the top of the couch!

Cat fight ... almost!

Here's Grace, doing something very out of character for her: instigating a cat fight! Audace was fairly unconcerned at first, but finally got the message that his mommy meant business!

The ice cube game

The other evening, Audace demanded ice for his water bowl. I obliged, and then caught some cute pix of him playing with the ice, under the watchful eyes of Ruse! I think Anne's right: Everything's a toy!

Wordless Wednesday 4

Helpful Ruse!

See how helpful Ruse was the last couple of days while we were putting together COTC #177 for yesterday? He's such a thoughtful little fella!

Maybe someday he'll help me clean up this mess I call an office!!

Carnival of the Cats #177

On this hot and lazy Sunday, we welcome everyone to escape into the Carnival of the Cats #177 - including some photos of Grace, Audace, and Ruse from a year ago - and to enjoy an exceptional poem from their favorite book, Poetry for Cats, by Henry Beard:

To the Kittens,
to Make Much of Time
by Robert Herrick’s Cat

Get ye a human while ye may,
When you are still a kitten,
For by a cat too long a stray
Men’s hearts are seldom smitten.



Dinah’s kittens are starting to open their eyes. What little beauties these kittens are!

Hrimnir (age 19 weeks) has already learned to exert his own wishes in his own ways – and his simians have learned to pay attention NOW. Other cats in The House of Chaos have equally effective, but very different, ways of getting “attaintion.”

Beautiful Kokopelli plays a tune. Is there a movie of this so we can hear him, too? And how agile he is while helping his bean with her stretching exercises!

Dragonheart shares a fantastic moment with her best bud!

Miss Lizzie Bennett shows us her very best catblogging pose – marvelous!

Henry shows us the proper way to fall asleep.

Tiny was either remembering or trying to forget this feast! What a beautiful kitty pic! Tiny must have succeeded in whatever he was trying to do!!

Spike and Boo have some marvelous advice for those whose beans have become just too, too preoccupied with techy thingys lately!

BlueSkelton tells a story about his incredibly polite cat – amazing!

Aloysius at Catymology clearly explains the allure of two different kinds of feathers.

Here's Luna, another who is fascinated with anything that has feathers on it. She is also a marvelous lap-sitter and affection-pourer. Beautiful!


The master of yon cozy house
May wed a maid with puppies
Or set a trap to catch that mouse,
Or buy a bowl of guppies.



Woofie Casey – still looking really good!

Lisa and Siofra have been hard at work making beautiful things. Gorgeous!

Cat Addictions tells about a wonderful cat toy to beat all cat toys!

Ferdinand T. Cat has very astute advice: Be sure to pay attention to others who have ESP!

Is it Bagheera or really an alien overlord?? Take a lesson from Huckleberry, who has no worries about this topic … or anything else, it seems!

Cold rains will soon the summer drown,
And ice will crack the willow;
And though the snow is soft as down,
It makes a chilly pillow.



Captain the Wonder Cat went to the bridge this week. =( Read his family’s superb recollections of his life.

And anniemiz reminisces about one of her favorite kittypals, Archie.

K T Cat, the Maximum Leader, is now resting comfortably after recovering from a cold. We’re happy she’s on the mend. She's now gotten into the lolcat craze - LOL, K T Cat!!

Victor relaxes on this Sunday with his fev-vers!

Demonstrating the proper way to lay low during hot, sticky summer weather is Bows.

Megan (bad bean!) dared to forget an important event! Yikes!!

Here's a rare appearance by Seal. How gorgeous!

Cats ~ Goats ~ Quotes celebrate the beginning of their second year of blogging. What a beautiful photo to celebrate with!

Then hands that would have stroked your head,
When you came in from prowling,
Will hurl at you a boot instead
To halt your awful howling.



Samantha and Tigger show us the meaning of “row” – with LOTS of noise!

Ted was disgusted with his servant’s untidiness!

“I has ur iPhone!” LOLgato (aka Mister Gato) claims – fun, fun, fun!

From Mind of Mog – is she laughing or hissing – or just showing off her teeth?

Skeptical Orloff! How vigorously was he showing his feelings, anyway?

BadKittyCats give some lessons on making snotfaced postcard kitty cats!

A boring day at Chez Ranger? Ahhhh, I don't think so!!

Ohhh, the explorer-hunter-cat taking a nap in the sun, but in air-conditioned comfort (and divulging a little secret … shhh!), while Bazel and Jezi get their photo taken – well, Jezi managed to get in the way, actually!!

Boo and Ping jump and fight to see who’ll be TopCat!

Anonymous cat just seems to WANT to be stumbled upon!

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If you’ve never treated yourself to a copy of Henry Beard’s book, Poetry for Cats, you’re missing the most wonderful book for cats among all those on the market – and there are some pretty, darned good ones out there! Grace and her boys love to hear these poems read to them. The stanzas above are from a poem that makes Grace and her bean laugh!

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And so we conclude this week’s Carnival. Thanks for stopping by, and be sure to keep joining in on the fun. Next week’s Carnival of the Cats will be at StrangerRanger. And don’t forget the Friday Ark and next week’s Bad Kitty Cats Chaos Festival will be at House of the (Mostly) Black Cats.

Purrs … from Grace and crew!