Welcome to the 65th edition of Carnival of the Cats!

This week’s Carnival is brought to you by Hakuna and Matata, the Resident Kitties at Chez Elisson.
Hakuna: Elisson tells me that there are forty-six posts in this week’s Carnival! Why, I do believe I will slink off to my nice Quiet Place inside Elisson’s box spring whilst all of these Strange Kitties come to visit.
Matata: Ahh, cats! So many cats! O, how many of them can I terrorize with my Dog-Like Personality?
First off, Christine of
BTW... presents
Biscuit, a handful of orange tabby goodness. Too bad the household dogs think a “Biscuit” is something to eat. Auntie to the rescue!
Gina (
A Weight Lifted) weighs in with a
Tale of Two Kitties, Part 2, with a fascinating (and surprising!) lesson in feline longevity as illustrated by “Laurel” and “Hardy” (my names, not hers).
From
Bootstrap Analysis comes Nuthatch’s
horror story about when not to pick up an unhappy cat. Many of us would say “never,” but pretty much all of us would agree on “not when you’re naked.” Alas, this post lacks a photograph of Nuthatch and Kady
in feligrante delicto.
And from Jim’s
Lemurland blog comes this picture of an extraordinarily literate cat, Molly. You could call it “Kitterati Literati,” I suppose.

No Carnival is complete without a visit from
Mister Gato, the tabberrific mascot of
enrevanche. Here, El Señor Cat is - what? - apparently shredding and/or crushing a Records Storage Box whilst displaying the ol’ Cat Haunch. Barry Campbell is, I suspect, helping Mister Gato seek employment in a top accounting firm.
Kat, of
The Wisdom of Change, tells a sad but all-too-common story, that of an
abandoned cat. Bad enough that the father of her kittens got squashed by a car, now her human companions have kicked her to the curb. Bastards.
At
Mélange, srp shows off the elegant, blue-eyed Nickerdoodle,
propping up the world. Nicky favors what I refer to as the Old Man Posture, sitting on his butt with legs out front. Hey, comfort is comfort.
Alicia, of
The Venus and Mercury Cat Blog, shows us how
her kitties love their toys. What with Mercury’s grey color and being tagged with nicknames like “Tubs,” you would think Matata was leading a double life.
Ferdinand T. Cat, AKA
The Conservative Cat, likes to help his human companion Bruce with his work by cramming himself into a
convenient chair. It’s a tough job, but
somebody’s gotta do it.
Julie, of the
i-pets.com blog, has handsome Bandit starring in this week’s
Friday Cat Blogging. Bandit seems to be asking the question, “Is it Saturday yet?”
Check out Chuq’s site,
7610 - there, you will see Blur
demonstrating his India-Rubber Cat routine.
At
Quite Early One Morning, BJ
digs into the archives to show us some pictures of Pi and friends. I can appreciate the bittersweet aspect of the Wayback Machine, having recently posted pictures of our first cat, Stripes. (Love the Don Martin banner, BTW...)
Aunty Holly presents
Faster PushyCat Run Run!, being the further adventures of Princess PushyCat and Captain Morgan. Worth checking out for the title alone, especially if you’re a Russ Meyer fan.
Pipsqueak, over at
The Common Room, is looking for a name for
this newborn calico. Well, not quite newborn anymore - she’s now three weeks old. Anybody? Anybody?
At
Scribblings, Amber displays her
Food Whore Talents (turkey, Mommy!) while Mouse looks on disdainfully, content with the Ol’ Dish o’ Kibble.

Annoyed? Naaah. Spider looks way too comfortable in
this Friday Cat Blogging post from Jazz at
Running Scared. And as far as “reclusive” is concerned, Spider can take lessons from Hakuna, the Cat That Hides In The Box Spring.
Jill of
Brilliant at Breakfast serves up
Miss Jennifer: The Sweetest Cat On Earth. Of course, to claim that title, Miss Jenny will need to go
mano-a-mano with Matata in a Steel-Cage Skritchies Match...
Ogre, who (unbeknownst to him) taught me everything I know about tracking memes, has tracked down a
Most Formidable Kitty.

The
Desert Rat Democrat gives us this
lovely pair of kitties: Mojo and Loki. Sounds like there’s some sorcery and mischief afoot!
At
Sundappled Wood, frightwig presents
Ornette & His Shadow, a mini photo-essay in three parts. I’m guessing Ornette might be named after Ornette Coleman...and that his “shadow” had a recent encounter with a razor. Heh.
Brian Moon roots around in the
Lunar Obverse Archives and comes up with a most appropriate Friday Night Catblogging post: Smacky,
newly arrived at Chez Luna. Nice thing about cats, BTW - they’re less likely than dogs to howl at the Moon...
Carlos, resident kitty at
maggies meanderings, has discovered that the best place to be in the world of entertainment is
on top of it.
Jay Tea - Mr.
Wizbang! his ownself - sends in a veritable prosefest:
What’s New, Wussycat? It’s the harrowing story of a home invasion, complete with pillowfights, squirt guns - and the thoroughly nonheroic Elmo.
Matt, from
The Tattered Coat, shows us that his companion Luna knows how to
cool off in the summertime. Reminds me of my days as the
Ice Cream Man...
At
Middle-Fork, the Robot Vegetable offers us this
study in black and grey. Lady, like many kitties, takes comfort where she finds it.
It’s not just kitties this week at
Watermark, where SB offers up
Friday Flickr Critter Blogging. Learn about Flickr photobadges - both flash and HTML versions - and then link to some of SB’s albums. Take yer pick - there are dogs,
cats, and budgies - and I’ll confess that all of those budgie pictures gave me a case of Instant Nostalgia for pets of long ago.
Laurence Simon (
This Blog Is Full Of Crap) weighs in with a Videogame Vision of Edloe:
All Your Treats Are Belong To Us. I use the term “weighs” advisedly, because Edloe is one hefty grumpus, currently clocking in at over a quarter of a hundredweight.
Over at
By the Way...I’m guessing Darcy is
being ironic when referring to Mel as “little.” And, yes, that pose really is reminiscent of Kirstie Allie.
Sweet lisa jay shows us a
kitty in Imminent Pouncing Mode at
doodle-y-doo.
Jack, of
The People’s Republic of Seabrook, sends in a picture of what is, apparently, an
extremely tasteful, well-bred cat. Off the wagon...and into the catbox, eh?
Miko demonstrates her
Chair-Stealing Skills at
The Daily Brief. In a matter of mere moments, she has managed to not only get in the chair, but to Assume the Position of Serious Repose. I am
impressed.
Catherine’s submission for this week’s Carnival shows Emily
looking pensively at a windowblind twist rod: “A twist rod is not a toy, Emily.” “It is, if I play with it.” I love the way this photograph is composed.
When you visit Kimberly’s beautiful new
Music and Cats site, you may very well happen upon Sasha, Lyra, and Sergei, here performing the
important task of Decorating the New Morris Chair with Gaboons of Cat Hair. Good thing is, cat hair is easily removed from leather...even if the cats themselves are not.
Nicholson
puts in an appearance at
pages turned. It seems there’s been a Snubbing Contest going on between Nicholson and R., with Nicholson taking R.’s going away to school a little too personally...
Mind of Mog reminds us - as if we
needed reminding - that
Kitties Rule! And Laurence Simon has the
stats to back that statement up.
Coby, Pixel and Pica are featured in
this photo from
Lab Kat (who will be hosting next week’s Carnival). What makes the picture unusual is that, apparently, the three get along together about as well as
Nardo and
Frisky. Heh.
It’s finally warming up in the Great North Woods, and Hi is
taking in the sunshine. I guess if
Your Moosey Fate is to live in Winnipeg, “Hi” doesn’t exactly refer to the average temperature.
Mira, over at
The Oubliette, sends this unforgettable series of pics showing Noah and Maleficent
going ga-ga over some catnip. Hey, that’s why they call it “Kitty Crack.” Meanwhile,
The Wild Eep simply sits there, looking...wild.
Sissy, at
sisu, has been catblogging her brains out lately. First off, we have Tiny and Babe in a demonstration of
Mannered Kitty Dining. Next up, Tiny
meditates on the issues of Paper and Printer Ink Consumption, which must be dealt with if you
actually make a hard copy of your Bloggy Output. And last but not least, we combine Cat- and Food-Blogging with this
Father’s Day feast - with Tiny trying to cadge a few morsels. Can’t say I blame her.
[There is, by the way, at least one
blog binding service out there, and likely others - for those of us who wish to see our Reams o’ Crap in print. I’d be interested in hearing from anyone who has tried it.]
Martin (
Ego) squeaks in under the wire with this last-minute entry:
Morris in the Window.
At
yourish.com, Tigger does an
impersonation of a feral cat. Well,
somebody’s gotta keep down the surplus blue jay population...
I’m not quite sure what to make of this next item, but it was too demented to ignore, and since it is, after all, cat-related, here it is: a link to the website for the forthcoming book by Karen Mahony,
Shadow of the Vampuss. I suppose you could call this a RFOAUC (Reasonable Facsimile of an Undead Cat).
No Carnival - on this site, anyway - would be complete without a passing nod to the Infamous
Punchbowl Meme. So, appropriately modified for the Subject Matter of the Day, here is a happy little poem:
Load in the catbox,
Left there by the kitty.
Load in the catbox,
Say! Isn’t it
pretty?Load in the catbox,
Sitting there, fumin’.
Load in the catbox,
So
huge! Is it
human?Wait...whatever happened to Hakuna and Matata?

Er, aaah, we’re not sleeping - just checking our eyelids for pinholes.
Matata: Thanks for visiting, Esteemed Readers! As Elisson, our Great Bifurcated Overlord, might put it, it’s been a real Slice o’ Life!
Hakuna: And don’t forget, next week’s Carnival will be hosted by
Lab Kat. Mark your calendars and territories!