Our Cochin Cat Carnival

WORLD'S STRAIGHTEST CAT

2011-12-30T03:58:00.000-08:00

IF THERE'S SOMETHING that cats aren't known for, it's being straight. When was the last time you saw a straight cat? Well, here's what one looks like.

Kitchu the Profile Model

2011-12-28T06:13:00.000-08:00

For some reason, this cat is mostly seen in profile. A little leery of eyeball-to-eyeball contact, yet really likes her eyes cleaned. What to think.

MAUVI'S ACTUAL FIRST TWEET

2011-12-28T05:31:00.000-08:00

All by himself, bicolor boy Mauvi ran his paws across the keyboard, resulting in this "message," which he insists is a Meow, not a Tweet. Whatever. Undoubtedly has something to do with chicken.

nrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrtttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt*

CATCHING UP ON SOME READING

2011-11-26T04:08:00.000-08:00

CATS ARE SO PREDICTABLE! Put a thick handwoven sheet over ANY surface, in a casual way, mind you, and a cat will just BE THERE in no time. They all love books, of course. And bookshelves. Is this sofa big enough for Mauvi? For the time being, it'll do.

TASTES LIKE ... CHICKEN?

2011-09-19T05:07:00.000-07:00

THIS SAVY CAT KNOWS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN FOWL AND FINGER! Didi (short for Didier, although he is not REALLY French) was handed to us by another neighbor whose own cat was being routinely pushed out of his dish by this interloper. Well, we known how to handle customers like this! Had to take him for the same ol' reasons: not wanted and cute as heck. Didi has an outrageously beautiful designer tail, which we will feature at another time, and is too smart and affectionate. A real prize---like all the others.

BABE IN BIRTH SAC

2011-09-15T07:58:00.000-07:00

Well, focus isn't everything. The whole birth process is sort of an out-of-focus event. You don't want to intrude with a flash, and the details of paws and faces are a bit undefined in these tiniest ones. There is constant motion, which is no help in a low light situation, either! Here, Mathya is starting the clean-up process with the baby still in the placenta. The only intervention we did was a little snip of a cord getting wound up around a kitten.

LAST COMMER

2011-09-15T07:51:00.000-07:00

The last kid on the block can be seen in this photo right at the tip of mother's nose. And it's her look-alike, Biscuit, who came 45 minutes after Daboo. The rest were 15 minutes apart.

2011-09-15T07:42:00.000-07:00

HERE'S DABOO, NUMBER 3. This cute boy is still very wet as mother maneuvers him into place for more grooming while having his first milk. Each birth was a silent and simple affair. One minute there was no kitty, the next minute a new arrival. We soon put up a cardboard strip barrier around the base of the cage so no one could leave the "premises." However, at this stage, in their sightless world, there was only milk spigot, milk, fur, and momma's tongue in their world, plus some wiggly entity on either side to keep them warm.

MATHYA'S LAST LITTER ARRIVES!

2011-09-15T07:35:00.000-07:00

On the right is her first baby, Miscalla, a boy. Then came Cookie, a girl, and her placenta is still attached in this photo. Mommy was resting up before cleaning up. What excitement wondering how many babies there will be and how long the births can take! (Potentially 48 hours.) Mathya means "change" in Sanskrit and that's what we were determined to give her ... a change from having babies and losing them every few months, and no worries about where her food was coming from or their safety as they grew up.

A FURRY DINER

2011-09-15T07:25:00.000-07:00

What a delightful restaurant! Food is never served cold, you're always welcome, congenial companions, the house specialty is always available, and you can go to sleep afterwards curled up on a soft purring pillow. There are four kittens here but Biscuit is represented only by the tip of a white ear and a bit of her white back.

Miracle on Palliparambu Road

2011-09-15T07:17:00.000-07:00

ONLY GOD CAN MAKE A CAT. And as It's agent, Mommy Cat is authorized to set up another franchise to produce one of the cutest baby families in the world. Anyone who hasn't enjoyed little kittens playing hasn't lived!

THE KITTEN CARNIVAL

2011-09-15T07:10:00.000-07:00

A HELPFUL NEIGHBOR IS ONE THAT GIVES YOU A PREGNANT CAT ABOUT TO DELIVER, RIGHT? Well, she has the reputation of leaving her many kittens over the years all over the neighborhood as she nervously moves them daily in search of a "safe place." Who in their right mind could resist, however, the chance not only to spay her but to enjoy the birth of her kittens and make this mama's life easier? We took the bait, and three days later, there were four babies beside her, one looking just like her, another tortoise-shell, one calico, and a lovely bi-color.

Cat's Idea of Privacy

2011-09-15T06:58:00.000-07:00

AH, THE SAFETY AND SECURITY OF A BOX! You get in your box where none can see you because you can't see them, and you feel really shrewd. They'll never know where I've gone! (Except that cat coming in on the left, barely visible.) This is Mauvi's notion, that bi-color boy with the huge complaint audio.

Safe at Last

2011-08-03T06:04:00.000-07:00

WHO COULD GUESS I'M IN HERE?! Sorry to burst your bubble, buddy, but within 5 minutes every cat in the house, is who! After they all get their turn in the latest box, it's time to shred it to pieces, even more fun. Buying everything by the case is obviously a necessity here.

... SIT TOGETHER IN PERFECT HARMONY

2011-05-16T07:11:00.000-07:00

Ebony (Wootsie) and Ivory (Nergi) are deep in discussion about what's going on with the cows outside and how to just go out there into the cowport and get that milk straight from the source. Waiting for the milk to be served is such an unnecessary waste of time, you'd think that would be obvious to people. No, we did not arrange their tails like that. Cats just do that instinctively. These two cats are friends to everyone in the cat household. Nergi's vocation is opening closet doors for the others to enter and nicely mess up.

TRIBUTE of the DAY: Poodi

2011-02-05T05:19:00.000-08:00

POODI was an intense cat ... pumped intensely, looked intensely, loved intensely ... and sometimes "lost it" intensely, signs of which one had to watch out for! What a sweetie. A fast-moving stomach virus was her ticket out of here a couple of years ago, but she's right in our hearts, as always.

UPPALI at PANAMPILLY Avenue

2011-02-05T05:02:00.000-08:00

Here's a nice pix of a more than nice cat, the great UPPALI, whose eyes are the background of our blog masthead. He's the King of (the Cat) Carnival, respected by all, a door-handle opener with terrific presence, mentor to clueless kittens, curator of the cat collection in general. Santa Ysabel Mission Reservation east of San Diego was his birthplace; Cochin, India, is his home. Just likes "Indians."

MAUVI, HORIZONTAL

2011-01-03T06:18:00.001-08:00

BOX TOO SMALL OR KITTEN TOO BIG? Mauvi was the first kitten to join our Animal Ashram after the plague of July, going first into quarantine in our office for a month. After showing signs of nothing but naughtiness, he was slated to go to the Big House, but was already a fixture as Office Cat, the first. Photo by Byron Aihara.

HERE COMES MAUVI!

2011-01-03T06:05:00.000-08:00

IF HE LOOKS LIKE TROUBLE that's only half right. The rest is he's too smart; for example, Mauvi came by himself to the front gate. He was named by Greshma, the name not having any particular meaning but it fit. Mauvi is our first office cat, and is able rate all employees by their intelligence in eating fish or not for lunch. He's good on computers. His mentor, Byron, is shown here (finger) training him in the classic command "Stay!" This he is doing only because he wants to look at the camera. Makes funny growling noises, and moves like lightening to any door leading to trees. Photo by Byron Aihara.

THE BEST INDOOR HOME

2010-12-29T05:43:00.000-08:00

HOW MUCH can a cat caretaker compensate their kitties for having to live indoors? Of course, the first compensation is a longer life full of love and cat food, free of crippling cat fights and car accidents. But, in addition, you can provide windowsill-high tables with pillows around the house so the outside world can be viewed in comfort. Monthly, put a cardboard box in a room. Occasionally, leave a closet open. Put an old boot on its side under the bed. Bring a piece of KFC home every once in awhile and take off the fried crust. And here's something fancy: Train it to walk on a leash! Yes, many do, after the initial antics of winding themselves up in it. Practice around the house first, then on the front walk. Don't give up with the first scared reaction. It's a pleasure, once learned, that lasts a lifetime. Figuring out lifestyle enhancers for your cats is very rewarding, and of course, the greatest enhancer is another pal cat. The behavior of little kittens is least threatening to an older cat as they don't take rebuffs personally at a young age, and in time the big one can accept the newcomer/s better. Another good companion for a grown single cat can be a wonderful older homeless doggie from a shelter who is cat friendly.

WHY INDOOR CATS?

2010-11-03T05:28:00.000-07:00

Here are some facts that explain why keeping a cat indoors may not be natural, but how too many outdoor cats are hurting our bird population. (Being outdoors also shortens cats' lifespans to an average of four years due to cars, dogs, injuries, etc.)

DOMESTIC CATS who stay outside or are let out at night are an often overlooked negative influence on fauna in urban, suburban, and exurban landscapes, but they have a significant impact on native rodents and birds (Hawkins et al. 2004). Rodents are missed by few people, but do we want to lose more birds?

In one study in southeastern Michigan, 25% of landowners owned outdoor cats, which killed ≤1.4 birds/cat/week. Over 23 species were killed including species of conservation concern (Lepczyk et al. 2004). There were ≤3,100 cats across the landscape that killed ≤47,000 birds during the breeding season (~1 bird killed/km/day). Even taken conservatively, these data (Lepczyk et al. 2004) suggest that cat predation plays an important role in fluctuations of bird populations.

Devices have been developed that can reduce the efficiency of domestic cats as predators (i.e., collar-mounted pounce protectors like the Cat-Bib™). However, they need to be worn consistently by cats, and most cat owners are reluctant to impose this cat apparel on them (Calver et al. 2007).

Overabundant cats in urbanized landscapes are clearly an increasing problem. More effective spay/neuter programs have to be developed for their welfare. (DeStefano and DeGraaf 2003).

THEY WILL ALWAYS BE A PART OF US ...

2010-10-18T05:40:00.000-07:00

WELL, THAT'S CUTE

2010-06-22T00:10:00.000-07:00

THIS IS WHY ...PEOPLE PICK UP KITTENS ON THE ROAD. IS THERE ANY OTHER CHOICE?! BEING SUPER CUTE IS THEIR ONLY CHANCE FOR SURVIVAL IN A WORLD WITH LOTS OF OTHER PRIORITIES ... ALTHOUGH WHAT ELSE COULD THOSE BE, PRAY TELL?! (Note missing eye liner around the left eye of Soan (right), and to a lesser extent, her brother Papadi, too. They were so much in a hurry to get a home they forgot their makeup. But in a few months it magically appeared, anyway!)

CANE CHAIR CAT

2010-06-22T00:04:00.000-07:00

Sometimes cats overdo it with the casual grace thing. Silver tabby UPPALI has once again found a perfect frame for his cuteness.

BIRD BRAIN/CAT BRAIN

2010-06-21T23:53:00.000-07:00

A student of ornithology like Uppali can get a little tired of the academic life and sometimes just sleeps it off until he hears the rude click of a camera. What could be softer than a feather pillow?

HAIRY & SCARY!

2010-06-14T06:43:00.000-07:00

#2 in Our YAWN Series

It's Fuboo! When you have almost everything you want you just YAWN sometimes. But there's a twinkle in the eye that says I've come a long way from the drainage ditch and intend to keep it that way. Fu is a people's cat; forget about identification with places. Except, of course, the kitchen.

Worshipping, Cat-Style

2010-05-08T07:37:00.000-07:00

LET'S PUT THE FUN BACK IN FAITH! It is our belief that nothing we do is wrong and we are forgiven for everything! So here we are enjoying a fashion session with the goddess' gown, with emphasis on the tinsel trim. The less said about the missing arm(s), the better.

2010-03-30T06:54:00.000-07:00

SOFT and SWEET, that's Soan (girl, left)

and her brother Papadi,

enjoying their kittenhood together.

2010-03-30T06:50:00.000-07:00

LITTLE WHITE NERGI gets a lesson on love from Papadi kissing his sister Soan.

WIZARD WOOTZ

2010-01-24T23:22:00.000-08:00

HERE'S OUR BOMBAY BLACK, variously known as Count Dracula, Wootzer, Wootsie, and Suckie Sucker, reflecting his extreme interest in sucking inside arm joints. But there's much more to Wootz than just that! He's extreme, and we like him that way!

CATS WITH STYLE

2010-01-24T04:10:00.000-08:00

HERE'S A CLASSIC CASE OF CATS LIKING CAMERAS, starring Suboo-Toobu (orange-and-white girl, silver-and-white boy), the professional cat posers looking for a film contract with this one.

NEED BIGGER CHAIRS

2010-01-03T05:20:00.000-08:00

UPPALI, our silver tabby, seems to have outgrown our chairs and is trying to say so in a nice way. Maybe we could put two together, face to face? Wouldn't want to suggest he move to one of the sofas. It isn't nice to ask a cat to move, and cat people are well aware that a cat will not like any place he's relocated to by his caretaker. Non-cat choices are all bad.

VIEW FROM THE "MOUNTAIN"

2009-12-30T05:11:00.000-08:00

SOAN girl doesn't notice much difference between a shoulder, a bookshelf, or table. They're all basically "mountains" with a view. This eager-eater copied her brother Papadi in people-mountain climbing. But that claw "axe" equipment for holding on is a little tough on shoulder skin.

12-FOOTED FRIENDSHIP

2009-11-17T05:46:00.000-08:00

Here, we have a brother (left, PAPADI) and his sister (calico SOAN), and their best friend, a street rowdy named NERJI, an extremely busy individual but who always has time for his new, just a little older, friends. He didn't offer them his friendship as an option; just jumped right on them, and that was it. The boys rough it up often, and actually hold the long-playing record in our house.

NERVY LITTLE PUNK

2009-10-17T22:57:00.000-07:00

nerji

is so young and so small, yet the personality is out there. No time for cuddling with people when the other cats are so interesting. Watches the bigger fellows and then tries to copy them. A tough street-cat environment full of asphalt was his birthplace, and he's learned what's important to survive: being cute and playing!

CASUAL PAWS ALIGNMENT

2009-10-17T22:37:00.000-07:00

UPPALI, King of the Kats, in a relaxed moment, one of many. Most cats feel compelled to get all formal with ramrod posture, etc., when they line up their paws, as though someone with a camera were following them all the time (instead of most of the time, like me). Uppali writes his own rules. Paws look like they just got a new coat of white cat shoe polish.Uppali is a silver tabby from the Santa Ysabel Native American reservation in San Diego County, now resident in the state of Kerala in India. There is a rumor that all cats in India worship the elephant god Ganesha, simply because he has a mouse and loves sweets. Reasons enough.

CLASSIC MUBOO

2009-10-16T06:08:00.001-07:00

MUBOO, the boy in the brother-sister team Muboo-Foobu, is one of those extra-special ones, a bit uncannily like a person and fascinated with the human face. Experiencing a Muboo is a privilege we know we couldn't possibly have earned, but we'll take it! Look for the butterfly on the head. Maybe that's a sign that an angel on paws has flown into your life, as his sister has similar qualities (a cuddler #1 also).

BEING A GOOD CAT

2009-10-16T05:45:00.000-07:00

Here's how you do it: Get in a place where you'll look good. Stretch out and close your eyes. Dream about a fish dinner, and if you live at the Animal Ashram in Cochin, it's likely to come true. Tell all your friends.* Everyone seems headed here!

*On second thought, I, Papadi, would rather everyone else but my sister Soan and best cat friend Nerji go somewhere else and we'll deal with the fish surplus here. Thanks.

2009-10-16T05:30:00.000-07:00

Soan (girl cat on right): "I'M ALWAYS GETTING THESE HEADACHES, AND I CAN'T FIGURE OUT WHY! They start on the right side just over the eye. Then suddenly they're gone. What do you advise? Getting rid of my brother Papadi?! You gotta be kidding! What is Soan without Papadi*?"

*Soan Papadi is a famous flaky North Indian sweet.

2 CUTE

2009-10-16T05:21:00.000-07:00

WHY BOTHER PICKING UP BABY KITTENS? Here's a good answer: Soan (f., right) and Papadi (m.), now growing up into their gorgeous teens. We have not really seen any sign that cats know how decorative they are, which is one of a millon reasons we love them!

2009-10-15T06:33:00.000-07:00

WOOTSER! You've GROWN! Congratulations. Elsewhere on this blog you'll see him as a little blob of black fluff. Now, here's what can happen! Wootser is also know as Wootsie, Woots, Dracula, and Sucky Sucker, the latter due to a kittenhood habit that still persists of sucking human elbowpits (mother substitute) until he falls into a trance with his oh-so-watermelon-colored tongue out and goes to sleep.

HEADACHE REMEDY

2009-10-03T22:39:00.001-07:00

FIRST, you put your two feet close up tight ... no, no, no, those are the lyrics to a song much older than this cat boy. First, you brace your rear feet against one chair leg, then you push your head hard against the opposite leg, and presto, no headache. If you wedge yourself right in there, cat physics will do the rest while you relax. Another clever cat contribution to stress management. Thank you, Uppali the Silver Tabby.

CAT ANALYZES HUMAN

2009-09-28T06:13:00.000-07:00

What conclusions has FUBOO come to after staring at her sleeping co-caregiver for 10 minutes? "He doesn't seem to be able to grow hair on his nose." "Ears are too round." "If he had a soft towel on his chest, this place would be perfect." "I just know the moment I let myself fall asleep, he'll get up." Thought is obviously happening, but in what language? That's what we wonder. (Post below shows Fuboo even younger.)

BETTER THAN "... A DIAMOND RING AND ALL THOSE THINGS ..."

2009-09-23T06:48:00.000-07:00

Sometimes it's hard to believe we live in a world where an exquisite, loving little generic kitten like this has no value to the vast majority of humans. Not only are beautiful cats feared by many but you can't even give kittens away where we live. Inside this fluffy exterior is a big heart that for some reason shows real love in exchange for the smallest amount of kindness. FUBOO, you are a work of art that excels any ol' flawless diamond, and a first-rate, self-taught companion who is only too happy to accomodate herself to us demanding humans for reasons far exceeding a little fish for dinner. Well, okay, so you get chicken, too, and eggs, Pokali hand-pounded rice, steamed vegetables, homemade curds, milk, idlis, dosas, puttu, and whatever else you see us eat, basically. But a human would demand much more than that .

THE PLAYERS (in order of arrival)

2009-09-20T20:08:00.000-07:00

UPPALI: Big silver tabby from Native American Indian reservation at Santa Ysabel, California, near San Diego. Rethinking his usual peacenik stand due to a reordering of the present cat power structure due to maturing fellows. A giant among thoughtful cats, leader of the nonpack. He and his "friends" (as much as a cat goes for associates) Kittu and Poodi embarked together from the U.S. to India in 2001. Kittu and Poodi shed their forms in 2008 after long years of appreciated service and rubbings. Another fine and beautiful cat foundling who joined them in India, big-green-eyed Yogi, was our only indoor-outdoor tabby due to our reluctance at having the house completely destroyed, but he evidently met his Maker after one night out on the town, not returning. Suspected: a pack of dogs.

GYPSY: A big, beautiful orange scaredy cat who has requested a room of her own and creeps out reluctantly once a day when the premises have been clearly of other suspected terrorists for her benefit. Found on a garbare pile next to her all-white sibling's dropped form. Tweets like a baby bird.

DOLBEY: When in a foul mood, this darling black-and-white girl sounds like she's got a built-in amplifier. Tolerates only Suboo-Foobu, off and on. Very affectionate. Found inside the engine of an abandoned vehicle when about four weeks old, complaining incessantly about conditions. Took three people only a couple of hours to fish her out.

SUBOO: Orange-and-white girl half of team Suboo-Toobu; found chasing her brother down a business thoroughfare in Cochin when they were about six weeks old. Hard on other cats but loving with her bro and caretakers.

TOOBU: See above. Grandmother was a borzoi, judging from his looks. Strong, silent type, currently going through identity crisis as he hits the people-equivalent of his late teens.

FUBOO: Won "Miss Personality Cochin" contest as a kitten. Found bounding into an open sewer-drainge ditch following her brother who was contemplating life as a furry fish when his luck turned. She and brother have matching silver-tan-mixed butterfly decorations on heads.

MOOBU: Gentle, peace-loving, face full of people-like expressions, older than his years, a cuddler. Tends to be a worry-wort.

WOOTSIE (alias WOOTSER, DRACULA, SUCKY SUCKER): The official poised black cat at Animal Ashram (AA), parted from his mother somehow at tiny age of about two weeks; reidentified the soft skin inside his caretaker's elbow pit (?) as the closest thing to a mom milk bottle available, despite its unproductivity in that regard. Raised on kitten milk replacer and lived to tell about it. Still seeks out said elbow pit and sucks at it loudly, drooling and making quite a retro scene of himself. Totally funny. Was adopted by Fuboo-Moobu team who came along a little before him. Wootsie was discovered at our front gate, complaining loudly. Neighbor said he had a tiny white sibling with him, which was gone when Wootsie's plight was discovered. People here prefer white cats, are skeptical about black.

SOAN: Female half of the duo Soan Papadi (a flaky North Indian sweet). Put inside our gate when we weren't at home one day, along with her brother Papadi and another sweet tiny sister, Lotsa, who didn't survive malnutrition and an amebic problem at her very tender age of about two weeks. Soan is a soft-shaded calico, very enterprising, loving, and too-clever.

PAPADI: Deep-silver-and-white loving guy. Favorite hang-out: back of neck of caretaker. Favorite food: gold chain on neck of said caretaker, plus anything else. High-horsepower purr. Was very tiny and scrawny like his departed sister, but survived long enough to take to vet where an antibiotic did the trick.

NERJI: BREAKING NEWS! THIS JUST IN! The latest arrival in our house, that is! Wow! Another fantastic male kitten, all white except for a black em dash (fellow editors, you only will recognize this shape) on the top of his head and several hundred black fleas. Our lucky day! Okay, forget flea powder; this is a case for hand-picking with a bottle of skin lotion and tweezers. Immobilize the intruders with a drop of lotion at the end of a search-and-destroy finger, dispatch them with the tweezers, and dunk the tweezers and remains into a cup of water. Shake well. Only took two short hours for this four-incher. Actually, the kitten wasn't all white but all grey and grimy. Got our usually soaping (twice) with the finest Himalaya Shampoo for Normal Hair (that is, normal for a kitten who grew up on a major downtown gutter in India). His first and last bath. The rest are up to him. So thin, could be mistaken for a freshly washed sock. But super fluffy. Hair is almost as long as he is. We took his little self to the nearest vet, another elephant doctor, but any port in a storm. Deworming always a must. Fellow is about 5 weeks old. Will buff him up in no time, until his wants will spiral from thrown-away crusts of street-cart samosas to the whole gamut of South Indian cuisine and high-end (but fresh) junk food. Wonderful to watch someone get lucky! (Named for Banerji Road where he was found.)

AND OUR DARLINGS WE HOPE ARE STILL PLAYING BUT IN A SAFER WORLD: Tingle, b&w, too cute, precocious six-weeks-older and with us only four days, left 'way too soon but taught an invaluable lesson--always take new kittens for worming and antibiotic shot immediately, regardless of no symptoms; orange darling baby Booka, fought poisoning with incredible courage and will-power, almost made it, but her little liver gave out after a month; irrepressible Kalady who found a friend who could play as hard as she could in Hathi; Doony, the little paralyzed kitten in the mountains of Uttarkund who we said yes to before she left anyway; dearest little Lotsa; wanderer and gentle lover Yogi; deeply devoted long-time friend Poodi; serious-funny calico Kittu; the teeny Monsoon Four; never-say-die beautiful Desi; loving, dignified, beautiful and courageous Tuxi; cutest fluffy dear Gunji; gung-ho and gorgeous Chucki; "angel cakes" most innocent Poppy; my brilliant sister Cashew and her lovely loving sister c.b.; and my first childhood doggie, Jolie, who learned to sit up when she was 8 and died rather than be abandoned.

TAILS OF TWO CATS

2009-09-19T07:24:00.001-07:00

FUBOO (l.) and MOOBU know that every long tail eventually has to have a wrap. (At some point, that was obviously turned into a film industry term by directors with cats.) This sister-and-brother duet can be found elsewhere on our blog at different fetching ages. They are both intense cuddlers, Fuboo having the edge and male Moobu being more of the silent and deep type. "Fu" usually yawns when she greets a loved one. The design of these white cats with the butterfly "hats" and silver stripped tabby tails is more common in some areas of Cochin than others.

GET A GRIP!

2009-09-14T22:46:00.000-07:00

SOAN, the girl half of the duo SOAN PAPADI, is seen here imbibing with gusto her pre-breakfast milk substitute, which has just come to India within the past year in a couple of brands sold at pet stores. Soan was started on it when she was about two weeks old. Unfortunately, a photo can't give an idea of the powerful grip of those two front paws as she tried to wrench the bottle away from the caregiver and swallow it whole. The braced position of the back feet suggests her interest in this product, even though it didn't come from her absconded Mom.

LET ME TELL YOU A SEC*RET

2009-09-02T05:37:00.000-07:00

SUBOO & TOOBU (left & right, she & he) share a lot in common, like hair and fish and curds and cockroa ... well, we don't need to go into it all. But they obviously have an understanding that is quite touching ... even quite biting at times, but they're firm believers in patching it all up on the sofa by nightfall.

COY IS CUTE

2009-09-02T02:26:00.000-07:00

FOOBU (left) and MUBOO (underneath) have been growing up into fine specimens from extremely cute kittens. Both continue to be love bugs to one another and ourselves, really turning it on at bedtime.

COURAGEOUS KITTEN ON COW

2009-08-26T06:15:00.000-07:00

"THIS CHAIR IS A PERFECT FIT! In front of me is that huge warm, moving thing with the small silver box in front of her nose again. Long dangling poles from either side of her body can have food at the ends. Those are the places to watch from high up like this. If I suddenly jump on her neck, she may scream and drop the food. That happened last time." ---Papadi, Baby Boy Blogger

Uppali (Lord of No Salt)

2009-08-24T05:29:00.000-07:00

ONE IN A MILLION, that's Uppali, head of the cats. A beautiful silver tabby Native American born on the Santa Ysabel Reservation in San Diego County who suddenly found himself in India in 2001 and didn't miss a beat. He's a kitchen cat, but inspects the rest of the premises regularly for irregularities and newcomers. Could be he's nearing his tolerance for more cats in HIS house, but to date has been patience personified (or catified). Is a little on the huge side, especially for India, where the chronic food shortage on the street and the heat have produced smaller specimens (but a lot of them). The story behind his name is told in the Comment to this post just below.

A YOGA-ENABLED BACK-OF-SELF PHOTO

2009-08-24T05:14:00.000-07:00

TAKING THIS PHOTO with a hand-held camera with no help wasn't easy, but we do what we gotta do. Papadi is taking a snooze in one of his favorite (why?) places, upside down on my shoulder. This choice of "beds" is time limited due to space and weight restrictions coming up in the near future, so we have to enjoy it while it lasts!

SCAAAA-RYYY!

2009-08-24T04:56:00.000-07:00

DON'T BE FRIGHTENED! He has been captured and everything is now under control. This is Papadi (history in following posts) saying something to someone. Looks scrawny here because he was still in recovery from a severe bout with malnutrition. But the will to live flamed brightly in his little frame and he's REALLY scary now. But loving.

SOAN and PAPADI

2009-08-24T04:42:00.000-07:00

WHY DOESN'T EVERYONE RESCUE BABY KITTIES? Maybe they aren't as lucky as we are to find them! Here is Soan Papadi (top to bottom), named for a famous sweet and found together all of the time. Nothing more fun than watching kittens play, get big tummies, grow up competent and clever, and urinate all over the house, marking their territories and increasing local vinegar sales. Our spray bottle fingers can't wait to take on these cuties!

SOAN the Calico

2009-08-24T04:35:00.000-07:00

This female fragment of a calico cat is called Soan, part of the confection called soan papadi. This is a big complement re her sweetness. She's a survivor, found out in the street by a hand cart where people reportedly nudged her away from cars. Then, a neighborhood anonymous person picked up her, her sister (Lotsa; R.I.P., too tiny and sick to survive), and brother Papadi and tucked them under our gate. Why the doberman, boxer, and indigenous dog didn't find and swallow them is another mark of these kitties' good karma.

2009-08-24T04:25:00.000-07:00

THIS IS SOAN PAPADI, formerly known as Firstly (boy, left) and MaKa, and still sometimes known as that. The etymology is obscure. "MK" refers to our dearly departed calico Muttu, also known as Kittu, and Firstly was the first of this 3-person family we found placed inside our gate. Firstly's dear sister, Lotsa, very affectionate, died from an ameobic problem that could have been zapped with antibiotics under better circumstances. So the little family had to reboot without her and M. called them after a fine sweet, the little calico girl becoming Soan and the tiny boy, whose future was uncertain, becoming Mr. Papadi. Our cook Kuttiamma buffed him up, as will be seen in later posts. He's become a head-rubber for sure, and now has a giant tummy and is puffed up in general.

DIGRESSION: TUBOO's GREAT-GREAT-GREAT-GRANDMOTHER

2009-08-23T06:47:00.000-07:00

Twice later in this blog it was alleged that Tuboo, of stripped silver and white tabby fame, actually had a borzoi in his closet.Here is proof from our archives, also showing the Blogmistress in her prime, she wishes. We hope this lays to rest the controversy over Tuboo's ancestry.

WALKING ALONGSIDE THE MASTERS

2009-08-14T05:17:00.000-07:00

Exploring deep ideas, Papadi and Soan have climbed the heights of metaphysics and have a good grasp of Advaita Vedanta at a very young age. Papadi is recovering from a stomach ailment so looks a little drawn. But he'll pump out soon.

2009-08-14T05:11:00.000-07:00

THIS IS FIRSTLY, ALSO KNOWN AS PAPADI, IN THE FOREGROUND, AND HIS SISTER MAKA, ALSO KNOWN AS SOAN, IN THE SHADOWS. PAPADI KNOWS WHAT HE WANTS, WHICH IS TO PIERCE YOUR SKIN CLIMBING UP TO THE CROWN OF YOUR HEAD. OUCH! BUT HE'S SO CUTE!

TUBOO the BORZOI

2009-08-12T03:42:00.000-07:00

Earlier in this blog, it was reported that Tuboo had Borzoi ancestry and we would prove it. We have been very busy and have had no time to do that, but we will eventually. Meanwhile, we have this picture showing his uncanny resemblance to Sri Krishna's cat. That will have to do until later.

2009-08-12T03:22:00.000-07:00

FOOBU & MUBOO are as delightful a duo as can be. Sung to the score of Hotel California, these lyrics have been created especially for them:

On a broad jungle byway,

Cool wind in their hair,

Sweet smell of stolen payasum,

Rising up in the air.

Up ahead in the distance,

They saw a shimmering krait,

Their backs arched skyward,

And their eyes grew bright,

I said, "Watch out, this thing can bite!"

(To be continued)

2009-08-12T00:49:00.000-07:00

FOOBU & MUBOO

(top and bottom)

Siblings often share the same characteristics, and these two both love the camera and people and each other. Boy Muboo is bigger.

2009-08-12T00:34:00.000-07:00

I'M WIRED! And ready to go, wherever. In the meantime, I'm going to do a little creative wire art here. Fuboo's the name, naughtiness is my game!

CAT RUBIK'S CUBE

2009-07-14T03:36:00.000-07:00

THIS IS HIM AND THAT IS HER, HER BODY IS ON THE RIGHT (Suboo) AND HEAD ON THE LEFT, AND HIS (Toobu) HEAD IS ON THE RIGHT AND ... Oh, what does it matter?! The point is it's cozy when your sibling feels exactly the same as you do, and shows it!

CAT IDENTIFICATION QUIZ

2009-07-11T02:14:00.001-07:00

Q. Who in this photo is not a cat ? A. It's that kind of so-called funny question that has earned Chihuahuas their reputation of being vicious, dangerous dogs. Here, we have Tuboo (l., male) and Soobu (r., female) making a Chihuahua sandwich out of Suwannee, ever alert for insults from anyone. Notice the animal-friendly upholstery, which couldn't look worse no matter what the four-footers do to it, its various components having been replaced haram-scaram after "accidents."

WHAT'S ON THE TUBE? TWO CATS, OBVIOUSLY

2009-07-10T22:25:00.000-07:00

MOOBU and FUBOO (left, m., and right, f.) have their favorite actors just like anyone else. And they follow them closely. Probably would only recognize them in public by the tops of their heads.

2009-07-09T05:22:00.000-07:00

SOME GUYS LIKE TO WEAR CHAINS, SOME LIKE TO EAT THEM! Moobu's in his play box, looking cute as hell as usual, and breaking off his teeth, which is okay with us, pin-cushioned as we have become after raising four litters in a row. Mooie is a lovely boy, a love-bug type and cuddler who has no interest in stalking anybody. Let's hear it for MOOBU!

2009-07-09T05:12:00.000-07:00

AFTER A HARD DAY ON THE SOFA, it's good to catch a little TV, see what's on for animals. Viewing it from the front like people is too easy and, besides, on a cool day a warm tummy from the tube feels good. Here, MOOBU and FUBOO point out a cat in a commercial to SUBOO and TOOBU still on their easy chair, who depend on M/F to alert them to a good show.

2009-07-09T04:59:00.000-07:00

wOOtie, also known as WOOTSER, was a standout from day 1, a born individualist who obviously knew who he was. Only we were confused. He seemed like a pacifist but growled at his first meal of chicken like it was his own prey. I mean, we paid for it in a store. He has a distinctive three-level descending growl. He sucks elbow pits under the illusion they are some part of his wayward mom, then after coming out of the subsequent trance induced thereby, leaves his tongue sticking out a bit. He has a Siamese face, even though he is a Malayali, and like the Siamese, has a big voice when he wants out of a room. Very cuddly and a good bedfellow, not prone to endless readjustments like most cats we could name. You're a piece of work, Wootser!

2009-07-09T04:51:00.000-07:00

WOOTIE, left, and MOOBU, what's left, have been chums since the start of their residency on Ashram Lane. Wootie was the late-comer, but Moobu and sister Fuboo still welcomed him into their little circle at about age 2 weeks. Took him a couple of weeks to get big enough to properly play with them, but he figured out how to have fun fast!

SHIRLEY TEMPLE WITHOUT A TAIL

2009-07-09T04:15:00.000-07:00

YYFUBOO!YYBorn to be cute, a Hallmark card candidate, that's little Fuboo, sister of Moobu---two exceptionally loving characters. Fuboo is very kissy and rubby, won't take no for an answer in that department. A great future ahead for this little miss, who has an innate fondness for human noses.

TAKE ONE MORE STEP AND YOU'RE FINISHED!

2009-07-07T04:10:00.000-07:00

MOOBU was just watching TV from the top of the set when, suddenly, this elephant, Guruvayur Kesavan by name, appeared on the wall. Next step was to ignore it and never look that way again. But those teeth certainly don't look very functional for eating fish.

A GREAT OUT-OF-FOCUS KITTEN

2009-04-04T06:02:00.000-07:00

INTRODUCING wOOtie! An infitesimally small and nervy black kitten badly photographed in an impossible attempt to capture a fraction of his charming, about-two-weeks-old, fast-moving essence.

2009-04-04T05:59:00.000-07:00

wOOtie in his first handbag. "This is an amazing experience," he said.

2009-04-04T05:56:00.000-07:00

wOOtie and a non-cat, Suwannee. He is thinking maybe he shouldn't stare at her and, also, moving over a little to the right might be "good."

2009-04-04T05:54:00.000-07:00

wOOtie makes a decision ... and the right one! It's amazing to see such wisdom in a newborn fluffball. Note slightly more accepting look in Chihuahua face.

ACTION SHOT

2009-04-04T05:29:00.000-07:00

wOOtie is caught here trying not to get caught as he practices the sideways getaway. Grabbing wOOtie is like holding onto a large, hairy piece of overcooked pasta, boneless and so soft.

Announcing ... THE BOOS Series II

2009-03-05T02:50:00.000-08:00

Fuboo and Moobu, sister and brother, are both graduates of the Hallmark Cards School of Too Cute Animals. Here, they are showing their stuff on the stage of our cook, Tiruvannamalai Kuttiamma. They were found diving enthusiastically into a canal opposite our office. First, Moobu disappeared into the dank water, then Fuboo dashed across the road and trustingly plopped in right behind her brother, both landing on clumps of water grass. I leaned over and grabbed one but had to harangue an indifferent bystander to give a hand and scoop up the other. Since, designwise, they were off the same drawing board as our Tuboo and Soobu, their names followed suite. Their personalities are very different from T&S, both being wise-looking beyond their years (seen in a certain light) and unwarrantedly affectionate. They are also known as the "Swirlytails" due to a lot of tail-tip waving held high when they are pleased.

CLOSE RELATIVES

2009-02-22T13:52:00.000-08:00

Sister and brother Suboo and Toobu are household words on this blog now, and you can follow their evolution as love bugs starting at age about 7 weeks if you click at the bottom of the blog on "Older Posts." Suboo's favorite food is potato chips, which we understand provides excellent nutrition for cats as well as humans. Their male co-caretaker regularly gives them what he calls just a "small amount," and indeed it is a small amount for a human 30 times their size. The yellow cast in this photo is from all the sunflower oil in the chips. If you know of a chip that uses whiter oil so that our photos will look better, please write to us.

CIRQUE DE SOLEIL HERE WE COME!

2009-02-22T13:40:00.000-08:00

Suboo and Toobu have been practicing this act for three months, and it looks ready to roll, except that Suboo, the girl on the bottom, says she can't keep her eyes open with Toobu on her head. Well, unless we've walked a mile in her shoes, who's to criticize?

PARALLEL PARKING

2009-02-22T13:22:00.000-08:00

Love bugs Suboo and Toobu sleeping sweetly as usual in this photo, one of 5,000 shots of them lying side by side. Suboo, the girl at top, is the agressor here, a bit of an alpha cat whose arch enemy is Gypsy for reasons known only to them, if that.

2009-02-22T10:55:00.000-08:00

C O P Y C A T S These are the famous fraternal twins from our "Boo" Series: Suboo girl, top, and Toobu boy, bottom. We charge a nominal $5 a foot to look at them. Although there are only three legs showing, they do have the standard eight legs between them. Stay tuned for release of our Boo II Series, featuring Muboo and Foobu.

2009-02-22T10:34:00.000-08:00

DO CATS KNOW THE MEANING OF 'RESPECT'?

Yes and no. The photo illustrates Dolby girl in the "no" mode. The statue of this village god in South India makes a perfect vantage point. There is no reason to think he would not appreciate a cat headdress. He seems a bit surprise to suddenly find a cat on his head, but that's only natural. This form of god is found on the outskirts of villages in small wayside shrines, often without the cat hat. Our cook put the pottu on his forehead and the eyeballs one day when we were out. I retaliated by adding the gold ornaments from candy wrappers, which the cats subsequently redesigned. Dolby, by the way, is mentioned in a previous post as the cat who was spayed inadequately. She went in four days ago for a second operation by another vet ... who found that the first had not only left in the one ovary he first admitted to forgetting, then later denied, but both! And still had the gall to charge for the operation! Incredible INDIA!

THAT'S A RAP!

2009-02-17T19:27:00.000-08:00

INSTEAD OF HANDCUFFS, Dolby girl innovates the footcuffs, cleverly using her tail in a wrap that conserves heat in the traditional belly-up pose. Same-color, all-white, and black cats shouldn't waste their time with this, from a graphics standpoint. Dolby has real fashion sense.

WHAT BRAND OF STARCH DO YOU USE?

2009-02-17T12:56:00.000-08:00

GYPSY is a sweetheart with a tiny birdlike meow, a scaredy cat who picks fights with anyone who looks a little too long at her. People can stare at her as long as they like. She was found standing over the body of her white sibling on a garbage pile on a Cochin back street, staring off into the distance, wondering what to do. An easy pick-up, whisked off into a cushy future ... but what to do about the scaredy side? Now she has a time-out guestroom where she can chill when needed ... and her "opponents" can alternatively be parked for variety. Note her remarkable ability to sleep with her tail up. Can you do that?

2009-02-17T11:15:00.000-08:00

Who is this charming couple? Tuboo and Soobu (bro and sister) have a lot to say about loving. (They are shown tiny at the chronological beginning page of this blog.) When they first emerge from our cat nursery and were ready to join our greater cat world, they still retained an enormous attachment for one another's heads, arranging them in an endless varied of positions. Even though they have grown into the adult cats' ability to be easily distracted, when they encounter one another again at night on the main sofa, they slip easily back into their heads-cuddling enjoyment of sleeping close.

2009-02-17T10:43:00.000-08:00

TUBOO & SOOBU are two fine heads in love, pictured when they were tiny at the beginning of this blog (click on "Older Posts" at bottom of page). This photo shows just one of thousands of positions they sleep in to show they care. (Tuboo is the boy, below.) Soobu usually instigates the love fest on the sofa at night, and can be fairly insistent. It's "Cuddle or else," but Tuboo likes the hairy pillow effect, too. Tuboo is part Borzoi, which readers may find hard to believe, as this photo does not show up his pedigree as much as the hundreds I've taken of him, but eventually we'll post irrefutable proof of his Asian canine connection.

CAT ROLE MODELING

2009-02-09T11:45:00.000-08:00

Dolby, The Feline Amplifier (top, girl), and Uppali, Everyone's Role Model, are caught here in typical poses. Dolby, by following Uppali's every move, learned how to door-knob hang and thereby attract a lot of human attention as an escapist. Her even louder meows at breeding time, which seems about every other weekend, were not dampened by spaying as the vet, chief surgeon at the local gov vet hospital, left in one ovary. He first said he did it so there would not be "a sudden drop" in hormones, and that gradually she would stop coming into heat. Four heats later, he denied leaving it in at all when asked "What next?" She is still a Screaming Mimi in desperate need (ours) of a better pet vet. Meanwhile she has met over the Interscreen on the window "monitors" a lot of cute guys.

The search goes on for a vet that might be able to find the component that is causing us to lose sleep and want to park her in the oven when she's in season. (UPDATE: Dr. Sunil Kumar, who operates on elephants and cats, unzipped her and showed me that TWO ovaries were left in her. Unless she had three ovaries to start with, Dr. Giggins, her original spayologist, was being modest about saying he "intentionally" left one in there.)

In contrast to Dolby, with or without ovaries, Uppali boy only emits a small sound used sparingly to encourage us to take him for a walk to eat grass, which every day he delicately throws up in a slime on the living room floor. He is known variously as St. Uppali, Mr. Mischief, and Oopser (the later a reference to errors he makes in repeatedly trying to open locked doors and sliding off in disarray). This silver tabby, a U.S. citizen and former resident of the Santa Isabel Indian Reservation in California, has never met a human he didn't like to rub up against, although sadly not all humans reciprocate.

HOW NOT TO CATCH A KITTEN

2009-02-05T10:35:00.000-08:00

The tiny orange kitten was terribly thin and trying to scrape a flattened old frog off the road. We pulled over and I got out, moving behind the little one who was desperately pulling at a small piece of the dessicated frog. I grabbed it and as I lifted it up ... eeee-yeow!!! It bit me deeply and I reflexively shook it off. The baby bounded into the roadside shrubbery, where I tried to locate it, knowing all the time it would be impossible to find. Not a bright move on my part. This would have been a case for a blanket pick-up, but I acted too hastily. As a result, I had to go get a rabies series of shots, which wound up bungled by a trip to Sri Lanka before they were over. Thought I could continue the series there, but no hospital had the same brand of medicine. Doctors thought it would be okay that the next shot was a few days late, so when I returned to India I continued the shots. Felt at least the experience resulted in my being more protected for future rescues, but I'll never forget the desperation of that kitten as it dug futilely at the sun-dried remnants of that much run-over frog.

KITTENS TOP 13 FAVORITE TOYS

2009-02-05T09:37:00.000-08:00

1. The tiny containers homeopathic medicines come in. Be sure to have a few pills inside for their "rattle."
2. Water bottle tops, preferably blue.
3. Sprung springs.
4. Pen caps.
5. Small manuscript clasps in colors.
6. Gold and silver candy wrappers; cellophane candy wrappers.
7. Small pencil.
8. Small Christmas ornament or marble.
9. Boot.
10. A cardboard box. FAVORITE PLAYTHING OF ALL!
11. Long green bean.
12. Ping pong ball.
13. Roll of paper towels or toilet paper (not cost effective).

Soobu and Tuboo (about 7 weeks old)

2009-02-04T01:52:00.000-08:00

This is Soobu and Tuboo, sister and brother, found one following behind the other, happily scampering down a busy roadside in Cochin, Kerala, where the life expectancy for six-weeks' old kittens is zero. They were optimistically following a man who was oblivious of them but was swinging a package in his hand they must have thought was fish or some fun food. We passed the clueless trio, summed up the situation and made a U-turn, hoping they'd still be on track. Our driver rushed out of the car and caught each (of the cats) in turn from behind, a proven kitty-snatching technique that guarantees they'll be living off the fat of the land in no time. After the compulsory couple of weeks in our bedroom-kitten nursery, they joined their new six step-siblings.

LIVING WITH NATURAL KITTY LITTER

2009-02-02T09:42:00.000-08:00

Here in the Third World, we don't have access to fancy-shmancy cat supplements, artificial cat play environments, self-flushing litter, or any of the wonders consumer society cats enjoy. So we use natural cat litter in the form of wood shavings. This can be mixed with sawdust, too, but we find sawdust-only too smelly and soggy when wet. We cat caretakers think a lot about what our dears urinate and defecate on. That's one way we are different from other people. Here in India we don't yet demand imported cat litter, and there are no domestic litter manufacturers because hardly three people keep indoor cats and hardly five have ever heard of the concept of trying to keep a cat safe. Cats are supposed to die young, as in "Only the good die young." If that is true, then I want only bad cats (as though there could be such a thing)! Soil is impossibly messy but what works for us are these wood shavings, which come in various grades, according to the mill. Our local sawmills love to sell this useless (here) by-product of illegally cut giant trees to obviously mentally challenged people like us. At 20 cents (figuring in U.S. dollars) for a waist-high bag, we're happy. Now we can buy two grades: fine powder and short curly shavings which we once used to top-off the powder. We changed to all-shavings, and change it every three days. No odor problem because we remove and flush the solids daily with a long handled kitchen implement used to fry vegetables (no longer). However, some people who have too few or too-small pans for the number of cats they have, or who do not have adequate natural ventilation in their homes, or whose lives require them to spend time within a foot or so of the litter box will notice a NATURAL whiff of urine now and then, UNLESS they have discovered the wonder chemical VINEGAR. We use artificial vinegar to save money. IT IS AS GOOD AS ANY FANCY, EXPENSIVE CAT ODOR ELIMINATOR! We use it full strength in a spray bottle, although you might experiment with dilutions. You can spray it on top of the litter, and it will eliminate odors. Maybe eight squirts will be enough. If you put it under a fan, it will dry quicker, but the instant it touches the wet litter, the neutralizing takes effect. And, if you have a spraying cat, no matter what it sprays on, from beds to doors, vinegar will neutralize it like magic. Doesn't destroy cloth and completely removes the smell instantly. Another tip: a shallow plastic tray, EMPTY, is very attractive to some of our cats. They won't leave droppings in it, but some will urinate in it, and what a litter-saver that is! Just flush it away and rinse clean.