StrangeRanger

Closing in on the end...

...of summer.  It's a busy time at Chez-Ranger.  I'm gearing up for the start of school (tomorrow)(eek!), LadyRanger copes with her work, and the cats wonder what it's all about.  I think they know summer's end approaches.  Maddie has spent some quality time in the sunlight:

Perhaps she's storing up sun-memories for use during the winter months.  She does like those months too, though.  We don't get lots of snow, but when we do, we put her in her harness and take her for exploratory walks, which she seems to enjoy.  She is, after all, a maine Coon bred to such conditions.

Of course, when Maddie is not in the sun, she spends time napping cutely on the bed:

Ivy has been relaxing, mostly.  She seems to be in good condition for a cat of her age and with her issues.  She's been very good about taking her thyroid meds.  Of course, I mash the pill into a treat, so I don't see how she could take issue with it.  She's still drinking gallons of wter a day, so I don't think her kidneys are magically repairing themselve, but she's not drinking more than usual, so she seems to be holding fast.  And whatever she goes though, it doesn't hamper her ability to rival (or surpass) Maddie in the realm of cute naps:

 

Carnival of the Cats #178

Okay, one thing I'd like to ask before we get everything underway...when you are done oooo-ing and ahhh-ing over our wonderful collection of Web-Based Feline Wonderfullness, you might want to check out This Post about a true Carnival of the Cats:  The Moscow Cats Theatre.  When you're done with these, of course!

Well, here we are again!  One big, happy, blogging, feline family.  Welcome to StrangeRanger.  The residents cats are delighted to have you back!  All right, Maddie, Ivy, are you ready to present the Carnival?!

Um, girls, are you awake?

Maddie?

Ivy??

Oh well, it looks like I'm on my own.  At least they are napping peacefully in the same vicinity.  Maybe there's hope... Let's get this Carnival started!

At least one cat at Howling Hill waits patiently for spaghetti and yummy veggies, and one cat at Elisson's (Hooray Ha!) avoids the crowd at the food bowl.  Ivy and Maddie raid each others bowls.  They  never share.

Heather may not realize it, but Minga is helping.  Minga is supervising.

Biscuit helps sort out the dresser drawer.

Surfer Sam presents Bingo and bad cat jokes.

Over at the Poor Mouth, Robyn and Bebe intermingle.

Menstrual Poetry discusses the aftermath of getting fixed.  We hope Devin has an easier time of it from now on.

Jax finds camoflague and a nap in the Texas oasis.

The Scratching Post's maximum leader is caught with catnip and is left holding the bag!  Great video!

Anastasia celebrates her gotchaversary with the rest of her Crazy Meezer family.  Many Happy Returns of the Day, 'Stasia!

Manx News presents a Tuxedo Multiple-Cat Test.  There are NO wrong answers!

A very proper, polite, and welcoming cat is Miss Caitie. 

Enrevanche's Mister Gato changes levels and delights his humans.

Rahel presents us with an embarrassment of riches; two pictures and three cats.

Tummies are shown and Intruders are investigated in the realm of Composite Drawings.  I love the pics of the investigating cats.  Loads of personality.

We won't have to work hard to Chase Grace.  She doesn't look like she's going anywhere.

Don't let him fool you:  Coby's Chi is imperturbable.

Dolphin's Dock shows us The Three Whiskateers.  En Garde!

The Divine Miss Marilyn comes out of hiding and gets on Leslie's Omnibus.

Ignore the title of the post!  There is NEVER Too Much Kitten Cuteness.  Ever.

Perfectly Parker is perfectly pretty, even if she is wordless.

Dinah and the Mites seem to have a full house.  Lots of fun learning to use the feetsies.

Wish I'd had KC around when I set up the new computer.  I could have used the help!

Kat's Cat of the Day presents Inky.  Chez-Ranger hopes Inky gets a forever home soon.

More wordlessness from the whole crew at Momma Grace and Company.

The PooBox Clan House of Mischief has much news, including the amazing Merlin Kitchen on Mars!  And Maddie offers symapthies on Merlins plight.  Maddie, too, is the size of a small mountain lion. 

Rafe recovers, but still thinks No Deep Thoughts.

Not quite to the point Howard Cosell should call it, but Bonnie and Victor have a difference of opinion.  Maddie and Ivy haven't gotten this physical in a while, thank goodness.

Life From a Cat's Perspective is sometimes wordless. 

Sissy Willis shows us Baby Cakes exhibiting that most typical of cat beliefs:  In a cat's eyes, all things belong to cats.

Peach Man is happy that his Momma came home!

House of Chaos presents some well-ordered thoughts on cats and their capacity for love.  We wish Zorro a speedy recovery, and commend Hrimnir for his tender attention to the ol' grouch.

It's portrait day, and Pet's Garden Blog has plenty.

RambleStrip gets into the act with homegrown Lolcats! 

Well, that about wraps it up for this edition of the Carnival.  As always, thanks to Laurence, the GodFather of Cat-blogging, for letting us host. 

If I've missed anyone or messed anything up, charge it to my head and not my heart.  Let me know and I'll get it fixed.  I'm going to join my two girls on the couch for a nap now... Thanks for visiting! 

 

Moscow Cats Theatre

Okay, just when I think I've become immune to the wonders of Cat-dom, something shows up to amaze me further...The Moscow Cats Theatre!  Here are a couple of Youtube clips:

And here's one from a local news feed, I think.  You can see the cats up close.  The paw-stand at the end is amazing!

Now, I have to confess to some mixed feelings here...My first thought upon seeing this for the first time was "Oh.  My.  God.  How do they get the cats to do that?!?"  I worried about draconian training methods.  But then I looked closely at the cats as they performed and as they interacted with Yuri.  They certainly don't show any signs of fear or apprehension, or even the hyper-alert mode that cats go into in uncertain situations.  They are clean and well fed.  According to most reviews I've read, the show travels with a vet.  The thing that comforted me most was the tail-up attitude on some of the performing cats.  I don't see that on Maddie or Ivy unless they are happy with life.

Now, I don't know much about this organization.  If you find that they mistreat cats, share the info with me and I'll take this down. So far though, I'm willing to give them the benefit of the doubt and be astounded by the ability of our feline masters to train their humans.      

We're Boring!

It's a boring day at Chez-Ranger.  The humans are busy and tired and boring, so Maddie is forced to desperate measures to find entertainment:

If I can crawl in here and hide, it'll be a new World Record!

And Ivy just naps through it all.

Idle Cat Post

I'm feeling more idle than usual, so not many words today.  I know you'll forgive me, 'cause I present Cat Pictures!

Maddie still has sun-puddle dominance, and she relishes it.

Ivy, on the other paw, seems to be in complete control of the new (slightly clawed) carpet in the dinning room.

Of course, Ivy has not forsaken her favorite nap-spot, nor her legs-up nap posture:

I think I'll follow Ivy's lead and let you guys take care of the Internet for us. 

zzzzzzzzzzzz

It's not supposed to do that. Really.

First of all, I want to offer my sympathies to those who were hurt, or who lost family or friends in the bridge collapse in Minneapolis.  It is a terrible event and we should be working diligently to prevent a recurrance in another location.

I find this sort of stuctural failure tragic in terms of human costs, but I also find them very interesting from a physical, intellectual standpoint.  I'm *not* an engineer.  So very not an engineer that it's hard to express just how not an engineer I am.  Still.  Who hasn't looked at a mass of concrete and steel and figured that it would be around, impervious and immovable, for ages.    Uneducated people like myself must think that with (insert massive structure's name here) man has finally conquered nature.  We fail to understand 1)the tiny forces that wear and tear a structure every day, magnified by hundreds of thousands of repetitions every week and 2)the immense forces that nature can bring to bear and how they are magnified by questionable design choices. 

This video is of the collapse of the Tacoma Narrows Bridge in 1940 and, I think, illustrates my second point.  Believe me, the actual collapse is the least spectacular part of the footage.  Steel, concrete and asphalt are *not* supposed to do that.  At least, not to that extent...  (and don't worry, there are no human casualties so the gruesomeness factor is avoided)(but pity the poor unseen dog)...

For reasons that should be obvious, this bridge earned the nickname "Galloping Gertie".   

Again, my heart goes out to the suffering in Minneapolis.  I hope folks get their heads around this disaster and get their local politicians in gear so that the rest of our infrastructure can be properly maintained.