Breaking Cat News by Georgia Dunn for December 23, 2022

Oh my Cat, I cannot wait to see the backyard cam report! Does this herald more regular appearances of the Woodland Folk?

I’m hoping Thimblefist will show up and do some songs from my favorite Shoutmunks’ rock and roll Christmas album Shoutpunk! Yule This!!

I assume Bert is going to hack into the feed for BCN use.

O.T.

To all who are affected by this winter storm— hugs and strong good vibes going out your way. Please try to stay warm and safe!

Spying on the birds!

And the guardians and their ladies, although the wind is east, Have come in their furs and wrappers to watch their charges feast; To smile and be condescending, putting on pauper plates. To be hosts at the workhouse banquet they’ve paid for — with the rates.

(G. R. Sims)

Bert sees his own gift. And Tommy, dear fellow, you will have to remember not to wander back to your old place after you move in.

Holy Paul Dinning, Batman!

We have security cameras around our acreage and a couple of trail cams because no matter how good the security cams are, they haven’t got much reach. Deer, fox, coyote, voles, moles, chipmunks, squirrels, the crows keep trying to take them, no kitties! We have an occasional kitty, but never on the cameras.

I love the reminder that Tommy will be living here soon. I can’t wait to have him visit inside more. I’m also glad he’s bundled up. My cat is also an indoor outdoor cat and i’m not letting him outside any time soon, but still gave him my dog’s old shirt to make sure he stays warm.

Now Elvis will know the birds’ business!

Finn, our formerly outdoor cat, has not even wanted to go out on the screen porch the last few days. He sits in a window and stares out. I wonder what he is thinking when the snow is blowing and the wind is howling…hope it’s ‘thank goodness I’m inside with warmth and lovely food!’ We are happy to have him inside; he’s a solid warm lap full of cat and getting better at ‘no claws, no teeth’ when playing.

That is a nice thing for the birds. I hope the squirrels don’t decimate it.

I put out seed for birds and squirrels, wild turkeys but the starlings keep eating the feral cats kibble. have to refill the dish several times a day. GRRRR.

Sounds like Burt is excited about the live, outdoor, feed!

Meanwhile, Back on the Nile

Alice-Ata: And that concludes our cheesetaking seminar. Good luck and good cheese.

Violet-Ifa: Now we’re all out of cheese. Any suggestions about what we should do?

Agnes-Ata: Let’s check our sources and see if there is any cheese available.

Ta-Natash: I think we’ll have to wait until after the Yule Holiday.

A whole lot of cat friends: Think again!

Cat friends: We have cheese for the taking! Eating cooking, and even baking! Whatever you want to do! We have cheese for you!

Puckmosis: Everything is better with bacon and cheddar!

Beatrixia: Gouda makes everything good!

Elvis-Anum: Cream cheese is the cream of the crop!

Thomios: You name, we have cheese for it!

Lupinium: Have an adventure!

Elvis-Anum: We have enough cheese to please a Siamese!

Agnes-Ata: This is wonderful, but how did you get all this cheese?

All: We’ll never tell!

TOMMY!!!

Looking nice and toasty in the hat/scarf/mittens for his outdoor report! :-)

We have a camera on the porch of the cat shelter and another one on the hot tub where The Gentlemen, Tux and Julius, like to hang out. Since we set it up, we’ve seen not just the feral cats, but raccoons, birds, skunks, possums, and occasionally (and frighteningly) a coyote.

And if anyone has ideas about how to keep the raccoons and birds from stealing the cat food, I’d love to hear it. (I don’t mind feeding the skunks and possums.)

Burt would be particularly interested in live-feed, outdoor camera.

It’s nice to see the tree all set up for the wildlife. The camera is a nice touch.

I should get one of those cameras. I see jackrabbit tracks in the snow outside my front windows all winter, but never seem to catch a glimpse of the beasties that make them.

COOL, nature camera

OT: Your present – Part II

A Christmas story for the guys from BBC Sounds. (I think non UK users can get it.) The Mousehole Cat. It’s a village in Cornwall. https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/b018j6s3

What a treat!!! there’s gonna be dancin’ tonight!!!

Live ‘feed’ in more ways than one.

Off-Topic

It’s a bit early, but during the holiday season, most of us get busy with family and feasting and all the preparations needed for those activities, so I thought I should post this now. I try to show through out the year how I feel about my family and friends – which includes all of you, both near and far, including those I’ve never met out in that odd thing we call the “real world”, but if I haven’t taken time to say it out loud, I love and cherish you all. May all of your holiday celebrations (no matter if you celebrate Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, or something else) be filled with love, fellowship, and joy. May your new year bring you new joys, renewed laughter, and new wisdom. May you never feel that you haven’t a friend in the world, because if you do, I’ve done something wrong. Merry Christmas, my friends – I’m glad you’re part of my life!

There is no outside reporter anywhere who’s in Tommy’s class. He can brighten the darkest mood, and likely even could cheer up a certain pessimistic donkey found near the Hundred-Acre Wood.

What a gift from the Man. I’m sure it will capture many interesting incidents in the backyard, as long as the raccoons leave it alone.

My cat just made the cutest Coo-ing sounds and was accepting Tummy Rubs and Area-around-the-neck rubs (She purrs when I do that, as crazy as it might sound) for a solid 10 minutes or so, she is soooo cute!

Off-topic – Interesting note that Arizona’s great wall of cargo containers is coming down. It was supposed to stop illegal immigration. A nature photographer who monitors “nature cameras” in that area told reporters that, before the wall went up, he saw a lot of wildlife crossing the border there but never caught any image of an illegal border crossing. The wall is being removed because federal law requires significant studies before you may even consider impeding the migration and water access of wild animals. The $60 million “stunt” has reached its pointless end.

Who needs a burning fire screensaver when you can watch live birds. Maybe the station will tap into that so the cats can take the day off to play with their Santa toys and the kids’ empty boxes.

Great to see you again, Tommy! Your positivity knows no bounds.

“…your – soon to be our – back yard.”

I conclude that the financing has come through and closing is on the calendar.

I would so love to have Tommy as a neighbor. He’s such a sweetheart. (But living in the city, Tommy would have to stay inside!) I had two favorite dog neighbors that I no longer see. Both dogs were very old and their owners, one a very old woman and the other a very old man, would be out walking them a lot and we would meet on the street or in the park. I’m a cat person, not a dog person, but the dogs were so sweet and the owners were so nice, I just adored them. I think of all the years they were together and how much they meant to each other. I was so grateful for each day I encountered them.

As the nature camera captures…

Tommy!

What is the rectangular thing in the Woman’s hand?

Does tommy always have a pink nose or just when outside in the snow?

While the sentiment may be nice, the reality is the tree will probably go to waste. It takes time to attract and keep birds coming back to feed at a certain location, especially a suburban location.

Could come in handy in case of animal misbehavior.

I swear to Cat that before the Hippopotamus song was mentioned here in this strip, I had never heard of it. Well, again today, while I was in the grocery store, it came on the PA. That’s twice in three days! Maybe it’s a sign from the universe!?

A live feed of the live feed.

I will update all the stuff that’s been happening since we lost internet access the second week in November when it gets warmer and I can type without getting frostbite. Now I’m going to go hide under the electric blanket again.

Game cameras are great things to have. And you don’t have to be a hunter to want to get one. We’ve used one to catch wildlife in our yard. Best if it’s also nocturnal.

wait… is that the tree they planted a while back?!

Folks in Alaska caught video of a moose shedding his antlers on their security camera.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPpmqW6LfGk