My Yoga

I'm settling into something of a routine with the blog these days. After a long day, I unwind with a short post. Tonight, I've been inspired by my friend Milo to share some of my famous moves.

This evening I want to write about my favorite yoga positions. Now, I'm no yoga expert, but I've been told that several of my favorite body moves are in fact taught in yoga classes. I also am sure that I've mastered many of them in ways that people would never do.

This is what I like to call the "Dead Opossom" pose. It's my warm-up move.And here is "The Ostrich" (get it--burying the head in the sand??). I use this one when I want to stretch my obliques.
This is "Twister," where I get my legs all scrambled up. In this photo, I'm just starting to move into position.
Finally, this is "Sea Otter." It's a little hard to see, but if you click on the image you'll get a better view. In this move, I channel my furry marine friends to lay on my back for as long as I can. Sometimes I also groom my chest hair while in this position, to make it even more authentic.
I think that my yoga has helped keep me agile, especially for the rousing games of Chase that Other Cat and I have. I am also keeping that middle-age weight at bay. Still, I welcome suggestions for new moves.

Brrrr

It was quite chilly here today, so I found myself curled up in a chair all day. Here you can see how I had to tuck my paws in to keep them warm.
Later, I even had to tuck my head in too.I'm considering sleeping with my people tonight, if they'll let me under the sheets.

Pawdicure

Damn! I was in the midst of a deep sleep when I started dreaming that someone was tapping my toes. I thought I was in some cat trap where my toenails got stuck in some nappy fabric or something. Then I started coming out of that fuzzy sleep feeling and realized that Main Person was cutting my claws! She got all 4 paws before I could swat her away. I heard her tell Second Person that she got Other Cat and Third Cat too. This calls for concerted action.

People.

We've had a house full of people here the last few days. My two people, plus the two people from that other place we visit sometimes (the place with the great screened-in porch). I was a fairly gracious host, showing them my Cat Dancer skills and my running speeds. I think they were impressed. This morning I also pulled a fast one on everyone when I knocked a 20-pound book off of Second Person's dresser to get him out of bed. It was really loud (like a transformer blowing or something) and woke up everyone in the place. He he he.

After all of the people around here, I'm ready for a long rest today. I may post more later, if I get up.

Cat days of summer drawing to a close

Main Person and Second Person have both been spending more time at their computers and more time outside of the condo. I think the end of summer is looming. Back to long days with only Other Cat (and maybe Third Cat) to entertain me, without ear scratches or back massages in the afternoons. Hmph.

We haven't had a lot of news here, but I will try to report on the few mundane things that have occurred. Yesterday morning, we all noticed that Other Cat had been hoarding his milk ring things, and he collected them near the dining table. Look at this:Last night, Other Cat and I felt kind of chilly, so we slept together for a long time in the papasan chair. Usually I don't like sleeping with O.C. during the summer, but he was giving me a really nice bath.

Today, Main Person has been cooking--weird. I don't know what's going on with that. But it doesn't smell like anything I want. Anyway, I think that the cooking might have something to do with the fact that she said that Chloe and Sasha's people are coming. But not Chloe and Sasha--thank Buddha!

For those of you who don't know, here are Chloe and Sasha, who--in my opinion--are so small that they barely count as cats. Again, I repeat, they are not coming to my condo.

Dopplegangers!

So, I'm surfing around, trying to expand my cat-o-sphere knowledge, and I come across this blog by another Siamese and his/her partner who both look uncannily similar to me and Other Cat! Check this out: http://chatcatchats.blogspot.com/

I think I might drop them a line.

This is disturbing

I have never understood the fascination that some humans have with decorating cats with things. And now I find a human-run website that is filled with photos of cats being tortured by human objects: http://stuffonmycat.com/

Just look at the indignity that this poor Siamese is facing on the 8/21 post. I am considering contacting P.E.T.A. about this.

Cats with Distinction

Main Person just told me that I'm lazy. Why? Because it's 2pm and I'm still in bed. Sometimes a cat just has to sleep in.

But now that I'm up, it's time for a post (which I'm writing in bed). I thought I'd share with all the new blog readers a little bit more about me and The Gang. Obviously, all of us felines have our unique qualities. For our friend Milo, it's his voluminous meow and freakishly powerful strength. So, what makes us, here in Cat Condo Central, unique? Well, here are some pieces of trivia that you may not have known.

Here is a photo that Main Person (M.P.) took of me just a few minutes ago, before telling me to get out of bed. What do you notice?

Yep, I have a very unique tail. M.P.'s mother calls it "special," and I think she's right. See, most tails are long and fairly straight, though they may curl around when we wave them. Not mine. It is about 4-5 inches long with a knot on the end. What most People don't know (but most cats do) is that this is a special trait of Siamese cats. My ancestors were actually guard cats for the royal family in Thailand. They used to let the royal people keep rings on their tails and tie a knot at the end so the ring would stay on. That was a long time ago, but after so many of us had our tails tied, the knot just sort of stuck around. Now, you may be thinking that you've never seen a Siamese with a knot in his or her tail. That's because The Breeders didn't like them (they have a very odd aesthetic) so they only bred cats with no knot or kink in their tails. But a few of us have survived. And, in fact, my tail is really important because it shows that I have a direct genetic line to the Royal Cats of Thailand.


Third Cat also has a special feature. For her, it's all in the paw. When she started living with Second Person last summer, he thought her paws were just like every other cat's. But one day, he and M.P. were giving her a pedicure and they noticed something odd when they got to her back-right paw: only three claws to trim! Then they noticed that she only has three toes. So, now her nickname is The Three-Toed Cat.


You can see here, her back-right paw (top photo) and her back-left paw (bottom photo). She hasn't told us yet how it happened, although we all suspect it represents a dark period of her life, so we try not to push the subject. And we tell her that, like my tail, her back-right paw is cool.


OK, last and final cat of the fearless tirumvirate: Other Cat. His most unique quality is his voice, which I cannot share on this blog yet (we're still a little technologically challenged here). But it is pretty high, not very befitting of a cat of his age. (Plus, it totally allows him to get away with all sorts of hijinks with M.P., who somehow associates his voice with kittens...hmph.) There's also his udder. Yes, u-d-d-e-r. Like a cow. Which is funny because he kind of looks like one anyway. It is long and the best bit is how it jiggles (well, maybe it's more of a sway) back and forth when he runs down the hall. Weird, because he's a little scrawny other than that udder. Still, this is one of his features which (although he's trying) is unlikely to disappear, so we love it. I can't get a photo of it today (you can kind of see it in his big-tail photo in the post below), so instead I'll show you the scar that he is currently sporting above his right eye. I think Third Cat may be responsible for it.

Fellow readers, what other unique marks do you have? You can even leave your comment anonymous, if you don't want anyone to know about it.

The weekend in pictures

We had a pretty typical weekend around here. The big excitement yesterday was when Other Cat tried to enter Third Cat's no-cat zone. Check this out:I supervised.

Later in the day, Other Cat wowed us with his big-tail trick.On Sunday morning, we watched Meet the Press. Yawn. Other Cat played Fetch forever this evening. It made me dizzy just watching. Other than that, I've been trying to catch up on some reading. Second Person (think I'll just call him "S.P." from now on) loaned me a book because I've been wanting to know more about this stuff in the Middle East.

We've been wondering about our friend Milo. Main person said he had read the blog and liked it. Milo, tell us what you want us to blog about. We take suggestions from all cat, dog, and human friends too.

uh...seriously?!

OK, I may not be a political whiz, but isn't this a little over the top? HellO!

Sen. Orrin Hatch, who continuously decries the bitter partisanship in Washington, implied this week that Democratic success in November's election could result in terrorist attacks on America.
Hatch was quoted in Tuesday's Tooele Transcript Bulletin as saying Middle East terrorists are "waiting for the Democrats here to take control, let things cool off and then strike again."

Even someone with a brain the size of a walnut can see through this, Hatch!

Thanks to the Daily Kos for the tip off. Now, if only this would make it to any old local newspaper.

All Fired Up!

Got up early this morning, managing to get Second Person out of bed for some breakfast. After a short nap back in bed, the games began. Other Cat, as you can see here, managed to locate one of those milk rings somewhere. As usual, he pretty much monopolized it, but I did get a few turns at it. After some serious exercise, I was exhausted.

We did watch more of those loud planes on the deck this afternoon. The People didn't notice that some bugs got into the place, and this gave me plenty of opportunity to hone my fly-hunting skills. Other Cat used to out-jump me with some pretty tricky maneuvers, but I think I held my own today. Together, we managed to search and destroy.

After about two bites of food for dinner, I got some kind of weird adrenaline rush. I don't know if it was from the food or what, but I couldn't stop running around. Wow. Third Cat watched from the side, while the Other Cat and I created a chase-track that involved the couch, the table, and the hallway. Now, I'm just trying to catch my breath and updating the blog.

We still haven't been able to get Third Cat to join us in our antics. Whenever we chase her, she just runs away instead of chasing us back. Any ideas? Sigh.

Laundry Day

Today was laundry day for the sheets! With this new bed that the People got, it's even more fun. It seems to take Main Person longer to get the sheets actually tucked in, so there's more chance for getting under them. She got a bit mad today when I wouldn't get out of there, but it's worth it. I had a good run around the condo afterwards. Felt like a real champion.

In other news, it's been pretty hard to sleep today because of the loud plane noises. Apparently, there is some show in town where planes fly around all day, and today was the practice day. The People seemed pretty intrigued by it, but Other Cat and I were fairly annoyed. Those planes were really loud.

I also updated my links for my blog. I plan to keep adding to this, but for now, I've got some of my favorites. Still waiting for comments and suggestions. Is anybody out there?

Whew!

Played a long round of Cat Dancer tonight with Other Cat and Main Person. I'm exhausted! Will sleep well tonight...

Can't stop blogging

We've had a very busy day so far, as you can see.

My first post

Hi. My name is Yuri, and I've decided to start a blog...or, a Cata-blog!

Here, I will share my daily adventures (well, maybe not every day). Let me give you a little background.

I'm a Turkish Siamese Cat. Not Turkish-Siamese, but Turkish and Siamese. Now, I live in Chicago. I share a 3rd floor condo with two other cats and two people.


The Other Cat started living with me awhile ago. I didn't used to like him, but we've reached an agreement. He knows who's boss.









The Third Cat started living with me more recently. She's OK but, between you and me, something's not quite right about her. Other Cat and I are trying to tolerate her and show her the ropes, but she's kind of a slow learner.





Then there are the people. My Main Person is fantastic. I've known her my whole life--or at least as long as I can remember--and she understands me. My Second Person is good too. He understands how sometimes my brain feels like popcorn and I just have to lash out at people or cats. He says he has the same thing. Both my people take pretty good care of me, so I can't really complain (although I sometimes do.)

So, what do I do? Well, when I'm not writing on my blog, I like to eat, play soccer, watch TV, and do yoga.