Shrimp and Grits

It’s hard to believe that our fifteen-pounder - the same cat who gave us a glimpse of Cat Heaven - was once a tiny kitten. But here she is:

Ash - the Lap Cat

She’s still a lap cat - only now she takes up the whole lap.

This is a rare sight in our house - our two girls sharing the same chair.

Rusty and Ash: Two peas in a pod

Of course, the girls scattered just after I took the picture.

The humans …

… and the felines …

… here at the Shrimp and Grits blog would like to wish y’all a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

Humans like the Christmas season for various reasons. For adults, there’s reuinions with family and friends. For kids, it’s toys, festive lights, snow, and a break from school.

For cats, it’s a tree. The tree is a place to play, where humans have attached the most wonderful cat toys.

And underneath the tree? A wonderful place to lay.

Tom relaxes under the tree

Merry Catmas from the shrimpandgrits family cats: Tom, Ash, and Rusty!

Thanksgiving hsa come and gone. Only the leftovers remain. In today’s Friday Cat, Ash gives us her opinion of Thanksgiving leftovers.

Arrgh! Leftovers AGAIN! [Click to enlarge]

It’s Thanksgiving again. The holiday that society forgot, what with it being sandwiched in between Halloween and Christmas. You don’t see any Thanksgiving displays in yards - or in stores that don’t sell groceries, for that matter.

Cats don’t go much for Thanksgiving. Too many people, too many strange smells. But some cats do go for the Thanksgiving table decorations!

But there’s one place where absolutely nobody forgets Thanksgiving: college. Students are so enthused about Thanksgiving that they start to pour out of their classes on Monday … or the Friday before! In previous years, the college has cancelled classes on the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. This was presumably done so we don’t have to teach about a third of the students in each Wednesday class and then re-teach the stuff to the other two thirds of the class the following week.

This year, though, the college forgot to cancel classes for students the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. This includes classes on Wednesday night, too.

Whoops!

But anyway, Happy Thanksgiving!

I think the cats have realized, since our new baby arrived, that acting all cute and baby-like will get them more attention. I’ll let Rusty illustrate:

Rusty: I’m the baby! Me!

Since the new baby arrived, we’ve had family in the house quite a lot. The cats don’t seem to regard the baby as an outsider (though they will scramble if she starts to cry). However - the presence of all those extra people in the house is, perhaps, more than feline dignity can bear.

Rusty and Ash staged a sit-in strike in the laundry room to protest the presence of all the extra people in the house.

They may take our kitchen, but they’ll never take … OUR LITTER!

What better way to celebrate Friday the 13^th than with our black cat?

Tom has taken to sleeping on the small couch out on the sun porch.

Tom: Have you opened another can of Fancy Feast? If not, then do not disturb my slumber.

Ash: Well, ya see, sir I understand you’re lookin’ for sparrin’ partners for Apollo, and I jus’ want ta let ya know that I am very available.