Today we join Athena's Caturday Art blog hop with this offering to carry us into 2017:
This card was created with Adobe Stock images and, of course, the Real Cats. Many thanks to Marie for hosting this blog hop. It is one of the most fun things we started doing in 2016, and we look forward to participating in the new year!
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A note about The Cuddlywumps Chronicles
This blog is written and maintained by Miss Cuddlywumps, a fluffy-tailed calico cat who is both classically educated and familiar with mysteries. She receives creative input from the Real Cats and clerical assistance from She of Little Talent (old SoLT, a.k.a. Roby Sweet). Comments or complaints should be addressed to Miss C rather than to old SoLt (Ms. Sweet). Ms. Sweet accepts no responsibility for Miss C's opinions.
Saturday, December 31, 2016
Friday, December 30, 2016
Words with Webster (Extinction) and Friendly Fill-Ins for December 30
Words with Webster: Extinction
The iconic and majestic cheetah. Now that is a cat. But cheetahs could disappear forever unless humans act to protect them. Photo credit: Zoological Society of London. |
Hello, all. Webster here, coming to you from near the
Christmas tree.
The cat world got some shocking and upsetting news this week
when Panthera revealed a study showing that just 7,100 cheetahs remain in the
wild. The study’s authors want the cheetah’s status to be changed from “Vulnerable”
to “Endangered” on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. The cheetah has
been driven out of 91% of its historic range, the study says. This is a big
problem because cheetahs do not stay in one little place; they get around, and
so they are often not in protected areas. In Zimbabwe, the cheetah population
has plunged from 1,200 to no more than 170 in just 16 years. That means 85% of
Zimbabwe’s cheetahs have been lost in that time.
This is a population headed in the wrong direction.
No more cheetahs means no more cheetah cubs. Photo credit: Zoological Society of London. |
And so, I choose “extinction” as our word for this week. It
means
the act of making extinct or causing to be extinguished : Quenching, Suppression, Extermination, Destruction, Annihilation.
Once a species is extinct, it is gone … forever. The thought
of seeing this happen to a species as iconic as the cheetah is distressing. I
hope the humans out there will work together to find a way to make sure this
does not happen.
Friendly Fill-Ins
And now, on a lighter note, it's time for Friendly Fill-Ins. from 15andmeowing and McGuffy’s Reader. They are a fun way to learn a little bit about the authors of
the blogs you read. The first two questions, answered by old SoLT, are from
Ellen of 15andmeowing, and the next two, answered this week by Real Cat
Paisley, are from Annie of McGuffy’s Reader.
Old SoLT’s answers
1.
The highlight of my Christmas was spending time with my family.
2.
My New Year's resolution is … well, I don’t really do resolutions, but I am in
the process of getting my office more organized and hope to keep it that way
(stop laughing!). I also got myself a new guitar for Christmas and plan to learn
to strum a few songs (again, stop laughing!).
Real Cat Paisley’s answers
3. This year, 2016, was a nice year, except there was too much
politics among the humans. Cats don’t have politics, which is one reason we are
superior. Also, somewhat unfortunately, our family got a new dog.
4. Next year, 2017, I promise to try to get along better with
the dog (and if you believe that, I’ve got some oceanfront property in Arizona
I’m looking to unload on the cheap!).
Thursday, December 29, 2016
Our 12 Pivotal Posts of 2016: The Year in Our Rear-View
A lot has happened this year at The Cuddlywumps Cat
Chronicles. We’ve written 190 posts and counting. We reviewed almost 40 books. We’ve
made a lot of new friends. We had our first giveaway. We started a publishing company… As I said, we did a lot.
Old SoLT wasn’t sure how we could possibly make sense out of
just what happened in 2016, until I suggested we do a quick review to highlight
our best and/or most memorable posts. Then she had to get all cute and change “review”
to “rear-view.” Whatever. We hope you enjoy this brief trip down 2016’s memory
lane.
January
January: Webster went to work. |
Hard to believe now, but in the early days of this blog, old
SoLT did not include the Real Cats much. That changed in 2016, starting with “Webster the Office Cat Goes to Work.”
February
We started doing app reviews this year. The first one was
for an app called Weather Cats. (BTW, if you want a really great cat weather app, try Weather Whiskers.)
March
June: We reviewed this really fun book called Breaking Cat News. |
Toxoplasma gondii
was big in the news in 2016, with click-bait headlines that blamed cats for all
sorts of things. We covered this in “Blaming Cats for Human Aggression.”
April
This year, we got serious about helping senior cats through
adoption and/or sponsorship. Rikki’s Refuge wasn’t the first rescue we posted about, but it is one of our
favorites.
May
We had great fun participating in the Pet Blogger Bloopers
Round-Up in 2016, hosted by the Lazy Pit Bull. One of our favorites was this entry for May, featuring Real Cat Webster. I just love how old SoLT even managed to get her finger in the
shot.
June
August: Webster revealed a new word: pre-furred. |
In 2016 we expanded our book-reviewing range to include
subjects other than mysteries. The result? We got to review some really fun
books like Breaking Cat News.
July
In July, we performed an important public service by offering “10 Cat Names from Greek Myth” to help those humans who can’t come up with a
better cat name than “Kitty.”
August
September: Tortie Troublemaker took on the Masked Avenger. |
September
We joined Athena’s
Caturday Art blog hop in 2016, and we have had a lot of fun creating our own
art and enjoying others’ creations. In September, Tortie Troublemaker made her first appearance.
October
October: Halloween! |
We made more art in October, including this poster for Night of the Living Vacuum.
November
I enjoyed interviewing a few famous cats (and some humans,
too) for my segment Miss Cuddlywumps Converses. One of my favorites was this
chat with Oliver of the Oliver Poons Children’s Company.
December
Is it really December already? Well, one thing that happened
this year is old SoLT and the other humans adopted Layla the dog. Layla even
took over the blog one week for this Sunday Selfie.
And last...
To all of you who have read and commented on our posts and helped make 2016 such a memorable year...
Wednesday, December 28, 2016
Cat of the Week: Maxy in Baltimore
Each week in this space, we feature a senior cat in need of
adoption or sponsorship. Please remember all the older cats in shelters. They
make great companions, and unlike kittens, they (probably) won’t climb the curtains!
Adopt a senior cat, and help him or her enjoy the best years of their life.
Today, we’d like to introduce a handsome orange tabby named Maxy.
Maxy is an 8-year-old male who has been described as a lap cat. He is pretty
laid back overall, but he can be talkative and he enjoys playing with toys. For
the most part though, he enjoys lounging in a comfy bed or watching the bird
action outside the window. Maxy can be easily frightened by loud noises, so he
would prefer to be in a nice, quiet home.
Wouldn’t it be great to give Maxy a new home for the new
year? Learn more about him here.
Can’t adopt? You can still help! Check out Sammy’s Cat Necessities Fund, which provides money for everyday and medical needs of cats at the Baltimore Humane Society. You can also make a general donation or sponsor a particular animal on this page. Every little bit helps!
Tuesday, December 27, 2016
Sunday Selfie: Fishing on Christmas
Today we join the Sunday Selfies blog hop hosted by our friends at The Cat on My Head. (Yes, we know it's actually Tuesday. Just go with it.)
Early reviews on this toy are mixed so far. The Real Cats seemed to enjoy figuring out how to get the treats out of it, but when old SoLT replaced the treats with regular dry cat food, they reacted by looking up at her and basically saying, "What's wrong with you? You're supposed to just give us that, not make us work for it."
The Real Cats also got a wand toy with a "ground iguana," also by Jackson Galaxy (we all have a little crush on Jackson Galaxy right now. Don't tell anyone!) The iguana has been a pretty big hit with Paisley, who has enjoyed chasing it. Webster ... well, Webster likes to watch it go by. We like that the "string" is metallic, so somekitty (Paisley) can't chew through it.
The links on the pictures below are Amazon Associates links. If you purchase the product through the link, old SoLT and I could get a little coin for our kibble account. Thank you!
This is a picture from Christmas Day, showing Real Cats Webster and Paisley checking out their new toy. It's a Go Fish cat toy from Jackson Galaxy. Old SoLT got them this toy to help cut back on the amount of dry food they eat. If they have to fish the food out from between the fishy tails, they will eat slower, eat less ... and maybe the dog will eat less too.
Early reviews on this toy are mixed so far. The Real Cats seemed to enjoy figuring out how to get the treats out of it, but when old SoLT replaced the treats with regular dry cat food, they reacted by looking up at her and basically saying, "What's wrong with you? You're supposed to just give us that, not make us work for it."
The Real Cats also got a wand toy with a "ground iguana," also by Jackson Galaxy (we all have a little crush on Jackson Galaxy right now. Don't tell anyone!) The iguana has been a pretty big hit with Paisley, who has enjoyed chasing it. Webster ... well, Webster likes to watch it go by. We like that the "string" is metallic, so somekitty (Paisley) can't chew through it.
The links on the pictures below are Amazon Associates links. If you purchase the product through the link, old SoLT and I could get a little coin for our kibble account. Thank you!
Monday, December 26, 2016
Book Review: Ruby Wishfingers: Skydancer’s Escape
Today we bring you a short review of a fun story by Deborah
Kelly, illustrated by Leigh Hedstrom. Ruby
Wishfingers: Skydancer’s Escape is the story of a girl and her stuffed toy,
plus (and most importantly from our perspective) there’s a cat.
The girl with itchy fingers
Ruby Wishfingers is a nine-year-old girl who notices one day
that her fingers feel … weird. Itchy. Only her granny will understand, and
indeed, Granny reveals something amazing about Ruby’s
great-great-great-grandfather: He was a magician. A real one, not like your
one weird uncle who pretends to find quarters behind your ear. Anyway, it seems
that Ruby has a gift. She can wish things into reality. This, of course, is a
tremendous responsibility. Ruby could wish for anything. But, being a little
girl, what she wishes is that her stuffed unicorn would become a real unicorn.
And bing, bang, boom! Suddenly there’s an actual pink unicorn in her room.
This, as you can imagine, is a problem. Because you may not
know this, but unicorns eat curtains and such things. Also there is an
inordinate amount of glitter. And they poop … well, let’s not even go there.
Obviously Ruby has to do something to get rid of this unicorn
before her parents realize what has happened. Lots of wishes come true along
the way, one of which is that Granny’s Maine coon cat, Jupiter, becomes able to
speak.
Our verdict
We thought this book was a lot of fun. The cat, Jupiter,
only showed up in the story a couple of times, so don’t expect this to be a cat
story. It is, in its essence, a unicorn story. Our big complaint is that the formatting
on the Kindle edition we read was off, so that there were graphics that did not
display correctly and some text was out of place, making the book hard to read
in places. We imagine this would not be an issue with the print version, and we
think this would be a great read-aloud book, perfect for little girls with
stuffed unicorns.
A note on the "Paws Up" system: Miss C gives
either one or two paws up. One paw is for a good read; two paws is for a great
read. She never gives three or four paws because that would require her to lie
on her back...and Miss C does
not do that!
We received a free copy of this book in exchange for a
fair and honest review. We wouldn’t tell you it was good unless we really liked
it!
The link below is an Amazon Associates link. If you
purchase the book through this link, old SoLT and I could get some coin for our
kibble account.
Saturday, December 24, 2016
Caturday Art: The Real Cats Ride with Santa
This Christmas Eve, we join Athena's Caturday Art blog hop with the following scene:
This scene was created with stock images from Adobe Stock, and of course, with the Real Cats.
This scene was created with stock images from Adobe Stock, and of course, with the Real Cats.
Friday, December 23, 2016
Words with Webster and Friendly Fill-Ins for December 23
Words with Webster: Kringle Kitty Kup
Hello, all. Real Cat Webster here, and on this special
holiday edition of Words with Me, I come to you from under the Christmas tree,
where I have discovered a New Thing. What I have discovered is the cozy little
nestlike area that is just perfect for catnapping. I am calling it the Kringle
Kitty Kup, or K-3 if you want to sound cool like me.
Here we see a currently catless Kringle Kitty Kup. |
In our house, the K-3 results from hours of catnaps on the
quilty thing the people put around the bottom of the tree. It might be
different in your house if you already have lots of presents under the tree or
something, but I really hope all the kitties out there get to enjoy a K-3 this
Christmas. Please let us know in the comments!
And here we see the ever-so-rare dual Kringle Kitty Kups, meticulously created by Real Cats Paisley and Webster. |
Friendly Fill-Ins
And now to Friendly Fill-Ins from 15andmeowing and McGuffy’s Reader. They are a fun way to learn a little bit about the authors of
the blogs you read. The first two questions, answered by old SoLT, are from
Ellen of 15andmeowing, and the next two, answered this week by Real Cat Paisley,
are from Annie of McGuffy’s Reader.
Old SoLT's answers:
1.
I still need to find that great baked French toast recipe before
Christmas. I made it last year for Christmas breakfast, and it was really
easy and really good, but now I can’t remember where I got the recipe.
2. My favorite episode of Seinfeld is … okay, I have seen Seinfeld, but not for quite a few years and not enough to remember a specific episode.
Real Cat Paisley's answers:
3.
What I really would like for Christmas is any toy with catnip.
Thursday, December 22, 2016
Announcing Cuddlywumps Publishing…and Night of the Furies, Plus a Giveaway!
Hello, friends. We’re here today to announce our latest
venture, a little something we call Cuddlywumps Publishing. This is the
brand-spanking-new company old SoLT has started to maintain this blog and publish
my mystery series, Miss Cuddlywumps Investigates (MCI). We are very proud to
report that new editions of the first three books are now available for Kindle
and … drum roll, please … the fourth book, Night
of the Furies, in which I solve a mystery at an archaeology dig, is also now available for Kindle. Print editions are on the
way! We have ideas for some shorter works that we hope to publish within the
next year or two as well. And yes, old SoLT is working on book 5 of MCI, titled
The Mythmakers.
Owning a publishing company has been a dream of mine for a
long time, because I am a cat who has a lot to say, and much of what I say
really should be set down in print. Old SoLT has mentioned publishing a few
times too, but she is thinking more of the business end of things. I say, let
her count the beans; I will just continue to be me.
Please visit our new Cuddlywumps Publishing page on this
blog, and take a look at our books. I am the star in all of them, so you know
they are good. And because we are so excited to share our books with you, we are doing a giveaway in which you can win an entire Miss Cuddlywumps Investigates print library! One US reader will win copies of all four books. Just go to the Rafflecopter below. Good luck!
P.S.—Today is old SoLT’s birthday. She did not want me to tell you, but too late now! I’m sure she would not mind if you wanted to drop her a happy birthday wish.
Tuesday, December 20, 2016
Cat of the Week: Tallulah in Washington, DC
Each week in this space, we feature a senior cat in need of
adoption or sponsorship. Please remember all the older cats in shelters. They
make great companions, and unlike kittens, they (probably) won’t climb the
curtains! Adopt a senior cat, and help him or her enjoy the best years of their
life.
This
week, please meet Tallulah, a 9-year-old girl who is truly a low-maintenance
cat. Tallulah first came to the shelter about 4 years ago when her person could
no longer care for her. She was adopted by a nice family, but they couldn’t
keep her because of allergies, so she bounced back to the shelter. It’s time
for this sweetie to find a permanent, loving home. Tallulah is quite happy to
sleep all day in a nice, comfy spot, and she enjoys being petted. She has lived
with kids and other cats before and has done fine with both.
Tallulah
is currently at the Humane Rescue Alliance’s Oglethorpe Street adoption center. Stop by and meet her,
or learn more about her here.
Do you
know an adoptable senior cat who’d make a great Cat of the Week? Let us know!
Monday, December 19, 2016
Book Review: Mrs. Odboddy: Hometown Patriot
On this Mysterious Monday, we are pleased to introduce to
you “a WWII tale of chicks and chicanery, suspicion and spies,” by Elaine Faber.
The book is called Mrs. Odboddy: Hometown
Patriot, and it is the first in a series that promises to be a lot of fun.
Everything goes sideways for Agnes Odboddy
We first meet Agnes Odboddy in a Red Cross Knitting Class,
where…well, let’s just say she’s not doing very well. But a few dropped
stitches are the least of her worries. The nation is caught up in a world war,
and Mrs. Odboddy, a 70-year-old widow whose adult granddaughter, Katherine,
lives with her, is determined to do her part as a hometown patriot. We can’t
fault her for that, but it seems that everything she does turns out pretty much
like her knitting.
Determined be a warrior on the home front, Agnes volunteers
to address ration books, she rolls bandages, she mans the coastal watch tower,
she is ever vigilant, on the lookout for spies and such … and she sees them
everywhere. Strange activity on the coast? Agnes Odboddy doesn’t hesitate to
check it out. And surely that new woman in the knitting circle is a Nazi spy.
Why, Agnes even discovers a black market ration book scheme and goes on a
stakeout to track the crooks down.
But somehow nothing works out quite right. Even her plan to
raise hens so she and her granddaughter can have free eggs goes a little
sideways. Okay, more than a little, and Agnes ends up keeping the birds in the
house for a few days, until the chicken coop can be built. Let’s just say this
does not go well. Hilarious for us, but uncomfortable for Agnes and Katherine.
Agnes is getting a reputation as a delusional nut, and even
she has to wonder if she’s losing it.
But, you know what they say: just because you’re paranoid doesn’t
mean someone’s not out to get you.
A glimpse of World War II–era California, plus a cat
You know we love the history here, and there is plenty of it
in Mrs. Odboddy: Hometown Patriot. The book has a nice flavor of the past and
gives us an idea of what life might have been like for people on the California
coast during the war, when an attack by Japan was a real possibility. Eleanor
Roosevelt herself even makes an appearance. We also see Agnes struggle over
what to do about Godfrey, the long-lost love who reenters her life. They apparently had a rather torrid affair years ago, but what will their relationship be now?
And yes, there is a cat. Agnes acquires a cross-eyed Siamese
cat named Ling-Ling when the cat’s person, who is of Japanese descent, is suddenly sent to
an internment camp. That episode raises the question of just what happened to
people’s pets and homes and everything else when they were summarily rounded up
and sent away. Anyway, Ling-Ling makes several appearances in the book (just
imagine how well a cat and several chickens would get along) but is not a big
player in the mystery. Agnes does talk to Ling-Ling, which of course is what humans
do when they need to sort things out in their lives. She also talks to the
chickens, but I still don’t understand why anyone would talk to a chicken when
there’s a perfectly good cat in the house.
Thoroughly entertaining
We enjoyed the story and the WWII-era atmosphere of this
book. In many places, Faber’s writing put us tangibly in the scene, right next
to Agnes as she did something that was, well, nuts. We found Agnes Odboddy
very, very entertaining. She is, as they say, a character. We admire her
willingness to step up and do what seems to need doing to defend the homeland.
You can always depend on Agnes to do what she thinks is the right thing.
I have to hold back a paw only because the cat didn’t play a
major role in the mystery, but Mrs.
Odboddy: Hometown Patriot is an enjoyable read that we think will bring you
a lot of chuckles.
Recommended!
A note on the "Paws Up" system: Miss C gives
either one or two paws up. One paw is for a good read; two paws is for a great
read. She never gives three or four paws because that would require her to lie
on her back...and Miss C does
not do that!
We received a free copy of this book in exchange for a
fair and honest review. We wouldn’t tell you it was good unless we really liked
it!
The link below is an Amazon Associates link. If you
purchase the book through this link, old SoLT and I could get some coin for our
kibble account.
Sunday, December 18, 2016
Sunday Selfie: Real Cat Paisley Takes a Catnap
Today we join the Sunday Selfies blog hop hosted by our friends at The Cat on My Head. Real Cat Paisley was finally still enough for long enough in a good enough place that old SoLT could get a good picture of her with her Christmas flower from Barks a lot Bowtique. Paisley is ready for Christmas!
Saturday, December 17, 2016
Caturday Art: Merry Christmas 2016!
Friday, December 16, 2016
App Review: Mimitos! Plus Friendly Fill-Ins
Mimitos screenshot. You can dress your cat in different hats, shirts, and jackets. They even have earrings. So cute! |
Mimitos review
Today’s app review would have come to you weeks ago, but old SoLT has been so busy playing the game, she hasn’t had time to help me write this post. Finally I have torn her away from it long enough to set down some of our thoughts on the app Mimitos.The main game
Your task in Mimitos is to care for an adorable little cat.
The game includes several rooms—kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, and living room—and
you move the cat from room to room to feed her, bathe her, have her take a nap,
and so on. You can also change her outfit and buy new furniture and so on for the
rooms.
The minigames
A hungry, slightly dirty cat is an unhappy cat. Remember that! |
Don’t forget the cat!
It’s easy to get so involved in playing these games that you
forget about the cat. Don’t do this! If you forget her, she will become … unpleasant
at best, and sick at worst.
As you play, your cat will get tired, hungry, and very, very
dirty. You have to stop periodically to feed her, wash her (with a sponge!),
and either let her take a nap or give her an energy potion. If you go too long
without taking care of her, she will have flies buzzing around her, and she
will wave her little arms in fury (she’s really cute but also slightly
terrifying when she’s angry).
All nice and sparkly clean after a sponge bath! |
But wait… There’s more!
Mimitos also has some features we haven’t even tried yet,
like growing a garden and making friends. You can sell the produce from your
garden to earn more coins. To use these features, you have to create an
account, and old SoLT is suffering from “account fatigue” right now, so she’s avoiding
this part of the game. You can have plenty of fun without creating an account,
so don’t let that aspect put you off.
Our verdict
We've decorated the bedroom for Christmas and dressed our cat in a festive holiday sweater. |
In case you can’t tell, we love Mimitos. Love it. It’s fun,
it’s cute, it’s got enough variety to keep you interested for a long time.
Also, we like that the cat needs to nap after a while … reminding you to take a
break from your device and, you know, go play with your real cat.
Mimitos is available from iTunes and Google Play. It's free to download if you get the version with ads.
We gladly paid $1.99 to remove the ads. Given the time we’ve spent and the fun
we’ve had playing Mimitos, the price is absolutely reasonable. You can also buy
more coins to spend in the game, but so far we have not been even a little bit
tempted to do that because we’re earning plenty just from playing the
minigames. We’ve found this game to be a great value.
Highly recommended!
A note on the "Paws Up" system: Miss C gives
either one or two paws up. One paw is for a good app; two paws is for a great
app. She never gives three or four paws because that would require her to lie
on her back...and Miss C does
not do that!
2.My most meaningful Christmas ornament/decoration is a crushed red bell made from part of an egg carton, because I made it in school 40-odd years ago and it’s been on our tree every Christmas I remember. It’s not exactly “red” anymore, and it hasn’t actually looked like a bell for maybe a decade, but that doesn’t matter.
Friendly Fill-Ins
And now to Friendly Fill-Ins. from 15andmeowing and McGuffy’s Reader. They are a fun way to learn a little bit about the authors of
the blogs you read. The first two questions, answered by old SoLT, are from
Ellen of 15andmeowing, and the next two, answered by Real Cat Paisley, are from
Annie of McGuffy’s Reader.
Old SoLT’s answers:
1. My favorite Christmas Song(s) is/are “O Holy Night,” but
I could do without hearing _____________________ever again—well, I can’t really
think of one I’d literally never want to hear again, though I am a little tired
of “Jingle Bell Rock” right now.
2.My most meaningful Christmas ornament/decoration is a crushed red bell made from part of an egg carton, because I made it in school 40-odd years ago and it’s been on our tree every Christmas I remember. It’s not exactly “red” anymore, and it hasn’t actually looked like a bell for maybe a decade, but that doesn’t matter.
Real
Cat Paisley’s answers:
3. My favourite holiday treat is a little piece of turkey, but I’ll take chicken if that’s all you’ve got.
3. My favourite holiday treat is a little piece of turkey, but I’ll take chicken if that’s all you’ve got.
4. A holiday tradition in my house is installing a tree
for us cats to sleep under.
Thursday, December 15, 2016
Review: Music for Cats
Ever wondered what kind of music cats would listen to if
only you’d let them work the radio dial? (And by the way, remember radio
dials?) Well, composer David Teie did. In fact, Teie has a whole theory about
how different animals can appreciate music. It all has to do with the sounds
each animal would have heard when they were babies. For cats, that means purrs,
suckling sounds, perhaps birds chirping… What Teie has done is take some of
those sounds and add them to music. The result is the CD Music for Cats.
Relaxing, new-agey music
Music for Cats
includes five tracks, each of which is an atmospheric, new-agey piece that old
SoLT finds perfect for those times when she wants music on but doesn’t want to
be distracted by it. It is great for reading or editing, she says. There’s a lot of cello,
some harp. Also purring. Yes, it is rather wonderful.
But do the cats like it?
Old SoLT enjoys this CD, but that is sort of irrelevant,
because after all it’s not for her—it’s for the cats. So the real question is,
do the cats like it? And the answer is…
We’re not sure.
Have you ever tried to get a cat to listen to a CD? This is
not an easy task. Especially when you’ve got this awesome CD but then realize
you don’t actually have a CD player anymore. (Remember CD players? They have
gone the way of radio dials, we guess.) Old SoLT realized she could play it on
her computer, and Real Cat Paisley did come in for a short time. Here are
Paisley’s remarks:
We’d like to play this music some more for the Real Cats
before we give our final word, but early reviews are good. And again, old SoLT likes
it a lot and finds it really relaxing. She may have been a cat in a previous
life.
Music for Cats is available on CD and for streaming through Amazon (it's on Spotify too).
To learn more about Music for Cats, visit their website.
Amazon buy link:
Music for Cats
(This is an Amazon Associates link. If you buy through this link, old SoLT and I could get some coin for our kibble account.)
Tuesday, December 13, 2016
Cat of the Week: Henry in Baltimore
Each week in this space, we feature a senior cat in need of
adoption or sponsorship. Please remember all the older cats in shelters. They
make great companions, and unlike kittens, they (probably) won’t climb the
curtains! Adopt a senior cat, and help him or her enjoy the best years of their
life.
Today, we’d like to introduce an awesome kitty named Henry.
Henry is a male who is 8 years old and is front declawed. He used to live with
a family with children, but they had allergies and could not keep him anymore.
It takes him a while to warm up to new people. We understand he enjoys being
petted, but he’ll let you know when he’s had enough (hey, Real Cat Webster does
that too!). Henry enjoys a comfy bed and watching the Little Red Dot, and he
really, really likes food.
Wouldn’t it be great to give Henry a new, loving home? Find
out more about him here.
Monday, December 12, 2016
Our 6 Favorite Cat Cozy Mysteries of 2016
Before we actually sat down to put this post together, old
SoLT actually said, “Oh, this post will be so easy! We just pick our favorite
books!” What a fool she is. It’s so hard to choose favorites when we have
gotten to read so many good books. We have done our best though, and so we
present to you, in no particular order, our six favorites from among the cat
cozies we read in 2016. We're sure you'll find something to like among the books in this list! (And if you don't, you are clearly reading the wrong blog!)
A Deadly Tail, by Dixie Lyle
This book is part of the Whiskey, Tango & Foxtrot series, which we think is simply one of the most entertaining series ever. Ectoplasmic ghost dog, reincarnated tuxedo cat, great plot, plenty of humor, a re-imagination of that famous Rainbow Bridge that makes us go all gooey inside… If you haven’t sampled this series yet, we really do not know what is stopping you!
Crime and Poetry, by Amanda Flower
This is the first book in the Magical Bookshop series, in
which Violet Waverly drops work on her dissertation to rush home to Cascade
Springs, New York, because she thinks her grandmother is gravely ill. But Violet
is in for a few surprises, the first of which is that Grandma Daisy is healthy
as can be. This book has just enough complexity to be really interesting without
being confusing, it has a great cat named Emerson, and then there’s that whole “magical
bookshop” thing going on…
The
Crepes of Wrath, by Sarah Fox
The Crepes of Wrath
is the start of another new series, this one set on Washington State’s Olympic
Peninsula. Marley McKinney has moved temporarily to Wildwood Cove to run her
cousin’s pancake house while he’s in the hospital, but when Cousin Jimmy is
murdered, Marley’s life changes forever. Rich setting, great characters,
page-turning excitement towards the end, plus an orange tabby named,
appropriately, Flapjack. A yummy mystery!
Till Death Do Us Tart, by H. Y. Hanna
If you like your cozies a little more British, this fourth
book in the Oxford Tearoom series is for you. A rude, snooty woman drops dead
in the middle of a cat show, whereupon main character Gemma Rose’s mother jumps in to solve the crime. In our review, we described this book as sort of like Midsomer Murders meets Inspector Lewis, only with tea and cats.
In other words, very entertaining!
Probable Paws, by Leighann Dobbs
This book returns us to one of our favorite fictional
places: Mystic Notch, New Hampshire. Willa Chance owns a bookstore in this town
where the cats are…different. Willa is visited regularly by ghosts, and at the
start of this book she meets a ghost who wants her to find a book called Betty’s
Recipes (hint: it’s not an ordinary recipe book). This is an enthralling and
thoroughly entertaining series perfect for you talking-cat lovers.
Into the Grey, by Clea Simon
Into the Grey is part of the Dulcie Schwartz feline mystery
series, which we have been dying to get into. When a gross, handsy academic is
murdered, grad student Dulcie Schwartz sets off to find out who killed him.
Dulcie is guided by the spirit of her deceased cat, Mr. Grey. There is also a
living cat, Esmé. This is a book full of uncertainty—not much in Dulcie’s life
is black and white. Plus there’s an academic quest that we think you’ll find intriguing
if you’re a nerd like old SoLT.
Bonus! Our favorite non-cozy mystery
Just before Christmas, 12-year-old Flavia de Luce is home
from the horrible-sounding Miss Bodycote’s Female Academy and has the great
good fortune to discover a corpse. Fortunately, Flavia is rather good at
solving mysteries, and she gets right in the middle of this one in short order.
Yes, there is a cat—a tortoiseshell that is important to the plot but not a
major character. Beautifully written, somewhat creepy, intensely atmospheric.
Did you have a favorite cat cozy this year? Let us know in
the comments!
See something you like?
Buy it through one of the links below! (These are Amazon Associate links. If you make a purchase through one of these links, old SoLT and I could earn a little coin for our kibble account.)Crime and Poetry (A Magical Bookshop Mystery)
The Crêpes of Wrath: A Pancake House Mystery
Probable Paws (Mystic Notch Cozy Mystery Series) (Volume 5)
Into The Grey: A feline-filled academic mystery (A Dulcie Schwartz Cat Mystery)
Thrice the Brinded Cat Hath Mew'd: A Flavia de Luce Novel
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