Secret Paws Unboxing Party

The Real Cats were so excited last week when their Secret Paws package arrived! It came all the way from Montana, and it’s from the Farm Cats—Stinky, Pumpkin, Harry, and Sherpa—and their person, Patty. We never met them before, so we were pretty excited to learn about them. They live on a farm (obviously), and their house is a yurt, which old SoLT thinks is just so neat. She used to dream of living in a yurt on a farm. You can find Patty and the Farm Cats blogging at Broken Teepee.

On to the presents! As you can see, Real Cat Webster was interested in the box right away.

 Real Cat Paisley didn’t really get interested until the box got opened up. It was really packed with goodies!

Amid all the excitement, Webster took a moment to pose with the card Patty and the cats sent, as well as these really cool feathers.

Then they got all the presents out. Old SoLT wanted to take a nice picture of all the wrapped presents together, but Paisley couldn’t wait. As you can see, Webster was a perfect gentleman.

One of the presents was a package of little mouses. The unboxing had to stop for a moment so each cat could get a mouse and play with it. Paisley ran away with hers!

And then came the catnip kickers, which smelled so alluring and were really pretty. Everything had to stop again while the cats got acquainted with their kickers. There was even a small, um, disagreement over who was going to play with which kicker, but old SoLT failed to get that on film. It’s not really Christmas until there’s a fight over presents, we guess.

Did you see that big tub of Temptations? The Real Cats are very happy to have that!

Old SoLT got presents too. She got two handmade goat’s milk soaps from Happy Goats Soap. The cat is cucumber-melon scented, and the mouse is carnation scented. This is perfect, because she loves a good soap, and she’s already using the mouse soap in her bathroom.

Many, many thanks to Patty and the Farm Cats for the wonderful presents—they are just perfect! And we’d like to thank Mom Paula of Sweet Purrfections for doing the hard work of organizing Secret Paws. This is our first Secret Paws, and we’ve had so much fun we can hardly wait until next year!

Jólakötturinn: The Icelandic Cat Who Might Eat You for Christmas

For regular readers of this blog, the words “Christmas” and “cat” probably bring up thoughts of all the neat presents you’re getting for your cat(s) this year. Or maybe you picture your cat(s) sleeping peacefully under the tree or climbing less peacefully up the tree. In any case, the cat is innocent and sweet (yes, even when climbing the tree!). But in Iceland, the Christmas Cat, or Jólakötturinn or Jólaköttur, is a different animal altogether.  The Jólakötturinn is a monster of a cat that will eat you unless you have met one specific requirement.

A giant cat that wants to see your new Christmas clothes

The Jólakötturinn is said to be a giant cat bigger than a house. It is active on Christmas night, when it prowls from house to house, looking in windows and inspecting kids’ Christmas gifts. If a child has received new clothes, he or she is safe. But for children who have not received new clothes, the outcome is a little more unpleasant. First, the Jólakötturinn eats the child’s Christmas dinner; then it eats the child.

Why the focus on new clothes? Well, according to the tradition, if you finish your work on time, you get new clothes for Christmas. But if you’re lazy and put your work off so you can’t finish on time, no clothes for you, and you can be expecting a visit from the Jólakötturinn. Children are also encouraged to be generous to less-fortunate kids who might not otherwise receive new clothes for Christmas; that way, those less-fortunate kids can also be safe from the Christmas Cat.

Where did this idea come from?

The legend may be as old as the Dark Ages, but it apparently wasn’t written down until the 19th century. According to “The Yule Cat,” people worked hard to finish the work required to process the autumn wool before Christmas. Those who helped with this work received new clothing; those who didn’t, received nothing. The threat of the Jólakötturinn could offer some extra encouragement to those who were otherwise not inclined to work.

Jólakötturinn is not alone

The Jólakötturinn is not the only child-eating monster in Iceland’s Christmas lore. The beast is said to live in Iceland’s mountains with the giantess Grýla and her sons the Yule Lads. Grýla is believed to devour children who have misbehaved (a notion that gives a whole new meaning to Santa’s “naughty list”). The Yule Lads are pranksters (or child eaters, depending on the darkness of the version you believe) who steal food and play pranks on people. In modern times, they also leave presents in children’s shoes. For children who have been bad during the year, the Yule Lads leave behind rotting potatoes (and you thought coal was bad!).

So, this Christmas, as you sip hot cocoa and pet your cat while you gaze happily at the Christmas tree, make sure you’re wearing at least one new article of clothing to prove your industriousness, or don’t be surprised if you get a rather unpleasant visit from a giant cat!

Sources

Cellania, Miss. “8 Legendary Monsters of Christmas.” Mental Floss. December 16, 2015. http://mentalfloss.com/article/54184/8-legendary-monsters-christmas.

Lewis, Danny. “Each Christmas, Iceland’s Yule Cat Takes Fashion Policing to the Extreme.” Smithsonian.com. December 19, 2016. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/each-christmas-icelands-yule-cat-takes-fashion-policing-extreme-180961420/

“Yule Cat”, Wikipedia, last edited December 7, 2017, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yule_Cat.

’Twas the Morning after Christmas

"Where's my Lexus?" asks the cat who did not
receive her top requested Christmas gift.
Photo © Isselee | Dreamstime.com -
European Shorthair, 11 Years Old, Sitting Photo

’Twas the morning after Christmas, when all through the house,

all the creatures were stirring, including the mouse…

and one extremely disappointed fictional cat who did not receive the new Lexus RX 350 she had very specifically requested,

in writing, from this so-called Saint Nick who is in reality nothing but a liar in a bad suit.

The stockings were empty, they’d never been hung,

’cause She of Little Talent hadn’t a clue how it was done.

So old SoLT did not receive any new talent for Christmas (yet another thing the cat had requested specifically, in writing),

which was even more disappointing to the cat than her continuing lack of a Lexus, and let me tell you, that is some kind of disappointing.

The sad cat was nestled all snug in her bed,

sulking,

just sulking,

no more need be said.

While old SoLT was happy in that dumb hat she likes,

and continued to play Christmas music,

so the Lexus-less cat felt compelled to start a big fight,

because really, what’s Christmas without a fight?

The cat first hissed, and then scratched, and then climbed the fir tree,

and old SoLT grabbed her and shut her in the bathroom for a timeout times three.

Thus proving that life is unfair and Christmas is unjust and that Santa so-called Claus can refuse to lift even his little finger to help out a cat whose one basic need is a luxury car,

and the poor little cat’s complaints will be ignored as she sulks in the sink, which is not even totally dry the way she prefers it to be.

When Christmas is just too disappointing,
take a time out in your local sink.

© Eutoch | Dreamstime.com -
Bathroom Friendly Cat Photo

Also, old SoLT totally messed up the cat’s post-Christmas poem,

which might have been completely different if only she’d hung up that one stocking so Santa could pour some little bit of talent into it,

not that he would actually do that,

since he tends to bring cheap catnip toys when what you really need is a car.

Eventually the poor cat was released from her prison,

and she chased the new toy old SoLT threw across her vision,

running and jumping, her tail all a-swish,

feigning happiness while plotting her next Christmas Eve wish (a.k.a. revenge).

So Merry Christmas indeed, Saint so-called Nick.

And to all a happier Christmas than mine.