Ashes: A Queen in Waiting

The plaintiff, Ashes. Photo by John Zipperer.

My latest contribution to the pets section of Marina Times:

PETS
Ashes: A Queen in Waiting
By John Zipperer

An American vice president whose name I forget once defined his job as consisting of little more than checking on the president’s health each day. Still alive? OK, I’ll call back tomorrow.  

Such is the life of Ashes, a cute tuxedo cat who bides her time while her nemesis, an old Maine Coone cat named Charlie, rules the roost.  

Ashes came into our house quite by accident. ...

Read the entire article 

Go the @&*# to sleep, Charlie

Another article of mine from the new issue of the Marina Times:

At last, Charlie fell the heck to sleep.
Photo by John Zipperer

AT HOME | Living with pets
Go the @&*# to sleep, Charlie
Moving can be a traumatic time for animals
By John Zipperer

Tired parents across the country have read or heard about Adam Mansbach’s indelicately titled Go the F*ck to Sleep, a storybook for parents at their most stressful time: children’s bedtime. My household includes no children, but it does include two cats, neither of whom generally finds it difficult to get to sleep.

Then we moved, and one of our cats was so unnerved by the change that it seemed as if he would never go to sleep.

Read the entire article

Cat out of the Bag: Video of Cat Trying to Get into the Bag

This blog isn't one of the main cat-blogging sites you'll find, but occasionally, I just have to share. Here's a short video of my cat, Charlie, falling in love with one of those reusable grocery bags. It's filled with books, so I'm not sure if he's in love with the books or there's some food smell still in the bag.

But Charlie do loves him his bags and boxes.

Merry Christmas! Have Yourself a Very Kitty Christmas

Yes, it's cute-overload, but with no snow here in San Francisco, we make holiday scenes however we can.

So, from our household to you, our cats Ashes (bottom photo) and her older brother Charlie (top photo) both express their bewilderment of this holiday, or at least of the spangly Santa hat. I'm choosing to interpret that as their wishing one and all a wonderful Christmastime.

Merry Christmas.

We'll go back to being a no-cat-blogging zone tomorrow.

Obama Cat

Put my li'l cat through the Obama-izer, and out came this.
I'd vote for that cat!

The Shadow of Charlie the Cat