I am back to the land of the living, and a two hour proboscis inspection determined that it was indeed flu and not toxic shock syndrome—sometimes a side effect of sinus surgery. I’m well on the mend and will resume regular websiting tomorrow.
The kitteh contest is closed: we have 86 entries, and many of them are AWESOME. Each judge, working independently of the others will rate cats on a scale from “1” (well above average) to “10” (truly awesome). This may take a week or so, so be patient, for the results will be (as Chris Mooney would say) “stunning.” And we have material for years of felids to come.
Mooney would never say “stunning” because he’d have to actually state a position. Rather he would say, “some” would find the pictures stunning while “others” not so much and “still others” might have a different opinion but all of which, according to a hypothetical poll, would be equally valid. Possibly.
Soul of a poet.
I disagree. I remember Gnu Atheists (especially PZMyers) were Harming the Cause and Mooney/Kirshenbaum had The Solution. Apparently The Solution was obvious to anyone who read their book except for anyone who has a brain. In retrospect I wonder if the GQ spreads were The Solution – after all It Works even though providing evidence to support that claim is Demanding an Unreasonable Burden of Proof.
from “1″ (well above average) to “10″ (truly awesome)
What about “11” for Cheeky? He’s the spinal tap of cat scores. I smell a rat, something’s fishy, the cat’s amongst the pigeons….the fix is on.
Relax, be CAThartic about it.
Can’t cat’s out of the bag. 😉
It’s a very heart-rending form of judging! Some of the entrants are gone, and their humans miss them. My glasses fog up as I read, and I have to pause and walk about the room.
It could take more like a month than a week.
I gave serious thought to submitting either or both Tamar or Joanie. For similar reasons, it would have taken me too long to have done them justice.
b&
Are deceased cat’s elligble? I didn’t know, I could have sent in a photo of Smokey, who bravely wrestled Lions in Africa, at least that’s the stories we told about him when we were kids….He’d be the only cat that’s ever existed that might have rivalled Cheeky.
Yes, there are several Late contestants. Not as Late as going all the way back to childhood though. Recently Late.
Well, Smokey died about 2 or 3 years ago. He lived for 20 something years (wrestling Lions in Africa is good for one’s health I guess).When we got him as a kitten, I was in my early teens or late adolescence I think. (Does maths, and gets confused!)
Anyway, Cheeky’s my entry.
Awww – too late!
So now they tell you the possible side-effects! Fortunately your immune system has been bolstered vs. toxic shock by every creationary email you’ve ever opened.
Well, at least you had plenty of bed-rest after your surgery. I’m sure I’m not the only one glad to see you back.
86 entries? No wonder: you’re selecting for cat persons with your Caturday Felid posts. I’m looking forward to seing all the other kittehs.
Yeah. I’d like to see how many entries PZ would get with a “send in your squids” post!
Probably a frightening number.
Is there any number that wouldn’t be frightening?
b&
Aw, that would be so cute!
Mine would all be on a plate.
That must be one hell of a schnoz you have, if it takes 2 hours to adequately inspect it.
Glad to have you up and about.
Ha! I’m like my dad, who used to tell me, “Jerry, if I had a nose full of nickels, I’d be a millionaire!”
That’s more or less from The Bank Dick (WC Fields, altho not his line)
I see from the scale that apparently all your kitties have been sent in from Lake Wobegon.
No great disaster in my not trying to compete, then.
“we have 86 entries, and many of them are AWESOME”
D’oh.
There goes my kitty’s chances.
They’re all awesome, all of them, all, all, all.
Really, if you’re a well tended housecat, you’re already a winner.
It’s an honor just to be nominated…
I can’t wait to see the kitteh pix!
I’m glad you’re feeling well enough to post a bit. Flu on top of surgery sounds pretty terrible.
Whew! What a plethora of awwwsome kittehs! Anyway, ah haz submitted mah ratings. Some sad stories there, some funny stories, some heartwarming stories, and lots of great pics.
Hey! Answers in Genesis name-checked the University of Chicago!
http://joemygod.blogspot.com/2010/12/calling-creation-museum.html
Since we’re on the topic of cat updates…I just got back home from The Evil Doctor™ with Baihu.
No, nothing’s worng with him — quite the opposite, in fact. He had his annual physical and vaccinations. The bloodwork results won’t be in for a few days, but he got a perfect scorecard and high praise from Dr. Bastek. I’m so proud of him!
Of course, he was terrified out of his gourd throughout whole ordeal — to the point of shivering, even — but he’s already calm and relaxed back here at home after only a few minutes.
Cheers,
b&
My two cats had their annual vaccinations this week, and they both got a clean bill of health.
She gave Charlie, the larger of the two a through check as she weighed nearly 5kg. Not fat, just large, muscular and solid.
Her sister, Emmy, needs an op to remove her two lower canines that got broken when she was about six months. No rush as she is now two so will get it done in the new year.
5 kg is actually a reasonable weight for a cat — depending on physique, of course.
Baihu just weighed in at 10.54 pounds, or 4.78 kg. I discussed his diet with Dr. Bastek — I’ve been feeding him raw food, specifically the Instinct commercial frozen “medallions” — and he’s put on a bit of weight recently. But she doesn’t want to see him weigh either more or less than he does. That’s good to know, of course, because it gives me a good baseline for feeding. Specifically, I’ll be keeping him at the same 4 – 5 medallions per day he’s been on…even though he’s been begging for even more.
He’s become quite a solid cat of late. You can feel his ribs and he has a waist, so he’s not fat, but there’s definitely more of him than there was this time last year. Coincidentally, he’s about Emmy’s age.
Sorry that Emmy needs to go under the knife. Any day that includes surgical anesthesia is a bad day, even though the options are (obviously) nearly always worse. I’m sure you and Charlie will have no trouble convincing her afterwards that she’s still a good cat.
Cheers,
b&