Miss Aurora Katrina's sweet feet on Toesy Tuesday

The lovely, poofy, soft as silk polydactyl (Hemingway) toes of Miss Aurora Katrina.

Aurora was my first kitty. My rescued kitty. The kitty who brought me into the wonderful world of felines with her gentle nature and rhythmic purr.

A friend of mine operated a feline rescue for several years. During that time I took no interest in what she was doing because I had absolutely no interest whatsoever in cats. All of that changed one day when she asked for my help with a rescue. She was busy with other shelter business but a kitten needed help. Not wanting to refuse to rescue (something I did with dogs all the time) I told her that I would pick up the kitten. A bitty life that was tossed out of a moving vehicle on a Saturday morning in a downpour - landing in the grass with a broken leg. The owners of the property made the call to rescue when they saw a truck speed away and soon heard the plaintive cries of a tiny kitten. They placed the little bit in a box, added a bath towel and waited for me to arrive.

After the call from my friend, off I went to an address in the country. I intended to take the kitten to our local veterinarian for medical care and then to drop it off at the shelter. I would go home, let the dogs out to potty, bring them in and settle in with a good book. The kitten would be nothing but a memory.

When I arrived and looked into the box handed to me, my heart broke and was lost forever. There was this little soul with a hurt leg, full of fleas and nothing but skin and bones. She looked up at me with her golden eyes and I looked down at her. From that moment on she was mine and I was hers. I named her Aurora because I thought she was so beautiful, even with the fleas. She also brought with her the biggest feet with little thumbs jutting out the side of each paw. She was a Hemingway cat - a polydactyl - I learned later.

Aurora turned nine years old this summer. She has taught me how special it is to be blessed with whiskers tickling your nose, tender pats with big paws on your cheek and purrs in your ear that soothe your soul. I learned to treasure the love of a little kitten who was nothing but trash to someone else but was my princess, my sweetness and my door into the world of sharing my home with kittens and cats as well as puppies and dogs.

PURRS 4 PEACE: Quit shootin' at each other. It's bad fur youz health!

This Sunday we is joinin' in with Confucious Cat once more in his purr-fect purring events. Our goal today at noon in da United States, eastern time, and 5 p.m. in da United Kingdom, is for 'beans to stop using guns to blow the snot outta each other. Now, we ain't sayin' that guns should all go in the landfill. But we don't think that mankind needs to hurt each other with guns. If they have a squabble, how about each purr-son grab a kitty and see who can make it purr the best, the longest an' the loudest. Good fur the kitty and good fur da blood pressure of da human race. We're just sayin'...

So go over to Confusious Cat's place, check out what's goin' on, sign up, sip a lil' honey an' lemon juice and get youz motor runnin'☺ We'll be seein' youz at the starting line an' will meet you at the checkered flag!

Miss Camille Suzanne spies on the neighbors...

Rosemary JOY, eau de toilette! (Close your eyes)

Expect the unexpected when you watch Big Brother and when you watch Winston!

There is nothing typical about Winston! He's just too cute for words and keeps his 'beans on their toes!

PURR 4 PEACE 'n bring our soldiers home fur ebber!

Today us kittiez is PURRING FOR PEACE! All kittiez need ta jump up in the lappy of their momma or dadda to get lots and lots of extra loving' scritches and hugs today wif the one's in the United States doin' the hoppin' at 3:00 in the afternoon. Youz momma and dadda should be done wif the Sunday snooze by then an' all rested to get youz motor goin' for THREE MINUTES! If you don't live in da United States get youz motor runnin' at 8:00 p.m. (20:00 hrs.) BST in the United Kingdom.

Soldiers and sailors all over this world need ta come home an' stay home fur-ever! NO MORE WAR! If da 'beans wanna get mad wif each other den they should just have a watermelon seed spitting contest or maybe toss cow turds in a field or 'sumpthin' of that naturez. We don't need no more of our momma's an' dadda's baby 'beans getting the snot pounded out of dem...or worse.

So lick a little honey or gargle some tuna water an' let's set this world of ourz to vibratin' an' shakin'.

Please post your cat name and the country you purr in at www.confuciuscat.blogspot.com as a COMMENT if you are participating in this historic project. (posting a link to your own website-if you have one-is encouraged.)

Rosemary JOY - Caturday, a whisker short & a box late

Miss Camille Suzanne enjoys her sunbath on Wordless Wednesday

Miss Camille Suzanne sunbathing

Cats exploit owners by purring, University of Sussex research

Of course, all of us already know that our kitties can manipulate us with their purrs and soft taps with a paw, but now it's official: Cats use different purrs for different behaviors they want to teach us! This study says that some can be 'very' annoying☺

Cat owners may have suspected as much, but it seems our feline friends have found a way to manipulate us humans. (Click on the link and it will take you to the web page where the author's kitty, Pepo can be seen and heard doing some of his best work.)

Researchers at the University of Sussex have discovered that cats use a "soliciting purr" to overpower their owners and garner attention and food.

Unlike regular purring, this sound incorporates a "cry", with a similar frequency to a human baby's.

The team said cats have "tapped into" a human bias - producing a sound that humans find very difficult to ignore.

Dr Karen McComb, the lead author of the study that was published in the journal Current Biology, said the research was inspired by her own cat, Pepo.

"He would wake me up in the morning with this insistent purr that was really rather annoying," Dr McComb told BBC News.

Impossible to resist: cats use sounds that humans are "highly sensitive" to

"After a little bit of investigation, I discovered that there are other cat owners who are similarly bombarded early in the morning."

While meowing might get a cat expelled from the bedroom, Dr McComb said that this pestering purr often convinced beleaguered pet lovers to get up and fill their cat's bowl.

To find out why, her team had to train cat owners to make recordings of their own cats' vocal tactics - recording both their "soliciting purrs" and regular, "non-soliciting" purrs.

"When we played the recordings to human volunteers, even those people with no experience of cats found the soliciting purrs more urgent and less pleasant," said Dr. McComb.

How annoying?

She and her team also asked the volunteers to rate the different purrs - giving them a score based on how urgent and pleasant they perceived them to be.

"We could then relate the scores back to the specific purrs," explained Dr McComb. "The key thing (that made the purrs more unpleasant and difficult to ignore) was the relative level of this embedded high-frequency sound."

They learn how to do this, and then they do it quite deliberately Karen McComb, University of Sussex

"When an animal vocalises, the vocal folds (or cords) held across the stream of air snap shut at a particular frequency," explained Dr McComb. The perceived pitch of that sound depends on the size, length and tension of the vocal folds.

"But cats are able to produce a low frequency purr by activating the muscles of their vocal folds - stimulating them to vibrate," explained Dr McComb.

Since each of these sounds is produced by a different mechanism, cats are able to embed a high-pitched cry in an otherwise relaxing purr.

"How urgent and unpleasant the purr is seems to depend on how much energy the cat puts into producing that cry," said Dr McComb.

Previous studies have found similarities between a domestic cat's cry and the cry of a human baby - a sound that humans are highly sensitive to.

Dr McComb said that the cry occurs at a low level in cats' normal purring. "But we think that (they) learn to dramatically exaggerate it when it proves effective in generating a response from humans."

She added that the trait seemed to most often develop in cats that have a one-on-one relationship with their owners.

"Obviously we don't know what's going on inside their minds," said Dr McComb. "But they learn how to do this, and then they do it quite deliberately."

So how does Dr McComb feel about Pepo now she knows he has been manipulating her all these years?

"He's been the inspiration for this whole study, so I'll forgive him - credit where credit's due."

Aurora Katrina - Purr-tty in Pink or I'm a gorgeous ginger!

Hello all kittiez. Dis is Miss Aurora Katrina speaking to youz from her throne atop da radiator in da dining room. My momma tied a basket on da top of it so I can look out da window or take a snooze or look down at da doggies with disdain when-ebber it pleases me. Momma told me dat lady ginger kittiez look purr-tty in pink. Dat made Miss Camille Suzanne puff up dat floofy, white tail of herz an' strut off ta pout. I don't care cuz momma sayz I'm purr-tty in pink.

We are purr-ticipants in the World Wide PURR TO END ANIMAL CRUELTY

Last weeks' PURR TO END ANIMAL CRUELTY was well received. Please join us in continuing with our efforts to being more kindness to all living creatures. Please read the words of Confucius Cat below:

“How we behave toward cats here below determines our status in heaven." ~ Robert A. Heinlein

If only all humans recognized the truth in that quote. How can anyone call expect good things to come to him/her in this life or the next if they are cruel to an animal...the most innocent of beings.

Last week our purrs were directed at ending animal cruelty and we had more purrticipants than ever before. The feeling of love and peace coming from the simultaneous purrs was powerful and reverberated throughout the cyberspace of blog, facebook, and twitter as well as in the real world at large.

I am happy to report that just a few days ago Facebook finally deleted two groups devoted to cruelty to, and killing of, cats. Many thanks for this achievement go to Tippy Kat who spearheaded a group who worked on FB daily to achieve this result. One can only wonder at why it took FB so long. Nevertheless, there are still two more groups that Tippy and the members of his group are protesting. Just as disturbing or more so are the stories of cruelty and neglect of cats, dogs, and other animals that we all hear about daily.

Again, I say: Who can this planet be at peace unless the furriest of us have peace. Violence against animals at the root from which will spring peace for the whole planet.

Therefore, our work is not done.

Week 5 of Purrs 4 Peace is directed again toward eradicating cruelty to animals. Purring it forward. Taking one little area of our world and making it a cruelty free zone, then spreading that outward until that zone encompasses the entire world.

• Week five’s appointed time is Sunday, July 12, 2009.
• Participants should purr for three minutes commencing at 6:00 p.m. EDT (U.S.) which is 11:00 p.m. (23:00 hrs.) BST in the U.K.
• The cat’s human staff should assist their cats with the project by stroking and nuzzling the cat at the appointed time.
• Please post your cat name and the country you purr in at www.confuciuscat.blogspot.com as a COMMENT if you are participating in this historic project. (posting a link to your own website-if you have one-is encouraged.)
• Last week many (including yours truly) posted their purrs during the event on their facebook pages and on twitter. This is encouraged, since it inspires purring in others, but not required. On twitter please use #purrs4peace in your tweets.

Rosemary JOY & Camille Suzanne - Caturday Sweethe♥rts

Rosemary JOY and Camille Suzanne snuggle together for an afternoon snooze. (It's a rare occasion when Camille Suzanne will allow any-cat to touch her - let alone spoon with her!)

Purrs for Peace~NO MORE CRUELTY

Please, e-furry cat and e-furry kitty, request youz momma an' dadda to go to www.confuciuscat.blogspot.com today to tell them you will purr-ticipate in the im-purr-tant purr-oject, Project Purrs 4 Peace – NO MORE CRUELTY.

Your momma or dadda should go over there an' tell Confucius Cat who you are an' where you live so he will know who is purr-ticipating in this very worthwhile event. Our world is so full of mean an' nasty 'beans dat are bad an' awful to our furry friends. An', can you believe this, they are also mean an' cruel to their own kind! HORRORS!

O-fur here in Michigan our momma will be cuddling all four of us so we can send some of our bestest purrs into the Universe @ 3 p.m. EDT. Even though we are small, there is a lot we can do to stop the horrible treatment some 'beans subject the tiniest of the tiny to each and e-furry day. NO MORE CRUELTY, that's that!

BTW, it wouldn't hurt if you told youz momma an' dadda that you need to purr-actice the cuddlin' an' purrin' early today to get warmed up for the main event☺ We celebrated our great country's freedom yesterday, now is the time to free our world from needless pain an' su-ffur-ing.

Pee-ess: If you twitter or have Facebook, tell those folks about this event, too. We twittered about it and so can you!

Happy Fourth of July ~ Let FREEDOM Ring!

Please join us in celebrating the precious freedom we, as a country, enjoy and hold dear. Freedom that our young men and women are fighting for overseas in so many countries - in too many countries. Freedom that the young people of Iran, wearing their green ribbons in recognition of their fight for freedom, marched for and died for after a sham presidential election - their blood falling onto the hard, cold pavement. Freedom that we were born with...the same freedom that others throughout our world fight for and pray for and die for each and every day, quietly and without notice.
Today as we celebrate our remarkable freedom with picnics and family and friends and fireworks and sparklers, please stop for a moment to remember all those who came before us and died for this day and all those who are not home with their loved ones because they are deployed in Iraq or Afghanistan fighting to preserve this day.

Happy 4th of July ~ Let Freedom Ring ~ God Bless America

Fun with words Thursday