Caturday!

O hai. Iz AreToo

Yay, it's Caturday!

Even though illness plagues us, along with three snorin' schnorrers warming our toes, we nevertheless feel obliged to celebrate.

Today, Senator Clinton concedes the Democratic race to the legitimate winner, Senator Barack Obama. Today, we begin the task of healing the divisions in the party and uniting around our chosen candidate.

Today, the weather is perfect, blue and gold. It's warm &mdash neither too hot, as it was yesterday, nor too cool, as it was last week. Today, we've decided to stay in bed and drink a little codeine-laced cough syrup, so we're NOT to be held responsible for blathering on the blog.

Today's Caturday is guested &mdash hosted? by AreToo of 922Cats, with the kind permission of AreToo's hoomin and 922Cats' blogger, Lizzy.

AreToo, and his brother Angel, were born on March 21st, 2006, which makes him a little over two. Still just a teenage cat, though you wouldn't think it to look at his pleasingly plump figure.

AreToo displays pleasing plumpitude on piano stool

AreToo and Angel's mother suffered from distemper during her pregnancy, and despite producing six strapping handsome boy babies without poor consequence to herself, she unfortunately gave them all cerebellar hyperplasia to some degree. Not her fault. The feline distemper virus is one of the few that crosses the placental barrier.

Of course, donating to organizations like Alley Cat Allies and other feral rescue organizations helps to ensure that cerebellar hyperplasia has fewer victims to prey on with each passing year. Also, keeping one's own felines up to date on their vaccinations and helping out your local shelter with funds to vaccinate stray, homeless, feral, or plain old dumped felines reduces the available reservoir for the virus.

But more about AreToo. And before you ask, we are NOT besotted. That's just a vicious rumour spread by those who have failed to succumb to AreToo's evident charms. Here's a baby pic to adore:

The face that launched a thousand cans of Fancy Feast

And here's what Lizzy, AreToo's hoomin, had to say about our Caturday guest around the time that photo was taken:

When AreToo jumps into the refridgerator and starts to look around, for once the human does not reach for the camera!

And under Distinguishing Characteristics, AreToo's hoomin notes:

AreToo: The one who climbs - curtains, human, etc.

Note that this is not necessarily a bad thing. Well, OK, it's not great. Alright, alright, it's bad. But he's done worse!

ur hart. ai steelz it

Look, butter wouldn't melt in the kid's mouth, OK? Besides, do YOU know any kittens who DON'T climb? I thought not. AreToo, Angel, and their other four siblings had a great career planned for them as Library Cats at a small private college. But Fate, unfortunately &mdash or perhaps fortunately, because, let's face it, their life right now is pretty damn sweet &mdash had other ideas.

AreToo's hoomin holds forth on the "good" kitten of the Library Finishing School Six:

AreToo is still alive, in spite of his human's having promised repeatedly to "wring his little neck"... In the middle of the night, yet another horrific crash in the bathroom, yet another hydroponics is kittened, and Aretoo is found just sitting there looking quite interested and somewhat smug at the broken glass, greenery and water water everywhere. Just the day before the human had found the last leaf of the prayer plant uprooted and being wrestled over between the kittens. Oh, and of course, there was all that dirt all over the dining room rug, again... IAGTTC, IAGTTC, IAGTTC....

Apparently, AreToo's Hoomin has a mantra that can be reduced to an acronym: It's A Good Thing They're Cute.

Cyoot. Ai haz it.

We agree. If not for her exceptional cuteitude, Gojira Helen Wheels would already be a dainty fur slipper. Or a stole. Perhaps even a hat.

AreToo's rap sheet includes numerous instances of B&E (Biting and Entering):

This morning the human was bringing in bags of crunchies to temporarily store in the vestibule. Before she could take her coat off, there was AreToo, having snuck past her once again, head down in a grocery bag, biting into 2, count them, 2! new bags of crunchies... She had to sccop him out herself, as he was much too busy to listen to anyone using the "n" word. Does it go without saying that all the (numerous) regular bowls were quite topped up?

Yes. Yes, it does.

u no be madz at mee pleez

Of course, as far as La Casa de Los Gatos is concerned, Lizzy is blissfully unaware that she has been invaded by an alien race of &mdash mercats. Not meerkats (there's nothing mere about them, except perhaps in French), but a new semi-aquatic species, as witness the depredations of Cloud (the RainDragonPrincess), Cyrrie, AreToo, and Angel upon all things watery.

hoomin not letz me get luandryz 4 deyz drei

We'll let AreToo's hoomin (Lizzy) tell his part of the story:

When the human is at the bathroom sink, it is not unusual for AreToo to be there, too. If she is washing out stockings, his little paws are paddling about in the water with her. If she's putting in contact lenses, he's trying to make off with the contact case - or - at the very least - with the cap from a bottle of solution. Now he has a new trick: if he can get in under her arms, he takes a quick lick of soapy water! Ugh! Yuck!! And then the human stops him before he can lick again... He's done this three times now, leaving her like, Will it make him sick? Is his little metabolism craving some strange element?? Oh, Aretoo - I wish you could either talk... or listen! (No! No!)

waht menz tihs wurd NO?

Even cats (and kittens) who do use dictionaries have trouble with the "N" section. They just don't believe the word "No" should ever be applied to a cat.

Thank you very much for guesting/hosting today, AreToo. What a dear little 'droid he is. Oh, wait, there's a PodToo we simply must add:

Lasers set on stun

And imagine how pleased we were when, after a year or two of "kitten" worship, we were rewarded with our very own pitcher of Teh Droid:

Official Property of La Casa de Los Gatos

Goodbye, sweet little 'droid. Come visit any time. Perhaps someday we can establish "International Tea and Tabbies" day.

Internationally adored tabby

Thank you so much, Lizzy, and 922Cats, for the loan of AreToo. Wave goodbye, sweetums.

AreToo's mosaic paw

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