Watermark

Robotic Cats

Adore cats, but can't have one?  Roommate allergic?  Mother doesn't allow pets in the house?  You are the proud owner of a house-full of expensive upholstered furniture?  Significant Other detests cats?

Perhaps a robotic cat is the answer.  Robotic cats don't shed (some don't even have fur), don't claw the furniture, and don't need litter-boxes.  They come in a wide range of prices:  $14.95-$1700, not including batteries.

 

     

     

Moving clockwise:

Kitty #1 [will] meow and purr, play and run around, nag you for food, and respond to your loving touch . . . now only $14.95!

Kitty #2($19.95) [is] so amazingly close to a real cat, you won't even know the difference!

Kitty #3 is no longer available, sorry. 

Kitty #4. . . loves to dance!

Kitty #5 (the orange one, remember, we're going clockwise) [is] designed to be a conversation partner for elderly people [and] can be connected via cell phone or ISDN line to a network system center, allowing health or social workers to send local news, medical information, and encouraging messages to elderly people ($500).

Kitty #6 [may be]  "Awesome!" That is, until you see the little bastard move in the videos at the bottom of the page. . . (click the kitty to go to the Japanese product page -- I couldn't find the video, but maybe you can.) 

Kitty #7 was . . . a research tool to explore the evolutionary approach to generating robot locomotion and other behaviors within a physical reality simulation environment . . .

Kitty #8 . . . has tactile sensors on its ears and back, and an audio visual sensor array which lets it recognizes its master’s noises, movements and the calling of its name [and] a whopping $1700 [price tag].

Kitty #9, an addition from Ivy:  Breathing Cat, [an] awesomely lifelike cat being sold as the ultimate seatsaver, is the perfect pet for lazy people.

Those of us who value our cats' snarky independence would probably not be satisfied with one of these substitutes, no matter how "true-to-life".  Then again, if you name your computer, talk to it, yell at it, and invest a sizable amount of money in it . . .  maybe a robotic cat is not such a leap . . .

 

This cat has just heard about robotic cats.

This week's Carnival of the Cats is still up and still entertaining; next week's Carnival will be at Sharp as a Marble; entries to be in by Saturday night (tomorrow.)

Cats & Movies

Ah, Labor Day weekend! Let's lie back and watch some movies . . .


Ivy's Famous Films Starring Cats:

Casablanca

Gone With The Wind

The Battleship Potemkin

Bonnie & Clyde

Amusing cat movies:

What About Cats

Clumsy Cats

Pinky
{This was emailed to me by Erin, and is my first attempt at posting video to my blog. A Quicktime version is available at a previous Carnival of the Cats, here.}

Feline movie stars:

Movie Cat Page

Cats in Movies

Movies for cats:

Multimedia Cats

Kitty Show

Totally charming flash movies with cats in them:

Three Crows, via Fishbucket

Desiderata, via jennet.radio
{I've posted this one before, but it's worth a second look}

This week's Carnival of the Cats will be at When Cats Attack; get those entries in!

Enough for today -- time for a nap!

Carnival of the Cats

Boo and Spike are pleased to host the 23rd Carnival of the Cats!  This week we have an extensive and varied offering:

From Athenamama:  For the Love of Athena and Cat of the day

From The People's Republic of Seabrook:  It's their world; I'm just coughing up the hairballs

From This Blog Is Full Of Crap:  Beware of the Cave Bear and Scardy-butt

From Cat Out Loud:  Hot weather and city cats

From limon:  cat blogging

From monkeycats:  excuse me??

From jenett.radio:  Greetings from MiMi and MoJo

From bloggg:  Weekend Cat Blogging

From Mind of Mog:  Wallpaper and All The News Fit To Pet

From Katieweb:  Friday Cat Pictures

From When Cats Attack:  10 Fun Ways To Annoy Your Cats

From Leslie's Omnibus:  Traveling Companions

From Your Moosey Fate:  Going Fast

From Feste...a foolsblog:  HaPPiNEss...

From Mr and Mrs McMuffin:  flies... and slinky is sleeping

From pomegranatesandpaper:  I'd like to lay around like a cat

From Trish Wilson's Blog (where we discovered Friday Cat blogging!):  Friday Cat Blogging and Friday Cat Blogging, Part II

From sisu:  The smallest feline is a masterpiece and Vietnam chickens come home to roost

From Sugarfused:  Elvis!

Oh, yes -- here at Watermark:  Cats & Computers

Late additions [my oversight] -- From What The Hell Am I Doing Here?:  Dept. of Am I Pompeii?

And, From Poetry Hut Blog:  Crowie & Jilly

Next week's Carnival will be at When Cats Attack; check there for info on how to submit your posts.  Until then, keep those cats happy and entertained!

Carnival of the Cats

It's coming! -- Just taking a bit longer than I expected . . .

Cats & Computers

From Eeksy-Peeksy:

The Cat's Ass

The fat cat sat on the edge of the keyboard tonight and typed this:
zzzzzyyyzyzyzyz AAAAAAAAAaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa 1
and managed to exchange the y and z keys. I don't know how. You type y and get z. You type z and get y.

Luckily, I had just finished my monograph on syzygy.

From Catnip & Catnaps:

Your Cat's Guide to Your Computer

. . . Forget the sewing basket with the spools of thread. Forget the laundry hamper with shreddable panty hose. Computers are much more attractive. . . Not surprisingly, a good portion of the Information Superhighway is devoted to cats, their worship, their maladies, their whims, their wit, and even (how could we forget?) their intelligence. . .

From Leslie's Omnibus:

A Website For Cats!

How It Works:

1) Pick one of our 6 critters, (bird, bee, butterfly, bat, groundhog, or red buggy.) and click on it.
When the program is finished loading, your critter will move randomly around the screen.

Your kitty will love the moving critter and be a good kitty for the rest of his life.

If you really want to deny your cat the joy of computers, you might try Cat-Proofing Computers.

 

And let's not forget the the Carnival of the Cats, which will be hosted here this week.  Here is the Carnival of the Cats FAQ, answers to all your questions.  Send the URL of your entry to me at blogdiva (at) gmail.com, by 5 PM Mountain Time (1700) Sunday, August 29th, and I will have the Carnival up by 6 PM that day.

Carnival of the Cats

You're the Cheshire Cat.

Which Alice in Wonderland Character are you?
brought to you by Quizilla

{I had to take this three times to get the Cat -- I wanted that smile!}

The Carnival of Cats is up -- and next week, Watermark will host it!  Now I know that a lot of the blogs I read do Friday Cat Blogging, at least sporadically, but rarely enter the Carnival.  This is Watermark's first experience as host, and I'm miiaaoowwing you -- please do it this week! 

Here is the Carnival of the Cats FAQ, answers to all your questions.  Send the URL of your entry to me at blogdiva (at) gmail.com, by 5 PM Mountain Time (1700) Sunday, August 29th, and I will have the Carnival up by 6 PM that day.

Cat Songs

A feline reader, Valderbar of Catnip & Catnaps, has suggested a song for this week's Friday Cat Blogging.  Valderbar has excellent taste (aside from her questionable decision to share her life with hairless talls) so I am happy to follow her guidance on this. 

For your listening pleasure:  I've Got Cats! written and performed by a hairless tall, Rick Cowling.

If music performed by cats is more to your taste, try The Viking Kittens (flash -- found long ago at scribblingwoman)  or Cat Song (also flash.)

Then there's Cat in the Chicken Chowmein.  (OK, so the photo doesn't go with the song.  Close enough.)  Or perhaps you are more interested in music you can share with your cat, in which case The first music CDs especially for cats and cat-owners is the place for you (via growabrain.)

The best cat who ever deigned to live with me had his own song:  Honky Cat.  Honky came along (and was named, by a friend who had the right) long before the song.  Honky Cat the song became very popular; every time it came on the radio (which was often) Honky would jump up on the table to sit close and listen.  Honky the cat also became very popular; he converted many cat-haters in his time.

Twenty-two years since he left me, and I still miss Honky.

Cuteness Alert

Kittens Kittens Kittens

SPIKE in his younger days:

& BOO in hers:

More Kittens

Warped Kittens

Flickr Kittens

Vintage Kittens

And finally, best of all: 

Desiderata (Flash, with Vivaldi)
via jenett.radio

Badly Drawn Cats

Poor tiddles!  This is his plea:

it's all very simple - drunken doodling leads to challenge to friends leads to asking random people in pub to draw pictures leads to knocking up web site leads to obsession . . . help me!

Goody for us, though; this poor man's obsession leads to much entertainment -- pages and pages of Badly Drawn Cats.  You can help perpetuate this obsession by submitting your own bad drawings.  {via MetaFilter}

As it happens, I have a few of my own badly drawn cats lying about:

       

Now here is someone who takes his cat-drawing to extremes -- a GPS drawing:

Location: Edmunds Park, Didcot, Oxfordshire Dates: 10/5/02 Track Length: 3.17 km Average Speed: 4.8 km/h Method: Shanks's Pony Credits: Hugh Pryor

For those of you determined to continue your cat-drawing habit, I have found a few helpful links:  How To Draw The Cats (Angle View); Sketching Cats; and Draw a Cat in Graphite Pencil. 

Perhaps if you work very hard, you might one day be  as good as Matisse, or Munch, or any of the other famous artists featured at The Cat Gallery.

Or, if you draw many, many cats, perhaps you will have an adventure, like The Boy Who Drew Cats (A Japanese Fairytale).

{This one's for Jinker Boy -- but maybe it's too old for him? -- there is an Evil Goblin.}

 

Now that you've had your bedtime story, off to bed with you, my children -- draw yourself to sleep!  {Click Nighttime Teddy for many more drawings of cat Teddy and his wardrobe.}

Instruction Manuals for Cats

SPIKE & BOO Are Pleased to Present For The Edification of Felines Everywhere Instruction Manuals for Cats

Basic Rules for Cats Who Have A House To Run

Chairs & Rugs: If you have to throw up, get to a chair quickly. . .

Hampering: If one of your humans is engaged in some close activity and the other is idle, stay with the busy one. . .

Toys: Any small item is a potential toy. If a human tries to confiscate it, this means that it is a Good Toy. . .

Humans: Humans have three primary functions: to feed us, to play with and give attention to us, and to clean the litter box. . .

Other guidelines from this manual include instructions on Doors, Bathrooms, Walking, Bedtime, Play, Paper Bags, Food, Sleeping, and Scratching Posts.

A Cat's Guide To Human Beings by John Scalzi (?)

Why Do We Need Humans? They have opposable thumbs. . .

Rewarding Your Human: Should Your Gift Still Be Alive?

Punishing Your Human: Stare impassively at your human while it is attempting a romantic interlude. . .

Other informative sections of this manual include How Long Should You Keep Your Human? and How And When to Get Your Human's Attention.

We would like to thank Douglas Clark and Roger Collett for the pointers to these helpful and edifying sites. In their honor (they are both poets), an instruction manual for cats in verse (author unknown):