Black against White; or, The Snow-Shoer; or, The Winter Cat.

The snow floats down upon us, mingled with rain . . .
It eddies around pale lilac lamps, and falls
Down golden-windowed walls.

We were all born of flesh, in a flare of pain,

We do not remember the red roots whence we rose,
But we know that we rose and walked, that after a while
We shall lie down again.

 

(The House of Dust, Conrad Aiken)

Tang? or Mikey? You decide.

Went into my favorite cat convenience store, Tang's Market, this weekend.  It's a family run store, and there was a nice little lass there playing around.  Their cat, whose name I by default consider to be Tang, was full of love and following me around the store as I collected my Diet Coke, weaving between my legs and mushing me any chance she got.

Then the little girl dropped an info-bomb on me - 1) Tang is a boy! 2) Tang's name is Mikey!!!!

Wearing a pink collar?  Flippin that gender script one kit at a time - I love it!!! Why did this Asian fam give kitty the whitest name ever?  But I kind of like it.  This cat is so brooding, so serious, so dignified.  Mikey is truly an un-dignified name.  But he doesn't pay no mind.

A day in the life of Mikey.

"It's no walk in the park running a business... such is life..."

"This top shelf is getting pretty sparse, but as you can see I always keep the most important shelves (below) fully stocked. But is my work appreciated by my family and the community at large?  Of course not!" 

"God, look at the price on that raisin bran... Marx must be rolling in his grave... Capitalism meow...."

pink nose

after Steph and I Ate Fresh (tm), we walked along Melbourne by this baby's house and even though it was blustering snowballs he ran up to see what we were saying.  WHAT A LOVER.

so happy.

I've wanted to get a pic of this sweety since I moved to Parkdale in aught-eight.  One of the first kitties to welcome me to the neighbourhood.  An extremely friendly and loving gent with a pretty pink nose!

Awwww!!!  You can tell from my face that's what I'm saying to him. If I had a pink nose and a white tipped tail I wouldn't care what Naomi Wolfe said about no Beauty Myth - I'd be making my mills in Vogue Italia as a cat model!!!

Goodbye Movember.

Who won the international moustache-growing competition that was once known as my month of birth?

This guy did!!!

Nice handlebars!  Almost eveery day when I walk home from work I pass this beauty on Cowan Ave.  He's very cute and curious and I finally got this great pic thanks to an anonymous friend, who sojourned with me to King West for Whopper Wednesday today.  Thanks for trespassing for the sake of my blog, bb!

The Tiger.

Tiger, tiger, burning bright

in the forests of the night

what immortal hand or eye

could frame thy fearful symmetry

In what distant deeps or skies

burnt the fire of thine eyes?

On what wings dare he aspire?

What the hand dare seize the fire?

And what shoulder and what art

could twist the sinews of thy heart?

And when thy heart began to beat

What dread hand and what dread feet?

What the hammer? What the chain?

In what furnace was thy brain?

What the anvil? What dread grasp

dare its deadly terrors clasp?

When the stars threw down their spears 

and water'd heaven with their tears

did He smile His work to see?

did He who made the lamb make thee?

Tiger, tiger, burning bright

in the forests of the night

what immortal hand or eye

could frame thy fearful symmetry

- William Blake, 1757 - 1827

I am a ball now.

Tang, I hope you're happy living on that freezer with only the ya man brand jamaican beef patty poster for decoration.

Kyn Language.

My family has an extensive vocabulary of cat-language, which my grandma, aunt and mom called Kyn Language.  When a cat assumes this position, the Morses/Anglins call it making a loaf, or sitting in a loaf. 

This is called a half-tuck, because only one paw is tucked under his chest.  The back part is called the haunches.  If they are fluffy, they are said to have haunch feathers, or haunch fezzers.

Feeding time!  The lovely sisters Hoff fed these skinny babies their pancakes and bacon!

Cold lampin'.

Scruff-faced beauty.

Look at that little chest!  Poor bb.  Stay tuned for more kyn language, some of it gets pretty weird!

Beautiful Cuba cat in resort wear captured by Steph and Lindz.

perfect Parkdale window cat

Whoever you are taking my photograph: I give you fair warning, before you attempt me further. I may look like a beautiful little cherub, but I've got jaws and claws to protect my window sill.  Stay back!

making the best of what we are given

I work with my family in a variety store in Parkdale called Tang's.  I sit on top of this freezer filled with frozen sausage patties and pizzas all day.  My family loves watching Asian Soap Operas on the TV they installed in the store.  They are so engrossed in these sensational dramas that they can barely acknowledge their customers as they serve them.  Is it any wonder that they don't have time to give me affection? 

They do give me good food though, and whenever the Cat Lady of Parkdale comes in to withdraw money from my ATM we have a heavy-petting session on top of this freezer.  I am a black beauty.  I look pretty depressed in these pictures, but it was just a bad day. Usually I'm pretty happy, I think.

Barn Catzzz Part Trois

We're in a fight over who's cuter so we're not talking right now.

Don't hate me because I'm beautiful.

Some of us are just blessed with perfect genetics!

Sometimes it's hard being this beautiful, because no one takes me seriously.  I have beauty and brains, but they just think I'm a pretty face.

Such is the plight of those of us born with perfectly applied eyeliner, beautiful blond fur and a naturally pink nose

i just luv walking in de grass.

Gotta stop and smell the daisies.

I should really end this argument.  I can't resist those massive paws.

But first I gotta smell these yella flowers.

inbreeding can have magical results - barn catzzz part deux

just look at the mitts on this dashing inbred country squire!

polydactylism to the max!  Looks like at least seven pretty white fluffy toes to me! I think I'm in love!

Obviously he doesn't lack the love-muffin gene, Princess Caroline got a lot of good pats in.  Love the Phantom of the Opera Markings!

When I first opened this picture up I almost had to go home sick from work, because my aorta filled up with a high-density glucose-fructose syrup that is produced by an intense cat love, resulting from faces so honest and paws so cumbersome.  Symptoms include fluttering in the stomach, pupil dilation, and light-headedness.

"WHO GOES THERE?!?!  Oh, it's just my orange field-fellow, who you will meet in the next catsofparkdale post."

BARN CATZZZ

The next few entries on Cats of Parkdale will be devoted to these barn cats who were lovingly encapsulated in film by one of my best friends, Caroline Wesley. I will divide these shots by cat so we can focus on the particular beauty of each rural beebee. I can't thank Caro enough for these award-winning shots and the following beautiful words:  

Hey Cat Lover, Here is the first of two batches of barn cat shots. Use them if you like- they were taken behind a barn in Merlin, Ontario while I waited for Kathleen to pack up her shit. The little black and white one had almost been killed a few days earlier, as he was snuggled up on a combine's motor and didn't wake up too fast when Shock started it up. So he was a bit skittish...

More to come... use them if you like, but don't feel obligated... I know there are a lot of pretty kitties out there, and these ones aren't exactly urban. If we could read their thoughts, though, I bet they would be urbane. Meow, C

 

love how the sunshine illuminates this calico kitten's eyes

it's no wonder this cat lives in a town called "Merlin", because only wizardry could make this kit so cute.

 

cats fill me with poetry

Who needs photoshop when one is a MS Paint wizard?

This majestic hairless catcat was captured by Steph's iphone in front of Trinity-Bellwoods park in the loving clasp of his owner.  He had remarkably strong paws, and since he was declawed he could cling on to your finger like a leaf.  It felt so nice holding onto this baby's hand for dear life!

Excerpts from "The Wilderness" by Carl Sandburg, 1918. Thank you to Tina for the tip.

it was the way i saw wolves tracks

"it was not the hunting that led me there - it was the ice in my fur and the wind from the western mansion and the mist from the eastern lodge. it was the night's long lying."

feelin' groovy

wish i could go roll around in the grass with this free lovin' hippy kitty. mama's hurtin' from her hard living.

don't take mescaline and try to fly, sweetie! 

the face that launched a thousand peace marches.  i totally wouldn't do war with vietnam if this beauty told me too.

Being Bashful

Sometimes, no matter how beautiful you are, you just need to hide from the world.

Luckily there is mock bamboo you can hide your pretty face behind.

sometimes you feel shy

September is a serious month, a time for reflection.

and in the jungle they can't see you cry