Tuesday, March 19, 2024
cat photographsdaily photofoster catsMariposa

Daily Photo: Sunny Still Life

Mariposa, the lamp and the medallion
Mariposa, the lamp and the medallion

Mariposa, the lamp and the medallion make an interesting grouping, especially with the sun. I think I may have a number of these photos coming up…I guess I can’t help it when the sun comes in this window and the cats gather to enjoy it, and this year Mariposa is new to it.

From Instagram

Light and Shadow.

Mimi settled on the arm of the settee, in profile and silhouette, purrfectly outlined by the sun.

Mimi in silhouette.
Mimi in silhouette.

 

~~~

Photos Shared on Previous Years

You Need a Break, 2018

Mimi tells me I need a break.
Mimi tells me I need a break.

What Mimi does when she wants attention, though she tells me it’s all about me. Ever-vigilant Mimi tells me when I need a break, which coincides with when she wants to go outside. I think she knows our nice, though overly hot, days are short. But she has no qualms about walking right into my working area.

~~~

From Previous Years

Three, Four, Five Black Cats, 2017

Three cats trying to balance.
Four cats trying to balance.

This situation never really worked out for everyone involved, but it was surely entertaining.

Some days they all need to sleep in a heap as they did when they were kittens, but they don’t always choose a spot that accommodates them at today’s size and weight. I piled a bunch of stuff on the rocker because it all needed to move out of the house in one way or another. My cats love new set ups and new items, and that was probably the attraction for them to try to add themselves to this uneven pile of stuff.

Above, they are all settled, but some of them are slowly sliding off the pile…

Below, they all got up and resettled, sort of. Some kitties are obviously not comfortable.

Four cats settling in.
Four cats settling in.

Then finally they find another point of balance and they each get a little bit of sleep until…

Four cats asleep.
Four cats asleep.

Mimi joins them! And it all falls apart. Small as she is, there is just no way they can all fit there and relax and have a nap.

Mimi joins them!
Mimi joins them!

So it ends up with the three who started it, Giuseppe, Jelly Bean and Mr. Sunshine.

A three-cat clover.
A three-cat clover.

I just want everyone to know that we do have beds and baskets and boxes all over the house.

~~~

From Instagram

Working backward from this morning…

Mr. Sunshine is enjoying a dark, rainy day in his best form–on the bean counter, on his back, all toes curled in bliss.

Sunshine at his best.
Sunshine at his best.

From Sunday in the kitchen…

Good thing I needed the stock pot today so Mimi could have a cozy nap spot.

Mimi has a good nap spot.
Mimi has a good nap spot.

Even when her boys wanted to share it with her.

They boys want to share.
They boys want to share.

Easy Sunday cuddle puddle with Bean and Basil.

Bean with Basil
Bean with Basil

 

 

. . . . . . .

Special photos from previous years on this date

Now That’s a Scratching Post, 2016

Now that's a scratching post!
Now that’s a scratching post!

Nos that’s a scratching post! Mimi and I spent some time outside this afternoon and she ran for the river birch as soon as she saw it and had a really good, long scratch. She scratched so hard that she ended up with bark chips on her face! Watching her in this I could imagine how good it felt—stretching her back, her legs, exercising her paws, getting a good, deep grip in the bark and yanking pieces off.

Mimi has bark chips on her face.
Mimi has bark chips on her face.

. . . . . . .

Special photos from previous years on this date

Wordless Wednesday: Autumn Kittens

black cat silhouettes
Bella eyes Smokie’s tail as they enjoy the windowsill.

. . . . . . .

Daily Photo Reprise: Back on the Butterfly, 2010

Back on the Butterfly.
Back on the Butterfly.

The furnace came on the first time this season on Sunday night, and Peaches wandered into my office and sat in front of the furnace vent at the foot of the stairs, her favorite sleeping spot. In honor of the occasion I unpacked the cleaned and rested butterfly rug for her comfort.

Just as if the heating season had never ended last spring, the boys all gravitated toward it and joined Peaches while she tucked herself in between them. Giuseppe and Jelly Bean gave her a few licks and purred, but mostly they just transferred warmth and youthful energy. I swear it’s what keeps her going so well.

I just have to leap over them to get to the steps, but what’s a little inconvenience for the comfort of up to six cats?

One caution if your cats sleep around heating sources such as furnace vents, wood stoves or cooking stoves—make sure they don’t press against any heat-producing source. Cats are heat seekers, but they can easily burn through their fur down to their skin if they curl up against a standard furnace vent, the legs or other parts of some wood stoves, especially older ones, fireplace apparatus like screens or andirons while the fire is burning, some radiators or even an old-fashioned gas stove top with the pilot underneath. You’d think they’d know they were burning themselves, but haven’t you ever burned yourself on the stove or on a grill and not immediately known it?

This vent is intended for high-traffic areas and is an alloy coated with Teflon. It doesn’t hold enough heat to burn skin or fur while the furnace is blowing hot air unless the furnace goes above 85 degrees (mine never sees 70). I tested it with my own hand.

I have all my other vents, which are basic painted metal and can’t be replaced because of their size and placement, surrounded with a wire cage—nothing fancy, I made it out of vinyl-coated fencing held far enough away from the vent that the wire or vinyl can’t build up enough heat on the outside of the cage. Most newer wood stoves or other burners have protective barriers on legs and parts around the bottom, but the fireplaces and stoves are still an issue requiring care. I actually had a cat who slept on the stove top over the pilot, and I had to layer cookie sheets over it so he wasn’t directly in contact with the hot metal where he repeatedly re-burned his front leg.


Art and Gifts featuring cats you know! Visit Portraits of Animals

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~~~

Feline Images from Portraits of Animals!

ink and watercolor sketch of cat with still life
Kelly With Grapes and Apples, ink marker and watercolor pencil © B.E. Kazmarski

When the sun moves around to filter into this window, Kelly hops over to enjoy it and have a nice bath on the cabinet. In a rare moment of repose, she sits still and lets the sun warm her back, the light reflecting back from the pine wood cabinet warming the tones of her tortoiseshell fur. 

Read more and purchase.



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From health and welfare to rescue and adoption stories, advocacy and art, factual articles and fictional stories, "The Creative Cat" offers both visual and verbal education and entertainment about cats for people who love cats, pets and animals of all species.

One thought on “Daily Photo: Sunny Still Life

  • I gave Angel a heated beddy last weekend, and she’s ignored it! She’s getting boney for an old girlcat, so I figured that she’d LURV having extra warmth! Maybe I need to move it around; location could be the issue.

    Reply

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