Well, the New Year (holy cow, where did 2007 go?) is almost here, and I happened to run across a few videos on YouTube that I thought would be fun to start off 2008 with. Enjoy!

We had been thinking for a while about getting some sort of kitty jungle gym or tree, but were put off a bit by some of the prices. There is some really nice cat furniture out there, but we can't really afford the Ethan Allen version at this point!

However, someone on the Yahoo Siberian Cat List sent around a great alternative: the Multi-Cat Jungle Gym!

This thing is great! It comes in a box about the size of a big loaf of bread (well, okay, maybe just a little bigger), and is made up of around a dozen plastic tubes and various connectors that you snap together to make the frame. The cloth parts - a two-story tower, two little trampolines (for lack of a better term), and an arch - are reasonably sturdy nylon with velcro closures to hold them to the frame. There are even two little mice that dangle from the trampolines. When put together, it's roughly three feet on a side - not huge, but not dinky, either.

Nina loves to play pool! Sasha sometimes joins in, but Nina can kick his furry little butt so he usually chickens out. Check out this feline billiards action...

Note: This is a Windoze Video File, 2.14 MB. If you don't see a little window with a play button, just click here...

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I check the web stats for this site fairly often, just to see what countries visitors are coming from and which pages they like the most.

But I also check out the search terms - what words and phrases visitors used in search engines to find WeLoveSiberians.com. Most of them are to be expected (like "siberian cats"). Every once in a while there's one that's humorous.

And then on occasion there's one that's a bit worrisome. In this case, the search term was cheap siberian kittens, and that really bothered me.

One of our recent visitors who had decided to get a Siberian cat asked a very good question: what about the breed's temperament? Particularly from the perspective of someone who wasn't a breeder, but an owner (if one can own cats!).

Well, as you can probably guess from my putting up this goofy web site, my experience thus far has been very pleasant. I didn't really know what to expect when we got Nina and Sasha, as I'd never had a cat - just lots of dogs and horses when I was growing up. These cats are not like dogs, but if you're looking for an animal that's tons of fun, enjoys being around humans (albeit on the cat's terms), and is great for some relaxing "kitty therapy," then a Siberian cat should be at the top of your list!

We are sooooo nice to our kitties! This weekend we went out and bought a supposedly squirrel-proof bird feeder to hang outside so Nina and Sasha might be able to do some "bird-watching" (or rodent-watching, as the case may be).

This will no doubt also shock my parents, who seem to think I'm a complete ignoramus about nature, birds in particular. Okay, I don't happen to want to go birdwatching near Hudson Bay in the depths of a Canadian winter, or go out on a pelagic birding expedition on a boat pitching around like a cork off the coast of Indonesia.

But a nice little bird feeder within arm's reach of the deck? Yeah, I can dig it! Now we just have to see what the birds (and squirrels) think!

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You really have to wonder what goes on inside a cat's brain sometimes.

Take this for example: a while ago we got one of those crazy Drinkwell Pet Fountains as a bit of an indulgence for Sasha and Nina (and, well, just because it looked kinda cool at the time). Now, we've had the thing for a couple months, and normally they just come along and lap up some water from the fountain, and every once in a while Sasha will splash around a little in the bowl part of the fountain.

But tonight, the little goof was just sitting there, staring into the fountain where the water cascading out the top hits this little "slide" and then runs into the bowl. He sat there gawking for about ten minutes! Then all of a sudden - SPLASH! - he sticks his right front paw in there and just splashes around like crazy for maybe five or ten seconds. And after all that he licks his paw dry and just walks away. What the heck was all that about? There wasn't even anything in the bowl!

I think they just toy with us. I can imagine him walking back over to Nina saying, "So, did you see what I made the human do? He sat there watching me the whole time I was pretending to stare into the water. What a schmuck!"

Cats. We don't stand a chance...

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In addition to defending the house from crickets, Sasha also probably saved me from getting stung by a wasp the other day!

The stage for this story is set, once again, in the bathroom where I'm getting ready in the morning (do we see a pattern emerging here?). Sasha was already in there, as usual, since it's fairly warm now and he likes to sleep on the cool tile. But he wasn't sleeping. As I bumbled around, he was extremely alert about something.

At first I hardly noticed anything except that he wasn't doing his usual impersonation of a fuzzy rock. Then I heard a buzzing sound, but couldn't see anything because I didn't have my glasses on (and I'm blind as a bat without them). But my hearing is just fine, thank you, and I could tell that the buzzing sound was getting awfully close!

Sasha was getting more and more agitated, making this little chirrupping sound that he only makes when he's really fired up. By looking at Sasha and seeing where he was looking, I was able to pinpoint the source, which was now close enough for me to see (which means about a foot away): a nasty-looking little wasp that had just landed on my mirror!

Keeping my own blurry eyes on target, I quickly snatched up a kleenex and blotted the diminutive winged menace from the universe, then sent his little carcass down the toilet. Sasha wouldn't be eating that particular bug!

Needless to say, Sasha got some extra tummy-rubbing time that morning!

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Who says that a princess kitty can't be feline feminine and yet hang out with the boys?

Nina is every bit the little princess, but I swear that every time I pick up a tool to do something around the house (which is itself a scary proposition: think Java Man wielding a cordless drill), she's right there, eager to see what daddy-O is doing. She isn't so nosy about everything, but when it comes to home improvement projects, she's all over it!

For example, I was outside installing a ventilated shed for the generator (for more eco-info you can check out one of my other sites at SavingCivilization.org). I had to go in and out several times for tools, and Nina was right there waiting for me every time (although she made no attempt to bolt out the door). And when I finished - and why is it that we do these projects in the middle of the summer? - I hauled back in the short duffle bag I keep my Craftsman power tools in, which sits on the big case (like a big cooler) that the tools originally came in.

And guess where one of her favorite hang-outs is now? Sitting on top of that duffle bag, comfortably nestled among the drills and saws (daddy has removed the sharp blades and bits, however)!

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And yet another milestone for our young kitties: Sasha killed his first cricket!

Jan, my wife, can't stand the little six-legged buggers, particularly since the crickets that get into the house are Jerusalem crickets, which are really kinda gross looking. We figured they'd be no match for the hunting prowess of our fierce feline killers.

And we were right! We couldn't find Sasha upstairs (although Nina was in one of her usual spots, lounging on a chair at the dining room table), so I went looking for him in the basement. Lo and behold, I see a pair of big-pupilled eyes look up from the darkness of the bathroom. When I went to get the little fuzzball, there he was, proudly circling his great kill (which must've been all of an inch long, at least from the parts that were left!).

Jan and the boys rejoiced loudly when I carried Sasha upstairs, purring like a little diesel!

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