I'd like to apologize for being away from the site so long! I've been immersed in trying to get my first novel finished and published, and that's been eating up most of my time lately (that and trying to get laptop upgrade issues sorted out!).

I don't want to make a big "shameless self-promotion" plug here, but in case you enjoy sci-fi, fantasy, or romance, this story is a bit of a blend of all three (go figure - it just turned out that way!). It's called In Her Name, and you can read more about it at www.kreelanwarrior.com if you're interested in that sort of thing.

Okay, that's all I'm gonna say about it here! Back to the kitties! :-)

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!

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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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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For those of you out there who haven't had a cat, or are convinced that all cats are prissy snobs, I thought you might benefit from a recounting of part of my morning get-ready-for-work routine, and how our Siberians fit into it as major stress relievers!

Like many of you, I'm sure, I haul my butt out of bed at what seems like an ungodly hour (for those of you in the military, it's about the same time you'd be roused out in boot camp for morning PT!). Then I stagger into the shower to make a token attempt to wake up and get cleaned off for the day ahead. Sleeping beauty I'm not!

But unlike most of you, the instant I turn the water off, there's a little colorpoint kitty face staring in at me from outside the shower. Nina appears as soon as she hears the water go off and just sits there patiently while I get dried off,. Then I get out and sit down on the floor, draping the towel across my lap. She just starts purring up a storm, walking around me, periodically flopping down and rolling over to get a tummy rub. And then she crawls up in my lap and curls up for a marathon petting and purring session. Sometimes she even falls asleep, still purring!

Okay, that probably seems like a pretty wimpy thing for a guy to be doing (particularly if he's a big lug who's over two hundred pounds and stands a bit over six feet tall), but that just totally makes my day! I work in a job that can be pretty high stress sometimes, but morning kitty therapy really takes the edge off. The only downside is that I can count on being at least ten to fifteen minutes late to work!

So, do your own body a favor: get a couple Siberians and sign up for morning and afternoon kitty therapy stress-reduction sessions! 

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