February 21, 2014September 19, 2015 by greg-in-washington

Spirit orb of a ghost cat

Cats, Zeke
cats, ghost, ghost cat, Gracie, Opie, Peep, spirit orbs, Zeke

What is an orb?

What is a spirit or ghost orb?

What is “backscatter” in photography?

Did I photograph a ghost cat?

I will address these questions today with two original still photographs.

Continue reading →

January 11, 2014February 26, 2019 by greg-in-washington

Mail order “Mega Spiral Penthouse” for cats

Cats, Zeke
cats, Marigold, mega spiral penthouse, Opie, review, Zeke

This will be my first blog of the new year 2014. Let us get down to the business at hand. I purchased the “Mega Spiral Penthouse” from a “Drs. Foster and Smith” mail order catalog. I ordered it long before Christmas. I received it long before Christmas. I put it together long before Christmas. I stored it in a large closet. The box it came in was too heavy for me to lift. I emptied the box in the hallway, and put it together there.

Above see Opie inspecting the box.

Above are the parts. How did they all fit into that box? The instructions say that all that is needed to put it together is a 7/16 inch wrench. That is true, but it is slow to do. I found using a ratchet with a 7/16 inch socket to be much faster! I did have some trouble putting together the two long round posts. They were a bit difficult to line up properly. Below see Opie inspecting the construction progress.

Here is the finished penthouse. There is a dangling “break-away” yellow ball toy attached by a snap. There is a scratching post.

I tried several tricks to get the cats interested in the new penthouse. They were ignoring it. I noticed the carpet on it has a strong smell. Maybe they do not like it. Catnip was no help. Playing with toys upon it did not work. Putting packing paper upon it got some attention. Opie is making close observation of Marigold in the penthouse.

As the days passed, the cats got more interested.

The paper was no longer necessary. I am satisfied with it.
I moved it over to where the Christmas tree used to stand. They were missing the tree. UPDATE Feb 26, 2019: We still use it every day.

November 11, 2013May 20, 2018 by greg-in-washington

Fun With Feathery Cat Toy “Da Bird”

Cats, Zeke
cat toy, cats, Da Bird, Opie, Zeke

A few months back, I purchased a new feathery cat toy, which I had noticed reading some other cat blogs. This one is called “Da Bird”, and actually has real bird feathers. This is the reason I believe it is so popular. I must be careful that the cat does not catch Da Bird and chew through the feathers.

The instructions say to put it where the cat cannot get to it, otherwise, the cat will chew it up, and it will be useless. I purchased mine by mail-order, and purchased an extra feather “bird”, for when the first bird gets destroyed. Da Bird is made in America. Real bird feathers are attached by a fishing “leader” to a string. The string is attached to a pole. The string got tangled up on a cat, and I had to cut the string, to free the cat. Then, I just tied the string back together.

Everyone likes it. Zeke is the most enthusiastic player. It is difficult to take photographs while cat “birding.” Marigold, my oldest, likes it as well; however, she is not shown playing here.

Where is this bird coming from?