Those pics are so cute - makes me hate even more that I am allergic to cats :-( Oh, and of course, I think my parrot might complain a bit if I brought one home.

Amen. I didn't want this weekend to end. It was just that nice.

Great kitty photos. Love the Royster.

So cute, as always! Sometimes I wish I could be a cat, especially when those sometimes are Monday mornings.

Puuurrr
pet,pet

puuurrr
scratch, scratch

puuurrr
rub, rub

puurrr
tickle, tickle

There, all are taken care of.

cute cute kitties....I have a best friend that has many many cats, (including mine, my apt hates cats)...it is so much fun to go and watch them interact with each other. And they do have a pecking order!

Loverly! As always - I just love seeing your kitties. Makes one wish that we could all have a cat's life! (or nine).

My cat spends most of his time "lounging" like Bob - usually propped up against a wall or desk or couch. Except he's kinda (read: VERY) obese.

He's like a furry Homer Simpson. :) I just love my husky little (not!) guy!!

awww so cute. I love when mine sit up in the startled position! I try to catch them at this a lot. :)

Bob's startled pose is so adorable!
Kitty photos make the workday so much better. ^^

mmm...serene...good heartful-kitty-house-home pictures. It looks as if you clicked the red slippers and the first HUGE writer-part of your life (NYC-BEA) is taking perspective. Thank you for posting. Roy's pillow looks GREAT with his beautiful eyes.

Awww, I too have a permanently-startled kittycat. His expression at about 85% of the time is identical to your kitty's.

Your adorable pictures really touched me today. I had to put one of my cats down last night which was very unexpected. It was a good 10 years with him though. His girlfriend kitty, that was also with him the past ten years, is having a very hard time figuring out where her buddy is. What a sad day but thank you for sharing your precious kitty pictures. Make sure to give them lots of extra love today...

Oh, the cuteness!! We've got one who spent about 3 hrs sleeping under the covers today. And one who manages to look surprised most of the time (but he's deaf, so it's to be expected).

Megann, my sympathies. I went through the same thing four years ago July 1st. His girlfriend would look for him. Cats grieve, too. *HUGS*

Love, Love, Love the pictures! Your kitties are just so adorable and sit so well to having their pictures taken. Not mine. At least not lately.

Bossy loves lurves loffs weekends.

Awww, they're so danged cute. They must get their looks from their mommy.

Roy love! Roy love! Completely overwhelmed with Roy love! If I was a kid living next door to you I'd probably drive you nuts with my constant begging to come over and play with the Kitties. Heck, who's kidding who, I'm 42 and I would still do it now. Sheesh! But geepers-peepers Aunt Purl, can you blame me? Really, who can resist The Roy?

Such beautiful faces they have. I saw your kitties' listings on www.catster.com and although Perry Penelope sent them requests to be her friend they didn't respond. She's been pine-ing since (or however you spell it - use sulk instead I guess).

Megann, I'm so sorry for your loss. It's always hard when we send a loved one over the rainbow bridge. Spend some extra time with his friend to help each other cope.

Yeh-Kittie pictures, glad your back.

Oh, my, the weekend did seem awfully short. I just spent mine puttering around the house, getting stuff done like laundry and bathroom-cleaning ... and I enjoyed it so much! *sigh*

Lovely kitteh pics--they're all so cute, even the Soba.

Megann, my sympathies. It's never easy when the time comes, but I think it's even harder when it's unexpected.

Awwww...my first ever kitty looked like Bob. Too cute. :)

Laurie, glad you're back!

Megann, I'm very sorry about your kitty. Ten years is a long time, but it never seems long enough.

Laurie, I love your "cat picture" days. I [heart] Roy.

Megann, I'm sorry to hear about your kitty. Hugs to you and head butts to his girlfriend kitty.

Oh, Megann, I'm so sorry. We have one very old cat, and we wonder how much longer he will be with us.

I can spend all day looking at cats. I love dogs, but they just aren't as crazy.

{{{{{ Megann }}}}}

I like the borders on the pics! :)

And the kitties are ohsocute too!

Oh, Roy - you need tuna cakes!

Yay! Cat fix ... thanks!

Your cats are so cute!! I always wanted one, but I'm allergic. I've got a mental dog instead.

Frank and I spent our weekend continuing to unpack. Now that all the boxes are gone and we can finally see the floor, the cats are much happier! Lots of purrs, snuggles and rubs.

Espresso, however, decided that *I* needed to be out of bed by 6 a.m. both days. She started yowling at 5:15 a.m. Frank, bless him, got up and offered her food and pettings; no dice. She didn't stop yowling until I got up and then she gave a happy chirp and led me into the living room, occasionally looking over her shoulder to make sure I was following.

Did she want treats? A good brushing? Nope. Just Lisa out of bed and vertical. Don't ask me why.

This weekend did just fly by, didn't it?

Awwww, the Frankie! Your babies are so beautiful!

Kitties! Love the kitties! (Even though they sometimes dance on my head at 4AM.)

I think Bob is doing yoga. They are all cute. Have you read the "Fur Person" by May Sarton? It's a great book about a cat.

Now that's what I call purr-sonality plus!

Blessings!

Have you put them on Catster? http://www.catster.com/ I have mine on there as well as the dogs on www.dogster.com Tons of very cool pictures! ...though none as cute as Roy!!

Oh they are toooooo cute! I miss having cats...the BF is not an animal person. I don't have pets I have tomato plants and I treat them as though they were pets....it's sad really. I'm the crazy tomato lady of North Hollywood.

Roy is adorable. He looks like he is put together from two different kitties with his grey areas and his orange areas. Makes me smile every time you show him.

Adorable pictures as always.
My cat grooms my dog just like Frankie is doing for Bob. I guess some cats are natural caregivers, just like some people are. Interesting.

Oh Roy! You handsome devil! Laurie, of course all your cats are gorgeous, but I am a sucker for Roy's sweet face. :)

I wondered why my mouse and monitor were suddenly vibrating, then I realized I was hearing Roy purring through my screen! Well, not really, but you know what I mean.

I had a fat cat that would often fall asleep in Bob's "startled" position. Funny, he never needed a kitty chiropractor.

I once set up a video camera in my apartment to capture what my dog and cat did all day long. I watched all of it, -- in real time -- and all they did was sleep!

I fear that perhaps I shall have to kidnap both Bob ~and~ Roy.

Our lurve cannot be denied. Release the knittens!

Hi Laurie,
I have been reading your blog for a few months and you may have covered this and I missed it somehow, but I just have to be rude and ask...does Mr.X know about your book?
It's that perfect break-up fantasy that we all have about how succesful and happy our lives will become once they are gone. You are a hero to the broken hearted!

Roy [smooch]. Bob looks as if he were surprised while cleaning a private spot. You must give Soba her own keyboard. She will have that manifesto finished in no time--a second publication from your household.

Love the title since I am a wildlife officer! He, he, wildlife patrol.

Roy, Bob, Frank &......Sobakawa?

One of these things is not like the others. Is there a story behind your kitty names? Love your blog.

Laurie, Would you share with us the details of your camera, please .. It does great close ups AND I want one!!!! Also what model Dyson vacc you love. If I have to get a new one, I want one that bloody well works properly... not like the rubbish one I have now.
Your cats always look clean and shiny.. A credit to you, girl...

Aunt Purl:
Think someday you can share your mad skills of yarn balls with a center pull string with us? I am at a point where I need to do this and well I am not having much luck at it. I bet you have some great secret to share.

Ah, "The Fur Person", all cat lovers must read that wonderful little book.....think I'm about ready to read it again, myself!

Oh, for a cat's life - beautiful pics.

Boooooooooooooooooooooob - he's such a cutie! And very unusual markings too, is he a bit siamese?

Purrrrrrrrrs and cat licks to all!

While we're bringing up things in the past - the Dyson, how to wind a center pull ball, does Mr. X know about the book and has he done anything more creative than scratch his butt since he left... Whatever happened to the nasty neighbors with the dog poop against your back fence??????

The cats are purrrty! OK I have to say this becasue no one else wants to (I've been known to have a big mouth), I am sitting here all nice like, patiently waiting on your book and was disgusted as all get-out to find out I had to wait until OCT to get it!!! I don't think I can wait that long. But then again my B-day is in Oct. so it will be a birthday present to myself (OK that'll work).

I LOVE YOUR BLOG and yes, you are just as country as a turnip green. Opps was the not politically correct? I mean southern. But hey, we still love ya, and I know a turnip green is country because I am half country (on my mama's side) he he he.

You'd be startled too- if constantly caught in such a compromising position......

Monday would really suck if I had to leave all those good times behind.

This is the first time I have seen pics of both Bob and Roy...are they brothers or just look-alikes? Orange tabbies are my Favs :-)

Is it me, or is Roy looking thin?

Kitty hugs to the whole lot of them (and include you too!) BTW how old is Roy?

Gosh -- how did I miss the fact that Roy has such a fabulous raccoon tail all this time?!

Petey Pie, my sleek black cat, escaped from our house last night or early this morning. He was found burrowed so deep into ground cover, he looked like the dirt itself. I'm just glad he's OK--and I wonder hwo and when he got out.

Megann, I am sorry for your loss. Death hurts extra hard when it's sudden, be it people or beloved pets.

Spend extra time cuddling with her friend, and give her something that smells like him to sleep with.

After some time passess -- you'll know when -- both you and your remaining cat will be ready for a new addition. Go to your local shelter when the time comes, and save a life.

I love your cats. Not as much as I love mine, but still. They are fantastic.

Roy is too funny. I love his little gray tipped tail.

V-grrrl-
My Boo Kitty escaped once and was gone for a couple of nights (naturally I was hysterical the whole time). Then it started raining. I was out at 3 AM, calling him and shaking a bag of treats when he crawled out from underneath a car, completely covered in mud and leaves, looking like something out of Apocalypse Now. I hope your kitty was a little cleaner!

Gorgeous pictures - my cats always look like demons when I take pictures...necessitating a little "photoshop" magic....but I have to ask. However do you manage to not have your house look like a hairy hurricane hit it with 4 cats? I only have 2 and it looks like a tornado hit in the living room, and I think I have hairballs of my own :-P.

Isn't it frustrating waiting for THE book? Then to know some people have copies. Signed copies I might add, darn it all. My birthday is in July.

What we could do if only the weekends were longer.... if only. If only the cats would go to work on Monday. If only....

o I loves me some kitties - even other people's. I'm going to look up "Fur Person", never read it. I'd like to know what kinda camera too...and regarding Mr. X - "Living well is the best revenge". You've heard that before, but isn't it just the most delicious truth? {cackle}

Roy!!!!

Megann, I'm so sorry. And thank you for the reminder to give our kitties some love while we can.

I don't know how Aunt Purl makes her center pull balls and I hope she'll tell us, but here are two methods I have used:

1. Just on your hand:
http://www.onceuponapattern.com/custom/pullskein.html

2. With a stick:
http://www.hatchtown.com/nostdir.html

I have not mastered the hand version. I usually get my fingers stuck or lose the end and wrap over the area you're supposed to pull from. Maybe Aunt Purl can explain it so I can do it.

I am pretty good with the stick (called nostepinne). You can buy beautiful turned ones from that site and others, but I have never owned one. I made my own from a craft store dowel by slightly tapering it, cutting a groove to help anchor the yarn, and then sanding, oiling and waxing it. It is ugly but functional. For smaller amounts of yarn I have used a size 11 knitting needle and a retractable highlighter (the pocket clip was handy for anchoring the yarn). Really any stick will work as long as it's smooth enough that it won't snag the yarn (but not TOO slick), short enough to handle easily, and a diameter that doesn't feel too awkward.

Also it's fun. And because it's a center pull, I can usually wind a partial skein while it's still attached to the knitting. So whenever my commercial pull skeins get used down to the floppy stage, I rewind them. You just start winding a couple of yards from the knitting, pulling from the old skein as usual and winding it onto the new one, and then when you're done, your knitting is attached to the center of the new ball and you're ready to go.

I am in love with BOB! He is so cute and wonderful He looks like an orange tabby, is he? I have a female OT (though I have heard that it is rare for an OT to be a female!).

I shouldn't leave out Mr. Roy of course, he is magnifecent as are ALL cats really.

Thank you Laurie for posting such lovely photos of your "children" for us all to enjoy. I feel like I am part of the family in some way...

Sabeine in Sweden. :-)

i wish that i looked like that this past weekend!

Hi, I was looking for cats online then I stumbled upon your blog...

I just want to say that your cats are soooooo adorable indeed. ^____^

Hi Laurie, I just wanted to let you know www.smileysyarns.com has Paton's UpCountry and its on sale for $3.99 a skein. I don't know if you still want/need/like it but just in case thought I'd let you know! Also love your blog and can't wait for the book!

LOVE YOU ROY!!!

OH Laurie - thanks for just being who you are and keeping all of your Aunt Purl fans involved in the network of your life. This is such an incredibly generous sharing, done with humor, whimsy and a gentle touch of crazy. And I surely do love the 'neighborhood news', the daily commute and most especially - those mahvelous felines - each so special. They are fortunate to have such an interesting person to service their needs. And now I'll turn this site back to my person. . .Sheldon from Sitka (AKA, Pretty Boy)

OH Laurie - thanks for just being who you are and keeping all of your Aunt Purl fans involved in the network of your life. This is such an incredibly generous sharing, done with humor, whimsy and a gentle touch of crazy. And I surely do love the 'neighborhood news', the daily commute and most especially - those mahvelous felines - each so special. They are fortunate to have such an interesting person to service their needs. And now I'll turn this site back to my person, audie. xoxo's Sheldon from Sitka (AKA, Pretty Boy)

Why are there so few pictures of Franklin D. Kittycat? Camera-shyness?

Oh my! Bob may just be my very favorite. I like his pink toes, his startled expression, and the fact that he lets Frankie groom him. Awwww. :)