Horrifying Claymation Cats

Remember those cute little animated shorts "[Title] in 30 Seconds with Bunnies"?

The Claycats films are like that, but with Claymation instead of animation and lots and lots of gore.

Good guy tuxedo cats infiltrate an illegal catnip grow operation

The one I watched is inspired by a foreign film called "The Raid." In the Claycat version, a SWAT team goes into an apartment building to stop a vicious killer and his illicit catnip operation. All the characters except two are cats.

The cats kill and are killed. Heads are chopped off, they're shot, they're stabbed, they're blown up. It's horrific, really.

View at your own risk. The little clay cats are cute until they start blowing each others' heads off.

Creative Kitty Condo: The CAT-AT

It's a good friend who'll surprise you with a fancy kitty condo, especially if you're a Star Wars fan and the condo is designed to look like an Imperial Walker AKA an AT-AT (All Terrain Armored Transport).

You can read all about it on Reddit, and you'll even find a link to a photo gallery. And wait until you see what's inside. It's not exactly like the ones on Hoth.

Tribute to Trickster

The first time I saw the scrawny yellow kitten, a "teenager" really, walking near the edge of the woods, I thought of this painting, very popular in the 1970s.

Even though my husband had issued an edict that we wouldn't be feeding any more strays, I could resist taking him a little something. After all, our three spoiled-rotten cats demanded fresh dry food three times a day, so the leftovers that were just a few hours old would go in the trash. At least he'd have a little something in his stomach to help him through the cool autumn night.

A couple of days later, my husband admitted it.

"I took some food out to that kitten," he said sheepishly.

"So did I."

Of course, we adopted him.

It took a long time to gain his trust. The first time I fed him, I just poured the food on the grass (so as not to leave any evidence behind that others might see). Once the secret was out, we take it out in an old aluminum pie pan. He'd see us coming and run a few feet away, and he'd wait until we were back in the house before coming over. Soon, we didn't even have to get around the corner. Another few days and he stopped running, as long as we didn't try to touch him. Eventually, we could pet him, just a little, while he ate.

Finally, he realized that he liked petting. He'd purr and flop on his side and wriggle around.

Then, he attacked. He'd grab and hand or an ankle, all teeth and claws. That's how he earned his name: Trickster. He couldn't be trusted.

I wanted to give up on him, many times, but my husband felt particular sympathy for him. They both have really bad allergy issues.

Today, Trickster is fairly well adjusted, though he's still somewhat of a punk. He still has allergies, and his gums are bad, possibly because of living in the wild as a youngster. He usually doesn't scratch and claw when we're holding him, and he does like to be held. He was the first one to welcome Kali and play with her when we brought her home, and he chases little Petra around the house, too.

He's just one of our "feral cat" success stories. We have no idea if he'd ever had human contact before or how he was treated. Living with him hasn't always been easy, but it definitely has its rewards.

Coming Soon - Crazy Kitty Chick Gallery

Feline-inspired artwork and functional art products are coming soon to Crazy Kitty Chick!

The Crazy Kitty Guy is a talented artist and designer, and he's getting ready to open his own online gallery as well as offering a variety of cat-related art pieces, jewelry, and other unique items here on Crazy Kitty Chick under the Gallery tab.

We'll continue to offer an expanding line of products at Café Press under its own unique tab.

The new products will be announced in Summer 2012!

Memoir for a Cat

Lately I've been thinking a lot about a book I read years ago. Make that decades ago. It was probably written in the 1970s, and I would have read it in the late '70s or possibly the early '80s. Anyway, I'm sure the book is probably still in my bedroom at my mom's house -- somewhere -- but rather than go dig through all my stuff and my mom's stuff that's stuffed into that room, I decided to turn to the internet.

First, I tried random Google searches and then I turned to Amazon. Of course, I'm not having any luck. I mean, even if the book is still in print, if the cover's changed, I'm not going to recognize it, and I'm not sure I'll recognize the title. Although I might. I do remember (some) things from decades ago better than I recall what I ate for lunch yesterday.

Hmmm. What did I eat for lunch yesterday? Oh right, it was Easter, and my mom brought over some turkey. Whew.

So, I'm going to tell you what I remember about this book and see if any of you remember it.

It's a pocket-sized paperback book. Non-fiction. It's kind of a memoir about this couple and their cat. I think the cat was black-and-white. I have no idea why I think that, and I could be completely wrong.

I remember that the author kept the cat's favorite "hairball goop" in a kitchen cabinet with a door that clicked when it was opened and closed. When the cat got lost, she went around the neighborhood mimicking the clicking sound, trying to get the cat to respond.

She had an old man neighbor, I think he had a poodle, and he complained about the cat getting into his ranunculus. Or maybe it was frangipani. Or both.

That's pretty much all I remember.

So, does it ring any bells with you?