God gave man the cat ...

...in order that he might have the pleasure of caressing a tiger. - Ancient proverb

Thomas O'Malley en die emmertjie

Most of us rather like our cats to have a streak of wickedness. I should not feel quite easy in the company of any cat that walked about the house with a saintly expression. - Beverly Nichols

Ek en Tom stry oor die emmertjie! Hoekom? Hy wil dit altyd oop hê! Sy catnip is daarin... en as ek dit dan nie wil oopmaak nie, probeer hy maar net self!

After dark all cats are leopards. - Native American (Zuni) proverb

Thomas sit saans op die balkon en staar. Ek verstom myself altyd oor die intensiteit waarmee hy waarneem. Dalk is dit wanneer hy ‘n tier is en die hele stad stukkie vir stukkie verower? Ander idees?

To gain the friendship ...

... of a cat is a difficult thing. The cat is a philosophical, methodical, quiet animal, tenacious of its own habits, fond of order and cleanliness, and it does not lightly confer its friendship. If you are worthy of its affection, a cat will be your friend, but never your slave. He keeps his free will, though he loves, and he will not do for you what he thinks is unreasonable. But if he once gives himself to you it is with absolute confidence and affection. - Theophile Gautier, French writer and critic


We humans are indeed fortunate if we happen to be chosen to be owned by a cat. – Anonymous

Thomas bly een van die beste dinge in my lewe. Soms glo ek regtig dat hy verstaan. Hy kan my laat skaterlag en op ‘n lui middag kom strek hy hom uit op die teels en roer net wanneer ek beweeg. Dis verstommend om te dink dat die Here hierdie wesentjie met sy eie wil gemaak het en dat hy kies om elke dag terug te kom huis toe – om my te vermaak of seker te maak dat ek hom vermaak? (;-))

The smart cat ...

....doesn't let on that he is. - H.G. Frommer

Thomas is beslis intelligent, jy kan dit sommer sien op die foto ;-) (Thomas O'Malley na bietjie Catnip)

Catnip ... die feite! (deesdae Tom se gunsteling happie)

Catnip...and How it Affects Your Cat's Behavior
by: Dr. Nicholas Dodman

For all our scientific know-how, we still have not uncovered the secret of why cats are attracted to catnip. According to a dictionary definition, “catnip is a strong-scented mint (Nepeta cataria) that has whorls of small, pale flowers in terminal spikes and contains a substance attractive to cats.” But though still a mystery, the substance that attracts cats has been isolated. It’s a volatile turpenoid, and has a specific chemical name: nepetalactone. Nepetalactone is not attractive to all cats; only about 30 to 70 percent of cats are actually attracted to it. But when it works, it really works, appearing to drive cats wild with excitement.

The Catnip TripA cat reacts to catnip with ecstasy and unbounded joy. They are given to:
· Sniffing, chewing and batting around the catnip source, salivating profusely
· Shaking their heads
· Rolling and rubbing themselves on the floor
· Becoming ataxic, falling and stumbling
· Tandem kicking forward with the hind feet
· Excitement and chasing behavior Theories Behind CatnipNo one really knows why catnip is such a big attraction for cats. It is also unclear what sensations it is eliciting and what behavior(s) it is releasing. Here are a few possible explanations and discussion of the points that arise:
· Some of the behaviors look play-like, so cats under the influence of catnip do seem to be in a good mood and having fun.
· Chewing and salivating appears to be an appetitive response, one that is associated with getting food.
· Rolling and rubbing appear to be a sexual behavior mimicking being in heat.
· Tandem hind leg kicking behavior may indicate predatory behavior.
· Chasing behavior also indicates a predatory component.So Which Explanation Is It?It may be that they all are correct. Catnip, it seems, kindles a little bit of everything, exciting cats and allowing them to let go of their inhibitions. This implies a general excitatory effect on areas of the brain, particularly those centered in and around the hypothalamus, the region that controls appetitive, predatory and sexual behavior.Recent evidence is that nepetalactone, whose molecule has an opioid (opium-like)-shape, does indeed have an opium-like action. It stimulates certain types of opioid receptors in the same way morphine does. You might ask why an innocent plant would be harboring such a powerful chemical. The answer may be to attract insects that will subsequently assist in cross-pollination or help plants in other ways (e.g. wasps that are attracted will eat aphids). Lamiaceae-type plants may have evolved the ability to manufacture cyclopentanoids, known insect sex pheromones, to attract insects to assist in their own reproductive cycle.Along comes a cat with a nose for fun, discovers this interesting, perhaps pheromonally-attractive plant, which it proceeds to investigate and perhaps to chew. If he or she actually absorbs nepetalactone, the opioid-receptors, pleasure centers, and “go” systems of the brain will be activated and the cat will roll around in ecstasy. It has been shown that exposure to nepetalactone has an amphetamine-like effect in some animals and will cause certain repetitive behaviors. This goes along with the theory of opioid activation, as opioids, in some species – cats and horses included – do cause stimulation of “go system” neurochemicals (a.k.a. catecholamines), as amphetamine does. ConclusionAll this may sound a little far-fetched but does explain the known, observable facts. It also explains why some cats are immune. If a cat that is initially attracted to catnip does not ingest the material, it will not discover the “forbidden fruit” and will thus remain indifferent to the covert pleasures. Although it seems logical to assume that the estrus-like behaviors released by catnip would be a female-only phenomenon, this is not the case. Males, too, engage in rolling and rubbing behavior characteristic of estrus. This can be explained by the fact that no behavior is unique to any one sex, not even a sexual behavior. Although some people may be philosophically opposed to the drunken, appetitive, and seemingly erotic state that catnip produces, it has not been shown to be harmful and may even be beneficial in some circumstances. Catnip-sensitive, feuding cats have been made to perceive each other in a new light following the application of catnip to one or both cats. Also, the analgesic properties of catnip may be helpful for cats in pain. It seems that catnip in cats has similar effects to marijuana in people. Luckily we don’t need a campaign to legalize catnip for medical use in our feline friends.

Rustigheid

"I put down my book, The Meaning of Zen, and see the cat smiling into her fur as she delicately combs it with her rough pink tongue. Cat, I would lend you this book to study but it appears you have already read it. She looks up and gives me her full gaze. Don't be ridiculous, she purrs. I wrote it." --Dilys Laing

Thomas word ‘n pappa...

.... en Mitsi ‘n mamma! Hier is Mitsi en die babas...

Welkom in MY huis...

“I own the house, they just pay the mortgage” – Sam Oscar

Who is the boss?

“Cats are kindly masters, just so long as you remember your place” – Paul Gray

Nog slaap...

“I purr therefore I am, I sleep therefore I am happy, I meow and therefore I am fed” – Catfucious, 590 B.C.

Did you know?

“There are no ordinary cats” – Collette

Lees?

“Isn’t it wonderful how cats can win friends and influence people without ever reading a book?”

Thomas slaap weer (of nog steeds)...

...want, dis waarvoor ek gemaak is ;-). Mense is ‘n ander saak, luister hierna...

“Cats sleep because it is their sole purpose in life. Humans sleep so they have the energy to serve ‘their’ cat... – Puss Zi 4, 200 B.C.”

‘n Kat is nie net ‘n kat nie....

.... ‘n Kat, soos ek, is baie spesiaal!

“Dogs are dogs, birds are birds, cats... are gods! – Tom Cat”

Thomas help tik...

“A dog will sit beside you while you work. A cat will sit on the work.” – Pam Brown

Natuurlik gee ek om!

“Cats do care. For example, they know instinctively what time we have to be at work in the morning and thy wake us up twenty minutes before the alarm goes off” – Michael Nelson

Nog ‘n bietjie slaap, nog ‘n bietjie sluimer...

“Kittens are born with their eyes shut. They open them in about six days, take a look around and then close it for the better part of their natural lives” – Stephen Baker

Ek het julle mos vertel Emtia is op die regte pad! Kyk hier...

“A cat is only technically an animal, being divine....” – Robert Lynd

Liefde...

Cats allow us to love them, for which we should be duly grateful – Anne Taylor-Browne

Hmmm... slim kat, ekke, hier is een van die bewyse...

“A wise cat acquires wisdom through spending long periods motionlessly staring into space considering issues of universal importance such as, ‘Where shall I sleep next?’”

Vriende?

Wel, ek so kon gehad het as ek wou.... Tigger werk goed genoeg vir my.

“The cat could very well be man’s best friend, but would never stoop to admitting it.”

“Home is...

... where my king size bed is” – Fat Boy Felix, 1997

...en Tigger! Hy het seker nie ‘n Tigger gehad nie?

“Every warmed cushion....

... is made for a cat, every sunbeam finds a cat.” Hoe anders?

Natuurlik is ek lief vir myself...

...en...

"All I ask is that you love me half as much as I love myself" – Molly Mogg, 2001

....en soms, net soms, val daar water uit die lug!

Hierdie was my eerste reenbui. Ek is gelukkig nie bang vir donderweer nie, ek wil net graag binne wees wanneer dit gebeur.

en dan weer...

... bad ek soms saam met Emtia in die mens-bad vol water. Die eerste keer was nie pret nie! Ek het ingeval. Hier is die foto's...

Thomas is 'n skoon kat

Vanselfsprekend! Soms bad ek self (en was agter my ore)!

Stout?

Nog nooit gesien nie! Net intelligent en daarom nuuskierig. Wat sou gebeur as ‘n mens (of kat) die hele toiletrol afrol?

Mens kry nie iets soos 'n gewone kat nie!

Eendag wanneer ek groot is, gaan ek Suid-Afrika se eerste Ruimtekat wees. Intussen oefen ek in die tuimeldroer. Werk net so goed!

... en nog gym!

Jip, daar is meer as een apparaat vir my om te gebruik. Hier is my krappaal / balk / slaansak. En die hunk op die foto? Natuurlik is dit ek!

Thomas gaan gym toe

Natuurlik gaan ek gym toe... my eie gym. In die privaatheid van my huis!

Thomas ontmoet die bure

Emtia het 'n klomp ander katte gehad... daar is nog 'n paar oor. Ek moes vanselfsprekend met party van hulle afreken, ander het ek net besoek en ek wou ook by party van hulle ietsie leer.

Een probleem - hulle kon nie antwoord nie ;-)

“To sing is human, to meow divine” – Zhuang Zi, 283-288

Thomas se avonture begin...

Toe Thomas vier dae by my gebly het, het hy baie siek geword en is hy ampertjies dood. Ek het laat die Vrydagaand na die nood-veearts toe gegaan met die outjie toegedraai in 'n handdoek. Ek moes hom vashou terwyl ek bestuur het. Die probleem? Hy is te vroeg van sy mamma af en kon nog nie katkos eet nie. Hy moes elke halfuur (dag en nag) glukosestroop kry (met 'n inspuiting sy keel af). Van my vriende het ook vir die outjie gebid en hy het gesond geword!

Die foto is daardie naweek geneem.

Thomas 2005!

Thomas O'Malley het aan die einde van Januarie 2005 in my hart kom kruip. Ek dink hy is min of meer Kersfees 2004 gebore...

Hy was skaars 15 cm lank toe hy ingetrek het!

I’m a little confection that will melt your heart – Kit E. Angel, B 2003