Chat Aux Sphynx: 08/01/2007

Friday, August 31, 2007

Frootbat Friday

In this photo you can really see my forehead wrinkles (aren't they cute?), my ear tufts and my nose fur. You can also easily tell that I lack whiskers. I have a couple of very tiny, short, curled whiskers on either side of my face, but that's it. I don't miss them. Many Sphynx have no whiskers at all, and we get around just fine. We (usually) don't try to enter spaces that are too narrow for us to fit in, and we (normally) don't get stuck in places that are too tight. I guess we have developed other methods of estimating the size of objects and other ways of navigating in the dark. I understand that whiskers are very important for other cats, but we Sphynx get along just fine without them!

(Click photo to view a larger image)

In memory of all those who have gone to the Rainbow Bridge. Tomorrow, it will be a year since the one who came before me, Whiskers, went to the Rainbow Bridge. So my mom will be borrowing my blog to leave a special tribute for him. I will be giving her lots of purrs and cuddles tomorrow, because I know she'll be sad.

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Thursday Thirteen: First World War

Thursday Thirteen - Caribou Monument at Beaumont-Hamel

As many of you know, my humans recently were on vacation, and during that vacation they visited many World War I battlefields and memorials in France. Today I will share some of the photos from those sites with you.

#31 - 13 Photos from First World War Battlefields and Memorials in France

If you have problems viewing the slideshow, you can view the individual images here.

Many lost their lives in both World Wars in order to preserve our freedoms. It is important to remember them and honour their sacrifice. The Vimy National Memorial honours the more than 66,000 Canadians who lost their lives in the First World War, and on the monument are inscribed the names of 11,285 Canadian soldiers do not have graves. (Another 6,994 names of missing Canadians are carved on the Menin Gate at Ypres, Belgium.) The Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial commemorates all Newfoundlanders who fought in the Great War (Newfoundland did not become a part of Canada until 1949).

To learn more about Canada's involvement in the First World War, you can visit the Veteran's Affairs web site, the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial Site, the Canadian National Vimy Memorial, The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, or Library and Archives Canada.

Wednesday, August 29, 2007

Wednesday Memes

I was tagged for the Scattergories Meme by Miss Peach and Titus.

Here are the rules:
Use the 1st letter of your name to answer each of the questions.They must be real places, names, things ... nothing made up! (Except…we're cats…we don't know human streets and things…so we can bend the rules just a bit here.) If you can't think of anything, skip it. You CAN'T use your name for the boy/girl name question.

My name: Dragonheart

Famous Singer: Downie, Gordon (lead singer of The Tragically Hip, a very successful Canadian band)

Four letter word: Dude

Street: Deerfox Drive

Colour: Dark Blue

Gifts/Presents: Diamond-studded harness

Vehicle: Dino (sports car made by Ferrari)

Things in a Souvenir Shop: Doodads

Boy Name: David

Girl Name: Donna

Movie Title: Dragonheart, Die Hard

Drink: Daquiris (my mom says strawberry are the best)

Occupation: Deep-Sea Diver

Celebrity: Doohan, James (he played Scotty on Star Trek and was Canadian!)

Magazine: Discover

U.S. City: Denver

Pro Sports: Devils (The New Jersey Devils of the National Hockey League to be specific)

Fruit: Date

Reason for Being Late for Work: Didn't hear the alarm go off

Something You Throw Away: Dirt

Things You Shout: Don't leave me!

Cartoon Character: Donald Duck

Then there is the 7Ps meme.

Passion: My passion is for life! I am passionate about everything. I love to play, cuddle, snuggle, nap, eat, play some more, cuddle some more, etc. I am a very passionate cat!

Purpose: My main purpose is to keep my mom happy. I think I do a pretty good job. I know she loves me very much and I love her too.

Pursuit: I love to pursue clear bottle tops off of Powerade/Gatorade bottles, the red dot, the Whirlybird, and all of my other toys.

Position: My favourite position is on one of my humans' laps. I love cuddling with them! I also love to lie in the sun on my Gizzy quilt or on my fleece pad.

Pummeling: There's not a whole lot I pummel. I do have some toys, like my catnip cigar or my Wooly Bully, that I can really hold onto and bunnykick. That's probably as close as I come to pummeling anything.

Progress: Since I'm just over a year old, all of my life so far has been progress! I have grown from a cute, adorable hairless kitten into a handsome, muscular hairless mancat. I have made many friends through blogging, and sadly I've lost some of them.

Personality: I am an incredibly friendly, lovable guy. I am also very active and athletic. Several writers have used the term "love mooch" to describe the Sphynx breed, and that's me! I love being the centre of attention and meeting new people. I love being pet and I love cuddling. I also love playing. I love playing with all my toys, especially the Whirlybird and my wand toys, the red dot, and my ball tracks. The CFA Breed Profile describes the Sphynx as:

"The Sphynx are extremely inquisitive and love to be the center of attention. They perform silly antics for your entertainment and are sometimes downright clumsy... on purpose it seems. They make great show cats because of this ''look at me" attitude and they are easy for judges to handle. They prefer human attention but enjoy the company of dogs and other cats. They have an abundance of energy and mischief and are always with you, on you or showing off for you. "Love Mooch" is the perfect term for these amazing cats."

That describes me perfectly!

I think just about everycat out there has been tagged for these memes. If not, consider yourself tagged!

Remembering Oscar and Anastasia

(Thanks for Skeezix for the graphic)

Dear, Sweet Oscar has gone to the Rainbow Bridge. :( You can read about it on Emma's Blog. Please stop by Oscar's blog and leave a word of condolence to his family.

Oscar, you were a wonderful friend and you will be missed.

(Anastasia's Altar courtesy of The Cat Realm)

We are also very sad that Anastasia has gone missing, and it is believed she has gone to the Rainbow Bridge. :( Please leave your thoughts for Karl and his human staff at The Cat Realm. Anastasia, your light will continue to shine over the Cat Blogosphere.

Tuesday, August 28, 2007

Cats on Tuesday: My New Harness!

When my humans came back from vacation, one of the wonderful gifts they had for me was a new harness! Based on Latte's recommendation, they bought me a Puppia harness. It is a soft harness, and very comfortable. I really like it. As you can see, mine is in a camoflague pattern, so I match my dad when he's wearing his CADPAT (combat uniform). I really enjoy exploring our small Garten (yard) on my harness.

(Click any photo to view a larger image)

Monday, August 27, 2007

Movie Monday: Need to Knead

I am so happy that my humans are back from their vacation, that I have been snuggling with them all weekend. I have also been meowing lots and lots to let them know that although I'm cuddling and snuggling with them, I'm still not happy that they went away.

In this movie, you can see that I'm very happy to be on my mom's lap and to have her petting me. I am kneading and kneading, totally happy to be cuddling in her lap. If you have trouble viewing the video, you can try viewing another version here.

Don't forget my Snuggle Auction to help with MontyQ's BabyBean's medical bills.

Sunday, August 26, 2007

Snuggle Auction for BabyBean's Medical Bills

My mom has crocheted this beautiful snuggle, Maple, to auction off for MontyQ's BabyBean's medical bills. Please place your bid in the comments section of this post. There will also be a couple of Bavarian treats included for the winner! All proceeds of the auction will go toward BabyBean's medical bills. My mom will pay for the shipping to the winner. The auction will run until September 3rd, 2007, midnight Munich time (6 hours ahead of Eastern time).

Please scroll down to view today's new posts.

Cat Art Sunday

Many of you have seen this painting before, but I wanted to share it with those of you who haven't seen it. This is a portrait of the cat who came before me, Whiskers. He was a Seal Point Siamese that my mom received for her 15th birthday. He meant a lot to my mom. Whiskers was a real lap cat, just like me, and loved people. He loved being the centre of attention and had a wonderful, rumbling purr. I never met him, but I think I would have really liked him.

Whiskers went to the Rainbow Bridge (where all pets go to wait for their humans when they die) on September 1, 2006, just two months short of his 20th birthday. In honour of his memory, my mom commissioned this portrait by her very talented friend, Michelle Wiebe.

Whiskers acquired his name in a simple fashion: When my mom received him for her 15th birthday, he was missing the whiskers on one side of his face from wrestling with his brother. Not a very creative name for a cat, but one that suited him!

My mom still misses Whiskers on occasion. Often when she visit's Latte's blog, there are certain photos of Latte that remind her very much of Whiskers, and she gets teary-eyed. I try to cuddle with her and purr extra loud on these occasions. I know that there will always be a special place in her heart for Whiskers.

Come home Anatasia

My humans and I are also praying and purring hard for Anatasia to come home safely.

Saturday, August 25, 2007

Photo Hunters: Happy

About | Theme: Happy | Blogroll

Happy

First of all, I am very happy that my humans are home from vacation and that I'm back home with them! In this first photo, I am with my human dad. I am always happy when I'm in his arms or on his lap.

(Click photo for a larger image. Credits for scrapbook layout can be found here.)

The next two photos are of my humans on their wedding day. Both of them say it was the happiest day of their lives. I know they make each other very happy and are more and more in love every day. Oh, and since a lot of people tend to mistake my human dad's uniform in these photos, let me tell you that it is his Mess Kit / Mess Dress. It's the formal uniform of a Canadian army officer, and the equivalent of a civilian tuxedo. He serves as an engineering officer in the Canadian Forces.

(Click photo for a larger image. Credits for scrapbook layout can be found here.)

(Click photo for a larger image. Credits for scrapbook layout can be found here.)

Friday, August 24, 2007

Frootbat Friday: I'm home!

My humans are back home and so am I! :) They picked me up this morning at the Katzenpension. I'm a little upset with them, and meowing lots to let them know that I missed them while they were away. I was very happy to see them, though, and started purring when my dad rubbed my head.

They took good care of me at the Katzenpension. I had lots of yummy food to eat, lots of fishies to watch, and plenty of places to climb and get up high, and tunnels and beds to curl up in. But there's no place like home.

I promise I will get around to visiting all my friends sometime over the course of the next three days. We have lots to do here, of course, but I will make time to visit all of my friends.

I am very happy that my humans are back and that we are all back at home!

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

(Almost) Wordless Wednesday: Missing Everyone

I have some good news! My humans are coming home a day early! Yay! :) So I should get to see them again on Friday morning! :) Yay, yay, yay! :) I promise I will make the time to visit all of my friends over the weekend, while cuddling with my humans.

Tuesday, August 21, 2007

Cats on Tuesday: Tuxie Tuesday

I snuck out of the Katzenpension once again to leave this photo for Tuxie Tuesday. I am thinking and dreaming of Stella in this photo.

Once again, I miss visiting all of you and can't wait until my humans are home and I can visit all of your blogs again!

Monday, August 20, 2007

Mancat Monday

I snuck out to use the computer again briefly. Here's another scrapbook page my mom made for me.

(Click photo for a larger image. Credits for the scrapbook layout can be found here.)

Sorry that I don't have time to visit all my friends right now. I promise I will visit all of you as soon as my humans are back home again.

Sunday, August 19, 2007

Easy Like Sunday Morning

(Click photo for a larger image. Credits for scrapbook layout can be found here.)

This photo was obviously taken before my humans headed off on their vacation, and before I left to go to the Katzenpension.

Normally when my humans go away, they have a cat sitter come to take care of me twice a day, but this time, because they were going to be gone for so long, they thought it would be better for me to be at a place where I would receive more regular attention.

I am doing well, although I miss my humans terribly. I do really enjoy watching all the fishies.

My humans are busy touring First World War Battlefields, Memorials, and Cemeteries in France, and will be heading to Aachen next, where my dad has to have all of his annual military tests and check-ups (the support unit for the various Canadians in postings throughout Europe is at a NATO base near Aachen).

I miss all of you, and can't wait until my humans are back and I can visit with all of you again.

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

Wordy Wednesday

Here I am hiding out, because I don't want to go to the Katzenpension (cat hotel). My humans are going on vacation for 10 days, and didn't want to leave me alone in the house with a cat sitter all that time, so I'll be staying in a cat hotel. Which means I won't have regular internet access to visit all my friends as much as I normally do. I will still try to sneak out and use the computer as much as possible, but if I'm not around much, you'll know why. At least the Katzenpension looks nice - there are lots of scratching posts and windows to look out of, and a fish tank, so there are fishies to look at too!

Like I said, I'll try to post and comment as much as I can, but it won't be as much as usual. I promise I'll visit you all again when my humans are back.

Tuesday, August 14, 2007

Cats on Tuesday: Middle Name Meme

Benjamin Fuzz and Lucy tagged me for the Middle Name Meme.

First the rules:

Post the rules before you give the facts.
List one fact that is somehow relevant to you and your life for each letter of your middle name. If you don’t have a middle name, use the middle name you would have liked to have had.
When you are tagged you need to write your post using your middle name and facts about it.
At the end of your post, choose one cat to tag for each letter of your middle name. Be sure to let each cat know she/he has been tagged. (It's ok if you don't do this...tag who you want to tag!)

This meme wasn't easy for me! Unlike a lot of purebreds who are registered, I don't have a long name. My registered name is "Hair'N'Skin Dragonheart" (Hair'N'Skin is the name of my breeder) and I'm commonly just called Dragonheart. The most common nicknames my humans use for me are "Dragon-Dude" and "Dragon-Cat", so I'll use "Dude" and "Cat" as my middle names.

D - Daring. I love to explore outside on my harness or in my stroller.
U - Unique. As a Sphynx, I am pretty unique! There aren't a whole lot of us around, especially in Germany. We are slowly becoming more common, however. Still, each and every cat is a unique inidividual!
D - Divine. My humans say that both my personality and my looks are divine. They say I am a very handsome cat, with a wonderful, friendly personality.
E - Energetic. I am always on the go and very active. I have tons of energy, and love to run, jump and play.
C - Cute. My humans think I am extremely cute and adorable. They are always going on about how cute I am, and pulling out the camera to take photos of me looking cute.
A - Affectionate. I am a very loving and affectionate cat. I love to snuggle and cuddle with my humans. I love to cuddle in a lap and purr and purr.
T - Treasured. I am a very lucky cat. I am loved and treasured by my human mom and dad. They also say I am spoiled. I love them very much and they love me too. I am very happy that although my dad is allergic to cats, he can tolerate Sphynx, so I was able to come and live with my humans. They are the best mom and dad a cat ever had!

I tag: Zippy, Speedy & Sadie, Kaze, Caesar & Princess, Stella, Titus

Monday, August 13, 2007

Mancat Monday

(Click either photo to view a larger image)

It is important for Mancats to always be properly groomed. Although I get weekly baths, I still groom myself several times a day. My tongue, however, can't keep up with the oil my skin secretes, and since I have no fur for the oil to work itself through, the oil builds up on my skin. This necessitates weekly baths to keep me healthy and clean.

Sunday, August 12, 2007

Not-Of-My-Same-Species Friend

My NOMSS Friend is Titus, of The Furry Kids. Titus is a very nice woofie! He is nice to cats, as evidenced by the fact that he lives with two of them: Earl Grey and Tazo. Titus is a woofie Frootbat, just like I'm a kitty Frootbat! He engages in competitive eating, which is very impressive! Titus also likes looking out the window, just like I do! Titus is a great not-of-my-same-species friend!

Saturday, August 11, 2007

Photo Hunters: Row

About | Theme: Row | Blogroll

Row

I love my Gizzy quilt! I like to sit or lie on it in the sun. The quilt is made up of row upon row of fabric pieces, all stitched together. My Gizzy quilt is extra special because it has dragons on it! I know I've shared photos of it before, but it was perfect for this week's theme. To see more Gizzy quilts or to learn how to get your own, visit Bizzy for Gizzy.

(Click photo to view a larger image. Credits for scrapbook layout can be found here.)

Friday, August 10, 2007

Frootbat Friday & A Meme

Once again, a photo of me lying in the sun on my Gizzy quilt. :) I was thinking of Stella until my mom came along with the camera and disturbed my thoughts.

(Click photo to view a larger image)

Adan tagged me to list ten things I hate. Here's my list:

Thunderstorms. They are loud and noisy.
The doorbell ringing. It is loud and the sound hurts my ears.
Fireworks. They are very loud and hurt my ears.
When my humans go away on vacation. My catsitter takes good care of me, but I miss my humans.
The vacuum. This is also very noisy, and sucks things up for no good reason!
The evil water spray bottle. Granted, it only attacks me when I'm doing things I shouldn't, but still, I don't like it at all!
Pâté-style stinky goodness. Blech. I need my stinky goodness to look like real chicken, beef, or fish. So I'm very happy my humans buy me Almo Nature, which is 100% organic, hormone-free meat or ocean-caught fish, 100% organic rice, and cooking water, and that's it! The meat (fish, chicken, or beef) is also human-grade, and looks just like the meat that would come out of a can of meat for human consumption.
When people call me ugly, or leave mean, hurtful comments on my blog.
When people think I'm a dog! I know many nice woofies, but I'm not one!
Mean people, especially people who are cruel to animals. I don't know how people can be so mean to helpless, defenceless creatures. It makes me very sad.

I tag:

Zippy, Speedy & Sadie, Miss Peach, Caesar & Princess

Feathers are Fun!

This week, the theme of the Bad Kitty Cats Festival of Chaos is Birds or Feathers! I love feathers. They are so much fun! Most of my favourite toys have some sort of feathers on them. One of my favourite toys is the Whirlybird! Here is a scrapbook layout my mom did of me playing with my Whirlybird.

(Click photo for a larger image. Scrapbook layout credits can be found here.)

Weekend Cat Blogging this weekend is at What Did You Eat? Sadly, Sundance has gone to the Rainbow Bridge. Stop by and leave your condolences.

Thursday, August 09, 2007

Thursday Thirteen: Best Buds

My prize pack from Laffin an Laffin's contest arrived! I won the Best Buds frame in Jeter Harris' Squillion's contest! Here are 13 photos that show me opening my prize pack! Thanks again for a great contest Laffin an Laffin and Jeter Harris! My dad has already brought the frame to his office, and has it displayed there, but my mom took some new photos of us the other day, so I think I'm going to have him bring in the photo I showed you yesterday, and put that in the frame.

#30 - 13 Photos of Me and My Prize Pack from Laffin an Laffin's Contest

If you have problems viewing the slide show, you can view the individual images here.

Wednesday, August 08, 2007

Wordless Wednesday: Best Buds!

(Click photo to view a larger image)

Tuesday, August 07, 2007

Cats on Tuesday: Toesday

Here are some photos of my toes. Sphynx have long, slender toes, with thick paw pads. In these photos, I've just had a bath, so my paws are nice and shiny and clean. The colourful pad I'm sitting on is my "Cozy Calming Mat."