Gifts from the Santa Ape

The Santa ape brought Strombeek and Louie new beds for Christmas.

Santa Suit

The Christmas Eve Tibby wore his Santa suit...

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays!
from Strombeek, Louie, and the Santa ape! 

All aboard the Käthe Wohlfahrt Express!

Christmas Madness

As the holidays approach, the cats fall into Christmas madness.

Litter Box Update

Strombeek is like, yeah, this is the new litter box.  This is where I poop.

Holidays with the Ape

Strombeek would prefer not to hang out with the Santa ape and his minions.

Wrap a Cat

So there's this crazy cat video going around (there are actually a few) about how to wrap a cat for Christmas.

Maybe you've seen one.  

I thought I could do something even better with Strombeek...

Who's Naughty and Nice

Today, Strombeek and Louie go to see the Santa ape and his llamas. Strombeek says it's a good idea to get word of their Christmas wishes to him early.

December

Leftovers

There were a number of great Strombeek Chicken shots that didn't make it into the Thanksgiving photo. "The Sneeze" is one of them.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving from Strombeek & Louie, Bartholomew & Joe, and the pesky backyard squirrels!

New Litter Box!!!

Is it a new Cat Castle? The Ultra ScoopFree Cat Castle?

Mouse Love

Strombeek has discovered something pretty cool inside the paper bag that replaces the Cat Castle...

Smack Down

Since the Cat Castle burned down, this paper bag and packing paper are all the cats have left.

Where's Louie?

We took the cats down to the rally to keep fear alive on the national mall last weekend. Unfortunately, there were so many people down there that we lost track of them.

Remember, Remember the Fifth of November!

The Roof, The Roof, The Roof is on Fire

Strombeek was just kicking it out in front of the cat castle one evening, when the next thing she knew...

Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween from Strombeek and Louie!

       (And their winged minions!) They can't wait for the trick-or-treaters to arrive. 

High Jumper

Somebody's about to jump...

Whole Fried Fish

Chinese food delivery with a whole fried fish. Strombeek licks her chops (since she doesn't have lips).

Haunted House!

The Cat Castle is haunted! Oh no!

Electronic Mouse Patrol

Enough is enough, Strombeek thinks to herself. There's no reason to live in fear any longer! She's not going to let a silly electronic mouse control her life.

Fish Tank Fun

What's going on here?

Eek! A Mouse!

The cats got some new things this weekend. A new round insert for their scratching platform (left), some fresh cat grass, and an electronic mouse.

Birthday with Cats

A birthday with two cats can be a little intense.

October

Cat Magic

Arthur has it--cat magic.

A Drawer Full of Strombeek

Strombeek is in Arthur's drawers checking out his wardrobe.

But why?

The Line

Strombeek is like, what do you mean you're not clear on the line? It's right there.

The Cats that I Meet When I'm Walking down the Street

We have a lot of cats in our neighborhood. This is Shrunken Ear Cat. His left ear is half the size of his right. He's pretty tuff.

Louie Pulls an ET

Louie is hiding, and Strombeek doesn't know where he could be.

Hungry Hungry Strombeek

Strombeek's hunger is this big. She's sure all six cans will fit in her belly. See? They only go up to her neck.

Supervision

Strombeek is a supervisor. She spends most of her day just hanging out. Like this.

Ein Paar Wiener

 The only one more excited about ein paar wiener than John Hurley...

The First Day of September!

The crowning achievement of this picture is probably the cake. This was completely Photoshopped in to take up a big glaring hole of nothingness, and the light seemed to work perfectly. There were a number of these photos from this shoot (shown below), and rather than choose one, I ended up compiling the best components from different ones. Apparently Louie wasn't ready for this kind of harvest bacchanalia, and the only decent image I was able to capture was him in the process of fleeing. Setting: Golden Gate park.

Cat Calendar - August 2010

The original photo shoot (shown below) involved a set consisting of lots of crepe paper around a white box and all these ribbons.

Cat Calendar Update

It was brought to my attention that some of the cat calendar pages for this year were a little unclear. For instance, the month of July, shown below was supposed to be in honor of Bastille day, while some people interpreted it as being an homage to the role the French played in our independence.

Perhaps if I had portrayed Strombeek as a wee bit more Marie Antoinette-ish it would have been clear. Like so. . .

Packing Paper Canoes

If the Photoshopped extravaganza in the last entry didn't make total sense, the packing paper is like a canoe on the hardwood floor. Usually the cats each hang out on their own raft, but Louie has hitched a ride on the back of Strombeek's.

Cat Castle Adventures

It seems The Cat Castle also has transportative properties...

Cat Tent Adventures

So not only does the cat tent function as a great toy repository, but its light weight makes it great to push around in cat games.

Oh, and it matches Strombeek's headdress.

It may have some mystical or magical qualities as well. . .

The Cat Tent

Before the cat castle, there was the cat tent. There still is the cat tent, we just forgot about it for a while.

The cat tent cost just over $5 at Ikea, but now you can only find it on ebay or Amazon for an inflated price. Does that make it a collector's item?

So, we pulled out the tent because it matched the pharaonic headdress I planned to photograph Strombeek wearing.

Louie is a Friskies Cat

Louie is pretty excited to finally be initiated into the Friskies club. No more stealth missions to Strombeek's dish. No more lying in wait to see if she'll leave anything.

Calendar Preview

Month of frogs? Any suggestions about which month this might be?

Anniversary

"Five years, Strombeek. That's longer than we've been alive!"



It's difficult for the cats to imagine, but that doesn't stop them from trying. . .

Miscommunication

I thought I was pretty good at interpreting what my cats are trying to say, but it seems that I can still be way off. For instance, when I first introduced the new corn kernel litter, I thought Strombeek was just shaking herself, something she probably always did but I never noticed. But in reality she was demonstrating her intense displeasure with the "World's Best" Cat Litter. She was like, NOOOOOOOooooooo. I hate this litter SO much! I need to get every trace of it OFF me!" 

More Fun and Games

Another fun game house guests enjoy is Taunt the Cat with People Food.

March of the Strombeek

Sometimes when people are visiting and things get slow, Strombeek is called upon to entertain.

She is not so excited about the cat pendant.

Nor does she appreciate the bunch of bananas competing for space on her chair while people dance around her and sing about how there aren't any bananas. Of course there are bananas. They're right there.

But worse than any of that is when she is conscripted to perform The Penguin Dance.