Scattered Brains

Micah:  Okay, so we're all agreed?

Rusty:  Yes, it's time to have a group discussion with Jan about her scattered brains!

Cyndi:  No, no, no!  Jan does not have scattered brains; she has been becoming increasingly scatterbrained.

Rusty:  That's what I said.

Micah:  Not exactly.

Percy:  Can we get this meeting over with?  It's past time for my cowisthenics.

Taylor:  Oh, great, you're starting to sound like Jan.  It's calisthenics.

Percy:  Not if you learned your exercise routine from watching cows on TV.  Marcus, are you with us kitties on this?

Marcus:  Yep! At least I think so.  I'm still not sure what scattered brains are.

Micah:  We all know know Binky from Angelwhisper2011.  Binky has been being harassed by a bird.  We left a comment saying we hope the bird will move elsewhere. 

Marcus:  What does that have to do with Jan's brains?

Rusty:  Everything.  As you know, the heat and humidity have Jan too tired to do much of anything, including think.  Yesterday a friend took her out of town for lunch. 

Taylor:  When Jan got home, she sat down at the computer and tried to stay awake; however, when she read the email - actually our email notification - stating Binky had responded to our comment saying the bird is waiting every morning and is very annoying, Jan went right over to Binky's blog to write a suggestion.

Cyndi: Jan came thiiiisssss close to asking Binky, have you tried barking at it?

Marcus:  So?

Rusty:  Binky is a C-A-T.

Marcus:  Oh. **light bulb**  Oh, now I get it.  It's like when I walked Jan just before sundown last night, we passed a guy walking with a female version of me.  (Wow, is she gorgeous!)  The guy and the lovely dog crossed the street, and Jan called out a cheery, "Gooood morning!"

Micah:  Good example.  Now let's go have a talk with Jan and see if we can fix her.

Taylor:  I think it's too late.  I hear snoring from the kitchen.

Click to enlarge.

Taylor:  This week we interviewed Lucy, Benny, Sadie and Ringo from All About the Cats (It's All About the Cats). You can read their story, Lucy and Benny Chat About the Cats, at Mousebreath.com.

We are joining Flashback Friday.  To see other blog entries and/or to enter your own blog, visit the Five Sibes. 

And joining Feline Friday at Comedy Plus.

Funny Farm Hotel

Rusty:  Meet Puppy.  Yes, Puppy.  That's his name.  And he's the third guest to stay at the Funny Farm Hotel in less than a year.

Marcus:  I'm going to have to start charging for the use of my spare crate.

Rusty:  You do and you'll have to start paying Jan for digging it out, setting it up and breaking it down.

Marcus:  What about a tip jar in a corner?

Rusty: Puppy was a pretty cool guy.  Quiet, polite.  Nothing like you Marcus.  He never screeched once!  In fact, when we met at the back door, he lowered his head and I head-bonked and rubbed against him.  Not a good picture but Jan loves the memory.

Marcus:  I thought Jan said I was her last puppy.

Rusty:  You were, but a neighbor found Puppy at his back door Tuesday.  Puppy ate all the cats' food outside and went to sleep.  There was thunder and lightning from an approaching storm and the neighbor was afraid the pup would end up in the road hit by a car, so he called Jan.

Marcus:  Jan prepared his room and I gave him the house rules.  #1 - I am in charge!

Rusty:  I dare you to say that to Jan.

Marcus:  There's no need to mention that to her.

Rusty:  Jan took a couple of pictures and posted them to facebook.  Lots of helpful people shared her post and at 10:00 pm, she received a message from Puppy's owner.  He had gotten out that morning and wandered off.  

Marcus:  Jan played musical crates again.  Me in my room, Puppy with the run of the house for a while.  Then we'd switch.   He liked his room.  As you can see, the door is open here.  He went in on his own.

Rusty:  He was so neat.  When he peed his training pad, he'd fold it over and then wad it up.  Most of the time he went outside, though.

Marcus:  His owner had to work till 8:00 pm Wednesday, so Jan took advantage and spent time sitting out on the porch cuddling Puppy.  He had never worn a collar or been on a leash before but he did well.  Jan said good-bye to him at 9:30.  She enjoyed having him here for a day and a half, but she was glad he was able to return home to his family.  

Rusty:  When Jan asked the pup's name, she was told, "My daughter just calls him Puppy."  Although we had never met this neighbor, we did mention her house in our post Strange Plumbing Problems.  Life is full of humor. 
 

Percy:  We Funny Farmer Felines have a new interview for you this week.  Cleo from Peeballs and Poopblogs.  (Blog was named by her angel brother Orbit, not sweet Cleo.)

  Stop by Mousebreath to meet Cuddly Cleo. Mousebreath.com

The Intruder

Marcus:  Hey, Cyndi, I heard there was an intruder Tuesday night.  What's the story? 

Cyndi:  We had a huuuuuuge, gigantic cat get into the house and it ate over two bowls of our cat food before Jan chased it away.

Marcus:  I hadn't heard.  That must have been scary.

Cyndi:  It was.  I'm blind, but I knew there was something reallllly big beside me on the washing machine where our food and water are kept.

Marcus:  How did it get up that high?

Cyndi:  It must have jumped.  Or perhaps it used the steps Jan put there for me to get up and down.  A short step and a high stool.

Marcus:  It's lucky I missed it or I would have torn it limb from limb.

Cyndi:  Don't brag.  You would have run for your crate and closed the door.

Marcus:  How did it manage to eat three bowls of your food?  I would think Jan would have figured there was a problem by the second bowl.

Cyndi:  She was a bit confused.  Our bowl was empty.  She filled it.  It was empty again.  She wondered why we were so hungry and licked up every crumb, but filled it a third time.  And then -

Marcus:  And then what happened?

Cyndi:  It was late at night.  Jan walked into the kitchen without turning on the light, but the the room behind her was lit .  She was thoroughly shocked to see the looming shape of a giant cat on top of our washer munching away.

Marcus:  Did she run?

Cyndi:  No, but it jumped down and ran away.  As it raced past her, Jan let out one loud and frightening shriek -

MARRRRCUUUUUUUUUUS!!!!!. 

Marcus:  I still don't understand why Jan blamed me.

Cyndi:  The next time you want to play innocent, wipe the crumbs off your face first.

Taylor:  We interviewed another cat this week.  There were two - Emma and Buster - but only Buster responded.

Percy:  Cat got Emma's tongue?

Taylor:  Guess so.

Percy:  You can read Emma and Buster the Posey Cat at Mousebreath.

Let There Be Light

Micah:  Do you think Jan is going to make it through the summer?

Rusty:  I hope so.  Why do you ask?

Micah:  Well, if she is supposed to be ancient, why is she working so hard in this weather?  Heat and humidity mean it's time for extra naps but she's been doing extra work.  Is she backwards or what? 

Rusty:  Definitely backwards!  But we've had so much rain everything is growing like weeds and she can't keep up.  Remember this tree limb? (Sawing Branch as Percy Turns 14) She sawed it off on Sunday and fortunately, got some help cutting it up or she wouldn't have been able to open our canned food this week.

Micah:  It did help to let some sunshine in the side yard so the grass won't die. But it wasn't enough.  So Tuesday, she looked and found the limb on the neighbor's tree she cut over our property last year had branched out and grown over our yard again.

Rusty:  So Jan cut it?

Micah:  Um, not exactly.  She couldn't reach it with the saw on a pole, so she used a "grabber" for disabled people to pick up things, grabbed and pulled the end of the branch, leaned her weight on it until it started to crack, twisted it round and round, back and forth, leaned on it a few more times and finally it broke off!

Rusty:  That's what it gets for growing over our yard and blocking sunlight, but that sure is a strange way to take down a branch.

Micah:  Yes, but you know Jan often has a strange way of accomplishing things.  This was a smaller-sized branch and Jan was able to cut this one up by herself.

Rusty:  And then Wednesday morning she got a shock!  Our neighbor has refused to cut his bushes.  Our phone and power lines run through them.  They also block sunlight from our pen.

Micah:  I remember this is what it looked like over there last year.  With all the rain we've had, those bushes grew higher than the pole where the lines are attached.  Between our tree, their tree and their jungle, it's been a bit dark and claustrophobic over here.

Rusty:  Jan practically did a dance when those two guys showed up to trim the bushes next door. When they left, our power and phone lines had been liberated and there is now a small path for sunlight to the dog pen.

Micah:  Do you think Jan was serious when she said she could kiss the neighbor's landlord for sending those guys over to do the trimming on their property?

Rusty:  No, you know how humans are always saying things they don't mean.

Micah:  Unlike us.  We always mean what we say.

Rusty:  By the way, you promised to repay the two dollars you borrowed last week.

Micah:  And I will.  Just as soon as my ship comes in. 

Cyndi:  It's been a few months since we Funny Farmer Felines last posted a Mousebreath interview.  Today we feature the Hipster Kitties from Dennis the Vizsla's blog.  Many of you know them.  The little black and white cats and the big red one with the white face.  What do you mean the big one is an imposter?  Are you sure?

Percy:  Stop by Mousebreath to read their interview, Hipster Kitties Charlee and Chaplin  … and Dennis.

Merci Was Sleeping

Marcus:  HEY, GUYS, GUESS WHAT!

Percy: Shhhhh!  Merci is sleeping.  You'll wake her up.

Marcus:  She should get up and come outside to play a rousing game of fetch with me. 

Percy:  She's old.  She needs her rest, not a rousing game of fetch.  One day you'll be old and want to sleep all the time too.

Marcus:  No, I'm never going to get old and sleepy.  If I do, who will keep Jan awake when she starts nodding off at 1 a.m.?

Percy:  I think the question would be more like, when you are old, who will awaken you at 1 a.m. so you can annoy the daylights out of Jan?

Marcus:  Don't worry.  I'll read the directions to learn how to reset Jan's alarm clock.

Percy:  And I suppose you'll borrow her glasses to read them?

Marcus:  But I have perfect vision.  Oh ... you mean when I supposedly get older.

Percy:  Yes, when you grow old, you will have to borrow Jan's reading glasses to see the dial and wear a hearing aid to hear the alarm.

Marcus:  Then I definitely don't want to grow old.

Percy:  You don't have a choice.  If you live long enough,  you will grow old.  By then you won't mind.  You'll have accepted it.   Merci did.  Where are you going?

Marcus:  To apologize to Merci for yelling when I entered the room.

Percy: But she's sleeping.  You'll wake her up!

Cyndi:  Spyder and Gracie are our interview subjects this week.  They don't have a blog yet but plan to.  You can read Presenting Spider and Gracie at Mousebreath.


We are joining the Pet Parade hosted by Rascal and Rocco and co-hosted by Bionic Basil and Barking from the Bayou.

Flying Feline Ego

Merci:  Oh, no, I see the Funny Farmer Felines are returning.  Guess they'll be running around here again with swelled heads.

Marcus:  Yeah, there was a lot of flying feline ego around when they were posting Mousebreath interviews.

Rusty:  Come on, guys, you know that isn't true.  You're just jealous because Mousebreath is only for cats; no dogs allowed.

Micah:  It wasn't our idea.  We would let you join us if we could.

Taylor:  Yes, we like you guys.  Most of the time.  Marcus is a little rowdy at times, but as a general rule, he's okay.

Cyndi:  The interviews will resume Friday, but we need some volunteers who would like to tell their stories.  There is no way we can find all the Cat Scouts, social media cats, blogging cats, etc. on our own.

Percy:  We apologize for the long break between interviews but Jan just kept ruining our plans and we had to keep our nursing skills honed for her.  You wanted the Mousebreath interviews to return, so step up and help us locate new interviewees. 

Merci:  Well, so this post isn't a total loss for we canines, Marcus has a joke for you.

Marcus:  A guy was admitted to the hospital with eight plastic horses in his stomach. His condition is now stable.

Merci:  You consider that a joke?  Next time you better run it by me first.

Marcus:  You didn't catch it when it  just walked by; what makes you think you could catch it if it runs by you?

Do Mice Play (When Cat is Away)

Micah: We are glad to still see some of our posted badges in our travels around the blogs.  It's the "I Was Featured by the FFF" badge for those we have interviewed for Mousebreath.

Rusty:  We were pleased to add Taylor when we resumed the interviews this year, but we sometimes feel a bit sad for those we have had to remove from the badge over the years:  Cameron, Cotton, Crystal.

Cyndi:  We were the fuor "C"s.  I'm the only one left.  I hope we don't have to leave alphabetically for the bridge.  Not that any of us are in any hurry to go.   

Taylor:  Or chronologically, since you're the oldest of us felines.  I'm sorry.  I shouldn't have said that, should I?


Cyndi:  No!  You should have said we have a new interview this week with two cats we met recently.

Taylor:  Do the mice really play?

Micah:  What?

Taylor:  Tessa and Kajsa are from the blog When the Cat is Away.

Rusty:  Oh, you want to know if the mice play when the cat is away?

Taylor:  Yes.

Micah:  You'll have to ask Tessa and Kajsa.

Percy:  If you haven't met them yet, you will enjoy the introduction.  You can read their story,Tessa and Kajsa from Helsinki, on Mousebreath.  

We are joining the Pet Parade hosted by Rascal and Rocco, Basil the Bionic Cat, Barking from the Bayou and Owned by a husky.  

Hitting the Haystack

Percy:  All right, crew, let's get cracking on tomorrow's post so we can hit the haystack before midnight.

Taylor:  We can't crack anything; we don't have a haystack.

Rusty:  We have a nutcracker in the kitchen drawer, but I think he was referring to hitting the hay. 

Cyndi:  Well, if we're going to sleep on hay, I hope none of you peed on it first.

Micah:  It's too hot and humid to crack anything, but we do have a post to write, so let's get it done.

Percy:  We enjoyed interviewing Jasper, Jose, Huggy Bear and Maggie.  Jasper is one of the old-time bloggers who started before we did.  Drop by Mousebreath to read their story, Jasper McKitten-Cat and Siblings.

We are joining the Pet Parade hosted by Rascal and Rocco, Basil the Bionic Cat, Barking from the Bayou and Owned by a husky.   

Poverty to Palace

Marcus:  I, the Great Swampi, predict the cats are going to do a post today.

Buddy: Of course, the cats are going to do a post today.  It's Funny Farmer Felines Friday.

Marcus:  Remember, you heard it here first.

Buddy:  Heard what here first?  You haven't said anything we didn't already know.


Cyndi:  While Marcus and Buddy finish their conversation, I'll go ahead and announce that we cats have published another interview.

Micah:  Our guest today is Erin the Cat Princess from the blog of the same name.

Rusty:  We had such fun interviewing her.  Her life changed from poverty to palace when she adopted her peep.

Taylor: I think she's my hero.  She is so dainty she rubs paws with the elite and yet catching mice to help feed her peep is not beneath her.

Micah:  Does anyone know if her peep eats the mice Erin catches for her?

Percy:  I doubt it.  Jan wouldn't.  But you can read all about Erin's rise to fame, Erin The Tuxedo Princess, at Mousebreath.  

We are joining the Pet Parade hosted by Rascal and Rocco, Basil the Bionic Cat, Barking from the Bayou and Owned by a husky.  

Andy and Dougy

Rusty:  No, you're not imagining it.  Neither of those cats are one of us.

Cyndi:  They're Andy and Dougy from Weggieboy's Blog,

Micah:  Can you tell them apart?  We can't.

Taylor:  I can.  We wrote their names on the picture.  

Percy:  Smoke Persians Andy and Dougy has published on Mousebreath. 


Note:  We forgot about the interview when we posted Serious Thinking.

We are beyond sad, because after having fun with product reviews (at least we had fun and we tried to make them fun for you too) and being able to try a variety of new things because of them, as of May 1st, we will no longer be doing Chewy reviews - or any other reviews! 

We want to make it perfectly clear that this decision has nothing to do with Chewy (or any other company we have had contact with).  Sydney and Natalie have been super nice and we will miss them.  

When we do reviews, we have to report the product as income even though we do not receive financial compensation.  We try to be honest and do what is right.  2016 was a good review year for us.  Trying to report it has been a nightmare!  It took a week through a maze of confusion for Federal.  The new Georgia state 5-page plus a 6th to report just one - ONE! - item nearly gave Jan a stroke.  (And before anyone asks why not use the state EZ form, she can't because of her age.)  Never, never, never, never, NEVER again!!!!

Reviews were something we all enjoyed. Jan is very discouraged!  (This is the short version for those of you who asked.)   Have a good Easter weekend.

Funny Farmer Felines President

Percy:  Who's the kitty?

Buddy:  That's Marcus's new friend.  We've been seeing him on our walks the past couple of months.  We don't know if he's a feral that lives near the mill or someone abandoned him there.

Percy:  Marcus isn't planning on bringing him home, I hope!

Buddy:  No, but you know Marcus.  He says he tries to make friends with everything he meets.

Percy:  What do you mean, he says he tries?

Buddy:  You know how hyper Marcus is.  It's hard to take him seriously about making new friends when he's dancing about and making strange noises that he calls communication and I call gibberish.

Percy:  Well, that's one pretty kitty but tell Marcus if that cat steps one paw into this house, I will chase him out of Mayberry!

Buddy:  We don't live in Mayberry.  In fact, Mayberry was a fictional TV town.

Percy:  Well, chasing him out of town is my campaign promise and that isn't fiction, it's fact!

Buddy:  What are you campaigning for?

Percy:  President of the Funny Farmer Felines.

Buddy:  And what makes you qualified to run?

Percy:  I can beat up ... I mean, beat Micah or any other kitty that wants to run against me.  I also know how to stuff a ballot box.

Buddy:  What do you stuff a ballot box with?

Percy:  Kitty litter!  What else?

Buddy:  Oh, I don't know.  I was thinking ... votes?

Halloween Bleeding Pumpkin FFHT

MERCI:  Have you ever heard the Halloween story of the bleeding pumpkin?

MARCUS:  No, Is it a good one?

CYNDI:  Oh, you better believe it's good.

RUSTY:  You know that Jan doesn't do Halloween decorating.  Have you ever wondered why?

MARCUS:  Yes, I have.  But I figured we can't afford to decorate.

SAM:  Actually, before your time, Jan got a big pumpkin to carve for Halloween.  She figured if other people can carve one, she could too.

MICAH:  So we all sat down to watch a spooky Halloween show on the TV while Jan sat at the desk with a large knife and carved a face on the pumpkin.

BUDDY:  Just before the last commercial, there was a frightening scream behind us.  We all turned and there was the pumpkin with wide eyes and big teeth.  Blood was gushing out it's mouth and dripping from its eyes.

PERCY:  I ran over and Jan's hand with the knife was inside the pumpkin/  Blood was spurting out of her wrist and through the pumpkin's eyes and mouth.

MARCUS:  Jan cut herself with the knife?

CYNDI:  That's what we thought too, but Jan was screaming that the pumpkin bit her.

MARCUS:  Bit her?  But pumpkins don't bite.  Er ... do they?

MERCI:  That one must.  I dialed 9-1-1 with my nose for an ambulance.   An E.M.T. said he could see what appeared to be large tooth marks in her wrist. 

RUSTY:  Jan was taken away to the Emergency Room to stop the bleeding.  After a while, two police officers came and read the pumpkin its rights.

SAM:  They carried it outside, put it in the back seat of a squad car, and drove away.  We never saw it again.

MARCUS:  What about Jan?

MICAH:  Oh, yes, we saw Jan again. 

BUDDY:   It was a traumatic night.   After that I never turned my back on another pumpkin. And we have never decorated for Halloween again.

It is Fractured Fryday Hairy Tails day over at Murphy and Stanley's blog.

PERCY:  Our latest cat interview of Finnegan  and his siblings, Daily Wisdom of 7 Cats and Counting, has published at Mousebreath, the ezine for cats.

Join the Pet Parade blog hop hosted by Rascal and Roscoe.  It is co-hosted by Bionic Basil, Barking From the Bayou and Love is being owned by a husky.

Sleep Late and Take Naps

RUSTY:  We love Friday.  It's the last day before the weekend and -

MICAH:  What's so special about the weekend?

RUSTY:  I don't know but everyone talks about the weekend as if it's special.

MICAH:  But what does it do?

RUSTY:  Nothing.  It just exists.  And then it doesn't.

MICAH:  Why?

RUSTY:  I don't know.  I think you're supposed to do something special on the weekend.

MICAH:  Like what?

RUSTY:  Like ... like sleep late and take naps during the day.

MICAH:  But we do that every day.

RUSTY:  So be different; get up early and have an extra cup of coffee to stay awake all day.

MICAH:  I don't drink coffee.

PERCY:  Uh, guys, why are you arguing about the weekend?  Every weekend we do the same thing.

CYNDI:  Today is Friday.  We're supposed to be introducing the cats from the Our Church Cat Family blog.

PERCY:  Right!  So let's cut the nonsense and finish the introduction.

CYNDI:  And after we finish, we can all take a nap. 

PERCY:  Now that we all know what day it is, you can read the interview - Church Cats Chopin, Tinker, Anastasia and Bridget - exclusively at Mousebreath, the ezine for cats. 

BUDDY:  For those who believe in prayer, Jan highly recommends the movie War Room.  It's the first time she's been inside a movie theater in years!  A movie isn't in our budget but a kind woman paid her way and another gave her a ride.  She said it was so nice to see a movie without violence, bloodshed or weird imagination.


Join the Pet Parade blog hop hosted by Rascal and Roscoe.  It is co-hosted by Bionic Basil, Barking From the Bayou and Love is being owned by a husky. 

Merci's Purple FFHT

 PERCY:  Hey, Merci, what happened to you.  Your toes are purple on one paw. 

MERCI:  I know.  It's a long story.

PERCY:  I have time.

MERCI:  Well, I was sound asleep when all of a sudden my paw was stomped!  I opened my eyes and it was Marcus in one of his playful moods.  He knows he isn't supposed to roughhouse in the house, but he was leaping and barking and trying to get Sam to play.

PERCY:  But Sam doesn't like to play with Marcus.  Marcus plays rough.

MERCI:  Yes, Sam doesn't remember when he did the same to Buddy and me.  He's almost twice Marcus's size, so he played rough too.

PERCY:  So Marcus stomped your foot and that's why your toes are purple?  That wasn't a long story.

MERCI:  I wasn't finished.  I leaped to my feet to get out of Marcus's way and stepped on a cat ball with the same paw.

PERCY:  Ouch!

MERCI: I tried to limp around Marcus when Sam did a sudden spin and he stomped the same foot!  I thought someone had dropped a concrete block on my paw.

PERCY:  Wow, that would really hurt.

MERCI:  I wanted to get out of the way, so I limped to my bed in the bedroom where I lay down and tried to nurse my throbbing paw.

PERCY:  That's some big purple bruise.

MERCI:  Actually, the bruise doesn't show.  Jan wasn't watching where she was walking and she tripped over my bed, spilling grape juice on my painful paw.  And that's why my toes turned purple.

NOTE:  Now before anyone gets upset, this is Fractured Fryday Hairy Tales day and we needed a story to go with this month's phrase, " And that's why my toes turned purple."  So we made this up.  Merci is fine.  No woofie was injured in the writing of this story.  Since this is a house of accidents, though, we thought we should tell you that this one is not true.  :)

Fractured Fryday is hosted by Murphy and Stanley's blog.  The rules are under the FFHT tab.


RUSTY:  Well, now that we're done with fairy tales, let's get to a true story.

CYNDI:  This week we interview Lola and Lexy from the Lola the Rescued Cat blog.

MICAH:  Two lovely sisfurs who blog to bring attention to rescued pets.

PERCY:  Their story, Heart Singing Lola and Heart Melting Lexy, can be read exclusively at Mousebreath, the ezine for cats.


Join the Pet Parade blog hop hosted by Rascal and Roscoe.  It is co-hosted by Bionic Basil, Barking From the Bayou and Love is being owned by a husky. 

Pawesome Cats and Marcus

RUSTY:  Kit, kit, hooray!

CYNDI:  What's that? 

RUSTY:  It's a cheer.  I'm excited because it's Friday and time for us to do another Mousebreath interview.

CYNDI:  Yes, it is, but I thought you had a cramp in your back paw when you suddenly did a side kick and yelled.

MICAH:  We got to meet some cats that are so pawsome they had to add an extra "e" so everyone would know they're special (Pawesome Cats). 

PERCY:  We hope you will amble over to Mousebreath to read their story, Pawesome Felines Charlie, Amber, Max and Ava. 


MERCI:  Does anyone know why Jan is limping?

SAM:  Yes, Marcus.

MARCUS:  Wait a minute!  Why are you blaming me?

BUDDY:  Because when Jan called us inside at bedtime Wednesday, you suddenly whipped around and charged Sam.

MARCUS:  So why is Jan limping instead of Sam?

SAM:  Because you were standing right next to her, when you turned suddenly, bashed her in the shin with your head and then crashed head-first into the same spot.

MARCUS:  Yes I remember.  I thought she'd hit me with a cinder block.  Are you suggesting she was injured?

BUDDY:  I would think the piercing scream, despite the late hour, would give that away.

MERCI:  And the ice pack for the swelling and bruising you caused..

MARCUS:  Well, she gave me a headache.  And I still have some ringing in my ears.

BUDDY:  I would suggest the next time you swing your head away from Jan and hit her with your butt instead. But don't knock her out the door.  We need her opposable thumbs to open cans of food.


The Pet Parade blog hop is hosted by by Rascal and Roscoe.  It is co-hosted by Bionic Basil, Barking From the Bayou and Love is being owned by a husky.

A Less Stress Version

RUSTY:  Is it our turn to do a post?

CYNDI:  It certainly is our turn!  Has anyone seen Marcus?  You know how he likes to butt into everything.

PERCY:  He's outside playing canine soccer.  Can't you hear his squeals of delight?

MICAH:  Oh, I always wondered what to call that noise.

CYNDI:  Well, it is time for another Funny Farmer Felines interview.  This week our subjects are Rascal and Rocco from the blog titled ... let me think.  Oh, right, Rascal and Rocco.

RUSTY:  We helped co-host their Pet Parade blog hop until we retired.  Seems like only last week.  Wait, it was just last week they posted their new graphic without us.  It seems kind of strange but life is full of changes.

MICAH:  There seems to still be some interest in the interviews, so when we finish publishing the last few "on ice", there are tentative plans for a new, less formal version. But most definitely, a less stress for us version. 

PERCY:  Their story, Blog Hopping with Rascal and Rocco, can be read exclusively at Mousebreath.  So pop on over and check them out.

The Pet Parade blog hop is hosted by by Rascal and Roscoe.  It is co-hosted by Bionic Basil, Barking From the Bayou and Love is being owned by a husky.

Remembering Bridge Angels

RUSTY:  Today is the first annual Rainbow Bridge Remembrance Day.  It is the brainchild of Deb Barnes of Zee and Zoey.

MERCI:  We have to be honest and mention we do not believe in the rainbow bridge but we have lost four feline siblings since we began blogging. 

CYNDI:  We have so many happy memories of each one, so we do want to join other bloggers in remembering our beloved furry angels. (One of the definitions of "angel" is "a kind, charming, lovable cat".  It actually reads "person" but this is a post about furries, not people, so we take a little literary license.)

MARCUS:  Cameron is the only one I met and he once told me a story.  It had something to do with waking the dead and all four of them were part of it.

SAM:  That was before my time, too, back when there was a Funny Farm Writing Club.  I remember reading the story (Waking the Dead). 



MICAH: Last week we announced we are retiring from the stress of the interviews, but we will finish the few that we had already sent.  This week we are pleased to introduce Josie, Renn, Tucker, Cammie and Noah from I Have Three Cats. 

PERCY:  You will have to read their story, Josie, Renn, Tucker, Cammie and Noah Speak, to find out why there are five names for three cats. The story is published on Mousebreath. 

BUDDY:  We announced yesterday that last Friday we also retired from co-sponsoring the Pet Parade as part of our plan to de-stress and Blog Without Duty, so don't panic if our name has already been removed.  Everything is fine.

UPDATE:  Aw, we didn't know Rascal and Rocco made us the Featured Favorite for the blog hop this week.  We will miss all of the hosts.

Tthe Pet Parade blog hop is hosted by by Rascal and Roscoe.  It is co-hosted by Bionic Basil, Barking From the Bayou and Love is being owned by a husky.

Hanging Butt Naked

PERCY:  Hey, Merci, why are you looking so thoughtful?

MERCI:  Well, it's Friday and you kitties don't have an interview again.

PERCY:  I know.  No matter what we do, too many of our subjects just take their time getting back to us, or they respond so late in the week we can't get it together in time.

MERCI:  Surely not all of them!

PERCY:  No, not all of them!  We've had some who have responded so quickly we were in shock, since it takes others weeks or months, even with reminders.

MERCI:  That seems awfully rude. Cyndi is kind of bummed because you Funny Farmer Felines have been removed from the Blogville Calendar TWICE because there were weeks at a time when you didn't have an interview.

PERCY:  Yes,we haven't bothered asking to be reinstated since the second time.  There were times the computer was having major problems.  There were times Jan was in need of our help because she was sick or injured.   But mainly, we just get slow responses.  Our stress level is high trying to juggle a bunch of files and folders - on hold, questions sent, waiting on photos, etc - and it is frustrating to be left hanging "butt naked" so frequently!    

MERCI: It might be time you take a page from this video.  If something doesn't work, keep trying things until you find your niche.

PERCY:  Evidently trying to make others look good for free - sometimes even without a thank you - isn't our niche!  An interview requires interaction.  We can't do it alone and if our subjects want to earn a Cat Scout badge or get their name in Mousebreath without having to do anything to help or to do it in a timely manner, perhaps it's time to close the interviews.

MERCI:  The same thing happened when we started the Blogville interviews.  Great enthusiasm and responses for a while, then slow or no responses.  So we shut the interviews down.  But we had some fun interviews while they published.

PERCY:  We tried to make our Mousebreath interviews interesting and fun.  If we hear back from the ones in progress, we'll finish them and then retire.  As this short video reminds us, we are not all good at the same things and we need to find what we can do well. 

(The video seems to have disappeared.)

Friday is also time for the Pet Parade blog hop, hosted by by Rascal and Roscoe.  It is co-hosted by Bionic Basil, Barking From the Bayou, Love is being owned by a husky, and us (Jan's Funny Farm).

There are two parts to the blog hop - your blog url and social media, so be sure to sign up for both.

Nip Sniffers Trixie and Buster

RUSTY:  It's hard to believe another week has passed already.  It's time for another round of Q&A.

MICAH:  We generally ask the questions, but if you ever have any about us, feel free to ask.  We don't promise to answer, but feel free to ask.

CYNDI:  Today we would like to introduce two Cat Scouts, Trixie and Buster.  Their dad makes nip cat toys so they have one of the best jobs in the cat realm - nip sniffer.

PERCY:  Please don't suggest they join Sniff the Nip Anonymous.  Or is that Nip Sniffers Anonymous?

MICAH:  Who cares what it's called?  They don't intend to join.  I wouldn't if I had a bottomless stash.

PERCY:  You can read their story, Supervisor Trixie and Toy Tester Buster, exclusively at Mousebreath, the ezine for discerning cats.

Friday is also time for the Pet Parade blog hop, hosted by by Rascal and Roscoe. It is co-hosted by Bionic Basil, Barking From the Bayou, Love is being owned by a husky, and us (Jan's Funny Farm).

Cujo's Minions

MERCI:  We're having storms tonight but we're trying hard to set up a post for tomorrow (Friday), which is supposed to be another stormy day.

SAM:  I am afraid of storms, so I am wearing my Thundershirt and trying to stay calm, but I am not a happy camper!

BUDDY:  Sam, don't fib!  You've never been camping in your life!  And you would get so nervous and shaky with the telling of campfire stories, you would never be invited back anyway.

MARCUS:  Can I go camping?  I don't know what a campfire story is but I know a couple of hot jokes.

CYNDI:  Ignore the woofies.  This is Funny Farmer Felines Friday and we have a really neat interview subject for you today.

RUSTY:  We sure do.  Some of you already know Cujo from The Cujo Cat Chronicles. If you haven't met him  and his minions ... er, siblings yet, you will enjoy his introduction.

PERCY:  You can read Cujo's story, Cujo the Benevolent Dictator, and meet his minions ... er, siblings exclusively at Mousebreath, the ezine for cats and cat lovers.  And of course, it's written by cats.  

MICAH:  This is not interview related but we thought we would show you why Jan loves playing with colors in her graphics.  Cujo's graphic was made from the same colors as Percy and Sam's hat one was the other day, yet they don't look anything alike, do they?

Friday is also time for the Pet Parade blog hop, hosted by by Rascal and Roscoe.  It is co-hosted by Bionic Basil, Barking From the Bayou, Love is being owned by a husky, and us (Jan's Funny Farm).