Instead of running cat videos on a regular weekly schedule, I’ve decided to feature them only when one amuses me.
Well, I am happy to say that this video certainly passes that test…
‘Cat in Jacket Sleeve’ is courtesy Yahoo! Video and the Butterfinger Comedy Network.
I’ve discovered a wonderful web concept known as cat blogs.
Not blogs about cats, but blogs by cats, admittedly with a little help from a human.
Huffle Mawson, Explorer Cat is our first such blog, a beautiful and decidedly feisty black cat from Melbourne, Australia.
To quote Huffle…
My name is Huffle Mawson. I am a black cat. My real name is Stella but because I huff at things my mum nicknamed me Huffle, and the name has stuck. My second name is Mawson because I am an Explorer Cat, and I was named after Sir Douglas Mawson, the Antarctic explorer.
So do give Huffle Mawson a visit at http://hufflemawson.blogspot.com/ and make sure to mention that Vito sent you!
And if you happen to have a cat blog that you would like to have featured here, please drop me a line at dig@vitothecat.com.
It’s taken some time, but ‘VitotheCat’ finally hit 100 Twitter followers this morning.
So as promised, I have added Chapter 11: Summer in Philadelphia.
I want to thank everyone who has followed Vito so far, and give a very big thank you to everyone who has left a comment. You may not realize it, but I do get a big boost out of every single comment and new Twitter follower I get. If there was a camera on me when each new comment or follower appeared, you would see me perform a fist pump that would make Kirk Gibson proud.
But enough of that, let’s go to the official tally…
I have a hunch that Twitter followers and comments will end up being the prime gauge of Vito enthusiasm, but I will keep Digg there for the time being to see if we can’t get a bit of a lift. And while I do genuinely appreciate the donations to date, I think I will retire that as a metric. Of course, if you want to donate, you still can by clicking on the PayPal logo on the top right of the site.
When does the next chapter go live?
The moment we hit 200 Twitter followers, 100 comments or 100 Diggs.
So if you haven’t already done so, please follow, comment and digg today!
Now excuse me while I do my naked Vito victory dance.
DiG…
Poor cat!
After a 100-kilometer trek clinging to the undercarriage of a car, Poppy endured a broken tail and three weeks in the wild before finally facing off against a gun-toting, cat-killing farmer.
Wow, I’ll have to remember that the next time I complain about having a bad day!
For all the details, visit the Brisbane Times…
As well as leaving comments, digging and following ‘Vito’ on Twitter, there is another great way for you to help me get ‘Vito: The Cat Who Wouldn’t Purr’ published, especially if you have a website or blog.
You can add a Vito graphic!
I’ve created three different sizes: 300×250 (above), 200×167 (below left) and 160×160 (below right):
So how do you use them? Simply copy the code below and insert into your website or blog.
For 300×250:
<p align=”center”><a title=”Vito: The Cat Who Wouldn’t Purr” href=”http://www.vitothecat.com/” target=”_blank”><img src=”http://www.vitothecat.com/images/vito-300×250.jpg” alt=”Vito graphic – 300×250″ hspace=”0″ vspace=”0″ /></a></p>
For 200×167:
<p align=”center”><a title=”Vito: The Cat Who Wouldn’t Purr” href=”http://www.vitothecat.com/” target=”_blank”><img src=”http://www.vitothecat.com/images/vito-200×167.jpg” alt=”Vito graphic – 200×167″ hspace=”0″ vspace=”0″ /></a></p>
For 160×160:
<p align=”center”><a title=”Vito: The Cat Who Wouldn’t Purr” href=”http://www.vitothecat.com/” target=”_blank”><img src=”http://www.vitothecat.com/images/vito-160×160.jpg” alt=”Vito graphic – 160×160″ hspace=”0″ vspace=”0″ /></a></p>
And if you have questions or need a different size, don’t hesitate to drop me a line at dig@vitothecat.com
Lane DeGregory of the St. Petersburg Times weaves a most touching tale about a family that takes in a stray dog for the night and finds their lives changed forever, especially for their 21-year-old child afflicted with Down syndrome.
Those of you who have read ‘Vito: The Cat Who Wouldn’t Purr’ know that I am most definitely not a dog person. But in this case, I will happily make an exception.
For the full article, most artfully written by Lane DeGregory, please visit the St. Petersburg Times.
You won’t be sorry.
Cats often get a bad wrap for not being “man’s best friend”.
Well, according to BBC News, a cat saved his owner’s life by waking him up after black smoke filled the house.
Self-serving, right?
Not at all, Hugo the cat voluntarily entered the house through a catflap and clawed Andrew Williams on the face to alert him to the danger.
Maybe dogs simply have better publicists than cats…
For complete details, please visit BBC News.
I’ve spent a great deal of time in deep reflection on the title of my book.
I’ve pondered that Lilian Jackson Braun has made a career out of ‘The Cat Who…’ mystery series, beginning in 1966 with ‘The Cat Who Read Backwards’ all the way to 2007′s ‘The Cat Who Had 60 Whiskers’.
Further, I’ve come to the realization that I don’t mind if my book title sounds like a something for young adults. As one wise emailer pointed out, ‘Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone’ sounds like a kids book, and who wouldn’t begrudge that sort of success?
But what I am trying to avoid is having a title that immediately conjures up thoughts of a children’s tale, like ‘Sheep in a Jeep’. Not that ‘Sheep in a Jeep’ isn’t a terrific book, spawning such sequels as ‘Sheep in a Shop’ and ‘Sheep on a Ship’, but this memoir is most certainly not a children’s story.
So after much soul searching and endless lists of book title possibilities, I am leaning towards the following, with ‘The Cat Who Wouldn’t Purr’ as a subtitle…
So let me know what you think and if I get enough positive response, ‘Vito: The Cat Who Wouldn’t Purr’ may very well become ‘Memories of Vito: The Cat Who Wouldn’t Purr’.
When I get an idea in my head, I have a tendency to put everything else in my life on hold until I can crystallize said idea and implement it.
That very scenario played out on Friday when it hit me that I did not like how the chapters were displaying on the website, despite my best efforts.
So it should come as little surprise that Friday night and Satur-day were spent trying to come up with a solution.
And come up with a solution I did.
I typeset the first ten chapters and even created a title page, as seen below…
After the jump is the first page of Chapter One — pretty awesome if you ask me!
Please check it out and let me know what you think!
I’ve been pondering an email from a friend of mine who knew Vito and has enjoyed the first ten chapters on this website.
She writes, in part…
The title ‘Vito: The Cat Who Wouldn’t Purr’ sounds like a children’s book to me. I assume that you are aiming your book at a wider audience like the ‘Marley and Me’ crowd. Perhaps changing the title to something a bit ‘catchier’ … would appeal to a larger audience.
She brings up an intriguing point.
The title does sound like a children’s book.
But I’ve also received a host of compliments specifically on the title from people who knew full well that the book was never aimed at a children’s market.
So my question to you, good reader, is when you first heard the title, did you assume it was a children’s book?
And if so, what might be a better title?
So far I’ve come up with…
- Vito: The Cat Who Wouldn’t Purr
- Vito: His Dirty Live and Times
- Vito
- Purr
- To Purr
Other options include…
- Vito and Me
- The Seasons of a Cat’s Life
- Have Cat, Will Travel
- The Cat Who Came In From the Cold
- I, Vito
- The World According to Vito
And, of course…
- Of Mice and Men
Thoughts? Ideas?
