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Saturday, April 13, 2013

The Fabulous ShopKat

 

After the previous post I got a whole bunch of complaints about ShopKat.

Specifically, “Why you no post picurz of Da Fabuluz ShopKatz no more? We luvs ShopKatz, Precious.”

Sorry about that.

These days I mostly post pictures and stories about The Fabulous ShopKat on my Facebook page, along with a vast and amazing variety of other spectacular high quality entertainments.

If you’re a facebooker you can find me here.  And as an added bonus, as if you needed even more goodness than just me, there’s an entire Facebook gallery dedicated to ShopKat pictures. 

If you don’t have a Facebook account, well, see, this would be a pretty good reason to get one. I’m just saying.  Then you can send me a friend request and we can be Facebook Best Friends Until The End Of Time or until Barack Obama destroys the universe with his Smooth Negro Ray of Chocolate Mojo, whichever comes first.

And remember, if you don’t want to friend me on Facebook (and that’s OK, I don’t want to friend you either. So there. Nyah), you can always just subscribe to my page.

However, that being said, for those of you in the Witness Protection Program or who have a valid medical reason for avoiding Facebook, here is a tasty sampling of The Fabulous ShopKat.

ShopKat runs on a variety of alternative fuels, liver bits, fish bits, chicken bits, and of course, solar power. Here she is exposing her considerable solar energy collecting surface to the warm afternoon rays of the Alaskan sun.

 

When fully charged, ShopKat’s eyes glow with a hellish yellow light and and Saint Elmo’s Fire crackles across her fur like lightening.

 

I might have just made up that part about the St. Elmo’s Fire. But ShopKat can totally shoot laser beams out of her eyes (All cats can. It’s true, you can look it up on the internet):

 

Usually though, she saves the laser death beams for the voles hiding in the grass. Zap. Zap. The quiet Alaskan summer evenings are often filled with their little screams. Zap. Zap. And the smell of burning vermin:

Hey, entertainment is where you find it. You guys have lightening bugs. We don’t get that here. Our bugs can’t shoot electricity out of their asses, instead they suck blood, in the quart size. 

 

I don’t have anything snarky to say about this picture. I just really, really like this picture:

 

The grass is always greener on the other side of the glass:

 

The grass is always greener, except when it’s frozen solid:

 

Don’t you just hate it when your boogers freeze?

 

 

She’s my pal. She makes me laugh and brightens my day.

 

So there you go, The Fabulous ShopKat.

Now stop your damned complaining.

50 comments:

  1. I like the pictures of her inspecting your work. My cat just wants me out of her basement.

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  2. She has bumped the needle off the awesomeness scale. I wish my kitties would zap the vermin before dropping them on my welcome map. I'd rather feel a crunch under my bare feet than a squish.

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  3. I'd buy a ShopKat calendar. Start imagining the bucks rolling in while you're choosing which pictures to add. Might I suggest ShopKat on the steps with flowers for May? Let me know when you're taking money for preorders. Credit cards okay?

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    Replies
    1. Oooh, Beverly! What an absolutely FANTASTIC idea!

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    2. Hmmm. I hadn't really thought about a ShopKat calendar. But now that you mention it...

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    3. I just went to look at your kitty page on Facebook and am thinking we broke the internet looking at kitty pics, but I think you should do a calendar--market research and all that....

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  4. :) Made my day ... Love the ShopKat!

    And some day I wanna learn how to take great photographs of my cat(s) just like you do! (I put the optional "s" after cat because I might be getting one or two more - someone at work has a friend whose cat just had kittens. We'll see)

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    Replies
    1. Taking good pictures of cats requires that you have a very good and very fast camera.

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    2. Absolutely, Jim - and infinite patience! We have 5 (down from 8, which we referred to as the "octo-puss"), and every single time they do something cute, they stop as soon as the camera comes out.

      A friend who is a professional photographer ranks cats as more difficult to photograph than just about any other subject, including children.

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    3. Or very slooow cats. Just sayin'.

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    4. My husband has taught our cat to pose for pictures. He'll say "Vogue..." and she'll stop for a moment and raise her head toward the camera (assuming she's not in psycho mode). She is a classic beauty of a tabby, and we made the mistake of letting her figure that out.
      Dewey

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  5. We do love Shopkat. Hunter Extraordinaire, Magnificent Mascot of the Wright Workshop, PosterKat for Homeless Kittehs. I love the pictures and all the stories you share, and I'm really glad that in your last post, you shared how she came to be part of your home and family. You're a good man, Mr. Jim Wright. A good man.

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    Replies
    1. Second that and happy to hear you took in and love ShopKat.

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  6. I love cats. Had two cats who (yes, who) were spectacular, though perhaps not as photogenic as ShopKat. (maybe it's your superior cat photography) I love ShopKat and my new cat, Suchi the Borgi(dog) loves Shopkat also. If only I could get a kitten for her, but that's forbidden. Please keep telling us about all your cats....and your dog? Love to read your posts.

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  7. The last photo is my all-time favorite of the both of you. I remember quite well when you first published it--you'd been gone on vacation for several weeks and this was your welcome home greeting from TFSK. Not to sound creepy or stalkerish, but I confess I have a print of that photo on my desk at work, under the large clear plastic important-reference-shit-goes-here mat on the side extension. Captioned "Reunion: A Man and his ShopKat."

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  8. I love ShopKat. I remember when you first posted about saving her from the winter cold and when you worried that she was pregnant (no, just fat). And it warmed my heart to see her worm her way into your grizzly heart. :)

    If I ever come to Alaska, she'd be the first occupant of the Station whom I would greet. I'm pretty sure you'll be OK with that.

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    Replies
    1. All visitors must check in with ShopKat first thing. It's the law.

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  9. What a wonderful picture of you two....thanks for sharing you hidden softness with us!

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  10. That ShopKat is one special little kitty gal. I've had a number of wonderful cats in my lifetime, but every once in a while one comes along who is really special. I can tell that ShopKat is definitely one of those.

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  11. Thanks for the cats pics, they just make me smile.

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  12. I've fallen in love with ShopKat and thank her for inspiring the gorgeous photos and amusing commentary.

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  13. I'm looking at the third picture down and thinking that [i]really[/i] looks like a thumb drive hanging from her collar.
    So, is that where you Nazi Pinko Bastards have Obama's Secret Kenyan Plan to Steal Our Guns and Rape all the White Wimmin stashed?
    You can tell me, buddy. I'm wearing cammo gear.

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    Replies
    1. It's an LED strobe light.

      Black and white cats are extremely hard to see in the dark black and white Alaskan winter. Extremely hard. Almost like they were evolved that way.

      Since ShopKat has no fear of the plow or the truck, I'm always afraid I'm going to run over her or suck her into the big snow thrower. So, she wears a beacon and so does the dog. And at night in the winter they are much easier to see.

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  14. It would be fantastic to introduce Shopkat and her companions to our British Cat Hero... He is called "Bob" and the person whom he chose as his friend one day was a man called James. James was in a very bad place in his life, and Bob rescued him. James and a journalist he encountered one day in London wrote a book about their story. It has become a bestseller all over the world. If you haven`t read it yet people - and Jim, of course - I highly recommend that you seek it out and do so sooner rather than later! It`s called "A street cat called Bob". Not sure if it`s been published in America yet, but I hope so. Heaps of love and cuddles to Shopkat and the family at Stonekettle.

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  15. "She’s my pal. She makes me laugh and brightens my day."

    I had to go hug mine when I read that.

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  16. I love how much you love the Shopkat. :)

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  17. I have a sneaking suspicion that ShopKat is the real author of this blog. :-)

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  18. We saw the rat bastard who flung our tiny Bianca kitten out of the car window while we were out for a walk. There was a woman in the front seat crying, too. Pure white, one green eye, one blue. Maybe damaged by the toss because she's not very coordinated even 11 years later.

    ShopKat fell into a pot of jam when she landed with you. I love the pics.

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    Replies
    1. There is a special place in hell for people who act like that.

      Love the pics, Jim. Thanks.

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  19. Last photo's my favorite.

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  20. FB? Not for you or any man on earth.. But I love to visit here.

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  21. Takes a tough guy to love a little kitteh.

    From one cat lover to another, BZ, Jim.

    P.S. I'm moving soonish. Me and the Ex and her new hubby are combining our collective family for mutual benefit, and I've promised my youngest daughter she can have a kitten.

    I've always had cats, and this crummy apt. I live in now won't allow them. Looking forward to having a kitteh again. Life isn't fun without one.

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  22. The Four Kitties of the Apocalypse (War, Famine, Pestilence and Clusterfuck, otherwise known as Nani, Nene, Nina and Nea) have asked me to extend an invitation to ShopKat to join their ranks as honorary Kitty of the Apocalypse, along with Irritation in NYC (aka Moses) and Vicious Brute in Arizona (aka Fluffy). Should she agree, The Devil Herself (aka Lily, also in Arizona) will send along the virtual KOTA welcome packet immediately.

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  23. Love ShopKat and her/your story of how you found each other.

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  24. ShopKat is da bomb! Thanks for the pics, Jim.

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  25. ShopKat is a tuxie - that explains her awesomeness! I will say that my current tuxie, Allie, is kind of a scaredy cat, but she was an adolescent when I adopted her from the shelter, so I wonder what her life was like before. My three previous tuxies were all smart and brave and incredibly friendly (including Simon, who I use as my avatar).

    I've been lurking for months - I think this might be my first comment. It took a tuxedo cat to make me comment, but I agree with every word you write!

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  26. Oh, your story reminds me that my job has me 3500 miles away from my little Princesses. Called and had my wife give the cats a hug for me.

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  27. Hopefully, celebrity won't go to he head. Nice pics.
    Bear

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  28. Sunshine in Alaska? Who wudda thunk? The strobe is a good idea.. I can't count the times my black doggie, just laying there in the dark as I go to work, sat there, patiently waiting for me to get back up...While, our late great momma kitty laughed...and laughed...cats like to laugh at our goings on...then they make fun of us when we aren't looking...

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  29. I don't know who is luckier, ShopKat, or you for finding her. I'd say you were both damned lucky!

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  30. Perhaps ShopKat would like to visit Henri... Oops! can't post the link, so you will have to check YouTube. (This was probably mentioned in the posting rules, but I've forgotten already.) Henri is a tuxie cat, too.

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  31. For what it's worth, ShopKat might make the other two less afraid--all of my cats were terrified of the vacuum cleaner and then we got Fuzzy, who would merely move if he happened to be in the way.

    Suddenly none of the cats were afraid. Some would still leave the room, but it was a leisurely stroll to avoid the noise, not a panicky bolt from the evil vacuum monster.

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  32. When I lived in Alaska, we had a Manx kitten for a housepet. Cutest little thing you could imagine, a little stubby tail that'd flick like mad, and would chase invisible mice into the walls, slamming head-first into them. After a few moments, he'd shake his head and look at us with this 'I meant to do that' expression.

    Many years later I ended up with a Siamese for a year, living in Navarre, Florida. This was when Hurricane Ivan hit the coastline and did a good job on the region. The cat slept on the bed with me through the worst part of the storm, and I figured as long as she's contented, I don't have anything to worry about.

    Of course, where I live now won't allow pets like cats or dogs... I've been tempted to get a lizard or a snake.

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  33. My cat (Raya) rules my apartment. I do allow him that illusion ;-)

    He made my last two moves on active duty with me, and now that I am retired, he chases string, the occasional mouse that has the misfortune of finding its way into my home, and frequently comes round for his required pettings and scratchings. I wouldn't have it any other way.

    FB friend request pending :-)

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  34. ShopKat is extremely beautiful.

    The bond between a man and his cat brings blessings to both. You and ShopKat are lucky to have found each other.

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  35. Okay, Chief, make with the story about how she's charged full-grown moose. That seems like something the world needs to know.

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  36. Thanks for the pics. What a darling she is - I mean, what a perfect predator. Cats can be truly wonderful friends, and a treat for the eyes as well. *sigh* I'm out of town and now feeling guilty about leaving my little sweetie.
    Dewey

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  37. Ah, the Fabulous ShopKat! What a beauty.

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