Cat Doll Redesign Board Meeting! • 4 Comments

The Kreatrix • February 4, 2014

She Likes Big Butts Especially on Cat Dolls

We had a board meeting and the Kreatrix announced a redesign on our butts. I was a bit offended at first but then I saw her point. Let's face it, a bigger booty allows for a more steady seated position. Ya know...so we don't fall over backward.

NOTE TO SELF: Do tiny-butt humans fall over backwards? Must Google it.

Kreatrix purchased some cute dolls from Pier One for us to see because they had nice butts. (You might think butts is our key word for the spiderbots today but that would just be icky)

I had my first conference call ever! I could get used to this!! We also reviewed a great book that had ideas for butt implants on dolls. Kreatrix thought the book was incredible! Stuffed Animals; From Concept to Construction by Abigail Glassenberg.

Kreatrix will experiment with some cool, soft vintage fabric she found.

We gathered for our after meeting photo and Dude finally showed up. Check out Ginger shooting him the stink eye.

Turns out Dude was on a Top Secret Mission for the Kreatrix.

A BIG MISSION. Kreatrix put money in the curse jar so we could let loose if we needed to.

AHHHHHHHH! There's more of us!!

Yowza Meowza! Some of those cats look a lot like me! I can hardly wait to get to know them. We're going to need all the helping paws around here we can get!

Get offa our tiny butts and get to work!!!

The Kitten Bowl! • 4 Comments

The Kreatrix • February 3, 2014

We Got Our Own Super Bowl

That's right! With cats!

Thanks to The Hallmark Channel and The North Shore Animal League we got to watch the first ever Kitten Bowl!

The North Shore Animal League is the world's largest no-kill animal shelter! They rock!!

Ginger prepared a lovely bowl of crunchy snacks for us and we had the best time watching The North Shore Bengals win the championship!

The Kreatrix thought we were so cute watching our own superbowl that she took some silly little videos and here are the highlights:

Life is good! Now it's back to work tomorrow. A BIG WEEK coming up!!

Cats Are Loyal Too • 5 Comments

The Kreatrix • January 30, 2014

Featuring Staff Sgt. Jesse Knott and Kashka, the cat

We've heard and seen so many happy stories about our servicemen and women being reunited with their beloved dogs when they return home from a tour of duty.

So often, people quickly dismiss cats as not being loyal. They're labeled as aloof. Most people who've loved a cat know that cats are loyal, too, and oftentimes feel their cats have saved their lives.

This particular story about Staff Sgt. Knott and his rescued Afghan cat, Kashka, captured our hearts at Catberry Tails. This is a cat who helped save a soldier's life while on duty in Afghanistan and he in turn was determined to save his cat's life.

During Knott’s darkest hour when several of his buddies were killed by a suicide bomber, the cat began mewing and head-butting him and pawed his forehead. Knott, himself, was contemplating suicide. But Kashka had other plans.

“He would just not leave me alone,” Knott says.

Then the cat jumped in the soldier’s lap and produced a low, vibrating sound that Knott had never heard from him before.

"You lose faith in a lot but sometimes it's the smallest things that bring you back," Knotts said.

Koshka’s purring pulled the soldier off his emotional ledge and back into reality. He realized he had a job to do, and that was to get that cat out of Afghanistan.

From then on, Knott's determination to keep Koshka safe was absolute.

"He pulled me out of one of my darkest times so I had to pull him out of one of his darkest places," Knott has said.

The journey back to the USA was filled with danger. It entailed a long ride through Afghanistan, through numerous Taliban check points, many plane flights and finally arriving safely into the waiting arms of the Staff Sgt. Knott's family back home in Oregon.

"He was my saving grace. He kept me alive during that tour."

Sgt. Knott and Kashka have received numerous awards for the love and compassion they've shown towards each other.

The ASPCA in New York City recently announced Kashka as Cat of the Year for 2013.

Time to Disembowel the Cool Vintage iMac • 4 Comments

Head Honcho • January 28, 2014

Dear hungry spiderbots,

Here are your words to chew on: vintage iMac, vintage iMac. BOOYAH!

(and if you're still uncertain regarding the ever present spiderbots, please click here)

Dude and I have been very busy!

I kept Googling how to gut an iMac and found some pretty cool videos but I have to point out:

You ADULT humans use way too many words! I found a little human dude around 11 years old who taught me how to pull this baby apart! KIDS ROCK!!

Melvin kept whispering jokes about Wally in my ear.

BEHOLD! The Motherboard. Woah! Very, very cool. Talk about World Domination! This looks very important and I look like I know what I'm doing!!

While Dude and I worked on my cool vintage iMac, our poor Kreatrix was back to working on these...um..."waste bags." Right. Waste Bags my pahtooty.

You and I both know what goes in them. Remember this fiasco?

Anyway...she had to make the above prototype for a business pitch.

Dear Kreatrix:

A+ for effort

F for subject matter

Who is Barry White? • 3 Comments

Head Honcho • January 26, 2014

Sometimes a little guy just needs his space

Let me explain.

This is how my World Dominationmobile is stored in the back yard while we're working on it.

So far, so good.

I'm not sure how to say this but here goes:

"Ginger is just really, really pretty and well, I kinda wanted time with her...ALONE. "

Now, you may know where I'm going with this. I told Dude where Gin-gin and I were headed. HOWEVER, the Kreatrix couldn't find me and started getting really panicked (or so Dude said). Dude escapes to the back yard to warn us and here is what the Kreatrix saw from inside the house.

Dude wants to know what to tell the Kreatrix because she's so worried and what if she calls the Police?

We were just about to come back inside when this happened:

We inhaled and held our breath as we looked up at our beloved Kreatrix.

"Awwww. Were you guys necking?"

You might think the story ends there...ya know, with us not getting in trouble. But Kreatrix starts singing all these songs by a man named Barry White and says she's got a little surprise she's going to prepare for me.

Uh-huh. Well...here it is.

I Can’t Go On I’ll Go On • 5 Comments

The Kreatrix • January 23, 2014

So This Is What Stress Feels Like

I sorta had a little snapping point and hollered to the gang

"I'm just a little guy. I'm afraid I won't figure it all out."

Of course the Kreatrix heard me and said

"Please don't say 'just a little guy.' It diminishes you."

Oh, boy. And we all know I'm not that big to start with.

She tells me

"Don't think so much. Use your intuition. You know: "Use the Force, Luke!"

Then she goes on to tell me that Homer began The Illiad and The Odyssey with an invocation to the Muses.

Homer Simpson writes stuff? No offense, but I didn't think he had it in him.

So apparently fear is some kind of evil force that artists and dudes like me have to slay everyday.

So The Kreatrix shows me these idols of hers:

Image from the Pixar movie Monsters Inc.

An image of Walle from the Pixar movie by the same name.

An image of Ratatouille from the Pixar movie of the same name.

"The man who is largely responsible for these Pixar characters having a chance at life on the big screen advised us to: Stay hungry. Stay foolish. His name was Steve Jobs."

So I'm not supposed to worry about knowing everything. Sometimes it's okay to go a bit Homer Simpson and not know what I'm doing. It might just create something no one else thought of.

So I sucked it up and got to work without knowing a darn thing other than my name and look!

BOOOOOYAH! One seat for my car is covered! BUT IT TOOK ALLLLLL DAY. With Dude's help.

So I went off to bed after a hard days work and walked out to the studio the next day and saw BOTH SEATS COVERED! I cried tears of happiness like a little kitten and The CEO comforted me.

We sat on the new squishy seats for my car and talked about life.

"The Kreatrix and I want you to understand something. It's best summed up by a quote from the writings of W.H. Murray. It was recited at the ceremony where The Kreatrix married The Professor."

Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then Providence moves too. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favor all manner of unforeseen incidents and material assistance which no man or cat could have dreamed would have come his way. I have learned a deep respect for one of Goethe's couplets:

"Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it."

Woah. Now I really feel like Homer Simpson. I'm off to chew on those words.

The Kreatrix wants you to know about Steven Pressfield's books: The War of Art and Do The Work. Apparently they are like Luke using the Force.

Waxing Poetic – Featuring Bob The Street Cat • 4 Comments

The Kreatrix • January 21, 2014

It's That Time Again!

Time to wax poetic over the marvels of our feline friends! And just to prove I'm not alone I 'll continue to post uplifting stories from other souls who've found the love of a cat to be life altering.

First, I'll wax poetic over my gang via photos from the past week (taken with my cell phone). Many of these photos end up on Instagram and I'll be attaching that account to the blog soon!

Melvin the cat stretching in a patch of sun on a beautiful blue wool blanket.

Melvin, an orange and white cat, sleeps with his favorite toy, a bright fuschia colored ball.

Rudy, a beautiful long haired ginger cat arches beautiful in a patch of sunshine.

Closeup of incredibly beautiful Rudy, a long haired ginger colored cat.

Wally, a black and white cat, sits proudly in a patch of sunshine.

An adorable closeup of Wally, showing his nostrils and cute little cat teeth.

Wally poses in his cat bed with all his favorite stuffed animals he drags around the house.

And now on to Bob The Street Cat

Bob is a British cat who is credited with saving the life of James Bowen, a musician and recovering drug addict. Truth be told, James also saved Bob's life and Bob has never forgotten it.

Bowen is blown away by the amount of love, loyalty and trust Bob gives to him, despite the fact he has had so many struggles in his life before meeting Bob. Bowen says

"If a cat can give that kind of love, why can't a human help in that kind of way. But people look the other way so often."

This touching story has been turned into a best selling book that I've just purchased. As one fan waiting in line to meet Bob and James in a bookstore remarked:

"A young man who lost his way and then found his way because of a cat...to me that is always going to be amazing."

This first video will fill you in on the history of Bob and James.

The marvelous video up next is shorter and features Bob "on tour" helping James promote the book. The joy, the love, the happiness that one small creature has created is marvelous!

Retail Therapy Rocks! • 8 Comments

The Kreatrix • January 19, 2014

So This Is Where You Humans Go When You Leave The House

I decided to take matters into my own paws and saddled up for a brave mission. No more waiting to get supplies for my car!

I didn't get far before the Kreatrix came out, snatched me up and put me in a giant human car machine.

Somehow I don't think this is how the car machine works. She told me to help her steer so I did.

Five minutes later, she parked the car and picked me up saying:

"Are you ready for a grand adventure?"

WOAH!! This place was huge. It belongs to a lady named Joann Fabric.

I could hardly stand it! Awesomeness! Scariness! Lots of stuff to explore. Lots of people laughing...at me. Kreatrix said it was a good thing so I'm not going to worry about it.

I could see forever up there!

The best part of retail therapy is I got the Kreatrix all to myself for an hour! AND look what we bought for my car.

I just knew Ginger would like that fluffy piece of fabric.

OH, MEEEEOOOOW! Gin-gin!! Kreatrix helped me make something called a "beauty shot" of Ginger. I...I...woah.

Hey. This red paint I picked out isn't working yet. Suggestions?

OH NO! • 2 Comments

The Kreatrix • January 19, 2014

The Chairman is most stressed out because the comment section was broken on his Waxing Poetic entry (previous entry). Purrs to those of you who emailed us directly to let us know. It helped cheer up The Chairman.

I'm going to leave a comment for him now to cheer him up.

Waxing Poetic • 1 Comment

The Kreatrix • January 17, 2014

TOUCHY SUBJECTS AHEAD!

After the previous post from the Kreatrix wherein she describes her love of cats, I said to her

"Wow, that was verbose and rather romantic".

She replied

"You mean I was waxing poetic?"

Huh?

Why would you ever want to use furniture polish on a poem?

I guess I was a little envious, so today I am going to wax a poem about my gang. Here goes:

"Oh most wonderful, adorable tufts of fur in our ears and above our eyes."

"Oh, real life cats that have a pink, shriveled dot under their tail and we have a pretty little flower under ours. BOOYAH!"

"Oh, how we DON'T shed, as evidenced by this photo I took yesterday."

By the by, the photo above caused a curious reaction from the Kreatrix. I thought she'd be impressed with the improvement in my photo skills.

Suddenly she's waxing proper things like the furniture and she's even vacuuming dirt off the walls. I sense she might be upset.

She stopped working long enough to take this waxy photo of Dude and I. She helped get us in place.

I was slow to catch on with Dude's tail. In fact, I didn't until Dude pointed out what a gifted "Tom" he was.

"Oh, Kreatrix. We doth protest your sense of humor being displayed as such. "

Clearly a redesign on our tails is in order.

Seeing as the Kreatrix' back injury has been miraculously cured, perhaps we can return TO MY CAR??? And my cool vintage iMac? Ya think??????

Catberry Tails™

Where Cats and Art Collide