Carnival of the Cats #249: Christmas Edition

Ladies and Gentlecats, and the Humans that love them...

In the spirit of the Holiday Season, it is with great pleasure that I have the very special honor, and responsibility, to bring to you, today...

The Carnival of the Cats #249!!!

Daddy has been sicker than a, um, Snow-addled Dog, for a week, so I've been helping him get some rest.

Before I get started, let me wish everyone Happy Holidays, and ask you...what's Christmas without a Christmas Carol or two? ;-D

If your Humans like to Bicycle, give them a Christmas Present by sharing with them THE JINGLE BICYCLE SONG that Daddy wrote last week! ;-D

As regular readers know Nikita's Place is not a blog in the traditional sense since it is actually just the name of an Archive Category of Posts where all my contributions can be read at your leisure, and my name is listed as the proud author of each entry. I call it a Blog Within the Blog!

This edition of The Carnival (Check out the Home Site here!) is dedicated to the memory of someone very special, a person who had a love of animals and was dedicated to animal rescue.

Majel Barrett Roddenberry, the widow of "Star Trek" creator Gene Roddenberry and an actress whose longtime association with the "Star Trek" franchise included playing Nurse Christine Chapel in the original series, died early Thursday morning. She was 76.

Known to legions of Trekaholics (Including Daddy!) as Number One, and Nurse/Doctor Christine Chapel, of Classic Trek and the movies, and the flamboyant Lwaxana Troi on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine", as well as the voice of the Starship Enterprise Computer (Including in the new movie, next year!), The First Lady of 'Trek' was, according to Daddy, wonderful in all her various roles.

There is a great article in the LA Times about her, and the fact that anyone interested in doing so can make a donation in her name to CARE (Cat & Canine Assistance, Referral and Education), or Precious Paws, in place of Flowers.

With her playing a Nurse, and having a love for us Felines, not to mention playing the Mother of another favorite Trek character, I think that she would be tickled by this cute little story that I found to share in her honor. ;-D

THE CAT by Franemtnurse, at Allnurses.com.

Ok, let's get this show on the road!

1. Nancy, at My Hollywood Pets, shares 10 Ways to Keep Your Pet Safe, Healthy and Happy.

2. Alex, of Home Life Weekly, has a great recipe for the Holidays! You're in, um, for a real treat! ;-D

3. GrrlScientist, of Living the Scientific Life, share a cool photo of a Snow Leopard.

4. Elisson, of Blog d'Elisson, shares a great picture of Hakuna curling up in her very own bed.

5. Jams, of The Poor Mouth, shares a great picture of Mimi indulging in the munchies.

6. Rahel, of Elms in the Yard, share the visual definition of the term Sub Feline.

7. Moi , of Bloggg, says "All Ai Need iz uh Box!"

8. Vera, of the Fine Pet Care site, shares some tips for keeping pets safe during the Holidays.

9. Debra, of MANX MNEWS, shows us a great picture of Mr Jinx Taking A Snooze, and tells us why he such a special Kitty.

10. Leucanthemum B, of Composite Drawlings, shows us adorable proof that "Maus has taken possession of my pillow".

11. James, of Coyote Mercury, shares agreat photo of Simon in a reflective moment.

12. Marilynn, of Momma Grace & Company, shows us Audace's owie!

13. Tristan Tabby Cat Longtail, of Tabbylicious, has the Caterday Round-up, full of lots of cool pictures, and stories, oh, and a question about where the tasty food called Spam comes from.

14. Phoebe, A Siamese Cat, asks the eternal question...Why is it that Siamese Cats look so darn Goofy? ... as she puts her paws up for the weekend. ;-D

15. CatSynth, celebrates the Homecoming of Luna with an adorable collection of Photos. Those sparkling Green Eyes are just amazing!

16. and 17. Sissy Willis, of Sisu, has 2 entries:

In one post a cute photo graces a discussion of religion, and the impact of the current economic woes on the family this Christmas in a piece called "Rediscovering the warmth, simplicity, amity and solidarity which are the very values of Christmas".

In the other post more cute photos grace the riveting tale of "Katrina without all the water".

18 - 20. Mog brings us 3 entries:

At the Mind of Mog it was just Another Rainy Day so our correspondent just stayed in and curled up into a cute little ball for the duration.

At iInfidel, our hero celebrates having a picture chosen as Featured Kitty!

At iMeowza, our hero, well, um, hee, hee, anything I might have to say about THIS photo would be just sooo totally inadequate to the task...trust me! ;-D

21. Diamond Emerald-Eyes, of Diamond's Lair, wonderfully illustrates T-13: Holly Daze ( Part I ).

22 - 24. Young Phoebe, and Autumn, of the new blog Autumn, A Senior Moment Cat.

The human in their lives shares with us the story, and images, of how she did a beautiful watercolor painting of Autumn.

The next entrys fall under "Hosts Perogative" as I think the 1st is a great story, and the 2nd is a great companion piece to the one officially submitted to the carnival, and is from Phoebe's own, older, blog:

9/26 - The story of Autumn, by the human that loves her:

I thought that I would post a short history about Autumn, who is a senior cat estimated to be about 18+ years old as of today. When I first met her, she was an adult cat that slightly overstayed her welcome at an animal shelter in northeastern Ohio and is a rescue.
She was a bit ferocious and traumatized, but I took her to my apartment home anyway on August 29, 1992, where she slept for several days on end, hissed, and didn’t eat much........

12/6 - " This kitten picture of Phoebe was taken when she arrived here at her new home 1-1/2 years ago. The lighting on her fur and bed sparked my interest to paint a watercolor portrait of her today."