a magazine of cat tales | ISSN: 2769-058X
To a cat, a servant is someone who takes care of them. Cats are such wonderful companions that I don’t mine playing servant to them. Sir Socks trained me well and now I don’t tend to have much trouble taking care of cats. Cats are people and therefore can’t be owned by anyone.
Happy February, dear readers!
Emperor Julius’ area of the world has been looking a lot like the North Pole lately. His empire has thus far been quiet in the new year, undisturbed beneath the spell of winter. His Royal Highness spends the majority of his free time staying warm by the fireplace and observing the rogue birds that occupy the trees on the fringes of his border. While his Highness himself does not go outside — it would not be kingly to get his paws wet and frozen in the snow — there are many felines who do go on expeditions into the great winter wonderland and have adventures, sometimes adventures so amazing that they will be spoken of for generations to come.
Emperor Julius chooses to remain close to his fire this winter season, but he likes to remember those great feline adventurers who braved the cold and wind in pursuit of fun. Here’s his top 5 list of such brave cats playing and adventuring their way through the frigid outdoors:
Here we see a brave feline valiantly digging himself and his humans out of their snow prison. There are mice to hunt and so many hours in the day — better start digging early while the sun is out! This cat is taking matters into his own paws.
Here we see another bold explorer taking matters into his own paws. Nothing, not snow, not rain, not sleet, not anything, will get in the way of a cat and his food!
An adventurer cat in all its fluffy glory! Perhaps this feline is on an important mission for another emperor or has just spotted an incredible morsel of prey. Either way, the winter wind has met its match!
What glory! What grace! What speed! There is nothing more to say other than this is an incredible demonstration of cat bravery in action.
What list of ours would be complete without an appearance of Thurston? One of our longtime favorites, Thurston shows us the importance of knowing when to return to your nice cozy home once you’ve had your winter fun.
It’s cold and chilly here, but Emperor Julius hopes that you all are able to stay warm and safe wherever you are and that you enjoyed his list of YouTube cats for February. Be well!
Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are completely my own. Neither I nor anyone at Sir Socks Le Chat has any association, affiliation, or other such relationship with any of the YouTubers/YouTube channels listed in this article.
Most beds sleep up to six cats. Ten cats without the owner. —Stephen Baker
Cats certainly will sleep in a bed if they want to. Seems to me they will take over the bed if they like the human who sleeps in it. I do like it when they sleep with me, but I can’t count on as cats do as they please whenever they want.
Of all animals, he alone attains to the Contemplative Life. He regards the wheel of existence from without, like the Buddha. There is no pretense of sympathy about the cat. He lives alone, aloft, sublime, in a wise passiveness. —Andrew Lang
I’ve watched cats for years and I know they are wise. They know how to meditate and can do yoga without being taught. I’ve done my best to learn the wisdom of the universe from cats.
It has reached my attention that Lady Nuria and Princess Tiger Lily had to share a garage for two months. Lucky for them, my girl slept out there with them. I know that had to help out. I remember when Spot and I had to stay in a garage together, I thought it was great when my girl slept out there with us.
Nuri and Lily had two litter boxes and separate food and water bowls. Nuri didn’t have a real problem with it as my girl kept her company. Lily had some trouble. She was separated from her humans and didn’t understand what was happening. She wasn’t quite sure of my girl either.
That’s why my girl insisted Lily’s favorite humans visit her at least once a day in the garage. Those visits helped Lily to feel better, but she tended to hiss at my girl when it was her bedtime. My girl didn’t like it, but understood what Lily was feeling and didn’t yell. My girl simply told Lily to stop.
There were a few fights, but now Lily likes my girl better and will tolerate Nuri better. It’s rare for Lily and Nuri to hiss and growl at each other, but it still happens on occasion. Best of all, Lily knows if anything happens to her favorite human, my girl will take good care of her.
I think it’s good they no longer have to share a garage and each have their own rooms they share with their favorite humans. Life doesn’t get any better than that for us cats.
Not a human I particular like to see, but sometimes it’s necessary. I prefer that I don’t take any medication even when many would think it would be better. I don’t like medication as my girl knows. The few times she’s had to give me some, she would use a liquid that I couldn’t spit up. She’d have to chase me and catch me first.
But getting routine check ups and vaccines are a good idea. It’s a preventive sort of medicine. Not pleasant and I did my best to pretend I was somewhere else when they were examining me, especially when they stuck the thermometer inside me. I know my girl agrees with me. Vets are a necessary evil in a cat’s life. Without them, we may not live very long.
If you don’t like the vet, please keep in mind not all vets are bad. There are some who do love us and want to help us out. There are some, I’m happy to report, who understand why we don’t like to take medication and only prescribe when it’s absolutely necessary. For that I am thankful.
A vet is a doctor for animals. Cats don’t always like to visit them unless they like traveling and meeting strangers. Vets can and do give life saving vaccines which is preventative medicine cats need to live longer lives. With such good things, I do hope cats can tolerate it. I know I don’t always like seeing doctors either. I do understand why cats don’t always like to see a vet as I’ve had some bad doctors. Hopefully, cats will only see the good vets and their lives improved with better health and happiness.
Greetings and good winter tidings once again from your highness, Emperor Julius! I hope this missive finds you all well, wherever in the world you might be.
As this calendar year draws to a close, it is natural, especially for an emperor such as myself, to sit quietly beside a fireplace or in a warm lap and reflect on the months that have passed — to recollect battles fought, wars won, food eaten, yarn taken. 2021 was a year of ups and downs for the empire of royal Julius. There was the war with Dog at the beginning of the year. There was an ill-fated bath in summer. Despite these challenges, however, it was all in all a good year for yours truly. I got extra food, a new cat tree, new blankets, snuggles…and perhaps, even, a companion in the court jester Dog. On this New Year’s Day, I sit in my royal chair and am content.
2022 will be even more propitious for my empire. I plan to lead regally, and I have plans for greatness.
Resolution #1:
2022 will be a year of prosperous calories. I plan to extract even larger tithings from Dog. As he has grown bigger, so has the size of his food bowl. Accordingly, I am going to expect more of him if he is to remain a resident in my empire.
Resolution #2:
I plan to bless the new furniture my humans have recently brought into my empire. The humans bought new things covered with beautifully tempting cloth and fake leather, and I am going to artistically shape these new belongings until they are to my liking, suitable to be sat on by a royal such as myself.
Resolution #3:
I plan to communicate more with my subjects and be more available and open as an emperor to them. Every night at midnight, I am going to climb to the top of the kitchen cabinets and refrigerator and make announcements that will ring proudly from corner to corner of my domain.
Resolution #4:
I plan to take more interest in the activities of my Main Human to show my appreciation for her undying servitude and loyalty. I am going to sit on every thing she tries to do to show how interested I am in her work. Paper, cloth, knitting, you name it, my butt will be there!
Resolution #5:
I plan to continue being an amazing emperor, full of glory and greatness. I will strive to always be the best emperor I can be — proud, strong, and determined. It has been five great years of rule in this household, and I am looking forward to what 2022 has to offer me.
Take care, my dearest subjects. Stay safe and well and warm, and may 2022 be a good year for all of you!
Until next time,
Emperor Julius
Happy December and happy holiday month, readers!
Last month, Julius and I talked about our top five favorite cat YouTubers. Continuing in a similar vein this month, Julius and I are again going to talk about our favorite YouTube cats — this time with an appropriately seasonal twist. Year after year, cats around the world do what they do best each holiday season: climb and claw things, bat around lights and ornaments, and “help” decorate, all the while being adorably cute the entire time.
Despite what your holiday decorations might want to argue, the holiday season wouldn’t be nearly as happy or jolly without the hilarious antics of our fuzzy tree-climbing companions. So go ahead and snuggle up by the fire and grab a glass of warm milk — let’s get into our list of our top five favorite YouTube cats, holiday edition!
P.S. The opinions expressed in this article are completely my own. Neither I nor anyone at Sir Socks Le Chat has any association, affiliation, or other such relationship with any of the YouTubers/YouTube channels listed in this article.
You might remember Minnie (iizcat) from our article last month. This feline household favorite makes another appearance in our holiday lineup. Nothing brings about warm holiday fuzzy feelings better than seeing Minnie happy and in her element playing in her humans’ Christmas tree. Minnie and her humans’ loving relationship is once again on full display in these holiday videos: just a little sweet cat having fun, ringing in the holiday spirit, surrounded by love and kindness and bright winter lights.
This now-classic video has made the rounds on the internet each holiday season for the last few years. I’m sure that many cat lovers have had this video shared with or sent to them by friends and family. This commercial-esque video from I.C.T. shows off cats doing their favorite holiday activities — accompanied by expert camera work and dramatic music to match.
This short and sweet video is another favorite of ours. This little gem comes from a lesser-known YouTube channel and features great up-close shots of an adorably fluffy and happy kitty having a great time exploring the wonderland under their human’s Christmas tree. It’s honestly surprising that this heartwarming video hasn’t gone viral yet!
What’s the best kind of holiday gift you could receive? Answers may vary from person to person, but in our household the answer would definitely be a purring little bundle of joy in a box! This video does an excellent job capturing the best of the holidays from the perspective of a cat — boxes, warm lights, friends and family, and bags and bags of Friskies Party Mix. Nothing is cuter than a happy cat in a box!
Okay, there might be something cuter than a cat in a box: a pudgy cat in a Santa outfit. Like Minnie from iizcat, Butters the Bean also made an appearance last month in our previous article. (Julius’ mom might just have a thing for orange cats.) Ever adorable, lovable, and wonderful, Butters is perhaps one of the cutest little Santas we have ever seen. Peaceful and happy, Butters will no doubt help even the Grinchiest among us get into a good holiday mood.
We hope you enjoyed this month’s installment of top YouTube cats! What are some of your favorite holiday cat videos? Does your cat like to “help” you decorate for the holidays? Let us know in the comments!
Until next time,
Clarabelle and Julius
One reason we admire cats is for their proficiency in one-upmanship. They always seem to come out on top, no matter what they are doing, or pretend they do. —Barbara Webster
Cats are inspiring. They inspire me to write about them and admire how well they come out on top even when they technically fail and manage to recover quickly. Perhaps they aren’t willing to give up on themselves and are motivated to do better next time. They certainly do learn not to make the same mistake twice.
The ideal of calm exists in a sitting cat. —Jules Reynard
Cats are good at lying and sitting quite still. Combine that with a purr and I feel as if I’ve reached Nirvana with them leading the way. Cats don’t have to study how to meditate. They are born knowing how. I’m still learning from them.
If ever notice when your human sighs? Or seems to stop moving? I’ve seen that with my girl. I would tap her to make sure she was still alive. She always responded when I did so. But still I wondered if she was depressed.
Sometimes when humans are depressed they won’t get up out of bed. They don’t need to sleep off and on all day as we do, so it’s a bad sign. If they forget to eat or feed you, it’s time to do an intervention.
Humans do get depressed and they need us cats to help them get through it. I would suggest give them a head butt and rub up against them. Cuddle up against them and purr as loud as you can. It’s a simple and easy way to let them know you still care.
I’ve done that with my girl and she always got better. It wasn’t always so safe to sleep next to her as she is a restless sleeper, but I do like to sleep with her. It was better when she slept in bigger beds. Then I would have a safe place to sleep near her without having to worry about her crushing me by accident.
I hope these tips help if you human gets depressed. Talking to them might help to. I think they need to socialize as we cats do too.
Sir Socks Le Chat 