Okay, so there are rats. Let's just get that out of the way now. But they're cute! And so far, not in the house. Here are a few photos of rats eating leaves, and then a rat being eaten, all taken on the same day from different windows of my house.

SERIOUSLY, CROWS EATING A RAT, DON'T CLICK IF YOU DON'T WANT TO SEE THAT.

Followed by kitty portraits, because I got some nice ones.

( Rats eat leaves )

( Crows eat rat. Squirrel is all, what's up OMG? )

( Soothing pictures of KITTIES )

Note: I promise this journal will not devolve into all-new-cats, all the time. No more than usual, anyway.

So, yes. My much-loved Kitty-Kate passed away on March 5th, and while I can't say I'll ever be over her, exactly, the bedroom was feeling lonely without cat company and Mr. Daroga and I succumbed on Sunday to the lure of the shelter. Note to self: "looking" = "taking home."

One of these beauties appealed to Mr. D right away, seeing as she managed to be both hyper and lap-sitty within five minutes, but her sister would not hear of her leaving alone. So... we got two. Which I'm sure will be excellent for them while we're away, and as insurance against the dogs. Kate was only ever a one-cat cat, by her own preference as far as we could tell, but these two are super-bonded and get into all sorts of trouble. They're less than a year old and came from a house that was raided by police because there were 20+ animals living there. They're surprisingly well-adjusted and used to just about anything--they also get into just about everything and I'm not even sure how they do the things with food bowls that I've come home to find.

The dogs are, in one case, ignoring their existence and in the other, veering between intense interest and jealousy. They'll adjust, but I keep telling Mr. Darcy that if he shuts up and sits still, they'll probably be all over him in no time. Dogs do not understand "let her come to you."

Anyway, we're having trouble naming the little beasts (so far they're Cat and Other Cat), so I'm opening up the floor to recommendations. They don't have to be girls' names. They don't have to be sister/twin/pair names. They can be fandom-related or not. Ideas?



( cats and jealous dogfaces )

The store keeps not having Annie's Mac and Cheese (the regular kind, in the purple box so I have to eat the Arthur-shaped ones. I don't really like Arthur, but I like to pretend I'm eating little Radiohead bears.



( proof )

A few weeks ago, we discovered a rat in the window birdfeeder. Yeah, I know that's bad and stuff, but they haven't got in yet and we're not refilling it. I just keep forgetting to take it down. Because they're kind of cute. And they come in pairs and freak out the dog. He just jumps up and down in front of the window all night. It's hilarious. But also annoying. The cat has figured out she's never gonna get that, and doesn't take much notice.

In fact, the first night one of them came, the animals didn't notice it at all.

( the rat, and Kate not noticing it )

One night Mr. Darcy was so annoying I had to get up and close the blinds. But first I looked at the rat. It was a different one, not the injured one here. Instead of running away, he looked right at me. I touched the glass, and he put his nose where my finger was. I moved my finger and he followed me.

I think I have a friend.

It's really hard to think of them as pests.

I've been too lazy to write up the things I've been meaning to talk about. No idea why; there doesn't seem to be a pattern informing my LJ posting. As in, I don't seem to post more or less often depending on how busy I am. It just varies independently.

But I've done a few things that I'll show you.

First, a scene from Leroux's Phantom of the Opera, just before the Persian is pulled to a potentially watery grave:

bosom of the waters by ~my-daroga on deviantART

Next, a lovely cat!macro! Inspired by... well, Kate taking over this book last night:



Lastly, a stupid "comic" I made using my flickr account and bubblr. Unfortunately, you'll have to go to the site, since the embedded version won't work with LJ:

Dogfight by l_aurens

Went to the doctor yesterday. Gave me some Maxalt, which dissolves on your tongue in a frightening matter and, thus far, hasn't worked. I think I have to "come off" the caffeine and tylenol first, anyway.

Some links!

*A most gorgeous Elizabeth Bennett doll made by cesario. She has been doing amazing things lately, and this is my favorite. How cunning!

*alixtii writes about Incest and the Adolescent Fantasy and makes some really good points about why certain impulses might arise in fandom that don't in "real life."

*Mouse the Italian Greyhound informs concerned pet owners about the 9 must skirry thengs 4 yor dag. Old link, true, but new to me!

*And, I've jumped on the kitty macro bandwagon: