Snowy Weather... What's It Like?

As we approach the Christmas holiday, many areas of the United States, especially the midwest and parts of the east coast, are buried under snow and experiencing extremely cold weather. Since I live in Southern California, where it never gets really cold - although we do have scary earthquakes from time to time - I can't even imagine what it must be like to deal with frigid temperatures. About the closest I've ever come is one time when I was high on catnip, I accidentally stepped in my water bowl, which had just been filled with water from the refrigerator... THAT was pretty cold. (Right about here, you kitties in cold climates are probably thinking "Pshaw, you wuss...that's nothing!).

Anyway, as a cat who has never even SEEN snow or ice (well, I have seen ice cubes), I'm very curious about what living in a winter wonderland is really like for us kitties. I'm hoping some of my feline friends who live in snowy areas can answer some of the following questions for me...

• Does snow tickle when it falls on your nose?
• How does snow feel when you step in it?
• Can you see your breath when you hiss at an enemy kitty?
• How do you get traction on an icy surface if you have to run away from a dog?
• Can you still climb trees when they have snow on them?
• Does your fur keep you warm enough when you go outside?
• Can your human still get to the store to buy your food?
• Does your tongue stick to your fur when you lick yourself?
• How do you form snowballs with no opposable thumbs?
• Where is all this snow going to go when it finally melts?

Here’s hoping that all cats in cold climates have a nice fireplace to sleep in front of during the day and warm humans to cuddle up with at night.