SUPER BOWL SUNDAY

As I’m sure pretty much everyone on the planet (or at least in the United States) knows, February 1st is Super Bowl Sunday. This is a day for friends to gather, drink rivers of beer, eat megatons of Buffalo wings and other gristy-but-delicious junk food, and holler at the TV as gigantic padded male humans yell, growl and snarl, slam into each other, and generally fall down a lot. If a foreign power wanted to invade the U.S., Super Bowl Sunday would be a good day to do it because no one would care… just as long as it didn’t interfere with the game.

Steve and his female are not big football fans – in fact, all the Super Bowl really means to Steve is that the start of spring training for the upcoming baseball season is only two weeks away (Steve IS a major baseball fan). Still, they’ll probably watch the game like the good Americans they are, if nothing else to see Bruce Springsteen perform at half-time. I think Steve is also secretly hoping that one of the cheerleaders might have a “wardrobe malfunction” like Janet Jackson did a few years ago… but don’t tell the female that! As for me, I’ll probably hide, nap, or troll for any errant junk food remnants that might fall on the floor… or more likely, a combination of the above.

At any rate, it’s nice to have a day for Americans to come together and forget their problems for a little while as two football teams, in this case the Cardinals and the Steelers, go mano a mano on the gridiron. Bring on the testosterone!

HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR!

Today is the first day of the Chinese New Year, with 2009 being the Year of the Ox, and year 4707 on the Chinese calendar. So to all my Chinese kitty (and human) friends, let me be among the first to say GUNG HAY FAT CHOY… which loosely translated means, “Best wishes and congratulations. Have a prosperous and good year.” That's a traditional Chinese good luck cat in the photo on the left.

Now some of you curious cats might be wondering why each year on the Chinese calendar is named after an animal. Well, ‘ole Quaz Yat-Sen has the answer for you! According to legend, Buddha asked all the animals to meet him on Chinese New Year. Twelve animals showed up and Buddha named a year after each one. Unfortunately, no kitties came (they must have been napping or otherwise occupied at the time), so there is no Year of the Cat. Buddha also said that people born in a particular animal’s year would have some of that animal’s personality… which is probably too bad for people born in the Year of the Snake, the Year of the Rat, or… horror of horrors… the Year of the Dog!

Also, and how cool is this… I just found out that The World Is Your Litter Box will be released in Taiwan later this year. So all you mingows (that’s cats) in Taiwan, be on the lookout for it! What would Buddha say!

INAGURATION OF PRESIDENT OBAMA - PART 2

CONGRATULATIONS PRESIDENT OBAMA

Your Inaugural Address was stirring, especially your call for all of us to contribute. As a cat, I would like to offer my services in ridding the White House of any pesky rodents that might be hanging around.

Seriously, though, we wish you all the best in facing the enormous challenges that lie before you, and before all of us as Americans. Speaking on behalf of Steve, the female and (of course) myself, I'm glad you're our new president!

Your Friend,

Quasi

INAUGURATION OF PRESIDENT OBAMA

Along with Steve and his female, and just about everyone else on Planet Earth, I just can’t WAIT for Barack Obama’s inauguration. Also, and no offense to you conservative cats out there, it will be great to see George W. Bush in the rearview mirror, although, I think there are actually quite a number of conservatives who would agree with THAT statement! In fact, to honor Mr. Obama’s effort to reach across the aisle to members of the opposing party, I’m going to reach across the driveway and extend a paw of friendship to all the dogs in the neighborhood (well… not really).

Anyway, Tuesday will be a VERY exciting and historic day, and we intend to watch it all from the comfort of our living room… I already have my reserved seat on the back of the couch behind Steve and the female. And aside from the fact that Mr. Obama wants to get a dog for his children instead of a cat, we think he will be a great president and wish him all the very best!

COLD WEATHER AND KITTIES

Last night I was watching TV with Steve and his female (from my usual spot on the back of the couch behind their heads) and I saw that most of the country is currently paralyzed by frigidly-cold weather and lots of that white stuff that falls from the sky and piles up on the ground (snow, I believe they call it). It was kinda strange to me because, being a Southern California kitty, I’ve never seen snow or experienced those kinds of cold temperatures. Also, not to rub it in, but while most of the country is going through a mini-Ice Age, we’ve had sunny days and temperatures in the 80s in Los Angeles.

My first thought when I saw the news about all this cold, nasty weather was… how does all this affect my fellow cats that live in these areas? Can they go outside, or will they freeze their noses and the little pads on their feet? And what about kitties who literally use the outside world as their litter box? I can only imagine how uncomfortable THAT must be! And what if their drinking water freezes? Or, even worse, what if their humans run out of kitty food and can’t get to the store to buy more? It all sounds pretty harrowing to a warm weather cat like me.

But on the other hand, are there any FUN things about snow and cold weather? I’ve heard that dogs like to frolic in the snow (although dogs think pretty much anything is fun, regardless of how horrible or disgusting it might be). How about building snow-kitties? Or ice skating… it seems like it might be kind of fun to slide around on a cool, slick surface. Or maybe a nice steaming cup of tuna-flavored hot chocolate to warm you up?

Anyway, for you cold weather kitties, I hope things warm up soon. Look at it this way... in six months, it will be summer and everyone will be complaining about how hot it is!

MY SPACE GROUP FOR THE WORLD IS YOUR LITTER BOX

Along with my human, Steve, I would like to invite you to join the official My Space group for The World Is Your Litter Box. We’ve created the group to provide a forum for your thoughts and comments about the book, hopefully complimentary and nice, although you can be critical if you want… hey, we can take the heat! We also welcome book reviews and photos of readers... cat, human and otherwise. All ages are welcome, but please… no animal haters, overt weirdos or dangerous cranks.

To join the group, click http://groups.myspace.com/theworldisyourlitterbox.

NEW YEAR - NEW BOOK

Now that we’re into the new year, Steve and I are hard at work on the follow up to The World Is Your Litter Box. We don’t have an official title yet, but the working title is Litter Box 2 (How’s that for original!). I don’t want to give anything away, but let’s just say, if you liked The World Is Your Litter Box, you’ll REALLY like this one!

Now, having said all that, don’t look for the new book in the stores anytime soon. First, we have to finish writing it, and great literature like this doesn’t always come easy (especially when you’re a spoiled, coddled artiste like myself). Then it has to go through all the normal permutations of the publishing industry such as editing, layout, scheduling, etc. The new book will definitely be available before the return of Halley’s Comet, which will make its’ next appearance in mid-2061, but at this point, we can’t exactly say when. I’ll keep you posted, though, as things move along.

Meanwhile – yes here comes the first blatant, shameless plug of 2009 – if you haven’t already read The World Is Your Litter Box yet, or if you know someone who hasn’t, you have plenty of time to pick up a copy before the new book comes out. Hey, we need to keep eating while we work (especially me!).

THE WORLD IS YOUR LITTER BOX WINS "KITTY KNOWS IT ALL AWARD" IN CAT FANCY MAGAZINE

How’s this for a totally cool way to start the new year (for me, anyway!). Grab a copy of the February 2009 issue of Cat Fancy magazine, turn to Page 51, and you’ll find an article titled “They’ve Got Cattitude” by pet lifestyle expert Sandy Robins. In the article, Sandy presents five “Cattitude” awards to various cat books, and guess which book just happens to be one of the winners! Here’s an excerpt…

… And the Kitty Knows It All Award goes to a little gem called The World Is Your Litter Box: A How-To Manual for Cats, (Sterling) written by Steve Fisher. This man certainly knows his place because he claims his cat Quasi is the author. And who can resist such chapter headings as “How to Annoy Humans Who Are Allergic to Cats” and “20 Good Places to Throw Up.”

Thanks to Sandy Robins and Cat Fancy magazine for this prestigious “Cattitude” award. Steve and I are very honored to be among the winners. And you’re right, Sandy… Steve DOES know his place!