Saturday, February 12, 2011

Caturday Night Live!


Welcome to a very special edition of Caturday Night Live, with your guest host, Matilda the (sleepy) Algonquin Cat!

Today I was fortunate enough to attend the Pet Writing Conference in NYC, and meet up with Cat Blogosphere pals such as Ann Dziemianowicz (Careers For Your Cat and paper bag & string), Tamar Arslanian (I Have Cat), and Ingrid King (The Conscious Cat)!

After a long day of informative panels and discussions, Ann and me decided to take a short walk to the historic Algonquin Hotel to meet the new resident Algonqueen, Matilda III! If you remember, just last month it was announced that 15-year-old Matilda II had retired to "a classic pre-war apartment in Brooklyn," and was quietly replaced by a new "Directfurr of Guest Relations."

After entering the beautiful, newly renovated, and gloriously warm hotel lobby, we were quickly seated in the lounge area. After waffling over two drinks - the Pink Pussycat and the Matilda, I decided I had to respect the lady of the house by ordering her signature cocktail.

This is what a $20 drink named after a cat looks like

The pricey concoction features "Belvedere Ponaranza, Cointreau, Freshly Squeezed Lemon & Orange Juice, and a Splash of Perrier Jouet." It was delicious, kind of like Sprite and Orange Juice mixed together, with a kick. My taste buds are currently impaired due to a bad cold, but that will not stop me from proclaiming that the hotel also serves the most addictive snack mix ever (also pictured). Ann can back me up on this.

I eagerly asked our server where Matilda was, and he assured us she was on the premises. This was encouraging, yet slightly disappointing, as I still hadn't recovered from the fanciful vision I had of her sitting on a luggage cart by the door, anxiously awaiting my arrival at the hotel.

I made him promise to send her over before we left. A short time later, the man came back and pointed to a small, dark corner of the lounge where a gorgeous Ragdoll cat snoozed royally upon a velveteen cushion. I jumped up and ran over (I wish I could say this was an exaggeration, but sadly it's not), and interrupted the guests sitting near her to get a better look. The two women asked if I was a crazy cat lady, and I said, "I don't think so," despite authoring a cat blog and wearing a dress with silver sequined cats(!) on it at the time. They proceeded to ask me how many cats I had, and when I replied two, they quickly assured me that crazy cat ladies had at least ten cats. So there.

First glimpse! Is she sleeping, or just shielding herself from the papa-papa-razzi?

After the Matilda hogging patrons left, we hustled over to their open seats and tried to get some quotes from the still slumbering diva. She remained unmoved, and almost doll like. I had to get close to make sure she was still breathing! After confirming that indeed, she was, I did what any self respecting cat journalist would do; I got down on my knees and reached into her dark lair to get get a good pat! I gently stroked her head, and gave her an affectionate chin scritch for good measure.

Zzzzzzzzzz

She was sleeping almost the entire time, and barely opened her eyes, but we got a few glimpses of her face. I can confidently report that her fur is soft and silky like a rabbit, she has a little pink nose, and she possesses some of the he floofiest white kitty toes I've ever seen!


Towards the end of of our visit, a hotel employee came over and signaled it was time for her to eat dinner by tapping a spoon against an unopened can of Fancy Feast. Poor Matilda must have had a rough day entertaining hotel guests (like us), and even the siren song of the 'Feast couldn't rouse her from her slumber.

Ann and I spoke briefly of cat-napping her (now I will never be allowed into the Algonquin again!), before packing up and heading out into the frigid city night.

***

We now return you to your regularly scheduled Caturday programming! Put on your coziest jammies and prepare for cuteness overload when you meet Romeo, Buffy, and Calvin!

"O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?"

FIrst up, Amy writes in to tell us the tale of her little ladykiller, the stunning Romeo!

Amy writes, "Romeo, or "Romy" as he is sometimes called, is a seven year old Maine Coon who lives with me in Saint Petersburg, Florida. I first met him almost three years ago when he started hanging out at my father's university after his prior owner callously abandoned him, which shows that Romy is clearly an intellectual cat. Romy's interests include running bathtub faucets, open windows, and being an awesomely friendly cat."


I love big, burly Maine Coons, and Romy is no exception! Just in time for Valentine's Day, I'm ready to meet up with this kitty Casanova for a serious cuddle session! How can you deny the cuteness of this handsome boy's sweet little expression?

***


Next up, Chris from Germany gives us a peek at her marmalade colored cutie, named after the title character of one of my favorite television shows of all time - Buffy The Vampire Slayer! We've previously met two of Chris' other other cats, the ever-so-helpful, Bonni and Luna.

Chris writes, "This week, I have a pic from Buffy, my slayer cat, she loves water that's why she always hops into the sink when I am brushing my teeth...she only gets out after I let her drink some fresh water."


Get it, girl! This is one strong willed beauty who knows what she wants, and how to get it! Sarah Michelle Gellar would be proud!

***
And finally, we have another Catsparella first! Yes, that's right, this week I received my first ever "Caturday Response" email from Karen and her cat, Calvin.


If you remember, last week I featured Jo's ladycat Calvin, being a very good office assistant.

Karen writes, "Just saw the picture of the female Calvin being an office helper, so I had to share a pic of my male Calvin doing the same thing!"

Am I detecting a trend? Should I have a kitty face-off to determine the best "Feline Administrative Professional"? Karen, how many words can Calvin type per minute?

***

As always, very special thanks to everyone who made this week's Caturday post possible, including the fabulous staff of the Algonquin Hotel for putting up with our cat lady antics, and Amy, Chris, and Karen for sharing their divine felines with us!

If you ever want to pay Matilda a visit for yourself (maybe she will have woken up by then), The Algonquin Hotel is located on 59 West 44th Street in Manhattan.

***

Want to see your cat(s) on Catsparella? I'm looking for submissions for my weekly Caturday post! Email your best kitty pics to catsparella@gmail.com, and include the cat's name and anything else you'd like to add. I can't wait to hear from you!

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15 comments:

Fr. Tom Fish said...

Catsparella, It was so nice to meet Mathilda, the Algonquin Cat. I think every hotel should have a snoozing host!

Hugs,
Tom
xoxo

Cat and DOG Chat With Caren said...

Ok can I tell you how jealous I am that you got to meet all of those GREAT PEOPLE in purrson??????? OMC!!!!
I bet you had a complete BLAST with Ann! I love her sense of humor!
$20 for a drink? Named after a cat or not....I say fuuuugggget about it! lol. Matilda is adorable though!
I am sure you had an amazing time!

Ingrid King said...

It was so great to meet you yesterday! I wish I could have joined you guys for drinks after the conference.

Catsparella said...

@Caren Your ears must have been ringing, because we were talking about how wonderful you are!!

@Ingrid It was great meeting you too! :)

Jacqueline said...

So many beautiful kitties with great stories to tell=we really enjoyed your CNL post!...Happy Sunday, sweet friends...xoxo...Calle, Halle, Sukki

T said...

I'm sorry I couldn't met you guys after but a single girl has to go out with a GUY when the opportunity approaches (and I DO live in NYC so i didn't feel like i was picking a guy over a CAT really!).
SO Great to meet you in person!
=^^=

Cat and DOG Chat With Caren said...

Awwww THANK YOU!!!!!

Whew your convo could have soooo easily gone the other way!!!

MOL!!!

((((((hugs))))))))

Ann Dziemianowicz said...

Alas, we we did not succeed in "cat-napping" although Matilda did succeed in cat napping! :) The "lady of the house" is gorgeous! And the Algonquin is such a nice, cozy spot for a kitty and two tired writers! I had to stop Catsparella from joining Matilda on her velveteen cushion. ;)

Caren, yes your ears should have been ringing because we were talking about how incredible you are! (excuse me for using your blog to thank Caren for her nice comments and to say it was great to see Ingrid too and sorry you had to return home!)

Also so nice to meet the beautiful and charming Romeo; Buffy the sweet little vampire slayer and Calvin the hardworking office assistant!

Had a great time last night! :) And so wonderful to finally meet you! luv!

Melynda@Scratch Made Food! said...

What is it about marmalade colored cats, they always steal my heart!

Julia Williams said...

Awesome post, and what a great time you had! I wrote about the previous Matilda last year, and she sent me a few emails -- it was the first time I've gotten mail from a cat, but not the last! LOL. I would like to go meet her.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for linking to WCB this week!

Luscious Lucy said...

Oh what a great post! Sam & I are just mesmerized! Of course Sam thinks every hotel should have a RagDoll, but we are partial to Maine Coons ;)
Mom was reading over our shoulders and she said that drink looked mighty yummy to her but wow, 20 bucks! Well, they gave you good kibble to go with that ;)
Romy and Buffy are super cats. We love how Buffy goes straight for the water faucet with no fear.
And doesn't every office need a Calvin? Mom said she sure could use one for the taxes she's doing. Oh yeah, and Mom said to say that Ann's book, Careers for Your Cat, is just the most original and fun book!
Thanks from us, Catsparella, and from Mom, too :D
xoxoxo

Lucky said...

OMG OMG OMG!!! You met Matilda? Bugsy is totally, definitely, absolutely, madly in love with her! Oh my, what are we going to do?
Happy Cat Family

Clarissa said...

What a bunch of beautiful kitties! And you met Matlida! That is just PAWSOME!!!! Mom wants to know if that $20 drink was worth the price. MOL

Purrs,
Clarissa & Co.

DIGITAL WORLD PAGES ARCHIVE said...

Hello!
Very interesting post!
look my last post...I think it will very interesting for You.Look how our gray cat drink the water!

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