Photo by Mike Baird.

Forget Bambi. Forget It’ a Wonderful Life.  One of the earliest movies I remember watching as a child was “The Birds.”  Scared by beejeezus out of me, it did!  Watching the birds go after people as they hid in cars and phone booths … well that certainly got my adrenalin pumping.

And now – possibly – we know why the birds originally attacked, which was the inspiration for the movie.  According to CNN,

In a study published in the journal Nature Geoscience, Bargu argues that “toxin-making algae were present in 79 percent of the plankton” the birds ate. The toxins contained “a nerve-damaging acid, which causes confusion, seizures and death in birds.”

That’s some scary stuff!

While this list is in no way all-inclusive, here are some of my favorite animal stories of 2011 brought to you by Animal Shak.

Greyhound Drama – So who do you believe? I don’t have the answer because there are two or twenty sides to every story.  What we do know is that there really are a LOT of greyhound available for adoptions and they are gentle, sweet dogs.  Definitely a family friendly dog that would make a home a happy place.

Hey Squawk Meet Peep – My best onomatopoeia for birds naming their chicks bird sounds are – apparently – squawk and peep!  Those names are better than some names I’ve heard for regular humans, but hey… who am I to judge what people name their babies?

When Monkeys Roam Free – One bad monkey escaped and attacked a neighbor. He was put down and because the other primates were in poor condition, they were removed from the home. Be careful of wild animals.  Always be careful.

OCD Cats – My own tries to run into the bathroom every single time I have to go.  She weaves all around my legs – the figure eight move – and will “try” to stand on her back legs with her front paws on my knees.  I shoo her away.  Closing the door could be a better option when using the restroom.

Bite Me Once, Shame on You – If a dog is growling and baring its teeth, that’s a pretty big signal for me to stay away. If a dog is barking, same thing. If a dog is trying to stare me down, I turn the other way.

That’s it for 2011. We welcome 2012 with catcalls and barks!

From our Shak to yours, wishing you a very Merry Christmas!

Photo by aussiegall.

I can’t even imagine that my cat would be still long enough for me to take photos.  But to also take photos of her wearing a bow tie and a beret?  Unheard of!  Big kudos to The Miao Chronicles for doing just that!

I am constantly amazed by the patience of my miaoly models, Lotus and Chun. I can’t accuse Sprocket of being patient, but his persistence with the peacock feather makes up for lack of patience. My Miaoly models have my deepest gratitude.

Check out these adorable, amazing photos and then go to The Miao Chronicles to see even more cuteness:

With life so busy, times has prevented me from being able to dive in and really enjoy my friend Aunt B’s posts lately.  So when I sauntered over to her always fun Tiny Cat Pants site tonight, I laughed my head off over her story about getting Mrs. Wigglebottom to eat a certain pink product that helps with digestion problems.

Then this poor gal, the subject of our story, the person who has been valiantly trying to keep her dog from eating her own vomit, from eating the cats’ vomit, from eating poop, from eating random things she found in the yard, from eating stuff that’s not even edible just to see, this gal may measure out half a dose of the pink stuff and put it on a plate in the kitchen.

She may call for the dog and say “Eat that.”

And the dog may look at her like “Oh, no. Please, please, please, no. Don’t make me eat that. No, god, no.”

You’ll need to go read the whole story, but be warned that there is some strong language.  She makes me laugh!

Photo by Aussie Gal.

Photo by apium.