I ordinarily have three or four feline "helpers" near my desk at
home. I cannot have cats at work (darn it!). So I thought I'd get a
stuffed cat for my desk. It looks like this (pardon the quality of my
camera phone's images):
http://tinyurl.com/lagt8
http://tinyurl.com/nhf2r
The online product image is here:
http://tinyurl.com/zyja8
I installed the batteries, sat it on my desk, and watched it out of
the corner of my eye. Just like a real kitten, it sleeps on top of the
current book on my desk, it breathes in and out (hence the batteries
-
they say it should breathe for about three months on life support),
and it feels soft to the touch.
It came in a cardboard carry crate like you get at an animal adoption
center, cutesy instructions, and a certificate of adoption on which
you can write your new zombie cat's name.
From the documentation (my comments in brackets):
"Perfect Petzzz (sic) need very little training to remain the
"perfect" pet. Each one was individually tested in Austin, Texas
before being chosen for adoption."
[As long as the command is "sleep", obedience is outstanding. All
other attempts at gaining obedience are exactly as successful as with
real cats]
"Your pet has already been trained to go to the bathroom ONLY when
you are asleep, so it won't even bother you."
[No doubt so it can bury the results under your pillow - just like a
real cat!]
The cat does look realistic, except under close examination. If you
turn it upside down, it looks sadly like the cats who failed to cross
the road.
It also goes a long way toward fixing the "phantom cat" feeling I
get, from expecting a cat to be underfoot, when no cats are in the
vicinity.
In short, I like it. Bonus: the receptionist was speehless when I
showed it to her - whether in sheer admiration of my genius, or
complete, disgusted acceptance of my cat-dorkiness, she failed to
say.
As a denial survival mechanism, I'm going with the first choice...
No animals, real or hallucinatory, were harmed in the making of this
post.
Hugs and Purrs,
Mark

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Proof of Sanity Forged Upon Request
Magic Mood Jeep© - 31 Mar 2006 15:30 GMT
> I ordinarily have three or four feline "helpers" near my desk at
> home. I cannot have cats at work (darn it!). So I thought I'd get a
[quoted text clipped - 59 lines]
> --
> Proof of Sanity Forged Upon Request
Cute lil buggar.
But the fur - I'm assuming it is man-made fake fur, not the fur that comes
from China that could possibly have been someone's pet once, right? Hard to
tell from a picture....
Karen - 31 Mar 2006 16:29 GMT
> In short, I like it. Bonus: the receptionist was speehless when I
> showed it to her - whether in sheer admiration of my genius, or
> complete, disgusted acceptance of my cat-dorkiness, she failed to
> say.
> As a denial survival mechanism, I'm going with the first choice...
ROFL!! Please let us know what other co-workers do around it. It is sure
cute.
Susan M - 31 Mar 2006 16:53 GMT
> The online product image is here:
> http://tinyurl.com/zyja8
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> complete, disgusted acceptance of my cat-dorkiness, she failed to
> say.
I love it!!!
Susan M
Otis and Chester
jXwXeXrXmXoXnXt@sonic.net - 31 Mar 2006 19:40 GMT
> http://tinyurl.com/lagt8
Wow - at least in the picture, it does look real!
> http://tinyurl.com/nhf2r
Mark, do you think anyone at your job knows you're a cat slave? :)
> I installed the batteries, sat it on my desk, and watched it out of
> the corner of my eye. Just like a real kitten, it sleeps on top of the
> current book on my desk, it breathes in and out
OK, here's a question. If they could make it breathe, why couldn't they
make it purr?
> It came in a cardboard carry crate like you get at an animal adoption
> center, cutesy instructions, and a certificate of adoption on which
> you can write your new zombie cat's name.
Considering all that cutsiness, it was very reasonably priced.
> Bonus: the receptionist was speehless when I showed it to her -
> whether in sheer admiration of my genius, or complete, disgusted
> acceptance of my cat-dorkiness, she failed to say.
I have a feeling you have a bit of a reputation at work for the
latter, I'm afraid! :)
Are you a QA engineer, by any chance? I noticed that the book on your
desk is called "How to Break Web Software".
Joyce
Mark Edwards - 01 Apr 2006 03:57 GMT
[snips]
>Mark, do you think anyone at your job knows you're a cat slave? :)
Let's see... So many cat-based cards that the owner comments that he
"only got three cards", my drink sleeve, the calendar, a cat-based
ouse pad, lots and lots of computer wallpaper based on my four catsm
the fake cat... Um, probably not (big grin).
>Are you a QA engineer, by any chance? I noticed that the book on
>your desk is called "How to Break Web Software".
Not specifically, although some QA comes with being a programmer.
Hugs and Purrs,
Mark

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Karen AKA Kajikit - 01 Apr 2006 01:42 GMT
>I ordinarily have three or four feline "helpers" near my desk at
>home. I cannot have cats at work (darn it!). So I thought I'd get a
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>
> http://tinyurl.com/zyja8
It's adorable! I would have loved to have one of those when I lived
with my parents and wasn't allowed to have any pets...
mlbriggs - 01 Apr 2006 01:50 GMT
>>I ordinarily have three or four feline "helpers" near my desk at
>>home. I cannot have cats at work (darn it!). So I thought I'd get a
[quoted text clipped - 10 lines]
> It's adorable! I would have loved to have one of those when I lived
> with my parents and wasn't allowed to have any pets...
As the little child said: "I want a cat made out of cat">? MLB