catsmas tree

December 18, 2005 10:20 PM

Just in time for the holiday two cats show you how to assemble & decorate your artificial christmas tree.
posted by jonson (33 comments total)

This is all very useful, but how do we keep them in there? I can deal with tree-building felines as long as I know they are going to stay by the tree.

But then I've always been nervous around cats I 'spose.

Also there's this
posted by Serial Killer Slumber Party at 10:40 PM on December 18, 2005

Good, good stuff...during the holidays, whimsical stuff like this just tickles me to no end. Sigh...wish I could get my two cats to do something productive like Iris and Fern.
posted by davidmsc at 10:40 PM on December 18, 2005

I had a rare *real* LOL with the before and after pix. Cats do, in fact, rule.
posted by moonbird at 10:47 PM on December 18, 2005

Apperently Jean Teasdale got bored.
posted by sourwookie at 10:57 PM on December 18, 2005

I'm floored that this wasn't a geocities site.
posted by shmegegge at 11:15 PM on December 18, 2005

Welcome to our newest phrase-for-a-name n00b.

[PvP saved this thread (for me)]
posted by Eideteker at 11:23 PM on December 18, 2005

That was really cool.
posted by teece at 11:25 PM on December 18, 2005

This is our first two-cat Christmas, so this will give us an idea of what to expect when the tree goes up. Thanks!
posted by DakotaPaul at 12:15 AM on December 19, 2005

We're not putting a tree up this year. Our kitten is mental.
posted by salmacis at 12:56 AM on December 19, 2005

Those cats look like they're really enjoying themselves...
posted by runkelfinker at 1:40 AM on December 19, 2005

I thought it was a lot cooler until I realized some of it was photoshopped.
posted by Justinian at 2:02 AM on December 19, 2005

no! photoshopped? tell me it ain't so.
posted by dabitch at 2:14 AM on December 19, 2005

Mmmmm cats - tasty!
posted by bap98189 at 2:36 AM on December 19, 2005

Yet more viral marketing from Cat Fancy.
posted by fleacircus at 3:25 AM on December 19, 2005

The most obvious photoshop is about 2/3 down the page where "Iris" is in the gift bag in a couple shots. The head is completely out of proportion in the first picture and is obviously pasted in in the second.

In fact, quite a lot of it looks shopped. Sorry to be a bummer.
posted by Justinian at 3:36 AM on December 19, 2005

Even if it is PSP'd, it still is pretty darn humorous.
posted by davidmsc at 4:58 AM on December 19, 2005

Taz, in the Christmas tree
posted by madamjujujive at 4:59 AM on December 19, 2005

Make sure to scroll down & click on the pic of John Ritter. Really backs up the Jean Teasdale theory.
posted by password at 5:13 AM on December 19, 2005

I thought it was a lot cooler until I realized some of it was photoshopped.

You mean the cats didn't really put up the tree? Way to spoil our fun, Justinian.
posted by pracowity at 5:35 AM on December 19, 2005

aaaw, taz looks fetching in that shot. ;)
posted by dabitch at 6:01 AM on December 19, 2005

Two kittens + tree + string of lights = no lights + one kitten quite afraid of the tree because it "bit" him.

It was actually pretty funny (once we were sure he was OK) - one second the kitty is under the tree, the next second the lights are out and the poor little guy was rocketing across the room like he'd been kicked. We tried to warn him off, but he just wouldn't leave the lights alone. He went through three or four strings of lights before he got zapped.

(Ha. My wife's cat is still wary of the lights, even 4 years after the fact. My cat on the other hand loves his tree and spends half the day sitting under it messing up the tree skirt.)
posted by caution live frogs at 6:25 AM on December 19, 2005

The most obvious photoshop is about 2/3 down the page where "Iris" is in the gift bag in a couple shots. The head is completely out of proportion in the first picture and is obviously pasted in in the second.

I don't think the cat head in the bag looks Photoshopped. I also think there is little reason to believe someone would Photoshop those two pics. Why would they feel the need to insert the cat head in the bag? Especially when all the other pics would be so much more difficult to create in real life than a cat in a bag.

Also, out of proportion with what? The gray cat? The gray cat is larger, fatter, and has a wider face than the cat in the bag. See step 4 pic 2 and step 5 pic 2. When the first picture is enlarged to match the second pic, the heads match.
posted by effwerd at 6:31 AM on December 19, 2005

In addition to the John Ritter link, the Koala link cements the Jean Teasdale theory.
posted by Modem Ovary at 6:34 AM on December 19, 2005

I went to buy Christmas cards this year, and I noticed how about half of the humor ones had a joke based around how cats hate Christmas trees.
posted by fungible at 6:49 AM on December 19, 2005

Also, every pic has the lighting on the cats match the ambient lighting of the pic. The focus, the contrast, it all matches up really well. Certainly it's not beyond the realm of possibility that someone wanted to use their cats at Xmas as a means of showing off their great Photoshop skills, but I still think it unlikely. I mean, there is some amazing masking work in these photos if that is the case. See "a few more photos of our girls" especially the second pic in that group.

Okay that's enough of that, I've got to get back to Photoshopping my pets into bizarre circumstances.
posted by effwerd at 6:51 AM on December 19, 2005

Even I think it's kind of cute, and I hate cats.
posted by orange swan at 7:04 AM on December 19, 2005

I have Maine Coons. The breed that supposedly are "gentle giants". Breeders that spread that myth should be taken out and shot. These cats remain kittens all their lives. Picture kittens that average between 15 and 20 pounds! We have not been able to hang any ornaments on a Christmas tree for years, because they will strip it in a few days. But they do keep us entertained.
posted by Ber at 7:05 AM on December 19, 2005

All I have to say is thank Jebus for plastic ornaments.
posted by briank at 7:41 AM on December 19, 2005

Awww, aren't kitties just adorable? All this site is missing is a little MIDI music in the background.
posted by Nelson at 8:09 AM on December 19, 2005

MIDI background music? Here ya go. (For the record, MIDI background loops rank right up there with background tile graphics. (I think it's perfect that the last link actually has background MIDI as well!))
posted by ancientgower at 8:59 AM on December 19, 2005

I don't think these are photoshopped. It's much easier to just come across a cat climbing in a gift bag than to go through the hassle of photoshopping it. Heck, my cat waits for me to unpack groceries just so she can sit in the bag.

The before/after pictures are one of the reasons why I don't have a tree...
Last year my cat was away for christmas, at friends who did have a tree, and when I took her home she had managed to steal one of the balls (took it from the tree and hid it in her cage).
posted by easternblot at 10:10 AM on December 19, 2005

I contacted the photographer, who says (in part):

Well I'm pleased & proud to say they are NOT photoshopped!

I read the comments & if it was you who was sticking up for us - thanks!

I realize those folks are going to need "proof", so I just slapped this together for them.

http://www.fluffytails.ca/catinbag.asp

Please notify those people of this page, to prove to them.

Thank you.

posted by pracowity at 1:46 PM on December 20, 2005

Apparently Jean Teasdale did get bored.
posted by ancientgower at 6:01 PM on December 21, 2005