All Saints Day

Did you know that Italy is the seat of the Catholic church? The Pope lives in Rome in his very own, mini-country called "The Vatican". Because of this, Italy is a very religious country with Catholicism as its number one religion.

For that reason, there are many religious holidays in Italy. Our human is off from work for the rest of the week because of two, back to back holidays. The first one is today and it is called "All Saints Day".

Since it is All Saints Day, we wanted to share with you a couple of our most beloved Saints.

Saint Francis is the patron saint of animals. He was an Italian man who was born in a town just a couple of hours south of where were live, called Assisi. Saint Francis was a hardworking man who accomplished many things in his life and worked hard to serve his fellow man, but it was his love for animals that he is best known for. They say that he would go into the woods and preach to the animals because they were, after all, God's creatures too. There is a legend that the birds loved the sound his voice and would surround him as he spoke. And they say that on his death bed he thanked his donkey for helping him throughout his life. And the donkey wept.




Our other favorite saint is Saint Gertrude of Nivelles. We don't really know too much about her other than she was a faithful servant of God, she lead a quiet and closed off life and that she died at the young age of 33 (the same age our human is now). She hated mice and worked hard to get rid of them, maybe because they were full of disease. Because of this, you will always see painting of mice at her feet or a cat nearby. We guess that is why she the Patron Saint of cats.



So furry friends, it is nice to know that even the great Saints are keeping an eye out for all of us furry creatures!

You Are Personaly Invited

Click in the image to view a larger invitation

In the summer of 2004, my brother and I started to notice some changes around our home. At first it was little things, like our human giving away some clothes, dishes and other small items from our home. As fall approached, the smaller items turned into bigger ones and we became alarmed; you KNOW how we cats hate changes. After the couch and our human's bed made their way out of our home, we were down right scared. Something was rotten in Indy and we didn't like it one bit.

It wasn't long before our home was completely empty. All that was left was our human, my brother and I, and two cat cages. We had no idea where we were going, we just knew we were leaving. Roscoe and I didn't know it, but we were about to embark on the largest journey of our lives.

That journey started with a trip to our Grandparent's home, two hours away in northern Indiana. We were guests there for three days, during which my brother and I hid under the guest bed. Then we were placed in the car for a three hour drive to Chicago before being stuffed into the belly of an airplane for eight hours! We were never so terrified in all our lives! Can you believe that we made the entire trip without eating, drinking or even going to the bathroom? Needless to say, our human was very worried about us when we were reunited at baggage claim.

At once, we noticed something was off. The signs we spotted were written with strange letters and the humans spoke with words we had never even heard of.

"Welcome to Italy," our human said. And that was when we realized that we weren't in Kansas anymore (figuratively speaking of course). From the airport in Milan, it was an addtional two and half hours in the car before we finally arrived at our new home.

The date was November 4, 2004.

We can't believe that it has already been three years since we said good bye to America. They have been wonderful years filled with new friends, great food, amazing adventures, tons of love and endless laughter. In celebration of our "move-a-versary, we are having a month long party on our blog. We will write about life in Italy, share our favorite recipes, go on a few adventures, host a contest, and tell you a little about our favorite Italian cities.

Kicking off the celebration will be an pizza party at our blog on Sunday, the anniversary of our landing in Italy. We hope that you can join us and will have fun learning all about our new homeland.

-Opus

Happy Halloween

We want to wish all our friends a very Happy Halloween! Even though Halloween isn't a very big deal in Italy, we aren't letting that stop us American cats from celebrating. Our human is feeling a little homesick today, so we decided to cheer her up by dressing up in our Halloween costumes.

At first we thought we would go as a pair of black cats! Maybe we can be honorary members of the House of Mostly Black Cats for the day!


In the end, we decided to stick with our Colts Fan costumes that our male human made for us because we love them (and the Colts) so much.



Later in the day, the female human is gonna carve a neat pumpkin. We don't want to get our paws dirty, so we think we will just watch. If she needs help, we can always supervise!

With it being Halloween, we decided it would be fun to tell scary stories. If you want to participate just write a scary story on your blog and then leave a comment on our blog. We will make a list of all the cat blogs with scary stories and have that posted tomorrow. The more scarier the story, the better.

And now for our scary story.....

It was a dark and stormy night. Two small, sweet cats were left home alone as their humans went out for the evening. The rain outside was relentless as it came down in buckets from the gray sky. The wind howled and battered against the windows as the lights inside the house flickered on and off a few times, then they went out all together.

The poor frightened cats cowered close together hoping the mean storm would soon pass, but it was Halloween night and the storm showed no signs of leaving anytime soon.

Several hours passed when the cats heard a loud, heart wrenching sound. It was a sound so terrible, so awful, so devastating that I almost dare not write of it. It was the sound of grumbling belly.

The cats were afraid to leave the safety of the bed but, in the end, they were more afraid of starving to death. Carefully and ever so quietly they tip-toed through the darkened hallway, slowly making their way to their food bowls. The cats could hear the rain as it beat hard against the roof top; they feared that a drop just might pass through the ceiling and land on their dry little heads. Even with the fear of water looming nearby, the brave little cats pressed on.

Suddenly, a deafening clap came from out of no where followed by a flash of bright light. The cats stop dead in their tracks, frozen with fear. They stood there motionless for at least five minuets, moving on only when they where completely sure the lightening had passed.

At last they spotted their food bowls at the end of the long hall way. A full moon, partly covered by scary black clouds peaked in through the window, giving the cats a little more light with which to see by. Slowly they tip-toed towards their food bowl, bellies growling louder with each step. And then they saw it.

They saw something so scary, so terrifying that they fainted at once. I fear little kitty that you might do the same if tell you the rest of the story. Shall I continue?

Have it your way.

What the cats saw was none other than a big, dark,...............................

EMPTY FOOD BOWL!

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Wasn't that a scary story?

Happy Halloween!

Special Addition of Dear Opus and Roscoe

A few days ago we were visiting our friend Karl, when we noticed a message on his blog about a friend of his who is sick. We clicked on the link and found ourselves on the blog of Miss Peach and immediately fell in love with her; she is a sweet cat with an old soul and a kind heart. Even though we just met her, we are very sad to hear that she isn't feeling well and left her a note of well wishes. Can you believe that with all of the problems going on in her life, that she took a moment to come visit us? Miss Peach left a heartfelt message and also asked us for some advise. When we were done reading her note all of us, including our humans, had tears in our eyes. We thought it was a touching comment and wanted to share it with our readers. We hope that she doesn't mind.

This is what Miss Peach wrote:

Dearest Farm boys in Italy! I am so happy to know you and thank you for the nice visit to my sick bed. Karl is a wonderful friend.

I wonder if you could tell me how I can get my mommy to stop fussing over me? I have lived a good and happy life full of anything a kitty can wish for. Now that I feel the journey to the Heaveyside layer is beginning for me....she is just being so selfish by wanting me to stay here. I will send her a new kitty as soon as I get there to fill the void, but she will not hear of it. Any help would be welcome on this sad subject.

Oh and please send me some good Romano chesse:)

Love the little Miss Peach



Dear Miss Peach,
First we want to tell how sorry we are that you are not feeling well. We hope and pray that this isn't the beginning of your journey to the Heaveyside layer. Please feel better soon, we are only just getting to know you.

As for your human, what can we say? As cats, or any pet, we NEED our humans for shelter, food, safety, comfort and love. But what you must understand is that this relationship we have with the humans is very much a two-way street. They need us just as much, if not more, as we need them. They depend on us for friendship, laughter, companionship and, most importantly, unconditional love. It is understandable that your human doesn't want to let you go, she needs you. Let her baby you. Let her spoil you, comfort you, snuggle you, kiss you and take care of you. Enjoy every moment you have with her and in the end, should you make your sad journey to the Heaveyside layer, your human will know in her heart that she did everything she could.

This is one of our favorite songs from our favorite musical, Cats. We dedicate it to you Miss Peach and hope that the beautiful voice of Elaine Paige makes you feel better. And when your tummy is ready, we will send you a big chunk of Romano cheese!

Take care Miss Peach and please, feel better soon.
Love,
Opus and Roscoe

Monday Morning Advice

Today's letter comes to us from a cat who does NOT enjoy Halloween.

Dear Opus and Roscoe,
I always get a bit nervous this time of the year. You see, Halloween frightens me a bit. It is bad enough that there are scary decorations and mean pumpkins lurking about in our home, but then there is one evening where an endless stream of terrifying looking children come ringing our doorbell and screaming for free treats. What is a cat to do on Halloween night?
Sincerely,
Scardy Cat

Dear Scardy Cat,
We understand just how nerve racking Halloween night can be. Though there isn't anything that we can do to stop Halloween from coming, there are a few things that the humans can do to keep us four legged creatures happy. For starters, it might help to place your pet in a bedroom during the trick or treat hours. Then you won't have to worry about them running out of the door while you are passing out treats. Turning the television on can help reduce the noise your pet might hear. You know how ringing doorbells can get us excitied. If you have more than one human in the house, have one man the door for trick or treaters while the other one stays in the bedroom and lavishes his attention upon your nervous pet. Hand feed your sweet animal a good dose of treats to keep their mind off of all the racket and, if you have a cat, a good helping of catnip might just take the edge off of the night.

We hope these tips will help you to have a fun Halloween while keeping your frightened pets happy. Best wishes Scardy Cat and Happy Halloween to all!

Love,
Opus and Roscoe


***Have a problem with your human or questions on how to care for your human? Write to Opus and Roscoe at catnapsinitaly@yahoo.com and they will give you a response in their Monday morning advise column.***

Party Time!

Opus and I are all dressed up for Sassy Cat's first ever Halloween party. It is an open house going on all day and into the night, so be sure to stop on in and join us for some fun. Looking forward to seeing you there!

-Roscoe

Happy Halloween (go Colts)!

Peace on Earth

Opus: I saw this video and it really touched my heart. We cats get blamed for a lot of bad things, but this video shows that we do have a soft, sweet side. I thought it was magnificent that this cat adopted a "litter" of baby chicks and is doing its best to keep them warm.



Roscoe: The owner forgot to check the cat's mouth! There is only one word I can think of when I watch this video; SMORGASBORD!

Opus: Clearly the cat isn't eating the chick Roscoe. Don't be so pessimistic; your glass if always half empty.


Roscoe: I'm not pessimistic, I am very optimistic. I'm optimistic that the cat's mouth is half full!

Monday Morning Advice

This week's "Dear Opus and Roscoe" email comes to us from our friends Victor and Bonnie from Victor Underfoot and Bonnie Tabbycat. Victor writes:

Deer Opus an Roscoe,
My sisfur "Bonnie" an I get a little stinky goodness cat food efurry day, but Mom doesn't gif us the whole can, so sumtimes the food's reely cold an kinda old when she gifs it to us. How can we confince her to give us the whole can at once? If she insists on safin it, do you know anyfing she could do to make it taste good again? Cuz it's not nice to haf stinky goodness turn into stinky badness.

We already tried turnin up our noses an askin fur sum new food, but she don't go fur that.

Fanks,
Victor Tabbycat

Dear Bonnie and Victor,
The best solution would be to wait for your humans to leave the house and then help yourself to the remaining can of cat food. Though God gave us cats the gifts of great intelligence, wondrous beauty and acrobatic skills, he did NOT give the gift of thumbs. That means that we are, at times, at the mercy of our less-than-equal humans. The obvious answer is to make so much noise that your humans will eventually give in. The problem with that is it might backfire. When we have had kitchen protests, it usually ended with us being thrown out of the kitchen.

If your humans insist on giving you day-old-cat-food, perhaps you could at least reach a compromise. Have your human mix in some fresh cat food with old the stuff to help liven it up a bit. Something else that might help is to toss the old cat food in the microwave for a few seconds. You know how we cats love our food on the slightly warm side. Do be sure to tell your humans to be careful though, you don't want to get your cute, kitty tongue burned. If they warm your food up, they should stick their finger in it to be sure it isn't hot; just make sure they wash their dirty human hands before touching your precious meal.

If humans understood what it means to be a cat, they would never try to shove day old food onto us. Living with humans isn't always easy, but with a few compromises we can all learn to live together happily.

Best of luck.
Love,
Opus and Roscoe

If you would like some advice on how to care for or deal with your humans, please write to Opus and Roscoe at catnapsinitaly@yahoo.com. Address emails as "Dear Opus and Roscoe" and then look for their response in their Monday morning advice column.

Sell Out

Well, we've done it. Opus and I have sold out. Our humans told us it was time for to start helping out financially and so we did what any cat would do. We took the easy way out. They didn't really expect us to find a job did they? There is a reason that you never hear the words "Work Cat" like you do the words "Work Dogs". Working cat is just an oxymoron.

So we have added a couple of advertisements, pubblicità as they are called in Italy. We also opened our very own Amazon Store, which we think was quite entrepreneurial of us. We chose to list some books about cats, some books about Italy and some books about cats in Italy. Aren't we clever? We also added cat goodies and toys to our list. If anyone clicks on one of our items, and then puuuurchases it, a small donation will go to yours humbly.

So now we hope those darn humans will get off our our backs and let us get back to what we do best, napping.

Hey, my brother and I have already made nine whole cents off of our google adds. At this rate, we will be able to go out and score ourselves a bag of catnip! Shhh, don't tell the humans.

-Roscoe

And the Award Goes to....

We were thrilled and honored to receive the "I love your blog" award from our friend Derby. Now it is time to pass this prestigious award along to a few other deserving cats and humans.


*Edsel, the Pooch

*Gigolo Kitty

*Kitty Limericks

*Starbuck, Torrey and Sebastian

Congratulations to you all!

They Love US!

Roscoe and I have received our very first blog award! We are sooooo excited! Our dear friend (and Colts fan) Derby presented us with the prestige "I Love Your Blog" award. And now for our acceptance speech, ah hem (clears throat of fur balls).



"My esteemed colleague, Roscoe, and I are thrilled to be awarded the coveted "I Love Your Blog" award. We have had a long, two year carer as cat blogger: years in which we have thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. It has always been our long term goal to strive for excellence in blog writing, a goal which we have vigorously worked to accomplish. This award is an outstanding achievement because it was you, the reader, who chose to bestow it upon us. For that we thank you endlessly and are forever grateful.

As writers, it is enough to know that someone simply "likes" our blog. But to know that someone out there LOVES our blog, well there just aren't words to express how that makes us feel.

We wish to thank our humans for not only giving us a computer with which to type, but for allowing us the freedom of expression, to say what we want to say even at the cost of their own embarrassment. To our fans, thank you so much for checking in with us day to day. It is for you who we type. To the great big, kitty God in sky, thank you for our wonderful lives. We have enjoyed all nine of them. And last but not least to Derby, the fine cat who awarded us this great gift. You have made two old farm cats from Indiana very happy. And now a few words from my brother and fellow award winner." -Opus

"What? Somebody gave us an award? Really? Whooooooooooo hoooooooooooooo!!!!!! Puurs to Derby!" - Roscoe


-Roscoe

And now, who should we nominate....hmmmmmmm.

Monday's Advise Column

Welcome to the very first addition of Dear Opus and Roscoe. My brother and I recently turned 12, thus making us wise old cats. We believe that our years of living with a crazy human have given us a lot of experience and insight on living with humans. We want to help our fellow pets by offering advise to anyone who is need of help. All you have to do is send an email at catnapsinitaly@yahoo.com, and then look for your email to appear on our blog on Monday. Roscoe and I will do our best to give you sound advise on how to deal with your human problems.

We decided that the first letter we received would be the first letter that we would post. As fate would have it our very own cousin sent in the first email (honest, we aren't posting it just because he is our cousin, he really was the first).

Thank you to all of you who wrote. If your email wasn't posted today, please look for it next week.

Thank you to all who purticipated, keep those emails coming!

-Opus

The Very First "Dear Opus and Roscoe"

Today's first email comes to us from a cat in Indiana. Panther writes:

Dear Opus and Roscoe,
I have a problem that I hope you can help me with. About a year ago, my humans brought home a baby and I have slowly had to adjust to this extra person in our house. Well now she walks and talks and wants to climb all over me. I know I can't hurt her or my humans will be mad. She likes to lay all over me and chase me whenever she can. I have included a picture of her laying on top of me. Do you have any suggestions for putting up with this human?
Sincerely,
Panther

(Evidence: exhibit A- The human in this video is not saying "shoot her" as in with a gun, but rather "shoot her" as in "take the picture").

Dear Panther,
We hate to sound mean, but if you would have spaid and neutered your humans when you first got them, this wouldn't even be an issue. It is very important to be a responsible human owner. It is too late to look back now, as the damage has been done. We are afraid to tell you that you are simply stuck with this tiny human and will have to deal with it as best you can. If you, in any way, act out against this little, love-monster, it will surely be the quickest way to get kicked out of the house. This is a delicate situation and must be dealt with carefully. What you must remember is that the little human, though it may be annoying at times, is just in love with you. And rightfully so, you are a beautiful cat. Since she hasn't learned how to express her feelings better, the only way she can tell you she loves you is by showing you, hence the "snuggling". Maybe if you look at it from this perspective, it won't seem so bad. As for the chasing, she is just after another hug. Once in a while stop and let her have it. It isn't easy living with humans, but it is something that we must do. As life changes (like a tiny human comes to live in your house) as must we. It is important to remember that just because there is a baby in the house doesn't mean that your humans don't love you. There is plenty of love in their hearts for the both of you.


Best of wishes,
Opus and Roscoe

Come back next Monday for another edition of "Dear Opus and Roscoe".

What Dreams May Come

This is exactly why you shouldn't each a sausage, cheese, mushroom and tuna pizza right before bed! It makes for a long (but interesting) night. Think this evening I will just have a cup of cafe latte!



Roscoe

New: Cat Naps in Italy Pet Advise Column

Opus and Roscoe understand what it means to be a magnificent animal stuck living with a silly human. They have spent the past twelve years putting up with one and have learned a lot over the years. They are ready to share their experience and knowledge with any pet having problems cohabiting with humans.

If you have a question, concern or human-behavior problem, now you can write to the boys and they will answer your emails right here on Cat Naps in Italy. Send your emails to catnapsinitaly@yahoo.com with the subject titled "Dear Opus and Roscoe".

Every Monday the boys will pick an email to answer on their blog and, don't worry, you don't even have to give them your real name.

Send your emails in now, the first installment of "Dear Opus and Roscoe" will be held the following Monday.

Opus and Roscoe, saving pets from their crazy humans one animal at a time.

**The purpose of Cat Naps in Italy Pet Advise Column is to give pets advise on their humans, not the other way around. We are looking forward to hearing from you.**

Animal House

We would like to thank all of our friends who traveled to Italy to help us celebrate our birthday. We had so much fun with you and can't wait to do it again next year.

The first guests to knock on our door were Annie, Bill, Shefarra, Tunk, Lola and Dubs, who traveled all the way from Indiana to be with us.


Our friends Derby and Sophine were the next to make the trip across the pond. Derby brought so many suitcases, that we thought (and hoped) he was moving in with us. Sophie left her suitcases at home, but she did bring her very own sleeping bag just in case she needed a nap.

Derby's bags and Derby singing "Happy Birthday"

Zippy, Sadie and Speedy, also mid-western cats, traveled to be with us on our birthday. They were so excited to be able to try all the different types of pasta. We hope they come back again soon and eat some more good meals with us.

Just as the party was getting started, our new friends Smeagol, Strider, Mystery and Gizmo knocked on the door. We were so happy to meet them for the very first time in person (I mean, in animal). Thats Mystery in the photo on the left.

Smeagol and Strider sleeping off their jet lag, while Gimzo steps outside for some freshair.



We were so happy when our old friend, Fat Eric, arrived from England. He's a good old chap who is always great for a laugh or two! He is also the only living cat who can eat more cake and ice cream than us. Don't worry, he doesn't have a belly ache in this photo. He is just resting up for the next round.

Soon we were joined by all of our friends from the House of Mostly Black Cats. Sanjee, Boni Maroni, Mini, Gree and Pepi got the party off to a great start with a really cool cat dance. Soon the whole crowd was line dancing right alongside them all!

Just when thought it couldn't get any better, all of our friends from "The Zoo" arrived. It was so nice of them to come to our little party. They didn't waste anytime and quickly joined all us all on the dance floor.

Our friends from "The Zoo

Warming up the paws before hitting the dance floor and
resting the paws after hitting the dance floor.

Samantha and Tigger went right to work on playing when they arrived at the party. These two really are a couple fun, party animals!

Then our friend Karen Jo, from Kitty Limericks, showed up. She has a great blog where she write limericks about blogging cats. I think she found a lot of inspiration at our party!


They say that a picture is worth a thousand words and we couldn't agree more. Just look at this character! You had better believe us when we tell you that Karl was the life of the party! We are just sorry that we don't have a bigger picture of this cool cat. Someone keep this guy far from the cat nip!



The beautiful and exotic Tara arrived at our party in the company of her brother, Kavan. Tara looked like a model in her cool tunnel while Kavan impatiently waited for the cake to be served.

Talk about your international parties! Not only did we have friends come from America and England, but we even had guests travel from Germany! Our female human was really excited about this as she has a bit of German heitage (though she really is just a mut, but don't tell her that). Luna, Frieda and Luzie us all taught to say meow in German. "Miau!"

Of course the best thing about our birthday was that our family from America was able to come and spend the day with us. Our grandparents along with their vagabond cat, Buddy, and also our cousin, Panther, danced, ate and slept the day away with us. We were so happy that we couldn't stop puring. Grandma and Grandpa even got dressed up for the celebration!

Buddy opts for exercise while Panter tries to "sleep it off"

We would have written about the party sooner, but we had so much fun that we have been sleeping ever since! Thank you so much for making our birthday such a special day. Please come to back Italy soon!

Love,

Opus and Roscoe

(photos of the party guests were borrowed from their own blogs. If anyone wishes to have their photos removed, just please leave a comment and it will be done)

Happy Birthday to US!

Today we are celebrating our birthday. The humans would have you believe that we are a couple of pimply-faced-twelve-year-olds, but the fact is that we are really senior citizens in cat years. We won't let a little thing like that keep from throwing a party though. Everyone is invited to join us for a party at our house tonight. RSVP by leaving a comment in our box and we will write a post about all the fun we have.

We know it is sort of last minute, but we are cats (and its our birthday) and that is just how we are. Hope you can join us!

Opus and Roscoe