The journal.
Occasional notes about the catio, the crew, and whatever else turned up this month.
A tail in three sizes
Three photographs across five months: one tail, from a thin kitten cord to something wide enough to qualify as furniture.
11 September 2026Going gray
Four photographs across a year: a kitten one color all over, a tongue caught mid-retraction, and the pale hairs now coming in at her ears and muzzle.
10 September 2026The toy audit
Eight months of toys, three months old to nearly eleven: a scratcher, a spring, a feather wand that got a growl, and a puzzle box that may be losing.
4 September 2026Off the record
Three sittings, three different demands on the room's attention — asking, saying, and, once, doing both into a microphone that was not plugged in.
4 September 2026Full sprawl
September's finding, reached independently by both cats: the floor is best experienced from underneath. Six studies in lying on the back.
28 August 2026 · From the archiveBefore the catio
Outside time, the original arrangement: Howl on patrol through the garden's every season, and Paradox weighing whether the allotment was sufficient.
27 August 2026 · From the archiveMatched from the start
Before Zeta and Entropy, there was Howl and Paradox — kittens who arrived together and were rarely photographed apart since.
20 August 2026A case of mistaken identity
Two pairs of look-alikes in the rock garden this summer, one edible-versus-toxic and one just a weeding mishap.
19 August 2026The houseplant patrol
Every houseplant gets inspected sooner or later. The methods differ by inspector.
18 August 2026The city of bees
A field report from Manchester for the household's entomology division, which has never once caught anything.
17 August 2026Nobody is under the rug
The rag rug by the door has developed lumps. The lumps deny everything, except for one tail.
9 August 2026 · From the archiveRemote learning
During the pandemic the cats attended school on a tablet. The kindergarten plan did not survive the entry exam.
2 August 2026The catio in August
Two cats, one screened porch, and a yard that has quietly become appointment viewing for everyone involved.
22 July 2026 · From the archiveThe cone protocol
The instructions said rest and no jumping. The instructions did not anticipate the curtain valance.
14 July 2026Matching suits, zero enthusiasm
Recovery suits are a hard sell to an audience of two. The view out the back door, apparently, is not.
5 July 2026 · From the archiveThe chess student
Howl sat on the jigsaws. Paradox preferred to study the classics, cheek to the page.
25 June 2026 · From the archiveTwo trees
One tree for decorating, one tree for climbing, and a strict division of labor between them.
21 June 2026 · From the archivePuzzle season
Some cats supervise a jigsaw puzzle from a respectful distance. Howl preferred to sit directly on it.