Habemus papam, atque papa asinum tenet

[Haruo]

Pope Harry XII is our cat. He is the pope of the Indoor Catlick Church, not one of those heathen Roamin' Catlicks. He has two nuncios (socks impregnated with catnip) that he kicks around when they misbehave,

Harry reading secular literature (Catmo) in ordinary time

and now... I need to find a good source of information on feline psychiatry... he has acquired an acolyte. Mrs Haruo rediscovered her childhood stuffed animal, a donkey named Stonkey [presumably an early childhood contraction of "It's [a] donkey"], a few weeks ago (he had been lost in the underbrush for a couple of years), and Harry immediately set about discipling the little guy. I gave him a couple of lectures about how Stonkey was a very important animal, being an avatar of a Bible figure, Balaam's Ass. Apparently Harry took my admonitions to heart, because now we have caught him talking to Stonkey very earnestly on a number of occasions.

Harry delivering a particularly spirited Urbi et Orbi from my back

He holds the little stuffed donkey in a tight embrace and practices his homiletics on him. It's quite weird. Of course, David will deny it, but it is true, and we are not sure what to make of it. He doesn't try to kill the donkey like he sometimes does with the nuncios, he just holds it tight and talks to it, quite audibly though not with clear enough enunciation for us to figure out what he's saying. I took a picture of them playing poker yesterday, but it's an old-fashioned camera so I can't post it till the roll is done and developed...

Haruo
head of an ecumenical, interspecies household

[William Thornton]

That's a hoot, Hauro.

We once had an indoor catlick cat that would, when thirsty, drink ex cathedra.

[Haruo]

[David Flick]

[Dave Roberts]

Vellly inTEResting and strange cat. Thanks for sharing it.

[Haruo]

With deep regret I must announce that Our Cat Harry, as far as I know the only Flick-approved non-human Golden Spur winner in history, died this afternoon about 5 pm Seattle time, at the age of 15 (at least 105 in cat years). He was preceded in death by his uncle Verne M. Eke, and by his adopted step-daughter Pip, and is survived and mourned by his Mommy and Daddy and his two surviving feline acolytes, Tobias Clawsknitzer Cardinal Melville-Ross and King Kelly Cardinal Marmelade-Ross, all of Skyway. He is buried in his beloved apple orchard. RequiesCAT in Pace, Harry! His memorial photo album is .

[Neil Heath]

I'm sorry to hear of your loss. I know he'll be missed by his congregation.

[Tim Bonney]

Sorry for your loss! We've never had cats but we are long time dog lovers and it is always hard when we lose one. Our current dog Jack isn't all that well and we are worried that he may not be with us that much longer.

[Haruo]

Thanks for the condolences, guys. The loss of Harry on Saturday doesn't have quite the impact of the loss of Verne on Monday, but the two in one week capping off a year in which I've lost my job, my aunt, and several months' use of my leg, well, all I can say is Ecclesiastes 3:1-14. And I'll be happy when the other season starts.

[Haruo]

For those of you with weak Latin, the subject of this thread means "We have a pope, and the pope has got a donkey"...

[Neil Heath]

[Dave Roberts]

Papem, RIP.

[Haruo]

Bringing the late Harry topside for St. Francis Day.