Cat Olympics-Synchronized Snoozing

James: And we're back Lisa! Now we're going to look at what's been happening at the Synchronized Snoozing event at The Island Cats, where Canadian Cat-hletes Jack and Persephone have already launched into their Short Routine, as we saw before the break.

Lisa: Michael, can you take us through a replay of what happened at the Snoozing arena?


Michael: Yes, Lisa! Well, Jack and Persephone had just finished Round 2 of their Boxing/Bare Paw Fighting match and were expected to begin Round 3 when Jack jumped back onto the couch-ring. Jack looked to be trying to maximize on his feigning of nonchalance by starting a mutual grooming with his sistercat Persephone. We were expecting a lightning ear-bite, when Jack stunned the crowd by turning away!


A good yawn-and-stretch on Jack's part, with Persephone getting in a few maintenance licks on her hind leg, and Jack settled near her on the pillows!


And without another meow, they launched right into their Synchronized Snooze Short routine, with a magnificent identical Curled-in-a-Ball, lasting a whole Half Hour! It was a shocking development, but no-cat can handle the sudden event change like these two crowd favourites! It was a flawless performance!

Lisa: Michael, what about the highlights from the earlier Synchronized Snooze Long Routine? I understand that took place yesterday during their first Boxing event?


Michael: That's right, Lisa! During their previous, spectacular Boxing event, Jack and Persephone mixed in a Synchronized Snoozing Long Routine in a deconstrucing box! There were elements of snoozing in unison all along, like when they were both leaning on opposite weakened sides of the box, but it was near the end when they really started to show their snoozing form! After a quick background check of Jack's round back, Persephone settled in to the opening, and Jack quickly joined her in a side-by-side starting position.


Their choice to outfit their box with a Comfy Blanket really helped them here, and the falling-apart box gave them plenty of room to maneuver.


Persephone started them off with an extravagant yawn.


And they quickly settled into a Side-by-Side Side-Lying with curled under paws.


About 20 minutes later they switched places and shifted into a Reverse Yin-Yang


Slowly, over the course of about a hour, Jack rolled over and they both rotated a quarter turn in opposite directions, ending up in the very challenging-in-a-small-space End-to-End Mirror-Image Curled-in-a-Ball! Jack may have lost a few points on the inability to quite fit his booty IN the box, and hanging out over the desk, but this was a strategic decision on his part. You will remember it played a major roll in the final collapse of the box in the Boxing event!

And there you have it, Lisa; James. Yet another wonderful Cat Olympics performance from these dynamo Cat-nadians!

James: Thank you, Michael! And I don't think we're done see these two compete! I hear later today they may be trying for gold in the Hiding event, and Persephone is considering a solo attempt at the curling competition! We'll be back after this!

Cat Olympics-Boxing/Bare Paw Fighting

Lisa: And we're back! We're still at the Boxing Event over at Sparkle the Cat's diary. And we're waiting with baited breath for Jack and Persephone's second attempt at Boxing Gold!

James: That's right, Lisa! We really shouldn't have had the sardines for lunch! Breathmint?

Lisa: Thank you, James! Jack and Persephone are going for a more classic approach to the Boxing event this time, and since they're cats who follow no rules but their own, they're combining the Boxing Event with the Bare Paw Fighting event at Milo and Alfie's blog!

James: Let's go to Michael, who's stationed couch-side for this thrilling event! Michael?


Michael: Thanks, James! Well, here we are, we're just waiting as Jack and Persephone get ready to go! Oh! Looks like they're just going to go for it! Jack is taking an offensive posture right from the start! Look at that face! He's been in this couch ring before and he's feeling confident!


Persephone's got her back down though, and her paws are at the ready! Ears back and watching close! Jack's raising his paw, looks like he's going for a left-whap to start...


Yes, it's a left-whap! But Persephone's taking this lying down! She's not just going to let him smack down all over her! Her paws are up and ready to whackity!


Persephone's no easy opponent today! She's determined to hold the pillow ground! Looks like Jack has reconsidered his strategy! He may be thinking of moving to his patented 'Huge Paw of Damocles' maneuver, something that's worked for him so often before!


Wait! Jack has lowered his left paw! What's he thinking? Where's he taking this fight?


And up comes Jack's right paw! He's going for his off-paw strike! This is a bit unusual for him! He's definitely always favoured his south-paw! Is he thinking the angle's better? Persephone seems pretty confident and calm!


No! No, she's just lying in wait! Jack goes for the right-whap and Persephone's there to counter him with a 1-2 ear-whacking! Look at her form! Look at her upper body strength! But Jack's powerhouse right-whap is too much for her! He knocks her down and she's on the carpet!


Round 1 goes to Jack, and his Mighty Man-cat Paws!


Oh, and it looks like we're headed right into Round 2! They show no fear or observance of the Bad Cat Water Bottle signal! Jack's decided to close in on his opponent! I think he's going for the illegal ear-bite! There's no ear-biting in Boxing!!! This round is pure Bare Paw Fighting! Persephone's going for the two-paw whackity that worked so well for her last round!


It's not working! It's not getting Jack to back off and circle! She's switching up to a straight-paw push! Jack's pulling back his head...looking for an opening... he knows he's got to get around her paws if he wants to get in a good sister-routing ear-bite!


Oooo! Jack's feigning casual nonchalance! Nonchalance at this point is a risky move! He has to be hoping to catch her off-guard with a lulling-into-false-sense-of-security! Can he pull it off with Persephone so clearly still pushing?

She's easing off on the pulled back head...


No! No, she's not going to leave him an opening! She's got the back paws in on the act, and she's giving him a hearty bunny-kick! And the claws have come out! She's threatening his nose with them! They're really pushing the no rules claws today!


Jack is backing off! He's backing off! Persephone's bunny kick has turned into a definitive hind leg push and she's forcing Jack away!


He's conceding the round! Oh! Oh! This is a stunning turn of events! A brilliant play for Persephone! Jack is moving off to the other side of the couch ring!


Persephone takes Round 2!! Let's see if she can keep up the momentum in Round 3! What an upset that would be!


Wait! What's going on? Can it...? Yes! Yes, it is! Unbelievable! Round 3 has been called on account of a sudden Synchronized Snoozing event!

James, Lisa, looks like it's back to you! This is going to take a while!

Lisa: Thank you, Michael, for the play-by-play of this unbelievable event! What a stunning victory in Round 2 for the undercat, Persephone!

James: Yes, Lisa! Jack had better come back post-snooze with a new game plan and ready to work for his win if he wants to hang on to his title!

Lisa: We'll return shortly with coverage of the Synchronized Snoozing event! Please stay with us!

Cat Olympics-Boxing

Lisa: Well James, it's time to move on to the Boxing Event over at Sparkle the Cat's diary. Multi-sport champions and House Panther Cat-hletes Jack and Persephone are appearing in this event as well!

James: That's right, Lisa. This is another event that Jack has specialized in for many years, and has taught his skills to his sistercat and team-mate Persephone.

Lisa: It seems they have an unusual entry for this event! They've decided to follow Fin's lead on the Boxing event!

James: Yes, they intend to Sit-In-A-Box. Or rather, lie in it! Together!

Lisa: In fact James, they intend to Destroy the Box, by lying in it! We go now to Michael, who's standing by box-side for the details!


Michael: Thank you, Lisa! Yes, Jack and Persephone have entered an unusual form of 'Boxing' for this event! Box Deconstruction! They have chosen a sturdy form of box, one that used to hold food service trays, I believe. A comfortable but roomy fit for one, a tight squeeze for two!


They have also chosen to outfit their box with the finest of woolly blankets for greater competitive comfort!


Here they are at the start of their 'boxing' event. They've managed to squish both of their substantial cat-hletic booties into the box. You can see the strain on the box corner under Jack's nose and over on the far side by Persephone's tail already but it's holding up admirably well despite their best initial efforts!!


Jack is wearing his game face! It's ON! Oh, it looks like that near corner is ripping already! And is that back side tilting out?


It's a bit hard to see from this angle, with the desk being the same colour as the box, but it looks like that whole side by Jack and Persephone's booties is GONE! And Jack is certainly wasting no time in making the most of the box's weakness, curling up like that and pushing in the corner with his head!

Persephone's holding up her end of the competition in fine form herself, giving some extra lean to the side Jack's pushing, as well as slumping heavily on the far side!


Yes! Yes, we're correct! That whole side of the box IS gone! That is a pair of very focussed cat-hletes! They're leaning away from each other, each taking on one of the already weakened sides, and it looks like Jack is doing a little string catching practice while he's there!


And that's a second side gone! This is an impressive boxing entry! They're clearly checking out the possibilities with great determination!


Oh no! Looks like they may have a bit of trouble with that last corner! Despite that truly impressive sprawl Jack's got going, and the pushing Persephone's doing with her ample posterior, it seems the rip in final corner has split and torn horizontally! That's going to make it MUCH harder to tear it down to the base!


They're going for it! They're make a truly tremendous push to make that last tear and finish off the box! Look at Jack lean! He's paw-pushing with all his might! Persephone's got his butt! She's leaning into his booty lean!


And you can see that box side going! Persephone's curling into a ball for maximum effect, and Jack's going all out with a last massive effort by curling end to end with Persephone, getting leverage with his booty off the desk! They're even getting some synchronized snoozing worked in!

And there it goes! The box is finished! Another spectacular performance by Canadian Cat-hletes Jack and Persephone!


James: What's next for these superstars of the Cat Olympics, Michael?

Michael: Later today, they take on a more conventional Boxing/Bare paw Fighting match, and tomorrow both a long and short program in synchronized snoozing! We're watching Cat Olympic history in the making here, folks! The Canadians are determined to sweep the podium! Back to you Lisa! James!

James: Thank you, Michael, for that thrilling coverage! It looks like the cat-hlete team of Jack and Persephone are also planning the destruction of a yet sturdier box, there! A Kiwi box no less!

We'll rejoin Cat Olympic coverage in a few moments! Please stay tuned!

Cat Olympics - Bird Watching

Lisa*: And we're back at the 2010 Cat Olympics, James, checking in on the Squirrel and Bird Watching Event at the The Furry Bambinos blog. It looks like the Canadian Cat-hlete Team of Jack and Persephone are up next!

James: Jack and Persephone are carrying the hopes of the Northern Prairies on their shoulders, Lisa, and it's looking good for their chances in this event. They've gotten a lot of practice this year after a Cat Olympics quality bird feeder was installed on their balcony this spring.

Lisa: Bird watching may seem like a easier choice to some, especially as Jack used to chase squirrels competitively some years back. But he's made bird watching HIS sport in recent years.

James: Yes, Lisa, while Jack is a known and feared squirrel chaser on the north shores of Vancouver where the Human Olympics are being held, he's been concentrating on bird watching the last several years after an unfortunate move to a third floor apartment curtailed his squirrel reaching abilities.

Lisa: That was a heartbreaking loss for Jack, James. Hopefully one day he'll be able to return to the sport and feel the grass between his paw-pads once again. But Squirrel Chasing's loss was Squirrel and Bird Watching's gain, and here he is with his team-mate and sistercat, Persephone ready to go for the gold!

James: Let's go now to the arena with Michael, where Jack and Persephone are coming out onto the field.


Michael: Thanks James! As you said, Jack and Persephone are coming out onto the field, checking out the bird watching potential, looking for where the bird is most likely to be watchable.


And here comes the bird already! Looks like Jack and Persephone will be watching a blue jay!

This is good luck for them! Blue jays are loud, bright and fairly big in comparison to the more likely possibility. They could have been dealing with a sparrow which, while plentiful, are drab and small, making them harder to watch.


The blue jay is calling it's intention of feeding on seeds. This can only help Jack and Persephone, as the loud call gives them additional focus.

Another possibility would have been a crow or raven, but they're rare and a bit much for cats to watch from a close angle, especially as ravens in this area are almost as large as cats, and the crows are not much smaller. That would have knocked points off their score, if they'd have had to watch from across the room.


The blue jay is spreading its wings in preparation of it's being-watched...You can just see Persephone's ears in the shadows of the window sill as she's taken up a close viewing position at the window directly in front of the bird seed on the balcony floor. She's ready to go, crouching half-hidden behind the window frame.


The blue jay's in the starting position...


And down it goes! We can see now Jack has chosen to take up a farther position than his sistercat, on a high point over on the cat-tree where he can see the bird without having to stretch up and risk being spotted! He's really leaning into the bird-watch!


Persephone's showing a tiny bit of hesitancy on the watch, not quite daring to stick her head too far up. This caution is not uncalled for. A sudden move now could send the bird fleeing for cover and hurt their chances for a medal.


And there she goes! Head is up, taking advantage of the moment when the blue jay's back was turned, so she was in position by the time it turned toward them! Jack on his perch is leaning in and watching for all he's worth! What balance! What sleek House Panther grace! Beautiful bird-watching form!


And Persephone! She's got the long neck stretch going, lovely! We can't see it from here, but I'll bet her eyes are just as big and as intent as can be! She's a true competitor!


You can see the quivering focus in that glossy plush figure of hers!


Uh oh! Looks like the blue jay may be onto them...


Yes! Yes, it is! The blue jay is now suspicious of being watched! It has retreated to the higher ground of the railing and is scoping out the terrain, checking for cats! Hopefully Jack and Persephone can maintain their calm and not make any sudden disastrous moves!


Still checking...checking...not quite sure if those immovable cats are real...


No! A truck went past and the blue jay has decided to vacate the field! It's taking off! Persephone's tracking!

Oh! Oh, no! Jack fumbles on the watch! He's lost sight of the bird and is looking in the wrong direction! Oh, that's too bad! A unfortunate end to an otherwise flawless Bird Watch! Hopefully they won't lose too many points over that!


Jack and Persephone take one last look about the field to see where they could have improved their Bird Watch. Persephone seems intent, but Jack is looking a bit disconcerted by his last minute troubles.


Persephone! Persephone, how are you feeling about your chances for gold after that Bird Watch?What do you think of Jack's loss of the bird at the last moment?


James, Lisa, there you have it, an almost flawless performance by Jack and Persephone! Persephone seems a tongue upset with her team mate, but I see Jack is fairly confident they've managed to place in the top three. He's taken up a position at the very top of the cat tree and appears to be practicing his podium standing!

This is shaping up to be an exciting day at the Squirrel and Bird Watching event! Back to you!

Lisa: Thank you, Michael. We'll be right back with further Cat Olympic coverage!

(*Hey, we're Canadian cats! We're watching the Canadian coverage of the events!)