I’m not sure I’ve ever seen a muff like this rabbit fur kitten. The attached head! The missing eye! (I’m a sucker for a cyclops.) I feel envious of the child that kept her paws warm inside this little bit of cute antiquity.

(No actual kittens harmed. I can’t speak for the bunnies, unfortunately.)

[Via Pinterest, home of all things good.]

I can’t think of anything that provides me with more pleasure than the company of animals. These tiny pink pads against glass? Well, I’m kvelling. Find more cuteness in the Dreamcats Flickr pool — my go-to for my “enh!” fix.

The many hairstyles of Maru. Is there anything this cat can’t do?

Dagmar, my sweet little red panda cat, loves her blanket fort.

Enh!

Plush sculptor kusjkjkjk creates the most animated, Muppet-like creatures. These adorable dogs appear as photographs in children’s books but can also be posed in stop motion animation. I’m charmed. Find them on Etsy.

It wouldn’t be the season without the Peanuts’ low, sweet voices, Charlie Brown’s pathos and some Vince Guaraldi. I’m off to Iowa for Christmas, which means lots of family time and thrifting — two of my favorite things. See you in the New Year!

Jesus, Mary and Joseph! Loyal Luxe has done it again. The kitty teepee and mini faux bearskin rug are all kinds of cuteness.

Whoever did the art direction for Jack Spade’s gift guides — I’m golf clapping in your direction. Now I want to be an art director, if only to create fantasy shop windows and interesting groupings of items. (Does my apartment count as experience?) I’m especially fond of the cheapo under $100 gift guide (cough, all of the gifts I give are cheap by those standards). “Budget, smudget” also goes down as a genius call-to-arms in my book.

Innocent question: Would you be interested in seeing a gift guide here? Or just my normal “hey, this is neat” kind of posts? It’s a poll!

Oh man. I know I’ve been majorly cat obsessed since I got my kitties, but my first love has always been dogs. Have you ever seen such expressively groomed pups? The last one reminds me of Patti Smith or Iggy Pop! (And the pompadoured poodle is, obviously, Uncle Jesse from Full House. “Have mercy!”) Find more of photographer Tim Flach’s work in his new book (which I desperately want), Dogs Gods.

[Via]

[Via]

You don’t even need me to tell you how into this I am. What a dapper little fella!

Find more cuteness here.

Just nuzzlin’ up with one of my main squeezes (…whilst wearing an oversized pajama shirt, natch). Enh!

Snuggles,
Alison and Buggy

There can never be enough cats in boxes, honestly. Just keep on keepin’ on, kittehs.

The last of my childhood dogs passed on today. Here’s to Odie, 1996 – 2010. He will be greatly missed.

I’m a sucker for cute animals, and this ugly-cute star-nosed mole — well, I’ve never seen anything like it. Where are the eyes?! As this article in the New York Times states, “Its hallmark nasal boutonniere of 22 highly sensitive feelers looks like fresh bits of sirloin being extruded through a meat grinder.” For serious.

The blobfish is pure Ziggy, no? That face. It doesn’t seem like a coincidence that this is a deep sea fish.

For more weirdo animals, check out the entire article.

Isn’t she beautiful?

One of most vulnerable, human, real television moments I’ve ever experienced. It still gives me butterflies.

Thank the baby J for Freaks and Geeks. If you haven’t watched it, do yourself a big favor. It’s worth it.

P.S. I’m on a huuuuuuge Styx kick right now. So good.

There was a time when I didn’t understand how wonderful cats were. (How? Why?!) Dream Cats made me a believer. My guest post on sfgirlbybay reveals all. (And there are lots of awesome cats, so, yeah. That too.)

If you enjoyed a dog in a bowler hat milking a goat (and who doesn’t, honestly?), you’ll love drunk pups and a frantic Queenie having her jewels stolen. This clip comes courtesy of the 1930 film The Dogway Melody. After some random internet research I’ve unearthed the source of all this adorable absurdity. This particular genre of film, known as the Dogville Comedies, came about in the early era of talkies. According to a source,

“Talent from all over – veteran vaudevillians, musical icons, radio personalities, Broadway luminaries – performed in specialty shorts augmenting main features that packed moviehouses. One particular pack stood out: the amazingly trained tail-waggers of the 9 ‘All-Barkie’ Dogville Comedies. Directed by Zion Myers and Jules White, these unusual attractions showcased creatively costumed ‘talking’ dogs of various breeds and spoofed the noble and naughty behaviors of people. They pulled off grrrreat rrrriffs of the era’s movies, from unquiet Western Front war heroics and Great Woof Way musical extravaganzas to Great Whelp Hunter jungle expeditions and Prison Pups breakout thrills. A nationwide theatre owners poll in 1930 rated the Dogvilles as the best short subjects over more legendary comedy and musical series. See if you agree, as you walk these dogs and unleash a whole lotta laughter.”

For more adorable vintage entertainment, check out the entire repertoire of Dogville shorts. Enjoy!

I’m a convert. Kittens are just the cutest things on earf. Dogs are still awesome, but picking up the miniature sacks of potatoes that are my kittens and holding their tiny purring bodies against my cheek in the middle of night? Purrfection. (Sorry, had to go there.)

These little babes, adorably named Ella Averill Robinson and Calla Lily Cole, are strays living outside of Amy of Emerson Merrick’s parents’ house. These little calico hunters — look at them meeting to whisper in the bushes, then preparing their next move! — look like kissin’ cousins of my Bug. So tiny. I need my kittens to stay small forever…then get really chubby. That would be the best.

New kitten photos on my flickr. Look at that tininess!

Dagmar is clearly having a religious experience. Touched by an angel!

Now that we have met our future kittens the fun starts: buying them toys! (And, you know, snuggling them.) The first thing I bought was a bed. Next up? A set of “De’cat’pitated Mouse Heads,” seen above. I love the modernist bent of the other cat accessories…both the eco-friendly scratching pad and the Dot Den wooden bed look like they could fit into our future home seamlessly.

What other things do I need for my kitties? I’d love to get as much as possible from Etsy! Litter box, treats, bowls, collars…

[The kitten Bug]

[Still to be named kitten: Ida / Margot / Edith a.k.a. Little Edie / Ludmilla / Minna / Dagmar / Frances?]

After much ogling of photos and compiling long lists of names (still confused on kitten #2 — of those options, which most fits her?) JB and I finally went to meet our new kittens yesterday. It was love at first sight — they are just so freaking cute we could not stand it. We get them the first week of June!

Bug loves to style my hair, as this video by JB attests. She later fell asleep on my shoulder, enveloped in my tresses. So wonderful. See all of our kitten videos here.

Sister kitten giving her most soulful, considering glances while brother kitten (little bear!) plays on the floor:

Sigh. Kittens, I love you! Also, please weigh in with your name vote  for kitten #2 in the comments!

A. Ida

B. Margot

C. Edith a.k.a. Little Edie

D. Ludmilla a.k.a. Milla a.k.a. Mew

E. Minna

F. Dagmar

G. Frances

I wish all custom pet portraits were this majestic. Give praise and thanks for a world where this is possible!

“American Gothic”

“Popping out for milk and Ovaltine! Back in a jiffy!”

“Can I get you a soda? Some peanuts, perhaps?”

Animal lovers have been anthropomorphizing our furrier, tinier friends in delicate pillbox hats and flouncy dresses long before Cute Overload came on the scene. This little lady crossdresser, Tommy Tucker, was adopted by a D.C. woman in the 1940s after she found him “abandoned in a tree.” Tommy makes a handsome little fashion plate — I especially love the nurse’s uniform. So ENH!

[Via BuzzFeed]

What the world needs now is chihuahuas swaddled in Little Edie scarves.

That is all.

ENH!

The majesty! The anticipation! The slow-mo lapping of tongues! The intensity of wanting that dog treat! This is a brill commercial if I’ve ever seen one. Pedigree, I am bowing at your altar as we speak. And can we talk about that pit bull slowly closing its eyes and waiting for its intended satisfaction? So heart wrenching.

Thanks to JB for knowing exactly what I “enh!” over.

Scottish Folds are the most “ENH!” cats I can imagine (those ears!). This little diva is the perfect model for The Company of Pets‘ sculptural scratching posts. Check out the giant dog voodoo doll for some irony served with a side of clawing.