This Actually Happened One Time.

by Matt on March 2, 2021 at 12:01 am
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It was a typical evening, about a year ago, and I was hard at work at the greatest job in the world. Cleaning the cats’ litter boxes.

As I knelt over the two plastic boxes of cat … stuff, scooping away, I was convinced that I was alone in the room. I was wrong.

Suddenly, I heard the scuttling of small feet behind me. Naturally, I was startled, so I turned to see what the noise was. I was just in time to see Olive launching off from the edge of the sink, headed toward … nothing in particular.

As the cat sailed through the air, she extended all four legs and made contact with the wall. Her claws extended and she slid downward. The claws made a scratching, screeching noise as gravity pulled her toward … the toilet seat.

Olive hit the seat with a “smack,” and seemed to hang there for a moment, a look of panic on her face. Inevitably, she tumbled further downward into the water below. “Splash.” I wanted to help her out, but I was laughing too hard. After a few seconds of splish-splashing around, she was able to pull herself out.

I can’t explain why Olive thought this was a good idea. It was just a random burst of energy with no particular direction that happened to lead her to the bottom of a toilet. And a starring role in a webcomic.

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We Are Friends. I Will Punch You.

by Matt on February 23, 2022 at 12:01 am
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It’s a strange relationship Olive and Hazel have. On one hand, they’re best friends. Very rarely will you ever see them apart from one another. If Hazel gets up to get something to eat, Olive is right behind her. If Hazel goes upstairs to look out the window, Olive goes along to look out the same window.

But there’s also a dark side to the relationship. Olive is just over a year old, making her nearly twelve years younger than Hazel. As a cat who is just leaving the kitten years, Olive likes to play. A lot. And I use the term “play” a little loosely. I guess “attack” might be a better term.

Although Olive is certain she’s just having fun, Hazel will make sounds similar to those heard in AC/DC albums and/or exorcisms. Naturally, it was pretty startling at first, but when you have two cats that are as different from one another as Olive and Hazel, you learn to live with a little noise.

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I Strike from the Shadows (Meow)

by admin on February 16, 2022 at 7:13 pm
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Olive is dangerous. She’s strong, relentless and blends in well with the shadows. Which is why she reminds me of a certain superhero who shall not be named for copyright reasons. She’s also obsessed with toys and a complete “kid.” To me, it was always funny watching those two elements at work. So I wrote a comic about it.

Also, as a side-note, I’m not one of those people who dresses his pets up on Halloween. One year, we did try to dress Olive up as a pumpkin, but it didn’t work. She rolled on the ground, howling and clawing at the costume. I felt horrible and never tried it again.

But I’ve gone off on a bit of a tangent. I hope you enjoy this second installment of CAAATS! Feel free to leave a comment in the thread below.

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Are You Ready for Some CAAATS!?

by admin on February 16, 2022 at 12:00 am
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Boy, I sure am! First of all, thanks to everyone who is reading this comic. I literally couldn’t be more excited that you’re here, and I hope you’ll stick around each week for another dose of wackiness. If I could shake each and every one of your hands, I would grab an industrial-sized bottle of hand sanitizer and shake away!

Also, a huge thank you to everyone who has supported the comic, had faith in it, and helped get it off the ground. Especially to my wife Meghan, who is an undying source of support and was excited about CAAATS! before the first line was ever drawn. Sure, Olive and Hazel are her cats too, but she would have been excited even if they weren’t.

To the uninitiated, CAAATS! is a comic about two real-life creatures, Olive and Hazel, and the peculiar love/hate relationship that they share. Hazel, an older Siamese cat, is calm, intelligent and mostly enjoys either being in someone’s lap or getting a little alone time to contemplate “cat things.” Olive, on the other hand, is a very young cat who is hyperactive, destructive and mischievous. Also, slightly insane.

Needless to say, these two personalities clash and they clash often. The fights that the two of them have are epic, but the funny thing is, they adore each other as well. There’s barely a minute in the day that they aren’t together. I suppose in some ways, human siblings can be this way too, but there’s something hilarious about cats doing the same thing.

And thus, CAAATS! was born. Pages will update every Wednesday, rain or shine. Thanks once again for checking it out, and enjoy!

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