Kittens

Kittens are pre-adolescent cats. And damn, they're cute. Who wouldn't love a kitten? They're small and fuzzy and they get into the craziest adventures. They're incredibly easy to entertain (and because of this, they are incredibly entertaining.) They like to play with yarn, string, rolled up pieces of paper, shoelaces -- you name it, they'll play with it.

While humans take care of kittens -- feeding them, playing with them, sheltering them -- it is well-documented that they, in turn, take care of us. Petting your cat helps lower your blood pressure and improve your mood. Why, just looking at pictures of kittens will put a smile on the sourest person's face.

There are many websites devoted to kittens (and cats) -- here are a couple:

• Kittenwar.com allows you to choose which of two kitten photographs is cuter


• Infinitecat.com is an amazing cat photography project


• Mycathatesyou.com is less cute, but still fun

And the quotes:

• Ralph: My cat's breath smells like cat food. (from the Simpsons)


• Kent Brockman: ...and the fluffy kitten played with that ball of string all through the night. On a lighter note, a Kwik-E-Mart clerk was brutally murdered last night. (from the Simpsons)


• “A kitten is chiefly remarkable for rushing about like mad at nothing whatever, and generally stopping before it gets there.” -- Agnes Repplier


• “No matter how much cats fight, there always seem to be plenty of kittens.” -- Abraham Lincoln


• “A kitten is so flexible that she is almost double; the hind parts are equivalent to another kitten with which the forepart plays. She does not discover that her tail belongs to her until you tread on it.” -- Henry David Thoreau

Thanks to Rebecca Rouilly for inspiring today's post.