Box Day 2014 Catstravaganza!

Disciples of The Leader Otis,

Brother Henry here.

It is my honor to be the Grand Marshall for the 2014 Box Day Catstravaganza! In order to get myself in the proper spirit, I have spent the last several hours sitting in a box. OK… I’ll admit it… I would have been sitting in this box for hours even if I wasn’t going to be overseeing the Box Day observance. I am a cat after all.

I would have sat in the box whether or not I was Grand Marshall of Box Day. I’m a cat… and it’s an awesome box.

Anyway, let’s get to it, shall we? Our first submission comes to us from Disciple Ann whose kitty Satchmo really knew how to sit a box. Satchmo passed away suddenly this October but Ann says that his purrs still echo around the house and in her families hearts. We can see why. He was a very handsome and special boy.

Satchmo wasn’t daunted by a box that was not yet empty. He jumped right in and made himself at home.

Next we have a submission from Disciple Brenda who I understand is the big sister of the bigger Guardian. That means Mr. Leo, the kitty in the photograph, is my kitty cousin! As you can see, Mr. Leo likes to add his own special touch to boxes by chewing away any bits that he deems unnecessary. I applaud the creativity cousin Leo!

Mr. Leo makes every box his own. Apparently he needed more rear-end support than front-end support from this box.

Disciples Linda and David submitted photos of each of their three kitties observing box day. First we have Griffon who has made himself at home in a big box that came equipped with cushiony flooring. I’m envious, Griffon! My box came unfurnished.

Griffon’s box has an added bonus- cushiony flooring!

Linda and David sent two awesome photos of their kitty Luna enjoying two different boxes. In the first photo Luna is showing her technique for sitting a beer box and the second shows how she handles a crazy, complicated box. She has fine sitting form in both!

Luna nows how to sit a simple beer box…

… but she is equally skilled at sitting a complicated box.

Our next submission comes all the way from Italy! Disciple Fabrizia sent us a photo of her cat Alvise sitting a very fancy box! Alvise almost looks like the center of a flower with all those crazy flaps pointing every-which-way!

This is how an Italian kitty sits a box. Well done Alvise!

Disciple Kathy submitted a photo of her kitty Tween sitting a very durable box! In the background you can see DoubleT, another of Kathy’s kitties, presumably waiting for his turn to sit.

Tween prefers boxes that are very durable. Hey Tween, can DoubleT have a turn?

Our next submission comes for Disciple Lindsay whose cats Ducky and Felix seem to have a similar arrangement to Tween and DoubleT’s. In the photo Ducky is enjoying a nice box sit while Felix patiently waits his turn. I haven’t seen this many cats waiting to sit boxes since the Great Cardboard Shortage of ’05.

Nice sit Ducky! And hang in there Felix. I’m sure your turn will come!

Disciple Lisa shared several photos of her three cats celebrating this most exciting of kitty holidays. First we have two photos of Milo who demonstrates that you can sit a box serious, or you can sit it silly.

Here Milo demonstrates the serious sit.

And here Milo is showing how to sit a box silly.

Lisa’s other handsome boy, Dmitri, believes in practicing restraint. Just because a box is there he doesn’t believe it should be sat. I’m afraid I strongly disagree with Dmitri.

Dmitri believes that not every box needs to be sat. I disagree.

But Dmitri doesn’t always abstain from box sitting. In fact, if you are sitting a box that he wants to sit, very bad things may happen… as Milo found out in this photo.

Better give him a turn Milo.

Lisa also sent two photos of her dearly departed boy Nuccio. In the first photo, it appears that Nuccio may have had a similar attitude toward boxes as Dmitri. Look closer though. Nuccio is sitting the box lid and the box itself is supporting his head. The International Feline Council on Box Sitting officially recognizes sitting lids as a valid box sitting technique, provided the kitty is also in contact with the box to which the lid belongs. The second photo shows Nuccio doing a more traditional box sit. Clearly he was a kitty with a wide range of box sitting techniques.

Nuccio demonstrates an advanced lid/box combo sit.

Nuccio demonstrates that he can also perform a more traditional sit.

Our next submission comes from Disciple Rhiannon whose lovely Luna kitty has a message for everyone. Nice sit and wonderful message Luna!

Happy Holidays to you too Luna and Rhiannon!

Disciple Steph submitted a photo of her adorable young kitty Atlas sitting a box. According to Steph, it took a little while to explain the concept of a Box Day photo to him and to get him to sit still long enough to take one. Looks like she eventually convinced him though. Good job Steph and Atlas!

Thanks for sitting still long enough for this great Box Day photo Atlas!

Our last submission comes from Disciple Penny, and it is our first ever video Box Day submission. It seems Penny’s kitty Razzie likes to perform tricks, much like Leader Otis used to perform! In this case, a box was incorporated into the performance. Brilliant!

That’s all for this years Box Day Catstravaganza! Submissions were fewer than in years past, and Brother Oliver blames me for not sending out more reminders this year, but I was busy sitting boxes in preparation for the big day so I think he should have helped! WHAT’S THAT BROTHER OLIVER? YOU CAN’T HEAR ME BECAUSE YOU ARE SITTING IN A BOX? Oh… well… WAIT! I’M SITTING IN A BOX TOO AND I CAN HEAR YOU! WHAT? Oh… he says his box is soundproof. I guess that makes sense. Oh well.

Happy Box Day everyone! And best wishes for the coming Mew Year!

So Says Brother Henry

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