Welcome to the 144th edition of The Carnival of the Cats.
If you need a reminder what this is all about:

The Carnival of the Cats is a weekly roundup of cat-related posts on weblogs. Its purpose is to provide a non-political respite from the vehement echo chamber that the Blogopshere spins itself into during the week, demonstrating that even the mightiest and meekest of pundits have a love of cats in common.

It just happens to be Christmas Eve, and despite everyone’s attempts to cheer me up, I’m just not feeling it this year.
I got holiday collars for all the cats…

But I didn’t expect to end up with an extra.
Still, let’s move on, and when I bum you out, just keep clicking on the catblogging links to let me mope and groan in the corner for a bit, okay?

CHRISTMASY STUFF
Ivy and Maddie get ready for Christmas over at Stranger Ranger, even if Ivy needs a little help getting groomed for the occasion.
Sabby puts the Wide Awake into the Wide Awake Cafe, never letting her pet human sleep late.
Willow’s Cat Blog shows what happens when a cat gets into the presents just a little early.
I’m not sure what Christmas story Benjamin Buck is depicting with this photo, but I would not want to get a kitten like that as a Christmas present.
Three Wise Men… check. Mary… check. Joseph… check. Baby Jesus… check. Um… Cat? Mayhem!
The Poor Mouth shares a rare happening in the feline blogging world… a cat that does not molest tree ornaments. Usually, this is what happens to trees. Or this is what happens to low-hanging ornaments. And branches of the tree.
Two words: Tree water.
But do you have to make a Federal case out of it?
Boo will offer to stand guard.
Melange captures a present-inspecting ghost. Not quite like the ghosts I have been haunted by as of late.
Duncan is having a rough holiday, but the sun is helping somewhat.
If you’re wrapping presents, Sam will offer to supervise.
Orloff suffers the worst kind of indignity a cat can suffer on Christmas. Kinda like this. Eli appears to be threatening to rip out cables if the hat doesn’t come off.
Maus sees you when you’re sleeping… it kinda goes downhill into Creepy Town from there.
It’s Christmas, not Christmeez. But try telling that to a pack of wild Siamese.
Zorro offers Christmas greetings. What, no slashed wall in the shape of a Z?
Bonnie and Victor offer up their Christmouse card. As opposed to a Fleas Navidad card from Rico and the gang.
At least it didn’t have this poem in it.
NONCHRISTMASY THINGAMAJIGS
Sabby is unimpressed with the “Worst Issue Of The Year” over at TIME.
El Capitan shares his Pookiecat with us and wonders what cats would be like if they snored.
China’s Cat Blog puts flowers out of cat harm’s way.
House Of Zathras shares what a Feline AA Meeting would be like.
Diva Kitty reveals the delicacy that is Sophia’s Toes.
Rachel demonstrates the hardest job of any cat – food inspector.
Elisson shoes off his furry girls at rest. And then… um… in the sink?
Nicky rests, a poof of fur with some cat-parts within.
Cheeto (who is apparently named after Nardo’s butt when he gets mad) is doing much better now, demonstrating that a cat with the chutzpah to walk into an office will always get adopted.
The fallen leaves part to reveal a hidden treasure within.
Xena and Kai help out in the kitchen. Just like these two.
KC the Tough-Assed Tortie gets a visit from some friends from when she was a teeny tiny kitten.
Wyliecat makes a fine buddy when it comes to the Buddy System.
Apparently, Mondays are not just for Kitty Movies… they’re also for Meezer Mondays.
You’re not going to find a vet over the holidays, but when the holidays are over here’s a few things to look for.
Who needs GPS when Baby is your co-pilot?
Me, I don’t really care all that much for presents and stuff like that this year. There’s only one thing I really want to see under the tree tomorrow… and I know it’s not going to happen.

No miracles this year, I guess.
UPDATE:: Someone suggested that I use Elf Yourself to cheer me up.
Well, I tried. And it’s downright disturbing.
BIRTH RELATED MIRACLE THINGS
KC was about to have kittens… and finally had three! Meowzel Tov!
Orphans being raised in… Africa?
GIFT IDEAS
Catnip Ravioli? Does the felt last two or three seconds?
Mycah has a present… but it’s probably not a new tail.
Have you considered offering a Russian Blue as a gift? Just remember to leave out the Polonium-210 kitty-treats.
Dragonheart could use a fur coat for Christmas.
Whatever you get, Kazon will hunt them down.
sits by a nicely-wrapped package in a post about… Miss Nevada? I’m confused now. Oh, wait… it’s Sissy Willis. Non Sequiturs with cat photos is her thing. Never mind.
I think you need a gift for every day of Christmas.
Kittykitty is being offered to Professor Frisky, but Frisky is gay and fixed. Sorry.
I ordered some collars for the cats for Christmas gifts, since they wear their holiday collars through the holidays and then need new ones for the next year (until other holdiays come around for them to celebrate).
Well, Piper always looked good with a black collar, so I got some Kitty Zen clasp colalrs with a Yin-Yang symbol as a clasp.
They arrived a week after she died, but she’s still getting them.

She wouldn’t have liked them anyway… they don’t have jingly bells on there to make lots of noise while I am trying to sleep.
Maybe I’ll take them to the shelter for kittycats who need collars, but not until this holiday season is over.
SORTA… WINTER… HOLIDAY… SOMETHING
Catymology shares a fine contemplation of the Winter Solstice from a feline perspective.
KT Cat is our Feline Theocrat and decides when the day is the shortest.
Bagheera reviews a DVD player by… sitting on it. On the other hand, Huck just wants to be the next Elvis.
Decorating a cat is not how you’re supposed to celebrate the Solstice, even if there’s less faylight than any other day of the year.

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Thanks to everyone who did turn out for participating this week. Especially those who used the BlogCarnival Submission form to make it quick and relatively painless.
So, want to participate in other Catblogging madness?

• Why not join .
• Put your whisker-mark on The Frappr Map.
• Join YouTube and get a Kitty Movie up for Kitty Movie Monday.
• Follow the new Tuesday Tummy Cult started by LisaViolet.
• Get your blog listed in the Ecosystem’s Cats Community.
• If you’d like to add your blogging kittycat to the Carnival of the Cats homepage banner, just send me the 4-by-3 photos in JPEG format and I’ll get them added.

The Catmodel of the Week is determined by the number of clicks on photos in the banner. Not only is the cat prominently featured on the website, but the RSS feed of their home blog is posted on the website, too.
Who is it this week?
You’ll just have to head to the The Carnival of the Cats home page to find out.
Goodnight, and until the next episode of The Carnival of the Cats, try to have a merrier Christmas than I’m having.