"The meat of your text was nearly catless"

Did you know that some catblogging posts are more equal than others? We learned that this week to our dismay when for the first time ever a Carnival of the Cats host dissed our weekly Tiny and Baby posts. Tiny, above, couldn't care less, but we found it grist for our blogmill.

"I caught that Sissy snuck in her links anyway, but I decided not to delete the comment," writes a pontificating KT Cat of The Scratching Post, host of this week's Carnival of the Cats. How far the mighty have fallen. 'Wonder what the Father of All Cat Bloggers, Laurence Simon, thinks of their trashing of sisu and Tiny and Baby:

Someone sent in three links to posts with photos of cats and topics that were totally unrelated. The Feline Theocracy declares thee an apostate! To the tuna mines with you.

That "someone" was ourselves, and not so much as a link to our blog was posted in recognition of the unspoken linky-love raison d'être of carnival blogging. We had emailed in our usual info about catposts of the previous week -- three of 'em -- to [email protected] and were horrified to learn after never receiving a trackback that our always exceptional catblogging didn't come up to the "standards" of this KT Cat person:

Yes, you had a picture of a cat, but the meat of your text was nearly catless.

Compare your post with any of the others and I think you'll see what I mean.

We breathed deeply and remembered Laurence's wonderful quote posted at Little Green Footballs last year:

Tiny and Baby rule.

When we checked back to see what was being said behind our back, we got the totalitarian Fear-Society-Lite tenor of the Scratching Post world view from commenter Kukka-Maria:

As Mother Superior of the Holy Order of Ocean Whitefish, I fully support your editorial decisions.

Plus, it looks like Sissy got her links posted anyway within her comment. ;) I love passive-agressives!

"Got her links posted anyway?" What are carnivals for, fergossake? Politically correct cat blogging can be a problem at any time but has nothing to do with cats. A comment posted at Classical Values this morning gives us courage:

The Right is looking for converts and the Left is looking for heretics.

By way of explanation he quotes Ann Althouse:

Bloggers on the right link to you when they agree and ignore the disagreements, and the bloggers on the left link only for the things they disagree with, to denounce you with short posts saying you're evil/stupid/crazy, and don't even seem to notice all the times you've written posts that take their side.

As best we can tell, KT Cat at Scratching Post is looking for heretics.

Updates:  Laurence Simon updates the FAQ's at Carnival of the Cats headquarters "to include something about the host making their best effort to be as inclusive as possible with all submitted links," and KT offers a peace pipe filled with catnip.

Comments

[Laurence Simon]

Look at COTV 185 and you'll know my opinion on the subject.

If you don't like how a Carnival was done, step in and DIY and let the audience decide.

[Sissy Willis]

Thanks, Lair. Right now, there's a bad taste in my mouth. Nothing to do with you. On the other hand, I always appreciate blog material, and this poor fool's inadequate showing gave me that in spades.

[Tara]

You took it all in stride,Sissy.

This KT sounds like a sourpuss to me...what would have been the harm in posting your link without the snark ?

[Laurence Simon]

I've posted my thoughts on the subject. I leave things open for hosts to decide whether links are relevant or not, and yet I'd have included them. But I don't host every COTC. When I did, it didn't grow. Touring and giving people a chance to put their own touch on it is a part of the beauty of carnivals.

[Elisson]

Anyone who disses Sissy Willis has issues of his or her own, I'd say.

I'm always amazed at people who seem to miss the point of these dopey Link-Fests. It's all about the links, KT!

Lair's right: if you don't like the way a host handles the Carnival, you can post your own - or simply wait for the next one. As for me, Baby, Tiny, and anyone else in the Sisu clan is always welcome at my place.

[K T Cat]

Dear Sissy, I direct you to this post.

http://ktcatspost.blogspot.com/2006/04/feline-theocracy-searches-for-converts.html

Tuna and catnip,
KT

[Sissy Willis]

I want to be happy.

[Tara]

Sissy,

Then be happy.In the world we live in today..personal happiness is gold.

KT directed me to the same post she linked here..I believe it to be sincere...

[Laura Lee Donoho]

I love how you mix up cat blogging with erudite ruminations. It's so "sisu." K T Cat needs to open up her heart and mind to all the diversity of the catblogging feline-o-sphere. I'm sorry I missed that. Was too busy with puppies yesterday.

[Sissy Willis]

Puppies rule!

[Teresa]

And now you know why I rarely participate in Carnivals of any type.

I did read the posts involved at the Carnival, including the comments on the original and the latest entry - which I'm still trying to figure out. I also read Laurence's post at his site.

I must say that considering the number of submissions for this Carnival and the fact that yours was the only set of submissions singled out for the "favor" of criticism, we would have to be pretty stupid to miss the insult in such a thing. And yes I saw the second posting - and it's so very cleverly worded - I can't tell if it's an apology or just an effort to get the "friends of SISU" off her back.

Therefore, making an editorial decision... I think I'll stick with Tiny and Baby and let KT and her friends enjoy catting among themselves.

[K T Cat]

Here's something that always makes me happy:

http://ktcatspost.blogspot.com/2006/03/world-of-good-blogburst-navy-style.html

There's a couple of photos in there that always make me smile.

[K T Cat]

By way of explanation, I mistook your posts to be some kind of bait-and-switch trick. My bad.

[goomp]

As the liberals practice, when you don't have a clue attack and criticize. Look at how their ignorance of the threats to Western civilization bring on the trashing of our President.

[K T Cat]

Thanks for the lesson!

http://ktcatspost.blogspot.com/2006/04/customer-satisfaction-study-in.html

[Tara]

Good morning,Goomp !!

Sissy,

Your blog is one of the best reads on the Internet.Don't change one thing and I hope today is a better day for you.

[Gayle Miller]

Sissy: Even when you are not explicitly blogging about cats, everything you write is informed by your love of cats. Please don't ever change and please don't let critical carping by those less talented get you down. Me, I'm going to withdraw for the balance of Holy Week as this whole immigration hoohaw is depressing me! I blogged on it today and that's my last word for a few days. Maybe it's just pre-Easter malaise?

You and your family (including the exquisite Baby and Tiny) are always in my heart and my prayers.

[Laura Lee Donoho]

When we entered the door of my uncle's house to go grieve with him after the death of our beloved aunt he said, "A lot of love just walked in this door." I've never forgotten that.

The same can be said of sisu's blog. Lots of thoughtfulness, kindness, keen intelligence and forgiveness are awaiting anyone who clicks onto her link.

I hope K T the catlover finds that same warm feeling when visiting sisu's blog and all of our blogs. We have more in common than we realize and it's not just our love for cats.

[andophiroxia]

I don't get it. You include your cats enough times. It's like every other post. Oh well, at least this cleared up.

BTW, Emy is doing fine.

[Scott]

Well, I can see their point. To a point. I and evidently many others recognize and love the distinct mixture of erudite musings mixed with adorable cat photos that is Sissy's unique style, however I think the issue for some in the cat carnival is that, for them, cat blogging in its most puritan form is an escape from headache producing things like politics, and therefore to those cat religionists, Sissy's style constitutes a kind of "heresy" by letting the real world back into their otherwise human-issue-free virtual enviroment.

And to be fair, it helps that I seem to agree with 90% of Sissy's positions on political matters; if she instead was on the other end of the political spectrum, I'm not sure Baby and Tiny alone could offset it for me (although I wouldn't rule it out - if anything could make KOS style rants semi-pallateable it would be the allure of the two Chelsea Grays, and that is high praise indeed).