Most of these pictures don't work because they are so strongly backlit. This is pure self-indulgence.

Yesterday, the cats had not had anything NEW to play with for at least a day, and were about to die of boredom. Just in the nick of time, the doorbell rang, and the long awaited Cat Tree Of Exceptional Ugliness arrived (unassembled).

It took me about a half hour to put the wobbly, shoddily made monstrosity together, and the cats were thrilled. Thrilled with the box it came in, that is. After some bribing and begging, they tried out the tower, which includes a condo and 7 platforms, and by midnight, they decided it was awesome.

At first, it had fur mice dangling in a spots, but they managed to tear them down and destroy them in a few minutes. What they did discover was that this structure is perfect for bugging each other. One gets to the top, then taunts the cat below until finally they wrestle madly, and sometimes change places. They play this game until they are so exhausted, they fall asleep on the top perches. Lots of yawning.

Such beautiful little hellions. If these shots are self-indulgent, then why do I derive such intense pleasure from them? Huh? Answer me that, IF YOU CAN! *dies from acute cuteness poisoning* tortoise · 2006-12-29: 00:19

they're wonderful! magpy · 2006-12-29: 01:12

Gorgeous kittens - and yes, they always prefer the box whatever you get for them came in! I like them all. Backlight give more dramatic photos! I would lighten number 7 a bit more as the kittens are the main subject. jorgen · 2006-12-29: 04:07

Awesome shots you have captured these very well. FaTmAn · 2006-12-29: 05:31

I did lighten #7, Jorgen. Thanks for the suggestion. JuliaGotz · 2006-12-29: 08:23

Cat trees are indeed ugly however the cats are having a few laughs. SuperG · 2006-12-30: 12:14

another great set. and hahahaa at number 3. i can see the smirk on his face :) ????? · 2007-01-07: 18:44

Haha. These are great. Look at those claws in #6! JenniferLynn · 2007-02-26: 17:54

Tagged: kitten