Christmas movies with CATS!

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The holidays are a great time to share good food, cheer, laughter and Christmas cat movies with family, friends and cats. Although many Christmas movies are targeted for kids, not all are.

A Gift from Bob, 2021 (1 hr. 32 mins.)

also known as A Christmas Gift from Bob, is a British Christmas biographical drama film.

the synopsis
Christmas gifts come in all shapes and sizes. For James (Luke Treadaway), a struggling street musician, a very special one arrives in the form of Bob, a strong-willed stray cat who wanders into James’s tiny flat. Bob enriches James’s life, giving him companionship, purpose, and a large, new audience. When Animal Welfare officers threaten to take Bob, the local community rallies to help James and Bob — sparking a journey that takes the pair to places they never imagined in this heartwarming, spirit-lifting movie for the whole family.
from Rotten Tomatoes


Batman Returns, 1992 (2hrs. 6 mins.)

Batman Returns occurs during Gotham City’s Christmas celebration

the synopsis
Directed by Tim Burton (Edward Scissor Hands, Beetlejuice, Charlie and the Chocolate Factor, with Johnny Depp). Batman Returns is a the popular superhero (Michael Keaton as Batman) in action, during the Christmas season in Gotham City. The creation of Catwoman (Michelle Pfeifffer) is depicted, and hence, cats are in the movie, too. This Batman is played by Michael Keaton, Danny DeVito as the Penguin, and villain wealthy businessman Max Shreck (Christopher Walken) who considers himself The Santa Claus of Gotham. But Santa Shreck intends to take over the city.
With MAX subscription.


Santa Claws, released December, 2015 (1 hr. 26 mins.)

Best for little, little kids: sparkling Christmas, adorable kittens and THEY TALK!

the synopsis
Tommy, who is unable to celebrate Christmas because his mom says Santa isn’t real, leaves his kittens out for Santa to take back to the North Pole, but after a major allergic reaction Santa can’t fly the sleigh or deliver presents anymore, so the kittens have to deliver the rest of the presents to all the boys and girls before sunrise.

Matt Simmonds

The Nine Lives of Christmas,
The Hallmark Channel December 26, 8/7 pm

Christmas, hunky firefighter, romance and a stray cat…what could possibly happen?

the synopsis
Zachary Stone (Brandon Routh/Superman) is a firefighter who’s life changes when he takes in a stray cat. Then he meets Marilee, a veterinary student who shows him how to take care of Ambrose, his new cat. Ambrose shows Zachary that companionship has its pluses as a relationship develops between Marilee and Zachary. Maybe, now, Zachary’s ready for commitment.

Based on the book by
Florence McNicoll


Finally, My Kitty Care suggests The Aristocats, released December 24, 1970. The Disney movie has nothing in its story involving Christmas, but it’s included because many, many years ago, on Christmas Eve it was aired. Embedded in that memory is a crackling fire, red stockings hanging from the fireplace mantle, and a 6 foot tree decorated with lights, tinsel and ornaments prized as family heirlooms. When the Aristocats ended, embers in the fireplace glowed orange, and the scent of pine filled the room.

The synopsis:
When a retired opera singer leaves her inheritance to her cat, Duchess (Eva Gabor), and three kittens, the woman’s butler drugs the cats and abandons them in the countryside in order to inherit the fortune himself. Lost in unfamiliar territory, Duchess and the kittens meet Thomas O’Malley (Phil Harris), an alley cat willing to help them return to their home in Paris. They meet several kooky characters along the way, including two English geese and an alley cat jazz band.

from Rotten tomatoes

Whatever you do this time of year, Happy Holidays!


my kitty care does not endorse any product discussed on The Scratching Post, nor does my kitty care receive payments, or any form of compensation from any company or product on my kitty care.

A luxury cat hotel

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Travel without your cat

As much fun traveling is, or if your must travel for business or other reasons and can’t bring your cat, it’s a dilemma for cat parents. Even if you have a trusted cat sitter, there might be a time when they aren’t available. So then what?

a luxury cat hotel?

Cat boarding is an option for some and My Kitty Care researched cat boarding in 2015. Since then, there’s a new option: a luxury cat hotel. At this time, November 2023, the lone business claiming to be a luxury hotel for cats exists in Irvine, CA.

Club Cat is the name, and luxury hotels and resorts are the models. The difference between traditional boarding and a luxury cat hotel, beside the cost, are amenities.

  • Programs that cats like (which are not specified)
  • Webcams for cat parents to view their cat(s) 24/7
  • “CatChats” a cat parent’s opportunity to talk with their kitty.

The cats rooms are 8’ high and a minimum of 3.5’ wide, complete with enclosed balconies. They’re decorated with “whimsical cat portraiture” (that means?)

The Cat Club was opened by Shana Martin who hopes to franchise the business. Whether that happens or not, traveling cat parents who must leave their cat(s) behind want options.

If anyone has boarded their cat, or put them up in Club Cat, the luxury cat hotel, please let us know how it went. We always want the best for our cats, and having quality care in our absence can be particularly challenging.

let's talk about cats!

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my kitty care does not endorse any product discussed on The Scratching Post, nor does my kitty care receive payments, or any form of compensation from any company or product on my kitty care.

Sci-fi book features cats

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This book Starter Villain, didn’t get my attention because of it’s prolific author, or that it’s sci-fi (not my favorite genre) but because — surprise, surprise, it features cats.

Starter Villain

In fact, cats are described as”hyper-intelligent, talking spy cats.”

“A light-hearted story with a likable fish-out-of-water protagonist and a lot of very smart cats.”

Rebecca Roanhorse, REview in Goodreads

Who could possibly resist such a premise?

The author is John Scalzi, who might be familiar to those who do have a steady diet of sci-fi. Mr. Scalzi is known for a series, Old Man’s War, debuted in 2005 which was a finalist for the Hugo Award, a sci-fi award presented annually since 1955.

If you want to delay the end of summer, this fun, beach-lounging book, Starter Villain might be a good read. To be released this month (September, 2023).


my kitty care does not endorse any product discussed on The Scratching Post, nor does my kitty care receive payments, or any form of compensation from any company or product on my kitty care.

Country kitten rescued

Lily at 5 weeks old
photo by shari smith dunaif © 2022

Along New York’s Mohawk River between Rochester and Albany, lies once thriving Montgomery county. Yet the town George and Judy found in 2004 was a dying town. Like many small towns, manufacturing disappeared and jobs went overseas.

Montgomery County has beautiful historic houses from the late 1870s through the early 1900s.

Small towns with historic houses needed some money and a lot of TLC to restore. George and Judy bought such a house, circa 1890. The surrounding countryside is rolling hills and pastures.

beautiful farmlands in Northwestern NY
photo by shari smith dunaif © 2022

Last October, on a day so clear the distant hills defined the horizon, George and Judy took a stroll. They relished the fresh smell of grass and the sound of crickets.

Then, Judy heard mewing.

George and Judy point to where 5 week old kitten was found
photo by shari smith dunaif © 2022

Between a huge pasture edged with bushes and the road, was a narrow trench.

Narrow trench along the road photo by shari smith dunaif © 2023

Lying in the trench was a tiny black kitten.

photo by shari smith dunaif © 2022

They took her home, discussing who could adopt her.

Within days they named her Lily.

The next week George and Judy took her to the vet. Turns out, Lily was only five weeks old when they found her. The vet said she was too young to survive on her own and if they hadn’t brought her home she would have died.

George with 5 week old Lily
photo by shari smith dunaif © 2022

A few weeks later, old friends of theirs agreed to adopt her. But it was too late. Lily is now a part of George and Judy’s family.

Kedi, the movie about cats

The 2016 documentary Kedi, portrays the thousands of stray cats in Istanbul, Turkey and the locals who look after them. In fact, Istanbul is referred to as the City of Cats, and KEDI, means ‘cat’ in Turkish. Ceyda Torun, a native of Istanbul, directed.

If you’ve already seen the feature length (80 mins.) documentary, perhaps you feel like my kitty care: Kedi is utter delight. If you’d like to read more, click Kedi.

Viewing is available for rent/buy on various premium channels, but if you have to pay to see it, hopefully a movie theatre near you will screen it.

If you haven’t had the opportunity to see it and happen to be in New York in The Hamptons, Kedi is being screened in August.

There’s many great cat-themed movies, but this is one of the best. Hope you get to see and enjoy.


my kitty care does not endorse any product discussed on The Scratching Post, nor does my kitty care receive payments, or any form of compensation from any company or product on my kitty care.