Breaking Cat News Halloween Special Part Five
on October 15, 2015
at 12:48 pm
Chapter: Holiday News
Characters: Elvis, Lupin, Puck, Sir Figaro Newton, Tabitha and Figaro's Woman, The Baby, The Man, The Toddler, The Woman, Tillie
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Mystery upon mystery. I’m loving this so much!
Oh, Tillie
Oh no, I hope this doesn’t mean Tillie passed on and never saw her Girl again after the addition was built! I’m sniffling already at the possibility. Best lines this time: “But we know a guy.” “Son, I’m your Dad now.” Heh.
Oh no, poor Tillie 🙁
I will never get tired of Elvis and his insistence on being the protector. It kills me every time.
Matilda is Tillie!
I hope so!!
I think you are right.
I would guess so. I would also expect to find out that the little girl was named Frederica.
I was just going to say the same–the little girl must be the Freddie that Tillie’s looking for.
Poor Tillie and Freddie, both. 🙁
Oh, dear, and The Man is messing about inside the wall. I do hope this isn’t leading to a kitty skeleton.
Oh, poor Tillie!
Also, Lupin giving the “shhhhh” signal! LOL
“What’s-His-Beard” LOL!!
This is so sad! NOOOOO! (But I love Elvis’ remark about “ol’ what’s-his-beard”!)
She was somehow trapped during the construction maybe?
Poor Tillie
Ooohhh that could be! It would be horrible! Poor baby! I remember in high school there was a kitty trapped in the ceiling of one of our buildings and the custodian couldn’t get him out and it was heart-wrenching hear the forlorn mew-mews all during Economics class. 🙁
Oh, God, how awful.
Yeah, I’m expecting The Man to find a skeleton in the walls. 😮
Stealthy Lupin is stealthy 🙂
I have a skerry feeling we have some kitty skeleton in the wall — maybe that’s what’s causing the outlet issue.
Poor Tillie — she really does miss her little mistress.
I hope there’s not a kitty skeleton. That would be really sad.
That’s exactly what I was thinking, that they will find Tillie 🙁
I doubt that would suddenly cause an electrical problem more than a century later.
I’m wondering if the upshot of this is the cats, past and present, helping to uncover a situation that, if unaddressed, could have threatened the survival of everyone in the building.
Great! Robber mice, , Son, Im your dad now, Whats his beard, Tillie’s wink, we know a guy, and Sir Figaro turning up with Lupin. Oh, heck, I just loved the whole thing!
I missed the robber mice on my first couple passes, thank you for pointing them out!
and I missed that Tillie had Puck’s mug. I thought she was winking about the comment that no cats were allowed in the basement ’cause she goes where she pleases in her house, thank you very much!
Yes! I missed them too! Thanks! 🙂 Those robber mice are kewl.
Took me a while to find the robber mice!
I still can’t find them.
Panel four – inside the wall behind the Man.
Ooh, nicely creepy!
Oh, “Matilda” is Tillie the cat. It’s not the girl that went missing, it’s the kitty. Maybe the girl is “Freddie” (Francine? Francesca?). I hope they can find her and put her to rest
Frederica aka Freddie.
Winifred?
Ha! Precisely in the middle of the 1905 – 1921 time range I said! Nicely done on the research, Georgia! Oh, and the comic is really good, too.
Thank you, John!! I was loving your comments, but I couldn’t give too much away!
Love Tillie with her own coffee mug!
Or did she just take Pucks …..
And Tillie with the CN mug!!
Poor Tillie.
Being sealed up was almost the fate of one of my cats. She was a stray that hung around my apartment mostly for affection and occasionally food. I had been thinking of adopting her until one day she stopped coming. I hoped that she had been adopted but there was just no sign of her.
Then one night I was taking a walk around the apartment complex when I hear a cat crying. I follow the sound to the base of my apartment where the rock facade had been recently repaired. As I get closer, a little paw shoots out from a small gap in the wall and to my horror I realize that she had been inside when the repairmen finished and had accidentally sealed her beneath the apartment building.
It is late friday night, so there is no chance of getting maintenance, so I do the next best thing – I run back to my apartment, grab a can of cat food, a stick, a hammer, and a large nail (since I didn’t have a chisel) I run back to the hole in the wall and use the stick to shove some food through to her which she eats greedily. Then, for the next hour or so, I start chiseling away at the cement around the rock in the wall near the hole, pausing occasionally to shove more food in. It is slow work, and it eventually attracts the attention of one of the neighbors. I explain to her what I’m doing and why, and she leaves and comes back with a REAL CHISEL! Work speeds up drastically after that and I am able to get a stone lose, which gives her enough room to get out. She’s much thinner (she’d been in there for about a week), but she’s mobile and in surprisingly good shape. I give her a bowl of water and she seems much much better. As for the stone, I just rammed it back in place (sort of).
I adopted her officially after this whole adventure. She stayed with me for 16 wonderful years until a tumor took her. She was always adventurous.
Wow. Kitty was lucky you heard her!
Your story has me in tears! That’s so beautiful! I would have done the same if I was in your shoes. You were such a God-send to her. 🙂
Beautiful story, Glitchy.
That’s an amazing story.
Thank goodness you found her!!! What an amazing story, thank you for sharing it with us!
It was my pleasure and thank you all for your nice feedback.
Such a heart warming story, i think she had the best 16 years any kitten could ask for~
It remains to be seen if there is any signification to the fact that this old house has a cemetery in front of it.
The Cat of Adventure Returns
I think the robber mice have the Man’s pen.
Bingo!! 😉
I couldn’t stand it if something bad happened to Matilda. And the robber mice in the wall causing all the electric problems. Just love how you tie everything together.
“Our cat Figaro is like that” and then there is Figaro. Cute. The mind of Georgia Dunn is so, so creative. Tillie winking, Lupin slinking. Just great. I love every bit of it. Can’t wait for Monday.
Georgia, why is Elvis upset with the Man (other than the usual stuff)?
My best friend and I were talking last night that your writing has that most difficult and wonderful of characteristics, depth. Look at what you’re creating and how you present it. Masterful.
It’s not so much that Elvis is upset (other than the fact that he’s pretty much always upset). But if you go back to the first page of the Halloween special (Oct. 1), you’ll see that Elvis has appointed himself as the Man, because the Man had “abandoned” everyone to go down and fix the washer.
Thanks for the reminder!
Yay, Lupin the Cat of Adventure is back to his, well, adventurous ways! And “we know a guy,” absolutely perfect! I hope Tillie isn’t a kitty skeleton somewhere in the walls of the addition, sigh….
I love Tillie sneaking away with Puck’s mug on the first panel! I wondered if Tillie might be the short form of Matilda. It was a fairly popular girl’s name around the turn of the past century. Those wide-brimmed hats were too. I’ve got an old photo of my Grandma and two great-aunts from that era all wearing high necked dresses and those hats.
That picture of the little girl and Tillie… you draw such wonderful happy cat faces. (I also see the robber mice are up to mischief in the walls.)
I hope Tillie gets reunited with her Girl somehow.
Is Elvis so intent on claiming ownership of the kids that he’s not noticing the coffee mug flying up into the air?
Somehow, I have faith that Figaro and Lupin will figure this all out. (Figaro popping up at the end like that was great.)
Figaro! Figaro! FIGARO !!!!!! 🙂
Oh! Tillie is SO adorable!! And Pucky with his suave, “But we know a guy.” He’s such a cutie! Elvis is super adorable with his alpha manly cat sense of duty: “Forget about ol’ what’s-his-beard!” Haha!! Hmmmm wondering if Matilda is the little girl or if that is the full proper name of “Tillie”? Hmmmmmmmmmm . . . . interesting developments! Lupin and Sir Figaro are like kindred spirits, aren’t they? 🙂
What’s his beard, that’s too funny!! Love the story line, Pawsome!!!!
What ARE those mice up to in the wall? There’s your electrical culprits, I’ll bet!
I think Tillie doesn’t realize she passed. That makes me so sad, watching her stare down into her coffee cup..her spirit probably sped out when the man opened the wall and she was still excited about the “new addition,” which is why she didn’t find it odd there were new people and cats there..I’m going to cry like mad if she starts looking for Freddie..I really can’t wait to see what happens next…
Tillie swiped Puck’s mug. The Robber Mice have The Man’s Missing pen. Matilda is Tillie and wnet missing. Lupin in a Stealth Master. Could be a PBS English Mystery?
A way back call back to the strip when the Woman was pregnant with the Toddler and Puck was watching British Mystery shows. http://www.breakingcatnews.com/comic/the-woman-is-slowing-down/
Poor Tillie. I think I know where this is going.
Hmmmm, tjinking the Ghost Kitty will be laid to rest, and yet visit a lot with The Boys!!
“Ma’am!” It feels like it’s been ages since we had a good “Ma’am” from our intrepid reporters. That always makes me smile so hard.
And now we know what the “addition” is. Curiouser and curiouser.
Such a smile while saying “horrible tragedies”.
The adventure continues! All the details are just so masterful and every panel has a little story in itself– Elvis saying “Son I’m your dad now” cracks me up.
Yay!!! Lupin and the fedora returns!!
I love reading everyone’s comments but I
want to ask (since I didn’t see anyone else ask)
Uh.. How come Elvis doesn’t see a floating cup in
Panel 1? *chuckle*
Love lupin’s “shhh” pose!!
Heh I came down here to point out the floating cup. That’s awesome.
How People-Centric! Assuming Matilda is the girl instead of the cat. Rowr-fsszt!
My grandmother’s name was Mathilda but my dad often called her Tilly. 🙂
Looking forward to more of the story!
I’ve got it!! Look at the headstone Tommy is on in the third comic. WM Quinn 1904-1989. If that picture is from 1913, that would make WM Quinn 9 years old at the time. She’s the little girl, and her name is Winnifred.
By Jove, I think she’s got it.
This has definite possibility…
Fantastic sleuthing! You definitely deserve your own “English Mystery” programme Celestia 🙂
Maybe the little girl is Winnifred Matilda, with Tillie named after her. And perhaps Freddie is a great-grandmother to the Man or Woman.
Oh Monday! Get here quick!!
The plot thickens….. XD gotta love Elvis saying “Son, I’m your dad now.”
Oh! I see what the addition is! It’s the addition of the house!
I’m loving this whole story arc!
And Figaro just appears as well. I’m surprised Elvis was protective when your son said “Dad” since I thought he was just protective over the baby.
Waiting until Monday is going to be unbearable.
I agree!
Oh, please not tragedy. I read this comic for a pick me up!
That said, I love the first panel. Cats aren’t allowed in the basement…officially…
I just got it. In the previous segments,Tillie says she is checking on the new addition. The picture is from when one of the additions was being built. Something important must have happened in that part of the house during Tillie’s life. But what?
I love Elvis claiming the baby. I have a black cat who sneaks up on me all the time. I’ll think she’s up stairs, look around and there she is…even though the door to down stairs is closed. Don’t know how she does it.
And so the plot thickens! Love it! Dear Georgia your kitties are helping me through the loss of my Calinea a 16 and a half (when they reach this age they are awarded quarters and halfs) year old Ossie cat who was royally born, but had stripes, not spots! I do already have my eye on two sweet little girls at the shelter (one black, the other a dilute torti) that I am trying very hard to get them through an upper resp and eye infection drama. Thank heaven for a devoted shelter friendly vet who helps me beyond belief in caring for the literally hundreds of cats and mostly kittens that come through our doors every year. We are two kittens shy of 400. In previous years we have only hit 300 by the end of December. DO EVERYTHING POSSIBLE TO PROMOTE SPAY/NEUTER! I just ordered two more three tiered condos for the infirmary from a good vendor who told me that he was hearing from people all over the country that the cat population was beyond belief! No one should be letting their cat have kittens. If you want kittens go to a shelter and play with them, or better adopt a couple! Sorry for the rant.
So now we know what “addition” Tillie was talking about. Or do we?
I think there is an Edgar Allen Poe homage coming 🙂
Tillie! Give Puck back his cup!
You’re going to make me cry, I just know it. Poor Tillie!
Georgia’s good at that. Like last year’s Christmas special series. Makes me cry every time I go back and re-read it (and I go back to the beginning and read all the comics straight through quite often), while still including plenty of humour to make me smile at the same time.
I don’t think I’m ready to go along with some of the tragic interpretations many here seem to be taking for granted.
It seems to me that Tillie is WAY too cheery and chipper to have gone through an agonizing death trapped in a wall or something. And the way she talks about having to leave soon to “get back to Freddie” suggests they’ve been together for some time (since 1989?), and that maybe she’s even there to report back to her human on what’s going on in the house. Lastly, while talking about the “new addition,” she makes it clear that it’s more recent than the birth of the second child, which is “old news.” I get the feeling that parts of this story are going to go in a very different direction from what some here are expecting.
I’m with you. I think your theory has merit based on the reasons you gave and Georgia knowing we don’t want to know about the slow death of a cat in a wall.
My thoughts exactly.
This is what I’m hoping, too.
Hi Georgia!
Commented little over a month ago. Was the weirdo that had a “bond with the man over our hair”, haha. Just really wanted to say thank you again for these comics, you give us readers so much and I really appreciated it. Also, growing up, my family had super weird cats. We had an old black cat that was everyone’s friend and a calico that only loved my sister. The super weird thing was every full moon the old cat would become reclusive in my sister’s bedroom and the calico would suddenly become everyone’s bff. It was super bizarre, only lasted for the full moon night.
Once again, thank you so much for these comics! They bring so much joy to me and my friends!
That is wild!! And thank you, I’m glad you enjoy the comic! 🙂
Robber Mice. Stealing The Man’s pen. Twas perfect.
I think I got it figured out. The open wall, the pen, Tillie and the new addition. Can’t wait to see how it all unfolds. 😺.
There are TWO- count ’em – TWO – Indy moments. Lupin balancing on the rafter (the bridge scene) and the lurking and watching: both from ToD! The Cat of Adventure returns! And I missed Tillie stealing Puck’s mug!
I’m sort of tearing up over here. Please let Tilly be OK with everything!!! 🙂 PS: Having her come around from time to time would be DELIGHTFUL!
So that’s why the Man couldn’t find his pen! Love it
I’m not sure if there’s any significance to the fact that “Quinn” was also the name of the cat shelter in the recent torrents-of-tears-inducing Special Report…
Ha! There are no coincidences in these strips– just lots of little clues sprinkled around like catnip. 🙂
There’s a lot if speculating going on and I can’t help but wonder too. But I trust that Georgia won’t have anyone crying. She loves kitties too much to have some horrible tragedy occur. So I’m being patient to see how the story unfolds. I know for a CERTAINTY that it will have a happy outcome!
As for mice and house wiring, I know from experience how harmful mice can be. Lived in a very old farmhouse for a while and it was filled with the horrid little things. I used to like mice but not any more. Among the many nasty germ-ridden things they did was their interest in the house wiring which they loved to chew on. One burner on my electric stove stopped working and when we pulled off some panels to check, found a mouse had run between 2 connections just as I turned the burner on. The current hit it at just the right moment and he had been electrocuted. We were never able to get rid of all the mice before we moved even with catching lits of them regularly.
I think that Tillie is saying “edition,” as in a new printing of a newspaper.
On October 12 I commented that maybe the new addition is the renovation of the upstairs. It’s beginning to look as though I was right. We’ll see.
I had to recheck the Special Report, just to see if my memory was right about “Quinn” being in there somewhere. I thought as long as I was there, I’d read the report again. I figured since I knew how it ended, I wouldn’t be in tears again.
Wrong!
It would have just been sniffles if I hadn’t started reading all the comments with tales of rescued cats, but I ended up using half a box of Kleenex (again).
Having reread it, I wanted to let people know what one of our local grocery stores does to make it easier for people to help the local shelter. Right next to the bags of food and personal care items that you can buy for the local St Vincent de Paul Society and the Salvation Army to give to people in need, there are laminated sheets (like overgrown postcard size) that you take up to the check out, they add $5 to your grocery bill and then send $5 to the local shelter to help with the shelter’s “guests.” A pretty neat and easy way for folks to help cats and dogs in need.
That is wonderful!
Years ago we had a kitten (born to a feral mom in the roof) fall and end up in a wall space. The howling baby made it sound like it was in the ceiling. Several ceiling panels of sheet rock were removed before we attacked the wall. I handed the helpful man a flash light when he broke through the wall panel. “What do you see?” I asked. “It looks like a black sock” he replied. “”It has to be the kitten!” Sure enough the little guy was pretty cold, but still had lungs. We attached him to a nursing mom cat and he made out just fine. His mom (known as Black Kitty) became less and less feral. WE had already trapped, spayed and vaccinated her. She lived for many years and became more and more demanding … expecting her breakfast as soon as I arrived at the shelter. Unfortunately she was killed by the neighbors dogs; a pack of half grown puppies. We still miss her. A mom and her three daughters (now all trapped, spayed and vaccinated) have replaced dear BlackKitty, but they aren’t the same.
Awwww, poor Black Kitty 🙁 She sounds like a sweetheart. I am glad you were able to find the kitten!
Isn’t it incredible how feral kitties will start to tolerate and, dare I say it, like humans when food’s involved? We had a feral hanging around who went from glaring from his shelter in the garage – “Put the food down and LEAVE!” – to coming up to the door demanding his food. I’m glad you were able to help your BlackKitty and her baby, and the new tenants in your area.
Two things to share!
1.) I recently [and FINALLY] got to catch up the girl I babysit on your wonderful comic! We had an awesome time scrolling through it big screen on the XBox and giggling in delight at Elvis’ quirks and Puck’s adorableness and Lupin’s brilliant expressions of glee as he pokes fun at Elvis or discovers something entertaining. (We have dubbed it the Fluffle Puff face. If that doesn’t meant anything to you, google Fluffle Puff and look for a picture of her excited. It won’t be hard to find…) Anyway, she was SO happy to get back to the comic with me after a several month interim, that I could have mistaken her for Lupin, were it not for the lack of a nifty tie. And, you know, fur. I made sure her mother has the link, so they can continue reading from home. Thank you again for all the enjoyment!!!
2.) Your comic has creepy perfect (or horrible…?) timing. Aside from it being that time of year. I don’t really consider myself a believer of ghosts, but friends are, and keep commenting to me based on recent household events… Recently my cat and dog have started acting really weird. A few different times we’ve all been resting in different parts of the condo, and they’ve suddenly freaked out. Last night my dog Inku was fast asleep by the window, my cat Kikira down the hall in the bedroom. Suddenly, Inku JUMPS up, growling, fur raised, and comes racing halfway across the room to stop and stare slightly upwards. Kiki came running from the bedroom at almost the same time, tail totally puffed up. She stopped about a yard away and stared at the same spot. Between them but slightly above. Nothing there. No fan, no vent, no light, no bug, nothing. They weren’t interested in each other, and normally the dog would want to play and the cat would be cautious but baiting her a bit. It took me about fifteen minutes to calm them both down. It was absolutely bizarre. And that’s just been the most visual event; there have been several times recently that Kiki has had her tail puffed and been staring, and Inku has stopped to stare, too. They’re always totally fine a few minutes later, like nothing happened. (Kiki actually clawed me by accident while flailing to get down a few days ago when she was freaked by nothing at one point.) It’s starting to scare me a little, since I can’t explain it or get them to stop… So I’ve decided I need to start imagining them talking to each other, and reacting to something, a la BCN. Just to make it less creepy and more cute/funny. >.> Clearly this comic is the answer to life…
3.) …I lied. One more thing to share… I’ve been killing a lot of time with iPad apps lately… and one of them I started late at night while particularly tired… It doesn’t really matter what it is; suffice that you have a customizable avatar that wanders around a lobby with other players between game parts, and you can set it to say random autophrases on and off… Being tired, I just filled in all the first things that popped into my head… So very frequently, anyone on the same server who happens to look at the lobby screen… Will see a mage girl wandering around commenting …yep… “Cat News, Ma’am.” <3 <3 <3 (And yes, anyone questioning this will be swiftly directed to this site!)
Thanks for humoring the long post, and thanks SO much for all the kitty capers! Going to sit here rereading BCN and humming the Can't Hug Every Cat song from youtube… Scene 1:05 about…..
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sP4NMoJcFd4
;-P
What you have described your cat and dog doing is very much what the real Puck and the real Tabitha have done from time to time in this building! About 9-10 months ago while Tabitha and Figaro’s Woman and I were comparing notes in the hallway. (I will explain a little more of what those notes were at the end of this special, but long story short many freak outs from our cats and an unknown tortie cat caught out of the corner of an eye). After we compared notes, she suggested that I write a Halloween special based on the little ghost cat we endearingly blamed for Puck and Tabitha’s meltdowns–and I am so very glad she did!
I am so glad the girl you babysit loves the comic! And the avatar greeting everyone with ‘Cat News, Ma’am’ cracks me up! I love it!
All I can think of is Coraline…
This is fun!
Who makes the cats’ clothes? O: I know that’s uber meta, but I’m asking because I LOVE the mental image of little kitty tailors.
Maybe one day that will be revealed. 😉
7:25 PM EDT I hope everything is OK with you, your family and critters. As it’s so late in the day I’m starting to worry.
Thank you, Lanny! We had some technical difficulties today. Translation: I did something really dumb and messed up my laptop, and the Man dutifully fixed it, thank goodness! I am not so hot with technology, but thank goodness for the Man! (He’s great with computers).
Did Tillie just steal Puck’s mug?
Darth Elvis: Luke, I am your father.