A QUESTION FOR THE AGES AS A NAPPING CAT NAPS AND THE WORLD IS BROADCASTING..

At the risk of getting wonky with the world — though who could tell in the current off-the-beam sway of civilization — we turn the focus of Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap to the intellectual challenge of the ages: What was that cat thinkin’?
Nobody really knows, unless there’s a cat treat and an enthusiastic mew. Then there is a certainty of what that cat is thinking. 
But consider these pictures. (That opening photo is mononymous actor Simon portraying “somber observation” in his demo reel. In the background you see a portrait of our late pal, Inky, The Cocker Laureaute of Texas — he’s still teaching the Power of Emote with just his countenance on canvas.)

Moving along to the next pictures: One theory is that late at night, when Simon had control of the cable remote, this cat (full name Simon Mycroft Holmes) clicked onto the movie Cats and was inspired to begin studying acting in case the film is remade and this time producers wanted authentic cats to assay the roles rather than humans who think they can approximate the aura, tone and mental energy of a cat who can sing.

In this demonstration of Simon’s theatrical exercises, we managed to catch him “blending in” with the cast of The Closer late one night. 
He is a fan of that show. In the second photo, he approximates a reaction to a suspect’s response to a question from Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson, as portrayed by Kyra Sedgwick. 
In the second scene, er, photo, he blends in with the other police officers. And, in the background (left) is one of his favorite actors, the versatile Corey Reynolds in the roll of Sgt. David Gabriel (most recently, Mr. Reynolds has been hilarious in the role of Sheriff Mike Thompson in the SyFy Channel series Resident Alien — the alien is wonderfully portrayed by Plano High School graduate Alan Tudyk, a veteran stage and film actor.
 )
When you look at that photo, Simon seems to “belong there,” as if all good major crime investigation units have a veteran cat with intense understanding of human behavior.
As Simon says, “There are no small roles, only small cats.” He is, however, a large cat and can play a bigger role if needed.
And in the third scene, you see Simon giving a hard-edged, solidly stoic reaction to bad news that has reached the squad room. “Less is more unless you have treats, then more is more,” he told us in a brief interview before he nodded off on the cable box.
Our boy Simon could nod off at any time — in a drama, a comedy or during a hurricane report.
Now, one more thing — all good actors run their lines with someone to keep sharp before they go on stage or on camera. Simon has a line partner. This is her and she is named in honor of Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson. This little tabby girl is Deputy Chief Kittie Leigh Johnson. You’ll note that she is comfortable in front of the camera.
She is also comfortable on the job, too. You see us there many years ago on a reality show mission to Roswell, N.M. She and I were working undercover, assigned to gather information on a gang working to leak Unidentified Flying Object reports to the Washington media while enlisting elected officials to appear to support the presence of UFOs in the skies over America. 
We discovered that the “officials” were clones, their stories were gathered from unsold TV pilots through the years and the UFOs photographed in flight were actually three or four 1971 Chevrolet Vega hatchbacks wrapped in aluminum foil and held aloft by plastic trashbags inflated with hydrogen and sprayed with glitter. The designers used hydrogen because, one told us, “When a Vega engine blew up and left everybody walking, it wasn’t unusual and it probably didn’t get off the ground.” The ringleader had a friend in the special effects department at Plutovian Pictures.

What was Kittie Leigh thinking in this stakeout photo? Who knows? Literature regarding cats’ thoughts on UFOs is rare. Kittie Leigh’s hooded companion, however, was thinking, “I’m not sure about UFOs, but I do believe in the reality of a cat!”
As the late celebrated French writer Colette said, “There are no ordinary cats.” Canadian author/journalist Robertson Davies wrote, “Authors like cats because they are such quiet, lovable, wise creatures, and cats like authors for the same reasons.”

And some of those things may have been what Simon was thinking while working to improve his craft and his standing as “America’s Greatest Formerly Bottle- fed Actor Cat.”
His agent is said to be working on a better tag line. Also, he's attempting to get Simon an audition for the title role in Cat On a Hot Tin Roof. "I can play a roof," Simon dramatically asserts.
[DEAR READERS, Please send YOUR photos of YOUR slumbering cats and dogs to [email protected] so we can tell the world about them in Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap. You’ll be inspiring people to adopt and you’ll be suggesting to insomniacs that a cable TV box is as comfortable as a pillow to someone who cannot nod off in the middle of the night.]
-- Offer TV viewing tips or audition advice by clicking on 'comment' below or by emailing [email protected] and put "DON'T QUIT YOUR DAY JOB" in the subject line. --