Tearing It Up

Though by now a thoroughly domesticated cat, Dave remains an outdoorscat by nature. Even though his current life presents few opportunities, he still finds ways to keep his clawing skills sharp. Below you can see him tearing up a very conveniently shaped furniture-type object. 

What is This Thing Approaching Me?

Here you can see Jack calmly attempting to enjoy a nice evening, and perhaps some solitude. However, it wasn't to be. This is his reaction to an approaching object of unknown origins.

"What Now," He Asks

Sometimes a cat simply wants to be a cat and not have to worry about anything else. In times like these, it should not be surprising if a cat makes a face such as this in response to an approaching body in motion. This is a face that says, "What now?"

Taken By Surprise

Despite his incredible sense of awareness, Dave sometimes fails to suspect an approaching observer/threat. That's when you might find Dave in a position like this.

Indecision

Sometimes a cat will want to do two things at once. Here, for example, Jack cannot decide between continuing his nap and stretching. Thus, he is attempting to stretch with his front legs while napping with the rest of his body. 

Afternoon Nap

One of the best times in the day to take a nap is the afternoon. By then, many hours have past since the regretful arrival of the morn, and yet there are also many hours to go before bedtime.

Other good times for naps are the late morning, high noon, and the early evening. 

Perched

Even in the summer, when the windows come between Dave and the great outdoors, Dave spends time peering outside from his perch. During this time, when the weather is vomitous, he sits and ponders how grateful he is to no longer be on the mean streets of Iowa, where temperatures can often exceed 100 degrees.

Muckin' Around

No stranger to making a mess, here you can see Dave digging through his basket of toys, trying to find the best one. He tends to play with a certain toy for a week or so, then display ambivalence towards it. But today he had a hankering for a toy he used to play with, so he was searching for it.

Relaxed on a Kitchen Chair

Here you can see Jack making good use of a kitchen chair. You can't spend all day on the couch, after all.

A Robust Cat

It is well-known that the average cat does not approach Dave's greatness when it comes to napping, or to investigations. But there is another area of life where Dave surpasses the great majority of other felines - robustness. 

This provides Dave with certain advantages. For example, Dave wrestling skills are top-notch. However, Dave's robustness also presents certain disadvantages. Anyone familiar with the ways of cats understands that cats enjoy enclosed spaces. Dave's colleague Jack is known for his fondness of boxes. While Dave is a fearless cat who enjoys the open air, he also enjoys napping in a defined space. Below, you can see that Dave has squeezed himself into a space designed for a less robust cat. And he does so quite successfully. 

Extreme Discomfort

Dave's legendary napping skills serve him well. His curiosity and aggressiveness allow him to attain napping heights unknown to most cats. But they also sometimes force him into predicaments that he doesn't expect. For example, you can see in the image below that he has ended up in a position that looks quite uncomfortable. 

When you take risks like Dave does, you have to be willing to accept some occasional discomfort. 

Guest Appearance: LeiLei, Volume VII - A Bold Choice

Here you can see LeiLei has made quite a bold choice for a napping location. This is a location that is frequently moved. More importantly, napping here puts LeiLei at risk of having a pair of pants unceremoniously tossed upon her. 

But that is a risk that LeiLei is willing to take.

Getting Up In Your Business

In the photograph below, you can see Jack taking part in a common past time of his and Dave's household - getting up in your business. This activity is a particular favorite of Jack. If he finds himself on the floor level not getting an appropriate amount of attention, he will simply hop up onto the closest available raised area, whether it be a bed, a table, a fridge, or something else. 

This makes Jack's presence in the room more obvious to others in the room, especially those of greater height than your average cat.

No Thumbs Dave

There are many benefits to being a cat. Dave mentioned one of these benefits in a recent tweet.

One of my favorite parts of being a cat is being better than all the other cats. pic.twitter.com/VVmFDoQ0I5

— The Dafe (@DafeTheCat) April 17, 2015

However, there are also downsides. One of those downsides is not having any opposable thumbs. Dave's lack of opposable thumbs creates some issues for him when he attempts to do things like open doors and read the news about international relations on an iPhone. But that doesn't stop him from trying.

The Culprit

Though Dave spends his hours and days indoors, now that he no longer lives on the mean streets of Iowa, he still needs to let loose once in a while. One of his outlets is the designated scratching area on Dave's cat tree. From time to time, Dave will suddenly scamper across the room in order to attack the cat tree and attempt to destroy it.

He can make quite a mess.

Exploring the New Frontier

Since Dave has been granted occasional access to his New Frontier, he has been exploring it at every opportunity. So far, he has tipped over at least half of the items found there. And he has no intention of stopping with the job only halfway done. 

Unencumbered by Modesty

This evening, Dave decided to adopt one of his most famous napping poses, one which does not even have an official name. It is designed to offer an unbeatable level of comfort to the napper, and it usually succeeds. 

The Wistful Observer

Dave, ever the watchful sort, spent several hours today wistfully observing the landscape in front of his home. He considered his life, his loves, and his foods, wondering especially deeply about the fundamental nature of the next nap he would take. 

Two Cats Being Cats

When a cat is not napping, there are only a few other things he is liable to do. He might eat some food. He might meow loudly for no reason. He might even lick his own foot! 

But if he does not feel like doing any of those things at the moment, there is a good chance he will find another cat and pick a fight. That is what happened here, when Jack decided to invade Dave's personal space whilst Dave napped. Dave wasn't working on any new napping strategies at the time, so he didn't much mind getting into a fight. 

Spotting a Threat

If you ever harbored any doubt as to whether it would be a bright idea to startle The Dafe, this photograph should convince you otherwise. Many hours per day, Dave sits warily, scanning the horizon and watching for any potential threats. True, sometimes this means false alarms, but Dave would much prefer 100 false alarms to one unexpected threat.

After all, you never know who might come after you. 

Not Where a Cat Should Be

Most of the areas Dave and Jack's home are available for their napping pleasure, but there are some places that are best left un-napped upon. Below you can see Jack napping on one of those places. Tables, and certainly place-mats, are not meant for catnaps. 

The Ledge, Volume IV

Below you can see a thing that Dave does with his leg. It is a version of the Ledge. Dave's girth allows him to accomplish things like this that other cats would only dream of. Many cats have pulled their hamstrings, tweaked their quads, or even died trying to attempt this pose. 

Not Dave. He is the NapMaster. 

Goofballery

While Jack's behaviors lean towards the tidy, that does not mean that he is incapable of being a major goofball. Typically, any goofballing in the house is handled by Dave. 

Not today, as Jack pretends that he is falling off of his napping perch. 

Nap Duels, Volume V

A rug can make a great napping location - so great in fact that Dave and Jack will occasionally use it simultaneously. Here you can see Dave performing a freestyle maneuver while Jack conducts himself like a proper cat.

A Favorite Activity for Jack

Jack does not get nearly as much credit for his investigative skills as Dave does, but his skills are almost as tremendous. And he doesn't put up with any guff either. Jack will swipe you right in the face if you cross him. 

One place he often pokes around is the bathroom sink. Sometimes, he might even find a Dave there.

Guest Appearance: The Fluff, Volume V

The Fluff is a cat with a high standard of living, and he has many opportunities that other cats can only dream of. Dave, for example, would love to have the freedom to explore the world outside at his leisure. Jack, meanwhile, would love to have a fancy slate floor in his kitchen, as well as a nice fireplace or three to keep him warm. 

The Fluff has all of these things, and he makes the most of them. 

RocketDave, Volume XII

Sometimes when Dave is fixing to become a Rocket, he props himself up on a pillow so that he is pointing towards the sky. Basic geometry will tell you that this is more effective.

An Imperfect Spot

As great a napper as Dave is, he does not have the ability to defy physics. Sometimes, a napping location is so inflexible that Dave cannot mold it to his exact liking, as he does when he makes biscuits. 

But even in these instances, Dave makes the best of his situation. That is because Dave is a big believer that the only thing worse than failure is not trying. And here, no failure occurred.

Blending In

Jack, a much quieter cat than his colleague Dave, is also a much more passive observer than Dave. When Dave might be launching himself, rocket-like, towards an unknown subject, Jack is more likely to stay behind and watch the proceedings. 

Sometimes, he will camouflage himself. For example, you can see here that Jack is pretending to be a shoe. 

Nap Duels, Volume IV

Oftentimes, when Dave and Jack take part in a nap duel, they will perform the same napping strategy, such as The Conch. But other times, it is more of a freestyle competition. Below is one of those times. Each cat performs whatever strategy he wishes, and may the best cat take the best nap. 

Perturbed

While he is generally open to all new experiences, Dave maintains an ability to be impatient. Certain happenings will put him in an ornery mood. One way to catch Dave in such a mood is to wake him up from a nap. Here you can see that Dave is perturbed by one such occurrence. 

Nap Duels, Volume III

 Here you can see Dave and Jack engaging in another of their nap duels. In this iteration, they are both performing The Conch strategy famously developed by Dave in his younger days. 

A Superb Hiding Spot

Jack likes to keep to himself most of the time. In comparison, one of Dave's talents is getting all up in peoples' business on a frequent basis. Here you can see Jack hiding under a stack of books, board games and a ball glove, though not particularly well. 

It is also unclear why Jack so often sits facing the corner of the room, but this is none of your concern.

Face Off

Generally speaking, few conflicts occur inside Dave's home. This has not prevented him from remaining alert at all times, or from developing a sophisticated system of defense readiness. It also has not prevented Dave and Jack from fighting with each other from time to time. 

Below you can see Dave and Jack engaged in a struggle for supremacy of the center of the rug. 

Jack's Excursion

Jack doesn't get as much credit for his investigatory skills as Dave does, but he has them nonetheless. When the back porch was recently opened up to Dave's wanderings, it was also opened up to Jack. While Dave approached the scene with 100% curiosity, Jack approached with 80% curiosity and 20% concern. He is sometimes the more practical cat.

A New Frontier

Dave, ever the investigator, had a whole new world opened up to him today: the back porch. After only occasional dashes out the door onto the enclosed porch, Dave found himself allowed to roam freely today. Another door prevented him from venturing further, but Dave was grateful for the chance to thoroughly investigate this border zone. 

The outside of this particular home remains a great unknown to Dave, but he has now been to the brink, and should he ever find himself out there, he feels prepared to face whatever he might face. This is the true spirit of RocketDave.

Oblivious

Below you can see an image of one of Dave's recent bouts of obliviousness. For a cat that is so suspicious of potential threats, this is quite a vulnerable position. 

An Empty Food Dish

Dave prefers to be able to feed himself freely. Though he is nostalgic for his wild younger days on the mean streets of Iowa, he does not miss having to track down each meal. You can imagine Dave's heightened concern during the times when his food bowls are devoid of food. They might be empty because it is not meal time, or because they are being cleaned, but whatever the reason, Dave is uncomfortable if they are empty. 

This is a good example of a DAFECON 3 situation.

DAFECON 1

DAFECON 1 means nuclear war is imminent. It is a time for maximum readiness. It is time to protect the homeland from an impending threat.

Here is what Dave might look like during a DAFECON 1 scenario.

Or he might look like this.

DAFECON 2

DAFECON 2 is a serious situation. Danger is imminent. An unusual threat has imposed itself upon Dave's home. The next step is an all-out war.

Here is an example of a DAFECON 2 situation.

Here is another. This one portrays one of the drawbacks of raising the alert level to DAFECON 2 or even higher. Sometimes there is collateral damage. It's just what happens when you are on your toes prepared for a nuclear conflict. Unfortunately, Jack was the innocent bystander who was targeted in this situation.

DAFECON 3

DAFECON 3 represents an increase in force readiness above that required for normal readiness. It is not a time for fooling around. Nor is it a time to panic or overreact. Most of the CSI: Dave series catalogue DAFECON 3 situations.

Here is an example of a DAFECON 3 situation.

Here is another.

DAFECON 4

DAFECON 4 is the second lowest state of readiness, characterized by an increased intelligence watch and strengthened security measures. While not a terribly concerning state for Dave, it is certainly not appropriate to take a nap during a DAFECON 4 period.

Here is an example of a DAFECON 4 situation.

Here is another.

DAFECON 5

DAFECON 5 is Dave's lowest state of readiness. He anticipates no threats in the near future. He is still ready to spring into action quickly, but this is a time for napping, eating, thinking deeply, and other such pursuits.

Here is one example of Dave during a DAFECON 5 period.

Here is another.