T’was the night before St. Nick’s Day
And all through the house
All the kitties were hiding
Just like a mouse
Why was that? You might ask
What was the cause?
There was one on the prowl
Known as the old Spunkus Klaws
He hunted bad kitties
To have them for dinn
He was ruthless it seems
At rooting out sin
Was he succesful, you ask?
Did the kitties get caught?
Seems Spunkus finding sinners
Washed out, all for naught
As the sun rose on St. Nick’s Day
With a sigh of relief, so did the cats
To celebrate goodness for this and that
While Spunkus Klaws sat down and spat
He growled and he hissed
He scratched on the pole
On the wall he pissed
For missing his goal
With a new pheromone collar
Firmly in place
Spunkus Klaws was much calmer
And ready for peace
As Christmas approaches
The household gets ready
The birds, and the cats
Jake and the roaches
For the mean old Spunkus
To become a nice Claws like Santa
To purr for love and peace
And dance the Kittycabana
Spunkus Klaws: “Aye, pathetic pile of paparazzo puke! I’ll scratch your eyes out and have you for dinn with all the other sorry, schlecht, sinful kitties!”
Spunkus Klaws looks everywhere for sorry, schlecht, sinful kitties.
Gwendolyn: “Ich schwöre, ich war brav!”
“Watcha doin’, Marble?” “Shhhh! I’m hiding from Spunkus Klaws.”
“Pole! Pole! Please unwind, and tell me where I can find… those insolent kitty Katstards!”
Loki: “Ha! Bring it on, Spunkus Klaws!”
“Oh! No! A new phermone collar. I feel myself weakening, and sucumbing to niceness…”
“AAAAaaaarrrrrrrggggg!!!”
Happy to see you back to normal, Spunk!
And then there is Krampus! Tristan, Craig, Shelby, and Sean drove to Munich Sunday morning to see the Krampus Parade and sent us photos. If you don’t know about Krampus, here’s a quick rundown:
Pagan Roots
Krampus is thought to originate in pre-Christian pagan traditions, possibly linked to winter spirits or underworld deities. When Christianity spread through the Alps, these older beliefs weren’t erased—they were absorbed and reinterpreted.
Christian Integration
By the Middle Ages, Krampus became the dark counterpart to St. Nicholas:
St. Nicholas rewards good children
Krampus punishes the bad
He’s typically depicted with horns, cloven hooves, chains, and birch rods, sometimes carrying a sack to cart off misbehaving children.
Krampusnacht
On December 5 (Krampusnacht, the night before St. Nicholas Day), young men dress as Krampus and roam the streets, rattling chains and frightening onlookers. These events—called Krampusläufe—range from traditional to rowdy public parades.
Suppression and Revival
The Church and later governments periodically tried to ban or suppress Krampus as too pagan or disorderly.
In the 20th and 21st centuries, Krampus saw a major cultural revival, spreading beyond Europe into global pop culture.
The photos below were taken by Shelby, Sean and Tristan. The videos were shot by Craig.
“¡Ay, caramba!”
Off Center & Not Even 
Wow, that was scary. I mean the claws…LOL Okay the masks were scary too.
Spunk is scary. And I have to sleep with him! Thanks, Gigi.
He would never do that to you. Right? LOL
He attacks me every night. Spunks a true psycho kitty.
If I move too much Bunny attacks me too. LOL
Bunnies can be very aggressive. Did you see Monty Python’s “Holy Grail” with the killer rabbit?
HAHAHAHA Love it. Bunny is my cat. But I did have a Bunny at one time.
Ah! A Bunny Kitty. Tricky. We had a Rex bunny show up at the door and adopt us years ago. We called him Bun Bun. He was so soft. He would play rough with the cats. Sasha is soft like a Rex bunny.
That sounds wonderful. And they are SO soft. Sasha is a beauty for sure and nice that’s she soft Bunny is such a small cat. Weighs 6 lbs, and a few ounces. I think she’s always going to be that way. I’m used to big cars easily 12 pounds, so she’s very tiny. Rabbits are fun but they do eat all the cords. At least ours did.
Marble is a small kitty. She’s 7 or 8 pounds. All our other kitties are big and heavy. Spunk wieghts 14 pounds the rest of them weight 16 to 18 pounds.
Marble is beautiful. What a gorgeous coat. It’s strange, when you’re used to big cats, to have the smaller cats. I worried about her at first but she’s okay, I just keep thinking he should be bigger. LOL 14 to 18 sounds more normal to me. But I’m getting used to her being a lightweight. 🙂
That is a great poem and cat series, Tim! Old Spunkus Klaws or Krampus-Spunkus?
Shelby, Sean and Tristan took some great photos and footage, too!
A Spunkus amunkus equals constant entertainment. Thanks, Lavinia.
I’ll be sure to avoid running afoul of either Spunkus Klaws or Krampus.
You need to stay off the naughty list. Thanks, Liz.
You’re welcome, Tim. I’ll try to keep the snark to a minimum.
Thanks for the reminder 🤔🕶
I must remember to invite the
in-laws for Christmas 🧟♂️🧟 🎄 😎
Could be dangerous. In-laws, that is. Does Santa employ kangaroos to carry gifts in their pouches for him?
Consider yourselves lucky to just have scary Spunk to haunt you! So, do you find those collars work?
They work well. They really calm him down. We’ve been using them for several years. They are supposed to be good for a month, but they only last two weeks on Spunk. Thanks, Couriers.
Clever cat catastrophy. Maybe Spunkus needs to meet Krampus?
I think they would give each other bad ideas. Thanks, Brad.
😁
Absolutely LOVE this,
Thanks, Shey.
Well, that was a scary kinda post for sure… 👹
Betweesn Spunkus and Krampus, none of us are safe. Thanks, Herman.
Beautiful poem. I love Spunkus, he’s terrifying and scary haha 😅 Hugs to your cats.
Thanks, Angelilie. Kitties send hugs, purrs and kitty kisses. I also sent you and email.
Excellent Post Thanks
Thanks, Rehoboth.
Wow! I’m not sure which is scarier, Spunkus Klaws or Krampus?😂
Beautifully done, Tim! This is a refreshing look at the spirit of Christmas and the holiday season ~ great klaws throughout, and those masks are awesome.
Thanks, Randall. It does make us think a little more seriously about our naughty sides.
Tim, this is wonderfully evocative! Spunkus Klaws meets his mythic ancestor. I love how you trace Krampus from pagan roots through suppression and revival; it reminds me how the old stories never really disappear, they just change costumes. The parade sounds both thrilling and a little deliciously unsettling. The perfect shadow to St. Nicholas’s light. Please thank Shelby, Sean, Tristan, and Craig for the brilliant photos and videos. A lot of scary Krampuses.
I was so happy that Tristan, Craig and friends made it to Krampus and send photos and videos. It gave me a good reason to unleash Spunkus Klaws on the world. Thanks, Rebecca.
Halloween in December…luv it! I honestly don’t know much about Krampus, learning about it much later in life (we shall not speak of such evil demons in this Christian house ha). Absolutely amazing Spunkus Klaws poem – that had to take some time to put together. I say free Spunkus from the deathly clutches of the phermone collar – one must live claws out.
Krampus is right up your alley. And gives you a good reason to extend your favorite season. Before we forced Spunk to go PC, he was a real terror and caused serious damage. He’s a professional model because he had to model to pay off the hundreds of dollars in damage to mostly clothes and bags over the years. Thanks, Brian.
Wow< that was entertainment plus a learning curve, mate. Spunkus always impresses me. Cheers.
Thanks, Inchy.
What a great post!
Thanks, Dawn.
Yikes! Between Spunkus Klaws and the Krampus and the weirdo masks, this was a pretty scary post. Loved it! Your poem made me laugh out loud, Tim and I love Spunkus and all your cats! 😊
Thanks, Miriam. Do you have a traditional night before Christmas poem in Australia?
We have something similar yep. It’s An Aussie Night before Christmas written by Yvonne Morrison.
“Twas the night before Christmas;
there wasn’t a sound.
Not a possum was stirring;
no-one was around.
We’d left on the table
some tucker & beer,
Hoping that Santa Claus
soon would be here;
We children were snuggled up safe in our beds,
While dreams of pavlova danced ’round in our heads;
And Mum in her nightie, & Dad in his shorts,
Had just settled down to watch TV Sports,
When outside the house
a mad ruckus arose;
Loud squeaking & banging
woke us from our doze.
We ran to the screen door,
peeked cautiously out,
Snuck onto the deck,
then let out a shout.
Guess what had woken us up
from our snooze.
But a rusty old ute
pulled by eight mighty ‘roos. …”
It does go on, if you’re interested. 😁🎄🦘🦘
Excellent. I love it. I thought Roos would pull Santa around down under. I’ll bet he has penguins working for him at his South Pole shop.
Haha, no penguins, though I’m sure that could be written into the script. It’s cold enough at the moment! Merry Christmas Tim.
Oh dear Spunk isn’t a happy kitty! Those Krampus shots are amazing! Very scary!
Thanks, Julie. Scary stuff in the Christmas season.