CatWithRocks

@catwithrocks

Lapidary Artist. Geologist. Cat Online.

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CatWithRocks@catwithrocks· 1d

Happy #MineralMonday everyone! I know I have been slacking, but I hope you will take some Gypsum (var. Selenite) as my apologies. This specimen is curled into a "ram's horn" shape!

Photograph of a mineral specimen. The white elongated crystals are the mineral Gypsum var. Selenite. The curved shape is referred to as a ram's horn. This specimen comes from Mexico.

CatWithRocks@catwithrocks· 13d

Phonolites are definitely up there as some of my favorite rocks! Due to the low silica content, you get some especially wacky minerals! Here is a sample of tuperssuatsiaite (brown needles) and villiaumite (red gemmy clusters) in phonolite!

Photograph of mineral specimen. Green-brown needles of tuperssuatsiaite and red transparent crystals of villiaumite in a phonolite vug from Namibia.

CatWithRocks@catwithrocks· 15d

Psss... it's #MineralMonday... I got you a nice little Galena crystal cluster. I hope you enjoy and have a nice day!

Lead-grey galena crystal cluster with minute quartz and sphalerite crystals. The Galena shows a cubic crystal habit with bevals along {111}. This specimen comes from Bulgaria.

CatWithRocks@catwithrocks· 16d

Rhodochrosite :3

Small, polished slice of rhodochrosite with pink, red and white bands.

CatWithRocks@catwithrocks· 22d

Happy #MineralMonday everyone! I was able to pick up a few new specimen this weekend! One of my favorites it this bournonite crystal, a sulfosalt mineral. Hope y'all have a great day!

Dark lusterous crystal of bournonite against a white background. The main crystals is striated and has smaller bournonite crystals growing off of it. This specimen is from Yaogangxian Mine in China.

CatWithRocks@catwithrocks· Jul 13

For #MineralMonday I got y'all a classic specimen! Pyrite from Navajún, Spain which produces some of the best specimens in the world. These specimen are textbook pyrite cubes with sharp edges which clearly illustrate pyrite's cubic crystal system.

Photograph of a mineral specimen. Two excellent metallic yellow cubes of pyrite in a buff color marl. The edges of these crystals are sharp and well defined. This specimen comes from Navajún, Spain. The edge of the largest cube is 1.1 cm in length.

CatWithRocks@catwithrocks· Jul 6

Heyo! It's #MineralMonday again! Today I have a cool crystal for y'all, Red Beryl in rhyolite from Utah. It is a rare variety of beryl which is colored red from trace amounts of iron and manganese!

$Mineral specimen of Red Beryl in a rhyolite tuff. The Beryl crystal is a purplish red color and forms hexagonal crystals. This particular crystal is largely fractured into three separate parts and is 8 mm in length. This specimen comes from Beaver County, Utah.$

CatWithRocks@catwithrocks· Jul 5

First #artfight attack of the year for @leafora.bsky.social and @sushiikando.bsky.social! I had a blast drawing these two and I apologize for any trauma I inflicted. #TeamMystery #Furry #FurryArt

Traditional artwork of two characters, a minotaur and sheep lost in a labyrinth. The minotaur has brown fur and dressed in a plaid shirt, blue jeans, and a tan sun hat. She has a look of fear upon her face which shows her paralyzing fear of becoming lost. Next to the minotaur is a smaller anthropomorphic sheep sorcerer dressed fine black clothes with a red cape with serpent imagery. She is looking up at the minotaur in an attempt to comfort her.

This is a traditional piece done with ink pens and color pencils.

Adelaide the Minotaur belongs to @leafora.bsky.social
Lillith the Sheep belongs to @sushiikando.bsky.social

CatWithRocks@catwithrocks· Jun 29

Happy #MineralMonday y'all! Today I got a fairly new specimen of Cuprite from Arizona! Cuprite is a simple oxide with a cubic structure which is evident in the octohedral red crystals you see in this specimen!

Photograph of a mineral specimen taken by a digital microscope. The lustrous red crystals are the mineral Cuprite, a simple copper oxide. The small crystals display an octahedral habit. The largest crystal seems to show a modified octahdral habit. This specimen comes from Arizona.

Photograph of a mineral specimen taken by a digital microscope. The lustrous red crystals are the mineral Cuprite, a simple copper oxide. The crystals are timy adorable octahedrons. This specimen is from Arizona.

CatWithRocks@catwithrocks· Jun 22

It's #MineralMonday! You know what that means. I get to show you a cool rock! Today I got some native copper with some absolute gorgeous oxidation! I had to get a few pictures! This specimen comes from Michigan!

Mineral specimen under a microscope. It is native copper with red, blue, and green oxidation on the surface. It is associated with green epidote. This specimen is from Michigan.

CatWithRocks@catwithrocks· Jun 21

I am happy to report that I will be participating in #artfight this year! Y'all better watch out! >:3 #teammystery #furryart #dnd

Team Mystery character card for Artfight 2026. In the top corner is yours truly, a grey anthropomorphic cat in herringbone cap and red bow tie. He is holding a magnifying glass on his right paw. He is meant to be dressed as a detective. Snapshots of four characters of mine are in the lower boxes. Moving left to right:

Landon - A grey anthropomorphic house cat leaning over two boxes and staring at a shiny green rock. He is my main fursona and the self proclaimed "cat with rocks".

Aaz - A green vampire lizard with brown hair and red eyes. He is dressed in a classic gothic vampire outfit.

Dur (De'err) - An Aarakocra Ranger based off an American Kestral. They are a bit stupid, in an endearing way, denoted by the ellipses above their head.

Kuzu Elahorn: A Fey Wizard. He is a homebrew D&D 5.5e race called a sheepkin which is a shapeshifting sylvan creature. He is dark skinned with white wool-like hair and rose colored eyes.

The card includes several other details about myself and how I intend on playing which I will summarize below.

User - CatWithRocks
I Attack - Anybody! (Especially if you have cool rocks) >:3

Friendly Fire: Yes
Revenge: Yes
Mass Attack: No

Characters I Have: Human, Anthro, D&D OCs

CatWithRocks@catwithrocks· Jun 8

Today for #MineralMonday I got a small piece of Celestine from Turkmenistan! It is only 3 mm in size but with a microscope you can see excellent little crystals.

Photograph of a mineral specimen taken from a digital microscope. The specimen is the mineral celestine, a strontium sulfate, which are the clear double terminated crystals. This specimen is from Turkmenistan.

CatWithRocks@catwithrocks· Jun 1

A throwback specimen for #MineralMonday today! I got this specimen of Microcline var. Amazonite and Smoky Quartz back in June of 2021. Crazy how time flies!

Photograph of mineral specimen. Blue colored amazonite which is a variety of microcline feldspar. It also has a light grey smoky quartz crystal grown with it. This specimen is from Park Co., Colorado.

CatWithRocks@catwithrocks· May 26

Sunstone have an optical property known as schiller, which is an silky looking sheen of color within the stone. In Oregon Sunstones this can be anywhere from red to orange to green. Schiller often occurs along the crystal lattice, you can see this in the parallel planes of schiller in mine.

Red lines showing where the planes of the crystal lattice are. These are where the schiller is occuring. The schiller in this specimen is copper colored.

CatWithRocks@catwithrocks· May 25

I once again fashionable late to #MineralMonday. Today I have an Oregon Sunstone which is not only the state's gemstone but has a high concentration of copper in the crystal structure! Not to mention all the optical properties!

A photograph of a mineral specimen. The image is of a rough yellow gemstone of Oregon Sunstone with planes of copper schiller parallel to each other. This specimen is from Oregon (if you can believe it!)

CatWithRocks@catwithrocks· May 24

Ladies and gentlemen, we got 'em! #agate #rockhounding

Photograph of a Fairburns agate. A rare variety of agate with orange, black, white, and red banding with distinct fortifications.

CatWithRocks@catwithrocks· May 20

I recently got a new microscope which is a huge upgrade for me! I took a photo of a Mordenite I shared several weeks ago for comparison. I'm excited to play around with it some more!

Microscope photo of the mineral Mordenite which are the white acicular crystals. This image was taken with my new digital microscope.

Microscope photo of the mineral Mordenite which are the white acicular crystals. This image was taken with my old digital microscope.

CatWithRocks@catwithrocks· May 18

Sorry for a bit of a hiatus. I recently moved, but I am back for another #MineralMonday! Today I got a very interesting fluorite specimen with beveled edges! This contrasts with the typical cubes and octahedrons crystals you typically see.

Photograph of a mineral specimen under a microscope. The mineral is a lavender colored transparent fluorite crystal. It resembles a cube however the edges are beveled in. This is a result of a modified crystal growth. This specimen comes from Arizona.

CatWithRocks@catwithrocks· May 3

Been awhile since I've shared some lapidary work. So have a pretty little moss agate cabochon! #lapidary

A photo of two objects. On the right is a orange and green moss agate cabochon. This cabochon was cut and polished by myself. On the right is a penny for scale.

CatWithRocks@catwithrocks· Apr 27

Sharing some of my personal finds for #MineralMonday today! Quartz crystals with a vibrant red hematite coating. I collected these in July of 2024 from the Pikes Peak Batholith region.

Mineral specimen against white background. Quartz crystals clusters covered in a bright red hematite coating. The specimen is from the Pikes Peak Batholith, Colorado. Self Collected in July 2024.

CatWithRocks@catwithrocks· Apr 20

I bestow upon thee a cute little Axinite crystal cluster for #MineralMonday. Have a wonderful day y'all!

Photograph of a mineral specimen in an acrylic box with foam. Brown to purple Axinite crystal cluster with tabular triclinic crystals.

CatWithRocks@catwithrocks· Apr 13

Happy #MineralMonday everyone! Today I got for you a excellent Cinnabar crystal on Dolomite with Quartz from Hunan Province, China. Cinnabar is toxic from it's mercury content so it should be stored safely.

A photo of a mineral specimen. The dark red translucent crystal in the center of the photo is Cinnabar and it is sitting on white rhombohedral crystals of Dolomite. Two clear Quartz crystals are also growing on the Dolomite and can be seen in the top right of the photo and directly beneath the Cinnabar. This specimen is from Hunan Province, China.

CatWithRocks@catwithrocks· Apr 6

Y'all know what day it is! It's #MineralMonday! Today I got another zeolite mineral for you, a spikey balls of Mordenite!

A microscope photo of a mineral specimen. The fine white needles are a mineral called Mordenite and it is in a pocket of the mineral Heulandite. Both of these minerals are in the zeolite group. This specimen comes from Skamania County, Washington.

CatWithRocks@catwithrocks· Mar 30

It's #MineralMonday! Today I got a recent acquisition of Lévyne-Ca. I absolutely adore zeolites and this is probably my favorites! This specimen comes from Oregon (I'd love to find some there one day).

A microscope photo of a mineral specimen. The central clear tabular hexagonal crystal is Lévyne-Ca. This specimen comes from Grant County, Oregon.

CatWithRocks@catwithrocks· Mar 24

It's #MineralMonday (and I am fashionably late). Today we have a stunning little specimen of acicular Malachite crystals with such a rich green color. I've recently acquired many more microminerals so they will soon be shared!

A photo of a mineral specimen. The bright green needle-like crystals are Malachite, a hydrous copper carbonate. The Malachite is on a dark grey host rock. This specimen was collected in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

CatWithRocks@catwithrocks· Mar 16

A quick #MineralMonday from me today! I present black balls of Todorokite on clear acicular Tiptopite! Very obscure and weird friends for y'all!

Microscope photo of a mineral specimen. It consists of black spheres of Todorokite on clear needle like crystals of Tiptopite. This specimen is from Custer Co., South Dakota.

CatWithRocks@catwithrocks· Mar 9

Happy #MineralMonday from a particularly exhausted cat! Today I am showing off another old one of mine, an excellent crystals of Vivianite! It is pleochroic and a phosphate so I am naturally a huge fan!

A mineral specimen of dark green translucent Vivianite crystal with excellent faces.

CatWithRocks@catwithrocks· Mar 4

I got a catto you can doodle if you like!

CatWithRocks@catwithrocks· Mar 2

Have some more photos :3

Dark blue prismatic Clinoclase crystals on green botryoidal Cornwallite from Pershing Co., NV

Full view

Dark blue prismatic Clinoclase crystals on green botryoidal Cornwallite from Pershing Co., NV

Cute dainty cluster of Clinoclase :3

Dark blue prismatic Clinoclase crystals on green botryoidal Cornwallite from Pershing Co., NV

These Clinoclase crystals can get pretty chonky.

Dark blue prismatic Clinoclase crystals on green botryoidal Cornwallite from Pershing Co., NV

Three Clinoclase crystals clusters. They are all friends.

CatWithRocks@catwithrocks· Mar 2

Happy #MineralMonday y'all! I bestow upon thee a fine micro specimen of vibrant blue Clinoclase on green botryoidal Cornwallite. Both minerals are copper arsenates so don't lick them!