Feline Fun Friday – Happy National Cat Lover’s Month

December is National Cat Lover’s Month—something most of us celebrate all year long and have for all of our lives. And the more cats we get to know and the more time we spend observing them, the more deeply we love cats. Here’s a gift for you. There’s always been controversy and mystery around where cats came from and how long they’ve been on earth and when they were domesticated. This article makes these questions even more mysterious. Well, not totally. There are some interesting discoveries noted here. I always enjoy learning more about the history of the domestic cat, but it is a little muddy. No one seems to be able to connect the dots. For example in this article you’ll see that cats were first seen as early as five to four million years ago.

Human contact with cats dates back to the Middle East around 9,500 years ago.

Fossils from cats have been found in China date back 5,300 years.

Cats were considered sacred in Egypt around 2465 BC, but there are no authentic records of domesticating of cats before 1500 BC.

Some believe domestication started over 12,000 years ago.

It’s muddy in my mind, but I’m awfully glad we discovered cats and have domesticated them to a point where we can snuggle with them, but I also appreciate that hint of wild still lingering inside those adorable, furry beings.

https://nationaltoday.com/national-cat-lovers-month/

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Paws Up for Wednesday – New Breakthrough on a Cat’s Purr

You’ve probably read numerous articles stating that no one actually knows what makes a cat purr—how it is mechanically possible.

Finally researchers decided that the purr is caused by the relaxing of muscles around the larynx. Makes sense. But there are new answers to this age-old mystery, and you might find them interesting. They have to do with a small pad evidently recently discovered in the cat’s throat that is what creates the purr sound. Here’s a report with details. It’s interesting, but really, who needs to know how it happens when they’re curled up with a sweetly purring cat. It’s enough just to feel and hear the purr. I guess the next question will be why does a cat’s purr affect us so greatly—make us relax and smile, and feel all warm and fuzzy inside.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/science/cats-purring-sound-mechanism-larynx-b2424458.html

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Meowy Monday – Oh, the Difference a Cat Can Make

Have you ever invited a cat in or brought one home from a shelter or rescued one from a box of kittens in front of a grocery store and realized later that it was meant to be? How often have you felt as if the cat rescued you as much as you rescued the cat? Maybe you suddenly found yourself smiling and laughing more as you cared for this fur-being and learned more about his or her personality. You felt good to give the cat or kitten a warm place in your home and soon found that creature was also warming your heart.

Oh yes, rescue very often works both ways—you save the cat and the cat ends up saving you from loneliness, perhaps or from the pain of loss.

Each cat we care for gives back in some way, but I believe that those cats we cherished the most are those that we took in when we most needed the love, distraction, entertainment, comfort. They came to us at a time when we were hurting or struggling. And most often their entrance into our life was not brought about by our conscious effort. It was as if the universe orchestrated the union, and sometimes we don’t even realize the impact a cat has on us until the cat crossed the rainbow bridge.

There are so many cat “holidays” each year recognizing the cat and our connection to the cat. Why not a day honoring those special fur-beings that rescued us when we especially needed a friend, support, love, and a sense of joy in our lives?

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Feline Fun Friday – How Do You Have Fun With Your Cat?

Thanksgiving is over. You are probably one of many who either entertained at home or you spent time in the kitchen preparing a dish to share and had dinner away from home. Either way, it surely upset your cat’s daily routine. She’s glad to be back to normal today, but maybe she’s also a bit needy—she needs you to assure her that everything’s okay.

How? Either stick to your routine with her as much as possible—enjoying snuggle time in the morning, give her a treat snack at the usual time, open a window for her to look up (make sure the screen is tightly in place), take her outside for a jaunt under supervision, of course. And you might want to add something new to your routine with your cat.

Sometimes cats get bored. These ideas will change that in a hurry.

1: Introduce a new toy or two. If she has a basket full of toys, switch them around. Bring out some she hasn’t seen for a while. If she doesn’t know what to do with the toy, play with her—show her some interesting ways to play with the toy.

2: Gather up some of those boxes you’ve been receiving on your porch, cut windows and doors in them, and stack them for your cat to play in. If you’re really creative, design a maze across the living room floor and place toys here and there inside it.

3: Tip over her cat tree or jungle gym to give her a different experience.

4: Introduce a box of cat grass. Cats love nibbling on grass. You can find it in pet stores and sometimes in the produce department of your grocery store.

5: If your cat has a tunnel, ours has 3 tunnel sets, toss toys or paper wads into them and watch your cat leap after them or spring into the air to catch them.

6: Watch your cat to see what she’s interested in and use that to play with her.

Tip: A little catnip might put her in a playful mood (or she’ll go to sleep and you can get back to reading your book.)

7: I bought kitty-cat chew sticks for Olivia and she likes to bat them around on the bare floors and I like to see her get some good exercise, so I toss them down the hallway for her to chase. Of course, I generally have to do the fetching.

Cats are naturally playful Even as they age, they will bat or leap at something and this is good for both of you because exercise is good for her and laughter is good for you.

 

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Paws Up for Wednesday – Other-Abled Cats

We all know that animals, especially, can often overcome a weakness by strengthening another aspect of their body or senses to compensate.

One of my grandson’s and his wife adopted a beautiful part Maine coon male after he had many surgeries to save what was left of his two front legs. When they found him his front paws had been severed. He’s fine today, as you can see in the picture. He has learned how to get around, leap up onto furniture and play almost like any other cat.

Just like people, some cats are born with abnormalities. Injuries and neglect can cause physical damage. Here’s a site features some well-loved and adored cats with handicaps such as deformed limbs, Dwarfism, deafness and blindness as well as neurological issues. Have you ever treasured and pampered a cat with what might be considered a defect?

I loved a cat with what was probably a behavioral problem for his entire 17 years and it wasn’t always easy. Max was a wonderful cat. He was happy and he made me happy, but he constantly urinated outside the litterbox. Yes, we followed the entire realm of possible remedies, but he never changed his ways. I had to change mine. We pulled up most of the carpet in the house. I put down newspapers and pee pads for him. And I continued to love and care for him.

When his time came to cross the rainbow bridge we pulled up all the rest of the carpeting. I miss Max to this day, but not his bad habit.

Here’s a site featuring several special needs cats with injuries and birth defects they’ve had to learn to live with. https://cattime.com/cat-facts/advocacy/22571-8-special-needs-cats-that-have-the-internet-falling-in-love-with-them

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Meowy Monday – Adventuring Cats

Those of you who read my Klepto Cat and Calico Cat mysteries know that I have my cat stars do some pretty wild and crazy things in these stories. They ride horses, go hiking, do a lot of exploring and make some interesting discoveries, take things, find things, lose things—oh yes, they’re busy and active for sure. But Rags’s and Olivia’s fictional pursuits pale in contrast to what some real adventuring cats are doing. And here’s a website to prove it.

https://www.outsideonline.com/adventure-travel/essays/adventure-cats/

I found it interesting that of the 9 cats featured, 3 are orange tabbies, 3 are hairless varieties of cat, and one is handicapped, but you ought to see what they can and will do and, by the way, seem to enjoy. One thing that fascinated me was the fact that not only are they all so comfortable wearing vests/harnesses and leashes, some will also tolerate goggles and other apparatus for their safety.

So what do these super-cats do? They hike, rock climb, ride on paddleboards and kayaks, ski, do tree-hopping (whatever that is) and even ride horses.

You might enjoy reading about these cats, but don’t read these stories to your cats or they might start hounding you to let them ride a motorcycle or go skydiving.

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Feline Fun Friday – Having Fun on the Book Promotion Trail

Writers wear many hats. We write, of course. That’s primarily what I signed up for when I became a writer over 50 years ago. But I quickly learned that being a published author also means being a researcher, interviewer, imaginative story-builder, editor, reader, keen observer, open-minded listener, foreseer, wordsmith, and definitely an aware and diligent promoter.

Gosh, now that I see this laid out in front of me, I realize why I need a nap after a day of writing. I’m using a lot of parts of my brain and my awareness.

And once the book is finished, it’s time to promote it through my social media groups, word of mouth, this blog, of course, but I might also do book signings, blog tours, send out a newsletter, and more. I talk about my books everywhere I go, for example.

As you can see, being an author isn’t a straightforward activity. It’s a business as well as a craft. It takes both sides of your brain to do it right. And over 125 published books later, I still enjoy the process.

So what’s happening in the Klepto and Calico Cat mystery factory? We just published Olivia’s book 17—her first Christmas story. Book 67 of the Klepto Cat Mystery series came back days ago with suggestions from my beta reader, and I’ve finished with the final proofing. Next it goes to my formal editor. Meanwhile I have a good start on creating Olivia’s book 18.

Fans, if all goes well, we may publish 13 books this year.

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Paws Up for Wednesday – What’s a Klinefelter Cat?

Klinefelter is actually a syndrome. You’ve heard of it before, but maybe not by that name. I actually stumbled across the term this week by accident. So what does it mean? It’s the term for a male cat that happens to have calico or tortoiseshell markings.

Have you heard of a Caliby or a Torbico? These are names for calicos or torties with tabby markings. Then there’s the calamanco (a tortie) or the clouded tiger (another name for calico).

Here’s another cat-related name I’ve never heard of—Grimalkin. It’s a term for an old female cat.

I think you know that in Britain, a cat is affectionately called a Mogie. That is a cat of no particular breed.

Here’s a fun website listing cat term puns—you know like those I use in my book titles—like Pawful, Purrfect, Clawful, pawsome, meowmoirs.

https://whiskerstotailspetsitting.com/2017/05/purr-fect-list-cat-vocabulary-not-kitten-around/

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Meowy Monday – Olivia’s First Christmas Story

I’m excited to announce the publication of Olivia’s first Christmas story—Olivia’s Christmas Miracle. Oh, what fun I had creating this story and I’m thrilled to present it to you. Here’s the description:

Olivia puts the joy back in Christmas.

If you’re into heart-tugging Christmas stories, you’ll love this one. Cats are in danger and a family is being torn apart by an unknown evil. Olivia and Archie set out to help cats that are apparently being mistreated and they discover that children are also being harmed. Who’s behind the cruelty and what will it take to stop it? Olivia and Archie break some rules and step outside normal realms to right the horrific wrongs. In the end, miracles are the order of the day.

Here’s what some of our readers are saying:

“This is a great series and I’ll definitely stay with it.”

“There’s never a dull moment with Olivia and Archie.”

“I like that I can relax and enjoy this series.”

“I’m really enjoying this series. Olivia has such a unique personality.”

Order your copies of Olivia’s Christmas Miracle in both print or Kindle at Amazon.com.

Order autographed and PAWtographed copies from me: Contact me at PLFry620@yahoo.com.

As you can see this book would make a beautiful holiday decoration and it’s so pretty, you won’t want to put it on the shelf even after the holidays.

 

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Feline Fun Friday – More Cats I’ve Met While Out and About

As I’ve mentioned, I have a large collection of pictures of cats I meet as I walk, shop, visit, garden and so forth. Here are a few I met while visiting relatives last weekend. The family I visited said the big black-and-white cat is Lily, but I wonder if they’ve checked that out. She’s a big girl for a girl.

I hope they get the marmalade cat to a vet and have his ear checked—see the cocked ear—indicating maybe mites or another infection. They also have cows, dogs, chickens, and a llama.

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