Maybe Cats Are Smarter, Too
Ever heard of a moggie? You may see this term when you visit cat-related sites originating abroad. The term is widely used in the UK as an affectionate expression for a cat without a pedigree. Kind of cute, isn’t it? As with many terms and phrases, there’s a discrepancy as to where this one came from.
You have probably noticed my play on cat words in the titles of my Klepto Cat Mysteries. PAWtners instead of Partners; Purrfect instead of Perfect; MEOWvelous in place of Marvelous. And how did you like the latest title—The Amazing CATventure? Yes, I do take liberties—such as, Cabin FURvor, CATnapped, and PAWsitively…and I take license with well-known phrases, as well—Sleight of Paw, Cats in Cahoots, Mansion of Meows, and Claws for a Cause.
While pawing through the Internet this week, I found a couple of other terms I thought you’d get a kick out of: Ridezilla is a cat that howls on the way to the vet. Preoccupootion refers to the look of concentration on a cats face while she sits in the litter box.
Do you have any you’d like to share? I think all cat people come up with interesting terms and phrases from time to time.
And what about endearing terms for your cat (or the opposite)? Certainly, a cat who 
doesn’t follow the household rules and jumps up on the counter when you’re not looking, chews on your house plants, drags your undies out when you have company, digs in your guests’ purses, shreds paper money, etc., can inspire interesting names.
Lily has a kidney condition and she creates huge clumps in the litter box. I call her “Pee-body.” When she does something silly, I might refer to her as “Lily Noodle-Doodle.” Right now, she’s curled up in my lap—she’s my “Furry-Purry Girl.” What terms do you use with your cats?
Meow, there. It’s Sneaky from the Cobble Cove mysteries dropping in to visit my friends at Catscapades. I recently interviewed Rags from the great Klepto Cat series for my new blog at 
kibble bit about it with an excerpt in which I star. If you haven’t read the first book, A Stone’s Throw, I would recommend you do that, although both books can be read as standalones. In the first mystery, you learn how I ended up being the Cobble Cove library cat, and I help the main human character, Alicia, find a very important clue in the library.
shamelessly throw themselves at you, jumping into your lap every time you sit down, sleeping on your pillow at night and purring so loud, you can’t fall asleep… This cat is in your face, wrapping herself around your ankles and climbing up your leg in order to seek attention.
I have a lot of fun writing my Klepto Cat Mystery stories. As some of you know, there’s been quite a surge of cozy mysteries with cats coming out in recent years. I’ll be sharing information about a new series featuring Sneaky, a library cat soon. Watch for it next Tuesday. Sneaky wrote the guest blog all by himself—well, maybe with a little help from his author.
We all love a good hero story and when it involves cats, they’re all the more intriguing. Here are a few that might warm your heart.
the neighbors feed), saved a newborn baby one winter night in Russia. She saw a box with a baby in it and climbed into it, keeping the baby warm until her loud meows brought help. Folks believe that the tabby’s actions saved the baby’s life.
Could your cat become a service animal? While many professionals discount the idea of cats being trained as service animals, some seem to come by it naturally. Believe it or not, cats have been known to alert their owners when a seizure is coming on or when there’s a change in their blood glucose level. Some cats react by simply lying on their owner, pawing at or licking their face, or dancing around them indicating something is wrong. I’ve heard of cats who pointed out a problem by showing a lot of attention to an area of their human’s body—pawing at or lying where a cancer is growing, for example.
October is black cat month. Do you know why? So that every administrator for every shelter, every owner of a black cat, and every citizen who knows of a stray black cat will be aware of the dangers for these cats during Halloween. Yes, there are still people in this day and age who follow some of the sick ancient rituals of sacrificing or torturing cats at this time of year—most particularly black cats.
There’s probably not another creature in the universe who can become (or appear to be) as relaxed as the cat. However, is she really as relaxed as she seems? Just step into the room where she’s sleeping or make some sort of noise and she is instantly alert and ready to pounce or defend or whatever the moment calls for her to do.
deep sleep to high alert in a nano-second, this is not their preference or their tendency. Typically, as you have noticed, your cat will wake up with a stretch and a yawn—for Lily, it is usually a yawn and then a full-body stretch. We should all take note. I’m sure this is healthier than leaping out of bed upon hearing the alarm clock and rushing off to the bathroom. Instead, we should turn off the alarm, take a deep breath, and stretch every muscle in our body before stepping 
foot on the floor. Yawning, I imagine, is optional.
I love my inside kitties and I advocate for cats to be loved inside the home—only to go out on a harness and leash or a cat-proof outdoor pen or catio. But I do enjoy seeing neighborhood cats out and about. Here are a few who grace our neighborhood.
coon cat from New York. From what I hear, she handled the road trip to her new home in California with grace and confidence. She was an inside-outside kitty, who was ultimately banned from the house because she wouldn’t stop eating plastic. She cost her family plenty in vet bills (they found a large piece of a toy in her intestines once) and in replacement wiring and hook-ups for their electronics. She has adapted to the out of doors.
Here are a few additional photos of cats I see hanging 
out around the neighborhood.
