Yesterday we talked about the challenges that sometimes come with a cat. While some are dream kitties, others can be a handful. And boy can they be creative. Just having a cat in the house can change your décor. For example, just walk on the floor barefoot and you’ll feel as though you’re living on an island in the South Seas—a very sandy island. How in the world does the kitty litter from the box tucked discretely in the back room of the house find its way into rooms in the front of the house? I wasn’t aware of how far and wide kitty litter can travel (or be tracked) until we pulled up a bunch of carpeting and polished the wood floors underneath.
Homes with cats are decorated with cat hair and so are the people who live there. I have 
few black items of clothing, but what I have, I keep covered in plastic. When I want to wear black slacks, I put them on just before leaving the house. Problem is, if I get into my car to drive someplace, I arrive with cat hair because it’s also on my car seats. There’s no getting away from cat hair when you live with cats.
What about your cats’ artwork. When Lily was a kitten, she used to scratch the paint off the walls in the hallway. Why, I could never figure out. But when it was time to paint that area—which came about sooner than we’d planned—much of the sanding was already done thanks to Lily.
Ever move a favorite chair or the sofa to clean under it or rearrange your furniture and realize someone—probably someone with a furry face and whiskers—has been using the back of it for clawing? Dang, those little whipper-snappers can be sneaky.
Sophie is a shredder. She loves to shred paper and make herself a cozy nest.
My mother’s cat, Smokey, has practically demolished a box in her garage. He might consider this artwork, but it’ll probably be going into the recycle bin sometimes soon.
cat tree when Sophie’s exuberance tipped it. It fell on Lily injuring her quite seriously. Thankfully, she survived—but it was touch and go there for a few days. Since that day, I lay the cat tree on its side so no cat can get hurt from that thing again. Who knew? I thought it was a fine and sturdy cat tree and it is. Cats are often injured by fluke accidents such as this. I saw one in the veterinarian’s office a while back with a broken leg caused by someone accidentally stepping on him.
Sometimes a cat will get an abscess, or it’s time to have them spayed/neutered. The vet may want to use one of those cones around her neck to keep the cat from pulling out stitches or otherwise bothering the wound. When my grandson’s cat needed to wear a cone, he had quite a problem with it. You see, he’s a munchkin. And at the time, he was a munchkin kitten. These cats have regular-size bodies and short little legs. So in order to walk without the cone dragging on the floor, Brucie had to lift his chin up, then he couldn’t see where he was going. When he’d eat, he’d inadvertently scoop up kibbles into the cone. They trimmed it, and cut a section out so he could walk and eat more normally and he got used to it, but it was still a difficult period for the kitten.
If your cat is older—even past eight-years-old—and she walks around the house at night crying, she may be suffering from the onset of dementia. Just as with us humans, age-related dementia can cause anxiety in cats and cause them to be confused. It’s particularly difficult for them at night when they wake up and no one’s around to comfort them so they may roam the house, confused and yowl.
is elderly. And one thing we’ve noticed, even in the daytime, is that some of them will wander. They will sit and stare into space. Some become much less active and may even seem to forget to eat or simply lose interest in eating. It’s not uncommon for an older cat to have litter-box accidents. Sore joints might make it difficult for her to step in and out of the litter-box or she may forget to use the litter-box from time-to-time. There are actually medications and activities that can help. The last thing you want to do is ostracize or punish an aging cat. Remember, she brought you many years of pleasure. She can’t help it if her body and mind are failing. Read these articles and others about aging cats so you are better able to help yours in her golden years. 
Who doesn’t agree that cats can be little comedians? Kittens, especially, can make even the most stoic person break out in a belly laugh. I certainly smile and chuckle and laugh out loud more often when there’s a cat in the house—which is almost always.
When’s the last time you left your pet at a spa? If you’re like most of us, your little Fido or Fifi gets visits from a loving pet sitter while you travel, right? Well, not all of the world’s pets are treated so cruelly (I say tongue-in-cheek). Many of them are delivered to pet spas where they live like royal dogs and cats while their people are vacationing or a business trip.
anywhere in the world. They get such amenities as paw-icures, teeth-brushing, massage, pool time, cuddle time, agility course work outs (ever hear of iron-cat or iron-dog), sunset beach walks, and even visits from Santa Claus. For the more intellectual pet, there’s story time and even private rooms where they can watch Animal Planet on TV.
While I found luxury pet spas in many states, I couldn’t locate a directory for ease in locating one. If you’re interested, I suggest you do an Internet search for those spas in your area.
Are you one of the over 73 million people who have seen Cats the musical? I had the opportunity to see it in Santa Barbara, California. What a thrill. I thought you might like to know something about the back-story to this amazing hit show—where everyone on stage dresses as cats.
gave me a CD of songs he put together related to cats. It included the Pink Panther theme song, “I am Siamese,” “Kitten on the Keys,” “What’s new Pussycat,” “I Taut I Thaw a Puddy Tat,” and others. He didn’t include “Memory,” one of the most famous songs from Cats.
I don’t actually believe that cats reincarnate—however I guess it’s possible. But sometimes a cat comes into your life with some uncanny resemblances to cats you’ve loved in the past. Our tabby Lily, for example, doesn’t look like any of the other cats we’ve had. I’ve never chosen (or been chosen by) a tabby before. But she sure behaves like some of our former cats.
all that interested in food—she can take it or leave it. She will leave her plate at the most insignificant occurrence. The whole household must freeze in place while Sophie is eating, or she simply won’t eat. Not Lily. She begs like a dog. She follows us around the kitchen, ever-watching just in case we offer her a morsel, or something yummy drops to the floor. She reminds us an hour before each meal that she’s hungry. She seems obsessed with making sure she doesn’t miss a meal. This behavior is reminiscent of Dinah—a sweet calico we adopted from the shelter. She actually got her name because we noticed she hung out with us in the kitchen so much. Remember the song, “Someone’s in the kitchen with Dinah?”
Boston launched its first ever Caturday last week. Evidently, the concept isn’t unique. There are other cities where cat people bring their cats to a local park for a change of scenery and pace. And where cat-aficionados gather to admire, play with, and pet the cats.
Pittsburgh. People arrived in droves to meet adoptable kittens and cats, get a cattoo, and learn to draw a cat, for example.
Generally, the most common color for a car, a dress,shoes, etc., is the least popular color when it comes to making a choice. But I’m not sure that’s true with cats. I thought black was the most common color in cats. Black cats are usually the last ones to be adopted. More black cats are euthanized every year than any other cat because they are the least desired.
