You may remember when Crazy Cat Lady was a derogatory term. It denoted a woman with too many cats who was also much too focused on her cats. Now, especially after hanging out with other crazy cat ladies at the Cat Writers Association conferences and having known so many other women who adore their cats, I’m proud to be called a crazy cat lady. And I love my crazy cat lady friends.
So how does one celebrate National Cat Lady Day? Oh, let’s count the ways.
- Spend extra time with your cat(s).
- Buy your cat a gift.
- Buy yourself a cat-motif coffee cup, scarf, socks or blouse…
- Visit your favorite Crazy Cat Lady friend.
- Volunteer at a shelter—there are kittens this time of year!
- Adopt a cat or kitten.
- Become a foster cat parent.
- Choose a godparent for your cats.
- Purchase a new cat tree for your cats.
- Dig out a favorite cat photo and post it on social media or frame it.
- Teach your grandchildren how to be with cats.
You get the picture. Enjoy the day as the cat lady you were meant to me and love being.
Today we celebrate the tortie. How many of you have ever had or currently have a tortoiseshell cat—this is a bi-color cat in shades of black/gray and red/ginger with no white? We considered Sophie (pictured) a tortoiseshell (or tortie), but she wasn’t really, because she had a small swatch of white on her stomach, which
technically made her a calico.
Olivia is an only cat, but she has cat friends who visit outside her favorite windows—there’s Larry, who actually comes to visit the birds we feed. Olivia loves to follow Larry from window to window–keeping a close eye on his antics.
much to see Olivia, but to get petting from us if we were outside. Molly and Annie lived next door for several years. They were allowed outdoor privileges and adored spending time in our yard—where there were no dogs to spoil their naps or interfere with their adventures. What lovely cats they were. I enjoyed their visits. They’ve moved 
out of state, however—had an adventure of a different kind when they traveled by car all the way to St. Louis. Those two I miss.
Even though I’m writing the first draft of a book in about a week and we’re publishing a new book in just about every four weeks, I still get people contacting me and asking, “When will your next book come out?” “Will there be more Klepto Cat or Calico Cat books?”
It’s definitely kitten season. The shelters are filling with unwanted kittens. You might see kids in front of grocery stores trying to give away kittens. Isn’t it a shame that too many people don’t think ahead and have their cats spayed/neutered if they don’t have a plan for any kittens that might result?
family.
course growing into wonderful cats that I adored and pampered for their lifetime. I think we all have stories of how we came to love a kitten. I found Max in our woodpile one summer day, along with his two sisters. Max was with us for 17 years.
Callie…oh, so many kittens, Pom-Pom, Gus, Mandy…
People often ask me, “Which of your books is your favorite?”
of Meows,” for example. I get a little freaked out by my stories of kidnapping and when my favorite people and cats are held hostage.
The first purebred cat I’d ever heard of was the Siamese. My grandmother had two or three of them over the years while I was growing up. I once adopted a cat with Siamese markings born to a couple of alley cats (as we called them in those days). Back then the only purebred cats most of us knew about were the Siamese and the Persian. 
Boy, have things changed when it comes to cat breeds. Now there are 17 types of Siamese cat—oh, the color schemes. Ever hear of the cinnamon-point and fawn-point? Here’s a link to all 17 types: 
And the Siamese is still with us in its original form, in other familiar forms as well as breeds we might not associate the Siamese with. We’re all familiar with the Himalayan, a carefully created cross between the Siamese and the Persian and the snowshoe, which has the coloring of the Siamese, but did you also know that the Siamese cat was used to create the Balanese, Bengal, Birman, Havana brown and the ocicat to name a few.
We all wonder what our cats do when we’re not looking—when we leave them alone in the house or when they go outside for an afternoon stroll. Well, an ultra-curious reporter decided to find out. She and a few friends outfitted their cats with GPS trackers and some of these cat owners were surprised at what they learned about their cats’ habits.
Cats are creative creatures. They can come up with some very interesting ideas, which is why we humans need to be ever-alert to what the cat is doing. Sometimes they can get themselves into serious trouble even inside the safety of a home. I’m sure some of
you have learned from your cat—things like, keep blind cords and chocolate and grapes and lilies out of reach. But today I want to talk about interesting things cats do that may 
not be harmful—but kind of fun and entertaining and amazing.
guess we’re creatures of habit around here.
We’ve had cats that create games for us to play with them. There’s that rare cat who will bring you a toy to toss. Olivia does that occasionally. What a smart way to engage a human in play. Around here it works every time.
of her tunnel. We toss a paper wad or one of her toys on the tunnel and she dives in there and bats it off. We play this game every night now about half hour 
before bedtime and if we don’t set up the tunnel, she will remind us to do so.
Olivia and the Mountain Cats
