I was surprised to hear from the veterinarian on Olivia’s first trip there as a kitten that Olivia had a buildup of plaque on her teeth. She was just a kitten! So I bought special food for dental health, some water formula with treatment for cats’ teeth, and dental chew sticks for cats. Since then I’ve read that it is important to clean your cats’ teeth on a regular basis. Now doesn’t 
that sound daunting? Brushing and combing a cat that doesn’t want to be groomed—oh and trimming their claws—are hard enough without trying to get your hands into their mouth.
In reality, however, there are ways to make teeth-cleaning doable and maybe even an almost pleasant experience for your cats. Here’s a great site with instructions and pictures to help you get started. I’d also like to hear from people who have had experience cleaning their cats’ teeth. Anyone?
https://www.wikihow.com/Clean-a-Cat’s-Teeth
We’re coming upon summer. Things are opening up, and you may be eager to get out of town—you know take a trip, visit people you haven’t seen in a year or more, see the wide open spaces and the interesting small towns out there, seek new adventures. And most of us leave our beloved cats at home when we travel. Are you ready for this?
out of town this summer and I’m stressing about leaving Olivia and Sophie.
isolation. Olivia, in particular, has very few other people-friends.
longer trip I want something more for the cats. I want them to have at least a couple of hours companionship daily. I don’t want them to feel as though they’ve been abandoned. I want eyes on them for more than just a few minutes a day and I’d like some semblance of normalcy and familiarity in their lives during the time we’re gone. PLUS, we need someone here we can trust. I think my preparation and thought for the cats will be far more stressful and intense than the preparation for myself for the trip. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if I drive off without packing something important—like cash for the trip or my hair dryer…
I’ve had cats that peed outside the litter box—oh, that’s a hard one to deal with. We were pulling up carpeting all the time. We have mostly wood floors now thanks to Max, who crossed the rainbow bridge at the age of 17 several years ago.
trying to get out. That can be annoying and frightening. Our current cats, Olivia and Sophie run the other way when a door is opened. They don’t seem to want any part of the streets again.
Our sweet tabby, Lily used to beg for food. No matter what I was eating or where I was eating it, she had a paw in my bowl or on my plate trying to grab a bite. I’d sometimes eat my meal outside on the deck or standing up just so I could eat in peace.
As much as I loved her sometimes that habit of hers was annoying. She also begged us to turn on water faucets. She loved to drink the fresh flowing water from a spigot.
piano keys at night, romp around on the bed at night, bring you dead mice and other critters, and pull underwear and socks out of a partially opened drawer.
on paper. I couldn’t leave money lying around. Oh, and I’ve had cats that knock small items like an earring or a pen off table, desk and dresser tops, bat them around and sometimes lose them.
frig or a dresser with the yard stick.
Today we saw Ash, who used to visit us until we made it possible for him to have a forever home up the street. He’s now Buddy and he was curled up on an outside table sound asleep. His new owner sat at the table with her feet on another chair and two adorable small dogs 
on her lap. One sweet, happy family.
seeing them out there.
Where do you most often find your cat? Curled up in your favorite chair, tucked into one of the cubicles of her kitty condo, hiding out for some privacy in a closet, or sprawled out on the carpet in a sun puddle?
loves to snooze out in the open on a bed, while another is more comfy hiding under the sofa when napping. And some cats adore boxes. They actually get excited to see a big truck pull up and a 
stranger hop out and drop a box on your porch. Does your cat wait anxiously for you to empty the contents of the box then jump into it and just sit or play or take a nap?
boxes. She shreds it and scatters the shreds around. Once she has her “nest” made, she lays in it and there she stays ever so happily for hours.
Rags in the Klepto Cat Mysteries, found a box high in the rafters of the garage. He spent so much time up there that my dad climbed up there and placed a heavy blanket over the stack of boxes for him. He seemed to appreciate that as you can see in this photo.
Sophie. She’s pretty much a creature of habit. She curls up on my bed after I get up and there she stays until I open the living room blinds to allow the sun to shine in. Then she moves into a sun puddle. She naps on the loveseat or in the latest paper nest she has created on the living room carpet. I almost always know where to find Sophie.
There seems to never be a dull moment in our offices. So far this year we’ve produced four new books for you—Yes, FOUR in less than three months. From the Klepto Cat series, Rags Lends a Helping Paw (55) (in February) and Rags to the Rescue (56) (in March). From the Calico Cat series, Olivia Goes Wild (5) (January) and Olivia’s Meow Moment (6) (March). Do you see a pattern here?
publication in April and possibly May.
For those wondering how many books we produced in 2021—the final tally is nine (9). That’s a tad over a book every six weeks. You’d think we had a whole factory of little worker-cats on the production line, but no, it’s just me, the writing-cat; Bernadette, the cover designer-cat; Bonnie, the editor-cat; Dennis and Virginia, the formatting and designing-cats. Oh, and let’s not forget Smokey (aka Rags), who inspired the persona of the Klepto cat and Lily, who was my daily inspiration at the computer simply by her sweet presence. She brought me toys from her toy box daily to remind me of her love and creativity. And then there’s Olivia who brought the Calico Cat Mysteries into being through her strong sweet and sassy calico personality. I love them all.
Our hearts go out to the Ukrainian people and their pets. I think we’ve all see photos of people carrying even large dogs and willing cats, seemingly without restraints—just carrying them and whatever food and other necessities they’ll need trying to make it to safety.
Have you ever been accused of being a crazy cat lady? If so, congratulations!!! I enjoy the title. This week I even wore a Bandaide on my finger that had an image of a woman with a cat draped across her shoulders and it said, “crazy cat lady.”
cat décor items and art. I didn’t start this trend—many of my pieces were gifts from family, friends, neighbors. A couple of neighbors have passed along cat items they no longer wanted. I even have a lovely Llardo piece a friend bought when working in Germany and no longer wanted—or maybe she just thought I would enjoy 
dusting it more than she did. Friends will also pick up cute cat things in thrift stores and department stores just because they know I like cats. Now those are some beautiful gestures.
BEAUTIFUL. And my sister (for my birthday) gave me a coffee cup with the cover of my first Calico Cat Mystery. Thoughtful. Oh, and another daughter gave me a 3 foot tall cat made from metal scraps. Unique. I love the unique and I love cats. They kind of go together, don’t you think so? I received a late Christmas gift a couple of days ago (Damn COVID). It’s a pair of slippers with a cat face. Last week I received a St. Patrick’s Day card—yup, with the most adorable fluffy kitten on the front—a kitten that had been died (or photo-shopped) green.
Do you collect things related to a particular type animal? I also have a lot of owl items because I used to stalk a pair of great horned owls and their babies every season and photograph them. It’s interesting how cats and owls kind of look alike in some ways.
hooves.”
