Or was her leap off the Mopac Bridge in Austin, TX an accident. The poor thing evidently had been running on hot pavement for a while as her paws were burned when they recued her. Did she find herself amidst traffic and couldn’t figure how to escape it? Did someone toss her out of a car? She ultimately jumped or fell or was thrown off the bridge and into the water near where a family and a few individuals were boating and paddling. YES, they managed to save the Mermaid Cat and, the happy news is, the family plans to adopt her.
She jumped from an apparently awful situation into a beautiful life-ever-after. Sigh. I love those happy endings.
https://news.yahoo.com/mermaid-kitty-family-helps-rescue-122050566.html
I read a lot of stories and articles about cats because I’m interested in cats and because I enjoy sharing new concepts and fascinating cat tales with you. I love it when someone sends me a story, and I can count on some of my best friends to do so on a fairly regular basis.
that his treat is a mouse or a mole or a butterfly and he bats it around wildly before eating it.
After a lifetime of writing for publication—well, close to 50 years—and hundreds, maybe thousands of magazine articles and around 2,500 blog posts, I have just produced my 100th book.
mentoring, long-distance grandparenting, journaling, cats, freelance writing and tons of books on the business side of writing. As you know, my latest venture has been fiction. Nearly ten years ago I retired from my nonfiction work, which was how I earned my living, and began to writing cozy mysteries with cats. I’ve always loved my work, but I’ve never had so much fun writing as I am now.
I think we all love the cat’s paw. They’re cute the way they flex and touch. Those little toes are adorable and the “beans” so cute. I like the brown beans on a white paw. It happens. My snow-shoe/Himalayan-type cat, Max had brown beans on white paws. Adorable.
seriously painful for the cat, not to mention just downright selfish. Some dog breeds drool, some are high energy and destructive. Cats claw.
probably find claw sheddings around your house. That doesn’t mean the cat has lost a claw—it’s just a shedding process.
tried different methods with different cats. One cat could be held, but loosely—no holding her down. I would hold her while he would trim the claws—worked beautifully for that cat. But one of our sweetest cats was the most difficult at claw-trimming time. So we always had the veterinarian do it. With other cats, all I had to do was wait until they were asleep or very relaxed in my lap.
Have you heard about the cats in the forefront of a mayoral race in New York City this year? One of the candidates, known for many things, including his propensity for rescuing cats, used some of those cats in his campaign. They accompanied him to interviews and photo shoots and they did a good job, although their candidate didn’t win this one. Rumor has it that this candidate—houses 17 cats in his small apartment. You can’t have just one, right?
with his human. Although I can’t think of a cat I ever had who wanted to travel with me or even accompany me to Petco, but some cats tolerate gadding about well. I’ve seen cats outside their carriers on planes and riding in strollers at the Cat Writers Association conferences and out taking 
a walk with their human through their neighborhood. One gorgeous cat in our neighborhood used to ride on his person’s shoulder around the block every evening. I met up with this cute cat (pictured) at the beach one afternoon. Made my day. I know people who traveled overseas for an extended stay with their cat and wrote about it.
A whole lot of us got a dose of working from home last year–some companies have continued the work-at-home style for those employees that do well with it. I’m used to it. I’ve almost always worked at home and that’s just the way I like it. Cats are a huge part of my work and always have been. They’re like co-workers, best friends, and family all tied up into one. Often they act 
like the boss—telling me (in some cat-like fashion) what to do or what I should be doing.
do have fun. Her favorite morning activity—chasing balls and other toys up and down our long hallway. It’s not carpeted, so there’s a lot of slipping and sliding and wall-crashing going on.
leave each morning through the front door—kissing his small children goodbye. Then he’d sneak through the backdoor into his office and work in peace. Only, his dog knew he was still at home, but she didn’t tell. A cat, on the other hand, probably would have blown his cover.
Cats are also known to work in office buildings, warehouses, even official government buildings in many countries. In Japan, cats work on trains—to delight the passengers, of course.
I excerpted this from a blog post I published eight years ago this month. It features a few things we can learn from our cats.
My three daughters are some of my most enthusiastic cheerleaders—as I am theirs. When I published my first book, they arranged for a celebration at a local outdoor bookstore. When I returned home from Dubai after having been invited to give the keynote speech at a Toastmaster’s Conference there, I found a huge “Welcome Home” sign across my garage. Yup, a thoughtful gesture by my girls. They sent notes and cards of support, congrats, etc. when I began producing the mystery series. After I’d published nine or ten of the Klepto Cat Mysteries, they presented me with a gorgeous throw with pictures of the book covers. (You can see it in this photograph.)
Anyone who has had more than one or two cats over their lifetime knows that while a cat is a cat, they are all different. They adopt different traits, adapt in different ways, pick up different habits. Cats are full of surprises. Sophie has a nervous disorder—she licks a spot on her side until it is bald. It started after we evacuated because of a wildfire. Olivia is a people-watcher. Every 
early evening she insists that we lift the blinds and open the window so she can watch neighbors walk past, birds and cats visiting the yard, cars and trucks driving past, etc.
