Meowy Monday – Happy Mew Year

Tomorrow, January 2nd, is Happy Mew Year. Not only is this an opportunity to celebrate another year and entertain hopes for a wonderful new year with our amazing cats, but it’s a time to give cats that are in need a fresh start.

I just did some research for my current Klepto Cat Mystery and discovered that at least one source says there are as many as 100 million stray cats in America. I can’t understand how that’s possible. I remember when the push to save stray and feral cats came into being. There was a huge spay/neuter campaign, and I worried that cats would become extinct. It seems that some 60 years later, there are more homeless cats than ever—or do we just have a better handle on the numbers than we did before?

This Mew year, consider adopting a homeless cat, join a cat rescue group, or donate money or needed goods to local rescue organizations and shelters.

 

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Feline Fun Friday – Your Cats’ Favorite Gift

Did your cat receive Christmas gifts? What was her favorite, a cozy new bed, an exciting toy, or her very own catio? Maybe you or someone else got her a new cat tree or built a ladder and perches along a wall for her to enjoy.

How did you spoil your cat this Christmas? Did you purchase something elaborate or did you simply make her a condo using Chewie and Amazon boxes? Maybe you bought her a harness and leash and plan to leash train her in 2024, or a safe-kitty car seat for a trip you want to take with your cat. Some cats will be content just with a box of cat grass or a new batch of catnip.

Some cat owners make something for their cats. I remember once seeing cozy cat tunnel beds at a boutique. I came home and decided to make one for my cats. We had four cats at the time. As I worked on the little sleeping bag, one of my cats hung close, watching the process. Before I was quite finished with it, she dove into it and curled up. Yup, that’s when I knew that my gift was going to be accepted and enjoyed by at least one of my cats.

Dinah loved that tunnel bed and slept in it, but she was the only one of the cats that ever used it. I guess it was meant for Dinah all along.

Olivia’s favorite gift this year was a wind-up rat. She’s fascinated by that thing and loves chasing it and batting it around and attacking it. It’s like she’s found a real play pal.

 

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Paws Up for Wednesday – Cats: Givers and Helpers

Today I want to talk about how cats give and help. Oh, what a beautiful world it is with cats in it. You know how much you receive from your cat or cats. Sure they can be somewhat or a lot aloof, sassy, and downright naughty, but here are a couple of articles that remind us of how very special all cats are and how super special some are.

This article talks about the basics of cat love and how it actually affects us even in small doses throughout an ordinary day with our pet cats. Read it again and again so you’ll begin to realize some of the values of cats that you may not always appreciate. Then go hug your cat—unless she’s not in the mood, then wait until she is. You know the drill.

https://www.akcreunite.org/catsimprovementalhealth/

This article tells the true story of an amputee cat and an amputee human who have partnered to work miracles through a therapy program. Heart-warming.

https://apnews.com/article/therapy-cats-amputee-pet-partners-95ce971b0f535cc029054ac489793f69

 

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Meowy Monday – And Meowy Christmas

Olivia and I wish you and your cat(s) a beautiful day full of purrs and pawsitive moments. If you have any downtime today or if you’re not looking forward to the week ahead—such a downer after all the fun of preparing for Christmas, consider reading my beautiful holiday books.

We have quite a collection of Christmas stories in the Klepto Cat Mystery series and we’ve recently released Olivia’s first Christmas story.

Either dig them out of your bookshelf and re-read them, or load them into your e-reader from Amazon and have yourself a merry little holiday joy.

Klepto Cat Mysteries

A Picture Purrfect Christmas – Book 13

A Christmas to Purr About – Book 22

A Very Meowy Christmas – Book 38

Rags Rocks Christmas – Book 60

Calico Cat Mystery

Olivia’s Christmas Miracle – Book 17

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Feline Fun Friday – How Does Your Cat Do Christmas?

There are a lot of pictures and cartoons and jokes showing cats climbing or knocking down a Christmas tree. We’ve never had a cat do that, but we’ve had cats that adored Christmas—and loved to explore and become familiar with some of the decorations I’d put up during the season. Because of cats, I’ve had to change up my way of decorating—no tinsel, of course, like in the 50s and 60s. No angel hair. (Do they even make or sell it anymore?) And in my world, no ribbons and bows on packages. Yup, I had a cat who ate them. And when you have a cat with that desire or habit, you learn that you’d probably better not trust any future cats around bows and ribbon. I’ve discovered flat, 3-D bows that you can stick onto a package. This makes for easier stacking of presents and transporting of gifts, but it doesn’t quite provide the presentation a pretty bow made of ribbon does.

Does your cat think your nativity display is for him to curl up with? Maybe she just likes to sit and stare at the twinkling Christmas tree lights. If she’s like many cats, she’ll begin sleeping under the tree like the gift that she is. But I think most cats these days  have the most fun participating in the joys of the holidays through the frequent deliveries—the boxes and the packaging materials—oh my!

I feel for those cat owners who happen to have a cat that adores the holiday season so much that he tears into the neatly wrapped packages under the tree. Some cats just can’t resist clawing into the paper and tissue.

How does your cat do Christmas, as a bystander in awe of all the sparkles and glitter or as a participant in making your holidays just a bit topsy-turvy?

 

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Paws up for Wednesday – What Are Your Cat’s Peculiarities?

Call them traits, characteristics, idiosyncrasies or quirks, it seems every cat has them. If you’ve had several cats over the years you know this. Each and every one of your cats has come with or developed something different about them, and you may wonder, “Is this normal?”

We had a cat that drank water with his paw, one that preferred drinking from the spigot, and even a cat that took a mouthful of kibbles from the bowl and spread them on the floor before eating them.

Lily loved Beanie Babies and other small stuffed toys, and she had quite a collection. She’d carry them around, always bringing one or two into my office each morning to keep me company. Her favorites were a hedgehog and a little bear. Olivia loves to sit in my lap, but Katy never would. She preferred sitting next to me always with a paw on my leg. Dinah liked sewing with me. Watching me sew held great fascination for her.

Max was an interesting cat character. He loved it when I brought him little stuffed mice to play with. They had a pompom nose, which he’d chew off immediately and that became his toy. He’d abandon the mouse and bat the red pompom all over the house.

Winfield loved cantaloupe and he always knew when I’d picked out a good one from the grocery store. If he could smell it, it was a good one and he’d always greet me in the kitchen hoping for a cantaloupe snack. If he didn’t come running when I’d return with a cantaloupe, I knew it wasn’t quite ripe.

Olivia fetches occasionally. Yup, she’ll bring me a toy to toss for her over and over again. She’s fickle. She has a favorite toy that she plays with constantly. But when she’s tired of it, it’s discarded and something else becomes her favorite. She’s afraid of the trash trucks, but so fascinated by them that she makes herself sit on the window perch to watch them rumble past. She’s a quiet cat, but when she has something to say she can be quite chatty.

What are your cat’s cutest or oddest quirks?

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Meowy Monday – New Klepto Cat Mystery

Klepto Cat Mystery book Number 67 debuts this week. This is the 13th book published through Matilija Press this year. In case you’ve lost count, we’ve produced 7 Klepto Cat Mysteries and 6 Calico Cat Mysteries in 2023. Look for the next Calico Cat mystery in January. Here’s the description of Book 67—Rags Digs Up the Past:

Fasten your seatbelt for an exciting ride with Rags.

Rags uncovers items from the long-forgotten past and reveals what could be a wrongly solved crime. This is a story of intrigue and long-held secrets. Leave it to Rags to expose the facts and lead the charge to deciphering them. In the end the truth comes to the surface, but it takes Rags to identify the culprits. In this story, Rags also saves a friend from terrorist threats, he rescues a playful trickster and his cat, and he reveals the identity of an animal poacher.

Order your print or kindle version at Amazon.com

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Feline Fun Friday – How to Keep Your Cat at Home

Do you let your cat outside? Many of us did back in the day and that has changed for most of us. But we still see cats roaming in our neighborhoods, hiding out under parked cars, wandering through empty lots and sleeping under shrubs. Recently a neighbor’s cat wandered too far away and was lost for a full three weeks. Everyone kept an eye out for the cat, when suddenly, out of the blue three weeks later he walked into his house as if nothing had happened.

As a reward, his human grandpa bought him a window-perch hammock and this, and maybe whatever experiences he had while he was gone, have kept him home ever since. Now, instead of going out exploring every day, he just relaxes in his hammock watching the world through the window.

What else can you do to keep your cat from wandering? Build her a catio. It could be simple and small or elaborate and large. I know of one that includes an elevated screened in walkway that weaves in amongst trees through an orchard—yes above ground. Such fun for the adventuring cat. Provide greater enrichment for your cat indoors with cat trees and toys. Cardboard boxes are also intriguing for some cats. I used to make houses and mazes with boxes for our cats. Play with your cat more—she’ll begin to look forward to those one-on-one activities.

The best way to keep a cat inside is to start from day one—make it a rule. Just never let the cat out. I’ve had just one cat out of around 15 who refused to stay inside. She didn’t go out much, but she simply HAD to have her outdoor time.

 

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Paws Up for Wednesday – The Million Cat Challenge

Monday, we discussed the effect the pandemic had on the feral cat (and house cat) population. It was dire.

Have you heard of the million cat challenge launched in 2014? This was an attempt to save a million cats in five years, and over a thousand shelters participated. How? Each shelter operator did their part to save kittens, either by taking the cat in and finding an appropriate home or, in some cases, they didn’t even admit the cat or kitten—they worked in the field to make sure the cat was safe. I imagine this would include educating cat owners, spaying and neutering cats and returning them to a neighborhood where they would be cared for. As we’ve discussed, there are many ways to save or help cats and kittens.

To learn more about this successful challenge check it out here: https://www.millioncatchallenge.org One thing you’ll learn is that this project was headed up by a UC Davis fund, the University of Florida, and others. It’s heartwarming and encouraging to know the possibilities of an effort like this.

 

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Meowy Monday—How the Pandemic Has Affected the World’s Cat Population

Humans weren’t the only affected during the events of 2020-2021. Animals were too. I found an interesting study showing how our household cats were affected during this time—what they were up against and how this changed their behavior. Interesting study. As most of us know, a lot of cats (and other pets) were being adopted during that difficult time and some of those were abandoned once their people went back to work. Here’s the rest of that story:

https://blog.feliway.com/us/how-covid-19-lockdowns-affected-our-cats

But there were other things going on in the background. Shelters had to close, trap-neuter-release programs were halted, and sadly a whole lot of cats were euthanized. I don’t quite understand the rational for that. But one statistic shows that there are 100,000 more cats in shelters now than before the pandemic. It looks like we’re losing ground on our attempts to save homeless cats and it will take time to catch up. But the sad truth is that only about half of the cats, dogs, and other animals that end up in a shelter are adopted. And we’re talking millions of animals being left behind.

There is so much work being done on behalf of all animals, but it’s still not enough and a large part of the problem is us. Too many people in the US still don’t take responsibility for neutering their cats, for example. This is just one small thing we can do to save cats in the future from homelessness and starvation.

I’m writing this just to remind you that the plight of starvation and illness and loneliness and danger for millions of cats in America and the world is not over. They still need our help and support. Advocate for them when and however you can and, for the sake of the cat population and the plight of so many individual cats, have your cats neutered.

Posted in About Cats, Cat Rescue, Feral Cats | 2 Comments