There are a lot of theories, studies, and jokes about age and the reality of what age actually means. This reality has definitely changed over the years. You’ve heard the term, “Forty is the new twenty,” and “sixty is the new forty.” Don’t we enjoy hearing that when we sure don’t feel our age? In fact we fight the numbers as much as we can by creating a more youthful illusion with hair dyes, make up, and even nips and tucks here and there. (Well, I know people who do all 
that.)
There are also quips, theories, and questions about a cat’s age in human years. The good news is that cats are living longer. This is partially because more cats are kept indoors and because of improved veterinary 
medicine. It may be that we have access to higher quality diets for cats, as well.
Even today, the life expectancy of a cat born on the streets is thought to be 3 months to 3 years. A cat that’s cared for and also kept indoors can live to be 18 or 20 years old.
Did you know that there are breeds of cats with longer life expectancies? They include the 
Manx and the Siamese. I would imagine that mixes with these breeds could have more longevity as well. However, the longest living cat on record was a Burmese who lived to be 35 years old. A tabby beat that record, but unofficially, as I guess they couldn’t verify that this cat was actually 39 years old.
How old is your cat in human years? This has been debated and discussed by most cat people at some point. Some say a cat ages 9 years to our every one. But experts say it is a little more complicated than that, and I found a chart that spells it out quite succinctly. Check it out. How old is your cat? According to the chart, a kitten ages 15 human years in his first year of life. A two-year-old cat is the equivalent of a 24-year old human. I learned from this chart that our cat, Sophie, is actually around 80 in human years. High-five, Sophie, you’re doing pretty swell in the healthy-cat world. Here’s the chart and an interesting article accompanying it for those of you who really want to know how old your cat is compared to you.
https://www.thesprucepets.com/cat-age-to-human-age-chart-554306
No matter how old your cat is, hopefully he’s still young at heart.
You may recall my posts about a cat named Stubbs who was the mayor of Talkeetna, Alaska. I visited the town and talked to Stubb’s caretakers, but was not granted permission to visit the cat as he was too elderly and ill at the time. He died a few months later.
You’ve heard of the klepto cat. I write about one and I share news of others in this blog. A cat might also bring home mice, rats, rabbits, quail, gophers, and kittens. Today’s stories involve dogs that love their cats.
Some of my Klepto Cat Mystery books are more heart-tugging than others and Book 45, Love at First Purr is getting some fabulous reader reviews. Check this one out:
You may notice that I’m using a lot of photos in my posts lately of a calico kitten. That’s Olivia, our new adorable rescue. Isn’t she cute? She is keeping us busy and keeping us laughing. What fun. We had a setback last week, however. She had more of her kitten vaccines on Friday. This one included leukemia and evidently it can cause discomfort for a kitten. Our veterinarian told us after she got the shot that she might be lethargic for 24 hours or so. Poor Olivia, she 
was so miserable. I felt awful for her. She slept for nearly 24 hours, couldn’t bring herself to eat, and when she walked, she limped. So sad to see. I called the veterinarian first thing Saturday morning and she suggested 
1/8th of a baby aspirin (or what used to be called a baby aspirin—the 81-mil). I don’t know if that helped or if the discomfort just ran its course, but the following morning she was herself again—more needy and demanding—active and alert.
If you’re like me, you’ve had cats for years. You read about them, talk about them, study the latest research, and you never bypass a video of a cute cat on facebook. I quickly bypass political and negative posts, but I’ll stop and smile for a picture or video of a cat. I also watch programs on TV involving cats. Have you ever watched Jackson Galaxy’s “Cats From Hell” program? He’s back with new cat dilemmas. I also have questions for my veterinarian when I visit her with one of our cats. Well, you know cats, they’re always throwing you a curve with their behavior, activities, etc. Yup, just when you thought you knew everything there is to know about even one particular cat, that cat comes up
Here you’ll learn how to tell if your cat is overweight, if a can a cat be taught to use the toilet and if it’s a good idea to do so, whether or not you can give your cat too much catnip and more. Here’s one question I found interesting. We’ve all entertained people in our home who have cat allergies or who just don’t like cats. Everyone else in the room is trying to entice the cat… “Here sweet kitty. Let me pet you. You’re so pretty…” But one person sits quietly hoping the cat doesn’t notice her. Guess who the cat navigates toward. Right. Why is that? The answer is in this article.
As many of you know, I love the premise of the shop cat. Most writers I know have cats in their writing rooms/offices. Maybe that’s because most of my writer friends are also cat people. In fact you may not know this, but there’s a whole organization for cat writers. It’s called Cat Writers Association (CWA).
had to shut her out of my office at lunchtime if I wanted to eat in peace and without a kitty paw or face in my food. On a pretty day, I’d eat on the deck with her watching from the window.
But cats have important jobs in an office environment. They can bring a calm to the staff. They can be an inspiration (as my cats are for my Klepto Cat Mysteries). They’re great paperweights. And if you need someone to shuffle papers for you or if you want a quick game of hide and seek with your pen, bring in a cat.
interview is being held out of doors, as well. I saw a clip recently where a very small kitten approached a news team. The reporters and cameramen were on a story and here comes a kitten crying out loudly for attention. Cute. Most of you have probably met “Betty” the cat that interrupted a weather report. She became a star weathercat there in Indiana after that first 
unexpected appearance. Here’s a link to her story: 
Cats certainly can become obsessed. We’ve all known cats that are so fixated on something they temporarily block everything else out. We had a cat once who seemed to have a fetish for the scent in women’s products—lotions, shampoos, hair spray… If a woman came into our home wearing hand lotion, for example, or a particularly fragrant cologne, he was all over her. He’d rub against our guest’s hands or face, maybe lick 
her skin and roll around on her. He could be obnoxious. To him, fragrances were like catnip.
—scouting out interesting things in neighbors’ yards and bringing them home.
Today is National Black Cat Appreciation Day. If you’re like most of us, you either have a black cat or know someone who does. I’ve known some wonderful, beautiful pure black cats along my life journey with cats, and I know people who prefer black cats. I currently have a black great-grand-cat, Brucie. He’s a munchkin and just the sweetest and most beautiful cat. One of his charms is that he loves everyone. He’s a super friendly guy and what a gorgeous coat he has.
coat. Her brothers were black and white, so the black color gene was quite dominant in that breeding.
“colors.”
It’s been two weeks since we picked up a shy calico kitten named Olivia in the parking lot of our local humane society from her rescuer, the director of ResQcats. She’d been spayed minutes earlier and was ready to go home. I remember leaving my cats overnight after spaying.
through pictures, videos, and messages. And how we yearned to have her with us, but she’d just been rescued from under a house with her siblings and needed to complete her vet checks, kitten shots and spaying. It was a case of ringworm that kept her from coming home to us for an additional three weeks. She stayed at the rescue center—quite comfortably in lovely condos, mind you—while being treated with meds and spa days. Yes, extreme baths with lots of massaging every other day for the whole 
litter.
attention of Jeffyne and her volunteer.
snuggling. At least for now. One thing I’ve learned about cats is that just when they’ve trained you to accept an aspect of their behavior, it changes.
