Archive for the ‘Cat Biz'ness’ Category

I’ve had many cats over the years, and each one’s “meow” was different, just like each person’s voice and fingerprint are unique. There’s different meow’s for different occasions, as well. The feed me meow. The bird-watching meow. The you’d-better-stop-rubbing-my-belly meow. Then there’s the all-purpose meow, which is a cat’s basic conversational voice. Here’s a sample from past and present cats:

Owain: Ra-oooo
Faberette: Mee-ooup
Dougie: Mmmmmph
Simone: Reh
Thomas: Boodle-doodle-do

Thomas’s “get out the laser light” meow sounds like he’s saying “maw-ma.” Entertaining, to say the least.

Put on your party hats ’cause October 29 is National Cat Day.

Note to my three fur-urchins: This is not a day of cat worship and adulation, so don’t expect breakfast in bed!

…I munched the fur off my tummy.

Does your cat do this? Chew the fur off of his/her tummy? I’ve had several cats do this, with Dougall being the most recent. Cats do this sometimes because of stress or parasites, but they also do it because they’re allergic to something in their environment. That was the case with two former cats of mine. Some allergen was bothering them, making their skin itch. The vet prescribed an over-the-counter antihistamine, and it did the job. I’m trying that on Dougall now and so far am having limited success. He’s solidly behind the “Bald Is Beautiful” campaign.

Dougall has gorgeous fur. Long, silky, soft, beautiful fur. It’s a travesty what he’s done…like taking a crayon to Botticelli’s Birth of Venus. And I know…oh, I know…that the missing fur will reappear as a Brillo pad-size cat puke. It’s just a matter of time.{sigh}

Seems the AARP may want to spin off a sister organization, the AARP-II. According to an article in today’s MSNBC, dogs’ and cats’ lifespans are keeping pace with their human caretakers’. In short, genetics and nutrition are the main factors behind the increased lifespan of our pets. I would argue that the growing prevalance of keeping cats indoors also has added years to kitties’ lives. I’ve had two cats to reach 19 and several others live for 15, 16, and 17 years.

Guess it’s time to open an IRA for Spot and Fluffy.

Read the whole article to learn more.