The Cat Lady Recap

Is there ever a slow news day when it comes to our own cats or those felines who make headlines? I can’t keep up! I apologize for being so slow on the blogger’s draw this month. Here is a quick recap of the weeks that were.

Does your cat like to play with “feline-appropriate” apps on your iPad or other mobile device? I was not surprised to learn from a Wall Street Journal article that app developers are selling “Game for Cats” on iTunes, with great success. At our house, L.B. prefers laptops—traditionalist that he is—and insists that closing the deal for treats, treats, and more treats works best when he sits on top of the keyboard rather than on a flat screen whose width is much smaller than that of his waistline(sorry to be so blunt, L.B., because I do appreciate your efforts to diet). Put simply, L.B. does not need an app to be challenged mentally or to get his point across to his caregivers.

I have suspected for a long time that Lillie was a hair stylist before she was reincarnated as one of the most sensual feline creatures imaginable. Because the heat and humidity in Houston are reaching their most uncomfortable levels right now, I am experimenting with some new hair-care products. Lillie recognizes the scent of newly washed hair, and she always wants me to lower my head close to her nose so that she can inhale the perfumes that invigorate styling gels and “frizz-busting cremes.” Of course, Lillie also likes that I bow in deference to her authority as the reigning beauty of Catland.

That’s not to say that Lydia has lost her looks. In fact, she found a new method this month of keeping her little fanny from a fate worse than death, otherwise known as the middle-age-woman’s “spread.” Just say the word “massager,” and Miss Lydia comes running to my feet or to Cat Man’s. She is ready for some serious massaging, courtesy of an electric back-rubbing wand. Note to self: Never underestimate Lydia’s insatiable need for undivided attention.

When it comes to highly profitable attention, how about the street cat named Bob, who is nothing short of a babe magnet? I saw a brief video of author James Bowen and his beloved Bob working the crowds at a bookstore signing to launch the U.S. distribution of A Street Cat Named Bob. There were a lot of women waiting on line to snap pictures of the once-lonely and injured stray cat who has achieved his deserved fame and fortune.

Mr. Bowen’s literary agent revealed in Sunday’s New York Times Book Review that much of the success of the book can be attributed not only to its heartfelt tale of redemption, but to this golden rule: “Also, a lot of people just. Love. Cats.” You. Think?

I was delighted to find an active forum for cat lovers on Squidoo: http://www.squidoo/com/-crazy-cat-lady-reasons. I was even more delighted to discover that Cat Lady Chronicles had made the cut as recommended reading for “crazy cat ladies.” I am taking this designation to mean “crazy-passionate for cats,” and I am indeed proud to be in such “demented” company.

There is no better validation of a Cat Lady’s cause than the paws-up praise offered by a cat. Meet Walter, an exceedingly handsome feline who was rescued about 18 months ago after being abandoned on a street in Houston’s Heights neighborhood.

Walter has been living very comfortably at The Cat Doctor’s clinic ever since, but he would still like to find a home with a full-time Cat Lady or a Cat Man at his beck and call. Apparently, when Walter makes his daily rounds at the clinic to stretch his legs, he likes to pause and read a chapter or two from my book. Thank you, Walter, for the not-so-subtle endorsement. If you know of a kind soul who could give Walter a new home, please contact me. I would be honored to make the introduction.