It's Christmas at Catland and, per usual, all of the creatures are stirring. Linus, in particular, is having a great time playing with his new red-and-green mouse.
Cat Man and I don't fill the cats' stockings. We throw the feline-only presents on the carpets, and the cats greedily fetch them. Thank you PetSmart, once again, for offering everything that cats could possibly desire.
Back to the matter of the cats' stockings: The six monogrammed socks hang by the tallest bookcase with care. Where else would an art-book editor hang holiday stockings? In the garage apartment, the four stockings are hung by a bookcase, too. Martha Stewart might not approve of our decorating decor, but our cats do, and that's all that matters.
It used to be, in the "olden days" (circa 2000), that we planned for a Christmas morning with only one cat. Yes, you guessed correctly: Lucius was the cat for whom we preordered holiday gifts. Then along came the others, and the first stocking I purchased, which proclaims "I Love My Cat," was no longer operative.
But even though we now have ten stockings to show for our family of cats, the same, simple sentiment rings true.
I love my cat, times ten.
Query of the Day: Did you catch Santa Claus kissing Cat Lady?
Sunday, December 25, 2011
Wednesday, December 21, 2011
Virtual Yule
I’m grateful to AT&T U-verse this holiday season for the gift of the “Virtual Yule.”
Every night, about 8:00 p.m., our cats gather ‘round the virtual hearth—otherwise known as a 32” flat-screen TV—and listen to classic holiday carols that play on channels 400 and 800 (at least in our Houston-based universe). In spite of what you may think about Lucius, he is not the Grinch who stole Christmas. In fact, Lucius’s face lights up at the sound of “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.”
What is the pre-Christmas playlist at Catland? “O Come All Ye Faithful” tops the charts, perhaps because our felines consider this carol to be Cat Lady’s personal anthem for assisting creatures in need. Our ten rescue missions were successful because ten cats decided to put their trust in me (with a jolly shout-out and a “Ho Ho Ho” to my [crazy] Cat Man).
I keep hoping that the Virtual Yule will play Michael Bublé’s new version of “Feliz Navidad,” accompanied by Thalia. Both L.B. and Linus love the Latin vibe. Lydia, Lillie, Leo, T.J., Perkins, Miss Tommie, and Alvar are ecumenical in their tastes for holiday sing-alongs.
Well, it’s time to go feed the cats and to throw some more logs on the fire.
Until Christmas Eve!
Query of the Day: Do you sing holiday carols to your cats?
Every night, about 8:00 p.m., our cats gather ‘round the virtual hearth—otherwise known as a 32” flat-screen TV—and listen to classic holiday carols that play on channels 400 and 800 (at least in our Houston-based universe). In spite of what you may think about Lucius, he is not the Grinch who stole Christmas. In fact, Lucius’s face lights up at the sound of “Hark the Herald Angels Sing.”
What is the pre-Christmas playlist at Catland? “O Come All Ye Faithful” tops the charts, perhaps because our felines consider this carol to be Cat Lady’s personal anthem for assisting creatures in need. Our ten rescue missions were successful because ten cats decided to put their trust in me (with a jolly shout-out and a “Ho Ho Ho” to my [crazy] Cat Man).
I keep hoping that the Virtual Yule will play Michael Bublé’s new version of “Feliz Navidad,” accompanied by Thalia. Both L.B. and Linus love the Latin vibe. Lydia, Lillie, Leo, T.J., Perkins, Miss Tommie, and Alvar are ecumenical in their tastes for holiday sing-alongs.
Well, it’s time to go feed the cats and to throw some more logs on the fire.
Until Christmas Eve!
Query of the Day: Do you sing holiday carols to your cats?
Tuesday, December 6, 2011
What Price Lucius?
An article in USA Today last week about the costs of veterinary office care hit home. For feline caregivers, the average cost of a visit to the vet is $558.
Recently, right before the Thanksgiving holiday, our one and only Lucius became ill. Because he has been in remarkably good health (aside from long-term insecurity and other issues symptomatic of neurosis) since we rescued and adopted him eleven years ago, we knew that something was wrong when he stopped eating completely. Nothing in the Cat Lady’s bag of tricks worked: canned tuna, Gerber’s baby food, treats. Lucius shunned them all.
Dr. O. ran a full range of tests on Lucius, and the associated costs were far from inconsequential, with the total coming close to $1,000. At one point during his treatment for what was diagnosed as chronic, as opposed to acute, pancreatitis, Dr. O. suggested that Lucius might need to be hospitalized so that an IV drip could provide sustained nourishment. Two days and two nights would cost about $2,000 for starters.
I couldn’t imagine putting a price tag on Lucius’s life, yet I found myself wondering desperately if investing more of our savings could indeed buy Lucius a longer stay on earth. I also couldn’t bring myself to ask Dr. O. explicitly if pancreatitis was ultimately a death sentence for a cat, no matter the costly intervention to offer comfort.
Fate has intervened once again for Lucius and me and Cat Man. There is no other way to explain Lucius’s rapid, impressive turnaround than to say that the cat had a will to live longer, aided by a few days’ concentrated dosage of anti-pain and anti-nausea medications.
What price Lucius? No QR code is necessary. And you can’t buy gratitude of this magnitude.
Query of the Day: How do you budget for annual pet care?
Recently, right before the Thanksgiving holiday, our one and only Lucius became ill. Because he has been in remarkably good health (aside from long-term insecurity and other issues symptomatic of neurosis) since we rescued and adopted him eleven years ago, we knew that something was wrong when he stopped eating completely. Nothing in the Cat Lady’s bag of tricks worked: canned tuna, Gerber’s baby food, treats. Lucius shunned them all.
Dr. O. ran a full range of tests on Lucius, and the associated costs were far from inconsequential, with the total coming close to $1,000. At one point during his treatment for what was diagnosed as chronic, as opposed to acute, pancreatitis, Dr. O. suggested that Lucius might need to be hospitalized so that an IV drip could provide sustained nourishment. Two days and two nights would cost about $2,000 for starters.
I couldn’t imagine putting a price tag on Lucius’s life, yet I found myself wondering desperately if investing more of our savings could indeed buy Lucius a longer stay on earth. I also couldn’t bring myself to ask Dr. O. explicitly if pancreatitis was ultimately a death sentence for a cat, no matter the costly intervention to offer comfort.
Fate has intervened once again for Lucius and me and Cat Man. There is no other way to explain Lucius’s rapid, impressive turnaround than to say that the cat had a will to live longer, aided by a few days’ concentrated dosage of anti-pain and anti-nausea medications.
What price Lucius? No QR code is necessary. And you can’t buy gratitude of this magnitude.
Query of the Day: How do you budget for annual pet care?
Friday, November 25, 2011
Black Friday
How does Cat Lady spend Black Friday?
Am I like "Target Lady," the hyper-Type-A female character starring in the Target TV commercials who seizes the day-Black Friday-in a major way?
You won't catch me standing in a long line today at PetSmart, waiting with other Cat Ladies for the "Buy 25 Pallets of Fancy Feast, Get 1 Free" doorbuster sale. I'm safely at Catland, with our ten cats, where there is not a gate-crasher in sight. We're decorating for the Christmas holidays, and Cat Man is in heaven because his Longhorns beat the Aggies last night in the football rivalry finale of them all.
Don't get too crazy out there, Cat Ladies, if you are among the millions roaming the malls 'til midnight. For me, there is no place like home on Black Friday. Lucius, Lydia, Leo, Lillie, Linus, L.B., Alvar, Perkins, T.J., and Miss Tommie unanimously agree.
Query of the Day: Do you raid PetSmart on Black Friday?
Am I like "Target Lady," the hyper-Type-A female character starring in the Target TV commercials who seizes the day-Black Friday-in a major way?
You won't catch me standing in a long line today at PetSmart, waiting with other Cat Ladies for the "Buy 25 Pallets of Fancy Feast, Get 1 Free" doorbuster sale. I'm safely at Catland, with our ten cats, where there is not a gate-crasher in sight. We're decorating for the Christmas holidays, and Cat Man is in heaven because his Longhorns beat the Aggies last night in the football rivalry finale of them all.
Don't get too crazy out there, Cat Ladies, if you are among the millions roaming the malls 'til midnight. For me, there is no place like home on Black Friday. Lucius, Lydia, Leo, Lillie, Linus, L.B., Alvar, Perkins, T.J., and Miss Tommie unanimously agree.
Query of the Day: Do you raid PetSmart on Black Friday?
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
A Horn of Plenty...Felines
I tip my Cat Lady’s hat to artist/cartoonist/illustrator Lisa Hanawalt, who in her “Visions of Thanksgiving” Op-Art piece for the New York Times, came up with the perfect coinage and imagery for tomorrow’s holiday: “Cornucatta,” or, a “horn of cats.”
My Thanksgiving “cornucatta” will overflow with ten cats whose primary colors just so happen to complement the primary palette of our holiday tableware: pumpkin, charcoal, and a mélange of the two.
Move over turkeys—here come our kitties. And here’s wishing you and yours a healthy and bountiful Thanksgiving Day.
Query of the Day: Are you serving a Thanksgiving feast to your cats?
My Thanksgiving “cornucatta” will overflow with ten cats whose primary colors just so happen to complement the primary palette of our holiday tableware: pumpkin, charcoal, and a mélange of the two.
Move over turkeys—here come our kitties. And here’s wishing you and yours a healthy and bountiful Thanksgiving Day.
Query of the Day: Are you serving a Thanksgiving feast to your cats?
Thursday, November 10, 2011
Coosome Twosome
Aren’t these two kitties the cutest?
Ocho (in grey) and Mr. T. (in tuxedo garb) belong to my great friend and colleague Heather, who briefly returned to her hometown of Houston this week and escaped the snowy environs of Ohio.
While Heather was away, Mr. T. did play—to the tune of sliding down a laundry chute. Mr. T. wound up in the basement of Heather’s house, where he had ample opportunities to explore new territory. But as soon as Mr. T. came up for air, he found his best buddy Ocho. I think Mr. T. said, “It’s cold down there. Commence Snuggling.”
I love furry tales with happy endings.
Query of the Day: Does your cat like to perch on top of your laundry basket or slide down a laundry chute?
Tuesday, November 1, 2011
You’ve Got a Friend
That’s what Mary, my Wellesley roommate, said to me when I walked through the front door of her lovely home in Minneapolis. Audrey, also a longtime friend from Wellesley days, and I were curious if Mary had arranged for one of our classmates to jump out from behind the living-room couch as a surprise opening act for our mini-reunion. Enter Maeby.
Maeby is my new best friend of the feline persuasion. This darling tortoiseshell cat with the expressive flat face, which seemingly floats above her compact body (she doesn’t have much of a neck), bonded immediately with me. We had the best of times playing and cuddling during my too-brief stay.
Not that I needed documentary evidence, but I was very satisfied to find—so many miles from Catland—that I could still earn my keep as Cat Lady. Mary’s two other cats were affectionate, too, though Maeby is my girl.
When Mary and Audrey and I attended Wellesley during the 1970s, James Taylor was the man. I can remember many nights in our dormitory rooms listening to his album Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon, and replaying his version of Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend.” Little did I know then that this song would serve as a personal anthem for a weekend filled with nostalgia and enhanced by my meeting yet another furry friend.
Query of the Day: Are you a cat magnet?
Maeby is my new best friend of the feline persuasion. This darling tortoiseshell cat with the expressive flat face, which seemingly floats above her compact body (she doesn’t have much of a neck), bonded immediately with me. We had the best of times playing and cuddling during my too-brief stay.
Not that I needed documentary evidence, but I was very satisfied to find—so many miles from Catland—that I could still earn my keep as Cat Lady. Mary’s two other cats were affectionate, too, though Maeby is my girl.
When Mary and Audrey and I attended Wellesley during the 1970s, James Taylor was the man. I can remember many nights in our dormitory rooms listening to his album Mud Slide Slim and the Blue Horizon, and replaying his version of Carole King’s “You’ve Got a Friend.” Little did I know then that this song would serve as a personal anthem for a weekend filled with nostalgia and enhanced by my meeting yet another furry friend.
Query of the Day: Are you a cat magnet?
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