Sir Tristan Starchild
At first glance, Tristan is not unusual. He’s a green-eyed brown tabby, the most common genotype, and indeed, the original model. On second glance, he’s longer and leggier than the average. Most people...
View ArticleBringing them home
What does our new kitten or cat need? Here’s some basic cat equipment we should have waiting for our new arrival. Some of these suggestions are because of the tender age of our “new baby” if we are...
View ArticleAdopting the pregnant cat
We take in that stray, and she’s pregnant. Happens all the time. That is because our poor little stray usually started as someone’s pet. Neglected and abandoned, un-spayed and doomed to pregnancy,...
View ArticleI’m writing a letter to my cat
I’ve decided to participate in the call for entries in the book compilation, A Letter to My Cat. Everyone is welcome to submit an entry! Tristan has discovered an empty bag, and wishes to accompany me...
View ArticleThe Taming of the New
We are overjoyed to welcome new kitten Mithrandir into our Civilization. (Click on each picture to enlarge.) He is healthy, playful, and adorable. He’s exactly the right Cat Type to fit in with our...
View ArticleCats who bounce back
In human psychology, there’s a concept known as “resilience.” (I referenced this concept in a previous post, The Impressionability Quotient.) This is a process by which thinking beings adapt to, and...
View ArticleDear Pammy, I have been chosen by a cat
A reader writes: since May 4th, there has been a cat that keeps coming to my backyard door to cry. I gave her some water but if I leave the door open she comes in after meowing for a bit. She enters...
View ArticleRehoming help with Petfinder
We can put pets needing rehoming on Petfinder even if we are humble civilians. By working through a local shelter, we can put our cat’s picture and resume up for so many potential adopters to see,...
View ArticleDear Pammy, I’m leaving her room to bloom
A commenter writes on Dear Pammy, My cat is still afraid: Months later, thank you for this. I took in a very skittish stray, E–, (it took me four months of daily interactions outside before I could...
View ArticleDear Pammy, He won’t let go!
A reader comments: As a first time cat owner (we rescued a young cat who was living under our porch), I have to say that I find my cat’s habit of stalking me and sinking his teeth and claws into the...
View ArticleThe kitten who started it all
I have heard it rumored that Blogspot is going away in the next couple of years. That is where I started this blog, in early October, 2007. I have decided to grab any pertinent posts from there and...
View ArticleCats and hobo culture
Strays come in a range. True ferals have to be trapped, and remain a “ghost in the machine.” They will rarely be seen at all. The other end of the range is how I got many of my own cats, who were...
View ArticleWhere the movie starts
Since November is Adopt-a-Senior-Pet Month, I’ve been thinking about why people are reluctant to adopt “used” or challenged or older cats. It’s fear. We don’t have these fears with our human friends....
View ArticleFrom toy to being
We’ve just had Adopt a Senior Pet Month. This great concept easily expands to All Year and All Ages. And we don’t have to start at the beginning. I yield to no one in my enjoyment of kittens. But that...
View ArticleTwo steps forward, one back
Mithrandir is our Ninja Cat. He weighs 25 pounds (at least) and yet he can move fast and soundlessly. When he jumps onto the bed, he lands so softly we cannot tell. He just… appears. When it comes to...
View ArticleFear of hands
A recent comment is an excellent followup to my previous post, How to reassure a cat with petting. when petting is the problem The commenter has a new rescue cat who is afraid of hands: I recently got...
View ArticleHow I do Cat Consultations
There is such a thing? Yes, I’m a Cat Whisperer. Through their people. After all, you are the one who knows your cat best. You can tell me all about their backstory, their loves and losses, and the...
View ArticleAre cats our slaves?
There’s a line of thinking that it’s wrong to have pets because we domesticated them into being our slaves. I don’t agree. I really, really, really don’t agree. incorrect comparison As seen above,...
View ArticleWelcome, MC Hammer and Fresh Prince!
Yes, two Beta Cat Type boys. The smallest Cat Social Unit. Which is how, and why, they came to live with us yesterday evening. Because it was a rescue. offer I couldn’t refuse These kittens were part...
View ArticleCats and names and connection
Names matter. Ask any fairy tale. Often, Evil hides its real name, and learning it will give a victim power. Other people can claim to act on the authority of a royal name. An orphan doesn’t know their...
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