cats

49 posts

A Memorial for Eleanor

The apartment felt like a box, an old shoebox shoved under a bed and forgotten.

It was in a house that back in the day must have been a showpiece, long ago when the Merrimack River powered the mills that employed thousands, and when the mill owners lived on the hills, like this one, looking down on their anthills. Lawrence, Massachusetts, was never an easy town. It was always a city of blue collars and dive bars and shady, desperate characters. But now the mills were closed, the river was choked with pollution, and Lawrence was known as the arson capitol of the nation. Continue reading →

What Your Pet’s Name Actually Says About You

Your pets. They have names. If yours do not, name them immediately, because it’s really demoralizing not to have one. There’s a lot of armchair analysis of what your pets’ names say about you out there; in fact, Jezebel had an article on this topic just a couple days ago.

It made me think: Who are you to speculate on what pets’ names mean? Being “an unmarried lady who is heading full steam ahead toward age 30” as our intrepid Jez author is, doesn’t convince me of your bona fides. More to the point, the article itself really cemented my snap judgement of said qualifications.

Continue reading →

Cat Takes Page from Dog Book – Saves Owner’s Life

The Reading Eagle reports that former nurse Claire Nelson was not feeling well one day last week when her normally quiet kitty, Rusty, became agitated and verbal. Nelson thought little of her discomfort and moved to lie down, but Rusty persisted and got his message through to her that all was not well. Nelson says she figured Rusty must know something she didn’t and so she called her doctor. While waiting for the bus, her pain worsened and she was forced to dial 9-1-1.

Now, a week later, the doctors tell her she suffered a heart attack while at home and has since undergone surgery to install two coronary stents.  Nelson rescued Rusty in 2009 from The Humane Society, and this year Rusty returned the favor. Continue reading →

Training Corner: Scratch That

Cat scratch fever! It’s a Motor City Madman song, a real disease (I’ve had it!), and a cliche way to start an article about cats and their scratching habits. Whether you have an adult cat that you would someday like to wean off your 15-year-old couch in hopes of getting a new one, or you’re adding a kitten to the family, knowing why they scratch and what you can do to ensure they use what you want them to use is a big issue. One option that isn’t on the table: Declawing. And we’ll talk about that too. Continue reading →

Don’t Poison Your Pets

Some Crassers have been concerned lately about what’s bad for their pets to eat, and just how much is really horrible. The bad news: there are a lot of things that will poison your cat or dog. The good news: it usually takes a lot to do harm. So here’s a helpful guide to what’s going to cause you to clean up gallons of vomit and what you can do in an emergency.

You can find a comprehensive list here, but we’ll focus on the most common things, and some of the less common things that can cause big problems. Continue reading →

QOTD: Cats or Dogs?

Well, cats, obviously.

I was always a cat girl. My first cat was a Siamese named Tiger, when I was two years old.

We went to the ASPCA and found another little girl when I was in first grade. I put my finger on the cage, and she wrapped her paw around my little finger. My father was not happy I called her Muffin.  I thought it was a very classy name. Muffin was followed by Crystal:  another name of pure class. Continue reading →