Caturday Art: Webster in the Window, Artified

Today's Caturday Art features Real Cat Webster reprising his role as "Webster in the Window." Old SoLT artified last week's Sunday Selfie in two completely different ways.

This first one used PicMonkey (the Urbane, Fancy Focus, and Radiance effects, and a rounded-corner frame).

The second one is 100% invisible because we started it in Dreamscope waaaay back on Sunday, and as of Friday evening it wasn't finished yet. Picture something more colorful, with greens and blues. We predict that we'll be sharing the actual artwork with you sometime in June or July.

Bloopers blog hop, anyone?

In case you weren't here yesterday: We have been thinking of starting a monthly bloopers blog hop, and we’d like to know how many of you would play along at least some of the time. We are thinking that the hop would happen on the final Friday of every month. It would be a fun way to share your “not ready for prime time” pet photos. There are quite a few hops going on already, and we sort of worry that one more might be one too many, but if you think you’d like to play by sharing some bad photos, please let us know in the comments!

We're joining the Caturday Art Blog Hop, hosted by Athena and Marie!

March Bloopers, Plus Friendly Fill-Ins

We have two fun Friday features for you today. First up is our small collection (a pair, really) of March bloopers. After that, it’s on to Friendly Fill-Ins!

Bloopers

This is kind of hard to believe, but old SoLT only has two bloopers to share this month. Oddly, she did not manage to take any accidental pictures of her feet or the ceiling or a spot on the rug. No one is more shocked than I am. Anyway, the two bloopers both feature Real Cat Webster—sorry, no blurry tortie shots!

Old SoLT had this great idea to get a picture of Webster being fascinated by a fidget spinner. Turned out it was too hard to hold a cat and a phone and a fidget spinner, make the spinner spin, and then take a picture. Also, Webster didn't actually care about the spinner!

Then she thought it would be cute to get a picture of Webs taking his evening bath. But it was impossible to get a shot that was not blurry.

Bloopers blog hop, anyone?

We have been thinking of starting a monthly bloopers blog hop, and we’d like to know how many of you would play along at least some of the time. We are thinking that the hop would happen on the final Friday of every month. It would be a fun way to share your “not ready for prime time” pet photos. There are quite a few hops going on already, and we sort of worry that one more might be one too many, but if you think you’d like to play by sharing some bad photos, please let us know in the comments!

Friendly Fill-Ins

And now it’s time for Friendly Fill-Ins, from 15andmeowing and McGuffy’s Reader. They are a fun way to learn a little bit about the authors of the blogs you read. The first two questions, answered by Real Cat Paisley this week, are from Ellen of 15andmeowing, and the next two, answered by Old SoLT, are from Annie of McGuffy’s Reader.

Real Cat Paisley’s answers:

1. For Easter (or Passover), I wish I had a pretty bonnet with little flowers on it—NOT! I would not appreciate that, although I might enjoy chewing on the flowers.

2. My favorite Easter (or Passover) treat is … well, we haven’t really been getting treats lately—not since Webster started having tummy trouble—so I guess we won’t get any for Easter either. Mommy has been eating jelly beans since Valentine’s Day, so that’s probably her favorite. She likes Peeps too, but she keeps forgetting to buy them.

Old SoLT’s answers:

3. Lately, the song “Broken Halos” by Chris Stapleton is stuck in my head. The local country station seems to play it almost every day while I’m driving to the post office. That’s okay, because I love his music.

4. The A-Z Blogging Challenge is something I have never done. I’m not sure how I would do it and fit it into my regular blogging schedule (and by “regular” I mean my near-daily “OMC, I need a post for tomorrow!” freak-out).

Why Should You Attend the 2018 Cat Writers’ Association Conference?

Have you made plans to attend this year’s Cat Writers’ Association Conference and Awards Banquet? Yes? Terrific—we’re sure you’ll learn a lot and have a great time! No? Well, what’s stopping you? Below, we list seven reasons you might have for not going to the conference, and then we give you even better reasons to go.

1. I’ve never even heard of this Cat Writers’ Association.

Let us introduce you! The CWA promotes professionalism among those who write about cats, photograph cats, create art about cats … it basically has a lot to do with cats. Members are journalists, novelists, bloggers, broadcasters, artists, photographers, editors, and more. The organization has been around since 1992, providing a community of cat-centric creative professionals who support and learn from one another. Sounds great, right?

2. I’m not a CWA member, and I’m not sure I want to join.

Doesn’t matter. The conference and banquet are open to members and non-members alike. And if you’re on the fence about joining CWA, the conference is the perfect place to find out if it’s for you!

3. I don’t write about cats.

Doesn’t matter. While the conference will include plenty of cat-centric content, many sessions will cover topics such as research, marketing, and storytelling—things all writers need to know. Heck, even dog writers need to know how to do effective research and tell a good story, right?

CWA Conference speakers will include (from top right) Arden Moore, Janiss Garza,
Lynn Thompson, Amy Shojai, and Molly Hunt.

4. I refuse to wear cutesy cat ears.

No cat ears, no problem. Some attendees have fun wearing cat ears some of the time, but no one’s going to toss you out the door for not having cat ears of your own. Probably.

5. I don’t know when or where the conference is.

The CWA Conference is June 7–9 at the Hyatt Regency North Houston in Houston, Texas. Now you know.

6. I don’t want to go all the way to Houston just for a conference.

First of all, we dispute the phrase “just for a conference,” because it implies that the gathering is not a big deal, and we think it is a big deal. Most people reading this blog would get something out of attending. And … you wouldn’t be going just for a conference! Don’t forget the annual awards banquet, where you can see which of your favorite authors win coveted Muse Medallions for their work. And … the event is co-located with the Gulf Shore Regional Cat Show, so you’ll have plenty of opportunities to see beautiful cats. And … Houston’s first cat café, the El Gato Coffeehouse, is just 12 miles from the host hotel—more opportunities to visit with great cats!

7. I don’t want to spend a lot of money.

The CWA Conference is reasonably priced—we would even call it a bargain—especially if you register in time to catch the early bird rate. The hotel is reasonably priced as well, so you don’t have to break the bank to have a place to sleep. And just in case a great price on a conference ticket isn’t enough to catch your attention, you’ve got a chance to win one free conference registration: Click here to enter!

What other reasons could you possibly have for not going? We hope you make it to the conference this year!

Cat of the Week: Ronak

Each week in this space, we feature an older adult or senior cat (7 years +) in need of adoption or sponsorship. Mature cats make great companions, and unlike kittens, they (probably) won’t climb the curtains! Adopt an older cat, and help them enjoy the best years of their life.

Today we’re introducing Ronak. He is an 8-year-old gentleman who is front declawed. As you can see, Ronak has handsome coloring. What a face! He enjoys getting attention, especially head rubs, but he is not shy about telling you when he’s had enough. He likes to hang with his peeps while they watch TV or whatever. Just don’t try to carry him around a lot—he hates that! Ronak enjoys playing with toys like feathers and wands, and he has lived in a home with a young child before.

Ronak is currently at the Baltimore Humane Society. Learn more about him here.

Can’t adopt? You can still help! Check out Sammy’s Cat Necessities Fund, which provides money for everyday and medical needs of cats at the Baltimore Humane Society. You can also make a general donation or sponsor a particular animal on this page. Every little bit helps!

Book Review: Seven Pets for Seven Witches

On this Mysterious Monday, we are pleased to bring you our review of Seven Pets for Seven Witches, a collection of—you guessed it—seven paranormal cozy short stories:

• “One Witch’s Trash Panda Is Another Witch’s Treasure,” by Annabel Chase
• “A Wedding for a Rat,” by Amy Boyles
• “Witch Mocha Morsel,” by H. Y. Hanna
• “Broom Mates,” by Morgana Best
• “Hazel Raises the Stakes,” by M. Z. Andrews
• “Harkin and the Snake’s Servant,” by Molly Milligan
• “Spellbook & Spies,” by Gina Lamanna

This being a cat blog, we’ll focus on the stories that feature cats in main roles. H. Y. Hanna’s “Witch Mocha Morsel” includes a young black cat named Nibs who gets in trouble with a troll. Caitlyn, who works in a magical chocolate shop and has only recently discovered she is a witch, has to track the cat down and save him—and herself. Viktor, Caitlyn’s vampire uncle who preys only on fruit, makes an appearance and is his usual comical self. There is also something called magical cinnamon and a Fat-Burning Mocha Fudge Brownie, which old SoLT would really like to get her hands on.

The cat in M. Z. Andrews’s “Hazel Raises the Stakes” is a big orange tabby named Ed who belongs to Loni, the woman who lives in “the scariest house in all of Aspen Falls.” Well, “belongs” is probably the wrong word, because Ed is Loni’s father’s second cousin once removed. Ed can also talk—at least to witches like Loni and Hazel, an ornery older witch whose daughter drops her off at Loni’s house while she herself heads off to Las Vegas. Well, Hazel isn’t having that, and soon enough she, Loni, and Ed are on their way to Vegas. Once there, Hazel manages to insert herself into a poker tournament. Hilarity ensues.

Harkin the cat is the familiar of a Welsh hedge witch named Bron. As the story opens, Harkin has woken Bron to alert her to a problem: a man has died, but his soul has not moved on. A second cat is involved in this story, as Bron and the local vicar soon find a black cat that seems to be stuck halfway up a yew. That brings to mind an old myth that says if a cat runs up a tree after a person dies, that person’s soul is going to heaven, but if the cat runs down the tree, the soul is going to hell. This cat is unable to move in either direction, implying that the soul is stuck. Harkin himself soon becomes similarly stuck, and Bron has to figure out how to help him, the cat in the yew, and the dead man. Other creatures in this tale include dragonflies and snakes.

V is a cat who is not the favorite animal of Ainsley in Gina Lamanna’s “Spellbook & Spies.” Ainsley prefers her friend Harry, who is a goldfish. (I know—weird, right?) Much to Ainsley’s chagrin, V stows away in her bag when she heads off for a much-needed vacation. And then Ainsley’s skills as a Guardian are called on when a spellbook is missing. This is potentially embarrassing for Midge, who owns the book and runs the B&B that is supposed to be Ainsley’s vacation spot. See, it’s a human spellbook being used by a witch who’s terrible at spells. Somehow, they have to figure out who took that book…

Our verdict

Seven Pets for Seven Witches is a fun collection, and a great way to sample the work of some authors you may not have read before. We had only read two of these authors previously (Hanna and Milligan), and we weren’t sure how much we’d enjoy the stories that don’t have cats, but we’re pleased to report that every story in this book is a winner. It seemed that as we read each, we thought, “This one’s our favorite,” so that by the time we reached the end of the book, we could not pick a favorite. The stories featuring a racoon, a rat, and a wombat are every bit as entertaining as the cat stories. Actually, we think you should read this book just for the wombat familiar (who is named Persnickle) in a town where coffee is illegal. Imagine that!

Highly recommended!

A note on the "Paws Up" system: Miss C gives either one or two paws up. One paw is for a good read; two paws is for a great read. She never gives three or four paws because that would require her to lie on her back...and Miss C does not do that!

The link below is an Amazon Associates link. If you purchase the book through this link, old SoLT and I could get some coin for our kibble account. Thank you!

Sunday Selfie: Webster in the Window

Lately, Real Cat Webster has taken to sitting on the back of old SoLT's recliner so he can look out the window. That's where they took this selfie:

We're joining the Sunday Selfies blog hop, hosted by The Cat on My Head!

Caturday Art: Paisley Plays with the Dog's Stuff

Sometimes Real Cat Paisley watches Resident Dog Layla playing and tries to figure out what the heck she's doing. One day recently, Paisley saw Layla and old SoLT using the BUSTER ActivityMat, starter set w/3 activities (affiliate link) and noticed that the dog was having trouble understanding the peg that closes the envelope thingie. As soon as the dog went outside, Paisley jumped in and figured the peg out right away. We imagine she was thinking, "You just push it out of the way, dummy." To which Layla might have replied, "Hurrh?" (Layla is really very smart, but she just can't figure out that peg!)

To make this art, old SoLT started in LunaPic by bumping the saturation way up and applying the Brave art effect at 56%. Then in Photoshop, she messed around with some lighting effects and applied the Oil Paint filter.

And here's the original:

We're joining the Caturday Art blog hop, hosted by Athena and Marie!

Words with Webster: To Have Kittens

We have two fun Friday features for you today. First up is Real Cat Webster, who has a slang phrase to share. After that, it’s on to Friendly Fill-Ins!

Words with Webster

Hi, everybody! It’s me, Real Cat Webster. Welcome to Words with Me. Today’s word is a phrase: “to have kittens.” This is a slang term meaning “to be in an agitated mood : become perturbed or upset” (according to my favorite dictionary, Merriam-Webster’s). The Oxford English Dictionary has the first known appearance in print in 1900:

Kitten. In phrases ‘get kittens’, ‘have kittens’. 1. To get angry. 2. To be in great anxiety, or to be afraid. (Dialect Notes 2:44)

But, if it was well known enough to be put in a book in 1900, it must have been in fairly common use before that.

We found one interesting idea of the phrase’s origins from The Phrase Finder site. A post from February 11, 2000, claims that “to have kittens” has much deeper origins, going back to when women actually worried that they might give birth to kittens. An old Scottish superstition said that a woman could have kittens if she ate food that had a cat’s semen on it. (I have to wonder about the conditions that would make that particular scenario believable.) In medieval times, women who felt pain while they were pregnant might believe that it was from kittens inside them trying to get out. Sometimes there’d be a helpful witch around who would provide (or “sell,” more likely) a potion to fix the problem. In 1654 in Scotland, a woman on trial for trying to get an abortion pleaded that she’d done it because she had “cats in her bellie.” (From a post by Joel citing How Did It Begin?, by R. Brasch [1966].)

Photo via Adobe Stock.

A post by Elyse Bruce on Historically Speaking (January 2, 2014) says that the expression is recognized in all English-speaking countries, although it isn’t often heard. P. G. Wodehouse used it in chapter 7 of his 1960 book titled Jeeves in the Offing:

“Your uncle will be most upset.”
“He’ll have kittens.”
“Kittens?”
“That’s right.”
“Why kittens?”
“Why not?”

Bruce also repeats the “cats in her bellie” story, but she adds, “Have kittens is difficult to find in newspapers, magazines and books with the trail going cold right before the turn of the century, in the late 1890s.” She puts the term at about 1900.

How accurate is this saying? Well, a long, long time before I was born, Mommy saw some kittens being born, and she remembers the mother being sort of matter-of-fact about finding a safe, comfy place and just getting down to the business of giving birth and taking care of her babies. She says the mother cat was panting and seemed in pain but she (the cat) was calm. This makes me think that this saying doesn’t come from cats actually having kittens. Then again, some mother cats probably get in a bit of a state when they’re about to have kittens. But I’m a boy, so I don’t really know. If you know, please tell me in the comments, because I am trying to learn more about girls!

Friendly Fill-Ins

And now it’s time for Friendly Fill-Ins, from 15andmeowing and McGuffy’s Reader. They are a fun way to learn a little bit about the authors of the blogs you read. The first two questions, answered by old SoLT this week, are from Ellen of 15andmeowing, and the next two, answered by Real Cat Webster, are from Annie of McGuffy’s Reader.

Old SoLT’s answers:

1. I am the cook in my family.  

2. I have no siblings.

Real Cat Webster’ answers:

3. I am looking forward to window whiffies this Spring.

4. The first sign of Spring this year was snow and sleet. Is that a sign of spring? No? Well, that’s what we got. Mommy says the crocuses started blooming before that, so I guess that is a better sign.

The Ancient Maya Kept Big Cats in Captivity as Early as 400 BC

We have an interesting “big cats in archaeology” news short for you today, as a recent study has indicated that as early as 400 BC, the ancient Maya of Central America had big cats that they kept in captivity.

Some of the ruins at Ceibal, Guatemala.
Photo by Chixuy (2006) [CC BY-SA 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons.

The first physical evidence of the Maya having a captive big cat

This portion of a mural from Chichen Itza, Mexico, shows a
jaguar grasping a human heart.
Photo via Adobe Stock.

The evidence comes from the site of Ceibal, which is in present-day Guatemala. It was occupied for some 2,000 years, from about 1000 BC to AD 1000. There, archaeologists discovered a mandible and molar believed to be from a jaguar (or possibly a puma). Researchers tested isotopes (different forms of an element’s atoms) of carbon, nitrogen, strontium, and oxygen from these and other animal bones found at the site. The carbon and nitrogen would give clues about what the animal ate, and the strontium and oxygen, which came from tooth enamel, would show where the animal was born and grew up. That analysis showed that, from a young age, the jaguar either ate maize or ate other animals that had eaten maize. A wild cat wouldn’t be expected to have this kind of diet, so it is possible that this jaguar was raised in captivity for ceremonial purposes (i.e., to be sacrificed).  Captive cats had shown up in Maya art before, but this jaguar’s jaw and tooth are the first physical evidence of the Maya keeping a big cat in captivity.

There were dogs too

The same study found that two of the dogs discovered at Ceibal had come from over 100 miles away. These two dogs were from the same time period as the jaguar—about 400 BC—and their presence there is evidence of dogs being traded over long distances by the Maya.

Why are we telling you this?

Because occasionally we like to blog outside the lines to tell you something interesting about our wild cousins, and one should always keep tabs on one’s wild cousins.

Keep track of your wild cousins!
The Maya carved this head of a jaguar ca. 550-950.
Photo by Marie-Lan Nguyen (2011) [CC BY 2.5].

Sources

Pappas, Stephanie. 2018. “Big Cats and ‘Ritual’ Dogs Lived in Maya Captivity.” Live Science, March 19. https://www.livescience.com/62061-ritual-dogs-mayan-pyramid.html

Sharpe, Ashley, et al. 2018. “Earliest Isotopic Evidence in the Maya Region for Animal Management and Long-Distance Trade at the Site of Ceibal, Guatemala.” PNAS, March 19. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1713880115

Cat of the Week: Ribbon

Each week in this space, we feature an older adult or senior cat (7 years +) in need of adoption or sponsorship. Mature cats make great companions, and unlike kittens, they (probably) won’t climb the curtains! Adopt an older cat, and help them enjoy the best years of their life.

This week we are introducing this handsome tabby named Ribbon. Ribbon is 10 years old and is very sweet. He is also front-paw declawed. He likes to get to know a person first before he gets too friendly, but he loves to snuggle with a nice person who will pet him as much as he wants. This lovable gentleman will make a perfect companion for someone!

Ribbon is currently at the Baltimore Humane Society. Learn more about him here.

Can’t adopt? You can still help! Check out Sammy’s Cat Necessities Fund, which provides money for everyday and medical needs of cats at the Baltimore Humane Society. You can also make a general donation or sponsor a particular animal on this page. Every little bit helps!

Cat Classics on Film: Cat People (1982)

Today’s Cat Classic on Film is the 1982 version of Cat People, directed by Paul Schrader and starring Nastassja Kinksi, Malcolm McDowell, and John Heard. You may recall that we featured the 1942 version in an earlier post. We liked that earlier version a lot. This later version is based on that film but adds some serious twists to the story.

The plot (contains spoilers)

Irena Gallier (Nastassja Kinski) arrives in New Orleans and is met by Paul (Malcolm McDowell), the brother she has not seen since they were children. They had been split up when both their parents died. From the start, Paul seems to have a distinctly unbrotherly interest in his younger sister. That night, a prostitute is attacked by a black leopard, and the next morning officials from the New Orleans Zoo arrive to tranquilize the cat and take it to the zoo. Meanwhile, Paul has disappeared, leaving Irena alone on her first day in the city. She goes out for a day of sightseeing and ends up at the zoo, where she comes upon the leopard in its new cage. Transfixed by the cat, she begins to sketch him, and that is how curator Oliver Yates (John Heard) finds her after the zoo has closed. Soon, Irena and Oliver have the beginnings of a romance, and Oliver has gotten her a job in the zoo’s gift shop.

The leopard is hard to control, and it soon rips off the arm of a zookeeper (Ed Begley Jr.). Old SoLT found this hilarious. First, the keeper was being a jerk and taunting the cat, so we didn’t have a lot of sympathy for him. Second, the actual ripping is so graphic it is a bit ridiculous. We think a really good sound effect, without the visual, would have been more horrifically effective. Anyway, the keeper quickly bleeds to death, and blood washes over Irena's shoes--in slow motion.

The leopard then escapes, and Paul returns home that evening (you will notice the connection between these events). It becomes crystal clear that his interest in Irena is sexual, but it’s not just because he’s a creep. Many generations ago, their ancestors sacrificed children to leopards. As the cats consumed the children, they became part human. These “cat people” were—and are—incestuous, able to mate only with each other because they would end up killing any regular human they were intimate with.

Ookaaay…

Let’s just say we couldn’t suspend our disbelief quite far enough to buy that bit of backstory.

Our verdict

We don’t want to tell the whole story, but we do want to touch on the swimming pool scene, which is very similar to the pool scene in the 1942 film, with a lone female swimmer in a darkened room being pursued by an unseen leopard. Only this version not as good as the original, we thought. Actually, nothing about this 1982 film was quite as good as the original. We found the 1942 story (in which Irena was from a village of witches who could transform into cats) more compelling in every way. The 1982 version of Cat People relies too much on gore and nudity, including some nudity that we found gratuitous and stupid.

We’re not trying to say that this is a horrible movie. We just thought it could have been a lot better if the psychological horror had been emphasized over the blood and the naked people. We're way more interested in people's motivations than in their breasts. Cat People does have some things going for it, though. If you're a fan of the sort of horror film that shows an arm being ripped off, you might like this. And if you take this film as its own thing rather than comparing it to the earlier version, it can be enjoyable. The relationship between Irena and Oliver is interesting, as you have to wonder if she's going to end up killing him. And then there is the song by David Bowie ("Putting Out Fire") on the soundtrack. That was easily our favorite thing about this movie.

Overall, though, this is just not our thing. We recommend skipping this version in favor of the 1942 version, which we found more gripping and better in every way.

Cat People is rated R for some language and graphic violence, a lot of nudity, and some sex. 

Click here to see the trailer, and to hear the David Bowie song from the soundtrack.

A note on the "Paws Up" system: Miss C gives either one or two paws up. One paw is for a good movie; two paws is for a great movie. She never gives three or four paws because that would require her to lie on her back...and Miss C does not do that!

The links below are Amazon Associates links. If you purchase anything through them, old SoLT and I could get some coin for our kibble account. Thank you!

Sunday Selfies: Paisley and Webster

Both of the Real Cats did Sunday Selfies this week. For once, old SoLT wasn't running around with her phone on Saturday afternoon, saying "Who wants to do Sunday Selfie?" over and over as she tried to locate a cat.

First up is Real Cat Paisley. Friday night, old SoLT heard Paisley making a strange noise in the kitchen. When she went to investigate, she found Paisley playing with one of the little hearts that Ellen of 15 and Meowing sent us. Paisley almost never does this with toys anymore. She must really love that heart!

Real Cat Webster did his selfie earlier in the week, while he was sitting on old SoLT's lap as she watched TV one evening.

We're joining the Sunday Selfies blog hop, hosted by The Cat on My Head!

Caturday Art: St. Patrick's Day

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, we have some special holiday-themed art for you today. First up is the Real Cats' St. Patrick's card:

Then, Real Cat Webster convinced old SoLT to do this art of him:

This is the Delaunay art effect in LunaPic, with some adjustments made to the colors to bring in more greens. Then in PicMonkey, old SoLT used Dark Edges and a Polaroid frame.

And finally, a huge congratulations to the UMBC men's basketball team, who upset top-seeded Virginia in the first round of the NCAA tournament last night. Woo-hoo! #RetrieverNation

We're joining the Caturday Art blog hop, hosted by Athena and Marie!

Words with Webster: Digitigrade, Plus Friendly Fill-Ins

We have two fun Friday features for you today. First up is Real Cat Webster, who has a footsy word to share. After that, it’s on to Friendly Fill-Ins!

  

Words with Webster

Hi, everybody! It’s me, Real Cat Webster. Welcome to Words with Me. Today’s word is “digitigrade.” I picked this word because Mommy was looking up some stuff about cats and she found the word and couldn’t pronounce it (no, Mommy, it’s not “digigratitudey”!) and I thought that was funny. So I looked in my favorite dictionary (Merriam-Webster’s) and found out that our word means

(of an animal) walking upon the digits with the posterior part of the foot more or less raised.

In other words, it means walking on the toes. That is what cats do (and dogs and some other mammals too). The Oxford English Dictionary says it more plainly:

That walks on the toes.

The OED also says that “digitigrade” used to refer to

the former tribe Digitigrada of carnivorous mammals, including dogs, cats, mongooses, weasels, etc., whose members walk on their toes (obs.)

The tribe Digitigrada was part of French zoologist Georges Cuvier's classification system. Cuvier (1769-1832) studied paleontology and comparative anatomy and had an idea he called the "correlation of parts." This meant that the structure of one of an animal's organs was functionally related to all its other organs, and those structures and functions developed from how the animal interacted with the environment. Others thought it was the other way around: that an animal's anatomy dictated how it lived.*

Getting back to our word, it looks like "digitigrade" was first used in print in 1827. This quote is from 1833:

The legs also are completely digitigrade; that is to say, the heel is elevated, and does not come into contact with the surface... Digitigrade animals, which tread only upon the toes … have much longer legs than plantigrade animals. (Penny Cyclopedia I.4)

The English word “digitigrade” was borrowed directly from French and ultimately comes from the Latin digitus (“finger”) and -gradus (a suffix meaning “stepping, walking”).

So maybe one reason cats move so quietly is because we’re always walking on our tippy-toes!

This Siamese cat demonstrates the feline digitigrade walking technique.
Photo via Adobe Stock.

* "Georges Cuvier," Encyclopedia Britannica, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Georges-Cuvier. 

Friendly Fill-Ins

And now it’s time for Friendly Fill-Ins, from 15andmeowing and McGuffy’s Reader. They are a fun way to learn a little bit about the authors of the blogs you read. The first two questions, answered by Real Cat Paisley this week, are from Ellen of 15andmeowing, and the next two, answered by old SoLT, are from Annie of McGuffy’s Reader.

Real Cat Paisley’s answers:

1. When I am nervous, I hide somewhere safe and take a nap until I feel better.

2. When I am angry, I hiss at whoever ticked me off (usually Webster, because sometimes boys are just annoying).

Old SoLT’s answers:

3. Today, I know for sure that these days I’m more comfortable admitting I don’t know much than thinking I know anything for sure.

4. For St. Patrick’s day, I don’t usually do anything special. I don’t even wear green, and I am part Irish! I do think about my Irish ancestors and wish I knew more about them, but I do that even when it's not St. Paddy's Day.

Survey Results: Your Cat’s Emotions

A few weeks ago, we created a survey just for fun to ask our readers about their cats’ emotions. Today it’s time to reveal the 100% unscientific results. (I have to say “100% unscientific” just in case anyone is tempted to use our results in their research paper, which is really not a good idea!)

The survey

To recap, we asked readers how often their cats expressed six “primary” emotions (anger, joy, sadness, disgust, fear, surprise) and four “secondary” emotions (jealousy, shame, disappointment, compassion). Primary emotions are those that are innate; they are hardwired into the brain. The primary emotions used in our survey are the ones identified by psychologist Paul Ekman. Other researchers have listed different primary emotions or a different number of them. Secondary emotions are how we feel about or judge our primary emotions.

Some people think animals don’t experience emotions. That is poppycock (to use the technical term). Anyone who has spent time interacting with non-human animals and actually paying attention to them should recognize that those animals experience emotions. Other people think that animals have emotions, but only primary emotions. We’re not so sure about that either, since the experts can’t even agree on which emotions are primary and which are secondary. Emotions, wethinks, are not always so easily defined or categorized.

In any case, our survey respondents were cat guardians who told us about the emotions they observe in their cats. If we were to ask the cats directly, we would surely get different results.

The data

And speaking of results.… We got 19 total responses, which was fewer than we’d hoped for, but it’s not bad considering it’s our first survey and we honestly did not promote it as thoroughly as we could have.  

The most commonly reported emotions were joy, fear, and surprise:

• Joy—17 respondents (94.44%) reported that their cats “sometimes” or “often” expressed joy.
• Fear—16 respondents (84.21%) reported that their cats “sometimes” or “often” expressed fear; 3 respondents (15.79%) said their cats “never,” “very seldom,” or “rarely” expressed fear.
• Surprise—16 respondents (84.21%) reported that their cats “sometimes” or “often” expressed surprise.

Next most common were anger, jealousy, and disappointment:

• Anger—14 respondents (73.68%) reported that their cats “sometimes” or “often” expressed anger.
• Jealousy—14 respondents (73.68%) reported that their cats “sometimes” or “often” expressed jealousy.
• Disappointment—14 respondents (73.68%) reported that their cats “sometimes” expressed disappointment. No respondents said their cats “often” expressed disappointment.

The least common emotion—by far—was shame:

• 15 respondents (83.33%) said their cats “never” expressed shame.
• 1 respondent (5.56%) said their cats “sometimes” expressed shame.
• 2 respondents (11.11%) said they did not know if their cats expressed shame.

Sadness was also less commonly reported than many other emotions:

• 10 respondents (55.56%) said their cats “sometimes” expressed sadness.
• 3 respondents (16.67%) said their cats “never” expressed sadness.
• No respondents said their cats “often” expressed sadness.

Disgust and compassion fell in the middle:

• 13 respondents (68.42%) said that their cats “sometimes” or “often” expressed disgust; 1 respondent said their cat expressed disgust “only at dogs.”
• 12 respondents (63.16%) said their cats “sometimes” or “often” expressed compassion; 4 respondents (21.05%) said their cats "never" expressed compassion.

 

Conclusion

So what does it all mean?

We conclude that the respondents mostly have happy cats who sometimes are surprised by something and sometimes feel afraid. They also sometimes feel angry, jealous, or disappointed. Less often, they are disgusted or they express compassion. We further conclude that most of these cats have no sense of shame and don’t hold on to feelings of sadness. On average, they sound pretty emotionally healthy to us.

One thing to keep in mind: The emotions reported are the human respondents' interpretations of their cats' behaviors and expressions. What do the cats really feel? You'll have to ask them!

Thank you to all those who participated in our survey!

We remind you that our survey was inspired by this recent study: Su, Koda, and Martens. 2018. “How Japanese Companion Dog and Cat Owners’ Degree of Attachment Relates to the Attribution of Emotions to Their Animals.” PLOS One 13(1). https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0190781

Cats of the Week: Edgar and Poe

Each week in this space, we feature an older adult or senior cat (7 years +) in need of adoption or sponsorship. Mature cats make great companions, and unlike kittens, they (probably) won’t climb the curtains! Adopt an older cat, and help them enjoy the best years of their life.

If one cat is good, two are terrific, and today we have two great cats to introduce you to. Edgar and Poe are brothers, both 10 years old, who would like to find a new home together. Edgar is the gray gentleman with gorgeous green eyes, and Poe is the handsome black house panther. These boys rely on each other for comfort and companionship. We think there are few things in life more enjoyable than watching bonded cats interact with each other, and we’re sure these guys will bring lots of extra life to the home of their new person.

Edgar and Poe are currently at the Baltimore Humane Society. Learn more about them here and here.

Can’t adopt? You can still help! Check out Sammy’s Cat Necessities Fund, which provides money for everyday and medical needs of cats at the Baltimore Humane Society. You can also make a general donation or sponsor a particular animal on this page. Every little bit helps!

Book Review: Claws for Concern

On this Mysterious Monday, we return to Athena, Mississippi, to bring you our review of Claws for Concern, the latest Cat in the Stacks mystery by Miranda James. This volume finds Charlie Harris and his Maine coon named Diesel working on a 20-year-old multiple-murder case from a nearby town. The twist is that these killings might have been committed by a man who claims to be Charlie’s cousin by marriage.

The plot

There’s been a stranger hanging around the public library where Charlie volunteers. That in itself isn’t such a big deal, but things get weird when the stranger, whose name turns out to be Bill Delaney, comes to the desk and asks about Charlie’s late Uncle Del—not realizing Del’s relationship to Charlie. Bill reveals that Del was his father, and to Charlie, the story has the ring of truth. Surely there must be something he can do to help his newfound cousin … but before he goes too far down that road, Charlie learns of something disturbing.

Twenty years ago, four people (two of them children) were shot to death in their home, and Bill was the main suspect. Police never could break his alibi, though, and the crime was never solved. Now, Charlie has been contacted by true-crime writer Jack Pemberton, who wants to write a book about Charlie’s involvement in solving local crimes. But before they get started on that road, Jack and Charlie decide to team up to work on the 20-year-old case and determine once and for all whether Bill was the killer. The trouble with that is, people who may have thought their secrets were safe won’t take kindly to someone digging things up.

The cat

Just in case you are not familiar with Diesel, he is a large Maine coon who is Charlie’s near-constant companion. We enjoy his repertoire of warbles and chirps that he uses to communicate, and we love his fascination with Charlie’s baby grandson. Diesel is a real “people cat,” and he accompanies Charlie to the library and many other places. He does not like to be left alone; if Charlie is going someplace where he can’t take the cat along, he has to arrange a babysitter so Diesel won’t get lonely. While Diesel doesn’t solve the crime or save the day, he is nevertheless a magnificent cat—easily one of our favorite fictional felines.

Our verdict

Claws for Concern is superbly written, with a believable and compelling story and characters that we just can’t get enough of. Really, it is hard to imagine how James’s stories or characters could get any better. Charlie Harris is the sort of person you want to spend time getting to know. He is a southern gentleman of the best kind, and he loves cats and books, so he is pretty much perfect. We read so many books with female protagonists that it’s a nice change to have a male as a lead character. The Cats in the Stacks books don’t have the sense of fun quirkiness that we enjoy in many other series, but there are plenty of cozy vibes from the way Charlie treats others and his devotion to his family and Diesel. And speaking of vibes, this series is southern through and through, and we love it. We could almost feel the humidity and taste the iced tea.

Highly recommended!

A note on the "Paws Up" system: Miss C gives either one or two paws up. One paw is for a good read; two paws is for a great read. She never gives three or four paws because that would require her to lie on her back...and Miss C does not do that!

We received a free copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review. We wouldn’t tell you it was good unless we really liked it!

The link below is an Amazon Associates link. If you purchase the book through this link, old SoLT and I could get some coin for our kibble account. Thank you!