Happy World Cat Day 2017!

We have a simple message for you today:

If you are a cat, today you should act as though the world is yours, because it is!

If you are a human who lives with a cat or two (or more), today you should treat your cats as though the world is theirs, because it is! (Extra pets and treats, wethinks.)

If you are a human who does not currently live with a cat, what's wrong with you? Having the right cat in your life can make all sorts of things a whole lot better. Check out some adoptable cats in your area. Here's a good place to start if you happen to live in the Baltimore area: Baltimore Humane Society. Bonus points for adopting a mature adult or senior cat (7 years +)!

Book Review: A Hiss Before Dying

We are always excited to start one of Rita Mae Brown’s Mrs. Murphy mysteries. The world she writes of—Crozet, Virginia, and its environs—is so beautifully and richly described, we expect to look out our window and see the Blue Ridge Mountains. And her characters, whom we have been reading of for over twenty years now, are like old friends. Of course there is a cat—two, in fact, or three, if you count Sneaky Pie Brown, Rita Mae’s coauthor. And there’s a dog (whatever…). Add in other pets, horses, even wild animals, all able to talk to each other, although the humans don’t understand them. The mysteries are pleasingly complex and sometimes have an element of history to them, which you know we love. A Hiss Before Dying has all this, and its parallel historical story resolves some issues brought up in the previous book, Tall Tail.

The plot: Present

A Hiss Before Dying gets off to a gruesome start as Mary Minor (“Harry”) Haristeen’s animals (tiger cat Mrs. Murphy, corgi Tee Tucker, and overweight gray cat Pewter) spot a bald eagle flying off with a human eyeball grasped in its talon. Then the humans discover that something rather unfortunate has happened to a driver who was supposed to deliver a truckload of cars to a dealership. (Hint: Parts of him are missing.) That situation quickly becomes secondary though, as another body is discovered, this one a black man with no identification other than a slave chit around his neck. These chits, we learn, were given to slaves who were sent to carry messages and such from one plantation to another; they were meant to indicate that the slave was on legitimate business and was not a runaway. So the modern-day mystery is all about finding out who this dead man was and what he was doing that got him killed. Also, something weird is going on at a local church’s cemetery: someone keeps tipping over two specific headstones and messing around with the soil near them. What could that be about?

Harry starts out getting only a little bit involved in all of this, but when an attempt is made on her life too, that’s it: She’s involved. And she’s not one to sit home and wait for something to happen, so whoever’s after her had better just watch out.

The plot: Past

The parallel story is set in 1786, when the United States was a brand-new nation just trying to find its way. A slave has run away from her cruel mistress and from the even crueler slave who seems to actually run things. Some are intent on finding the runaway and collecting the reward, while others are happy to keep her hidden. Interestingly, the very slave chits mentioned as part of the modern mystery also show up here. The answer to one of the modern mysteries also lies here in the past. Oh, and there is even a duel with pistols at ten paces—on a foggy morning, no less.

Our verdict

We love a book with a strong sense of place, and Brown’s books certainly have that. She writes of Albemarle County, Virginia, a place she knows well, and everything from her descriptions of the weather to the way her characters talk works to put you in that place. The historical sections, set on the same land over 200 years earlier than the main mystery, give the setting and modern story an extra richness. We enjoyed listening in on the debates over which direction the young country should take. The modern mystery is not a simple one, though the clues are there and we had our suspicions. And of course the animals.… They aren’t really integral to solving the mystery, but they are always around, and their chatter amongst themselves is often good for some comic relief. They know the places of the story in a different way, and they often know things the humans do not. Mrs. Murphy is the very first cozy mystery cat we ever read, years ago, and we shall always love her.

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: Best Friends

 This week's Sunday Selfie is of both Real Cats enjoying the late-morning sun at the back door. Alert readers will notice that this is the same photo used as the basis for Caturday Art yesterday.

We are joining the Sunday Selfies blog hop, hosted by The Cat on My Head.

Caturday Art: The Real Cats in a Sun Puddle in Barcelona

Today we join Athena's Caturday Art blog hop with the following offering of the Real Cats sitting in a sun puddle in Barcelona. Of course, they weren't really in Barcelona. They were in Maryland, as always, only old SoLT used the Barcelona art effect from Lunapic. We like how the sun puddle got outlined so it looks like a solid something:

And as a bonus entry, here is the same picture, but with the Alien Plant effect from Dreamscope:

And here is the original:

Words with Webster: Ear Furnishings, Plus Friendly Fill-Ins

We have two fun features for you this Friday. First up is Words with Webster, in which he tells us about something…hairy. This is followed by Friendly Fill-Ins.

Words with Webster

Hi, all! It’s me, Real Cat Webster. Welcome to Words with Me. Today’s word is two words: “ear furnishings.” Mommy laughs a little when she hears “ear furnishings,” because it always makes her think of a cat with a sofa coming out of his ear. (I don’t know why she picks something big like a sofa; a stool or smallish occasional table would be more realistic.) Anyway, that's not what ear furnishings are. They're actually those tufts of fur that some cats have in their ears.  You know, like Persians or Norwegian Forest Cats have (please see the helpful illustration below).

I looked up “furnishing” in my favorite dictionary, Webster’s, and it said, “an ornamental appendage of an animal.” Then I looked it up in the Oxford English Dictionary, which says furnishings are “decoration” or “unimportant appendages; mere externals.” It doesn’t say anything about animals specifically. (For the record, I don’t think we could call cats’ ear furnishings “unimportant”; certainly the cats that have them think they’re pretty important!)

The word "furnishing" seems to have first appeared in print in the 1490s. The "decoration" meaning came along 100 years later, and the "unimportant appendages" one appeared in about 1616, in Shakespeare's King Lear:

Something deeper, Whereof (perchance) these are but furnishings. (III.i.20)

 I looked for, like, five minutes but couldn’t find out when “furnishings” was first used to mean the fur tufts in cats’ ears. If anyone happens to know, please share!

Use this handy guide to help you distinguish cats' ear furnishings
from common furnishings such as sofas.

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. Meetings? I’m a cat; I don’t do meetings.

2. Rules? I’m a cat; I don’t do rules.

Old SoLT’s answers:

3. The best time to get up in the morning is early—anytime before six is good; after that is “late.”
4. I have learned that generous doses of humor and laughter will help you get through a lot of life’s rough patches.

Favorite Old Cat Books

It may not look like much on the outside (and without
the dust jacket, which was lost years and years ago),
but inside are some wonderful cat photos.

We have put together a short post today, due to lack of time on old SoLT’s part (some of us prefer to call this “lack of planning,” but whatever). For a while now, old SoLT has been wanting to share a couple of cat books from her childhood. They are books she has had seemingly forever, and to call them well-worn is a kindness; they are far from falling apart, but they do show their years of being owned by a child who turned their pages over and over and over.

Walter Chandoah’s Book of Kittens and Cats

The first is Walter Chandoah’s Book of Kittens and Cats. This book has gone through several editions, the earliest published in 1963 by Bramhall House. This is the one old SoLT has. It doesn’t look like much, but it is double special to her because its first page is inscribed:

Presented to Sarah Marie Andrews on the occasion of her 6^th birthday, December 22, 1974
Betty Van Zandt

She remembers being so honored to be presented with a book (and a grown-up book, no less!), and through the years she has read the inscription many, many times. Sadly, today she has no idea who Betty Van Zandt was.

Walter Chandoah (b. 1920) is a rather famous cat photographer, and this book is a collection of black and white photos of…kittens and cats. To old SoLT, they are iconic photos that are firmly etched in her memory. When she thinks of cats, often she still thinks of Chandoah’s photos. Used copies can be found on Amazon (this is not an affiliate link). You can follow Chandoah on Instagram.

The Cat Catalog: The Ultimate Cat Book

The Cat Catalog is so packed with interesting
information, it is hard to stop turning its pages.

The second book is The Cat Catalog: The Ultimate Cat Book, edited by Judy Fireman. Old SoLT does not know when she received this book, but it was published in 1976 by Workman, and she thinks she has had it since around that time. This book has fascinated her through the years because it contains page after page of stories and articles about everything cat. It is all so very interesting, from “The Historical Cat” to “The Medical Cat” and “The Legal Cat.” She still comes to it for blog post ideas (recognizing that some of its information may be out of date). Used copies are readily available: (Amazon buy link) Cat Catalog: The Ultimate Cat Book 

Those are old SoLT’s favorite old cat books. What about you? Do you have any treasured cat books from childhood (or adulthood—we’re not picky)? Please share in the comments!

Cats of the Week: Milly May and Spencer

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 a senior cat, and help them enjoy the best years of their life!

This week we’re introducing a bonded pair who must be adopted together. Milly May is an 8-year-old female, and her brother Spencer is an 8-year-old male. They’re both pretty laid back. Favorite things include comfy beds and head rubs. Sometimes the simple things are the best, right? They have lived with a child and a dog before.

Why get two cats? Well for one thing, they will keep each other company when you’re not home. For another, it’s fun to watch the interactions of two cats who are friendly with each other. Each pair will have their own dynamics, of course, but the Real Cats groom each other, play and chase other (and they’re 12 years old!), and yes, occasionally get into an, um, disagreement. It’s never boring. Finally, you know you’ve given a loving home to not one cat but two—and freed up two spaces in the shelter!

Milly May and Spencer 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!

Ravens fans!

The Baltimore Humane Society is raffling off 2017 season tickets! Raffle tickets start at $10. What a great way to support homeless pets in the Baltimore area while getting a chance to win those season tickets you’ve been dreaming of.