Tomorrow is Cuddly Kitten Day. Folks, you know what to do to celebrate this charming holiday. Yup, cuddle with your cats. For an added thrill, visit someone you know who has a kitten. This will surely make you smile. The kitten will love it, too. Shelters are starting to fill with kittens. In fact our local shelter is having a spring kitten fling soon. I’m so tempted to go there and play with the kittens, but I don’t want to bring one home and upset Olivia’s apple cart. Plus at my age, it’s not wise to commit to a kitten—an older cat is a better option. By the way, yes, I have a godparent for ..read more

Cats have interesting ways of showing fear, reacting to fear, and handling fear. It seems to me that some of this is universal among cats. They arch their back and puff up to appear larger than they are and growl to show how fierce they are. We laugh when we see a kitten take this posture, but that kitten isn’t laughing. He means business. Reach in with a hand to comfort him cautiously. But what interests me this week is how cats handle their fear of strangers, for example, loud noises, and such—things like the sound of rain or hail, thunder, a car backfiring, or the constant roar of a lawnmow ..read more

Saint Gertrude of Nivelles was, among many other things, Patron Saint of Cat. Since her story is a long one and detailed and fascinating, I’m offering a link to it. Enjoy: https://nationaltoday.com/saint-gertrude-of-nivelles-day/   ..read more

The first time I saw a flower arrangement depicting a cat was at a Cat Writers Association conference. I just thought that was the dearest thing and so creative. Since then I’ve seen other cat-related flower arrangement. Talk about something that will make you smile. In case you want to create one or ask your favorite florist to do so, here are dozens of ideas. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/526358275168970353/ It’s also national catio day–Do you have a catio for your cat ..read more

How many ways do you honor your favorite cats? Most likely you take pictures and maybe share them on social media. You might frame special photo of her and display them in your house or you’ve commissioned an artist to do a pencil drawing or a painting of your cat. Some people collect things related to the breed of their favorite cat—jewelry, pottery, and so forth. And most of us have at least one leopard-print piece of clothing. Do you also have socks with cats, cat pajamas, a scarf, purse, shoes…? I have most of the above. I also write about cats, have cat stationery, stuffed cats, a cat mot ..read more

Many people do what they can to help promote the characteristics of cats because they believe that to know a cat is to love a cat. And the more people who love a cat, the fewer cats are left homeless. I write to help cats—to promote cats and kittens to people who already love cats, of course, but also to help those who have never known a cat to take another look at them—give them a chance to make an impression. I used to write nonfiction—articles for magazines—and I often wrote about various ways to help or care for cats. Now I write cozy mysteries with cats, showing what cats are capable of ..read more

March is International Rescue Cat Awareness Month. This month you might consider familiarizing yourself with the good work that your local cat shelters do to save cats that need rescuing. Currently there are reported to be 3,500 animal shelters and sanctuaries in the US and 10,000 rescue groups. That’s a whole lot of people working to protect and save cats and also dogs. It’s sad to know that we need that many hard-working full time people to try fixing what we, as a nation/world, have broken—our commitment to our domestic animals. Let me say, thank you to all of the hardworking angels in cat ..read more

Rags helps solve a neighborhood mystery. Neighbors are missing things and Rags is being accused. But who or what is leaving valuable items on random porches? Even local sheriff’s deputies are stymied. Meanwhile, the Iveys and Rags rush to save a sweet neighborhood cat and an abused dog that have been callously injured, and Margaret uses Rags to convict a woman she knows to be back in the business of exploiting innocent cats. This story also features some humorous and some touching moments that Rags’s fans won’t want to miss. This book was published Feb. 28, 2023. Purchase your print or kindle ..read more

February is recognized as Spay/Neuter Awareness Month and the fourth Tuesday in February is World Spay Day. This is a good time to get your own pet spayed or neutered, and gather up those outside cats that hang around your place (you can borrow humane traps from your local shelters) and take them to be spayed or neutered. Many communities have free spay/neuter clinics. Check those in your area and take this important step to protect your pets and future litters. In honor of World Spay Day and Spay/Neuter Awareness Month, many veterinarians and humane organizations offer free or discounted spay ..read more

Olivia is a finicky eater. She wants to graze on kibbles. Rarely will she eat a plate of canned food. This worries me and I weigh her  often to make sure she’s maintaining a good weight. Ten pounds. She always sits on the ten pound mark, so I guess that’s a good sign. I continue to offer her canned food, though, and sometimes she’ll eat it—most of the time she doesn’t. Wasteful, I know. Another cat we loved, Winfield, would eat canned food, but he also liked his kibbles. At bedtime when we were shutting down the house for the night, Winfield had his own routine. He’d go to the kibbles bow ..read more