Cats are Family Too!

Do you remember that 80s new wave hit by Information Society “What’s on Your Mind”? This is one of the countless songs that works its way into my head on a somewhat regular basis. When this happens, like with any other songs, I sing it to the cats. This week’s post was inspired by the fact that it’s happened again, and this little ditty has been stuck in my head all week. It’s entirely possible that Betty and Marge are sick of hearing it by now, but who knows? Now, I always

Much to Betty and Marge’s dismay, it was once again time to succumb to my wanderlust and skip town for a few days. Of course, I always miss them the second I walk out the door, as well as the entire time I’m gone. What was really great about this trip, in particular, is that there was no shortage whatsoever of other cats with which to pass the time. First of the bunch were my “roommates” Penny (calico), Taco (orange) and Zero (tuxedo)- I stayed with some friends and they are

You may have been initially thrown off by the title- “The afterlife? What? I thought this blog was supposed to be about cats!”. Not to worry, I haven’t strayed into new territory. I’m still going to discuss our favorite creatures on the planet. This week, my family and I got together for the one year anniversary of the passing of my stepdad, Frank. On my Mom’s side, we *always* had animals in the house, always. We had one cat (Olive) at the time they met in 1989, but it didn’

(editor's note: Sorry we've been absent lately! Real life and all... we are back though!) I’ve lived in my apartment for 7 years now, in the city proper, but on a residential street. There are the usual animals lingering around, such as squirrels, robins, rats and the occasional opossum. Crazy as it sounds, I’ve even seen a coyote run down my street! Surprisingly, though, a random cat was a pretty rare sight. Then one day, about 3 years ago, a very friendly blonde guy showed

(Editor's Note: Last Friday's blog post has been pushed to this week due to the holiday last weekend. We resume normal schedule on June 8th!) Surely, most, if not all, of us have encountered an outgoing, in-your-face, “OMG PET ME FOREVER” cat at some point in our lives. All you need to do is merely make eye contact (and, sometimes, not even that) and you’ll look down to see a small creature rubbing up on you, begging for attention and claiming you as their own. But, what abou

While it’s true that a lot of cats are social and like having a buddy or two around, sometimes, a cat is so used to being alone that any other new cat on the scene is automatically dubbed as “the enemy”. When you are the king or queen of your own domain, how dare another trespass onto your turf, right? Such was the case with Betty and Marge. For roughly 10 years of her life, Betty was a solo cat. She’d had a cat roommate briefly in the past and she was nothing short of a gian

I’ve mentioned previously that I volunteer at Harmony House for Cats in Chicago, IL. This, of course, means that I have the pleasure of meeting and interacting with a lot of cats on a regular basis. Now, I love all cats and think they’re all cute, but occasionally, I cross paths with one that is just beyond words. This has happened with a handful of cats over my 2.5 years of volunteering and to be honest, if I had a larger living space, I’d have adopted at least one of them a

Okay, so, yes, technically, National Pet Day already passed on April 11th. But, let’s be real here- every day is “pet day”! I can at least speak for Betty and Marge, as they remind me constantly that the world revolves around them and that every day is their day. I’ve been around animals since birth and have had countless pets. My mom is very much an animal enthusiast, as well, and there was never a shortage of small pals running around at all times. We’ve had cats, dogs, bir

With Easter just a mere two days away, those tall, pretty and, depending on who you ask, lovely-smelling lilies are everywhere in sight. We had them every year at my Dad’s felinefree house when I was growing up, as did/do many other people, even those with pets. They just feel like the norm around this time of the year. However, did you know that they are highly toxic and even potentially fatal to cats? In fact, all lilies are poisonous to cats to an extent, some more so than

Many people get very excited when they are out and about and are fortunate enough to spot an animal that they normally wouldn’t see or maybe have never seen in person before. I always get excited whenever I’ve been lucky enough to spot eagles, otters, elk or even a more local raccoon or opossum, you name it! These are animals that a lot of us, depending on where you live, of course, may not get to see on a daily basis or ever. But, do you know what other kind of animal I can

Much like my love for cats, I also have a strong love for travel. Thus, a few times a year, much to the cats’ dismay, I skip town. Betty, being the older one, has been around for this much more often than Marge. Betty, also being the co-dependent one who would prefer that I never set foot out of my apartment ever, isn’t much of a fan of these times. I can see the look of “Ugh, no, not *this* again” on her face the moment I drag the suitcase out. Once the suitcase is open and

Nothing says, “Hey, it’s time to party!” more than when a cat’s human is fast asleep in bed, preferably between 2-5am. Marge, thankfully, pretty much respects my sleep and doesn’t really feel the need to disrupt it. The most she’ll ever do is jump into the bed, meow once and then stare at me until I get up. That’s not a common occurrence, though. Usually, she is perfectly content with just sleeping in the bed. Betty, on the other hand, hoo-boy! I truly believe that finding ne

(Note from Aldona - We are so happy to welcome Natalie to the CAFT family! She will be writing a blog series for us we're dubbing "Feline Fridays". So of course for her first blog post with us, she'll be introducing everyone to her kitties. Be on the lookout for her blog posts every couple of weeks. Welcome aboard, Natalie!) We’ve probably all encountered a person in our lives, I know I have encountered several, who say, “Cats! They’re all the same, aren’t they?” I take tha