Behavior, New Research

Research Concludes Cat Memory as Good as Dogs’

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Cat memory is more than a Broadway song. It’s a fact according to new research.

 

It’s long been believed Fideaux is smarter than Fluffy, but new research questions the validity of the canine propaganda. Last year, a study published in Current Biology concluded that dogs remember some details of past experiences. A just-published study shows that cats, too, can access memories of past events and even recall some of the details.

Cats can recall memories

A team of Japanese scientists observed 49 volunteer domestic cats to determine whether or not they could remember which containers they’d already eaten from. Researchers let the cats explore open food bowls and eat from some containers before removing the kitties from the room. Fifteen minutes later, when the kitties returned to the room, they spent more time checking out the bowls they hadn’t yet emptied. The study, “Use of incidentally encoded memory from a single experience in cats,” was published last week in the journal, Behavioral Processes. Scientists observed the kitties recall details of past experiences, and “utilize the ‘what’ and ‘where’ information.” The final conclusion: cats have episodic memory, meaning they can recall details of a specific experience. Episodic memory is associated with self-awareness.

Cat memory is no surprise to anyone who has set out a carrier prior to a vet trip or quicked a claw while trimming nails. Cosmo, a one-year-old Siamese-mix, had always cooperated whenever I trimmed his nails. That is until the afternoon I accidentally pinched his toe while cutting his nails. For the next 13 years he hid whenever I pulled out the the nail nippers. He never forgot that pinched toe. So cats recall traumatic or painful events, but what about pleasant experiences?

Cats may even be able to daydream. In tests about understanding human gestures and facial expressions the cats performed as well as dogs.

Better relationship is researchers’ goal

These experiments weren’t IQ tests, but rather an attempt to better understand how kitties store and retrieve memories of experiences. The researchers hope their conclusions will cat owners and their pets develop better relationships.

“Understanding cats more deeply helps to establish better cat-human relationships,” lead author Saho Takagi, a psychologist at Kyoto University, said in an interview with  BBC. “Cats may be as intelligent as dogs, as opposed to the common view of people that dogs are much smarter.”

Additionally she told BBC that cats performed comparably to dogs in tests about understanding human gestures and facial expressions.

So next time you watch the Broadway musical, Cats, and Grizabella sings about her glory days, remember that the aging puss may actually be able to recall details of what and where.

Tell me about your cat’s memory in the comments below.

About Dusty Rainbolt

Author Dusty Rainbolt is an award-winning veterinary journalist according to her answering machine. She is an associate certified cat behavior consultant and member of International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants, as well as past president of the Cat Writers’ Association. Her books, columns, reviews and articles have been honored with more than 50 writing awards including three-time recipient of Friskies Writer of the Year. Her just-released cat behavior book, Cat Scene Investigator: Solve Your Cat’s Litter Box Mystery, is the consummate guide for dealing with a cat who sidesteps his/her appointed toilet. CSI, which provides science-based methods for determining the medical or behavioral causes of feline inappropriate elimination, teaches cat parents to view their cat’s litter box avoidance through the eyes of a detective to determine the cause and, ultimately, the remedy.

Environmental Enrichment, Review, Uncategorized

Ripple Rug product review

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The Ripple Rug in a configuaration the Test Kitties really like. Look closely at the center opening. You can barely see Emily’s nose. Photo by Weems S. Hutto.

 

Ripple Rug overall rating: 4½ paws

Purpose: Environmental enrichment and territory expansion

Test Kitties: Emily (4 years), ChanChan (5), Pallas (5), Leggo (8), George (10), Sam (17)

The topside of the Ripple Rug

Description: The Ripple Rug® cat activity play mat by Snuggly Cat® provides environmental enrichment and territory expansion by giving kitties a place to explore, hide and scratch. It consists of two needle ribbed polyester carpet sheets, each measuring 35 inches by 47 inches. The bottom rug has a natural rubber anti-slip coating. The underside of the upper carpet uses hook and loop fasteners (think Velcro®), which allows you to position the rug in into a series of caves. It also has 14 holes of varying diameters, 4 larger entrance/exit holes and a series of peep holes.

The underside of the top rug. Note the black hook and loop fasteners that attach to the base.

 


Test Kitties ratings: 5 Paws

The Rainbolt Test Kitties loved this product. It provides new places to explore and hide, as well as playing and scratching opportunities. It wasn’t unusual to see one sitting atop the unit playing footsie with another kitty inside. Re-shape the unit anytime, which gives Kitty perpetually novel places to explore. Toss toys in the crannies so Kitty can “hunt.” I hide treat balls inside. Whenever I refill the food puzzle, I stash it in a new location. They seemed to enjoy the added challenge. They also used it as a scratcher.

I just set it down and Emily begins to explore. Photo by Weems S. Hutto.

 

Safety: 4 paws

The rug and bonding materials are non-toxic. The coating is also nontoxic and made of 60 percent natural rubber. Four of the holes are large enough for a cat to get his head through. Each of the large holes have multiple safety slits that can be expanded. Using scissors or a razor blade, extend the safety slit to allow a full body portal. Trimmed nails will prevent claws from getting caught in the carpet loops.

 

Emily plays footsie with a kitty off-camera

Human rating: 4

Ripple Rug’s limitations are associated with your willingness to arrange it. That said, if you don’t get the cave just right, the cats ignore it. My first configuration attempt flopped in a big way. They simply sat on top of the messily arranged carpet. After they abandoned the failed structure I played with the configuration. It did take experimentation to create an enticing cave system. Once I got it right, the Test Kitties adored it.

Eventually the topside dwellers smush (a little Texas lingo there) the Ripple Rug flat, and you must create a new cavern. So if your cats appear uninterested, keep reworking the structure. They will let you know when you get it right.

Bette is deaf. Ripple Rug provides a safe hiding place for her.

The rugs fold into a 24-inch squares that you can easily store before guests arrive.

Aesthetics: 2 paws. It’s a brown ridged carpet. Not ugly, but certainly not designed to appeal to human aesthetics. Since experts believe cats color vision is limited to gray and blue, appearance doesn’t matter to the cat, but function does. Beauty is, in fact, in the eye of the beholder.
Washable: It stands up well to machine washing on delicate in cold water. I hang it and allow it to air dry. Because of the coloring, you can’t see most stains.
Environmentally friendly: 5 paws. The carpet fibers are made from 100% recycled plastic bottles. The manufacturing process melts the bottles and extrudes the plastic into fibers. Every Ripple Rug set contains 24 bottles, 80 percent of which come from New York State.

Einstein enjoys sitting on the Ripple Rug. Scratching it too.

 

Price: 4 paws $46.00 with free shipping from Amazon. (I’d pay it.)  

Get more information from Snuggly Cat.

Disclaimer: Neither the Rainbolt Test Kitties nor Dusty Rainbolt received any compensation for this review, however Snuggly Cat® did send a sample so the Test Kitties could opine. The Test Kitties try a lot of products, most of which are kicked to the curb. We only publish reviews on products that are fun, safe and helpful for our readers and their cats.

About Dusty Rainbolt

Author Dusty Rainbolt is an award-winning veterinary journalist according to her answering machine. She is an associate certified cat behavior consultant and member of International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants, as well as past president of the Cat Writers’ Association. Her books, columns, reviews and articles have been honored with more than 50 writing awards including three-time recipient of Friskies Writer of the Year. Her just-released cat behavior book, Cat Scene Investigator: Solve Your Cat’s Litter Box Mystery, is the consummate guide for dealing with a cat who sidesteps his/her appointed toilet. CSI, which provides science-based methods for determining the medical or behavioral causes of feline inappropriate elimination, teaches cat parents to view their cat’s litter box avoidance through the eyes of a detective to determine the cause and, ultimately, the remedy.

Obituary, Odd News, Special Days, Uncategorized

The Poe Toaster; Newer isn’t Always Better

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The Poe Toaster was as mysterious at the poet’s death

January 19 is the 208th anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe’s birth. The revered American suspense author, poet and cat lover is best remembered for “The Black Cat” and “The Raven.” Poe was born in 1809 and died in 1849 at the still-young age of 40. For seven decades, usually sometime between midnight and 6 a.m. on Poe’s birthday, a mysterious man known as the Poe Toaster paid tribute to the author next to Poe’s headstone at Baltimore’s Westminster Hall and Burying Ground. The black-clad gentleman, a character as mysterious as the poet himself, always wore a wide-brimmed hat and white scarf to hide his face, and carried a cane.

The Poe Toaster was first noticed in 1949 (in year of the 100th anniversary of the poet’s death). The morning of January 19 the stranger entered the cemetery and raised a toast of Martell cognac to Poe. At the grave he left the unfinished bottle along with three red roses placed in a distinctive pattern. The Poe Society of Baltimore admits that some details have been kept private so they’ll recognize the real Toaster from the copycats.

A cryptic note left behind in 1993 stated, “The torch will be passed.” That apparently happened. A message left in 1999 announced that the original Toaster had died the previous year and a son had taken over the tradition. Watchers agreed that the Toaster appeared younger. Hopefully the elder Toaster is now sharing Martell with Poe face-to-face.

Then it got weird.

A 2001 note ranted about the Baltimore Ravens’ Super Bowl chances. A note left in 2004 included a diatribe about France’s opposition to the Iraq war. Obviously not the same dignified old Toaster. The son of the Poe Toaster last appeared in January 2009 marking the end of an era.

In 2010, he failed to show. In 2011 four impostors showed up, but unlike the real Poe Toasters, they made no effort to conceal their presence They didn’t give the secret gesture and failed to place the roses in the Toaster’s particular arrangement.

And while the Poe Toaster is to “Quoth the Raven, “’Nevermore,” the Maryland Historical Society could not let the mystery man die with dignity. Last year, they sent out a cattle call for “Baltimore’s Next Poe Toaster.” Competitors auditioned in a public America’s Got Talent–style audition performance. Even though his selection was very public, organizers are keeping his name a secret.

The NextGen Toaster, made his first debut after sunrise on January 16, 2016, three days before Poe’s actual birthday. (Sadly, like national holidays, Poe’s tribute has been moved to the weekend. The dignified expression of respect has evolved into a spectical. Worse still, a tourist trap.) While the new Toaster wore the traditional apparel, he added his own twist by playing Saint Saëns’ “Danse Macabre” on the violin. After he raised the cognac toast and laid the roses, he quoted the Roman poet Martial, “Cineri gloria sera venit”, which means “Glory paid to one’s ashes comes too late.” Then he left.

In a break with the early morning tradition of the original, this year the new faux Poe Toaster will appear at Westminster Hall between 6 and 7 p.m. tonight.

At the time of Poe’s passing, newspapers attributed his death to “congestion of the brain” or “cerebral inflammation”. Today’s doctors speculate he could have succumbed to alcohol poisoning, epilepsy, syphilis, cholera, rabies, brain tumor, carbon monoxide poisoning, mercury poisoning or even murder.

What do you think of the revival of the Poe Toaster?

About Dusty Rainbolt

Author Dusty Rainbolt is an award-winning veterinary journalist according to her answering machine. She is an associate certified cat behavior consultant and member of International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants, as well as past president of the Cat Writers’ Association. Her books, columns, reviews and articles have been honored with more than 50 writing awards including three-time recipient of Friskies Writer of the Year. Her just-released cat behavior book, Cat Scene Investigator: Solve Your Cat’s Litter Box Mystery, is the consummate guide for dealing with a cat who sidesteps his/her appointed toilet. CSI, which provides science-based methods for determining the medical or behavioral causes of feline inappropriate elimination, teaches cat parents to view their cat’s litter box avoidance through the eyes of a detective to determine the cause and, ultimately, the remedy.

 

Obituary, Odd News

Notable Animal Deaths in 2016

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We lost many celebrity animals this year.

 

A couple of weeks ago I listed the celebrities, scientists and cool people who died in 2016.We lost not only human celebrities, we also said goodbye to numerous animal superstars. From lonely  tropical frogs to wetsuit-clad penguins, here’s the list of last year’s notable animal deaths.

  • January 22. Sarah, the world’s fastest land mammal according to National Geographic Magazine, was euthanized at the age of 15 “due to a diminishing quality of life.” Sarah lived at the Cincinnati Zoo.
  • March 29. Baxter was the former first dog of Maine. He died from cancer at age 11. In 2008 the Jack Russell terrier was adopted by Lauren LePage, the daughter of future Maine governor Paul LePage.
Scooter’s record of the World’s Oldest Living Cat never made it to the record book. He died at the age of 30.
  • April 8. Scooter held the title “The World’s Oldest Living Cat: according to Guinness World Records, for a very brief time. Born March 26, 1986, during the Reagan administration, the 30-year-old Siamese owned by Gail Floyd of Mansfield, TX, was confirmed Oldest Kitty by Guinness on April 8, 2016. However, Scooter lost his title even before Guinness made it official. A Guinness record holder must be confirmed with a veterinarian’s letter and the paperwork processed before they formalize the title. The process usually takes around 12 weeks. By the time Guinness completed the formalities, poor Scooter had passed away. Thirty cat years equals around 136 human years. Prior to Scooter’s short reign, Corduroy, a 27-year-old Maine Coon from Sisters, Oregon held the record. With Scooter’s passing, the crown returned to Corduroy.
  • May 6. Pierre was known as the penguin who sported a miniature wetsuit. The quirky African penguin had a lot in common with American Idol hottie, Chris Daughtry. Pierre was bald; more accurately, he had bald spots. Pierre, who lived at the California Academy of Science in San Francisco, lost patches of feathers. Keepers tried warming him with a heat lamp and treating him for hypothyroidism. Finally biologist Pam Schalle helped design a vest-shaped neoprene wetsuit to protect him from the bitter cold. Like the sexy bald guys, Sean Connery, Dwayne Johnson and Bruce Willis, being follically challenged didn’t interfere with his love life. Pierre shared a nest with his girlfriend, Homey. They made a dozen little ones together.  In mid-2016, vets diagnosed Pierre with kidney failure. He died at 33.
Naked Pierre looked dapper in his neoprene wetsuit.
  • May 28. Harambe was a 17-year-old Western lowland silverback gorilla living at the Cincinnati Zoo. Zookeepers shot and killed him after a three-year-old boy snuck past fences and barricades before falling 15 feet into the gorilla enclosure. Fearing for the boy’s life, zoo officials dispatched Harambe the day after his 17th birthday. The parents were not charged.
  • June 7. Bretagne, was a search dog who hunted for survivors at Ground Zero after the 9/11 terror attacks brought down the World Trade Center Twin Towers. She also looked for victims in the wake of Hurricanes Katrina and Ivan. The Golden Retriever was the longest surviving 9/11 search dog. She was euthanized at the age of 16 due to kidney failure.
  • July 3. Arturo, a polar bear who lived in the Medoza Zoological Park in Argentina died at the age of 31.
  • August 18. Machali, a Bengal tiger, was known as the Queen Mother of Tigers. At the time of her passing wild life experts believed she was the world’s oldest tigress surviving in the wild. She lived in India’s Ranthambore National Park. In August 2016, she became critically ill and died at the age of 20.
  • August 27. Big Lobi, a 22-pound Massachusetts lobster, appeared destined for someone’s dinner plate. When Chris and David Schmidt saw the 50-year-old lobster for sale at the Chatham Fish Pier Market in Chatham, MA, they bought his freedom for $210. Sadly, two days after the brothers released Big Lobi, a fisherman found him dead. By the size of Big Lobi, experts estimated the giant crustacean survived 50 trips around the sun.
Toughie was the World’s Loneliest Frog
  • September 26. Toughie was the last known surviving Rabb’s fringe-limbed tree frog. Scientists believe that with Toughie’s passing, Rabb’s frogs officially moved to the extinct column. Known as the “Loneliest Frog on Earth,” conservationists captured Toughie in 2005 during a Panamanian expedition to rescue endangered amphibian species from a deadly chytrid fungus. They transported Toughie and “several dozen” Rabb’s frogs and tadpoles” to the Atlanta Botantical Garden in Georgia. Toughie made tadpoles with one of the rescued females, but none of the little ones survived. After Toughie’s girlfriend croaked, that left only Toughie and another male at Zoo Atlanta. Veterinarians euthanized the second to the last Rabb’s frog on February 17, 2012, due to illness. Toughie died quietly in his enclosure at the estimated age of 12.
  • October. Granny (also known as J2 to marine biologists), went missing after October 12. Whale researchers believe she was 105 years old. In January 2017, the Center for Whale Research announced the likely demise of the longest living known orca.
  • October 16. Jia Jia, a female giant panda, was the world’s oldest captive panda. A resident of Hong Kong’s Ocean Park, caretakers made the difficult choice to euthanize Jia Jia because she had become lethargic and stopped eating. She suffered from arthritis, high blood pressure and cataracts. Jai Jai’s 38 years translated into about 114 in human years.
  • October 17. Pedals was a New Jersey black bear who became a sensation after videos of him walking upright like a human appeared on the internet. Pedals was killed by a hunter.
  • November 14. Mahpiya Ska, also known as White Cloud, was a rare albino American bison who lived at the National Buffalo and Cultural Center in Jamestown, ND. Native Americans believed the 19-year-old animal was sacred.
  • December 28. 2016 was a bad year for pandas. Pan Pan was a male giant panda who lived at the Giant Panda Protection and Research Centre in Chengdu, China. After Jia Jia’s death in October, 31-year-old Pan Pan became the oldest giant panda in captivity, at least for a couple of months. He died six months after being diagnosed with cancer.
  • December 30. Sutter Brown, California Governor’s Pembroke Welsh Corgi, died from cancer at the age of 13.

Did I leave any significant 2016 animal deaths off of the list? Please tell me in the comments below.

Feline Health

Research Offers Hope for Cats and People with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

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Spot lost his fight with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy just one month first showing symptoms.

 

Early drug trial shows promise as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy treatment

According to researchers at the University of California at Davis (UC Davis), there’s promise on the horizon for kitties struggling with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). HCM is an inherited disease that causes the heart walls to thicken with potentially fatal consequences. The thickening of the ventricle (pump muscle), interferes with the flow of blood. This can cause the heart to beat too rapidly, too slowly or irregularly. The heart muscle can suffer from oxygen starvation that may cause heart cells to die.

In many HCM cases, fluid may accumulate in the lung causing rapid or labored breathing, open-mouthed breathing, or lethargy. Many HCM cats appear to be perfectly healthy with no observable symptoms. In some cats, the first hint of a problem is sudden death.

HCM occurs in one in 500 humans. It’s also the most commonly diagnosed cardiac disease in kitties, affecting a staggering one in seven cats. HCM is more prevalent in some cat breeds including Maine Coons and Ragdolls.

lack of treatment for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy Cats

Currently there is no cure or therapy that can change the course of the HCM. Veterinarians can only treat the symptoms with medications that are used to prevent blood clots, improve blood flow, control heart rate and reduce fluid accumulation in the lungs. According to the study, septal myectomy, a surgery that removes the portion of the septum obstructing the flow of blood from the left ventricle, can improve the symptoms and heart function, but it’s invasive, expensive and can only be performed by a specialist.

The heartbreak of cardiomyopathy

MeiMei, a white and brown tabby was rescued off the street by Brooklyn cat behavior consultant, Beth Adelman. When MeiMei was around 3 years, she was diagnosed with HCM. Adelman and their veterinary cardiologist treated the disease as aggressively as possible. “She took all the medications that humans take. The disease progressively got worse,” Adelman said. While medication treated MeiMei’s symptoms, it couldn’t halt the progression of the disease. Still, MeiMei survived a miraculous six years.

MYK-461 gives cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy like Spot hope.

 

Spot wasn’t as lucky, The Siamese-mix suddenly began displaying signs of illness when he was a few weeks shy of one year. An echocardiogram confirmed her vet’s fear; Spot suffered from an advanced case of HCM. Like Adelman, Spot’s owner also treated the disease aggressively as possible, however Spot lost his struggle only one month later.

Hope on the horizon

Now that we’re all depressed about the bad news; here’s the good news. In a breakthrough “proof of concept” trial involving five HCM cats, researchers found that the drug MYK-461 eliminated left-ventricle obstruction in all the test kitties. The study, supported by a National Institute of Health grant, was published December 14, 2016  in the scientific journal PLOSONE. This novel drug is the first in its class and actually addresses the functional changes that occur in human and feline HCM, rather than simply reducing the symptoms.

“This is an exciting discovery for both animals and humans,” Associate Professor Joshua Stern. He is chief of Cardiology Service at the UC Davis Veterinary hospital. “The positive result in these five cats shows that MYK-461 is viable for use in cats as a possible option to halt or slow the progression of HCM.”

“There has been little to no progress in advancing the treatment of HCM in humans or animals for many years,” Dr. Stern said. “This study brings new hope for cats and people.”

With such promising results, UC Davis researchers hope to conduct a clinical trial in the near future, which could determine if MYK-461 has the potential to become the accepted protocol for the care of cats with HCM.

Have you lost a human or feline friend to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy? Tell me about them in the comments below.

About Dusty Rainbolt

Author Dusty Rainbolt is an award-winning veterinary journalist according to her answering machine. She is an associate certified cat behavior consultant and member of International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants, as well as past president of the Cat Writers’ Association. Her books, columns, reviews and articles have been honored with more than 50 writing awards including three-time recipient of Friskies Writer of the Year. Her just-released cat behavior book, Cat Scene Investigator: Solve Your Cat’s Litter Box Mystery, is the consummate guide for dealing with a cat who sidesteps his/her appointed toilet. CSI, which provides science-based methods for determining the medical or behavioral causes of feline inappropriate elimination, teaches cat parents to view their cat’s litter box avoidance through the eyes of a detective to determine the cause and, ultimately, the remedy.

 

Feline Health, Special Days, Taking cat to vet, Uncategorized

Only 2 New Year’s Resolutions for Cat Owners

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January 2 is Happy Mew Year for Cats Day. Since kitties aren’t interested in getting plastered on Mew Year’s Eve unless the intoxicant is catnip, we’ll skip ahead to the New Year’s resolutions. After all, you want your Fluffy to have a happy and healthy 2017 and 2018 and, well, you get the message. Because you control the the car keys, you are responsible for Mew Year’s Resolution follow-through. Unfortunately, when it comes to resolutions, humans have short attention spans. So let’s limit them to two doable items.

Resolution #1 Take kitty to the vet regularly

For best results, your kitty should see his vet twice a year. I know dragging your cat to the veterinary hospital is stressful for both of you. Even if your kitty is a strictly inside cat, he still needs regular wellness exams to help him stay healthy. Annual vet visits won’t do the trick any longer. After all, once a year is like a human going to the doctor every seven years. A lot can happen in 365 days. Also because kitties are vulnerable to larger predators, they mask signs of illness until they are too sick to hide them any longer. A checkup by his vet gives you a better chance to catch potential health problems while they are preventable or treatable.

According to the Catalyst Council, most cases of diabetes could be prevented if overweight kitties are placed on a proper diet. Also, dental disease affects 68% of all cats over the age of three. Ouch.

Make notes between visits and ask your vet about your observations and concerns:

  • Fluffy’s dropping food when he eats.
  • He doesn’t sleep with me on the bed any longer.
  • He has a funny cough.
  • He has runny poo.

Resolution 2. Teach Fluffy to love his carrier

One excuse cat owners give for not taking their kitties to vet is because the catching and transporting process is too stressful for the feline and his family. If Fluffy has always feared his carrier as the vet transport device, change the way he looks at it. Buy a different style carrier; a two-door model works best.

Leave the carrier left out in open in the room where Fluffy likes to hang out. Place his favorite blanket inside so he can sneak in and take a nap. From time to time, toss some of his favorite treats in the carrier. Once he looks at the carrier as his personal hideaway, take him on rides around the block and give him treats. Watch this Catalyst Council video to learn other ways to help your cat get over its fear of the carrier.

Making your cat like his carrier and taking him to the vet once or twice a year helps assure your kitty will “Live Long and Pros-purr.”

About Dusty Rainbolt

Author Dusty Rainbolt is an award-winning veterinary journalist according to her answering machine. She is an associate certified cat behavior consultant and member of International Association of Animal Behavior Consultants, as well as past president of the Cat Writers’ Association. Her books, columns, reviews and articles have been honored with more than 50 writing awards including three-time recipient of Friskies Writer of the Year. Her just-released cat behavior book, Cat Scene Investigator: Solve Your Cat’s Litter Box Mystery, is the consummate guide for dealing with a cat who sidesteps his/her appointed toilet. CSI, which provides science-based methods for determining the medical or behavioral causes of feline inappropriate elimination, teaches cat parents to view their cat’s litter box avoidance through the eyes of a detective to determine the cause and, ultimately, the remedy.

 

Obituary

I Met Carrie Fisher in a Hurricane & Celebrities Lost in 2016

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Carrie Fisher with a feline friend.

Seeing Carrie Fisher in the Flesh

It’s the end of year. Can you believe it? 2017 is peeking around the corner. The deaths of Carrie Fisher and her mom, Debbie Reynolds, bring 2106 to a heartbreaking close.

I once met Carrie Fisher in person during the middle of a hurricane. It was an intimate setting, just me, my BFF Debbie Waller, Beverly Margolis…and 10,000 strangers. (I’m guessing at the audience numbers. I have no idea how many people were there.)

I so looked forward to the Simon and Garfunkel reunion concert. OMG! Those blended voices. I still don’t think I’ve heard anything as beautiful. We bought our tickets months in advance and counted the days, hours and minutes until we actually experienced their music live.

On August 18, 1983, the morning of the long awaited concert, Hurricane Alicia slammed into Galveston and then blasted her way into north Texas. (Don’t worry. I’m getting to Carrie Fisher.) As I watched the approaching weather on the news, Debbie, Beverly and I wondered whether to stay home or brave the storm. After all, this concert was held in the famous open-air Cotton Bowl Stadium, rain or shine. We unanimously agreed we would go despite the threatening weather.

In our haste to beat the storm, we all forgot to bring our rain gear. We found our seats in the nosebleed section, sat down and watched the brand new computerized scoreboard. Across the giant screen the words, “Welcome Alicia” swelled and then disappeared. We sat in the balcony, soaked, freezing with the rain dripping off our noses.

Organizers delayed the concert due to heavy rain. Finally, a lull opened up and the Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel took the stage. (A few weeks earlier, Diana Ross has performed in New York’s Central Park during a rain storm.) Paul told the audience, “If Diana Ross can do it, we can too.”) The concert began with “Mrs. Robinson.” Their harmony sounded like angels.

In the days before the internet, a majority of the audience didn’t know Paul Simon had recently married. Simon invited his new bride to join them on the stage. To my astonishment, the bride was Princess Leia herself. Just a few month past the release of “Return of the Jedi,” I expected Carrie Fisher to have long flowing brown hair, or delicately braided locks, but to my surprise she wore a super short do. (The abbreviated style probably looked better in the rain, anyway.) Simon coaxed Fisher into accompanying the duo on the drums. She obliged him and the audience went wild. What an amazing bonus. After a couple of numbers, the bar holding the lights began to sway crazily in the wind and Simon, Fisher and Garfunkel retreated backstage. The singers reappeared when it was deemed safe again, sans Fisher. We shivered through the rest of the concert, their trademark song, “Sounds of Silence.”

What a night: Simon and Garfunkel in a hurricane with Carrie Fisher. You just can’t make this stuff up. I’m so glad I got to see her in the flesh just once. Goodbye Carrie. You will be missed.

But Princess Leia wasn’t the only loss from the Star Wars family in 2016. Both the Empire and Alliance said goodbye to many of their beloved members.

March 2, 2016 Tony Dyson (1947–2016) built the original Star Wars R2-D2 droid. He made eight R2-D2s for the film series. In August, R2-D2 himself, Kenny Baker also died. April 3, Erik Bauersfeld, the voice of Adm. Ackbar, died age of natural causes. James Earl Jones’ wife Cecilia Hart died of ovarian cancer on October 16 at 68. Peter Sumner, the Empire’s Lt. Pol Treidum died at 72 on Nov 22. Debbie Reynolds, Carrie Fisher’s mom, died the day after her daughter, of a stroke at the age of 84.

Other Celebrities who Died in 2016

So, as long as we are thinking about saying our goodbyes, I’d like to say acknowledge absent friends celebrities, scientists and writers who left us this year. I will miss:

  • Jan 14. Alan Rickman, the villain Professor Snape in the Harry Potter series. He also played Elliott Marston in Quigley Down Under. We also loved him in Galaxy Quest and Die Hard. His Marvin the Paranoid Android was the only redeeming performance in Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. Pancreatic cancer took him at the age of 69.
  • Jan 26. Abe Vigoda played the deadpan (and appropriately named) detective Phil Fish in the 1970s TV series Barney Miller. He was also in The Godfather. He died of old age at 94.
  • Jan 28. Mike Minor who played the hunk Steve Eliot on Petticoat Junction died at age 75 of cancer.
  • Feb 3. Maurice White, the founder of Earth, Wind & Fire died at 74.
  • Feb 4. Edgar Mitchell, Apollo 14 astronaut who became the sixth man on the moon. He and Alan Shepard helped NASA regain their reputation after Apollo 13’s near fatal accident. Mitchell died at age 85 after a short illness.
  • Feb 11. Sadie. (2001–2016) German Shepherd actress who starred in Man in the Chair, Super 8 and Alpha Dog.
  • Feb 13. Antonin Scalia, U.S. Supreme Court justice, died suddenly at the age of 79.
  • Feb 19. Harper Lee, 89, was the author of, To Kill a Mockingbird.
  • Feb 28. b 28. George Kennedy, 91, played the cigar-smoking airplane mechanic in Airport, Col. Gregory in In Harm’s Way, a chain-gang convict in Cool Hand Luke and he was in the funny Naked Gun series.
  • Mar 2 Tony Dyson (1947–2016) built the original Star Wars R2-D2 droid. He made eight R2-D2s for the series.
  • Mar 6. Former First Lady Nancy Reagan passed away at 94.
  • Mar 21. Bob Ebeling was booster rocket engineer who felt guilty for decades for not stopping the explosion of the space shuttle Challenger. He was 89.
  • Mar 22. Rob Ford, the world’s funniest politician former mayor of Toronto, known for his antics unrepentant drug use and use of obscenities died at the age of 46 from cancer.
  • Apr 3. Erik Bauersfeld, who was the voice of Adm. Ackbar in the Star Wars series.
  • May 1. Madeleine Lebeau (1923 – 2016) played Yvonne in Casablanca. She was believed to be the last surviving cast member of the classic Humphrey Bogart film. She died of complications following breaking her thigh bone.
  • May 19. Alan Young, who played Wilbur Post the owner of talking horse Mr. Ed, died at 96. I so wanted a talking horse. He also provided the voice of Scrooge McDuck on the cartoon series DuckTales.
  • Jun 19. Anton Yelchin, who played Pavel Chekov in the new Star Trek movies died at 27 due to injuries received in a freak accident involving his car.
  • Jul 3. Noel Neill was the first actress to play Lois Lane in the 1948 movie serial Superman alongside Kirk Alyn and later opposite TV’s Man of Steel, George Reeves. She was 95.
  • Jul 16. I don’t expect anyone to remember Bonnie Brown, in the family quintet The Browns. In 1959 they recorded a depressing little song called “The Three Bells.” For some reason I loved it.
  • Jul 19. Garry Marshall was the creator of Mork & Mindy, The Odd Couple, Laverne & Shirley and Happy Days. He died at the age of 81 of complications from pneumonia after having a stroke.
Why couldn’t she see this coming?
  • Jul 26. Psychic Miss Cleo passed at the age of 53 to colon cancer. Why didn’t she see this?
  • Jul 27. Jerry Doyle played Michael Garibaldi, the Chief of Security on board the space station Babylon 5 and host of “The Jerry Doyle Show,” a nationally syndicated radio talk show. The Clark County Coroner’s Office said he died suddenly from natural causes, with complications from chronic alcoholism being a contributing factor.
So sad about Jerry Doyle. Loved him as Mr. Garibaldi. He was also a politican and radio talk show host.
  • Aug 6. Jazz clarinest Pete Fountain died at 86 of heart failure.
  • Aug 13. Kenny Baker, who played Princess Leia’s droid R2-D2, died at 81 after after suffering from a lung illness.
  • Aug 28. One of the funniest humans ever, Gene Wilder passed at the age of 83 of complications of Alzheimer’s disease. He made me laugh until I cried at the neurotic Leo Bloom in The Producers, The Waco Kid in Blazin’ Saddles and the mad scientist in and The Frisco Kid.
  • Aug 28. Darrell Ward, the Montana Legend of Ice Road Truckers fame, when a Cesena 182 he was piloting crashed near Missoula, MT. Ironically, Ward was enroute from a trucking show Dallas to filming the pilot for a documentary-style show involving the recovery of plane wrecks. He was 52.
  • Sep 8. The Lady Chablis, the real life transgender performer in the 1994 best-seller (and later in the movie), Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, died of pneumonia at 59.

  • Sep 8.Greta Zimmer Friedman was , 92, the woman captured in the iconic celebratory V-J Day photo of a white-clad nurse being kissed by a sailor George Mendonsa of Rhode Island) celebrating the end of World War II in Times Square.
  • Sep 25. Arnold Palmer, seven-time major winner who brought golf to the masses, died of complications from heart problems. He was 87.
  • Sep 28. Gary Glasberg, producer of NCIS, passed away suddenly at age 50.
  • Oct 16. Cecilia Hart, a stage and screen actress and the wife of Darth Vader voice James Earl Jones died of ovarian cancer at 68.
  • Oct 30. Don Marshall, who appeared in Star Trek, Julia and Land of the Giants, passed away at age 80 of natural causes.
  • Nov 11. Robert Vaugh, 83, was best known as the spy, Napoleon Solo, on the 1960s show The Man From U.N.C.L.E. Vaughn, 83, died Nov. 11 of leukemia.
  • Nov 22. Peter Sumner, who played The Empire’s Lt. Pol Treidum in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope or as I call it, the Original Star Wars, died at the age of 72.
  • Nov 23. Andrew Sachs, who played Manuel in the British sitcom, Fawlty Towers actor passed away after a four-year battle with dementia. He was 86. You’ll have to forgive him. “He’s from Barcelona.”
  • Nov 25. Ron Glass, known for playing detective/novelist Ron Harris in Barney Miller and Shepherd Book in Firefly passed away from respiratory failure at the age of 71.
  • Dec 8. John Glenn was part of the Mercury program and the first American to orbit the Earth in 7 in 1962. He was also senator from Ohio. He was the last surviving Mercury astronaut. He was 95.
  • Dec 25. Vera Rubin, the groundbreaking astrophysicist who discovered evidence of dark matter redefined our understanding of the cosmos, died at the age of 88.
  • Dec 27. British author Richard Adams, who penned Watership Down and Plague Dogs.
  • Dec 27. Carrie Fisher, actress, author and mental health advocate died after a cardiac arrest at the age of 60, four days after experiencing a medical emergency near the end of a transatlantic flight from London to Los Angeles. Everyone knows Carrie Fisher is best known as Princess Leia of the planet Alderaan, a member of the Imperial Senate and an agent of the Rebel Alliance.
  • Dec 28. Debbie Reynolds, Carrie Fisher’s mom, died the day after her daughter, of a stroke at the age of 84.

 

Cat safety, Uncategorized

Baby I’m Cold Outside…Keep Neighborhood Cats Warm in Cold Weather with DIY Cat Shelter

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baby-its-cold
Photo courtesy of Alley Cat Rescue www.saveacat.org

Outside temperatures have dipped and they’re going to plunge more tonight. Your own cats lay toasty and warm next to a flickering fire, but what about the tabby that jerk family moved away and left a month (or a year) ago? Stray Stanley or Feral Fred may have a nice fur coat, but it’s not going to keep him warm any more than a scarf and sweater will keep you warm outside for more than a few minutes. Stanley may have survived well on his own so far, but he still needs your help surviving the cold weather. Stanley still needs a warm, dry shelter that gives him a chance to escape the cold. You can keep your neioghborhood stray healthy and warm in an inexpensive DIY cat shelter.

Outside in?

I know he’s not your cat, but you can’t leave him to die in the cold. Can you bring Stanley inside just while it’s frigid? When temperature rise, you can let him back outside. If Fred is feral, you’ll have to find a way to help him on his terms. (A feral cat is an unsocialized cat born to a stray or wild domestic cat who has had no contact with people. Friendly cats abandoned by people are not feral.)

Warming him from the inside

Let’s start with keeping the internal fires burning. Outside cats need enough calories to maintain body heat in cold weather. They also need a liquid source of water.  You may want to place food out and pick it up in an hour so you don’t attract predators and wildlife.

Gimme Shelter!

If you can’t offer him inside sanctuary, you can give Stanley a cozy little outdoor getaway where he get warm and feel safe. Contact your local animal shelter to see if they can give you a donated dog house. If that’s not an option, you can go to Amazon.com and order a $200 insulated cat house and get it in a few days, or spend $10 get keep him warm tonight. You might even have the materials around the house.

A cozy cat cabin

A good cat shelter must be waterproof and have enough insulation to trap cat’s body heat and small enough so he does not have to heat open space. If the container is too large, the cat won’t be able to stay warm.

You can use a beer cooler with a cracked handle or broken wheel or Styrofoam ice chest placed inside a Rubbermaid™ storage container. Keep the opening as small as possible, no wider than the width of the cat’s whiskers. Inserting the door a few inches above the base will help keep the wind, rain and snow out.

Location, location

Place the cat shelter several inches off the ground in a location where it’s inaccessible to dogs and other predators. You can create another box for food and water. Don’t put the water bowl inside the shelter. You run the risk of him getting wet from a spill.

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An example of the Alley Cat Rescue version of a winter cat shelter made of a storage tub, a styrofoam ice chest and straw. Photo courtesy of Alley Cat Rescue.

 

Does it come furnished?

In addition to Styrofoam, you can line the inside floor and walls with a Mylar sheet (also called a space blanket.) Mylar uses a passive warming system to help the body contain the cat’s own body heat. Used in survival kits, it reflects warmth, rather than letting it escape. There’s a right way and wrong to use a space blanket. The shiny side should face the inside of the shelter; dull side goes next to the wall.

For bedding, use straw, rather than blankets or hay. Straw, which is dryer than hay, allows the cat to burrow and retain warmth. If you’d like to offer him additional heat, fill a tube sock with dry, uncooked rice and tie a knot at cuff end. Heat in a microwave for one to three minutes, depending on the size of the sock. Heat test it, for safety, then place in his sanctuary. Make sure there is room for the kitty to move away from the sock in the event it too hot.

Construction

Rather than reinvent an already well-designed wheel, or rather, cat shelter, I’ll give you the links for the plans you can put together cheaply in just a short time.

Easy cat shelter plans

Alley Cat Rescue
Winterizing Feral Cat Colonies

TheVeryBestCats
How to Make a Winter Shelter for an Outdoor Cat

Bushwick Street Cats
Winter Feral Cat Shelter Build Instructions

Foundation Against Companion-Animal Euthanasia (FACE)
Outdoor cat shelters and feeding stations

Instructables.com
Cat House by Pdjinc

Uncategorized

34 Reasons to be Thankful

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happy-thanksgivingToday is Thanksgiving, a truly American holiday. At this moment, Weems and I are preparing to welcome our friend Liz to share Thanksgiving dinner and enjoy reruns of Punkin Chunkin’ and The Curse of Oak Island. While Weems is working in the kitchen, I began to ponder what the day is all about and all of the blessings in my life. We all have many reasons to be thankful.

Wale Ayeni said, “Be thankful for what you have. Your life, no matter how bad you think it is, is someone else’s fairytale.”

I know many of my friends are going through difficult times, but I ask you today to think about the good things in your life. Often, with the passage of time, we find out that the bad things were blessings in disguise. In 1972 my sister moved back home with a CAT! It was the end of the world. (My family didn’t like cats. I was afraid of them.) Nope. It was the birth of a passion that would change me and give me everything that is great and happy now. Thirty years ago, I thought my Ex moving out signaled the end of the world, but it was really the beginning of a much happier life.

I often take the good things for granted and dwell on the bad. Today I want to dwell on the good. So in the spirit of Thanksgiving, here are the things I am grateful for. Maybe my list will help you remember what you are grateful for. I love y’all. Please leave what you’re thankful for in the comments. Happy Thanksgiving!

I am thankful:

1. To have been born in the United States. While not perfect, we experience a peaceful transfer of power every four to eight years. Sometimes I am happy about that transfer of power. Sometimes, not so much. I often take the freedom I enjoy for granted—the freedom to express my thoughts, to protect myself, to worship (or not) in the way I want, to go into the line of work that most suits me or makes me happiest.
2. For all of our patriots: the brave members of military, who give up time with their own families, who miss baby’s first steps and piano recitals, wedding anniversaries and the birth of their babies to protect us and keep this great country safe.
3. Civilian first responders. More Heroes.
4. My husband, best friend and soul mate, Weems. The best day of my life was the day I met you. Any day with you is the next best day.
5. My family. Dad, Mom, Margaret, Art. I have a brother and sister who I love and they return the favor. For better or worse, we made each other who we are today. I think we turned out pretty well. Yes, there was drama, but even that’s a gift. Think about all the fodder I have for future novels. My sister is the heart of our family; my brother the brains and logic. I’m grateful for a father who was a patriot and who wasn’t afraid to tell me he loved me. I’m grateful for a mom who was there every afternoon when I got home from school.
6. I still have my 97-year-old mom.
7. My life and health. In a sense I am even grateful for those new aches that come with age. My dear friends Jim and Vicki never lived long enough to experience those aches.
8. My friends. My rocks, my sounding boards, my escapes. You were always there when I needed you. In 1968, Debbie and I will have been friends for 50 years. (I wish I could say we met when we were in diapers.) Since meeting Debbie I have blessed with so many new friends. I love y’all.
9. Cats. People say I save cats, but the truth is, they saved me. What an empty world I would live in without them.

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10. Veterinarians. I two amazing veterinarians who keep my kitties happy and healthy. Thank you Cassie Epstein and Cindy Rigoni.
11. Paw prints. Squee.
12. Animals. Any animal.
13. For the blessing and curse of being a writer. Ernest Hemingway said it best. “There is nothing to writing. All you do is sit down at a typewriter and bleed.”
I am thankful that my writing makes a difference in people’s lives. I get to make a living doing what I enjoy. I get to play for a living.
14. My teachers, especially my four most influential teachers. Mrs. Fleire, my third grade teacher, who gave us an assignment to write a short story. That was the homework that ignited my love of writing. John Beard, my sixth grade teacher, gave all his students nicknames. I was The Dictionary. Thanks Mr. B. My senior year in high school I walked into Martha Schipul’s creative writing class. She understood she had an aspiring writer on her hands and did everything possible to nurture that. Martha gave me different assignments from the rest of the class. I loved her. Still do. Then there was Sonya, my English 101 instructor at Brookhaven. Like Mrs. Schipul, she gave me different, more challenging homework.
15. Animal rescuers. You save animals and help people. You make a difference.
16. Cat Writers’ Association. I joined 21 years ago. I’m grateful for the mentors, the contacts, the experts and enthusiasts and, most of all, the lifelong friends and my Sister by Another Mother. We’re a family.
17. My favorite movies. The ones I watch over and over again when I need a lift, Casablanca, Airplane, Blazin’ Saddles, Tremors 1-5.
18. Books. Other authors gave me the will to write and shared their knowledge. Douglas Adams, Charles Portis, Sophia Yin, Amy Shojai, Arden Moore, Selina Rosen, Julia, Linda, Rhonda, your books fill my walls and my heart.
19. Occasional travel. I love seeing new places and things.
20. Emails from my readers. Wow. People actually read my work! Who knew?
21. Sushi. If I could only eat one food for the rest of my life, it would be sushi.

thanksgiving2

22. Bling. Sparkly dress. Shoot, anything that glimmers.
23. Memories of Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner with my family. I can still smell the fragrance of turkey and my mother’s version of Grandmother’s Swedish dressing. It looked like mud, but tasted like Heaven. Wait, I’m smelling the turkey Weems is preparing.
24. Weems’ amazing Barbecue. Thank you, Johnny Trigg.
25. Chocolate anything.
26. Coffee. My favorite is salted caramel from Winco. Sometimes Weems brings me coffee in bed. Simply Heaven.
27. Compassionate people. People who leave the dinner table to rescue an injured animal, or volunteer at a homeless shelter. Who give a stranger a flower, just because it looked like she needed it.
28. Adult beverages. Wine, beer, chocolate martinis.
29. Writers and bloggers who use proper grammar and know the difference between “your” and “you’re.”
30. Mobile phones and caller I.D. Take that robocallers and solicitors!
31. Memories of going to movies with my dad. I remember watching Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines in the Cinema 1 & 2 and laughing so hard my cheeks ached. Whenever I see Patton or The Longest Day, I can almost feel Daddy beside me.
32. The smell of lavender. Real lavender, not a chemical version of it.
33. My readers. The animal rescuers, the dreamers, the geeks. I love all of you. You inspire me when I’m down. Thank you each and every one of you for reading my blog, Facebook posts, books and articles. A writer without readers is just a crazy person talking to herself. I love making people laugh and sharing information that will make people or kitties’ lives better. It’s hard to believe that helping people with their cats has become my occupation.
34. Amazing Grace. Being born at this time and place in history. At no earlier time could humans get up in the morning moderately secure that they would be able to climb into bed that night. Between marauders, criminals, war, illness, accident or predation, another day was never promised. How amazing that we that we can plan next week, next year and even the next decade. We are truly blessed.

Please share with me what you are thankful for.

Uncategorized

Lisa Vanderpump and Kathy Ireland are Holiday Shopping Online for a Pawsitive Cause

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vanderpump
Online Shopping for a Pawsitive Cause

Help Your Favorite Animal Charity While Shopping Online at No Cost to You

November and December are key shopping and giving months. With Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Giving Tuesday just around the corner, Americans are gearing up for the Holidays. This month is also a key fund-raising time for animal welfare organizations.  Animal lovers can Share The Love by starting their shopping online at AdoptAShelter.com, picking their favorite shelter or rescue, and then connecting to their favorite stores. It’s easy, fast and free… and all purchases earn a cash-donation.

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Shopping online through AdoptAShelter.com puts money in the pocket of your favorite animal shelter without costing you a dime

 

“We are thrilled to have Lisa Vanderpump and Kathy Ireland headlining our Shop For A Pawsitive Cause campaign,” says Chris Ruben, founder of AdoptAShelter.com.  “In addition to being very successful, these two wonderful ladies are deeply involved in charity work.  We are also excited to have Pinups For Pitbulls and Internet-star and Spokes-Dog Preston of PrestonSpeaks.com on board.  We want to reach shoppers during this key time of giving to let them know they can achieve both at the the same time… in their pajamas.  And, shoppers can register to win fabulous gift packages from Vanderpump Pets®, Kathy Ireland®, Pinups For Pitbulls® and PrestonSpeaks®, all valued at $150+ simply by subscribing to our free monthly eNewsletter.”

About AdoptAShelter.com  #AdoptAShelter

  • The average cash donation – Smile Bigger
  • Registered animal welfare organizations in all 50 states
  • 700+ stores in the AdoptAShelter.com Online Mall donate to the charity of YOUR choice
  • Combined volunteer hours of AdoptAShelter.com Team Members (no payroll)
  • 70,000+ Cups of pet food saved by donating 42 prime booth spaces at Amazing Pet Expos
  • Donations paid out to animal welfare organizations across the country
  • Cans of FREE dog & cat food to organizations via Cans To The Rescue campaign
Don’t leave money on the table… put food in bowls!
 
Happy Thanksgiving!
adoptashelter-holiday-shopping
Help your favorite animal charity by doing your holiday shopping online through AdoptAShelter.com

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