Inkwell: Authors and Artists

    
Hmmm - I have never heard the phrase 'obligate omnivore' and I would dispute
it if it implies that dogs require an omnivorous diet. I am more familiar
with dogs and wolves being called opportunistic or facultative carnivores.
(And I am familiar with Remillard - have a copy of a book she co-edited.)

I'm going to leave the conversation for now so that I won't sidetrack it.
maybe at the end of the week there will be time for dog talk. I do cook for
my dog, so that is a fascinating subject to me, but not on topic.
  

    
Thanks, Marty.  Arden, does the book have a website where the correct
urls might reside?

You wade into some controversial waters in the book. One of those is
the debate on declawing. Six reasons not to declaw; three points of
rebuttal; and five reasons to declaw. 

Only one of these did I find puzzling. The first rebuttal point, in
favor of declawing, denies that the phalanx bone (the last bone in a
cat's paw) is amputated in the procedure. That strikes me as something
that's cut and dried - the bone is amputated, or it's not. Can you
explain further?

What's your own point of view on declawing? (I have learned with cats
to never say "never"; but so far, and with so many cats over the years,
I haven't declawed any of them, and it does seem cruel to me.)
  

    
So I was chatting with a friend and I was talking about your book which led
my friend to wonder why her cat doesn't like catnip.  And I said I can
answer that question and picked up the book and went to the index.  On p.
222 you say "It's a genetic thing."  But on p. 299 in the sidebar on catnip
you say "Genetics don't play a factor.  Two cats from the same litter can
have different responses to catnip."  But, of course, two cats from the same
litter can have different fathers.  Looks like something you might want to
correct if you got to a second printing or edition.  I'm presuming the
correct answer is that it is genetic but I thought I should ask - is it
genetic?
  

    
Our vet has a cat-only practice, and she sends catnip in her Christmas
card. We've learned to watch for that card carefully, and put it in the
fridge right away, because the cats will find it and chew/lick/love on
everything else in that stack of mail.

Somehow "the cat ate my light bill" doesn't sound right.
  

    
I'm back from the top of the mountain. No, I didn't change identities
and become Moses. This rookie skier managed to remain vertical after
skiing all day on Heavenly Mountain in Tahoe area. Whew! Skiing can
clear one's mind, so I am now ready to respond to your curious-as-cats
queries:

First: Top experts BELIEVE that there is a genetic link to cats who
like catnip and cats who don't. And Pauli is right - a momma cat can
have a litter of kittens from more than one male suitor. That explains
why there can be a calico and a black-and-white as litter mates. Cats
not jazzed about catnip may like honeysuckle - but it must be moistened
to activate its ingredients to be the cat's meow.

Lisa -- you must have a wonderful vet to send your cats catnip-filled
holiday cards. Talk about making it the "howl-i-days" and find you
humming, "wreck the halls with balls of folly."  :)

Now, as for a much more serious topic: declawing. I do not believe in
it. I find it cruel. And, I'm not alone. As editor of Catnip, the
newsletter is affiliated with Tufts' Vet School that has a policy
against declawing. There are suitable options. And, part of it is
training and providing the cat with suitable - and sturdy - scratching
posts to hone their claws. Scratching is a natural action by cats.

I appreciate all of you for pawing through the pages of Planet Cat and
bringing up great topics. Keep them coming!
  

    
For those wishing to have the URLS for the two websites operated by
top veterinary nutritionists, they are:

www.petdiets.com

www.balanceit.com
  

    
What about the SoftPaws, Arden? I see you mentioned them in the book.
I've considered them, but cat's claws grow so fast, I feel like I'd be
putting new ones on all the time. Plus, the angst of getting them on.
One of mine will barely endure a trim, let alone sit still while I
guide her nail into a little sleeve.

For anyone unfamiliar:

<http://www.softpaws.com/>

(I confess, I do love the ones that come in colors.)

Speaking of topics controversial: I wonder, Arden, how familiar you
are with the work of Nathan Winograd. His No Kill philosophy takes on
the traditional SPCA model of euthanizing unadopted animals. I suspect
he loses support when he goes further, to oppose mandatory spay/neuter
laws, and claims there is in fact a home for every pet that comes
through an animal shelter.

Your book does a great job of outlining why cats need to be fixed; you
take on the arguments against it one by one. And of course Winograd
would agree with you on the individual's choice to spay/neuter. Have
you any opinion of his take on spay/neuter laws, and his claim that
homes for all shelter animals are out there somewhere?
  

    
I'm hiding below an excerpt from Winograd's blog, where he clarifies
his opinion.
  

    <hidden>
  

    
Thanks Angie to bringing up two controversial topics in the world of
cats:  declawing and mandatory spay/neuter. In our book, Planet Cat, we
did our best to present the reader with a wide range of viewpoints.
After all, the book's subtitle described our intention: "a cat-alog."

What I can do is share with our Well participants my views on these
two areas.

First, I am not a fan of declawing. Never have been and never will be.
I think there are far more humane options. You mentioned SoftPaws.
Yes, they work - when applied correctly and in a timely manner. And,
yes, they can be quite fashion-making statements (more for the owner
than the cat who could care less if her claws are blue or lavender).
Problems surface from misuse and human inpatience or downright panic.
Not everyone rejoices in being their cat's personal "paw-i-curist."
 
Option: make friends with your vet or your local groomer and have them
trim your cat's nails on a regular basis (4-6 weeks on average). Train
kittens when young that touching toes, gently squeezing the foot pads
(to expose the claws) and trimming nails (start one at a time and build
up to all four paws) is calm, no-big-deal ritual. I do this with my
cats, Callie and Murphy, both plucked as strays from the street when
they were youngsters. 

One tip: pick a small room you can close to do nail trimming. Like the
bathroom to eliminate Houdini episodes. Wrap your cat in a towel, if
necessary, to avoid being scratched. Be calm. Never attempt to trim a
cat's claws when you feel rushed, stressed or angry. Doesn't work.
Always open the door after the trim and let your cat walk or run out.
Wait a few seconds and calmly exit, ideally in the opposite direction. 
The idea is for your cat to regard your action as no big deal. Or,
offer a small treat after the peticure.

Bottom line: cats need suitable options to scratch. There are many
products out there that can blend with any home decor. 

Next: spay/neuter. Yes, there are a lot of people with good intentions
who want to do what they can to eliminate overpopulation of cats and
overcrowding at shelters (and euthanizing cats due to lack of space).
Personally, my heart goes out to those people assigned these tasks of
putting down otherwise healthy cats at shelters.

I do believe in spaying and neutering pets - for health reasons and to
 help control surplus supply of pets, but I don't believe in mandatory
laws. There are some responsible breeders who are working with
veterinary geneticists to try to unlock some clues to help cure many
cat (and dog) diseases like kidney disease, hyperthyroidism and
diabetes. Issuing a law won't automatically stop backyard breeders from
producing more litters. Who's going to enforce these laws?

But as pet owners (or pet parents - you pick the term you like best),
we can do our part to spay/neuter our pets. I don't buy the argument
that children need to witness the "miracle of birth" to have them grow
up to be kind to animals. There are lots of other practical ways to do
this - from getting the kids involved in day-to-day responsibilities in
caring for the pets, to enrolling in pet classes and to encouraging
them to participate in pet causes. 
  

    
I don't see how the numbers work out in Nathan Winograd's argument, unless 
we all turn into Crazy Cat Ladies with a dozen animals to care for. The 
ability of cats to reproduce will always outstrip the number of homes, I 
fear.

I'm quite happy with two, both fixed -- although Moon does attempt to jump 
Emily every once in a while. He climbs on her and bites the back of her 
neck, then stands there awaiting further instructions. If one of us 
happens to be passing through, we say DON'T HUMP YOUR SISTER! and hope the 
neighbors don't hear.
  

    
Ha!

That's part of what I was asking you about Winograd's stance, Arden.
With your research and knowledge of cats, cat population, shelters - is
it practical to say that, by shifting logistics of placement, there is
indeed a home for every cat with willing owners?
  

    
Hi Angie:  Based on my continuous contact and research with the top
people in the field of companion animals, I do not believe there is a
home for every adoptable cat - or dog in the United States. It's a sad,
but true reality.
  

    
I think there's more homes than there are homes that allow pets. 
Rented homes, allergies, phobias and other matters probably cut way
down on the number of homes available.

But, even if everyone who wanted a cat could have one, there wouldn't
be enough homes.
  

    
Hi Angie:  I am not qualified - nor feel comfortable to go beyond what
I stated regarding pet population at shelters and the spay/neuter
issue. Unfortunately, there is no real one main clearinghouse that
tabulates all the number of dogs and cats seeking homes at shelters.
  

    
No problem, Arden - your answer in post #38 covered it nicely.

Back to the book itself: there are countless stories of individual
cats - bad cats, store cats, book cats. Any favorites among the bunch?
Any that took you by surprise? And: any of your own cats (or cat
stories) sprinkled into the mix?
  

    

Hello Arden, I have a question based on something I found on your web site.
I was looking <http://www.ardenmoore.com/audio-video.html#tour-avspots> and
I clicked on the video clip of you being interviewed on Fox News in Dallas
(fun clip, by the way, I'll have to check out the rest of them).

You mentioned something about "a new sport called feline agility." I
realize the news show gave you only 2 minutes to get your info out there,
but here we're not restricted by clock-watching. So I'm hoping you can
expand on that. 

I never heard of a sport for cats at all. What's "feline agility?" Is
it something I can do with my two cats? Do I need special equipment for
them? Are there tournaments? Do they have teams? Do I have to buy them 
uniforms? (OK, probably not uniforms...) 
  

    
Oh my God, my client would totally sponsor that. Email sent!
  

    
Hey Rover, get over yourself! Cats are cool - and agile jocks, too.
Yes, I am not making this up - feline agility is a sanctioned sport.
Just check out these links:

http://www.cfainc.org/shows/agility.html  = hosted by Cat Fanciers
Association, the world's largest breed registry 

and 

http://www.cfa-iams-cat-championship.org/agility.html = where you will
note that not only does the sport exist, but it has a corporate
sponsor - Iams and a grand stage - Madison Square Garden

Who would have thunk that cats could actually be motivated, even enjoy
taking on obstacles (like climbing ramps, jumping through hoops,
weaving through poles) on a timed course - in front of - yikes - people
- and score titles and acclaim! Some feline agility is being performed
inside homes using furniture and creativity for cats who perfer to
demonstrate their skills to their families inside their homes. Maybe
these are agrophobic feline athletes!

Just goes to show us all to never underestimate the power and talents
of felines. I've witness feline agility events (seems like Abbys and
Bengals fare far better than the quiet, shy breeds like Persians but
there are always surprises in any cat breed or mixed breed). 

As for uniforms, no cool cat would be caught wearing one - takes away
from their sleek, athletic bods. 

Cynthia, thanks for tooling around my website and finding my many
mini-talks about cat behavior. For the rest of you, head to my site:
www.ardenmoore.com and go to Audio/Videos OR just zip over to:

www.videojug.com and click on cat behavior and viola! My face appears
and I give you 45-second to 1-minute videos that explain why cats do
what they do.


As for attempting to pick my "purr-sonal" favorites from Planet Cat,
it is tough. We had so much fun researching and plucking
strange-but-true tales from the headlines in the making of this book. I
must confess, however, that I have a sweet spot for the tale of the
library cat named Dewey (pp. 155-156) who offers 6 "Deweyisms" to help
two- and four-leggers in life. Turns out the Dewey story (he passed
away in 2006) is now coming to book form penned by a savvy librarian
who scored a seven-figure advance (because the book is being tagged as
the feline version of Marley & Me). Makes me wish I had been a regular
patron to that library and thought of the idea myself. Oh well. 
  

    
Heh! At least he'll be properly immortalized.

Let's do that here for your first cat, Arden. Who was it, how old were
you? 

And how did it come about that cats and your career became entangled?
  

    
My first cat, Corky was a Siamese who loved to swim, do a little "paw
fishing" for bluegills and who walked on a leash in my neighborhood in
Crown Point, Indiana. For you history buffs, CP is the place where John
Dillinger escaped from the "inescapable" Lake County Jail by taking a
bar of soap, blackening it with shoe polish and carving it into the
shape of a gun. 

Corky had no criminal background for the 15 years he lived - as least
not to my knowledge - :) - but he was dare I say, very dog-like in
action and attitude despite being a feline pedigree.

My parents divorced when I was 6 and my siblings and I lived on a
small lake in Crown Point with my dad. My mom lived in the "big city"
of Hammond, nearby. When her cat, Luv (again, I can't make this up),
had a litter, she gave me the first born -- Loud Mouth (her name) who I
quickly changed to Corky. Why, I don't recall. But it sounds better
than Loud Mouth.

Corky joined our splintered family that included two dogs, Crackers
(an overweight beagle) and Peppy (a Border collie mix) and an
occasional duck named Quack Quack who stopped by for free food every
spring and fall. I can't remember a time in my life when there hasn't
been a pet or two sharing my home.

I didn't grow up saying that one day I would be a famous pet author.
Or be named "Cat Writer of the Year" as I did in 2007. But, I've always
enjoyed writing, learning and conveying helpful advice to people.

After 20 years as a reporter/editor at major daily newspapers, I
hopped over to the publishing size to focus on writing about human
health, fitness and pets. I spent a few years at Rodale Press before
venturing on my own in 1999. Best decision I've ever made.

Today, my cats, Callie and Murphy share my large home office with my
feline-respecting dogs, Chipper and Cleo. My "furry fab four" are there
with me night and day to give me comfort and to engage me in play when
I've been battering the keyboard for too long. 

Like many of us, this career path just evolved and I am happy being
able to help people - and pets - better understand one another. Being
"poor and famous" isn't so bad when your workplace contains great and
supportive critters.
  

    
I love how vocal Siamese are. 

And thanks for the tips on how to keep Quincy, who could use a little
shot of Prozac, from murdering Minna! I will definitely pick up your
book.

What were you doing at Rodale Press? Editor? 
  

    
Hey Eric - I was a senior writer inhouse for three years at Rodale and
helped launch Pets: Part of the Family magazine. Rodale, as you may
know, no longer staffs in-house writers, so I consider myself fortunate
to break into the publishing world with W-2 and paid vacations - a
short, but welcomed opportunity.

Glad you will be picking up a copy of Planet Cat and hope you consider
my other "new" cat book - The Cat Behavior Answer Book which earned
top prize as the best training/behavior book at the Cat Writers
Association's annual communications contest and helped land me as
"Writer of the Year" - talk about me-WOW!

Best to you with Quincy and give sweet under-the-chin scratches to
poor Minna!
  

    
Arden, do you have an opinion on indoor vs. indoor/outdoor cats?  And
do you get feedback from people about THEIR opinions on the subject? 
Also, what percentage of cats do you think cannot be converted to
indoor-only status?
  

    
When it comes to cats, "in" is in for me. I advocate cats being
indoors - with the rare exception of barn cats and cats too wild or
feral to be converted to living indoors safely - and sanely for all.
That said, I emphasize the need to provide an indoor environment that
is both mentally and physically stimulated so cats don't look or behave
like furry knickknacks. 

There are so many cool ways these days (thanks to the $40 billion pet
industry that continues to grow) to provide toys, furniture and other
indoor items to make the indoor life most cats would enjoy. In
addition, you can also provide safe outdoor exposure to cats through
the use of window enclosures, safe outdoor playpens or be creative. My
neighbor helped me build for a low amount ($300 in materials and a few
free grilled dinners) a "critter condo" that runs the length of the
side of my house that is accessible for my two dogs and two cats
through a doggy door. The floor is pavers (with a drainage pipe
underneath) and the sides are chain link fence with wood trim to match
the house and the roof is chain link topped with a tinted hard plastic
cover pitched slightly to allow any rain to drain off. This condo is
safe, allows air inside and includes a dirt area for the pets to make
"deposits." In the inclement weather, my dogs scoot through the doggy
door to relieve themselves and come back in without a drop on their
coats.

More people are starting to support cats living indoors. Check out the
Indoor Cat Initiative site created by Ohio State's vets:

http://vet.osu.edu/indoorcat.htm

Sadly, the life of the outdoor cat is far shorter and more dangerous
due to coyotes, cars and other challenges. 

As mentioned earlier, not all cats are able to make the transition to
life indoors. I don't have any hard numbers or percentages to offer
you, Carol. But it is low. Typically, these are cats who grew up
without any human contact and live in feral colonies. Years ago, I
bought a home in Emmaus, PA that included an outdoor cat as part of the
sale. Fritz had a big, thick coat and would let me pet him (and feed
him, of course) outside and would get as close as my back porch, but he
refused to go inside or even in my garage during cold weather. He
slept deep inside the fir trees. I used a humane trap to get him in for
his annual vet visits, but he absolutely wanted no part of being
inside. Fortunately, when I sold the house a few years later, the new
buyers also agreed to continue carrying for Fritz.