Posted by Anne M on Tuesday, Nov 5, 2013
Last month, I heard John Bradshaw on Fresh Air with Terry Gross explaining that cats do not necessarily sit on us for our warmth, they sit on us because we are friends. I liked the thought of this. I always believed that Gatsby (my cat) and I are in good standing, but can you ever really say you are friends with your cat? Well, I do, but I fully acknowledge that it is a complicated relationship. There are times I wouldn't argue with someone that says cats are only in it for the food.
Cat Sense, John Bradshaw's latest pet science book, doesn't just reinforce good feelings about having my cat around. He discusses the latest studies on cat behavior to explain some of their habits, provides advice on how to interpret whether cats are comfortable with their environment, and explains how to manage their undesirable innate behavior, such as the need to hunt or the inability to get along with other cats. Bradshaw is concerned that cats need to adapt to modern expectations. We want friendly cats who, for the most part, live indoors, leave songbirds alone, and coexist with other cats or with dogs in the home. And we are asking for this rather quickly. Bradshaw puts this in perspective by providing an interesting history of how the cat has evolved as one of our companions.
I'm pretty sure that Gatsby bears me no ill will seeing as how he seems to feel extremely safe when he sleeps as illustrated in the accompanying photograph.
If you are not a cat person, Bradshaw's previous book covered the same issues with dogs.
Set in 1894 Minneapolis, the backdrop is a new city, teeming with possibilities--and every vice that comes with that. Abby, a progressive crusader and treasurer of the Bethany House for Unwed Mothers is desperately trying to solicit donations and lobby city leaders to support the work of the respite home. She needs to shore up their reputation as their work might not have the support of the incoming mayoral administration. And then Faith shows up. Newly pregnant, unable to speak, wearing an expensive gown, and looking as if she survived a serious act of violence, Faith is welcomed into the house’s community. But she comes with rumors—rumors of the occult, of magic powers, of mesmerism and she is quickly blamed by the other girls in the house for any small misfortune. Abby wants to help the girl—that is her prerogative and the purpose of the Bethany Home. But she also doesn’t want Faith’s reputation to be a blight on their tenuous stance in Minneapolis. She tasks May, Faith’s roommate to figure out how Faith got to Bethany. The answer is far more human than supernatural. -Anne M