New Movie: Inside the Mind of a Cat

Laura: Whether you’re an ardent cat lover or just curious, Inside the Mind of a Cat is an interesting movie. Having lived with three cats (Ming, Kosmo and Diesel) over roughly 35 years, I was looking forward to an even better understanding of these furry friends. Experts admit that cat research has lagged behind dog research by about 15 years, but we all know these two popular pets are vastly different. I learned that cats have 20 different meows, each expressing a specific emotion. I was familiar with only 18. (just kidding) Overall, the movie provides good insight into how cats think and behave, but nothing earth shattering if you are or have been a cat owner.

New Book: The Cats of America: How Cool Cats and Bad-Ass Kitties Won the Nation’s Heart

Laura: This 155-page book is fun and factual – a great combination. It’s the perfect book to pick up for 10 or 20 minutes, read a delightful anecdote or two and then put it down for future enjoyment and move on with your day. The real charm of this book is learning the role cats played in our history and how they are such an integral part of our great American institutions. You also gain all kinds of trivia, such as learning that President Lincoln was the first president to bring cats into the White House and that the longest living cat was a white tabby from Texas named Creme Puff. She lived for 38 years. Would make a great gift or stocking stuffer for the cat lovers in your life.

LEARNING CENTER – The Cat’s Got Your Tongue

Barbara: Cats sometimes get a bad rap (mostly by dog lovers). They’re stand-offish, they mess up the place with their kitty litter, they claw up your furniture, strong willed, etc. So, I wondered about the expression “the cat’s got your tongue” and whether it was related to any of these traits.

There are two thoughts about where the expression originated. The first is that it was due to the cat-o-nine-tails which was a whip used by the English navy to flog someone. The second is that it is from ancient Egypt where a liar’s tongue was cut out and fed to the cats. We prefer the second one since our father loved tongue (ewww) and, since Laura is a cat lover, it would be nice to think her former cats’ ancestors did too.