Some recent pix of the Fabulous Jamieson Avenue Felines and a nice story. Samuel P. Katt in one of the bookshelves My favorite American author of Important Fiction, Mark Twain, has more going for him than a superb ability with words and a low pain threshold for idiots. Like me, he loved cats. He once wrote that “If man could be crossed with the cat, it would improve man, but it would deteriorate the cat." I agree.
TC between your cats and Joyce's chickens (also cat & dog) just makes reading these posts so much more enjoyable - also takes us all away from melonhead briefly.
Ah, MARK TWAIN LOVED CATS, came to me at a perfect moment. I had just finished a pain-in-ass piece and ready to relax. This Jamieson Cat House Travelogue with touches of Tom and Twain was funny and full of love. Thank you for the trip, Tom.
I have little experience with cats because there've always been dogs in our family, but as a child my daughter rescued several injured cats she found in the neighborhood and would feed them and hide them in the basement until she could get them to my then jogging friend who was a vet's assistant, who would in turn get them "repaired" and rehomed with cat fans like Twain and Tom.
We used to have two feral cats who kept this a mousefree neighborhood, but coyotes have moved in since Covid, and one can only speculate about the ferals, both of which were treated with respect for their talents and work ethic.
A man’s treatment of a dog is no indication of the man’s nature, but his treatment of a cat is. It is the crucial test. None but the humane treat a cat well.
- "Winter-end Excursion to the Sutherd" (1902)
When a man loves cats, I am his friend and comrade, without further introduction.
Mark Twain’s octagonal study used in the summers while at Quarry Farm, Elmira, NY, the home of his wife, was taken from the site and donated to Elmira College in 1952. While attending the college a long time ago, friends and I found a cat and her kittens who took up residence there. We wondered if she was a descendent of one the originals, although we never found evidence one way or another that cats hung out in the study. But knowing Twain’s affinity for felines, it could have happened! Quarry Farm is now the home of the Mark Twain Studies Center:
Corky and Bambino certainly have style in the way they plant themselves in your chair. And Twain renting cats while away--how marvelous!
When I was 4, I found a cat outside, took it into our house, and stuck it in a drawer, in some childish way figuring I had to do something like this to get a cat. After several hours, my mother heard it mewling, and let it back out. They got me a cat soon after, but they let her out in a timeframe I thought was too soon, and we never saw her again. The next year they got me another cat. Smoky stuck around, and was a nice cat.
As an adult, I've become a dog person. Natalie, a border collie, is my running partner, among other things. She's very sweet (everyone who meets her remarks on that). When we're running, she often goes up to strangers to get the love. One time, running around Fresh Pond, she went up to three women who were sitting on a bench. A photo of that appeared in the NYT.
every time I see a picture of Natalie, she looks more and more like Jubal. precisely the same coloring and muzzle, although Jubal now has a little gray. I think my next avatar will be him in the bathtub, where he hides from thunderstorms.
That's funny! I don't think Natalie hides from thunderstorms, although Molly, a lab/whippet mix who was my running partner when lived in my house with her humans before Natalie moved here, was very afraid of thunderstorms. If you feel like it, send me a photo--supernova1@aol.com
Thank you. Sheila was a rescue dog who'd been dropped off in a snow storm with mange and heartworm. She was nursed back to health by an amazing woman who runs a rescue outfit near a high kill shelter in Indiana. Sheila was transported by a volunteer rescue transport organization to Sacramento, CA; a woman on the Elkhound forum offered to pick her up, house her for a couple days, then drive from San Mateo to Yreka, CA to meet us driving down from Eugene.
She had 10 good years living with Mary and her other two Elkhounds (both rescues; one at a time) before her body gave out; we estimate that she was between 15-18. She was also the first dog that I got to know well (we were always a cat family) and I miss her terribly.
I am so sorry for your loss. I had always been a "dog person" until 2007ish. I lost my last two doxies, Heidi and Gretel and then quite suddenly and unexpectedly found myself being adopted by cats. Now, I have five: Spanx and Judy are "innies" (inside only) and Bill, Ginger Boy and Doris are "outies" (outside only.) I really don't have a preference, dogs versus cats, but my innies are both talkers and smart as can be. I'm sure every cat owner says the same thing, but it is definitely true with these girls.
Indoor cats are known to be more vocal than outdoor cats. Since cats are both predator and prey in the great outdoors, keeping silent promotes success as predator in sneaking up for an ambush, while silence makes it more difficult for the possible enemies to locate them.
Dear Ally, wish I could hug you and convey appreciation to Mary and the good people who watched over Sheila, no slouch herself. Thank you for sharing this story of her. With love!
Great pix, outstanding story. I've passed it along to my daughter who is the official cat person in the house. I am a mere servant and occasional cook for them.
The fictional character, and newspaperman, James Qwilleran (Lillian Jackson Braun) believes strongly that cats choose their own names, and that most people unwisely choose "silly" names that are entirely incompatible with the cat's personality. It sounds as if Mark Twain would agree!
I've decided that in my next life, I'll avoid any romantic relationship with a person who's not a cat lover. Cats have great intuition about people....
Every time I have been smart enough to pay attention to the kitties regarding any new person in my life, I've avoided catastrophe. Every time I didn't...
I am certain that every time Creampuff jumps on my lap when I call her name (always), that she's thinking "Dad! How did you give me this name?!!"
Very happy that Fabulous Feline Fridays have resumed! I am nowhere near being a cat person but even I can acknowledge their innate grace, dognity (sic!) that was a Freudian slip if ever there was one.
I love this Tom. Thank you! I always knew Mark Twain had excellent character. And he had several more cats than I do😹 Your cats are beautiful and look very content.
Twain rented cats when he travelled. I just spit out my coffee. Cat Ladies are denigrated (misogyny, anyone?), but a person of good character knows cats are awesome. Thanks for a great read and terrific pictures, TC!
TC between your cats and Joyce's chickens (also cat & dog) just makes reading these posts so much more enjoyable - also takes us all away from melonhead briefly.
Thanks
Ah, MARK TWAIN LOVED CATS, came to me at a perfect moment. I had just finished a pain-in-ass piece and ready to relax. This Jamieson Cat House Travelogue with touches of Tom and Twain was funny and full of love. Thank you for the trip, Tom.
I have little experience with cats because there've always been dogs in our family, but as a child my daughter rescued several injured cats she found in the neighborhood and would feed them and hide them in the basement until she could get them to my then jogging friend who was a vet's assistant, who would in turn get them "repaired" and rehomed with cat fans like Twain and Tom.
We used to have two feral cats who kept this a mousefree neighborhood, but coyotes have moved in since Covid, and one can only speculate about the ferals, both of which were treated with respect for their talents and work ethic.
Hi Tom,
Twain was a wise man. Here’s a couple of cat quotations for you:
“A dog is prose; a cat is a poem.” Jean Burden
“God made the cat to give man the pleasure of stroking a tiger. “ Francois-Joseph Mery
I call mine "the lions in my living room."
J.P., you inspired my search.
A man’s treatment of a dog is no indication of the man’s nature, but his treatment of a cat is. It is the crucial test. None but the humane treat a cat well.
- "Winter-end Excursion to the Sutherd" (1902)
When a man loves cats, I am his friend and comrade, without further introduction.
- "An Incident," Who Is Mark Twain?
sorry, Sam Clemens, but dogs are also poems. you just have to know how to read them.
❤
❤
❤
@David
Mark Twain’s octagonal study used in the summers while at Quarry Farm, Elmira, NY, the home of his wife, was taken from the site and donated to Elmira College in 1952. While attending the college a long time ago, friends and I found a cat and her kittens who took up residence there. We wondered if she was a descendent of one the originals, although we never found evidence one way or another that cats hung out in the study. But knowing Twain’s affinity for felines, it could have happened! Quarry Farm is now the home of the Mark Twain Studies Center:
https://marktwainstudies.com/
Thank you for the link to Mark Twain Studies Center. The location is as rich and quiet as he gracefully described it.
Corky and Bambino certainly have style in the way they plant themselves in your chair. And Twain renting cats while away--how marvelous!
When I was 4, I found a cat outside, took it into our house, and stuck it in a drawer, in some childish way figuring I had to do something like this to get a cat. After several hours, my mother heard it mewling, and let it back out. They got me a cat soon after, but they let her out in a timeframe I thought was too soon, and we never saw her again. The next year they got me another cat. Smoky stuck around, and was a nice cat.
As an adult, I've become a dog person. Natalie, a border collie, is my running partner, among other things. She's very sweet (everyone who meets her remarks on that). When we're running, she often goes up to strangers to get the love. One time, running around Fresh Pond, she went up to three women who were sitting on a bench. A photo of that appeared in the NYT.
every time I see a picture of Natalie, she looks more and more like Jubal. precisely the same coloring and muzzle, although Jubal now has a little gray. I think my next avatar will be him in the bathtub, where he hides from thunderstorms.
That's funny! I don't think Natalie hides from thunderstorms, although Molly, a lab/whippet mix who was my running partner when lived in my house with her humans before Natalie moved here, was very afraid of thunderstorms. If you feel like it, send me a photo--supernova1@aol.com
Thanks for the cat stories. My niece dog went over rainbow bridge today, and my sibling cats Artemis and Apollo have been a great comfort.
It is so heartbreaking when our companion animals pass away. My condolences to you and your family.
Thank you. Sheila was a rescue dog who'd been dropped off in a snow storm with mange and heartworm. She was nursed back to health by an amazing woman who runs a rescue outfit near a high kill shelter in Indiana. Sheila was transported by a volunteer rescue transport organization to Sacramento, CA; a woman on the Elkhound forum offered to pick her up, house her for a couple days, then drive from San Mateo to Yreka, CA to meet us driving down from Eugene.
She had 10 good years living with Mary and her other two Elkhounds (both rescues; one at a time) before her body gave out; we estimate that she was between 15-18. She was also the first dog that I got to know well (we were always a cat family) and I miss her terribly.
I am so sorry for your loss. I had always been a "dog person" until 2007ish. I lost my last two doxies, Heidi and Gretel and then quite suddenly and unexpectedly found myself being adopted by cats. Now, I have five: Spanx and Judy are "innies" (inside only) and Bill, Ginger Boy and Doris are "outies" (outside only.) I really don't have a preference, dogs versus cats, but my innies are both talkers and smart as can be. I'm sure every cat owner says the same thing, but it is definitely true with these girls.
Indoor cats are known to be more vocal than outdoor cats. Since cats are both predator and prey in the great outdoors, keeping silent promotes success as predator in sneaking up for an ambush, while silence makes it more difficult for the possible enemies to locate them.
Dear Ally, wish I could hug you and convey appreciation to Mary and the good people who watched over Sheila, no slouch herself. Thank you for sharing this story of her. With love!
❤
Great pix, outstanding story. I've passed it along to my daughter who is the official cat person in the house. I am a mere servant and occasional cook for them.
The fictional character, and newspaperman, James Qwilleran (Lillian Jackson Braun) believes strongly that cats choose their own names, and that most people unwisely choose "silly" names that are entirely incompatible with the cat's personality. It sounds as if Mark Twain would agree!
I've decided that in my next life, I'll avoid any romantic relationship with a person who's not a cat lover. Cats have great intuition about people....
Thanks for the story and photos, TC!
Every time I have been smart enough to pay attention to the kitties regarding any new person in my life, I've avoided catastrophe. Every time I didn't...
I am certain that every time Creampuff jumps on my lap when I call her name (always), that she's thinking "Dad! How did you give me this name?!!"
Very happy that Fabulous Feline Fridays have resumed! I am nowhere near being a cat person but even I can acknowledge their innate grace, dognity (sic!) that was a Freudian slip if ever there was one.
I laughed out loud.
I love this Tom. Thank you! I always knew Mark Twain had excellent character. And he had several more cats than I do😹 Your cats are beautiful and look very content.
They are all very definitely happy kitties.
Beautiful. Much needed when we are inundated with news of The Criminal in Chief. Wonderful diversion, feels like a gift.
Yes cats are awesomely mysterious and I would not understand that if my son hadn’t adopted a few right before college.
Thank you! I love Mark Twain, but I did not know that he loved Cats.
Here is a little story about one of my feline loved ones.
https://open.substack.com/pub/blissgrey/p/lil-engineer?r=1qi9ir&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=email
Good one. Nice kitty, too.
Thank you.
Bliss, just beautiful!!
Shes's a little stinker, but I love her.
As you should!
What a fantastic Feline Friday
“Apollinaris, Beelzebub, Blatherskite, Buffalo Bill, Satan, Sin, Sour Mash, Tammany, Zoroaster, Soapy Sal and Pestilence.”
Those names are a novel in the making!😂
Twain rented cats when he travelled. I just spit out my coffee. Cat Ladies are denigrated (misogyny, anyone?), but a person of good character knows cats are awesome. Thanks for a great read and terrific pictures, TC!
Linda, I have been known to sign my name with the epithet, “Crazy Cat Lady of Martinez.” 😉
Linda, I’ve been known to sign my name with the epithet, “Crazy Cat Lady of Martinez.” I wear that like a crown.