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At the end of every busy week, the feline-inclined know what comes next: Caturday!
I’m learning the kitty lingo slowly. Remember, in my life to this point as a dog owner, Saturday was a busy with time at the park, hours hiking in the woods or, at the very least, a long and leisurely morning walk.
Caturday, for those who don’t know, is the exact opposite. Dora and I laze about through the morning. Her only job is to purr and purr, a reaction to my job of cuddling on her. Then I get up and start my day, and she slumbers on.
Amazingly, for an animal who is asleep for a good 15 hours a day, this is her favorite time for deep sleep.
True, in my effort to remake her into something resembling a canine, Caturday generally includes a walk on her leash later in the day. I like to think it’s what she dreams about in her kitten-REM moments.
What plans does your kitty have for you and Caturdays?

During my lifetime of dog ownership, road trips were never an issue. Step No. 1 was getting the dog used to the car, typically by driving a bit and finishing at an ice cream stand. My dog Brownie learned to love car rides after just two scoops of ice cream. Alas, I am now the reluctant cat owner. Real cat people assured me that traveling with a cat is a bit like enjoying fine dining with an infant: It can be done, but it’s usually a bad idea to even try.
I moved from Florida with some fear this spring. It would Dora’s first experience on a long car trip.
Would she have feline road rage, like some cats who hiss and moan?
Would she be in desperate need of Dramamine, queasy from both ends?
Would she scratch and bite me to shreds the moment the car stopped?
No. No. No.
Dora the Explorer has lived up to her name. She’s a road kitty!
I got a good carrier that I can use on airplanes and set it out for her to check out. Her first time, she slept in it for about an hour. Next time, she dozed the entire 7-hour drive from Orlando.
Now, when I take her carrier ouot, she knows she’s traveling. Dora is even smart enough to use the litter box and grab a drink before she hops in.
Is my cat trying to be the strangest little dog I’ve ever had? Or do some kittens actually love to travel the way Dora does?

Do you have a cat that roams your neighborhood? Should pet cats get an outdoor pass? Check out this AP story about a cat that now lives under “house arrest,” then share your thoughts.

Crazy cat that frightened neighborhood mends ways
FAIRFIELD, Conn. (AP) — A combative cat named Lewis who frightened the neighbors and got his owner into legal trouble two years ago has done so well under house arrest that the case has now been scratched.

Cisero’s probation included community service as well as the restraining order to keep Lewis inside. Had he gotten out, she could have faced up to six months in prison and Lewis could have been euthanized.

Forgive me my hobbling. I have a cat.

As a newbie when it comes to owning felines, I have gotten used to the random scratches and bite marks. I didn’t realize, though, that bringing a cat into my home could permanently disfigure or disable me.

See, just as I was drifting off to sleep, Dora decided to pounce on my foot. My foot is fine. Being startled from near-sleep, though, led to something popping or twisting in my lower back. Dora ran off. Given the gingerly way that I’m walking, I may never run again.

Why would a cat do this?

Is this Cat-speak for, “Don’t rest now .. I want to play!” Is she conveying deep hatred for yet another long day spent alone indoors?

Or is Dora the Explorer just cruel and mocking?

My real theory: this cat is brilliant. See, the only way I can sleep and get rest now is to lie perfectly flat on the bed.

And that just happens to be Dora’s signal to come lie right in the middle of my chest, stretch out and sleep far, far more soundly than a woman with back pain ever could.

Go ahead, share your pet-related injuries.

Do you walk your dog during odd hours to avoid other dogs or people?

I readily admit that I’m a recovering member of the “Walk of Shame Club.” My neighbors know me as the woman who walks her dog under the cloak of night, long after all the happy, well-adjusted dogs have made their rounds. You may have seen my peers walking their pooches at the crack of dawn or during the 11 o’clock news.

Some do it to keep the peace. Others have dogs that bark too loudly or pull too hard when they see other dogs.

But there’s hope for us. Lulu and I have been working with a trainer. We’re not perfect, but now I do a better job walking her. She has an easier time focusing on the walk rather than the distractions. We’ve had a long journey, and it’s not over. But I know we aren’t alone.

What challenges have you faced during your regular dog walks?

If you have cats like mine, you’ve probably stopped setting an alarm clock. What’s the point, when Fluffy will stand on your chest and lick your face with her sandpaper tongue faithfully every morning at the crack of dawn? This cute and cuddly wake-up service would be perfect if cats only understood the purpose of weekends and vacation days.

What I have noticed is that with my cat Michigan, I can fake him out if I really try. If he starts rustling around the bed and I want to sleep in, I will try to relax myself and keep my eyes closed. He will sniff me and if he’s convinced I’m really asleep, he will leave me alone. But if he determines that I’m actually awake, his wet and rough tongue unfurls without mercy.

He also has a backup plan in case I’m able to thwart the licking attack. He will start chewing on cardboard boxes, books, bags, or other paper materials in the room. Not only does this immediately wake me up, I get the extra bonus of cleaning up all of the itty bitty pieces left on the floor, my punishment for delaying his feeding time.

Do your pets wake you up in the morning begging to be fed? What techniques do they use to get you out of bed?

In the past, we have asked whether or not a potential love interest liking (or disliking) your pet would make or break the relationship (Member Blog). However, a lot of times pets can help us pick a mate.

My dog Connor would sit between me and an ex-boyfriend anytime we were at my apartment. But when my husband and I started dating, Connor did not try to interfere. I like to think it was his way of saying that my husband was trustworthy, but for all I know it had something to do with the fact that the other guy was really tall, and my husband is average height.

Putting the dog “litmus test” aside, Connor did play a big part in our dating experience. We used to walk him regularly and spent much of that time getting to know each other. Eventually my husband, who was unsure about getting a dog, adopted a dog of his own. I got the chance to help out an inexperienced dog owner, and he saw the side of me that is really passionate about rescuing dogs.

How has your pet contributed to your finding (human) love?

Anyone who loves cats has probably spent some time perusing Cats in Sinks. The Web site is simply a collection of people’s cats lounging in sinks (and other basins). The phenomenon of cats in sinks has always amused and intrigued me.

One of my cats, Elle, is definitely a sink lover. However, her sink is specially equipped, as the heating vent is directly below it. We didn’t realize that the sink basin was nice and toasty until we walked into the bathroom on an early winter day and found Elle sprawled comfortably in the sink. This becomes her second home in winter. The only thing that can persuade her out of the sink is a basket of warm laundry just out of the dryer. The other cats aren’t interested in sinks.

Mookie has a fondness for the dog crate, which is curious, since he despises both the dog and trips to the vet. He also likes closets, and I have accidentally locked him in for a couple of hours at a time. He always emerges completely unruffled.

Michigan’s favorite spot is attached to me — he’s such a mama’s boy. One of the few things that all of our cats agree on is that the dog bed is always superior to the cat beds, much to the dismay of our dog.

Do you have any sink-loving cats? What other unique places do your cats like to hang out?

Do you engage your cats in chatter or does it simply drive you crazy? I admit that I enjoy having “catversations” with our flame point Siamese, Elle. Like most Siamese cats, she is very vocal, and makes a variety of noises, including producing an amazing purr. Seriously, her purr should be added to those sound machines that help people fall asleep. She also makes staccato vocalizations that translate roughly to “ack” to human ears. This usually happens in the morning, and I try to mimic Elle’s “ack” sounds. She seems to enjoy this interaction and responds back to me, and this will continue for about a minute or two.

We know that cats rarely meow with one another— it’s something they’ve learned has a positive effect on their relationships with humans in a domestic setting.

While Elle is the most chatty of our cats, the scaredy cat Michigan has a very loud, insistent meow right around feeding time. He is quite vocal with the other cats of the household, especially during his play-fights with Elle. If he accidentally gets locked in the closet for just a few seconds he will let out this guttural roar that sounds like he’s burning in the bowels of hell.

Perhaps the most interesting of all is the eldest cat, Mookie. We believe he wasn’t very socialized with other cats as a kitten because of some of the anti-social behaviors he exhibits. Mookie never purred until Elle and Michigan became part of the household, and we would give them extra attention when they would meow in unison at feeding time, because it was so adorable. One day, a meow slipped out of Mookie, much to our surprise. Now he meows regularly, albeit begrudgingly.

What kind of noises do your cats make?

If you come to my house, you’ll be greeted by foil instead of a welcome mat. Michigan, my scaredy cat, thinks that by spraying the foyer with cat urine he can somehow snatch supreme feline power from Mookie, the reigning (and forever) alpha male cat of the household.

After trying everything from behavior modification techniques to feline pheromone treatment, I decided to try an unconventional solution recommended by some pet experts: aluminum foil. I lined the entire floor of the foyer with foil, leaving just enough space to open the front door. I can only imagine what the Zifty delivery driver thought the other night, as he stepped into my foil fortress. But hey, it’s working. Well, it has stopped Michigan from urinating in the foyer. The cat is afraid of his own shadow, so it’s no big surprise that he is terrified of foil — he won’t even touch it. Mookie has not been as impressed.

To show what he really thought of my ingenious solution, Mookie recently left a “gift” on the foil (you can imagine what I found). What crazy techniques do you have for stopping your cat’s bad behavior? Do family members or friends ever call you out on it?

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