How Chekhov's uncle made his cat frightened of mice!

Anto Chekov in 1889. Image: Wikipedia.

Anton Chekov (1860-1904) wrote a story about his uncle and how inadvertently his uncle trained his cat to become frightened of mice when he was trying to train them to catch mice. At the time the cat was a kitten. Each time a mouse was caught in a trap, uncle Pyotr grabbed his kitten and pushed his/her face towards the mouse. When the mouse was released, the by then terrified kitten ran away.

I think it was the whole experience of being pushed into the mouse. Perhaps the kitten associated the mouse with the handling they'd received from uncle Pyotr. It was a form of negative reinforcement. The opposite to the classic positive reinforcement training model.

It is strange that the 'training' completely upturned the cat's natural predatory drive to catch mice. That said another factor would be that kittens might be cautious around mice as they might believe that they could be harmed. Mice are amazingly brave in the face of instant death in the jaws of a cat. They stand on their hind legs and scream at the top of their voice.

Chekov

Anton Chekhov, often spelled as Anton Chekov, was a prominent Russian playwright, short story writer, and physician. He was born on January 29, 1860, in Taganrog, a port city in southern Russia, and passed away on July 15, 1904, in Badenweiler, Germany. Chekhov is considered one of the greatest playwrights and short story writers in world literature.

He is renowned for his unique style that combined naturalism and symbolism, portraying the complexities of human nature and the subtleties of everyday life. Chekhov's works are characterized by their deep psychological insight, realistic dialogue, and the exploration of the human condition.

Some of his most notable works include plays such as "The Seagull," "Uncle Vanya," "Three Sisters," and "The Cherry Orchard." These plays often depict the struggles and disillusionments of the Russian middle class during the late 19th and early 20th centuries.

In addition to his plays, Chekhov wrote numerous short stories, often with a focus on the lives of ordinary people and their struggles. His short stories are celebrated for their concise yet powerful narratives and exploration of the human psyche.

Chekhov's contributions to literature have had a lasting impact, and his works continue to be widely studied, performed, and appreciated worldwide.

How did Doja Cat make up her stage name?

Doja Cat complains about the behavior of her fans. Screenshot.

The creation of her stage name is a short story! But we have it from the woman herself. According to Amala Ratna Zandile Dlamini, her real name, she made up her stage name, Doja Cat, because she loves cats and cannabis! In her own words:

"I was heavily addicted to weed and weed culture, so when I began rapping, I thought of the word ‘doja’ and how it sounds like a girl’s name."

At the time she admits that she was "an alcoholic teen". I wonder if she has changed her thoughts about her name bearing in mind what I say below.

LinkedIn says:

In an interview with Genius, she revealed that "doja" is a slang term that means marijuana. She explained that the name was given to her as a tribute to the weed culture, which is prevalent in Los Angeles, where she grew up. As a teenager, Doja Cat was exposed to the weed culture and became fascinated by it.

That's the origin have her name and I have a follow-up story to it. 

Separately, Doja Cat has hit out at some of her fans. She's not happy with the way they are supporting her.

She took aim at her fans on the social media app Threads, which is a new Facebook Twitter-like social media platform.

Some of her fans use the nickname "Kittenz". It describes a fan community but, as mentioned, she doesn't like it. She said:

“My fans don’t get to name themselves s***. If you call yourself a ‘Kitten’ or f***ing ‘Kittenz’ that means you need to get off your phone and get a job and help your parents with the house.”

Very strong words as you can see. She is obviously confident that she can retain fan support even if she criticises them heavily.

There is a Twitter tweet on the topic about her supporters calling themselves "Kittenz".

Doja Cat’s top fan pages are deactivating their accounts after she criticized supporters for calling themselves 'Kittenz'. pic.twitter.com/Zy54M3y2ZS

— Pop Crave (@PopCrave) July 23, 2023

For those people who have not heard of Doja Cat, here is a very brief resume. She was born on October 21, 1995. She is an American rapper, singer and songwriter. She was born and raised in Los Angeles and she began making and releasing music on SoundCloud. She earned viral success as an Internet meme with her 2018 single-a novelty song-called "Mooo!".

Marketa Vondrousova's Sphynx cat kept her husband at home until the Wimbledon final

Well, for me, it is nice to know that the Wimbledon champion likes cats even if she bought a hairless one - a Sphynx - which is a little controversial as some people think that some cat breeds should not have been created because they are too unnatural and require specialist care as does the Sphynx. It is called torture breeding in Germany.

It is nice that Vondrousova's husband stayed behind in the Czech Republic to care for their cat Frankie while she was battling her way to the final.

The couple decided that he should come over for the final and arranged for a cat sitter to take his place. It worked out for them.

Sphynx cats are normally indoor cats as UVB light can harm them as they have no skin protection from fur. 

Also, they need cleaning regularly as the oils from their sebaceous glands sits on their skin and not on the fur where it protects it and makes it feel silky. 

When the oil is on exposed skin it attracts grime. The skin becomes dirty and needs regular cleaning. The Sphynx ears also need regular cleaning as they become.

This is a highly active, monkey-like cat breed. And they are intelligent. They've described affectionately as 'part monkey, part dog'!

Despite having almost no fur, they do have some; a downy soft coat like you see on peaches! This is why the breed has coat markings. There is also the fact that the pigment producing cells in the skin follow the pattern so we see coat patterns on this hairless cat which is a little strange.

Frankie has a brindled-like coat. The whiskers are typical of a Sphynx; broken, short and curly with some missing. This another aspect of the cat's unnaturalness. The whiskers are an important part of a cat's anatomy.

20 FACTS ABOUT CAT WHISKERS

Frankie Sphynx cat. Image: Vondrousova.

Paddy Gower doesn't understand why it's wrong to cull feral cat in New Zealand

My take: feral cats are killing native birds, bats and even dolphins - so why are Kiwis so mad when we cull them? https://t.co/ZXbwp7b4GI

— Patrick Gower (@patrickgowernz) July 5, 2023

Patrick Gower is a New Zealand politician journalist and National Correspondent for Newshub. Incidentally, I cannot access the Newshub website on which there is a discussion about killing all feral cats in New Zealand because I am in Europe (crazy I say). 

Paddy Gower. Image: Stuff.co.nz.

But as you can see from the tweet by Paddy Gower, he doesn't understand why Kiwis (New Zealand citizens) are so mad when the authorities want to cull feral cats because they are killing native birds, bats and even dolphins he says.

The reference to dolphins by the way is this: Toxoplasma gondii oocysts are shed in cat faeces (once and for about 10 days) and they sometimes make their way to the oceans where they can infect marine wildlife. Although it is very, very rare and they have been very few reports of this happening.

It's a reflection of his bias against feral cats. Although I can understand what appears to be his hatred of feral cats. He is passionate about conserving New Zealand's native species as Australians are with their species.

I am going to try and explain to him why Kiwis are so mad at culling feral cats. Clearly these Kiwis are people who are sensitive to the sentience of feral cats. He isn't. He practices speciesism which means he favours one species over another.

He doesn't mind shooting feral cats which causes a lot of pain and distress. Therefore, he doesn't mind being cruel to feral cats. So one reason why it's wrong to shoot feral cats or poison them is because it is cruel.

Perhaps a more important reason is the fact that human beings through their carelessness put feral cats on the planet in the first place. If somebody is careless and creates a problem, they then owe a duty to others to solve the problem in a decent and humane way if that problem concerns animals.

That's logical. That is common sense. Simply shooting and poisoning feral cats is not dealing with a human problem humanely. That's another reason why it's wrong.

And thirdly, when you go out of your way to kill feral cats in large numbers you cannot do it in a way which is precise enough to ensure that you are not killing someone's pet domestic cat. At a distance you can't tell the difference between feral cats and domestic cats. 

And if you have devices which chuck poison gel onto passing animals you are going to kill feral cats certainly but you are also going to kill other animals including, possibly, someone else's pet cat.

And it seems to me you might also kill one of New Zealand's native species. Those are three good reasons why Kiwis are mad or should be mad about culling feral cats.

But I'm afraid Patrick Gower doesn't get it. This indicates to me that he is stupid or he is too biased to have an open mind to what's wrong with the proposal to kill all feral cats in New Zealand in any way possible and as expediently as possible.

If you want to kill feral cats kill them humanely and do the decent thing which can only mean euthanising them by veterinarian. That of course is nowhere near fast enough and it will be far too expensive and irritating to people like Patrick Gower to contemplate.

Gustav Klimt's masterpiece is the most expensive artwork ever auctioned in Europe and his studio cats destroyed his drawings!

Gustav Klimt had about eight cats in his studio destroying his drawings. He was a cat lover. No question about it. The picture below is of Klimt and his cat 'Katz' - a German surname from the German word "Katze." meaning cat.

Klimt and Katz. Credits: Far Out / WikiArt / Picryl)

He did not like to paint himself and preferred to paint women. His studio was a complete mess according to art critic Arthur Roessler, who visited the artist's studio. He was surprised perhaps shocked at the conditions under which Klimt worked.

The description is of a pile of drawings and papers together with up to 10 meowing and purring cats, play-fighting with each other. Roessler was surprised to see the cats which spoiled "hundreds of the most beautiful drawings".

Gustav Klimt appeared to be unconcerned. When the art critic queried what he was doing in allowing the cats to damage his artwork, he said that it doesn't matter even if they crumple and tear the papers because urine "makes the best fixing agent!"

But the fact is that apparently urine had damaged the drawings. Perhaps Gustav Klimt had got used to the smell of it. Domestic cat urine does not make a fixing agent by the way.

Gustav Klimt is in the news not because of his love of cats and allowing his cats to rummage around his studio which appears to have been in a complete mess, but because his works are being fully appreciated by the buying public as a painting of his, Dame mit Fächer (Lady with a Fan) is the most expensive artwork ever auctioned in Europe at $108 million. That price includes the commission to the auctioneer which is known as the buyer's premium.

The actual hammer price was £74 million (US$94.35 million). It exceeded the presale estimate of £65 million by a big margin. The previous European auction record was US$104.3 million (£65 million)

About Choupette, a Birman cat loved by Karl Lagerfeld

People ask: 'What breed of cat is Choupette?' As far as I know Choupette is still alive and the recipient of a $1.5 million legacy from her adoring caregiver Karl Lagerfeld who passed away in 2019 aged 85. News media reports that the cat is now looked after by Lagerfeld's housekeeper Francoise Cacote, in Paris, France. I expect she uses the money to look after darling Choupette in the manner to which she is familiar with a lot left over to spend on herself but we don't know!

The name "Choupette" is a cute version of the French word for 'cabbage' namely 'chou', which is a term of endearment between French people. French people sometimes give their opposite number a nickname such as "my little cabbage". The name Choupette is derived from that cultural habit.

Choupette is a Birman purebred cat. They are a majestic longhaired particolor, pointed cat. They have striking blue eyes and white laces and gloves on their feet. That all sounds a little bit complicated so I'll try and explain it.

RELATED: Famous felines: the stories of history’s most notable cats.

The word "particolor" means more than one colour. So, this cat breed is a pointed cat like the Siamese cat which means that the extremities are darker than the middle portions but, in this instance, the dark extremities are not a single colour but a mix of colours. 

And in the case of Choupette, in my opinion, the pointing is dilute tortoiseshell which is orange and black with tabby markings. It's rather complicated. And to go a bit further, I would also state that Choupette's pointing is diluted. Therefore, this cat carries the dilution gene.

Choupette. Image: Instagram.

If you look at the photograph above carefully, you will see that the pointing looks like a diluted red or orange. But if you look to the left of her left eye, you will see some darker-coloured fur. This is in my opinion a dilute black and the two colours together indicate to me that this is a tortoiseshell mix of colours on the extremities. It is manifested in terms of a red pointing colour on the tail.

RELATED: Karl Lagerfeld is wrong about animal fur.

Choupette has 'gloving' on her feet (white fur). The gloving on her left foreleg is not perfect and breeders of Birman cats expend a lot of effort in trying to get that perfect white paw with a clear demarcation between the darker area of the paw and the remainder of the foot.

The white gloves and "laces" on the feet are created by the piebald gene a.k.a. white spotting gene together with a pattern gene for the placement of the white in that particular area.

If the white fur runs up the leg the breeders call this "runners". This means that the white fur has run up the leg metaphorically speaking. It's taken many years of breeding Birman to Birman with the desired white-spotting pattern to achieve the perfect gloving on the feet. They have achieved this through careful selective breeding (artificial selection) to weed out the undesirable patterns and to fix the desirable patterns in their breeding lines.

The eyes should be blue, sparkling against the darker pointing of the face. Birman cats are said to be healthy and intelligent. They are relaxed and easy-going with their human family members. They have a tolerant personality and a peaceful nature. Choupette does have this aura of calm and sweetness about which she probably has. This is why, I presume, Karl Lagerfeld adored her so much.

Choupette entered the life of Karl Lagerfeld in 2011 when he adopted her from a model who, I presume, was modelling his clothes. The model's name was Baptiste Giabicone. They went on holiday and left Choupette with the staff at Lagerfeld's home. That was the beginning of the relationship. In short, Choupette was given to Lagerfeld as a gift during Christmas 2011.

As her godfather Steven Spielberg gave Drew Barrymore a female cat

Drew Barrymore was the child star daughter of John Drew Barrymore who was an abusive alcoholic. Drew Barrymore starred in the film ET when she was 6-years-old. She believed that the model of the alien ET was a real alien. 

Drew Barrymore and one of her rescue cats 2023. Photo: Tidy Cats.

In order to protect this useful thought as it helped Drew to perform with more conviction, Spielberg ensured that ET acted as a real alien all the time even when they were not filming by directing that two operators continued to operate the model at all times.

Drew admits that she did not have real parents. As mentioned, her father was alcoholic and she had a 'very difficult and painful' relationship with her mother who she continued to support for years.

Because of this lack of parenting, she asked Spielberg if he would be her father. He declined but agreed to be her godfather. They were very close.

Drew and ET who she believed was real. Image: Universal.

In accordance with his duties in that role he gave her a female cat that Drew named Gertie. The Times newspaper reports that the website Vulture say that that she would take Gertie to Disneyland.

Despite her troubled childhood and taking to drugs at the tender age of 10 when she smoked cannabis for the first time and snorted cocaine when 12, Drew had a successful acting career after rehabilitation.

Today she has seven pets including four rescue cats

"I love seeing animals first thing in the morning. I love it when they sleep on the bed with me"

She loves animals and she looks great and healthy in recent photographs. Well done, Drew.

Two Ragdoll cats go missing INSIDE their home!

Yep, this is an example of how domestic cats can genuinely go missing even when they are full-time indoor cats and they have not escaped to the outside. It happened to me once. You're convinced that your cat has escaped the home and that you'll never see them again. You search frantically for what seems like ages and scratch your head to try and figure out where your cat or cats are.

You then finally find your cat or cats tucked away in a place that you never imagined they'd be. That happened to me when I fostered a little tabby kitten who grew up to became my best friend. He'd placed himself inside the double-bed storage area under the mattress.

Zara with her Ragdolls. Image: Instagram

In the case of Love Island's Zara McDermott, her cats were hidden inside an electrical cupboard in the basement with the door jammed shut!

Zara said: "I just had a near mental breakdown because I home and I couldn't find the cats anywhere, I spent 20 mins searching every room and cupboard for them and I couldn't see them.

"Anyway, long story short my brother calmed me down on the phone and I started searching every part of the house top to bottom, I found them inside an electrical cupboard in the basement...

Ragdolls cats go missing inside their home. Image: Instagram

My guess? The cats found a nice cosy cubby-hole to snooze away some hours while Zara was away and the door shut because the cats knocked the broom that was in there.

Zara was beside herself with anxiety believing that she had lost her beloved Ragdolls. I understand her feelings. It happened to me as mentioned but my cat - who's on my legs as I type this - is a humble moggie. Just as good though.

Doja Cat dressed head to toe in glittering cat garb with facial prosthetics at Met Ball 2023

Doja Cat does it big at the Met Gala 2023 with a glittering Oscar de la Renta cat gown featuring cat ears and facial prosthetics to mould her face to resemble feline features. She's gone the whole hog and it works well. 

FYI - The Met Gala or Met Ball, formally called the Costume Institute Gala or the Costume Institute Benefit, is an annual fundraising gala held for the benefit of the Metropolitan Museum of Art's Costume Institute in New York City.

In other words, it is a chance for some high-profile ladies to show off their wares. To throw some money at it and dress up to the max.

Does she have a cat?? 

A while ago I wrote on this topic and I start the article: 

"Yes, Doja Cat has a cat. In fact, it is believed that she has more than one cat. We know this because the inspiration for her stage name was weed and 'one of her cats'. In case you are unsure, her real name is Amalaratna Zandile Dlamini and she is an American rapper."

She said:

I was heavily addicted to weed and weed culture, so when I began rapping, I thought of the word 'Doja' and how it sounds like a girl's name

Link to the article.

Olivia Benson, a cat worth millions with big earning potential

Everything that Taylor Swift touches turns to gold metaphorically speaking. For example, Taylor Swift, herself, is officially the most followed person on Instagram with a mind-blowing 239 million followers. We know she loves cats and we know that one of her cats as Olivia Benson, a Scottish Fold.

Olivia Benson. Image: Instagram (modified by MikeB)

And because of that connection and for no other reason in my opinion the news media are saying that Olivia Benson has the potential to earn millions and therefore is worth millions herself.

Taylor Swift has given Olivia her own Instagram account. From that account she has the potential to earn big. She is described as a moneymaking machine with an estimated value of US$97 million.

How does it happen? Why can't I have a cat worth millions of dollars!? Hundreds of millions of people would love that too. But you've got to be Taylor Swift. Olivia Benson living with John Doe in a suburb of New York would not make a penny even if they had their own Instagram account.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Taylor Swift (@taylorswift)

The idea that Olivia Benson is worth pots of money comes from a website called All About Cats in which they state that Olivia "has found success outside the world of Instagram influencing. The Scottish Fold earned her fortune starring alongside her owner in several music videos, has crafted her own merchandise line, and has had cameos in many big-budget ads."

That's the story! I don't have much more. I have to touch on a couple of moral issues which I know are boring and there's no glitter or celebrity discussing moral issues but I have to do it.

Note: these embedded social media posts sometimes fail. It might not work. If so, sorry.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Olivia Benson💎 (@_olivia_benson_the_cat)

Benson's followers

Well, I have discovered that Olivia is not doing great on her own Instagram page with a measly 581 followers. Perhaps this story is all hype, smoke and mirrors?!

Moral Issues?

The first issue is that Olivia Benson is a Scottish Fold as mentioned. A lot of people think that this is a cat breed that should not exist. The reason why the ears fold flat is because the ear flaps, made of cartilage, are defective. The cartilage isn't stiff enough to keep the ear flaps erect and that is due to a genetic mutation which has been handed down to offspring through selective breeding over many years. 

The Scottish Fold is a breed of domestic cat with a natural dominant-gene mutation that affects cartilage throughout the body, causing the ears to "fold," bending forward and downward towards the front of the head, which gives the breed its distinctive appearance. Scottish Folds are known for their sweet and affectionate personalities, and they are a popular choice as pets. 

The genetic mutation that causes the folded ears is dominant, which means that if a Scottish Fold is bred with a cat that does not have the mutation, approximately half of the offspring will have folded ears. However, there are some potential health concerns associated with the Scottish Fold breed, including an increased risk of developing certain orthopedic problems due to the genetic mutation.

So, Olivia Benson is perpetuating something which is not that great to be honest. And secondly, I'm not sure it's a good idea to have a domestic cat earning money for you. My mind immediately turns to that great organisation PETA which has that wonderful motto on their website about animals that are not ours to be used for our entertainment or any other purpose.

Certainly, when cats are used to make money, they break that PETA mantra big time. I'm not suggesting that Olivia Benson doesn't like performing for the camera and making some dosh for her owner but she would probably be happier at home snoozing above a warm radiator or soaking up the sun by a window.

Katie Price should be banned from owning pets. Discuss.

NEWS AND COMMENT: Recent news media reports indicate two stark facts about Katie Price's ownership of companion animals (1) she has lost six pets through accidental death during her time as a caregiver and (2) she's recently lost her sixth, a pet pooch, who ran into the road and was run over by a car outside her home.

Price with puppy Captain. Image: her Instagram channel.

Her disastrous attempts at companion animal ownership have resulted in observers of this British celebrity calling for her to be banned from owning any more companion animals. She is a slow-motion car crash when it comes to companion animal ownership. Note: to be banned she'd have to be prosecuted in the criminal courts for animal cruelty and that is highly unlikely.

Katie Price is reportedly in "bits" over the loss of her pet pooch. The dog's death on the road was reported as "rotten luck" by The Sun newspaper. Apparently, the dog ran out into the road after a gate to her property was opened. Looks more like carelessness to me.

"A puppy has died in the last 24 hours in Katie Price's 'care' she bought this puppy for her 13-year-old child 3 weeks ago. Which was killed in an accident no one witnessed." - the petition on change.org.

I'm going to speculate about the pooch's death because this is an opinion piece. Katie Price wants to go out perhaps to her car with her dog. She opens the gate without her dog being on a lead. Outside her home is a road. The dog in their excitement runs into the road. A car comes by. The car hits and kills her dog. Would it not have been better if she'd had her dog on a leash at that time bearing in mind that there is road traffic outside her home? This points to careless dog ownership.

We are told by the Mirror newspaper that more than 24,000 people have signed a petition which claims that Katie's pets are dying due to a lack of proper care. They say that no more animals need to die and a ban should be in place against her.

The catalogue of animal deaths in her care is rather startling. Back in 2017 one of Katie's horses was killed after it was struck by a vehicle. 12 months later, a driver ran over her Alsatian, Queenie.

And then her pet chameleon died of a 'broken heart' in the same year when her children went to stay with their dad Peter Andre.

And then, Price's Alsatian Sparkle was struck by another car in 2020. And then months later her French Bulldog Rolo was apparently suffocated when her nanny sat on the dog!

Apparently, she was forced to give up another Alsatian dog called Bear because the animal was attacking other animals. More careless companion animal ownership.

We are told that Ms Price is devastated about the petition demanding that she be banned from owning animals. She currently owns chihuahuas Captain, Buddy and Batman. She also currently owns a guard dog called Blade. How long will they last?

"Katie is aware of this petition. It comes as a devastating blow as it is wholly biased, based on hearsay and not actual fact. Katie loves her animals, to say otherwise is incorrect, unjust and unkind, it couldn’t be further from the truth." - a spokesperson for Katie. Comment: yes, she likes animals and cares but is far too damned careless and chaotic to be a fit and proper caregiver.

The petition apparently claims that Katie Price had puppies which allegedly drowned in a neglected swimming pool. And also, one of her cats was ripped apart by her dogs (by Bear perhaps?).

Katie Price lives in a "Mucky Mansion". That is a reference to a disorganised and untidy and perhaps dirty large house which appears to be outside a busy road judging by the number of animals of hers killed on the road. She gave her mansion a facelift recently. A temporary respite to the muckiness.

You would have thought that she would have learnt her lesson by now to keep dogs on a lead when she leaves her home.

Katie Price has been involved in several road accidents and criminal behaviour (drunk driving and driving without insurance for example) regarding driving as I recall. She has avoided jail by some miracle. She appears to live a chaotic life with scant regard for animal welfare.

P.S. She pops over to Turkey regularly for some cheap plastic surgery top ups. Her boobs perhaps or her face. It is never ending. Troubled person? Looks like it.

How many cats does Martha Stewart have?

We don't know how many cats Martha Stewart has today (but it might be 2 Bengal cats) at this time 😒😢, but we do know that she has had, over the past 40 years, at least 20 cats. Martha Stewart has also adopted many other animals over this time including two dozen dogs, canaries, parakeets, ponies, donkeys, 10 horses, goats, sheep, guineafowl, turkeys, geese and 10 chinchillas. She is clearly a big fan of animals and likes to live with and care for them.

We do know that she has at least 2 cats at the moment because today, October 12, 2022, we can report that Martha Stewart has expanded her feline family. On her Instagram channel, she reported on Tuesday that she has welcomed two Bengal cats to her farm menagerie. One of them she has called Kipling. She describes Kipling as "curious" and a "mischievous feline!".

Martha's 2 new Bengal cats Oct 2022. Photos: Martha Stewart.

She said that they are acclimatising to their new surroundings which is a farm and therefore I would suggest good surroundings because they can go outside safely (I hope) and enjoy things. She said that her Bengal cats are "adventuresome, very fast and devious". The "devious" reference is probably to their ability to escape any confinement. In July, 6 of her pet peacocks were killed by coyotes in broad daylight, she said.

Her animal menagerie is possible because her estimated wealth today is around $400 million, down from a high of $2 billion at her wealthiest. The reduction in her wealth was due to a criminal conviction after a charge of nine counts of securities fraud and obstruction of justice.

My reading of the situation is that it was quite a minor crime relatively speaking as she was alleged to have gotten inside business information in order to avoid over $45,000 in stock losses.

She appears to have made a bad judgement over a relatively minor issue which cost her around $1 billion at the end of the day but in leaving herself with 400 million she's not going to starve at the age of 81.

She has the means to look after a lot of animals and good for her. We don't know how many cats she had or has at any one time, but she's been through some tragedies.

RELATED POST: 123 celebrated ailurophiles (cat lovers).

Martha and her late Princess Peony a calico Persian. Image: TMZ composite.

News media on Monday, 4 April 2022 reported that Martha Stewart was mourning the death of one of her cats, a beautiful calico Persian, after she was mistaken as an intruding animal by her four pet dogs. The Persian cat concerned was called Princess Peony. She was about 12 years of age.

At the time Stewart said: "Burying the beautiful and unusual Princess Peony. the four dogs mistook her for an interloper and killed her defenseless little self. I will miss her very badly. RIP beauty"

It does seem a little odd that her dogs mistook a resident Persian cat as an intruder as stated. Apparently, they lived together for several years. Martha's love of animals resulted at one time in her having 25 dogs and 20 cats in and around her home.

There is a hint on the TMZ website that Princess Peony died for some other reason other than as stated. I guess we'll never know. One possibility for the attack by dogs on a resident cat is that the cat was bathed completely which removed her natural oils and therefore her body scent. 

As dogs and cats identify others through their scent, it is plausible to suggest that the dogs concerned no longer recognised Princess Peony and attacked her as a stranger as a result.

It's an example, if I am right, that it is normally unwise to bathe a cat in multi-animal homes. It is probably fair to say that Persian cats are more often bathed than other cats because of their long fur which needs to be kept in good condition to prevent it matting.

Cat-loving Taylor Swift tops a table of celebrity private aircraft polluters

Although Taylor Swift has defended herself by saying that she loans out her aircraft to others, she has been found to be top of a table of celebrity private aircraft polluters with 170 flights on her jet in 2022 to July 29 according to a digital sustainability company, Yard, and as reported in The Times newspaper today.

Image: Pinterest.

Taylor Swift's Falcon 7X clocked up nearly 16 days in the air to July 29. The average flight time was 80 minutes covering a distance of 139.36 miles. The calculated emissions were almost 8,300 tons of carbon dioxide. This is 1184.8 times the average person's.

You will find pictures on the Internet of Taylor Swift in her Falcon 7X jet with one of her cats on her lap. She does like to travel with her cats as I understand it. But she does tend to relate to her cats as babies in my view which I don't think it's helpful because it is better to relate to your cat companion as a cat as it is more respectful and it leads to better caregiving. But it not a big deal. The important thing is that she loves cats and is good caregiver.

Taylor Swift's Falcon 7X. Image: Christopher Peterson/Splash News.

Taylor Swift tops the league of polluters through the use of private jets but, as mentioned, she does defend herself and I am an admirer of hers by the way. The information apparently comes from Yard who use the Twitter account of @CelebJets, which tracks the movements of the jet-owning celebrities of the world using GPS and detailed maps. I don't know whether this is an unacceptable invasion of privacy but they are able to do it in great detail and therefore calculate the carbon dioxide pollution. I guess the information on their travel arrangements is in the public domain in the first place.

Floyd Mayweather the retired boxer is a close second behind Swift. Allegedly his jet emitted more than 7,000 tons of carbon dioxide in the same period. Jay-Z is third on the list but a spokesperson for the rapper said that he no longer owns the plane.

Fourth on the list is Alex Rodriguez, a retired baseball player. This comes Blake Shelton and sixth is Stephen Spielberg with Kim Kardashian coming seventh. Mark Wahlberg comes eight and Oprah Winfrey comes ninth. 10th on the list is Travis Scott.

Polluting the environment with carbon dioxide has become a serious issue as it affects the planet and therefore us all going forward, including our cats.  We all have a responsibility to do our bit. Although I fully appreciate how hard that can be when governments are doing nowhere near enough.

Marine Le Pen loves cats and therefore her heart is in the right place

NEWS AND COMMENT: I don't think that you can love cats and be a bad person. If you love cats, you probably love most if not all animals and if you love animals your heart must be in the right place. And judging by the photographs of Marine Le Pen on her Instagram website, she adores cats and loves animals. 

Marine Le Pen with Bengal cats. Photo: Instagram.

There are a lot of photographs of her with farm animals for instance and smiling while holding a dog. But her heart is with cats and it is in the news today that she has a diploma in cat breeding. I must admit that I do not like that aspect of her character.  Sorry. But I still like her and would support her.

True cat lovers would not breed cats but I will forgive her. Another little unsettling aspect, according to a tweet by a man called Gideon Rachman who I've not heard of, states that Le Pen has said that one of the attractions in studying the breeding of cats is the "perfection of the race" and their "genetic characteristics" as reported by Le Monde newspaper.

Marine Le Pen loving being with a cat. Photo: Instagram.

She is talking about cat breeding obviously which is very much about genetics. In addition, it is in truth about the perfection of the race by which she means perfecting the appearance of the cats that she breeds in order to meet the demands of the breed standard as specified by the cat associations. The word 'race' in this instance means a certain cat breed.

The trouble is that critics of Le Pen will say that she is showing her far right tendencies in those statements. However, when you see a photograph of her with a cat you see a lot of softness. It seems to me that she may have had far right tendencies but she has softened her position and is now more central on the political spectrum.

The Times states that she may be the leader of a movement that belongs to France's historical "brutal far right" but she has, deep down, a sensitive soul. And I think that is absolutely correct. Although I don't think she is far right any more if she ever was. I'm not sure.

But Marine Le Pen's website which in English is titled Notebook of Hopes portrays the National front leader as a lover of kittens and animals in general.

RELATED: Picture of Marine Le Pen and her Somali cat.

Sceptics might think this is a cynical attempt to reposition her image as perceived by the voters of France as she is in competition with Macron to become France's president.

Ironically, Marine Le Pen's father loves Doberman dogs. Being a dog lover is clearly more in line with a political party of far-right tendencies.

The pictures of her with cats are being talked about as a makeover for this presidential challenger.

The Guardian newspaper reports that Le Pen has stated, "I couldn't live without cats". They say that she is in a long campaign to detoxify the far right, anti-immigration party founded by her father Jean-Marie Le Pen in 1972. 

In a television interview she said that she had a difficult childhood but made it clear that she loves cats. And interestingly, the journalist said that nobody hates cat lovers. It's a good point. It is certainly hard to hate someone who loves cats and animals in general.

I think she is probably much less far right than people think she is but she has a legacy to deal with thanks to her father. Loving cat certainly helps to brush up her image.

Does Keanu Reeves have a dog (or cat)?

My research indicates that Keanu Reeves does not live with a dog or a cat. This may surprise some people because he is a decent bloke who likes animals. In fact, I think that you could argue that he is better than a decent bloke. He is an exceptional individual on my research. He eschews his riches made from his A-list Hollywood ranking and is a generous charitable donor. 

He supports PETA, the animal rights organisation. And it is reported that he has spent time talking to a tramp in New York City for hours on end. I mean, the guy doesn't see himself as a Hollywood film star but as an ordinary person who perhaps prefers to live an ordinary life and mix with ordinary people. I love that.

Keanu Reeves takes the subway in NYC like anyone else. Photo: in the public domain (presumed).

Neither is he a vegetarian nor a vegan. In fact, he has talked about his diet and he does eat meat. So, he loves animals but doesn't see the need to become vegan. I guess he has decided that he can help the planet in different ways. Apparently, he has a tradition of eating steak before a fight scene in a film. He said: "The night before a big fight sequence, I still eat a steak. It started on The Matrix. It's totally psychological".

He likes a nice New York cut steak with a little fat on it. There is a very interesting post on the qoura.com website about him. Apparently, according to this person (Manoj Krishna Shrestha), he has no luxury houses and no bodyguards. He lives in an ordinary apartment and likes to wander around New York City and ride on the subway. You might see a photograph of him on the subway with other people (as above).

RELATED: Shaza Morani – a celebrity in India who supports animal welfare.

It is said that when he was filming a movie, he overheard a conversation between two costume assistants. One of them said to the other that they might lose their home if they did not pay $20,000. On the same day, Reeves deposited $20,000 into the person's bank account. He has also donated large sums to hospitals including, astonishingly, $75 million of his earnings from "the Matrix" franchise.

And he is super generous despite some really big setbacks in his life. He was abandoned by his father at three years old. He grew up with three different stepfathers. He is dyslexic. He dreamed of being a hockey player but was injured in a serious accident and could not follow that dream. His wife died in a car accident and his best friend at the time, River Phoenix, died of an overdose. His sister has battled with leukaemia. Note: I have decided that these reports are correct but please bear in mind they come from one source.

RELATED: Moronic celebrities with primates as pets encourage animal abuse and hurt conservation.

To return to the question in the title. I think he has good reasons for not having a cat or dog. Firstly, he lives in an ordinary apartment in New York City which he probably feels precludes him from keeping a companion animal to a high standard. Secondly, I suspect that he believes that his work which takes him away from his home probably for months on end prevents him from properly caring for a companion animal to the standards that he sets himself, which I expect to be high. Therefore, I think he doesn't have a cat or dog for practical reasons.

I guess, you don't need to look after a cat or dog to prove to the world that you are an animal lover. You can do it in other ways. And you don't just have to love animals, you can love vulnerable people and anybody who needs your help. They are all in the same bracket. That is the feeling I get with Keanu Reeves's mentality.

Jay Leno - "Every quality that women hate in a man they love in a cat"

You have to admit that Jay Leno is smart and talented. He also loves automobiles. You may have seen his fantastic collection in his own super-clean facility in California. He says that California is a great place to collect cars because the weather is so good. It doesn't get wet and damp which eventually damages a car's appearance. He also loves cats. Which means that I love him because anybody who loves cats and who is smart and talented has got to be admired.

He took the trouble of making a video, a funny cat video, for his appearance on The Ellen Show.

This is partly a testament to his wealth I would say. He has the money to ask one of his colleagues to knock together a funny cat video. He is quite involved with the making of videos because he has a very successful YouTube channel in which he presents his vehicles. But it's just nice to see him do this in a smart/funny way.

RELATED: ‘Cat love bites’ – what do they mean and why do they happen?

An Internet search quickly provides me with some information about Jay Leno and his love of cats. It's not just him but his wife also. I wonder if his wife introduced him to his feline friends?

There is a quote online by him which goes like this:

"I've never understood why women love cats. Cats are independent, they don't listen, they don't come in when you call, they like to stay out all night, and when they're home they like to be left alone and sleep. In other words, every quality that women hate in a man they love in a cat".

Do you want to try and unravel that? Perhaps it's impossible. Too complicated. Clearly women allow much more leeway with their feline friend than they do with their male friends and spouses.

Perhaps this is all about the kind of relationship that people have with cats. It's a much more balanced relationship. While writing this, I think I have found a reason to explain the above quote. Humans tend to play games. People can become suspicious and distrustful. They lie and hide behaviour which they think might undermine their public profile.

Jay Leno and his cat. Screenshot.

The human world is a tricky world. What you see is not what you get, very often. This is the exact opposite to what you get with a cat. Everything is laid out in front of you. You know exactly what they're doing and thinking (if you have a decent understanding of feline behaviour). 

But the point is they don't play games and they don't lie and muck you about. It is a very simple, direct, and in the best homes, loving relationship. Their reliability is enormous in comparison to many people. It's unconditional. This builds trust whereas distrust can lead to developing the kind of attitude that some women have for some men and as hinted at in Jay Leno's quote above.

Taylor Swift celebrates Benjamin Button's birthday by lip-syncing her song "22"

On her Instagram page, Taylor Swift, lip-syncs to her upbeat song "22" in celebration of her Ragdoll cat, Benjamin Button's 22nd birthday in cat years. As a rough estimate you divide by seven so I'm guessing that Benjamin is about three years old.

Taylor Swift celebrates Benjamin Button's birthday by lip syncing her song "22". Montage: MikeB based on screenshots.

The pop superstar celebrated her 32nd birthday on December 13. She took to her Instagram account on Monday, December 27, to share her video while sitting alongside her adorable purebred cat. Ragdoll cats are particularly attractive, perhaps the most attractive of all purebred cats.

RELATED: Taylor Swift falls in love with Benjamin Button (a Ragdoll kitten ‘purrbox’).

The recording used a New Year's themed filter and the brief clip features swirling confetti and Swift wearing a headband that reads “I’m Feeling 2022".

You can watch the video on Instagram by clicking on this link. https://www.instagram.com/reel/CX_inZjhMPY/

It has received 2,539,963 likes ❤. That is because Taylor Swift has 194 million followers on her Instagram pages. It might surprise you to know that that places her 14th in the current list of most followed Instagram celebrities. The top spot is Instagram itself at 453 million followers. The top genuine spot by an individual person is Christian Ronaldo at 381 million followers.

Biden family are adopting a cat

NEWS AND COMMENT-WHITE HOUSE: It is all over the news and it is pleasing news for people who like and live with domestic cats. We know that the Bidens like animals and so you could say it's about time they adopted a White House cat. There's a cat waiting in the wings, apparently, currently with a foster carer, which they are going to bring to the White House in January 2022. That is the sum total of the news about the Bidens and a new cat.

Jill Biden and Major in the foreground. Photo: Jill Biden.

They've also adopted a new dog whose name is Commander. It appears that their two-year-old dog, Major, couldn't settle in the White House and they have wisely, I would say, decided to rehome him. There were reports of him nipping people or a person. I don't think these were really difficult situations but he was clearly unhappy. Perhaps these were defensive bites because of stress. He's gone to a quieter home with family friends. It's best for him.

Major has not been at the White House since the beginning of the year. He was undergoing 'additional training'. Commander is the sole companion animal at the moment at the White House.

I suppose, on a realistic note, the Mr and Mrs Biden will have to ensure that their new cat fits in. It depends upon the individual's character. But bringing in a new cat into the White House is not the same as bringing a new cat into a three bedroomed, semi-detached house in Washington DC.

There's lots of activity I guess at the White House, a lot of people, noise and disturbances from time to time. The new cat is going to have to be well selected which I think he is. We don't know the cat's gender but for the sake of convenience I have described him as male.

When they placed a mouser at Downing Street in the UK, the residence and office of the Prime Minister, they went to Battersea Dogs & Cats Home to select an individual that they believed could cope well under tricky conditions for a domestic cat. He had problems with the new dog, Dilyn apparently.

Larry the cat at number 10 Downing Street is spraying urine to mark territory on the arrival of Dilyn the dog

The Bidens' new cat is going to have to get on with Commander and settle in quickly and feel confident and relaxed in their high profile role. There will be lots of news about him or her. I'm sure the Bidens want it to go very well. They don't want to be seen as failing. It would not look good if they had to rehome their new cat having already rehomed Major.

It's good news though. It's good for domestic cats to have a high profile feline in the White House to generate some pleasant, light-hearted cat news for the future.

Oscar Ramsay (Gordon Ramsay's son) carries the family's Exotic Shorthair incorrectly

Of course, Gordon Ramsay has a very high hitting Instagram account with over 13 million subscribers. And he has a son called Oscar. And the family also has what appears to me to be a pointed Exotic Shorthair cat. A very good looking cat although bred to extreme. The Daily Mail has picked up on the photograph and said how adorable it is as Oscar who is two years of age goes for a 'walk' with the cat. Well, they are joking of course because Oscar is carrying the cat and here is the point of this article.

Oscar Ramsay carries the family cat in the wrong way. Photo: Gordon Ramsay.

Oscar is carrying this purebred cat in a very bad way. It's the kind of way that children do carry cats. Every time they do it it is incorrect. It's common sense that it is incorrect. You don't need a sophisticated argument from a cat behaviourist to tell you. 😉.

When you carry a cat you have to support them properly and not have them hanging from their shoulders putting strain on their spine. I've got a nice graphic prepared by Ruth which shows you how to pick up a domestic cat.

If you want to pick up and hold your cat, the only way to do it is to place your hand under the cat's chest while they are standing on the ground, and you lift her up while at the same time you place your other hand under her bottom so that she is fully supported. 

Then as you lift up your cat to the vertical position you continue to support her bottom with your other hand and arm while also supporting the upper part of her body (under the shoulders) with the other hand.

Essentially there needs to be two support points on a cat: the upper part of the body and more importantly the entire weight should be supported under the cat, under the bottom. 

Sometimes you simply want to lift up a cat in the horizontal position with both hands and place the cat on a table or whatever. That's different. In the first description I'm describing how to pick up a cat and carry a cat in an intimate way as opposed to a functional way.

Oscar Ramsay carries the family cat in the wrong way. Photo: Gordon Ramsay's Instagram page.

You don't carry a domestic cat as if you are carrying a baby which is belly-up and cradled. And you certainly don't do what Oscar is doing.

He just needs to be taught because he doesn't know better. There is certainly a responsibility on cat owning parents to both teach their children how to interact with the domestic cat and secondly to supervise until they are confident their child can interact properly. This should be a proper parent-to-child training session with practice.

It's important both for the cat's health and welfare and also from the standpoint of the child because if a cat is mishandled they can strike out. A child might become scratched. The parents then don't like the cat. They relinquish their cat to a local shelter. That's how it can play out.

I don't want to be a wet blanket but I don't see it as that amusing to be honest. I just see a need for Gordon Ramsay or his partner to do a bit of research, such as read this article, and teach their son (who looks like Gordon) how to lift and carry a domestic cat.

My advice would be: don't try it until you are a bit older. To be honest Oscar is probably too young to be carrying a cat of this size. The cat is about half his size. This is quite a well fed, plump Exotic Shorthair. Although, I don't think that he or she is obese. Just well looked after except for the technique in carrying her 😊.

Katie Price gives away her kids' remaining Sphynx cat

People ask whether Katie Price has a Sphynx cat. Well, there was a time when she had 2 Sphynx cats but no longer. It is hard to keep pace with the acquisition and abandonment of animals that live with Katie Price and to be perfectly honest I can't say I care about her but I do care about the animals. 

She impulsively adopted two Sphynx cats some time ago. The black Sphynx cat was named Hagrid while the standard coloured Sphynx cat was named Dobby according to The Sun newspaper. They have an Instagram account (don't they always :-? ). The photograph on this page is from that account.

Hagrid and Dobby - Price's former 2 Sphynx cats. Photo: Instagram

She gave away Dobby about years ago and The Sun now reports that she has just given away another of her children's pets in giving Hagrid to a friend from the local stables where her £10,000 horse is kept. The reason? It's because her so-called 'Mucky Mansion' is being refurbished as part of a reality TV programme, as I understand it. Therefore she is living out of a suitcase with her current partner.

RELATED: The wrinkly skin of hairless cats.

Katie's former boyfriend Kieran Hayler said that both the hairless cats were peeing everywhere around the home ('mucky mansion' seems correct) when he lived there. Dobby was relinquished because he couldn't get on with Katie's protection dog Blade. That would have caused peeing inappropriately.

And because there was cat urine everywhere the place stank of cat urine as it would (ammonia smell). And because of that she lit a candle to try and mask the smell. That caused a house fire apparently.

So that's the story of Katie Price's Sphynx cats. A disaster. What is ironic is that when she lived with her former husband Peter Andre, he insisted that she had to keep the cats because they belonged to their two children Princess and Junior. Times have changed and now anything goes.

Katie Price has a history of self-indulgent adoptions of animals without proper preparation and budgeting to only find later that she hasn't got the skills or the finances to properly care for the animals in her charge.

If it is true that the hairless cats were peeing everywhere it would have been due to stress because they were marking territory to reassure themselves. And this points to a chaotic environment which was not calm enough. 

Also, Sphynx cats are quite hard to care for because they need to be full-time indoor cats and washed regularly as their skin becomes grimy due to the oils from sebaceous glands deposited on the skin. 

They look interesting which would have appealed to Katie Price but it's not all plain sailing. You have to know what you're doing and be committed. This appears to be beyond Ms Price.

The aptly named "Mucky Mansion" is certainly large. It's located in Sussex and she bought it for £1.3 million in 2014. It has nine bedrooms and three stories. There is a two-bedroom annexe, stables, tennis court a swimming pool and 12 acres of land. There are many reports about its rundown state. This probably is due to the fact that Katie Price did not have the budget to maintain the property. It appears that her earning potential has faded considerably as she becomes older and the public becomes weary of her antics.