Good Morning to all Cat Lovers!
Last night I read a short book "The Year of the Cat", written by a young woman in London during lockdown. It described her thoughts on many topics including PTDS, fear of becoming or never becoming pregnant, mothers, lockdown, disability, violence at the hands of men, life in Paris, care work, and even witchcraft as well as cats. During her twenties, the idea of turning into a crazy cat lady was a hilarious joke, shared with her young, single girlfriends. But, in lockdown, her biological clock ticking away, it became a more serious possibility.
So now to our own experiences with (crazy) cat ladies!
Seventy years ago, I lived in a London suburb (social housing) and it wasn't until my mother picked up a kitten from a cattery that we found out about the Cat Lady, living a block away. My parents didn't know much about cats and expected the kitten to spend nights outdoors so it wasn't long before the kitten went missing and found itself in the arms of the Cat Lady. We children were sent to pick up the kitten and got scolded and lectured about the need to take the cat to be neutered. She lent us a cat basket and we set off on the bus with the cat but landed at the wrong vet who didn't do neutering for a small donation. The Cat Lady scolded us again but a week later we borrowed her cat basket and took the bus in the opposite direction and the cat was neutered for 5 shillings.
This Cat Lady was certainly not crazy - she must have had a heart of gold trying to teach scruffy children, too young to take full responsibility for a pet, how to care for a cat. She no doubt owned a cat or 2 but was not a hoarder. I would have loved to have got to know her better but I was much too young to think about if at the time.
Have you met a (Crazy) Cat Lady or Gentleman, or are you one yourself? Are you in danger of becoming one? Or are you hoping to become one?
I have 4 cats and volunteer for a cat shelter but wouldn't call myself a Cat Lady.
PS By the way, the book I read was "The Year of the Cat: A Love Story" by Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett, see Goodreads
Last night I read a short book "The Year of the Cat", written by a young woman in London during lockdown. It described her thoughts on many topics including PTDS, fear of becoming or never becoming pregnant, mothers, lockdown, disability, violence at the hands of men, life in Paris, care work, and even witchcraft as well as cats. During her twenties, the idea of turning into a crazy cat lady was a hilarious joke, shared with her young, single girlfriends. But, in lockdown, her biological clock ticking away, it became a more serious possibility.
So now to our own experiences with (crazy) cat ladies!
Seventy years ago, I lived in a London suburb (social housing) and it wasn't until my mother picked up a kitten from a cattery that we found out about the Cat Lady, living a block away. My parents didn't know much about cats and expected the kitten to spend nights outdoors so it wasn't long before the kitten went missing and found itself in the arms of the Cat Lady. We children were sent to pick up the kitten and got scolded and lectured about the need to take the cat to be neutered. She lent us a cat basket and we set off on the bus with the cat but landed at the wrong vet who didn't do neutering for a small donation. The Cat Lady scolded us again but a week later we borrowed her cat basket and took the bus in the opposite direction and the cat was neutered for 5 shillings.
This Cat Lady was certainly not crazy - she must have had a heart of gold trying to teach scruffy children, too young to take full responsibility for a pet, how to care for a cat. She no doubt owned a cat or 2 but was not a hoarder. I would have loved to have got to know her better but I was much too young to think about if at the time.
Have you met a (Crazy) Cat Lady or Gentleman, or are you one yourself? Are you in danger of becoming one? Or are you hoping to become one?
I have 4 cats and volunteer for a cat shelter but wouldn't call myself a Cat Lady.
PS By the way, the book I read was "The Year of the Cat: A Love Story" by Rhiannon Lucy Cosslett, see Goodreads