A Path With Paws

With the holidays approaching, I wanted to share some of my favorite cats books. I have to admit I am drawn to the many cat mystery books out there.

Catwings
Some of my favorite books ever, the catwings series, are write for children but also can melt the heart of an adult. Ursula LeGuin is one of my favorite authors but I have to admit that some of her best books are those that she has written for young adults or children.

In the Catwing books she introduces us to a family of four kittens who are born in the slums but happen to have wings and not just ordinary wings but fuzzy wings! These four books take us through their adventures as they try to find a place of their own in a world where they can be truly accepted and loved for who they are. Ursula’s words are beautifully written and the illustrations in these books make you want to reach out and cuddle these special kitties!

“Yet even though LeGuin’s stories are not sentimentalized, neither do they shock or brutalize in their truthfulness. Rather, as she makes danger and loss and injury and fear and all the passages of life seem natural and unavoidable, LeGuin also lets us see that life can still be well-lived, and individuals can still act rightly and lovingly and bravely, and can bear with dignity whatever losses come. Not a bad set of truths for children to learn in a couple of gentle, well-told tales.” - Orson Scott Card

These books are a purrfect gift for cat lovers of all ages!

The Joe Grey Mysteries
I love Joe Grey! Who wouldn’t love a talking cat who solves mysteries and occasionally also orders cavier from the deli, charging it on his person’s credit card. Joe Grey is an ordinary tom cat who one day discovers that he not only can talk but can also think like humans. This comes as quite a shock to him and even more of a shock to his bachelor owner Clyde. So what is a smart talking talking tomcat to do? Why turn to crime solving!

With the help of his friend Dulcie, another cat who discovers she can also talk, he turns to solving murders in the village he lives in. Like most long running murder mystery series there is the small problem of why so many people die in such a small town. Unlike many murder mysteries this series is very well written by Shirley Rousseau Murphy and quite entertaining to read. I have fallen in love with these books and with Joe Grey.

Shirley is able to keep the books fresh and witty by introducing new characters and problems and weaving ancient cat legend and folklore in throughout the stories.

While these books can be read in any order, it is the most fun to read them in order starting with Cat on the Edge.

This series is by far the best in the number of growing animal crime solving books!

The Catswold Portal

A wonderful fantasy people about a race of beings, The Catswold, who can change between people and cats, The Catswold Portal was an early novel written by Shirley Rousseau Murphy who later wrote Joe Grey. I read this book after reading many of the Joe Grey books and really enjoy how it tied into the legend of the Joe Grey series. A exciting tale of adventure and of the forces of good and evil. Did I mention that all the women of the Catswold race have calico hair?

Well worth reading on its own or while working through the Joe Grey books!

The Mrs Murphy Series

A cat mystery series co-written by a cat?

I worked my way through this series awhile back and really enjoyed it. The cats and dog in this series also talk but not to the humans. This is yet another series of animals solving murders but unlike Joe Grey Mrs. Murphy, Tucker, and Pewter have more difficultly because of the language barrier. Mrs Murphy and Pewter are smart talking cats who live with their person Harry and Tea Tucker the corgi in a small town in Virginia. Together the three of them help Harry solve murders in the small town and protect Harry who tends to get into trouble.

Written by Rita Mae Brown and filled with interesting charactors such as Simon the possum and Harry’s ex-husband the local veterinarian, this is also a well written and delightful series of books.

Simon’s cat

Worth mentioning again, Simon’s cat, is absolutely delightful! By far my favorite cartoon cat and now with his first book. There are no words in this book but the drawings will make you laugh. This guy really knows cats! If you have ever been owned by a cat before this book is a must have.

Coming soon - some of my favorite dog books and other wonderful animal books

If you have a favorite animal book - please send it to me or leave it in the comments!

Once again I am reaching out beyond animals to address an issue dear to my heart. Referendum 71 is very important for many of my clients and many friends and it is important to me. This is a referendum about equality and about protecting those we love and brings up to the vote if it is right to discrimination against someone because of who they are.

The wording of this referendum is also confusing. A yes vote does nothing more than keeping a law that has already made it’s way through the state legislature. A no vote hurts families and says it is alright to legislate discrimination.

Many people are affected by this referendum both gay and straight.

How would you feel if the person you loved the most was hospitalized and you could not see them or be involved in their care? How would you feel if your partner was sick yet you could not take time away from work to care for them? How would you feel to welcome your newborn child but know that in the first month of their life you had no say over their care and they could be taken away from you at any moment if you partner became ill or died because your partner gave birth to them and you had to wait to legally adopt them?

How does this referendum affect our seniors?

Often seniors who are widowed or divorced will suffer serious economic hardship if they re-marry. Under Social Security, there is a ‘marriage penalty’ where seniors’ benefits are put in peril if they re-marry. For example, women who spent their working years as homemakers or in traditionally lower wage jobs often have to rely on a former spouse’s work history to receive Social Security benefits because benefits are generally based on 30 years of paid work experience. But if a senior re-marries after a divorce, she will no longer be able to rely on her former spouse’s work history to receive Social Security benefits. Once stripped of her Social Security benefits, she would face poverty and be forced to work well into her senior years to provide for her basic needs. Many seniors would also have to pay additional taxes on their Social Security benefits if they re-marry. Some elders end up sacrificing hard-earned health care, military or pension benefits if they re-marry. The domestic partnership law allows unmarried senior couples to have the legal protections they need, take care of each other, be able to provide insurance or take family or medical leave if a partner is gravely ill, and make critical decisions for one another in times of crisis, without losing benefits that for many may be their only source of income. They should not have to live in poverty in order to be together with the person they love.

Protect All Families

There are over 12,000 people in Washington state registered in domestic partnerships. These families live in every county, in all parts of the state. The domestic partnership law ensures that all of these families have the same protections and responsibilities as their neighbors, regardless of where they live.

Gay and lesbian families need domestic partnership laws to provide essential protections for their families. Committed couples who want to take care of each other should be allowed to visit each other in the hospital, take family and medical leave when a loved one is seriously ill, and have insurance coverage. By voting to Approve Referendum 71, you will vote to ensure that all families are provided the same protections under the law.

Families with children need the protections provided by domestic partnership laws, especially when a parent dies. By voting to Approve Referendum 71, you will vote to ensure that all children are provided the same protections under the law.

Seniors need the protections provided by domestic partnership laws. For seniors, domestic partnerships mean that their hard-earned social security, military or pension benefits are not put at risk. By voting to Approve Referendum 71, you will vote to ensure that all seniors are provided the same protections under the law.

Police officers and firefighters who risk their lives to protect our communities need domestic partnership laws if they are hurt or killed in the line of duty, so that their families are taken care of by their pension or workers’ compensation. By voting to Approve Referendum 71, you will vote to ensure that all of our communities’ first responders’ families are provided the same protections under the law.

This referendum is supported by a large and diverse religious community, see Faith leaders’ statement of support for Washington families and domestic partnership law and by a diverse group of northwest organizations.

Please help give everyone the right to protect their families and be with their loved ones in times of crisis. Vote yes on referendum 71!

Update November 6, 2009 Referendum 71 has passed!!!

I just read a very interesting article in the Atlantic, Does Vacccine Matter? While I admit this article is three pages long, it is also one of the most comprehensive articles written on why flu vaccines may not really be helping us. If you have the time I highly recommend reading this. As many of you know one of my primary veterinary interests is in infectious disease prevention and proper vaccination and that carries over to the human world at times

Why is this an important topic?

For a few reasons.

Vaccinations have side effects and if a vaccine is not helping you it is probably hurting you. If we are doing more harm then good in vaccinating for the flu it would be good to know it.

Our government is banking on the fact that vaccination and antivirals will stop a deadly flu epidemic should be ever see one again like the flu epidemic of 1918. No true double blinded studies have been run on if the flu vaccine is helping us. Wouldn’t it be good to run these on a lesser strain of flu now so that we know if our vaccines are effective and can modify them if they are not?

In using anti-virals on non-deadly strains of flu we are creating resistance should we need them for more deadly strains. Anti-virals are also strong medicines with potential side effects including death. Once again we do not know how effective these drugs really are.