God Bless Them, Cats Are People Too

by Kevin Burton   The omnivore and the acrobat inhabit the same spaces, but not the same mind.    Their motivations differ. Their capabilities and culpabilities are diverse. Sometimes I’d like to see these felonious felines get their tails in jail. My wife Jeannette agrees.    Who knocked over the framed beep baseball picture that …

Careful How You Navigate Foreign Exchange

by Kevin Burton    There was a brief time in my life when I got paid in pesos, as I was teaching English to Mexican nationals in a language school in Puebla, Mexico.    I don’t remember all the specifics now, but for some reason I wanted change for (I think) a 1,000-peso bill.  I …

My Cats Know My Voice (But Don’t Listen)

by Kevin Burton    Researchers found that cats can recognize their owners’ voices. Duh!    Why would you need a team of researchers to figure that out?    Call me when researchers have figured out how to get the cats to listen and obey. That will be news I can use.    “While dogs are …

Animal Names That Are Also Verbs

by Kevin Burton    My late great cat Mex had a verb coined in her honor.    She used to head butt people, as opposed to the usual cat way of rubbing against people with the side of the head or body.  To headbutt became “To Mex.”   Usage: “Stop Mexing me!”    It’s a …

Quiet Mornings With God, In My Corner

by Kevin Burton    There is a recliner in my corner, beaten, battered and blue.    On the night I received the keys to the Mancave I was told by the proprietor, “You can get rid of that.” But I kept the chair because it was beaten, battered and blue.    You see my late …

Quibbles And Bits Feline Edition: Bilingual Cat

by Kevin Burton    Sometimes the people news is too depressing  to deal with. Sometimes as a remedy, I turn to the world of my cats.    You will notice that people tend to creep into the cat news. This may be unfortunate but may be inevitable.    So here on Page 7, all the …

Two Threats Looming For Christmas Tree

by Kevin Burton’    O Christmas tree O Christmas tree, I’ve got your back O Christmas tree!    Is this me re-writing a classic Christmas song?  No it’s not. Hear me out.    Thanksgiving (the holiday, not the action) is over.  It is now cool to play the Christmas music and put up that Christmas …

Dictionary Highlights Man’s Best Friend

by Kevin Burton    I have suspended my devotion to cats long enough this week to share  some dictionary words from Merriam-Webster that pertain to dogs.    Before we continue with their list, here is one the dictionary curiously left out – dog days.    Dog days is “the period between early July and early …

Merriam-Webster: Words Inspired By Dogs

by Kevin Burton    If you read this blog regularly, you know I am a cat guy. A cat whisperer, my wife says.    Today we’ll give equal time to dog lovers, by revealing some of the Merriam-Webster dictionary’s list of words inspired by dogs.     According to Forbes, 44.5 percent of US households have …

Taking The Shake Out Of Shake ‘n Bake

by Kevin Burton     I am not definitively saying that Wal-Mart, distributor of Vibrant Life cat litter, is squeezing customers financially. I didn’t do the documentation.    You see, my boyhood pastime of reading the back of cereal boxes did not linger into adulthood and cause me to read for information, such things as cat …