Sunday Purrs

Sunday Purrs: Cats and Writers

Amber reading Buckley's Story

“Authors like cats because they are such quiet, loveable, wise creatures,
and cats like authors for the same reasons.” Robertson Davies

Cats and writers just seem to go together. According to Barbara Holland, author of Secrets of the Cat: Its Lore, Legend and Lives, “a catless writer is almost inconceivable. It’s a perverse taste, really, since it would be easier to write with a herd of buffalo in the room than even one cat.” I think she’s right.

I certainly get inspired by my two feline mewses, Allegra and Ruby. I couldn’t write The Conscious Cat without their inspurr-ation. But the best piece of writing I ever saw about how cats inspire writers comes from Muriel Spark’s A Far Cry From Kensington:Continue Reading

Sunday Purrs: Meditate with Your Cat

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The benefits of meditation are endless: from helping us handle stress better to getting in touch with our true spiritual nature, meditation has been proven to make our lives better. In fact, there is so much evidence that meditation is good for you that it seems like meditation should be as much a part of our daily lives as breathing.

Once you’ve established a daily meditation practice, you can’t imagine not having it in your life, but until you get there, the thought of daily mediation seems to bring out a long list of excuses for most people. “I don’t have the time.” “I don’t know how.” “I can’t sit still.”

You don’t have to meditate for hours to gain benefits from mediation. Continue Reading

Sunday Purrs: Make Time for Summer Fun

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Summer afternoon: to me those have always been the two most
beautiful words in the English language. ~Henry James

Summer is my favorite season. I love everything about it, and even the recent heat wave doesn’t make me love summer any less. Hazy hot and humid days are just part of what summer is like in this part of the world, and you’ll rarely if ever find me complaining about being too hot.

Allegra and Ruby are indoor cats, but I think they, too, prefer summer over every other season. The sun puddles are more plentiful and last longer this time of year, and they get to enjoy summer breezes coming in through open windows. And on the really hot days, they get to celebrate the fact that they’re air-conditioned kitties!Continue Reading

Sunday Purrs: Getting Away From It All

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I’ve previously written about the value of taking a break and playing hooky, and I do try to take my own advice. But there was something I hadn’t done in far too long: completely getting away from it all. Even though I love my life, and I love working from home, sometimes, a change of scenery and a complete departure from routine are just what the doctor ordered.

So last weekend, I flew up to Hartford, CT, and spent the weekend with three different friends in Connecticut. And with 20+ cats and kittens. I stayed at the home of my friend and fellow writer, T.J. Banks, on Friday. I had never met Tammy in person. There’s always a bit of trepidation when you meet an online friend in real life for the first time, but I needn’t have worried. We never once ran out of things to talk about, and we were comfortable with the occasional silence – a true gift when it comes to friendship.Continue Reading

Sunday Purrs: Taking a Break

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Even though the above quote above is attributed to Gandhi, it could just as easily have been coined by Allegra and Ruby! I’m going to heed this wise advice today and take a little blogging break. Don’t worry, it’s just for today – we’ll be back tomorrow!

I hope you’ll consider taking a day of rest, too, but if you miss your dose of Sunday Purrs, allow me to suggest a couple of our most popular columns for your weekly dose of feline wisdom:Continue Reading

Sunday Purrs: The Art of Relaxation, Feline Yogi Style

Guest post by Pippy

People often ask me “Pippy what is your secret for always being so relaxed and calm while running a yoga cat mat business and keeping your humans in line?” First of all, I am a cat and by nature we are relaxed and calm. For those of you of the human species, it will take a bit more work, but I am happy to share some of my secrets. I am after all a Feline Yogini and this is my area of expertise!

I practice yoga poses and breathing exercises several times throughout each day on my Yoga Cat Mat.

I make time for tasty nutritious meals and do not distract myself while eating. This means no web surfing, watching t.v. or particiapting in mundane conversations like the state of the weather.Continue Reading

Sunday Purrs: Is Your Cat a Mirror of Yourself?

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One of the most fascinating concepts in the area of personal growth to me has always been the concept that every single person in your life is your mirror. Others reflect back aspects of our own consciousness to us, giving us an opportunity to see ourselves in a different light, and ultimately, to grow. Sometimes, that reflection may come from someone we grately admire. Other times, it may come from someone who aggravates us and pushes all our buttons. It’s the latter reflection that may lead to exponential personal growth, if we allow ourselves to explore the concept.

It struck me the other day that if this applies to the people in our lives, could it also apply to the cats in our lives? Do our cats reflect back aspects of ourselves? Is this, perhaps, especially true if we live with a “less than purr-fect” member of the feline species?

I started to look at Allegra and Ruby:Continue Reading

Sunday Purrs: 5 Ways I Want to Be More Like My Cats

Guest post by Julia Williams

Hardly a day goes by that I don’t see my cats basking in a sun puddle and think, “Why can’t I be a cat for just one day?” I would get caught up on my sleep, that’s for sure. I’d have zero stress because I would not stir all day long, except to follow that warm sun puddle when it moves. I wouldn’t worry about where my next meal is coming from or if it’s going to taste good. Everything I could possibly need would be provided for me by my human servant. Which means, of course, that I wouldn’t have a care in the world.unless you count making sure the servant got out of bed when I said it was time for breakfast and not when the clock said.

Yes, my cats have a great life. And I admit I am jealous! I want to experience catdom for myself because frankly, I don’t think my kitties appreciate just how good they have it! Being human, I know they have it good, and I want some of what they’re having. It seems only fair. But alas, all I can do is dream.

Here are 5 ways I want to be more like my cats:Continue Reading

Sunday Purrs: 7 Habits of Happy Cats and Humans

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Contrary to what many people believe, happiness is a choice. Happy people are happy because they make themselves happy. They maintain a mostly positive outlook, and practice habits that make their lives happier. Not surprisingly, our cats already practice many of these habits.

1.  Live in the present.

Cats live in the moment. When they’re lazing about in a sun puddle, they don’t worry about when the next sun puddle will show up – they simply enjoy the pleasure of the warmth on their fur, right now, in this present moment.

2.  Wake up at the same time every morning.

Have you ever noticed how many successful and happy people are early risers? Waking up at the same time each day keeps your circadian rhythm in balance, which keeps you calmer and more centered and also increased productivity.Continue Reading

Sunday Purrs: A Day of Rest

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Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest, and after spending the last three fun-filled days at the BlogPaws pet blogging conference, I am in desperate need of some rest! I’m going to follow Allegra’s lead and do absolutely nothing today.

I’ll leave you with this quote from Maya Angelou, on the importance of getting a day of rest:

“Every person needs to take one day away. A day in which one consciously separates the past from the future. Jobs, family, employers, and friends can exist one day without any one of us, and if our egos permit us to confess, they could exist eternally in our absence. Each person deserves a day away in which no problems are confronted, no solutions searched for. Each of us needs to withdraw from the cares which will not withdraw from us.” – from Wouldn’t Take Nothing for My Journey Now

Perhaps, I’ll need to take this advice every week, not just after attending a conference.Continue Reading

Sunday Purrs: Accept What Is

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There is nothing either good or bad, but thinking makes it so. – William Shakespeare, Hamlet

One of the greatest sources of unhappiness is the inability to accept things as they are. Accepting what is, without wishing things were different, can trip up even the most serene among us. And yet, accepting what is is the key to living a positive, present life.

Accepting what is, like so many things, is about living in the moment. It’s about looking at the present moment without judgment. In order to live in the moment, you have to be willing to look at this present moment and say “this is what is real right now.”

Does this mean you shouldn’t want things to change? Not at all. But if you want things to change, Continue Reading