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After the distress call

When Pete detects a flea daring to walk across his fur, or – egads! – daring to chomp on him, it means All. Out. War. And a distress call to the nearest human who can wield a flea comb immediately.

If that flea comb doesn’t come to the rescue – here you view the results.

A concentrated attack of teeth and claws usually ends the problem. Of course, it renders Pete a bit motley-looking, but killing that flea is of paramount importance.

What’s that saying about ‘not suffering fools lightly’? Pete quotes it as, “Not suffering fleas lightly.”

And any entity armed with that many sharp teeth and claws can quote or misquote anything they wish, as far as I’m concerned.

Go get’em, Pete.

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A link to some good ‘ol silliness

Do any of you remember when the internet was younger, and people were still having fun with their computers by making silly little things to amuse themselves and others?

Here’s a classic from that era: https://share.google/vY3FmYmahLYPsHdgQ (Click twice on the box that says ‘share Google’.) Thank you, Shanee Pigate, who dreamed that one up in 2005!

Readers, have a little nostalgia with your coffee today … and be sure to hug your cat. (We won’t mention how much that Dancing Cat looks like Seis.)

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Another goodbye

One of my favorite photos of Seis and Ocho, as Ocho put her cold paws on her nice warm brother! The startled look on Seis’ face is priceless.

Sad to relate, however, Ocho passed away today, March 31, 2026 at eleven years old; probably of congestive heart failure. She’d been having more trouble than usual breathing this spring, with asthma and allergies plaguing her daily, but kept on purring in spite of it all.

We’re reassuring Seis that he will indeed see her at the Rainbow Bridge – she’ll meet him there, along with her only litter of kittens, their sister and their good friend Uno Tomas.

But somehow the house feels a little more empty, and Seis of course is watching for Ocho on this side of the divide. Thank you, dear readers, for sending him good thoughts as he works through the grieving process.

Frankly, he’ll also have to brace himself for their reunion. Ocho is going to really chew him out for not having stayed behind her and come along as she told him to and not lag behind.

Ochita, you were one in a million, and we’re glad you were part of the family for those years. Find a nice sunny spot on the other side where you can see who’s coming up the Bridge, and enjoy the warmth, the soft green grass – and no horrid fleas. We’ll look after your brother until he crosses too.

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The indecisive dinosaur

Herman remains convinced that his toy dinosaur is real enough to need feeding every day, at least once, and of course from Herman’s own dish of kibble and/or canned food.

The tabby cat started putting the tiny felt (and much-cherished) toy in his food dishes back in the fall of 2024. And obviously now it’s a habit.

But to carefully position the stuffed toy between two dishes of food, balancing it exactly on the rim of both? Was this so the dinosaur could choose from which dish to eat first?

Sometimes owning a cat becomes a balancing act too. Just how smart is your average house cat? And when does the owner lose the upper paw – er, hand?

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Gabby pillow and Fred quilt

You can tell it’s gotten really cold outside, with 6 inches of snow, wind chill factors and no sunshine. Plus the fact that Gabby and Fred are sharing a dog biscuit box doesn’t bother either one of them.

Definitely a chilly day at Write Up The Road Publishing.

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Author Abishag

Abishag always had ambitions to be a published author – after all, she ‘ran away’ from home (the house next door) when she was very young, to come and live in a small publishing company. While she had more cats to play with in her new home, it was when she and her brother Ira moved upstairs into the company office that she bloomed. Abishag absorbed vocabulary like tuna. She enjoyed the noise and bustle of the office and all of the different things that went on. With the single exception of not liking to have someone read to her, she was in her element, a miniature editor and certainly a vocal critic.

She had several ‘books’ brought out under her name with Write Up The Road as the publisher of record. These haven’t yet been released to the public, except as blogs – because who’s going to believe a cat actually wrote anything? (Don’t tell Fred. Most people don’t accept his literary talents either.)

She did snort her disdain at a famous beagle and his struggles to be signed to a publisher’s contract for his tales about the ‘Bunnie Wunnies’, commenting that of course a “stupid dog” would never be a popular writer.

Well, an editor of any species is going to have a few prejudices, so I guess we can allow Abishag hers. And it is true that Snoopy referred to the feline next door as “that stupid cat.”

Tit for tat, stupid dog, stupid cat. If only people could solve their animosities with such mild name-calling.

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Happy New Year 2026!

Photo by Toa Heftiba on Pexels.com

Is this a tiger? Or a cat in cosplay?

Whichever it is, may all of us here at Write Up The Road publishing send each of you, dear readers, our best wishes for a happier, healthier new year with less stress and more joy.

And more Freditorials. – love, Fred

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13 years already?

And the original cover of the book (by Tim Brady) that also started the blog, many years ago.

Thank you so very, very much for being loyal readers all these years. I wish we could have an open house and meet every single one of you, but in today’s crowded days and hurried nights, that isn’t possible.

However, this coming year, I want to revisit some of the many kind comments and say ‘hello again’ to our old readers and welcome new ones promptly. The special thanks for following and writing comments weren’t properly addressed within a reasonable time frame, due to illnesses, a hospital stay or two and the rush of running a new business (the publishing company, Write Up The Road) and beginning another new business (we didn’t learn the first time), The Dixie Chile Ranch.

But through it all, the office cats took it in stride: Abishag, Ira and Kezia. I’ll always be grateful for their companionship and certainly for being role models for the cats in the book. They also contributed many ideas for blogs long after the flurry of first self-publishing, and the unreal thrill of being published again by Berkley-Penguin (now Penguin Random House).

I hadn’t realized how many years had passed until WordPress sent a congratulatory email.

Time never stands still. But I hope the years have been good to all of you, dear readers. It may have been online, and not in person, but I believe we did form a wonderful family of choice. Thank you.

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Cookies galore

Last week in this blog I mentioned Abishag’s fondness for cookies.

Couldn’t help but think of her when the stove decided to quit, and I had bunches of cookies to bake for our annual holiday give-away. However, all was not lost. Toaster ovens, especially those also referred to as ‘counter ovens’ work handily in a pinch, albeit much more slowly.

Certainly Abishag would’ve been happy to check out each cookie flavor for me as I baked.

I sure hope there’s a bakery shop at the Rainbow Bridge, or at least a well-appointed kitchen. If I don’t start baking cookies the minute I get there, that little black cat will never speak to me again.