All the internet is recently aflutter over the question of whether or not cats

[conuly]

(or your own cat, specifically) recognize the names the humans give to them. Many people have opined on the topic of animals that know their names, but don't come when called.

Rarely is the question asked: Do you recognize the name your cat has given to you? And if you recognize it, but sometimes ignore it, should you feel bad?

*******

The Moroccan Exception in the Arab World (Our car service driver today was from Morocco and he and my mother talked a bit about Jews in Morocco, in fact)

Swag Trends

Apparently, Embroidery Tattoos Are A Thing And It Looks Cooler Than It Sounds

The ABC of Medieval English Writing (Video)

AP Explains: Israel’s parliamentary elections

In India, the British Hyped Potatoes to Justify Colonialism

Why Is It So Much Hotter in the City?

The Barely Hidden Flaws in Jordan Peterson's Scholarship

The International Space Station Is a Cesspool of Bacteria and Fungi, Study Finds

The Robocall Deluge Is a Case of Government Failure

The Power of the Nocebo Effect

ACLU Asks CBP Why It's Threatening US Citizens With Arrest For Refusing Invasive Device Searches

Republicans want census data on citizenship for redistricting

‘Dozens’ of Whistle-Blowers Are Secretly Cooperating With House Democrats

Telemedicine tied to more antibiotics for kids, study finds

Doctors discover four live bees feeding on tears inside woman's eye

New York City declares a public health emergency amid Brooklyn measles outbreak

Why I Am Stockpiling Insulin in My Fridge

A Massive Giveaway to the Tax Preparation Industry

How America’s College-Closure Crisis Leaves Families Devastated

The Hidden Air Pollution in Our Homes

John Franzese Jr. helped send his father, notorious Colombo family mobster Sonny Franzese, to prison. Then he turned up in Indianapolis.

Comments

[marahmarie]

I've had two that growled as they dragged toys around and/or sat on them or held them in their mouths, protectively - Tab-Tab (since adopted out) and his brother Pip (had to break him of that by taking the toy away and only giving it back/letting him have it if/when he didn't growl).

The night noises are...fun, heh. Bowie howls like someone just took candy away from him; Pip makes this loud, engine-revving "brrraaap" sound because he's "got the zoomies". At like, five in the morning.

[notasupervillain]

She's not upset about us taking the toy away, luckily. It's not exactly a protective thing. Like, mostly she wants it to make biscuits on, but she's happy to play with us with the toy if we want to.

She's more in the "candy away" variety. Which was very upsetting for a while because WHY IS SHE SO SAD HOW DO I FIX IT. Now I kinda just meow back?

[marahmarie]

I spend so much time meowing back at Bowie I feel I'm basically bilingual now and/or have become a cat's trained parrot. He's loud and I match him not just for sound but for volume - and he loves it, I guess because he thinks we're communicating, though I have no idea - ever - what it is we've just said.

[notasupervillain]

I imagine my cat thinks I'm a very stupid cat, and she loves it when I do Cat Things like meowing. "Okay the Stupid Cat isn't very good at talking and can't construct a sentence, but it's so wonderful that Stupid Cat TRIES."

[conuly]

"Let's give her a dead mouse so she can one day learn how to hunt!"

[notasupervillain]

If I don't give her this dead mouse she might STARVE TO DEATH I've never seen her eat a single kibble.

Or groom herself. I love her but she's disgusting, lick your arms already.

[conuly]

Human butts must be SO gross.

[notasupervillain]

Butts are bad, but think of human HANDS. And they touch you with those!