A Memento From My Cat Madison

CAT FANCY editor Susan Logan arrives for a business trip with a surprise present from her cat.

By Susan Logan | Posted: July 29, 2011, 3 a.m. EDT

CAT FANCY editor Susan Logan's cat Madison waits at home while Susan is away.

When I unpacked my suitcase at the hotel this last week, I found a little present inside from my cat Madison. It’s the second trip in a row that I found her favorite toy in my suitcase.

Madison loves to play with my ponytailers. In fact, she can catch one when I toss it to her. She’ll sit on my bathroom vanity and wait for me to toss it to her and she will catch it with one paw, two paws and sometimes with her teeth. Then she’ll either toss it over her head and dive at it, or bat it back down to the floor and wait for me to toss it to her again. I’d love to get a photo or video of her doing this. It’s quite impressive.

Sometimes Madison will fish my ponytailers out of an open drawer and walk off with them. Needless to say, I find them all over the house. But the fact that I find one in my suitcase when I go on a trip makes me wonder if she’s telling me to have a good time while I’m away or to think of her. Not that I need to be prompted to think of my cats when I’m away from home; I can’t help but miss them. But I have to admit, when I find a ponytailer in my suitcase, it makes me smile.

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A Memento From My Cat Madison

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Reader Comments

CatChannelEditor Irvine, CA

7/2/2012 9:23:10 AM

Kara -- Thank you for your comment. Although you give many cats good homes, and allow them lots of room to roam and play, cats are still safer indoors.

You mention the mosquitoes that your cats can play with. Mosquitoes can carry heartworm disease and harm cats: LINK

Racoons and opossums could seem like fun; they also spread disease and can actually prey on cats. [Disclosure: As a child, I lost several indoor/outdoor cats to racoons.] LINK

Allowing your cats to hunt smaller outdoor mammals or birds still leaves your cats vulnerable to disease through parasites: LINK

Finally, cars and (and some people) are no friends to cats. To avoid accidental, or, sadly, intentional injury to your cats, keeping them indoors is the best way.

Kara Flint, MI

6/29/2012 1:32:32 PM

Hi, I tried sending two Emails earlier and got "Mailer Damon" responses. I'm writing in regard to your "A Little Tenderness" article in the May/2012 Cat Fancy.

I've adopted, purchashed, and taken in two strays over the last six years. I have established a brood from The Humane Society, Animal Control, Forever Friends/Last Chance Animal Shelters,and have four Sphynx! Living spaces for cats differ for everyone based upon multiple reasons. I've taken care of indoor/outdoor cats throughout my life, but more predominately the last fifteen years. They can be healthy happy cats. I happen to live in a 2,500 square foot home on an acre and a half--woods behind the home.

There is a backyard full of grasshoppers, fireflies, moths, squirrels, misquitos, and neighborhood racoons and possum; However, my cats enjoy sunshine and fresh air! Oftentimes, indoor environments can pose health hazards: Ventilation systems that haven't been cleaned/sanitized in decades, shedding, dander, and amonia smells from even well tended to litter boxes can be overwelming. Unlike you, I am a parent to 15 cats...Your missing the story for a lot of them! Try taking care of that many felines for a few years in your home before you say "INDOOR ONLY!"

SEJL Gettysburg, PA

3/19/2012 2:09:33 PM

Have you ever considered putting Hello Kitty on the cover of "Cat Fancy"? I noticed a little blurb about her in a recent issue and thought she'd make a fabulous cover model!

Luthien Longview, WA

9/16/2011 10:21:15 PM

So funny. They are my cat's favorite toy, too. She sits on the bathroom counter, waits for me to open the drawer, fishes a hairband out with her paw, picks it up with her teeth and runs off with her prize. Then she tosses it, bats it, stalks it and kicks it. I'm sort of glad she's not the only one with a fixation for this particular "toy."