Somehow cat-hoarding and cat ladies came up at work today. I probably got the conversation going. I tried to remember a recent news article about a very large number of (feral?) cats living on a beach and being fed by some activists. Trying to find this article on the internet, I came across a few other rather interesting stories about cat-hoarding and cat ladies. But before we get to those fascinating tidbits, I have a confession to make. For a certain period of my pre-teen years I thought it would be truly magnificent to have a house full of cats. Say, 50 or more. This dream of mine evolved into the idea of having a room in a house devoted to the cats. The cat room would be large with a glass wall for observation of the felines. That moment in time, thankfully, has passed. I can unequivocally state that I no longer want a cat room. Nor do I desire to have, say, 50 cats. However, I still think that having about 10 cats would be quite pleasant. And now that I've opened myself up to ridicule, I can move on to linking to a few cat-hoarding and cat ladies stories.

First, the Moscow cat lady. I suggest turning the volume way up on this one. Between the cats meowing and their feet hitting the ground, you get a nice noise-collage.

Second, the Wikipedia entry on Animal Hoarding. Read and learn, people. You just might have the mental illness.

Third, while searching for the feral cat story mentioned above, I found this blog. (Go to August 23, 2007 for the cat-hoarding post.) The author examines daily life – wedgies, Don Imus, and cat hoarding, etc. – through the prism of Christian scripture. Every moment is a teaching moment.