When a cat ate Halloween candy in my house, I learned the panic firsthand. It was 9:40 PM on October 30th. I was loading the candy bowl for tomorrow night — a mix of chocolate bars, fruit chews, and a few sugar-free options for the neighbors who’d asked. I turned around for exactly one minute … Read more
Pumpkin carving with cats is my favorite fall tradition, and this year I learned exactly how to keep it safe. It’s also, apparently, the activity my cats find most fascinating. The second I pull out a carving knife and a fresh pumpkin, Miso appears from nowhere, tail high, eyes locked on the pumpkin like it’s … Read more
Halloween is the night I love most as a human and dread most as a cat owner. The candy, the decorations, the constant doorbell, the strangers in masks — it’s a sensory assault designed to be fun for people and deeply confusing for cats. I’ve now survived enough Halloweens with Miso, Tofu, and Sam to … Read more
Halloween proof your home for cats room by room, and start with the room where accidents happen first. Miso, my orange tabby, has two hobbies: playing with anything that dangles and destroying anything that costs money. Last year he chewed through a phone charger, a set of earbuds, and one very expensive Ethernet cable. Then … Read more
When it comes to Halloween cat safety, I learned the hard way that even the calmest cat can panic. Sam is my senior cat, a picky eater, calm for eleven months of the year. Then October arrives, the doorbell starts singing every twenty minutes, costumed children shout on the porch, and Sam becomes a disappearing … Read more