MSI Press Blog

Happy Cat with his best pal, CB Leaver When you have a family of cats, you end up facing some of the same difficult decisions that human families face, the most difficult among these being end-of-life issues.  A couple of months ago, Happy Cat changed overnight from happy to sad. One day he was his affectionate self, nurturing the other cats; the next day, he was walking in circles, stumbling into his food bowl, and acting confused--and was clearly blind. After local vets ruled out physiological reasons for the behavior and the blindness, we took him to a neurology center for an MRI. He has a brain tumor, a melangioma. Options we were given included very expensive surgery ($15K), radiology (nearly as expensive and would require frequent out of town trips), or medicine (that would not cure or even put him into remission but would make him more comfortable).  Beyond the expense of the surgery, there was a bigger picture. Happy Cat is a geriatric cat, a street rescue between the ages of 1

  Intrepid in his most-frequent sleeping position, with owner, Carl Leaver . Continuing with the "Why do cats" series, this Saturday, we consider the case where cats like to snuggle with owners. Three of my 8 cats end up in my bed every night -- one by my feet, one by my side, and one by the bench beside my bed. They don't compete; they just sleep. Probably each for a differenc reasons. Check out possible reasons here:  Nighttime Companions: The Real Reasons Cats Love Sleeping by Your Side. See more  Caturday  posts. Read more  posts about cats . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC monthly newsletter (recent releases, sales/discounts, awards, reviews, Amazon top 100 list, author advice, and more -- stay up to date)   Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .   Interested in publishing with MSI Press LLC?  We help writers become award-winning published authors. One writer at a time. We are a family, not a factory. Do you have a future with us? Turned away by o

  Left to right: Wooper, Jack and Happy Cat, cats of various breeds and origins in a modern-day home. Cats were first domesticated in the Middle East, specifically in the area of modern-day Turkey, Cyprus, and the Levant. They appear to date back to around 7500 B.C. on the Mediterranean island of Cyprus. Cats spread from the Middle East to Europe and the USA through a combination of trade, exploration, and human migration.  Cats were revered in ancient Egypt and often traveled with traders and explorers.  As the Roman Empire expanded, cats were brought to Europe and continued to spread, accompanying ships and traders. During the Age of Exploration, cats were taken on ships to control rodent populations. European settlers brought cats to the Americas, where they spread and adapted to new environments. Cats essential domesticated themselves by forming mutually beneficial relationships with humans, especially in farming communities where they helped control rodent populations. See more  C

  Our neighbors: Jaiden and Nellie You may think you know the answer to the question, "Why does my cat head butt me?" Isn't it obvious? Because he loves me! Yes, true, but there is more to head butting. Check it out here:  Cat Headbutts: What They Are and What They Mean | PetMD . See more  Caturday  posts. Read more  posts about cats . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC monthly newsletter (recent releases, sales/discounts, awards, reviews, Amazon top 100 list, author advice, and more -- stay up to date)   Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .   Interested in publishing with MSI Press LLC?  We help writers become award-winning published authors. One writer at a time. We are a family, not a factory. Do you have a future with us? Turned away by other publishers because you are a first-time author and/or do not have a strong platform yet? If you have a strong manuscript, San Juan Books, our hybrid publishing division, may be able to help. Check out informati

  Today's Caturday post is another foray into explanations for perplexing cat behavior, in this case: 10 Reasons Why Do Cats Roll In Dirt.  We had a very white cat, Murjan (really miss that social guy who left us after 19 years, including 3.5 years of fighting cancer), who loved to turn himself black by rolling in the dirt. I always wondered why, so I was happy to find this list. See more  Caturday  posts. Read more  posts about cats . Sign up for the MSI Press LLC monthly newsletter (recent releases, sales/discounts, awards, reviews, Amazon top 100 list, author advice, and more -- stay up to date)   Follow MSI Press on  Twitter ,  Face Book , and  Instagram .   Interested in publishing with MSI Press LLC?  We help writers become award-winning published authors. One writer at a time. We are a family, not a factory. Do you have a future with us? Turned away by other publishers because you are a first-time author and/or do not have a strong platform yet? If you have a strong manuscri