THE MISSING INGREDIENT TO A HAPPY LIFE WITH A CAT...OR INGREDIENTS FOR THE 'CAT KIT'...

For this edition of Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap, we explore this theory:
One reason people don’t have cats is they have never acquired a proper Cat Starter Kit.
A Cat Starter Kit is a necessity.
We dedicate this edition to Grownup Cats.
 Some people are so standoffish when it comes to cats that they may not realize that a Grownup Cat actually begins its feline experience as a little bitty cat, known in the field as a “kitten.”
My research, i.e, I consulted the modern braintrust Wikipedia, shows that the word “kitten” comes from Middle English word “kitoun,” descended from Old French words “chitoun” or “cheton.”
As many of you know, the French word for a boy kitten is chat; a girl is chatte. 
But that has nothing to do with what is contained in a good Cat Kit.
We will now list key ingredients. 

1. Start with a kitten, or a teenage cat or a grown cat. All are good basic items to begin your feline experience. You'd think we wouldn't need to mention that you must first have a cat, but, well, you know people. Now and they they overlook the obvious.
2. Box of BandAids, variety pack. How many will you need? Depends on the age of your cat. Younger cats, exploring what their paws do, may show you that you need more bandages because you have the responsibility of helping the kitten learn how to extend and withdraw it’s talons, or nails.
3. A litter box. Some people would list “food dish” ahead of “litter box,” but it has been my experience that the ol’ Boy Scouts of America motto comes in handy in listing litter box next. The motto is “Be prepared.”
Also, it take some time to pick a litter box. You want one that makes the cat happy. You’ll be able to tell. I won’t go into details. You also want a litter box that is a snap to tidy up. And you might want to invest in a hand-held vacuum cleaner to tidy up the straw grains of cat litter that will escape the door of the litter box. If you are fortunate, you should be able to buy a very comfortable litter box without having to get a mortgage on the structure.

4. A food dish. And a water dish. They can be separate or they may be united in a plastic form. Cats love food. Food dishes help them love food without complaint. Oh, who am I kidding. Cats complain; it’s their nature.
5. Cat food. Oh, brother, here’s a menu for you. A housecat has more choices to make than a hungry teenager looking through the 8-page pre-pandemic menu at such places as Chili’s, the Cheesecake Factory or iHop. Remember when it comes to picking a food, cats will let you know what they want — after you’ve had the opportunity to open four or five cans of varying prices, flavors and sizes.
6. Reading material. Yes, cats love reading material. That doesn’t mean they’re reading it. Nope, probably they’re waiting for you to decide what you want to read so they’ll know where to sit or flop while you’re trying to read. You read on your computer? Did you think a keyboard was designed for your fingers? Hah. All keyboards fit little cat’s feet.
You’ve noticed by now, some photographs of a very attractive grown-up cat. 
That is my personal office cat, William Powell, named in honor of the great Hollywood movie star of the same name. (That's William with canine sidekick Porche Noel during a sleep-off-'n'-yawn tournament. Porche won -- practices sleeping daily, you  know.)
Cats, our theory is, enjoy William Powell’s performance in My Man Godfrey because the character spends time foraging in a city dump, said to be a favorite feline pastime. I’ve never taken a cat to the dump — our dog Nikki loved to go to the Dallas Sanitation Harry Hines Transfer Station 25 years ago — the place was sprayed with a scent that smelled like pepperoni. Nikki never wanted to leave. That's her from about 20 years ago.
Back to William: I met him while I was painting the woodwork on our home in Dallas — a teenage kitten just wandering the neighborhood. He decided to join our merry band and has been my office cat for several years. Using the “Cat’s Eye 2021 Surefire Camera” on my phone, I caught him in these William stages of sleep and awake one afternoon last week. As you can see, when he was sleeping he was happy, when he was yawning, he was elated and when he was awake, he was bitter. Cats are so human. Write that down and keep it in your Cat Kit. That's one of William's audition photographs -- oh, yeah, you need to get those for your Cat Kit, too. You cat doesn't have an agent? Hmmm.  I have some phone numbers in my kit. I'll get back to you.
— Send photos of your sleeping dogs and napping cats to [email protected] and we’ll post them in our weekend edition. Ask about the readlarrypowell.com Platinum Cat Starter Kit, new in the post-pandemic era but at pre-pandemic prices. We have no free kittens, but any area shelter will be happy to help you acquire the most critical element of your Cat Kit. —-