Participate in a study about you and your pet!

You are invited to participate in a study about people and their relationships with their pets.

Participation in this research entails taking a survey answering questions about yourself and a favorite pet. All survey respondent information will be anonymous. Your participation will take approximately 15 to 20 minutes.

By taking part in this research study, you may help increase our understanding of the human-pet relationship.

To participate, please visit this weblink:

http://ucbpsych.qualtrics.com/SE/?SID=SV_3gjr82PphWP6I7P

If you have any questions, we can be reached at: gretchen.reevy@csueastbay.edu or mikeldelgado@berkeley.edu.

]]> http://www.menandcats.com/?feed=rss2&p=1117 0 http://www.menandcats.com/?p=1113 http://www.menandcats.com/?p=1113#comments Mon, 25 Mar 2013 13:03:24 +0000 janine http://www.menandcats.com/?p=1113 A friend of mine just alerted me to this website called “Absolute Worst Pictures of Men and Cats.”

Are these the WORST or the BEST?!  You decide!

I just finished reading the book Another Insane Devotion by Peter Trachtenberg.

I read the review of this book in the New York Times Sunday Book Review and knew I had to read it. It’s a lovely nonfiction book about the author’s relationships with his cats and his wife. During the course of the book, cats come in and out of his life; love waxes and wanes; and the author questions at times why he’s so devoted to these loves of his lives.

It’s a beautiful, and at times, melancholy, book on the nature of love of both human and beast. Anyone who’s ever experienced a devotion to a cat should read it. Men and Cats gives it two paws up.

Anyway, apparently the folks at Vice are doing a whole series on cats and… I dunno, cats on the Internet or something? Here’s the video. I also realized I know one of the people interviewed in the video, since I went to college with her. Hello Amy, if you happen to read this, and I’m glad to see we both appreciate funny cats.

Somehow, my baby has turned into a toddler! And – no surprise here – he is obsessed with cats.

He loves our cats so much – although the feeling’s not entirely mutual. He gets so excited when he sees a cat – he’ll run over to them, giggle, and say “Mow! Mow!” (his version of “meow”), which will often send the cats flying out of reach. However, we’ve been working on approaching the cats GENTLY and QUIETLY and we do occasionally manage to pet them, or even sweetly kiss them (in Charley’s case). My little guy also calls out  Charley, aka “CHA-CHEY!” all the time.

He also knows where all the other cats on our street live. Our neighbor across the street has two cats, and  a yard/driveway filled with cat-themed objects, including cat planters. My guy will go up to each and every cat object and pet it, and kiss it, and reverently say, “Mow.” He tugs me down the street to the house with an indoor/outdoor cat, saying “Mow! Mow!” the whole way there. He’s delighted if the cat’s outside and disappointed if he’s not! He even kisses pictures of cats. Last weekend, he kissed a bag of cat food I’d just brought home, because it had a picture of a cat on it. “Mow,” he said after he kissed it. Mow, indeed.

Hank is a cat who’s running for Senate. He’s supposed to be making some kind of statement about politics, I think, but I’m just delighted to look at a photo of a cute cat wearing a tie. This photo is also currently on the front of my refrigerator. Hank even has his own video:

Although perhaps blogging is now hopelessly old-fashioned? I think more people just post photos to the Men and Cats facebook group than submit them to this blog. Plus my lack of time…

I’m creating a Twitter account for Men and Cats.