Happy Thanksgiving. I’m Maverick, and this is another edition of my blog “Cat Tales.” I hope everything is going well. I love Thanksgiving. There’s a great history to the holiday. I didn’t realize that many countries besides Canada and the United States celebrate their own forms of Thanksgiving at different times of the year. Google it because it’s interesting.
I found an article from Country Living Magazine dated two years ago, that said “Canada gets a head start on the U.S. each year with their more low-key version of Thanksgiving, on the second Monday of October.
The holiday also dates back to a time earlier than the origins of American Thanksgiving. Back in 1578, Canadians gave thanks to celebrate Sir Martin Frobisher and his crew’s safe arrival in the Eastern Arctic with a fast of salt beef, biscuits, and mushy peas.
Today, though, Canadians’ menus look more like Americans’ do a month later. They have their exceptions, though. In Newfoundland, they prepare a Jigg’s dinner of boiled meat served with a side of split pea pudding (yuck), and over in Ontario, dessert looks more like flaky butter tarts, a pastry filled with raisins, walnuts, or pecans (now that’s more like it).”
In the United States, according to Britannica, on October 3, 1863, during the Civil War, Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving to be celebrated on Thursday, November 26. I found many interesting things about our Thanksgiving, and I am not going to write them in my blog because it’s just too much. This would read more like a book, plus I’m tired and need a nap. If you’re interested, though, there is a lot of interesting information on the web. How much of it is true, I don’t know, but it’s still interesting at least to this cat.
A little over two weeks ago, my mom had her surgery. Her recovery this time has been extremely rough. She has stitches all along her top gum line and two screws in her mouth. It’s been extremely painful for her, and she has pain that shoots all the way up into her head, and I think there’s another surgery in the near future, not counting knee replacements. Those body shop people are making big off my mom. I think she’s considered bionic now. I just hope she doesn’t turn into a robot. I wouldn’t want to snuggle with a robot.
Some really nice people from the Knights of Columbus in the city we are currently living in are going to bring my mom lunch on Thanksgiving. They’re going to deliver meals from 11:00 a.m. to noon. It’s for people alone, shut-in, and/or ill. It’s such a great thing they are doing, and I know my mom appreciates it. I do too, because I don’t like seeing my mom sad during the holidays or anytime, plus, I think she was going to have a can of tomato soup. She does have an acorn squash (her favorite vegetable) that she will cut up if she has the strength and fix that morning to go along with her turkey.
As for me, I’ll be eating my regular cat food. Don’t feed your pets regular food, no matter how tempting it is. People don’t eat our food, so remember not to feed us yours. There are so many things that are dangerous to us, so please refrain from feeding us anything but our own food.
I have some fun facts for you from Pet MD.
Cats are Nearsighted, but See Great in the Dark
This is all thanks to those sensitive whiskers! Compared to humans, cats are nearsighted because their eyes are large and placed forward on their faces. In fact, they can’t focus on anything less than one foot in front of them. This is where the whiskers come into play, as they can swing the whiskers forward to feel in front of them. However, they make up for this nearsightedness with an excellent ability to see in the dark. Cats have extra dark-specializing cells called rods and a “reflective mirror” called a tapetum in the back of the eye. These work together so cats can see light at eight times dimmer illumination than humans.
Brain Cells of Cats and Brown Bears
Even though a bear’s brain is 10 times bigger than a cat’s brain, cats have about the same number of information-processing cells. The cerebral cortex of a bear has 251 million cells, while the tabby has about 250 million cells. This still pales in comparison to humans; however, we have up to 26 billion cells in our cerebral cortexes.
Those are some interesting facts. To think I could stand next to a brown bear and know that, for a little guy, I am processing as much information as the bear. And that is where I would process to get the heck out of there. I’m not facing off with a brown bear. I know I’d be eaten.
Enough of that. I am a very visual cat, and that picture in my head of that brown bear eating me has my paws shaking. Instead, I am going to get that out of my head and wish everyone a Happy Thanksgiving. My mom and I will give thanks, eat, read, snuggle, and nap that day. However you spend the day, remember to be thankful for every little thing. There are so many people alone, ill, jobless, and homeless. Let’s not forget these people. Please share with others.
Today’s quote: “Tiny paws, leave the biggest imprints on our hearts.” – unknown
Take care, everyone,
Love Maverick 
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