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Saffy is not the feral cat in the title. She’s here because she won’t allow photos of the outdoor ampon.

Apart from the three cats we live with (Koosi, Saffy and Mat), there are three, sometimes four white-and-orange feral cats (Janko, Meriadoc, Peregrin and Gimli) who turn up at our door during mealtimes. We give them leftovers and kibble, which they seem to appreciate. Periodically they show their appreciation by bringing us gifts. For instance yesterday afternoon as we were stepping out of the house there was a fat rat on the welcome mat, dead. Disgusting, but this is how stray cats express comradeship (Have a snack on us!). We can’t scold them; they might think we’re demanding a bigger rat.

Cats that look like pinup girls

This shelf makes no sense. Stalin should be under a pile of books by writers he banned.

Henry Miller would piss him off though.

I Could Pee On This

Saffy’s eyes are both green, that’s just a reflection.

My cat Saffy is 12 years old and eats her weight in kibble every week so when she seemed a little lighter I took notice. I thought she’d lost weight from her habit of patrolling our house every night, walking the same route over and over for hours. If I block her path she just climbs or walks around the obstacle and continues her circuit. This must be her exercise program.

Then, last week, I saw something sticking out of her mouth, and her breath smelled bad. Of course, cats have fishy breath, but this was different. The piece that I thought was sticking out was actually a bit of her lower gum, which was strangely exposed. (Imagine a micro-version of the scary half of Two-Face in Batman.)

Read Cat takes a trip to the dentist, our column in Pet Life in the Philippine Star.

No, it doesn’t.

Toxoplasma gondii, a common and very clever parasite you can get from handling kitty litter or eating steak tartare. Image: KLAUS BOLLER Photo Researchers, Inc.

Feeling sociable or reckless? You might have toxoplasmosis, an infection caused by the microscopic parasite Toxoplasma gondii, which the CDC estimates has infected about 22.5 percent of Americans older than 12 years old. Researchers tested participants for T. gondii infection and had them complete a personality questionnaire. They found that both men and women infected with T. gondii were more extroverted and less conscientious than the infection-free participants. These changes are thought to result from the parasite’s influence on brain chemicals, the scientists write in the May/June issue of the European Journal of Personality.

Read Common Parasite Linked to Personality Changes