Breaking Cat News by Georgia Dunn for July 29, 2019

We’ve gone from BOOM to RUMBLE. Hope that means the storm is moving off.

Don’t be offended, Trevor. Elvis doesn’t know a lot about dogs. Use this as a teachablemoment. It will take your mind off the storm!

Positive discrimination is still discrimination, Elvis.

Poor Elvis. He’s not even TRYING to be rude now.

I can’t see anything offensive about what Elvis is saying. It looks to me as though he is listing positive qualities. Maybe I’m doomed to being insensitive.

He didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, Trevor.

Trevor’s a sensitive sweetie. A perfect match for Beatrix.

Trevor doesn’t like his domesticated side? Elvis was not being unkind

Trevor does not like being lumped together with manic dogs who chase frisbees.

I think this is the perfect time for Beatrix to delve into some of the reference and breed books about dogs and turn this into a teaching moment. Perhaps once Puck has kept the Man from ZAPPING himself, some charts and graphs can be worked up. I’m sure cat viewers would appreciate an in depth news piece which informs at the same time as it dispels myths.

I suppose we’re supposed to equate the commands “fetch” and “shake” with some kind of enslavement of dogs, but I’m not buying it. The world has gone to h*** in a handbasket.

What’s offensive about that, dog? That’s what dogs do! Oh, and here, go fetch this stick! Mwa ha ha ha ha!

I have something I thought I’d share.

I’m not sure if anyone remembers, but I think I posted about a sore Pingpong had on the back of her neck. I thought it was ringworm or maybe mange. Last year, I took her to the vet. The vet looked at it under a black light, but didn’t do any other tests and told me that it probably wasn’t ringworm. She then gave me a spray to use on it.

I used the spray as directed, and it seemed to help with the irritation, but didn’t make the sore go away. In fact, it seemed to make it spread. Once I finished the treatment with the spray, the sore was just as bad, if not worse, than it had been before I took her to the vet, and I didn’t have the funds to take her there again.

So I started putting Vaseline on it. That not only seemed to help with the irritation, but the sore got smaller. After a few weeks, all that was left were some scabs on Pingpong’s neck. At that point, I stopped using it.

Since then, it hasn’t gotten any worse, and yesterday, I was petting Pingpong and didn’t even feel the scabs at first. I think the Vaseline did the trick!

Are people really getting offended by the use of the word “offensive” in a comic strip? Because they think people are too easily offended? Or is this satire?

I do so hope there are no severe arguments or feuds starting over today’s strip. I’m sure Elvis does not mean to be politically incorrect; he doesn’t know that much about dogs. Between them, Beatrix and Trevor can teach him about different breeds of dogs and what they do.

On the home front, it’s going to be another stinky hot day here. It’s supposed to be cooler for the rest of the week, so I may be able to get some knitting done without feeling that I’m being smothered.

Spent yesterday afternoon with my daughter and great-granddaughter. They took me to buy my month’s worth of groceries, and I forgot to buy laundry soap and potatoes! Oh well, I can pick those up when Paul goes for his dental appointment on Thursday.

When you are confronted by a person with a lack of specific knowledge, you should not necessarily take it as an offense. “Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity.” – Hanlon’s Razor.

Perhaps, when you are confronted with a cliche’, you can treat it as an invitation to teach.

All debate aside, it’s still funny!

Remember Elvis, you have distant cousins who can roar (and who also love impossibly tiny boxes) but you still =POOF= during a storm.

Poor Trevor is probably feeling a little embarassed over how frightened he was of the thunder booms. And then Elvis’ words are a reminder that he’s all alone in a world of cats. Except for Bert, the day the others saw him, he was referred to as “a shapeshifter” and “our bitey enemy.” The first time Beatrix came near him, Elvis poofed, ready to kill, obviously seeing Trevor as a threat. So it’s easy to see why he would over react now.

crazy furballs and leg liveing dogs are good pets to have !

Hello all! We have a lovely cool morning here at the moment, though it will get hot later on. I hope everybody has a wonderful week!

I had a Catahula hound, bread to hut wild boar and feral bulls through the bayous of Louisiana. He was terrified of, not only thunderstorms, but of rain. And lakes, and puddles. I was amazed he would drink out of his water bowl.

Off Topic: I hope this doesn’t sound like an ad but with so many on tight budgets, I want to share something I only just learned. Saturday, after being parked downtown for hours, my low tire pressure light came on. Uh oh. Already so late my normal place was closed and low tire pressure warning can mean anything. Only nearby place I saw was Discount Tires. They pulled out a nail and did not charge me! Said they don’t for simple repairs. I checked their website. It’s true! Their business is selling tires and this is a great way to build good will. I spoke to two friends and one had never heard of them. Anyway, I apologize again if this is wrong to post here but the last time I had a nail, it cost me $22 to pull it out and I know many here have mentioned money problems so I thought I’d let you all know as a psa.

Border Collies trend to be high-strung, and easily shift into adrenaline-overdrive. Their hyper-alertness makes them great herd dogs. They can multitask: watch the sheep, look out for threats, and follow a shepherd’s subtle hand, voice or whistle signals. Those thunder sounds are much, much, louder to dogs than to people. And they’re unpredictable and unexplained. And they stole the electricity and took it up into the sky. You can hear it fighting to escape!But we’ve got to remember that feeling fear is a necessary substrate to “being brave”. Being truly fearless when faced with potential danger is, shall we politely say, being ignorant or “clueless”.No matter how frightened he was, I suspect he’d put himself between the storm and Beatrix…if he could figure out exactly where the electricity-stealing thunder/light monster was.

Is this the first time we’ve ever seen Trevor Annoyed Eyebrows?

Elvis just described my Weimaraner, now just add in Trevor’s anxiety multiplied by 10 and you have Dually. Dually loves to bark, the frisbee is his favorite and if he thinks he might be in trouble for barking he’ll throw you a high four. Let it rain or thunder and lightning and he falls apart. Yep big ole strong wolf descendant.

Elvis was just being inquisitive (A house cat trying to get to know about dogs), and Trevor was still just reacting, being a little scared of the storm still going on. I hope that’s all!

It’s just Monday, and there’s plenty of time for an olive branch here! No … the storm will not break it! :)

BWAHAHAHAHAHA!

Off Topic from Georgia’s Facebook. Wish I was near Rhode Island! “Tomorrow is the day! Join me at the Ashaway Free Library in Ashaway, RI at 4:30pm tomorrow (July 30th!) for my talk on cats and comics!

Afterwards I will take a few questions if you have them, and sign your books if you’d like! (Or prints! Or mugs! Bring something for me to sign, I’ll do my best to get my name onto it!)

There will be limited (very limited! This box has 40 books!) copies of ‘Lupin Leaps In’ for sale for $10 (cash, please! I have been waiting for a square reader to come in for card purchases, but it has not arrived in the mail yet Ahhh! Stress! Lol! But as of now cash for sure, of course!)

I am SO looking forward to this, and I hope you are too! And I’ve heard a rumor that a certain sweet dog we all know and love starring in today’s strip might possibly be in attendance…?

See you tomorrow!"

Stereotypes always have the potential for harm when applied to an individual. Trevor is not a “statistical dog”; he is a unique dog with his own blend of characteristics. Cats should be more aware of the rudeness of stereotypes. How many adult cats have to grit their teeth when addressed as “kitty”?

Silly Elvis! Cats can shake hands too. I had a friend whose cat would bug you to death to shake hands. I’m sure he initially did it for treats, but after a while he did it just for fun (& ear skritches).

As for Frisbees…well…all bets are off…

Poor Trever, I recommend therapy, if you come stay with me a while, we will build up your self confidence again XXX

I think Trevor is a dignified, reserved fellow. He would never chase a frisbee. However, present him with a flock of sheep, or ducks, and that’s another matter entirely. (There is probably a YouTube video of a sheepdog trying to herd baby ducks. I know I’ve seen it, and it is hilarious!)

I know most people scoff at astrology, and most of the time I do as well, but whenever folks who usually get along well start squabbling, I check on the orbital status of my ruling planet. Yes, people! I feel it my responsibility to inform everybody that we are deep into a Mercury Retrograde, which means—to borrow Robin’s favorite word—we are doomed!

As one of my favorite astrology sites puts it, “Ever have a moment when everything seems to go wrong? Your data disappears, people argue over nonsense, traffic is hellish, and your computer crashes as you’re putting the final touches on an important document. Flights are delayed or canceled, or you realize you forgot your passport after arriving at the international terminal. Plans change without warning and your friends stand you up. There’s drama, sure…but this is just BEYOND. Chances are, you’re smack in the middle of Mercury retrograde.”

https://astrostyle.com/mercury-retrograde/

I always thought of fear of thunder as mainly a dog thing. Never had a cat that had it, until the female half of my second pair suddenly decided to start hiding under the bed during thunderstorms in her second year. Her brother wasn’t the least bit bothered.

Never figured out why two littermates should have such different reactions to the same thing.

I do feel that Elvis is simply trying to understand dogs. after all he has said that they are shape-shifters

this is from Georgia’s FB tonight. Georgia Dunn – Breaking Cat News6 hrs · Many, many thanks to J. Francis Glynn for this sweet, warm write up on ‘Breaking Cat News’!!! ❤️

Ask a Portly Syndicate Person by J. Francis Glynn for July 28, 2019 | GoComics.comView the comic strip for Ask a Portly Syndicate Person by cartoonist J. Francis Glynn created July 28, 2019 available on GoComics.com

I can “hear” Trevor’s reply in panel 4 as amused, almost jocular, rather than being upset in any way… I haven’t seen anyone else mentioning this as an alternative explanation – it puts an entirely different take on the dialogue.