Cat
Be Good
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About
Annie Bruce
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I am a proud American, born and raise in Detroit, Michigan.
The youngest of six children, I graduated
from Cass Technical High school and worked as a computer
operator for 20 years. My mother owned black cats. As did her mother and
her mother. I have owned and loved black cats for over five
decades. Contrary to popular believe, black cats bring GOOD
luck. Black cats are the smartest and most loyal.
I've fostered dozens of sick and abused cats. After
noticing cat owners were suffering unnecessary hardship and expense
I wrote and published Cat Be Good: A
Commonsense Approach to Training Your Cat (2000, Good Cats
Wear Black.) Cat Be Good won three book awards and has also been translated
and published in Poland. In 2005, Adams Media published the 3rd edition. I am a
past member of the Cat
Writers' Association and for five years was a regular guest on Animal
Radio.
Since 1994, I have worked to end declawing of domestic cats.
Cats are very smart and easier to train than dogs. Put your squirt bottles
away. Cats listen and learn without
clickers, squirt bottles or declawing. Go to www.CatBeGood.com
to learn just how easy it is to have GOOD cats.
Annie's Dance History
I was 40 years old when I decided to write a book about cats - but I was too
terrified of public speaking to write even one sentence. Ten therapy sessions
failed to get me over that fear and decided to take hip-hop dance classes.
Within a few months I began writing my book, Cat Be Good. From age 44-50,
I performed on stage with dozens of wonderful dancers of Motion
Underground Dance Company. We performed at many places such as the Boulder
Theatre, Boulder High School and Boulder Creek Festival. Currently, I take dance
lessons at StreetSide
Dance Studio. Hip-hop dance is the best and you will meet the most wonderful
people in the world! Come join us!
Love, faith and hope,
Annie Bruce, April 2011
Annie's Pictures
2007 Halloween, Mr. Lincoln,
aka "Super Pimp"
Mr.
Abraham Lincoln in training for supervised outdoor walks. It didn't take
long for him to learn to behave off-leash.
Mr. Lincoln helping
a foster kitten.
Annie
left, Chris Moore right, choreographer & instructor. Motion
Underground, 2003 Cirque De Funk Show
Vital Signs, Motion
Underground Dance Company, Boulder Theatre, April 2003. (Annie is
brunette in belly dance costume)
Motion Underground Dance Company,
"Vital Signs" troupe,
June 14, 2003.
Motion Underground, Vital
Signs, January 2003.
Annie
& Louie-Louie, 1999 (above, left).
My mother (above, right) 1931, age 16,
recently married to my dad. Mom taught
me about cats.
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September 19, 1966, Detroit Free Press.
My Dad is inbetween President
Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines and First Lady, Imelda Marcos.
Dad led the way. He was the first Filipino to be accepted
into the Free Order of Masons.
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 Left
to right Mom's friend, my aunt and my mom, 1930.
Marvin, Annie, Bruce 1998.
Everything
I need to Know About Cats, I Have Learned from People
by Annie Bruce
Cats and
people both enjoy good food and a warm bed,
Being
loved,
Having
fun,
Getting
attention.
We get
along with some and not with others.
Our
children safe and well-fed.
Our
elderly need more help than the young.
Hating boredom.
Loving freedom.
First
impressions are important.
Routine
and habits make us feel secure.
Respect
for those who respect us.
Some of us
are overweight, some lean, some loving, some mean.
Like to
feel superior or good at something.
Like
getting new things.
Like to
own things.
We'll do
almost anything to get what we want:
A
view from a window,
To
sleep in sunlight,
Fresh
air.
We relish
and surrender to touch and massage,
Stretching,
health, being fit.
We learn
from our mothers and fathers.
B.
We learn
by watching and doing.
M
Laziness
is to be enjoyed.
I
We care
for the sick.
L
m
To smell.
To C
To touch.
u
p.
To hear.
To sense.
j
To taste.
To
To show
joy, to have joy, to be joyful, although,
Bad events
affect us, too, like moving and changes.
Death of a
friend or relative, hurts. . . hurts big time.
Separation
from our buddies is a real drag.
When
disabled we become depressed, frustrated, shy, and prone to illness and accidents.
If we get
hurt we are more cautious next time.
If we've
been hurt it takes longer to earn back our trust.
We will
hide when we're afraid and come out when it's safe.
We don't
like seeing the doctor, or the dentist.
When we
are stressed, we'll show it sooner or later. . . same for when we eat badly or
don’t exercise.
We retreat
when we feel inferior or that we don't belong.
We isolate
ourselves when we are not feeling well.
Recovery
is painful.
We don’t
enjoy being laughed at.
We
challenge newcomers.
We don't
consider others important if we're unimportant to them.
If we
don't know how to communicate what we want, we snap out,
yell or feel bad.
But all in
all, we manage. And we do our best
to enjoy ourselves no matter what befalls
us.
We enjoy
recognition.
We feel
like hugs sometimes and sometimes not.
We usually
welcome company.
We take
pride in the things we do well.
Our truest
loves, we love unconditionally.
We like to
contribute to our families.
We like to
try new things and test our limits.
Our eyes
show our pain, anger, delight and curiosity.
Oh
yeah. . . and most of all?
We
love to dance
and
sometimes sing.
Cat Be Clawed,
by
Annie Bruce
I feel so bad to be telling you this
Declawed cats bite, they growl and piss.
Adopt clawed cats is what I say
Don’t mess with cats that aren’t God made.
Clawed cats are smart and easy to train
Compared to vets, cats got way more brain.
Say “Hey there, cat doctor!
Annie Bruce
said,
“Stop declawing! Or I’ll look elsewhere instead.”
A guy or gal who thinks more of cats.
They’ll want first class homes.
Not ‘last resort’ threats.
And please tell us why these cats get so moody?
Oh well, they’re “just cats.”
AVMA kiss my booty.
Cats are smart. Clawed cats are great!
Cats need their claws and they need OUR strength.
To end this abuse takes more than me
To end it now takes us all you see?
Last resorts aren’t the way to go
If you want it to end, we all must say “NO!”
So if you want a cat that’s gonna be good
And safe around your friends and ‘hood.
Black clawed males are the very best
How declaws act, is any fools guess.
Besides all that, if something happens to you,
Wouldn’t you want your cat to pull through?
Feed, exercise and just talk to him right.
Neuter ‘n spay.
He won’t pee. She won’t bite.
Cats are smart. Cats are good
Cats kill mice in the neighborhood
Cats need claws to exercise
Cats needs vets humane and wise.
In
memory of Moses and all declawed cats who have suffered. Someday declawing will
end.
© 2005
Annie Bruce
of Good Cats Wear Black, author of Cat Be Good
AVMA
is the American Veterinary
Medical
Association.
(end)
Go
to homepage www.GoodCatsWearBlack.com
Go
to Cat Be Good.
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