Cat
Be Good by Annie Bruce
Foreword by Dr. Nicholas H. Dodman |
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About
Annie Bruce
(and
the story behind the book) |
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My mother was born in New Hampshire in 1915.
Mom owned black
cats. As did her mother and her mother.
My Filipino dad married mom during the Depression. Dad
would threaten to eat my cats.
But I don’t think he ever did. (Side
note: my parents married at a time when mixed-race marriages were illegal in
many states.)
I was born in Detroit in 1955 and attended inner-city schools.
I am the youngest of six children and graduated from Cass Technical High school in downtown Detroit.
I worked as a computer operator for 20 years. And I've owned and
loved black cats for almost five decades.
Contrary to popular believe, black cats bring GOOD
luck. Black cats are the smartest and most loyal, and the easiest to train.
I started dance lessons when I turned 40 years
old. Dance changed my life. Because of dance lessons, I quit smoking, lost
weight and began writing about cats. (I dance with Motion
Underground Dance Company , our mature hip-hop dance troupe is called
"Vital Signs", pictured below. We have a great time! Come take class!)
Soon after I started
dancing, I volunteered to foster sick and abused cats. After talking
with many cat owners, I saw they were suffering unnecessary hardship and expense,
so I started a consulting business. Through experience and making mistakes I
discovered the secret to cat behavior: Cats are like people. Cats are acting the same way
as people would act given the situation.
After helping many cat owners and
taking many dance lessons, I decided to write a book. With the
help of many dedicated people, and four years later, Cat Be Good: A
Commonsense Approach to Training Your Cat was published by Good Cats
Wear Black. It has won three book awards, has been published in Europe.
On November 1, 2005, Cat Be Good is now republished! Cat Be Good: A
Foolproof Guide to the Complete Care and Training of Your Cat.
Cats are very smart
and quite trainable. Put your squirt bottles away! I wrote
this book to show you that cats DO listen and WILL learn - without
clickers, squirt bottles or declawing. You’ll
see! Your cat can be good.
Annie Bruce
p.s.
Don’t tell Louie-Louie everything I said about him in the book. . .
Even though I meant well, I wouldn’t want his feelings hurt.
More about Annie Bruce
I'm a proud American and
member of the Cat
Writers' Association.
I am frequent guest at Animal
Radio.
I am tattoo agent for Tattoo-A-Pet.
Approximately 99% of registered dogs and 50% of registered cats who are lost get returned to their
owners. Phone: 1-800-TATTOOS
Annie's Pictures
Below. Annie Bruce of Vital Signs, Motion
Underground Dance Company, Boulder Theatre, April 2003.
(Above, Annie is brunette in belly dance costume)
Below, Annie, Motion Underground, Vital Signs, January
2003.
Below, Annie Bruce, third from
left (blue hat), Motion Underground Dance
Company, "Vital Signs",
March 2000.
Picture below was taken in Las Vegas
by
my brother-in-law, Louie, June 20, 2002. Left to right: Annie
Bruce, Vegas show lady, and my sister, Cathy. GREAT time! (My first
vacation away from cats in 4 years so you know I had fun!)
Marvin-My-Man and Annie Bruce, October 2000
:
Below: Annie
Bruce with Louie-Louie, April 28, 2002
(cats not shown: Marvin-My Man, Mr. Abraham Lincoln & Bob)
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My Dad is in the picture below. (His face is in-between President
Ferdinand Marcos of the Philippines and the beautiful First Lady, Imelda Marcos.)
This picture was taken September 19,
1966. It appeared on the front page of the Detroit Free Press.
My dad was Filipino and of course, wanted
to meet President Marcos who was visiting Detroit that day.. Mom said, "then
why don't you go to to the airport
and meet him?" Dad drove the few miles to Detroit Metropolitan Airport, walked out on the run way and shook
hands with the President of the Philippines, First Lady Imelda, Governor George
Romney and Ambassador of the Philippines. Nobody, not even secret service
questioned him or stopped him. Dad was mentioned as a "Filipino dignitary"
in the Detroit Free Press because no one knew who he was.
My Dad led the way. He was the first Filipino to be accepted
into the Free Order of Masons.
My Mom (below, left) was a pioneer in cat behavior. Mom taught
me most of what I know about cats.
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My
mom at age 16, married dad
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Annie's
cats*
Marvin-My-Man
Louie-Louie
Mr. Abraham
Lincoln
Bob
Booty Booty
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*a.k.a.
"booty-babies"
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Below
is picture of friend, my aunt and my mom, 1930
Below, 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
(end)
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