I love to travel. It’s what I live for. Although I tend to seek out new and exotic lands, it’s nice to go back to familiar places now and then. I get to revisit restaurants and museums that I enjoyed the first time I visited, and I get to check out new neighborhoods, new exhibits, and new shops and stores. …
As many of you know, in addition to my veterinary work, I also am a writer. I have this blog and I am the former medical editor and contributor to Catnip magazine. I was the Ask the Vet columnist for Cat Fancy for many years. Sadly, Cat Fancy is no more, and was replaced by a new magazine, Catster. I am…
Simply wonderful! Georgia Engel – star of film, television, and stage – lover of felines – brought her cat in to see me at my cat hospital for a check-up. She is known for her role as Georgette Franklin Baxter on The Mary Tyler Moore Show, and has also appeared on The Love Boat, Coach, The Office, Mork and Mindy,…
Most cat parents ask me what the best diet for their healthy cat is. These days, it is becoming more difficult to answer this seemingly simple question. Many people feel that cats should be fed canned food only, and that dry food is terrible for their cat. Other people feel that the composition of the food is much more important…
I was examining a young female cat that had been adopted a few months before from a rescue organization. The owner had brought her in for behavioral issues. “She’s been making trilling noises, and she sticks her rear end in the air, and is rolling around on the carpet all squirmy”, said her owner. “She’s also become super-affectionate. I have…
I took a few photos of my polydactyl cat Mittens
My first appointment of the morning was to see Gypsy, a 5 year old neutered male Siamese owned by Gail H. The chief complaint written in the appointment book was the vaguely worded “hairball problem”. In the exam room, I asked Gail to elaborate. “He’s been trying to cough up a hairball for weeks”, said Gail, “but nothing comes up.”…
We had just gotten back from a ten day vacation to Morocco, so this seemed a little indulgent, but Mexico is inexpensive, and we hadn’t been to the beach in years. After my Morocco trip and before this Mexico trip, I did take one more photography class, and the added instruction did make a difference. So this blog post is…
Hard to believe, but our last day in Morocco is upon us. Today’s agenda is to explore as much of Tangier in one day as we can, and then head back home to our own cats, who we miss a lot. We started the day at the Gran Café de Paris. With its tufted brown leather seats impeccable service, and…
I’ve always wanted to visit Tangier. The city is at the meeting point of two continents and two seas, and it defies comparison with any other city in Morocco. For the first half of the 20thcentury, Tangier was an international city, with its own laws and its own administration. It attracted a lot of writers, including Paul Bowles, the American…
After visiting the Royal Granaries in Meknes, we decided to skip the medina in Meknes. It was a tough decision, but we had hired our driver, Naji, just for the day, and we had to decide what to do: explore the souks and food stalls in the Meknes medina, or visit the American Fondouk, a veterinary hospital just outside the…
Fes’s location allows for some neat day trips. A popular destination from Fes is the city of Meknes and the Roman ruins of Volubilis. Mark and I have always enjoyed Greek and Roman ruins, and the ruins and Volubilis were said to be impressive. So much so that the site was a key location for Martin Scorsese’s film The Last…
Today our itinerary was simple. Just stroll through Fes with no sites in mind and no agenda to speak of. There’s 9600 streets and alleys. Plenty to explore. We made our way to Bab Boujeloud, but this time we veered right, onto the other main artery, Tala’a Sghira, to see what we’d find. The first stretch consists of another market. …
After last night’s foray into the hectic maze that is Fes, I was ready to tackle it head on. Take a look at this map Your best bet is to make your way to the main entry gate to the medina, Bab Boujeloud, which is depicted as an arch in the lower left corner. Lots of signs pointing to it,…
Day 5 – Goodbye Marrakech, Hello Fes. Today is a bittersweet day. We were sorry to say goodbye to fascinating Marrakech, but excited to check out Fes. We woke up early, took one last look at our beautiful riad from our balcony, and one last look at the lovely balcony outside our door. We bid Sara and her brother adieu. …