Monthly Archives: December 2024

December 15, 2024

You don’t have to be a cat lover to celebrate National Cat Herders Day. The only requirement is to know someone or even be that someone who’s attempted to accomplish a complex task by controlling the uncontrollable, organizing the disorganized, or bringing to order a disorderly cast of characters, akin to like trying to herd cats*.  From parents and teachers to project managers and team leaders, this humorous observance pays tribute to those willingly and persistently taking on the challenge of controlling difficult or chaotic situations. Show the love and appreciation for people in your life, and quite possibly yourself, who take on any impossible or frustrating task with patience and humility.

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*The origin of the phrase “like herding cats” likely came from the opening scene of Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979). In this scene, shepherds are discussing sheep and the topic strays to cats: “Can you imagine a herd of cats waiting to be sheared?”  

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**A fish manikin is a form carved from wood or foam by taxidermists used to mount a trophy fish. Flambé’s school of striped manikins all looked like trophies to her! If only she could’ve herded her cat kin into an attentive and cohesive group long enough to teach them her sure-fire plan for breaking up that school of fish …….. maybe, just maybe she would’ve had a striped manikin to Mount on the wall of her den!

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***A clowder is a real thing! It’s what “they” call a group of cats. Honest.  But then being naturally curious like my sidekick, Flambé, I wanted to know how many cats are needed to make a clowder. Here’s what I learned: 

“Three or more cats make up a clowder, which makes sense. After all, three is a clowd—er, crowd. Jokes aside, this is mainly because the word “pair” covers pretty much any group of two, and if a cat is by themselves, then they’re just … a cat.”

But that doesn’t explain how these feline groups are ever formed ……. after all, wouldn’t that be a frustrating endeavor and quite nearly impossible …… exactly like Herding Cats?

I’ll let you be the judge, but please let me know!

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As always, thanks for stopping by!