June 1, 1996: the Geocities page that became 3 Good Cats says Hello World.  There are photos of the cats and brief descriptions of how we came to adopt them and how they got their names.  Soon, as a way of keeping things interesting, I begin to post every Friday some true little stories about everyday life with these cats, along with some home-made, home-drawn, you might even call them homely, cartoons.

   Coming up with ideas and following through on them was so much fun, it kept me busy and happy for the better part of a decade.  The last original "What a Good Cat!" was posted a year ago today.  Today, here's one good memory that was originally posted in February 1997.  We added the Meow TV stuff a few years later.

   Who says there's nothing on TV?  Amid the reality shows and the talent shows currently blanketing U.S. television, there's now a show for people who love cats -- or, as the sponsors of Meow TV put it, "for cats and the humans they tolerate."

   At our house there were no cats in the room when the show began, but by the end of the half-hour program, Nicky was on Pat's lap facing the set, presumably following the action, and Caitie-Belle was behind me on the back of the chair.  Lizzie walked by and looked up at the screen but did not stay, and Kelly, who takes nap times very seriously, never made an appearance, perhaps aware that the show will be rebroadcast on Oxygen several times this month.

   Note to the producers of Meow TV:  the two short spots promoting spay/neuter scored high with us, both for content of cute cats and content of an important message.  The bit judged funniest by the humans was the commercial where the husband changed the words of the Meow Mix theme from "Meow Meow Meow Meow" to "Beer Beer Beer Beer."  (That spot was not as great as this amazing British Honda ad, but what could top that one?)  And finally, if you'd delete the sirens that blared just before the Squirrel Alerts, we and our cats will thank you.

   You'd think that saying "meow" -- among other sounds -- would be high on the list of Signs of a Good Cat.  Actually, compared to our other cats, Lizzie doesn't say much, but she can still make her points clearly, and sometimes without making a sound.  One night, I walked into the living room and found her lying on the floor near the cats' toy basket.  I knelt beside her, picked up her favorite toy mousie, and asked her whether she wanted to play.  I'd have to say she did not, because the little cat looked at me, and with uncanny comic timing, she yawned.