About The Gang
Paws and Effect is a weekly advice column written by Siouxsie Mew, Thomas T. Bombadil and Dahlia P. Kittenface — with some help from their mama, JaneA Kelley. We answer letters from readers about questions related to cat health, cat behavior, relationships between cats and humans or cats and other animal–basically, if it’s about cats, we’ll answer it. We’re not veterinarians, nor do we claim to be. But we all cherish the relationship cats have with their people and we want to help make that relationship a good one for all parties. We’ve been writing Paws and Effect since 2003, and we intend to keep writing Paws and Effect for many years to come!
So, who are we?
Siouxsie Mew
Top Cat, and Queen of All Eastern Cats
My sister Sinéad and I adopted Mama on June 16, 1996. We were still very small, only 6 weeks old, and we really weren’t able to eat solid food yet. But way back then, Mama didn’t know she should have waited until we were at least 8 weeks old before she took us home. Besides, we were impatient, too: we knew we had a lot of work to do with Mama in order to prepare her for her crucially important role as our secretary. Sinéad and I had 10 happy years together, and we worked really hard to help Mama learn as much as she possibly could about cats. We were very proud of her when she started writing Paws and Effect and sharing our wisdom!
Thomas T. Bombadil
Most Puissant Rat Slayer
I adopted Mama on March 17, 2004. I was 3 years old at the time and had just gone through a series of fairly traumatic events. I was feeling quite poorly and not even sure if I wanted to stay in my body anymore, when Mama came along and visited me at the shelter where I was living. For some reason she fell in love with me, even though I was so sick and sad and covered with snot, and as soon as I got well enough to find a forever home, Mama and Sinéad and Siouxsie welcomed me into their lives. I earned the title Most Puissant Rat Slayer when I was living on the family farm with Mama, and I singlehandedly got rid of all the vermin in the barn!
Dahlia P. Kittenface
Author Extraordinaire and Feline Alarm Clock
I adopted Mama on Sept. 19, 2006. We found each other when the Shelter People brought me to a shop where people could see me without having to go all the way to the animal shelter — they figured that would help me find a home faster, and they were right! I was barely there two days before Mama showed up. It was love at first sight, and as soon as she picked me up I threw my paws around her neck and started purring as hard as I could. Well, of course I won her over, and it was only a couple of days later that I came home to meet my new family. I’m the author of the sure-to-be-a-bestseller memoir Dahlia Tells All, which I’m magnanimously sharing in installments here at Paws and Effect.
Sinéad O’Kitty
Glorious Flower of Wisdom; Columnist Emeritus
Siouxsie and I adopted Mama in June of 1996. From then until the moment of my physical death in 2006, I was Mama’s constant companion, keeping her warm on cold winter nights, sitting with her when she was sick, watching over her as she slept, and whispering my wisdom in the way only cats can. I let Mama ride with me in my dreams and I worked with her to teach her the art of animal communication. I’m grateful to have been half of the inspiration for Paws and Effect, and I still watch over my family from the spirit world.
JaneA Kelley (a.k.a. Mama)
Webmaster and Chief Cat Slave
Mama says she never would have imagined 20 years ago that she’d be helping us to write a wildly successful cat advice column. But cats work in mysterious ways, especially when we’re trying to help a person find their way in the world. When we first adopted Mama, we knew she loved to write, and we knew she loves cats — but it wasn’t until 2003, when she got laid off from her job, that we finally were able to convince her that what she really wants to do is help us share our wisdom with the world. We’ve learned a lot about training people over these years, too. We’re lucky that Mama is very compliant and intelligent enough to be easily trained, although there are times when we have to correct her … for her own good, of course. If there was one thing we wish we could train out of her, it’s this thing she has about putting us in carriers and taking us for rides.
