Dr. Currie: Cat Analyst

First installment. Writer's note: These journals were recently uncovered in my garage underneath some vintage cat litter. They belonged to my great uncle and I present them here in excerpts. Though the psychiatric techniques in evidence seem quaint by today's standards, they give us a glimpse into the ideas of the past, as well as a glimpse into the daily grind of the pet doctor's life of decades past.

June 22^nd, 1952. It has been an easy day so far. I took a walk-in first thing this morning. He was a rough-looking tabby who did not wish to reveal his name. (Walk-ins never do.) He said that he often went through garbage cans with his buddies but that he never really ate garbage like they did. Usually he pretended to eat so the other cats would not tease him. Sometimes he ate melon rinds. He wanted to know if he was normal? Was he a 'nut case' (His words)?

I told him that many cats do not like garbage, and that I once knew a cat that only ate corn fritters and maple syrup. (This was a slight exaggeration; the 'cat' in the story was actually I when I was seven years old.) I told him he should not be ashamed of his tastes but should hold his head up high and that if his friends made fun of him maybe he should find some new friends. When it came to actual dietary needs of cats I had to tell him that I was not the one to ask. I referred him to my friend Farrah Slax, feline nutritionist.

After a light lunch of corn bread French toast at mother's, I was back in the office by 1:50. Muffy had the 2:00 slot and she came in late as usual. What can I do but charge her for the whole hour? I must say however that I am pleased with her progress. Two weeks ago we labeled her feelings about the accident. It was an intense session.

She had been riding inside a trailer while her family moved to their new home. The family sat up in the cab of the truck. -resentment

Then the trailer began to sway uncontrollably. -Nausea

When the trailer finally broke off the hitch there was a loud pop. -shell shock, near death anxiety

The trailer careened off the road and stopped quite abruptly in some thick mud. -weightlessness and floating

The family hurried back to the trailer but seemed mostly concerned about some furniture. -more resentment

Muffy repressed these feelings for months but showed her subconscious pain through incontinence. She seems happier since that breakthrough session and less fearful of the world around her. I am sure she is on her way to a full recovery, although the incontinence persists.

I had an early supper with Dr Steinmanstein. He was in a jolly mood as his paper on hamsters with pulled hamstrings was just published in the prestigious Rodent Physique Magazine. If only the hamsters would do some simple stretches before running on those little treadmill things.