“Even though my brain is confused and I’m struggling, always struggling, to see if my writing is good, I still want to write. And the writing that matters the most to me isn’t about Alzheimer’s. It’s about a cat.”
pets
All Hail the Mighty Snail
“Meet the Texans who love (like, really love) their pet gastropods.”
The Menagerie Lurking in Rural America
“Not far from my Ohio hometown, a notorious tragedy shook America. Years later, its legacy lives and breathes—and occasionally runs away.”
Do Our Dogs Have Something to Tell the World?
“Many owners think so, thanks to the ‘talking buttons’ craze on TikTok and Instagram. Scientists are less convinced.”
The Top 5 Longreads of the Week
Featuring notable stories from Paul Solotaroff, Maddie Oatman, Gabriel Smith, Meg Bernhard, and Alexandra Horowitz.
“Diana’s Piano” And All The Cats I’ve Loved And Lost
“The years I’ve spent with these cats—with Detective in our house, with Walker in a small apartment, with Mango on the porch next door—is worth all the feelings of loss.”
The Free Dogs of India
“These canines have independent, peaceful, happy lives without a pet’s constraints. Why are they being persecuted and culled?”
Ugly Cats and the Loneliness of Man
“‘Pethood’ is a specific lens, one that reveals more about us than it does about the inner lives of the animals we have domesticated.”
How Much Would You Pay to Save Your Cat’s Life?
“For $15,000, you can get your pet a new kidney.”
How America Saved Millions of Dogs—By Moving Them
“It is a good time to be an American dog. In the 1970s, as many as 20 million dogs and cats were euthanized each year. That number has declined precipitously. The ASPCA now estimates 390,000 dogs and 530,000 cats are euthanized each year, down from 2.6 million as recently as 2011.”
