Columns
A Love Letter....
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Dear Readers:
Happy Valentine’s Day! Normally today would be a big relationship column day but instead it’s the date of my final column. I realize ending Cat’s Call on the ‘love’ holiday seems ironic but I think it’s fitting. I promised myself to not get all cheesy and tell you how much I love you, but honestly I…do. I know what love means to me and in terms of Cat’s Call I truly love this column’s readers. So this isn’t a break-up, it’s a love fest! And a teaser for things to come!
This holiday is all about love, so here are a few things I love: I love the exchange of ideas. I love when people disagree but try to understand alternative positions. I love taking apart a sticky situation and building it up again with reason and rationality. Most of all I love solving problems and your extraordinary feedback and ‘calls’ have made that process much more fun and interesting.
Since Cat’s Call’s earliest days almost a decade ago I have learned a tremendous amount from your thousands of emails and site comments, and I hope question-writers have too. I have always felt that Cat’s Call is a different kind of advice column, more like a partnership between you and me. Thank you for trusting me with your personal stories and allowing me to publish your words, and for continuing to support the column after I left the newspaper. On that note, there are still questions in the Cat’s Call cache and I promise to answer all of them – via email – in the next few weeks. If questions continue to come in, I will answer those too.
Again, thank you. I have loved reading your calls and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading mine. Let’s continue to do that! Aside from email the best place to connect with me is on Twitter. Cat’s Call: Now go tell someone you love them!
Love, Cat
P.S.: The Cat’s Call website isn’t going anywhere. You can still contact me here and post comments on past columns.
Cat Cat Cat Cat Cat Cat Cat Cat CAT!!! No No No No No No No No NO!!!! This is my Tuesday fix!!!! Been reading you since ’03 when I moved here. Moved away for two years, still read you. Moved back, continued reading you. I’ll keep reading you girl. Only advice column I ever liked. Sending the love back at you!!!!!
— James -Pittsburgh 02/14/2012 Reply
Aww you’re going to make me cry. This has been my Tuesday fix too! Thanks for reading all these years. I am truly touched. How about whatever new pieces I publish here at the site, I’ll try to publish them on Tuesdays, deal?
— Cat 02/14/2012 Reply
Tuesday morning, Monday afternoon, Sunday at midnight, doesn’t matter to me Cat. You’re one brainy cutie.
— James 02/14/2012 Reply
….and somewhere in Pittsburgh, LeBron is getting ready to jump off a bridge…
Thanks Cat …. for all those years of providing us with an informative, helpful, and entertaining advice column.
Thank you also for providing us with this forum to share, discuss (and usually debate) our opinions on various relationship and social issues.
You will be sorely missed. Best of luck in all of your future endeavors.
— Matt in Pittsburgh 02/14/2012 Reply
I’m beyond happy that you’ve enjoyed the column and especially this forum! It’s been my favorite part. This column has a very distinctive readership, one I’m exceptionally proud to engage every week. You are a part of that, and I thank you.
— Cat 02/14/2012 Reply
I agree Matt, this site is great. My call: Cat deserves big credit for this forum. There is nothing flashy and stupid just people meeting up to bat around ideas. I have a website and it costs me money and time and I don’t get any visitors (it’s for my business). Thanks for all this Cat. I know people in the media in Pgh and they say you turned down options in the past but this site was always here. did you just want to write and nothing else? Sorry I’m being nosy but that’s me! If someone offers you a Cat’s Call show say yes! I love your advice and your wit, good luck in whatever is around the corner for you.
— Rebecca in PGH 02/14/2012 Reply
Thanks, Rebecca! I really love your description of this site: “nothing flashy and stupid, just people meeting up to bat around ideas.” Thank you for contributing to the dialogue here every week, and for your well wishes. As for turning down certain media options, yes there have been a few, but I promise if the right one comes along I will say yes : )
— Cat 02/15/2012 Reply
Oh, that’s not good. How am I supposed to explain things to my boss when I become sooooo much more productive on Tuesday mornings?
A bit of confusion – You say you’re hanging up your column, which, although that sucks, I understand, but then at the end, you say “This website isn’t going anywhere. You will still be able to contact me here at Catscall.com, read new pieces and post comments on any column.” What new pieces if you’re quitting the column? Do you have something up your sleeve?
Thanks so much, Cat, it’s been fun – good luck wiuth your new ventures. And maybe Lebron will take up the slack and start a column….
Take care. Ben
— Ben VA 02/14/2012 Reply
I can already think of ten terrific excuses to give your boss for a sudden spike in productivity. To clarify, the Catscall.com website will remain up and running as-is. Some new pieces will be published exclusively here but no more traditional, short format Q & A. Since commenting is never closed, if anyone wants to read past columns and add comments about them, they’re free to do that! Thank you so much, Ben. You’ve been reading Cat’s Call for a long time and I have always loved your feedback.
— Cat 02/14/2012 Reply
I instinctively checked your column this a.m. and found nothing. A big, empty, hollow nothing. Didn’t know what else to do on a Tuesday morning to keep myself busy, so I cleaned out my desk….
— Ben VA 02/21/2012 Reply
Dear Cat, I have enjoyed your advice column very much and I will miss it. My mother read it to me when I lived at their house and I got hooked on it. We talk about it every Tuesday. I think you have a special voice and very funny. Keep your homepage updated with whatever you’re doing ok? I feel like crying! There, I’m cheesy back at you!
— KatPA 02/14/2012 Reply
Thank you, Kat, to you and your mother. I will definitely keep you informed about upcoming work. Hey, a little cheese on Valentine’s Day is a-ok.
— Cat 02/14/2012 Reply
Good luck wherever you are headed.
— I.P. (Jerusalem) 02/14/2012 Reply
Thank you, I.P. I’m not headed anywhere beyond the same computer where I’ve written Cat’s Call all this time. It’s just time to evolve from simple Q & A to something more robust, plus devote more time to other work. Thank you for your kind emails over the years.
— Cat 02/14/2012 Reply
Hey Cat. This sux! I’ve been wanting to send you questions for a year or so. Good luck with things! This is a big loss to my Tuesday mornings :(
— Teresa 02/14/2012 Reply
Thank you. ‘Advice columnist’ is part of my DNA now so if you still want to send your questions, I’m happy to answer them!
— Cat 02/14/2012 Reply
I can’t believe that this column is ending!! It’s the first thing I do on Tuesday mornings – after I get my tea!! Thanks for all of the great years of advice. I’ll be looking for your book and new column!! Good luck!!
— Jen Pittsburgh 02/14/2012 Reply
I can’t believe it either, and it’s the first thing I do on Tuesday mornings too! Thank you, Jen, I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed the column.
— Cat 02/14/2012 Reply
:-(
— Doc 02/14/2012 Reply
There is something particularly sweet about this comment. Thank you : ) <— me blushing
— Cat 02/14/2012 Reply
I’m out of town for a week and look what happens! ;-)
Rad, bad, and sad news, indeed, but to Matt’s chagrin, not enough to jump off a bridge.
At least Cat’s decision wasn’t cuckhold related.
;-)
I am also confused about what you wrote there, Cat. But I will assume you went that you will continue with the website, but not take and answer letters?
Maybe now I have a reason to start twittering.
If you ever decide to Facebook, Cat, I would love to have you as a FB friend.
I actually like the irony of the date you chose to do what you had to do.
You are the best, Cat!
— LeBron from Pittsburgh 02/14/2012 Reply
Ha! I knew you’d insert a cuckhold in here somewhere! Thank you for contributing so much to the dialogue that happens here every week. If I get on Facebook it will be my privilege to be your friend. Even off Facebook! You are one fun guy.
— Cat 02/14/2012 Reply
Wow!? Bummer. I will miss reading your column. I always looked forward to it. Good luck. Can’t wait until your book comes out!
— Brandon 02/14/2012 Reply
Thanks, Brandon! There are a handful of names I recognize every week and yours is among them. If I’m not mistaken you submitted two or three interesting questions over the years and I learned a lot from them. Thank you, so very much.
— Cat 02/14/2012 Reply
Love you too Cat! Will miss you! I already follow you on Twitter, admit to say I love you almost more on there. I’m a big Cat’s Call fan but you are extra something on twitter. There are about ten people out of a hundred I look to for definite laughs and you are one of them. Yesterday the Mr. Miagi tweet made me LOL at my desk. I will miss your wonderful advice. Tuesdays will not be the same :( Please use my email address to send a notice when the book comes out, I can’t wait!
— Sammy, PGH 02/14/2012 Reply
Glad my twitter gives you a laugh! Thanks so much for contributing to this forum over the years. I’m so happy you’ve enjoyed the column!
— Cat 02/14/2012 Reply
Thanks for the fun and laughs and advice over the years, always enjoyed the column and really enjoyed this site. I’ll keep it book marked and look for your new work in the future. One request: can you please do a retrospective of the pictures you have used over the years? I remember some of them were cute, some were funny, others just plain gorgeous. It would be good for some laughs, anyhow. Best wishes, God bless!
— Wertzro in Pittsburgh 02/14/2012 Reply
Oh wow. A retrospective of my column photos? You’re crazy. Fully nuts. Cuckoo bananas. I’ll agree some were funny, one was borderline not-hideous, but gorgeous??? I wish you could see me shaking my head right now. BUT flattery will get you everywhere so maybe I’ll consider it just for laughs. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I’m so happy you’ve enjoyed the column and especially this site.
— Cat 02/14/2012 Reply
Thanks so much, Cat, for interesting, informative, and funny columns! Will miss you!
— Linda in Pittsburgh 02/14/2012 Reply
Thank you, Linda. Informative + interesting + funny = the best feedback I could hear.
— Cat 02/14/2012 Reply
Cat it’s wonderful to see you post comments here, that is something new! I have greatly admired your advice through the years as I happened upon Cat’s Call some time ago without meaning to and read it ever since. I lived in four different states and read a newspaper every morning of my life. Cat’s Call is the only advice column I enjoyed. This site is bookmarked for me and that bookmark will stay there. Best of luck to you!
— T. Ohio 02/14/2012 Reply
That’s so nice, thank you. And thank you for writing in after your question ran a while ago to let me know things were going so well. Those are the best emails in the world.
— Cat 02/14/2012 Reply
I would definitely love to read a book based off the columns, I’m sure you get plenty of follow up emails to your answers from whack jobs and I for one, would like to see them… :) You answered one of my questions approx a year ago, and I got a LOT of backlash from your readers and felt awful, but also realized I was doing what I needed to make myself happy. A year later, I couldnt be happier! Thanks for being our Tuesday morning friend for so long!
— Maria. Pittsburgh 02/14/2012 Reply
Thank you, Maria, “our Tuesday morning friend” really tugs at my heartstrings. I’m thrilled you’re so happy. Getting updates from people who’ve written in over the years is a special kind of mail. Best of luck!
— Cat 02/14/2012 Reply
Am I the only one who cried a little bit reading this? Cat it may sound strange to you but your words have been a fixture in my life. I wouldn’t go so far and say “if Cat says do, I’d do it” but I respect your wisdom so much and your ability to find humor in things but not belittle them. I still have a copy of a special column you wrote after your mother died. I tore it from the paper and kept it because it made me cry. (Nothing in a newspaper had ever made me cry). It went right to my heart. You didn’t say until the end that your mother died and I felt awful imagining you keeping people entertained during that kind of grief. I lost my father, I know what that grief is like. When I came to the site today and saw a special column I was excited, then I looked at the latest comments and thought oh no. I wonder how many people you have helped through the years including people with no problems who read it to have a smile in the morning. I think you are amazing at what you do. Cheers to whatever you are doing next.
— Jane 02/14/2012 Reply
I welled up, I can admit it. There’s something about this column I like. My wife reads it (she is from Western Pa), she got me into it then I got hooked. If we’re gettin all cheesy like CAT up there—wink wink— I think I like the column because Cat seems to care. This is the age of “snarky” and it gets old. Cat you are sharp. You could be snarky but you aren’t. Like Rebecca wrote, this site offers a pleasant forum for opinions and people here are smart and ‘get it’. You don’t let crazies overrun it which takes attention to detail. I would not have the patience. My best to you Cat. Thanks for the love letter, it is a nice touch.
— John in NV 02/14/2012 Reply
Aww John from Nevada, another reader name I’ve seen for years. You got teary? Many thanks to your wife for hooking you on my column and a thousand thanks to you for making me imagine a cowboy crying over my love letter (you’re probably not a cowboy but just go with it). I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed the column, and I’ve enjoyed both your email feedback and site comments over the years. Now I’m welling up, thanks a lot!
— Cat 02/15/2012 Reply
Jane, your story leaves me at a loss for proper words. I’m so sorry to hear about your father. I remember that column and knowing that you kept it all this time….now you’re going to make me cry! Thank you for sharing this story with me.
— Cat 02/14/2012 Reply
Cat this isn’t the love letter I wanted to read today but tip of my hat to you, beautiful woman. Always enjoyed the column, sorry to see it go. You’re a bright light in this cloudy city.
— MadDog 02/14/2012 Reply
MadDog, there are some reader names I instantly recognize and yours is one of them. Your opinions and ‘calls’ here on the site have been great and I will especially miss your occasional emails which always took an interesting look at the week’s topics. “A bright light in this cloudy city” is a beautiful image, and a beautiful thing to say. I am truly touched.
— Cat 02/15/2012 Reply
Cat, so sorry to see your column go – I have enjoyed it very much for quite some time. I wish you the very best of luck in your new endeavors and will look for you here and wherever.You wrote a great column and it will be missed.
— Nancy in Pittsburgh 02/14/2012 Reply
Thank you so much, Nancy. I’m so happy you’ve enjoyed the column. Yours is a name I always recognize and I appreciate your kind words. I will miss the column too! But…it may pop up again : )
— Cat 02/15/2012 Reply
Don’t tease us Cat! I came back here to see everyone else’s tributes to you, and your replies. Deep in my heart I was hoping we could change your mind. Now, a glimmer of hope! I’ve not finished reading, now I must finish!
— Wertzro in Pittsburgh 02/17/2012 Reply
I remember when your column first appeared in the Post Gazette. I wasn’t much for reading advice columns, but yours was different somehow, a little more practical (I also remember your picture and thinking “she’s cute, too”). It seemed you wrote more from common sense and personal experience (and the experiences of folks you know) than parapharasing a bunch of head shrinkers. You kept it clean and intelligently written. I appreciate that. I continued to read your column after I moved away. Wish I could’ve met you.
Thank you and may God bless you.
— ExBurgher Out West 02/14/2012 Reply
You remember when Cat’s Call first appeared? That was almost ten years ago. Thank you for reading it all this time! For whatever reason I’ve always had a rather large contingent of west coast readers but your name is always familiar to me and a happy sight. I like the screen name “ExBurgher,” it’s memorable, just like your kind words. Thank you.
— Cat 02/16/2012 Reply
I’ve read advice columns since I was a kid, but yours is the BEST, the absolute BEST. I hate that you are making a change, but I hope it is the right move for you. Your faithful readers will definitely miss you!
— PB from NY 02/14/2012 Reply
Wow, THANK YOU! I must say, it’s hard to type when I’m speechless. I have come to know the screen name “PB from NY” so well, and your comment here just bowls me over. In fact I always enjoy your comments about the week’s questions but this one in particular hits me right here (pointing to my heart). I hope you will continue to read and enjoy my work, and continue to offer your feedback! Thank you, again and again.
— Cat 02/16/2012 Reply
Please post a followup “letter” to your readers when your next project is ready to be go public. I’m sure I am not the only one dying of curiosity.
— PB from NY 03/02/2012 Reply
Sad to see you won’t be posting your column anymore but downright delighted for you that such good things are happening!!!
— Marcy, Pittsburgh 02/15/2012 Reply
Thank you so much, Marcy! You’re definitely among the readers whose names I always recognize. Thank you for reading the column, contributing to the dialogue here every week, and most of all, thank you for the well wishes.
— Cat 02/16/2012 Reply
Cat… no. :( My guilty pleasure. Lol.
— Supermanzboy 02/15/2012 Reply
It’s very….something to be considered a guilty pleasure. My work, anyway ; ) Thank you!
— Cat 02/17/2012 Reply
Cat this SUX. Your column is something of a guilty pleasure for me. Not sure why because it’s not dirty ; )
Since everyone is offering their two cents about what makes Cat great I think it’s because aside from good advice you seems damn nice. Someone above said it, you care. I wrote to you twice, not questions merely my opinion about a couple column and you wrote back both times. No one takes that kind of time these days. I used to hear you on the radio and wondered why you stopped doing that, it was very good. Now I wonder why you’re stopping this. You’re a mystery! Well Cat I’m with everyone else, you’re an extremely intelligent classy woman who gave a lot of laughs and a lot of smarts to a lot of people. It’s been great, already miss ya.
— Rich, Oakland 02/15/2012 Reply
Rich, I’m so glad you liked the radio stuff but even more that you’ve enjoyed the column. Thank you for such lovely compliments and for contributing regularly to the dialogue here. So I’m a mystery?? I can live with that. Thanks again : )
— Cat 02/17/2012 Reply
“Endings are sad, beginnings are scary… but it’s the part in between that really counts.”
Thanks for being part of my Tuesdays for so long… and best of luck with your new adventures!
PS It’s been great reading all the reader comments too.
PSS It seems that you are following in the footsteps of another savvy, although fictional, columnist… Carrie Bradshaw. :) Kudos to you for being Pgh’s own Sex in the City.
— Not PC, Pgh 02/16/2012 Reply
Not PC, thank you for being a part of my Tuesdays. I’m hardly following in her footsteps but I sincerely appreciate the comparison! If only I had her shoe collection…
— Cat 02/17/2012 Reply
Dear Cat,
I have been a weekly reader of your advice column for quite a long time. I was reading Ann Landers before you came in. I did not think I would like the change. I was sure a young woman instead of a pillar of wisdom as Ann Landers would be a mistake. I was wrong. Your presence in my newspaper was a breath of fresh air. You were not on Tuesday originally, I believe it was the weekend. I recall it moved days I worried you were gone and called the paper to ask. They assured me, “she is not gone, she moved to Tuesday” and there I have read you ever since. When you stopped appearing months ago I thought they moved it again. My daughter called the paper to ask and told me Cat’s Call was gone. I was very upset and then my daughter told me about the website but I am not a computer user. I thought that is not my world and I will not be able to read it but every Tuesday my daughter prints it out for me. The comments by people are fun, often I want to jump in but I never have never done so. This is my first internet comment. Hooray for me! My daughter is here by my side for technical support she says. We read your column together every week. I will miss your wonderful way of putting things. And sense of humor. Wishing you the very best life has to offer. If you write a book one day, I will read it with my daughter.
Sincerely,
E.
— E.M. in Pittsburgh 02/17/2012 Reply
Dear E.,
My goodness, I’m so touched that your first internet comment was to wish me well! Thank you so much, to you and your daughter, for reading the column since the beginning. You are absolutely right – when Cat’s Call first started in the paper in 2002 it ran on Saturday, then it moved to Sunday for a short time and included a third question, then it moved to Tuesday where it stayed until May 2011. Since then it’s been here and I’m so happy you have continued to enjoy it. Thank you, again and again!
— Cat 02/17/2012 Reply
Cat I second everyone else here. Only advice column I ever read. Only place I comment besides news sites. Great job. I’m not on The Twitter but I’ll check your page to keep up with whatever you’re doing next.
— Thom, Pittsburgh 02/17/2012 Reply
Thom, thank you! Another reader whose screen name I know well. You’re funny…“The Twitter.” Is that the thing for short messages on The Internets? Thanks so much for reading the column and contributing here often. I’m honored this is the only place you comment other than news sites – that makes two of us! I’ll be sure to keep this homepage updated so you won’t have to use The Twitter :)
— Cat 02/18/2012 Reply
You’re very welcome. Always thought to a Burgher, “out west” was anything on the other side of the Mississippi. I am out west, but not west coast. More like south coast. Do have plenty of desert, sunshine, lack of winter and really good Mexican food.
— ExBurgher Out West 02/17/2012 Reply
I am not nuts, goofy, crazy; I know I good thing when I see it; as others have commented, too :-)
I wanted to echo what some others have said: I have been reading you from the start, always enjoyed the way you handled people and worded things. I’m much more conservative than you, and didn’t always agree with your responses, but always liked HOW you responded to people. And the website has been marvelous, I love the give and take with you and your other devoted fans.
I’ve enjoyed clicking on your links to other sites, you are a talented writer and I’m sure whatever you set out to do, you will do well and be highly thought of and appreciated. Keep up the good work, and please do come back to us here :-)
— Wertzro in Pittsburgh 02/17/2012 Reply
Wertzro, thank you. I’m so touched you’ve read the column since the beginning! As I just responded to ‘John from Pittsburgh’ a few comments below this one, I appreciate so much that you have read and liked the column despite having major differences in opinion. It’s been a blast responding to all these comments – I should have jumped in years ago! Thank you again.
— Cat 02/20/2012 Reply
Well, wah!
I found your column shortly after I moved here in 2001, and though I tend to be a lurker rather than a talker, I have enjoyed reading the questions, your responses, and the ensuing dialog. It always brightened my Tuesday lunch break, and I’m going to miss it (and you).
Best of luck in your future endeavors!
— Elizabeth - Pittsburgh 02/17/2012 Reply
Thanks, Elizabeth! “Wah” made me laugh. There are far more lurkers than talkers so you’re not alone. In fact many people still email their opinions and ‘calls’ to me every week rather than comment here. I’m so happy I could fun-up your lunch breaks. The ‘missing’ is mutual – thank you again!
— Cat 02/18/2012 Reply
RATS! Terribly sorry to see you go, I’ve only been reading for about a year or so (being a relatively new transplant to da ‘Burgh in 2009). I was saddened to see you disappear from the newspaper and very happy to find your website. I wish you well in your new endeavors (whatever they may be.) I can only imagine you’d need a break from slinging advice (in a deeply caring and not smarmy way – Kudos).
You are so warm that I felt like you were a friend, even though it was purely one way, as I never had the nerve to write a question or even add my 2 cents worth to the comments section. Writing has never been my forte, and I didn’t want to take the risk of rambling or feeling ignorant because I couldn’t put my thoughts to words. It really is a skill which you mastered.
OK, enough of my rambling! I just wanted to wish you the best, and to thank you for the years of entertainment and the affirmation that not everyone in this world is cynical and sarcastic, that there are others (like me) that want to help people, one-person-at-a-time.
— Patty - Pittsburgh 02/17/2012 Reply
Good point Patty, you’re the first to suggest Cat might need a break. Don’t think I remember the column taking one before. I saw it by accident looking at Steelers news on the P-G site. There was a pic of a hot girl on the homepage, turned out to be Cat. I read it, smart and witty, no bitchiness, kept reading it ever since. Truth: I never read an advice column more than once before this one. Applause, Cat, it is not easy to keep my attention. Some claps to the regular commenters as well, it’s been fun. Be well, Cat. Make your way out west we could use you here.
— Matthew- California 02/18/2012 Reply
Thanks, Matthew! It probably seems like I never took a break because I didn’t for the first eight years. Hey maybe you and Patty are right, I do need a break! Just kidding : ) That’s too funny, “hot girl on the homepage.” Thanks for that. I’m so glad you liked the column enough to read it more than once and contribute to this forum over the years. Thanks for the great emails over the years, too. They were a treat!
— Cat 02/18/2012 Reply
Wow, Patty, thank you. For even one reader to consider me their “friend” is success in my book. I don’t know what you mean about not being a good writer, your words almost made me cry! I’m sorry you hesitated to send questions or post comments before now because other readers would have enjoyed your input! You’re very right that I care deeply about solving question-writers’ problems. If not outright solving them, helping people to see situations from a different angle. Often that’s the catalyst for a solution. Thank you for your kind words, and for reading and enjoying the column.
— Cat 02/18/2012 Reply
I came here as I do every week and found myself absorbed in the comments. I was about to put my ‘Cat call’ in but I waited to write just the right thing. My husband and I read you every week and we will miss you! You have a unique way of expressing yourself and I agree with your advice just about every time. We wish you the very best in the future.
p.s.: one of my favorite columns was the man in California who painted his house Steelers colors. It cracked us up for a long time!
— Black & Gold Forever 02/18/2012 Reply
Thank you! I’m so happy you and your husband have enjoyed Cat’s Call. The column about the Steelers house was one of my favorites because…wow…that is one serious football fan. He sent me several photos of his house and the paper ran one of them, which was great, otherwise people might not believe it! Thanks again for reading and contributing here over the years. Wishing you all the best in return : )
— Cat 02/20/2012 Reply
Cat,
Thank you for your years of work. I have enjoyed your column and I will miss reading it. I haven’t always agreed with your call or some of your political views but I respect your opinions and your desire to truly help people. I wish you luck in your future endeavors.
— John from Pittsburgh 02/19/2012 Reply
Thank you, John. I love that you have enjoyed the column despite a difference in opinion. We must have that in common because I am drawn to written pieces that challenge my opinions without assaulting them. If this column has done that for you (even on occasion), I’m very pleased. Thank you for reading and enjoying the column, and for taking the time to post such a nice note.
— Cat 02/20/2012 Reply
Cat,
Your advice column is the best I’ve ever read and it addressed a lot of issues you don’t see in other venues. I’ve loved reading your column and hope to see your name in print again soon. I’ve agreed with you about 99% of the time, which is better than my odds with my husband!
Good luck in all future endeavors,
Kathy
— Kathy, Pittsburgh 02/21/2012 Reply
Kathy you gave me the perfect spot to jump in here which I was about to do anyway. I am SO SAD this is over! I never missed a Cat’s Call until last week and look what happened. I could cry this makes me so sad. The comments are amazing. Cat these are many of the same people who argue here all the time! Kathy wrote: “it addressed a lot of issues you don’t see in other venues” That’s what I was about to comment! Cat always has a unique way of looking at things. Even when the questions are about familiar situations her take on them is different. I agree with Wertzro and John, it’s your way of approaching a situation that sets you apart. Someone up there said you are a mystery which is kind of true! I will miss your sense of humor most of all. May the road rise up to meet you wherever you go. Fan from the beginning, Barb
— Barb in PA 02/21/2012 Reply
Thank you, Barb! I’m so happy you’ve enjoyed the column and I have thoroughly enjoyed your comments and ‘calls’ over the years. Now on to the important part: you missed the column last week?? That might be illegal. Thank you again, for your readership all these years and for taking the time to send such a nice note.
— Cat 02/22/2012 Reply
Thank you, Kathy! I fare better than your husband? Now that’s something. I’m so glad you’ve enjoyed the column. And I promise you’ll see my name in print again : )
— Cat 02/22/2012 Reply
I’ll miss the heart, soul, warmth, rationality, personality, sensibility, wit, and spot-onness of your column.
Tuesday morning coffee without Cat’s Call will be just plain coffee.
Wishing you much luck and success in your new endeavors!
— Larry from Pittsburgh 02/23/2012 Reply
Cat…I have to say I am surprised to hear this news almost a month after the fact because, well let’s face it, sometimes life gets busy and you get out of a routine. I will really miss you and the weekly column. But best of luck. You are a beautiful human being that was always able to give incredible advice. Best Wishes!
— Matthew 03/08/2012 Reply
Thank you, Matthew! I will miss the column too, but who knows, it may pop up again : )
— Cat 03/10/2012 Reply
Ok… so I keep checking… and still no Cat’s Call. Not even just a little reprise column or I’m doing this now. Big Wah. Yes… that a whine. We miss you Cat !!!!!
— NotPC, Pgh 05/25/2012 Reply