Onion News Network breakfast show Today Now! gives advice from author Melissa Donnelly on sparking up the relationship with your cat.

Hint: Watch for additional tips from her book displayed in the footer.

"When doctors and staff realized that a cat living in a U.S. nursing home could sense when someone was going to die, the feline, Oscar, was portrayed as a furry grim reaper or four-legged angel of death.

But Dr. David Dosa, who broke the news of Oscar's abilities in a paper in the New England Journal of Medicine in 2007, said he never intended to make Oscar sound creepy or his arrival at a bedside to be viewed negatively."

Many of us have pets to keep us company - but the cost may surprise you, especially if you own a cat or rabbit. Even birds can be pricey, thanks to their long lives. And don't forget the cost of your time taking care of it.

Even if your companion is lucky enough not to require significant veterinary care, just buying food and bedding can cost more than the purchase price, even in the first year. The key message? Budget for that budgie!

See also: Talking heads discuss the science of saving

His name was Matt, and he and two friends spent 17 minutes killing a cat on video. The friends went to jail (90 days), but Matt went on the run. Thanks to the tireless work of Katie Woodward and her "Find Matt" campaign, Matt is finally in police custody. "Forget it, it's just a cat," lots of people told her. "But I've got cats of my own," says the tireless crusader, "and I just couldn't give up." The Find Matt Campaign allowed the Vancouver SPCA officer who 'thought he recognized' a street kid to catch the criminal, over 4000 km away from Toronto, where the crime took place.

Cathy the cat was more than a bit catty when she went into a spitting rage when her owner went to start sweeping, trapping him in the bathroom. Two mounties couldn't subtue or catch the frienzied feline, and an animal control officer says he's never seen anything quite like it. Rabies was later ruled out, but it begs the question, just what did the cat get so mad about?

"The Maltese Kitten", by Linda Stewart, the 3rd novel in her talking-cat spoof of tough private detectives, was published in December. The first two are "Sam the Cat: Detective" (1993) and "The Big Catnap" (2000). All three are illustrated on their website.

We've had a couple of news items before about things like a company producing an allergen-free cat, and more recently about the first kitten to be produced by cloning. But if you're interested in more on the subject, US News & World Report made it the cover story of their current issue.