Watchcat protocol XCV

You might not think this would be within a watchcat's purview, but Watchcat Headquarters sometimes requests that watchcats examine newspaper comics for hidden messages...

...and then report any concerns to Watchcat Headquarters.  Watchcats are not to release their concerns to the public, however, until Watchcat Headquarters confirms them as legitimate threats:

2011: Watchcat Sylvia, after consulting Watchcat Headquarters about a questionable comic strip inference.

Watchcat protocol XCIV

Per Watchcat Headquarters, it's advisable for watchcats to maintain a quiet intensity.  Good watchcats should convey that they have their eyes on everyone who crosses their path:

November 2005: Watchcat Sammy keeps close watch over the photographer.

Truth in advertising? XXIV

Of all the claims political ads make about bond issues and proposed taxes, I love the argument, "It will cost just pennies a day."

Most things cost just pennies a day, if you stretch out their cost over a long enough increment.  Tell me in your ad how building that new school for fipple flute players will benefit the economy and why it's in my best interest to help pay for it.

A linguistic irritant LXVI

"There's nothing better in this world than..."

Whenever I hear a sentence that begins that way, I think, "Quite an overstatement...That's setting the bar unrealistically high, especially if you're just referring to a type of pizza or brand of lemonade."

Watchcat protocol XCIII

A good watchcat checks plugs and outlets, making sure to unplug cords that are frayed or otherwise unsafe:

July 2004: Sammy, after inspecting the plugs in and near an outlet.  Once his penchant for chewing on cords was discovered, he was reassigned to other watchcat duties.

A linguistic irritant LXV

It irks me slightly whenever anyone says something is the best of all time.  It doesn't matter whether it's a book, a song, or a profound quote.  Whenever I hear that "best of all time" praise bandied about, I want to respond, "What about that tone poem from Phoenician times?  For its time, it was extraordinary, and it's overlooked far too often."

Watchcat protocol XCII

Sometimes, being a watchcat entails guarding umbrellas...

...with your toy mouse, as was the case for Sylvia and her mouse in 2013.