Shrdlu Our Office Cat Broke Engagement

Our newspaper has carried so many stories about weddings and engagements that it has influenced our ordinarily shrewd office cat, Shrdlu. The other day, our feline friend and co-worker came strutting into the office and our eyes almost popped out of our heads. We thought we were seeing double. Our fears were eased somewhat when Shrdlu introduced his double as his very, very dearest friend. Contemplating an engagement, he told us, with marrying intentions.

Over our amazement, we bluntly told Shrdlu that cat food costs 10 cents a can, or more, and that if he wanted to proceed into the field of matrimony then he would have to shoulder the costs of an additional can of cat food daily. Besides, we pointed out, our economy ain’t what it used to be. Cat food, like a lot of other things, could go even higher.

Shrdlu, who must be Scotch, if a cat can be Scotch, silently turned to his pretty kitty, and spat: “Be gone! Scat!”

And that, briefly, is how the pressure of economy controls the impulse of the heart. Like Shrdlu, we often have to say scram when we wish we could go ahead and spend what we haven’t got.

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This installment of Shrdlu our Office Cat ran in the
December 2, 1948 issue of La Feria News