Also--she'll put the animal down but she won't release it to a sanctuary? This doesn't sound very rational.

I'm assuming she'll back out of this at the last minute too.

Let the Missus deal with it, Cookie. She offered and she means it.

((((GC and family)))) Can you take the cat? Or might the cat take to a playmate? Or, for that matter, is there something in DW's mother's body language?

I ask the last because Teddy was a feisty terror in his young days. Once I was videotaped holding him. I had a habit of arranging my mouth a certain way so he wouldn't claw me on the fleshy part of the lips. And I saw that the arrangement gave me a very angry look, which Teddy no doubt saw as threatening. I promptly stopped it, and Teddy stopped trying to claw me when I held him.

Ozzie:

Has attacked me (complete with scarring and infection)-check
Has attacked the other cat-check
Screen up permanently dividing the two cats-check
Kitty Prozac-check
Has bruised other people and in one case drawn blood--check
One of the sweetest cats I've ever owned/known 95% of the time-check

Can you take the cat? Or might the cat take to a playmate? Or, for that matter, is there something in DW's body language?

We definitely can't take the cat (we already have 3). I don't think we would anyway. She is a really terrible pet. MiL thought about getting another cat to see if it would help, but worried that the new kitty would get attacked, too. The cat has been a source of drama ever since they got her (about 4 years ago). She needs to go, but I wish she could go to the sanctuary instead of being put down. However, it is not my decision. I just wish MiL would handle it without the need to drag DW and I into it.

CONGRATS, Sparky and DH!

What exactly is meant by 'Hispanic', or 'Latino'? I mean, my understanding is that these words are interchangeable

Fay, generally if one is referred to as "Hispanic" it's because they're descended from Spaniards or former residents of Hispaniola/the Iberian Peninsula.

The term Latino(a) has its origins in what's now Italy and from where the Romance languages of Italian, Spanish, Portuguese, and French have their roots. Since Latin America is a geographic location, most people who have their roots there refer to themselves as Latinos, but may not be Hispanics. Brazilians, for example-- they speak Portuguese and are from Latin America, so therefore are Latinos, but if they are native Brazilians and don't have any ancestors from the Iberian Peninsula, then they're not Hispanic.

Using me, as an example, I'm both Latina & Hispanic-- my parents were both born and bred in Cuba and on my father's side, there were native islanders, so therefore, that's the Latin American part of my heritage. My mother's family, on the other hand, while they had been in Cuba for many generations, can trace their background back to Spain, therefore, I'm also Hispanic.

I have NO idea if that helps at all. Personally, I prefer Latino(a) to Hispanic. For me, there are too many negative connotations with derogatory names that can come from "Hispanic."

< /academic geek>

A friend of my sister's was born in Colombia. Her parents were also born in Colombia. Her grandparents were born in Germany, and came to Colombia to escape the Holocaust. (It was basically a case of "what's the first boat that's going to a country that'll take us in?") The family moved to NJ when this girl was about 10. When she was applying for college, she checked "Hispanic" as her ethnicity. I'm guessing that it was mostly so that her application would get special notice for diversity, but she also said that she identified as Colombian and her first language was Spanish, so that's what seemed like the best choice. (The "white" choice on those forms actually says "white, non-Hispanic.") She got some strange looks when she showed up for the college tours and was met by representatives of the Hispanic student groups -- she's very blond, blue eyes, and incredibly pale.

Our Percy was part Bengal -- we figured it out by both physical descriptions and behavior descriptions. Reading up on how to deal with attack issues really helped. ( he was never really good with people he didn't know, but he never caused an ER visit)

And I was right -- figuring out the distinction being Hispanic and Latino is difficult

And I was right -- figuring out the distinction being Hispanic and Latino is difficult

I think there's also a difference between the formal definitions and the way people use them.

(I had nothing to do with his death!)

I love that you felt the need to qualify.

but she also said that she identified as Colombian and her first language was Spanish, so that's what seemed like the best choice. (The "white" choice on those forms actually says "white, non-Hispanic.") She got some strange looks when she showed up for the college tours and was met by representatives of the Hispanic student groups -- she's very blond, blue eyes, and incredibly pale.

I've seen that before, a lot of Germans emigrated to South America, so there are some blue eyed blonds that are native. Also, los conquistadores left some genetic material behind.

I think there's also a difference between the formal definitions and the way people use them.

There is, and also a difference between the way the terms are used in different regions and/or different communities. Around here, I don't think I've ever heard someone say that they (or someone else) was Hispanic but not Latino, or Latino but not Hispanic -- but the distinction from the website linked upthreadwards between Hispanic as the term of government statistics and Latino as the term of the community is common.