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| | === Intelligence === | | === Intelligence === |
| − | Even without medication, she appears to be very intelligent. When Mayor [[Joe Quimby|Quimby]] is recalled, she runs for the mayor's office. During a candidate debate, she is asked what public-policy issues are important to her. Unlike the other candidates (who act as stereotypical dishonest politicians), Abernathy discusses issues such as health care, economy, and public education in between her screams and gibberish (and a call for cats "in everyone's pants"). | + | Even without medication, she appears to be very intelligent. When Mayor [[Joe Quimby|Quimby]] is recalled, she runs for the mayor's office. During a candidate debate, she is asked what public-policy issues are important to her. Unlike the other candidates (who act as stereotypical dishonest politicians), Abernathy discusses issues such as health care, economy, and public education in between her screams and gibberish (and a call for cats "in everyone's pants").<ref>"[[See Homer Run]]"</ref> |
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| | === Illness === | | === Illness === |
When she was eight, she was a smart and ambitious young girl who wanted to be both a lawyer and a doctor "because a woman can do anything".[1] She was studying for law school at 16, and by 24, she had earned an MD from Harvard Medical School and a JD from Yale Law School. However, by 32, suffering from burnout, she had turned to alcohol and became obsessed with her pet cat. By the time she turned 40, she had assumed her present state as a drunken, raving lunatic.
She once shared a cat with Moe.[2]
The Cat Lady enjoys "brief moments of lucidity" after taking psychoactive medication.[4] She abruptly resumes her usual bizarre behavior when Marge mentions that the "pills" are actually Reese's Pieces. Her medication helps her speak intelligibly rather than her usual gibberish.
