The Heart As Cheese

"I agree hearts don't break, but I think they get holes in them. And eventually may look like swiss cheese." Amy Kane

Sunday in the Yard with Ramona

There's so much to see Outside. And it's awfully nice to just lie around and look at things. Herself spends a lot of time doing things to these green things. Don't know why. The world is full of green things. This is my apple tree. It smells funny right now. This is my Outside. It has a Safety Fence all around it and I can be Outside all day long and go Inside whenever I want! I have to go Inside when I have dinner. There are big scary visous things that are Outside at night here. I am hiding. Isn't Outside wonderful?

How to Tell Your Cat You Are Going Away

Boo makes herself comfy as she awaits her person's return. This is my mother's feline companion, Boo. Boo is quite shy and spends her days in my mom's room. Recently my mom went to London for a week and we were talking about how Boo really misses her human when she is away and how sometimes she exhibits that stress in unladylike behavior. I told mom to try something that I read in one of my Holistic Cat books. It seemed to help Brendan the last time we went to Europe for two weeks. Brendan used to get up in the middle of the night and howl sometimes. He was with my in-laws during that trip and they said he howled every night except for the one when we were getting on the plane in Zurich. He was calm that night as he waited for our return. So. Sit with your cat and tell her you have to go away. Imagine how sad you are to be leaving her and how you don't want to leave her but you must. Imagine a picture of your return and how happy the two of you will be. Imagine an image of each night you will be away. Imagine the nights one by one. Beam these thoughts into your furry ones little head and send comforting thoughts of your return. Mom did this and said Book was much better while she was away and happy at her return. So give it a try and let me know if it works for you next time you have to be parted from your loved ones.

The Cat Lady Went to Heaven

She was a small woman who volunteered at the shelter coming in early and doing the tedious work of cleaning cages. I am sure she gave the cats a lot of TLC and sympathy. She passed away quietly at home and the family is now at the shelter. Some, you can tell from the photos, are scared. Some are wide eyed, unsure of their situation. Some are bold and friendly, open to whatever happens next. Five of them are in a family group, others are in spearate places waiting for their chance to go up front and seek new homes. Here they are, Ten Left Behind. Handsome Taz with amazing green eyes. Tippie. She was anxious to see everything outside her condo. Lively Samatha is a real character. Precious was sitting shyly on a bed in the family room. Princess has beautiful huge eyes, a little large from anxiety. She is already up front in the adoption room. Piper is still so scared I only took one photo and left him hiding in his crate. Beautiful Pippin. Baby Huey is a charming and huge lapful of a friendly guy. He protects Piper, they might be father and son. Shy Toby. and Maw Maw, also very outgoing and handsome. I know I haven''t been posting as much as usual, as much as I like to. There is so much to do here in the spring. The garden is being planted and we have TV commercials to get out in the next few weeks. But I do have some more shelter stories to catch up on. There is one special cat I want to tell you about but I need some more information on his condtion. And, there are Caturday tee shirts in the works. I'll tell you about that soon also. A note on Tucker, he is FELV positive, not FIV. And I have been told he could be clear of that in about six months. Then I am sure he will be adopted quickly, he is a wonderful cat.

Shelter Visit and News

Why is it that the sweetest guys in the shelter are FIV postiive? This is Starsky who is a major Cat of Character. He''s a wonderful guy full of purrsonality with those ownderful Bucky type eyes (remember Bucky?) He has been at the shelter since sometime in 07 and even though he gets lots of attention and as much exercise as possible, well, he needs a home. And then this fellow I met for the first time yesterday. Tucker. He is a cuddle bug and also just a great cat with loads of purrsonality and FELV postive. sigh. (Update on Tucker, he should be ok in about six months, I guess his test was barely positive. I don't really understand all this except that his prognosis is good). If you are looking for an exceptional and handsome feline let me of the shelter know. Their info is on my sideroll. I think that those of us who love cats go along kind of a cat love curve. You start out with kittens, perfect beautiful kittens. Ok, so I still just adore kittens, who doesn't? But then if you are involved at all in animal welfare you start to notice the cats that are often overlooked. I like the feisty ones, the cranky ones and the shy ones who need some confidence. Then there are the ones who need medical care or who are disabled. Or they are seniors who have lost their people. I can see as I get older I will adopt older cats. I could see just adopting FIV postive cats if I didn't have the brother sister team now. This is the very beautiful and recently bereaved Simone. She is part Siamese (I love that) and she seems very calm as she watches the goings on from a second floor condo. This is Ebony who was at the shelter since sometime in 2006 and has just found a home. It is always nice to hear that a long timer has been adopted. I think it is a good thing, if you have room for a new cat, to ask who has been in the shelter the longest. And this is Matty who was also at the shelter for a long time and has just been adopted. A shelter volunteer just died, leaving her family of ten cats. They are all at the shelter and I will get to know them on my next visit and I will tell you about them. In other cat news, the Rozzie May Animal Alliance had a Boy Cat clinic that was vey sucessful and has scheduled a clinic for both sexes in a town north of here where many shelter cats and kittens come from. I'll be up there taking photos May 30th. And finally, remember Marty who won the election to become the cat on top of Mount Washington? He is having a great time in his new job. I can see the summit from my house and often this winter I would look up at the frozen heights and wonder how he was doing. He has an important job providing feline companionship to the meteorologists up there. Now that it is spring he has been able to do some outside exploring with supervision.