Caturday

The Heart As Cheese

2008-05-20T07:02:00.001-07:00

"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

2008-05-19T06:33:00.001-07:00

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

2008-05-18T04:25:00.000-07:00

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

2008-05-17T14:48:00.001-07:00

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

2008-05-09T15:48:00.001-07:00

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.

Ramona, Big Game Hunter

2008-04-25T04:14:00.000-07:00

"If I aim for that silly little head I can take this one down. Yeah"

It's been a while since I've posted but things have been busy. Just a few days and the valley has bolted into spring and for all the residents the long winter is just a memory. The trees are getting ready to burst into bloom and you can see a faint fuzz of green and red across the valley. The cats are out in the yard all day long and collapsing after dinner.

"It's so wonderful, isn't it? Just wonderful." They tell us.

Harper is trying to dig up moles from their holes scattered across the lawn. Frogs appeared, frozen and still under the snow. Now the frog pond is bustling with chatter. I would follow the cats and each time they found a shocked frog I would rescue it and put it in the water and watch as it swam away.

"Long winter!" the frogs are saying. "Omagod, it's spring at last! Have you seen Fred, Tom, Ethel, Betty?" Oh there you are! Is there anything to eat?"

And on and on. The symphony develops as spring advances until we have a full orchestra of bass, mid section and trillers (tree frogs). It is one of the huge joys of the season.

My mom was here for a week and we had a lovely time shopping and cooking. Then I got a horrible bout of either food poisoning or flu and was laid low (real low) for a week. Now all is well and I have been working in the garden, planting peas.

We have a Boy Cat Only clinic this week. 30 Boy Cats taking the pledge for No More Homeless Kittens. And before that, an auction that raised lots of money for the new clinic.

So what do you think? Can Ramona take down a turkey>

Pas de Deux

2008-04-05T07:01:00.000-07:00

It's not always harmony around here. Remember, they both have to go to the vet when one has to go to avoid the snafu of the visit when Harper did not recognize her smell. But in general, I would say always try to adopt two littermates for a happy family.

I'd love to be able to adopt a mom and her kittens and keep them all together. I don't think we have any idea how they feel when the kittens are suddenly taken away.

Mom Cat

2008-04-02T13:34:00.000-07:00

This is Sally, a very very thin MomCat who was rescued from a hoarder and brought to the shelter. She is a lovely, world weary ladycat whose attitude is somewhat like"another litter of kittens? No problem." This will be her last litter though and hopefully, she will go on to a good life with someone who will love her. She has the most amazing eyes.

There are five kittens and I need to go back and get better photos of them. They are Basil, Clover, Ginger, Juniper and Mulberry. Tigers and Butlers.

Abby Goes Home

2008-04-01T09:29:00.001-07:00

You may remember sad Abby. She arrived at the shelter last July after her beloved person died. She was depressed and confused, not understanding what had happened. She also unfortunately couldn't stand the company of other cats, which stopped her family from offering her a home.

So she languished and I was sorry to see her each time I went in, knowing she needed a special human.

Well, even in this crazy often unhappy world, good things do happen.

One day a man came in to the shelter. He didn't have a cat. He didn't have a dog.

He was allowed to open Abby's cage (the same one she had been sitting in since July, a small two roomer) and he stuck his whole head in there. The shelter staff thought "this won't last long". Abby has a strong sense of her personal space.

But minutes later he was still there and something wonderful happened.

They bonded.

And Abby went home.

In other good adoption news, Clyde and Maia went home for the second time. Clyde had demostrated his confusion at his first adoption attempt (after this pair had lost their person), by peeing on the human bed.

Not a good idea, Clyde.

This second attempt seems to have worked out so either Clyde learned his lesson or he liked this home better.

The very personable Solar has also found a home after only being at the shelter since January.

In sadder news a lovely cat named Angel was returned after one and a half years with an adopter. It was said that she did not get along with the other cats. I don't know what I would do in a situation like that, however I would try to provide more cat spaces (high cat tree spots and special bedroom hiding spots) I would also separate feeding and provide separate litter boxes. If it was really impossible then one cat would become the studio cat. I will be posting Angel's photo on Petfinder in the next couple of days. There was another cat returned and I will find her photo too.

I visited with Kylie who is our beautiful Mom cat. She has one kitten left who will be picked up soon. I really feel for this sweet feline who was rescued from a hoarder. She is very shy and afraid of being touched. It will take some time for a person to make friends with her but I think this is one who would be a very special companion for the person willing to be kind and take the time to let her feel secure. She has beautiful soulfull eyes which show there is a conscious being there.

I wish I could take Kylie home but I will have to hope for the right person who will be blessed with this girl.

There is also a family of new Babycats and Mom. I will post their photos too.

Spring Fling

2008-03-28T07:30:00.000-07:00

This is quite the sight to have outside your back door. The four women have been coming round for hand outs for a couple of weeks now but then this dude showed up waving his tail and poofing out his feathers. He makes me think of the Blue Meany in Yellow Submarine. When I throw out some food the women run right for it (there are few things funnier than a running turkey). Some days when the snow is frozen the grils have slid on their butts down the hill.

Hey, turkeys have to eat too. I have heard that these wild birds aren't much good for eating so I hope I am not fattening them up just so they can get shot next fall. With a winter like the one we are STILL HAVING, we need all the entertainment we can get.

Oh yeah, we also got four more inches of snow this morning. At least the skiing is still fantastic. Cross country. This is going to end up being a major record breaker snow year here. We only have two more years to beat to be the all time since the 1800's champion snow year.

But everyone is tired of it and anyone who can is heading south for a break. Three hours south of here the flowers are blooming.

And someone is really tired of it...

"Me no likey this white stuff!! What's going on here!! Where's my garden!! Why can;t you fix it!! I want out now!!"

Harper is very Speakative.

"And get rid of those big birds!! No bird should be that big!! Me no likey!!"

In Search of Home

2008-03-14T14:26:00.000-07:00

This momma cat and her kits were rescued from a hoarder and are now living in the family room at the shelter. Two kittens are already spoken for and that leaves three and Momma. Momma Kylie is still very shy and will need a patient and loving person to let her take her time coming out of her fear. She is a lovely Lady Cat with wonderful green eyes.

Little Sasha is, I think, already adopted.

And here is Simba, of course. If you need a House Lion.

That leaves Jack, who is the orange short haired fellow,

Kaylee,

Lilac,

and shy, beautiful Momma.

Ramona Plays a Game

2008-03-12T09:09:00.000-07:00

Ramona has a basket full of lovely kitty toys. Balls, fuzzy things, a tunnel and all sorts of stuff a kitty should adore. But what does she choose for her favorite game?

A little plastic top off some bottle.

I realized she was fond of this so I put it where I could find it instead of throwing it out and this morning she found it herself on the kitchen counter. Soon she was rolling it around the floor and chasing it and just being so darn cute I had to grab the camera.

Now that Ramona has been with us for almost two years (April something was their gotcha day), we see what a lovely feline being we had been lucky to find on the internet. She is sweet, gracious to her brother even when he is being an idiot, loving and as these photos show, beautiful in her every gesture. And those sweet green eyes we were so fortunate to be able to save!

I love the way so many things she does reminds me of Fergus. Rolling the toy across the floor, the way her chin juts out when she is asleep, the way her ears go back and she looks like a little owl when she is listening to something behind her, the way her eyes look like a wise old oriental sage when she makes faces. She is far more agile than her brother, who is, as we know, a bit of a Pork Chop. It makes me feel like Fergie's playful, wild thing spirit is not far from me. I find that comforting.

Squirrel Street has just started on the Fur and Feather Channel. Ramona is entralled. Harper is asleep in his rocking chair by the woodstove.

Ramona Goes to the Vet....

2008-03-11T06:45:00.000-07:00

and is grateful afterwards. I didn''t know that she had fallen (probably from one of her leaps off the second tier of the cat tree), and had hurt her back. Ramona flies down the stairs here like a bird every morning and dashes up and down the cat trees. I think she enjoys doing things her heavier brother can't.

Our vet is also a chiropracter and acupuncturist and the reason we had come in was to attempt to heal Ramona's gums. They are still red from her kittenhood illness. When Dr. Kramer ran her hands along Miss R's back our girl hissed with pain. Acupuncture hurt her too, and then she relaxed.

I don't know how we had missed the signs of trouble. Cats hide pain very well, their instincts tell them they have to be strong and appear strong. But we're always petting Ramona and when she sits on my lap I run my hands along her back. But I guess it is a good idea to check out your cat's back with a harder massage.

Once we got home (I brought both cats after last time's excitement), Ramona walked around happy just to be back and then told me she was hungry. And then she stretched out her left leg in that beautiful ballet stretch. And then the other leg. I suddenly realized that for quite a while I had only seen her stretch out one side. Duh. Then she started kissing my legs and purring and purring.

I really think she understood what had happened. We went to vet, got needles stuck in, bones moved around and the pain was gone.

Ramona is a very smart little girl.

I had taken Harper too and he got a big hug from the vet and a check up (his gums are slightly red too). It was mostly so we could avoid having Ramona come home and smell different. Harper needs to smell her to know she''s his sister. Last time he thought we had brought a strange kitty girl home and lost his sister.

Then there was some serious washing up to do.

In time for their favorite show..

Turkey World.

as we all wait for three feet of ice to melt. Hey, the tomatoes are up in their flats, spring must be coming someday.

The Fur and Feather Channel

2008-03-02T11:00:00.000-08:00

With five feet of snow on the ground now there isn't much for the felines to do but wrassle, climb the cat trees and watch TV. Luckily a new show started on the F and F channel this morning. Turkey World is an in depth look at the lives of American Turkeys and it is now playing in a forest near you.

We woke to the sounds of Thunder Paws running up and down the stairs and then suddenly, slience. The TV show was on and the kits were glued to the screen. Means we get a little morning peace around here while everyone has cabin fever. Works for me.

I think Harper looks more like a Squillon every day, or is he just a real Pork Chop? We just got our Squillon and I will try to put him up. And if you don't believe me about the snow, looky here. I have the latest Warrior book and I am trying to read it very slowly so it will last. That way I can dream about being in the forest in greenleaf with Firestar and the rest of Thunder Clan while the world is white outside our windows.

Here's my new Squillon. Now I will see if I can get him in the sidebar without ruining my CSS.

We Interrupt This Broadcast

2008-02-27T12:46:00.000-08:00

To bring you a weather report from the Frozen North. Yes, that is looking out the back door and yes it is as high as it looks. I crawled out on top of it to refill the bird feeder, to happy chickedees singing around my head.

Snow today, snow yesterday and more snow coming your way soon.

Storm warnings for the mountains of northern New Hampshire.

Yeah yeah yeah. It was fun at first and it will still be fun but hey, it's kind of wild here at the moment. I came in to find Harper staring at the wall of snow at the back door. When I came over to see what was getting his fixed attention, I saw a tiny little white creature staring back. It was some kind of ermine, very small and pure white with black, intelligent eyes.

I guess we'll get spring someday. I hear there are crocuses blooming in Sweden after one of the warmest winters ever.

Tomorrow we'll be back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Winter Cats

2008-02-25T05:39:00.000-08:00

There hasn't been a whole lot to write about these last couple of weeks and I haven't wanted to waste your time with stories like "I forgot to clean Harper's bathroom and he reminded me by pooping on the rug exactly where I walk to the exercise bike in the morning."

We have all felt like we are living in an igloo. The snow is still piled high against the sun room windows and Olof got out there and shoveled so we'd get some sun. There is another storm projected for tomorrow and then one for Friday. Yet the basil plants on my windowsill are saying spring is here by suddenly starting to grow after doing nothing since December when I bought them. There is at least a month of great cross country skiing left and yesterday we did over 20 k. Today we are paying for it.

At two years old, the kittens have become wonderful cats, both sweet natured and loving. Harper can be a rascal, he insisted on wrassling his sister off the bed a few times early this morning. When I got up at 6:30 she just opened one eye and said "too early" and didn't get up with me. But by 8 am (after I finished reading the news and emails) she was ready for her morning Ritoiley when she runs downs the stairs before me proclaining "Yippe! It's a New Day!"

Harper yells at the bathroom door when he hears the water shut off, he wants to be brushed. He purrs and trills while I do every inch of him and gives me kisses. Sometimes Ramona comes in and hops in the sink for a touch up.

One of the nicest things about these two is they have not divided us up. They both love both of us. Sometimes Harper will run for Olof's lap no matter how I am trying to sweet talk him over and sometimes he runs for me and Ramona goes to Olof.

This is a couple named Cylde and Maia. They are at the shelter because their person died. Another reminder to all of us to be sure we have plans for our felines and canines if something happens to us. You don't see a lot of Meezers in the shelter so I really, really hope someone will come and take them as a pair. They are still unsure and shocked by their loss and clinging to each other.

Over at the Cat Blogoshpere I found the story of this guy, currently named Little Kit. He is at the Purrageous PIrates, somewhere on a sail boat.

The Purrageous Pirates hop over and send him some purrs.

And I said "ohmagosh, has Brendan been reborn? We always said he was a reincarnation of Saint Brendan the Navigator. It would be just like him to choose an ocean going life. Since Brendan was a Perfect Being, I don't know if he would choose to be reborn, but if he wanted to he certainly could manage it.

Vishus Squirrel

2008-02-14T07:39:00.000-08:00

Do you see that Brother?

I do, Sister.

We gots to get out of here and chasey him.

Yeah, vishus squirrel. I'd like to chomp on his toes.

Yeah, and bitey his fluffy tail.

Where'd he go?

Heard us talking.

Squirrels are winps.

Yeah. Wimps.

Ramona: This wall of snow stuff gets old pretty fast, if you ask me.

Sigh.

Be Careful What You Wish For

2008-02-13T08:06:00.000-08:00

Harper:
I never wished for snow. Never never never. It's you guys who are out sliding around the yard on long sticks acting like it's fun. I want my garden and I WANT IT NOW! I am tired of the Fur and Feather Channel. It's the same show with re runs. Make the snow go away. NOW!

Yes we are getting buried in the stuff so if you don't hear from us send every cat out with shovels. Caturday will be here somewhere. This is looking like a record year for snow in the White Mountains. We had a crew of younger people shoveling the roofs before the last two storms and they didn't look where they were pushing the snow so we won't be getting out the back door until spring. It set up like concrete.

Olof asked me why I didn't just go and shovel it out and then he tried it. You can see the top of the shovel sticking out of the snow. I will have to get out there and refill the bird feeder and probably move it higher up in the tree. Right now we just finished cleaning the driveway of about eight inches and now we are getting hail and rain on top of it. I will post some photos when the sky clears.

H and R race around the house like wild things and then sub dork somewhere under a pile of blankets. We have to be careful around any bedding that looks cat shaped. Their Super Twosday really wore them out, all the cats stopping by and then the Giant Purrade in New York. And all the news about Democats around the country was just too much for a couple of simple country cats, I think they slept for the next three days.

Thank you to all who sent cards and greeting. I need to catch up with my blog roll. It's wonderful to be part of the Cat Blogosphere. We sit here as the snow piles up around our igloo and keep up with the news from cats all around the world and feel like you are all our friends.

My seed order will arrive this week and spring will be on it's way. At least in our windows.

Super Twosday!

2008-02-05T04:27:00.001-08:00

It's Super Twosday! The snow is coming down and the trees are covered in white. Harper is here purring away. Ramona is always happy in the morning "Another Day!" she says as I walk down the stairs and she leaps, "How Wonderful!"

Above is the card we got from Thank you Anna for the lovely card

She does amazing art pieces with cats.

Thank you Jasper Jasper McKitten-Cat

Fat Eric has sent Purrday greetings! Hi Eric, remember going to the Cat Olympics? Brendan has a great time taking the kittens, they were so small then!

Thank you Beezer for the beautiful animated card! I wish I could post it here, I’ll see if I can manage something. Ramona breally liked the cute girl kitty.

Hi Cheysuli and Gemini We are part Meezer too, yanno (the best part). You can hear Harper is a Meezer, he is very speakative! And he has the crook in his tail.

And what would a Purrday be without Sammy and Miles You gotta have Meezers for a good time! Thank you guys for doing so much for the Catosphere.

And Derby You are such a handsome guy Ramona says she loves you and wants your picture to put up by her throne.

And hi and Thank you toMeeko and Kiara The Lone Star Purrs down there in Oklyhoma.

This is a linky to Beezers card

I am going to start listing all our thank yous but I'll put this card up right away! Anyone who wants to can teleport over for squirrel vision, The Bird Channel will be on soon and you can climb on the cat trees with Ramona. We'll put out some Fancy Feast and bowls of Evo and sprink fresh Nip on the scratchy board. So come over and say hi while I dig up baby photos of the Two.
I'll get to work on some linkys here.

That is one of my favorite kitten photos of Harper. Those thumbs are just too much, don't you think?

They still love each other, though we don't see much of this anymore, now they are Two.

Harper is Surprised...

2008-02-04T05:51:00.001-08:00

at all the attention his and Ramona's birthday is getting. Yes, Super Twosday is tomorrow and the kittens will officially be two years old. wow. I've shown them the map of the twenty four states that are participating in the celebrations and they are really impressed. At night when we are sitting in front of the Noisy Box they hear so much about their purrday they were getting a little nervous until we assured them it was going to be A Beautiful Normal Day, just the way they like it.

They are still kittens somehow, maybe it's because they have each other to play with. Last night we were trying to sleep while the games were going on. Some mornings I wake up early because there's a wrassling match happening on my feet.

I don't often let Prince Harper play Tiger with the blankets (that could lead to diasaster if someone left a toe out one night) but with winter still in progress and entertainment options limited to Inside and the Fur and Feather Channel (squirrel vision at the bird feeder), one day as I was making the bed I let him Let It All Out.

And Ramona came along to say "what are you doing?"

I have one lovely Purrday card to post tomorrow from Ann of Zoolatry.blogspot.com I wanted to get a cake of some sort but I am scheduled to spend two hours in the dentist's chair tomorrow and might not feel up to cake. Thank you to Fat Eric and the Meezers for already sending Purrday wishes. Anybody else who wishes to say hi, tomorrow is the Big Day and you are welcome to stop by for some Squirrel Vision.

Tom's Story

2008-01-26T05:38:00.001-08:00

If you have been reading Caturday for a while you will remember the shelter blog The Secondhand Dog and some of the characters there, Snickers, Bucky and Tom.

The first two have been adopted and live happily in loving homes. Bucky moved in with Ben, the mailman, and Snickers underwent a personality change when she finally found staff that respected her royalty.

Tom is a VVW, Veteran of Vehicle Wars, and he had lost a leg in the battle. He had survived but he was living in a shed in his family's back yard and sadly, no one seemed to understand what a kind, sweet fellow he was. They brought him to the shelter.

Tom found a job at the shelter working as Greeter, kind of like at Wal Mart. When you arrived and walked down the Dog Hall, Tom would come out to greet you and lift his head for a scritch and a kiss if he could get it. He could hop up and down the hall and spent a lot of time managing the Pantry. He and Bucky were good buds and could often be found shooting the breeze together.

I liked Tom quite a bit and would have loved to offer him a home. But this place has a lot of up and down and his movement would have been limited.

But then, as we say at Caturday, Every Cat Has His Day. A kind woman saw Tom's story on the web and knew he was meant for her. She arrived from hours away and took the old fellow home. He has a low couch of his own and a few housemates he is getting to know.

I will miss his friendly greeting but I am happy to think of him warm, cozy and well looked after in his elder years.

Bucky and Tom hanging out.

Spay Neuter Clinic

2008-01-21T07:03:00.000-08:00

One of the animal projects I have been working with is called the Rozzie May Animal Alliance and after posting yesterday's video clip I thought I would post the press release I sent out after the group held their second low cost spay neuter clinic. Above is a photo of Dr. Sara White of Spay ASAP of Vermont who brings her traveling MASH unit wherever she can to help lower the numbers of homeless animals. That photo was taken at the first clinic, held in a small fire station in Tamworth.

Janurary 4th, 2008 Chocorua, New Hampshire

How much of an impact can one devoted veterinarian have on pet overpopulation? Dr. Sara White of Vermont started her low cost, high volume, high quality spay neuter project in 2006. In that first, partial year, she altered 1,200 animals. For 2007 the number is over 4,000.

On Friday, January 4th, Dr. White’s traveling MASH unit set up at Runnell’s Hall in Chocoura. With the help of a crew of volunteer vet techs and assistants she altered 31 cats, 4 dogs and Clover, the rabbit.

The Hall was bright and clean and the mood calm, friendly and well organized. Each animal went through a pre-surgery check from Dr. White and volunteer vet tech Linda Warner from Lakes Region Humane Society. They received shots for rabies and distemper if needed, plus an inspection for ear mites and fleas. For many animals, this was their first visit to a vet. After surgery each dog spent time with a “recovery nurse” who watched, petted and talked to their charges as they awoke. Volunteers were treated to a lunch of home made soup, breads, cookies and brownies and tired shoulders received a massage from Gretchen Loeffler.

This was the second clinic for the Rozzie May Animal Alliance, a new organization based in Tamworth which is dedicated to easing the problem of homeless pets, especially cats, in our area. The clinic was filled within a few days of announcement with people bringing animals from Moultonboro to Berlin. The response was such that enough cats are lined up to fill another clinic.

The Rozzie May Animal Alliance is working towards building a dedicated clinic facility to offer low cost spay neuter services and an animal sanctuary. A one vet stationary clinic could alter at least 4,000 animals a year and lower the number of homeless pets entering shelters in a wide area of northern NH. For more information see the web site at www. rozziemay.org

Help Me!

2008-01-20T14:20:00.001-08:00

I got this from Susan at Wildrun and it is just too good not to pass on.

Ramona Says No

2008-01-19T13:08:00.001-08:00

Derby told us about the contest Hallmark was having for photos so Ramona and I checked it out.

Ok, so first prize is one thousand dollars and get this: an all expense paid trip to Kansas City with your pet for a shoot with a professional photographer. The value of the trip is four thousand dollars and you have to pay the taxes on your winnings. With capital gains being I think, 15 percent, that means you'd pay 750.00 on your prize money and trip. And Hallmark owns all the rights for ever and ever to your photo (and I'm sure the ones they get at the photo shoot). So you'd get 250.00 and a working trip to KC. And that means traveling on a plane with Ramona in a box. Hmmm. I don't think she'd go for that too much.

I guess it's suposed to be a big thrill but we'll pass.

I asked The Divine Miss R what she thought about the chance to have a career as a supermodel (we all know she'd win)

"Well, she said, It doesn't seem like a lot of money. How many boxes of Fancy Feast is that? And really, why would I want to go to Kansas City? Is it nice?"

We discussed it a bit more and decided that if Hallmark really wants her they can contact her agent and send a photographer here. Hanging around the Secret Garden in the summer and playing with Brother in the winter is much more fun. Miss Ramona is very family orientated, as you all know.

And, as the commercial tells us, this photo:

Priceless.

Ramona Poses and Reposes

2008-01-18T05:49:00.000-08:00

The snow is piling up here making the world white and peaceful. The cats find ways to entertain themselves and Ramona loves the cat tree in our room. Some mornings she hops up there and plays games by herself, chasing her tail, batting a few toys and getting to the third platform where her less graceful brother is not likely to reach her.

Sometimes I think she is angling for a modeling career.

And then of course, Brother shows up.

"Hey, Gimme that!"