There are moments when I actually wonder if it’s possible for cats to be reincarnated humans.
Finding Ocho putting her cold paws on her brother’s nice warm stomach – and the look on Seis’ face – is not only priceless, but just too human.
Good for a giggle (as long as they don’t hear you).
“Dogs have their day but cats have 365.” ― Lilian Jackson Braun
If you’ve never read any of Braun’s ‘The Cat Who …’ series, you’re in for a rare treat. Your local library should have many of her numerous mystery novels, all centered around a retired newspaper columnist and his two intrepid Siamese cohorts – and their amazing feats of solving each ‘who dun it’ plot.
Recommended reading for someone looking for a lighthearted read about our favorite subjects – cats.
“Cats possess so many of the same qualities as some people that it is often hard to tell the people and the cats apart.” – Sir Henry Morgan
Abishag would inform Sir Morgan that it was the people who were lucky enough to possess the same qualities of the cats. And as for it being hard to tell the people and the cats apart –
“Humph.”
This is from five years ago, when the original Kibble Kids were little.
Look closely and you’ll see it’s a ‘Fredwich’! Priscilla is underneath, Fred in the middle, and Greystoke on top. Must’ve been a chilly evening in late spring, since they’re in a cuddle puddle on the deck outside the kitchen. We’d gone all out for unique names with this litter; note Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, GingerFred Boy, and Greystoke, Lord of the Jungle – all old movie names.
Saturday matinee, anybody? (That wasn’t my generation though. My mom and her older brother used to go to the Saturday afternoon kids’ movie, getting in for ten cents each, enjoying a cartoon and MovieTone News too, while splitting a box of popcorn for another ten cents. And then they still had ten cents each to take the bus back home. Amazing what 70 cents could buy during the Great Depression.)
Nostalgia is still fun to remember, even if it isn’t yours firsthand.
And today is April 30, 2024 …
Back then, Ira had decided one way to get my attention was to take over the work area on my desk as his napping area. I’d have to admit, I fussed about it – but of course, relented.
Don’t we all, when our companion cat wants brushing, petting, a snack, treats, or just – attention?
So, years later, and Ira is surely standing guard duty at the Rainbow Bridge, while other cats on this plane do their ‘cat thing’ and want brushing, petting, a snack, treats or just attention.
We humans can be glad some things in life never change.
At five months old, Gabby was already stalking the wild work glove and pouncing on it, rendering it immobile.
Fiercely cute.
“Sometimes, Mom is not eager to referee between two of you having yet another spat.
All of you just had your 4th birthday. So, grow up! Settle your own squabbles!”
Makes me wonder just exactly what he’s been up to …
The Freditorial Office for Write Up The Road is closed today, due to inclement weather.
No need to gets my feets wet an cold. Back soone. Love Fred.
l
Photo from April, 2018 by TJB
This is Willie the Kid and his kid, Willy Wonka. (Sadly, both of them would vanish within a year, likely due to an overabundance of predators in this area.) You can just hear Willie grumbling, “Take Your Kid to Work Day. Yeah, right. No way am I going to catch any mouse today, with Bumble Paws ‘helping Dad.’ Sheesh.”
Just a hint – take all the photos you like with your phone or camera. Someday you’ll be glad you did. And if people don’t want to sit through a hundred or so photos of your favorite subjects being shown on the big screen, then they can just go straight to the chips and dip. It’s your party, after all. Meow!
“It is a curious truth that many cats enjoy warmer, more convivial, even affectionate relationships with humans than they could ever do with fellow felines.” ― Bruce Fogle
A possibly helpful hint from my observations of many years is that cats (at least all of the ones I’ve been around regularly) enjoy nibbling on grass. Yours may not, but for what it’s worth, and IMO only –
If your cats enjoy those ‘fresh greens’ but can’t go outside, you can buy indoor grass kits which enable you to grow a small amount of greenery in a dish so your feline can indulge. You can also improvise. I used a box lid from a carton of reams of paper, put it inside a large black plastic trash bag tied tightly closed and fitted the bag into the box top. Then I filled it with clean dirt and planted grass seed. I kept it lightly watered, leaving it on the floor in a patch of sunlight from an east window. Ptolemy, my extraordinary Siamese, absolutely loved eating grass, and the box lid was large enough he could actually lie down in the coolness and enjoy that too. He would have a ‘cat salad’ and relax, probably pretending he was outdoors again – but safely, with no predators or traffic.
If you have a yard in which your cats can roam safely, then all you have to do is plant either some cat grass seed (found online) or get a small bag of the less-expensive grass seed that’s the right amount to fill in bare patches in your lawn. (Certainly easier than trying to store a 25-pound bag of grass seed in your apartment. Trust me, I know.)
Now, why do cats (and dogs too) nibble on and usually eat a small amount of the green stuff? Recently a report was posted about scientists studying wild chimpanzees and they found the chimps ate grass regularly and then barfed up (don’t read this blog during dinner) parasites and worms. Chimpanzees aren’t cats, but they are mammals. And I’ve not only seen dogs do the same thing with the same effect, but all of my cats through the years as well.
Also, try to leave your cats outside long enough to get rid of their stomach distress, or watch for it if they’re indoor-only, and have the paper towels handy. However – please don’t neglect taking your cat to the vet if it seems listless, is having difficulty eating, or is restless or in visible distress. Just ordinary grass isn’t helpful in these instances. There may be a serious problem brewing.
And kittens don’t seem to know about grass-nibbling, so you must get them some prescription help. Kittens can quickly become quite ill from nasty worms before you realize what’s wrong.
So you might consider letting your cat sample some grass blades once in a while – and don’t forget the catnip as an infrequent treat too. Your feline will let you know if either isn’t to their liking.
My neighbors always wanted to know (tongue in cheek) how I kept the grass mowed in that small an area. And I’d point to Ptolemy and say, “He keeps his own little lawn nicely manicured. I haven’t had to hire a gardener yet.”
Ignorant people think it is the noise which fighting cats make that is so aggravating, but it ain’t so; it is the sickening grammar that they use. ― Mark Twain
Sometimes when you’re really, really sleepy, it doesn’t matter whether you even have a pillow … you just flake out.
And Gabby (Gabriella) is so active all day long! She’s our smallest fully-grown cat at only five pounds, but boy, is she busy. She’s either throwing herself down on the sidewalk in front of you for a belly rub, or climbing up the deck supports (other cats can take the stairs – Gabby does things her way) to the second floor, or threatening whoever came in the yard with a freshly-caught mouse (she unabashedly swipes anything edible) and generally behaving like a very engaging, talkative three-year-old.
Sometimes she’s so horrid, you just want to smack her one – and then you can’t, because she’s so tiny. A very dangerous little monster at times – she’s really cute and knows it, too.
She was the first kitten to purr – and the first one to hiss at a very surprised neighbor. She loves to walk/run across the open rafters in the office ceiling and scare whoever’s watching into reminding her to be careful! And that’s when you get that ‘Gabby look’ – a piercing stare which says, “I know what I’m doing. And if I want to run around pretending I’m a mountain goat, that’s just what I’ll do!”
Gabby is as Gabby does.
As he said later, “She looked so fierce, I wasn’t sure whether she was a dog or a cat. But when she didn’t bark, I knew a cat was telling me I’d better have a good reason for being in her driveway.”
“I think she saw the package in my hand and decided that was the password.”
Hello, everyone. Sis here – Fred doesn’t always get to have his say, you know. The rest of us have comments too.
I was helping Her Brings Food pack some things to store, when I realized we cats don’t have near as many possessions as any hooman. Sure, we have a well-filled toy box – and all of the toys are shared on a first grab, first gets to play with it basis. But other than that, we have plenty of beds for all of us, though no one chooses and keeps the same bed for a season. We have shared kibble bowls, and water buckets and living quarters. We each wear our particular fur coat all year ’round, rain or shine, gravy dabs or not.
So why do hoomans have so many things to keep track of? Things that aren’t good to eat, or throw down the stairs to see if they bounce, or squabble over with a sibling. They’ve got fur to change into every day if they want, and box after box of stuff that gets made into – more stuff.
Does anyone have a reason for these differences? I’d like to know – comments, please.
(You’ll notice I am a much better speller than Uncle Fred and much prettier too, with my sea-green eyes. I worked very hard on this post, and hope you enjoyed read- )
—- oh, um … Hi, Uncle Fred. I thought maybe you could use a break and let a guest blogger fill in for you?
That was very rude, Uncle Fred. See if I write another blog for you.
If three out of four of my paws vote for it, I’m doing it. So shake out the catnip!
There’s no decor that can’t be improved by the addition of a stylish, sleek, gorgeous black cat.
Black cat hair on a white sweater is always a fashion statement.
Cat siblings are a lot like human siblings. They may be mad at each other, but just let a dog chase one of them, and that dog is going to get a face full of scratches from the cat that isn’t running.
Neighbors can’t tell them apart, and even Her Brings Food and Taller Than Us have difficulties at times.
But Sis’s blaze between her eyes slants slightly to her right, and her back right leg has a white blaze too.
Otherwise – figuring out which one is Jamesie and which is her daughter Sis … is sometimes a guessing game. In this photo, Sis is at the top and Jamesie (beginning a stretch) at the bottom.
Feline doppelgangers?
His favorite thing to do -be a lap cat. (Photo by Tim Brady)
Dear readers, do you remember back in late January when a black cat with big gold eyes and a facial injury jumped up on the windowsill? We decided to foster him until we could find his family. We took him to the vet for his injury, and they looked for a microchip but found none.
In late February, a very nice couple (we’ll call them C and W) were walking around the farm, and we were talking about this and that, and ‘somehow’ cats were mentioned. We found we all like black cats, and even though they already had four other cats, C said she’d like to meet our foster black cat, as she’d been looking for one for a long time …
The tool shed door opened, and our foster peeked around the door frame – and ran to meet his new family. He twined around her ankles, and happily greeted W, waving his plumy tail – you could almost hear him saying, “Where have you been? I’ve been waiting for you!“
Coincidences? When the farmer mentioned we’d had two black cats previously, Abishag and Ira of the book “Three Wise Cats”, A Christmas Story*, C said, “Why does that book ring a bell?”
It turned out C had read “Three Wise Cats” to her kids many years before, and her daughter had enjoyed it so much, she’d asked her mother to read it again and again – and she’s now studying to be a veterinarian.
Well, our sweet-natured, cheerful black cat with big gold eyes went home that same day, to his new feline siblings (and dog siblings too) so he has someone to play with, and laps to sit in when everyone gets home. He has a wonderful family for the rest of his nine lives!
Sometimes the Cat Distribution System works incredibly well, and the perfect cat finds the perfect family. Talk about coincidences … and a very happy ending!
*For new readers, your blogger TJ co-authored “Three Wise Cats” published by Berkley -Penguin (now Penguin Random House) many years ago.
It’s been a bit traumatic, with Pete having lived in his greenhouse for about three years, and not really eating or sleeping in the same area as the Kibble Kids II or even Fred and Jamesie. They were all around each other during the daytime in the yard or on the farm, but once it was Coyote Time, Pete stayed on duty as the Watch Cat and Yard Guard while all the others were in the green building initially, and now in my office.
For me, it’s a lot easier knowing they’re all under the same roof and I don’t have to worry whether some desperately hungry coyote will figure out how to break down the door of the green building or a raccoon manage to get the small door to Pete’s greenhouse wriggled loose. And I’m going to quit wondering whether Pete can adjust back to the days when he was helping raise the Kibble Kids II – the smile gives him away.
Of course, like most happy families, they all get into a spat every so often – but they’re gradually coming back to feel like a family again. And that’s great.
That family feeling is a nice present for Pete’s seventh birthday, which is March 1st. Happy Birthday, Pete. You were a good foster father and still a great uncle.
Sometimes you just need an extra boost to get through a really tough day. And if you’re working onsite, or even WFH, and you can’t go hug your main furry squeeze, you can sneak a peek at some – what else ? Cats, of course!
I Can Has Cheezburger is one of my favorites – followed them for years. https://icanhas.cheezburger.com
LoveMeow also a fav of many years. https://www.lovemeow.com/
Alley Cat Allies who knew a ‘Fred’ look-alike lives on Grand Cayman??? https://www.alleycat.org/
The Met’s fun features are definitely worth perusing. https://mymodernmet.com/cats-in-ancient-egyptian-art/
And let’s not forget the man whose fabulous career we could all envy – Walter Chandoha. Find his work by Googling or start here: CNNhttps://www.cnn.com › style › cat-photographer-cnnphotos
If you have a special site, please let me know! And do hug your fur kid ASAP! Abishag would insist!
if you have a special site, let
Fred, it looks like your box bed is sagging.
Iz. Iz gettin reely saggy. Like that saggy baggy elephant you menshuns sometimes.
I think we need to get you a replacement.
Needs a noffice mor.
A noffice? Oh, you mean an office.
Dat’s what Iz said. A desk, lamp, chair, compewter. An a box of cheez crackers.
I haven’t seen a cat-sized desk lately. Would you settle for a box of cheese crackers until I can find or build a desk for you?
Sardine milkshake?
Don’t push it, Fred.
“The only thing a cat worries about is what’s happening right now. As we tell the kittens, you can only wash one paw at a time.” ― Lloyd Alexander, Time Cat
Was it an earthquake? Or just too much cat for one small bed?
There’s a cat in this painting too, on the right side of the group of what – sports trophies? Painted in the 1650’s. I’d say the images are realistic, but I love the expression on the cat’s face. A good portrayal of a cat contemplating mischief.
Obviously cats haven’t changed much in all these years.
“We’z late postin an now we’s in truble.”
What’s that, Fred?
“We gots blown away by feerce winds yesday an forgot to write a post. Sorry.”
Fred, it happens. I was supposed to remind you, and with the wind causing tree limbs to break off and empty flower pots rolling out from their understairs storage, I forgot about your blog too. I’m sorry.
“Oh. Den we’z ok?”
We have the best readers in the world. They understand. And they know sometimes you can’t get to your Freditorial or even have time to post something newsy about cats.
“Newsy cats? You mean nosey.”
You said it. I didn’t.
“Don’t quote me on that. Profeshunal curtesy.”
You got it, Fred.
“An a hug.”
You got that too.
Abishag could never understand why hoomans didn’t take a half-dozen or so ‘cat naps’ during the day.
Given the prevalent sleep deprivation for us all in this hurry hurry modern world, she may have had something there. After all, if cranky adults had to take a nap just like cranky toddlers do, I bet there’d be far fewer confrontations and disagreements.
Their goal: To spread joy and goodness to cats and the people who love them.
August 3 and 4, 2024 in Pasadena, California can only mean one thing – (and this is a quote from their website) “CatCon is the biggest cat-centric, pop culture event in the world dedicated to all things feline, with a community of cat lovers that spans the globe. Part expo, part symposium, CatCon engages, educates and entertains thousands of fans, featuring the latest in groundbreaking products and ideas for cats and their people. Since its inception in 2015, the annual two-day immersive experience has welcomed over 100,000 attendees, and has been featured in over 1,000 outlets around the world, including The New York Times, BuzzFeed, Reuters, Vanity Fair, and Glamour.“
Race you to the ticket window! But seriously, for now, click here: https://www.catconworldwide.com/
Lots of photos, information about the event, who’s going to be there and a MAJOR influencer plus everything you’d need to plan your vacation!
When I blogged on January 16 about Black Cats, I never expected …
a beautiful black cat with big gold eyes (like Abishag) to leap up onto the kitchen windowsill outside and tell me it was hungry on January 26. When it returned the next day, the poor thing was sporting a facial wound that looked bad. (I won’t describe it, but it was definitely needing treatment.)
Said cat is now quietly living in the old green building the Kibble Kids used to live in before they moved into my office – and Abishag and Ira used to live in before they moved into my office. (Is there a pattern here?) Taller Than Us re-installed one of the brooder lamps that kept the Kids warm in the winter and we’ve been feeding him two small meals a day, rather than risk feeding him too much at one time. It’s unknown how long he’s been fending for himself, but I think he’s been lost? for less than three months.
We’re trying to find an owner, but so far no luck. And cat rescues in our part of the state are few and far between, as the cliche has it. Sadly, we can’t keep him, gorgeous and long-haired though he is – the Kibble Kids II would take turns either chasing him out of the yard, or beating him up, or all of the above. And Pete and Fred would never forgive their humans.
But it’s kind of nice to see a pair of huge gold eyes again. Maybe we’ll find his former family, and they’ll keep us updated.
Or even better! I win the lottery, and immediately start building a 24/7 Cat Clinic with free spay/neuter programs, low payments for folks on fixed incomes, a shelter for lost or stray cats, and a permanent residence or hospice for senior cats who’ve lost their long-time humans. Maybe a Cat Cafe to support the medical facilities. Then we can continue to rescue cats as they come along.
That’s a perfect world to contemplate …
Spot may just be going by the pictures, but if she wants to insist to her brother Slim that yes, she can too read – who am I to interfere?
And even though they weren’t taking a plane anywhere, or driving, or going to school, the yard cats (AKA Kibble Kids v. 1 and 2), plus Pete had a schedule that looked like a meteorologist’s nightmare. Which it was, frankly. Just trying to get them outside for a breath of air didn’t always pan out, as the wind chill factor took our temperatures down to 4 below zero at times. (And that wasn’t as bad as a lot of other folks had it, I realize.)
However, figuring and re-figuring each day’s possible outing for seven active cats was definitely something akin to a dreaded story problem (which drove me to despair in grade school) and we’re all so very grateful to have had the sun come out yesterday, January 21.
I’m also grateful that except for a few hissy fits and a short-lived quarrel or two, all the cats behaved with admirable composure and restraint. They were VERY good cats.
And you can quote me on that.
Oh heavens. They’ve all had to stay in for many more days than they’d like –
Fred: “Iz at lease a hunnerd. Way too manee.”
I’ve tried to get them out of the office for an hour, or an hour and a half whenever we’ve had some sunshine and a tiny bit of warmth. But with temperatures in the single digits, barely above zero, I’ve –
“Ten minuts. Not nuff to catch mouse. Not even start digging out stinky mole. Hard to smell eben stinky mole with snow stuffing up your nose.”
had to keep them in for fear of frostbite and the serious danger of hypothermia.
“Frost bites us, we bite him back. We’z mean when we wants to be.”
Dear Fred, I can’t bear to tell you that you’ll all be inside for tomorrow and the next day.
“What you stick on screene that you not tell me?”
The good news is, once we get through the rest of this week, Fred, the weather people think we’ll be done with the worst of this winter’s bitter cold.
“Okay. But I got to sock Hoss now. Took my peece of kibble, he did.”
There’s lots more kibble.
“Not that’s mine, dere’s not. Lil bitty theef.”
ROWR! PHHHTT! *
*No photo is available at this time; they’re moving too fast to film. Looks like the inside of a washing machine on spin.
Help.
The shelters and rescues still report that black cats, sadly, are usually the last ones to be re-homed from an owner surrender, or a tiny kitten gets the attention, or folks simply don’t think about a specific kind of cat. But ‘a cat is a cat’ doesn’t apply. Black cats are special.
Being lucky enough to have been chosen by Abishag and Ira I consider to be great good fortune indeed. No other cat could ever have portrayed either character of Abishag or Ira in “Three Wise Cats” as completely as those two did. Just recording them as they went about their very busy lives gave me a huge amount of material for the book. And watching their moods change (they were very transparent with their feelings) was an actual exercise in learning to show how book characters reacted to circumstances.
Yes, I’ll admit to being partial, even prejudiced towards black cats. But I could also add that they taught me a lot about making a cat authentic in its movements and habits. And for that I’ll always be grateful.
If you need a muse in graceful, tangible form, may I suggest looking at your Cat Distribution System outlets in your area, and specifically ask if there’s a black cat who’d appreciate a new home.
I think you’ll be very happy with your choice.
You can tell there’s a winter storm coming when the cats decide they’re warmer two to a box. Usually it’s one cat, one box – but when snow and 50 mph wind gusts are predicted, they must be able to sense the atmospheric changes coming.
Stereo purrs, anyone?
“When a man loves cats, I am his friend and comrade, without further introduction.” – Mark Twain
Hear! Hear!
“And even when your hoomans are repacking stuff, you can always find an unguarded box lid to snooze in.”
At least, according to Sis. And who could deny that satisfied look? You’d think she’d just checked into the Algonquin in the Roarin’ Twenties, going to meet Parker, Benchley and Sherwood Anderson for lunch.
It’s quite an adventure “owning” a cat,
and you may as well get used to that.
While they pound on the doors,
and tear up the floors,
leaving patches of carpeting truly bald,
becoming deaf when they’re called.
They walk on the counters, push and shove
to make vases, cups, plates land from above
on unsuspecting dogs and human feet –
they really do think it’s neat
to leave destruction in their wake
and see how much the human will take.
If they could speak, they wouldn’t bother;
they’ve taken you for their mother and father,
they want to be treated as your only child,
not like something feral, cunning and wild.
Unless, of course, they want to hunt at night
playing tag with predators for a thrill-fright.
But no matter how badly they all behave
it still goes back to the fire in the cave
when the First Cat caught the First Rat
before it bit the baby. And that was that.
Cats are definitely here to stay
no matter what we threaten or say.
It’s their purr,
their soft fur,
that look in their mysterious eyes
which says, “It’s you I idolize.”
And so humans put up with hair –
that’s shed so copiously everywhere –
to keep that small friend at the foot of the bed
and come home to a pet demanding to be fed
before anything else can occur!
What was life like before this tyrant in fur?
With apologies to Ogden Nash, who certainly would’ve written something better.
Remember, the best thing you can do when there’s too much laundry to catch up – is sleep on it.
May 2024 be a wonderful year for all of us!
Oh. not that kind of ‘boxing’, eh?
Life on even a small farm is never dull. Today the weather was fairly reasonable, so Taller Than Us had the tractor out working on a small project in the fields. Of course the Kibble Kids and Uncle Fred and their mother Jamesie Momsie were all out hunting. Uncle Pete, the Yard Guard and WatchCat, was on patrol.
Sunset was getting close, and that nasty cold ‘breeze’ had sprung up again. Her Brings Food was calling all the cats in for their dinner and to go inside for the night. Some dawdled, but close to 4 pm she had most of the working farm cats inside.
Except for Sis. Now, Sis lives to hunt, so Her Brings Food called several times, figuring she was on a mouse’s doorstep and had invited it out for dinner. But – no Sis. Even Uncle Pete had retired inside his little greenhouse, glad to get away from the quickly-cooling air and wait for his dinner bowl.
But he kept watching for Sis through the semi-transparent sides of the greenhouse. Her Brings Food noticed this when she stopped to ask Uncle Pete if he’d seen Sis lately, because as you know, the coyotes start hunting their dinner by sunset at the latest.
And then she realized Uncle Pete was staring fixedly at the field? behind the farm. “I’ll walk there and see if she’s out that way,” she told Uncle Pete. “She may be coming in the back way to avoid the neighbor’s dog.”
Her Brings Food walked out to the tractor shed and started calling Sis as she reached that point.
“YOW!”
You guessed it – Sis had accidentally gotten shut up in the tractor shed when Taller Than Us put the tractor away. (It’s very hard to see a mostly black cat in a small building with no natural light.)
Uncle Pete had seen Sis go in the tractor shed to hunt mice and realized she hadn’t come out again, so he was pointing the only way he could – with his nose – to the shed, not the field.
Her Brings Food flung open the shed door, scooped up Sis, hurried over to the office building and up the stairs to her office. Other than being very hungry (and a little indignant it took Her Brings Food so long to understand what Uncle Pete was pointing to), Sis was fine.
And the whole gang was safe from prowling coyotes once again.
Her Brings Food took Uncle Pete some Fancy Feast cat food to say ‘thank you.’
Have a calm and quiet evening, everyone, and an especially nice Christmas Day next week. As Tiny Tim said, “God bless us all, every one.”
Don’t you wonder sometimes what a letter to Santa, written by a cat, would be like?
If that photo isn’t a great shot of a seldom-still, always active Gabriella – I don’t know how to get a better one. She’ll be four years old next February 25, and doesn’t usually look as serious as she does in this photo op. (I may be a little partial to the little scamp. She’s as ornery as she is cute.)
Of course we all know the very best gift you can give a cat is an empty box! And then you can consider the catnip mouse (or just the catnip), assorted plastic tops to bottles which roll and slide on carpeting, or the spring toys.
Mine all have played with these for years. They still play as if they were kittens. And with Christmas coming soon, please keep in mind that the VERY best gift you can give that brilliant, talented, super special cat is – you. Even an hour of your time, devoted to them, is simply beyond a gift. It’s their world.
And there’s also the bonus of not having to try and wrap it.
Once the holidays are over, and everyone’s back home or in school, you may start to think about how quiet the house is … would you consider adopting a pet from an animal rescue or shelter in 2024?
There was a huge surge in animal adoptions during the pandemic – many folks realized a furry friend was a welcome companion during the darkest days when those who could stayed home, trying to keep the unknown and frequently deadly virus from spreading. But now that many workers have returned to offices and other attempts at ‘normal’ are being made, not only are adoptions decreasing, but many shelters report, sadly, the euthanasia rate has increased tremendously.
Shelters across the nation are overwhelmed with the numbers of pets being surrendered; some because the owners can’t afford to feed them anymore with inflation continuing to wreak havoc, others because their shift has changed and there’s no one home now to let the dog out, or a move to less expensive living quarters has also encountered a ‘No Pets’ policy. Thousands of animals are being euthanized daily, many of them healthy and suitable for adoption, but there aren’t any adopters on the horizon – and the shelter’s out of room.
So if you have room, and the budget will stretch a little more, please do think about taking home a new family member. And especially consider an older animal instead of a kitten or a puppy. Older pets are so grateful to be in a home again, and almost always are calmer, less noisy and disruptive than the ‘kids’ are.
Just think – your very own Abishag, or Ira, or Kezia could be sitting in a shelter or rescue this very minute, watching through a window or the bars of their crate, waiting for you, their very own person, to find them. Talk about a good deed to start a new year.
P.S. WordPress just notified me that eleven years ago today, the blog for Abishag, Ira and Kezia was registered and posted for the first time. What a decade plus it’s been! Thank you to all our readers – we can never tell you how grateful we are that you still enjoy reading our musings – and we hope to keep you interested, entertained and maybe tweak your heart every once in a while too. Peace to you and yours.
Me in my Think Box. While Fred sleeping (agin) I takes over his job. You knows me. Im Sis, the Cisco Kid.
Also, as Offishall Offhiss TimeKeepurr, I knows when we’s late. We gots so sleepy from durkey yesday all of us forgets blog due until Her Brings Food ask “Where’s your blog?”
Oh no. We’s sorry an won’t do it agin … til next year. hee hee
Abishag may not have had a svelte figure, but she certainly had her opinions, and her dislikes, and her preferences … such a small cat but with a very large personality.
She’s the only cat I’ve ever known who could cover herself up with a small blanket when she got chilled and opened her mouth in a silent laugh when you tickled her on the shoulder.
Absolutely unique.
Miss (or Ms., as she preferred) Abishag seldom lacked an opinion on most subjects. Many of her comments were weather-related, even after she and her brother forswore the outside life and inhabited (you can read that ‘took over’) my office.
Here’s an example: “Bah. Weather. Summer too hot. Winter too cold. Can we move to Hawaii?”
Alas, she never got to move to that fabled group of islands. But that’s probably just as well. She would’ve managed to become Queen Abishagcatahama or something and ruled her country with an iron paw.
Dis a Freditorial, readerz.
We needs medum wether – not to hot, not to cold.
Mousies to0 picky. Stay in bed, lazy, not out getting seeds to eat an stuff like dat. Not pervide we cats brefast. bad, bad mousies.
secretly dey think dey to good to be eaten, maybe.
Ugly wether escuse to be at home all day, wile we cats out workin hard.
bad mousies.
Hoomans, please take broom an sweep mousies out of where they hide. Thank you from all of us.
Sinseerly, the Kibble Kids.
It’s been approximately ten years since the Abishag, Ira and Kezia blog first was published. (There was a gap in the middle there somewhere of a year due to health issues.)
Now I’m thinking it may be time (purrhaps waaaayyy past time, even) for a new home page – but not forgetting the three main characters who’ve starred in many a blog. So if you see some changes soon, please keep reading. Let me know what you like/don’t like about the changes.
And thank you, dear readers, for your encouragement and faithfully returning to these pages again and again over the years. You are deeply appreciated! Abishag would purr her thanks to you as well, and Ira would do his 80-miles-an-hour dash up and down the stairs to celebrate the decade. Kezia, of course, would place her small self in front of you and regally allow you to admire her “lovely stripes.”
Peace to all of you, and many blessings.
Fred’s obviously opened his hailing frequency.
Gabby couldn’t care less, as she’s enjoying a snack. (It’s all in what’s considered most important at the moment. Cat logic.)
#Abishag
“That tuft of fur got pulled out because I was chasing a flea.
And it hurt!”
Ta’Male is always astounded to find a cat can’t yank out its own fur with impunity. Poor guy; life sneaks up on you sometimes.
Abishag, Ira and Kezia 