GREAT OUTDOORS MONTH</strong>-Bring some of the great outdoors inside to
make your cat’s life more interesting. Your kitty needs something to climb, a
high place to perch and a scratcher that does wobble around. Don’t forget to
play chase the feather toy.</span>\r\n\r\n<span style=\”color: #000000;
\”><strong>
In the 1950s there was children’s literary series called Space Cat by Ruthven Todd and Paul Galdone. These were the books that got the kiddos of my generation hooked on science fiction. Space Cat is about the adventures of a feline named Flyball. In the first book (1952) the cat wanders onto a military base that was preparing to send a rocket to the moon. Curiosity didn’t kill the cat but it accidentally bought him a round-trip ticket aboard a test flight. Flyball handles everything so well, the military fits Flyball with a space suit and sends him to the moon with his new buddy, astronaut Captain Fred Stone.
Eventually Flyball and Captain Stone land on the Red Planet. Flyball meets a cute Martian meower, a red tabby named Moofa whose stripes run lengthwise. In 1957 when Space Cat Meets Mars, came out, who would that thought there would be such a critical need for cats on Mars?
Thanks to the Mars rover Curiosity, we now know why the military worked so hard to send Flyball to the Red Planet. A photo taken from the mast camera on Sept. 28, 2012 clearly shows (if you’ve ingested enough mind-altering liquid, that is) a rat hiding among a cluster of rocks labeled “Rocknest” on the orange, rock-strewn Martian surface. One UFO blogger pointed out the lighter upper and lower eyelids, as well as a nose, cheeks, ears, from leg and tummy.
One must wonder if there are alien rodents on Mars, did they take a wrong turn on their way to the moon, which, as we all know, is made of cheese? So now dear friends, you know why in the 1950s America conspired to send a mouser to the fourth rock from the sun: to prevent a pan galactic rodent infestation or the spreading of Red Planet Plague. Just in case the little rock rat ever escapes to Earth, keep your kitties close and your rat traps closer.
/></a>RED CROSS MONTH</b>-This is Red Cross Month and a good time to
sharpen your cat and dog first aid skills.\r\n\r\nThis 116-page cat first aid guide has
short and sweet instructions on what to do in the most common cat medical
emergencies, how to assemble your own first aid kit and information on disaster
planning. It also comes with a very helpful DVD that permits you to observe CPR
performed on a cat manikin and other difficult-to-explain procedures.\r\n\r\nThe
Red Cross also offers a dog first aid course.\r\n\r\nThis guide retails for $16.95
and is available at Amazon.com PetSmart, through your local Red Cross chapter
and Barnes and Noble. For more information, please contact the Red Cross by
calling 202-303-5000 or by visiting its website: www.redcross.org.\r\n\r\n<!–
Digiprove_Start–><span lang=\”en\” xml:lang=\”en\” class=\”notranslate\” style=
\”vertical-align:middle; display:inline; padding:3px; line-height:normal;border:1px
solid #bbbbbb;background-color:#FFFFFF;\” title=\”certified 11 March 2013
19:47:03 UTC by Digiprove certificate P381900\” ><a href=
\”http://www.digiprove.com/show_certificate.aspx?
id=P381900%26guid=bDkrT2PyqUCp8XU7ftn4wA\” target=\”_blank\” rel=
\”copyright\” style=\”border:0px; float:none; display:inline; text-decoration: none;
background-color:transparent\”><img src=
\”http://www.dustycatwriter.com/WPDusty/wp-
content/plugins/digiproveblog/dp_seal_trans_16x16.png\” style=\”vertical-
align:middle; display:inline; border:0px; margin:0px; float:none; background-
color:transparent\” border=\”0\” alt=\”\”/><span style=\”font-family: Tahoma, MS
Sans Serif; font-size:11px; font-weight:normal; color:#636363; border:0px;
float:none; display:inline; text-decoration:none; letter-spacing:normal\”
onmouseover=\”this.style.color=\’#A35353\’;\” onmouseout=\”this.style.color=
\’#636363\’;\”> Copyright secured by Digiprove ©
2013 Dusty Rainbolt</span></a><!–
2AE67815B4C5CD910DF43029858AFFE6F3B2F9BD922848B9A82534EF0
4A994DD–></span><!–Digiprove_End–>’,’ -Product Review’,”,’publish’,’closed’,’closed’,”,’red-cross-
month’,”,”,’2013-03-12 01:47:58′,’2013-03-11
20:31:57′,”,1351,’http://www.dustycatwriter.com/WPDusty/?
p=1414′,0,’revision’,”,0),(1433,1,’2013-02-28 04:07:36′,’2013-02-27
22:07:36′,'<a href=\”http://www.dustycatwriter.com/WPDusty/?
attachment_id=1434\” rel=\”attachment wp-att-1434\”><img class=\”size-large
wp-image-1434 alignleft\” alt=\”CrescentCoverwTextFront Ci Only-2\” src=
\”http://www.dustycatwriter.com/WPDusty/wp-
content/uploads/2013/02/CrescentCoverwTextFront-Ci-Only-2-651×1024.jpg\”
width=\”454\” height=\”712\” /></a>\r\n\r\nDusty Rainbolt\’s paranormal mystery,
Death Under the Crescent Moon was released last week at the science fiction
convention ConDFW in Addison, TX. It has a cover price of $16.\r\n\r\nIf you
weren\’t lucky enough to buy a copy at the con, you can still purchase it at a
discount from the publisher, <a href=
\”http://www.yarddogpress.com/books/DeathUnderTheCrescentMoon.html
\”>Yard Dog Press</a> for $14. It\’s also available on <a href=
\”http://www.amazon.com/Death-Under-Crescent-Moon-
ebook/dp/B00BECGB4M/ref=sr_1_1?
ie=UTF8&qid=1362000759&sr=8-1&keywords=death+under
+the+crescent+moon\”>Kindle</a>, <a href=
\”https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/284308\”>Nook and most other
ebook formats </a>for $2.99. In the words of Alfred E. Newman, \”Cheap!\”\r\n
\r\nBuy early and buy often. There\’s more information about Dusty\’s new novel at
<a href=\”http://dustycatwriter.com/WPRainbolt/\”>Dusty Rainbolt\’s
Universe</a>.\r\n\r\n \r\n\r\n<!–Digiprove_Start–><span class=
\”notranslate\” lang=\”en\” style=\”vertical-align: middle; display: inline; padding:
3px; line-height: normal; border: 1px solid #bbbbbb; background-color: #ffffff;\”
title=\”certified 27 February 2013 22:12:42 UTC by Digiprove certificate
P377933\” xml:lang=\”en\”><a style=\”border: 0px; float: none; display: inline;
text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;\” href=
\”http://www.digiprove.com/prove_compliance.aspx?
id=P377933%26guid=QvuU3Qz_X0msztU2CwAqnQ\” target=\”_blank\” rel=
\”copyright\”><img style=\”vertical-align: middle; display: inline; border: 0px;
margin: 0px; float: none; background-color: transparent;\” alt=\”\” src=
\”http://www.dustycatwriter.com/WPDusty/wp-
content/plugins/digiproveblog/dp_seal_trans_16x16.png\” border=\”0\” /><span
style=\”font-family: Tahoma, MS Sans Serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal;
color: #636363; border: 0px; float: none; display: inline; text-decoration: none;
letter-spacing: normal;\” onmouseover=\”this.style.color=\’#A35353\’;\”
onmouseout=\”this.style.color=\’#636363\’;\”>Â Â Copyright secured by
Digiprove © 2013 Dusty Rainbolt</span></a><!–
A26A18D7762F7FA1E9C30E59820E3E6E77E7EC002EA35F51D15280493
2E4DA8C–></span><!–Digiprove_End–>”,”,’publish’,’closed’,’closed’,”,’death-under-the-
crescent-moon-at-a-bookshelf-near-you’,”,”,’2013-02-28 04:13:34′,’2013-02-27
22:13:34′,”,0,’http://www.dustycatwriter.com/WPDusty/?p=1433′,0,’post’,”,0),
January 19 was the 205th anniversary of Edgar Allan Poe’s birth, the American suspense author, poet and cat lover who is best remembered for The Black Cat and The Raven. Poe was born in 1809 and died in 1849 at the still young age of 40. He was laid to rest at Baltimore’s Westminster Hall and Burying Ground.
For seven decades in the early morning on the anniversary of Poe’s birth, a mysterious man (or maybe a father and son team) paid tribute to the author. Carrying a silver-tipped cane, the black-clad gentleman always wore a wide-brimmed hat and scarf to hide his face.
The Poe Toaster was first noticed in 1949 (in year of the 100th anniversary of the poet’s death). The night of January 19 the stranger entered the cemetery and raised a toast of Martell cognac to Poe. At the grave he left the unfinished bottle along with three red roses placed in a distinctive pattern. The Poe Society of Baltimore admits that some details have been kept private so they’ll recognize the real Toaster from the copycats.
A cryptic note left behind in 1993 stated, “The torch will be passed.” That apparently happened. A message left in 1999 announced that the original Toaster had died the previous year and a son had taken over the tradition. Watchers agreed that the Toaster appeared younger. A 2001 note ranted about the Baltimore Ravens’ Super Bowl chances, and a note in 2004 included a diatribe about France’s opposition to the Iraq war. Obviously not the same dignified old Toaster. The Toaster last appeared in January 2009.
At the time of Poe’s passing, newspapers attributed his death to “congestion of the brain” or “cerebral inflammation”. Today’s doctors speculate he could have succumbed to alcoholism, epilepsy, syphilis, cholera, rabies or even murder.
We have arrived at the end of an era. Hopefully the Toaster is now sharing Martell with Poe face-to-face. And in the poet’s own brilliant words, the Poe Toaster is “Quoth the Raven, “’Nevermore’.”
Calendar of Events (2012-09-18). Chases Calendar of Events 2013 with CD-
ROM (Chase\’s Calendar of Events) (p. 232). McGraw-Hill. Kindle Edition.’,’Paul
Klausman interview’,”,’future’,’closed’,’closed’,”,’paul-klausman-
interview’,”,”,’2013-04-23 11:57:52′,’2013-04-23
05:57:52′,”,0,’http://www.dustycatwriter.com/WPDusty/?p=1360′,0,’post’,”,0),
(1361,1,’2013-01-08 11:17:21′,’2013-01-08 05:17:21′,”,’Paul Klausman
interview’,”,’inherit’,’closed’,’closed’,”,’1360-revision’,”,”,’2013-01-08
11:17:21′,’2013-01-08
05:17:21′,”,1360,’http://www.dustycatwriter.com/WPDusty/?
p=1361′,0,’revision’,”,0),(1362,1,’2013-01-08 11:19:09′,’2013-01-08
05:19:09′,”,’Paul Klausman interview’,”,’inherit’,’closed’,’closed’,”,’1360-revision-
2′,”,”,’2013-01-08 11:19:09′,’2013-01-08
05:19:09′,”,1360,’http://www.dustycatwriter.com/WPDusty/?
p=1362′,0,’revision’,”,0),(1363,1,’2013-01-08 11:19:15′,’2013-01-08
05:19:15′,”,’Paul Klausman interview’,”,’inherit’,’closed’,’closed’,”,’1360-revision-
3′,”,”,’2013-01-08 11:19:15′,’2013-01-08
05:19:15′,”,1360,’http://www.dustycatwriter.com/WPDusty/?
p=1363′,0,’revision’,”,0),(1364,1,’2013-01-08 11:25:45′,’2013-01-08
05:25:45′,”,’Paul Klausman interview’,”,’inherit’,’closed’,’closed’,”,’1360-revision-
4′,”,”,’2013-01-08 11:25:45′,’2013-01-08
05:25:45′,”,1360,’http://www.dustycatwriter.com/WPDusty/?
p=1364′,0,’revision’,”,0),(1365,1,’2013-01-09 23:04:12′,’2013-01-09
17:04:12′,’
<ahref=\”http://www.dustycatwriter.com/WPDusty/?attachment_id=1366\” rel=
\”attachment wp-att-1366\”><img class=\”size-full wp-image-1366\” alt=
\”carpetpython\” src=\”http://www.dustycatwriter.com/WPDusty/wp-
content/uploads/2013/01/carpetpython.jpg\” width=\”259\” height=\”194\” /></a>
This carpet python is distant relative of the \”group hugger\” Duchess discovered
snuggling up to baby Zara.
\r\n\r\n(Lismore, New South Wales) Tess
Guthrie, from the far north coast of Australia, knew something was bothering her
kitty, Duchess. She just didn’t know what. For several days the normally calm
cat had been refusing to eat and hissing ferociously seemly at nothing. Guthrie was
so concerned she called her vet.\r\n\r\n\”There I was, at 9.30pm on Saturday night,
ringing the vet because I thought the cat was sick,\” Guthrie said in an interview.\r
\n\r\nThen at 3:30 a.m. the fangs really hit the fan. That’s when Guthrie awoke
to the sound of her cat hissing fiercely. When she turned over, the young mom
found a six-foot-long coastal python (or as they call them Down Under, a carpet
snake) coiled three times around her two-year old daughter’s left arm.\r\n\r
\nAt first Guthrie believed she was dreaming, but it was actually a living nightmare.
\”I couldn\’t believe it … at the same time I was freaking out at what I was seeing, I
realized what the cat had been carrying on about it for days,\” Guthrie said in an
interview.\r\nGuthrie grabbed the snake’s head. As the frantic mum
unwrapped the coils, the nonvenomous snake struck Zara’s hand three times.
\r\n\r\n\”In my head I was just going through this unbelievable terror. My thought
was that it was going to actually kill her (Zara), because it was wrapped so tight,\”
Guthrie told the Brisbane Times. \”Her little arm was bleeding really bad from the
bites. All I could feel was blood. And Zara was screaming by that stage. I was in
hysterics. It was such a shocking thing to wake up to. It was just terrifying.\”\r\n\r
\nLittle Zara was treated at Lismore Base Hospital and released.\r\n\r\nThe local
snake wrangler, Tex Tillis (most likely not from Texas) relocated the snake into the
wild at Guthrie’s request. Tillis told the Daily Telegraph, the snake didn’t
want to eat the baby. \”It was trying to have a group hug.\”\r\n\r\nHippie stuff aside,
a hug around the neck wouldn’t have been a healthy thing for the toddler.\r\n\r
\nThree cheers and a bag of catnip for Duchess, whose vigilance gave Guthrie time
to save the baby’s life. Well done, Kitty.\r\n\r\n<!–Digiprove_Start–><span
class=\”notranslate\” lang=\”en\” style=\”vertical-align: middle; display: inline;
padding: 3px; line-height: normal; border: 1px solid #bbbbbb; background-color:
#ffffff;\” title=\”certified 9 January 2013 17:03:08 UTC by Digiprove certificate
P363083\” xml:lang=\”en\”><a style=\”border: 0px; float: none; display: inline;
text-decoration: none; background-color: transparent;\” href=
\”http://www.digiprove.com/show_certificate.aspx?
id=P363083%26guid=sBweZbf1FECBqZr9HGNnew\” target=\”_blank\” rel=
\”copyright\”><img style=\”vertical-align: middle; display: inline; border: 0px;
margin: 0px; float: none; background-color: transparent;\” alt=\”\” src=
\”http://www.dustycatwriter.com/WPDusty/wp-
content/plugins/digiproveblog/dp_seal_trans_16x16.png\” border=\”0\” /><span
style=\”font-family: Tahoma, MS Sans Serif; font-size: 11px; font-weight: normal;
color: #636363; border: 0px; float: none; display: inline; text-decoration: none;
letter-spacing: normal;\” onmouseover=\”this.style.color=\’#A35353\’;\”
onmouseout=\”this.style.color=\’#636363\’;\”>Â Â Copyright secured by
Digiprove © 2013 Dusty Rainbolt</span></a><!–
1E4530D447B883C92E17C62FA9379C27DFF1E327874569BDF7FBFF728
8721DBA–></span><!–Digiprove_End–>’, “Hug†‘,’Tess Guthrie,
from the far north coast of Australia, knew something was bothering her kitty,
Duchess. She just didn’t know what. For several days the normally calm cat
had been refusing to eat and hissing ferociously seemly at nothing. Guthrie was so
concerned she called her vet.\r\n\r\nThen at 3:30 a.m. the fangs really hit the fan.
That’s when Guthrie awoke to the sound of her cat hissing fiercely. When she
turned over, the young mom found a six-foot-long coastal python (or as they call
them Down Under, a carpet snake) coiled three times around her two-year old
daughter’s left arm.’,’publish’,’closed’,’closed’,”,’timmys-not-in-the-well-but-
real-life-cat-lassie-saves-baby-from-pythons-hug’,”,”,’2013-01-09
23:10:32′,’2013-01-09 17:10:32′,”,0,’http://www.dustycatwriter.com/WPDusty/?
p=1365′,0,’post’,”,0),(1366,1,’2013-01-09 23:01:53′,’2013-01-09
17:01:53′,”,’carpetpython’,”,’inherit’,’closed’,’closed’,”,’carpetpython’,”,”,’2013-01
-09 23:01:53′,’2013-01-09
17:01:53′,”,1365,’http://www.dustycatwriter.com/WPDusty/wp-
content/uploads/2013/01/carpetpython.jpg’,0,’attachment’,’image/jpeg’,0),
(1367,1,’2013-01-09 23:02:30′,’2013-01-09 17:02:30′,'<a href=
\”http://www.dustycatwriter.com/WPDusty/?attachment_id=1366\” rel=
\”attachment wp-att-1366\”><img class=\”alignleft size-full wp-image-1366\” alt=
\”carpetpython\” src=\”http://www.dustycatwriter.com/WPDusty/wp-
content/uploads/2013/01/carpetpython.jpg\” width=\”259\” height=\”194\” /></a>
(Lismore, New South Wales) Tess Guthrie, from the far north coast of Australia,
knew something was bothering her kitty, Duchess. She just didn’t know what.
For several days the normally calm cat had been refusing to eat and hissing
ferociously seemly at nothing. Guthrie was so concerned she called her vet.\n\n
\”There I was, at 9.30pm on Saturday night, ringing the vet because I thought the
cat was sick,\” Guthrie said in an interview.\n\nThen at 3:30 a.m. the fangs really hit
the fan. That’s when Guthrie awoke to the sound of her cat hissing fiercely.
When she turned over, the young mom found a six-foot-long coastal python (or as
they call them Down Under, a carpet snake) coiled three times around her two-
year old daughter’s left arm.\n\nAt first Guthrie believed she was dreaming,
but it was actually a living nightmare. \”I couldn\’t believe it … at the same time I
was freaking out at what I was seeing, I realized what the cat had been carrying on
about it for days,\” Guthrie said in an interview.\nGuthrie grabbed the snake’s
head. As the frantic mum unwrapped the coils, the nonvenomous snake struck
Zara’s hand three times.\n\n\”In my head I was just going through this
unbelievable terror. My thought was that it was going to actually kill her (Zara),
because it was wrapped so tight,\” Guthrie told the Brisbane Times. \”Her little arm
was bleeding really bad from the bites. All I could feel was blood. And Zara was
screaming by that stage. I was in hysterics. It was such a shocking thing to wake
up to. It was just terrifying.\”\n\nLittle Zara was treated at Lismore Base Hospital
and released.\n\nThe local snake wrangler, Tex Tillis (most likely not from Texas)
relocated the snake into the wild at Guthrie’s request. Tillis told the Daily
Telegraph, the snake didn’t want to eat the baby. \”It was trying to have a
group hug.\”\n\nHippie stuff aside, a hug around the neck wouldn’t have been
a healthy thing for the toddler.\n\nThree cheers and a bag of catnip for Duchess,
whose vigilance gave Guthrie time to save the baby’s life. Well done,
Kitty.’,’Timmy’s Not in the Well, but Real Life Cat Lassie Saves Baby from
Python’s “Hug†‘,”,’inherit’,’closed’,’closed’,”,’1365-revision’,”,”,’2013-
01-09 23:02:30′,’2013-01-09
17:02:30′,”,1365,’http://www.dustycatwriter.com/WPDusty/?
p=1367′,0,’revision’,”,0),(1368,1,’2013-01-09 23:05:53′,’2013-01-09
17:05:53′,’
<ahref=\”http://www.dustycatwriter.com/WPDusty/?attachment_id=1366\” rel=
\”attachment wp-att-1366\”><img class=\”size-full wp-image-1366\” alt=
\”carpetpython\” src=\”http://www.dustycatwriter.com/WPDusty/wp-
content/uploads/2013/01/carpetpython.jpg\” width=\”259\” height=\”194\” /></a>
This carpet python is distant relative of the \”group hugger\” Duchess discovered
snuggling up to baby Zara.
\n\n(Lismore, New South Wales) Tess
Guthrie, from the far north coast of Australia, knew something was bothering her
kitty, Duchess. She just didn’t know what. For several days the normally calm
cat had been refusing to eat and hissing ferociously seemly at nothing. Guthrie was
so concerned she called her vet.\n\n\”There I was, at 9.30pm on Saturday night,
ringing the vet because I thought the cat was sick,\” Guthrie said in an interview.\n
\nThen at 3:30 a.m. the fangs really hit the fan. That’s when Guthrie awoke to
the sound of her cat hissing fiercely. When she turned over, the young mom found a
six-foot-long coastal python (or as they call them Down Under, a carpet snake)
coiled three times around her two-year old daughter’s left arm.\n\nAt first
Guthrie believed she was dreaming, but it was actually a living nightmare. \”I
couldn\’t believe it … at the same time I was freaking out at what I was seeing, I
realized what the cat had been carrying on about it for days,\” Guthrie said in an
interview.\nGuthrie grabbed the snake’s head. As the frantic mum unwrapped
the coils, the nonvenomous snake struck Zara’s hand three times.\n\n\”In my
head I was just going through this unbelievable terror. My thought was that it was
going to actually kill her (Zara), because it was wrapped so tight,\” Guthrie told the
Brisbane Times. \”Her little arm was bleeding really bad from the bites. All I could
feel was blood. And Zara was screaming by that stage. I was in hysterics. It was
such a shocking thing to wake up to. It was just terrifying.\”\n\nLittle Zara was
treated at Lismore Base Hospital and released.\n\nThe local snake wrangler, Tex
Tillis (most likely not from Texas) relocated the snake into the wild at Guthrie’s
request. Tillis told the Daily Telegraph, the snake didn’t want to eat the baby.
\”It was trying to have a group hug.\”\n\nHippie stuff aside, a hug around the neck
wouldn’t have been a healthy thing for the toddler.\n\nThree cheers and a bag
of catnip for Duchess, whose vigilance gave Guthrie time to save the baby’s
life. Well done, Kitty.\n\n<!–Digiprove_Start–><span class=\”notranslate\” lang=
\”en\” style=\”vertical-align: middle; display: inline; padding: 3px; line-height:
normal; border: 1px solid #bbbbbb; background-color: #ffffff;\” title=\”certified 9
January 2013 17:03:08 UTC by Digiprove certificate P363083\” xml:lang=\”en
\”><a style=\”border: 0px; float: none; display: inline; text-decoration: none;
background-color: transparent;\” href=
\”http://www.digiprove.com/show_certificate.aspx?
id=P363083%26guid=sBweZbf1FECBqZr9HGNnew\” target=\”_blank\” rel=
\”copyright\”><img style=\”vertical-align: middle; display: inline; border: 0px;
margin: 0px; float: none; background-color: transparent;\” alt=\”\” src=
\”http://www.dustycatwriter.com/WPDusty/wp-
People leave all kinds of things behind in their hotel rooms. Personally I’ve forgotten clothes, makeup, and some things I’m not about to disclose, but it takes a special kind of stupid to forget your real live show kitten, a real live mini-pig or your breast implants.
Besides the pedigreed Chinchilla Persian kitten, who was forgotten because her human was running late to the cat show, Percy (a 30-pound mini pig) also found himself accidentally abandoned.
But the strangest left behind item was the pair of breast implants. How is that even possible?
People used to tell me, “Dusty, you’d forget your head if it wasn’t attached.” Fortunately for me, my head was safely secured. I’ve lost of forgotten a million things in my life, but never my boobs.
The word is, the owner hadn’t had them implanted yet. She had purchased them from the U.S. and was on the way to having her Golden Globes installed when she forgot them.
For the record, the décolletage accessories and the kitten were abandoned at Travelodges in different cities. What a mix up there could have been had kitty and boobies been found in the same room! Can you see the look on the confused veterinarian’s face when he examines the prostheses, “I’ve never done an augmentation before, but to do this right I think we need to order a few more of these.”
It’s approaching noon December 21, 2012. In north Texas there’s not a cloud in the sky. No comets or asteroids are looming in the sky. The United States Geological Survey hasn’t seen signs that Yellowstone is going to blow or the crust will shift. We have another 12 hours, but my bet is, it’s not the end of the world for the world for mankind
However, today is the end of the world for at least 10,000 cats and dogs in animal shelters around the U.S. That’s right. Every day animal shelters euthanize approximately that many unwanted pets for lack of space.
Please consider contacting your city shelter or a nonprofit rescue group and offer to foster a cat or dog. Don’t worry about falling in love. You will. But when the time comes and your foster goes to another home, you’ll know you saved not just any life, but that baby’s life. What a treasure. And it would have been lost forever without you.
I never name my fosters and that prevents me from becoming quite so attached. I have the vet techs come up with a name. I’ve noticed whenever I name my foster kitties anything beside a descriptive name (Tabby, Sam-short for Siamese, Spot, Tiger-for a tabby), I wind up keeping him. That’s how I wound up with Cosmo, Groucho and George.
Some people simply can’t let their foster pets go to another home. My response, “Hey, it’s not the end of the world. It’s a new beginning There’s no shame in being a foster failure. That’s how I ended up keeping Nixie. She turned 17 a few months ago.
If you can’t foster, but you’re considering adding a cat or dog to your family, please go to the shelter or a rescue group to adopt. Even if you bring home a new pet from a no-kill group, you’re saving a life. With the vacancy created by your new companion, the rescue can take in another homeless cat or dog who would otherwise be put to sleep.
Remember black cats and dogs and older (especially senior) pets stand little chance of adoption. When you see those gorgeous green, golden or brown eyes (who are clad) in black fur, or with whitening muzzles, please open your heart and home to them. Without you, they likely have no chance to live at all.
If it’s after December 21, and you can still read this, we can say happily say the Mayans were wrong, at least for humans. But remember, for all those homeless pets alone in shelters who have used up all their days on death row, today is their Armageddon.
Whatever holiday you observe, please celebrate life by saving a life.
A blanket of snow covered north Texas, when I answered the phone. Mary Hamilton, a friend of mine, had found a hungry cat trembling next to the front door of her apartment. Obviously, someone had moved away and left the little silver tabby cat behind to fend for herself. Mary, who was not an animal person but has a heart as big as Texas, brought the starving kitty into her apartment, to thaw her out. With a $500 pet deposit threatening her, the Hamilton home could only offer emergency shelter. The sooner she could go elsewhere the better.
Mary called me and begged me to take the stray.”She’s a really nice cat,” Mary assured me. Oh yeah, she forgot to mention, the cat was “a little pregnant.”
What qualified me to take a pregnant cat? “Hey,” Mary said, “You already have a cat.”
I felt like Prissy in Gone with the Wind. I didn’t know nothin’ ’bout birthing no babies! But three weeks later Mama had six beautiful kittens, no two alike. When they were old enough, I enlisted the help of the Humane Society of Lewisville, the only no-kill rescue group in the area. I religiously took the kitties to adopt-a-pets, baking under the hot Texas sun. At the time, McDonald’s was the only place that would give us permission to hold adoption events in their parking lot. We found homes for Mama and four of the kittens.
I kept my two favorites, Chani and Regged. The kittens made it to 17 and 19 years respectively. I jokingly told friends I was still looking for a home, but would never have let them go.
As I sat in that steamy parking lot with all the other cat foster families, I realized that there were so many cats who needed homes. The small rescue group simply didn’t have enough foster homes. I was haunted by the kitties the group brought to the adopt-a-pets, but had to return to animal control to a certain and unfortunate fate if they didn\’t get adopted. The one-afternoon adoption event at least gave them a chance they wouldn’t have had at the shelter.
I volunteered to take a cute little gray kitten I named Seryi, Russian for blue. The little cutie got adopted very quickly. Since Seryi’s adopt made room in my house, I took in another, then another. Today five 8-week old kittens are playing cliffing climbers on the back of my antique recliner.
Mama and Chani and Regged changed my life. It’s been 25 years since I opened my home to that poor little abandoned kitty.
I guess that means I’m now eligible for my silver water bowl. I’ve suffered from foster failure several times along the way, but most of the kitties were adopted into great homes.
I even married a guy who had more kitties than I had and who feels as passionate about saving homeless cats as I do. On our third date we rescued a three-week old orphan kitten. When she was weaned, Shasta was adopted by my next door neighbors. My full time job is now writing about cat (pet) care and rescue. I’m a huge advocate of rescue and adoption.
I look back at my life 25 years ago. I can’t believe how saving that one little abandoned mama has changed my life. Where would I be, what would I be doing had I told my friend Mary to take the cat to the pound? I shudder to think.
When I first heard about Animal Planet’s new show, My Cat from Hell, I cringed. Just what we needed was another show reinforcing negative kitty stereotypes! But I kept an open mind, and I’m glad I did. Despite the off-putting title, the show’s a winner and so is the behavior advice from the show’s star, Jackson Galaxy. His message: Your cat isn’t bad. He’s a cat.
Galaxy, who wears a shirt with Cat Daddy embroidered over the pocket and sports amazing cat tattoos on his arms, drives a super cool 1964 Chevy Nova during the show’s intro. By day he’s a cat behavior consultant, but by night he’s a rock musician. The plotline sounds like it came straight off the SyFy Channel or MTV. But Galaxy really is a musician who also works with frustrated cat owners to overcome behavior problems.
A lot of people come to me because vets tell them to euthanize their cats, Galaxy says. “It’s my mission to keep cats from being euthanized, out of shelters and off the streets for reasons that are preventable.”
The first episode I watched featured Duff, an aggressive cat who was constantly biting his owner and the 
guy’s girlfriend. Like so many cats with “behavior problems” Duff was destined for the pound if the attacks didn’t stop. Galaxy’s prescription: create vertical space for the cat and exercise (not just flopping the toy around, but hop-till-you-drop running and chasing). He also taught the couple the difference between appropriate play and inappropriate play.
Over the next three weeks, the couple completed their assignments and supplied the appropriate trees and climbers. Instead of exile to an animal shelter, Duff developed into an affectionate, enjoyable member of the family.
Galaxy didn’t pull a magic solution out of a hat. He simply observed Duff’s surroundings and family interaction, and educated his clients (and his audience) about natural feline behavior.
Galaxy drives home the point that people must provide outlets for natural feline behaviors like climbing and hunting.
“From my show people are getting the concept of vertical space,” Galaxy says. “If you look at it the way the cat sees the world, it makes sense. Let’s get a catio (a cat patio). Let’s get some cat shelves, condos, and hutches. Provide some “via points,” (furniture that allows your cat from point “A” to point “B” without having to get on the floor.)
Galaxy started his behavior career working at the Humane Society of Boulder Valley scooping poop at six in the morning. He observed that more cats were being killed than dogs. That’s when he took on the mission to help these feline victims of circumstance. Around the shelter he earned the reputation as a “cat guy” eventually going by the moniker, “Cat Daddy”.
At some point his bosses realized Galaxy could not only rehabilitate frighten felines, he could educate the other shelter workers, too. When people contacted the shelter with a “problem cat”, Galaxy would counsel with ways them to keep the cat in the home.
“I want cat guardians to know that by and large their cats aren’t doing this thing to spite you,” he says. “The idea of them getting even or mad at me is all nonsense. Your cat isn’t acting up intentionally—his world is upside down. He feels threatened. Get the human drama out of it. You have to change your brain.
People have to go from an unsympathetic approach, where the owner basically says, “I hate you Kitty for what you’re doing to me,” to a sympathetic approach in which you understand that the problem is caused by something stressing the cat.
Kitties acting out are no different than the Grimm’s Fairy Tale about the lion with the splinter in his paw. He was mean until the thorn was pulled out. In reality, he wasn’t mean; he was in pain.
People are learning to look at things from the cat’s eye view, Galaxy says. This not only prevents problems, but it increases your empathy and appreciation of all cats. Arm yourself with what your cat wants. And, of course, spay or neuter your cat.
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Animal Planet hasn’t placed an order for new episodes of My Cat from Hell, but I hope they do. Until then, you can enjoy encores of the two episodes of the three finished this Saturday, June 11. Get more information about Jackson Galaxy and My Cat from Hell at http://jacksongalaxy.com Galaxy’s website.
