Princess Neko says Hi

Welcome Princess Neko

Here she is. We asked her owner if we could keep her. That's the short version of the much more lengthy post I was in the middle of - then decided that could wait.

We are happy to have her as part of the family.

Naughty, naughty kitty

You'll never believe what this cat gets up to.
Not your typical cammed cat... or is it?

They are missed.

There has been a rash of missing kitties in my neighborhood... a few dogs here and there must mostly cats. It's normal to see a flyer or two, always, but I have been shocked at the number of them. This is not even all of the various flyers, there is at least one more within these few blocks that I didn't photograph, and most have cropped up in the last 2 months.

I was afraid it might be a human killer (and there is no proof that it isn't), but MrB was riding his bike the other morning and saw a healthy coyote. This is very likely what is going on. [Coyotes and cats]

I am thinking of making a flyer of my own saying "COYOTES HAVE BEEN SEEN. PLEASE KEEP SMALL PETS INDOORS."

Catblogging - Lost

Boots

Last November this pair of adorable kitties showed up on the block. It was a very lookalike pair of brother/sister tuxedos (and we soon found out it was a trio, as they had a longhaired tuxedo sister, but she hardly ever visits). This is the first one who showed up on the right. She sported 4 white boots and her brother had white boots in the back with white toes in front. You never saw sweeter or more affectionate cats, these were cuddle-monsters from the start. We later nicknamed them "Boots" and "Bisou." (Our original name for him was "Spats," but Bisou being French for 'kiss' it seemed like a cuter name.)

The first time these kitten/cats ventured onto the screened porch, they both piled into my lap and went to sleep.
These cats seemed to be mostly outdoors, but they always looked good - good coats, no injuries or obvious health issues. Because of that, I tried to worry less, or at least I was able to push the worries to back of my mind - because these are not our cats, and they have a home around here somewhere. Before long, Bisou started to readily come inside the house for belly rubs, snuggling, and occasionally a short nap. We never feed local cats anymore, and no longer have litter pans, so we make sure the visits are very short. It is important to us that neighbor cats know where they are supposed to be living, where their real home is. It's important that they don't think they live with us.

We just can't go through cat-parenthood again. It's far too painful, expensive and hazardous to our own health through stresses. But I looked forward to every visit from Bisou, and really tried not to fall in love.

We started to see Boots a lot less frequently in the daytime, and found out that she had become a night kitty. Any evening, after dark, we can go out in the driveway, and she will come running. She is usually either under a truck down the street or coming out of the storm sewer. She wants belly rubs and petting, and does not get tired of them. She got to be much more skittish about the house though, and stopped coming inside at all, ever.

About a week ago, these posters went up in the neighborhood. It is Bisou. I am happy that Bisou's humans cared enough to put them up. I have seen many cats go missing around here without seeing flyers or getting an inquisitive knock at the door to let people know that they are missing their little sweetie.

If you are a long-time reader here, you know that I have strong feelings against leaving cats to roam freely and unsupervised outdoors except under certain circumstances - but for me those circumstances do not include a suburban neighborhood. The outdoors in general present dangers from venomous snakes, scorpions, coyotes, and all manner of things. In areas where humans are denser, there's the extra danger from vehicle death, child/teenage/adult pranks, dogs, other cats, communicable cat diseases, whatever lives in the storm sewers, plus the snakes, scorpions and coyotes. It's an active debate in the cat-world and there are pros and cons to both indoor and outdoor choices. What is not in dispute is that outdoor cats have a much shorter lifespan.

We do not know what happened to Bisou. It is possible that some neighbor who fell in love with him decided to make it permanent. That's what we have to hope for. I contacted Bisou's people to send them our photos, and the woman said that they provide shelter for Boots in the garage. I don't know if that means an open or closed garage, but a closed garage in the winter here is a welcome thing, but in the Texas summer it will not be shelter. It will be an oven, even at night. If Bisou is really gone from this world (and we don't know what happened), he will never have experienced a whole summer, as he was a young cat just out of kittenhood when he came into our lives last November. We miss him very much.
Bisou

A toast for Prince Henry

Our Henry is featured over on She Who Seeks today! We miss him (and the other kitties) so much.

Henry - In Memoriam

When a really elderly person dies, people don't always ask the cause. "Old age" will suffice and is assumed. Everything was just worn out. Henry was 20, which is 96 in human years. I believe that "old age" was definitely a factor. He'd had a bladder stone for quite a long time - years - and we knew that at some point the stone could get lodged in the wrong place, and his time would run out. That is what happened. His age and frailty were a factor because a stone that size could have been removed (while it was still in the bladder) through surgery. A special diet might have helped also, but he was too old to endure invasive surgery, and was already on a very different diet to control something even more risky (diabetes). His quality of life has been borderline for a very long time, due mostly to severe arthritis, near-blindness and asthma. Our relationship with him for the past few years has been one of giving lots of meds and taking care of his needs. His pain was somewhat relieved by steroids, adequan and buprenorphine, but he got to where he wanted us to keep our distance for the most part. Maybe that's a pain thing, or dread, or just grumpiness. It was OK. Part of life, if you make it that far.
Note on the wink: He had a squint in that eye due to a recurring itchy irritation, but it makes a cute picture.

How we got him
For some reason a 4-month-old kitten was wandering around outside in January 1992 in Missouri. We don't know if he was put outside or just lost, but was nearly frozen when he came to my friend's door and he chose the right door. She already had 4 cats and told me if I didn't come and get him she was going to have to take his to the shelter, she also mentioned that he had claws and purred really loud. Perfect! I already had a clawed cat (Alex) and didn't want a declawed companion for him because Alex played rough. Her daughter had already named him "Phil" (I think after Phil Lesh of the Dead) but I named him after Prince Henry (aka Harry), son of Diana, and didn't learn until later that the day we picked for Henry's official birthday (Sep 15) was also Harry's birthday.

Younger Days
Henry was an ultra-sweet tabby who got along with other cats (and all people) but Alex was an abuser and not a little bit psycho, so Henry had to learn to deal with the hell-beast. He never once bit us (or another cat) and was very affectionate and not a bit mean. The cutest thing he would do, and he did this almost every day, was to get on the bed with us, crawl under the covers, then lay on his side facing me with his head laying on my pillow. Then he would purr big and make kneading biscuits on my face. What a sweetheart. ❤

When he was about 5, I brought him home a little black kitten buddy who we named Duncan. Henry and Duncan were inseparable for Duncan's entire 11 years of life, until he died of heart failure.

I know that Henry mourned him, and was never the same after he died (Alex and Duncan both died in 2007 just 3 months apart). I think that's when he really started to age. Frankly, I think it's when I started to age too. We still had Jax (our other stray we took in as an adult) with his health issues (we lost him last year) along with Henry's. We now find ourselves with an empty nest. It is going to be quite an adjustment, but I think it's best to leave it empty for a good long time.

We went through the house and rounded up our entire supply of cat supplies, including a tall stack of cat beds, meds, syringes, towels, fleecy blankies... all will be leaving the house for the animal shelters. There is too much need out there to even think of hanging on to any of it for "later."

Maybe possibly someday we will be able to go somewhere if we feel like it for a weekend or even longer. I think that we did a great job taking care of our furbabies throughout their lives and they were shown great love by both of us, but often I put more value on their health and needs than on my own. All things must pass.

More Henry

Catblogging: Nothing to see here

These two neighbor cats were in the middle of a standoff when I came outside to play cop. The managed to muffle the grrrs and do their best to present a "who? us? we aren't doing anything" facade. After the picture was taken, Fluffy skulked across the street and got under a car, followed by Martin, who was so interested in stalking Fluffy that he crossed the street in front of a car. No harm done from vehicles, and hopefully no bites or scratches. I worry about the outdoor kitties.

An observation...

A set of fuzzy ears on the head can make nearly anything look cuter.



(No, not my cat. I totally snagged this.)

Needs a caption

Stop calling me "Crusty."

I'm in bread, NOT inbred!

"___________"

Catblogging in the middle of the week

Here's Henry, still with us and doing pretty well, all things considered for a cat who officially turns 20 years old in about a week. A rare event for him lately has been getting to go onto the screened porch. It's just been really hot lately, some stats:

In Austin, so far this year:
80 days of 100°+ (37.7C) (all-time record)
23 days at 105°+ (40.5C) (all-time record)
27 consecutive 100°+ days (all-time record)
hottest summer ever with an average of 89.5 degrees
our hottest August was also the hottest month on record (this broke the record set just one month previous when July 2011 was the hottest month on record) [addendum: oh joy! We just set the US record for hottest summer EVER.]

I joked that Austin has had Phoenix-envy. Anyway, we think it's been too hot generally for the comfort of humans and fragile furbabies, but we has a temperature break on the weekend. Henry looks pretty good for his age, but you can see a bit of his arthritis showing in the pic below.
He is a dear, precious little old sweetie pie. He just wants to be comfy and not much else.

Friday Catblogging - Draw a Bath

Remember that Steve Martin bit?

"I gave my cat a bath the other day...they love it. He sat there, he enjoyed it, it was fun for me. The fur would stick to my tongue, but other than that...”

Henry had a bad reaction to a medication, and a side effect made quite a *ahem* mess in his room, poor baby. For several days on end we had to wash linens and scrub on the carpet. (Here's a strong suggestion for a future pet owner: don't carpet, put in hardwood, or better yet... tile. Tile rules.) And Henry was embarassingly soiled as well. We dreaded the idea of putting him in the bathtub even though that was the only way to clean him up. Ever bathe a cat? Heh, heh... yeah.

Amazingly, he did not mind it at all. In his old age, he seems to have forgotten to hate being immersed in water. With the water being warm, I'll bet it feels good on his arthritic bones. He's had 4 baths during the past week.

Well, cleanliness IS next to Catliness.

(yes, that's Henry in the video, the well-behaved cat in the tub of water.)

PS: Henry's problem is now better, due to yet another medication.

Silly Maru

eHarmeow

A few friends have shared this on FB and it makes me laugh 'til I cry... or vice versa...

Sphynx dreaming

Feline Friday: Human-in-Training

Other videos featuring this cat show an earlier one, where the human expects the cat to open the box while (the cat is) wearing a sweater, giving high fives and sitting on a bed (which sort of works) and a later one where the overlord demonstrates that he, of course, can open the box if he really wants to.

What is your bidding, my master?

Found via Facebook.

Caturday events

Old Henry likes to howl a bit during the nights and early mornings - then he's all worn out. Sometimes he's switch from one comfy spot to another one. Good way to face the day.

Caturday - Brother Cats

These brother cats live next door, and are indoor/outdoor. They are both all black except for a little white "bowtie" patch on the upper chest. Despite having the same coloring, they are very easy to tell apart. Martin (who has been featured on here before) is very friendly and will come over as often as possible for belly rubs. He never gets tired of these.
Here he is in a photo taken today, sitting on the rusty grate of his air conditioner. As soon as I got closer to him, he jumped down and wanted belly rubs.
This is his brother, Deuxie. I don't know if it's spelled that way, but his 'dad' said they originally named him Deux because there were two cats, so they call him "dewey." He is an extremely shy kitty and letting me get this close to him without running away is great progress. One day he even allowed a nose boop, but I don't think he was that OK with it.They both seem to be very sweet boys.

News and papers, recycled and a little *funny*

We all know that you can become an Ordained Minister simply by filling out some online stuff, and there you have it. Ta-da.

Someone with an *actual* Ph.D. conducted an experiment to see how easy it would be to obtain completely bogus credentials in a couple of fields - he succeeded, and the person he obtained them for was a cat. Zoe is a certified hypnotherapist by the National Guild of Hypnotists (NGH), the International Medical & Dentistry Hypnotherapy Association (IMDHA) and the American Board of Hypnotherapy (ABH). {dentistry hypnotherapy???}

Dr. Zoe D. Katze, Ph.D., C.Ht., DAPA.

During the process, he listed some real organizations and some fake, such as Ms. Zoe being a Consultant at the Tacayllaermi Friends School (Tacayllaermi is "I'm really a cat" spelled backwards.)

Here's the account from the source: The Credentialing Con. It has photos of the real Dr. Katze (who is a regular furry kitty and not a Sphinx as she's been recently depicted for some reason) and her papers. When I look for an MD, I do check and see if they are board certified though, it's somehow important, especially if they will potentially be cutting on me. It's disturbing that you can make stuff up and get by with it, such as the what Rand Paul did... the "American Board of Ophthalmology" (an AMA-certified board) apparently wouldn't certify him so he invented his own group called the "National Board of Ophthalmology" (consisting of him, his wife and his father-in-law) and claims to be certified by them (them? him? her?).

It's a head shaker.

Back to the story of Dr. Katze... this is an old story dating back to 2002 but has recently resurfaced and again made the rounds in a phenomenon completely unrelated to the unreliability of credentials theme I started with. I've noticed this happening before, an old story gets noticed and starts trending again (and in this case, Zoe returned as a Sphinx! That's like a con with a hoax on top!). See Time, io9, Gizmodo, then there was FARK, Raw Story, etc. and so on. Like that other "recent" story about cats-on-call, there was the cat who was called for jury duty. The story was true enough (and pretty funny as he was required to explain why he couldn't serve, and they checked "doesn't speak English") but it happened in Jan. 2010! Looks like HuffPo has the egg on its face over this one, and have added a correction to that effect, but plenty of other news outlets picked it up without question and posted it as a new story.

... and then there's Clay Henry III, the beer-drinking goat who was the Mayor of Lajitas, Texas... now that's news. Somebody run with it!

Dominion, use and abuse of power

When I first saw this event, all I could think about was the fact that I wanted to go see it! I had seen a video of actual cats plinking guitar strings and banging on drums and keyboards, but after realizing that these are not just some local pets who have been trained, they are not only required to dress up and perform, but they must travel in order to do it. I was thinking that makes them a Circus. Maybe this example is pushing the definition a bit though. What do you think? It looks like what these kitties are put through (being trained to do tricks for treats – maybe it’s not that much different in their case than what anyone would with their pet). Making them travel? I don’t think that’s a good idea for a bunch of cats, but I guess it could be worse.

I am (obviously) in favor of keeping certain animals as pets (a.k.a. family members, a.k.a fur people) but am against using animals purely as workers or entertainers. Something that falls under the both categories is dog sledding. Now, I understand that, under primitive conditions, certain animals are utilized as the only possibly form of transportation, where transportation of a certain speed is required for survival. This might take the form of horses, camels, dogs...

Here is the horrible story of the slaughter of 100 sled dogs (out of 300). After the BC Olympics, tourism dropped and the dogs were no longer needed so they were sentenced to be shot and throats slashed. Many of them reportedly did not die quickly enough to be called humane, and that is the only part of this incident that broke the rules. It's not even clear that charges will be brought.
This is enough to shock just about anybody, but we don't give that much thought to racing horses or dogs, performing circus animals, or even those poor urban carriage horses who clip-clop you up and down the streets among the downtown traffic jam - endlessly. I always think they must be wondering when in hell they applied for that job.

Seems like the Olympics brings animal death as a matter of course, such as in China when they rounded up a half million cats (many of whom were pets) under the guise of a SARS scare but in reality a way to *clean* the streets for Olympic visitors, then they were beaten to death or sent to death cages out of town. Similarly, in Greece 2004, there was suspected activity of this kind to clean the streets of strays, although not in the same staggering volume.

Humans have it in their heads that we are in charge of the earth and all the things that live on it (and more)! The principle of Dominion is written in the Bible, but even if it weren't, it would still be accepted by most of mankind. That's what I think. People write down what they believe in their sacred books, and blame the writings on a god.

Getting back to the Acro-Cats/Rock-Cats... they are starting to seem not so bad. Apparently they are rescue kitties, which gets a gold star, and if they are well cared for, taken to the vet regularly, given enough days off, not overly stressed, never hurt, and really, really loved... I am OK with it. It has to be done for love, not just for money... or power.