Merry Christmas!

    I want to take this time to reiterate what I said last Christmas because I think it is important!

     Christmas is truly a wonderful time of the year.  As we buy for family, friends, etc., let us not forget our four-legged member of the family.  Our cat has demonstrated all year long his/her loyalty and love for us.  At this time of year give a bag of treats.  Or better yet, hang a stocking filled with all kinds of cat toys.  After all, cats sometimes act like people, too.

MERRY CHRISTMAS to all cats and cat lovers!



And HAPPY NEW YEAR, too!

Never Say Goodbye

     For every stray cat that I have fed in the past, I'll never say good-bye.  If I say good-bye, it implies I'll never see them again.  
     There are television news stories about pets being reunited with their owner.  I think about that when it comes to each and every stray I come into contact with.  Sometimes, after they are fed, some simply disappear.  In my heart, though, I choose to believe that they are still out there somewhere.  I'd rather think this way about them, than to consider that they might have passed on.  
     The life expectancy of a stray cat can be to from 2 to 5 years. That's the best case scenario. It's a hard life to be unprotected outdoors.  But I have seen old cats come to be fed.  They have beat the odds.  That's why I won't say good-bye.  There's always a chance that they have just moved to better feeding grounds or a safer location, or possibly both.  I always hope for them to come back around to me. 


     I have had indoor cats in the past that I have shared many years with.  They have passed on, but I don't say good-bye to them either.  They may not be present in the flesh, but they stay in my mind...in my memories.

Katie Heather

     She was a special cat.  So special that she got two names.  When she was born it was obvious she'd have to be treated as special.  Our Uncle Jack offered to put Katie Heather out of her misery.  She would never be able to lead a normal female cat's life.  You see, Katie Heather had no back legs. 
And so, the cat would scoot along the floor to get around. 
     My brother David would not allow her to be put down.  He believed any person or animal had the right to life.  He made up his mind to take care of Katie Heather.  It wasn't easy.  Her using a litter box was challenging.  The cat ended up living a long time.  One fateful day, though, she died.  My brother blamed himself.  Somehow Katie Heather had gotten out of the house. 
     The day she slipped outdoors was a bitter cold one and she remained outside overnight.  The scooting along the frozen ground surely added to her demise.  But she had been loved.  She had lived a long life that if not for David, she would not have lived at all. 
     Katie Heather, you are remembered.  Your name alone was unusual and got my attention.  Not too many cats are special enough to have had two names. 

Is it Love, or am I Dreaming?

     Many nights I fall asleep only to awaken to a heavy something jumping up beside me on the bed. 
     "Oh, it's Billy," my sleepy mind registers. 
     How he judges where to land without sinking claws into me I do not know.  Then a loud rumbling purr begins.  He has the loudest purr of all four of my cats. 
     He loves me.  This I know.  During the day, he seeks my lap, but I rarely sit still during the day as a stay-at-home mom.  But now, while I am immobile, he carefully walks up to my pillow and positions himself in an arch....around my head.
     It's weird.  But....it's Billy.  He leaves me just enough room on my pillow to make me wonder if I ought to run him off.  But I don't.  We both go to sleep.  Sometimes he extends a paw and touches my face.  I wonder what my husband thinks of this cat lying above my head.  He says Billy owns me.  He grew up with cats just like I did, so he gets it. 
     I've actually had this cat for eight years, but this is a new development.  Years ago, he would jump up on my husband's side of the bed and WALK ACROSS HIM to get to me.  My husband didn't react well to getting walked on in the middle of the night and Billy was shoved off rather unkindly too many times, so he quit coming. 
     Does Billy love me so much that he can't resist getting as close to me as he possibly can?  Or does he just love my pillow? He may just recognize a prime location when he sees one.

(This was written by my daughter, Karen.)

Shady and Slappy

     Of all the stray cats I have fed, only two cats remain.  I have my theory on what has happened to all of those cats.  But I am left to only speculate whether or not I am right. 
     I continue to put out cat food hoping to some day see cats return.  Until more cats return, there is Shady (a female) and Slappy (a male) there every morning, noon, and night.  They come to be fed.
     Shady, who regularly goes into heat, apparently is unable to have kittens.  Nevertheless, it doesn't prevent Slappy's interest.  Sometimes there are a few other male cats who come following Shady's every move, but they disappear as soon as the "heat" cycle is over.
     Slappy maintains his distance and allows no human hand to touch him.  Shady is completely opposite.  I touch and rub her daily.  She comes for the food and loves the attention I give her.  I am not the only house giving food to her.  Across the street she runs to a neighbor's house.  The neighbor throws food to her.  But his hands have yet to touch her.  The neighbor laughs and says, "She is playing us both!"
     Yeah, I love this black short-haired cat that I call Shady.  I have no idea where she came from, but I am glad she came.  I often give her treats from a bag.  I begin to pour.  I lean down low so the treats won't go everywhere.  Shady lets me know in no uncertain terms that what I plan to give her is not enough.  She reaches out a paw giving a slap that forces more treats to spill.  I laugh as perhaps I misnamed the two cats.  Perhaps she should be called Slappy and the male should be called Shady.  Either way, the two cats' behavior leaves me with a feeling of happiness.  I love you, Shady.  And yes, I love you too Slappy.

"No!"

     Recently I started babysitting my two year old granddaughter.  This child has not been taught the word "no."  I am constantly telling her "no" when she goes for an item she is not allowed to touch.  Her curious little mind has her wanting to test me on everything in my house.
     I became amused when I found myself yelling "scat" at my cat Mya when she jumped on the table. 
     Hey, could the word "scat" be the word "no" to a cat?  If Mya is on a table or anywhere she doesn't belong, the mention of the word sends her scrambling!

That's the Truth!

     The following is a conversation I had with my youngest son who is ten.

David:  When I grow up, I hope my wife will like cats.
Me:  Well, here's the thing.  You ask the girl while you are dating if she likes cats and if she doesn't, you don't marry her.  You aren't going to marry someone who doesn't like cats, right?
David (looking thoughtful):  No, I won't.
Me:  Problem solved! I knew before I married your dad that he likes cats.  Otherwise I wouldn't have married him.

That's the Truth!

 

    

 

       I saw a T-shirt recently that said:

 

"There are two types of people in the world.  Those who like cats and idiots."

 

 

That's the Truth!

 

 

(This was written by my daughter, Karen.)

Likes 'Em Green

     I started out feeding stray cats.  What was near twenty cats has now gone down to two.  Is it a fact that strays live about two years out in the open environment?  It sure looks like it.  I started feeding cats in 2009, after losing my job.  The company moved my department to Florida.  I wasn't rich, but I had enough money to give back to something.  And I chose to feed harmless animals (cats). 
     An evicted family from a house down the street was how I got Likes 'Em Green to my house for food.  I guess they could no longer feed her and so they let her loose to defend for herself.  The cat was a tough old girl though.  She had litter after litter.  Something always seemed to happen to them though.  They were poisoned, eaten by predators, ran over in the street, and such.  But Likes 'Em Green seemed to survive and use her nine lives like no other.  I named her the name I did by the people yelling from their front porch wanting some of my tomatoes.  "I likes 'em green," the lady yelled, and that's how the name came about.  I keep thinking I should have named her Longevity instead.  She has certainly had a long outside life.  After five years, has that life ultimately come to an end?
     A female cat can have kittens on up until death, or so the internet says.  I don't have any idea how old she was.  She was an adult when she came here.  She was pregnant the last time I saw her.  In fact, she seemed bigger than usual.  She came back once after having her kittens somewhere.  I could tell she was not herself.  After that time, she has returned no more.  I wonder if giving birth had finally taken her.  If so, she and kittens are no more.  It is weird how one grieves for an animal.  Although she was a stray and I was never able to touch her, I find myself missing her.  I have that thought in the back of my mind, hoping that maybe someone out there with a kind heart took her and her kittens in.  Or maybe with her survival skills, she's catching small mice and feeding her babies on her own.  I can only hope. 
     You take care of yourself Likes 'Em Green.  To me you were more than just a cat.  You were a friend. 

The Connection is Cats

     My ten year old son, David, has a new friend.  Her name is Jane and she is sixty years old.  Is it odd that they are friends?  What is it that connects these two?  The connection is cats.  I will try to explain.
     Last summer, we started going to a new church.  The kids love it there.  They have children's church during the regular Sunday morning worship time.  The children's church teacher is Jane.  She is kind, loves children, and loves Jesus.  All of the children love her.
     David is a little behind in his schooling.  He has dyslexia, a mild astigmatism, and minor hearing loss that he was born with.  His falling behind began to weigh heavily on this mama.  In September of last year, I felt hopeless and I began to pray for someone to come into our lives who could spend a few hours every week in one on one tutoring with David.  I just felt like that was the direction we needed to go.  I had no idea who could fill this position. 
     In early November, seemingly out of the blue, Jane approached me.  She said she had heard from a mutual friend that David was struggling and she didn't mean to pry, but she had the strangest feeling that she ought to ask me if she could work with David one on one.  I had told the mutual friend that David was struggling, but I had told no one at that church about my desire to find a tutor!  I was really excited.  She even lives close by!  He has been going to her house one day a week ever since. 
     One of the things she believes in is letting the child's interests lead his learning.  She told me she knew that David really loves cats.  We have four cats and he talks about them to anyone who will listen. She said, "I love cats, too. I also have shelves and shelves of books about cats. We will start there.  I will let him look at them and we will both read through them."  Yes, Many of them are children's books because Jane was a teacher!
     So they meet and they talk about each other's cats and enjoy a snack.  David talks about Goldie, Billy, Nibby, and Alice.  Jane talks about Rew, Sam, and Cali.  Then they dive into books.  They take turns reading pages.  She has David write some of the words.  She will have him do a puzzle or activity.  Then they will continue the routine.  The time flies by. She allows him to borrow the cat books he particularly enjoys as long as he brings them back next time. 
     I am so thankful for her.  We just celebrated David's birthday with a trip to a local pottery painting place.  David, his two brothers, Jane, and I were the ones who went.  Naturally, David painted a cat.  Jane asked David to draw a picture of her cats on a plate.  She filled the drawing in with paint and had it glazed as a forever keepsake.  They may move on to a different subject at some point, but I think it is sweet that the initial connection has been cats. 

These photos were taken before the pieces were glazed. 
(*This story was written by my daughter, Karen)

Overly Affectionate Cat on Duty

     I had to laugh when one of my children bought me a sign that read OVERLY AFFECTIONATE CAT ON DUTY.  While the picture resembles our cat, Nibblerz, the words do not describe him.  Sure, he can be loving at times....on his terms.  But for the most part, he squirms to get away from us in his quest to scamper off on another adventure.  He is much like a toddler child- always on the go, go, go. 
     There is no doubt in our minds that he loves us.  He often comes to us and purrs against us with affection.  He is a very talkative cat- he meows, chirps, and burps in communication with us.  He is highly entertaining.  He zips across the house or yard, up and down trees quick as a flash. He chases the soccer ball when we kick it around.  He even brought a live bird inside the house and chased it from room to room, knocking things over in a frenzy.  He caught it, by the way, but much to his dismay, I took it from him and let it go. 
     Sometimes he is just so darn cute we want to pick him up, hug him, and kiss him.  He might tolerate that for about thirty seconds, but he always ends up squirming to get away.  Overly Affectionate Cat on Duty?  Not here!

(*This story was written by my daughter, Karen)

Writing Poetry

     I (Karen) am currently teaching a middle school creative writing class for one hour a week.  I brought in paint chip cards from the local hardware store and gave the kids a fun activity to write poems on them. I found the activity idea on Pinterest. Naturally, I had to try it out myself first.  This is what mine looks like--

 

 

     And this is what I wrote:

 

Orange is

the color

of my cat.

A tabby.

Some say

he is a ginger.

I say he is fun!

His little orange

and white striped paws...

swat at a toy bird.

Orange is a

cute and fun color.

 

     And here is the newest cat in our family:

 

And as an added bonus, here is my youngest son's artwork of Nibblerz (we actually call him Nibby now):

(artwork by David, age 9)

(*This story was written by my daughter, Karen)





The Primary Difference

    My son is a teenager now and I find myself entertained more and more by he and his friends.  They are coming up with their own ideas and opinions and developing into the people they are going to be the rest of their lives.  One particular friend of his, Jordan, who is 18, has us laughing all the time.  However, we were disappointed when he told us that he hates cats.  Hates cats?! "Why, Jordan, why?" we asked.  Cats are important in this pet-loving family.  This aversion to the feline species has always been difficult for us to comprehend.  But, that is just how it is with some people.  I have met more than one person in my thirty-seven years of life who profess to hating cats.  Oddly enough, they are usually the same people who wholeheartedly love dogs.  Well, Jordan explained himself to us in this way:
               You feed, clean up after, and care for a dog, and he thinks you are God.
               You feed, clean up after, and care for a cat, and he thinks, "I must be God."

     Hmmmm....he has a point.


(This was written by my daughter, Karen.)

Cats in the Family vs. Dogs in the Family

 Our beloved dog

Is predictable

Is happy to see us

Tail wagging

Whole body wriggling

Can't contain his joy

--always

 

Our cat

*might* acknowledge us

*might* glance our way

Or not

May come up for a pat

May possible respond to a toy

--but not always

 

Some cats

I have known

Run to us in greeting

Utter a burp or meow

Rubs her whole body against us

Even wags her tail (though a bit lazily)

--but not always

 

Who can predict when the cat

Will feel like being sociable?

Or when she will be *above* us

We are beneath her

A cat tolerates you

A dog worships you happily

--always

 

I think cat lovers prefer cats

Because of the challenge

They enjoy the gamble

That is what is unique

And those who like dogs best

Simply won't put up with the unrest

 

 

-Karen Gillespie