The Last Cat Standing

     I gave her the name Shady.  Across the street from my house to a neighbor, she ran.  Slowly I began to know this cat was a female.  I patted her at times and even began to rub and pick her up frequently.  But still she was a stray getting food at two houses.  She was the last stray I fed.  I had taken some strays in, but others outside simply disappeared.  Perhaps they had met their demise by humans, other animals, or merely traffic.  My street had become very heavily travelled.  I just knew in time Shady would be hit and killed.  She never watched for cars as she ran without even looking. 
     Finally one day, just before Thanksgiving, 2015, my son opened the door and Shady came inside.  I think Shady never looked back to what she had left outside.  Five cats, once strays, were already living inside.  But now they were house cats.  They seemed to accept Shady without much bickering.  With a nice warm place now to curl up in and fresh food and water, Shady seemed to have no trouble accepting her new life.  Sometimes, I'd catch her in the window looking out, but never a time did she head to the door when open to escape.  She seemed quite content.  I felt good that we had rescued a cat whose life expectancy was two to five years outside.  I figured Shady to be around two to three years old.  But I would find out I was wrong.
     It was about one year to the day that Shady began getting sick.  There was loss of appetite.  There was constant drooling at the mouth.  She had an odor about her that made it obvious that a lot was going on inside her.  I called our vet to have them look at her.  Even though she had been with us only a year, I began to love Shady as much as any other cat living inside with us.  I was prepared to make her better and worry not about the cost.  But one test for feline leukemia had them coming back with a diagnosis that I did not want to hear.  There would be no saving Shady.  She was dying.  She had everything in the world a cat could have wrong with her.  They seemed to be amazed at how long she had lived.  They figured her age must be past ten.
     A long life outside for Shady had me wondering how she had survived so long?  But now the end had come.  Did we indeed add to her life by bringing her inside?  I like to think so.  She was evidently a strong willed cat who fought survival to the end.  There's no telling what she experienced in her lifetime.  She did round off her last year of life knowing the love that a human could give. 
     I loved that little black cat I called Shady.  I will never ever forget her!

Cats, Cats, Everywhere!

     We got a new puppy in October.  He wanted to eat that cat food.  I didn't want him to.  The battle began.  I solved the problem the only way I knew how.  I started feeding the cats outside on the side porch.  The puppy couldn't get there because it was out of the fence.  And the food was in no harm of getting wet since it was on the porch and placed up on a table.
     We have four cats and they all have distinct personalities.  Goldie is the mean one.  She is a gray tabby that has no tail (almost 10 years old). Alice is the princess.  She looks like a big fluffy white, gray, black and brown puffball-- with blue eyes (almost 6 years old).  Nibby is the wanderer. He is a scrawny orange tabby (2 years old), and Stan is the dumb, lovable one.  He is a gray and black tabby with white on his face, a white bib and white paws (9 months old). They get into little arguments sometimes.  It was kind of nice to put all of those personalities outside to eat!  They have always been indoor and outdoor cats anyway.
     So imagine my surprise when I walked out one night and there was a big fat orange and white cat eating the cat food.  I don't have a big fat orange and white cat!  He looked at me and ran off!  OK.  I go out there another day and there's a gray tabby with a tail looking at me!  Ummmm,....why am I feeding all of the neighborhood cats?  These cats did not look like strays.  These are other people's pets and I AM FEEDING THEM!  No way.  Still, I like the ease of leaving their food out there.  And as long as they are outside, these other cats don't seem to come around. There haven't been any cat fights.  Another day, I see a black cat.  I've seen him around before, though.  I guess he is probably snacking on my cat's food too.
     The final straw came when I was in my house one evening and I heard a cat meowing.  I look around surprised because it sounds like it is coming from outside and my cats are snoozing inside.  Plus, honestly, you know your cat's voice and this meow sounded different.  Sure enough, I go outside and Mr. Fat Orange and White Cat was begging for more food.  He ran from me, though.  I figured it was time to quit feeding my babies outside.  I didn't mention that I buy the pricier, grain-free cat food because Goldie was having digestion issues.  Yeah.  Premium stuff.
     So feeding other cats wasn't smart.  Yes, I know.  Not only did it cost me money, but it got a lot of unwanted company.  And truly, I was lucky that I hadn't attracted raccoons yet.

(This was written by my daughter, Karen.)

Merry Christmas

MERRY CHRISTMAS

AND 

HAPPY NEW YEAR!

2016 has been a year of new pets and new friends.  We can't wait to see and share with you more about our adventures in 2017.

A Season of Thankfulness--Cat Edition

     It's November.  Today is actually Thanksgiving!  Every year when November 1st arrives, I start hearing and seeing talk of thankfulness.  "What are you thankful for?"  On facebook, there is a challenge to write a post every day about one thing you are thankful for.  This is great!  We should always be looking for what we are thankful for and acknowledging God for his gifts.  Life can get so busy that we forget to do so.  So when November arrives, it is nice to be reminded to look around and realize how precious our lives are.
     For the purpose of this cat blog, I would like to say that I am thankful for the kitten we added to our family this year. I have already mentioned him in a previous post entitled Sliding Cat. He is Stan Lee.  He is now 7 months old and while he started out crazy and wild, he has already settled down quite a bit.  We suspected that he was grieving over our dog that passed away at the end of September.  He is still quite subdued as we have added a puppy to our zany zoo of a household.  I don't know what is going through that cat's mind as the puppy tries to spar with him and he just lays down in front of him.  Our last dog didn't act that way.  She just lay there as Stan cuddled up to her.  Stan tries to cuddle with the pup, but the pup bites him.  Stan is coming around, though.  He bites back!  And sometimes when the puppy gets too riled up and I step in to make him stop, Stan instigates another battle.  
     As you can guess, there is never a dull moment around here.  I am thankful for that, too.  Have a Happy Thanksgiving and remember to be thankful every day of the year.

(This was written by my daughter, Karen.)

Po

     She was the ugliest kitten at the animal shelter.  We had gone to the shelter to look at puppies for my husband while he was at work.  I didn't like puppies.  I was looking at the cats and kittens.  We already had two grown cats at home, but I couldn't resist.  I was there with my 2 year old son, Andrew.  We saw the ugliest kitten we had ever seen.  She was a scrawny, short-haired, tortoise-shelled kitten.  Her colors of black, white, gray, and orange were so mixed together, she wasn't a pretty animal at all.  I felt so sorry for her because I just KNEW no one would ever take her home. No one would ever take her home, except for us.
     Her name at the shelter was Simone.  I told Andrew her name and he tried to say it.  He said, "Po." and since I didn't like the name Simone anyway, I encouraged him to keep calling her that and so she became Po.  The first night that we had her, she came to me in my bed to snuggle, but I ran her off because that was one of my other cat's spot.  I felt bad about it, but I couldn't very well let the new kitten take what belonged to my older girl.  Po found someone else to snuggle with.  She went to Andrew, who gladly welcomed her.  Po never came to me again.  In fact, she formed such a bond with Andrew that she didn't care for anyone else in the house.  We had two more children, but Po was Andrew's.  She slept with him every night and during the day, she usually slept in his bed some more.
     She really developed an attitude. I said she was hateful.  She would get grouchy and bite me. She went outside frequently and hunted.  If any of the family called to her or petted her, she mostly tolerated it, but it was Andrew that she adored.  She would purr loudly and butt her head up against his.  She would nip him and he would laugh.  We homeschooled our children, so he was able to spend lots of time doing his schoolwork with her by his side.
     I guess that is why it was so devastating when she suddenly lost a lot of weight and began to eat cat litter.  We took her to the vet and they said it was her liver.  They tried everything, but she just didn't make it. My husband and I made the painful decision to have her put down before Andrew saw her get any worse. She was 12 1/2 years old.  Andrew was 14.  Andrew didn't take it well.  He cried and cried and cried.  He refused to choose a spot in the yard to bury her. He refused to walk out to the spot and see where she was buried for months.  I took it pretty hard.  I had tried to do what I could and had a hefty vet bill.  It was difficult to see my son suffer so much.  We all took it hard, even though none of us but Andrew really liked her.  It was so sad.
     We survived it, though.  We have suffered pet losses before and we will suffer them again.  You have to ask yourself if it is worth it.  Is it worth the pain of the loss?  I don't know how to answer that. Some people say no and refuse to have another.  I can't do that.  I want to do that, but I can't imagine living without my feline companions.  I hope that Andrew still thinks it is worth it.  But only time will tell.

(This was written by my daughter, Karen.)

Sliding Cat

     My new cat, Stan Lee, likes to go down the slide!  Okay, I don't know if it is completely true that he LIKES it, but he does go down the slide.  I've never seen a cat go down a slide before.
     We got Stan Lee as a kitten in June.  He was ten weeks old when we got him.  At five months old now, he is already neutered and accepted by the other pets.  He has a personality like no cat I have ever had before.  He's crazy.  He is bold.  One can have many cats over their lifetime, but each and every one has its own distinct personality.
     So, a few days ago, I walked out into the backyard with my son.  The cats and dog followed along as usual.  The kids have a tree fort out there and it is a nice shady area to go during the day.  That's why my son and I went out there.  Stan Lee sat directly under the front of the tree fort.  I mentioned to my son that I had put Stan Lee up into the tree fort a few weeks back and he had come down the slide.  It was pretty funny.  I figured it was a fluke.  I figured that once the cat knew how the slide worked, he would steer clear of going down it again.  My son scooped up the kitty and set him in the tree house.  He was about six feet up, by the way,
     Stan Lee nonchalantly walked over to the slide, sat with his paws in front of him, and scooted down the slide.  It was funny because he kind of used his front paws spread out in a way that made him go down slower than ordinary.  He got to the bottom, jumped off, and rubbed himself against the dog.  Now, our other cats would have just jumped down to the ground.  That's what they do.  Not Stan.  He doesn't seem to be much of a jumper.
     Immediately, my son scooped up Stan Lee and set him right back up in the tree fort.  Stan meowed at us and walked around.  Then he went to the slide, placed himself in the same position as before, and slid down the slide.  When he reached the bottom, he swatted at a leaf and ran back up the slide about two feet and slid back down again.  He never showed any fear or alarm about sliding.  What do you think we said?  "Man, we have GOT to get this on video."
     Stan got off of the slide, but turned immediately and ran back up it about two feet and slid back down.  Silly cat.
     We left him alone to play for awhile, but the temptation became too great for me.  The last time, I was the one to scoop him up and put him back up into the tree fort. Stan did not disappoint us.  He took his time, of course.  He is a cat.  He wanted us to see who was really in charge.  He came down the slide again.  He seemed to enjoy it.  And my son did capture it on video on his IPOD.  As soon as I can get it from him, I will see about putting it on the blog.

(This was written by my daughter, Karen)

Parker in the Park (revisited 2016)

     On Friday, July 27, 2012, a story was submitted on the blog.  It was entitled, "Parker in the Park."  I now have an update to that story.  The life expectancy of a stray cat is usually between 2 to 5 years.  My son was delighted to come to me the other day to tell me that Parker is still alive.  With our love of cats being so strong, I could understand his excitement.  I would have felt the same way if I had seen her with my own eyes.
     I encourage you to go back and reread the original post.  A cat deserves a long life just as much as any other of God's creatures.  Parker has found a safe place in which to live.  The first article was published over four years ago.  It was told by a golfer that she had been spayed.  I think she has outlived her life expectancy as a stray.  Or, if not, it's close.
     On a disc golf course away from the hectic life that man has created for himself, Parker found her home.  A disc golf course where caring golfers feed her and call her their mascot.  She's a stray that once got caught and spayed and released back onto the course.  She's wild and allowed to run the course in the woods.  No human hands ever make the attempt to catch her.  She would probably scratch them severely if one tried.  And as far as wild animals that live there also, she just blends in.  A happy little cat that goes merrily on her way living each day in complete harmony.  What a wonderful thought!
     My son had left that morning earlier than usual for work.  He chose to simply drive through the park to kill time before getting to work.  At the disc course sitting on a nearby picnic table, he saw Parker.  He figured she waited there for her morning food from a golfer.  He smiled as he drove the car around the turn around in front of the table.
     I am happy to be able to say that Parker lives on.