I always thought a particularly elderly female cat was a Dowager Queen!

Are you a CAT LOVER?

ailuromania

an abnormal love of cats.

 

ailurophile, aelurophile

a lover of cats. Also called felinophile, philofelist, philogalist.

 

ailurophobia, aelurophobia, elurophobia

an abnormal fear of cats. Also called felinophobia.

 

felinophile

ailurophile.

 

galeophilia

an excessive fondness for cats.

 

gatophobia

an abnormal fear of cats.

 

grimalkin

1. a cat, particularly an old female cat.
2. a bad-tempered old woman.

 

kitling

British dialect, the young of an animal, especially a kitten or young cat.

 

malkin

British dialect, a cat or hare. Also spelled mawkin.

 

philofelist

ailurophile.

 

philogalist

ailurophile.

Eight Months Today

Keli  lived with me nearly twenty years.

Together, we went through a divorce, a tornado, my son growing up, a serious illness, moving 2,000 miles to California in an old station wagon, a couple of mild earthquakes, and falling in love with a good man.

I don't know who loved him more. Me? or Keli? I wasn't the one throwing myself at his feet and rolling over to have my belly rubbed whenever he arrived. How could he resist her? How could I not share him with her? After all, Keli was the Queen, and I, but her devoted subject.

My beloved Keli, my dearest friend, and kitty soul-mate died March 18, 2009.  It has been eight months and even though I have adopted three cats since then, I still miss her.

.
Bambi loves her sheepskin. She's nearly two years old.
(her birthday is the day before Christmas)
She kneads her sheepskin and tenderly licks it like it is a kitten.
Cats do the strangest things. But, I'm sure they think the same of humans.

Picture was taken by cell phone.

Mickey the Tough Guy Cat

My cat, Mickey, was a bigger snob than Morris. When I reach out to pet him he always slinked away without so much as a glance in my direction, proceeding to lick his fur as though I’ve contaminated him. But, if I was sick, he'd lurch onto my bed. He had to lurch. He was a really big cat! Then he would decide choose the very spot on my body that troubled me the most and begin kneading "his" pillow to lie upon. I couldn't always tolerate it but usually forced myself. After all, Mickey, the snob, the guy who slunk away from my touch, was actually having something to do with me.

It's odd how he acted, but when he landed on my "spot" and began kneading me, I became aware that a healing process was occurring. I can only hope he got something from me as well. He didn't seem to need my pets. My goodness we must have had some Karma built up to have such a love-hate relationship! I loved him. He hated me. Or sometimes it seemed

It wasn't always that way. There was a time when he was younger, and allowed to freely roam the redwood groves of Northern California when we lived there. We seemed to have a special affinity for one another. It was at that time, I remember in particular, a vivid dream, where I was a furry creature. I was a cat and very proud of myself as I wandered among the trees, and grasses. I came to a fence and leaped to the top of it to see what was on the other side.

Lo and behold! A picnic table with curious objects on it that smelled tantalizingly of food. I jumped down upon it and began snooping. when one hell of a huge dog appeared from nowhere, nearly swallowing me whole. I bolted in mid-air aiming for the safety of the fence with “jaws” too close behind me.

I awoke to find Mickey leaping onto the bed looking wild eyed, and wanting to be petted until he purred.

Oh, My Darling (1991)

Written by Elizabeth

Sitting there reading, suddenly, I think of her. Glancing across the room, I notice her beautiful eyes staring back at me. Did she break her reverie the same moment I did? Or, did she bore a hole into my brain the last ten minutes to impress my mind to think of her just then? I smile. She winks. I wink back. She winks again. We play this game a lot. Closing both eyes, she stretches her lithe body, and yawns, giving the impression she is bored with me. At the last second she re-opens them to see if I’m still enchanted. Then, petulantly, she sticks her tongue out. I make a similar face. She gets up, comes over to me and sits contentedly in my lap. She’s so enticing! I caress her. I’m so privileged, she chose to spend her life with me.

Some may think she is ordinary, but to me, she’s beautiful. Yes, she is on the puny side, but, courageous, even tough. Her under-slung jaw gives an exotic pouty look, but can never hide her Mona Lisa smile. Some genetic quirk inherited from her mother, gives her a flat nose. No elegant proboscis, that! Yet, her sea-green eyes. Ah! They hypnotize! The quiver ‘neath my hand when I caress her, I know just where to touch to give her pleasure. What a gratifying responsive creature she is. I can’t keep my hands off her. Which may explain her temperamental behaviour. She’s so independent. She only permits me to touch her when she wants it. Doesn’t matter what I want. If she’s not in the mood, forget it! She’ll reach out and smack my hand. Some of my friends think she’s mean to me and I should put her in her place.

I can’t complain though, When I really need her, when I’m sick, she never leaves my side. A devoted nurse; I swear, her very presence is healing! Sometimes I stop breathing momentarily, apnea, they call it. She gives me a gentle nudge until I awaken, airless, gratefully gasping for breath. I hug her to me and thank her once again for being there to watch out for me. She doesn’t hog the bed or steal the covers from me. If I have a rough night, tossing and turning she’ll get up and go sleep somewhere else, so I can have the bed to myself.

She adores my singing voice and stops whatever she is doing to run to me. Especially if I whistle, her favorite song, “Oh, My Darling, Clementine”. Whenever I go out, she is content to stay at home and waits for me ‘til all hours without complaint. No matter what time it is, she’s right there at the door to warmly greet me. Now, That is devotion!

However, she sometimes does insist on going with me. At first, it was a little awkward, but now I’ve grown used to it. As I’m ready to go out the door, she sneaks up behind me and jumps on my shoulder. She maintains her balance while I lock up, proceed down the stairs and out the door, through the parking lot, to get into my car. Other times I just have to head her off before she makes the leap. She understands when I tell her. “Not this time, My Darling. Then, she’ll growl and grumble at me, but, she won’t really be angry.

This beguiling female is my Calico Cat, Kelly.

I've thought about this for the last few days, whether or not I should make this posting. But, finally came to the decision to do so, as it weighs heavy on my heart.

The other day, when there was a fire in an apartment complex near me I got to thinking about the pet clinic nearby. I worried if they were safe and actually got in my car to go check. There were employees there, and the fire was not close enough to do them harm. But, I wondered if there were pets involved in the apartment fire. Eight families were without homes that night. I know that under the same circumstances I would put my cats  into my car before my purse or family photos or my grandmother's antique vase.

Of course if an owner isn't home when the fire starts and his pets are outside, there isn't much he can do, except hope someone would find the cat and turn them in to a local shelter. If your pets live indoors and you are not home and there is a fire, how would the fire department know to rescue them?  You can put a sign on or near your front door. "In case of emergency, please rescue my 3 cats inside" I have seen stickers that people put in their windows saying this. Give a call to your local fire department and ask what they would do. Do they have any of those stickers? Can they register that you have cats in your home?

All this being said, I just had such an epiphany about it. We make preparations for disaster. Don't we? We put away food, water, medicine and blankets for those times when flood, fire, earthquake, ice storm, etc. occur. We make plans for where the family will go if we can't be in our homes. But, when we are making all those plans, do we include our animals? Not me. the thought hadn't crossed my mind except knowing I would grab my cats and put them in the car first, as I mentioned.

When I put aside canned goods and emergency lights and bandages in the garage, I didn't put away any cat food. In case of a true disaster, my cat will be one of those ending up in the shelters,

Ninja and  Bambi wear collars with ID tags. I cant keep a collar on Spyder because he seems to be double jointed enough that he gets his jaw caught underneath it. I have even tried a harness for him. But he did the same thing. So, if there were an emergency and he got out, I would have to trust that his computer chip would get him back home to me.

Just putting my thoughts on all this out here. Have you thought about your own disaster preparedness? What plans have you made for your pets? Do you have a safe cage or carrier for each pet if you have to evacuate your home? Do you have collars with your phone number on them? Do they have computer chips? Who will take care of them if you are not able to? How will they be kept safe? How will you prove they are yours if they have no ID on them? Call your local shelter and ask a few questions. What are their emergency plans? How long would they keep a stray cat, if that's what they thought yours was? If your cat turned up and had ID on him, how long would they keep him if they couldn't get in touch with you by telephone?

Claws or No Claws, That Is The Question

Mother Nature created cats, all of them, with claws. Cats need their claws to serve a purpose in their lives. In nature, claws help cats to protect themselves, as well as provide them with food.


Today,  with cats living indoors in protected environments, why would they need claws? Except to tear up the furniture? They certainly haven't learned how to open cans of tuna with their claws, so it seems that cat claws have outgrown their need. 


But, does that give us the right to have them removed? Hmmm... good question? It's kind of like abortions, you know? Who has the right to decide?


Certainly a cat would prefer to keep it's claws. Certainly a person would prefer to keep their sofa in good condition. Sofa or Claws? Which will it be? 


Is it illegal to declaw a cat? Should it be made illegal?

 

Starting Jan. 1, a California state law will prevent municipalities from banning declawing procedures.

I just took Ninja, Bambi and Spyder in to a local pet shop and had all their nails clipped for an extremely reasonable price. Less than I would pay for a meal if I were to go out for dinner. Well, worth the price. And, yes, just like any good meal, I will be taking them back when the time comes. I can always cook dinner at home, or go out. I can clip cat nails at home, but it is so nice to have someone else do it. I couldn't believe the cats just stood there while someone grabbed a paw and clipped. I have to wrap them up tightly in blankets and .... well you probably know the rest. 


It bothers me to think that the city I live in would pass a law against declawing cats. I know some elderly folks in my neighborhood who wouldn't be able to have a kitty without the declawing. It's a hard decision to make, but like abortion it should not be a decision made by your local city. Besides, if a city passes a law like that, people will just take their cats somewhere else to have them declawed. Oh, that's just like with abortion, too.


RELATED:
L.A. Council committee favors law against declawing cats
Several California cities to look at cat declawing bans this week
Santa Monica moves closer to cat declawing ban

Fire and Cats

The sirens closed in on the neighborhood. I hear them often, as there must be a fire station somewhere nearby. They most often go on the highway out of town that passes close enough to my neighborhood that it's hard to ignore. "oh there they go again" gets to be a commonplace comment. "I bet it's out there on that curve where all the cars crash".

But not this time. One firetruck, police car, ambulance after the other. Sometimes you can tell the difference between the sirens. They all sound like world war II all over again, and again, and again. From what I see in foreign films, I like European emergency vehicle sounds better.

The first set of sirens began at 6 PM. I noticed because the evening news just began and I turned up the sound on the TV to hear better. Within a few minutes, the cats had all leaped up onto the windowsill looking off toward the northeast. The dogs barked incessantly and more sirens echoed through the area. At 6:10 PM I received a phone call and couldn't pay attention to my caller because new emergency vehicles were arriving. I hung up and went outside to take a look. Scanning the sky, of course the cats were right, the northheast was unnaturally lit up with billowing clouds of smoke. Not our usual evening fog.

Still the sirens! I began to determine just what street it might be located on as I got in the car and began driving a few blocks closer to all the excitement. Suddenly, it occurred to me that this had to be right near my Veterinarian's office. Oh no! What if there are animals in there? I wonder if anyone is there after hours to take care of them. Do they have an evacuation plan in place?

This way: the police cars blocking the street, I went a few blocks away and headed inwards. Nope, more flashing red lights block the way. So I turned back and went southwest to come about from the other side of the main street where the Vets office was located. That side was clear. I pulled into the parking lot and could clearly see over the fence that the apartment complex next door was the source of the fire. Two vet office employees were standing outside. We talked for a while, and I went home, relieved the animals were okay.

Five hours later, the news made some comments about the fire. Fire personnel had come in from four other communities to help put this fire out. Eight families were removed from their homes and provided temporary assistance from the red cross. Two apartments are totally burned out. The other six families might be able to return, but who knows what the smoke damage is? The fire started from a mother turning on her stove to start cooking a meal. Thinking she had the stove on low heat, she decided to go to the corner store to purchase some ingredient for the meal. Unfortunately, the stove was not on low heat. Her daughter and husband were at home in the upstairs, and luckily escaped the fire alive.  It was learned by the fire department that all the 8 apartments involved did not have batteries in their smoke detectors. VERY luck to get out alive. Okay, so that was the report given on the news that night.

A more complete and different set of circumstances are reported here.

Then, the next night another fire in few blocks away. One death. How can this happen?

Fire Prevention In the kitchen

If you are frying, grilling or broiling food, turn off the stove whenever you leave the kitchen, even briefly.

If you are simmering, baking, roasting or boiling, remain in the home, check food regularly and use a timer.

Stay alert. Drinking and some medications can make cooks drowsy.

Keep flammable items such as towels, food packaging and curtains away from stovetop.

Keep stovetop, burners and oven clean.

Wear short or tightly rolled-up sleeves when cooking

Smoke Detectors

Install and maintain smoke detectors in sleeping areas and on every level of home.

Inspect and test smoke alarms monthly and replace batteries at least once a year.

Clementine 1989

This is a continuation of the previous story from Nov 4:

As soon as I found homes for the kittens, I took Magic to be neutered and planned on getting Gypsy spayed the following month. But the money didn’t come fast enough and she went into heat. Even tho’ Magic was neutered he tried everything he did before. But it was not enough for Gypsy. A cat in heat can demand a lot of attention and yeowl a lot. When we were not at home, I put her in the basement. But, was dismayed to discover her outside when I returned.She had climbed through a slim hole beside the plumbing that led into the neighbors side of the basement. (We lived in a duplex) The neighbors dogs barked like crazy as she calmly walked along the furnace flue to gain access to the outdoors. The neighbors, concerned about the ruckus their dogs were causing, opened their cellar door only to have Gypsy fly out. They did not know she was in heat, so they let her outside.

Needless to say, Gypsy was pregnant a second time. I had no idea who the father cat could be. There  was a stray white cat with an orange striped tail in the vicinity and I thought maybe it might be him. Then I had a dream that I had a beautiful calico kitten (red, black and white) that had been born to Gypsy. I felt strongly the dream would come true

The day came and went that she gave birth (Aug 27, 1989). Three healthy kittens were born. There was a black and white, a gray and one that sort of was like a calico, but not like the one in the dream.  That night as I tried to sleep, Gypsy kept coming to me and meowing. I continually got up and went to her box with her, but every thing was fine. Her kittens were okay. The next day I realized that her belly wasn’t as soft as it should be and, in fact, it had a hard little lump in it, I figured another kitten was inside, by Gypsy showed no further signs of labor. Eventually because it was a Sunday, I found a vet clinic on the far side of the city who would agree to see her.  I put her and the kittens in the car and departed.

The vet said there was another kitten in ther,alright. But it was dead. He would give Gypsy a shot to help contract her uterus and if it didnt expel the dead kitten in thrreee hours, she would have to have to be cut open and the dead kitten removed at a terribly high price. As we drove home, I explained to Gypsy that I couldn’t really afford it and so, three hours later she gave birth to the calico kitten in my dream.  I named her after the vet: Kelly. That was probably a pretty dumb thing to do as I have since met many people who have calico cats they have named Kelly or Cally.  Although, secretly, I named her Clementine, because I always sing that song to her.

And that's another story

Cats and H1N1... Yes, your cat can get the flu

Have you ever wondered if your cat can catch human diseases? I wonder if they have flu shots for pets. Below is a partial quote from an article in the NYTimes:

The cat, a 16-pound orange tabby, began acting lethargic and lost his appetite on Oct. 27. He is the only pet in the house and never goes outside. The cat, described as “large framed but not chubby,” stopped eating and drinking and stopped cleaning himself. He also rested by hunching on all four feet, rather than sprawling out on his side as usual, a sign of respiratory discomfort. A few days earlier, two out of three family members in the home had developed flu-like symptoms, with fever and body aches.

The worried pet owner called Dr. Sponseller, a specialist in large animal internal medicine and molecular virology, who happened to be a family friend. At the time, neither Dr. Sponseller nor the pet owner suspected the flu — because the cat had vomited, they wondered whether he might have a gastrointestinal problem.

The next day, the cat arrived at the veterinary school, where he was seen by Dr. Jergens, a small animal specialist and immunologist. Upon examination, it appeared the cat had a respiratory condition, so Dr. Jergens performed a bronchial lavage, injecting fluid in and out of the lungs to collect cells to determine what was making the animal sick.

“It didn’t reveal anything that was consistent with what we typically see with pneumonia in a cat,” Dr. Sponseller said.

Although cats can contract flu from birds, this cat never left the house and was never exposed to any other pet. At that point, it occurred to the veterinarians that since the family members had been recently ill, they might be seeing a case of flu transmitted from human to cat. The school is the site of a major diagnostic lab, so the veterinarians were able to test the cat and quickly confirm he had H1N1, a finding that was later confirmed by additional testing by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.



Partially quoted from the NY Times