Teach Your Children Well

 
Today is the last day for the Be the Change for Pets challenge to blog about a less-adoptable pet.  I decided to feature Snuggles, a very pretty, yet skittish girl from a shelter near my house.

Snuggles came from a home where the children did not treat her very well -- she was teased, chased, and her tail was pulled.  Can you imagine?  She's living at a foster home now, and really should be placed in a home where there are no small children.

This is a great lesson for parents and other adults to teach respect for all living creatures from day one.  Can you imagine how scared Snuggles must have been?  How she might have hid, afraid for her safety?  What kind of life is that?  Let's educate our children (and adults) that pets are like us -- they want love, affection, gentle snuggles, and kind words.

So please, don't let a pet's unfortunate background deter you from adopting him/her.  Love is so healing and you could be the one to change a life.  You CAN be the change.  Snuggles is now available through Rescued Tails Animal Sanctuary, where most of the foster homes are in Minnesota.  You can read more about her here. 

"Kindness is the language which the deaf can hear and the blind can see." ~Mark Twain

Tape: A Cautionary Tale

Caution tape is such an interesting item. It's meant to alert people to a potentially dangerous situation, although sometimes it's used for decoration or as a joke. I was just thinking that I might like to carry a roll of caution tape in my purse -- I can imagine a variety of reasons why I would use a strip of that tell-tale yellow warning-ness.

• I would wear it like a Miss America sash on days when I'm wearing my crabby pants and want to be left alone.

• I would lay a piece of it across poor little Phoebe at night so Cosmo would let-up on the midnight booty calls. (He is neutered, by the way...he just tries to enjoy a little phantom-fornication while everyone else is trying to sleep).

• I would place a small strip of it on the dish containing the last piece of cake. It's mine!

• I would hang caution tape over my teenage son's tennis shoes...simply to remind myself to steer clear of those malodorous beasts.

• I would stretch a piece in front of me for those instances when "close-talkers" try to invade my personal bubble. If that didn't work, I would use the tape to strangle said "close-talker."

See? There are all sorts of practical uses for caution tape -- the ones above are just a start!  Now that I'm thinking about it, I wonder if I could buy it by the case...

The Time Traveler's Strife

Weary of Phoebe's constant bullying, Saffy dreamed of traveling back in time and becoming a stronger, more confident woman.  One day, when Phoebe was sleeping soundly on Mama's bed, she constructed a magical time machine.  At the last minute, she remembered to grab her favorite toys for the journey.

First, she decided to try on the persona of someone beautiful...like Audrey Hepburn, but the pants felt a little too tight and uncomfortable.

Then she decided to go back in time a little further and see what it would be like to be someone very smart like Marie Curie; however, lack of opposable thumbs resulted in nothing but broken beakers.

She thought that perhaps if she went back even further and slipped on the brave armor of someone like Joan of Arc, she'd know what it felt like to stand up for herself.  Alas, the voices in her head told her to return home.

Upon her return, she made a very important decision.  Maybe she didn't need to change at all.  Maybe Phoebe needed to be packed up and sent away on a very, very long trip!

Wordless Wednesday: Phoebe -- Deviant Deliberation

Two-Cats-Tuesday: Chips Ahoy!

Cosmo and Saffy are easily distracted while chipmunk-watching...

Gallery of Stink-Eye

I regularly post pictures of Cosmo on Facebook and many comment on his constantly cranky expressions -- they assume he must have been in a "mood" when the photo was taken. If you've never met Cosmo, let me tell you that he rarely ever removes his furry little cranky pants. He is, however, a complete mama's boy and really only looks somewhat pleased when I am holding him over my shoulder like a baby or when the "treat" word is mentioned and he nearly skids around the corner in anticipation. To illustrate the cat-of-a-thousand-cantankerous-countenances," please review the Gallery of Stink-Eye.

Give me the car keys, woman!!!

You realize I know when you sleep...

But I don't like anchovies.

  

I know you didn't just tell me you erased yesterday's Tyra Banks show from the TIVO.

I *get* to look pissy in this hat.  End of story.

He may appear ornery most of the time, but at the end of the day, he's my best buddy and my baby.

The Allure of the Older Woman

BlogPaws' challenge for the week of September 19-25 is to feature a less-adoptable pet in our blogs.  Those of you who are regular readers of Catladyland know that I typically post humorous entries; however, I am now committed to regularly add a cause-related component to the buffet of fluffay.  Please note the Phoebe-graphic I created to use for just these kinds of posts.  She has a very loud mouth so I decided she could use her chatty charm to help other 4-legged fur-pals in need.  She quickly agreed and, in the same breath, asked me for the keys to the car.  Ummm....no.

Back to my original point!  I'm here to tell you about the benefits of adopting a senior pet, and particularly about a beautiful girl named Raja. 

When the blogging challenge was first presented, I perused Petfinder, scanning for local senior cats who where looking for a forever home.  The sweet picture of Raja immediately caught my attention.  I read her full story and even posted a link to her information on my Facebook page.  I couldn't get Raja out of my mind.  She is a Domestic Shorthair Tabby mix who needs a home where she is the only cat.  When the shelter finally realized she wasn't just a cranky puss, and placed her in a room alone, they saw that she greeted humans quite lovingly, enjoyed snuggles, and even played like a kitten!

This morning when I actually sat down to write this blog, I reviewed Petfinder again and a particular St. Paul shelter jumped out at me -- it was called Feline Rescue, Inc.  I decided to check out cats available through that shelter and who is the first cat I see?  Raja!  This was my sign -- I knew that I must blog about this beautiful, older lady and hopefully give her an extra chance to find a loving home.

I know that many people are hesitant to adopt a senior pet.  Baby animals are cute and it can feel difficult to become attached to an animal who may only have a few years of life left to live.  Let me offer a few benefits to adopting an older cat.

• With an older cat, what you see is what you get.  The personality is established and there are no surprises.

• Kittens chew!  They need to learn to use scratching posts!  They climb curtains and jump on counters!  Older cats chew less and have typically already worked that crazy behavior out of their systems.

• It might be their last chance.  Thankfully, Feline Rescue, Inc. is a no-kill shelter, but many are not.  Senior pets and pets with health issues are typically the first in line for euthanization.  It's a fact -- kittens are the first to be adopted, but offer no less love and companionship than senior cats.

So please give a second glance to a pet that needs a second chance.  And if you live in the Twin Cities area, live in a pet-free environment, and are interested in offering a forever home to a Raja, check out her information on Petfinder.  And if you are still asking "why?" Just like Phoebe says, "Be-CAUSE I said so!!"

Laughing All the Way to Crazytown, Part II

A few weeks ago, I further revealed my dance with delusion by posting about some of the odd things that send me into fits of giggles.  Some of my readers wanted to hear more about the inner machinations of my mania.  These people are either as cuckoo for Cocoa Puffs as I am or are gathering research for a study of people who have officially fallen (off their rocker) and can't get up.  No matter, I have a cage full of crazy monkeys at play in my head at any given time, so the request for more madness is easily met.



Without further ado, here is another look-see inside my psyche and a glimpse at what I think is a rollicking riot:

• When arriving at the food-delivery window at a fast food restaurant, sinking down in my seat and holding one of my cats up to the steering wheel

• Imagining a room-full of cats and dogs (fully-clothed, looking dead-serious) taking the SAT test

• Calling the cable company and telling them that every channel shows only re-runs of  "Who's the Boss?"

• Instead of sending a check with my phone bill, sending a recipe for apple crisp

• Imagining cats in flashy disco-wear, whooping it up at Studio 54

• When the UPS delivery person drops off a package, asking if they wouldn't mind scooping the litter boxes

• Showing up at Blockbuster wearing a dress created from Scotch-taped-together Netflix envelopes

• Asking the vet if I can get braces for my cat's teeth...and head gear

And in case you missed it last time, here's the very special video of me literally ROFLing whilst thinking about all of these silly scenarios.



There you go... I have tons more floating around my brain, but I've gotta run -- that Netflix dress isn't going to make itself.

Join Paws to Help Pooches!

Greetings fellow cats and cat-lovers!  It's time to step our paws up and help our doggie buddies!

How often have you had a chance to have a 20 pound bag of dog food donated to a shelter simply for writing a blog post? It’s really that easy. Pedigree has upped the ante big time. And please spread this message: The food drive is not limited to pet blogs. Imagine if we could spread this message beyond our circles and see how far it goes? Just include the bullets listed here, and add the direct link to your blog post to our Blog Hop below so we can all see how big an impact we are making! The numbers could be substantial. Here is the full scoop:

• Each year, more than 4 million dogs end up in shelters and breed rescue organizations. Pedigree created The PEDIGREE Adoption Drive to help shine a spotlight on the plight of these homeless dogs.

• This year the PEDIGREE Adoption Drive is raising awareness for homeless dogs by donating a bowl of food to shelter dogs for everyone who becomes a “Fan” or “Likes” The PEDIGREE Adoption Drive on Facebook. So far more than 1  million bowls have been donated.

• Special for BlogPaws West: For each blog that posts about the PEDIGREE® Adoption Drive through September 19^th, PEDIGREE® will donate a bag of their new Healthy Longevity Food for Dogs to shelters nationwide. It’s simple: Write a post, help a dog.

Don’t have a blog? You can help by becoming a Facebook fan of Pedigree.  For every Facebook “Like”, Pedigree donates one bowl of dog food to feed shelter dogs. So far, they have donated over 1.1 Million bowls of dog food!

You can also help out by watching this video. Every time the video is viewed, Pedigree will donate $1, up to a maximum of $50, 000 to animal shelters. See, there really are easy and free ways to help doggies in need!

Get that tail waggin' and let's join paws to help the pooches!

Wordless Wednesday: Phoebe