Here are some of my favorite websites.
First
site: Basic Rules for Cats Who Have a House to Run
Second
site: Cat Etiquette
Third
site: Cat Translation Dictionary
Fourth
site: Cat Bathing as a Martial Art
Fifth
site: My Cat Hates You
You may wonder why we have so many black cats. The answer is simple and sad: because black cats are harder for cat shelters to "get rid of", and are more frequently abandoned. We always pick strays and orphans.
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I am the fearsome and terrifying fluhfluh, Eurekatous. I have
claws and fangs. I can SLAY! You had best worship me or I will
tear your face off. I think the 'oomans who live with me are furniture.
I rule the house with my deadly claws, and frequently ambush visitors and
residents alike by lurking under the table and leaping out to bat at them
when their backs are turned. Wheeeeeeeee! FEAR ME, MORTALS!
Here are some of my favorite websites. First
site: Basic Rules for Cats Who Have a House to Run
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The photo is not a very good picture of him, it comes from MEOW. |
This is the new arrival in our household, Benjamin Black, adopted in February 2003. We brought him in because Eurekatous looked lonely. Since we had had to find a new home for a younger cat, Pita, who had been a little too rough-and-tumble for Euri, we asked our vet for advice and he recommended an older male with a quiet disposition. Hence, after much searching, Benjamin. He is about 10 to 12 years old, with thick woolly black fur and a cauliflower ear, result of a bout of earmites or ringworms in the undetermined past. He is large, weighing 19 pounds! Yet he does not seem to realize at all that he could muscle his way around. He is shy and afraid of noises, but very affectionate. He loves to be petted or brushed, and immediately starts purring loudly. MEOW (Mercer Island/Eastside Orphans and Waifs) |
Edmund took this photo, a much better likeness. |
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We found Mrs. Pedecaris in May 1996 outside a restaurant in Berthier, Québec, where she had been living on dumpster rations. Unable to find a previous owner, we brought her all the way back to California. She was a strange mixture of haughtiness and cuddliness. She was a picky eater and a demanding master, but she loved to be picked up and nest in our arms, or perch on our shoulder.
In October 2002, she died in a stupid freak accident. While we were away at work, she got her head tangled in a curtain string and either jumped or fell from the table, effectively hanging herself. Here are some websites for the sophisticated Mrs. P. We will miss her habit of sleeping on the monitor and falling onto the keyboard. Literature
for sophisticated felines
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Claude was with us for less than two years, but made quite an impression while he shared our lives. He came to us as a ratty, semi-feral tom who would sneak into our house through the cat door to eat the other cats food. After a time, when he learned that we were not going to hurt him, we used to catch him sleeping on our bed as well. Eventually, we discovered that he had coerced us into adopting him.
Sadly, Claude came to us with Feline Leukemia Virus (FeLV) - a terminal and untreatable disease that is common among feral cats. Because of this, we faced some hard choices regarding his life. The safety of our other cats required that Claude not come into direct contact with them, share their food, use the same cat box, etc. The safety of other cats in the neighborhood required that Claude stay perpetually indoors. Our only alternative was to have him euthanized, so we devised means of keeping him quarantined and away from other cats.
Over time, Claude metamorphosed from a scraggly feral into a playful and loving cat who enjoyed catnip and cat games. He learned to keep his claws sheathed at play, to enjoy being petted, and the joys of lounging on furniture in sunbeams.
In early July, 2000, Claude began experiencing respiratory difficulties. We took him to the vet on July 13, and it was ascertained that his Feline Leukemia Virus had reached its terminal phase, and that he had developed lymphoma - a cancer of the lymphatic system which is a common result of FeLV. With great sadness, the decision was made to euthanize him in order to spare him suffering through the last phases of his disease.
When one lives with and loves cats, it is a certainty that for all the joy they bring into our lives, there will ultimately be some pain as well, if only from the fact that our lives are longer than theirs. Our time with Claude was particularly short, but cherished nonetheless. We shall always remember him for his large claws, for the fangs that were too big for his mouth, for his incredibly furry paws, and a spirit which overcame the difficulties of his early days to become friendly and affectionate.
Peace and open spaces Claude. Wherever you are, run free.
CFA Health Comittee information
on FeLV
Chloe's FeLV Support
Website
Cornell Veterinary
Medicine FeLV site
Feline Advisory Bureau FeLV
information sheet
BEGONE HUMAN SLAVES!
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