Great story Cat

[sooZen]

it shows the level of compassion you have reached for if we cannot be kind to our pets and other animal denizens of this earth, what hope is there for us?

I was wondering why your post was locked? I could not reply to it.

BTW, my old cat was not born deaf, she just worked her way towards it and until we had the realization (she really tried to tell us) we were not so understanding of her howls. She is much better now that we finally got it.

I have always been an 'animal' person, I have raised bugs, spiders, lizards, snakes, rabbits, hamsters, gerbils, mice, guinea pigs, rats, calves, goats, lambs, dogs, cats, horses, fish, and multiples of birds. I know much about healing them as I too, wanted to be a vet. A large animal vet or a zoo vet, that was my dream, I was going to go to NMSU and board my horse there, rodeo, and go to vet school. Life didn't happen that way except that I am still very attuned to animals and I know they can talk...not the way we talk but in their own way because I understand them. Both of our dogs and our cat are 'rescues' and they know a good thing and are very grateful.

Great good luck to you Cat, our little friends need more people like you.

SooZen

[Doreen Peri]

i wanted to reply to it too... it was a really good piece!

i'm a cat person... i love my cat

my friend, Kat (i love her, too), she just moved out a few of months ago.... she lived here for several years... anyway, years ago, she had this 2 bedroom apartment. We called it Kathie's Farm. in that little apartment, she had a fish tank with lots of tropical fish, a ferret, 3 cats and a dog and some other critter I can't remember. I'd trip over them all when I came to visit. It was nuts. Somebody scratched "Kathie's Farm" on the metal front door with a key or something sharp. I lived in the complex, too. It was a low income housing property.

There were also all kinds of animals outside. Long story better left for a book I want to write. Drug deals, murder and mahem, not necessarily in that order.

I used to spend the night sometimes on the couch and the damn ferret would ferret his way underneath the blanket and come up an rub his wet nose on my face... it was sorta different to wake up to that... LOL!

I had a dog once. His name was Harley. He was a cockapoo. He was so cute. Half poodle, half cocker spaniel. He had this long hair that covered his eyes.... off white and grey. I adored him. I named him Harley because we wanted a bike but couldn't afford one. I never could train him. He ate up all my shoes. One day I went to go somewhere and all I had was flipflops left, only one of them had half a sole. He chewed the rungs on the chairs, too. And I had to pay the county for replacement carpet.

I also had birds. Deedee was our first parakeet. I was a kid. All my sister's names started with D. My mom was like that. Her name starts with a D. My dad's name started with a D, too. What better name to name a pet than, Deedee? I guess. Ask my mom.

One day Deedee died. She was old. So we got another parakeet and mom named him OB. For Other Bird.

Later, I had a parakeet of my own when I went off to live by myself in my own apartment when I was in my twenties. His name was Nino. My little boy parakeet. He did tricks. I'd hold him on my finger up near my mouth and open my mouth all the way and he'd stick his head in at an angle, then pull it out again. Then, he'd do it again the other way. Then he'd sorta rub his beek up against my cheek. Odd trick, but my sister taught it to him so I can't take responsibility.

I loved Nino. One evening, my husband-to-be was sitting next to me on the bed and talking about wedding plans. Nino landed on his shoulder and nipped his ear and I guess it scared him or it hurt or something because, he wacked him away from his ear like a bug had bit him and poor Nino ended up with a broken wing and died. I grieve for him to this day. It just wasn't fair. Life is a fragile creature.

Those are all the animal stories I have tonight.

Oh, except I used to have a cat named Pandora. I named her that because of her box.

thanks for sharing your stories, sooZ...

and if you're reading this, Cat, thank you for wanting to have a place to talk about the issues which you are passionate about.

[sooZen]

Doreen, as usual I love your stories! Animal stories are one of my favorite kinds of serials.

Good stuff. I have more but no time today. Another day perhaps and I will tell some horsey tails or monkey shines.

Nice to have this spot and a nice, friendly Cat too.

SooZ

[abcrystcats]

I know lots of people who have multiple animals of different kinds. I think for those of us that love them, rescuing animals is almost a compulsion (this is another article topic, BTW).

For me, I have found it is easier to stick to one breed -- CATS. I have 13 at the moment. I can't have anymore because I find that I cannot give them the individual attention they deserve, otherwise.

The people I know who are trans-species rescuers go NUTS because they have several different types of chores to do to make sure all the animals are comfortable. I admire their perseverance, I really do.

All my cats are rescues, because as you can tell from the article, I did rescue work for about three years. Some just insisted on living with me! Calypso absolutely refused to go to adoption events! She turned into a scratching, biting feral whenever I needed to put her in a carrier on Saturday. Her brother went compliantly and got a great home. I think he wanted to be an only cat! Calypso "knew" I had decided she could stay the day her brother got a home. She sat on my lap for the first time that night and she's been relatively compliant about being put in carriers, ever since. Two of my cats are hard-core ferals and refuse all touching and petting. Doesn't matter. They still love being inside and they are friends with all the other cats.

My articles will get more serious after this. I felt I had to put up something to "ID" this spot, and I only had about a day and half to do it, so no research, no outline, just description. Next Monday I'll have something thought-provoking, I hope.

Thanks for your kind remarks, and Sooz, I hope you are able to solve that "yowling" problem!

Cat.