I haven't visited here in awhile and realize that I haven't updated myself on where "Tom" is at, recovery-wise.
Oh, he is SUCH a love. He greets me each time I come through the door with a few grunt-style "meow" noises. He then winds around my feet while I stumble to his food bowl for refilling. (It always needs refilling.) He gets a few strokes on his head and back while he chows down and then I head towards the couch to let him have some time alone to dine. When he decides to take a break, he slowly struts over to me, nudges my feet, and then hops onto the couch beside me. He lets me inspect his leg (which is completely recovered but very bald still) and then the grooming can begin. Every now and again, I'll tell him what a great cat he is and he'll purr for a bit and then it will be nap time.
The plan of attack is that one of our two rescue cats will be relocated to their "forever home". If it is Tom, he will go to his new home with a carrier, whatever food is left, his cat toys, a few towels (that have his scent) and his medical records (including his rabies tag) ... but I'll need to have whomever takes him to PROMISE me he'll be a strictly-indoor cat and that he'll be "fixed". It's possible that Tom and Tabby could get along, but that would mean I'd need to have additional tests done on Tom before he meets Tabby (to ensure everyone stays healthy) ... things I've already done on Shiloh (except we know that currently Shiloh and Tabby do not get along). It's a puzzle.
And that's where things are today. We have the best-ever brown tabby, the shy and needy gray tabby, and the tough-guy with a soft heart orange tabby. All healthy, happy, and wonderful to spend time with.
Purrs.
Wednesday, February 9, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
I Hate To Go All "Bob Barker" On Your Ass ...
Ghandi has been credited with saying "the greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated."
More recent, Cardinal Roger Mahony (1998) said "any society, any nation, is judged on the basis of how it treats its weakest members; the last, the least, the littlest."
Everyone has their "line in the sand" of tolerance. Things we just WILL NOT PUT UP WITH. Things which, when they occur, we throw a flag on the play and say "no - that is totally unacceptable". Mine is animals in pain.
Are there bigger problems in the world? Of course there are. Starvation still exists, crimes against humanity happen daily, disease runs wild, homelessness, unemployment ... geez, depressed yet? While those things are horrible and scary and awful, we - as a communicating people - can discuss them. We can debate them. We can work through them. In time, sometimes in very small ways, we can even solve them.
Animals, 'tho ... when an animal is in pain, you can not explain to it what is happening. I mean, sure - you CAN ... but you may as well be reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, 'cause they don't really know what you're telling them.
I've written about our "adopted street cat", Shiloh. I don't know how she found us, why the timing worked out like it did, or how much longer she would have lived if we hadn't stepped in. I know that I never saw any "lost cat" signs in our neighborhood. I also know that, for a "free" cat ... *sigh* well, but I can't put a price on an animal. That's the part that a lot of people may not understand. It's my weakness ... it's my line in the sand... animals in pain. If I can help, I will.
"Tom", the un-neutered orange marmalade cat, is injured. Badly. I noticed it last night. Two, maybe three deep puncture wounds in his back right leg. They were fresh, and he was limping. Tom more than likely belongs to someone. The Awesome Boyfriend and I know this - or think this - because when he was in his last fight, someone took him in and got his head stitched up Plus he's very approachable and friendly. Heck, he was nice to us before Shiloh was. (They were buddies before Shiloh had her litter. Tom is probably the kitty-daddy.) So I hoped last night that Tom would go to that kind soul with these latest battle scars and get care.
Today he was not on the stoop when I went to get coffee. I was glad. Clearly he did go home. White kitty, who we believe really is homeless, was there to greet me and showed no signs of a fight. Besides, Tom's wounds were too deep to have been made by another cat. They looked to me to be from a dog or a wild critter of some kind.
When I got back from coffee, Tom was sunning himself on the stoop. Knowing that getting him fixed up would have taken longer than that, I sighed. And yes, as I fed him, there were the untreated punctures. Now he's gone at least 12 hours without medical care.
As you read this, I'm waiting for Shiloh's vet to call me back. I've explained the situation. Tom is not my cat. I've been "retired" for 18 months and have no regular source of income. I've already rescued one cat and she doesn't get along with our resident cat ... I cannot care of any more felines and have no safe place to stash Tom. Plus, even if he does (somehow) recover from this latest fight, then what? He's an un-neutered male cat ... fighting is what he does. What about the next fight? So my plea to the vet was that I'd pay for pain meds if she treats him and adopts him out or, if he's beyond hope, puts him down painlessly.
That's what I'm left with. Making life-and-death deals for a cat that is not mine. Because someone, somewhere, at some point gave up on Tom.
So pet owners - if the ONLY thing you ever do for your animal is get them "fixed" to control the population, please know I thank you from the bottom of my pet-lovin' heart.
More recent, Cardinal Roger Mahony (1998) said "any society, any nation, is judged on the basis of how it treats its weakest members; the last, the least, the littlest."
Everyone has their "line in the sand" of tolerance. Things we just WILL NOT PUT UP WITH. Things which, when they occur, we throw a flag on the play and say "no - that is totally unacceptable". Mine is animals in pain.
Are there bigger problems in the world? Of course there are. Starvation still exists, crimes against humanity happen daily, disease runs wild, homelessness, unemployment ... geez, depressed yet? While those things are horrible and scary and awful, we - as a communicating people - can discuss them. We can debate them. We can work through them. In time, sometimes in very small ways, we can even solve them.
Animals, 'tho ... when an animal is in pain, you can not explain to it what is happening. I mean, sure - you CAN ... but you may as well be reciting the Pledge of Allegiance, 'cause they don't really know what you're telling them.
I've written about our "adopted street cat", Shiloh. I don't know how she found us, why the timing worked out like it did, or how much longer she would have lived if we hadn't stepped in. I know that I never saw any "lost cat" signs in our neighborhood. I also know that, for a "free" cat ... *sigh* well, but I can't put a price on an animal. That's the part that a lot of people may not understand. It's my weakness ... it's my line in the sand... animals in pain. If I can help, I will.
"Tom", the un-neutered orange marmalade cat, is injured. Badly. I noticed it last night. Two, maybe three deep puncture wounds in his back right leg. They were fresh, and he was limping. Tom more than likely belongs to someone. The Awesome Boyfriend and I know this - or think this - because when he was in his last fight, someone took him in and got his head stitched up Plus he's very approachable and friendly. Heck, he was nice to us before Shiloh was. (They were buddies before Shiloh had her litter. Tom is probably the kitty-daddy.) So I hoped last night that Tom would go to that kind soul with these latest battle scars and get care.
Today he was not on the stoop when I went to get coffee. I was glad. Clearly he did go home. White kitty, who we believe really is homeless, was there to greet me and showed no signs of a fight. Besides, Tom's wounds were too deep to have been made by another cat. They looked to me to be from a dog or a wild critter of some kind.
When I got back from coffee, Tom was sunning himself on the stoop. Knowing that getting him fixed up would have taken longer than that, I sighed. And yes, as I fed him, there were the untreated punctures. Now he's gone at least 12 hours without medical care.
As you read this, I'm waiting for Shiloh's vet to call me back. I've explained the situation. Tom is not my cat. I've been "retired" for 18 months and have no regular source of income. I've already rescued one cat and she doesn't get along with our resident cat ... I cannot care of any more felines and have no safe place to stash Tom. Plus, even if he does (somehow) recover from this latest fight, then what? He's an un-neutered male cat ... fighting is what he does. What about the next fight? So my plea to the vet was that I'd pay for pain meds if she treats him and adopts him out or, if he's beyond hope, puts him down painlessly.
That's what I'm left with. Making life-and-death deals for a cat that is not mine. Because someone, somewhere, at some point gave up on Tom.
So pet owners - if the ONLY thing you ever do for your animal is get them "fixed" to control the population, please know I thank you from the bottom of my pet-lovin' heart.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Tuning In and Turning Off
Thus far, 2011 has been rather uneventful on a personal level. Shiloh is still with us (mostly because I'm living under the hope of somehow getting she and Tabby to a place where they can be under one roof) and she's recovering from her recent "getting fixed and chipped" surgery. It finally snowed a decent amount here (last night) and we've been spending our down time taking inventory of "our stuff" for insurance purposes. All in all, though, it's been pretty uneventful.
Sadly, the same cannot be said for things being uneventful for the general population. With all that has happened in Arizona in the past few days, it wasn't shocking that the topic on the NPR show I was listening to on the radio was guns and gun control and the rights the population has in regards to guns and gun control. I won't share all of what I heard, or thought, while I listened but I will share this:
It seems that the handgun ... a Glock ... used in this latest tragedy was, at one point, limited by law to have no more than 10 rounds per magazine - which is to say that one can fire 10 bullets without reloading. But, since the early part of the last decade, that law expired and magazines could be purchased that had 33 rounds. (Keep in mind that this is a very quick-firing gun and that one could easily use all 33 rounds in 90 seconds, as demonstrated in Arizona). The radio show asked the guests to give a non-predatory situation where having a handgun that fired more than 30 bullets in under 90 seconds would be more useful than one that fired 10 shots in the same time and the guests went silent.
And then, as if on cue, the representative from the NRA spoke up and reminded the listeners that real life situations are so frequently NOT like what is shown on television or the movie screens, that it very rarely takes just a single shot to stop a burglar invading your home, that not every bullet finds its intended target ...
I turned off the radio.
Nineteen people were shot, more than a dozen were wounded, and six were killed. The individual responsible was stopped only because he was in the midst of switching from his now-empty magazine to a full one. While it is true that a disturbed person hell-bent on violence will find a way, it's not too much of a leap to wonder if the magazine size law had never changed, would those same people still be involved or injured or dead?
It seems to me that if John Q. Public wants to exercise his right to carry a weapon, he'd better be a good enough shot to stop an intruder in 10 shots, 'cause I dunno if I want him to be shooting at all otherwise.
Sadly, the same cannot be said for things being uneventful for the general population. With all that has happened in Arizona in the past few days, it wasn't shocking that the topic on the NPR show I was listening to on the radio was guns and gun control and the rights the population has in regards to guns and gun control. I won't share all of what I heard, or thought, while I listened but I will share this:
It seems that the handgun ... a Glock ... used in this latest tragedy was, at one point, limited by law to have no more than 10 rounds per magazine - which is to say that one can fire 10 bullets without reloading. But, since the early part of the last decade, that law expired and magazines could be purchased that had 33 rounds. (Keep in mind that this is a very quick-firing gun and that one could easily use all 33 rounds in 90 seconds, as demonstrated in Arizona). The radio show asked the guests to give a non-predatory situation where having a handgun that fired more than 30 bullets in under 90 seconds would be more useful than one that fired 10 shots in the same time and the guests went silent.
And then, as if on cue, the representative from the NRA spoke up and reminded the listeners that real life situations are so frequently NOT like what is shown on television or the movie screens, that it very rarely takes just a single shot to stop a burglar invading your home, that not every bullet finds its intended target ...
I turned off the radio.
Nineteen people were shot, more than a dozen were wounded, and six were killed. The individual responsible was stopped only because he was in the midst of switching from his now-empty magazine to a full one. While it is true that a disturbed person hell-bent on violence will find a way, it's not too much of a leap to wonder if the magazine size law had never changed, would those same people still be involved or injured or dead?
It seems to me that if John Q. Public wants to exercise his right to carry a weapon, he'd better be a good enough shot to stop an intruder in 10 shots, 'cause I dunno if I want him to be shooting at all otherwise.
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