 The
Cat's Meow
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| Issue 10, vol 5 | Fall Back With The Cat | October 29, 2006 |
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Fall
Back
In the United States, we "fall back" today. Officially, the time changes at 2am on Sunday, October 29, 2006. Be sure to reset your clocks before going to bed so that you can sleep in Sunday morning during the hour you'll have regained from when we "sprang forward" in the Spring!
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Halloween Safety Tips For Your Pets
This Halloween, the San Bernardino County Animal Care & Control Program is asking pet owners to take special care of their pets, and gives a few tips on how to do this. While Halloween is a fun time for families and kids, it can be stressful or even dangerous for your pets, so keep your animals off the lawn and in the house for Halloween. For outdoor cats, especially black cats, keep them inside for several days before and after Halloween. If left alone, your pets could be injured, stolen, or even killed by pranksters. Also, keep your animals away from harmful items. Chocolate is poisonous to many animals, and candy wrappers can be hazardous if swallowed. Pets should be kept away from lit pumpkins as well, for they may start a fire or harm themselves. Costumes can also be harmful if you put them on your pets. Make sure the costume is not annoying or unsafe to them. It should not constrict your pet's movement, hearing, or ability to breath or bark. And make sure there’s nothing on it that your pet could chew off and choke on. When trick-or-treaters start to come by, keep your pet in a separate room. If you keep the pets around the kids, they may become scared or run out the door. And as always, please make sure they’re wearing identification in case the pets become lost. Reprinted from Helene's Place Site Ring |
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Barbwire Cats |
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Part One: Clayton’s Story (continued from previous issue) In 1941 The Great Attack came to Barbwire, California. This attack was a boundless ocean of rats and Barbwire was going to need every single kitty-cat it could get its hands on! Before the Rat-War, there had never been any cats in Barbwire. Now, not only were they here, they were genuine, honest-to-goodness celebrities ... From an original twenty-four cats in 1941, we now have either fifty-three or fifty four, and nearly every single one is descended from the twenty four bounders, cads, and scoundrels who had been left stranded here after the war. It just so happens that I myself have a cat. But she’s one of few cats in this town that are not descended from The Twenty-Four. I found her quite by accident while driving through the town of Oaxaca, Mexico. Despite the loud and profane protests of my wife ... Installment 6 Here’s what happened: In May of 1993, my wife, Terry, and I were on vacation on the Mexican Gulf. We had just walked out of a café, and I as reached out to drop my napkin in a trash can, my eye picked up a tiny movement. When I looked closer I saw a new-born kitten. It was maybe three inches long, and a pale shade of pink. I knew it couldn’t be more than three or four days old. "I am allergic," said my wife. “No you’re not! I remember exactly what happened! You and I were playing Lego’s in your den. You asked your Mom and Dad if you could have a cat, because I had a cat and you really liked her. Remember Muffy?” I said, “Come on, let’s go. We can talk about it on the way to the vet’s office. Would you drive please?” Terry silently took the keys. We got directions to a veterinarian about six miles away. As we drove I told her the whole story. “You asked your Mom if you could have a cat.” I recounted. “You were facing the wrong way to see her face, but I saw it. As soon as you asked, your Mom and Dad looked at each other and shook their heads. And they both said, ‘No’ at the same time. You asked them, ‘Why not?’ First, your Dad said, ‘Those damn things are sneaky, and dangerous, and they don’t do what they’re told!’ Then your Mom said, ‘Besides Honey, you’re allergic.’ And she winked at your dad! I saw her." "She winked, Terry!!” I went on, “You asked your Mom what ‘allergic’ meant, and she said, ‘It’s complicated Sweetie, but it means you could die if you have a cat.” The newborn kitten was squirming weakly in my hands. Terry was staring ahead, but I knew she wasn’t just seeing the road. I knew she was seeing the truth in what I’d told her. “Why, Clay? Why did they lie to me?” “It was just the easiest way for them to say no. Cats can be a chore sometimes. People worry that they’ll make messes, they’ve got to be fed, watered, and brushed. If they get hurt or sick it’s expensive to have them treated. Cats are great, but they’re not effortless.” “But why did they lie?” She asked again. “I’ve been scared to death of cats my whole life because of that lie.” “They were just trying to avoid a tantrum, Terry, that’s all. They weren’t thinking in the long term, they just made a mistake. When we have kids, we’ll make some mistakes of our own, believe me.” She reached over with her right hand and gently touched the tiny bit of life in my hand. “I love you, Clay.” “I can’t say I blame you, Terry.” She backhanded me playfully on my shoulder. “Can we keep it?” “I was just gonna ask you the same thing.” I smiled. The vet told us that the baby was a female. He said she was badly dehydrated, malnourished, had worms, mites, an eye infection, and was running a fever, which he said was very bad. He candidly told us that almost no kittens this age, in this condition, ever survived. He said, “It will take a miracle.” I liked him right away; because against his own interests, he was trying to warn me off a bad investment. I asked him to do everything possible to save the kitten. He said “It won’t be cheap.” “Yes it will.” I assured him. We took the vet’s phone number and explained that we had to go to Guadalajara for four days. I told him I would call him every day to see how the kitten was doing. And if she survived, we’d be back in a week to pick her up. After some obligatory haggling, I gave him a fat down-payment and we left. Every day the news from the vet got better and better. By the time we got back to Oaxaca and the vet’s office, the kitten was looking much better. She was moving around and looked strong. She was sucking greedily at the tiny baby-bottle that the vet’s assistant held for her. “Is she ready to go?” I asked the vet. “Yes, fine.” He said. Then he gave us three of the tiny baby-bottles and two cartons of kitten formula and explained how and when to feed her. He also gave us four prescription bottles with different antibiotics, and something for worms, He noticed me frowning at the medicine bottles. “Don’t worry.” He said. “Very mild.” Although I hadn’t asked, he told me I had change coming from my deposit. I thanked him, accepted the money, and shook his hand warmly. Then I took the thirty dollars change into the treatment room, and gave it to the young woman who’d been feeding our new family member. She spoke quietly in my ear, “The Doctor not sleep all night three days to watch baby and give food.” As I drove out of the parking lot, I heard Terry whisper, “Guadalupe, her name is Guadalupe.” Tears were streaming freely down her beautiful face. Within two years, Guadalupe, or Lupe as we called her, was a full grown beauty. She was pure white, except for a minuscule black spot right in the center on top of her head. Her personality could easily be summed up in one word: Love. That’s the only way I can explain it. She gave me the feeling that if I could see inside of her, I would see what love actually looks like; complete, unreserved, and unconditional. I could recognize this in her, because it was the same way that I loved Terry. But Terry was taken from us in October of 1996 ... [Continued in the next regular issue of The Cat's Meow (not the Halloween issue)] David Perry lives in the High Desert of southern California with his two cats, Psycho and Lupe. His first novel "WHISPERING CATS" is due out mid-year 2007. |
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