Free your mind

You Are Trinity

"Touch me and that hand will never touch anything again."

What Superheroine Are You?

Cashmere, interrupted

As I'd mentioned when I took her in, Cashmere was very malnourished and frail. She spent most of her time curled up in her little bed. She wobbled when she stood up. She didn't eat much -- only a few bites of kibble at a time, and more than a dab of wet food made her throw up. She was clearly very ill, but I hoped that it was just from being so undernourished, and that she'd gain strength after enough rest and food.

Despite her physical condition, she was amazingly sweet and friendly. She would have been the perfect house cat.

When I took her to the vet Wednesday morning, they tested her for feline leukemia, and it came back positive. That was the least of her worries, though. The vet said that as thin and bony as she was, and as swollen as her belly was, she probably had something much worse, and untreatable, called feline infectious peritonitis. She wasn't pregnant as I'd feared -- her belly was filled with fluid. The FIP was the reason why she wasn't able to eat much or keep her food down when she did eat.

There was no choice but to euthanize her. The FIP would have killed her within days or weeks, and it would have been an agonizing death.

The only good news was that, since I'd kept her crated and the other cats had no access to her food, water, litter, or bed, they weren't in danger of catching the feline leukemia from her, and while the underlying coronavirus that caused the FIP is contagious, the FIP itself is not. The coronavirus generally isn't dangerous -- the vet compared it to the common cold -- it's just that in some unlucky cats, the virus mutates into a lethal disease.

I've had to have pets euthanized before, and it's the most agonizing decision a pet owner has to make. Even though I'd had Cashmere for only a few days, it really wasn't much easier to let them put her down than it has been when I've lost pets I've had for years. I cried just as much for Cashmere as I did for my dog, Alex, who I'd had for more than fourteen years when she had to be euthanized three years ago due to cancer.

I don't regret taking her in, though. I'm glad she had a few days of being safe and sound inside, in her own bed, and that she didn't end up dying a slow and painful death outdoors. May she rest in peace.

Oh, crap, I did it again

I really did not want another cat. Believe me, I have more than enough. But lately, this incredibly sweet little calico has been coming around for breakfast when I put out food for the neighborhood feral cats. She won me over the first time I saw her when she came right up to me and let me pet her, then started chowing down. She's obviously feral, and has to be less than a year old, yet has no fear of people and loves to be petted.

I've been considering taking her in ever since our first encounter a few weeks ago, but I really, really didn't want another cat. This morning when I went out to fill up the cat food dishes on the porch, she was curled up in the kitty bed. I petted her and was alarmed at how bony and frail she was. I couldn't help it. I picked her up and took her inside. She meowed a bit, but made no attempt to scratch, bite, or try to get away.

I put her in Achilles's crate, which he never uses any more, and set her up with a bed, litter box, and food and water dishes, plus a couple of toys. I'll keep her crated until I can get her to the vet this week to make sure she doesn't have anything my other cats could catch. I'm also praying that she's not pregnant!

She is just the sweetest, prettiest little thing. She's been curled up contentedly in her kitty bed all day, getting up occasionally to bat her toys around, have a bite to eat, and use the litter box. I've been checking on her periodically and she loves it when I open the crate door to pet her for awhile. The other cats and Achilles are curious, and have been hanging around the crate getting acquainted with her.

She's very frail, but I'm hoping it's just from malnutrition and that she isn't sick. With any luck, I'll just fatten her up on some good kitty food and she'll be fine.

Oh, and I've named her Cashmere.

Boycott Amazon

I have been a loyal Amazon customer for many years. I buy almost all of my books and CDs, for myself and as gifts, there. I would estimate that I spend at least $1000 per year on the amazon.com website. Not any more. It seems that Amazon has for some time been selling cock fighting magazines and dog fighting videos. They have refused to stop doing so despite repeated pleas from the Humane Society and despite the fact that selling these repugnant items is a violation of Federal law.

Animal fighting is unbelievably cruel and barbaric, and I don't understand why anyone would consider it "entertainment," or why anyone would defend it in any way.

You can read more about this here.

I sent Amazon an email yesterday telling them that they have lost my business, and why. I hope everyone who reads this will do the same.