Purrs and Prayers

So I'm very happy to see purrs and prayers coming in for Miss Coco... I've had the pleasure of meeting Coco and her Momma at the last cat show, but even moreso- I've known her Momma for a while online and she did a lot to help raise funds for Neala's surgery- so she holds a special place in my heart. Please, if you haven't- take the time to visit Jacky's site...

Life over here has gotten close to hectic- school starts up soon, so the little hairless beasts who make me laugh every day and yet can make me want to pull my hair out as well- are headed back (well, one is going for the first time on Monday and one still has a few years until he starts). PLUS, school starts back for me since I've decided I've put off returning to that big brick school called college for far too long...

And we are planning our trip to the great big cat show of the year- the TICA Annual. If anyone is in Northern California- we'd love to see you there! We will be bringing Cole, our new fluffy black boy, and Simon, my orange pudding pop cat...

Story of Rescue

My very first rescue, actually, was on an Army base. I was in the military and there for training. We were walking to the theater that night when I heard a tiny mewing outside Army training barracks. I listened for a moment and located the sound coming out of a heavy grate set in the ground. Being strong and young back in the day, me and my buddy lifted the grate and set it aside the drain. The mewing abruptly stopped and we could see nothing in the drain, so believing we had freed the kitten by removing the grate, we went on to the movies.

The night sky was dark by the time we got back and the stars were out. It is gorgeous at night in Alabama, by the way... We were walking chatting, enjoying the night time, when I heard it again- the teeny tiny mewing of a kitten. Someone had placed that heavy grate back upon our kitten's hole!

(Thinking back now- she probably slipped between the grate and couldn't climb UP to get OUT, but I didn't think of that possibility back then).

It's been over a decade now, but somehow, in the pitch dark of night, we removed the grate again and I jumped into this dingy dirty gross drain to find the kitten. I pushed my hands through leaves and gods-know-what and suddenly, I felt her! Fur!

Pulling her out and holding her to me, now I was in trouble... She was probably a six-seven week old solid blue fluffy scrap of a thing. She was so happy to be out of that drain!

Now my problem was- I was residing in training barracks as well! I didn't have a house- I lived in barracks where pets weren't allowed and it was probably 10 PM at night!

I decided if I was going to get in trouble- this was the way to do it. So I snuggled the kitten into my shirt, brought her upstairs and introduced her to the girls.

We were in an open bay- ie there were bunk beds and we each had a wall closet, a set of showers in the back and a cleaning closet. I explained the issue to the girls and for once, we all agreed and we decided the kitten would stay with us until our Gunny came in on and then we would ask him to place her at the base shelter. I know- shelters aren't wonderful places, but it had to be better then dying in a drainpipe in the dark!

That weekend, we had that scamp running all over our bay. She was the cutest, sweetest little thing.

And yes, that Monday, as soon as our Gunny arrived, I trepidatiously went down to his office, rapped on his door, and went in with trembling knees to tell him I broke the rules, but it was for a good reason.

He took it well naturedly enough. I'd like to think he had a good heart.

She was actually our first rescue- in a long history of them now...

Cat Shows for the Household Pet

So because someone mentioned they don't know much about cat shows, I wanted to take some time to fill in some blanks...

Cat shows, unlike dog shows, embrace not only the purebred kitties (pictured here is Cole, modelling his gorgeous, soft blankie from ML and made by Peggy! Isn't it fab?)...

Cat shows, hosted by TICA and I believe CFA as well, also embraces our beloved household pet kitties- you know, those slapped with the boring names of 'Domestic Shorthair' or 'Domestic Longhair', etc. You know as well as I do- those titles don't really say anything about our beloved kitties! I like the term moggy- it's just funny, so I use it for my regular kitties nowadays...

Anyways, if you have a sweet kitty that loves people- and loves to show off- he/she can do great at a cat show! Look at the TICA show calendar and pick a show near you...

http://ticamembers.org/calendar/

Now, you could register your kitty right off the bat- they still need to be registered, even as a Household Pet- but you can go to your first show and skip the registration if you want. I went ahead and registered my boy I have shown as a HHP before showing him- I figured that way if he did anything in the ring, I wouldn't have to submit paperwork afterwards to get his points. Good thing too- I hate paperwork!

Okay, register your kitty for the show and place them as 'registration pending' if you would like.

The big thing with cat shows and Household Pets is GROOMING. I really failed here when I took my kitty to the show...

(Short story: I had paid fees to bring two kitties to a show. One kitty went into heat and I wanted her bred, so I was hoping she was pregnant. Turns out- she wasn't, but I had to register the second kitty for the show a few days before I found out. I looked around at my kitties and said, "Hmmm... Who should go to the show?" And I picked my TEN YEAR OLD ONE EYED EAR TORN kitty- Teddy. He had a great personality at home and I hoped he would charm the judges at the show).

When I groomed my kitty, I didn't test my shampoo out prior and it made his coat seem a bit greasy... I would suggest testing out any shampoo prior to use and rinse-rinse-rinse to make sure it doesn't leave the coat greasy!

Anyways, guess what? Even with his coat in less then 'perfect' condition- that weekend, there was ONE judge that was simply in love with my boy... He had not placed in a single ring and then...

The judge kept him in the ring after she dismissed the rest of the class that didn't place! And then she placed 3rd and it WASN'T my boy! And I thought, well, he'll get second- that's great. And THEN she placed SECOND- and it wasn 't my boy!!! He got first!

But even more exciting- after that ring (he is a shorthaired cat, so he was judged first with all of the shorthaired adults- and as a HHP, all adults have to be spayed/neutered)- he was called back fo the Finals ring (this is where you get points) and he WON FIRST PLACE in the FINAL RING!

Yes, I cried. I was so sappy...

So the lesson today is- if you enjoy sharing your kitty and your kitty enjoys sharing attention with others- why not try showing at a cat show? Teddy got his Masters title that very weekend- with that one ring. I am so proud of him. He doesn't know and he probably doesn't care, but it makes my heart swell to know others find him as wonderful as I do...

Not bad for a one eyed senior catizen, huh? (Here he is in the Juniors Exhibitors' Ring being shown by my daughter...)

Crying

I am so sad- so many families lost their beloved kitties this week...





Winnie, in particular, touched my heart. She reminded me of Neala. Of course, she did- she was tiny and a fighter!

I know I'm not good at keeping up my sideline with all of the sick kitties and families needing prayers, but please don't think they aren't in my heart. The Cat Blogosphere is hard for me- I found it when I needed it the most, but it's still hard for me to go to the site and read it and see all of the heartbreak and pain and need... Even though it's wrapped in love and excitement and joy...

ARGH!

Okay, another Ebay auction- all proceeds go to the Winn Foundation...

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=320576505598

Jeepers Creepers, Where'd You Get Those Peepers?

Mum said it's about time I introduce myself since a kind lady, ML, finally let the 'cat out of the bag'...

My name is Cole, although on some fancy schmancy paperwork, I'm known as Susen's Jeepers Creepers. My Momma, the sweet one that I used to suckle the milk of life from, was a kind fluffy soul- with lots of curl and love to go around. I remember spending my days, nursing and hanging out with my brothers... We learned all of the things good kittens learn at Kitten Academy- how to use the litterbox, where to scratch, depending on whether the hue-mans have been good or bad that day, and how to be just aloof enough to put your hue-man back in their place if they've been exceptionally naughty. It was a good thing- but as all things go- couldn't last.

My Grams is a kind hue-man that taught me how to eat kibble and that hue-mans were good for scritches and pats. She was with me from birth too and then one day, she packed me and my bros up and we went to this place where there were a lot of other cats and hue-mans hustling and bustling back and forth from one set of wooden benches to another.

I didn't mind though. We had a nice cozy hide-out with a hammock (have you ever slept on one of those? COMFORT-DELUXE!) and blankies to snuggle under.

This is where I met my Mum- she came over and talked to my Grams and Grams took me out and we got to cuddle. I flashed my amber eyes at her- I could tell this hue-man was hurting and sad... I must admit- I kinda melted like butter in her arms- this is one of the Secrets to a Hue-man Heart you learn in Kitten Academy.

But would you believe it? Some hue-man male called numbers off the loud speaker and Mum dashed off! I was so appalled! How did I misread her? I thought I had her in my paw.

My brothers laughed at me that night! They told me I musta failed that class in KA! Pssh- brothers!

But the next day, right before the cat show, as Grams called it, was to end- Mum came over and started talking to Grams again. We were already in the plastic box that would carry us home, but Mum pointed me out and then Grams smiled and said something and Mum smiled and suddenly, I was outta the box and in Mum's arms!

She looked into my eyes and squeezed me softly and I knew- she was mine!

Well, that's my intro for now :)

(Edited to add by Mum: Cole isn't a rescue, although I can see by his description how one might think he is... The hustle and bustle he is describing is the hustle and bustle found at the cat show we last attended- and his little cave was his show cage :) He was there with his breeder- I fell in love and she offered him as a co-owned kitty. I couldn't turn him down!)

Updates

Johnny, the little kitten with the possible PRAA, was finally diagnosed with a simple mega-esophagus. Nothing actually simple about mega-e. Unlike PRAA, there is no 'fix'- you can only use medications and hope that it will enable the kitten to keep food down. In fact, digging through the mega-e archives on the Yahoo Group before Neala was diagnosed with PRAA, I only found ONE kitten with mega-e without a primary diagnosis causing it- and although this kitten survived- it does not bode well for others that there aren't others online with the same condition.

Johnny, sadly, was put to sleep after he fought the good fight- he was simply losing weight and not thriving. I know his parents were very saddened by his loss- I was saddened too...

I was also informed yesterday about a Peterbald kitten that was diagnosed with PRAA and has since passed on. Breaks my heart- these little guys... I'm hoping his Mom will email me the story as well as a picture to add to Neala's PRAA website.

I'm sorry I haven't been updating as much as I should be. I finally received the gorgeous painting by Shannon Tolhurst- Neala's portrait. I am keeping it- it graces my wall with her presence and Shannon did a wonderful job. I love it. She is a good friend who has two of Neala's half-siblings- they are about 3 years old.