Oliver Celebrates World Cat Day

Posted on February 17, 2017 by Feline Opines

black and white cat wearing crown and holding globe

Hello World,
Oliver here urging all my feline and human friends to celebrate World Cat Day today. I asked my purrrsonal assistant to look up the origins of this fantastic feline holiday as I wanted to recognize the brilliant folks who started this tradition.

The International Fund for Animal Welfare introduced this holiday in 2002 and it was created to raise public awareness about the needs of cats (and believe me, we cats have many needs!)

But not all cats are as lucky as The Tribe of Five. We were all rescued and we know what it’s like not to have humans to care for you. I would live to see everyone celebrate World Cat Day by rescuing a feline who needs a home!

So paws up to the humans who’ve brought us into their homes and I say ….
Danke, Merci, Благодаря, Tak, Kiitos, Þakka þér fyrir, köszönöm, grazie, ..and all those other words that mean thanks and of course, the most important word of all……Meow!

Your Friend,

Oliver the kitten's siganture

Oliver, the “Hairy Houdini” of Cats

Posted on February 13, 2017 by Feline Opines

Hello Friends,

black and white cat with a sneer on his face

Me, sporting my new black and white collar. Note the look of happiness on my face.

Oliver here. I’d like to share my “battle of the collar” with you. The humans have a rule; every member of The Tribe of Five must wear a collar with our names and the human’s phone number. Even though we are inside kitties, there has been the odd occasion over the years when one of us has slipped through someone’s legs and shot out the door to explore the garden or the neighborhood, hence the reason for the identification on the collars. Oh, and each collar has a bell because when there are five felines in the household who aren’t well-behaved all of the time, the humans are able to identify who is walking around, racing up the stairs, or jumping off the counter by the sound of our bells.

My brother Alberto and I came to live with the humans about a year and a half ago. The female human promptly ordered us collars. The collars arrived and were placed around our necks. Alberto (and the rest of the Tribe of Five) sport their collars proudly. I, on the other hand, have issues with these things. I’ve spent much time learning how to remove the offending collar (the “safety” feature is wonderful for ridding myself of the offensive item when I get my teeth into it and pull in just the right manner.)

black and white cat chewing on his collar

Whoops, busted!

I lost my first green collar quickly. The humans searched the house but I’d hidden it so well they gave up. A second collar was ordered. I pulled on that one so much, I managed to break the plastic buckle rendering the thing useless.

The female human thought she’d try a new tactic. She went shopping and bought yet another new collar. She declared it perfect for me and told me over and over how “dapper” I looked in the black and white restraint, and how well it matched my luxurious coat. Then she had a small tag made with my name on the front and the human’s cell numbers on the back. This was attached to the collar with the bell.

So, it’s not bad enough that I’m forced to wear this restraint now; I’m forced to suffer further distress with a tag that clinks against the attached bell. Every step I make, I hear, “tinkle, tinkle, clink, clink”. It is maddening. Alberto heard the “song of my collar” immediately, ran over to me and promptly slapped my tag and bell back and forth, enjoying the new “toy”. I was not amused.

black and white cat with black and white checked collar

I refused to turn around so the female human was forced to photograph the newest constraint this way.

I admit it did take a little more time to figure out how to extricate myself from this contraption but I managed- five times. The first four times, the humans successfully located my hiding place for the restraint and attach it to me. The fifth time I hid it so far away they’re still looking for it.

Sadly, the female human found my very first collar and had the temerity to make me wear it this morning before she left for work. I have an entire day to get the thing off of me and bury it in a place she’ll never look.

I don’t know about the rest of my feline friends, but I hate these collar things and I refuse to accept them in the docile manner Tucker and Jasmine have (they’ve been wearing the same collars for 13 years!)

I call all my collar-despising feline friends to unite! Tell me your terrible collar tales and let’s figure out how to put an end to this barbaric practice!

Your Soon to Be Collarless Friend,

Oliver
Oliver the black and white cat holding sign

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 11/30

Posted on November 30, 2016 by Feline Opines

siamese cat in black and white with blue eyes, Alberto, Feline Opines

Hello Friends, Furry and Otherwise,

It’s that time again where I wander along the Internet Highway and choose the feline themed items that have captured my fancy. With one notable and heartwarming exception, this week is an homage to working felines. As a working feline myself, I am always fascinated by other cats who have jobs.

So, sit back and enjoy this weeks picks.

Your Friend,

Human proposes at cat adoption center – Somee Cards

gray kitten at shelter with tag that says will you marry me I’m including this one for all you hopeless romantics. This guy just hit it out of the park and I had a little chat with the male human and told him he could have really upped his game with the female human had he proposed to her this way! And for those of you who are concerned, yes, the lady did go home with a ring…..and a kitten!

Rusik, the caviar-sniffing police cat – Life With Cats

russian police cat Rusik sniffs out caviar

Cat the policeman.

As I mentioned, I am always interested in career cats and this is the first police cat I’ve ever heard of. This is a “rags to riches” story that will make the most grumpy feline smile.

Seems Rusik was a stray who was adopted by the customs guards at a checkpoint near the Caspian Sea. One of the most expensive and sought after items in Russia is caviar and, as it turns out, Rusik proved to be quite adept at smelling it-on smugglers. His talents far outshone the police canines and he became top cat at customs.

Sadly, his great talent led to his demise but while he was with us, he was a cat of extraordinary ability. Покойся с миром (rest in peace) my Russian friend.

Hoodie, Chief Mouser, Newburgh Brewing Company – Catster

tabby cat is chief mouser at brewery Those of you who follow my Wednesday web wanderings know I’ve written about a brewery cat before and it seems as though these brewery jobs are becoming a “thing”. Hoodie works the night shift and lest you think she restricts her job description to mouser only, she is quite talented. She often photobombs the brewery Instagram account and the brewery’s Facebook page. Hoodie has a pretty purrrrfect life, chasing mice, napping on the desk or comfy sofa in the office and sometimes sneaking into the tasting room where snacks can be found. Cheers Hoodie!

From Stray to Chief Mouser at British Foreign Affairs Office – Cattime

tuxedo cat works at the British Foreign Office Well, there are jobs and then there are JOBS, like important government jobs and this former stray has quite the cushy career. This stately feline has a name that matches his impurrrtant duties, Palmerston. The name comes from Prime Minister Viscount Palmerston, a foreign secretary who also served as Prime Minister almost 200 years ago.
When I told my brother, Oliver about Palmerston, Oliver was quite interested. After his recent failed cat-i-dacy for Purresident, he felt that perhaps there was still a glimmer of hope for some sort of purrlitical career. You can wander over to FelineOpines.com and read about Oliver’s campaign and the Kitty Cat Party.

Linky Party 11/19/16

Posted on November 18, 2016 by Feline Opines

Hello Everyone,
Lily here. As you can see, I’m dressed in my best to host our Linky Party. Sure hope you enjoy my picks for favorite blog posts from the last party and please join us. I would love to hear from more felines out there in InternetLand.
Happy Purrrusing,

Welcome to the Pet Blogger Showcase! This is the place for you to show off your favorite family friendly pet related posts, find other great posts to read, show some love to other bloggers and maybe be featured on one of the host blogs!

Animal Shelter Volunteer Life – Tramper’s Sunday Selfie

I picked this one because I love anything that sheds light on animal shelters and, Tramper is quite a handsome guy. I was adopted from our local shelter (all of The Tribe of Five are rescue kitties) and the female human loves to do whatever she can to help our shelter and shelter animals. You may not live close enough to adopt Tramper but you can give a forever home to a feline at your local shelter. (Look how great I turned out)

Travels With Barley – Happy Trails To You

I loved this story and wanted to learn more about humans who foster pets. My humans fostered a year ago but they were “foster failures” and Alberto and Oliver are still with us. Fostering is so important and for the humans who are called to do this I give them a two paws up and say a heartfelt “THANK YOU”!!

A Well Socialized Puppy Is A Happy Puppy

I know, this is about puppies but there is wisdom for humans with felines to learn as well. This takes me back to the fostering topic as the female human is quite convinced that the early socialization Alberto and Oliver received helped shape their personalities to be calm, human friendly felines.

Meet the Hosts Behind the Showcase

Pet Faves– Living the pet lover lifestyle

Heart Like A Dog– The good, the bad, and the Oh My God of living with dogs

Felines Opines– The world from a feline point of view

Momma Kat and Her Bear Cat– The humorous and touching tales of a formerly homeless, yet always extraordinary, feline and his Momma, who’s just along for the ride.

About the Pet Blogger Showcase

Twice a month, On the 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month, you have the chance to link up one of your blog posts to the linky party link-up. Then visit 3 other blogs that joined the party and leave a meaningful comment. Feel free to share with your followers on Facebook, Pinterest, Twitter, etc. Then each week the hosts will feature their favorite 3 posts from the previous Linky Party on the new party post.

Pet Blogger Showcase Rules

Share a pet specific post, past or present, from your blog in the linky below (be sure to link to your post page and not your home page). Family friendly posts only. (We love reading about other topics and niches, but posts that are not pet related will be deleted this includes any posts that don’t mention pets even if they are on a pet blog or if the post could pertain to pets.)
Spread the Love! Leave a quality comment(more than just a few words) on at least 3 other posts from the linky party. Tell them why you love their post, encourage them, share on social media.
Check back for the next linky party to see if you are featured on one of the hosts’ blogs.

*Note: By adding your post to the linky party you are giving the hosts permission to use an image from your post if your post will be a featured post on their blog to help encourage people to click through to your post. The image may be used individually or as a collage.

That’s it! No need to RSVP. No need to bring a covered dish. No need to add the linky to your post. No need to include a button. Just come join the party and PAWTY ON!

Powered by Linky Tools

Click here to enter your link and view this Linky Tools list…

So, You’re Visiting Our Humans…

Posted on November 17, 2016 by Feline Opines

allguestsapproved

Tucker Opines

cross eyed Siamese cat Tucker here. The home of the Tribe of Five has been the destination for a number of visitors this year. We normally live a fairly quiet life, doing what we want, when we want, pretty much where we want. The arrival of human visitors always puts a bit of a crimp in our lifestyle.

There are a number of pre-guest things that happen in our house that we felines find objectionable. There is the copious use of the vacuum monster, the aggressive mop and the fact that some spaces, normally available to us are suddenly restricted.

The female human is a bit obsessive about cleaning and boy does she ramp up when people are coming to stay at our house. There’s a lot of toothbrush around the moldings, edges of the shower, etc. Really, in all my thirteen years, I have never seen a visiting human bend down to inspect the moldings in our house. I think the female human needs to chill.

This flurry of activity is the first indication that guests will be arriving. And then comes phase two, the guests arrive!

Each member of the Tribe of Five have certain requests of any interlopers….errr…guests that come to our home.

First, please remember that there are specific areas we have designated as our own personal rest spots. For me, it’s on top of the down cushion on the big red chair. When sitting in my chair, please do not lean too hard against the cushion in order not to disturb me.

You may want to bring your own personal sticky, roller thing. Although the female human has many around the house…in a house of five felines cat hair is the gift that keeps on giving.

Please be respectful of our schedule. The male human prepares our wet food dinner at approximately 4:00pm each day. If you have plans for the humans, I ask that you honor our dinner schedule. What you do after that is of no consequence to us.

Alberto Opines

Siamese Cat Sitting on suitcase Alberto here. The humans have this wonderful room with a big, comfy bed, lots of soft quilts and a perfect view of the trees, waterfall and forest below. This is one of my favorite nap places. When you arrive, the humans will escort you to this room, and then tell you that it is perfectly fine for you to keep the door closed. Do not believe them. It is not perfectly fine; it is in fact, quite rude in my estimation.

How am I supposed to get a nap when you shut my only access to this wonderful place? You visiting humans bring interesting smells on your shoes and luggage and we felines need a chance to come in and do a thorough sniffing observation. How can we know where you’ve been and what animals you have petted when you deny us access to this room?

When you sleep, it is particularly nice for us to be able to come in and walk across your face and sit on your chest so please, when our humans say, “You’ll probably want to keep the bedroom door closed” accept this for the lie that it is.

Oliver Opines

black and white cat with a heart over his eye Oliver here. When Alberto and I were first brought to our home as fosters, we were very tiny and the humans used the large guest bathroom as our nursery. This is why I have a purrrticular fondness for this room.

In addition, the female human has the room decorated in black and white and I feel that it shows off my own beautiful coloring to it’s best advantage (and, if I sit very still, it works as fairly good camouflage).

One of my favorite games is “sneak in the bathroom, hide in the shower and then jump out” when the guest humans are sitting on the white, throne thing. I derive great delight in this although I must confess, some of the guest humans let out little scream sounds and act like they’re upset. Really, have you seen me? I’m a cute little guy with a black heart over my eye, how scary can I be?

The humans will use the same line regarding the guest bathroom door as they do with the guest bedroom door, giving guest humans full purrrmission to lock us out. Do not believe their lies. And for those guest humans who do choose to keep the door closed. Alberto and I will position ourselves in front of it and wait for you to come out so we can rush in.

Lily Opines

cat in window Lily here. I am extremely shy and human guests send me into a state of absolute terror. If you want to start out on the right paw with me, I BEG you, do NOT ring the doorbell! A soft knock on the door freaks me out as it is, but the horrible door bell will send me down the stairs in a panic and you may never see me again during your stay.

Because I am a scaredy-cat and none too sociable, I will probably remain downstairs during the length of your stay. If you insist on coming downstairs into my territory, I ask you to be extremely careful before you sit on the sofa. That lump you see under the couch cover is probably me.

If you go into the female human’s office downstairs, please observe the rules. It is expected that I will accompany you but none of the other felines are allowed. This is a contract I have had with the human for quite a while. It works well for us and I expect you to honor it.

Some of us are referred to as “darters” and when the humans tell you to make sure we don’t get out, they are very serious. We live in a woodsy area and there are a number of woodland creatures who show up and stare into the downstairs sliders. The upstairs deck is not so safe either. Tucker has fallen off the balcony twice into the ravine and Oliver launched himself downstairs when he was just a kitten. If you want our company outside, the humans will show you where they keep the pop up tent catio that allows us to be outside and stay safe.

If you are going to sit on a stool at the counter, you may not want to leave any meat items you are eating unattended. This goes for glasses of water as well. We probably won’t drink it but there’s a good chance it will end up on the floor.

Finally, when the female human does her nightly feeding of the mama raccoon, house rules state that I am to have a little of the cat food she gives them. It’s our little ritual.

That about covers it but remember, you may go your entire stay without ever meeting me.

Jasmine Opines

Siamese cat on fur throw I am the “invisible” feline, Tucker’s 13-year old sister who was bullied severely and now lives in the human’s bedroom . The female human wrote about this. I am happy to say, things are progressing. Since the kittens Alberto and Oliver came to live with us, they visit me regularly. Lily comes in for a while every evening and the female human takes me for regular visits to the rest of the house. She says that one of her happiest days will be when the bedroom door is open and I roam the house again.

My tips are simple, please don’t ask to meet me, it might freak me out. Please don’t keep my humans up too late as bedtime is “me” time with my humans.

I am the least affected by company but I do know how much the humans enjoy those who come to visit so I say, come and visit, enjoy the view from the guest room and be sure and bring light colors and clothes that cat hair won’t cling to. And for heaven’s sake, leave your canines at home!

P.S. Don’t forget to check your luggage before you leave, Alberto is fast, sneaky and loves to hide in suitcases.

Walk Through the Web Wednesday 11/16

Posted on November 16, 2016 by Feline Opines

siamese cat in black and white with blue eyes, Alberto, Feline Opines

Hello World,
Alberto here. I’ve been purrrusing the internet looking for new and unusual feline themed stories and have some great ones for you this week. As next week is what the humans refer to as a “holiday” my purrsonal assistant may not be available to post my regular Wednesday feature. We will post an original photo and send Howl-iday wishes though.
In the meantime, enjoy this week’s features.
Your Friend,

Feature Shoot – Pounce by Seth Casteel

kitten flying through the air for the book "Pounce" The human photographer Seth Casteel, is known for his books, Underwater Dogs and Underwater Puppies and has now turned his attention to shelter kittens. He captures some special shelter kittens with names like , Chicken, FruityPebble, Fuzzbucket, Doodlebug, and Jennifer, in mid-flight pounce. This wonderful human is highlighting the fact that there are between 30 and 40 million stray cats in the US. An estimated 1.4 million are euthanized in shelters, unable to find safe and loving homes. This book illustrates the joy of kittens and the fact that there are many cats and kittens who need forever homes in shelters all across the country. Every one of us in #TheTribeOfFive were adopted and we are all for anything that helps other felines find forever homes too.

Evening Standard – 10 adorable photographs of London’s most famous pub cats

black English pub cat As my regular readers know, this working feline loves stories about other working cats. This is a pictorial tribute to felines that work in “Boozers” as the English refer to the establishments also known as pubs. I think working in a pub would be quite interesting and I wonder, do they get tips like the human bartenders do?

Mental Floss – 11 Brilliant Gifts for the Cat In Your Life

tabby kittens with Christmas hats The #TribeOfFive is pretty spoiled and we have lots of great toys and feline themed items. As a matter of fact, number 8 on the list is something we already have (and have reviewed), Music for Cats (we recommend it highly). There were many on this list that I found appealing but I finally decided the KitNipBox was my favorite. It works on so many levels, we felines get a gift a month and a portion of the monthly cost is donated to animal welfare organizations. It just doesn’t get any better than that!

What Do You Give The Cat Owner Who Has Everything? Katzenworld

Orange tabby with meowlingual cat meow translator ‘Lest you think I’m completely selfish, I am also interested in what gifts are best for feline-loving humans. Our friends at Katzenworld and their guest poster, Mike James (who describes himself as a tech-obsessed, cat-loving content writer working with Best VPN) provide some excellent choices for your favorite humans this Christmas. I purrrused the list and can’t decide what I like best, the remote cat toys or the Meowlingual, cat translator. While it would be pawsome to have red dots and other kitty delights moving around the house while the humans are at work, it would be very handy for my humans to have a Meowlingual translator too. Just think, I could sit on the computer keyboard and dictate my Walk Through the Web Wednesday posts to my purrsonal assistant!

7 Sounds That Cats Make And What They Mean

gray kitten talking into a microphone While I’m on the subject of translating “cat-speak” if you don’t have a Meowlingual cat translator, you can still learn how to understand a bit of feline talk. You will be able to discern the difference between the trill, the bip, the yowl, the chatter and other feline expressions after reading this post by Care2. At our house, every one of #TheTribeOfFinve has some Siamese heritage and that means some are quite “yakky”. Sometimes it’s almost like a feline symphony at our place!

Walk Through the Web Wednesday 11/2

Posted on November 2, 2016 by Feline Opines

siamese cat in black and white with blue eyes, Alberto, Feline Opines

Hello Friends, furry and otherwise,
It’s that time of the week again and I’ve found some great cat-related items on the world-wide web. I hope you enjoy!
Your Friend,

A Tonk’s Tale-Wordless Wednesday

tonkstailheadernew2016afinal This photo array of a feline and a squirrel is awesome! Our squirrel/bird feeder is on the upstairs deck and we don’t get so close to our wildlife visitors. I am considering having my purrrrsonal assistant make a poster from these fantastic photos and hang them over one of our litter boxes. Also, I must say that the “press feline” looks quite dapper here and I am reconsidering my attire as official press secretary for the Kitty Kat Party.

P.S. If you want to see the pitiful squirrel viewing the Tribe of Five is forced to endure, check out this short video.

David Tennant-Narrates Anti-Stress Films For Cats And Dogs

actor david tennant narrates a film for nervous cats Now here is an idea whose time has come. We felines (and my canine friends) have a lot to be stressed out about like door bells, vacuum monsters, thunder, well you get the idea. One would think that a feline’s humans (particularly humans who pride themselves on keeping a “fear free” home would have better sense than to put on cat ears and paint their face like a feline. I kid you not, siamese cat and woman with cat ears and cat make-up this is what the feline human did on their Howl-o-ween holiday. Nearly gave me a heart attack. Suffice to say there will be no more of that in our house. The photo is of her trying to apologize.

Stylist-Revealed: the most popular cat and dog names of 2016

I don’t know about you but I often wonder where in the heck the humans got the names they call us. Our humans have long stories about how this happened and they never puppy and kitten cuddling together change our names from the shelter names right away but wait awhile to get to know us better. My name, for instance, is because of my sleek physique and my penchant for running around the house like a speed demon. The male human loves bicycle racing and so they called me Alberto Contador. I know, pretty dumb huh?. I can say that I’m a bit annoyed that my brother, Oliver’s name appears as number four on the list. Seriously? We many need to renegotiate this naming thing.

Houzz – 15 Design-Friendly Places to Hide the Cat Litter Box

I’m throwing this one in for the humans. Frankly, I could care less where our litter boxes litter box built into the bathroom wall are located or what they look like. Just keep ’em clean and easy to get in to. Period. but the female human spends much time and money on litter boxes that don’t look like litter boxes and ensuring they are placed in areas where company will never see them. So humans, enjoy.

Mental Floss – Chicago’s Secret Weapon Against Rats: Feral Cats

This is my favorite find this week. We have feral cats that visit our house and the female human always offers them food, water and shelter but sadly, we have coyotes and large birds of prey where we live and the feral cats never seem to hang around long enough for her to trap them. Chicago is solving a terrible problem and helping feral cats at the same time. Around our neck of the woods, those kinds of working cats are called barn cats, looks like some of these Chicago felines could be called Tavern cats.

Venkman the tabby who lives at Empirical Brewery in Chicato One of these tavern cats is named Venkman and you can read about the great new life he and other cats have thanks to Empirical Brewery. (Note to self, tell the humans to buy this beer). Actually, these felines have a great life, regular meals, a safe and warm place to sleep and a job to do. Two paws up for Empirical Brewery and all the other Chicago businesses who are giving feral cats homes and jobs. Oh, and by the way, Venkman is on Twitter at @VenkmanTheCat. Maybe some other cities will try this excellent program.

Walk Through The Web Wednesday 9/21

Posted on September 21, 2016 by Feline Opines

siamese cat in black and white with blue eyes, Alberto, Feline Opines

Hello Friends Furry, Feathered and Otherwise,
Alberto here (my friends call me Al) and it’s my favorite day of the week where I get to purrrruse the web and share some of my favorite feline things.
Enjoy,

Remember Me Thursday – Three Chatty Cats

Three Chatty Cats’ mission is to promote and support cat rescues and adoptions by highlighting rescue groups, sharing adoption stories, and showcasing individuals who do their part to help cats in need. They remind us that tomorrow., Thursday September 22 is “Remember Me Thursday® which is a global awareness campaign uniting individuals and pet adoption organizations around the world as an unstoppable, integrated voice advocating for orphan pets to live in forever homes, not die waiting for them. You can enter a photo of your shelter pet and win food, toys or pet insurance for your local shelter! Our human sent photos in for #TheTribeOfFive. You have until September 30th so start posting!

The Daily Mail- From Viking cats to felines of the ancient mariner: DNA analysis from 30 archaeological sites reveals how cats spread around the world

This one is for the more intellectual felines in my readership. The article states that “The history of cat domestication still remains understudied, especially compared to that of dogs.” and I couldn’t agree more. We felines have been earning our keep for centuries, the article says that cats may have lived among ancient farmers, mariners, and even Vikings. I should disclose however, that #TheTribeOfFive are not great mousers and our humans had to call someone to take care of their mouse problem in their old house.

Tabby Cats, Cheetahs & Zebras Have Something Very Special In Common – I Heart Cats

Here’s another one for my readers with inquiring minds. Now I get the connection with house felines and cheetahs, but zebras too? Veeeeerrryyy interesting, yep, it’s all in the genes.
The photo to the left is my feline cuz Jake, who is helping himself to the catnip crop.

BookRiot.com – Cat Cosplay

harbingerrenegades Cosplay for cats? Well, why not? Valiant Comics’ just announced their latest series of cat cosplay variant covers. Variant covers, in the comic book world, are when a comic company ships multiple covers for their first printing and more often than not, the covers only make sense if you link the various covers together. (Who knew a feline had such comic book knowledge?). I purrrrrused the covers and had a hard time selecting my favorite but I think it has to be Harbinger Renegades (shown at left).

You must check this out for yourself, they are purrrrfectly wonderful!

Walk Through the Web Wednesday

Posted on August 31, 2016 by Feline Opines

Hello,
siamese cat in black and white with blue eyes, Alberto, Feline Opines Alberto here. It’s my favorite day of the week (well, except maybe for Caturday). I have pawed through all the listings my minion…errr assistant presented to me and have chosen my top five blog posts. Without furrrrr-ther ado, I present them to you now. Enjoy and may all your days be purrry.
Your Friend,
img_1067-7

The first post comes from 15 and Meowing…..“Are You A Good Mouser?”

The humans at our house are always grumbling about the money they spend on the Tribe of Five and often threaten to find us jobs. Well, my feline friends, here’s a chance to prove your worth to the humans in cold, hard cash! $500.00 cash for the top cat mouser! Just have the humans take a video of you mouse hunting but hurry, contest deadline is Sept. 15. We think our cousin Jake (photo at left) should enter. Our aunt calls him a “weapon of mouse destruction”. I would suggest,Cuz, that you spend a little less time in the catnip and a little more time honing your craft.

Chirpy Cats has a great post about multiple cat dynamics….The Scent of Harmony, The Grooming Cat.

ChirpyCats The Tribe of Five has some grooming rituals but we never realized there was intention in the way that happens. And, with a Tribe of Five, sometimes there’s a little issue with the harmony so this article was very helpful! Chirpy Cats say that “In every multi-cat household there is that one cat that unwittingly performs a very important task – sharing and maintaining the communal scent of the whole group through grooming.” Now the humans are watching us like hawks trying to figure out who that designated feline is in our Tribe!

Three Chatty Cats has a wonderful story about the human-feline bond entitled, A Tale of Two Kitties by Jacques Bouchard

I’m a sucker for a good, heartwarming story and this one is just that. If you ever had any doubt that we felines can impact the lives of you humans in a big way, this story will convince you. I know how much our humans have learned from the felines who went before us and I like to hear them speak fondly of Miss. P and Buster. We kitties have an important part to play in the lives of our humans!

Momma Kat and Her Bear Cat ‘s new discussion, They’ve Landed is kinda’ scary

BearCat Momma Kat and Bear Cat are always having conversations about all kinds of stuff. This one was a little freaky as Bear is insistent that there are aliens in the house and their home base is the dishwasher. Now Oliver and I have often wondered if some of those loud machines in our house are alien habitats so as soon as the human finished reading this to me I did a complete alien sweep of the house! (Suggest you do the same.)

Traveling Cats has an amazing tale of The Cat From Gimmelwald (Switzerland)

gimmelwald_switzerland_mountains Now, I am great with leading my humans down the stairs, up the stairs and into the bathroom but this cat gives leading a whole new meaning. She’s a local mountain guide cat and she recently made world-wide news when she guided a lost hiker down the mountain. Wow, you go little tapfere Katze. (the female human says this means brave cat in German)

Amelia’s Story-Part 3

Posted on August 5, 2016 by Feline Opines

Judgments Made
It was about a week after Amelia was at the shelter that I saw a Facebook post that sent me into a tailspin. There was that beautiful Tabby face that I loved and a story of a “heartless

Amelia being silly

person who adopted her and callously brought her back to the shelter”. The write up said, “I thought I had a forever home…”

My throat closed up, tears flowed and I felt as though someone had punched me in the gut. I had enough guilt as it was. I had done everything I could to help Amelia find her perfect home and yet, I trusted that with the letter I wrote, the shelter would write that she was a wonderful, loving feline who would do best in a one cat family.

Misunderstandings Resolved
Fortunately I know the folks at the shelter and I often volunteer there. I sent an email to the shelter director and received an immediate call back. To make a long story short, the individual who posted the information about Amelia had not read the letter I sent, nor did they have any of the backstory. They had fallen in love with Amelia and went into “protector mode” making an erroneous judgment about her return.

I fully understand the passion and compassion of the wonderful folks at our shelter and I didn’t want to know who wrote the post, I just wanted to ensure that Amelia’s story was known so that the chances of finding her a suitable forever home were increased.

Our shelter director (one of the best in the country) is passionate in her stance that people should not judge these situations without all the facts. She was wonderful and the situation was sorted in the best manner for Amelia.

Happy Endings
It was several weeks later that I learned that Amelia had been adopted. I felt as though a ten ton weight had been taken away from my chest. I cried (again) but this time they were tears of thankfulness and joy.

The Emotional After Effects
I cannot tell you the emotional baggage that comes with returning an animal to the

Oliver

shelter. Last summer we fostered two kittens and when we decided we wanted to bring

Alberto

them into our home, it was hard filling out the forms and checking
the box that asks, “Have you ever returned an animal to the shelter?” Even though I know and work with the folks at our shelter
even though we received nothing but love and encouragement from the shelter, I still felt like a pariah, a horrible person who didn’t deserve to adopt cats-ever.

Lesson Learned: The Shelter is Your Friend
I pray that no one ever finds themselves in the same situation we had with Amelia. If you do, and have employed every resource available, think of your shelter as your ally, not your enemy. I mentioned that we have a top class shelter and I do not exaggerate. I would never have taken Amelia back to the shelter if they were not a “no-kill” facility and if they weren’t dedicated to see animals in their care find appropriate forever homes. At the end of the day, it’s about the animal and any fear or pride or anguish we felt in the decision to return her was for her best interest and the best interest of our fur kids at home.

I am pleased to tell you that our shelter has recently implemented a program called “Home to Home” and it’s specific purpose is to give people who can no longer keep their pets the opportunity to find new, loving homes without having to drop pets off at the shelter. Pets go from one home into another. Had this been in place when we had Amelia, I could have been a part of helping her find a new home.

Lesson Learned: Closure is Important
That brings me to another point. Although I am thrilled that Amelia has a new home, I have no idea where she went. I don’t know if her new family received the letter and health records I sent with her. I will never rid myself completely of the sadness of losing Amelia but I believe, had I known where she went and that she’s happy I could completely put those feelings to rest.

Final Thoughts
As you can see, the happy ending I promised did happen. We still miss Amelia but I choose to believe she is happy and enjoying her new home. We still deal with the repercussions of

Jasmine

that experience. Jasmine has not fully integrated back into the household but having the kittens come and “visit” her has helped resocialize her. We are also working regularly to bring Lily together with Jasmine.

I will be doing the happy dance the day we open the bedroom door and Jasmine struts down the hallway and enjoys the company of the other felines and all the places she used to love to sit and sleep and play.

Amelia’s story changed us. Before we fostered, we felt we didn’t have the right to adopt anymore and the fear of finding ourselves in another “Amelia” situation terrified us. I still continue to assess what happened with Amelia, watching episodes of “My Cat From Hell” and wondering, “Would that have worked with Amelia?, Should we have done that with Amelia?” I doubt I’ll ever stop trying to figure out what happened and how we might have been able to fix it and keep Amelia in our home.

I wanted to tell you Amelia’s story because I know we are not the only people who have found ourselves in this painful situation. I wanted to tell you Amelia’s story to offer hope to those who have been or will be in our situation. Returning an animal to the shelter does not make you a horrible person, nor does it make the animal horrible. Returning an animal to the shelter is a “dirty little secret” that many are afraid to share. In fact, some shelters and rescue organizations will not allow you adopt if you have ever returned an animal. All too often, people are too quick to judge and censure those in these situations. Granted, there are far too many people who treat animals like possessions, tossing them away when they “don’t fit, people who are not willing to invest the time, money and heart it takes to help an animal fit into their household. But for those of us who have moved heaven and earth to keep an animal in our homes, we beat ourselves up enough, we don’t need any help.

We bring animals into our homes with the intent of offering them love and a forever home. Love isn’t always enough and forever isn’t always forever. Despite the heartache of Amelia’s story, we believe that the journey of love and adoption of an animal is a risk we will always be willing to take.

Follow Up To Amelia’s Story