Mrs. Melanie Tweed Lost Her Ducks in the Reeds

In Point Roberts out at Boundary Bay, in the community of Tsawassen, there is a public park and beach where the locals walk. It is well taken care of. It has an ice cream stand and great walking paths. It has many birds. The birds would come here for several reasons. They were close to the ocean where they can find food. They were close to ponds and streams. In these aquatic places, there were great resources to offer young families of ducks. Not to mention of course, many other types of birds like to live there as well. This past year, Mrs. Melanie Tweed came to Point Roberts.

Mrs. Melanie Tweed was a shapely duck, very stout and bright, when she and Mr. Henry Tweed were putting together their duck nest in the grasses. Melanie had chosen the ideal location for her home. Can you believe by some mere happening, she selected a marsh and pond which was in a bird conservatory? She could have chosen no better. She selected as her duckling raising grounds a place called Point Roberts in a public space right near the beach.

The lucky thing was that with the ocean nearby most passerbys are drawn to the view of the ocean a few hundreds of feet away. This meant that her family could live with relative peace in their pond. Yes, it was true, this marsh attracted attention. Yet, that attention seemed to draw audiences of photographers and nature lovers.

The people who bought in the neighbourhood nearby were mostly nature lovers. They were attracted to the sea, to the walking paths, to the birds, and to the natural life that could be seen in the wildlife park. This place was safe. Being near the water, there were no coyotes or foxes. It is true, there was an odd dog. Right nearby, there was a sign with "Onleash only" and none of the dogs right there ran free.

Book Description: Mrs. Melanie Tweed chooses the Boundary Bay pond in Tsawassen, B.C. as her place for building nests and raising her young. She has her ducklings there. The inevitable happens. Her ducklings go missing! Read this story to hear how Mrs. Melanie Tweed sorts her problems out.

Audience Request for Feedback: In my rating of this book, I assessed its level to be Grade 4. What do you think? Do you agree? Then, could you respond on this address:

https://www.createspace.com/Preview/1094675

Thankyou: I would like to thank my blog audience for participating in my survey. It has helped me assess where I can place this book for its reading level. Thanks so much for your participation!

Visit Donna's Amazon Author Page for this title released to Amazon Kindle on 2011/11/21 and to Createspace on 2012/01/20.

To see our book release, click here: Mrs. Melanie Tweed Lost Her Ducks in the Reeds

Calgary Wildlife Rescue and Rehabilitation Society

Do you know an animal hero? I do. The nurse who babysits my cats works for Wildlife Rescue Rehabilitation Society. She is a writer too. She writes the stories of their latest animal acquisitions and sends their stories out in their newsletter. I've read them. They are great. They give each of the animals a name. Her stories tell how they were injured and the story of each recovery. My cat babysitter goes there and donates her time regularly to rehabilitate predatory birds. Her articles would be great children's stories.

Anytime I encounter an animal emergency, I call my friend for advice. Last year, where I was living I encountered a bird emergency. I called my friend. It was a long weekend. The vets locally were closed. The nearest vet was 280 kilometres away and three hours away. I had just returned from a very long trip a bit late in the evening looking forward to a long rest. I encountered rain storms on the last part of my trip. As I arrived home, I saw a beautiful beautiful gull on my lawn. We looked his species up. He was a Bonaparte's gull. You can see his likeness at: http://www.spwickstrom.com/gulls

Being a CatMom I had lots of cat carriers on site. I cleared out our cat carriers of cat belongings. I put in new paper towels. I went outside to get the gull. The gull was unsure of me. He ran three yards over and around a house to avoid me. He tired. I picked him up and gently put him into the cat carrier. I brought him in the house.

The cats who usually yack yack yack at birds through the window knew this was a singular and unique occurence. They all wanted to see the bird. They were very curious. I put him alone in our basement, but based on advice from my phone call to my friend, I brought him back up to my bathroom to keep him warmer. I placed a towel over the door to give him privacy.

We assessed him. He had a broken wing. He had bled. There was light pink fluid on my paper towel bedding. It was hard to tell how serious the injury to his wing was, and I hoped beyond hope he could be rehabilitated. Yes, he was a very beautiful gull. His markings were clearly attractive. He'd had an accident in the rainstorm being pushed into something and his last landing ended up on my front yard. He was a sitting duck or rather a sitting gull. He knew he was badly injured and it was a matter of time.

We had to make a decision. I wanted to save the bird. We drove to the nearest vet. We made it to the vet by 1 a.m. in the morning and back home by 5 a.m. The local chapter of animal wildlife rescue was going to pick him up from the vet if he was able to be rehabilitated. What I found out was that the bird took great comfort being in the cat carrier. I was told to not feed him for the moment. I bundled him up in more paper towels. We got on the road.

I put on soft classical music because I know it calms my cats. The bird did not make any loud noises, except for a few squawks. Mostly, he seemed comfortable, but I can't imagine what it was like being on a ride with a broken wing. I had tried to fold it in for him seeing that I did not do anything that would increase his discomfort.

I called back to the vet a few days later. The vet was not going to update me on the status of my bird rescue. I told the vet I gave up my weekend and stayed up a night to give the bird I brought in a chance. I told them I thought I deserved a status update. The lady told me she would check into things and get back to me. She called me back. After they examined the bird, they almost immediately put him down. They determined the wing breaks were not going to heal properly. A team of young people had looked him over. As you can imagine, I was sad and still tired. I had to give this gull his one last chance.

Should you ever encounter an animal in emergency, call the Wildlife Rescue Line. Their phone is:(403) 239-2488 in Calgary Or click here for a list of vet clinics accepting wildlife on behalf of the CWRS.

Cat Tea - Sleepy Time Tea for Four

Some time ago the cats witnessed us making Sleepy Time Tea. When we made our tea, the cats were showing unusual interest in it. We grabbed the box and checked the ingredients. A few mints were in there including chamomile and cat mint. The cats were almost putting their faces into our teacups. They were pulling at the cup to bring it to their face.

The next time we made our tea, we had bought cat nip. The sound of the kettle became the cue to call everyone to the kitchen. This was all fine.

We began to notice Thomas was picking up on verbal cues of mentioning tea. He would run to the cupboard and look at us. So, we would say, "Thomas, do you want some tea?" If he expressed interest, then we would open the door and give him his cat nip.

The trends overall are to do things at the same time. If we have tea, they have cat nip. We noticed the males like the cat nip more than the females. This trend toward doing things together comes from watching the other. We drink, so they get thirsty. We eat, so they want to eat. The fact Thomas picked up that tea time was time for cat nip was his doing not ours. It is one of our cute family customs resulting from hanging together.

What Would God Think About a PPP?

In this post, I would like to examine a theological perspective of what it means to be a PPP. Stop just a moment, and let's revisit the term Pretentious Pet Parent. He might not like the first word. However, my intention for the word is "assuming". I intend it to mean a placing around my pets a rail of protection and their life fits in that ring of acceptance.

I rather think that God would like a PPP. Where I see that in scripture is that God really liked David. He was a man after his own heart. How did David do that? He was a good shepherd. I don't get the feeling that the way David appealed to God was that he did an excellent job of being a shepherd. It was rather his heart intent in how he did his work. He sacrificed to go find the lost lamb. He developed skills to protect his flock. He managed his flock with the tenderness of God. He was affectively oriented and responded intuitively from his heart. Everyone around David could have thought him a sop. God sees the heart of intention and sometimes he gifts those who live from a deep perspective.

If I had to find a babysitter for my pet, it would be great to find a David who would love intuitively and do the best for my cats.

I tend to see that someone who will do something good for the least of these that they can be entrusted with more. How about a kingship? How will one act when noone is watching? How will someone act when they can guarantee no accountability or witnesses? Are their actions threaded with spontaneity and goodwill? If David can be trusted with God's sheepherd, then he can be trusted in leadership to act out of basic desires to do good.

I tend to like a critter who is identified with their coat. I like the fact that a lion is a lion is a lion. You know what to expect. What was special with David as a caregiver was his shepherd coat matched his identity. There was no falseness in him meeting his life objectives.

Continuous Clean Cat Box

Our all time favorite is the Continuous Clean Cat Box. We used Dr. Elsey cat litter in it. If you are in any way allergic to litter dust or don't have a proper duct system in the home, this is a very good litter box. As it is slow moving, it raises no content into the air. It rotates once per half hour. It is safe for kittens. Still watch them. It keeps what looks like a maintained litter box all the time without huge effort from an owner. Who does not like that?

We were very happy with it. It worked for two years straight and then finally a litter clump blocked it and it died. We think it is recoverable though. It is still placed by a conventional litter box. The cats use it by choice. It does not dehydrate the waste, but it too is always clean. We are investigating its repair, because it is the Cats' choice.

This litter box is an excellent choice for in a rental. In rental units, you want the litter box to be as subdued as possible. Yeah though, we still had two. We are into providing them choice.

MIT Scoopfree Cat Box

We have a cat box designed by MIT. If you are a person who has worked in the field of technology, I hope you would be a tool buff like me. This was an experiment that worked. We used the MIT box alongside the conventional litter box. What was interesting was that because it self-cleans, it means that the cat who gets antsy about slightly dirty litter will use it and prefer it. We used and have used this cat box for some time. What is a pain is ensuring that you get the crystal cartridges. When they come into the pet store, customers come in and buy the whole lot in a go. If you want to have enough on hand, you need to buy six or so.

I have also know you can use the litter trays refills as currency. If another family member has a machine, you can barter based on having some in the house. The idea is brilliant. I never have got around to buying and having the litter tray delivered to my door. Maybe that is the way around solving access to getting the litter insert.

We consider this litter experiment a partial success. It was almost used exclusively used by our picky cat. Some gravitated toward it and then left back to the conventional box. I do think this would be a good box for a condominium. It is large and that is important for a litter box. It is really amazing how much the waste reduces because of the contact with the crystals. It is surprising how much waste gets collected in the holder. I do not know how the box would have performed if we had removed the other ones from their access.

Cat Genie

In working with solutions for having a cat with diabetes, I bought a Cat Genie. It looked so great and idyllic. We set it up in a washroom. I tried to entice my cats to it. They each used it a couple times, but they were more used to conventional cat litter and they remained with that.

Then, we got a kitten. Just like with children and technology, the kitten got the idea right away. We used the cat genie for maybe four weeks with him. What we did not expect was that the other three cats would take the little guy and teach him where and how to use the other litter. We noticed there was less use in the cat toilet and eventually he stopped altogether.

That meant I was disappointed and my Cat Genie concept never did end up as a full solution for us. We left its plumbing in place and the machine dripped fluid onto our floor. I was not happy with that so we removed it. It is now "stuff" sitting in the basement. Now that we have a new cat, I would be interested in trying it again. However, the bigs cats have already got to him and have been converting him from his kitty box to the cat box. On one hand this is good because we don't have to maintain the various boxes. We keep the baby trainer up close to our room.

Lucius loves to watch CatDad clean the box. He attacks the scoop. He catches and leaps on the scoop wherever it moves in the dirt. He pulls the poop back into the box. Really, he exclaims, "I put all that work into burying it. Why on earth do you dig it out?" He follows Dad around till he exits the bag outside. The routines are settling in. Lucius does make cleaning the litter fun. He reminds me of a two year old potty training.

Martius Has a Unique Feature

Each cat I get has a unique feature. Just like people, you get a surprise package with cats. Martius surprised us when he got home. The first and every subsequent time he gets either scared or nervous, he gets a bottle brush tale. This does not happen to his back or anything. The degree of unsettling equals the degree of his tale fluff. I've never had a cat that had an instant brush on his tale like that.

It is really quite attractive. He looks like a wildcat. When I was shopping for catfood at the time, there was a food with a lynx on it with ear tips coming to a point and a fluffy tale. That is exactly what he looks like. One ought to be worried when your cat's tale fluffs for this reason, but he is so cute I sort of like it when he gets scared.

We have learned to use his tale as a means of knowing how he is feeling. If I want to calm him down, I run my hand along he tale and unfluff it and reassure him. He responds to speech pretty well. Often though, Cat Dad picks him up to inspect whatever it is that made him upset. As soon has he sees the practical reason for what just happened, he settles down.

He is almost a guard dog. If he hears a sound, his tale fluffs. It is helpful to have his tale to tell us to look around. More or less, he is comfortable in our home, so I don't have to take this trait too seriously. It is just immensely cute and one I would not trade in for anything.

Tabby Cats Are the Oldest Living Feline Genestock

We watched a documentary on television. This was prior to me getting my next two cats. On that documentary, they said the oldest living breedstock traceable was in Egypt and that is was the MAU cats. The cats look like the common tabby cat. The cats I saw were black and white, grey, not ginger, and were street cats.

Some may know the cat video Mean Kitty on YouTube. I've only watched it forty times or so. I have added to the statistics on its showings. Well, my next cat has some similarity to that cat. I sort of picked my next cat from the influences: 1. the Mean Kitty and 2. the documentary.

If I find the reference to the show, I will include it later. It is really very interesting for a cat owner.

Where PPPs Pick up Their Tendencies

I don't really know, but I would like to suggest a few options of what I think leads a person to be a PPP. The real question I am trying to answer is: Does being a pretentious pet parent get developed socially or genetically? I think both contribute to making good pet parents and people interested in being an advocate for animals. Examining myself, short of doing a survey, I am going to assess the evidence.

The social factors I shall explore first. In my nuclear family, the PPP tendencies were displayed. My parents chose to have pets. I grew up with them around me. Home does not quite feel like home without a pet. Family stories have also built this tendency. On the maternal side of my family, my grandfather owned a pig farm.

Early on, as a farmer he became close to his stock. He sort of loved them. I don't know how else to say it. He considered pigs very intelligent animals. Early on in raising pigs, he was rough with them for example trying to herd them onto scales to be weighed at sale. Later on, he discovered they learned his speech. He only needed to talk to his pig and they did what he wanted. He treated them gently almost as if they were his pets. Then, when he was herding them in to get weighed, he would ask each pig to come to be weighed. The people around him were confounded by this farmer who talked to his pigs.

My maternal grandfather also had a dog. On visits to the farm, we saw his interactions with the dog and how the dog participated in farm life. He was close to his dog who accompanied him doing his farm tasks.

On the paternal side of the family, my grandfather was a farm boy. He was particularly affected by cats and chinchillas. He had a home office for accounting. He shared his space and let these animals run about his basement while he worked. They were his breathing mascots. Anytime we visited, we were delighted to go down into Grandpa's special work space to play with his cat and chinchillas. With the cat, we would get a crunched paper ball and throw it in the air. With the chinchilla, we would watch them run around in the corners of the office and pet them. They would play hide and seek with the cat.

On my maternal side again, my mother had an uncle. This uncle was a pigeon owner. He always had an admirable pigeon roost. He loved each of his pigeons like it was a racehorse. He had tracked their times and their distances on charts. He had entered them in flight competitions. The love and care he had for each pigeon was easily traceable in his voice as he presented each one to me. For a time, he lived in Calgary and then, he lived in British Columbia. Both places, he maintained his bird collection.

My paternal grandfather had an affection for the Masters which takes place in Spruce Meadows. He loved horses himself. Both him and his brother rode them around their property as boys. My grandfather knew all the winners, key players, and great shows out at Spruce Meadows. I took him once. We had a good time. Later, he said he preferred to watch it on television.

All these social factors have led me to pick up similar affections for animals.

Next, I shall explore the genetic factors and the possibility of similar personality leading to being a pretentious pet parent. I sort of see personalities, dreams, and dispositions being repeated through the family lines. Unuttered hopes get displayed through their actions as if programmed. A love of music seems imbred. Crazy sorts of whims seem imbred including preferences for color. Desires to achieve flight or to work with flight seem imbred. This is why I expect, even if I don't know them and just meet a relative now, to have a lot in common with them.

I do not know what causative factors bring out certain personalities. I think there is a personality sublist in the genes with additional factors which turn them on or off. I think that all the possible personalilty profiles for a family are there and that only a few of them get expressed. This would explain why in a family there are such varied expressions of what seems to be a common database of personality factors.

Well, as both are possibilities in my mind, I hope that reading this blog assists in turning on the PPP gene tendencies in your mind. I realize I can only influence that which is already there in your base programming, and I certainly want to socially influence you. Who would have thought you could teach your pig herd to understand speech? My family believes that animals are intelligent. They are worth relating to. If you have not ever tried talking to your animal, start.

Last night, my Cat Dad whispered a little tip to Lucius that he would really be much more satisfied with his kitten food than our people food. Lucius must assess each new food in the kitchen to determine if he likes it. He is disappointed with some and feels excluded when we eat if we don't offer him any. The kitten was basically unsettled we were eating something different than him. Right then, after the suggestion, the kitten did exactly what Cat Dad suggested and went and ate two plates of his kitten food. Cat Dad's eyes lit up. Do you think he really understood?

Why Pretentious Pet Parent?

I am using the acronym PPP. The first P could be the word patient, proud, or preening? I used the word pretentious because it has positive meanings or associations to the title which are more interesting than the others. All the others make fine sub-topics. I chose pretentious because:

1. I make a general assumption that any guest invited to my home treats my pets well.

2. I am life involved in my cats which is generally misunderstood by those who have kids and can be interested in them.

3. I hope to share the value for my pets and other animals with those who hang out with me - sharing the love for all animals.

4. I represent a small group of professionals who have pets, but no family.

5. I would spend on my pets as if they were my kids.

Thankfully, I have found others who have the same life circumstance and who are multi-cat homes. Interesting, they are writers. I figured there might be others out there.

A PPP could easily have a family and be a PPP. I just am not one. If I had a family, I would share the values with everyone in it. I would still be writing this blog. So, that is why the first P in PPP is pretentious. Welcome and I hope you come back to read again.

Deck Time with the Cats

The reason we have a deck, besides having access to a near source of our barbecue, was to create a space where we could easily let our cats outside where they would not come into contact with other pet smells and biological essences. We do keep plant matter there, as our pets are constantly curious and need some sort of outdoor pleasrure.

They hang out on our furniture almost as much as us. We had brought out a butler cart which turned into a cat condo. It is cedar and now it needs its oils reapplied. Out on the deck today, we heard crows. They flew over us a few times. We will not leave our kitten outside alone as he would be easy pickings for a crow or two. We have a few predatory animals which scan the skies. I have no problem with predatory birds being near. I just could not bear an accident by leaving my cats unattended.

Deck time is good. If forces us to take a break. It is easy entertainment. Just being able to sit in fresh air is pleasant. Watching the interactions is fun too. Today, our cats chased dandelion fluff around on the deck. They caught it with their paws against the glass.

We share our deck with my neighbours the pigeons. The pigeons have been here six or more years. There is a family. The juvenile pigeons are the most interested in me being on the deck. They are like kittens with their curiosity. They will come sit on the deck rail and watch me eat breakfast. So, on the deck, especially considering them invited, we usually have to sweep up a bit after them.

I talk to the pigeons. They coo back as if they understand. Sometimes, I just coo. I like their sounds. I hear them around my home on a regular basis.

How does deck time and pigeons work together? Well, during our deck time, the pigeons fly about us. They are like a flight show for the cats. The pigeons know how glass and doors work. They are not in the least intimidated when everyone is inside and they will visit longer and put on a show. Outdoors they don't land we when we are out, but they still sit on a nearby rooftop to see what is up. Would I trust a pigeon around my cats? Probably. I don't suspect they would come down and land around them anyway.

In my past, I had a crow swoop and try to pick up one of my cats. Hence, my worry. I sort of feel a connection with the pigeons. They are highly docile and patient. Who I would also be concerned about are the blackbirds. They seem really upset about the cats, but they pick on the smallest one the most. This is probably because they are guarding a nest. This means they can squawk all they want through the window, but I would never leave Lucius alone without supervision anyways.

From the deck today, we also got to see a Baby Rabbit newly born much the size of Lucius, his Mom, and the Sparrow who visits my garden these days. Usually, we have many robins. Today, I did not notice any. They are regulars in the yard.

Decks are a fabulous way to hang out outside and provide to my underlings some catutainment. I have fun too.

Lucius Part Turkish Van?

The 14 week old kitten must be part Turkish Van? I am shocked at how much he loves water. When we brought him home, his legs were wobbly and he did not have much strength. Just 2 weeks later, he is jumping with complete control and excellent strenght. He is eating very well too -- five times a day.

He loves water. He could care less about getting wet. We let him on our deck and he ran out yesterday in the rain. Just like a kid who loves to get in a mud puddle, he seems attracted to wherever he can muck about the most. We brought him in, kissed his head, and wiped off his little paws and sopping body.

Well, additional muscle strength means he can jump onto a counter to get in the sink. He sticks his paws down any sink drain to check out what is below and brings the guck all up to prance about and make kitten paw tracks across the counter. You know he's done it from the inductive nature of observing kitten tracks all over.

He loves to play with water rather than drink it. He puts his paw in and pulls it up to lick it. He puts it pack three or four more times shaking it each time and then just pulls the 12 oz glass over to prance about in the water. Water spills are his version of running through the sprinkler. Water covers half the table, drips through to the floor, and Pet Mom and Pet Dad lift him out of his mess to dry off everything to start over. For his few weeks of being with us, he's pulled glasses over about five times. He does not really seem to tire of his game.

He needs to be up around the sink if you plan to run the tap. He is amazed by the cool stream of water. "How do taps do that?" he inquires looking at the tap and then back at Pet Parent. "Yes, Sweetie, that is new technology! It is amazing, isn't it? Mom likes running water too. It makes washing my hair really easy. I really need it because I can't self-groom."

Sometimes, Lucius likes to drink water. By observing the behaviours of other cats a.k.a. Martius, he has learned the best water is that last poured. Even better, Pet Dad's water because that has had a seal of approval from the Pet Dad lips. It must be okay. Each of the cats have their own way of asking for water. Lucius still does the strong kitten "M-E-E-E-O-W". It's intended for Cat-Mom. I now know it has been adapted for me. Beginning preparations finding a new glass and starting the tap is enough to simply instill patience as I do the job. "It's coming, Lucius."

As a small cat, we have a small bowl for him. He plays in the big cat's water. He drinks better from his baby cat water. He eats from a small bowl too so that his posture is the most practical for eating.

We've never had a cat so in love with water. I wonder if he is part Turkish Van.

The New Wave of Cat Upbringing

15 years ago it was OK to declaw your cats.  We declawed three, keeping one with a set of backs to give her an advantage in fighting. We declawed to prevent damage to our home. At the time we thought we were doing the right thing. Not thinking about the consequences, the declawing had some negative impacts on our cats. For one, clawing allows a cat to engage their whole abdominal muscles as they work at sharpening and clawing. The exercises are naturally built in. Two of our cats lost their muscle tone through the stomach, fore paws, and back paws. It is like the cat does yoga with extremely good grip and balance on their mat. As I saw the losses in their fitness, I wondered.

Then, over time, the cats became very dependent on us for grooming. Not that I don't build that habit, I do. I like grooming my cats. What I mean here is that for our long hair cat, she really needs her claws to pull out and groom her neck. Snarls build up and she could not deal with it. So, I became more aware of these issues and did the grooming she would do herself for her. We keep her neck finely groomed. Then, I thought, if she can't groom her neck, what else can she not do? She can't scratch an itch. The small cat with the claws used her back set to resolve itches. The other cats needed us. I am starting to not think the declawing was such a great idea.

With the acquisition of our kitten 2.5 years ago, we were informed there is a new way. They now recommend cats keep their claws. I had built my home cat friendly. I decided to give it a go. The cat came home with severely clipped claws for his acclimitization period. This was good. The situation worked out. For one, my floors wear down my cats claws. Good. Second, he was amalgamated into a great cat culture of not using claws. Martius learned that it was not socially acceptable to use his claws in fighting and in interactions, including play because not any of the others used their claws on him.

As a kitten, I did not expect him to have complete control over his claws. I expected him to make mistakes. So, I adapted. I put covers and furs over things which needed temporary protection. As he grew, I noticed he could control his claws more and not mark things. At that point, the protection aids intended to solely prevent harm were removed. Those I grew used to as comforts stayed. For a fully clawed cat, he does not use them excessively in a harmful way.

Having claws has allowed Martius to interact with his environment in different ways than the other cats. For example, Thomas has tried to claw the scratching post like Martius, but it does not work the same way for him. He will still paw it and scent it. However, I can see he does not get the same cat satisfaction from the deed. As well, Martius can use his claws to interact with his Dad. He reaches up and claws or attaches his claws to say Hi. As a kitten, he would just climb up his leg and into his arms. As he grew, he would just come up occasionally to say Hi and pull his claws out after or he would pull a little harder to signal he planned a climb. As a bigger cat, he attaches and then hangs waiting for his Dad to pick him up. Once up, Cat Dad and Martius would do a tour of the house. Cat Dad would teach Martius about all the upper level belongings in the home.

We noticed Martius has some unique digital movement with his clawed paws. He can pick up a piece of spaghetti off the floor. I can't. I sweep it up. I think it is because he has a bit more "hand" by having the extra paw tip knuckle.

Martius has remained a very fit  cat. He is strong and lean. I can't help wondering if keeping claws and the opportunity for exercise which results is the reason. We would not have evolved into different behavioural activities with this cat if we had not been open to trying out keeping a cat with claws. It may be we found a cat who was very kind and patient. It has been cute to see how he uses his claws for unique purposes. I support the anti-declaw movement at least from the perspective of seeing this cat's story.

Cat-fu

We have a ginger alpha cat Thomas. He is the biggest strongest toughest cat on site. He looks like Simba of the Disney movie. He is 18 pounds and looks all lion. He is such a beautiful cat. He is the Grand Master of cat-fu. He is a very loving calm and accepting cat most of the time. As he has grown older, he has a few aches and pains, so if you touch him in a sensitive spot he will for sure catch you with a bite warning to say, “Hey, that hurt!”

On the other hand, he is also a great father friend cat. A few years ago, we acquired a kitten. All the cats in the family were 12+ in age and the little guy needed a play partner. Thomas welcomed the new Martius to the family with abundant play. What was odd was it was like Thomas taught him to fight and Martius taught Thomas to be a kitten again. Suddenly, Thomas was doing things quite unexpected for his age. He began running around playing with imaginary things, skittering around like a kitten, and having lively perky eyes. Thomas began to want to play more and looked for opportunities to wrestle. All in all, the match for play was excellent.

With time, the Master taught the young cat his cat-fu strategies. He taught him the straight paw. That is because Thomas was significantly bigger and by just putting out his paw, the little guy could not get a swing in to him. (Not long after, Martius used the technique to block his Pet Mom from kissing him. He placed the paw right center in my neck. He adapted the strategy.) The Master taught him to sit tall in the beginning of a combative encounter. Martius also taught Thomas a new strategy. He rolled in from underneath into an attack position. This was novel and admirable for a small kitten working with a partner who was 12 pounds more than him. Martius, considering his size, jumped on the forefront of Thomas’s body as he was too small to engage his whole body. The two became fast friends. If something was good enough or safe enough for Thomas to do, Martius would do it.

Cat-fu Straight Paw

After about two years and some upheaval in life conditions, it became difficult to play. The two had lost their habit of play. Then, the day came when a second cat in the household took over the major play or rather fight role with the kitten. We never knew how much he loved her and depended on her till we lost her. We lost one of our cats to kidney disease. The house was starkly quiet, sad, empty, and drained of life. There was no play or interactions.

I felt for my young cat. I went and bought him a play partner. Now, Martius is doing the Cat-fu training role with the new addition to our family Lucius. Poor Lucius, brother of Martius in Shakespeare’s Titus and Adronicus could not know the sissy sweet nothings his Pet Mom fawned over him as Lulu Luscious.

Lucius somehow intuitively knew the under-roll technique. His all of 4 pounds is mass launched through the air and he pounces on to Martius. Lucius has something unique in his movement though. He jumps like a wolf spider. It’s rather amazing. Another thing is he vocalizes in his attack. Right at launch time, he jumps and meows in a strange variety of battle calls which leave Pet Mom wondering if he is being killed, but he is in the midst of the glory of the fight. It is his version of kiya. Martius is a competitive partner for Lucius, but compassionate and aware of his kittenhood. In the midst of fighting, he cleans the little tike. He makes a great cat dad.

I have always thought Martius was the best cat I had ever met. I can’t believe I found his equal and that they would be so well matched. I hope for the sake of all of us they live till I am a ripe old 85 and that I have to find a senior’s home who will take both me and my cats! Oh, and long live cat-fu!

Being a PPP - Pretentious Pet Parent!

Have you heard of being a DINK as a couple with a double income and no kids? Well, being a PPP is being a pretentious pet parent. That is an owner or owners who are hopelessly and practically in love with their pets. Having great hopes for the lives our of pets means we want them to live as our companions for a long long time. At a recent vet visit, we heard that the record life of a dog is 39 years. The record life of a cat is 38 years. One of family members had their cat for 33 years. A PPP who is best friends with their pets want their lives to be as fulfilled as they can be under their roof.

This leads one to question what is a fulfilled life for one's pet? Well, as for people, it falls into the categories of having a positive social life, a healthy lifestyle, getting regular doctor visits, and having work life balance. This PPP has 4 cats and that is because she likes to have a social life in the house. The 4 cats provide each of them with their feline society of friends. There's two senior cats and two junior cats. Our situation is new. I have mother-like love flutterings for my youngest. This is not unlike those of new romance. So for each little mess-up we fall into from the smallest exploring his surroundings, I fix it up and fawn on him adoringly. It's wonderful to see life through the new experience of a baby family member.

Did you know that normal cat food is too high carb? If a cat goes on eating the same diet for a long time, it is exceedingly sure they will get diabetes. We have one with diabetes. She is a trooper. She comes fore her shots, climbs in the chair, and waits. She gets her shot. Then, she gets a massage. This works the insulin in. Finally, she gets off to have her morning treat of wet cat food. Everyone participates. Everyone benefits. Working the shot into the morning routine of what is normal to get the day started makes it a positive routine. As cats age, they tend to have special diets to conform to their changing bodies. They become special needs cats. However, that extra special care leads to deeper bonding with the owners. It is a two way reward.

Cats need regular visits to their doctors. In a multi-cat household, this is where with the business of life, there can be issues. Particularly for older cats, the vet visit is a method of catching early any signs of onset of disease or sickness. It is catching ailments early that permits them longer quality filled lives.

For each cat, they need about 15 minutes of attention a day. We probably give our cats more. We hang out as a pride. We migrate as a group. Where we go the cats go and where the cats go we go. Where we have to monitor ourselves is that work-life balance key to happiness. We have to stop work to play. Hopefully, we fit the profile of a PPP in playing with our cats. The cats can play by theirselves. That is a sign they are well adjusted and happy. However, the play with the cats maintains the cat-owner bond. Lunch hour is play time here. We use the halls to send the cats running after balls, or set them up with cardboard boxes in which to play hide and seek.

In the end, the activities are destressors for both the cats and the owners. There are positive health effects and more positive outlooks from these healthy relationships. Here's to PPPs playing with their pets!

Fine Art America - a 21st Century Renaissance

I am a recent adherent of Fine Art America. Here, I have met other artists and viewed other's contributions and techniques. In some cases, it is possible to tell the differences between digital and tactile art. I don't have a term for art that has been created by hand materials, so "tactile art" here means that the medium, the art supplies, the brushes, and the touches and touchups were all done by touch. Digital art has been done with digital pens or a mouse in their creation.

I have noticed how artists are inspired by each other. Either by joining groups or by watching others, you can see small differences between your best contributed work and theirs. It is more than just opportunity. Sometimes, an artist can take something fairly plain and step it up into someone's next art acquisition.

I am a photographer and digital artist. I had a history of drawing as a past-time. I am slowly progressing forward to where I want to be. The art which is most popular are photos and art which are composed images. I believe that comes once someone has a bank of their own photography to work with. Then, you begin composing the perfect sky with the perfect foreground and object of attention. This can be done with both photos and art. I am making steps forward to this type of art or created photos.

In my portfolio, you will see one of these. The shot was what pulled me into photography. At night, I would watch the sunset. I also watch planes land. There would be a perfect time when the sky would look just right, the moon would have aligned, and the planes would fly right through the centre of the moon over and over again. I tried capturing the moon picture with my camera and I was unsatisfied with the result. I have thought of video taping these scenes. I am still working on these skills. Then, I could pull one image out of it.

Anyway, I've made a composed image as one of my pictures which required a very nice clear picture of a plane, a good picture of the sky and clouds, and a good picture of the moon. I combined all three, and presto I have an approximation of my vision.

I do think that being on Fine Art America has made a positive difference in growing my skills. By making friends and viewing their portfolios, I have made refinements to my processes. I see that the sharing of ideas and even reinterpretations of mediums and methods of the true Renaissance artists converted into modern art stands as a proof that Fine Art America is beginning a reawakening of sharing, exchange of information, and the meeting of minds, and a progression in techniques through their use of their Internet portal.

To visit our collection, click http://donna-munro.artistwebsites.com/.