Day 103: Happy Birthday Charlotte

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 103: Happy Birthday Charlotte

I seldom post pictures of Charlotte because she is a quiet cat. She eats, she grooms, she sleeps, and wouldn’t say boo to a goose. On the contrary, if a goose was to say boo to her, I’m quite sure she would faint.

Charlotte is an extremely nervous cat, literally afraid of her own shadow. If someone talks too loud, she goes running; if there's a thunderstorm, she dives under the bed; if the wind blows, she hides in the laundry basket; and as soon as the vacuum cleaner gets switched on, she hides under the duvet.

Why she is so on edge I have no idea, it’s not like she ever experienced abuse as we adopted her as a ten-week-old kitten.

We were in a pet food store one day and I overheard the owner talking that her cat had kittens. “I don’t know what happened,” she stated. “I thought my two cats were both males.” How someone can be so stupid is beyond me. Anyone who has a cat takes the animal for inoculations, at which time the vet would see whether the cat is male or female.

Anyway, so there they were, four adorable kittens looking for a home. I found it impossible to choose, so I waited which of the kittens would come to me. When one of them did, I immediately knew I would call her Charlotte.

Other than her inoculations and her spay, for years she never saw the inside of a doctor’s office. That changed a few years ago, Charlotte had to have dental work done, and this year in January she developed a urinary tract infection. The vet prescribed a course of antibiotics.

Now anyone who has ever tried to give a cat a pill knows what I’m about to say … giving Charlotte her medication was hell on wheels. With the help of Dieter, it wasn’t too bad, but on my own … OMG!!!

I tried pill pockets (she ate the pocket – left the pill), I tried a pill popper (that didn’t work at all), I tried coating the pill in butter, nothing worked. Eventually, with some gentle coaxing and a lot of perseverance, Charlotte got her medication, but only after she spat out the pill a few times. At the end of the antibiotics course, I don’t know who was more relieved, Charlotte or me.

When I heard about a special cat food that prevents urinary tract infections, I immediately bought it. It cost the earth, but as far as I was concerned, it was worth it. 24 hours later I returned the food. While the dry nibbles were indeed effective in preventing urinary tract infections, they could cause kidney failure. Well, I wasn’t gonna take that chance.

Now, about two weeks ago, Charlotte developed a lip infection. She had this type of infection twice before, but this time it was really bad, one side of her mouth was horribly swollen. Off we went to the vet.

When he mentioned a course of antibiotics I thought … OMG not again. That’s when the doctor asked if we considered giving Charlotte her meds via a two-week release shot. Come again? 

As the vet explained, a two-week release shot is an injection that releases antibiotics gradually over a two-week period. For a second I wasn’t sure what to do, slap or kiss the man. Why hadn’t he suggested this before? With this (painless) injection there was no need for pills, which was far less traumatic for Charlotte and for me.

Anyway, all is well and on her birthday, we wish Charlotte many happy returns.

Don’t forget to donate to the Toronto Cat Rescue.

Any amount will make a difference.

https://www.canadahelps.org/en/pages/toronto-cat-rescue-bowl-a-thon-9/

Day 72: Refused by pet adoption agency

My Project: 365 Creative Writing Prompts

Day 72: Refused by pet adoption agency

Approximately eight years ago I started this blog, primarily to vent. A number of things angered me and a friend suggested I start a blog to blow off steam. Over the years I’ve started quite a few posts with “I’m ticked off”, “I’m angry” or even “I’m furious”. Apparently not much has changed because while I’m not exactly furious, or even angry, I am ticked off.

Where it comes to adopting a pet, I’m the first one to declare loud and clear that pets are not toys and should not be given as presents at Christmas, Easter, or a birthday.

However, I’m sure that during this Christmas season there were people with the best of intentions. People who wanted to adopt a cat, a dog, or another animal and were willing to give it a loving home for years to come. I should know because I was one of those people. All my cats are rescues, which is why I’m so ticked off that I was refused by an adoption agency.

After Mickey passed away, I subscribed to a website that notifies cat lovers whenever a cat or kitten becomes available for adoption. I didn’t have to wait long. Just three days later I received an automated message from the Toronto Cat Rescue that a kitten named Millie was looking for a home. Unfortunately, or fortunately depending which way you look at it, Millie generated quite a bit of interest and was adopted before I even had the chance to properly apply. Naturally, I wished Millie and her newly adopted parents all the best.

A few days later I received another notification. This time from Team Cat Rescue that three kittens were looking for a home. I applied for each of the kittens, hoping to get lucky with one of them. As it turned out, I didn’t get lucky with any of them and I stand no chance of ever getting a kitten or a cat from Team Cat Rescue.

In response to my application, one of the representatives stated that no cat or kitten is released to a home where there is a cat or cats older than five years. This made absolutely no sense to me. I’ve always had cats, over the years I’ve introduced plenty of kittens and never had any problems. What’s more, when I adopted Gabriel, Mickey immediately took him under his wing.

The representative further stated (rather cheekily I might add) that kittens have no problem being adopted, but that older cats are being ignored. This I’m afraid is true, and it breaks my heart that older cats are being abandoned, but I can’t adopt an older cat. I once tried introducing an older cat to my lot and it didn’t go well.

I don’t know where the older cat came from, but I found him in the garden of our condo building. I took him in and introduced him to my cats, but there was a lot of growling and hissing. To cut a long story short, the cat met George, a paraplegic who was waiting in his wheelchair for his transportation. The cat jumped on George’s lap, George started petting him, and the two became inseparable. George named the cat Lucky, which indeed he was.

So, keeping this experience in mind I preferred to look for a kitten or a young cat, rather than an older cat because the chances of getting accepted were much better. The representative of Team Cat Rescue wouldn’t be persuaded though … no kitten to a household with cats older than five years. So that was that.

Not only was this disappointing to me, but I can well imagine that there are other people out there who have experienced or will experience the same problem. They want to rescue a cat or a kitten, but because they already have a cat who is older than five years, they will be refused.

If Team Cat Rescue wants to make a difference, they should place greater emphasis on pets being spayed/neutered and discourage people from getting rid of their pets when it no longer suits them. All too often people get rid of their cat(s) when a baby comes into the house. Little do they know that a cat will never harm a baby. On the contrary, a cat will cuddle up with a baby, keep it warm and sooth it to sleep. 

www.connymanero.weebly.com

Attention Cat and Dog Owners

Earlier this evening I saw a post on Facebook of a cat owner announcing that her cat was pregnant. She mentioned to please not post any negative comments. She knew she should have had her cat spayed, but the pregnancy was an accident. Kittens would go to a good home.

A post like that bothers me. How can a pet owner claim the pregnancy was an accident? Anyone with an ounce of responsibility knows that pets should be spayed/neutered at an appropriate age. It’s that simple.

Don’t claim that you don’t have the time. You don’t have to do the procedure yourself, you make an appointment with the vet, hop in your car or call for a taxi, and take the pet to the doctor.

Others claim they don’t have the money for such a procedure. In that case, don’t have a pet. When you adopt a pet, you accept the responsibility for his wellbeing. That means three sets of inoculations and the pet being spayed/neutered.

One shouldn’t just think of the animal, but of the litters that just one cat, or one dog, can produce. If one cat or one dog has 5 litters of 6 kittens or puppies, that’s 30 kittens/puppies. If each of those 30 cats/dogs has 5 litters of 6 kittens/puppies that’s 900 kittens/puppies.

When someone stated that unspayed/unneutered pets should be kept in the house, another replied that it’s cruel to keep a pet indoors.

I remember my father saying much the same, when I told him of my indoor cats. He said that surely they miss walking the neighborhood and feeling the grass under their paws. So I asked him ... “Dad, do you miss climbing Mount Everest and feeling the snow crunching under your feet with every step to reach the summit?” “Of course not,” he said, “I’ve never climbed Everest so how can I ...” And right there and then he understood that it’s not cruel to keep a cat indoors. The animal cannot miss what it never experienced.

Finally I want to address the matter of finding good homes for kittens or puppies. Never assume that when a person shows up to adopt a cat, he or she has the pets’ best interest at heart. Before allowing someone to take a kitten or puppy, you have to screen that person. Pet adoption agencies do it, so why not you? How can you be sure that the little one goes to a loving home?

Adoption agencies almost always rule out homes with young children. When I pointed out that young kids can be cruel to pets, I got a flood of protests. One woman asked if I had kids myself; another said that she found my comment offensive; while others still posted pictures of their children lovingly holding a cat or a dog.

First of all, I said “some” kids and second, the pictures that were posted were of children 6 years and up. I had young kids in mind, toddlers specifically.

Toddlers have no real understanding of right and wrong. By holding a kitten or puppy too tight they can hurt or even kill the little one. That’s the message I was trying to get across.

The point is, if you have a cat or a dog, and you love the animal, have it spayed or neutered. Don’t hide behind lack of time, money or the silly notion that a pet has to be free. Think of the pets’ offspring and what might happen to those hundreds of little ones. Will they find homes, or will they end up in animal shelters where they will be put to death?

The Toronto Cat Rescue is a NO KILL cat shelter. Please pledge your donation today.
https://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/toronto-cat-rescue/bowlathon/team/grumpycats/

Will you help?

Asking people for money is never easy. But where it comes to cats’ well-being I have no scruples. So, once a year I ask everyone I know, and even some I don’t know, for a donation to the Toronto Cat Rescue Bowl-a-ton fundraiser. I’m not asking for much, $1, $2, whatever people want to give (although donations of $20 or more get a tax receipt). Now I can imagine that some people might think, “Why should I care, there are homeless cats in my neighborhood.” And you would be right, why should you care.” If you’re supporting a local cat shelter, I think that’s wonderful, homeless cats can use all the help they can get. But if you think about it, if you’re already donating to one cat shelter, why not one more? A little donation is not going to break the bank. I’m not selling tickets that cost $100, $50 or even $25 a piece, I’m asking for a donation you’re comfortable with, even if it’s only $1. If twenty people give $1, that makes $20 and those $20 pay for twenty cans or more of food. Let me tell you a bit more about the Toronto Cat Rescue. This cat shelter is not a regular shelter where cats sit in cages and are euthanized when nobody wants them. The shelter isn’t even a shelter as such, but a series of foster homes where cats and kittens end up, waiting to be adopted. Not that just anyone can adopt a cat. Adoptive parents are screened so the kitties go to a really loving home. In the meantime the cats and kittens who are housed at these foster homes need food and are spayed/neutered to prevent pregnancies and more homeless cats. All this costs money, and that’s where the donations come in. http://savecatsfromthegutter.com/about-tcr/ For twelve years the Toronto Cat Rescue has been raising funds for their kitties and personally I’ve been involved for ten years. In the beginning there were only about six teams and we raised only $3,000, but over the years the fundraiser has grown and now we’re aiming at raising $20,000. Several large organizations donate prices to the Bowl-a-ton and several individuals reward supporters with their own gifts. Personally I give everyone who donates the choice between one of these hand colored pictures. All the person has to do is contact me atconny.manero@gmail.com, specify the amount donated and tell me the picture of his/her preference, and it will be emailed to them. So what’d you think ... can you spare a dollar or two to support the kitties who need your help? It doesn’t matter if you’re not from Toronto, in the past, donations have been received from Dallas, New York, Last Vegas, Chicago, St. Louis, Sidney, Perth, Dublin, Zermat, Bonn, Lyon, Toulouse, and more. You can donate through my PayPal account atconny.manero@gmail.com or throughhttps://www.canadahelps.org/en/charities/toronto-cat-rescue/bowlathon/team/grumpycats/ For inspiration, please view a few pictures from last year's event. 0 Comments Leave a Reply.

Spay/Neuter Incentive

He said he loved me

He sang to me and whispered in my ear

All the words I wanted to hear.

He was so handsome

So utter gorgeous if truth be told

We talked and kissed, danced and rolled

When we made love

I lost myself in his eyes and in his arms

Succumbing to his considerable charms

I thought I was safe

But all too soon I found to be

The result of that love growing inside of me

When the babies were born

Their daddy was long gone

And all alone I had to be strong

I was not the only one

Others like me had to find a way

To deal with the consequences of mating day

How many babies died?

How many will grow up to be

Fools in love, just like me

If only those who loved us

Had taken the time to take us to the vet

The fling I had would be easy to forget

As it is and pay attention now

This spring fling of mine

Can result in 420,000 babies over time

We are helpless, but you are not

The pet population needs your assistance

Because when spring comes around, it’s not in our nature to keep our distance.

Why not visit my website at: http://connymanero.weebly.com/

Thank you for your help

On May 2^nd the Toronto Cat Rescue (TCR) is hosting its tenth annual Bowl-a-thon.

To all of my friends who have already contributed, a big THANK YOU for your financial support. I can’t tell you what a wonderful feeling it is to ask for a donation and actually get one!

You probably have no idea how important your donation is in making a difference. Before I became involved in fund raising and bowling for the TCR, neither did I.

The Toronto Cat Rescue is no ordinary rescue organization. Like many other animal organizations, they have a no-kill policy. Unlike other, there is no building where cats are kept in cages. Instead, they operate from a series of foster homes run by volunteers.

If someone wants to adopt a cat or a kitten, they are thoroughly screened. Then they can pick and choose from the many cats and kittens on the TCR website. The last step is a visit to the foster home where the specific feline they want to see is kept. Hopefully, if there’s a match, a kitty gets a forever home and the person gets a loving cat.

Needless to say, caring for so many animals is costly. Not only is there food and kitty litter to consider, but also the important step of neutering/spaying to prevent more unwanted kittens. This important medical step is very costly.

TCR does even more though. To control the cat population in Toronto, they trap feral cats and spay/neuter them. After their visit to the vet, they are set free again because their feral life has made them unadoptable.

Your donated dollars makes all this possible. Because of you, cats and kittens are well fed, have clean litter boxes, and receive excellent medical care.

If you haven’t donated yet, please visit https://www.canadahelps.org/en/pages/toronto-cat-rescue-bowl-a-thon-5/ where you can make your contribution directly to the Toronto Cat Rescue.

Don’t let the suggested amount on the website deter you. Most people have donated cash or made their donation to my PayPal account at conny.manero@gmail.com . Any amount you can spare will make a difference.

Thank you for opening your heart and your wallet for Toronto kitties.