How did your week begin?
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Monday, May 8, 2017
Sunday, May 7, 2017
Picture Me This Photohunt
Created for friends, fellow bloggers and anyone who enjoys a creative challenge, Picture Me This is a weekly idea-starter for social media posts. Any platform, anywhere.
No following, no submitting required. And certainly no pressure!
We're just filling a void made when last year's Photohunt host went on hiatus.
Enjoy!
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No following, no submitting required. And certainly no pressure!
We're just filling a void made when last year's Photohunt host went on hiatus.
This Week's Theme:
Be sure to tag your entry with #PMTphotohunt so others can find you.
If you tag us as well (@tonkstail on Instagram & Twitter, @atonkstail on Facebook) we'll be sure to like and share your entry.
Enjoy!
Friday, May 5, 2017
Revenge of the Fifth?
Maxwell: Oh dear, yesterday was Star Wars Day, wasn't it ....
Faraday: Like you could forget this indignity, Maxie? Really?
Maxwell: *shell-shocked look* I ... I think I need a nap ...
Faraday: Forget naps, Maxie. This CAT-CAT's going to go find a shoe to pee in.
Faraday: Like you could forget this indignity, Maxie? Really?
Maxwell: *shell-shocked look* I ... I think I need a nap ...
Faraday: Forget naps, Maxie. This CAT-CAT's going to go find a shoe to pee in.
***
Thursday, May 4, 2017
Harriet: would you adopt this specially-abled cat?
Many of you have heard us mention our "Aunt Jen." She's the one who cares for us when the humans are out of town.
She's also an amazing Cat Whisperer, former English teacher and Manager of Feline Care & Behavior at KC Pet Project.
Jen just launched her own blog this week, Mew-sings of the Bored Housecat. When you have a chance, stop by and welcome her to the blogging world.
Below is her first post. It's Harriet's story, and it's perfect for Specially-Abled Pets Week.
"It was love at first sight" and "I knew the minute I saw her!" are common phrases we hear in the adoption world. The cats that go home quickly are usually the ones that make eye contact with potential adopters and walk towards them.
Admittedly, I can understand why some sort of interaction is preferable when you are looking for your next companion. That's exactly how I picked my own cat years ago. Once I began working in an animal shelter, I began to see homeless cats from a new perspective.
I met Harriet my first day at my new job. She was huddled in her box, scared and striking out at anything that came near her. No one could pet her with a pole, literally. I had seen cats like her before in the previous shelter; I had helped over 40 of them overcome their defensive fears and go on to find loving homes. So when I first saw Harriet, I didn't see an angry cat at all. I saw a terrified cat. Harriet saw nothing at all.
Being in a shelter is scary enough, being blind in a shelter can be traumatizing. Everything is new and scary and unpredictable. We needed a plan for Harriet, and fast. The first order of business was to get her a very consistent and predictable schedule for her daily care. We began by cleaning her kennel at exactly 10 am every single day. We cleaned her kennel in exactly the same order every single day. Introducing this predictability in to her life lowered her stress level to the point we were able to touch her. Most importantly, she had a better quality of life.
It took only a few days of positive predictable encounters for Harriet to quit defensively biting at anything and everything that came within 6 inches of her face. When you lose your vision, the other senses need to take over. She now has to rely heavily on her sense of smell and the information gathered from her whiskers to navigate the world. The best way to interact with a blind cat is to play to her other senses. We used smell to acclimate Harriet to her heightened sense of touch, especially around her whisker area.
As soon as she was able to relax during her daily care we introduced a new game to get her brain working and secretly acclimate her to things coming near her whiskers and face. Giving Harriet a cue phrase of "what's this?" we slowly presented her with really smelly things like tuna and catnip. The cue phrase was given when our hand was about 7 inches from her face, which was just before her normal striking distance.
Each time we presented a new thing for her to investigate we gave her the cue word with our hand down on the bottom of the kennel. We moved our hand toward her nose on her front left side. We stopped advancing at 3 inches and allowed her to choose if she wanted to investigate the new smell or not. The idea behind these exercises was twofold: habituate her to movement near her face and activate the seeking portion of her brain. She was a little unsure about this game at first. She was also a little unsure of our reasoning skills when presenting her with some of the smells! But she took it in stride and played along.
Harriet is closer now to being comfortable in a world where she cannot see. She will investigate things, her gaze follows friendly voices, and she LOVES tuna. Her ideal forever home will need to continue providing her with positive predictable encounters. Cats have an incredible ability to make spacial maps of their environment; so living with a blind cat is not as strange as it might seem. Blind cats need to have litter boxes, food and water dishes that never move. They need to be set up in a sanctuary room and be given time to memorize the layout of the room. Then, slowly be introduced to the rest of the house (and new things like the cat carrier)so they can build their mind map.
Other special considerations with a blind cat would be to always announce your presence in the room by softly saying "hello", use smells and baby gates to protect the cat from falling up or down stairs, use baby protection bumpers on sharp corners or place cat cheek scratchers on the corners of walls. In addition, remember that if you pick up a blind cat, be sure to place the cat near one of the scent markers, in a place where the flooring changes, or right back in the same place.
Most importantly, remember that blind cats may not be able to fall in love at first sight but love is blind. They have just as much unconditional love as any other cat.
***
Jen just launched her own blog this week, Mew-sings of the Bored Housecat. When you have a chance, stop by and welcome her to the blogging world.
Below is her first post. It's Harriet's story, and it's perfect for Specially-Abled Pets Week.
***
"It was love at first sight" and "I knew the minute I saw her!" are common phrases we hear in the adoption world. The cats that go home quickly are usually the ones that make eye contact with potential adopters and walk towards them.
Admittedly, I can understand why some sort of interaction is preferable when you are looking for your next companion. That's exactly how I picked my own cat years ago. Once I began working in an animal shelter, I began to see homeless cats from a new perspective.
I met Harriet my first day at my new job. She was huddled in her box, scared and striking out at anything that came near her. No one could pet her with a pole, literally. I had seen cats like her before in the previous shelter; I had helped over 40 of them overcome their defensive fears and go on to find loving homes. So when I first saw Harriet, I didn't see an angry cat at all. I saw a terrified cat. Harriet saw nothing at all.
Being in a shelter is scary enough, being blind in a shelter can be traumatizing. Everything is new and scary and unpredictable. We needed a plan for Harriet, and fast. The first order of business was to get her a very consistent and predictable schedule for her daily care. We began by cleaning her kennel at exactly 10 am every single day. We cleaned her kennel in exactly the same order every single day. Introducing this predictability in to her life lowered her stress level to the point we were able to touch her. Most importantly, she had a better quality of life.
It took only a few days of positive predictable encounters for Harriet to quit defensively biting at anything and everything that came within 6 inches of her face. When you lose your vision, the other senses need to take over. She now has to rely heavily on her sense of smell and the information gathered from her whiskers to navigate the world. The best way to interact with a blind cat is to play to her other senses. We used smell to acclimate Harriet to her heightened sense of touch, especially around her whisker area.
As soon as she was able to relax during her daily care we introduced a new game to get her brain working and secretly acclimate her to things coming near her whiskers and face. Giving Harriet a cue phrase of "what's this?" we slowly presented her with really smelly things like tuna and catnip. The cue phrase was given when our hand was about 7 inches from her face, which was just before her normal striking distance.
Each time we presented a new thing for her to investigate we gave her the cue word with our hand down on the bottom of the kennel. We moved our hand toward her nose on her front left side. We stopped advancing at 3 inches and allowed her to choose if she wanted to investigate the new smell or not. The idea behind these exercises was twofold: habituate her to movement near her face and activate the seeking portion of her brain. She was a little unsure about this game at first. She was also a little unsure of our reasoning skills when presenting her with some of the smells! But she took it in stride and played along.
Harriet is closer now to being comfortable in a world where she cannot see. She will investigate things, her gaze follows friendly voices, and she LOVES tuna. Her ideal forever home will need to continue providing her with positive predictable encounters. Cats have an incredible ability to make spacial maps of their environment; so living with a blind cat is not as strange as it might seem. Blind cats need to have litter boxes, food and water dishes that never move. They need to be set up in a sanctuary room and be given time to memorize the layout of the room. Then, slowly be introduced to the rest of the house (and new things like the cat carrier)so they can build their mind map.
Other special considerations with a blind cat would be to always announce your presence in the room by softly saying "hello", use smells and baby gates to protect the cat from falling up or down stairs, use baby protection bumpers on sharp corners or place cat cheek scratchers on the corners of walls. In addition, remember that if you pick up a blind cat, be sure to place the cat near one of the scent markers, in a place where the flooring changes, or right back in the same place.
Most importantly, remember that blind cats may not be able to fall in love at first sight but love is blind. They have just as much unconditional love as any other cat.
Harriet's at the Main Campus of Kansas City Pet Project. If you are interested in opening your home to this very special girl, please stop by and meet her.
***
Wednesday, May 3, 2017
Specially-Abled Pets Day
Annually on May 3, National Specially-abled Pets Day is celebrated.
This day is set aside to educate the public about caring for disabled pets, to feature disabled animals looking for a home and encourage animal lovers to consider a disabled pet when they are looking to adopt a new family member.
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You've seen it countless times, those cats in a shelter who are overlooked for various reasons.
Tripod cats, one-eyed cats, deaf cats, cats with special medical conditions.
I think Julie of Sometimes Cats Herd You said it best in our video, For the Animals, when she stated "they're not damaged goods at all!"
Which is why I love the term Specially-abled (or Differently-abled) and not Disabled.
Because, although they may be different, they're not 'less than'. A cat missing an eye is not less lovable than one with both eyes. A cat who cannot hear can still feel your affection.
By the way, FIV is not feline AIDS, despite what you may have been told -- even by your local shelter. A cat with FIV may be immune-challenged, but hey, so are a lot of humans, including me!
We wouldn't consider a human who was deaf, blind or otherwise differently-abled to be less worthy. So why so we do that with cats? Or dogs? Or ferrets, or any other companion animal?
As you know, Maxwell came to us as a cat with no eardrum, who was profoundly deaf. He's truly the sweetest cat I've ever been privileged to have in my life. And when the day comes that we're ready to adopt another animal - I'll look first at those who have lived the longest in a shelter.
The ones that, day in and day out, are walked past. Overlooked. But still capable or great love, affection and companionship.
Won't you consider the same?
For more information: www.disabledpetday.com.
This day is set aside to educate the public about caring for disabled pets, to feature disabled animals looking for a home and encourage animal lovers to consider a disabled pet when they are looking to adopt a new family member.
___________________
You've seen it countless times, those cats in a shelter who are overlooked for various reasons.
Tripod cats, one-eyed cats, deaf cats, cats with special medical conditions.
I think Julie of Sometimes Cats Herd You said it best in our video, For the Animals, when she stated "they're not damaged goods at all!"
 |
| Does this handsome blue boy look like damaged goods to you? We didn't think so! |
Which is why I love the term Specially-abled (or Differently-abled) and not Disabled.
Because, although they may be different, they're not 'less than'. A cat missing an eye is not less lovable than one with both eyes. A cat who cannot hear can still feel your affection.
 |
| Sweet Marty was a Wayside kitty who found a loving home last year. His new family didn't care that he was FIV+. They saw past that to the love he has to give. |
By the way, FIV is not feline AIDS, despite what you may have been told -- even by your local shelter. A cat with FIV may be immune-challenged, but hey, so are a lot of humans, including me!
We wouldn't consider a human who was deaf, blind or otherwise differently-abled to be less worthy. So why so we do that with cats? Or dogs? Or ferrets, or any other companion animal?
As you know, Maxwell came to us as a cat with no eardrum, who was profoundly deaf. He's truly the sweetest cat I've ever been privileged to have in my life. And when the day comes that we're ready to adopt another animal - I'll look first at those who have lived the longest in a shelter.
 |
| Would you walk past this adorable girl just because she only has three legs? Or perhaps it's because of the color of her fur. She's no less loving for that! |
The ones that, day in and day out, are walked past. Overlooked. But still capable or great love, affection and companionship.
Won't you consider the same?
For more information: www.disabledpetday.com.
***
Tuesday, May 2, 2017
'Toon Tuesdays: How scientists celebrate Cinco de Mayo
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Toon Tuesdays feature animal (and sometimes human) humor created by the peeps over at Shoebox Greetings (Hallmark approved. Sorta.) - where our mom works, too!
Monday, May 1, 2017
More #firstworldcatproblems
Maxwell: doop-de-doot-do ....
Maxwell: Dum-de-dum-m-m-m ....
(bored look)
(heavy sigh)
Maxwell: Hey, how many frequent flyer points do I get by manning the pilot's seat until it gets upholstered?
Faraday: Why don't you and I swap, Maxie? You should see how hard the seats are in coach.
 |
| Cue disgruntled look |
Happy Frequent Flyer Day!
***
And yes, Faraday knows better than to file a lawsuit against the "parent company."
He's had to listen to his human fuming about inaccurate reporting on airlines and government regulations for weeks.
But we kitties will spare you the yada-yada. Bad enough that WE have to endure it!)
***
And yes, Faraday knows better than to file a lawsuit against the "parent company."
He's had to listen to his human fuming about inaccurate reporting on airlines and government regulations for weeks.
But we kitties will spare you the yada-yada. Bad enough that WE have to endure it!)
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