Tonight, on National Geographic, 700 cats

A note from the Food Source -

For those of you who think you might be a Crazy Cat Lady (or Man), something you might enjoy.  (or maybe a goal to aspire to?)

Lynea Lattanzio is founder and head of Cat House on the Kings, a no-kill, no-cage sanctuary and adoption center in central California currently housing more than 700 cats.

Tonight National Geographic is showing a special on Lynea and her cat house.  For the first time in my life, I regret not getting the National Geographic channel.

The Lady With 700 Cats premieres July 30 at 10P et/pt on Nat Geo WILD

From today's Freekibblekat.

Mimi & Maty

Hi.  Just a quick note from The Food Source.

I suspect many of you are familiar with the Freekibble and Freekibblekat sites.  The last time I played, I noticed a link to an online book mimi and maty to the Rescue.

If you click on the link to the book, Freekibble will donate another meal to a shelter.  The book is short and happily upbeat, as well.  I suspect even most kids could read it without major help or problems.

I almost missed it, so I thought it might be worth pointing it out to anyone who drops by.

For Luna - June, 1996 to June 23, 2011

For Luna

Amongst all the posts we've made, no one ever covered how Luna became part of the family.

In 1998 I decided I was ready for a new cat. At the time I was working long hours, often in an erratic schedule. So I decided that getting two kitties that were already buddies would work out best. That way, they could keep each other company when I was working. As it turned out, the shelter I was dealing with did not have any pairs. So I wound up picking two kitties of about the same size, age, and attitude, and hoping for the best. Those two turned out to be Radcliff & Allie.

There were several other kitties I considered, and I kept an eye on them as my two settled in and started ignoring each other. Over the next few months most of them found homes. Luna was the exception. I was in Petsmart most every weekend, and I would check with people from the shelter. Somehow, she was always there. I'd play with her through the glass, and cuddle with her if the door to the area was open. Along the way, I found out that she had been taken home at least once, and then returned.

Eventually, I decided that Luna was fated to become my third cat, whether I really thought that was a good idea or not.

It soon became clear why she kept showing up in the shelter. She had a fairly serious urinary tract problems, that took a three vets several years to get a good handle on. When she was feeling poorly, she would get really cranky, swatting and snapping at any one who tried to pick her up or pet her.

Eventually, one vet got a little bit of a handle on her problems, and she started showing some of her true personally. Still a little cranky, but a sweet snuggler once she trusted you a bit.

More recently I spent a couple years taking care of my Mom. I spent most of one summer trimming trees, raking leaves, and generally giving the yard the first clean up in several years. Luna was my dedicated helper for most of that. I had to check before I dropped anything, especially if I was up on a ladder, because Luna was usually hanging out around the bottom. Whenever I took a break, Luna was usually right in my lap, or at least along side of me. If I managed to get out of the house without Luna noticing, it usually wasn't very long before Mom would be calling me to come get my baby.

More recently, Luna got to be something of a loner, finding some out of the way place to sleep until it was time to feed the kitties. Somehow, she always managed to show up to help with that, or at least to supervise while I opened the cans.

I'm telling you this now, because Luna left me for The Bridge sometime during Thursday night.

No Translation, No Sub-titles, No Need

Luna, here.

We usually don't have much use for woofers, but if you haven't already seen this, watch it, please.



Japan 'tsunami dog' Ban reunited with owner after surviving at sea

If you don't smile after this, check your pulse -- you might be dead.

Love and a kittie

Hi, all. The Pirate Girls (AKA the two black kitties) here, with a really nice happy ending tail we thought you might enjoy.

From the an article in the Democrat and Chronicle.com (Rochester, New York):

The Dec. 1 picture showed what was said to be an abandoned and blind 12-year-old

New York City cat. With no hope for adoption, it was about to be euthanized.

"There was something about his face, his posture," says Dr. Michelle M. Brownstein, a veterinarian who operates the Henrietta Animal Hospital. "It just got to me. The cat had absolutely no hope."

Well, Dr. Brownstein decided to do something about that cat, named Nick. After a bunch of emails, Twitters, Facebook and plain old telephone calls, Nick had a home. With her.

More information is available from Dr. Brownstein's blog here, here, and here.

We found out about Nick via paper bag & string, a really nice blog we just stumbled across a day or two ago.

Mick, hanging out in his new home.

PS: It turns out Mick isn't even blind.

Kittens In My Christmas Tree!

Hi all. Luna here with a quick note. The border-line space cadets at Rathergood have a new video out for Christmas, named Kittens In My Christmas Tree!.

Enjoy!

If you can't get this to play, or just want to access the YouTube directly, click here.

A Merry Christmas to you all. We seldom get around to posting ourselves, but we try to check in on everyone's blogs at least once in a while.

ppuurrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr

For Ozzie

Hi. Dan (AKA The Food Source) here, with a post I really tried not to have to make.

After more than a month, there is still no sign of Ozzie. I looked around, hoping that if nothing else, I would find his body, or at least a large area of orange fur, but so far, nothing. Ozzie is large, tough tom cat, who spent at least a year or so living on his own before we connected. So I keep hoping he is out there somewhere, surviving off of his street smarts.

What really bothers me is that the last time I saw Ozzie, I was closing up the house for the night. I thought about making him come inside, but I decided to let him be. It was going to be one of the last nice nights of the fall, and I figured Ozzie could take care of himself.

It looks like I was wrong.

Ozzie, where ever you are, I hope you are doing well. I'll keep looking for you. If you are out there somewhere, come home, OK?