Friskey: The Cat That Was To Be My First Heartbreak

Friskey...The First Heartbreak In My Life
May 19, 1968-July 5, 1975

I'm not really writing this in any particular order, but since I have already mentioned about Friskey, I thought I would relate what was to be my first heartbreak. Friskey came into my life on May 19, 1968, some six years after our very first cat Babette. He was a silver tabby cat who grew quite enormous. Uh, no, he wasn't fat...LOL. Just a gosh darn big cat. While large and maybe intimidating, he had the heart and love of a teddy bear, and one could never ask for a more gentle creature than he.

Since we didn't have that many cats at the time, when my grandmother, mother and myself would go away on vacations, usually to the Lancaster, Pa area, we took the cats with us. In fact the picture of him I have here, was taken on just such a trip and at the time we usually stayed at the Howard Johnson's that was there.

Sadly, Friskey was to only live about seven years and to this day I blame whatever happened while he was at the vet. The nearby vet we started taking our cats to, beginning with Babette, we had trusted completely, and never questioned his "professional" services. I would later, many years later find out that other people had had their own horror stories with this vet.

It was during the last week of June of 1975. At the time I was away for a few days visiting a friend, and when I came back home, Friskey wasn't there. My grandmother explained that one day, while I had been away, and my mother was working at the time, suddenly Friskey had some kind of health problem, but not knowing what was wrong, took him to our vet. The vet we trusted and had by now been going to for many years.

The vet kept Friskey there for nearly a week. When we asked if we could see him, the vet refused saying it would upset Friskey. At the time, we didn't realize how wrong this was. If you have a pet with a vet due to a health problem, one has the right to see their pet...we didn't know this, and like I said, since we trusted the vet, we thought he knew best. Finally, we had enough of it, and demanded to have our cat back as no one was telling us, what was wrong with Friskey. You have to remember, this was long before anyone thought of suing even a vet for any kind of malpractice.

He, the vet agreed to let us take Friskey home...No explanations what was wrong, no medications were given to us...nothing. Also since he was in his traveling case, we didn't notice anything suspicious until we got home. Once home and out of his carrier case, it was only then that we noticed his one leg was all bandaged up. Like what the hell was this?? Again, the vet offered no explanation when we called to find out what was what.

Friskey of course wasn't getting any better, only worse. His one leg that was bandaged up became weaker and we then took him to another veterinary place...one that was open 24/7, even holidays and had a noted good reputation. The news wasn't good. After the vet examined Friskey he told us that the leg had gangrene. Like how the hell did that happen? There had been nothing wrong with his leg when my grandmother took him to that first vet, and he certainly didn't give us any medications to combat any severe infections.

The vet gave us two options. The one was that Friskey's leg would be amputated, and he would then need physical therapy to get him used to walking on three legs...all at a cost I might add that was astronomical. The second option, as you can guess was the more difficult one...to have him put down. Neither my grandmother or mother could deal with the idea of putting him down, and left the decision solely up to me. Gee, thanks, like I really wanted to make such a lousy decision...but the two of them just couldn't give the word to have it done.

But what could we do? We just didn't have the money for the first option...it was way too expensive. I remember so vividly...being outside the exam room with my mother and grandmother...our tears were flowing uncontrollably...but it was me who had to give the final okay to put him down. That happened July 5, 1975, and Friskey is buried at the Wantaugh, Long Island Bide a Wee Cemetery. He was the first cat in my life to go to Rainbow Bridge...and one day, when it is time for me to pass from this world, I can meet him again, as I hope to meet all my "babies"

Originally written June 13, 2008

ARTICLE: A VERY SPECIAL VALENTINE'S TO SOMEONE I LOVE SO DEAR

Image~©MELANIE NEER~Personal Photo of My Pyewacket (June 17, 2001-April 19, 2010)

Originally Written February 16, 2012)

A Valentine's Day dedication of love from a very different perspective, and dedicated to those who have loved their pets who have passed on and still miss them in their lives and who understand that it's "not just a cat or dog"

I just needed and wanted to let you know, that here it is Valentine's Day,
I wanted you to know just how much I have loved you
and have always loved you from the moment I met you.

I wanted you to know how special you were in my life.
I loved all the times I cuddled up next to you, while you were lying in bed
and trying to read, yet being selfish and I didn't want you to read, since I wanted your love and attention solely on me...yes I was selfish, but that's how much I loved you.

I wanted you to know how special you were in my life.
All those times I would cuddle up next to you on the sofa, while watching TV,
feeling safe and secure with you since I knew you loved me,
and I loved you...oh how I loved you and still do.

I wanted you to know how special you were in my life.
And especially now I want you to know how special you were in my life
And yes, oh yes, I DO know how much you loved me, since I know you still grieve for me.

I wanted you to know how special you were in my life.
I felt your pain and anguish, that day, that day, that took you and myself
away from us forever.

I wanted you to know how special you were in my life.
That day that took us apart.
I felt your anguish that day.
When you realized I was gone,
You cradled me to your bosom like a baby and rocked me back and forth.
And in anguish and with tears, calling out my name over and over again,
Still not believing I was gone from your life.

I wanted you to know how special you were in my life.
You may not see me now.
You may not hear me anymore now.
You may not feel my cuddles anymore now.
But I'm still here.
I'm still with you and will always be in your heart.

On this Valentine's Day
I just wanted you to know....

I still love you and will be with you always.

Love all my love,
Pyewacket

©Melanie Neer~I dedicate this to all who have pets no longer in their lives and still feel the pain of their passing.

ARTICLE: What Is Crossposting And Does It Really Help?

Image~©Melanie Neer~Composite photo of "Dot", whom I renamed Ouija whom I adopted

Originally written May 9, 2013 for Bubblews, a website that no longer exists

I spend a lot of my time over at Facebook everyday crossposting the urgent pets that need to be saved/rescued/adopted/fostered from shelters, particularly the high kill shelters.

For those of you not familiar with just what crossposting is, let me explain. Facebook has become perhaps the greatest social networking website in order to "crosspost" urgent shelter pets. Over at Facebook, there are hundreds, if not thousands of pages or groups that on a daily basis post the urgent cats and dogs that are on "death row" and scheduled to be "euthanized" (a nice and polite way of saying killed). The "race" is on in which animal activists, advocates and rescuers share these posts by "crossposting", not only sharing the posts on their own profile walls, but on other pages and groups dedicated to saving the lives of shelter pets.

Some people can't understand the process though and wonder what good it does. I once came across the profile wall of a fellow crossposter, and underneath the posting was a comment made by one of her friends. She requested that the person, my friend, to stop sharing and "tagging" urgent cats on her wall. She said I live in Alabama, how can I possible help save a cat in a Georgia shelter. She just plain didn't get it, for you see, you may never know if you have someone on your friends list that IS in the area and can save the particular pet(s).

This indeed was something that personally happened not too long ago. I was lurking around on a friend's profile wall who is a tireless crossposter and who happens to be in Canada, nonetheless even though he's in Canada he posts the urgent cats from nearly all states of the USA. Late one night as I looked at his wall I came across one particular cat named Prince and was on "death row" scheduled to be killed the next day. The cat was in a high kill shelter in Florida. I decided to share the posting of Prince on my wall…and I'm from the NYC area mind you. Only a few moments passed, when one of my friends chimed in…she wanted to save the cat. Where was she? Yes you guessed…she lived nearby that particular shelter. You might say the race was on, time was ticking. Rather frantic emails and messages went back and forth between me, my friend and representatives of that shelter. Since it was well beyond business hours, one couldn't simply call the shelter. Bottom line though, it worked, the cat Prince was saved instead of killed and was adopted.

Sadly it doesn't always work, as too many shelter pets are still killed off each and everyday, but with crossposting is that glimmer of hope, that yes, many ARE saved. So if you're over at Facebook, and wonder why you have some friends who are maniacs about posting urgent pets and what good it does, tell that to that pet who was saved from death row, and perhaps consider crossposting urgent pets yourself. You never know…YOU just might have a friend on your list at Facebook that can help save a life.

I would also like to add, that there are scores of pets even in the no-kill shelters nationwide that also need to be crossposted as well, as many of these shelters can often be overwhelmed with pets needing rescue and adoption. It was by crossposting that I came upon a black cat and at first merely cosponsored him by sending money to the shelter that would go toward his vet and neuter fees. I was to later go one step further, and yes, adopted him.

The photo I include here is a composite of my black cat Ouija (his shelter name was Dot) whom I adopted via the Grayson County Humane Society in KY and was transported to me all the way to my home on December 1, 2012 here in the NYC area.

ARTICLE: The Bittersweet Moments Our Pets Show Us: Just One Demonstration of Unconditional Love a Pet Gave Me

Image~©MELANIE NEER~Personal photo of Tippy

Originally published February 8, 2011 on Associated Content/Yahoo.voices website which no longer exists

ABSTRACT: Our pets don't ask much from us, they don't judge us but accept us for who we are no matter what and know the meaning of Unconditional love CONTENT: I think many of us who have pets realize the wonderful unconditional love they have for us. They don't judge us, they don't really ask for much yet are capable of showing their love and affection to us without asking for anything much in return. They know the true meaning of unconditional love, something we humans could learn from.

I was talking about one of my cats over at Facebook. As many of my friends may know, my cat Pyewacket passed on April 19th 2010, yet this isn't about him but about one of my cats that I had years and years ago. Her name was Tippy. You might say I rescued her. It was on a warm May day, many, many years ago in 1983. I was at home and at one point, I looked out the window and saw a circle of kids tossing around a very young tiger-striped kitten as if it were a football. Enraged doesn't quite explain how I felt. I zoomed out of my apt. and went straight over to those kids and demanded they hand over the kitten to me; no doubt they must have thought I was a looney tunes and one kid had even said to me "It's just a cat." I cuddled the very scared kitten close to me and took her home.

Despite her ordeal of being treated like a mere object she didn't seem to fear me or her new surroundings considering the fact that I also had about five other cats at the time, and she quickly made herself at home. I named her Tippy since even though she was a tiger-striped cat, at the very tip of her tail was the color of an orange tabby...thus the name "Tippy"

Tippy became one of my cuddle bugs and velcro cat. She would hop on my bed to keep me company while I slept, and even gave me her version of a back message. All this attention she gave me unfortunately seemed to spark the jealousy of another cat named Bobbie. He began to antagonize her, bully her, wanted to fight her all the time, it was like a world war going on day in and day out. She began turning into a scared and timid cat and she felt her only safe place where Bobbie wouldn't bother her was to hop up into a cabinet over the refrigerator. She was to remain there for years and years after never coming down. I would have to place her food on top of the fridge and hoist up the litter pan for her to do her business. She just plain wouldn't come down.

Then one day in 1996 I was sitting in the living room when a movement attracted me from my peripheral vision. Looking directly to the "movement" my jaw dropped as I saw Tippy walking around the living room like she was the Queen of Sheba and unafraid of being bullied. At any moment I expected Bobbie to resort to bullying her again but he didn't. This should have maybe raised alarms, but I was just so happy to see her out and about again. She even resumed hopping up on my bed, giving me her back rubs, just as if nothing happened those years she stuck herself in the cabinet and not coming down from her "sanctuary".

About two weeks passed by after her initial daring day of her escape from her sanctuary , and Tippy remained feeling secure about being out and not afraid of Bobbie, and continued to snuggle up on my bed while I slept . Then one morning, I woke up and saw Tippy lying on the floor near the foot of my bed. I got up and went over to her to pet her thinking she was merely asleep, but no, she was still, lifeless....she had passed on. It was as if though, in her last moments of her life she wanted to be near me and why she was where she was on the floor at the foot of my bed.

I'm sure those of us who are pet owners have our own stories to tell of a pet or pets, who demonstrated their unconditional and trusting love for us even in their final moments of life. The story of Tippy is just one of many for me and I will always remember until my own final day.

ARTICLE: Close Encounters Of The Paranormal Kind: Part Three

Originally published June 22, 2013 on the Bubblews website which no longer exists. I've update this articles and also give additions to this original article

Image~©Melanie Neer~Personal image of my "Samhain" altar

This is the third in a series of articles I'm writing about my past "paranormal" experiences. I invite you to read the first two of which I give a link at the end of this article.

As I previously explained in both prior articles, the mystical, metaphysical and paranormal realms were never strange to me as I grew up in such beliefs due to my way ahead. with it great grandmother. Whenever I had experienced my own paranormal occurrences to me they were normal; they never frightened nor scared me in the least. There was one experience however that was, well, a bit strange even to me. I have to confess I rarely talk about this incident since I can't help thinking that if I did, I could expect a truck with men in white coats coming after me and fitting me in a jacket….But here goes…going to reveal it now.

It was something that took place four years ago and on Halloween night…uh, perfect setting, no? What people don't realize about Halloween is that it's actually based on old Celtic pagan and wicca beliefs and is called Samhain. It is one of the known festivals celebrated by neo-pagans and wiccans of today and is considered our New Year. I say "our" since yes folks, I follow the pagan/wicca path myself.

With Samhain is the belief that the veil between worlds is the thinnest and that the spirits of the dead can visit the living. Such a concept is not only a belief among neo-pagans or wiccans but is also observed and celebrated in other cultures, particularly among people of Hispanic origins, especially in Mexico. In this case the day is known as El Dia De Los Muertos (Day Of The Dead), which by the way has its origins from pre-Columbian times. Many people may be familiar with how the image of the skull predominates El Dia De Los Muertos. Is it no wonder then with our "modern" Halloween that ghosts, ghouls, goblins and skeletons are associated with the holiday itself?

In either case, whether it's a celebration of Samhain, El Dia De Los Muertos or Halloween, it is by no means a "morbid" celebration, but a fond remembrance of those who passed on before us. Since I am of the pagan/wicca path, I too celebrate Halloween/Samhain in my own special way and have a special ritual that I do and have done so ever since I first started following the pagan/wiccan path some twelve years ago.

On this particular Halloween/Samhain in 2009, some nine years ago, I became very reflective, not so much with wanting to honor family members who had passed on, but for some reason I had become rather melancholy with my cats of my past who had left my life. So on Halloween night, I set up my altar that I have in my bedroom, which consists of three candles, my statue of the Ancient Egyptian feline goddess Bast (rather appropriate), my Egyptian type incense holder, and a variety of other items that had special meaning to me. I also decorated my altar with a bouquet of Chrysanthemums, and also with Halloween themed items, such as small pumpkins, fall leaves, and Halloween type candy. Then I went one step further, I opened up a can of cat food and placed it on a plate and placed the plate on my altar.

After my little ceremony, I left the bedroom with the incense still burning and the candles lit and went into the living room area and decided to get some work done in front of my computer. My computer desk is right next to my sofa and I noticed that both my cats that I had at that time, Pyewacket and Kissy were sound, sound asleep on the sofa; they were clearly in full view all the time that I was in front of the computer. At one point while sitting in front of the computer I remembered a book I had in my bedroom that I wanted and decided to get it. Once in the bedroom, I passed by my altar to retrieve the book. As I passed the altar again to go back into the living room, I looked down at the altar and that's when I noticed something. Something was missing. Can you guess? Yes, the plate of cat food was completely empty, not a morsel was on it. Since I can see the living room from my bedroom I still noticed both cats sound asleep, so there was no way either of them could have come into the bedroom and eaten the food.

Perhaps when I think of it, that experience really isn't so odd. I've talked with other pet owners who have had their own "encounters" of pets who had passed on and who have "visited" them; such as seeing a shadowy movement in their peripheral vision, hearing sounds, to even feeling the presence of a former pet hopping on their bed and snuggling up with them as they sleep.

There have been documented cases of people experiencing "encounters" with the spirits of pets, especially with cats. One such good read and of which I highly recommend is Dusty Rainbolt's "Ghost Cats: Human Encounters With Feline Spirits"

Have any of you experienced the presence of a former pet?

Update:

In this article I had mentioned about having two cats at that time, Pyewacket and Kissy. Sadly and very unexpectedly, Pyewacket passed on April 19, 2010. Then on September 1, 2015, my 15 year old Kissy passed on. Not long after Kissy passed on you might say I was given a "sign". I've read countless accounts that often when a "loved" one has passed on, be it a human or pet, they will give a "sign" and sometimes this can be in the form of a feather…yes a feather. Only a week had passed with Kissy's death and I was cleaning my floor, when I noticed something. Yes a small light grey bird's wing feather. The color of the feather was in itself very significant since my Kissy was a grey-stripped tiger cat. Also, there was no reasonable explanation how that feather could have gotten into my place as I have window screens on all my windows.

As you can and might guess, I continue my special "Samhain" ritual in remembrance of former cats that have passed on. I include the urns and a photo of both Pyewacket and Kissy on my altar. It's not unusual to observe something. I include a photo I had taken at one such ritual. See anything? One can clearly see a sort of purple mist in the photo that was by no means apparent by the naked eye, yet shows up in the photo. Coincidence?

To this day, not only I, but my present black cat Ouija "senses" a presence of former cats passed on, as there are times when Ouija stares and stares at one particular spot somewhere and there clearly is nothing that can be seen.

My first article about my "paranormal" experiences:

https://melneer.blogspot.com/2018/04/article-close-encounters-of-paranormal.html

https://melneer.blogspot.com/2018/04/article-close-encounters-of-paranormal.html

My second article about my "paranormal" experiences:

https://melneer.blogspot.com/2018/04/article-close-encounters-of-paranormal_27.html

https://melneer.blogspot.com/2018/04/article-close-encounters-of-paranormal_27.html

ARTICLE: My Love Of Black Cats

(Originally published May 24, 2013 on the Yahoo.voices website which no longer exists and with some "updates" added)

Composite images of my black cats past and present, plus a photo of my own statue of Bastet that I have

I've had a love for black cats ever since I can remember, in fact, my very first cat, Babette, was a "tuxedo" cat that my mother adopted as a Christmas present for me when I was only five years old. Since then and throughout my life while I've had other types of cats, there have always, but always been black cats as part of my "family". There most certainly is an allure to the black cat. In my opinion they have a unique "catitude" all their own; perhaps they in a sense feel and recognize themselves to be "mini" panthers.

Growing up I obviously was never aware of the stigma or superstitions that have surrounded black cats for centuries. Maybe it was due to the fact that in my early childhood I've always had a great love for the Ancient Egyptian culture. Naturally I was aware of how cats in general were worshipped during that time; then of course there was the female cat goddess Bastet, often depicted as a woman with a cat's head, but also of course simply as a cat. During Ancient Egyptian times, cats were so highly regarded and held sacred, that to kill a cat was punishable by death. Since black cats were rather rare during that time period most often statues of Bastet were, yes, as you can guess, black cats. Unfortunately, with the passage of time, things went downhill for the feline species, and especially for black cats.

Erroneous beliefs began to crop up via early Christianity and during the Medieval period that black cats were evil and most often associated with "witches". Who can forget that part of history of how cats were rounded up and killed by the hundreds, if not the thousands. This of course, had a negative effect; without the cats to kill off the rodents, the spread of the virus occurred, known of course as the Black Plague.

As a bit of historical trivia, take the name "Pyewacket" for instance, most often associated with the name of the Siamese cat in the classic 1958 movie, Bell, Book and Candle; yet in reality, the name Pyewacket was first mentioned and known in England, and yes, as a black cat and a familiar to a witch back in 1644.

Black cats therefore, were forever considered evil, unlucky, especially if one crossed your path and as the devil's messengers. Ironically however, no such belief about black cats would exist in Celtic cultures, in fact, in those countries a black cat was considered the opposite, that is, "lucky". Yet all in all, black cats still have the stigma of being unlucky, even in our own USA, so much so, that black cats are the least unlikely to be adopted from shelters. Not only are black cats the least likely to be adopted, but even today are often targets of sick individuals who will torture or kill black cats and especially during the month of October.

Over at Facebook, I'm one of those animal activist/advocates; among other things, I regularly and daily crosspost the urgent cats needing to be rescued/saved/pulled/fostered from shelters, particularly from the high kill shelters. I became all too well aware of how black cats were the highest in number being listed on "death row", that is to be euthanized (a nice polite way of saying killed) since, as I've mentioned, black cats are the least likely to be adopted due to the old superstitions. One thing I did notice however, on a more positive note was that no doubt other people found a beauty in black cats also, and over at Facebook are scores of groups, pages and even "events" dedicated to the black cat to honor and glorify their unique beauty.

Some seven years ago I decided to start my own group at Facebook, of which I call Black Cats Are Beautiful and was officially created by me on August 11, 2011. Here people can join my group and share pictures of their own black cats both past and present, share stories about black cats, post cute Cheezeburger black cats photos, and in general, celebrate the beauty of the black cat. I also developed a Facebook page called Black Cats Urgent Rescue in which those black cats who need to be rescued from shelters can be posted and hopefully more people will step up to save these beautiful mini panthers.

Beginning in 2012 I had even gone even a step further, and have declared June 17th as Black Cats Are Beautiful Day and have created an "event" each year over at Facebook as well. Why June 17th? On June 17, 2001, a black cat came into my life, and yes, I named him Pyewacket. Pyewacket seemed to have come into my life when it was the most turbulent, it was as if he appeared to be my guardian throughout the years of turmoil and was in every sense of the word was my helper and companion. Sadly and most unexpectedly, he passed on April 19, 2010. To date though I'm not without a black cat since on December 1, 2012, I adopted a new black cat, formerly known as Dot from the Grayson County Humane Society shelter, but of whom I renamed Ouija. My newcomer of course will never replace Pyewacket, but how could I not have a black cat in my life? To me that would be "unlucky".

All in all, to my mind, there can never be enough Groups, Pages or Events that celebrate the beauty of the black cat, and by doing so, will dispel the stigma and superstitions black cats have had throughout history.

I would like to further add that the very first "celebration" to dispel the stigma of black cats was first started in Italy on November 17, 2007, and a few years later the UK began a day to celebrate black cats as well, usually in the month of October.

Black Cats Are Beautiful Facebook Group:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/175852975821168/?fref=ts

https://www.facebook.com/groups/175852975821168/?fref=ts

Black Cats Urgent Rescue Facebook Page:

https://www.facebook.com/BlackCatsUrgentRescue

https://www.facebook.com/BlackCatsUrgentRescue

Name of Pyewacket

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyewacket_(familiar_spirit)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyewacket_(familiar_spirit)

ARTICLE: A Tribute to Scarlett: A Heartwarming Story of a Cat

PHOTO OF THE COVER OF THE BOOK BY JANE MARTIN & J.C. SUARES OF WHICH I HAVE A COPY

Originally written January 14, 2009 for Associted Content/Yahoo.Voices website which no longer exist

ABSTRACT: Scarlett perhaps became one of the most famous felines due to her heroic efforts in saving the lives of her kittens during a raging fire.

CONTENT: If ever there was a story that touched the hearts of many people around the world, it was that of a mother cat named Scarlett. I remember this story very well as it was to etch in my mind how devoted an animal could be especially when it came to the safety of her kittens. For those of you who don't remember the story, I shall give a synopsis of this brave feline and what she did.

The event took place on March 30, 1996, when a raging fire was burning out of control in an abandoned garage located in the Brooklyn area of New York City. Firefighters were there to contain and put out the fire, but not without noticing something truly amazing happening during the chaos. A bedraggled female cat, horribly burned and singed had made the trip back and forth five times to rescue her five four-week old kittens that had been caught in the blaze of the building which they all had made as their home and shelter. The female cat was in such horrific condition that her eyes had been blistered shut from the heat of the fire, and could only locate and find her babies by smell and touch.

One firefighter at the scene, a David Giannelli amazed at this brave cat's rescue of her kittens, realized they all needed medical help and gently gathered them all up and rushed them over to the North Shore Animal League located in the Port Washington area of Long Island, NY. It was to be a long road of recovery for Scarlett, as the female mother cat was to be named and of her kittens who all suffered from severe smoke inhalation. Sadly, one of the five kittens didn't make it and succumbed to a virus a month after being taken to North Shore. The remainder kittens however, survived and found new loving homes. Scarlett was to remain a bit longer at North Shore still recovering from all her injuries she acquired during her rescue of her kittens.

The story of Scarlett and of her bravery literally hit round the world, not just in America, and captured everyone's heart, so much so, that the North Shore Animal League was flooded by thousands and thousands of letters of those interested in adopting Scarlett. After careful scrutiny of people asking to adopt Scarlett, the lucky person to receive her was Karen Wellen who gave her a true loving home. Ms. Wellen's own story was a sad one as she had lost her own cat to an accident in which she herself had also been injured.

The story wasn't to end there however, as Scarlett continued to be famous worldwide, and scores more articles continued to be written up about her and several books were written about this heroic feline, including ScarlettSaves Her Family: The Heart-Warming True Story of A Homeless Mother Cat Who Rescued Her Kittens From A Raging Fire by Jane Martin and Jean-Claude Suares, a book I might add, I still have. Things however, weren't completely smooth sailing for Scarlett however, as she still needed constant medical care throughout her life, but care she did get by her loving owner Ms. Wellen. The North Shore Animal League had even set up a blog known as "The Scarlett Room" not only to tell of the bravery of this most famous cat that they saved and helped but of all the other success stories of North Shore Animal League rescues.

Just the other day, however, I decided I wanted to look back at some of the articles about this famous heroic feline. I literally broke down and cried. I was hit by the news that on October 11, 2008 after thirteen years of being loved and cherished not only by Karen Wellen, but perhaps by the whole world, had passed into what I call the "Land of Bast". I don't know why, but the tears couldn't stop flowing when I read of her death. It hit me as hard as if one of my own precious cats had passed away from my life. In fact, as I write this I'm crying and I think anyone who remembers the story of this dear sweet heroic feline will also feel a tremendous sadness as well.

I guess as a closing, I want to publicly thank Scarlett for showing the devotion a mere animal will have in showing love and devotion to her babies, risking her own life, and for showing and being an exceptional example of unconditional love that we humans could demonstrate more of.

RIP~~Scarlett

You will be missed.

Articles About Scarlett:

http://www.moggies.co.uk/html/scarlett.html

http://www.moggies.co.uk/html/scarlett.html

http://www.animalleague.org/blogs/scarlett/

http://www.animalleague.org/blogs/scarlett/

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/scarlett-cat-saved-kittens-1996-brooklyn-fire-dies-article-1.300103

http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/scarlett-cat-saved-kittens-1996-brooklyn-fire-dies-article-1.300103

Book About Scarlett

Scarlett Saves Her Family: The Heart-Warming True Story of A Homeless Mother Cat Who Rescued Her Kittens From A Raging Fire by Jane Martin and Jean-Claude Suares, Simon & Schuster, 1997

Ouija: The Cat Who Came In A Dream

Very first photo of "Dot"/Ouija the first day he came to me on December 1, 2012

When my eight year old black cat Pyewacket suddenly passed away in the very early morning hours on April 19, 2010 I was completely devastated as he had no prior health problems to warn me of any obvious health issues. I suspect however, that he may have had first a stroke, then a heart attack and it happened so fast, that there wouldn’t have been time to take him to an emergency vet. I instantly feel into a deep depression and my other cat Kissy, who must have sensed my grief, cuddled up next to me when I finally went to bed; something she had never done before as she had never been a cuddle-bug.


Kissy, who was a tiger-striped cat, was to remain my one and only cat for a good long while. Inwardly, I knew that eventually I wanted to adopt another cat, preferably another black cat, but I just wasn’t ready. Then something strange happened in the summer of 2012; I had a very vivid dream, one that to this day I can still remember, and I’m usually the type that never remembers my dreams.

In my dream, I was in the “momma cat” room with several pet rescuers, where the mother cats and their kittens were kept. The rescuers in that room were busy helping bottle-feed some of the very young kittens, save one. Struggling on the floor was a very young kitten. None of the pet rescuers were paying attention to the kitten, nor was the momma cat around to take care of this kitten either. I went over to that kitten and gently scooped it off the floor and began bottle feeding it: the kitten was a black kitten.

Some months passed and it was now October of 2012. Due to my love of cats and hoping to help in anyway possible, I’m very involved with the on-line animal rescue community via Facebook and do a lot of “crossposting” of the urgent cats needing rescue and adoption from a variety of pet shelters nationwide in the USA. One shelter I became acquainted with due to a Facebook friend named Peter Askin, was the Grayson County Humane Society in Leitchfield, KY. I admired Peter as he was a die-hard fan of the shelter, and would travel all the way from his home in Canada to volunteer his time at the shelter. For many years, the shelter had auctions through their Facebook page to raise money to help the shelter pets. As part of the auction, cats and dogs were listed for sponsorship, in which a person could either sponsor or co-sponsor a dog or cat to help defray veterinary costs that were needed for that particular cat or dog. I’d participated in these auctions, either by bidding on some item that was offered, and yes, as you can guess, I would also co-sponsor one of the cats.



It was during the shelter’s Halloween auction of 2012 that I came across one cat whose shelter name was Dot and I decided to co-sponsor him. About a week or so passed after the auction had ended and I began to think to myself, well why not take it further and outright adopt Dot? One of the many blessings of the the Grayson County Humane Society shelter was that they were willing to transport any pet to a willing adopter who qualified. I then went to their official website page and began filling out the long and lengthy application form to adopt Dot and kept my fingers crossed.


About a week passed by and I got the positive news back to me that I did indeed qualify to adopt him, and now arrangements were being made to transport Dot from Leitchfield, KY all the way up to me in the Queens, New York City area. On Saturday, December 1, 2012 Dot came to my home via one of the transporters named Lindsey. Kissy, who was always a timid cat, especially when other people are around was hiding in the bedroom and hadn’t a clue what was taking place; she sensed another person was in my home and thus why she was hiding, but she certainly had no idea that there was to be the arrival of another cat in the home. Lindsey had Dot in a carrier case and asked me if I was ready to have him come out of the case. I went into my living room and sat on the floor, as I wanted to be one the same level as Dot rather than standing over him. The moment Lindsey opened the case, Dot came trotting over to me as if we were long lost pals.


I suppose you may be wondering just what color Dot was? Yes, perhaps you may have guessed; a black cat but with a white “dot’ on his chest, thus the reason his shelter name was Dot. I was to change his name however, as I just didn’t think it was suitable. What I wanted was another mystical kind of name in keeping with my former black cat Pyewacket’s name. Many people might remember that Pyewacket was the name of the cat in the classic old-time movie, Bell, Book And Candle. For about a week I racked my mind trying to think of a name. It wasn’t until I was drifting off to sleep one night that the name came to me: Ouija.

There is just another thing I do need to mention. To this day, I can’t help thinking that the vivid dream I had in the summer of 2012 was somehow Pyewacket’s spirit telling me something; that it was time, time to adopt another black cat in his honor and memory. There had been plenty of cats I could have adopted prior to that dream but I didn’t. By having that dream, however,I think Pyewacket’s spirit was giving me a nudge to do so, and who knows? Maybe, just maybe, he had picked out “Dot” for me.

Below is a composite photo of Ouija taken over the years.

PRAYER TO BAST FOR A SICK CAT

IMAGE SOURCE~©MELANIE NEER~MY OWN STATUE OF BAST

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Ever since childhood, I've had a great love for the Ancient Egyptian culture, quite literally grew up with it. I've also have had cats since I was five years old. I've always loved the idea of their being a feline goddess dedicated to cats. So when I came across this "prayer" I knew I had to share it. Found this particular "prayer" here:

Prayer To Bast For A Sick Cat

PRAYER TO BAST FOR A SICK CAT



“Great Lady of the Cats,

I call upon your sleek form to aid me.

Your child is ill here in my arms.

Come to us and bathe your child

with your tongue and heal her wounds,

Heal her nose and mouth,

so she may breathe and taste.

Heal her teeth and claws,

so she may hunt and eat.

Heal her eyes and ears,
so she may know the world.

Heal all those things that let her digest,

So she can grown healthy.

Heal her heart, lungs and legs,

so that she may travel on.

Heal her skin and fur,

so she may show beauty.

Heal her bones and joints,

so she can play again.

Heal her tongue,

so she can heal her sisters.”

The Disposable Mind-Set Too Often Includes Pets

The Disposable Mind-Set Too Often Includes Pets

Originally published on May 5, 2013 for Yahoo.Voices, a website that no longer exists.

IMAGE SOURCE~PERSONAL PHOTO~Me as a baby with the family dog Candy, a Beagle

We seem to be living in an age where everything seems disposable, to be gotten rid of if it doesn't serve our purpose or is useful to us anymore. Perhaps only fifteen or twenty years ago, if one's TV went on the blink for whatever reason, instead of throwing it out, one would've called a TV repairman to fix it; the same could also be said for stereo systems and appliances. Decades ago if one bought furniture, it was often considered an investment of sorts and one kept it for nearly one's lifetime; one may even have handed some of the furniture down to relatives. Now however, instead of getting an item repaired or handing it down, we dispose of it to get a new and improved version of it.

Sadly and tragically, no longer are only inanimate items tossed away like so much garbage, but pets are as well; they have become disposable. I do a lot of crossposting of urgent pets needing to be rescued over at Facebook and I'm aware of the alarmingly high rate of pets being surrendered. Each and every single day, nationwide, pets are surrendered into shelters, particularly high kill municipal shelters. High kill shelters have an open admission surrender policy; these high kill shelters are obligated to take in any and all pets for whatever reason the owner gives. Quite frankly, some of the reasons an owner gives are poor excuses and to my mind a betrayal of trust that the pet may have had with the owner particularly if that owner had the pet for many years.

Here are some of the reasons, which I find rather lame, for why people get rid of their pets:

1). "New Baby": 
I really have no idea why people think they need to "dispose" of their pet due to a new baby coming into the family. While I've had cats nearly all my life ever since I was five years old, prior to that, my folks were dog people, and consequently there was a dog, named Candy. When I came into the world, it never crossed their minds to get rid of the dog. In fact I have a rare photo of myself as a baby; I'm not even a year old, and there I am sitting on the living room floor and right next to me was Candy who was a beagle. I in fact include a photo of me as a baby with Candy here in this article.

2). "Allergies": 
Yes, people can be allergic to pets, but what I can't understand is why people surrender pets into shelters due to allergies after having the pet for eight or more years. And guess what folks? Yes I have allergies. Also, when my grandmother was still alive and living with my mother and myself, she developed asthma. Her doctor recommended getting rid of the four cats we had at the time, and what was her response? She got rid of the doctor instead. So yes, she had asthma however she was able to control it via medications.

3). "Moving": 
People move for a variety of reasons: perhaps to upgrade to a better living space, foreclosure, or even eviction, yet why does one feel it necessary to surrender a pet or leave it behind due to "moving"? Often I hear that the excuse is that the new place a person is moving to won't allow pets. Well, like duh? If a person truly views their pet as a family member, shouldn't they go out of their way to find a place that does accept pets?

In most cases with moving there is a known time factor involved, and yes even in cases of foreclosure or eviction, it's usually not like one has to move pronto overnight. Some of the saddest cases are the "foreclosure" pets…pets abandoned and left behind. I came across one such case while crossposting urgent cats on Facebook. The former owners left their orange tabby cat behind, the cat mind you was 18 years old! The new tenants upon moving in found the cat and took it to a shelter, a high kill shelter I might add. Diligent crossposting between us all over at Facebook began for "Ginger". In Ginger's case she was lucky as someone was willing to adopt her for the remainder of her "senior" years. But not all stories end happily ever after and in many cases the cat (or dog) will be "euthanized". Would people "abandon" their human children for the moving excuse if children weren't allowed in a new place? I don't think so, they would go out of their way to find a place that did accept children, so why do people feel it's all right to abandon their pet(s)?

4). No Pets Allowed: 
Yes many landlords will have a no pet clause in their lease or he/she may all of a sudden decide no pets allowed even if previously pets were allowed, however there are some loopholes people need to know about. In many cases, despite a no pet clause, if the pet owner has had the pet for at least three months, the landlord can't take legal action or demand the pet owner to give up their pet, so it's wise for people to know the specific pet laws that are in a pet owner's favor and not the landlords.

5). "No Time": 
Are people so busy in their lives that they don't have time for their pet? If they can make time for their human children, and other family obligations, then in my opinion so should they for their pets.

6). "Too Old": 
I can't think of a bigger sense of betrayal to a pet than when a pet owner surrenders their pet to a shelter due to the pet being old, and especially if that pet owner then wants to get a new puppy or kitten since the "old" pet is no longer cute and cuddly. I came across one such a case only the other night while doing my crossposting over at Facebook. The cat's name was Lola and was two years old, but the owner had only adopted the cat five months ago. Now the owner was surrendering Lola to a high kill shelter. In the "evaluation/questionnaire" asked of the owner why he was surrendering Lola, the person stated, "too big getting a kitten". The cat was only two years old and the person thought it too big and old? Two years old is still practically a kitten in itself! Thankfully since I was tracking to see the fate of Lola, I found out that she was rescued. Of course, there's the other extreme where the pet is say ten, fifteen, or more years old and the owner wants a "new and improved" version. It's when I come across cases like this, I'm sorry, but I hope karma bites the person in the butt and when that person is old gets "dumped" somewhere and abandoned.

7). "Personal Problems" 
While there can be many types of personal problems involved, one of the biggest personal problems excuse cited is this scenario. A person has a pet, and may have had the pet for many years, but then a new "love" interest comes into their life. This new love interest pulls a either it's me or the pet threat. Since the idiot, and yes, I'm thinking the person is an idiot to be so blinded by love for the person, that person will stupidly give up the pet, and yes, it is stupid. Sorry, but if a new love interest came into my life, I would practically do a police interrogation and one of the first questions I would ask, "Do you like animals/pets?" If that person said no, well, let's put it this way, I would show the person to the door and say au revoir. (Update from original article: There actually was one case that still comes to mind to this day. I was busy coming across the urgent cats needing to be rescued from a high kill shelter. One such cat was listed that the reason for the surrender of his girlfriend's cat was due to the fact that he didn't like the color of the cat...a black cat. SAY WHAT? Is love so "blind"? I sure wouldn't put up with that crap.)

8). "Owner Sick, Hospitalized, or Death" 
Here is were careful planning needs to be done in the event a pet owner becomes sick, hospitalized or passes away and needs to make some kind of arrangements before something happens. Many of the pets that are dumped into shelters due to the pet owner getting sick, needing extended hospitalization or perhaps even placed in a hospice or nursing home, and/or possible death, and the main problem may lie when the pet owner's relatives, friends or other family members don't want to be burdened with the pet(s), so they dump it in a shelter. Pet owners should find a person willing to take care of their pet in the event of their getting sick and/or hospitalized, and in the case of the owner's death have very clear instructions about the fate of their pet(s).

To help with making such arrangements, there are two forms one can download. One is a Pet Guardian Form where it can be filled out and one can clearly state who is to take charge of their pet upon their demise. The other form is a Pet Profile, this is a form where one can fill out all the particulars of the pet involved, such as stating whether the pet is spayed/neutered, microchipped, age, breed, etc.

I have links to these forms below:

Pet Guardian Form

http://www.gotcats.org/guardian.html

Pet Profile Form

http://www.gotcats.org/PetProfile.html

What I have personally done is I have several copies of each form and was able to print photos of each cat directly on each form…one copy I have right in full view on my computer desk, while another is on my hallway bookcase shelf, also in plain view. With each set of forms I also have contact info of people to contact/call in case something happens to me. I also carry around on my person when I go out that contact listing.

There are several other "excuses" people will often give for surrendering or abandoning their pets, but the above that I mention are the seemingly more common reasons.

Day in and day out as I spend hour upon hour crossposting the urgent pets that need to be saved and rescued over at Facebook, especially from high kill shelters, I have to admit to being puzzled as to why people have gotten the mind set that pets are disposable, to be gotten rid of as if they were so much garbage. Animals do have feelings just as we humans do, they are living, breathing souls just as we are. They can and do demonstrate many of the emotions we humans feel. They can feel pain, can demonstrate sadness or grief (as in cases where their owner or fellow companion animal dies), they can also demonstrate joy as well.

If a person does decide to adopt a pet, that person needs to realize that they are obligated and responsible to take care of that pet for its entire life. People must wake up to the fact that pets are not disposable commodities. What's really pathetic is that many pet owners probably don't even realize what fate may be in store for that pet they now no longer want and dumped off at a shelter; if people think that their former pet is going to have a happily ever after story, and their pet will be adopted again, they must realize that isn't always the case.

Yes, while many of these surrendered pets particularly in high kill shelters are saved and rescued, the vast majority aren't and are euthanized, a nice way of saying killed, worse yet, not all shelter pets in high kill shelters are killed off by lethal injection, but by shoving these unwanted pets into a gas chamber where they die a slow and agonizing death. Everyday thousands, yes thousands of shelter pets are killed nationwide. In order to stop the needless killing of healthy pets that wind up in shelters, pet owners must view their pet as a family member and take care of that pet forever.

Article: Happy Mother's Day To All You Who Are "Moms" Of Furkids

IMAGE SOURCE~©MELANIE NEER~PERSONAL PHOTO

Sachiko at 17 days old

I realize it's a little "early" to be posting this now, but thought I'd get a head start before Mother's Day

Originally published May 12, 2013 Bubblews, a webs tie that no longer exists

Okay people looking at the title of this might scratch their heads and go. HUH? In my opinion though, one doesn't necessarily need to be a mother to a human child, but yes indeed, we can be "moms" of the furry or even winged "child".

Those of us who have pets often think of them as our children, and believe me I'm no exception. We have to nurture them, take care of them, provide for them, from the moment we get our furry child every much as one would for a human child. In my case, I've had a few "bottle babies" that I've taken care of in the past. The first bottle baby was a newborn kitten that the neighborhood kids found in the garbage, yes, the garbage back in 1987. I'm guessing that this newborn kitten was born that very day as she still had her umbilical cord attached. The kids knew I had cats already and couldn't think of anyone else who could take care of this innocent life that had been tossed away in the garbage save for me of course.

Raising such a young infant animal takes every bit of effort and patience as raising a human child. One has to bottle fed the young newborn animal every two hours with a special formula. Also, one has to encourage the young newborn animal to "do it's business" by rubbing it's bottom to make it "go"…I used to use a warm moistened paper towel to accomplish this; normally it's the mother animal that licks the newborn baby's bottom.

I decided to name the kitten Sachiko. Such a young animal, like a newborn kitten is born with their eyes shut, thus can't see, nor can they hear until about two weeks later. But they can sure smell and sense their presence of their "mom". I used to keep Sachiko in a box with a towel, and kept the box in a large pet traveling case in the bedroom to keep her safe from the older cats I had at the time. While Sachiko would be sleeping I would sneak in the bedroom where I kept the case to get something. Well like I said, she couldn't see nor hear, but she could smell my scent and the moment I was in the bedroom started meowing like crazy….eats time! Yes she would wake up then wanting to be "fed" her bottle again. Yup folks, I was definitely "mom".

Sachiko became one of my velcro cats, being completely attached to me in a way that my other cats didn't, not of course that they didn't attach themselves to me, but it was different with Sachiko…The bond was much stronger since in a sense I really had been her "mom" since only hours after her birth.

So if any of you are "moms" to your furkids….I'm wishing you a Happy Mother's Day as we deserve recognition as being "moms" also.

I include a watermarked photo of Sachiko when she was only 17 days old. By then she could hear and see.

ARTICLE: ANIMALS HAVE ALWAYS BEEN A PART OF MY LIFE

IMAGE SOURCE~©MELANIE NEER~PERSONAL PHOTOS

First photo=Me and Candy~September 1956

Second photo=Me and Babette~My first cat

I think the title of this article is self-explanatory, as yes indeed, animals have always been a part of my life in one way or another. I often tell people that I've had cats ever since I was five, when back then my mother adopted a "tuxedo cat" from a shelter and it was a Christmas present to me. But in actuality, it goes further back than that, and was I quite literally surrounded by pets ever since I was in my mother's womb.

My father's side of the family were dog people, so consequently my parents therefore had a dog, in fact, there is a rare photo of me where I'm not even a year old, and there I am sitting on the floor and right next to me is a beagle dog, who was named Candy. You can see from the photo I include here that the date of the photo is Sep. '56. Obviously, my mother nor my father even dreamed of getting rid of Candy due to my arrival in the world. I say that, since I'm a crossposter over at Facebook in which I share posts of urgent pets needing to be rescued, especially from kill shelters, and one of the "excuses" people now make to get rid of a pet is due to "new baby". Why one even thinks to get rid of a pet due to this excuse I'll never know, and it's just one of many "lame" excuses people make to surrender their pets in shelters.

I also have a rare photo of me when I was about eight years old (also included here) with that tuxedo cat my mother adopted for me of whom we named Babette. (OMG--that goofy grin/smile of mine…ekk). She lived all through my elementary, junior high, high school and even my college years. When she eventually did pass on it was like a major part of my life had died.

It wasn't only cats though for the vast majority of my life that I've had. I've also had pet birds and a mouse…uh, yes folks a mouse. I'm obviously not squeamish or phobic about them. Around the 1980s I took a home study course from the Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology. For a "lark" (no pun intended), I placed the decal of Cornell Laboratory of Ornithology on my mail box. I thought the average person would't even know what ornithology meant. I was wrong! For some reason people then viewed me as a bird "expert" so during those years past I rehabilitated baby sparrows that neighborhood kids would find and bring to me. Once they were old enough I was able to release back into the wild again. Due to my experience with those baby birds I then later got a pet bird, a grey-cheeked parakeet, whom I named "Cheeky". And yes, at the time, I had cats, but I'll tell you, that bird was THE boss; if the cats annoyed her, she'd let out a raucous squawk.

I think one of the beauties my folks instilled into me throughout my life was to have a great love for animals, all animals I might add. To this day I'm still of course an animal lover. I'm currently "owned" by two cats, Kissy and Ouija. My love for animals does however make me scratch my head in wonder how anyone could harm animals, as on a nearly daily basis, I hear of horrific animal abuse. I ask myself what brings people to harm an innocent animal life in such a manner? And that my folks is probably why as an animal lover, activist and advocate, why I'm the voice for the voiceless.

UPDATE: My 15 year old cat Kissy sadly passed on September 1,2015

Article: Ah…The Life Of The Pampered Pet

IMAGE SOURCE~©MELANIE NEER~PERSONAL PHOTOS

Kissy is the first photo and the second photo is of Ouija

Article was originally published June 22, 2013 for Bubblews, a website that no longer exists

If there's any true validity of the concept of reincarnation, then I definitely want to come back as a pet in my next lifetime and have the lifestyle similar to my two pampered cats Kissy and Ouija.

To many pet owners, a dog or cat is not "just" a dog or cat, but a member of the family, their child, and as such quite often the pet will enjoy a life of luxury; we humans should have it so good. The good vast majority of pet owners will put their pets needs ahead of their own, making sure their pet is comfortable and taken care of. In today's economy, money might be tight, but pet owners will go out of their way to make sure their pet has enough to eat, their medical needs taken care of and so forth. This is so true as in the case of my two cats.

I'm not one of those people who upon awakening, leaps out of bed with a song in my heart and raring to go. Yes, I'm a grump and that morning cup of coffee is calling me. But do I indulge and think of my own needs first? Of course not! I stumble out of bed and head straight to the kitchen, closely followed by my two cats behind me. I don't fix that desperately needed coffee, but instead I open cans of cat food and "serve" breakfast to my two cats first…then I also rinse out their water bowl and give them fresh cold water to drink.

My next task is to clean up the litter pan which I do even before I tend to my own bathroom needs. Okay so now the kitties are fed, given fresh water and their litter pan clean…NOW I tend to my own needs and make that coffee and fix up a breakfast for myself. After their morning "repast" Kissy and Ouija will often go back and take a snooze. Now I have one cozy cat bed, and a makeshift bed I made out of a cardboard box with one of my old pillows in it…do they snooze in them? Of course not! Ouija will often sprawl himself full length on the sofa which inhibits me from sitting on the sofa and heaven forbid I disturb him, and Kissy will often cuddle up on my bed. Oh and of course I don't dare straighten up my bed, not unless I want to receive "the look"--only a pet owner will understand what I mean by that.

After my breakfast I start either doing chores or park myself in front to get some work done. Somewhere along the line, one of my cats thinks I've spent enough time in front of the computer, will hop up on the computer desk and "demand" attention, usually by sitting right in front of the computer monitor so I can't see a blasted thing, or by head-bonking my hand which makes me nearly drop my mouse. So what do I do? Stop everything and pay attention of course!

Ah, the pets toys! I think my cats have more "toys" to play with than I ever had as a kid, the toys are all over the place, and yes, I frequently trip over them. I also have the daily duty of retrieving toys that have been batted under the sofa, the bureau, the entertainment center..lets put it this way, I get part of my daily exercise workout just by doing this.

Before you know it, time has quickly passed and it's feeding time again and my two cats will give me a "look" signifying that they are about to pass out with hunger at any minute. And of course I feed them even before I might have my own dinner.

Now lets zoom up for when it's finally time for me to go to bed. Both cats like to keep me company while I sleep and each has their own designated spot they like to go to. They get themselves all nice and cozy while struggle try to find a spot on my bed to sleep, bottom line,I often sleep like a pretzel, and yes, of course, I don't dare disturb them…not if I want to get "the look" again.

So are my cats pampered brats? Of course they are, and you know what? I wouldn't have it any other way!

Photo Source:

1). My own photos composite of Kissy and Ouija ©Melanie Neer

UPDATE: Sadly my cat Kissy who was 15 years old passed on September 1, 2015

Article: A New Arrival In My Life

IMAGE SOURCE~©MELANIE NEER~PERSONAL PHOTO

Composite photo of "Ouija"

This article was originally written for the Bubblews website on May 7, 2013, which no longer exists

The very first article I wrote here at Bubblews was about the grief I felt with the passing of my black cat Pyewacket three years ago. I've had cats since I was five years old, and have loved them all, but some pets stick in our hearts more and have a more special meaning to our lives. In the case of Pyewacket, he seemed to have come into my life when it was the most turbulent, it was almost as if his arrival in my life at that particular time was to act as a helper during those years.

Deep inside I knew I wanted to adopt another cat, specifically a black cat, as throughout my life, on and off, I've had black cats. I never had any superstitions about black cats, especially about them being bad luck, if anything I considered them good luck and had a unique quality all their own. Still, as much as I longed to get another black cat, I just couldn't bring myself to do so. I still had my Kissy, a grey tabby and she became "queen" of the domain for nearly three years.

Then beginning last year I was starting to have what could only be described as "panicky" thoughts. Those rather dumb thoughts that circulate in one's mind over and over again. You see I was realizing that Kissy was getting on in years, she's 13 years old. And yes, I'm hoping and praying she has many, many more years of life with me, but that panicky thought came that, OMG, what if I wake up one day and found she was gone from my life. When Pyewacket died I feel into a deep depression and was almost non-functional, so the idea that Kissy might pass on would be too much for me to bear.

Then around October of last year, there was an on-line auction with the Grayson County Humane Society in Leitchfield, KY over at Facebook. There were a variety of items one could bid on, but there was also the opportunity to be a cosponsor for one of the cats at their shelter. I came across one such cat, named "Dot"…he was primarily black but with a white "dot" on his chest, so I chose him to cosponsor along with two other people. Time moved on and I thought to myself, well why not take it to the next level? Why not, instead of just being a cosponsor, why not adopt him?

It took about a month in the making. I filled out the on-line application and crossed my fingers that my application for adoption went through and was accepted. It was. Now came the tricky part. I couldn't have him right away, as transportation had to be arranged as the Grayson County Humane Society, and thus "Dot" was in KY…I'm here in the NYC area. But yes, transportation was arranged for not only Dot but for several other pets who were being transported to their new forever homes as far as Maine!

On December 1, 2012, Dot officially came to my home. Kissy who is timid and will hide when strangers are about and she did indeed hide when the transporter came to my place…Kissy had no idea what she was in for. Lindsey the transporter let Dot out of the carrier and he came trotting right over to me as if we were old buddies and had been in my life all along. I was hoping that Lindsey could have stayed a bit longer, but she had to start the trek back to KY. So now it was just me and Dot, and of course, Kissy. Dot began investigating all over the place as if to check it out, in fact he explored the bedroom and hopped on my bed…LOL..this cat was taking over the joint!

I soon discovered that Dot didn't just have a white dot on his chest, but also some white on his "armpits" area and white on the lower part of his stomach. I also realized I really didn't care for his shelter name, I wanted something different. I was thinking of renaming him Shadow, but already had had a Shadow in years past, then thought of Salem, nope, then Binx, as in the name of the boy in the movie Hocus Pocus that had been turned into a black cat; nope, didn't care for that either. I was even tempted to maybe call him Pyewacket II…that idea quickly dissolved. About two nights after Dot had come into my life, it hit me. I was drifting off to sleep and the word Ouija struck me…this, Dot became Ouija.

Ouija isn't exactly a "kitten", I'm figuring he's about a year old already, but he sure as heck has kitten energy and definitely keeps me on my toes; he follows me around like a puppy dog, is very, very affectionate and loves to keep me company while I'm sleeping.

How does my Kissy take to Ouija? Uh, not too well. Even though some months have passed, she continues to hiss and growl at him, and maybe even swat him on the head when he comes near her. I often feel sorry for Ouija since I sense since he sees another kitty in the house he simply wants to play with her. I can at least be thankful that there hasn't been WWIII here, and sometimes I even catch them side by side eating from the same plate of food, even though I have two separate plates for them. I've come to the realization that the two of them aren't going to be cuddle bugs.

The photo I include here is Ouija the very first day he came to me on December 1st.

UPDATE: Sadly on Septmeber 1, 2015, my other cat Kissy did indeed pass on. She was 15 years old. I used to name her "picklepuss" due to the way she never took to Ouija. I sure miss that "picklepuss" though. Composite Photo of Kissy

ARTICLE: Pets As Christmas Gifts: Good Idea Or Not?

(Originally published on Bubblews~December 22, 2013)

Bubblews Article

With the Christmas season upon us there probably is not a better way to express the idea of giving than to adopt a shelter pet and give the gift of life to that pet; this is especially true when adopting a pet in a high kill shelter. Whether a shelter pet is from a high kill shelter or a no-kill shelter, both types of shelters are overwhelmed and crammed with unwanted pets and by adopting a pet, especially during this time one is giving a chance for a new life, new home to that shelter pet. However! Is it a good idea or not?

The Pros:

I've had cats ever since I was five years old, in fact, my very first cat, a "tuxedo" cat, that is a black and white cat and named Babette, was adopted by my mother and yes, given to me as a Christmas gift. Babette became my animal companion and was to live throughout my elementary school years, junior high, high school and even college. I came from a background of people who were "pet" people and knew responsibility in taking care of pets. Since I was introduced to a pet at such an early age, I too learned the responsibility of having a pet and was to have many pets afterwards. To this day, I have two cats, the most recent is Ouija, a cat I adopted from the Grayson County Humane Society, a no-kill shelter all the way in Kentucky and was transported to me. I adopted him and he came into my life on December 1, 2012, so in effect, he was my Christmas present.

As I've indicated, whether pets are in a no-kill shelter or high kill shelters, both types of shelters are overwhelmed with too many pets and not enough people adopting them. The sad statistics for high kill shelters is that as many as one-hundred pets can be killed weekly in one high-kill shelter alone, multiply that by each and every high-kill shelters nationwide, it's not hard to understand that up to three to four million, yes, million cats and dogs are "euthanized" every year. (1)

Therefore by adopting a pet, especially from a high kill shelter at anytime of the year, one is indeed saving a life, and one can't help thinking what better time of the year to save a shelter pet's life than at the Holiday/Christmas time? So yes, adopting a pet at this time of the year and as a "gift" can be a true miracle, especially for that pet. What better way to celebrate Christmas?

The Cons:

There are of course the cons to the concept of adopting a pet as a gift for Christmas and it all has to do with how responsible the adopter and/or recipient of the pet is. The adopter has to realize, that when adopting a pet from a shelter and as a "gift" we're talking about a living creature with feelings and emotions; the pet isn't a disposable or returnable item or commodity.

I hate to say it, but to my mind, pet shelters can often be at fault as well as far as the concept of giving a pet as a gift during the holiday season. So many shelters, whether high-kill or no-kill, are always overwhelmed with too many pets in their shelters and not enough people interested in adopting a pet. What happens then is that during this time of the year, shelters will lower adoption fees, much in the same sense stores will do to entice people to buy commodities and therefore will have spectacular sales for their electronics, shoes, and so forth.

There's a big difference however; one can return an item that was given as a gift such as clothing if it's not the right size or color, but one shouldn't have the same mind-set with a pet; unfortunately this has become a sad fact, that yes indeed, many shelter pets adopted during the Christmas season are sooner or later often returned for a variety of reasons. Those reasons can be anywhere from that cuddly puppy or kitten is now grown and has lost it's "cute appeal, to perhaps the recipient of the "gift" pet not realizing the responsibilities and costs involved with owning a pet.

Bottom line: If one is thinking of adopting a pet as a gift, one needs to give real serious thought of what's involved. This is a living, breathing animal; a life, an addition to the family, and therefore, should be a member of the family for the remainder of the pet's life and not to be gotten rid of when no longer convenient.

Sources:

Shelter Pet Statistics: (1) http://www.humanesociety.org/animal_community/resources/qa/common_questions_on_shelters.html

Shelter Pet Statistics

IMAGE SOURCE~©DESIGN BY MELANIE NEER VIA PHOTOSHOP

Article: A Quick Cute Way To Make A Black Cat Halloween Decoration

Well this year has sure gone fast and Halloween is fast approaching, and I have to confess it's one of my favorite times of the year. Each and every year, I just love decorating for Halloween, not only in my home, but for my front door. Now of course I often buy Halloween decorations and have a fair sized collection of all kinds of decorations that I've bought over the years, but every once in awhile I decide to get a little "artistic" and create something on my own.

Being that I'm one of those environmentalist type of people and like to reuse something instead of merely trashing it out as garbage, I'm one of those people that tries to think up ways of recycling something for another purpose and use. I haven't a clue how I came up with this idea, but it's one way I discovered to recycle plastic shopping bags, especially those rather small sized bags.

How often have you done some kind of grocery shopping, especially for very small-sized items and you're given a very small sized black shopping bag? Normally, with regular sized plastic shopping bags one can in a sense reuse them say for throwing out garbage, but those really small-sized bags are kind of pesky and not really great for reusing again. So what happens? One usually just throws them out. Well guess what, I found a way to reuse them by coming up with and creating a quick, kind of cute Black Cat Halloween decoration.

In the included photo you see just one of my Black Cat Halloween decorations and here's how I made it.

What you will need:

One black plastic grocery shopping bag

One or two more plastic shopping bags

Orange yarn

Orange acrylic paint

Small artist paintbrush

Duct tape

1). For this particular decoration, the bag size itself was about 12 inches long. To create the head part of the Black Cat decoration, take more plastic grocery bags, perhaps one or two and form a ball out of them and stuff into the bottom of the bag.

2). With some orange-colored yarn, cut about 18-inches of the yarn, center the yarn and wrap it around a few times to form the "neck" and then tying it into a "bow". Smooth the front of the head to form a better "face" and form "ears" at each top end of the bag. Cut off the handles of the bag.

3). Now take the orange acrylic paint, and paint directly on the "face" the cats eyes, nose, whiskers, and mouth…get as fancy as you wish with these details, though not really necessary.

4). In order to hang up the Black Cat Halloween decoration, cut a bit more yarn, create a loop and tape it to the back of the cat's head with some duct tape.

Voilà ..that's all that's to it. Simple to make yet kind of cute and festive for Halloween and even kids can make these. Not only that, but stored away properly this decoration will last for years.

IMAGE SOURCE~©Melanie Neer~Personal Photo

Article: Natural And Alternative Means Of Healing For Pets: Holistic, Homeopathic And Naturopathic

Originally published and posted in Bubblews~July 22, 2014 HERE

Just as many people are turning to alternative means of health and healing, so are pets owners. I've never been a great fan of the medical profession to begin with and I've gotten that viewpoint no doubt from my great-grandmother who was a nurse, for the most part thought doctors were idiots, was a walking encyclopedia of natural remedies, never took anything stronger than aspirin, and lived to be 98; I can only hope I can live that long!

Now I'm not saying one should completely forsake and dismiss the medical profession altogether , whether for humans or for pets, but I think a good number of people are getting a bit more wary. You no doubt, when watching TV for instance, will see those commercials about some medication that is good for a specific medical problem, and then of course the announcer starts rattling about the potential side effects and to tell your doctor if you get certain side effects that could be detrimental, or in extreme cases life-threatening. I sit back and listen to all this and think to myself, just why on earth would a person want to take this?

Also, another point. Just because a medication has been FDA "approved" does not mean the medication entirely safe in other regards. By this I mean, not all side effects are recognized at first and can often trigger other health problems later on that were not known when they were initially tested. A good example is the cholesterol lowering medication Lipitor now linked to triggering off Diabetes in women.

You may wonder why I'm bringing all this up; quite simple. What is one of the questions a doctor will ask you as a patient when he or she is prescribing a medication? Are you allergic to it? This has to be one of those like duh moments. How can one tell if one is allergic to a medication if one has never had it before? One has to consider this with pets as well. Many of the medications designed for humans are also prescribed for pets, just at a much lower dosage.

Just as we humans may suffer from side effects of medications or may be allergic to them, so can pets, but there's a big difference. If we start experiencing what could be detrimental side effects from a medication, we at least can say something about it, pets can't until perhaps unfortunately too late.

I had a horrific experience in the past with one of my cats many, many years ago back around the late 1970s. One of my younger cats had developed a mild URI (Upper Respiratory Infection). No real big deal, right? It's a condition that is very treatable with antibiotics. So I went to the vet, he examined her and gave me a common penicillin type antibiotic, Amoxicillin. In the past, a few of my other cats would also have URI and would give them the same medication without a problem. So I came home and prepared the Amoxicillin and proceeded to give her the medication. Within minutes she started having not only horrific seizures but worse, passed on. Do you have any idea how guilty I felt? Here I was trying to help my young cat but instead due to the medication in which she had a rare and fatal reaction, she died from it.

IMPORTANT: Before I continue on, once again, I'm not saying one should completely forgo any medications for pets, just be wary, and perhaps investigate more holistic means of healing.

Not long after this horrific incident occurred, I started looking into a more holistic means of healing for my cats. In fact, it was back in the 1980s I happen to come across the book, The Natural Cat: The Comprehensive Guide to Optimum Care by Anitra Frazier. Let's put it this way, it has virtually become a "bible" for me in helping and healing my cats in a more natural, holistic way. Think of and name the potential and possible health condition a cat may face, and Ms. Frazier has fantastic suggestions how to heal and heal naturally. I might add, she also doesn't completely ignore veterinary help.

Well, many years have passed, and yes from time to time I do still rely on veterinary care, but before racing to a vet, I now attempt alternative means of healing and with great success I might add. There are numerous books out there for one to explore about natural alternative means for healing not only cats, but dogs, of course top on the list should be Anitra Frazier's book. I include a listing of just some of the books available. Do a google search under holistic and/or natural healing for cats, or dogs or pets in general for a more comprehensive listing.

Also, with such "alternative" means of healing pets, there are of course, homeopathic/naturopathic medications one can buy to give pets and I've included the websites of just two places where one can get such natural remedies; again, one can do a google search for more websites where one can obtain such natural medications. Be prepared though, these medications can be quite pricey.

Listing of just a few suggested books on alternative health and healing for pets:

The Natural Cat: The Comprehensive Guide to Optimum Care http://www.amazon.com/The-Natural-Cat-Comprehensive-Optimum/dp/0452289750/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=1ZDACARP7ZVEEM67KDTE

The Natural Cat: The Comprehensive Guide to Optimum Care

Veterinarians Guide to Natural Remedies for Dogs : Safe and Effective Alternative Treatments and Healing Techniques from the Nations Top Holistic Veterinarians

http://www.amazon.com/Veterinarians-Guide-Natural-Remedies-Dogs/dp/0609803727

Veterinarians Guide to Natural Remedies for Dogs

Veterinarians Guide to Natural Remedies for Cats : Safe and Effective Alternative Treatments and Healing Techniques from the Nations Top Holistic Veterinarians http://www.amazon.com/Veterinarians-Guide-Natural-Remedies-Cats/dp/0609803735/ref=pd_sim_b_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=12MHZDFM4QN7DMDW0SEC

Veterinarians Guide to Natural Remedies for Cats

The Nature of Animal Healing : The Definitive Holistic Medicine Guide to Caring for Your Dog and Cat

http://www.amazon.com/The-Nature-Animal-Healing-Definitive/dp/0345439198/ref=pd_sim_b_5?ie=UTF8&refRID=19FDMXHP7JA4KV7KV1PA

The Nature of Animal Healing

The Complete Guide to Holistic Cat Care: An Illustrated Handbook

http://www.amazon.com/The-Complete-Guide-Holistic-Care/dp/1592535666/ref=pd_sim_b_7?ie=UTF8&refRID=1WJ3FY0PARN96C0BMG6E

The Complete Guide to Holistic Cat Care

Listing of Homeopathic and Natural Medications For Pets:

Pet Alive Website For Homeopathic Medications

http://www.nativeremedies.com/petalive/

Pet Alive Website

Only Natural Pet Website:

http://www.onlynaturalpet.com/dogs/

Only Natural Pet Website

Disclaimer: I am not a veterinarian, but am passing on this information based on some of my own personal experiences.

ARTICLE: The Indoor/Outdoor Cat Debate

(Originally Published at Bubblews~October 12, 2013, also as a "Note" on Facebook~Ocotber 12, 2013, and at Yahoo.Voices formerly Associated Content~10/18/2013)

Bubblews version: Bubblews Article

ABSTRACT: There have been a lot of debates over this issue of when owning a cat whether it should be a strictly indoor cat or both an indoor/outdoor cat. In this article, I explore the many dangers facing outdoor cats.

CONTENT:

Over at Facebook, I've been involved with two discussions, including my own I started over the debate about the whole issue of strictly indoor cats versus cat owners who allow their pet cats as both indoor and outdoor. I'm half expecting my friend's list will drop over at Facebook as I'm pro indoor only when it comes to having pet cats.

To set the record straight, I've had cats since I was a mere five years old. The first cat, Babette, was a kitten my mother adopted and gave me as a Christmas present. I am now 57 years old (soon to be 58) and still have cats, Kissy, my 14-year-old, and Ouija, whom I adopted last year and is about two years old. In all the years I've had cats, they've been strictly indoors. This is mainly as a practicality as I live in the NYC area and in an apartment building, thus it would be very impractical for anyone owning a cat and living in such an environment to allow their pet cat(s) to be outdoors.

However, even for people who live in country areas, all kinds of dangers lurk for pet cats that are allowed to roam freely. Yes, it's one thing if a person has a backyard with a very secure fenced in area, and if said cat(s) owner allow their cat(s) outdoors in said secure area supervise the entire time their cat(s) are in their backyard; in other words, watch them like a hawk. I know I would if I lived in such a setting. If one has young children, would parents allow their children to be alone completely without supervision? I don't think so, so why do pet owners do so? I have heard of cat owners who, if they allow their pet cats to roam freely, makes sure that the cat is only allowed to "roam" early in the day and make sure the cat is back home by nighttime. However, that still doesn't guarantee their safety as too many dangerous factors will still exist.

Also, for an additional sense of safety, there are cat enclosures one can install that will give a pet cat the sense of the outdoors, without really being outdoors per se. Just merely do a search about these enclosures, which can range from rather simplistic to the very complex and can be a total environment for one's pet cat(s).

In the times we live in, one has to recognize and provide complete safety for one's pet, there are just too many dangers that can face a pet cat that is allowed to roam freely and unsupervised. Now before I list those dangers, I want to make something clear. I do realize many people may not only have pet cats but may take care of feral cats. Feral cats are a breed all their own. They are wild cats, not domesticated, very wary of people, even to the very people that may regularly feed them. Chances are, this type of cat could never become an indoor cat. However, I'm not talking about feral cats, but unfortunately there are dangers to feral cats as well, and I'll bring up a few points here in this article as well.

1). The danger of being hit by a car. Don't ask how many times I've heard one of my online friends over at Facebook do a sob story about their pet cat going missing, only to later find them dead on a road that had been struck and hit by a car. I'll be harsh here then when I say, while I feel sorry for the cat owner that their cat met with such an end, why didn't they keep that cat indoors? Then, of course, there are the cases where a pet cat simply goes missing permanently, the owner never, ever learning the fate of what happened to their cat and they again do a boohoo sob story. I happen to know someone who lives in a country area and now has her fourth cat; each of her previous three cats who were allowed to roam went missing. She also mentioned that in her neighborhood, there are many people who aren't cat lovers and heaven only knows what fate they met. But after three cats gone missing, she still insists on letting her new cat roam.

2). Diseases and parasites. If a person wants to keep their pet cat healthy and disease free, keep the cat indoors! Cats that are allowed to roam freely can often intermingle with other cats that may carry numerous diseases such as Feline Leukemia (FeLV), Rabies, Feline Panleukopenia, (FPV), Feline HIV (FIV). Once a cat is infected with anyone of these diseases, it can then infect other healthy cats. Why anyone would want to risk such a possibility is beyond me.

Then there are the multitude of parasites a cat can pick up, from fleas, ticks, and ringworm. The pet owner then pays a small fortune in vet bills to eradicate such parasites. Well, the high vet bills could have been avoided completely by…yes, keeping the cat(s) indoors.

If the probable danger of a pet cat allowed to roam freely and possibly meeting the fate of being killed by a car, gone missing, or picking up on diseases isn't enough, there are other factors to consider.

3). Poisoning, either indirectly or directly. Indirectly: Many people living in country areas may treat their lawns with chemicals, chemicals, I might add, that are often highly toxic. Even something like Monsanto's Roundup, which is a weed killer, can and will pose a danger to pets. (2) Other indirect means that cats can be indirectly poisoned are people who lay out poisons to kill any type of pests, such as mice and rats. Not only can cats be poisoned this indirect way but other animals who may prey on mice and/or rats, including birds of prey who ingest the poisoned mice/rat.

Directly: One sad fact is that not all people are cat lovers and will purposely try to poison them. Many years ago, I knew a woman who fed stray and feral cats. She had two cats of her own that were strictly indoors. She would feed these outdoor cats very early in the morning, and then again at night. You can only imagine her horror, when she went out early in the morning to add new fresh food, only to discover one of the feral cats dead. It had been deliberately poisoned . The place she fed the stray/feral cats was an enclosed area of her apartment building and only tenants could gain access to the area. She never found out who was poisoning the cats, but it was an obvious cat hater and fellow tenant to her building.

4). Cat haters, animal abusers and outright psychopaths. The world is by no means a kind place in general. Everyday we can hear of horrific abuse of any kind both toward humans and animals, but nowhere more than with innocent animals who have no voice; it's one of the prime reasons I'm a dedicated animal rights activist and advocate. Within only this past week alone, I heard of two such cases of horrific animal torture, and yes, it had to do with cats.

In summary, unless you can 100 percent guarantee an outdoor pet cat its safety, have the means to get a cat enclosure, and/or supervise and watch you pet cat(s) in your backyard like a hawk. If you wish to have a pet cat that can live healthy and disease free and have a long, long life and not endure any of possible dangers a roaming pet cat may face, I have four words: Keep your cats indoors!

Sources:
Life experiences; Animal Advocate/Activist