Squirrels

I feed the squirrels. And the birds and any stray cats that wander by. But this is about squirrels.

I have been feeding one squirrel in particular since last spring. We call her Mama. She was obviously nursing when we first started seeing her, thus the name. She also has a slit in one of her ears, which is why we always know it is her.

Another interesting thing about Mama is that she is a grey squirrel who had black babies. Her babies are so funny and pretty cute. She had three of them, and although they are bigger now and certainly don't look like baby squirrels anymore, they still play and fight with each other and are just downright silly. At first I thought Mama mated inter-racially, as I had occasionally seen some other black squirrels in my town, but not near me. I decided to do a little research, here is what I learned:

"Black squirrels are not a separate species at all, but a melanistic morpheme, casually known to scientists as a “color morph,” a fairly rare genetic variation. In the Midwest, as far as has been determined, all of the black squirrels are actually morphs of the gray squirrel, Sciurus carolinensis."

How cool, my Mama produced 3 rare genetic mutations and they are living in my yard!

So we have grey squirrels and now the mutated black, and we also have what looks like brown, but is really the American Red. But we don't have any white squirrels. That would be cool. I'd like a white squirrel.

Back to Mama. She is no longer afraid of us or our cats. Our back storm door screen is loose on the bottom, so she often will come right into our house if I have left the main door open. She knows I keep the peanuts in a bin by the back door, so she will help herself if I haven't fed her yet. The cats go crazy when they see her in the house, but she just grabs her peanuts and heads back out. Not caring one bit about the cats, who seem like that they would like to kill her, but when they get close just sniff her tail. She knows they are all meow and no bite.

Today, I was sitting out in my back yard enjoying the day and my eldest had just gotten out of the shower. Upon entering her room, she screamed. Loud enough for me to hear outside. I came running into the house only to hear her say "There's a squirrel in my room!" It was Mama. I was laughing, eldest daughter was not amused. The scream sent Mama into a tizzy and she started running around the house. Finally my youngest daughter and I got her cornered in the kitchen, so her only choice was to head back the way she came, out through the back door. I think she wanted to be our pet. She seemed kind of relaxed and happy in the house. Of course with the current pet load, I don't think my hubby would be pleased with that.

We currently have 4 cats inside that I claim as mine. One cat outside that I feed and while technically I suppose you could say it is mine, I have never claimed it. We also have the two undead mice. They are almost 7 years old. Wild mice, we caught their mom in our house in 2001, put her in a cage (because she was cute) she had babies shortly thereafter and they are still here! There were three at first, but one was not quite as hearty as the two that will not die.

If I were to add anymore pets to the current mix, I think my hubby would leave me. I like my hubby, so no more pets. At least not in the house.

“Fairies are not always in a people-like form. Fairies are sometimes birds, sometimes squirrels. They have welcomed the children into Enchanted Woods.”
~Elizabeth Nosek~

The Poor Animals

God made all the creatures and gave them our love and our fear,To give sign, we and they are His children, one family here.

~Robert Browning~

I started a new volunteering job yesterday. I have worked with a local Humane organization, AOHS, for a few years now. I started out helping them with their annual dinner/fundraiser, and then my daughters and I volunteered to clean cages and socialize kitties that they keep at local Petsmart stores. (They are rotated in and out of the stores if they don't get adopted quickly, so they aren't in cages forever.) This organization does not have a shelter. Cats are kept in foster homes and brought to local pet stores for adoption events.

Anyway, after I had to deal with my leg issues last winter, I had to stop cleaning the cages for a while. Recently they posted that they needed someone to help answer calls for their relinquish line. This is the number people call if they have found cats or want to get rid of the ones they currently own. There's a woman who has done this by herself for quite a while, and she needed a few days off each week. So I agreed to answer the calls on Monday's and Tuesday's.

Basically all I have to do is call into the mailbox, listen to the messages, call the people back and try to offer them solutions and then log the call online. I just started this yesterday and I am already losing faith in mankind!

I have taken 14 calls in the last two days. There was a call from a woman who said her neighbor moved out 2 days ago and left their cats behind. An unfixed adult male and female, and a kitten. (Wonder why there was a kitten? (Hello, ever heard of spay and neuter?) She and some neighbors were feeding the cats, but didn't think they should be left outside. We were able to take the kitten and place it into one of our foster homes with another litter, the 2 adults will have to go to the local animal control where they may or may not get euthanized. Who moves and leaves their animals behind????? Too many people unfortunately.

Another woman had a 5 year old Purebred Angora cat. She'd had it for all it's life, but has just now decided that since it doesn't get along well with her other cats, she doesn't want it anymore. How can you just stop caring for an animal you've had for 5 years? It didn't have behavior problems, just didn't like the other cats in the house. I was able to pass her off to a breed rescue, but I feel sorry for that cat, who has to leave it's home, because the owner just grew tired of her.

There were several calls from people who were moving and didn't want to take their cats with them. Is it the cats fault that their owners had to move? I gave them suggestions of other shelters to call, suggested asking friends and relatives to take them, or even putting an ad in the paper. I begged them to not just leave their cats behind if they can't find them homes. Better to call the local animal control, then leave them defenseless and starving.

Another woman called to say she had found a cat, fixed and de-clawed, friendly, appeared to be a happy house cat. She had it in her garage. She had already called the police and other shelters to see if someone reported it missing. No one had. There was nothing wrong with this cat! Could this be another move and throw away?

I am saddened by what I learned in just the last 2 days. The other woman who answers the line did tell me this could be depressing. It isn't so much depressing as it is infuriating. Animals bond to us, they have feelings. I have taken in two strays and they are so much more appreciative of their lot than my two pampered purebreeds. It is as if they know they almost didn't have a chance and we gave them one. One of my strays was a fixed and de-clawed cat that was obviously someones at one point. I wonder if his owner moved away and decided to throw him to the wolves, so to speak. He was skin and bones when we found him, so we know he was out a while.

I want to take these people and kick them to the curb for a few days and see how they feel? Let them stay out in the rain and have to scrounge for food. How can you reach people who think animals are disposable? It's obviously not easy seeing as homeless animals are a huge problem for society. We have at least 4 shelter based rescues in our county, and our local animal control. All of them are full at this time. Hundreds of animals with no one to adopt them, and more out on the streets with no where to go. I hope I am doing my small part by helping take these calls. I did convince one woman to keep a kitten that was left behind when a man was evicted from his home. I spoke with another woman who was overwhelmed at the thought of moving to Florida and driving her cats down there. I told her how she could manage in the car, what she would have to do. I tried to persuade her to keep her cats. She at least said she'd think about it.
I'm only one person. but I'm doing my best. I'm not even hoping for everyone else to their best, but I wish they would at least agree to continue to care for the animals they brought into their homes.

If you have men who will exclude any of God's creatures from the shelter of compassion and pity, you will have men who will deal likewise with their fellow men.

~St. Francis of Assisi~

To Love a Cat

"You will always be lucky if you know how to make friends with strange cats." - Colonial proverb

"Who would believe such pleasure from a wee ball o' fur?" - Irish Saying

I have 4 cats. I'd probably have 24, but my husband would divorce me and my children would probably go with him. I have always had cats. My mom was a dog person, but she married a cat person. Plus, we lived in New York, and it is much easier to have a cat in the city than a dog. My first memory of our cats was a little black cat called Tabby. I remember going with my mom to have her put to sleep. I think I was about 4. My mom cried. Someone had left some kittens at the vets office, that were probably going to be euthanized, so the vet gave one to my mom. We named her Tabby 2 (but we just called her Tabby). Creative weren't we? She was a mutt, but looked mostly Calico. She ended up being a pretty mean cat, I wonder if my brother, sister and I tortured her when we were young?

We moved to Illinois when I was 8 and while we occasionally fed a wandering stray, we didn't get another cat until my sister found a tiny little boy while out partying with some friends. We named him Harley. ( I think my brother named him actually). He was pretty small and sick, and the vet thought we should put him to sleep. But we all took turns nursing him back to health, and I think he appreciated that because he became a pretty good cat.

When I moved out on my own, I inherited my first "on my own" cat from my brother. He was moving, so I took his cat in. He had named it 'Dude" (are you beginning to learn a few things about my brother?) I really couldn't stand calling him Dude, so I added a "y" and he became "Dudey". He was a great cat. But he was really a one person cat. Luckily for me he transferred his affections from my brother to me. Unfortunatley he didn't care too much for my DH nor he for Dudey. But they got along well enough for my sake.

A few years later my DH and Ibought a house. In the first few months of living here, I had a stray to feed. It took a few months, but I was finally able to coax him into the house. It took a few years for him to really feel like a member of the household and be accepted by Dudey. They never became great friends, but they tolerated each other. I called him "Other Kitty". Another lame name, I know. He got the name because I used to let Dudey outside, and when I would call to him I would also call to that "other kitty" that I was feeding (the stray). The name just stuck. So now we were a 2 cat household.

It seems I am some sort of magnet for strays. I alwyas have one I am feeding. After Other Kitty several others came and went. One I called Frozen Orange Kitty, because he was orange and was out in the cold. I managed to get him into a shelter. There was "Stern Face Orange Kitty", because, well, he had a stern face and he was orange. We still see him occasionally, I think he has a home. There was Willy, who we knew had a home, but they never let him in and I don't think they fed him well. He used to come over to eat and sleep in our basement for the day and then come upstairs to be let out at night. My cats didn't really like him, but they tolerated him.

Sometime during all that, Dudey got diabetes. It was at the same time I found out my dad had just been diagnosed with Pancreatic cancer. I just couldn't cope with a sick cat and a sick dad. (More on sick dad another time). My vet suggested Dudey go to that great cat sanctuary in the sky. It was one of the hardest things I ever had to do. But probably best for poor Dudey. He was 10. So we were a one cat household again. That was a fact that pleased my DH because while he is fond of cats, he is slightly allergic. Plus he is not as fond of them as I.

In the summer of 2004, a friend of mine who bred Selkirk's was trying to pare down her cattery. She wanted me to take a cat. DH was very much against it, but Other Kitty was not well, I knew his end was near. My mother had just died. (Another story for another time). I think he felt bad, I kind of guilted him into it. So we acquired Jersey, my first pure-bred cat.

So then we had Other Kitty and Jersey. Another year went by, Other Kitty held his own. My friend had just bred her last litter of Selkirk's and had one kitten left. She was a little black cutie pie, only 8 weeks old. She was going to be sent to Colorado to live with some guy. But it was easier on my friend if I just wanted her. Of course I wanted her. That would then bring us up to 3 cats. I knew DH would have none of it. So we just brought her home. She was teeny weeny little kitten. Who could resist! My daughters named her Kiki, after Kiki in the movie Kiki's Delivery Service, and here she stayed.

Not long after acquiring Kiki, Other Kitty went to join Dudey at the great cat sanctuary in the sky. So we were back to being a 2 cat family. It didn't take long before I had another stray to feed. It was a little white cat, we called it Princess. It looked like a girl. After a few months I finally caught it. I took it to a local rescue group I volunteer with. It ended up belonging to someone. I had finally caught a cat that was lost and had a home! It ended up being a fixed male called Cloud. Poor boy, I think we gave him a complex!

Not two months after relinquishing Cloud, we started seeing another cat. It was kind of off white, and chocolate, so we called it Cream Puff (it looked like a cream puff) which eventually got shortend to Puffy. I fed Puffy through an entire winter. We didn't see him all the time, but if I saw him I fed him. During the time I was feeding Puffy, we found a tabby cat, all skinny and sickly. He came right up to us, he was fixed and declawed, so I knew he must've been somebody's cat. We took him to Animal Control. I called after the first week to see if anyone had claimed him yet. Nope. I finally decided to try to ignore him and prayed for the best for him. My eldest daughter finally guilted me into checking on him about a month later. He was still there. She felt bad for him that no one had claimed him. We ended up going back to get him. So the stray tabby became Cal, named after Calcifer the Fire Demon from Howl's Moving Castle (hey we're getting more creative!)

Not long after taking in Cal, at which point my DH had told me "enough with the cats", Puffy got a bit more friendly. He started sleeping on our deck and our front porch ( I guess depending on his mood). He let us pet him and pick him up. He was a great cat, very cuddly and friendly. Even DH liked him. One night, after a few too many beers, DH opened the door and let Puffy in. That was it, he became ours. So that is how we came to have 4 cats that live with us.

I am currently feeding a black stray that I affectionatley call "Shiny Black Kitty". (Lost my creativity again). He's been hanging around since last fall. I can't catch him. He is letting me get closer. He isn't fixed, so I am guessing he was never owned. I expect to catch him sometime this summer. Not sure what to do with him when I do. I'll at least need to get him fixed. I hope I can find him a home. Even if or when I do, there is another cat out there somewhere, waiting to take his place in my yard and my heart.

I could go on and on about my cats. They are each unique and fun and quirky in their own way. If you have never been owned by a cat, I highly recommend it. The pure breds are different from the strays. Have much more of an air of superiority about them. Like they know they were born of royalty. The strays seem so much more appreciative, like they know they were saved. I know at least one of my purpose's on this earth is to care for those beings that others dispose of. Someone has to, it might as well be me.

"One cat just leads to another." - Ernest Hemingway

"My husband said it was him or the cat...I miss him sometimes." - Unknown