5 Days and Counting

Mrrrrr Cat-loving Humans,

Remember, Wednesday May 26 is Diesel Day! A nation-wide celebration for loving, giving to, and caring for cats, other furry and feathered companions, and the people who go to the mat for them.

Now's the time to call your local shelter and see if they need some of your volunteer time, a few boxes of Yeowww! Stinkies, bags and bags and bags of kibble, or just some of the fluttery, green stuff. Then you'll be prepared to facilitate Diesel Day celebrations.

If you are too lazy to do that, or if you want to score points with the Big D, support my two favorite shelters: the Sauk County (WI) Humane Society or North Country (NY) SPCA. These are both fine facilities with hard-working, caring people and would deeply appreciate your recognition of their efforts on Diesel Day! Tell them I sent you.

You might want to be scoping out where to buy very cool treats for your own feline friends. Likely, you do not have anything better to do this weekend. If you're at your local cat gear shop, ask them if they are supporting Diesel Day by making a donation of needed products or greenbacks to their local shelter.

To my cat pals out there - Spook, Dusty, Hawk, Brewster and the rest of you - pester your people, give them the big love, remind them that there are tens of thousands of wonderful cats within a day's drive of you that need their support. If they aren't paying attention, furr them. If you still need to make your point...partially digested spring grass on their shoes can really help focus them.  You of course need to follow that up with extreme cuteness to win the day.

Send them here for full instructions.

Resolutions

Mrrrr Friends,

So I understand that people make New Year’s resolutions. (The concept of a structured year is pretty uptight if you ask me…cats roll with the seasons, the sun and moon rising and setting.)

My cat pal Alex and I thought about this custom a bit last night while our people were out imbibing and carousing and here’s my list. Alex is keeping hers to herself.

1. I resolve to climb at least 12 trees in the next human calendar year.
2. I resolve to stop trying to go into the bathroom to keep every guest that comes over company while they pee.
3. I resolve to learn to use the comma correctly.
4. I resolve to campaign for better treatment for all cats and to continue to teach people about the wonder of felines and the care and respect they need.
5. I resolve to speak up for all other animals, especially the wild things in all their forms (and I will not disregard dogs).
6. I resolve to TRY not to lick my person’s eyelids when she is sleeping but I nevertheless need attention (i.e. food).
7. I resolve to avoid scratching the dining table when I jump up on it (even though I am not supposed to jump up on it).
8. I resolve to sit patiently, thoughtfully, and critically on my person’s lap as she fulfills her own resolution to start her writing projects (but she doesn’t do resolutions…is that a girl thing?)
9. I resolve to restrain from tearing the weather stripping off the front door (thus reducing the energy savings in my people’s home and disappointing Al Gore) in my anticipation to go OUT.
10. I resolve to continue to try to raise funds for my good friends at the Sauk County Humane Society.

What do you resolve?

Happy Human New Year!

In the Beginning

Dear Friends,

As part of our celebration leading up to Diesel Day, I thought I’d share a bit about how I got to be a former Midwestern shelter cat living the good life on the East End of Long Island.

The beginnings of my life are foggy to me. I remember my mom but not too much about my brothers and sisters, except for the fact that there were quite a few of us and not enough milk dispensers to go around.

I was young and curious and very attracted to the outside world and to books and newsprint. At the time, I primarily considered these comfortable, insulating objects, but later I would recognize that I was, from the very beginning, attracted to words. I roamed a bit as cats will, exploring my world.

Next thing I remember, I was in LaValle, Wisconsin, a tiny town west of Baraboo. I had teamed up with another guy a little older than me, Orange Cat. Orange Cat and I had found some people who did pretty good at bringing in food…we were young and foolish and didn’t really know what human commitment was.

Over time, several small cats, kittens really, joined us. By the time of the incident, there were eight of us.

Up to that point in my life, I really wasn’t thinking about the big picture. I was just going from day to day, doing the best I could. Having Orange Cat around was nice. The incident changed my life.

Again, all this is a bit foggy. One day, the eight of us were in the house. There was a little food but the people were gone. There was no way out. Orange Cat and I did the best we could to keep the spirits of our companions up, but we had a frightening few days. I don’t really know how many. I do remember promising myself that if I got out of this, I’d pay much more attention to the things around me and be more thoughtful.

We heard the sound of a vehicle. We saw several people, they seemed nice but nonetheless we were scared. They scooped up the kittens, it didn’t take them too long to get Orange Cat and me too, put us in carriers, and we went for a ride. They took us to the shelter.

The next few weeks are really a blur. Everyone was nice but they were also very firm. I took another trip, south this time. I stayed for a while there for a medical checkup and a surgery – no kittens for me! Then I was back at the Sauk County Humane Society. I had a penthouse cage: a cubicle like everyone else but on the top row where I could see everything going on.

My buds from the house were with me. We all had new names. Orange Cat was named Tucker and I was named Diesel…I think because I am dark and have flecks of white. One of the little guys from the house was just below me.

Every day people came to look at me and the folks taking care of all of us would talk to us, pet us, and let us out from time to time to explore our room. Food was regular. I got my picture taken for the first time. I figured the deal was to get one of the visitors to take me home, but how do you know who to pick?

Then I met the tall guy…



(to be continued...)

Celebrate Diesel Day!

MrrrrRrrr Friends,

Saturday 26 May is Diesel Day – a day of celebration and thanksgiving for the good that furry companions can bring into human lives and for the humans that work hard to see that beings like me find the homes and people of their dreams. It is the day I was adopted by my people from the Sauk County Humane Society in Baraboo, Wisconsin.

My blogs this week will be devoted to getting you revved up to celebrate with me.

I’m betting that none of you has gotten through life without caring for a furry or feathered creature or, at least, enjoying the momentary company of a friend’s dog, marveling at the feathers on a companion bird, or sharing the wise glance of a cat. Most of the companion animals I’ve met in my life – and I’ve met quite a few – are yearning to be in a relationship with a human. To be sure, that’s all about living securely, knowing you will be fed, kept warm, and given the respect and care due to any living thing. It is, however, also about companionship, friendship, and love.

But let’s face it, there are a lot of us out there. Because we are determined to live and love, we reproduce. Hey, we’re animals (just like you), and we simply have the urge to merge.

In the US, one 1990 estimate has 60 million cats in the care of people. That does not include the number of wanderers or free-roaming cats, which may be just as high. I can’t help you with how many dogs there are, but the news is that cats are the most populous home animal.

So the people who care for us when we are otherwise uncared for are an important part of the equation. It is a tough world out there. More cats die from being struck by cars than by any other means. But many of those struck may be impaired in some other way: a fight with another animal, exposure to a chemical, exhaustion, hunger, and, I am very sad to say, sometimes by abuse from humans. We don’t want to be confined, but we do want to be cared for.

It is then, a mixed bag when we end up in our local shelter. It’s warm, we get medical care, good food, and, in most cases, a second chance. But we do sit in smallish cages and wait…it can be agonizing at times. Certainly, there are bad places that pretend to be shelters, run by unscrupulous people with no honor. The majority of shelters, however, are run by people with big hearts and good intentions who know how to pull in the knowledge and expertise to care for their animals well. I was lucky enough to land in one of these and my debt to the good folks of the Sauk County Humane Society is great.

You note I don’t use the “P” word. It’s just that my friends and I feel that we aren’t here solely for the enjoyment of humans. We think our lives – simple seeming though they may be – have an integrity of their own. No offense, but “pet” seems so much based on ownership. We’d rather be your friends. So I choose companion animal…longer but basically more respectful.

Okay, so what’s my point?

I’d like you to celebrate Diesel Day with me. If you have a furry friend in your life, if you ever have had such a friend, if you know someone who depends on an animal companion, if you’ve smiled at a dog with its person, or a cat laying in someone’s lap, or a Mynah bird’s bawdy language, or if you simply enjoy this blog, it is a good time to give something back.

I’ll be sharing part of my story with you later this week. The upshot, though, is that I wouldn’t be here without the good people at the Sauk County Humane Society. They rescued me, they made sure I was healthy, and they worked like crazy to find me a home. And they found me the home beyond my dreams.

Please consider supporting the lives of misplaced animals and the good people that work to keep them healthy and find them homes. I am hoping that you might take the time to do one (or more) of the following this week in celebration of Diesel Day.

1/ Make a donation to the Sauk County Humane Society - $5, $15, $50 or, better yet, $150 buys food, medical care, toys, pays the electric, heat, and other overhead and ensures the shelter has the staff it needs to run efficiently. I urge you to write and send a check on or before Saturday 26 May and note on it that you’ve contributed in celebration of Diesel Day – believe me, they remember me.

2/ Donate a HUGE bag of food to the Sauk County Humane Society. You know how I love food! I ate many bags when I was there. They serve Purina Cat and Kitten Chow. Take it right in and tell them you brought it in celebration of Diesel Day.

3/ Find your local shelter, go in, and ask them how you can help. If money is as tight for you as it is for them, consider volunteering an hour a two a week cleaning, working with records, or helping with the animals. You could even join the Board if you have that set of skills. Tell them a certain ex-shelter cat sent you.

4/ Ask your veterinarian if they support a local shelter by donating their time to help care for the animals there. Tell them it is important to you that there is a network of animal health care professionals supporting the local shelter. My Wisconsin vet, Mara, gave me a free first visit – complete with shots – because my person adopted me from the shelter.

Remember, most shelters are 501(c) 3 not-for-profit charities. They run entirely on donations – which are, for the money-minded among you, tax deductible to the extent allowed by law.

I promise I will not be hitting you up like this very often, but I do hope you will act. I still have extended family in Wisconsin and, you never know, you may be directly aiding a furry cousin of mine…another future feline blogger.

Giving away without regret is one of the most important things a being can do. You’ll be amazed at what comes back to you. Granted, it is a crap shoot…someone might give you back some really ugly toy with no catnip in it…but you gotta try.

The Sauk County Human Society can be reached at:
618 Highway 136
Baraboo, WI 53913
(608) 356-2520

Tell them Diesel sent you.