Our Tabby

Tabby accommodates Julius while one of her kittens look on.

Ragdolls are invariably white furred, blue-eyed amiable cats -- like Tabby in the photo above. An orange stray is suckling hungrily, minutes after the kitten was picked up in a street corner. Tabby is the only mother cat of any breed in our home who is willing to succor any kitten in distress. And this is not the first time she has saved a kitten thrown to die, either by hunger, exposure to the elements, or to be squashed under the wheel of a passing car. People can be cruel if they are ignorant. I like animals more than people.

Back to Tabby and the new foundling, which, due to his orange color, has been named Julius. Tabby -- named after Stephen King's wife, Tabitha -- has given birth to five kittens almost two months ago, but that doesn't matter -- any kitten of any breed, color or origin is welcome to join her brood anytime. In the photo, one of her kids is looking on as Julius clings to his adoptive mother.

Julius' hunger is not limited to milk; he also needs the comfort and warmth of a mother's presence. A squeaky meow indicates that Tabby is away from his side. So, sometimes Julius, eyes still unopened, will crawl until he finds a warm body to cling on. Tabby's kids, who turn two-month-old today (2011 March 20), have acquired the amiability and gentleness inherent to Ragdolls; they let Julius cuddle them.

Julius climbs on his new "brother" for warmth.

This is not the first time Tabby has succored and saved other cat's child. I remember April 2009, when Eric, a friend, brought a baby Ragdoll to us because the kit's mother could not produce milk. Eric came to us, hoping to find a way to save the feeble one, which was already weak from starvation.

Here is an excerpt from my blog about that incident:

"I hoped that our Tabby, who recently gave birth to three healthy kittens, will succor a fourth. If not, it’s just a matter of a few hours before the weak Ragdoll dies. Hoping fervently, I placed the scrawny kitten’s fate before Tabby.

Without hesitation, Tabby nipped the kitty’s nape and added it among her brood. The small one, eyes still closed, instinctively found a teat and sucked weakly as we watched. A few minutes later we relaxed a bit when the baby continued feeding. At least a spark was kindled.

A few days later, our tiny refugee was crawling about the room. We gained something precious – this world, so sordid, could not be so intolerable if from time to time it allows a spluttering life to go on.

Then the allotted weeks passed, and the kitten opened an eye. We waited for the other eye to open, but it remained shut. When Eric visited his kitten, he was elated to see the improvement. When he saw the closed/open eyes, he said the lovely rascal looked like a bandit." (So the survivor's name became Bandit -- a cute bandit who stole our heart.)

[ http://www.catlovertalaga.com/2009/03/bandit.html ]

Then in October 2009, Ondoy devastated Metro Manila, including our neighborhood. Two days after the super-typhoon, Leena found three newborn kittens thrown in front of a pastor's house. Naturally the three became a part of our household. And Tabby, who had just given birth to six kittens a few days earlier, tried to bring one of them to add to her brood. But that is another story.

Cordell the Entertainer

Princess and Cordell

Cordell, our very affectionate Maine Coon, never fails to entertain the family, friends and visitors. Strangers are instantly turned into fans by his winning ways. This big cat is not shy, no siree. He meets visitors, even those coming to the house for the first time. Once he plumps down in his Cordellious way (tummy side up) guests would start ooohing. You know they've fallen when they ask if they can hold him, which was what Cordell wanted in the first place.

But wait, there is a problem. This heavyweight (literally) tips the scale at 20 pounds. So carrying him can be tiring. But what the heck, carry Cordell they do, excess weight and all. Here, Princess refused to go home without holding the Big One on her lap.

The Benevolence of Nature

Only those who have not experienced hostility can expect and grant kindness in this world.
-- William the Henry





Nature and its creatures are inherently benevolent. Cruelty is taught.
-- William the Henry

Tears for a kitten

Sometimes I wanna get my hands on God.
-- Frank Castle, The Punisher

Mama Tabby with her brood.

This morning, August 9, one of Tabby's kittens passed away, after two days of feeble struggles.

One of five siblings, the ill-starred kitten was born unequipped for survival. I noticed early on that while the others suckled, she remained in a corner. Previous experience taught me that this little one, lacking the strength to jostle for her share of milk, was in dire danger. I tried feeding her wee drops of milk; when I saw no improvement, I frantically called my vet, who did his best to aid the tiny one. Our efforts failed, and so she died, not living long enough to be named, and loved.

I cannot be inured to death of kittens, a bundle of potential affection, of appreciative purrs. In a few weeks she would have grown some and gained strength and agility to climb in our bed, exploring under the blanket, over the pillows, eventually climbing on my tummy and peering into my face -- a gesture of great trust, and instinctive acknowledgment that no harm will befall her in our presence.

All these would have occurred had she survived the vicissitudes of birth. It was not meant to be, and my heart suffered another chip. There must be a heaven for innocent kittens, otherwise, I cannot abide by the complexities of this crazy world.

Sometimes what tears our hearts is not the terrible things that happen to us, but to the ones we deeply care for.

Cat rules

Saw this posted on the Net. It's funny, yet so true :-)


BATHROOMS:
Always accompany guests to the bathroom. It is not necessary to do anything. Just sit and stare.

DOORS:
Do not allow any closed doors in any room. To get door open, stand on hind legs and hammer with forepaws. Once door is opened, it is not necessary to use it. After you have ordered an "outside" door opened, stand halfway in and out and think about several things. This is particularly important during very cold weather, rain, snow, or mosquito season.

CHAIRS AND RUGS:
If you have to throw up, get to a chair quickly. If you cannot manage in time, get to an Oriental rug. If there is no Oriental rug, shag is good.

When throwing up on the carpet, make sure you back up so it is as long as a humans bare foot.

HAMPERING:
If one of your humans is engaged in some activity and the other is idle, stay with the busy one. This is called "helping,"otherwise known as "hampering." Following are the rules for "hampering:"

1) When supervising cooking, sit just behind the left heel of the cook. You cannot be seen and thereby stand a better chance of being stepped on and then picked up and comforted.

2) For book readers, get in close under the chin, between eyes and book, unless you can lie across the book itself.

3) For paperwork, lie on the work in the most appropriate manner so as to obscure as much of the work as possible or, at least, pretend to doze; but, every so often reach out and slap the pencil or pen.

4) For people paying bills or working on income taxes or Christmas cards, keep in mind the aim: to hamper! First, sit on the paper being worked on. When dislodged, watch sadly from the side of the table. When activity proceeds nicely, roll around on the papers, scattering them to the best of your ability. After being removed for the second time, push pens, pencils, and erasers off the table, one at a time.

5) When a human is holding the newspaper in front of him/her, be sure to jump on the back of the paper. Humans love to jump.

6) When human is working at computer, jump up on desk, walk across keyboard, bat at mouse pointer on screen and then lay in human's lap across arms, hampering typing in progress.

WALKING:
As often as possible, dart quickly and as close as possible in front of the human, especially: on stairs, when they have something in their arms, in the dark, and when they first get up in the morning.

This will help their coordination skills.

BEDTIME:
Always sleep on the human at night so he/she cannot move around.

LITTER BOX:
When using the litter box, be sure to kick as much litter out of the box as possible. Humans love the feel of kitty litter between their toes.

HIDING:
Every now and then, hide in a place where the humans cannot find you. Do not come out for three to four hours under any circumstances. This will cause the humans to panic (which they love) thinking that you have run away or are lost. Once you do come out, the humans will cover you with love and kisses and you will probably get a treat.

ONE LAST THOUGHT:
Whenever possible, get close to a human, especially their face, turn around, and present your butt to them. Humans love this, so do it often. And don't forget guests.

Lotus babies

Prince: Cutie pie whose love makes him a titan in my heart

We thought she'd never be a mother, but we were surprised in early January when the very affectionate Lotus started to show a bulge in her tummy.

She gave birth to her and Sterling's babies on February 7.

Thinking that she'd need my assistance because it's her first time to have kittens, I stocked up on baby milk and prepared the feeding bottles. But Lotus proved to be a good mother, to my great relief.

Here are her babies, one very much like her father, Sterling. But her photo is missing. Oh well, another photo session will take care of that.

New year resolutions for cats

Humans can adopt these resolutions, too. Got these from PetPlace.com. Hope our furry friends can read this, and apply them in all their nine lives.

"Shall I eat the yummy slipper now or save it for snack?"

Resolution #1:
I promise to trim down a little.
Being bigger means there is more of me to love, but perhaps I can stand to lose a little weight, if I'm given the opportunity and the right kinds of toys to play with.

Resolution #2:
I'll be friendlier to strangers.
I won't turn my nose up at newcomers right away. Instead, I'll give them a chance to scratch my ears before disappearing under the bed.

Resolution #3:
I'll be cuddlier to family members.
I'll purr more and be more affectionate to everyone in the family, except the dog – unless he promises to stay the heck out of my litter box!

Resolution #4:
I'll be nicer to the birds and fish in the household. Sure, I'll be very nice to them. Perhaps if I'm nice, they'd want to come out and play with me ...

Resolution #5:
I won't be as finicky about my food.
Just as long as it's the right texture, taste and temperature, and given at the right time each day.

Resolution #6:
I'll lay off the furniture and stick to my scratching post.
After all, that's what the scratching post is for. Besides, I've made enough marks to show who really owns this place. To do any more would be just cad.

Resolution #7:
I'll stop hiding stuff behind the couch.
It's getting a little cluttered behind there anyways. Someone in the house is really trying to find that diamond ring – they're making too much of a racket.

Resolution #8:
I'll let everyone else sleep later.
I suppose 5 a.m. is a little early to get everyone up to feed me. I think I can hold on until 5:30 a.m.

Resolution #9:
I'll stay off the counters, at least when company is around.
I only get chased off anyways. Sooner or later everyone leaves, so I can patrol the countertops if I'm just a little patient.

Resolution #10:
I'll be more tolerant of those homemade bandannas.
They feel a little funny, and I dislike having something put on me, but the colors really do match my hair coat, and they set off my eyes nicely.