happy birthday little man!

I am pretty sure- as sure as I can be anyhow that today is Brody's eighth birthday

the stupid people who dumped him turned over paperwork from the puppy broker that he came with and that labelled his birthday as today - the vets think he might have been born a week or two earlier but it's as close as I can get so

HAPPY BIRTHDAY BRODY

what a time we've had - stage show, tv shows, media, humane education, CGN, entertaining me and keeping me honest and now agility! Brody works hard for his kibble that's for sure. Tom called him a devil dog for years and really didn't like him at all for a FULL YEAR - Brody can be a bit aloof at times.. and still is a devil about some things- being brushed is a good example!

what do cats bring to me?

what an interesting question from Liisa

cats give a great deal to relationships and have taught me so much ...

specific cats have taught or brought me unique things

from Dumont I learned that cats can give you a little piece of their heart when there is a hole that needs to be filled..

Jinx and her kittens brought us laughter - gales of laughter

Elsa taught us that it is possible to give and give and then give a little more

On Naming Cats

Naming cats is tough - really tough sometimes - the dude pictured was Bruce - a dear sweet wise cat who reminded me a boss I had once

like when you don't know the cat very well at all and you have a 40 minute drive to the vets and the cat needs a name by the time it gets there... days like that tend to result in names like Ginger for the orange cat, Lady for the dignified middle aged cat, Lucky, Fluffy, Princess and so on

I used to have fun if I had noisy cats on the drive - they'd get named after the songs or singers on the radio (or from my memory): BTO, Boston, Dylan, and so on

I wish I had kept a list of names we have used ...
some that stick out in my mind

Irvine - had been dunked in oil
Jinx - tiny little female who arrived so pregnant she actuallly gave birth on the way to the foster home (then all her kittens got J names too - Joy, Jack, Jingo, and Jolly if memory serves me right)
Holey Moley Mary and Flopsy Moe - the two cerebelar hyperplastic kitties that we have lived with
Lindy - the feral beauty who couldn't be sexed for months (named for a beautiful Linda I knew but I was worried she'd be a he)
Mrs Bates - who lived in the rafters between our basement and first floor for a cou-ple of months til she got acclimated to the house - she had kittens up there! her kittens Hogan and Dundee as they were adventerous boys from day one
Midi - Mrs Bates daughter or sister - she was the middle cat, not friendly but not nasty either
Kendra - also a daughter or sister of Mrs B and Midi - she was actually quiet social and was adopted into a flower store
Major - a cat of great dignity who had to have a toe amputated
Lexi - named when she gave birth to kittens when I was away in Lexington on a very rare weekend away- all her kittens ended up named after places too

thematic names work well for me and rescue - that way my failing memory is triggered to think - oh he was the cat covered in oil, she came in with this cat and so on

I have worked my through the alphabet too but I find I can recall the cats better with my odd naming system :)

Gemma and Jerry

went and did a walk through at a shelter I work with quite a bit today

they were swamped with kittens and needing to make some tough calls..two little feral grey siblings were looking like unlikely candidates to get adoptable so they were "printed up" (that is to say being considered for euthanasia)

ummm they are now in a guinea pig cage on the dining room table

Tom named them and already they are coming around - Jerry actually solicits attention already - Gem is a little slower but thats ok - she'll come round too

the dogs are fascinated - the adult cats are pretending they don't exsist

welcome to all things catty

I like the play on words - catty - as in cat lover -catty as in a little bit gossipy?

which will it be? probably he first mostly but I'm sure a little bit of commentary will work it's way in here.

I've mainly started this blog as a way to write about cats. A dear editor, writer, publisher I know is in the process of starting a cat magazine and wants me to write for her. I need to write lots to write anything interesting or meangingful and find the agility blog very helpful to my thinking - as well as the coop blog I hardly ever use. Hoping the same becomes true here - the helpful part not the not using it part ;)