Wishing you and yours the happiest of holiday seasons, and a bright, happy, healthful, and prosperous New Year!
John and Sharon
Tuesday, December 23, 2008
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
Fw: [Flickr] S. McC wants you to see something
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Friday, January 04, 2008
Unselfish Love
As much as Amy loves her cats, she's made the decision that they should go to a good home where they can not only be loved ... but will also get the kind of veterinary care every pet deserves.
It was a sad day ... letting go is not easy. It would have been much easier to keep both beautiful kitties, for the joy they bring her, than to surrender them in order to give them the chance of finding loving and stable homes with people who can afford them.
I'm very proud of Amy.
To see videos of Amy with both Kamira and Precious, check these out:
http://www.vimeo.com/469948 (Finding Kamira and Precious playing)
http://www.vimeo.com/469878 (Precious kitten playing ball)
http://www.vimeo.com/469826 (Precious playing ball)
http://www.vimeo.com/469797 (Amy holding Kamira)
Let me know if you are interested in adopting either of these darlings!
It was a sad day ... letting go is not easy. It would have been much easier to keep both beautiful kitties, for the joy they bring her, than to surrender them in order to give them the chance of finding loving and stable homes with people who can afford them.
I'm very proud of Amy.
To see videos of Amy with both Kamira and Precious, check these out:
http://www.vimeo.com/469948 (Finding Kamira and Precious playing)
http://www.vimeo.com/469878 (Precious kitten playing ball)
http://www.vimeo.com/469826 (Precious playing ball)
http://www.vimeo.com/469797 (Amy holding Kamira)
Let me know if you are interested in adopting either of these darlings!
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Completely relaxed kitten
Amy, live and online, with the kitten she and Nicky found on the porch of a house under construction. It's cute. It's tiny. It has fleas. Who cares? :-)
Sunday, October 14, 2007
Little Miracle
This kitten is sitting in a saucer, not a plate ... and the bottle of soda is 20 oz., not 2 liter. She is TINY. Amy and Nicky found her on the porch of a house under construction ... no mom in sight ... and the remains of a second kitten scattered in a corner of the porch. Nicky wants to keep her; Nicky's husband doesn't sound so convinced. Either way, thank goodness the little one is somewhere more safe now, and has a vet appt for Thursday to be checked over.
Saturday, August 18, 2007
Waxing nostalgic ... and strangeness in the McCarragher pride of kitties
Amy has been waxing nostalgic about our kitties ... with new comments on old Flickr photos, so I gave her an update on the clan. You can read it, following the pictures.
Recenty activity on your photos
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Recent activity on your photos
| 1 view  | 1-2003 Reggie on Amy 1.JPG
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| 1 view | 5-27-2000 Amy & Mack.JPG
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| 1 view | Mack 12-28-99.jpg
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| 5 views | Amy + Spare Cat 10-15-1994.jpg
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Sunday, August 05, 2007
Personalities
For years, my children have been teasing me that "my cat" is stupid. They're not trying to be mean ... Lucky really is "special" in ways we are not entirely proud of. He's the one in the center of the above picture -- and I have to admit that his blank stare is quite characteristic. He doesn't catch on quickly, he seems bewildered more often than not, and he's a bit slow, both mentally and physically. Mack, on the left, looks to me as if he's saying, "What do you want NOW? I'm busy."
And Reggie, on the right, always seems to be posing. He knows he's good looking. See how he's flirting with you?
A minute later, Mack is back to observing the out-of-doors, Lucky is wondering what it was he was thinking of doing a second ago, and Reggie is checking out the spot on Lucky's back that regularly gets rumpled when Reg gets frisky. Ahem.
Tuesday, July 24, 2007
Mack got to play outside!
I don't know why ... maybe because I'm still so thrilled he is alive, and he ALWAYS wants to go outside. Maybe because the weather has been gorgeous, and I wish I could take him for a walk. Maybe because I'm crazy ... the last time I was at the pet supply store (getting canned Wellness brand cat food for Mack, of course), I also bought a harness and leash.
At first, he just laid in the grass. Then he started exploring. I had to rein him in when he took off after a moth -- I wasn't prepared to move that fast. I took some video, but it's not very exciting, so here are the still photos.
As you can see, his fur has grown back fully, and he's back to being a pleasantly rounded kitty.
For the record ... I suppose I AM playing favorites. However, the truth is that Reggie really wants nothing to do with going outside, and Lucky would just lay in the grass. I will probably give each of them an opportunity to enjoy the outdoors, too. For now, though, Mack is the only one who has had this treat.
Monday, July 09, 2007
No Worries!
Amy stayed with Mack overnight several times while we were away, and made sure he kept eating.
When we returned on Saturday, making several trips to empty our cars, Mack was feeling spunky enough to watch the door for an opportunity to zip by us and get another taste of the outdoors. Fortunately, he was unsuccessful.
I picked him up and cuddled him for a minute when we first arrived, which seemed to satisfy his need to be touched ... in fact, I'd even say he seemed a little standoffish as we settled back in. But he was eager for his canned food treat by 4 p.m., and presented himself for a good belly rub later, spreading out on the sofa next to me as John and I watched "Muriel's Wedding" from Netflix.
Now I'm in Duluth for a conference until Wednesday night ... but I'm not worried. John is home, and Mack is fine!
When we returned on Saturday, making several trips to empty our cars, Mack was feeling spunky enough to watch the door for an opportunity to zip by us and get another taste of the outdoors. Fortunately, he was unsuccessful.
I picked him up and cuddled him for a minute when we first arrived, which seemed to satisfy his need to be touched ... in fact, I'd even say he seemed a little standoffish as we settled back in. But he was eager for his canned food treat by 4 p.m., and presented himself for a good belly rub later, spreading out on the sofa next to me as John and I watched "Muriel's Wedding" from Netflix.
Now I'm in Duluth for a conference until Wednesday night ... but I'm not worried. John is home, and Mack is fine!
Monday, June 25, 2007
Talk to the Animals
My neighbor, Gordon, is a real down-to-earth guy. He has two bearded collies that are simply adorable, clever, and fun. He keeps them busy with agility training, and it keeps him on the go, too.
This weekend, we had a rummage sale. It was an opportunity for all the neighbors we never see during the wintertime to come over and visit for a while. Gordon stopped in with both his collies, Molly and Annie, in tow. He told us his daughter had been in town over Father's Day weekend, and as part of the visit his wife had arranged for a consultation with an animal communicator. He hadn't expected much, but thought it might be fun -- what he didn't expect was to come away wishing he had prepared better for the session, because he has questions he wishes he had asked!
Okay, you can think what you want ... but Gordon was most amazed when the animal communicator asked Molly and Annie if there was anything they wanted him to know ... and they responded that they really missed the chew treats he used to give them. Now -- NO ONE knew Gordon had stopped giving them the rawhide treats three weeks prior to this session ... not the wife, not the daughter, and certainly not the animal communicator. Only Gordon, Annie, and Molly knew!
Another thing Gordon wondered about was how Molly and Annie felt about the little cockapoo his wife had just gotten. The bearded collies' answer? They don't really see the little dog very often, so it's okay. What? Well, Gordon and his wife life on opposite sides of town, and when they do see each other, the dogs aren't always with them! Interesting.
Other things were communicated: Molly is older, and said she is having some pain in her left front "ankle" and her back. Gordon suspected this, from the way she moved after agility training ... but she wasn't showing any signs of it at the consultation. Annie, young and energetic, was asked how she liked agility training; she said she was having trouble with the "teeter" (like a teeter-totter on a playground) ... which Gordon says was the only thing they had a problem with that day at practice! Gordon asked what he could do to make it easier for her, and Annie said she'd like it if he would stay near her until she was off the teeter and feeling more confident. They tried it in their next practice session, and it worked like a charm! Annie also said she liked agility except when she does things wrong, and then she doesn't like doing it anymore because she really wants to please Gordon. Awwwww....
Okay, so where am I going with this?
Sometimes, like most pet owners, I wonder what my cats are thinking. When Mack was sick, I NEEDED to know why he wouldn't eat. I know the answer, once he was in the midst of liver failure, would have been that he just didn't feel well. But before that ... why did he stop eating?
Amy wants to know, so she can feel better ... she doesn't want the answer to be, "because of the little cat" that Amy brought home. That's what WE think was the problem. Along with losing our 16-year-old dog, Cinnamon. And the fact that mom and dad went away for a week and some of our pet-care plans fell through. Not enough to have a dramatic impact, under normal circumstances. But the combination of factors, we're thinking, might have been the reason.
Why does it matter?
Our week-long vacation starts Sunday.
I was feeling desperate to have one of these animal communication consultations, so I could tell Mack that we'll be gone -- that *I* will be gone -- for a while, but that I need him to be okay ... I need him to keep eating.
The animal communicator website says we are all born with the ability to communicate telepathically. There are classes to help us enhance our abilities.
Well, I thought, maybe I should just TELL him myself.
Mack was in the other room, in my line of sight, grooming himself, when I had this thought. I looked intently at him, and thought, "Mack, I NEED YOU TO KNOW ..." Mack stopped his grooming and looked up at me, staring straight into my eyes. I continued, "We're going away for a while, but we'll be back. I NEED you to keep eating!"
He continued to stare at me for about 30 seconds. Then he went back to grooming himself, as if to say, "yeah, yeah, yeah. stop worrying."
Then he curled up and rested his chin on the side of the carpeted nest.
Maybe, just maybe, we had a moment of cross-species communication?
This weekend, we had a rummage sale. It was an opportunity for all the neighbors we never see during the wintertime to come over and visit for a while. Gordon stopped in with both his collies, Molly and Annie, in tow. He told us his daughter had been in town over Father's Day weekend, and as part of the visit his wife had arranged for a consultation with an animal communicator. He hadn't expected much, but thought it might be fun -- what he didn't expect was to come away wishing he had prepared better for the session, because he has questions he wishes he had asked!
Okay, you can think what you want ... but Gordon was most amazed when the animal communicator asked Molly and Annie if there was anything they wanted him to know ... and they responded that they really missed the chew treats he used to give them. Now -- NO ONE knew Gordon had stopped giving them the rawhide treats three weeks prior to this session ... not the wife, not the daughter, and certainly not the animal communicator. Only Gordon, Annie, and Molly knew!
Another thing Gordon wondered about was how Molly and Annie felt about the little cockapoo his wife had just gotten. The bearded collies' answer? They don't really see the little dog very often, so it's okay. What? Well, Gordon and his wife life on opposite sides of town, and when they do see each other, the dogs aren't always with them! Interesting.
Other things were communicated: Molly is older, and said she is having some pain in her left front "ankle" and her back. Gordon suspected this, from the way she moved after agility training ... but she wasn't showing any signs of it at the consultation. Annie, young and energetic, was asked how she liked agility training; she said she was having trouble with the "teeter" (like a teeter-totter on a playground) ... which Gordon says was the only thing they had a problem with that day at practice! Gordon asked what he could do to make it easier for her, and Annie said she'd like it if he would stay near her until she was off the teeter and feeling more confident. They tried it in their next practice session, and it worked like a charm! Annie also said she liked agility except when she does things wrong, and then she doesn't like doing it anymore because she really wants to please Gordon. Awwwww....
Okay, so where am I going with this?
Sometimes, like most pet owners, I wonder what my cats are thinking. When Mack was sick, I NEEDED to know why he wouldn't eat. I know the answer, once he was in the midst of liver failure, would have been that he just didn't feel well. But before that ... why did he stop eating?
Amy wants to know, so she can feel better ... she doesn't want the answer to be, "because of the little cat" that Amy brought home. That's what WE think was the problem. Along with losing our 16-year-old dog, Cinnamon. And the fact that mom and dad went away for a week and some of our pet-care plans fell through. Not enough to have a dramatic impact, under normal circumstances. But the combination of factors, we're thinking, might have been the reason.
Why does it matter?
Our week-long vacation starts Sunday.
I was feeling desperate to have one of these animal communication consultations, so I could tell Mack that we'll be gone -- that *I* will be gone -- for a while, but that I need him to be okay ... I need him to keep eating.
The animal communicator website says we are all born with the ability to communicate telepathically. There are classes to help us enhance our abilities.
Well, I thought, maybe I should just TELL him myself.
Mack was in the other room, in my line of sight, grooming himself, when I had this thought. I looked intently at him, and thought, "Mack, I NEED YOU TO KNOW ..." Mack stopped his grooming and looked up at me, staring straight into my eyes. I continued, "We're going away for a while, but we'll be back. I NEED you to keep eating!"
He continued to stare at me for about 30 seconds. Then he went back to grooming himself, as if to say, "yeah, yeah, yeah. stop worrying."
Then he curled up and rested his chin on the side of the carpeted nest.
Maybe, just maybe, we had a moment of cross-species communication?
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