If you have to give up a pet, please take them to a no kill shelter

As the snow fell over the past several days, my cat Kady started to go to the window and cry. This is unusual for her and when I rolled over to her, I realized why. She was staring out at the snow and shaking. She spent last winter outside in one of the worst winters ever after being abandoned.

I diverted her attention away from the window and she immediately calmed down. Right now she spends most of her time playing with toys and, typical kitten-style, plays until she's exhausted and then takes a nap. Although technically she's not a kitten (she must be at least over a year old), she is going through her kitten stage now which is fun to watch.

As she played with her toys, I remembered that my other young rescue kitty, Riley, who is about a year and a half old now, went through this every time it rained. He would sit at the window and cry. He was abandoned outside an apartment complex overnight when he was four months old and showed up terrified on someone's doorstep. They immediately called the shelter. Nevertheless, when I took him in shortly afterwards, he was almost catatonic - wouldn't move from my lap and shook whenever I put him down. After a week or so, he was able to be left on his own but he clung to me for months.

Why am I writing this? I'd just like to spread the word that there are lots of no kill animal shelters now. If you have to give up a pet, please take it to a no kill shelter rather than abandon it outside. Leaving a pet outside who isn't used to it, even if they do survive, leaves them with all kinds of problems - health and otherwise, that make it even more difficult to get them adopted. Kady has arthritis, almost no teeth and permanent leg and pelvic injuries from being hit by a car even though she's barely over a year old. Riley, as much as I love him, was difficult to adopt because he needed constant human attention for a long time.

They are, by far, a few of the sweetest pets I've ever shared a home with and worth every moment and resource I've given them. But a lot of their suffering could have been avoided if they had been put into a shelter rather than abandoned outside.

For a list of no kill animal shelters, click here.

A message from Riley: Feline Update

Hey everyone! Hope you're enjoying Spring. Just a short message from me, the rescue kitty, letting you know how well things have worked out just in case you're thinking about letting a rescue pet rescue you.

I'm happily settled into my new home after a long winter. Can't believe it's taken me all this time to train my so called owner and the aides, but I have things the way I want them at last.

1. It's everyone's job to feed me. No exceptions Even if you're paralyzed. Use an assistive device. Geesh
2. I now have three napping areas set aside for me, aside from the bed. Finally folks got their act together an d have put down plush blankets in all three spots.
3. My cat toys are no longer in the way. Everyone is trained to roll and walk around them.


I still don't like storms since i was left out and abandoned during a thunder storm, but no one has figured out how to make those stop. I meow until someone picks me up but I'm less scared than I was. I prefer snow because it makes no noise.

My so called owner was a mess when I got here after she lost her cat Buddy. She's doing much better now that I'm around.

I hope someone reading this decides to check their local animal shelters for a cute pet like me. I wasn't in great shape when I was adopted (everyone kept calling me a handful, whatever that means), but with a little patience and love, my so called owner says I'm just as happy now as Buddy was.

And I think that's a very good thing.

[image description: A photo of Riley, a tabby on white, looking at the camera, cocking his head as he stands in front of a window.]

The good folks at Animal Allies took good care of me until I was adopted. Please consider helping them continue their good work with a donation.

Never read the news alone

Mornings aren't the same around here since my cat Buddy passed.

Our routine was set. I'd get up between 7:30 and 8:00 a.m. Before I started work, I'd blog and read the news. Buddy perched behind me. When I came to a particularly upsetting news item, I'd shake my head or exclaim out loud. Suddenly a big white paw would be on my cheek or he'd lean over and snuggle me.

Anyway here's my schedule for the past three or so weeks: my kitten Riley meows and whimpers at about 6 a.m. After unsuccessfully trying to get him back to bed and to sleep, I get up and check to make sure he has food. He usually does, so then I coax him onto my lap in my wheelchair, where he plays for a while, then falls asleep for a bit. Sometimes we both do. By the time I settle him down, it's time to start work.

However the past few days Riley seems to be calmer in his new surroundings. Some mornings he even spends time looking out the window after he wakes me up.

This morning he jumped up behind me and settled into Buddy's old spot. So I began to read the news. I groaned at one point. I felt a small tiny paw touch my cheek.

"Aww," I said.

I've come to believe that everyone should have that same kind of support as they read the news these days.

How fortunate am I to find it twice.

Welcome Riley!

In the spirit of all that was, is and ever shall be my dear Buddy, loveable, fluffy guy that he was, I adopted a rescue kitty through Animal Allies. He's about a year old and was abandoned by his owners when they moved.

I've named him Riley. As you can see in his pictures, he's a tabby with white and has large green eyes. Of course his eyes aren't quite open in that photo since he just woke up from a nap.

Riley is fitting right in. He's a bit of a couch potato, giving cat toys the obligatory shove to make me happy, but not really into it yet. Maybe once he settles in more. He likes listening to stories. Mostly he wants to sit in my lap.

And that's fine by me.