Cat Chat® Cat of the Month
July 2008 Cat Chat® Cats of the Month:
Itchy Von Scragglyass (the calico) and Frank'N'Stein (the black kitties ), also known as FrankieDoodle and Captain Stein, live with Valerie in California. Valerie has been a great listener, trying suggestions, getting her cats off kitty crack, stopping routine vaccinations and generally being a GREAT Mom to them (quite literally, given that she raised two virtually from birth!) Here's her story about them:
All three of my babies are rescued. Itchy Von Scragglyass (the calico) was a birthday gift that turned into a Vet bill big time - $500 ll of ear mites I was cleaning her ears out and she made me itch; hence the name Itchy. She just turned nine in May.
The other two beautiful black babies are brother and sister that were found on the side of my mothers house. $$ later the vet told me they were 4 days old. Lots of work as you have to treat them as babies. Feed by bottle, burp, and clean their bottoms and tops too!
They were ugly ducklings that is for sure. I wasn't going to keep them so I temporarily named them Frank"N"Stein. 8 Years later Frank turned into the handsome Senator Frankie Doodle and Stein turned into Captain Stein( she is more like a pirate though).
After listening to Tracie on Cat Chat I freaked out then threw away the kitty crack. I have spent about three months getting them to eat enough and buying every brand on the list. I also put Itchy due to hip problems on Platinum Plus. She jumps around, runs out back, and brings mommy lizards for a snack; YUCK. It takes time and patience but if I can make the change anyone can, believe me. I almost gave up but persistance has paid off in a big way. Thanks to Tracie emailing me with encouragement I have healthier cats. No Shots either!!
:)
Valerie
Anaheim, CA
P.S. Funny all the stories you read about people not really being a cat lover but just take care of one baby for a day or two and you are in love...
Love your show and all the advice you give. You have changed so many people in the way they feed and take care of their kids (pets).
Let me know any way I can help getting the message out because nobody thought I could do what I do.
June 2008 Cat Chat® Cat of the Month: Ginger
You've all heard "Ginger's Mommy" Call into CAT CHAT®??
Well here's what Deborah has to say about this gorgeous kitty who turned her into a Cat Person!
Me a cat person?!!
I never ever thought that in my life I would be owned by cat. Besides, I have parrots. However, when one of my friends, who rescues cats brought her to me and asked me if she could stay for “just one night” it was love at first sight. I nursed back to health the little pile of sick kitten that she was and tried several months later, unsuccessfully to get her adopted. I came close….but no cigar. Secretly though I really did want to keep her! So now it’s going on four years and I just love her like crazy. She is very, very smart. Ginger (aka Gingerama and Princess Gingalot) knows that the birds in the house are off limits and that the ones on the other side of the window are free for the taking….not that she may ever go outside, but she knows the deal. She loves to play fetch and brings me toys all the time so that we can play together.
Having been seriously allergic to cats for all of my life, now I no longer am! I just love having a furry friend to take care of and with Tracie's guidance I’m sure that she’ll most likely live forever!
(And since Deb had already bought umpteen copies of the THE CAT BIBLE and several CAT CHAT® baseball caps, too - I had to get inventive with Ginger's prize for being Pin Up Pussycat for June - so she got a Kong Kitty massage brush AND a copy of Arden Moore's new book THE CAT BEHAVIOR ANSWER BOOK. )
May 2008 Cat Chat® Cat of the Month: Galileo
Thank you so much, Tracie for hosting the weight loss contest and for getting us all to take better care of our furry friends. Gali is looking terrific. I've attached one of my favorite pictures of him - helping me quilt!! You can use it for the May cat of the month picture. The following is the story about Gali for the May cat of the month:
8 1/2 years ago right before Thanksgiving, my old cat, Veronica, passed away. I went to the local animal shelter to make a donation in her memory and was not expecting to adopt another cat, but there was Galileo (Gali for short), a cute little orange tabby kitten. From the moment I picked him up, I knew he was coming home with me. As I was holding him, he purred like mad and then reached up and patted my face with his little paw. Needless to say, there was no way I could leave him at the shelter. At the time, he was just a little handful, but he quickly blossomed into the big cat he is now. From nose to backside (without his tail), he is two feet long. As my veterinarian said, he is never going to be a small cat. But, thanks to you, he is no longer obese. He has gone from a lethargic, grossly overweight (19 1/2 pounds) to a much slimmer, happy, active cat (13.9 poumds). He is still as sweet as he was as a little kitty and still reaches up and pats my face.
The picture I have attached is Gali in the middle of a sample quilt that is on my long-arm quilting machine. He can always find the best bed in the house!! By the way, Gali is one of those kitties that has the belly that hangs down. He had it even when he was a tiny kitten. I'll be listening to see if you ever come up with a good name for the muffin bellies!
Thanks to you, he is a much healthier and happy kitty. I have also managed to convert one of my friends and she is now feeding her cats only wet food. So just look at the tremendous impact you have had!!
April 2008 Cat Chat® Cat of the Month: Tiger
Tiger From Illinois Is April's Cat Chat® Cat Of The Month!
From Denise R. (Willowbrook, IL):
Un-stray my heart! Falling prey to a stray!
With two, 17-year old indoor female cats, both bearing health issues, the thought of bringing a third cat into the mix was too scary. Tiger the stray showed up two years ago. We assumed he was male as he walked and stalked just like the predator of his new namesake. We guessed he was feral. With no collar and the tip of his ear torn off, most likely from a fight, his timid and cautious demeanor kicked in high gear when it came to feeding time. As the temps turned cold and frigid, I truly hoped I wouldn't see him for I hoped he had a home. Not the case. He showed up religiously during one of the coldest winters and it broke my heart to watch him eat, shiver, then disappear. I wondered where he slept. With the relief of springtime, I was able to touch the top of is head. By summer, I could pet him and by fall, completely hold him. Turns out he'd been front-declawed. He had to belong to somebody at some time. I made him a place to sleep on our deck and he took to it immediately. This little guy turned out to be gentle and so loving. I found it fun to make a difference in his life. There are ups and downs to caring for a stray too. Like wondering where he's been when he comes home completely covered in cobwebs or when he's later than late and comes home limping. We took him to the vet to make sure he was free of any diseases and had him vaccinated. He did have a few fleas which now meant I had to treat him monthly for fleas. Found out he was also neutered which added to the mystery of his history. The vet guessed him to be 8-10 years of age. Now winter was fast-approaching and I could not bear the thought of him out in the cold. So, we trained him to live in our garage. Since he moved into the garage, he no longer spent a night outside in over a year. He'd go out during the day but knew when to come home. The garage is heated and now looks like a family room instead of a garage. To make the boring winter days easier on him, we always have music on for him. He enjoys Sirius radio and his channel of choice is the Spa channel where the occasional sounds of birds and thunderstorms is a familiar part of his lifestyle. I found out through a neighbor that Tiger actually came from a family across the bridge. I was curious, so I went to meet the previous owner, who was already alerted that we'd been caring for Tiger and I asked if she wanted him back and she said it didn't appear he wanted her back so I guessed he was ours now. He was born on the 4th of July and is 15 years old - not 8 or 10, but a total senior now! For most of his life, he had been an indoor-only cat, but the last few years he was allowed to go outside. With the recent loss of our cat Samantha, we have felt for the first time, the pain of losing a pet. My friend sent me the poem "Rainbow Bridge" and I remembered after reading it, crying and holding Tiger and asking him "why do you have to be 15 already?" A few months have passed and the other night, Tiger wanted out and as he ran to the back of the yard, where raccoons, possums and other nightly creatures lurk, I could no longer bear the worries of caring for a stray. I shouted out to him, "Tiger, come back in right now" and he looked at me, and started running towards me straight into the garage. Later on that night, he pawed at the service door. I let him out where he sat down and glanced around the yard. I said to him, "say goodbye to this life, buddy, it's about to change again!" (Continued after second photo.)
So with that, it is now day 8 that Tiger moved from the garage, to our family room, quarantined from his soon-to-be-sister, Sabrina. We just took him to the vet where he got a full exam, complete blood work and his shots. I'm happy to report he was FELV negative and other than needing his teeth cleaned, everything looked great. Now we are following the steps in The Cat Bible on introducing the cats to one another. Thank you so much Tracie for writing a book that has every imaginable question I've had about feline behavior answered. It is now amazing to watch Tiger curled up next to my husband, staring outside the glass door, when not too long ago, he was staring in from the outside. Although he wants to go out now and then, he is getting used to the words "no more." Oh, and that bridge he crossed to find us, my friend said that was Tiger's Rainbow Bridge!
—Denise R. (Willowbrook, IL)
March 2008 Cat Chat® Cat of the Month: Buster
Buster: I had just put down my favorite cat "Buddy", and I was inconsolable. I called Jan, who I adopt all my cats from, and she began to tell me about "Buster". He was found in a dumpster along with his siblings at 3 days old. Jan bottle fed them all! She said that she wanted me to see Buster before she showed him to anyone else. I went to Petco to see him...his brothers were small dark grey kittens...Buster was orange and white and three times the size of his siblings! She put him in my arms, on his back and he looked up at me. His eyes were the same color as his deep orange fur and he had these long wispy hairs coming out of his ears GORGEOUS! His fur felt like a Chinchilla (and still does) and he looked into my eyes as if to say "I love you, take me home"! I said to Jan, "He's huge! Then as he gazed into my eyes I said "ok, so I'll buy him a saddle and ride him to work!" He was about 6 months old then and is a year old now. He weighs in at over 13 lbs already and I fear will get bigger! I truly feel that he is part Main Coon and I adore him! He's very comical and very sweet.....thanks SOOO MUCH Tracie...
xoxo,
Sherri, Sylmar CA
February 2008 Cat Chat® Cat of the Month
Fiona in Nebraska is February's Cat Congratulations to young Maren M. and her gorgeous Fiona cat for being chosen as February's "pin up" girls. Maren will get a Cat Chat baseball cap and lots of goodies for Fiona.
January 2008 Cat Chat® Cat of the Month
Beth S. in Rockford Illinois is the proud human who shares a home with Stewie. Beth got a Cat Chat® baseball cap and tells us this about her beloved Stewie.
So, about Stewie… in a few words… that's a tough one. In summary, he is one special guy. In April 2006, Stewie had been found alone, starving and with ear infections, near a storm drain in Hayward, CA. He was just three months old. A very generous rescue group in Northern California nursed him to health and posted a listing for him on Petfinder.com when he was adoptable. I happen to be perusing the site one day, and it hit me. I saw his photo, and my stomach sank. It was like I saw the man of my dreams or a long lost friend. I knew when I saw his face that I was meant to be his mom. I promptly completed the adoption application process, finally met him, and fell totally in love! We had instant chemistry.
Stewie is 1.5yrs old now, and a solid 12.5lb cat. He is a Ragdoll, so it's my understanding that he could continue to grow to about 14lbs (about average for a male Rag). He is soft as a bunny, incredibly gentle, and so loving. He's a brilliant guy too! After working together on a few tricks, he has learned to "sit" and "stand tall" on command. And he also plays fetch!
Stewie's presence in my life is such a gift. He teaches me so much about resilience, the uninhibited expression of love, being assertive, taking risks, and unfailing optimism. He reminds me of the importance of relaxation, cuddling, day dreaming, and a good imagination. I love Stewie as I do my family. He is my baby… and my friend.
December Cat Chat® Cat of the Month: Tiger
TIGER is December's Cat Chat cat of the Month! You've all heard Tracie's engineer Shavon talk about her Mom's new kitty Tiger - well how much cuter than cute could he be?!
November Cat Chat® Cats of the Month: Sirius & Martha
You've heard all about Friends of Michigan Animal Rescue on the show - now meet the feline family members of Kenn, one of their greatest volunteers and a loyal supporter of CAT CHAT and THE CAT BIBLE.
Former Cat Chat® Cat of the Month: TINY
MEET TINY (all 3 lbs. of her) who was recently adopted by my engineer Shavon's grandma, who was devastated after losing her previous beloved cat. Tiny has filled that hole in her heart with crazy antics - the little kitty is so grateful to have been adopted into a loving home, Tiny was homeless and had a litter of kittens when she was found - but now she is spayed and lives safely indoors. Hurray for Tiny and Shavon's grandma!
Tracie welcomes any and all questions about cats AND dogs on both her live radio shows. Call in to DOG TALK on Saturdays from 11-Noon (EST) to 800-394-8830 or Wednesdays 8-9 PM (EST) to CAT CHAT 866-675-6675. (You don't need to have Sirius to call in!)
