Happy New Year
Posted: Mon Jan 01, 2018 7:34 am
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http://forums.chiffandfipple.com/viewtopic.php?f=10&t=105912
I'm a snot divinator from way back.Nanohedron wrote:Then, at the very stroke of midnight, what should happen but I suddenly came down with a cold right then and there, sneezing all over the place like crazy, watery eyes, buckets of snot without end, groaning, the whole business. I hope that's an auspicious augury for the new year. Any seers out there?
A good shower could do that. And here I was hoping it meant riches soon to come. Damn.oleorezinator wrote:All that you did was rid yourself of the
accumulated filth and corruption of the
previous year.
Let's not forget that cat as they've been known to cause allergies.Nanohedron wrote:I suddenly came down with a cold right then and there, sneezing all over the place like crazy, watery eyes, buckets of snot without end, groaning, the whole business.
No cat at the moment, not since last March. Lester was normally very mindful of traffic (he even looked both ways before crossing the street!), but unfortunately his love of the chase also gave him a tunnel vision that overrode his prudence, and since he was green and just out of his adolescence, I worried it could one day be his undoing. At least it was quick. There wasn't a lot to be done about it, because he couldn't be confined indoors without becoming neurotic and destructive. His athletic energy and drive to meet the world needed an outlet that only outdoor time could provide. At least for the scant year I had him he was happy, healthy, a good pal, and being half Abyssinian, he was one of the smartest and most extraordinary cats I've ever known, and I've known a few. I've had cats in my life almost nonstop since I was around 6, so it's not as if I'm new to this. Even the neighbors talked about him, he was that social and larger-than-life. Yeah. I miss him. So does everyone else. The little girl across the street recently asked hopefully if I would get another just like him, yet she already has two cats of her own. Such was the impact he had on everyone.ytliek wrote:Let's not forget that cat as they've been known to cause allergies.Nanohedron wrote:I suddenly came down with a cold right then and there, sneezing all over the place like crazy, watery eyes, buckets of snot without end, groaning, the whole business.
If only an animal's personality were the sort of thing one had any control over. If you're going for real companionship and want to do it right, you go with the animal that chooses you, and those are the cards you're dealt. End of story. People who don't know may not understand, but when it comes to a choice between doing the politically correct thing and an animal's mental and emotional health, that's a real quality-of-life issue that counts, and I'll side with the animal being happy every time if the issue really matters that much to them. Cats are not dogs. As companions, cats consider themselves your equal, and they think that's entirely reasonable, so imposing conditions on a cat for its own good is a relative matter that should be weighed, and in Lester's case there wasn't a real choice. Yes, hunting's regrettable, but Lester wasn't a wanton killer, and one also rightly factors in that rabbits, house sparrows and common starlings are reliably abundant and pretty much the only common prey available around here. One takes the good with the bad. He intuitively understood that going to the vet was for his own good, so he was very well-behaved about that, but being confined to home was a bigger issue he just couldn't shake. I tried letting him do his roving in a harness with a 20 ft. lead I could pay out as needed, and to his credit he did his best to be game about that, but it really wasn't satisfactory to his personality. He'd occasionally get into a pickle and slip his harness, and he dutifully allowed me to put it back on - I was frankly surprised he'd sit still for it, but that spoke to our level of trust - but there inevitably came the day when he slipped the harness and decided it was finally time to go exploring as he really needed to, free. He spent a good four hours at it before he was ready to come home - me biting my nails all the while - but come home he did. After that, it was unreasonable to do anything but let him out on his own. Letting him out on his own ended his destructive and neurotic behavior just like that, and his gratitude was unmistakable. But in an urban environment with its particular distractions and dangers, of course I worried for his safety every day, because his smarts got him into as much trouble as kept him out of it. It's easy to say he would have been better off in a rural setting, but the reality is there is just as much cause for worry there, too. Outdoor-faring cats can live long lives - I've had many such, myself - so it's a toss-up, and what can you do but hope for the best?ytliek wrote:Yes, an indoor cat might be better suited to your home.
Several years ... I don't think I could do as long. For me, no place of mine is really a home without one. I must say, though, that Lester's loss really affected me as no other before, and I expected it might take a long time before I got another. Turns out that around a year has been time enough for me to get back around to the position that there's another out there somewhere that needs a good home. It's almost kind of like a calling, you know?Tunborough wrote:After several catless years, we took in a new feline family member over the holidays.
Inscrutable. Lester was anything but. He was more bold and up-front, like. There was never any question what that lad was about. Apart from his coloring, he looked Abyssinian and certainly behaved like one, which is to say he was a sporting creature, and the world was his plaything. He even accosted dogs! Dogs fascinated him. He was fully armed and very able to defend himself, but his thing was to make friends and play, rather than fight. Life was for having a blast, and he thought everyone should just get along. He made plenty of cat friends he could play and tussle with, but the dogs were usually too confounded by a confident, fearless cat to be amenable to the idea. One time a Great Pyrenees was nervously yipping at him, and Lester just sat there unruffled, stubbornly batting at the enormous dog's nose as if to say, "Oh, just chill out, wouldja?" That's pretty remarkable. Had to make a production of saying Hi to everyone, and he absolutely could not resist pretty women and babies. Ran after joggers for the fun of it, too. Just about everything he did made for an entertaining story, and hardly a day went by without an amused neighbor reporting Lester's latest antics to me. Even at rest, he crackled with energy.Tunborough wrote:He seems to be adjusting nicely to being worshipped, and is even reciprocating in his inscrutable catly way.
Best wishes for your being-searched-for.Nanohedron wrote:Turns out that around a year has been time enough for me to get back around to the position that there's another out there somewhere that needs a good home. It's almost kind of like my calling, you know?