Quote de jour


This is Domino, the outdoor feral who lives on our porch by his choice not mine. Whenever someone arrives, he trots out from his slumber to stand guard and greet them. I know he's always angling to be fed, but I'd like to think he's a one cat welcoming committee.

For a year now, Cat Saturday has celebrated all things feline. We cat lovers are a special breed and someone told me this week, "There must be a special place in heaven for those who do cat rescue."  Let's hope so. I don't do hands on rescue as I did for many years, but I network closely with many of the big-hearted souls that do. In the weeks to come, I'll be featuring more cats from those shelters and cat rescue groups.

 Every week, I choose one special cat for its beauty or special charm. This week, our cat of the week is the very special Bobbi. Perhaps she isn't  cover girl beautiful but she has a beautiful soul. One look at her sad soulful eyes and you know she has a story to tell. Bobbi is currently living in a cage at a temporary foster home in Westchester County, N.Y. She was recently rescued off the street from heartbreaking circumstances. For four years she had one litter after another and struggled to take care of her kittens, but how could she when she couldn't take care of herself? Some people feed her sometimes, but would not let her come inside no matter how hard she tried to escape the cold winter. Cats like Bobbi will do anything to survive. Some idiot mutilated her ears into a round shape. Amazingly, she is still affectionate, playful but understandably wary. She's endured so much in her five short years, all she wants now is a warm, cozy  forever home where her she can be doted on as a pampered queen. To learn more about her, please click on this link for her profile from petfinders.http://www.petfinder.com/petnote/displaypet.cgi?petid=14540701 or e-mail me privately layla@laylamorganwilde.com



News and mews
The weather has cooled and you'll find my cats Merlin and Coco sleeping under a warm duvet most of the time.
For countless homeless cats that isn't an option. The lucky ones get rescued off the streets and find homes but not every cat can have a happy ending. Some cats aren't adoptable and for those their best bet is a spay/neuter release program. These cats are trapped, spayed or neutered and released  to their environment usually with some kind of shelter and feeding stations. It's not an ideal fantasy ending but at least the out of control breeding can stop.

After a six-year study and daily observation of a feral cat colony, it has been documented that stray female cats start cycling when they are 4 - 6.9 months old,(2) or as soon as the days are long enough. January and February are the start of the kitten season, with the litters born in March and April. These cats have an average of 2.1 litters per year of 4.25 kittens.(3) Forty-two percent of the kittens will die by the age of two months of natural causes.(4) Many more will end up at the shelter. Those who escape early death and the shelter go on to be prolific bearers of kittens over their short life span of approximately three years.(5)

Taking the mortality into account, along with birth and death rates, the average stray female will have 5.25 litters in her lifetime, encompassing 22.3 kittens. At age two months there should be 12.9 survivors, roughly six females and seven males (at maturity, roughly 2/3 of the stray cat population is male,(6) due to the high mortality of females during first pregnancy and birth), which will decrease to four females over time. These six females will go on to have their 22 surviving kittens each.

Realistically, over 12 years one unspayed female with all her unspayed female offspring can reasonably be expected to be responsible for over 3200 kittens if there is no human intervention.

Pet Adoption Day
Blessing of the Animals

The Pet Cemetery in Hartsdale N.Y. is holding a pet adoption this Sunday Sept.13 at 11:30 AM. At 1PM there will be a blessing of the animals by an inter-faith minister. Well behaved pets are welcome or bring a photo of your pet receive a blessing. http://www.petcem.com
Pet Adoption Day is also on Sunday Sept. 13, at the Petco store on Central Ave. in Hartsdale and the Tarrytown Fair in Tarrytown.
Check your local news for a pet adoption event in your area.

Sunday also marks National Pet Memorial Day.

Link of the Week
International Association of Pet Cemeteries ioapc.com

Cat Art of the Week



Have a great week, and if you are lucky to be owned by a cat, have a purrrfect week!