Talia Archives - Page 2 of 3

Adopt a Less-Adoptable Pet Week

Ashton: Hi, my name is Ashton is and I’m a less-adoptable cat.

Newton: Hi, Ashton!

Ashton: I’m lucky. I have a home, even though I don’t look perfect on the outside. But there are lots of other cats who are less-adoptable who are looking for homes. And they’re having a hard time finding one.

Newton: Why are they having hard times finding homes? I didn’t have a hard time finding a home.

Ashton: You were a cute, fuzzy kitten with bright eyes who looked healthy, Newton.

Newton: I was, wasn’t I? I still am pretty cute.

Ashton: *sigh* Not everyone is like that. Lots of cats who need homes adults, or even seniors. Other cats have medical problems that make humans not want to adopt them. What would have happened to me trying to get adopted without two good eyes?

Newton: And don’t forget that you’re a chicken, too.

Ashton: Chicken? is it snack time?

Newton: No, I mean you’re a fraidy cat.

Ashton: Well… that’s true. And that would make me a less-adoptable cat, too. Lots of cats who are afraid of strangers have a hard time getting adopted, too. Just because a kitty is timid doesn’t mean that we won’t love to snuggle with you all night every night. But people don’t want to take that chance. They want cats like you who love strangers.

Newton: Of course they want cats like me. Who wouldn’t?

Ashton: *tail twitch* That means they don’t want to adopt black cats, either.

Newton: What do you mean? Some of my best friends have been black cats!

Ashton: Black cats take longer to get adopted than any other color. Some humans are superstitious about them, and others think they don’t show up well in selfies. Can you imagine?

Newton: Cats aren’t just for selfies. Cats are for companionship! How do we explain this to the humans?

Ashton: That’s what Adopt a Less Adoptable Pet Week is about. It’s to remind people that all kinds of cats are good companions, and that if you’re going to adopt, look at the cats who aren’t as likely to be adopted, too.

Newton: Do you think people are getting the message?

Ashton: I don’t know. It’s not like we can adopt more cats here now to test it out. But since we aren’t going to adopt right now, we’re spreading the word. If our readers aren’t going to adopt, we hope they will spread the word about Adopt a Less Adoptable Pet Week, too, and hopefully it will lead to more cats who are old, have medical issues, are a little bit different, or maybe are a little bit shy to find the homes they deserve.

Flashback Friday: The Food Tornado

One of the more interesting toys that the head peep thought we would use is the food tornado. Young Ashton found it absolutely fascinating.

Let’s face it, Ashton finds anything with food in it pretty fascinating. That hasn’t changed during the intervening years.

The big cats were equally excited about the prospect of free treats. Ashton, Pierre, and Newton try to work out the best way to get out as much kibble as possible.

Pierre: Watch out, Talia! This will get the food out, for sure!

Afterward, Pierre: Knocking over the food tornado? I didn’t do that. I’ve been in the box the whole time.

Don’t forget that our Simple Solution litter giveaway is going on now!

Flashback Friday: Ashton’s First Day

A lot of you commented last week that you didn’t know the story of how Ashton had joined our family. We forget that many of you weren’t reading along a few years ago, so we’re sharing the story again for this week’s flashback Friday.

Do you remember the day that the last space shuttle launched? We do. The head peep was driving to work down the highway and noticed some debris blowing in the median. She had passed the debris when it clicked in her head that it wasn’t debris at all but a struggling kitten.

When she reached the kitten, she saw that it was scrambling with its front paws to run, but its back legs weren’t working. That was probably what had saved the kitten from running into highway traffic and being killed. One side of the kitten’s head was swollen, and that eye was obviously blind. She felt sorry for the little kitten and put her in a bin from the trunk of her car for the ride to the vet. The whole way there, she was convinced that the kitten would need to be euthanized.

The vet surprised her, asking to do an x-ray first. “Nothing’s broken. Why don’t you take her home and see how she does?” The head peep was surprised. That hadn’t been what she thought was going to happen at all! So home the shivering little kitten came, bundled in a towel with a heated saline bag as a hot water bottle.

The other cats were very curious about what was wrapped up in the bin.

Newton was immediately fascinated by the little kitten who, at first, just sat there next to her heating pad.

He hoped she would get a little more interactive, though.

Luckily, by evening, she was on her feet, and on the long road to recovery that also made her part of our family.

Flashback Friday: Photos

Our friend Wally from the Island Cats showed photos of the framed photos around his house. Some of the photos were of the cat who came before him, and it got us to thinking about the photos in our house of the cats who came before us.

In our house, the cats who came before are all represented by framed photos that sit on one shelf that the had peep thinks we can’t reach. (You can click the photo to biggify.)

Framed cat photos, from left to right: Talia, Louie, Rhett, Cyrano, Radcliffe

Talia, in the leftmost frame, was part of this blog back when it started in 2011. Her brother, Louie, is in the next frame. Rhett, the head peep’s heart kitty, is in the center frame, pictured on pillows, where he slept with the head peep. the black cat in the fourth frame is Cyrano, the oldest cat pictured, and the one who taught us the most, including passing down most of the manners we all know. And the last frame has a photo of Radcliffe, a beautiful boy who we lost far too early to heart failure.

There are no photos of us on the shelf because the head peep can look at us without needing a photo. Besides, if we really wanted to, we could climb up onto the shelf and show off ourselves…. but we can’t let on that we are able to reach the shelf. Don’t tell, okay?

Adopt a Less-Adoptable Pet Week

Flashback Friday: The Food Tornado

Flashback Friday: Ashton’s First Day

Flashback Friday: Photos

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