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The only mystery about the cat is why it ever decided to become a domesticated animal. Sir Compton Mackenzie
You’d probably think I have a bookcase or two of cat books. I don’t. About a dozen. Books. One of my favourites, besides Kliban’s Cat, is The Tiger on Your Couch by Bill Fleming and Judy Petersen-Fleming, animal behaviourists. Bill worked as a trainer of Bengal tigers at Tiger Island in CA for 10 years and some of his tiger stories are here. I’d like to share one with you.
One of the most memorable moments I’ve shared with the tigers involved a young girl. Her mother stopped me one day when I was walking Kehei, who is completely blind, on a leash. She asked if her little girl might be able to pet Kehei; she explained that her daughter, like Kehei, also has a disability and had been blind since birth. All of her life the girl has had to have everything, even the appearance of a tiger, described to her. As I watched this young girl’s fingers run through Kehei’s fur, I realized she was using all of her senses to feel, hear, smell, and understand the power and beauty of this tiger. I think she has now a clearer picture of a tiger than almost anyone I know.
We made a commitment to Kehei and spent quality time and hours of training with him, so he trusted us and we were able to build a relationship with him. Because of this, he stayed relaxed while this young girl stroked him, giving her the opportunity to have the true image of a tiger, an image that will stay with her for the rest of ther life. I know real men aren’t supposed to cry (especially those guys that spend their day with those ferocious tigers) but seeing the look of appreciation on that little girl’s face, I did.
The book is almost 20 years old but is still a fun read.
Abrupt subject change.
Until I adopted Feurae I had never had a declawed tiger. Now I have three. Kismet and Brutus are also declawed. Feurae, unfortunately, is declawed on all 4 feet. Just had to protect the furniture, drapes and rugs I suppose. I guess I’m a radical about this. I don’t seem to be able to equate the material value of an inanimate object with the mutilation of a sentient being. But then I’ve never wanted to live in a place that looked like it popped out of Better Homes and Gardens. I’m a hippie, for cryin’ out loud. Project Paw launched an education program regarding declawing a while ago. Duncan Strauss of Talking Animals did a segment on them a month or so ago and I’m gonna have to email him for the date so I can link to it at some point. Their FAQ is excellent and I highly recommend it. Declawing is illegal in most of Europe. It should be illegal here as well.
Don’t listen to what they say. GO SEE. Chinese proverb. From Zen Cat.
Share your tiger stories with us. We all love the smiles, and yes, sometimes tears, they bring us.
Peace Love Light
28 Comments
I had a couple of pix from icanhazcheezburger but flickr isn’t uploading for me and ican… isn’t isolating pix for me so I can link to them. I’m cursed, I tell ya, cursed.
Gee, the intertoobz goddess musta heard me.
Mah fren
Narcissus
Awwwwwww standard for the day
Caturday!
I posted this earlier, but I sure could use a basket of these.
Yeah, me too. Riiiiiiiiiiiight. *g* I did see that earlier. ‘Tis the season, Elliott. Best be careful what ya wish for. I had a gorgeous stray torti nursing a single kitten on my sidewalk out front yesterday evening. She’s sooooo purrrty.
your aura must extend for miles to have these beautiful creatures search you out.
The lady next door feeds all the strays but they hang out at my place a lot. Rare is the morning I don’t have a hair ball on the roof of my truck and a liquid trail down the windscreen. Max, a long haired gray and white male, “lives” in my carport during the day once Eileen lets him out. I saved his life a few years ago and he follows me around like a puppy.
Heh.
I’ve still got a couple of T-shirts from Crazy Shirts, Hawaii who appear to still have an exclusive with Kliban.
And I agree about the declawing. Both my current companion and previous have had all claws. LS (the previous) liked to go after cloth furniture but would always stop before she hit wood. Dan’l (the current companion) mostly likes carpeting (although he has periods when he loves to go after cardboard boxes and shred them).
Have you learned anything to protect the carpet? That is where Angela did her first attack and was quite efficient.
To be honest, I’m a renter and tell the landlord up front the cat likes to use various pieces of carpet for his claws. I usually wind up paying a ‘pet fee’ as part of the lease. Most of the landlords have had a cat owner already so they are aware of how it happens.
Oh, and if you click my name, you can see a pic of Dan’l.
I haven’t figured out how to get a pic up like that. But then I’d have to figure out whose mug to put up there.
If you establish your profile (which I assume you have) then you can upload an avatar. I had that pic I took when I got the new machine, cropped myself out of it, and loaded it as my avatar.
Fluffy has his bear;
http://www.flickr.com/photos/2…..066991866/
He’s gorgeous!
A stray, naturally.
What a cutie. I see you shop for furniture covers at the same place I do. *g*
That one was a cafe curtain.
Thanks….I clicked….what a doll.
Yeah, he chose me at the ‘adoption center’ one Saturday 6 1/2 years ago. LS had died the year before and I knew it was time for a new companion. The first companion I saw didn’t want to have anything to do with me but Dan’l came right to me and said “OK, kid, you and me.” They checked my ‘references’ and we went home that afternoon. (I pointed out that it was a long weekend and the extra day would help assure that he and I were getting along.)
Morning, SD. I like cheezeburgers in the morning.
We’ve got the kittehs all confused. We found Sprout found a small, black pug (15 lbs full grown) at a rescue on Thursday and brought him home. He’s smaller than two of our cats but they don’t know what to make of him. They phhtzz when they see him but don’t move and he just wanders by, no sniffing at them either. He so completely ignores them it made me wonder if he has vision problems, but no. He is perfect for Sprout who really wanted a needy cat to znuggle with and that describes this little dog perfectly. He’s pretty darn cute.
All our furniture and many carpeted rooms in our house have cat scratch enhancements. Like you, SD, I say So What?
When we adopted our first child, we wrote a Dear Birthmother letter and pasted our favorite photos on it. The picture our birthmom later commented on was the picture I had taken of all four of our cats curled, sleeping, in a tight circle on the sofa. To me the picture was a once in a lifetime moment when the cats, who didn’t all get along, got along. To her, it was a sign that we cared more about living things than furniture. It was one of the things that made her decide on us.
What a great story.
My favorite adoption process; my daughter chose the puppy that pee’ed on her foot, because it had claimed her. That was a wise choice, a Great Dane that could not have been more agreeable; perfect.
I’m afraid I prolly ruined a service dog while going to St Pete College in the late 90s. There was a lady who had a twice weekly class with me and brought her lab-puppy-in-training with her. Whenever he saw me he broke from her and came running, peeing as I petted him. If I didn’t sit next to her the puppy came to wherever I was.
I’m afraid I prolly ruined a service dog …
nah, prolly not. they do need to be able to bond with their new lifelong partner after living most of their first year or two with their foster family, so you probably made it that much easier for the puppy to learn at a young age how to make new friends and build self-confidence.
curmudgeon cat [and his older ‘brother’ who is, sadly, no longer with us] had been declawed by a former owner [front claws removed]. i’m opposed to it myself, and think that kittehs ought to be allowed to bear arms.
Just wanted to say I love this new thread–thanks, SD!
Votus
a 3-cat household
me too! (even if i’m very late to comment).
thanks SD, and thanks to all for the pics. what fun!
My older son got 2 kittens this weekend. I’m now a grandkatma, I can buy kitty toys and go spoil them!
He said one’s black and one’s white. He then said, “I can tell them apart because one has a black spot on his nose and the other one has a white spot on her nose.”
Hmm. OK, honey.
http://icanhascheezburger.com/…..ks-myself/
my miss kitty [who is my master] says Hi! to your kitties SD ..
Speaking of cat related books…anyone else a fan of The Old Possum’s Book of Practical Cats by T.S. Eliot? It’s been a favorite of mine since childhood.
I’ve got two kittehs, Abner and Gracie. Both are adopted from shelters. Abner is a foul tempered pest of a tomcat who is really a big softie under a prickly facade. Gracie is my tuxedo tiger huntress. Mice beware!
How can anyone not be a cat person?!