Remember Homer?

Damn, another year gone. I've been very bad. I haven't written in this blog for a year. Our two cats, Tina and Charlie are well, thank you very much, and my partner Orla and I love them to bits and they know it. I will post some photos soon. Anyway, I just got a mail from Gwen Cooper that the sequel to Homer's Odyssey is out and for sale. You can find more information on the Hi Homer website. I have just downloaded the electronic version of the book, which was a breeze,  and I'm looking forward to reading it. The paper version would make a nice stocking filler, hint, hint. Go on....... you know you want to buy it. There are more goodies for sale on her page and buying stuff will help rescue cats. Have a look at the website. And if you haven't read Homer's Odyssey yet, you're missing out. You better get that too. It's a great read.

 

http://www.hihomer.com/

Thumbs up for Maxi Zoo.

Maxi Zoo’s own brand, Select Gold, used to have a small amount of grains in it but now they make their wet food completely grain and gluten free. On the tin they call it sensitive. I call it common sense. Every cat should be eating grain and gluten free food. For dry food, Applaws is still the best option. See my blog entry on cat food.

Tomcat behaviour or random?

Is it a typical tomcat thing I wonder? Charlie often plunks himself down in doorways. Tina never does that. Cato used to do it too. Cato also parked himself right behind you when you were doing something in the kitchen. Charlie does that as well. Maybe it is just a coincidence with Cato and Charlie doing the same thing.

If there’s anybody out there who’s experienced the same fondness for lying in doorways with their cats, be it male or female, I would like to hear from ye. I’m kinda curious to see if it is a tomcat thing or not.

Ear trouble.

Sunday evening, last week, we noticed that Tina’s right ear wasn’t fully upright. The tip was drooping. I checked her ear more closely and noticed it was a bit red looking compared to the other one. I gave it a good wipe with sensitive wipes for cats and dogs that have anti-bacterial and anti-fungal properties and the next day we took her to the vet. Orla went with her and told me that she had been very quiet and easy to handle. No bother at all. The travel box is out all the time and she uses it to sleep in as well, which helped to make her feel at ease. At the vet’s they couldn’t really see much and said that it could be caused by trauma through banging it while hunting or playing. There’s no visible damage other than the drooping and the redness. She’s on a course of antibiotics and an anti-inflammatory because it could be an infection. It is known that cats in a damp environment could get bacterial or yeast infections in their ears. It doesn’t seem to be itchy or painful. We have to keep an eye on her to see if there are any changes.

When she came back from the vet at around 6.30pm, she was hungry. I gave her food and medication as well and she didn’t seem to mind. She’s active and playful so at least it doesn’t seem to bother her. I hope her ear will straighten itself again, but if it doesn’t, we’ll love her all the same.

 Tina with her bent ear.

Fat Cat

Last week I was back home in the Netherlands for a short week of mainly family visits.

I stayed with my niece and her family. They live on a nice, fairly quiet street, with a lot of cat owners. Every now and then I would meet one of these felines, walking from or back to their house. What struck me was the number of obese cats, not just in their street, but also in other streets. These are cats that are allowed to go out, so at least they’re not stuck inside all day. So how do these cats get so fat? Overeating? Wrong food? Or is it just a suburban cat thing? But that doesn’t seem right as I also saw normal, healthy looking cats. I would love to chat with their humans to find out. I’m just curious. I do know that some people have the notion that it is “gezellig” – a Dutch word that is hard to describe, but cosy comes close – to have a fat cat lying in the windowsill. Personally I think that a combination of wrong food (mostly dry food with a lot of fillers) and a constant supply of it could be the reason for these cats getting so fat. There’s no need for a constant supply of food. Feed at regular times a few times a day. If you can’t be there yourself, get a timed pet feeder. You can get them for up to 5 feeds. Weigh the food so they don’t get more than they need for their body weight (So you need to know the weight of your cat to start.)

Our two started looking for food in between mealtimes, but they’re outside a lot and it is getting colder. They’ve filled out but they are still lean, mean, killing machines. They are so active, always chasing flies, leaves, toys, each other and catching mice, rats and shrews. Somebody commented on the fact that we don’t let the two out at night. He said: “that’s the time they want to hunt”. He’s absolutely right but that’s the compromise in our house: inside at night. We don’t have a cat door and don’t want to leave the window open at night for them to go in and out and maybe bring prey back with them. Other cats could come in and go for their food as well. Then there are also foxes around and I don’t want them to get into a scrap with a fox. From about 6.30 am until 6 pm they normally can come and go as they please. They then go for naps and get some playtime in between as well. No constant supply of dry food. Dry food (grain free) is given as a snack every now and then and for the rest they get their regular meals of wet food. That and plenty of exercise will keep them in good shape.

I really feel for those obese cats. It’s not nice for them to have to carry all that weight around and it could cause all sorts of health problems in the long run. Cat owners: wake up. Don’t let your cats get fat. If you really care for your pets, you watch their weight. It can also save you a lot of money on vet bills.

 Picture through Google image search.

Thanks to the original uploader.

Homer's odyssey by Gwen Cooper.

It was sitting on my virtual bookshelf for a long time but I finally got around to read Homer’s odyssey by Gwen Cooper.

I’m not really a person for real life stories. I read the odd biography and some historical accounts, but most of the time I read fiction. Every now and then I make an exception and this time I’m glad I did.

Homer’s Odyssey is the story of how a blind cat named Homer ends up in the author’s household and how they get on after that. The author has already two cats and is trying to get her life together. Adopting a blind kitten while she already had enough on her plate didn’t seem like a smart decision.

With this book you actually get two stories in one.

It’s as much a book about the author as about her cats. Because you start to identify with the author, who is a likeable person in my opinion, it makes it easier to get stuck into the story. The book reads like fiction and is well written. It has a nice flow to it, which makes it a very pleasant read.

The author tells about her experiences with Homer, how her other cats react to this cat that doesn’t always behave like cats normally do and how other people react to Homer.

The book is very moving in places; it has funny moments and is written in a way that you almost feel you’re there with her and taking part in her life.

Homer’s odyssey shows that you shouldn’t always judge a book by its cover. When cats are blind, it doesn’t mean they can’t lead a full and happy life. When you look at Homer through human eyes you could say that Homer’s will to live and his courage are inspiring. At the same time the author realises that you can’t project like that and that Homer is just a normal cat doing normal cat stuff and doesn’t even realise that he is missing one of his senses.

Even so, Homer is an example to her and his determination helps her to change her life around. I don’t know if everything she writes is a true account of how things went but the book breathes sincerity. The author wants to share parts of her life and that of her extended feline family to give out a message of courage and hope.

Even when things are not always going the way you want them to go, keep your spirits up and, every now and then, be impulsive. Sometimes you just have to take a plunge without being able to see what lies ahead.

I really enjoyed reading Homer’s Odyssey and can recommend it to everyone with an interest in a good, uplifting story. You don’t have to be a cat person to enjoy this book.