
Olive the Editor Surveys Her Domain
As somebody said when somebody else asked why a cat was doing what it was doing, “Because it’s a cat.”



Olive the Editor Surveys Her Domain
As somebody said when somebody else asked why a cat was doing what it was doing, “Because it’s a cat.”
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Who Am I? by Carl Sandburg
My head knocks against the stars.
My feet are on the hilltops.
My finger-tips are in the valleys and shores of
universal life.
Down in the sounding foam of primal things I
reach my hands and play with pebbles of
destiny.
I have been to hell and back many times.
I know all about heaven, for I have talked with God.
I dabble in the blood and guts of the terrible.
I know the passionate seizure of beauty
And the marvelous rebellion of man at all signs
reading “Keep Off.”
My name is Truth and I am the most elusive captive
in the universe.
Duty, Beauty, Liberty, Country, Honor, Family, Faith — Plus a few simple easy to follow rules for guys
The Vault
Take It Where You Find It
Men saw the stars at the edge of the sea
They thought great thoughts about liberty
Poets wrote down words that did fit
Writers wrote books
Thinkers thought about it
Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
Many’s the road I have walked upon
Many’s the hour between dusk and dawn
Many’s the time
Many’s the mile
I see it all now
Through the eyes of a child
Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
[Chorus]
Lost dreams and found dreams
In America
In America
In America
Lost dreams and found dreams
In America
In America
In America
And close your eyes
Leave it all for a while
Leave the world
And your worries behind
You will build on whatever is real
And wake up each day
To a new waking dream
Take it where you find it
Can’t leave it alone
You will find a purpose
To carry it on
Mainly when you find it
Your heart will be strong
About it
[Chorus]
Change, change come over
Change come over
Talkin’ about a change
Change, change
Change come over, now
Change, change, change come over
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I’m gonna walk down the street
Until I see
My shining light
I see my light
See my light
See my shining light
I see my light
See my light
See my shining light
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That cat taking the mutt for a test drive. lol
Look at his back feets in mid air.
I suspect that ride didn’t last long.
“Pop goes the weasel!”
Olive needs an accomplice.
After losing two cats to predators I keep Ol’ Buddy and the Skinamalink under close tabs, and they both get locked in at sundown.
Well, the other night my wife came home late, and Ol’ Buddy got out the front door. Good kitty immediately headed around to the back yard. Then he jumped up on the block wall. Then he jumped up on the next door neighbor’s roof.
And sat there looking at me. Normally he’s a loud cat, and answers when I call to him. But suddenly he couldn’t hear me anymore. He sat up there grooming himself and enjoying the evening. I just wanted to go to bed. But not until I got the cat in. It was a long late Saturday night.
I could have pulled his damn tail.
JWM
Miss Olive looks well content with her domain, but her queendom would be complete if you replaced one of those flower containers with a pot of homegrown catnip. One guy’s catnip growing technique here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UDrBrW4MZIg&ab_channel=BubbleBeet
If you watch to the end, he made several cats at the local vet’s office very happy!
My black cat, “Midnight II,” a/k/a, “Black Kitty” passed on August 28, 2019. She was only five years old and had been sick since May, probably with some form of cancer. She was a fighter-four or five times I was ready to take her in to be put-down and the next day she had rallied and showed glimpses of her healthy days. I went out of town and got back late that Wednesday and found her hiding under the dehumidifier, completely lifeless. She was my companion after my divorce and would always sleep on the bed, waking me up by biting my toes. I was absolutely heartbroken but getting over it-(until writing this brief note)! I pray I find her healthy in heaven along with all the others I’ve had over the years. Another black kitty will follow-I will name him or her “Midnight III.” There are no cats like the solid black ones!
Our yard cat is so funny. In the garage, she is all soft eyes, rub my ears, meow, meow, meow. As soon as she walks out the door, she starts to transmogrify. By the time she hits the driveway pad, she is alert, tail down, and serious. She does not respond to anything from that point until her return.
I long since lost count of how many cats I’ve outlived, I’ve been a cat person since I was a boy. Sometimes you lose them to cars or mischance, more often to some illness or old age. But I had to give them up after a few years in the desert: They’re not as high on the food chain as they think they are, and most will never accept that. Got tired of feeding cats to owls and coyotes.
There was one, though, who I sort of inherited: Click was her name, originally part of a pair of identical tabbies named Point and Click. Click was the only desert-smart cat I’ve met so far. You’d never catch her standing still in the open; she was moving and watching the sky. She knew to stay in at night, and to stay close to people and dogs during the day. And she lived long enough to be crippled and killed by a brain tumor of all things. Broke my heart, and I swore off cats.
For all the people that have lost cats for various reasons and sworn off any more, there is another way of looking at it. It has nothing to do with the one or more that you have lost. It has to do with the many that are currently not wanted. The shelters are always slammed with cats and millions are killed each year, mostly because of irresponsible people that just don’t care.
Right now there is a cat (or 2, or more) out there, trapped in a cage, needing desperately a person to be it’s life friend. You can save it’s life, and improve your own life, if you want to.
Ghostsniper speaks truth. About 900,000 cats are euthanized each year in animal shelters in the United States for lack of space (dogs don’t fare much better: 700,000 euthanized each year). I’ve lost four cats down the years, all to internal illnesses of one type or another– I’d never let them outside in the city where I presently live– but as long as my own health permits, I will always be a “life friend” to a cat no longer trapped in a cage.
And I’m sure Ghost knows that human irresponsibility has to do with failing to spay or neuter pets as well as abandoning them. My dude cat was dumped near the medical school downtown because his previous “humans” didn’t like the smell of an intact tomcat’s urine. His lady friend was dropped off in a restaurant parking lot when her previous “family” found out she was pregnant (thankfully, her kittens were rescued at the same time she was). I may not be the perfect servant/gofer/litter box attendant from the cats’ point of view, but they know they’re loved, and they’re glad to have a home– particularly during a New England winter.
Meanwhile, I bet Miss Olive and Gerard both know they’re blessed to have each other.
Our beloved cat Mystic would have turned 21 in June but passed away in my arms on Mother’s Day. He was older than our two youngest sons, now 18 and 20.
A Russian Blue (solid gray) and a rescue, he was named for the Van Morrison song “Into the Mystic”. He loved sitting under lamps and on our laps (but only after 9pm!).
He was a good cat and I miss him, but his quality of life was iffy the last year or two. It was time but I could not put him down without signs of pain. I’m glad we didn’t.
I never cared for cats, until Mrs. and I committed matrimony and bought a Victorian and Mrs. announced such a house needed a cat. So we got one, or perhaps, it got us. Whatever. One turned into two then three and finally a fourth. They got progressively older and started checking out for various reasons until we were down to one and then Mrs. brought #5 home from the vet’s. #4 and 5 never got along but eventually achieved something approximating a temporary cease-fire and eventually #4 passed on so we’re down to one now. As earlier stated, I never cared for cats but now cannot imagine living without one.
When you get a cat you start to find dead spiders laying on the floor, instead of your sleeping mouth that you swallow without noticing. Cats also find toast crumbs on the kitchen floor, they are fascinated by them. Cats train you to put your toothbrush away, and if you buy a high wall litter box you can stop finding litter chunks with your bare feets. Wanna make a cat luv ya foreveh? Put a little warm water on it’s dry food and let it make some gravy. BTW, while dogs prefer to eat from bowls (they push it around with their snoot) cats prefer a small dish cause they sniff and peck. Pay attention and you’ll be surprised in the details.
Several years back me and a buddy had a three year hunting lease not too far outside of town. We bow hunted there and every once in a while would see this snow white cat come roaming through. He was usually hunting birds and would occasionally poop under our corn feeder. Coyotes were all over the place and we saw or heard them frequently. I have no idea how Snowball survived out there for at least two years. Maybe we should have named him Lucky.
Death in the Afternoon, about a cat, is on my permanent bookmark list
http://thezman.com/wordpress/?p=15322