Pat Fish's Blog: Pets -In Memory of Bella; Why you shouldn't feed feral cats. Cat with two faces

Daily Miscellany

Thoughts and flashes of brilliance that enter my head from nowhere.

Enjoy. Or abhor, depending on the effect of my "wisdom".

If yon reader should get a chance, look into what is termed a "virtual wallet" available at PNC bank. Now such a thing might be available at other banks but PNC is my bank. Check your own bank to see if they offer such a thing.

What it is is an account linked to your own account at the bank. The account has three levels to it....one is for money not to be removed from that level or some penalties might be involved. The next level is for money not to be removed except rarely. The bottom level is a normal checking type account where money is stored and/or withdrawn at the owner's need with no penalty.

I got this virtual wallet account for my granddaughter. I am able to transfer my funds into her account but she cannot touch mine. This is quite convenient. I have access to her balances and transactions with my own bank activity but I like to have granddaughter have her privacy.

It benefits the bank as they are signing up future customers as well as keeping current ones like me.

Check it out.
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In Memory of Blanca

Blanca was a puppy when she came to live with me. She was part of a litter arranged by my daughter and her husband as they planned to breed dogs and sell them. But marriage of daughter and son-in-law did not work out and daughter had 11 puppies to find homes for.

I already had a dog, a rescue named Jackie but I figure I could handle another.

Well I couldn't. I am almost 70 years old and Jackie was 8 years. In short we were close in years when adjusted for human vs. dog years.

My brother chanced to visit me from North Carolina and they met Blanca. Blanca was very frisky, as is her wont. All I did was complain about Blanca and how I can't handle her, how I was going to give her away.

Before my brother's visit was over he told me that he and his wife would take Blanca into their home. I can't tell you how relieved I was. Blanca would be going to a good home, there was already a dog, much smaller, around, which Blanca was used to.

Blanca, re-named to Bella, lived happily with my brother for almost a year.

Then she got sick.

By this time, adding the time she lived with me and before that with daughter, Bella was on the higher end of four years old. She'd always been healthy and happy.

She was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer.

My brother kindly phoned me and told me the situation. He and my sister-in-law were in a state of great anguish in that Bella had blood in her stool, was taken to Vet who warned of possible pancreatic cancer, until, eventually, the decision was made for Bella to be put to sleep.

'Blanca wins the "best ears on a dog" award ...a prize I just made up.'

Yes pet-owners often have to make this painful decision but for a dog so young?

Brother and I speculated that this odd health event could be the result of inbreeding. In their effort to get puppies to sell, daughter and son-in-law located a male and female dog to raise then breed. The two parents were not related, so far as anyone knew. But they were full-breed, certified American bull dogs so an argument for inbreeding could be made.

We don't know how or why the happy Bella got sick so young. It really doesn't matter.

Here's to Bella, who is at the Rainbow Bridge awaiting my brother and his wife. She might even give me a happy tail wag or two.

We loved you Bella!

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Why You Shouldn't Feed Feral Cats

"But they're hungry," my niece complained when I told her she shouldn't feed the feral cats which, by the time of this conversation, had grown from one sweet black and white female cat to four with more looking to see what's going on.

However, there is a solution for hungry cats.

First, let's discuss what tends to happen as a sweet human decides to feed that hungry cat peeking around the corner. The human sees the curious feline and after a few days the human puts out a bowl of food then retreats to hide as the cat cautiously approaches the bowl. In due course the friendly human has established a ritual. The new feral cat friend is ready for the nice human and her food bowl.

It doesn't take long for "word" to get around in the world of feral cats. Soon another cat shows up and nice human feeds this guy. In due course....well give it time and an entire cat colony is created.

Bear in mind that these are felines living outside, scrounging food from nice humans and rummaging for warm and comfortable places to eat. With a guaranteed food supply the cats do what cats do.

They mate.

Then there is a boatload of hungry kittens and give it time.....and the cats will take over the world.

There a couple of things that can be done to stop a big problem. First, get the very first kitten to come into your home and adopt her. You're less likely to take in any more feral cats into your home as you are to toss a bowl a food around outside for the general population. Get the cat spayed or neutered, be patient in teaching it to live inside and boom, you did your share.

I had a friend who found herself in the middle of a gang of outside cats. I am not sure about how this happened but my friend did contact the local humane association and ask for help. My friend was happy to feed this gang of four cats at the time but she didn't want them making babies and....well have them taking over the universe.

In our state they have people that are contracted to capture these feral cats, bring them in for spaying and neutering and other medical care, then return them back where they were.

My friend was fine with feeding her cat friends after she knew they weren't having babies all over the place. As these things go my friend designed an outdoor room where the cats could get warm and eat without shivering.

Finally, and this is my big idea, the humane societies should figure out a way for nice humans who only want to be kind to an animal that is cold and hungry to be given birth control.

This is America. Anything is possible.

So I got three feral cats that visit me daily for food that I give them. I call the SPCA and get free birth control to add to the food. Now I can feed the feral cats and not over-populate the earth with felines. This way there would be one generation of feral cats and not a billion of them to worry about their comfort and hunger. Nobody gets killed and after the life span is exhausted, the feral feline on this birth control finally dies of natural causes without leaving a million babies behind.

My argument is to not feed feral cats but this not mean do nothing.

Consider the other choices.
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The cat with two faces