Well, all of my writer friends are at (or on their way) to the Conestoga conference in Oklahoma which is starting tomorrow and I’m stuck in the desert heat of Arizona.
Sigh.
Now everyone else is going to be off enjoying the parties and forums with notable authors such as Diana Gabaldon, Jeanine Frost, Rachel Vincent and Laurel Hamilton. (Well, I’m not positive Laurel will be there, but last year she brought a lemur to a radio interview in the name of educating others on animal rescue.)
Wow - fantasy writer and animal rescuer…That’s my goal - write about werewolves and werecats and rescue their real life counterparts.
One day….
At any rate - a little bummed today. But, it will all be better soon - Sam and I are heading off to Chicago in October for the HH Backer show, which will be almost as good… Almost..
Meanwhile, I’ll stay in the heat, continue meeting impossible deadlines and taking on more work than can reasonably handled by one person. Oh- and being depressed at missing Fangs, Fur and Fey!
“I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” - Bill Cosby
Now, this is a quote that caught my attention. As one who is perpetually trying to “please” everyone (contrary to popular belief) it’s little wonder I’m not doing anything but frantically trying to keep up. There’s a lesson to be learned here, and I plan on taking it to heart….
Whether you’re a writer, scientist, artist, business person, or architect - trying to please everyone not only exhausts you - but compromises your artistic integrrity.
I just learned that. Profound, huh?
With this new knowledge in hand, I am planning on apologizing less and doing more. Life is too short to please everyone and it’s certainly too short to compromise in order to please others. If that’s all you do, you’ll head nowhere fast. I guess the key is choosing the people who are most important to you (and hopefully that includes yourself and your spouse), and please them (if you have to please anyone!). Those are the only ones who really matter in the long run…
I’m VERY happy to report that we recently succeeded in trapping and altering 17 of the projected 19 cats that we had hoped to get on our TNR (Trap, Neuter, Return). The mix consisted of three males and 14 females, four of which were pregnant. In all, we were forced to prematurely terminate the pregnancies of 18 unborn kittens, which is tragic on one level, but unfortunately necessary on another.We were able to raise $200 of the needed $255, which is fantastic. Sam and I covered the remaining portion.
In addition to the 17 adult cats that we altered, we located and placed 38 kittens in foster homes. We attended an event put on by Circle L Ranch (a wonderful nonprofit rescue group) to find homes for these kittens. We succeeded in placing 15 of the 15 we took down there. As the remaining 23 are too small to be altered, (the largest is only 1 ½lbs), we were forced to foster them until they are old enough to be spayed/neutered, vaccinated and adopted. Our neighbor has taken on this HUGE task and is doing a fantastic job of socializing them! They are all adorable and very friendly and we have every hope that we will be able to place them in loving homes. If you are interested in adopting any of them, please contact me through Petsweekly@gmail.com immediately (see pictures in slide show for availability).
We hope to attempt trapping and neutering the two remaining males that we know about within the next month. In the meantime, we need to find homes for the little ones pictured above, so please let me know if you’re interested in a new kitten!
Cat Fancy just published my newest article, “The Good Life” and I hope you can all check out this month’s issue (which is actually the July issue and is on shelves now). It’s a fun feature about luxury travel with, you guessed it - your cat! We are the first article in the magazine (again, ahem!) and it’s all about the Top Ten Luxury Resorts for You and Your Pet!
Special thanks to Firesky Resort for the time they let us spent there with Vegas, and a special thanks to Kelly for the loan of her beautiful, VERY well-behaved husky/Malamute dog. Hopefully the relaxing massage helped him out.
If you can’t afford to buy the magazine, you can view a VERY abbreviated version of it at: http://www.catchannel.com/Magazines/CatFancy/july-2008/top-10-cat-friendly-luxury-resorts.aspx
Can’t wait for next month! We’ve got another feature on the CEO of Kimpton Resorts who has made traveling with our favorite felines really easy.
We’re back from a very quick, yet very enjoyable, trip to Mexico (sigh) and I am spending the day missing our neighboring country. Why everyone wants to leave there is beyond me. Americans spend our time trying to get in, Mexicans spend their time trying to leave. But, after a look at their animals and living conditions, I can understand part of it. Life is a lot better in a resort…
Anyway - prior to leaving, my neighbor and I did a TNR (that’s Trap/Neuter/Release for you novices) in our neighborhood. Final numbers for the night of trapping were 17 cats spayed/neutered and 38 kittens under the age of 8 wks recovered. The adults all did great - they made it through surgery and are living life happily as free-roaming, altered adults who are no longer breeding. The kittens, on the other hand…
Well, we did pretty well thanks to AZ Cats and Circle L Ranch. We were able to alter, vaccinate, and adopt out 15 of the little ones; the others were simply too tiny. As a result, we have 23 left in foster care being treated for malnutrition (what mom can keep up with that kind of demand?!) and being vaccinated. I am happy to report that we have 23 very healthy, very socialized, very calm and very cute kittens that we are able to adopt out.
There are pics of many of them in my “pics” section of MySpace. I’m trying to get the section updated with new photos (they’ve grown so much!), and the second I do, you’ll be the first to know. (It’s been a little busy as we return to an actual workload). However, if anyone knows of someone who would be interested in giving these babies a happy home, please contact me. The shelters are very full due to kitten season, so my neighbor and I have opted to foster the little ones for awhile. They are going to be wonderful little cats who wil bring years of life and love to your home.
And with that, I’m back to the grind… I have deadlines to meet, homework to complete, pets to - well, pet - and work to return too. Hoping all is well and that my friends and family will forgive me being out of touch. Life is challenging as usual!
Hello Everyone, You probably got an email from me recently that says “Connect with me on Reunion.com”. PLEASE disregard. The unscrupulous site hijacked my address books and spammed over 8000 contacts with this email. I will be summarily filing charges. (I wish).
At any rate, thanks for your understanding… It happens to the best of us, I suppose…
This is a touching little clip about polar bears and the dogs who have befriended them. They give giant bear hugs, have loads of fun playing in the snow and demonstrate that the “food chain” can most definitely be conquered!
