A Special Note to Thomas on Your A-Day
Hi everyone. It’s “Mama” here. Siouxsie, Thomas and Dahlia have let me have the Paws and Effect podium today to honor Thomas on his adoption anniversary. Amidst all the sadness, grief and chaos in Japan following yesterday’s earthquake and tsunami, we here at the Paws and Effect Palace have a reason to celebrate. On March 12, 2004, I signed the papers officially welcoming Thomas into our home. This is a note I... Read More
Dahlia Tells All: The Sad Man
I was still purring with the amazing insights I’d gained in my history lesson, when one day I realized that cat spirits weren’t the only non-bodied entities around here. The first time I saw one, it was just a shadow that crossed the very edge of my field of vision. I nearly jumped out of my fur! With a hiss and a fat tail, I whirled to confront whatever was coming after me … and there was nothing there! Thomas padded... Read More
Dahlia Tells All: A glimmer of hope
Even though I was happy for Dolly because she’d found a forever home, I was still pretty sad for myself. I missed curling up in the warm, fluffy fur of her belly and purring as she licked my ears and neck with her giant, scratchy tongue. I moped in my cage with my chin on the floor between my front paws. I barely moved even when my brothers stepped on me in the course of their wrestling matches. I ate a few kibbles here and there,... Read More
Whenever I try to pet my cat, he bites me. Help!
Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties: Hi. I am taking care of a 14-year-old orange tabby cat named Nick. Nick is my significant other’s cat. My SO is in the military and is currently deployed, and I think that has to do with the problem I am having with Nick. He won’t let me pet him. Whenever I try, he bites me. But he will lay down next to me or climb into my lap and give me kisses. I’ve read that biting when being petted... Read More
My cat’s back legs went limp and he died suddenly. What happened?
Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties: Two years ago, we had a group of feral cats that camped out under our house. One of them, a small black cat, adopted us. We took him to my vet and had him treated him for a respiratory infection. We nursed him back to health and he began growing. We fell in love with him and gave him the name Lil Bit. One night about a year later, we found him laying on the floor, and when we tried to play... Read More
Did my cat die because I left him?
Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties: My cat died a few days ago but I feel incredibly guilty. He was a family cat and we had him for 17 -1/2 years, but I was mostly the one who took care of him. I left the family home a year ago. I couldn’t take my cat with me because I house share and they didn’t allow pets. I did go back home occasionally to see him. I knew he wasn’t the same and one morning my mum told me that he just... Read More
Can my FIV-positive cat be saved?
Dear Most Esteemed and Knowledgeable Kitties: I am disabled and a Vietnam veteran and my cat, my best and only friend, has FIV and stomatitis. One vet says he can be helped and one vet says to put him to sleep. Can anyone help me keep my friend with me? ~J Siouxsie: First of all, J, we want to say we know how hard it is to face losing your friend to this chronic and progressive disease. Mama’s first cat companion had FIV, so she... Read More
