Friday, February 22, 2008

Finicky Eaters


It is most important not to let your cat dictate what you are going to feed him for supper. This is a photo of Blakkatz Mo Better Blues who now lives in Texas. He just finished off a plate of spaghetti and meatballs. Doesn't he look satisfied?

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Rescuing Frogs

Rescuing frogs in February doesn't seem right. The cats catch them and bring them in. During the warmer months I find a dead or live frog in the house several times a week. Yesterday the temperatures were in the mid 70's, they'll be the same today but there are severe thunderstorms in the forecast for this afternoon. I don't like to see such extremes in the weather and I pray that we don't have a summer like last summer.

I've been thinking about the posts on the Border Collie Boards that I mentioned yesterday in the Puppy Blog. I am aware that many dogs and cats will readily seek out and consume vegetables and fruit. Does that mean that these things are good for them? I'm sure in some instances they derive some benefit from vegetables or fruit, but digestion, especially if they are raw, is difficult for the dog and virtually impossible for cats. Dogs are scavengers and much more flexible in their digestive processes than cats who are obligate carnivores.

Was domestication of the dog a good thing for the dog? Man can live without dogs, we may not want to, but we can. Most dogs cannot live without man. Some will revert back to a feral state, but they do not do as well as cats in that situation.

Because domestication of the dog occurred when their ancestors gradually became more accustomed to the presence of humans while raiding the trash, did this make the dog more predisposed to eat anything it can get its mouth on? It's quite likely. Dogs still raid trash, but it is not a generally accepted practice today. Trash is much harder to get at with the invention of trash cans.

Cats became domesticated when they moved closer to humans to hunt the rodents consuming grains humans harvested. Did the method of domestication keep the cat closer its carnivorous nature than the dog? Probably.

Something to think about though, the "trash" that early humans accumulated is very different from the trash some people feed to their dogs and cats today. What is left-over from human consumption in this age is far less nutritious than it may have been when wild wolves were moving closer to humans. The normal diet of many humans today is far less than ideal with all the fried food, highly processed grains and refined sugar. Remnants of all this crap often goes into commercial pet food.

Back when I was actively breeding and showing cats I was quite vocal on cat-related mailing lists. It got me in a lot of trouble and all in all was a miserable existence. I find myself doing the same things now on Border Collie-related boards. I need to put a stop to that as I don't want to go down that road again. I have to play nice in order to fit in. This doesn't sit well with me as I am, by nature, an activist. In order to be a successful activist, you need to have thick skin. I am too sensitive to be an activist. Must keep mouth shut.

Until later ...

Monday, February 04, 2008

Flea Market Kitties

I got an e-mail last night from an individual telling me how much she enjoyed NRN. She reminded me of the e-mail that I received back when I rescued the eleven kittens and cats from a local flea market. The e-mail accused me of being irresponsible and that I likely wouldn't spay or neuter the kittens and cats and would add to the population of stray cats, etc. Well, I proved that person wrong as all of the kittens and cats were spayed and neutered before they could reproduce.

The Internet is a wonderful place, usually, but it can also be a cesspit where individual can say exactly what they want without repercussion. Some people have too much time on their hands such that they spend much of their day haunting the Internet, mailing lists, etc. looking for trouble. I'd like to take a few of those people and put them to work cleaning rabbits or clearing fence line. They need a job.