This is Biscuit from NYC. See below.
I do know what got into me today. The cats have missed Wonder-kitten. Silver missed having kittens; she inherited the Seralini trait and most of her kittens seemed to be nothing but little bundles of excreted toxicity that nature never intended to live, and the first time she gave birth to living kittens who wanted milk she seemed to have some trouble starting the cycle, but she enjoyed nursing kittens. Most female cats apparently do. I think she's been spayed, without my consent. This year, either she's had more unpleasant glyphosate reactions due to being unable to sequester toxins in fetuses, or she's had more unpleasant reactions to something in "New Roundup," or maybe both. She's often looked as sore-eyed as Pastel used to look. She seemed miffed that Wonder didn't want to start a lactation cycle, and then, after he died, one evening she solicited attention and even snuggles, which she never does under normal circumstances, and I've not seen her since. Apparently Wild Thyme died by misadventure and Silver went off in search of kittens. If she can't have kittens of her own, knowing Silver, she's likely to look for another cat who has some and try to be that cat family's nursemaid. Social cats normally do rear kittens together. Normal cats may or may not understand.
I've missed Silver, but, docile though she is, she wants what she wants. She was delighted to be an indoor pet in winter. In summer, not so much. The alternative to letting her go out and endanger her life would have been to keep her, literally, like a caged animal in the house. As things are...if she finds a mate, or even a cat family that will have her as a nursemaid, she may want to move in with those cats' humans, and if not she may be able to remember the way home again. Or someone might recognize this little face, on what is now a middle-aged cat, and bring her home.
Silver is still small and slim, healthy weight eight or nine pounds; not particularly cuddly and not particularly gentle, but not aggressive, likely to sit beside a person or on person's knee with her claws out; usually very quiet and polite, not
usually likely to overeat though she has a good appetite and eats quickly. If she looks bleary-eyed, sniffles, wheezes, or coughs it's probably a glyphosate reaction that will pass. She was treated for worms after living as a feral cat two years ago, responded well to treatment, but may have an additional, less common parasite problem--a vet would be able to tell from a fecal sample. She is a sensitive little animal who wants very much to be loved by other social cats. She accepts love and affection from humans, but it's just not the same.
Missing Silver, who neighbors think is roaming around in the woods, may have something to do with the fact that I became involved with what is apparently a routine event in two towns in California, the slaughter of pets who've not been adopted in one month. This shouldn't happen. I didn't want to believe it would happen if people posted about it on social media--but after "trending" in the middle of the night, the topic was overshadowed by more ignorance about Lindsay Clancy in the daytime.
So there was that, when I was awake, and then there was the stage of a glyphosate reaction that involves narcolepsy, interference with both waking and sleeping, and probably kidney damage. I blame the brainfog on having gone out in the beautiful, cool, sunny morning to talk to visitors. Thought as well as movement, even typing, are taking place at about half my usual pace. It's now almost 10 p.m. and here I am finishing the post I should have had up here before 10 a.m. Anyway. Here are the usual shelter animal photos.
What's a Clumber Spaniel? you might be asking. The name was familiar to me from a short story by Eleanor Farjeon, in which a young man with few advantages in life wrote to a woman, "MY LOVE! I love you because you are lovely like my Pup."
This is a show-quality "Clumber Pup." So Farjeon may have been saying that the girl was not what we would now consider very pretty.
Clumber Spaniels differ from other spaniel breeds in being thickset, short (up to 20" at the shoulder) but very heavy (55-85 pounds). This breed originated in England and has mostly stayed there. Clumber Spaniels do exist in the US, and Petfinder has pages for them, but no shelter in the Eastern States currently has one seeking adoption. They are a breed the Bossyboots of Britain do not approve of, probably because they have long hair and floppy ears.
So we move on to the next breed on the list of dog breeds the Busybodies & Nannies hate, which is Dachshunds, which are better known in the US. Dachshunds are the "sausage dogs" with the long slim bodies and short legs. There's a larger variety that stand up to 9" high at the shoulder, and a "miniature" variety up to 6" high. Not bred to be able to survive on their own, they appeal to humans because they're small and non-threatening. Like Chihuahuas, they can chomp, if they're driven to it, but they're not hard for a human to kill. If the human believed they needed to be killed, anyway. The normal human reaction to a Dachshund is to want to pick it up and cuddle it. Adult dogs usually don't want to be picked up and cuddled, but if they're Dachshunds they usually can learn to tolerate this behavior.
But a friend's Dachshund asked me to tell you that she would prefer that people let her sniff their feet and then throw something for her to chase. She has that in common with my non-cuddly cat Serena. She will snuggle beside her human and take naps, as adult cats and dogs normally do with friends of any species, but she is not a baby and does not want to be used as a substitute for one.
Small as they are, Dachshunds are indeed hounds--hunting dogs. The larger variety were bred to dig badgers out of their burrows, the "miniatures" to dig out rabbits. They are strong for their size, and heavy (the taller ones can weigh up to 30 pounds), and they can be stubborn. They can usually bark like big dogs, which makes them effective watchdogs. They can be reckless. They were bred to go into small places and kill and carry out animals as big as they are, or bigger. You want them to tell you when strangers approach, not get themselves killed by tearing into a sharp-hoofed deer, a man, or even a bear who persists in approaching.
If they get enough of the right kind of exercise Dachshunds normally live 12 to 16 years. They may need help to maintain a healthy weight and avoid forms of exercise that might overstrain their backs. Jumping or climbing stairs can be dangerous. They are generally healthy dogs but should be checked for heart and joint defects. They need exercise on the level; they prefer to be near their humans, are often happiest as indoor pets, but live longest if they walk outdoors regularly. They are most likely to pay attention to the noises humans make when they love and want to please thei humans; they don't like to feel that they've been bullied into doing anything.
As a breed Dachshunds receive full marks for loyalty to their humans, good marks for good behavior with other animals and small children.
Zipcode 10101: Biscuit from NYC
They think a Dachshund managed to crossbreed with a German Shepherd. Biscuit was picked up as a stray dog, but seems friendly and eager to be a pet (again?).
Moonshine from NYC
Though they think the person who put him in the shelter was unkind to him, and he's very wary about loud noises and sudden movements, Moonshine is said to be generally friendly. He wants to sleep on his human's bed and is said to meow to be let into his foster family's bedrooms, but "will stop after about twenty minutes."
Zipcode 20202: Delta from DC
Thought to be about 8 months old and part retriever, Delta currently weighs 18 pounds and is expected to grow to as much as 30 pounds. She's not fully trained; she's just a puppy.
Garbanzo Bean from South Carolina by Way of DC
Seriously? The rest of the litter of kittens named after varieties of bean were cuter than that? I don't want to know. Anyway, this is the kitten who's remained unadopted long enough to be advertised in DC. Basic spring kitten story. To her former human family I say: if you could put that little face in a shelter, any cat who puts up with you probably deserves to be sterilized. Just do it.
Zipcode 30303: Jazmina from Douglasville
She's in a county shelter; they don't have much to say about her. I'm not sure why her best photo displays sidewise. Blogspot does not have a mechanism for fixing this.
Sailor Pluto from Chattanooga by way of Atlanta
They think this one is a future Queen Cat with that way of staring at people before she decides to snuggle. There's also a "Sailor Mercury" whose distinguishing quality appears to be shyness. They don't insist on the two kittens being adopted together, but two kittens are generally easier to live with than one kitten...unless you have a young adult cat like our Drudge, who really seemed to enjoy reliving kittenhood with Wonder.
