Monday, September 3, 2012
Sigh . . . Sad day for the stray cats . . .
As you know, we have several 'porch' cats residing in our front yard. We 'acquired' them when a rather eccentric neighbor passed on and Animal Control wasn't able to apprehend the many, many cats he had been accumulating in his house. Although his cat population had slowed down a bit over the last few years, it was still too many. We have left out water for the remaining wandering cats because we can't stand to see an animal suffer in this heat. We give them a bit of kibble once a day as two of them are still almost babies. All along, we have been trying to find homes for them and managed to place four of the kittens which leaves us now with one mother cat, one pregnant mother cat, and two half grown tom cat kittens.
When we ran out of options for finding them homes with friends or neighbors, we went to PetSmart on their adoption day to inquire. I went up to the woman in charge of the cages of dogs being offered and before I could finish my inquiry about the cats, she cut me off with, "Too many cats and we can't take any!" I started to ask her another question and she deliberately picked up her cell phone, dialed, and started a conversation with someone.
I took to the computer and gathered information and phone numbers of cat rescue places. They all have wonderful web pages with soft, sweet words about not leaving a cat behind . . . until you call them and about half of them are rude when they find out you don't WANT a cat but have cats that need homes and suggest you look some more of take them to the shelter. Yes, I know there are an abundance of kittens, right now, but if you purport to be kindly disposed to them, wouldn't you be a little more helpful in making suggestions on where one might find a place? One answering machine message was great when it said to press one if you want to adopt a cat and not very friendly when you pressed two and they said they do not want to take your cat off your hands, thank you very much. Okay, not in that many words but not well-phrased, either.
I ran across an on-line petition demanding changes in how animals are treated/put down at the local humane society. Seems they are not exactly euthanizing the animals as kindly as possible but as quickly and cheaply as possible. And, that is the one in our county we'd have to take the cats. And, sadly, that is probably going to happen next week. I'm heartbroken, naturally, as it is difficult to hand healthy, feisty cats over to this ending.
Anyway, you can be sure that after getting the responses and lack of helpful information from most of these other places, we aren't likely to donate to any of their causes. Besides, we've certainly put in enough time and money, already, taking care of a cat problem not of our making.
When we ran out of options for finding them homes with friends or neighbors, we went to PetSmart on their adoption day to inquire. I went up to the woman in charge of the cages of dogs being offered and before I could finish my inquiry about the cats, she cut me off with, "Too many cats and we can't take any!" I started to ask her another question and she deliberately picked up her cell phone, dialed, and started a conversation with someone.
I took to the computer and gathered information and phone numbers of cat rescue places. They all have wonderful web pages with soft, sweet words about not leaving a cat behind . . . until you call them and about half of them are rude when they find out you don't WANT a cat but have cats that need homes and suggest you look some more of take them to the shelter. Yes, I know there are an abundance of kittens, right now, but if you purport to be kindly disposed to them, wouldn't you be a little more helpful in making suggestions on where one might find a place? One answering machine message was great when it said to press one if you want to adopt a cat and not very friendly when you pressed two and they said they do not want to take your cat off your hands, thank you very much. Okay, not in that many words but not well-phrased, either.
I ran across an on-line petition demanding changes in how animals are treated/put down at the local humane society. Seems they are not exactly euthanizing the animals as kindly as possible but as quickly and cheaply as possible. And, that is the one in our county we'd have to take the cats. And, sadly, that is probably going to happen next week. I'm heartbroken, naturally, as it is difficult to hand healthy, feisty cats over to this ending.
Anyway, you can be sure that after getting the responses and lack of helpful information from most of these other places, we aren't likely to donate to any of their causes. Besides, we've certainly put in enough time and money, already, taking care of a cat problem not of our making.
A Thought on Labor Day . . .
| A reflection on the dignity of work | |
| "Work is not just another object, but rather the expression and condition
of spiritual and social development of man. When we forget about this primary
relationship of work with man's dignity, it loses its cultural richness and
moral value." — Archbishop Jose Maria Arancedo | |
The Wisdom of Mark Twain . . .
Don't part with your illusions. When they are gone you may still exist, but you
have ceased to live.
Sweet Tomato Cake revisited!
Last week, I posted a link for a recipe for Sweet Tomato Cake which I found to be very interesting. Since we have had a bumper crop of tomatoes this year, I am always on the lookout for new recipes. Yesterday, I actually make the cake! I made a few changes to the recipe and doubled it so I could share it with a neighbor . . . if it turned out . . . and it did!
The recipe called for all whole wheat flour and I went half and half with all-purpose flour. I also added some lemon zest, cloves, nutmeg, and vanilla extract to the batter. The cake isn't very tall but tender and tasty. The tomatoes add an interesting tang. It doesn't taste of tomatoes but give the cake a nice moistness. It is rich with the olive oil but a small slice with a scoop of vanilla ice cream goes down very well.
The recipe only took a cup of tomatoes so the rest of the day's harvest went into a long-simmered pot of sauce which graced our spaghetti last night. My children would eat spaghetti every day of the week if I could stand it so they thought dinner was a great ending to a Sunday.
The recipe called for all whole wheat flour and I went half and half with all-purpose flour. I also added some lemon zest, cloves, nutmeg, and vanilla extract to the batter. The cake isn't very tall but tender and tasty. The tomatoes add an interesting tang. It doesn't taste of tomatoes but give the cake a nice moistness. It is rich with the olive oil but a small slice with a scoop of vanilla ice cream goes down very well.
The recipe only took a cup of tomatoes so the rest of the day's harvest went into a long-simmered pot of sauce which graced our spaghetti last night. My children would eat spaghetti every day of the week if I could stand it so they thought dinner was a great ending to a Sunday.
Empty Chair Day!
Even though the liberal media would have us believe the incumbent president is sure to get another term, it does seem that 'change' is in the air and he may have an uphill battle to keep the presidency! For those of you who listened to the Republican Convention speeches, Clint Eastwood did a great job in pointing out to the country through his stage prop of an empty chair that, indeed, our country has been without true, American leadership for the last four years. One person made a joke somewhere along the line about having an Empty Chair Day today and it seems to have taken off. What a peaceful yet effective way to point out that the country is on the wrong track and we have to find someone to occupy that 'chair' and reign in our current 'reign' of governmental interference and let us live as our Founding Fathers began this country to allow us to do.
I have to see if I can find a chair and a flag and join the cause!
I have to see if I can find a chair and a flag and join the cause!
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