Cat Care, Breeds and Resources Blog

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According to Port Authority officials, the most pressing threat to aviation security at JFK Airport is no longer terrorism, but feral cats! Unbelievable!

Contracts have been ordered to immediately round up and exterminate scores of felines residing on the 5000 acres of one of the nation’s busiest airports.

Cats who have been at the airport for decades are now all of a sudden a threat. According to Bryan Kortis, Executive Director of Neighborhood Cats, a leading cat advocacy group, “The Port Authority’s claim that feeding these cats is attracting large numbers of birds who, in turn, could bring down a jet is beyond absurd. There isn’t any food left for the birds and, besides, cats have been at JFK for decades. Now all of a sudden when concerned groups want to neuter and care for these cats, they’re a security threat. The public needs to let Port Authority know loud and clear we’re not as stupid as they think and won’t buy their concocted justification for needlessly killing these animals.”

Feral cats are the descendants of lost or abandoned cats and, at JFK, originate from cats lost or abandoned by travelers. Attempts to eradicate them have historically failed. By contrast, TNR has repeatedly been used to nonlethally lower cat numbers and eliminate sanitary and nuisance concerns. TNR involves neutering the cats, vaccinating them for rabies, returning them to their territory, then monitoring and caring for them. Over time, attrition lowers their populations.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:
Call, fax and email Port Authority officials (see below) and protest the extermination effort. Urge them to meet with NYC Feral Cat Initiative representatives and come up with an intelligent plan to TNR and manage the JFK cats. The NYC Feral Cat Initiative is a program of the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals.

WHO TO CONTACT:
Susan Baer, General Manager, JFK Airport
sbaer@panynj.gov
718-244-3501

Laura Francoeur, Aeronautical Services,
Airport Operations Division
Phone: 718-244-3773
Fax: 718-244-3777
lfrancoe@panynj.gov

For more on the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals: www.animalalliancenyc.org

For more on Neighborhood Cats:www.neighborhoodcats.org

For more information on feral cats nationwide:
www.alleycat.org
www.squidoo.com/saveferalcats

Purrs, Frankie

Kira here. Hey, some of my sisters were feral cats. They may be a pain in my backside, but kill them? Heck no! I wouldn’t even wish that on Lee! Please stop them. I’m begging you!

That’d be like killing homeless people just because they are homeless! Purrs, Kira

P.S. To get this blog emailed to you, simply type in your email address and press ’subscribe’ in the box on the right side of this blog.

P.P.S. For funny cat pictures and facts, click Cats Just Wanna Have Fun

P.P.P.S. For dozens of articles on cats and cat breeds, click Cat Articles

Cats need to be mentally stimulated. 3 of the best ways you can stimulate your cat are:
1. Play with them.
2. Talking to them.
3. Touching them.

You can combine these 3 in together. You don’t have to go out and buy expensive toys — many of which you’ll find your cat could care less about. You can create your own fun and interesting games with things you find around your house such as: cardboard boxes, wadded up pieces of paper, a shoe string, small balls, paper bags, or a feather.

Several of our cats will shoehorn themselves into boxes becoming box-o-cats. Then there are our bag-o-cats, the ones that like paper bags better. Of course, there’s Bruce Kamikazi Lee, who goes nuts chasing down the light reflecting off my watch or anything else. He’s a big cat but can move with incredible speed when attacking the light monster.

For other ideas on how to stimulate your cat, I’ve added a funny video below where you can get ideas and / or just have a chuckle. There are many scenes where they get themselves in trouble by their curiousity, but you’ll get great ideas on how to stimulate your cat. They even have a cat playing pingpong!

(For those of you who receive this by email, click Funny cat video to see this hilarious video.)

Talking and touching your cat is a good way to stimulate them as well. To make sure your cat gets the mental stimulation he needs, make sure to give your cat a minutes several times a day.

Purrs, Frankie

Kira here. I’m a box and bag girl myself. I love a good bag because I can catch my mates unaware when they walk by. As for the “light monster”, that’s just dumb. Everyone, except that dumb Lee, knows there’s no such thing. Like I’ve said before, he’s dumb as a brick. Wait, I hear the crinkle of a bag — I’m out of here. Kira

P.S. To get this blog emailed to you, simply type in your email address and press ’subscribe’ in the box on the right side of this blog.

P.P.S. For funny cat pictures and facts, click Cats Just Wanna Have Fun

P.P.P.S. For dozens of articles on cats and cat breeds, click Cat Articles

I just discovered a wonderful cartoon ebook about a Buddhist cat named Dharma. Along with a novice monk and a cheese-crazy mouse, the three have some great adventures (or I should say misadventures) together.

Written by David Lourie, the book is very clever with wonderful humor and wit. It is also thought-provoking — a great blending of philosophy and spirituality with humor. It would make a nice Christmas or birthday gift.

To get a free download of 13 pages of this wonderful ebook and/or to learn more about Dharma and her pals, click Fun With Dharma.

Purrs, Frankie

Kira here. I don’t know what all the fuss is about. We cats are, after all, very Zen-like. Well, maybe Lee isn’t. Like I said before, he’s dumb as a brick. If more humans paid attention to us cats, there would be fewer problems in this world!
Kira out.

P.S. To get this blog emailed to you, simply type in your email address and press ’subscribe’ in the box on the right side of this blog.

P.P.S. For funny cat pictures and facts, click Cats Just Wanna Have Fun

P.P.P.S. For dozens of articles on cats and cat breeds, click Cat Articles

Declawing a cat is major surgery. Declawing is actually 10 separate, painful amputations in which the last joint of each toe, including the bones — not just the nails — are cut out. This procedure, at it’s best, makes a cat’s life miserable and at it’s worse, can actually kill the cat. Here’s why:

1. Declawing involves general anesthesia and some cats may have an adverse reaction to the anesthetic.
2. When the surgery is over, the cat will need to relearn to walk.
3. The cat can get gangrene, which can lead to limb amputation.
4. Other possible medical problems include, permanent nerve damage, persistent pain, scar tissue formation, Sequestrum (bone chips) requiring additional surgery, and skin disorders.
5. A declawed cat will experience a weakening of her legs, shoulders, and back muscles because she used to scratch objects, which stretched all of her body. And, this will also cause a problem with her balance.
6. Some cats will stop using the litter box.

Other Problems Created
Declawed cats may have a change in personality. They may become morose, reclusive, and withdrawn or irritable, aggressive, and unpredictable. Furthermore, since claws are a cat’s first line of defense, they may start to bite.

In a study published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (JAVMA) it was reported that 33 percent of declawed cats, developed at least one behavioral problem and 80 percent had more than one medical complication.

Even Thinking About Declawing Makes My Eyes Cross!

Declawed Cats More Likely To Be Dumped
According to PETA, declawed cats are also more likely to be surrendered to shelters. So, the people put their cats through this horrible amputation ordeal, then when they can’t handle the personality change THEY caused, they get rid of her.

Some Vets Will Not Declaw
Many vets will refuse to declaw a cat. They look at it as inhumane and not in the best interest of the cat. In fact, there are many countries that ban declawing. Amen!

PART 2 - Alternatives to Declawing
In my next entry, I’ll cover alternatives to declawing and give you lots of resources. While you’re waiting for that, check out Training Cats Where To Scratch for an article on how to train your cat and for some great cat trees, scratching posts, and other cat things.

Purrs, Frankie

Kira here. YEOW! Declawing is cruel and unusual punishment for a cat simply being a cat — scratching objects. Heck, even Lee — who’s dumb as a brick — learned where not to scratch, with a little persistence from Mom and Dad. I wouldn’t wish declawing on even Snoball, and that shows you just how horrible declawing is. She’s a pill, but I’m not a monster. I was gonna take a nap after I wrote this, but quite frankly, I’m freaked and I’m afraid to shut my eyes right now. Kira

P.S. To get this blog emailed to you, simply type in your email address and press ’subscribe’ in the box on the right side of this blog.

P.P.S. For funny cat pictures and facts, click Cats Just Wanna Have Fun

P.P.P.S. For dozens of articles on cats and cat breeds, click Cat Articles