Scotty and Cher – two of the twenty plus cats in the Riverfront Cat Community that Christine feeds each day

Despite working several jobs just to pay her own bills and to feed and care for her Riverfront colony of 20 plus cats, despite the overwhelming task to educate a community on the epidemic of cat overpopulation, and despite all the tragedy and heartache Christine Michaels often has to bear, this incredible Cat Crusader and Guardian Angel to the feline species would not have it any other way, as the love returned and possibility for a better day far outweighs the pain and effort. She is completely devoted to the well-being of these creatures and is relentless in her pursuit to make the world a better place for them. And that is why, in a nutshell, she is my chosen benefactor (via the Cat Network of South Florida where she volunteers) of the $1000 prize if I win the Petties 2011 Awards in the category of “Best Designed Blog.” Read more

Just what is an epidemic of cat overpopulation, how did it start, and what can we do to help?

On the surface, it would appear that these are relatively simple questions with quick and easy answers. For Christine Michaels, volunteer for the Cat Network of South Florida and Riverfront Cats, as well as my choice of donation should Zee & Zoey win the category of “Best Designed Blog” for the Petties 2011 Awards, it turns out this is the most difficult obstacle of all – trying to educate a community where there is little to zero awareness that a problem even exists, let alone a reason to help.

It became popular in the 1800’s for cats to be used in farms and townships to reduce rodent infestations

Let’s set the facts straight right now. Cats have been domesticated for thousands of years – whether it started with the Egyptians as a symbol of worship, or to reduce the rodent population in farms and townships in the 1800’s, to today – where our cats are beloved and pampered members of our household, this creature is the creation of human need and desire. All free-roaming, stray, feral, whatever you want to call them cats, are the descendants of unaltered tame cats somewhere in the ancestry line. One unsterilized cat dumped on the street for whatever human reason, can lead to 5,000 cats in seven generations. Multiply that by an entire community, filled with negligent or ignorant people, and that is how an epidemic is not only born, but sustained. Read more

While posting pictures of my pretty kitties and writing lighthearted posts about the joys of being owned by them is wonderful, sometimes we have to step back a bit and look at the world for the harsh realities that are in front of us. Being chosen as one of the four finalists for the Petties 2011 Awards for the “Best Designed Blog” category is amazing and quite an honor. The possibility of winning $1000 for a rescue organization of my choice is even more so, but with it comes a significant mental and moral responsibility. It’s one thing to hand a check over to someone for a cause, it is another thing all together to really embrace and understand who you are giving it to and why.

My beloved Kit who came to me as a stray in 1992. Here she is resting on her favorite spot, the windowsill, sunning herself and bird watching. This was the last picture of her on the windowsill before she passed away at 18 years of age.

In my lifetime, I have had at least a dozen cats/kittens that have come to me by some design of fate – they have “appeared” in my driveway, I have happened upon them alongside the road or some other public place, or they have been given to me because I was someone’s last hope for a kitty to be saved from a certain demise. All of these methods have been relatively easy emotionally. Open the door. Feed the kitty. Kitty does not leave and becomes a permanent member of your family. For those dedicated and incredible people who give so much of their time, money, heart, and soul to spearheading rescue causes, that is an entirely different ball game and one that I am not certain I could handle with the grace, dignity, inner-strength, fortitude, and dedication that they do. Read more

We Wish we Will, we Wish we Might, oh Dear BlogPaws Judges, let it be our Human Mom on a Flight Tonight. She Works so Hard, Day and Night, a Trip to Virginia Would be oh so Right!

When I entered this picture of Mia, Zoey, Zee, and Peanut looking out the window, I felt it had some sort of dreamy, magical feel to it, almost as if they were wishing upon a star for me that I might win a trip to BlogPaws. Turns out it was magical, because it was chosen as the first place winner for the BlogPaws Photo Caption Contest to win a trip to the 2011 conference that will be held on August 25 – 27 in Tysons Corner, VA. Read more

Click here to vote for Zee & Zoey in the category of “Best Designed Blog”

When I got the news a few days ago that Zee & Zoey’s blog – The Chronicle Connection – was chosen as one of four finalists for the category of “Best Designed Blog” for the Petties 2011 Awards, to say I was honored would be an understatement. I became quite emotional – not just for the honor and prestige of the nomination – but for what it stood for in my life and how far I’ve come as a person.

For you see, Zee and Zoey’s blog was the result of a very difficult time in my life – I had become a statistic and was laid off from a job that I thought I had complete security with in 2009. I had the kernel of an idea for a book in my mind to write at that time, but kind of put it off as “one of those wish-list things I will get to one day.” The idea for the book was basically to be about my cats, primarily Zee, my lovable male Maine Coon, and Zoey, my free-spirited female Bengal and the relationship they had with one another, as well as with me. Well, it turns out that these cats were far wiser than me and during a very dark phase of my unemployment, they taught me how to reexamine how I perceived my world and to look for life’s little silver lining moments, despite how overwhelming and hopeless it all seemed…. In essence, to embrace the ordinary in my life like they did, rather than wallow in depression and self-pity and dare to make it extraordinary, as only a cat can. Read more