Our little Mia is as content as can be… just what do cats dream of when they are napping?

Much as I love my life, I sometimes yearn for the elusive and I start to think of “the good old days” when life seemed simpler and less stressful, which got me thinking about my cats and their perception of life. Do cats only live in the present moment, or do they wistfully dream of days gone by while they are napping, or do they think of future events outside the boundaries of when they will be fed next? Read more

Today’s Wordless Wednesday is sponsored by my favorite feline couple – Zee and Zoey. In the above image, Dan was able to take a photo of Zoey and translate it into such a beautiful work of art that it looks like a priceless watercolor painting. The other image is of our handsome Zee who has such glorious whiskers that it seems like you could touch them yourself!

As always, to see full beauty of photos, click to enlarge. Oh, and don’t you just love that little nose on Zee – it looks like a perfect heart that is just begging to be kissed!

The Times-Picayune hit its pinnacle in 2005 reporting about Hurricane Katrina. The paper was so devoted to printing the daily news that it was only shut down for 3 days during the devastating ordeal.

When I was watching 60 Minutes last week, it was with sadness that I learned another newspaper icon, the New Orleans Times-Picayune that was founded in 1837 would be reducing its daily print publication to 3 times a week as a result of economic cutbacks and its decision to publish the news online.

Unfortunately, decisions like this are no longer a unique storyline, but a reality that has been going on for several years for anything print related that now can be substituted with technological marvels such as email, websites, blogs, Twitter, facebook, Kindles, and so on.

Being an author and avid fan of the written word, especially in a format that can be touched, borrowed,  made into a piñata, passed on from generations, displayed on a book shelf, given as a gift, autographed, and so much more, I felt a deep pang of regret, but realized that despite my love for the physical being of print work, that I was part of the problem and an unwitting reason for its decline… Read more

To see full cuteness of image, please click to enlarge.

It’s funny – I have actually been taking it a bit more easy the past couple of weeks, but I still feel tired. I think it is a combination of that sad and melancholy feeling that often occurs after being with the kids for a week during the holidays, and then, just like that, the house is quiet and they are gone. I also had to go back to my administrative day job after several days off and must admit it was hard to get back into that routine when my mind was still at home daydreaming of kitties, blogging, taking down decorations and things of that nature!

Oh well, Kizmet has it right… we’re settling back into the routine, he’s got his naps fully under control, and it’s already Wednesday with the weekend only 2 days away!!

This was Gracie, one of the Loews cats at her feeding station that was built by hotel employees to keep the cats sheltered and protected. Gracie is no longer with us, having passed on, nor are these iconic cat mansions that have been taken apart by Loews to be destroyed in the trash.

Ironically, it was a year ago that I began blogging about feral cats when I became involved in trying to save the small colony of outdoor cats residing on the once pet-friendly Loews Portofino Bay Hotel at Universal Orlando. They were part of a very successful and managed Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR) program for over twelve years, but due to unyielding management mandates, they were eventually trapped and removed from the premises for relocation, despite the massive outpouring of concern from citizens and cat advocacy groups to keep them on the property.

While it may seem like a loss on the surface, in the long run it was a victory for feral cats. The visibility of the story brought the misconceptions of feral cats to a broader audience and it has become much more commonplace to see groups advocating for these animals. One such enterprise is the NYC Feral Cat Initiative of the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals which is holding its Third Annual Architects for Animals Giving Shelter fundraiser and benefit. Read more