Category: Meez Meows

Meez Meows and Piktures and Videos

What’s That Smell…

Published on by Service Cats U.S.36 Comments

A Service Cat is Born pt. 5

 

Me always enjoys hearin’ da stowries of da Service cats dat came afur me. They awe all an inspurration. Meez furst ever act as mommy’s latest Service kitty happened when me was ‘bout 3 1/2-4 weeks old. Mommy discovered just how smawrt and tuned in me was. Isn’t dat wight mommy?

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That’s right Dezi, I sure did. You were so tiny and cute as a button and still so sick with worms, but there you were already trying to take care of me.

 

Oh mommy me luvved you so much and was so fankful dat you had saved me. Me knows dat’s what da nice peeps who took me away fwum dat dirty house was twyin’ to do, but they didn’t weally know what they was duin’ and just shoved me and me udder 10 littermates in a little box and put us in a bigger box wiff bars. They put down bowls wiff sumfin’ smelly in ’em but we didn’t know how to eat on our own, we still needed our cat mom. And meez tummy hurt so bad, and me was so tired fwum bein’ overdosed on dat over da counter wormer dat me fur sure fawt we was all dead. But then there you were, smellin’ so sweet and yous lap was so soft and yous voice so weassurin’ dat me just knew everyfin’ was gunna be alwight.

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So when yous sweet smell changed me just knew sumfin’ bad was gunna happen. And there you was actin’ like everyfin’ was normal. Me stawrted squeaking meowin’ at ya’ like cwazy. And you reached down and picked me up and hugged me tight and gave me a kiss and then set me back down. Me just kept on meowin’. Me weally liked da luvvin’ but dat’s not what me was twyin’ to tell ya’. Me was twyin’ to tell ya’ sumfin’ bad was ‘bout to happen. So when you stawrted to reach down fur me again, me ‘cided dat me needed to do sumfin’ diffewent cuz you just wasn’t unnewstandin’ me at all. And here me fawt you spoke squeak meow. So me stawrted pawin’ yous ankle. Me kuldn’t weach anywhere else. So me pawed at yous ankle and squeaked meowed even louder and stawrted turnin’ wound and wound. Finally you asked ifin me was twyin’ to tell ya sumfin’. It’s ’bout time me fawt, but by then it was too late and you went fallin’ to da floor. KaBoom!!!

 

Now what? You wasn’t movin’ and yous eyes was closed. But me knew you didn’t sleep on da floor like dat so me hurried to get sis Lexi, squeakin’ meowin’ all da way down da hall. Sis Lexi came wunnin’ up da hall towards me and went into da kitchen where you was and laid down ‘side you. Well me didn’t. Me crawled up on yous chest and began to kiss yous face. Me was so happy when yous eyes finally opened dat meez purr kulda rumbled da whole house. Yous eyes had been closed FUREVER (not more than a few minutes). You was so supurrized to see me there in yous face lookin’ at ya’ when you came back wound dat you smiled at me and petted me and told me how special me was. Me stawrted squeakin’ meowin’ dat you shulda lissened to me earlier.

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You sure did Dezi. And I was so proud of you. I still am, and always will be. And you’re right, I should have listened to you from the start. I learned my lesson tho’ didn’t I sweety?

 

Yeah mommy you did. Da next time me told you sumfin’ bad was gunna happen you went and sat down. No more cwashin’ to da floor fur you. Least not dat way anymore. Me better splain to everypawdy what was happenin’ zactly. See mommy passes out daily. It’s called Syncope. Dat means a short loss of consciousness and muscle stwength. It’s due to a lack of blood flow to da bwain. And there awe a few fings dat will make mommy pass out, includin’ da blood clot on hers bwain It can be scary, but so long as mommy dusn’t hit anyfin’ shawrp or conk hers head on anyfin’, it’s usually over in a few minutes time and there’s no need fur worry or external help (ie: ambulances, emergency purrsonnel, etc.) Well dat was meez furst ever task purrfurmed fur mommy, but it wuldn’t be da last. Stay tuned fur more stowries ‘bout da way we help mommy live a full and independent life.

 

Ifin yous missed any posty in this ongoing series, you can read them here.

The Chair Moves

Shad, The First Service Kitty

What’s The Big Deal pt. 2

What’s The Big Deal pt. 1

 

Till da next time………………Be Blest!!!

 

Dezi = Blue

Mommy = Black

 

Luv and Hugs and Kitty Kisses

 

Dezi and Lexi

cat-animated

Shad: The First Service Kitty

Published on by Service Cats U.S.64 Comments

Well definitions awe behind us now and weez movin’ on. Meez been thinkin’ long and hard ‘bout what stowry to tell next. And weez been readin’ da comments and me thought ‘bout it and decided we needed to stawrt at da beginin’. Back befur me and even sis Lexi. Back to a time when mommy furst had hers accident. Mommy. Lexi and me talked ‘bout it and decided you needed to unnerstand how it all began to unnerstand how we got to where we are now. Those of you who followed our bloggy back when we furst stawrted have already read this stowry, but we have lots of furiends now who wasn’t with us then so weez hope yous all enjoy da look back.

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Lots of years ago afur mommy’s accident hers had a beautiful white Persian kitty named Shad. They were really close as they had been thru lots together. Mommy had gone back to school and her and Shad lived together alone. Then one day mommy had a car wreck dat left her disabled. Among many of hers purroblems, she passed out. Sometimes mommy would just lose consciousness outta da blue.  And then there was actions or surroundings dat could cause her to pass out. She always got a little warnin’, but it still happened. After passin’ out at school and in da shoppin’ center, mommy’s doctors stawrted talkin’ to hers bout lookin’ into a Service dog.

 

Mommy likes doggy’s fine but hers had a kitty cat and lived in a small pawrtment and couldn’t hardly afford to feed Shad and herself. Mommy just didn’t think a  doggy was very feasible fur her. So mommy just kept trudgin’ on and tryin’ to make it.  Now Shad had always been very clever, And back in those days fones wus big and had answerin’ machines dat recorded to a tape and played aloud fur everypawdy in da room to hear. When mommy wusn’t home and sumpawdy dat Shad knew would call, she’s would paw at da fone til she’s hit da speaker fone button and then try to talk to them. More than once mommy came home to half messages and da fone off da hook.  Mommy thought it wus cute so hers didn’t worry ’bout it too much specially since Shad only did it wiff people she knew.

 

SHAD, Mommy's Original Service Cat
SHAD, Mommy’s Original Service Cat

So one day mommy was makin’ some dinner and hers passed out and hit hers head on da corner of da desk. Mommy is very tall and da floor is a long way down.  MOL Anyway when mommy came too hers heard sumpawdy bangin’ on da door hollerin’… POLICE. Mommy got up and answered da door and there stood a very nice policeman askin’ ifin she’s was alright. Mommy told him hers was fine and asked why he was there?. He told mommy dat da police had received a 911 call from hers address. Mommy told him hers had been unconscious and she’s hadn’t called 911. He asked ifin anypawdy else coulda called, and mommy told him dat she’s lived alone. So hims called into dispatch and they told him dat all they heard was a cat meowin’ on da other end of da line. So he’s asked mommy ifin hers had a kitty cat and ifin was pawssible dat da kitty called 911. You’s know is a crime to call 911 ifin you’s don’t have an emergency. Mommy told him of course she had a cat but she didn’t see how Shad coulda called 911 cuz she hadn’t been trained fur anythin’ like dat. At da time mommy didn’t know anythin ’bout Service animals other than seein’ eye dogs herself. Hers doctors hadn’t been very specific ’bout what kinda help she was gunna get fwom a Service dog when they had suggested it. Da nice police officer came in and checked everyfin’ ovrw and then he left only to be called back out a few days later.

 

So dis time he asked mommy ifin they could try to recreate what happened. Cuz da 911 call had a kitty vewy frantically and loudly meowin’ into da fone and then da meowin’ wuld get faint and could barely be heard in da background. And then very loud again and then very faint. So mommy agreed to try to recreate it and da officer left after callin’ dispatch and tellin’ ’em what they were gunna do and settin’ up a small camera.  (mommy had no digital camera or video camera at da time) A little later da plan was set into motion. And mommy watched thru squinted eyes as Shad ran to da fone and pawed at it til she’s hit da speaker fone and got a dial tone. Then she would paw da numbers on da fone til a voice answered and said, “911 what is your emergency??” Shad would begin to meow and meow and then run to mommy meowin’ da whole time. Hers would paw mommy’s face and then run back to da fone and meow into da speaker and then run back to mommy again. She’s did dis 4 times and then laid down beside mommy and waited.

Crossing Over Shad - 2HEoW-14V - normal

Mommy never knew how Shad had figgered out what to do or even why, but dat was da beginin’ of mommy’s trainin’ and unnerstandin’ dat we kitties could be trained to do things other than not scratch da furniture. Shad went on to twain herself to do many more things fur mommy befur she went to heaven. And mommy has picked up where they left off and trained da kitties dat followed her includin’ sis Lexi and me. Mommy has always made certain she has a fone system in da house with a speaker fone and an answerin’ machine dat everypawdy in da room can hear. We cats awe naturally drawn to voices we recognize and it makes trainin’ much easier ifin your kitty be interested in da thing you want them to do.

 Corded landline cordless phone

 

Disclaimer: Kitties who train as service animals are not purrfurmin’ tricks. Our trainin’ stories awe not meant to be a compurrhensive trainin’ manual but rather excerpts fwom hours and months of trainin’ fur yous readin’ enjoyment. Ifin yous have specific questions regardin’ trainin’ yous can email us via our contact page and mommy will be happy to try to assist you. Purrlease stay tuned fur Service Animal trainin’ wiff Lexi and me.

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Till da next time…………….Be Blest!!!

 

Luv and Hugs and Kitty Kisses

 

Dezi and Lexi

cat-animated

What’s The Big Deal…pt. 2

Published on by Service Cats U.S.38 Comments

Why Can’t I Call a Therapy or Companion Animal a Service Animal?

Well here we awe wiff pawrt 2 of meez series ‘bout “Working Animals”. We told you da definition of a Service Animal yesfurday, and ifin yous missed it you can click here to read it. So today me wants to tell you ‘bout Therapy and Companion Animals. We did weceive a comment yesfurday dat maybe we shuld have addwessed in our posty but sincce we planned on writin’ more ‘bout Service cats we didn’t cover everyfin’. We just gave a bwoad overview. But me wuld like to add dat Certification and/or Licensing IS NOT required fur Service Animals. There awe weputable agencies dat do certify them. This is sumfin’ dat be completely voluntary on da pawrt of da handler. Da benefit to certificatiion is dat you have an agency behind you dat offen has lawyers dat will help you fur furee ifin yous have difficulties wiff accessibility or such. wiff yous Service animal. So dat bein sed let’s move on today.

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Weez been weferred to as Therapy cats and even Companion animals fwum time to time, and altho’ weez not get angwy we do correct peeps. But what zactly is a Therapy animal mommy? Will yous tell everypawdy what da definition and qualifications awe?

 

I sure will Dezi. A Therapy animal is different from a Service animal in the duties they perform and should not be confused with or called a Service animal. A Therapy animal is one that is TRAINED to provide comfort and affection to people in long term care, hospitals, retirement homes, schools, mental health institutions and other stressful situations to include disaster areas. They provide people with comforting animal contact whether they have a disability or not. The person who brings the animal to these places is called a handler and is most often the owner of the animal. Therapy animals and their handlers DO NOT have the same rights as a Service animal and it’s handler. It is important to remember that it’s the person with disabilities that have rights under the rules of the ADA and not the Service animal itself. Since the Therapy animal is most often owned by a non disabled person, the Therapy animal is not allowed to accompany their handler into places that don’t allow pets/animals such as restaurants, grocery stores, etc..

 

Sophie
Our furiend Sophie fwum Kitty Cat Chronicles wants to be a Therapy kitty.

Dat’s a big diffewence isn’t it mommy?

 

Yes it is Dezi. And that’s why we correct people when they call you and Lexi Therapy cats. You and Lexi perform trained duties related to my disability. Whereas a Therapy animal has no such training. They are wonderful animals and are chosen for training because of their gentle and outgoing disposition and ability to remain calm around people with all kinds of illnesses like your friend Sophie from Kitty Cat Chronicles pictured above.

 

We do luv Sophie and all hers furmily. Can you tell everypawdy what a Companion Animal is mommy? Cuz me knows they awe weally diffewent than Service animals and Therapy animals.

 

Yes they are Dezi, and I would be happy to explain the differences. A companion animal is any PET that provides health benefits to a person. They may help to relieve stress. But their main “job” is to provide company, amusement and psychological help just to name a few. NO specific TRAINING is required. In my opinion ALL pets can be considered Companion Animals. After all most people get a pet because they want the love and affection an animal can give. Your friend Buddy in the photo below is a perfect example of a Companion Animal. His daddy is alone and needed the company. And Buddy provides him with hours of entertainment and lots of love. He kind of gives mr. W a purpose.

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Me agwees mommy. And we have a few furiends dat be Companion animals fur sure. We even have sum furiends who awe trained Therapy animals. And me finks they do a gweat job and a good fing to help ease udders stwess and fears. And we have a few furiends dat be Trained Service animals too.

 

Y’all sure do Dezi. And they are all wonderful. And even tho’ you and Lexi have been trained to work and I think y’all are very special, that doesn’t mean that y’all are any better than any of your friends. You are all special in your own way.

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Me agwees again mommy. All our furiends awe special and beluvved by their hoomans and us. Me weally purreciates you helpin’ me define da diffewent types of “working animals” fur our furiends. We do hope you all have learned a bit fwum these definitions. And me hopes you all have enjoyed learnin’ ‘bout da diffewences in “working animals”. We will be tellin’ sum twainin’ stowries fur you all to read, enjoy and maybe even laff at. And one of our dear furiends, da Kitties Blue asked ifin we had fawt ‘bout makin’ these definitions available all da time usin’ da menu, so weez gunna be addin’ this to our menu options soon. (furst mommy has to member how to add it-mol) And we wanted to give you a little update on sis Lexi. She be feelin’ much better now dat she be gettin’ antibiotics. We still have a big fank you to send out but mommy fell asleep at da puter again yesfurday. She sez she weally needs to get sum sleep, but we do fank all of you dat helped make gettin’ sissy medicine pawssible. One she gets well, weez’ll only have da CKD to manage.

 

And this be da last day to enter to win dat pawsum Pagoda Fountain fwum PetSafe. So ifin yous not entered yet, click here to do so.

 

And don’t furget to enter fur yous chance to win a case of da pawsum Weruva noms by clickin’ here.

 

 

Till da next time………………….Be Blest!!!

 

Luv and Hugs and Kitty Kisses

 

Dezi and Lexi

cat-animated

 

References: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Therapy_dog

 

http://medicaldictionary.thefreedictionary.com/companion+animal

What’s The Big Deal…

Published on by Service Cats U.S.26 Comments

Why Can’t I call a Therapy Animal or Companion Animal a Service Animal?

Three words, three diffewent meanings. And yet so many peeps still use these terms interchangeably. But they’re not. Interchangeable me means. They mean 3 diffewent things and descwibe 3 diffewent types of animals wiff diffewent twainin’ levels and skills. It sumtimes hurts our feelings to be called therapy or companion kitties but we know peeps awe usually sayin’ it cuz they don’t know da diffewence. Mommy on da udder hand gets weally uptight ‘bout it. She sez there’s a big diffewence and it shows diswespect to those who have worked so hawd to twain to be Service animals. And dat peeps takin’ advantage of da old ADA rule by passin’ off therapy and companion animals and even pets as Service animals is what caused da ADA to change da definitions and exclude sum species, like us kitties. Altho’ we do still enjoy sum benefits, weez not as purrtected unnew da law as we once was. Isn’t dat wight mommmy?

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Yes dear that’s right.

 

Mommy wuld you give everypawdy da definitions of a Service, Therapy and Companion Animal?

I would be happy to Dezi. Why don’t we start with Service Animals. According to the ADA website, on March 15, 2011 ONLY dogs are recognized as Service Animals under titles 2 and 3 of the ADA (Americans with Disablity Act). The rules used to read: A Service Animal is an animal(dog)that has been individually trained to do work or perform tasks for a person with disabilities. After 2011 it replaces the word animal with dog. The ADA recognizes that Service animals are not PETS, but working animals. However they now only recognize dogs as such animals. The work the animal (dog) is trained to perform must be directly related to the persons disability. Animals (dogs) whose sole function is to provide comfort or emotional support DO NOT qualify as Service Animals under the ADA. It goes further to say: This definition does NOT affect or limit the broader definition of “Assistance Animal” under the Fair Housing Act or the broader definition of “Service Animal” under the Air Carrier Access Act. Some State and local laws have broader definitions regarding Service Animals. You should check with your local government and ordinances if you have questions with regards to accessibility or other protections and rights afforded you under the laws of your state.

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Dat’s why we be called Service Animals isn’t it mommy? Cuz weez been TRAINED to purrfurm duties diwectly welated to yous disability?

 

Yes it is sweety. And before 2011 Lexi and those who came before her were certified. You were tested, certified and recognized as a highly trained Service Animal as well, but the ADA dusn’t recognize you as one. We are still protected under the law and benefit from certain rules and regulations, but there are some benefits we can no longer receive. You and sis Lexi can no longer apply to be sponsored as Service animals. There are companies that sponsor Service animals for one thing. And a Sponsorship means they provide the animal with food, supplies, toys and pay all medical expenses for them. Since people with disabilities are usually on a fixed income, sponsorship is a great benefit and help.

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It’s gweat to be a Service animal mommy. Meez purroud me can help you even ifin da ADA dusn’t wecognize me.

 

I know baby and I really do appreciate you and your sister. Y’all are a great help to me. And I love you both very much.

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Oh mommy we luv you too. Me finks we might shuld cover da udder workin’ animals in anudder posty mommy? Me finks this might be a lot to digest and me dusn’t want anypawdy to be confused ‘bout da diffewences. What do yous fink mommy?

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I think you’re absolutely right Dezi. I think we shuld let everypawdy absorb this. It is a lot of information but we do hope to clear things up for people by the end of this series. Why don’t you list a few of the “jobs” you and Lexi perform for me so that our friends will know what kinds of things are considered “trained behaviors that qualify y’all as Service Animals”.

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Oh me wuld luv to mommy. Lexi and me have been trained to drive mommys wheelchair, dial 911 fur help, give her massages, and our biggy is dat we alert mommy afur she passes out so she can get sumwhere safe and not dwop all da way to da floor and get hurt. We do hope dat yous all enjoy our series on Working animals and will keep coming back to read da whole series. Weez will cover Therapy and Companion Animals and tell sum trainin’ stowries of our own as pawrt of this series.

 

 

And ifin yous haven’t alweady entered, we have 2 pawsum give aways goin’ on wight now.

You can enter to win yous choice of PetSafe’s Pagoda fountain here.

And you can enter to win yous choice of a case of Weruva TruLuxe canned food here.

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These pawsum give aways awe pawrt of our series on hydwation and weez very gwateful to da sponsors fur allowin’ us to offer you all a chance to twy their purroducts fur yous selff. And stay tuned, we have more pawsum give aways comin’ up this mumff. And just to clear up one thing, ifin yous alweady follow meez bloggy by email, then yous not have to do it again.

 

Till da next time……………….Be Blest!!!

 

Luv and Hugs and Kitty Kisses

 

Dezi and Lexi

 

References: ADA

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