It’s finally Furiday. Me thought you would never get here. It’s been a crazy week ‘round here, what with da weather takin’ another turn early in da week with storms a purrlenty and then heatin’ up like a sauna. One day mommy was sittin’ in her chair when me looked over at her and she was drippin’ wet. Sure ‘nuff she was soaked from her head to her toes. And nope wasn’t cuz she had just got outta da shower, it was ‘nuffun’ more than just plain sweat. See mommy has these things she calls purrsonal summers. And let me tell ya’ she was havin’ one of those right then.
Now we signed up fur this purrogram with da ‘lectric company a few yars back dat was ‘posed to save us some money. And so far it has. We’re not sure how it happens, but we have saved a few green papers since bein’ in this purrogram. In da summer our a/c will pre cool da place and then at 2 o’clock when da rates go up, da a/c raises it’s coolin’ temp to around 79 to 80 degrees till 7 o’clock when purrices drop again. And da ‘lectric company gave us this real cool digital purrogrammable thermostat. You know da kind, set it and furget it? Well dat’s ‘zactly what we did, till da other day when mommy just couldn’t stand it anymore.
(Come on over Raena…You’s fixin’ to meet me’s Whacky Paw up close and purrsonal.)
She got up and said she didn’t care what they was chargin’ purr kw, she wasn’t gonna be sweatin’ in her own home. So mommy got up and went over to da thermostat and there it was, set fur 65 degrees and heat. Yep, da a/c wasn’t on at all. Dat ole thermostat had done switched us to heat. And da actual tempurrture in da house was 86 degrees. No wonder mommy was sweatin’. She was havin’ a bit of heat stroke with her own purrsonal summer. Mommy pushed some buttons and furinally got da air to blowin’ and went and took a cold shower.
What fun dat was.
Raena kept tryin’ to jump up on da side of da tub with me, but there’s nuffin’ to actually grab onto and she’s just too little to reach. She can’t jump on top of anythin’ in da bathroom right now. She’s started usin’ da big girl pawdee boxes but you should see her; she makes a runnin’ jump to get into ‘em. And once she’s inside you wouldn’t be able to see her ifin you weren’t standin’ up over her. Mommy says she’s growin’ like a weed but me will believe it when she doesn’t have to run and jump into da pawdee box.
There’s been a few really cool give aways goin’ on ‘round da blogosphere lately and me’s been tryin’ to win some so me would have some new things fur me’s new sisfur when she arrived. Well me won dat really cool PetSafe Flitter toy from Cody and couldn’t wait fur Raena to arrive so we could open it up and play with it. Me luvs da PetSafe toys so me just knew Raena would too. And me was right, we had a blast playin’ last night. Fanks fur havin’ dat pawsum give away Cody.
(I’s sharin’ mines nip mat wiff sis Dezi awnty Ellen. I’s a good girl, mommy says so.)
Anyways, we’ve been getting’ some really good questions ‘bout trainin’ a Service cat. While we plan to write ‘bout Raena’s trainin’ as we’re doin’ it, we thought we’d give an overview of trainin’ and what to look fur when choosin’ a Service cat to train ifin ya’ll are interested.? The overview nor our training posts will be comprehensive and in no way are they meant to be a training manual. We post them fur entertainment and education. Anypawdy dat tells you there aren’t any oopsies while trainin’ a Service animal is lyin’. Granted, you don’t reward da oopsies cuz ya’ don’t want them repeated, but they happen none da less.
Well me’s gonna go fur now. Da sun is shinin’ and me hopes to go fur a stroll. Mommy says she has a lot to do to finish up our lease recert. papers, but me knows she has to take a break every now and then. Me thought you might enjoy seein’ some of da foto mommy’s been takin’ while Raena and me get used to each other. She found da Cat Dancer toy and seems to luv it as much as me does. And she even shared her new “made with love” nip blanky from awnty Ellen. And it’s Furiday, so me’s joinin’ Rascal and Rocco fur da Pet Parade.
One last thing befur ya’ ask, Raena and me are doin’ good. Me’s not ready to swap spit, lick butts and cuddle. Fur now me thinks nose touchin’ is close enough. Me will keep you all updated.
Would you be interested in an overview post about picking and training Service cats?
Do you have any specific questions you would like answered?
Do you (your human) have purrsonal summers? If so how do you get relief?
Oh meowllo. Me was just sittin’ here watchin’ Raena. Let me tell ya’ dat girl has more energy than da energizer bunny. Me knows me told ya’ dat befur, but it’s da truth. She just doesn’t stop. And me knows me’s posty is late, mommy says there’s so many fotos to edit and not enuff time in each day. Mommy did want me to address an email we got regardin’ Raena and da play pen. No, Raena does NOT live in da play pen. She weighed a pound and a half after spendin’ a week in our house and eatin’ some good groceries. She weighed much less when mommy picked her up. She was too tiny to get into da litter boxes and had spent her furst 6 weeks of life in a kitty crate, so even our small apartment was overwhelmin’ fur her. And so fur her purrtection and safety, mommy set up da play pen fur her. Me would never hurt her, but me wasn’t da happiest kitty girl in da world da day she arrived, and mommy had to go up and feed Buddy, so da play pen was da purrfect place fur her. As you can see by da bulk of da fotos, she’s got free reign of our house. We would like to thank you all fur supportin’ us and luvvin’ Raena.
Dat bein’ said, Raena discovered Dougie last night. Me doesn’t think she’s figgered out what he is or dat she ain’t ever gonna be able to get to him. Me’s sure Dougie is hopin’ dat tank is kitten proof. Anyways, mommy’s been tryin’ really hard to get at least one foto of all her “fursts”, but she was laffin’ so hard at Raena pawin’ at Dougie’s tank dat she furgot to take a picture. Let me tell ya’ Raena’s a big camera ham. She luvs havin’ her foto taken. And speakin’ of fursts, mommy has always bought da new kitty a little mousey from da pet store. Several of da pet stores carry this itty bitty mousey dat says, “my first mouse” on it. Well, since we don’t have a pet store here and da one in Ardmore has a bug purroblem so we don’t shop there; then Raena didn’t get her “my first mousey”.
Go play Raena, me’s eatin’.
As you all noticed she is a tiny little thing, so most of our toys are too big fur her. Now don’t get me wrong, she sure ‘nuff tries to play with them, but ifin she ever gets her mouth on somethin’, she can’t move it cuz it’s too big and heavy. So after watchin’ her play dat furst night, mommy sent an email to awnty Ellen of 15 and meowing askin’ her ifin she would make Raena a little toy of her own dat would be Raena sized. Well we received said package da other day, and OMC awnty Ellen sent some of da bestest made with luv toys; and she even made Raena her very own nip mat. Well, da general rule is dat kittens aren’t affected by catnip ‘til they’re ‘bout 6 months or older. So mommy planned to take a couple of fotos of da nip mat and then put it away fur Raena till after she has her big girl surgery.
Of course you all know there’s an exception to every rule. You know there are kittys out there dat don’t even like catnip. Can you believe dat? A kitty not likin’ catnip. Dat has to be a sacrilege of da kitty book of norms. Anyways, sure ‘nuff there are kittys dat never enjoy catnip. But let me tell ya’ dat ain’t RaenaBelle!!! As soon as mommy put dat nip mat down, Raena started goin’ nuts. She scooted ‘round and rolled ‘round till she found da openin’ where da nip be inserted and started droolin’. And then she found da toys and started bunny kickin’ like crazy. Oh me cats she looked so funny. She had those tiny legs just a goin’ to town and rubbin’ her cheeks all over dat toy.
Hey Dezi I thought you was gonna let me tell ‘bout mines new toys. Mommy said dat I could do da tellin’.
Hey Dezi, what’a this paw-mazin’ smell?
Well then get to tellin’ Raena, and don’t furget to say thank you.
This is sooooooo good
Okay. Well guess I oughtta start with dat fank you. Fank you awnty Ellen, I luvs mines new toys and dat nip mat is pawsum. I’s ‘posed to be too young to understand ‘bout this catnip stuffs but let me tell ya’, dat mat and those toys smelled better than mines dinner plate. And dat’s sayin’ somethin’. I got 2 fishys, a ball, a tube and a chicky leg. And I had a blast playin’ last night. Come to think of it, I’s gonna go play right now. Fanks again. Big RaenaBelle hugs comin’ your way.
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Yes, thank you awnty Ellen, those toys will keep her outta me’s fur, at least fur 5 minutes. Well me’s gonna go now and see what mischief me can find.
Till da next time………………………………….Be Blest!!!
Do you (your kitty) like catnip?
Do you (your kitty) purrfur silvervine?
How old were you (your kitty) when you first noticed cat nip affected you?
Meowllo everypawdy, me knows you all are ‘xcited and ready to meet me’s new sisfur, but me is a chatty kitty and so you’re gonna have to hear da whole story okay? Okay. As mommy and me told ya’ yesfurday, we found this little kitty from a newspaper ad. Actually, mommy was callin’ ‘bout a whole different set of kitties, but by da time da lady called us back, those kitties was all gone. Mommy thought we had missed out yet again. But da lady gave us another nummer and told mommy to call cuz they had kitties too. Well mommy called and called and furinally 3 days later somepawdy answered. Mommy got all da infurmation and then we purrayed about it. Da next day mommy called them back and said yes. Of course in da meantime me didn’t really have a clue ‘bout what was goin’ on, so it was life as usual fur this little queen. Okay, maybe me’s not so little, but ‘member, sis Lexi made me da queen when she left. Anyways…
A couple weeks later, Hug Your Cat Caturday to be exact, me’s life was turned upside down. Dat’s right, Hug Your Cat Caturday. Me had plans fur mommy dat was gonna last all day long and into da night, but mommy up and left me late in da afternoon. Can you believe it? Me sure couldn’t. Anyhow, somepawdy came by and picked mommy up so she left me to lounge ‘round da cat tree and snooze. Me had da afternoon off. She was gone fur da longest time. Me’s dinner time came and went and no sign of mommy. Me was beginnin’ to wonder ifin she was gonna leave me to starve, but furinally she showed up. She came in all flustered and rushin’ ‘round and sayin’ she had to go up and feed Buddy real quick and get things all set up here fur da baby.
Baby me thought. What baby? Me loudly meowed dat Buddy could wait and me didn’t want any babies here. Me’s heard purrlenty of ya’ ‘round blogville talk ‘bout da sticky fingers and all these babies have and me doesn’t want any pawrt of dat. Mommy set sis Lexi’s travel carrier on da chair and went about getting da play pen set up. Me calls it sis Lexi’s travel carrier cuz it’s what she used to travel in befur we got da stroller. And lots of ya’ saw her sittin’ in it on our trip home from BlogPaws last year. Well here, let me just show ya’.
Lexi loved to travel
Didn’t she look happy? Dat’s why me calls it sis Lexi’s travel carrier. Anyways, mommy set it in da chair and set up da play pen and…Hey, mommy, why are you puttin’ litter in dat little box?
Well honey the baby can’t reach the big boxes.
Baby? Uh, mommy, sis Lexi’s travel carrier is makin’ noises. What is dat? (Dezi inches over and smells the carrier) YUCK!!!!! Mommy, sis Lexi’s travel carrier smells like pee pee. Did you have a accident or somethin’? Would dat lady not stop and let you go to da human pawdee box?
No honey I didn’t have an accident. It’ll be fine, I’ll explain it all to you later, okay? I’ve got to go feed Buddy and get you some dinner too.
Me doesn’t know ‘bout Buddy mommy, but me’s about to starve to death. You know it’s way passed me’s dinnertime and me hasn’t had anythin’ to eat since those treats right befur you left.
Yes dear I know. Just give me a few more minutes.
Uh, mommy da carrier’s getting’ louder. What is dat? (Dezi runs UTB while mommy finishes setting up the playpen, and then she hears mommy yell from down the hall…)
Alright Sweetie, I’ll be right back, I’m gonna go give Buddy his dinner.(mommy leaves and when she returns in 5 minutes, this is what she saw)
Uh, mommy, what is dat, and why is it in me’s house? Do you know it yelled da whole time you were gone? And dat pee pee smell? It’s dat thing mommy. ( Mommy snaps a photo and then fixes the girls dinner. She sets down Dezi’s plate and then one for the baby)
Yes Dezi, I know. That’s your new sisfur and helper, and my new Service kitty. I’m sorry she yelled the whole time I was gone, I didn’t think she would. She was quiet and peaceful the whole way home. And I’ll give her a bath after she eats some dinner, okay?. She had a bit of a rough start to life like you did baby. She’s never been outside of a cage and she was surrounded by huge dogs that peed everywhere. My nose and eyes were burnin’ and waterin’ after just a few minutes in that house.
Is dat why her eye is all matted and she’s got a snotty nose?
Kind of sweetheart. But don’t worry, she’s gonna be fine. She knew she was gonna be okay a few minutes after we left too. She slept most of the way home. Now I know you need a couple of days to adjust, but I expect you to get a grip soon and help me to start training her to be a good kitty okay Dezi? Dezi?
Hissssssssssssssssss Mommy, tell her to get away from me’s dinner.
Hey, you, get back. Don’t you know what Hissssss means?
Dezi, her name isn’t hey you, it’s RaenaBelle Maycee High.
Oh mommy, you and your names. What are we supposed to call her? Surely you don’t want me to say da whole thing all da time, right?
No baby, we’re gonna call her Raena.
Why mommy? Me knows there’s a reason, so why?
Yes dear there’s a reason. Raena is the shortened form of Raanan which means ‘New Beginnings’. And that’s exactly what she is for us, a new beginning.
Well mommy me’s just not so sure ‘bout all this, but me will give her a chance fur you. And fur all me’s furiends out there wonderin’ zactly how you say her name, it sounds like Ray-nah. Mommy just has to be different. And needless to say we didn’t get a bit of sleep her furst night here and not much da second either. Maybe it wasn’t all her fault, but dat’s a story fur another day. Let me tell ya’ dat girls got a set of lungs on her and she’s a chatty little thing. You think me’s chatty. Hmmpht Me’s got nuthin’ on her. And she’s fearless, and smart and she’s purretty enuff me supposes. Mommy gave her a bath so she don’t stink anymore so there’s dat. She’s got more energy than me’s seen in a while and she doesn’t back down when me threatens her either. Mommy says she’s a lot like me, specially in dat way. And she even tried to give mommy a head massage her second day here.
But mostest ‘purrtantly, she luvs me’s mommy. She wants to be right with mommy everywhere. So maybe she ain’t dat bad after all. She saw da VET on Fursday when me did and she got a clean bill of health. Her eye and nose is somethin’ mommy be watchin’ to make sure it clears up on it’s own as it wasn’t serious enuff fur medicine at this time. She weighs a whole pound and a half and was born on April 21st. She’s a bi-color Ragdoll, but her points aren’t clear enuff to call yet. Mommy says she has flame patch on her ear just like me does. Another story fur another day.
Anyways, there ya’ have it. And this ain’t even half of what happened in da furst week. So me will give ya’ da 411 on how things be goin’ as we go okay? And yes, Raena will be chattin’ it up with ya’ll from time to time so you’ll get to know her too. And we’ll be tellin’ all ‘bout da trainin’ as it happens. Raena’s already finished trainin’ mommy to be crazy about her so, she should do really well when it comes her time to learn. We have no doubts God sent her to us. So whether you believe God did it, or sis Lexi did it, or whatever you choose to believe, we just hope like mommy said yesfurday, dat you all learn to luv her as much as we do. Me’s gotta go now and remind her dat me’s da queen and she’s da princess; and me was here furst.
Meowllo everypawdy, me hopes you all had a pawsum weekend. We did a lot of nothin’. Last week was really busy and hot. Me got lots of sunshine just like da weather guesser said. Da storms are back now, and me actually hung out with mommy a bit this meownin’, thunder boomers and all. Anyways, all dat goin’ and doin’ last week was really stressful and exhaustin’ fur mommy, so when Caturday came we just crashed. But me did tell ya’ dat me had some big news to share with you all so we took a break from our break to paw in.
Drum roll purrlease…
Me finally has a new sisfur. Now me knows you all wanna see her and hear all ‘bout it. And ya’ wanna know her name and ya’ wanna know how we be getting’ along, right? Well…You’ll just have to wait till tomorrow fur all dat. Mommy wanted to have a little say ‘bout some things today, so me told her she could have a paragraph but no more. This is after all me’s bloggy and me’s Blest Sunday posty. Anyways, take it away mommy, but ‘member, keep it short; me has a few more things to say meself.
Hey you there. Who said you could sleep in me’s new cat bed?
Thank you darlin’. As Dezi says all the time, we are truly blest to have all of you in our lives. Since losing Lexi I have been a bit of a mess. And each day that Dezi grieved and had to try to help me by herself I felt guilty that I couldn’t help her or seem to get her help in the form of another kitty. I have always said any cat can be trained to be a Service cat, and I still believe that. But, if you don’t already have a bond with a cat then a kitten is the best choice because they are eager to learn. And they aren’t being taught tricks, they’re being taught how to help me continue to live independently. So our search for Dezi’s helper had only 2 prerequisites, we had to have a female and she had to be a kitten. Nothing else mattered. So each day I would make numerous calls to shelters, and rescues and to any online or printed ads I could find. During our search we “claimed” and applied for numerous kittens, but something would always happen. We lived too far out of the rescues’ adoptable area, we couldn’t afford the adoption fee, we were only adopting 1 and they required 2 when adopting kittens, the kittens were sick, and the worst, the kittens died. And then we found one. But, now we faced a moral dilemma because she was being sold by a backyard breeder. We in no way support these breeders, but they do exist. The State of Oklahoma is full of them.
So we posted our quandary and asked you our friends for advice. I’ve gone back and forth many times over whether or not to address the comments of that post, and well, here it is. After crying many tears I must say I expected much more compassion and understanding for our situation; especially since I was and am still reeling from the loss of Lexi. Since I need the assistance of my service cats everyday, we don’t have an unlimited amount of time to wait for the ‘right’ kitten to show up. And who’s to say the ‘right’ kitten isn’t one from a backyard breeder. The fact is those kittens have been born and now need a forever home just like the ones at shelters and rescues. And just because someone charges upwards of $1000.00 for their kittens doesn’t always make them or their kittens any better than backyard breeders. It’s supposed to, but things don’t always work like they should. And altho I knew I would have to pay an adoption fee, I don’t make anywhere close to a thousand dollars in a month and what I do make has to pay the bills and feed the kitties. Yet another reason I didn’t bother to check with breeders. Everybody calls it adoption these days no matter the charge. And make no mistake, in our part of the world at least, you’re buying that kitty or doggy from a rescue or shelter. With adoption fees ranging from $75.00 to $250.00, they’re not much less than most breeders in our area charge; who often get $250.00 to $450.00 for their “responsibly” bred purebreds. In the end, we prayed about it and saved the life of a beautiful female kitten. And you know what? She is the ‘right’ one for our family. We only hope that you all love her as much as we do. I’ll hush now and turn it back over to Dezi.
Thanks mommy, but you took more than 1 paragraph there. Anyways, me’s gonna be innerducin’ me’s new sisfur to you all tomorrow so me hopes you will stop by fur a visit and welcome her to Blogville. We are so blest to have found her, are are grateful to all of you fur your luv, support and purayers. ‘Member to take a moment today and everyday to count your blessings. Today me’s gonna join da Kitties Blue fur Sunday Selfies. And don’t furget to enter me’s give away fur a pawsum new litter mat here. And me thought you might like to see some fotos of me carefully surveyin’ da newbie her furst night here. Now dat’s a lot of And’s ain’t it?. We’ll be ‘round to visit as soon as we can. Da lights have been flickerin’ but we’s hopin’ da power stays on and da innernet stays up.
Service Cats U.S. 