Site’s Purpose?
- The muses made me do it. So, really no specific purpose. [An Cat Dubh]
Inspiration?
- It began with an online rant on a Cats-Help forum (my geek muse escaped!) after being led down several unending rabbit-holes of endless drivel. After several searches, frustrated by the unhelpful posts (I’m being nice!) of ‘cat help’ provided by ‘cat-friendly’ people that told me squat – except about their life stories, evident neuroses and inability to stay on topic, in a concise manner. So (another muse slipped loose!). And I vented in a post on the site in which I expressed my opinion on the unhelpful nature of their twaddle and blather postings. Weeks later I opened up an e-mail from the franchise pet-site. Subject Line: you have been banned …. blah-blah-blah. Apparently, I had triggered someone’s sensitivity meter. My reaction was, ‘like I care!‘. Again, being polite.
What was the search about?
- I had been searching for pet (Hints & Tips , How-To ..?) information online on how to train new kittens. At that stage in familiarisation with their new environment, we had, cautiously, begun experimenting with them being unleashed on the balcony. Even while under our supervision. But leashed or not, the balcony’s edge was an anxiety-inducing experience as they both repeatedly crawled under to peer over the ledge. Thus the online search. How to …..
What was learnt?
- To be fair, I did learn that there is an entire industry out there dedicated to animals and their pet owners.
- Also, supposedly, cats are not real fond of water or being wet. One day, as it rained, they were out unleashed. I observed that where the rainfall left a wide swath-line along the edge, they would not venture across. The puddled water line became a curiosity that they somehow felt cautious about. They had not been exposed to open-water at that point except in their bowl fountain. Hmmm?
- In the end, before letting them out I would use a watering can to lay a watery boundary along the edges. Varying the width from wide to narrower as they adapted to its significance when outside and close to the edge. Along with some vocal reinforcements. They are now a bit less cautious but often respectful of the invisible boundary. And they now get to spend more time out, unleashed and, at times, unsupervised.
It did not cost a penny, as most online sites seem to promote as possible, training solutions. That is my cat-hack’, for whatever it is worth.
I think that spraying cats with any type of liquid as a training tool is just downright cruel! Just as I feel that Spaying pets – (I don’t mean cows, and goats or sheep) is cruel – Household Animals is cruel! PETA are you out there?!
So, when you next hug or cuddle your favourite kitty imagine a …. ‘Soft Kitty, Warm Kitty, Little Ball of Fur. Happy Kitty, Sleepy Kitty, Purr Purr Purr …’
And consider, a pet is an extension of yourself. So treat them as the companions that they are. You know, that christian thing about ‘doing unto others’? Others is not just humans, right? Life is more than a trip through time. It is a journey.
Names or markings are like the sweeping hands of a clock (in our digital era – the flipping digital displays) that note Time’s passage. But a name is more than a mere notation, mark or sign. It represents a particular instance or moment in the incessant, eternal, tick- tock ticking away of Time.
That is from just one perspective. Now imagine the kaleidoscopes that exist within just one moment in time … Tick!
As such, names are symbols, like everything else, humans use to identify or distinguish between each other, places and things, etc. Basic. It is why we often do not respond to names that are not related to ourselves. But in loud and crowded places, if the name (or sound) is same or similar to our own we, instinctively, react.
So, what is in a name? What do names really represent? Why are they even important? Time keeps on ticking ….. The Past is, indeed, the prologue to one’s Present and Future self.
Interestingly, in ancient times, there were lores describing a certain type of creature that existed in dark places and devoured the young, innocent or careless who wandered away from the safer paths. Often beguiled by trickery and led astray. Like say, the Devil personified?
Such creatures today are better known, in some circles, as trolls. who populate the nastier parts of ‘social-media communities’, like Twitter Trolls. Twitter /X (as the source) is the messenger /agent and the medium (means of distribution method) which distributes ‘tweets’ for the Twits who reside on Twitter. So, what is the message?
Consider William Shakespeare’s – A rose by any other name would smell as sweet … and, X, formerly know as Twitter, is populated by the same twits who twitter )or now spew out Xes instead of tweets. To tweet or not to tweet, is that not a question about twits and tweets?
Tweedle, tweedle, tweedle dee. Tweet-tweet.
When produce shopping, the expectation is that of Fresh or new products at the market. Who sets out to sell ‘stale or not-so-fresh‘ products – apart from the ‘previously enjoyed‘ promoters?
All-you-can-eat offers come with limits imposed at ‘all you can or willing to pay? Jumbo shrimps, anyone?
Music, it is said, can calm a savage beast (as well as piss them off). I suppose nothing is perfect. Cats have a calming and soothing effect on us humans. Remember what the door-mouse said – Feed Your Head …. or we can go around in circles.
About the original search question?
We have tried to kitty-proof the balcony area, as best as possible – especially around the gaps at floor level. These have been reduced by, strategically placing flower planters and recycled styrofoam strips (came from a package used to protect a laptop during shipping). You may think that ‘I did my part over environment concerns’., that I Re-used, Re-cycled and Reduced. Perhaps. It was simply practical.
This is not a public forum. Content and views expressed here are solely my own; and meant for anyone who randomly comes across the site and waste time scrolling through. There’s no commercial motive or content involved. Literally, it is A Pet Project©.
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[Year of The Cats – 2024]
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