Update on Baby Cat

You'll probably remember that a couple of weeks ago I started fostering a baby kitten. Since my last report, we have all grown head over heels in love with the little nipper and - with my long suffering husband's blessing - my son is adopting the little one. He named him "Zavalon Dexter", or ZD for short. This was after my husband said that I couldn't name the cat because I always came up with weird names. Guess my son inherited cat naming from me.
So we took the little one to the vet because of problems with colic and diarhea and found out that our "He" was a "She" . Totally OK with that other than the fact that it's more expensive to spay females, but that's minor.

So little ZD is happy and healthy now, She's getting real cat ears instead of her little rounded cub ears she had before. Starting to explore a little bit. Eating canned food mixed with her formula in a bottle and last night she actually played with a kitty toy I had bought for her.

In this picture she looks a little like a squirrel.

Sweet Little Baby Needs Me

Approximately 2-3 weeks ago, a feral cat gave birth to a litter of kittens in a field near a friend's house. Not long after, a mower went through the field and killed all of the kittens except this one. So I have a poor little orphan to bottle feed. He's TINY - that's a quarter by his head. And he's been having a little trouble with colic. But I think he will be just fine. I'll be sad when it comes time to part with him. I already have 9 cats and can't take anymore. But I'll feel good knowing that he got a chance at a good life in someone's home - not running around wild.
So here is my rant. There are lots of options out there for low cost spaying and neutering. Please don't adopt a pet if you aren't going to have them fixed.
Another scenario - My father lives out in the country. Someone thought he'd make a great host to their throw-away pet, so they dumped a half feral cat off at his house. He took pity on it and started feeding it, but had a hard time getting close. Unfortunately, the cat was pregnant and very soon gave birth to 2 kittens under his house. By the time that the kittens showed themselves, they were wild as little jack rabbits and twice as fast. Dad kept working with the mama cat and finally got her tamed down enough to catch her and take her in to be fixed. But by that time, one of the kittens was pregnant. So he worked at taming them down and eventually caught her and got her fixed as well, but not before she had 2 kittens of her own. You see where I'm heading? One of her kittens got pregnant and had FOUR kittens. So now from one original stray, he has 9 cats and kittens. I finally saw the need to step in - Dad isn't as young as he used to be, so I went down there and trapped the four kittens - a terrifying experience for them. Then I kept them in my bathroom to try and tame them down a bit. Finally, my friend Janetta, who works for the Humane Society, took them and kept them in her shop and they are now socialized and tame enough to adopt out. But not until they are neutered or spayed!

Two of the 4 kittens from my Dad's house.

If you have a pet and don't want it anymore, PLEASE take it to a shelter. It may cost you a little bit of money, but that is your responsibility for taking it in the first place. The shelter will get it fixed and adopt it out - or it may have to euthanize the poor thing because there are more pets than pet-lovers, but death is preferable to living in the wild where diseases attack cat colonies and they are preyed upon by coyotes and such.

My Daughter, Bryn, feeding a feral orphan. We kept this one.

These are sweet little creatures and deserve a good home. But please don't bring any more into the world. There are plenty to adopt already.

"Wicked" trying to escape the bathroom. We tamed her down and kept her, but she refuses to come in the house. Instead, she lives under the neighbor's shed and comes home for food and lovies.

Thanks for letting me rant and remember -Spay and Neuter Your Pet!

The Magic in Our Methods

I was reading a letter from a fellow artist a while ago and she was expressing the emotions she puts into her beadwork. She said that each piece holds feelings of peace and inspiration. Yeah! I get that. Sometimes I get so involved in beading that it's almost trance-like. I feel very peaceful and joyful. The endorphins have kicked in. I am in my Zen.
So do those feelings transfer to the new owner of the piece when it is sold? I think so. I have had pieces that I have bought from other artists and some have wonderful feelings attached, some are gloomy, and some make me agitated. Is this what the makers were feeling when they made them? If so, should I be charging extra for the calming vibes of my beadwork? Of course not. But it is nice to know that I am sharing some calm and peace with my customers, whether they are tuned into it or not.
So how about you? Do you have a certain emotion that sets in when you do your art? Or is it different with each piece. Is a disturbing painting disturbing because of it's visual value, or because the painter was filled with angst as he painted it? I'd love to hear from you about your thoughts on this. Do you get "vibes" from art? And do you think it's from your relationship with the piece or the maker's? Or both?
So sorry again for my tardiness in picking a winner for the Give-Away. June's Give-Away recipient is..... LOIS MOON! Send me your mailing address, Lois, and I will get your brooch in the mail to you pronto.
Since my summer is a bit hectic and I haven't had as much time to blog as I'd like. I am going to take a bit of a break. I'll still write a little something now and then, but I'm curtailing the Give-Aways until the beginning of the Fall/Winter season. But I'll make it up by making my first return Give-Away a doozy. Stay tuned.