After a bad shin splint forced me to cancel hitting Dupont with my friends, I was inspired by the photo of a lovely shelter dog (who has since been adopted) and me in my mom’s article “Help Wanted: Dogs” (about working dogs) in the March/April issue of Yes Mag, the Science Magazine for Adventurous Minds…
Author: Bethany
Food-motivated though not food-aggressive bleeding heart animal lover and advocate. Views expressed do not reflect those of employers & may include bad words.
Lesson from Toby (and other animals)
I have scared Toby (on accident!) before and I have given him the indignity of a bath. I have caused Toby to be upset with me. However, within ten minutes he’s always back to being a happy loving kitty who wants me to know how much he loves me by purring as loudly as possible….
I Think It’s Progress…
Nikolai now can get to the top of the bed directly from the floor without using my ottoman as a stepping stool. He still scrambles a little and it’s utterly adorable to watch. I ended up giving his butt a boost the first time because he looked like he was about to fall back to…
Cats > Negative People
I got home today, my comparatively-short commute having been tripled in length by drivers doing apparently everything except driving, my headache seeming unlikely to improve given the blaring bass from my neighbor’s apartment, and the frustration of a long day at the end of the long week making me extraordinarily cranky. And Nikolai came up…
Training a Cat
Poor Nikolai has some scruffy patches in what will eventually be a beautiful, shiny black coat. Because of this, I’m hoping some special “tricks” will help him be more adoptable, plus give me a way to calm him at adoption events. I started working with him today and found that he likes food but won’t…
What’s New
Apologies for writing so sporadically lately. I’ve been working on a complete guide to adopting in the DC metro area which is keeping me rather busy. Also, I’ve been learning about fostering and now I have a foster kitty! Two cats, one Beth, the inmates will be running the asylum. Right now there’s just a…
Not So Capital in the Capital
DC’s city council is considering a bill that would ban pit bulls. Not only are these bills an ineffective waste of money (as Baltimore County demonstrated), these bills hurt people, shelters, and dogs. They hurt the people who love their pit bulls and know what great dogs they are. They hurt the kids who grow…
Events
I’m excited that tonight my old apartment community is having another of the cat adoption events I started while living there. It was my first time setting up such an event but I talked to the right people, pointed out how it was great for the community, connected people with each other, and set in…
The downside of catsitting
After falling for a beautiful squeaky kitty 1/3 Toby’s size, you have to give her back to her mom and watch your cat look in all her hiding spots wondering where the little one went. He spent the past few days trying to play with Bella while she ran away (she was a little shy…
Capital Cats Make Waves Across the Pond
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/7895280.stm Washington Humane Society’s Kittengarden (which sadly my Toby is too old to join) got a spot on the BBC! In these classes, people learn how to work with their cats and make life fun and interesting while also safe for them. The video does note a difference I’ve seen in books regarding American/British views…