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Just Being Herself

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And then she can be so silly!
And then she can be so silly!

BETWEEN THREE AND four million pets lose their lives in shelters in the US each year despite all our efforts to find them an adoptive home, and yet only 30% of pets adopted across the country are adopted from shelters.* While we celebrate the happy adoptions, “Remember Me Thursday” hopes to remember those pets who were not adopted and “shine a light” on those who are still waiting for forever homes—and who we can save and help to reduce the numbers of pets euthanized in shelters each year by encouraging the adoption of shelter pets.

I have added a new litterbox to the basement. Exciting news for you to read, I’m sure, but I can tell you that, for my felines, the appearance of another litterbox in a new spot in the basement rose quite the fuss. Three kittens have been roaming the house full time in addition to the seven adults, and with only five boxes in the basement and the sixth in the bathroom now closed off with new fosters, we needed at least one extra somewhere. I decided on an older square box I’d used under the sink in the bathroom, compact with high sides, that would fit perfectly at the foot of the stairs, even when I had the basement door open. Others will find a place when I clean up some of the areas where water collects on the floor when it rains (and someday the borough will fix the street).

Bella disappears behind the door.
Bella disappears behind the door.

The new box was a hit. So much of one that I actually had to clean it more than once per day at first because everyone had to use the new box. Today I scooped everything out and Bella hopped in and began scraping the sides over top of nothing, so I knew, after all that excitement of using the new box, there was now a smell in less than a week that she found repugnant. She hopped out and looked at me, walking away with her tail in the air.

Bella is the litterbox supervisor and quality control attendant.

Bella appears from behind the door.
Bella appears from behind the door.

I scrubbed the box and let it dry while I scooped the others. I replaced it in its corner, added litter, then opened the basement door which everyone had been waiting for, but Bella’s work was not done. Oh, no, Bella had to glide in behind the door and shortly after her tail disappeared I heard her furiously moving litter around in the box. Apparently I had not spread the litter to her satisfaction.

Bella strolls proudly.
Bella strolls proudly.

She appeared around the edge of the door, gave me a stern look (which I did not catch in a photograph), then strolled proudly out and headed for the boxes under the steps. Here, again, even though I’d scooped and refilled I apparently still had work to do as she sat behind them and looked at me. “Well?” I had no idea what to do so I smoothed the surface in each box and put the scoop away.

"Can't you see what's wrong?"
“Can’t you see what’s wrong?”

Bella heaved a big impatient sigh and, beginning with the box on the end, walked through each one and moved the litter around to her specifications. I will never get it right. What would I do without Bella to make up for my shortcomings? She continued with the other two boxes in the basement.

"Fixing" the litterboxes.
“Fixing” the litterboxes.

Her work done she settled to some relaxation with her fur sister-mentor Mewsette to watch the chipmunks and voles race back and forth past the door (lest the watching felines pin them down with just their intent gazes).

Spending time with fur sister Mewsette.
Spending time with fur sister Mewsette.

A little later she had some mentoring of her own with those younger than her as she poked Simon repeatedly, testing his self-control not to leap and attack her until she gave the signal, and then they could wrestle.

Basil repeatedly touches Simon as a test.
Basil repeatedly touches Simon as a test.

Bella is silly and endlessly entertaining, a quiet kitty but a huge personality, loping along on those long legs, or round-eyed watching whatever is outside the window as if the world is turning on it, always creatively using her time, and always busy. I have to hold back my laughter because it might frighten her and she takes herself very seriously, but she’s grown accustomed to me stalking her with my camera and sketch pad.

charcoal sketch of black cat
“Bella Birdwatching” revised photo reproduction (more accurate), black and white charcoal on gray toned paper, 5.5″ x 8.5″ © Bernadette E. Kazmarski

She seems to like being the boss, but in truth she simply feels more secure when she has some measure of control over her surroundings, and those surroundings include me, and all the cats, and all the things. Bella came here just about a year ago after losing some of her socialization when she’d gone to an offsite adoption area and not adjusted well, then went to another foster home where she was loved but there were dogs, and then to here where I thought she and newly rescued Smokie, now Basil, might get along well. They hit it off famously and Bella was fine with being in the foster room with me being in the room, Smokie and toys and food and everything, but I could not touch her. I could not even reach for her.

black cat with statue
Bella spends time with her sister goddess, Anuket.

Over the past year she has spent more and more time with the other cats with me, relaxing and trusting more, and even just by herself with me, and now and then she even approaches me and does fancy things with her tail to let me know that it’s okay to pet her now, she’d like that very much. I never overstay my welcome. She may never be cuddly, she may always run at first when she’s not expecting a touch, but over time she may relax into familiarity with whatever circumstances she finds herself in.

Bella was born outdoors, and without several people trapping and providing spay/neuter, vaccinations and, if possible, socialization and rehoming to her colony, she would have lived her life outdoors and likely died there. She needs time to adjust, and can be difficult to get to know, and in a shelter setting she would not have lasted long but would likely have become a statistic, losing her life to the endless parade of unintended kittens who were cute and cuddly while she cowered and hid. As a black cat her chances would have been even dimmer and this goofy, imaginative, graceful kitty would have been lost to the world. Her eventual adoptive home understands this need in her, as does her fur partner Basil, less timid, but still one to treat quietly and carefully.

two black cats on windowsill
Bella imparts some “older kitty” wisdom to Smokie.

Because she came to me just about one year ago I dedicate this year’s “Remember Me Thursday” post to Bella and cats like her, orphans, abandoned cats who would not have survived if people had not cared about the welfare of cats and pursued her to bring her to whatever level of safety was appropriate for her. Even today people I know are out there trying to save orphaned kittens, mother cats, elderly cats, colonies of cats who have no care or inadequate care.

In 2013 I shared the story of Baxter and Bailey, two cats who we won’t be remembering by lighting candles today because of a shelter who does its best to give frightened cats an extra chance, rescuers who were ready to take the two and a foster home who helped them recover from the trauma of losing their human. The actions of the shelter itself, their rescuers and their foster home all changed the game for these two cats and proved that shelter cats are worth the effort of saving and are excellent pets.

Last year I featured Basil who would have been one of those three to four million shelter deaths because he failed his temperament test and was considered unadoptable along with far too many others. And it’s not because the animals had something wrong with them—certainly there was nothing wrong with Basil that a little extra socialization didn’t fix, and now he’s a perfect and perfectly beautiful cat, headed for a loving forever home. And it’s not because the people in that shelter hate animals and want to kill them instead of finding homes. Smokie and his sibling were rescued and surrendered there, and sent to foster by the shelter itself, given veterinary care and one sibling was successfully adopted. They did all they could with the means they had to find homes for the two brothers. Then the rescue I volunteer with stepped in to help, and got Smokie to me. It’s because all these people know the fate of millions of animals and work hard on both parts—getting animals adopted, and getting them the care they need to get adopted if they have challenges, and preventing the deaths of ever more pets. And I will always have a place for a Smokie or a Bella or a Kennedy or an Emeraude and Lakota, as I have always had a place for a Cookie or a Sophie or a Peaches and all the others, to make sure they don’t end up a euthanasia statistic in a shelter.

The Helen Woodward Animal Center, the organization behind the “Remember Me Thursday” campaign, encourages animal lovers and animal welfare organizations not just in the US but across the globe to come together on the fourth Thursday of September—this year, Thursday, September 24, 2015—with a Remember Me Thursday pet candle-lighting ceremony.

remember me Thursday
Visit the website to light a virtual candle.

According to the website,

“The candles, which will be lit on the exact same day across the world, will honor the millions of pets who lost their lives without the benefit of a loving home and shine a light on the millions of healthy pets who are still awaiting adoption. The Remember Me Thursday global awareness campaign encourages individuals to light a candle this day (literally or virtually) and to opt to adopt, reducing the millions of orphan pets euthanized each year.”

The Remember Me Thursday global awareness campaign is championed by Mike Arms, President and CEO of Helen Woodward Animal Center, and creator of both the International Pet Adoptathon and successful Home 4 The Holidays program which, in partnership with national animal organizations, has placed 8.3 million pets in homes since 1999. He is joined in partnership with the Mayor’s Alliance for NYC’s Animals, which represents over 150 animal welfare organizations in New York, New York and by animal organizations worldwide.

In both 2013, the first year of this campaign, and 2014, over 138 countries supported the day, and over 100,000 individuals around the globe each year held candle-lighting ceremonies of their own. To read more about this event and to light a virtual candle in remembrance of a shelter pet, visit visit www.remembermethursday.org.

We remember pets in shelters and rescues every day here on The Creative Cat and hope you’ll visit the site and light a virtual candle, and also spread the word in social media as well as go out and actively encourage someone to adopt a pet from a shelter. Locally, an article cited statistics from a Best Friends Animal Society survey of 1,000 young adults, the new generation of pet guardians, showing that only 31% had adopted their pets from shelters, had little idea that pets faced euthanasia if they weren’t adopted, and viewed shelter pets as “damaged goods”. Others insist they need to “know what they’re getting” when they adopt an animal and opt for a purebred pet. We need to even out the playing field and highlight all those animals in shelters who are waiting to fill the needs of these prospective adopters.

Shelters for animals are the center of services for them, a place to land when homeless but not the end of the line or their only option for finding a new home. Many shelters have outreach programs that place pets in PetSmart programs or in other pet stores in their area, or who have adoption kiosks in malls, who attend community events or any number of other offsite adoption opportunities for animals. Many also work with their local community through smaller rescues who can take special needs pets and foster homes who can raise young kittens or puppies, administer medications to sick animals or socialize a frightened animal. All these actions have helped to reduce the numbers of euthanasia in shelters as well as increase the adoption of animals who find themselves in shelters.

*These statistics are from the HSUS.


Can’t adopt? Foster! Can’t foster? Donate or volunteer.

There are so many ways you can help cats who need homes and care. You may not have room to adopt another cat, but can foster a cat or kitten for a few weeks. If not that, you can volunteer at a shelter or with a rescue, or donate. You do this because you love your cat, and by doing so you help all cats. No matter which of these actions you take, you help to save a life, and make life better for all cats.

  • Adopt one of the cats I’ve posted here, or from any shelter or rescue near you, or from Petfinder, to open up a space for another cat to be rescued and fostered.
  • Offer to foster cats or kittens for a shelter or rescue near you.
  • Volunteer at a shelter or rescue.
  • Find a group of volunteers who work with homeless cats and help them with their efforts.
  • Donate to a shelter or rescue near you.

If you can foster kittens or adults cats to help prepare them for a forever home, please run to your nearest shelter and find a cat who needs you! Anyone can help with this effort at any level, even if all you do is donate to a shelter or rescue so they can help to pay for the food or medications needed for their foster, or the spay/neuter/veterinary care during a clinic.

Need to know more? Read Fostering for Your Shelter and Fostering Saves Lives


Browse some rescued cats and kittens—browse here or visit PittsburghCAT!

cats and kittens
Gallery view of Pittsburgh CAT cats for adoption.

All images used on this site are copyrighted to Bernadette E. Kazmarski unless otherwise noted and may not be used without my written permission. Please ask if you are interested in using one in a print or internet publication. If you are interested in purchasing a print of this image or a product including this image, check my Etsy shop to see if I have it available already. If you don’t find it there, visit Ordering Custom Artwork for more information on a custom greeting card, print or other item.


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© 2015 | www.TheCreativeCat.net | Published by Bernadette E. Kazmarski
Weekly schedule of features:
Sunday: Essays, Pet Loss, Poetry, The Artist’s Life
Monday: Adoptable Cats, TNR & Shelters
Tuesday: Rescue Stories
Wednesday: Commissioned Portrait or Featured Artwork
Thursday: New Merchandise
Friday: Book Review, Health and Welfare, Advocacy
Saturday: Your Backyard Wildlife Habitat, Living Green With Pets, Creating With Cats
And sometimes, I just throw my hands in the air and have fun!
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