By Elisa Black-Taylor

In this article, I’d like to reflect back on what I consider my most important stories for 2012. I have summarized the stories and added a link at the end. These are the articles that meant the most to me.

DO YOU HAVE CAT GRANDKIDS?

This article was a lot of fun to do. With the economy being so bad, many couples have decided against having children. They opt instead for a dog or cat, whom they then by presents and treats for. The parents of the cat or dog couple also get into the act these days by bringing a “gift” when they visit or buying presents for Christmas and birthdays. The pet toy industry is a booming business, with an estimated $50 billion dollars spent on pet toys this past year. This doesn’t include treats or specialty foods. Click this for the story.

THE RIGHT TO SEIZE A FIV CAT

When news of this came out, it made headlines across the U.S. Cat lovers, especially those who care for FIV+ cats, couldn’t believe a veterinarian or the police could take it upon themselves to have the cats seized and brought back to the clinic for euthanasia. FIV continues to be a death sentence for cats who may otherwise live long and happy lives in the proper family. It’s something for the cats companion to decide-NOT the government. This article really struck a nerve with me. The next thing the government will be doing is to order us to kill our cats should they develop a manageable illness. Wait a minutes, that’s what happened here, because FIV IS manageable! Click this for the story.

DO YOU REALLY KNOW HOW OLD YOUR CAT IS?

You’d think this would be a no-brainer for a cat companion. It took me almost two years to figure out almost every adult cat I rescued had a shelter age of 2 years. We later found this to be wrong with Cocoa, Mia, Sealy and Tom(who was 14 at the time of his rescue instead of 2). I imagine the shelter is giving a guesstimate on a cats age, leaving it to the person who rescues or adopts to determine the true age through a vet visit. Don’t take the word of the shelter should you adopt an adult cat. Have your vet do a thorough exam as to be prepared for illnesses that occur as a cat ages. Click this for the story.

INDOOR CAT VS OUTDOOR CAT ILLNESSES AND ACCIDENTS

This story was an important one, as risks differ depending on where a cat “lives.” Please also follow the link provided in this article back to a story I did called Accidental Ways To Kill A Cat. The readers really outdid themselves telling of some inside dangers I never thought of. We all need to be aware of what a cat may find interesting to get into trouble with, even if the cat lives indoors. Click this for the story.

OUR BROKEN CATS GOT FIXED

Furby wrote this one and ordered me to include it as his best story of the year. It also leads back to his best story titled I Got Neutered by Furby. This article tells of the experience of Cujo, Jasper and Sammy being neutered. From a cats viewpoint, of course. Furby has a delightful insight of the world that a lot of us overlook, being the mere humans we are. I also did a previous article called Cat Neuter vs Dog Neuter where I included videos of both surgeries. Click this for the story.

FELINE AND CANINE PYOMETRA

I’d never head of feline and canine pyometra until our neighbors dog Abby almost died from the condition. This article shows one more reason (besides overpopulation) for a female cat to be spayed. Abby’s back to her usual sweet self now, after costing her family almost $600 for treatment to save her life. Click this for the story.

CAT THERAPY FOR NEWTOWN SCHOOL SHOOTING VICTIMS

This will be the most important story for 2012. Period. Not only is it the most tragic event of the year, it’s opened the door for discussion on how mental illness is left untreated in this country. The school shootings in Newtown brought it all home for the residents of my county. We were probably the first to experience an elementary school shooting back in 1988. I round one ray of sunshine in the work being done by Robin Olson, who is opening her home for the children and adults affected by the tragedy to have some comfort time with her rescue cats. Click this for the story.

SOCIAL MEDIA PET IDENTITY THEFT

This is another article Furby insisted I include in my top favorite articles for 2012. In this article, Furby talks about the growing number of cats and dogs who are being “impersonated” by their human companions on social media networking sites. I don’t know how he got the notion this is taking place. I firmly deny any knowledge of these actions. Click this for the story.

IN MEMORY OF A DOG WHO LOVED CATS

My year wouldn’t be complete without writing about the passing of my best friend Dreyfuss. He was the best dog a dog lover could ever hope for. Dreyfuss began slowing down after Christmas last year. We knew Christmas 2011 would be the last with us. Dreyfuss passed peacefully on September 6, 2012 and his ashes sit in a decorative urn by my bed. His spirit does pay us a visit every so often. Cujo lets us know by barking his little head off and running over to where Dreyfuss used to lay in the kitchen floor. Dreyfuss stopped in the other night after Laura popped some bubble wrap. Dreyfuss hated the stuff and would climb up into my lap any time he heard it. Click this for the story.

SEALY

Sealy has definitely made an impact on 2012. He’s gone from being a shy, withdrawn, critically injured cat to a lap kitty that knows to jump in his feeding cage to demand food. Sealy spent almost five months in a cage to protect his head wound where a car fan blade took off an ear and indented his skull. I never dreamed he’d be a lap cat who isn’t happy unless he has lap time of no less than three hours a day. Sealy has even learned to play with our fingers or to chase a ball on a string. I really never thought he’d be a playful kitty, but he’s proving me wrong.

Sealy doesn’t want to play much with the other cats yet. He’s learned to “play dead” when a cat tries to engage him in a game of chase. He’ll sleep with the other cats, but he refuses to play any of their little chasing games. Sealy literally falls over on his side and lays there until the offending cat has moved on to find a willing playmate. Then he gets up and goes about his business of being a normal healthy cat.So when someone asks me whether Sealy does anything “special,” I tell them of his playing dead maneuver.

You can see a list of Sealy articles by clicking on this link (results of custom search). I also have a page dedicated to him on my website at Sealy’s Journey. He’s also on Facebook under Prayers For Sealy. Sealy has been doing his own posts on Facebook since September. Sealy is all about raising awareness to the dangers of car fan blades. I get a lot of positive feedback for running those articles.

I hope the readers here will enjoy this recollection of my favorite articles. I’ve stayed away from the abuse articles as much as possible. I’d be writing day and night to keep up with all of them, and I find it too depressing. I feel 2013 will bring about more interesting and unusual articles. I scout the internet daily for them. Sometimes my friends send me links and I find it something I believe the readers here would like to know about. Or something I’D like to know about. Unfortunately, it’s not always good news.

Stay with me here for 2013, dear readers. The best is yet to come. Either that or I’ll stick my foot in my mouth as I do on occasion…

Elisa