Hello kitty lovers! My name is Garfield. I am a two year-old neutered declawed male tabby cat, who lives in the south of the good ole USA – in the Central Florida area.
No matter how hard I try to figure out the reason why my guardian bestowed that moniker on me, I continue to be at a loss for an answer to my burning question. My appearance and purrsonality doesn’t at all resemble that of the iconic cartoon character who was created by artist Jim Davis in 1978.
The breed of the original Garfield was an Exotic Shorthair. While my intelligence is on an equal or superior to his, I am far from “exotic”. I am just a kick back mixed-breed kitty who enjoys basking indoors in the sun, stretching out in the spacious window seat that my guardian prepared especially for me.
Unlike the “other Garfield”, I am neither lazy nor cynical, nor do I make hasty and nasty judgments of others in the manner for which he was famous. But we do have something very much in common (besides being felines). We are both passionate “foodies”.
And while he is vastly overweight, maybe even considered to be obese by those in the “know”, I am a slim, trim, muscularly built “hotty”. Let me tell you folks, I am beautiful beyond description.
Since the “other” Garfield was born in Mamma Leone’s Italian restaurant I can readily understand why he so greatly enjoyed chowing down on a plate topped high with lasagna. But since I was born in very simple surroundings in Florida, I far prefer dining on a delicious and nutritious can of species appropriate cat food which my guardian carefully prepares for my meals. My favorite flavors are chicken, turkey or beef. In fact, I may be one of the only kitties in the world that can truthfully brag about purring at the same time that I am polishing off my dinner.
Now I am sure by now that you all are wondering why I am taking so much time to introduce myself. You see, the “other” Garfield still continues to enjoy sharing himself in the homes of countless people who adore him. However, at the present time I am desperately in need a new and permanent loving home.
My guardian has become extremely ill. He suffers from Congestive, Obstructive Pulmonary Disease. Since he has difficulty breathing, his doctor informed him that he must quickly find a new home for me. He loves me deeply and is very upset about having to have me re-homed. Sadly however,he didn’t listen to his friend’s poignant pleas not to have me declawed. Obviously, as a result I am relegated to being an indoor-only kitty.
I am extremely affectionate, easy going, love people and am very playful. Even though I have been an “only” kitty, with some patience and understanding I bet I would enjoy sharing a home that has other cats. And in spite of being declawed I still use my litter box with no problems at all.
So if any of you readers are able to open your home to me, or you know someone who can, it would be more than greatly appreciated, since you guys know a lot about kitties it would make me feel very safe and secure.
Just leave a comment or let Michael Broad know about of your interest, and we can then proceed to work out plans for transportation and any necessary logistics.
Jo
Thanks for listening!
P.S. I don’t bite!
Update on Vincent and Torti:
I just got off the phone with Johanna who owns the Sanctuary to inquire about the cats.
She told me that they are doing extremely well, and now have a couple of new friends with whom to play who were also adopted from Zeus’ Place. They too will have a permanent home at the sanctuary.
I wish I had more detailed information, but it’s difficult to contact these folks- they are extremely busy. But Johanna assured me all is good.
Thanks Jo, that’s good news, I’m just glad that I don’t have to think of Vincent stuck in a cage without hope, any more.
Thanks, Jo.
So happy to hear that.
It’s so important to me to have a vet that doesn’t practice animal mutilation like declawing, silencing, tail bobbing…
I will miss Dr. Kramar so much, but that wife of his won’t let me have him. LOL! So selfish…
I have, finally, settled on a group of vets that seem very ethical and progressive in their thinking. They are, also, nonjudgmental and have no problem caring for ferals.
Dee, writing about your vets could be another little project. Sorry to keep giving you ideas for projects but we do love to praise good vets. Put that one in the queue with the others!
DONE!
Yea a good idea to write about good vets. I definitly got a great one over here in New Zealand.
YES more articles from Dee please 🙂
In the vault waiting for the time.
Can’t wait to read it, Dee.
When will the vault be opened? LOL
My mind is the vault. Just haven’t had much time to write it yet.
Plus, I’ll have a better assessment of my vet clinic when I start bring in ferals this week.
Totally agree! 😉
That being said Dee, if you see one of your feral’s who seems ill, and it isn’t one that you can approach – do you let nature take its course, or are you aggressive in capturing the cat? I’m asking for selfish reasons. I’ll report about that another time. I’m in a quandary though. When you help cats, but let them live free…when do you step in? How do you know when to help?
Not an easy question, DW.
If the cat is obviously injured, I will do everything I can to capture.
What’s hard with a colony and true ferals is that their illness isn’t always evident to me at first because I can’t get close. Sometimes, by the time I can see something is wrong, it’s quite serious. And, yes, I’ll try to capture them. Wild and sick is a combustible situation, and they are very hard to get unless they’re disoriented or weakened. Evidence of suffering is key as to whether the fight is worth their and my stress.
I have catch poles that are much gentler than what animal control has, but I hate using them unless there’s no other way. There have been a couple that I just couldn’t get, and they just disappeared (somewhere to die).
I think the cats who can’t be caught and helped or gently PTS for their own sake, prefer to revert to true wildness and go off somewhere to hole up and die.
I think that Nature takes over, they sort of ‘switch off’ and wait for their release.
It’s sad to think of a cat dying alone but I do think truly wild cats prefer it that way.
Amy,
Most doctors look for the “trigger” and without a thought in the world about the relationship between the cat and their patients immediately go to “get rid of the cat”.
They don’t for a moment think about how this can affect the emotional state of their patient. As far as I know, symptoms of COPD can be worsened with stress and upset.
This doctor didn’t give a fig about his patient OR his patient’s cat- and unfortunately, doctors are viewed as “gods” by many of their patients.
We made some really excellent suggestions to Garfield’s guardian about how to lessen the effects of dander, but he wasn’t interested in trying since his doctor “ordered him” to rehome the cat. That made me really angry. Sigh…
Hi Jo, there wasn’t a reply option on your comment above about Kirsten Doub, so I’m replying here.
She seems to be a lovely lady and a very ethical vet, I love it that she’s hoping to prove by xrays etc that declawing is indeed cruel! I hope she gets many declawed cats to study and help their caretakers with advice too AND to stop them ever having another cat declawed.
We are in touch because she is going to print off some of my anti declaw posters, which I’m VERY pleased about.
I think it would be good if you write an article about her and how she needs declawed cats to study, because you reach many American contacts who will hopefully share it.
We need to give her all the help we can xx
Ruth,
I will be contacting her ASAP. I have a lot of questions for her, and hope that she will be open to my writing about her. The “energy” in her email was so very inviting – so we shall see.
I think she will be happy to get lots of PR for her study of declawed cats.
Ruth!
I received another reply from Dr. D, and she has agreed to let me interview her. She would truly appreciate the support for her project, so I will be contacting her in the very near future.
I think she is amazing!! The love she has for these cats comes through very strongly in her emails.
Stay tuned!
wonderful, I wish more vets were like her
Well, to be blunt, I guess I will be the one to state the obvious: you declaw your “beloved” feline? and you’re told by your PC that the cat needs to go? /no problem!
Very disturbing story. I am against de-clawing from the get go. It is painful and can causes many different difficult problems for the cat. But I have to state I suffer from COPD and am owned by 7 cats and 2 dogs (all rescues) so why all of a sudden this person can not keep the cat? It does not seem to effect my COPD one bit. I guess my pets are lucky, but I would never give them up period. Frustration is running very high here.
What a beautiful cat. He reminds me of our Tigger we lost a few months ago. I do hope he finds a forever, loving home that will keep him inside and treat him like a king. Bless his heart.
I sure hope he finds a new home soon.
Beautiful article, Jo.
He deserves a solid, loving home.
He is a beautiful boy and one of my favorite colors too but alas….we are at capacity here with my own cats and several fosters. I sure hope he finds a good home. Such a beautiful boy. Please keep us informed. I know that the Kitty Railway would make sure he got to where he could have a forever home.
Very sad that this cat was declawed, why oh why do people not listen to sense and why do they think they know best and cripple their cats. I hope someone can find room for poor Garfield, it’s a miracle that he is still loving and playful and that might help him to find a new home with either someone else who begrudges cats their toes or with someone who is sympathetic to his plight and wants to help him for that reason, if I had a wish it would be that Garfield had never ended up in this situation by never having been adopted by the person who now needs to find a home for him, perhaps then someone would have adopted him who didn’t think amputating his toes was a great plan.
I love his tail. Very handsome boy. Looks like a big fella too. I would be surprised if no one adopted him. Thanks Jo!
Jo, great article! Thanks for looking out for kitties that need good loving homes.
What a beauty. I wish he could be teleported to Switzerland, to Marc. Marc is someone who could be trusted with these special circumstances. Many if us are of course, and I wish I could take him home. He looks like one of the very few who doesn’t immediately show signs of having been crippled by his owner, but over time he will. This one needs the right home.
This was sweetly written Jo, but wow. I hope it has a happy ending for Sir Garfield.
What a great idea. The more I see of red tabby the cats the more I like them. It would be very satisfying and please me no end if Garfield was re-homed as a result of this article.
Orange cats have the best personality, i never thought id love a orange cat but they got so much love to give. Also very vocal at least rebel is anyway
That’s interesting, Kylee. I was thinking that most ginger tabbies were non-vocal. My Shrimpie, who has endured more hardship than I can imagine, is rarely vocal. He uses his eyes, even his left, which is opaque, to voice his concerns. I am thinking that we should do some research on this… 🙂
yea sounds like a great idea. Maybe i could get brave and start using my camera that has hd on it. Record him when hes meowing/complaining. We often thought we would change his name to complaints. He is a male cat though.;.)
Sounds like a good idea. Maybe i could get brave and work out how to use the video recording on my panasonic lumix camera and see if i can record him while complaining to me. Rebel definitly as much as possible complains at all hours of the day. Never meet a cat like him. Hes laid back, but very vocal esp at sleep time. im sure he must know that when i go to sleep thats his time to talk. If i dont listen im in even more trouble.
just realised ive written too double posts. so ignore the first one.
And what do you think that he is trying to say? I know what Shrimpster is telling me, but that is because I’m a catwoman. lol And I know that you must be, too. Hmm, maybe we need an article specifically laying out the messages and gestures that our cats convey? That would be fun 🙂
yea it would be, yea im definitly a cat lover. Half my face book is full of cat things than anything else lol thats why i made the cats page to try and move them over. i feel quite bad at times, but ive alwys loved cats
well its either one of many things
Food, attention and love n cuddles, i want to annoy you and frustrate you. He often head bumps me and smooches. his meow goes from soft to more urqant ones. Then he stratches on wallpaper while looking at me. so i dont know what he wants
What is next to the wallpaper that he is scratching on? Is he allowed to scratch on a couch/chair, post, rug or a scratch board?
we just live in a rental home, i dont know whats behind it. The room is very big and is styled in victorian decor as in Oamaru we have Victorian Old style Buildings, we keep them in good condition.should find you the website so you can see what i mean.
I am a neighbor of Garfield and can vouch that he is very sweet natured and does not bite. He is a great guy and I would take him myself but I already have 5 cats.
Poor Garfield! Another declawed beautiful cat!
Well I’m sorry if I sound harsh but his guardian deserves to know how it feels to suffer if despite advice against declawing he still had this poor cat mutilated!
I hope he doesn’t end up like Vincent in care for years growing fatter and almost unadoptable.
BTW Jo have you any more news of Vincent and Torti?
Ruth,
The last thing I heard about Vincent and Torti was that they were on their way to the sanctuary and are doing well. I will keep on top of it- and make sure that all is ok.
I’d love to hear how Vincent and the torty are doing. I hope they are happy and chasing eachother around like when they were at the foster home for a bit.
The truth is, Marc, that the rescue centres that we are dealing with are not very communicative. Jo has done a sterling job communicating with them and struggled to receive responses and I have communicated with the animal sanctuary to where they are meant to be going and not received a response. In short, we have no news and it is disappointing because we want to help.
Well, then, my original fears were justified, at least with this issue. That WAS the gist of it, organizational concerns w/communications which left many of us feeling disconcerted. https://pictures-of-cats.org/vincent-and-torti-to-be-rehomed-at-a-sanctuary.html Follow-up of Dec 9, thanks to Jo, we at least got some levity.
You see, when I was eight or nine years old, I spent the night with a close (girl) friend, and her mom had just had their cat’s claws/knuckles removed. I worshipped cats at the time, I digress. Her paws were bandaged and when they had the bandages removed, her cat could still not walk. She was afraid to. at least, that is how I interpreted it. As days turned in to weeks, she still was ‘afraid’ to walk on her toes. She became mean.
So what I am saying is this, Marc. You are the only ailurophile who can take over for PoC’s original. Nobody else is capable. Please consider [and never stop].
Take over? Did I miss a meeting?
DW, to reassure you, I do not know what Caroline is talking about either. Don’t worry there is no handover going on. We will have to try to obtain a bit of clarification from Caroline as to what she means.
Whew!
Freaked me out too!
Michael this is a coup d’etat – I am forcibly taking over PoC 🙂
Thanks for the vote of confidence Caroline 🙂
LOL. One day, it might happen but at the moment I’ll keep on going! 🙂
its a good to hear that if something does happen to anyone someone else would carry on the job.
lol. Great, Marc–you cannot imagine how relieved I am 😉 not just that you are willing to take over, but that our Fearless Leader is not leaving town anytime soon. [whew!]
My apologies. I was in a fit of paranoia or something. My intuition gets all screwed up when I go w/o sleep. Better now! 😉
the pic worked yah.
Kylee, that is beautiful! (good job 🙂 )
thanks that was me a 5 years ago when i was much happier in life. Ill get another photo sometime of me as just coloured my hair.
thats a beautiful pic
It matters! Who had him tortured and abused in that manner? Give me a name, Miss Jo, so that I can make their life/lives a balanced hell.
I can so understand your anger Caroline!
Yes, I can understand Caroline’s anger as well and I think that she asks a reasonable question although it would help if Caroline asked in a slightly less angry way! 😉 I am not being critical, however.
Trust me! This “owner’s” neighbor and I were beyond furious that he didn’t listen to her. But I still blame the veterians FAR more than the owners at this time.
They have the capacity to truly educate their clients and talk about alternatives- AND thoroughly explain the dangers and risks facing cats that are declawed.
But the vets don’t listen to our passionate pleas either- they just willy nilly mutilate these kitties without as much as a “fare thee well”. I thought they all took a vow to “do no harm”. Well- they think they are not doing harm- they are helping- but they certainly are not HELPING the cats!
“veterinarians” sorry for typo.
How well I know what you are saying. My own vet of some two decades plus (now I have no vet that I can go to, other than emergency here in Lincoln, NE) sent me a reply to my terse, compassionate plea to end her declawing, suggesting that because she only performs ~four/mo now, she is in the clear. Baloney. I can’t get through to her, comrades, and I wish that I had a list of her clients, so that I could appeal to them. I don’t know that I should appeal directly to her techs, some of whom have been in her practice a very long time…Ruth, Michael, DW, Dee, Jo, Elisa?
Vet techs who work for declaw vets are in a precarious position, some have lost their jobs for speaking out. Some daren’t speak out because they need their job to earn money to survive. Some still think it’s OK to declaw cats, it’s a minefield!
I think the best way is to educate the people who have cats, which is difficult because most people trust their vets and think because that vet declaws it must be OK. They don’t question it!
I must admit that does annoy me, why don’t they question it? Why don’t they think to themselves how wrong it is to take a cats claws? Even people here who don’t like cats, react with shock and horror when they hear that declawing happens in the USA and Canada. It’s just unthinkable to any humane person!
We can only carry on educating as best we can, the Paw Project film and the non declaw vets must surly get through to their declawing colleagues at some point, they can’t deny much longer the mounting evidence of the cruelty of declawing.
Ruth,
I want to thank you for sending me the link to that veterinary clinic in Utah that does NOT declaw.
I emailed the vet with several questions, thinking that I wouldn’t hear back from her. I received a really beautifully poignant response, and I will be writing about it in the near future. She raised some very interesting and “sad” points in her response- but she will never, ever declaw a kitty. In my opinon she is an exemplar of what a veterinarian should be.
Jo, here is a link to a page that shows all the veterinarians in America who never declaw cats. It was written some time ago so the number may have changed but I am sure that it is quite accurate.
https://pictures-of-cats.org/north-american-veterinarians-who-never-declaw.html
lol. Thanks, Michael. 😉
I would like to forward the email that Dr. Becky sent me, if I may.
Sure you can. That would be nice.
DECLAWED? WHO THE hELL DECLAWED HIM?
This is the reason that education is so important.If I knew someone planning to declaw their cat I would whip out that brilliant DVD documentary made by the Paw Project. If that doesn’t do the trick, I don’t know what will.
It’s the vets that continue to perform this surgery. My anger is totally directed at them. THEY know better- or they SHOULD know better.
I gave a copy of the Paw Project DVD to my vet. She used it in a training meeting with her staff. It is on hand to be viewed by anyone requesting the surgery as well.
Educating cat owners is essential because these damned (yes damned) vets are the ones that are doing the surgery and making it seem like it’s no big deal!!
Jo I hear you. It’s the vets. Alot of people have cats declawed because they don’t know what it is. It’s the darn vets who actually do it that should be punished. They are the true perpitrators.
very true its hard to imagine that any vet would do that. Its not very well know over here in new zealand which is a good thing
Are you sure that he doesn’t bite, Jo. I don’t know, if I were this particular, I might.
Well, he does have a bit of that angelic-faced red tabby face, doesn’t he? Should we put him up for bid?
What does he have to say in the matter? Where would he like to have as a human big mama/papa cat?
😉 I only ask because I care. (Shrimpster and I would adopt him in less than a heartbeat!)
Caroline!
No- he doesn’t bite.. He has a great purrsonality and is very sweet. It’s amazing… that he doesn’t- but he shows no signs of aggression at all.
Wouldn’t it be nice if we could ask a cat what kind of home he would like to live in and what kind of person he would like to live with?