A heady mix for the ladies (some ladies – I shouldn’t generalise) of cats and shoes. These are Vogue photographs and although it is not stated by Vogue, as far as I know, the cats are purebreds in my opinion and I have, for the fun of it, identified the breeds. I can’t identify the shoes. I’ll leave that to the ladies. Although I realise they are all “flats” – shoes without tall heels. These go in an out of fashion. Flats are always in fashion for the spouses or girlfriends of short men. When the famous Polish tennis player, Caroline Wozniacki, was dumped by Rory McIlroy, MBE, the world No.1 golfer, she said it was the first time in three years she has worn flat shoes. Rory is 5 feet 9 inches tall, which is short by pro-golfer standards but he hits the ball further than nearly all of them!
Bombay cats have a coat of black patent leather. The head and eyes are similar to the American Burmese in my opinion. It is somewhat extreme with overly large and round eyes. The coat is superb. Black is usually an unpopular colour but this coat is pure luxury.
These are Himmies or Himalayan cats (pointed Persians). They are modern versions of the traditional cat.
The cat in this picture has to be an American Shorthair in my opinion. It is in the face. American SHs often have silver tabby coats like this cat. It suits them.
My thanks to Catsparella for the idea and the pics.
Another thing i noticed did u see all those cats photos look unhappy.
I’m very lonely.
Dee, I don’t like to hear that you are lonely. I know how that feels.
Read on, Darling.
It’s because of you.
Sorry.
Dee I know how you are feeling as I have been feeling like this too. Had alot of changes lately and with the Changes to POC Its been Upsetting. My Ex who I live with Has found a Gf and Although IM happy with that and for their happiness sometimes It makes me feel YUCK. I just wanted to talk like we used to. Its like our Cat family has been broken up into pieces. I have been thinking of leaving too and just keeping in touch with particular people. The love that i experienced and People who I class as wonderful Friends. I dont want to have to Leave. I agree people should be able to freely write articles. Dee I’ll still write to you 🙂 Also Its 7 Months today that Cassy been gone 🙁 Am Planning on writing a Story on her Life on my Blog. Anyway enough said.
Hi Dee –
I certainly relate to what you’re saying.
You’ve probably read Byron’s poem.
Near this Spot
Are deposited the Remains of one
Who possessed Beauty without Vanity
Strength without Insolence
Courage without Ferocity
And all the virtues of Man without his Vices
This praise which would be unmeaning Flattery
if inscribed over human Ashes
is but a just tribute to the Memory of
Boatswain, a dog . . .
While readers like it to end here, it goes on:
This praise, which would be unmeaning Flattery
if inscribed over human Ashes,
is but a just tribute to the Memory of
Boatswain, a Dog
who was born in Newfoundland May 1803
and died at Newstead Nov. 18th, 1808.
When some proud Son of Man returns to Earth,
Unknown to Glory, but upheld by Birth,
The sculptor’s art exhausts the pomp of woe,
And storied urns record who rests below.
When all is done, upon the Tomb is seen,
Not what he was, but what he SHOULD have been.
But the poor Dog, in life the firmest friend,
The first to welcome, foremost to defend,
Whose honest heart is still his Master’s own,
Who labours, fights, lives, breathes for him alone,
Unhonoured falls, unnoticed all his worth,
Denied in heaven the Soul he held on earth –
While man, vain insect! hopes to be forgiven,
And claims himself a sole exclusive heaven.
Oh man! thou feeble tenant of an hour,
Debased by slavery, corrupted by power –
Who knows thee well, must quit thee with disgust,
Degraded mass of animated dust!
Thy love is lust, thy friendship all a cheat,
Thy tongue hypocrisy, thy heart deceit!
By nature vile, ennobled but by name,
Each kindred brute might bid thee blush for shame.
Ye, who behold perchance this simple urn,
Pass on – it honours none you wish to mourn.
To mark a friend’s remains these stones arise;
I never knew but one — and here he lies.
Which reminds me of a comment I posted several years back, when these frontier towns were up in arms because a parent dared memorialize his dog in the Daily News obit, reserved for people. The editor was forced to apologize for his offense.
You are right. An animal loves you as you are. They forgive you all your failings. My little Ethel was nothing but sweet in all the years I had her. She was never moody. Short-tempered. Judgmental.
But yesterday I wrote the above from a different slant.
I forget how he died – think he was run down in the street by a carriage. Whatever his end, here is what I meant.
Marie Curie and her husband were ‘soul-mates’ in intellect and feeling. A syrupy cliché – true – but the bond is real. If your own marriage was boring or abusive, you still know many people who’ve had a happy marriage. To prove your point, you won’t pretend they’re ‘putting up a front.’
Marie and her husband worked as a team in their research. After he died, could a cat, if she’d had one, inspired and encouraged her? Could a cat have added to her insights? Strengthened her perseverance in overcoming setbacks? Recommended they try new approaches in validating their theories? Shared her satisfaction when they made progress? And if she had said to it ‘Please try to live as long as I do. Because if you can’t, I will persist in remembering you when you’ve forgotten me,’ would the cat have understood her? I hope Babz doesn’t mind my saying this, but if God – or a fairy godmother – told her she could have one of them back, which would she choose? John or Poppy? Several years ago she wrote that she caved in with grief when Poppy, her little girl, filled her memories. If I could see either my dad or my boy one more time. . .well, my name would be Sophie.
If your ideal of the ‘Compleat’ companion is one you can pet and talk to, watch as he plays with his toys, greets you at the door, purrs when he’s happy – if feeding, doctoring and caring for a fur-child is all you could ever want, then you’ve found the perfect fit. And Byron would agree.
_________________________________________
With regard to Bob Dylan – thank you for straightening me out! Yet there are still sites and hundreds of comments discussing the logic and illogic of his lyrics. One is [hobotrashcan], which is as crude as its name. Be that as it may, the person who writes for the site admires two of Dylan’s songs: ‘Blowin’ in the Wind’ and ‘The Times they are a ’Comin.’ Don’t know that I got the titles right, but vaguely remember these songs of his from years ago. They reminded me of Guthrie and Seeger’s tunes from that era. And how can you not feel nostalgia for Leary, Kesey, Woodstock, Joplin, the Monterey Jazz Festival, Joan Baez and all the sit-ins?
Dylan has been heaped with accolades, likely well-deserved. He’s been awarded a medal of achievement by President Obama. He’s being nominated – might have my facts wrong here – for the Nobel prize. He’s considered by many the greatest poet-musician of this generation. He’s also been labeled ‘faux-intellectual’ by critics, high on drugs, a poseur who wrote unintelligible lyrics. But again, I know next to nothing about him, so will button my lip! Sfice to say, if you’re able to ferret out his meaing in many of his lyrics, you’d have no trouble reading Finnegan’s Wake.
Neither have I read his books, and probably should. The last time I heard him last year, singing some Christmas carols. What can I say? The critics savaged Leontyne Price for daring to give a final recital quite a few years back, when she was much younger than Dylan, who recorded those carols about five years ago. And the critics savaged her. Is there a double standard here, or do I imagine something that isn’t so?
Thank you for the quote from the Global Edition, which reminds me of the Onion, my news source.
Is nonsense a bad thing? Have said it before & will say it again: who cannot love Monty Python’s ‘Eric the Half-Bee?’ Did Ella’s scat have any logical significance? Yet she’s immortal. But as for Mr. Dylan’s vocals, I admit to preferring Jussi Bjorling’s, Leontine Price’s, Billy Eckstein’s, Streisand’s (I want to say no —but can’t say no), Garland’s, Keely Smith’s and Sammy’s – who had, I would wager, operatic training. He could sing a cappella. So could Judy. Their unique voices didn’t need a 100-piece backup. (I listen to all these balladeers on a post-war satellite channel.
___________________________________________
Yes, I know, Dee, but I can’t figure out machinery. I seize up. Are my frontal lobes a nutmeat? I hope they are not, but neither am I omnicompetent. My technician has a fifth-year degree in computer technology from the U, and twelve years of experience. My auto mechanic underwent two years of training, and has worked with cars for years. A friend chaffs me for my lack of carpentry skills. She says she knows them all, and it behooves me to learn them too. She inherited an arsenal of tools from her father. But come to find out, she ‘oils’ the blades twice year, then phones a carpenter to do her home repairs. _____________________________________________
Howdy Ruth –
Not to feel bad. Not to wander off into the mists. What would he do if you disregarded his wishes? I do it systematically, and expect the ax will fall any time now. (Have you ever heard Poulenc’s ‘Dialogues of the Carmelites?’) With all respect, it wouldn’t matter if it did, for reasons unrelated to this website.
Am I into using short words? Usually. Short sentences? Maybe. Short themes? Certainly not. Length isn’t carcinogenic. The Internet’s rife with pages-long essays, including Sarah Hartwell’s. And hers rank among the best. Hordes of elite magazines are going online, and their articles take hours to read.
He says in his post he doesn’t want to pay. When lawyers charge for their valuable time in 15-minute increments, where’s the fairness in this? It resides in the difference. Their schooling cost a bundle, and they had to crack he books for seven years. (Though heard the laws schools over here are talking about cutting back to six.)
Wish he’d let you write in your area of interest, though. Is the Paws Project a bagatelle compared to a video showing cat abuse? If he doesn’t want your contributions, bet you know who would.
But who could stand to see you leave?
MB works hard. How can anyone write multiple essays day after day, with no surcease? And the topics are usually substantive. His website is astonishing. It used to have ads only for cat food and litter-boxes. Now it’s plastered with ads for health and auto insurance, women’s fashions and shoes, weight loss diets. No end of ads.
But pay or no pay, I’d hazard a guess you might resume writing if he didn’t bar you from writing about what matters to you. As to the outcome, for someone like you to go away would be sad as a divorce. xxx
Will get up there Sat. afternoon.
Thanks Sylvia.
Yes, familiar with Byron’s poem.
Dog denied entry to heaven always ruined the whole thing for me.
Whatever may lie ahead for all, I don’t believe that any animal will be denied the adventure that we will be privvy to. I hope to travel and progress with every animal I ever had the privilege to love.
And, Bob Dylan…
I believe him to be a genius of lyrics although I never really cared for his voice.
Mea culpa – couldn’t get this thing to transmit on the ‘sub-domain website: ‘Does feeding a cat been you’ve adopted the cat?’
_________________________________________________
It’s a puzzlement why these essays end up in a ‘subdomain’ when they are as insightful as PoC’s front-row ‘Recent Posts.’
Question: Is a cat an adequate substitute for a human companion?
Such as it is, here’s my opinion.
The answer is no, an answer based on my personal experience, not on surveys or statistics.
The philosopher Bertrand Russell believed an uneducated person was benighted as an animal. To turn that topsy-turvy, the feminist writer Germaine Greer said a woman with a Ph.D. could be happily married to a truck driver.
I’m a technophobe with a mild but entrenched distaste for cyberspace. In his recent remarks on NPR, Ralph Nader said he steers clear of the Internet, given his views on corporate control and domination. The digital world is constantly expanding, and has an immense potential for good. Yet as Freud observed, man invented ingenious means of communication. All he lacked, now, was something worth saying, in Freud’s assessment.
The Internet, from my pinched perspective, is more or less a Tower of Babble, a mecca for social isolates. True? Probably not. My navigational skills are a joke, and it must have millions of challenging websites – this one among them – including vast networks crucial in mitigating crisis situations.
Yet Proust regretted the time he wasted in socializing, time he felt could have been better spent in the solitude of study and other productive activities. He also wrote how, on his evening walks with his family, they invariably slowed him down to their pace. They never once sped up to his.
My computer repairman is a techi-nerd, an ‘idiot savant.’ I’m a techi-retard, and cringe when he loads me down with details I can’t grasp, never will and don’t want to. His windiness is as deadening to me as my auto-mechanic’s crank-shaft diagnoses.
I’m also zoned out by friends who worship Virginia Woolf, Mozart & Leibnitz, all three of whom apparently reached the Parnassus of human achievement. [‘Mozart died young. But not young enough.’ – Glenn Gould] All of which must mean education and IQ are a continuum.
Apart from a disparity in learning, can people on different wavelengths – personality-wise – enjoy each other as much or more than they would a furred or feathered child? Again, my opinion: no. You and they would be more alone when you were together than each of you would be, sitting by yourself.
To look at this more closely, could someone without a ‘significant other’ develop a primary bond with a cat? If not, could they enjoy a secondary bond, the kind they had with a friend with whom they shared few tastes or interests, but cared for nonetheless, for their inherent goodness? Could both of them feel their happiness, and their fragile strength in bearing the pain and disappointments of existence? Could they push on together, feeling it all with silent resignation, noisy complaints, fun triumphs once in a while, weepings and hilarity? Probably.
But is this the best life can offer? Someone who used to write for this website radiated a joy that lent a sunny aspect to her essays. Without saying so, she gave the impression she had an irreplaceable ‘soul-mate.’
Could a dog or cat make its parent that happy? Maybe some parents.
On the flip side, the death of a loved animal can cause its parent a grief as painful as what he would feel to see a beloved human being die. Nothing’s left. After a few of these trials by fire, his innards are dust. He can still contribute to animal rights endeavors – but only with funds. No doubt other parents have the strength to keep giving of themselves. And those who can are the best of the lot, above and beyond the wrecks who can’t. In like manner, some people who’ve lost a spouse will never remarry, knowing the world has billions of humans, many of whom might make wonderful mates, enriching each other’s lives to the end. Are there marriages made in heaven? Some.
Here’s a cockles-warming website to end these idle ramblings. [Can You Die from a Broken Heart? BBC News]
I guess you mean you agree with that title about feeding cats. It has happened to me. If you have this sensitivity towards animals and cats you make the connection early on and it starts at the first feed time.
I struggle with deciding what to do. I also like to keep the subdomains alive and that means writing something for them!
Yes to a large extent. Not only is it full of pointless babble it is the wild west where there few rules. There is a lot about the internet I dislike and sometimes hate. It is pure capitalism unchecked.
I feel nourished by nature. I feel at home. Computers take from me. They kill time but I don’t feel at home. These comments and chats fill a hole and make the internet more emotionally nourishing but I don’t engage in babble.
I don’t believe a cat can fully substitute a person. Not for me. Perhaps it is a personal thing.
I wish more people wrote for the site but I don’t want to pay anymore. Anyone can write for the site. They are welcome. I love different viewpoints but they have to add something to the sum total of cat knowledge and/or entertainment.
“I wish more people wrote for the site but I don’t want to pay anymore. Anyone can write for the site. They are welcome. I love different viewpoints but they have to add something to the sum total of cat knowledge and/or entertainment.”
I never had any idea that people were being paid to contribute until recently.
I’ve just enjoyed telling my stories, many of which were “firsts” anywhere. There aren’t many feral or cat stories related to CPR, protecting colonies, moving colonies, etc.
Well, Michael.. Let me add it up…
LOL!!!
Could care less.
Seriously, you have been so privileged to have a few brilliant and first-of-a kind writers at POC.
They were worth every penny.
I never asked to be paid, I wrote voluntarily for many years for PoC, I would never have thought of being paid. My passion is of course anti declawing and I’m sad now that I have to write no more in case it upsets pro declaw Americans.
I do understand of course that the web site has to come first, that as most visitors are American they are the ones who count for most.
It just seems sad that after years of putting in the spadework, educating and designing posters to get the message across to those who can’t grasp in words what declawing does to cats, now good news is happening via the Paw Project, it can’t be shared via PoC. A lot of anti declaw group members came to read and to share declaw articles and posters even though they didn’t comment.
Sorry but I’ve not the heart to poach news stories elsewhere to write here, most people have already read them.
So I’ve nothing to write about here any more.
OMG!
Please don’t go, R!
I’m so lonely.
lol I haven’t completely gone, just lost heart and those cruel videos yesterday sickened me, I just wonder who would want to see a cat in distress, it upset me greatly to know that some people, such as Woody, would be coming here to enjoy them 🙁
It isn’t like the old and loved PoC to share ‘funny’ (but NOT funny) videos
Ruth, I think the article was worth writing because its objective was to correct misconceptions about the video. I was gently criticizing people who think that the video was funny. I believe that is a justification to present the video.
PoC has not changed. It has the same goals as ever.
As for you writing articles on declawing, as I said in the email, if something new comes up which promotes the anti-declaw campaign that is fine to publish on PoC. PoC is known as a truthful and critical website. Almost all the pages have cat welfare at their heart.
There has to be a commercial element to the site to keep it alive and popular.
I was one who found that horrible “No,no,no” video.
Blame me for being insensitive.
But, don’t go.
PLEASE…………………..
But you hadn’t watched it, had you Dee? I know you’d never have shared it if you had.
Yes, R.
I did watch the first segment, and this is what I wrote about it:
I agree with all.
I expected a cute video when I found it.
But, instead, I saw a cat that was terrified and I believe that he was being mentally tormented behind the camera.
Ears back, wide eyed, stance all tell me that.
I hated it.
News on the declaw campaign are still good. PoC has never shirked from the truth and from promoting cat welfare which is more than almost all the other websites can say. I welcome articles but common sense dictates that they should discuss new aspects of any cat subject.
I hope you are OK and we all want you and Babz to stick around.
R, please.
You are more that an outstanding anti-declaw advocate. Don’t say that you have nothing else to contribute.
I have learned so much from you and Babz. God knows that I need you guys to keep me grounded sometimes. You know what a firecracker I can be. You are so full of knowledge. Didn’t I ask your advice about my dilemma with Dreama?
Didn’t I take to heart what both of you felt about my CPR efforts with Chester?
I need the support that you guys have given me and to so many.
Michael, YOU ARE WRONG to have turned this wonderful site away from what really matters, ie, real life personal experiences and into topics that can be found anywhere on the net.
So boring.
So what if Ruth is zealous about anti-declawing. She can limit her posters to once a month, I’m sure.
Ofcourse, mostly Americans visit here. That’s because America is 40 times the size of England and more so other countries.
And, you are wrong not to continue paying for the most incredible articles that can be found anywhere. Most are first of a kind. It would help if you explained your problem with payment, because we don’t see you as broke, just having been to a spa that none of us could ever afford.
It makes me (sorry) believe that you are money hungry.
You can ban me if you like. But, it’s lonely here and boring. I’m trying to hang in, but it’s hard.
I am not money hungry. It is not that. But if money is spent there has to be a return. That is fair. I wasn’t seeing a sufficient return from paid articles except occasionally. No one wants to write for free these days.
It is just that when I analyse the top pages they are all the boring ones you refer to. For example: hair loss in cats, essay on the tiger for kids, cats mating, wild cat species etc..
People surf for information on sites like PoC. They don’t want to contribute. They just want to take. Who comments? The group. We get few newcomers.
There has to be a certain amount of commercialism meaning mainstream popularity.
That said I very much like the group. I want it to stay together but it seems it is dependent on money. Jo Singer was a paid writer.
I have said Ruth (aka) can write about declawing (if there is something new happening) or anything else if she wants to. Anyone can write about anything to do with cats but people don’t unless you pay them.
I love real life experiences. There are many hundreds of pages on real life experiences. But who writes them now?
I just made a small adjustment really but people misinterpreted it as some sort of major change. I just wonted to focus more on hard information but that does not mean we can’t have personal stuff as well.
Dee, I really want you to stick around. PoC still gets 4,000 different people visiting each day. What do they want to read and see? The boring stuff mainly.
I’ll leave it there. I reiterate, I want people to stick around.
I know how you feel Dee, I won’t desert you.
I was told to write no more anti declaw articles, Michael you said you would yourself report on any new developments and you have.
I can’t write about my other passion, our beautiful boyz Walter and Jozef all the time, so what can I write? Not second hand stories, I’m with Dee that it gets boring.
I never wrote for money, I would still be writing voluntarily if I had something interesting to write about, but I don’t.
The way I see it is there are too many articles coming up daily, if no one comments then they disappear quickly. I know it’s the number of visitors, not comments made, that count, except for the 5 cents donation for each one, but to me comments show that people have read and have an opinion on the subject. It feels like PoC has become merely an information site, the happy family feeling is lost.
If any American took my anti declaw articles and posters as criticism of them, then it’s their guilty conscience. All that matters to me is saving claws and it was worth being attacked and called vile amongst other disgusting words for telling the truth if it got through to them that declawing is cruel.
But as I’ve said a few times I DO understand that you don’t want Americans offended. I’m sorry but even to make money I couldn’t let ignorance or downright rudeness go unchallenged.
Your declaw articles and posters are gold. They are excellent and they are there for ever. I don’t mind you writing about declawing on occasions if it is a news item and the anti-declaw campaign has been progressed. I am happy for you to report on The Paw Project-Utah news/updates. They do great email promotions. They have a good Facebook page which might provide some ideas.
A lot of cat news items are really about cat welfare. They are ideal for comment. The news element is just the catalyst for opinion and discussion.
I would like to see your skills used more broadly taking on other cat issues. Try something and take a risk. I’d love to see that. You are definitely good enough. I’d like some British cat stories too. Britain is important in the cat world.
PoC needs to be refreshed and renewed all the time.
Actually, I believe that the very best concept you ever had was a Q&A/Advice area that, apparently, never materialized.
I think it would generate a lot of traffic.
Yes, not many people want to write articles or even make comments.
I does take a bit of courage because you put yourself in the firing line especially if you say outspoken things.
If you know anyone who wants to try their hand at writing they are welcome but it has to be at least reasonable 😉
I’ll second what Dee says, a Q/A advice area would be a good idea.
When declawing is banned I’ll take up another cat issue, there is hope now after all that this will happen before I fall off my twig 😉
Wow, Sylvia Ann.
I don’t know where to start.
My opinions only, my friend..
I believe that a closer bond can be developed with a cat than with a human. Sure, they both leave hair in the sink and can be demanding. But, at the end of the day, a cat will cuddle with you without expectations.
I don’t believe in soulmates at all. There are no divine interventions that bring any couple together or keeps them together. This concept was manufactured by those who need an excuse not to run away from an unhappy union.
Computers, cars…
It is our obligation to know as much as possible about those things we depend on. Otherwise, they are useless to us and need to be put on the “for sale” sites. I hate the feeling of being vulnerable and at the mercy of the “nerds” who may take advantage of our ignorance.
emails await you at the library x
When my son was young, he wanted a pair of Vans shoes that, as it turned out, were covered with MJ plants in a pink background.
I guess that cat essence would be equivalent to a cat high on catnip.
Take it away Vogue! Be proud!
I like Vans shoes. You can get them in Britain at shopping center near to me. I guess they cater from all ages. What sort of cat breed would match Van shoes? Must the Turkish Van!
Well, there must be a cat that captures the essence of tractor-tread clodhoppers – men’s size 8, laced up to the kneecap – worn around here.
Trying to think. It must be a large, practical cat with unkempt hair. I think the Maine Coon fits that bill! The Siberian is rough and wild and large. Two possibles.