Mark of the Tabby

Afternoon on Christmas Day of 2008, and most of us cats have settled down for our nap. But today I'm restless thinking about stories that Cat-Dad has been telling us, and since I'm not much into football, I thought I would write to you, dear readers.

Stories about us cats are seemingly endless, probably because we have lived with humans only for five thousand years. Dogs (ahem...) on the other paw, have been subservient to man for over twenty thousand years. Mystery also surrounds our origins. No record of what most humans term "domesticated cats" - personally, I think that an oxymoron - has been found older than five thousand years. This gives rise to speculation that we were brought into existence as a race for the singular purpose of straightening out the mess that man was getting himself into!

But I digress.

One story seems particularly relevant to convey because it is a legend that dates back to the very first Christmas. This is one explanation (granted, there are others) about how tabby cats came by the characteristic mark each bears on his/her forehead, the likeness of an "M". The picture here above of Mork will remind you of this sign.

There are many tellings and variations of this tale that all reach the same end, but the one that Cat-Dad told derives from a posting on WikiAnswers.com. It goes like this:

It was a cold and starry night that found the cat out hunting. He didn't look much different from the other cats; he was gray in color with stripes of charcoal. As this cat walked down the dark alleyway, he heard crying coming from a stable. He entered, and to his amazement saw several types of animals surrounding a young mother who was trying to comfort her newborn son.

She spoke softly. "I don't know what to do. I thought you were hungry, so I fed you. I thought you were wet, so I changed your diaper. I thought you were cold so I wrapped another blanket around you."

She rocked the infant a few minutes longer and then laid him back in a manger filled with hay. The baby continued to cry. But the cat knew what needed to be done. He leapt into the manger and curled up next to the child. In comforting tones, he began to purr. It was the sweetest lull-a-bye ever heard, and the baby quieted and drifted off to sleep.

The woman gently stroked the cat saying, "Thank you. I don't know where you came from or how you knew, but thank you."

God was looking down and witnessing the blessed events of His son's birthday. Heard only by the cat, God spoke.

"You have done a wonderful deed this night. Because you cared enough to help this woman, I will mark you and your offspring forever so that people for all time will remember. Her name is Mary, and from this day forward, you will have the letter "M" on your forehead."

So when you see a cat with the tabby pattern (no matter if it's gray, brown, or some other color) look closely at its forehead. By this you will know that it is a descendant of the cat that comforted the newborn Christ on that first Christmas night.

Thoughts to ponder, dear readers. But while you do so, I must go now to take my nap before our Christmas Feast. I leave you with this question. What mark will be branded on your soul that will remind us all of the kindness you have given?

With purrs to all,

Sasha
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The purring of an average housecat falls into the frequency of 25-40 cycles per second (Hz). Interestingly, research has shown that exposure to 20-50 Hz induces increased bone density, relieves pain, and heals tendons and muscles... Many individuals swear they can ease or completely eliminate their migraine headaches simply by lying down with a purring cat.
- Fedyniak, L.G. (2003) A Cat's Healing Purr. Animal Wellness 5: 12-14

Safe for the Night

An important part of feline rescue is working with those cats and kittens who have been traumatized by neglect, abuse, or the need to survive against all odds. Healing their bodies is but one aspect of our rehabilitative process; dealing with minds and hearts are all together different issues. Many residents come to us so frightened they can hardly function. It's these individuals who require months, sometimes years, of continual relationship building before we can begin the process of finding them a human companion. Here's where Noel and I, as Cat-Dad's primary assistants, often play a significant role. Chief among these is modeling relationship behaviors.

We cats take great comfort in routine, and thus one of our first steps is gradually introducing all newcomers to our daily regimen. My mother, Nakindi, as the Mistress of our house has the responsibility of being in charge when Cat-Dad is away, and even when he is here, she sets the tone and ensures that routine in the daily schedule is maintained.

One ritual we observe which many troubled minds find comforting occurs every night at bed-time. Shortly after midnight, Cat-Dad will announce that the doors are closing; they are being locked, and bolted against the night. Nothing can get in to hurt us and we are safe until the morning. Surprisingly, his words affirming our security have a calming effect even on me!

Then, as the lights are dimmed, several timid shapes can be seen slinking into the bedroom seeking the warmth and safety of Cat-Dad's bed. Sometimes he reads aloud to us, sometimes he just reads silently. But this shared time increases the sense of intimacy and relationship building between us all. Through physical closeness, we help our residents and patients temporarily forget their pain, and give them peace from the phantoms of the dark - specters of hunger, pain, and sickness that haunt their dreams from a world all too real on the other side of those bolted doors.

I, of course, have my favorite sleeping spot curled up always on Cat-Dad's left, usually across his arm. How often have I been awakened in the night by soft muffled cries, only to watch his hand reach out to cover the small trembling body and make the bad dreams go away. The human-feline bond in this home is so natural, so subconscious, that I know my Cat-Dad is often not even awake. Yet the silent message is clearly conveyed through the warmth of his hand. Memories and fears are quieted and the oblivion of sleep once again envelops us all.

How do we deal with fear? One incident at a time. Like humans, no two of us cats are exactly alike, yet all of us respond at the subconscious level to being protected and feeling secure. If fear is an issue in your life, I invite you to try our method. Tonight, just before bed-time, say these words out loud:

"The doors are closing. They are being locked and bolted against the night. Nothing can get in to hurt us. Truly, we are safe for the night."

With purrs to all,

Sasha
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I reached for sleep and drew it round me like a blanket muffling pain and thought together in the merciful dark.
- Mary Stewart

A Matter of Trust

Today, while clearing up some papers on Cat-Dad’s desk, I ran across the personal diary of Mindy, one of our foster residents. Well, OK, in truth, it was stashed behind one of our litter boxes and I sneaked a peek while using “the necessary.” She and her brother Mork came to live with us almost 12 months ago, and are a pair with whom Cat-Dad has invested many hours of patient conditioning. Almost identical brown tabbies, he and I often chuckle together because their personalities could not be more dissimilar. Mindy is a wonderful cat, and Cat-Dad often refers to her as his “Little Firefly” because of how coy and delicately she flits around our home. This entry yesterday from her diary which I share below gives insight to differences between two individuals growing up within the same environment.

October 13, 2008 – Monday

How bold you are dear brother, sitting there on the counter calmly munching the salad greens that Cat-Dad is using to prepare his evening meal. I jump up there too, but it still just doesn’t feel right. Always I’m so nervous, so jumpy, despite the love I know he feels for us both. How long has it been? One year? Almost to the day. A lifetime when you’re only 14 months old.

Do you remember, brother, how frightened we both were? Plucked from out of the street when barely eight weeks old, the lifeless body of our sister lying there beside us. Taken to a veterinary clinic where eventually we were confined in a large cage in his waiting room. I’m sure it was well intentioned, but somewhat frightening with all those dog-patients and their owners staring; always staring… staring… at us. Was that where I first learned to fear?

Although I could never tell you this dear brother, your presence growing up with me is such a comfort, and I appreciate you so much. You have adapted quicker than me and I marvel now at the self-confidence you’ve gained. Sometimes I wonder what’s to become of us. Will we find a forever home together? Can humans have the patience to understand me? How much of the wildness inside me will I be able to control and let a forever person get beyond my walls? I see the closeness that Cat-Dad shares with so many in this foster home as each of us walks our own path of progress. The bonds of trust are firm... but not just yet for me.

How typical this sentiment is in a feline rescue/foster home, and indeed, in many human lives. Each of our residents comes to us carrying the weight of a traumatic past, and our task, in addition to repairing broken bodies, is to also mend broken hearts and minds. I’ll always remember something Ursula (a former foster resident) confided to me. One day when she was feeling particularly down, Cat-Dad took her into his arms and said,

“Ursula, every kitten can be likened to a large and fragile mirror. When a true forever person looks deeply into her soul they see reflected back a polished image of perfect love. But a traumatic start in life can shatter that looking glass into a thousand pieces leaving them frightened and wary of everything. The task of a rescue/foster person is to gently collect those broken shards and patiently work to piece them together into a beautiful mosaic pattern. Never again will you be whole, but this tessellation now reflects back many times the single image of that perfect love.”

What hurt are you or your feline companion harboring inside today? Do you feel broken in spirit or body? Time and again we have proven that foster cats and kittens can heal, and although sometimes wild at heart, are capable of the fiercest love. That love can affect their human companion in a most therapeutic way, and the joining of the two brings healing to both. In feline rescue work we are always aware of this powerful truth, and it’s a force that keeps us going.

Mindy and her brother will find loving homes with a human who understands the power of having them fulfill their destiny. It is our pledge to them; it is a pledge by which we live.

With purrs to all,

Sasha
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And God created the cat that man might know the pleasure of caressing the tiger.
- Fernand Mery

Welcome to Cat-Dad Enterprises!

Well, dear Reader, I have been charged with quite a task! Cat-Dad, my human companion, has sent me on ahead to lay the groundwork for a formal launch of our new Cat-Dad Enterprises website, Cat-Dad.com. This venture has been in the planning stages for many months now, and is being created to help cats and their people everywhere to understand one another and live better and happier lives together. All of us living in this foster home – patients, residents, and permanent cats alike – are excited, and we look forward to having you come to know each of us through the written word. Perhaps to even meet us one day by means of a live Webcam, as is planned for our Delivery Room and Kitten Nursery.

As the Director of Feline-Human Relations for Cat-Dad Enterprises, I will be a primary voice of Cat-Dad’s home, and therefore, it's appropriate to begin by introducing myself. I am Sasha, a Domestic Short-Hair Tortoiseshell, and I was brought to Cat-Dad’s home when only four days old. With me were my mother (Nakindi) and three natural siblings, plus three adopted kittens that were placed into our cage shortly after we were born in the Animal Shelter. Being taken from that place which was forced to euthanize so many innocent animals was my first introduction to feline rescue organizations. Greatly moved by the act of compassion that saved me, my entire family, and our new-found siblings, I made the decision to adopt Cat-Dad as my permanent human companion when I was only five weeks old. Ever since that time, I have worked by his side in our ongoing task of rescuing and teaching other felines to trust once again. The full story of how I became involved in feline rescue is one chapter of our book, The Kitten Chronicles, soon to be published and made available on the Cat-Dad.com website.

The idea for Cat-Dad Enterprises, and our website Cat-Dad.com, is a logical extension of the work my human companion has been doing through a nonprofit organization well recognized in the Washington, DC rescue community. He has learned a great deal during these last five years having personally dealt with the problems and personalities of well over 250 cats and kittens. In his sphere of influence, Cat-Dad counsels individuals and families on developing feline relationships through a wide range of issues, such as proper nutrition, channeling clawing behavior, litter box problems, etc. In our foster home, daily experiences with cats in various states of repair provide the ongoing laboratory for learning more about the marvelous “feline mystique”. The goal now is to extend the benefits of this knowledge and experience far beyond the DC Metro Area.

Our emerging website aspires to be the definitive resource for all humans who wish to better understand their feline companions, and all felines who wish to understand their human companions. Features to watch for will include various blogs by the Cat-Dad feline staff, free white papers and reference materials, a series of Cat-Dad guide books, online seminars and courses, MP3 downloads and DVDs, programs to support the feline companions of our military personnel when their humans are assigned abroad, and methods to assist those cats whose human companions have passed on.

I invite you to RSS tag this page and join us in the exciting venture we envision. As the name of this column implies, The Scratching Post is a place where you, too, dear Reader can leave your mark (posts).

With purrs to all,

Sasha