Mondays With Merlin: A – Z Cat News
Hello, dear ones, this Mondays with Merlin is a little different. I’m sharing A – Z cat news.
So much has happened and since we’re blogging less often, news piles up. Pay attention for a secret clue but please don’t email my mom. She’s okay but up to her cat ears doing last minute pre-launch prep for our Black Cats Tell All anthology on Kickstarter. Don’t fret, you literal types. We aren’t doing all 26 letters of the alphabet.
A is for ADOPTION.
Remember Dasher, the frisky, black cat we featured back in March? We thought he’d get snapped up pronto but he didn’t. I guess he had some more filing to do. His shelter office assistant days are over. The dashing house panther was adopted yesterday!
B is for Black Cat Tell All, the anthology of true tales by 22 blacks cats is launching on Kickstarter as soon as it’s approved. This is the brainchild of my mom, Layla, who is a passionate advocate of black cat adoption. You’ll be hearing more about it soon. Consider this a sneak peek. And Chris Poole from Cole and Marmalade has made the most awesome video testimonial. Look for it soon!
C is for Cats, Cats and more Cats because honestly, what else is there?
G is for cat-related GIVEAWAYS.
We’re having a final, flurry of fabulous ones to celebrate our 5th year of blogging. Readers have indicated a preference for less frequent giveaways. Unless there is a greater participation, all giveaways may end.
Enter while you can by simply leaving a comment at the giveaway post.
1) NasalGuard Natural Allergy Relief (3 winners) Extended to June 14, 2016.
2) Cheshire and Wain Luxury Cat Collar and Catnip Toy enter by June 14, 2016. Winners of both giveaways will be announced on June 15, 2016.
3) OUR BIGGEST GIVEAWAY EVER with multiple products and winners begins on Thursday, June 9!
J is for June and Pet-related Holidays.
JUNE
National Pet Preparedness Month (in advance of hurricane season).
Adopt-a-Shelter Cat Month (ASPCA).
Adopt-a-Cat Month (AHA).
June 5 – 11: Pet Appreciation Week.
June 4: International Hug Your Cat Day.
June 9: Meezer Show Your Colors Day.
June 11: Just One Day (One day of no-kill in shelters worldwide).
June 12: World Pet Memorial Day.
Mid-June: Animal Rights Awareness Week.
June 19: International Box Day.
Q is for quotes with cats.
S is for Summer and we can’t wait! Be prepared and read our Summer Safety Guide
T is for Tarot
Our regular feature mentoring my feline student Push Push continues. She asks, “Darling Merlin, how can I learn to connect more with the universe?”
Connection with the Universe or the cat next door can be one and the same. The first thing is to have the intention to connect and allow it to flow. We have the power to open up to or block the energy. The cards this week show ways to get unstuck when we feel blocked. This week’s insights are heavy but no card in tarot is all negative. There is a silver lining in the darkest times and challenges are the only time we can stretch and grow.
Reading from left to right. The Hanged Man (in the past) looks daunting but this fellow isn’t dead. He’s hanging in there. It’s a card of surrender, of letting go and not trying so hard. When feeling stuck or trapped, it’s time to look from another perspective. It’s not what you look at but what you see. Sacrifice is sometimes needed to achieve goals. We’ve lost some subscribers just because we’re daring to feature tarot! Ironically, tarot as we see it is not anti-Christian and not divination per se but a tool for self-knowledge and self-mastery.
Judgement (in the present) It’s wake up and smell the coffee time folks. The angel’s trumpet is a call to wake the dead. Stop your dillydallying and get off your ass. Make a decision for what good for you because it’s time a big change. Say bye-bye to what no longer serves your best interest. Walk away from guilt, bad habits and people who bring you down. The past is past. You can’t be your best now if you’re living in the past. And the past does not define your future. Decide your future in the now.
The Five of Cups (in the future) is often thought of a sad card of loss. The guy is crying over spilt milk, but wait, only three of his cups are knocked over. Two remain standing. When something goes wrong, it’ s easy to throw the baby out with the bath water and catastrophize. Why waste time moaning and groaning over what you can’t change? Focus on what you can fix. One of my favorite quotes is : Fall down eight times, get up nine. You may not have nine lives you just might get a second chance.
Have a wonderful week!
Love,
Merlin
33 Comments
Skeeter and Izzy
We are soooooooooooooooooo HAPPY for Dasher!!!!! We hope this will be his furever home!
We love the Tarot readings. This is just one more tool for selfawareness and understanding.
We are sooo happy for the book and all of the wonderful giveaways and celebrations!
We love it when good things happen to people and animals and wish good things to all!
Luvs
Skeeter and Izzy & the Feral Gang + Twig & Peanut & Romeo & the Angels >^..^^..^<~
Cathy Keisha
Hooray for Dasher!! Maybe he got adopted cos it was “Blackout Day.” Can’t wait for Black Cats Tell All. We have several friends who only have black cats. Have you joined the FB Pet Contests and Giveaways group? That’s where I share mine and have some success.
Sammy
So happy about beautiful Dasher getting his forever. That makes me happy. Any time a cat finds love and safety makes me happy. I don’t see how you can keep up with so many things Miss Layla and still take such wonderful care of all your kitties. You’re amazing but Mom and I have ALWAYS thought that!
Love, Sammy (and Pam)
Lola
We will definitely support the Kickstarter! Mom loved this tarot reading. She says it’s just what she needed to hear today and makes purrfect sense for her. She hopes to see your Mom when things quiet down.
Cary Hillman
So glad Dasher was adopted! Love the blog today
Layla Morgan Wilde
Ditto 🙂
Ellen Pilch
I am definitely going to help support your kickstarter, black cats are wonderful.
Layla Morgan Wilde
Thanks, Ellen. Any support is welcome, even a blog post.
Flynn
That is great news that Dasher has been adopted.
da tabbies o trout towne
dasher….we iz BUZZED happee for ewe….total lee kewl….all de best in yur new
for everz & heerz ta 923 gotcha day sell a brayshunz !! ♥♥♥
Sue Brandes
Glad the black got a home. Have a great week.
Sue Brandes
I meant black kitty.
The Swiss Cats
That’s a lot going on ! We’re glad the black kitty found his forever home ! Purrs
Sometimes Cats Herd You
It sounds like Layla really has her hands full! We love to hear that a black cat has been adopted. Paws up! And the black cat anthology sounds pretty exciting, too. We’ll be looking forward to hearing more about it soon!
ellen
WooHoooo for Dasher! You know sometimes it takes a bit longer for the perfect human. I am glad Dasher finally found his.
Black cats are so under rated. Really, you hold a black cat and you look slimmer.
Fiddle Dee Dee re the tarot and losing readers. It’s what you enjoy, and folks can skip over it. I am glad Push Push is learning it.
Always nice seeing you Merlin. I hope you and your human and cat companions are doing well.
I need to write up that thing for C&W for you but life is getting in my way.
Layla Morgan Wilde
I sure hope so about Dasher. He needs someone energetic. I you get writing! soon.
Maggie
Good news for a black shelter cat- Yea for Dasher!
We like the tarot readings – something always hits home and makes us think.
Everything in your reading today says to me, “Just live more like a cat”.
xxoo
Maggie, Mickey Mouser, and Rufus the Red
Layla Morgan Wilde
We’ll second that! “Just live more like a cat”.
xoxo
caren gittleman
so many exciting things going on!!!! Our tails are on high-alert!!!! Straight up and happy!
easy rider
I can’t believe that Dasher still has to wait for his furever home…. it’s a wonderful black panther … and I hope so much that he can spend this summer on his own porch with a meowgarita and some catnip…
MrJackFreckles/Pipo & Minko
Busy is the word we hear a lot here too…’too busy’ in fact…
Hmmm we see we may be busy too with some of those dates on the June calendar.
Layla Morgan Wilde
ha, busy is a 4-letter word for the humans 😉
Deziz World
Sounds great Merlin. Have a wonderful week. Da lawn crew showed up here today so mommy coulda really used dat allergy stuffs. Her nose and eyes are runnin’ fur da hills. MOL
Luv ya’
Dezi
Kathryn
You’re so busy; You maintain pace; I don’t know how = both you, Merlin and your Mam. 🙂
Kathryn
I’m sure the right decisions will come. It sounds hopeful. Right might be sad but peaceful.
Mao’s weight loss from CKD seems to have halted and his weight seems steady. I think of his CKD friend Merlin frequently. Peace and purrs.
Layla Morgan Wilde
I’m so glad to hear Mao’s weight has stabilized. CKD can be a very long road.
Bethany Meissner
I needed this today. I’ve been wrestling with quitting one volunteer group that has been full of arguments for two years in favor of more time for another volunteer group (or even my own writing).
I might just put “say bye bye” on an index card I can pull out and reread when I get nervous about quitting today before our annual all-volunteer meeting in time for someone else to be elected to the board as my replacement.
Anonymous
Glad it was useful. That’s great idea for bye-bye.
The Island Cats
So much going on! Paws up to Dasher for finding his furever home.
Summer
Your human has so much going on – no wonder things have been a little scarce on the blog!
Dorothy
I’m sorry you’ve lost some of your subscribers due to the tarot. Sometimes people are so quick to react to what they think is happening that the miss how useful it might actually be for them. I’ve never understood why people are so afraid of what they don’t know, which is probably why I spend more time with cats! I enjoyed today’s blog very much and I’ll be here the next time you have time to publish. ?
Layla Morgan Wilde
Thanks so much! Dorothy, it’s so true we fear the unknown. Cat are curious and it’s a good trait to nurture.
Layla Morgan Wilde
Yes, indeed but we’re still blogging at least three times a week.