Peace Love & Purrs #brusselslockdown
Cats

Mondays With Merlin: A-Z Gratitude. B is #Brusselslockdown

If you love cats, sharing makes us purrrr :-)

Cat Wisdom of the ages_mondays with merlin

It’s not just another week but a holiday week with Thanksgiving and the kick off to the Holiday Season. Oh My Whiskers! Is the most wonderful time of the year feeling anything but? With so much sadness in the news about terrorism, leave it to us cats to diffuse the tension with some humor. The Belgian police implemented #Brusselslockdown on Twitter which overnight turned into a viral cat meme. This is my anti-terrorism contribution. Maybe it really is time for cats to rule the world?

Peace Love & Purrs #brusselslockdown

We’re sharing our A to Z of cat gratitude and some sage advice without the stuffing.

It’s time to talk turkey about a few things but not only the kind you eat. There is nothing more tantalizing than the smell of a big bird roasting in the oven. I confess to being partial to those crispy, fatty bits of skin like Odin does here in the pic BUT BEWARE of the BONES. By all means, give your cat a few morsels of turkey as a treat but…

Thanksgiving-LOL-cat-turkey-want
Do NOT feed cats cooked turkey, chicken or any fowl with bones. Raw bones are fine but cooked bones splinter and are choking hazard.

This year Thanksgiving feels different. It’s harder to muster up gratitude during hard times. Many of my cat and human friends are going through crappy times and Layla has helped best she can by answering many private messages about all kinds of issues. Please know: no matter how hard life is right now, you are not alone. Ask for help. Privately or publically. Share #catthanks with your thanks or request for help and we’ll retweet it but be sure to tag us @catwisdom101 to be sure we see it. You may be surprised where in the world help shows up.
#catthanks graphic cat thanksgiving gratitude

For example: A couple months ago Layla got an email from someone in Slovenia about a cat behavior problem. She doesn’t have time to do much behavior consulting with Cat Film Fest at Sea launching but will either refer clients, provide resources or a quick insight for someone unable to pay for consulting. Layla, being as curious as me, wondered about cats in Slovenia and began a fascinating email exchange with the woman who happens to be a dentist and spiritual birds of a feather. Before you know it, they were sharing info about cultural, medical and veterinary differences and gave Layla a huge insight into a dental issue she’s having. And she went and visited a cat cafe in Slovenia at Layla’s behest (look for a guest post soon from about it!). A new friendship and mutual support happened all because someone asked for help.

I was feeling so much better when suddenly I was peeing blood again on the weekend. Layla stayed up with me all night in her arms doing Reiki. There was pee in bed, in her hair, on the floor and it turns out my dad had given me the wrong dose of meds. I’m stable again and have a new mmmf sound in my vocabulary to signal when I want to be moved on or off the bed so I can get to the litter in time and when I want to eat which is about every 93 minutes. I’m comfortable now but with all the ministrations of meds, sub q, supplements my furs get filthy in places I can’t reach. It’s too cold for sunny outdoor baths which I love, so Layla gave me bath indoors with a special heater set up in the bathroom to keep me toasty. FYI, pee pads are great for absorbing excess water off furs! Cats are naturally VERY clean and we don’t like being dirty so I’m grateful to be sweet-smelling again and as good as new. Well, maybe not quite new but…

thanksgiving-gratitude-cat-merlin

 

You may call me Mr. Feisty “F__K You, Death!” but Layla is re-thinking thankfulness this holiday season from a gentler place. It’s a place far away from commercial holiday ads to buy, buy, buy. You can reach this place in your heart most easily when you unplug. She realized she doesn’t hate the holiday season, just the barrage of ads, the pressure to do more and the subtle manipulation to compare lives. It’s always an exercise in futility and a guaranteed downer to compare YOUR LIFE with ANYONE. If the person has less than you, you may feel sorry or guilty. If they have more than you may feel jealous or inadequate. It’s an easy trap to fall into as we live more of our lives online and can track who is doing what. Who has more likes or followers or other nonsense.

I must admit, I love when you share and leave me comments but wise enough to know I would never want to be a celebrity cat. Did you know there are hundreds of cats with over 100,000 followers on social media? Never mind. Have you seen my latest pics on Instagram? See thumbnails in our sidebar. Layla has the nerve to post pics without cats! I do forgive her because being in nature feeds her soul. And please forgive her if she missed visiting your blog. I’ve kept her a little busy. And do tweet or retweet #Brusselslockdown and #catsforpeace.

 

I’m re-posting a revised version of our annual Feline Gratitude Attitude From A to Z.

Cats Thanksgiving-gratitude

A: Autumn. Winter, spring and summer all have their charms.

B: Boxes or bags. Paper, cardboard, shiny, natural or corrugated, shoebox to shipping container size all fit purrfectly.

C: Catnip, wild or dried, fresh or in toys a little ‘nip is catastic.

D: Domino, our former feral and best brofur.

E: Email to connect with friends from every corner of the world.

F: Food, food, glorious food. Served in bed is bonus.

G: Garden. We are blessed to have a safe and supervised wild, fragrant slice of nature.

H: Home. There’s no place like a warm, safe home especially after being in a shelter or outdoors like Domino for 7 winters.

I: Intuition, a cat’s sixth sense. It’s one of our superpowers.

J: Jungles. Well, not a real one but the garden bushes and indoor plants excite our imagination. Please check plants are not toxic like poinsettias.

K: Kindness. Plus Kitty Kaviar. Fishy Flakes. Need we say more? Okay, more kindness.

L: Love, both human and feline is divine. Life too.

M: Mom and Merlin. Our cat mom Layla rocks and Merlin, age 21, is our rock.

N: Neutering. Yes, us boys are happier and healthier for it. Ditto spaying for our gal pals.

O: Odin, our one-eyed wonder and ringleader of mischief, fun and delight 24/7.

P: Peace & Purring and Playing with or humans or each other, with or without toys.

Q: Quiet and peace. Peace and quiet with dollops of excited mews from our sisfur Nou Nou.

R: Rolling in the grass, dirt or herb garden.

S: Snoozes in Sunpuddles. Sweet smells of being clean.

T: Treats and toys. Being a products tester means treats and toys galore.

U: Undercover snuggles with mom and dad.

V: Vets for all their care & kudos for Shelter Volunteers

W: Water fountains. Fresh, fun, running water.

X: X amount of Cat Wisdom 101 readers. That means you!

Y: Yoga. Feline style stretches feel so good for cats and humans.

Z: Zzzzzzs and Super Zzzzzz

What are you or your cats most thankful for?

23 Comments

  • Angel Ms. Phoebe's Family

    As usual you share your deep insights that give a much noms for thought nephew. We sometimes find ourselves getting caught in the commercial and societal pressures of the holidays, but this year knowing two of our furry family members will not be with us next Catmas we are focusing on them- the best gift we could ever have.
    It is good to know you are better and spending your days in comfort and love, as you deserve every moment and action spent on your behalf. Layla is being the best mother, her devotion so moving and sweet. Memories of Phoebe’s last months spent nursing and devoting all my time to her came to mind while reading about getting your bath- how bittersweet those days were. I wouldn’t trade them for anything, just as I know Layla will one day feel the same about this time with you dear boy.

  • Skeeter and Izzy

    We are thankful for being a family, maybe not the conventional human one but a family none the less. We are thankfful for all of those that have gone before us to the bridge and all of those yet to come. We are thankful if we can help someone if only in a small way.We are thankful for all that we have, all that we can do and all those that we know and love. We don’t have the grandest of anything by far but we have wealth in the ways that matter, friends, family, love, peace, kindness, compassion and sharing of all of these. We purr and pray that everyone has their needs met and know the richness of being a family like us.
    Happy Thanksgiving to all!
    Purrs and prayers
    Skeeter and Izzy and the Feral Gang + Twig & Peanut & Romeo and the Angels >^..^^..^<~

  • ellen

    My Mondays either start or end with you Merlin…. you remind me so very much of my Tan’na. Sometimes I have to end my Monday with you because you bring peace and hope and calm. I miss my Tan’na although I have a little girl siamese who gives me those baby blues we all know melt hearts, She isnt so little (she is 10) and in fragile health, I worry for her the most, she has dry FIP and has stayed and stayed for me. The other cats understand my meezer fondness and tolerate the craziness,

    I love your thankfuness post, it reminds us it is the simple things, and sometimes the fleeting things that mean the most. I think thats why cats (and other furs) cant stay with us forever like we would want them to. Your love is pure and it is simple.
    I am so sorry you werent and arent feeliing well, but you have the best nurses in the world and they love you dearly.

    For love you give thanks, have a bit of turkey, and enjoy the day dear Merlin.

  • Deziz World

    Ever since mommy’s accident she’s had no money. She can barely afford to purrvide da fings we need and so there’s nuffin’ fur extwas. She offen goes wiffout so we don’t have to. And she duz it gladly. It wasn’t till we got a puter dat we saw so many in da same boat as us or close to it. Lots of our furiends have way more than we do, and weez happy fur them. Sure we want fings, who dusn’t, but we know we can’t have them and awe happy we have each udder. Weez glad y’all can “unplug” and find peace. Any help is always purreciated by those in need, even ifin a purrayer. Weez sendin’ purrayers fur y’all and hope yous Fanksgivin’ is joyful. Enjoy dat turkey, it looks yummy. Have a peaceful and joyous holiday.

    Luv ya’

    Dezi and Lexi

    • Angel Ms. Phoebe's Family

      Your Mommy has raised you with a healthy and smart outlook, and do not ever doubt the richness you have in love. Your words moved me and I thank you for reminding us of what is most important no matter the time of year. We wish your family the best and that the coming year brings easier times and good health.

      Clove, Kaspars, & Mom

  • Summer

    I love your attitude A-Z list, and we share quite a few items on it. I’m glad you got the med situation worked out.

    The litter box in a litter box in my post is actually a “litter sifter” and my human switches it out very frequently to keep things fresh. The bigger bin catches flung litter and the occasional over-the-top pee incident.

  • da tabbies o trout towne

    dood…..manee thanx for sharin yur thanx full ness post but we gotta say it…..

    THAT BURDZ GOTTA GO ~~~~~~~~~~~ ♥♥♥

  • Cathy Keisha

    I like that Cats for Peace. We weren’t online much this weekend so we missed it but we did hear about the lockdown. TW has a Cats for Peace pillow filled with lavender that she uses when she’s stressed and can’t sleep. A-Z Gratitude is such a wonderful idea.

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