I'm Lucky I'm Not a Dog

Hey Guys,

Libby here.

I have a bone to pick with snow.

Specifically, New York snow.

If you were unfortunate enough to leave the house this weekend, the picture to the left is probably what you saw.

Now don't be fooled. This picture is a bit deceptive.

Snow in New York is not pristine and beautiful.

It's dirty. It's yellow. It's short lived.

This past weekend in particular was a massive snow disappointment.

As always, there were rumors abounding that there would be this massive snowstorm.

Lies.

There were two measly inches.

The worst part was that in spite of the snow let down, we still felt the typical snow side effects.

For instance, the snowfall required that the sidewalks be salted which meant that poor pups who went for walks were subjected to the pain of the saltiness. As a result, the dogs felt the need to relieve themselves on the briefly beautiful snow, effectively dirtying it in the course of five minutes' time.

So it's a vicious cycle and one that unfortunately can't be broken, neither in this snow storm or the next hundred storms.

But the point of this all is that I'm happy I am a cat. An indoor cat to be exact.

And for that, I am a grateful cat.

And til next time, show some love to your doggy friends for their salty woes.

Libby

I'm really not a hater

Hey guys,

It was recently brought to my attention that I come off as a bit of a hater.

That I'm not an equal opportunist reporter when it comes to the capabilities of the PPAC.

That...I only report on animals of the feline persuasion.

But it's not true! I promise. I love all creatures furry.

Lets attribute any seeming preferences to cats to the whole height thing.

By that I mean that as a cat, my center of gravity tends to be pretty close to the ground. Probably not much more than 8 inches or so off the floor.

So, what do I see when I look out? Creatures that are close to my height, ie, fellow cats, rats and other small animals.

Not dogs. Unless they are this dog. Otherwise, most dogs tend to hover quite a bit higher than I do.

And you know what they say, out of sight, out of mind.

So for all those canine lovers, don't take offense. Seriously. It's a height issue and nothing else.

I love a cute dog as much as you do.

So stay tuned for some posts in the near future about the dogs who visit the PPAC.

I'm a lover. Not a fighter.

Libby

I resolve to...

Hey Guys!

Libby here.

I realize this should have probably been the first post of the New Year but hey, what can you do.

So first of all, Happy New Year!

Hope you all had amazing Christmases, Chanukahs, Kwanzaas etc.

And now that it's a new year, I want to talk about resolutions.

New Years resolutions to be exact.

So, when the clock struck midnight, what was it that you promised for next year?

While you think about that, here's my list. I resolve to:

-Be nicer to all the cats and dogs who visit PPAC (and not be so territorial)

-Lose 2 pounds (and cut back on the kitty food)

-Do more laps around the office to maximize weight loss (and make even more friends in the process!)

-Cut back on the catnip

-Scratch less

-Purr more

This is just a short list for now and I'm sure that with time I'll come up with even more ways to self-improve. But I hope for now, you are inspired to make some resolutions of your own for this coming year.

Happy 2012!

Libby

A Chrismukah Miracle

Hey Everybody,

Libby here.

Do you remember a few weeks ago when I wrote a post about a cutie-patootie kitten named Oscar?

Well have I got a story for you!

This little guy is amazing! When he was first found, he was not in the best situation. In fact, to be blunt, he kinda had one foot in the grave.

But the folks of PPAC were, as always, cautiously optimistic and they nursed him back to health. In fact, he got so much better that Dr. Silverman's family adopted him. Yay!

Oscar was an amazing pet. He was incredibly cuddly and warm and mellow. Everyone loved him.

Until one day, the Silvermans were sitting in the living room and they heard a thump.

Everyone of course got all nervous and ran in to see what had happened, only to see little Oscar looking a bit dazed on the floor. Through some deductive reasoning, it became apparent that the poor little guy had fallen through the banister onto the floor one story below. Dr. S. inspected him and he seemed pretty OK so everyone thought everything was fine. But, a week or so later, he fell again!!!

At this point, he was exhibiting some weird behavior. He was looking a bit shaky and was having trouble focusing. He also appeared to have broken his hip. So Dr. S. operated on the little guy in the hopes that he could help him get better.

But no such luck. Post surgery, his coordination had not improved. There was some concern that he had bonked his head during one of the falls and experienced brain damage which, when compounded with his fall....the outlook was a bit bleak.

Everyone wanted to help this adorable kitty so, all the esteemed vets and Vet-wannabees (Dr. S.'s son Nick is in vet school and he pondered the situation, too) pulled a House

and discovered that sometimes, kittens born to mothers with feline distemper have an underdeveloped cerebellum (balance center in the brain) which can result in their having balance issues.

Since Oskie had exhibited this, the vets came to the conclusion that this was what he was suffering from and, with a bit of physical therapy and a lot of love, Oskie can recover and live a full, happy life with the Silverman family.

It is truly a Chrismukah miracle!

-Libby

The dreaded UTI

Fellow friends and lovers of all furry creatures,

Libby here.

This week, I have a pretty serious topic I'd like to discuss. The dreaded UTI.

Otherwise known as a Urinary Tract Infection.

Now for those of you who have had the misfortune of experiencing a UTI, you can attest to how completely and utterly miserable they are.

Ok now for a moment, imagine having a recurring one. Yea...Pretty miserable huh?

Welcome to my life. I am the sad recipient of chronic UTI's.

I don't know if you remember but ages ago, when we first started chatting, I spoke about the fact that I have some bathroom issues. More specifically, I have some trouble when it comes to peeing.

Without going into too much gory detail, although the folks at PPAC help me go by squeezing my bladder, the pee sometimes just kinda sits there.

So let's just say that my condition makes me very prone to UTI's.

And this kitty tends to suffer from some discomfort.

I know, wha wha, woe is me.

Not sure why I felt the need to share this little tidbit with you all at this juncture but I suppose it's in part my desire to accrue sympathy points :)

And if any of you out there are sufferers, I know what it's like!

Til next time.

Libby

'Tis the Season for Lots of Kittens

Hey everybody!

Libby here.

It's Christmas/Hannukah/Kwanzaa time and you know what that means?

PRESENTS!!!

I know...that's not really what the holiday spirit is all about but lets be honest. It's at least partially about that right?

But the good news is, it's not a requirement to spend a lot of money on a present.

In fact, do you know a great gift that costs very little? 

A BRAND NEW KITTEN!!!

And seriously folks, watching your kid or loved one open a box (with airholes of course) and have a tiny little kitten pop up into their arms is just priceless. 

So sing with me:

Tis the season for lots of kittens

falalala - lalalala

Who wants pairs of cashmere mittens

falalala - lalalala

And the moral of the story is, during the holidays, everyone wants to be loved and surrounded by people they love.

So, shameless plug, ask someone at the PPAC about adopting a kitten (or puppy) for the holidays.

Happy Holidays!

Libby

My Hero!

Hey everybody!

Do you remember Joey? Of course you do. How could you not. He was the love of my life.

Ok more like the love of the week but we were pretty hot and heavy there for a while.

And then I moved on to this other guy for a bit.

Anyway my love life is actually not the focal point of this particular post.

But, Joey is.

And that's because today, Joey "Chestnuts" did a wonderful thing for a fellow feline.

We had a bit of a situation here at the PPAC the other day and Joey came through with flying colors.

A stray kitty came in, very close to meeting the big cat in the sky. He was desperately in need of blood.

And Joey, being the valiant and noble cat that he is, bravely offered up his vein and allowed his blood to be drawn and donated to said kitty in need.

He saved another cat's life!

I'm starting to think it's time to give Joey a second look.

What a guy.

Til next time.

Libby