Monday, August 8, is International Cat Day, a day the whole world celebrates our feline friends. While reading an email ad from GaelSong, I found this out, so I want to celebrate Jesse, my cat!
What is International Cat Day?
. . . a celebration which takes place on 8 August of every year. It was created in 2002 by the International Fund for Animal Welfare. It is a day to raise awareness for cats and learn about ways to help and protect them.
In 2020 custodianship of International Cat Day passed to International Cat Care,[3] a not-for-profit British organization that has been striving to improve the health and welfare of domestic cats worldwide since 1958.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Cat_Day
Celebrate Cats Throughout the Year!
Guess what? Cat lovers celebrate their feline friends throughout the year, not just on International Cat Day. Check out the many days to celebrate:
https://petpress.net/cat-holidays/
Let Me Celebrate International Cat Day with Jesse, my cat!
For the majority of my life, we had dogs! Growing up, we had outside dogs. Once, we had a yellow kitten, but I don’t remember what happened to him. When I divorced in 2008, I had been accustomed to having a dog around for about thirty or forty years. My ex-husband got our dog, and I faced life pet-less!
Then I adopted Jesse, a silver-tip Siamese and fell in love with him and cats. He was six years old when I got him and he’s nineteen now which is ninety-two in human years, labeled a “Super Senior” which is any age above fifteen.
https://icatcare.org/advice/how-to-tell-your-cats-age-in-human-years/
Jesse & Feline Diabetes
In April 2016, I realized Jesse had something seriously wrong with him. After taking him to his vet, I found out he had feline diabetes. At first, we tried to treat it with specialized cat food, but he needed more. So, he has been on insulin since August 2016 with increased dosage as needed.
At the beginning of 2022, I messed up and left his insulin out of the frig and continued giving it to Jesse. He got sick, vomiting repeatedly. After a couple vet visits, Jesse started doing better because one vet added a potassium gel daily.
Jesse’s vomiting continued, but Lin and I have finally come up with a system that seems to be working. We give him a small amount of food in the morning with the potassium gel then don’t give him anymore food until he’s eaten that. Jesse waits near his food thinking he can fool us into giving him more food, but we usually win. Lin says I’m a soft touch and give in. After he finishes the doctored food, we give him small portions. This seems to be working because recently he has gone a month without vomiting!
Jesse’s New Passion
He loves going outside to wandering through Lin’s garden on a similar route on every outing. So, when I get up, I take him outside in the beautiful morning with birds singing and that fresh morning smell. I follow him around as he goes to his favorite grasses, catmint and drinks from a low-level bird bath. I follow him because we have rattlesnakes up here in the east mountains above Albuquerque—he’d be an easy prey with his arthritic lame back leg. As we go, I pick weeds and enjoy the blessings of Lin’s gorgeous garden and Jesse’s meanderings.
Because of his age, Jesse finishes in about twenty minutes, so what a wonderful way to start the day! When winter comes, his waiting at the back door to go out will be futile and sad!
After researching extensively, I found out cats might live to twenty years old, so Lin and I wonder every day when we wake up, if this is the day. But so far, he is doing fine! Whining right now for more food—a good sign!
Finally,
Celebrate International Cat Day tomorrow with your favorite feline. Jesse and I will start the day outside enjoying nature in Lin’s garden. Then the food battle will continue but his screeching whine lets me know he still has a lot of life in him. If you don’t have a cat, go and adopt one.
Do you have a cat? If so, for how long? What’s your favorite rationale for having a cat?
~WATCH MY NEW INTERVIEW on Douglas Coleman’s Show dated August 5, 2022.
~MY FIRST AUDIOBOOK IS AVAILABLE: Go to Audible to buy my first audiobook, Let Me Tell You a Story. I’m working on Coronavirus Reflections: Bitter or Better? but have gotten stalled with shingles.
~Do you listen to podcasts? Here are three podcasts with interviews about my new book & some Flippo stories:
- Chat & Spin Radio, from Friday, June 24, 2022. Join us for a lively description of all my books!
- Book Talk–June 3, 2022
- Live on Purpose Podcast–March 17, 2022
- Zbooks.com–January 19, 2022
- Apostrophes, A Writers Series with Double DD–January 10, 2022
- The On Purpose Podcast–January 10, 2022
~Have you bought a copy of Flippo’s biography yet? Believe it or not—it’s been two years. Go here for your hardback or paperback: https://www.laradasbooks.com or at Amazon.
~For me, it’s Christmas all year long! Here’s a variety of Christmas greetings from Flippo & Neeca, featuring his song, “When It’s Christmas Time in Texas”: https://youtu.be/mpJCUGffU3A
~Wish You Were Here: A Novel by Jodi Picoult, one of my favorite authors, deals with the COVID pandemic in fiction as opposed to my nonfiction book. Check it out! Interesting story!
~What happened to you in 2020-2021 during the coronavirus pandemic? Do you care? Are you on a spiritual path? Do you want to heal from the horrible effects of the pandemic of 2020? Visit my website to find out about my new book, Coronavirus Reflections: Bitter or Better? and my other five books and three cookbooks: https://laradasbooks.com
Loved this post! Happy Cat Day, Jesse, from Amber’s feline companions Jenny and Alfie! Yay for Super Senior cats!
I had a pair of super senior cats who lived to 18 and 20 – Sweet Pea and Elvis – and I think the key was that they were always exploring and interested – quite a feat for indoor cats.
You have inspired me to get a cat harness/leash – I’ll let you know how it goes – for Alfie who spends time on the front porch in his carrier with me.
Thanks so much. Yeah for Jenny & Allie!