Gettin' preachy with it (na na na na nana na)

Not a whole lot is new around here. Mostly I have been enjoying my days off by playing video games. By mostly I mean entirely. I have no problem with it. I feel like that is what you should be doing in the winter time, vegging, reading, playing video games. Although, since I started replaying Ocarina of Time, I have neglected my Pokemon and that will not help in my quest to catch them all. Finding time to get Lightweight Pro in Call of Duty has also taken a back seat. I need to prioritize my video games better.

No real changes with Zelda, except that she is starting to calm down. Sometimes she even stays in her bed when I enter the room, instead of immediately rubbing against me and trying to climb into my arms! She does not like Mike as much as she likes me, so she is still nippy with him, but I think sometimes he moves to fast for her. Hey, at least one cat in this house likes me better! I took a few pictures of her today, but her constant kneading and wanting to be close to you make her end up blurry.. at least you know she is happy!

Something that has been bothering me is that not all cats are as lucky as Zelda. I know, it sounds cliche and cheesy (and like something you would hear in one of those really sad ASPCA commercials) but its true. Its very similar to when Spoookie came in to my life. Of course, Spoookie and I were destined to be. It was fated, it was written about, and there was no way I was going to let that cat live anywhere else. When we found out Spoookie was pregnant (about three weeks after I got her) I was faced with the decision of abort the kittens or find homes for all of them. I did what I thought was right, and was able to find homes for them (with the exception of Buu who I kept) but if I didn't have such amazing friends 5 kittens might have ended up at a shelter. In retrospect, I was just really lucky, and Spoookie was spayed as soon as she could be after giving birth.

Holy baby-weight, Batman!

Zelda and I are both lucky for finding each other. I hate the thought of her kittens being aborted or her getting put down for being pregnant, because these are things that could have been avoided in the first place. Zelda was obviously someone's cat, there is no doubt in my mind because she is far too lovey to be feral, and they did not take care of her. They neglected to spay her and on top of that she was allowed to run the streets; a recipe for disaster - or... well.. a recipe for kittens at least. At the risk of sounding preachy, I can't stress how important spaying/neutering your pets are. Its one of the easiest ways to avoid cancer, helps eliminate the animals urge to "mark" territory, and (most importantly) helps fight against pet overpopulation and "unwanted" pets. Now, don't get me wrong, I understand that without animals like Zelda I would not have a job, but I don't think people have a real grasp on how overpopulated shelters in America are. Its insane. Let me show you an example (taken from the PAWS website) of what a city pound's euthanasia rates are before and after the introduction of a no-kill shelter and low-income spay/neuter clinic.

I am so proud to be a part of this organization.

 

In 1997 Animal Care and Control euthanized 42,561 animals. That is about 116 animals A DAY. Fuck. But in the first year the Lurie (PAWS) clinic was open, the euthanasia numbers dropped by 3000. That is a big deal, a direct correlation between fixing your pets and euthanasia. Bob Barker knew what he was talking about all along.

This year the clinic did 17,000 surgeries and PAWS found homes for 4,000 pets. Fuck yeah! It is so cool to be able to say "I did that, I am a part of that".