Top Ten and a Rant

Time is out with its Top Ten Everything of 2009. My favorite is the Top Ten Under-reported Stories because I learned a few things. Here is the entire list, some of which is just... odd.

I spotted a sad story on Yahoo this morning: Pop culture main reason Calif has Chihuahua crisis

Chihuahuas make up 30 percent or more of the dog populations at many California shelters. And experts say pop culture is to blame, with fans immitating Chihuahua-toting celebrities like Paris Hilton and Miley Cyrus, then abandoning the dogs.

Pop culture and stupid, selfish people who think it's okay to take an animal in then just dump it off on someone else when it becomes inconvenient. This sort of stupidity just pisses me off. A member of the family pulled this stunt recently and my sister and I went ballistic on that person. Sadly neither of us can take in the animal in question so we're hunting for a home.

For the California Chihuahua problem there is something of a bright side:

"We never have enough supply for the huge consumer demand for small dogs," she said. One of Webb's biggest problems is a lack of money to fly the dogs to other states. Buchwald said she would be happy to help. "Nothing is outside the realm of possibility here. We have a supply-demand isssue," she said.

But it is no solution. Of course there is no solution for stupid, selfish, thought-less people. We just have to put up with them and correct their mistakes.

You can make donations of money or supplies at your local shelter. Petfinder.com (and other sites) can give you a list of shelters in your area. Please, people, don't adopt now - the holidays are the worst time to adopt pets - just go visit them, take some food and think about whether or not you can take on a new family member in the coming year.

Cat Eyes

Yesterday I wandered over to Homo Escapeons and that cat, above, assaulted me. Scared the crap outta me, it did! I asked if that animal was a resident of chez Escapeons but it seems that Madame Escapeons is allergic to the saliva produced by animalia chordata mammalia carnivora felidae felis silvestris and so, no, that freak of nature is not a resident of their home.

In case you are not aware of it I am owned by three cabana boys... I mean cats. A Bombay named Raven, a Russian Blue named Pewter and a psychopath named Fidgit. None of my lads are pure breeds, though I think I can get papers on Fidgit certifying him as completely insane.

On occassion, being an entity of pure evil, I will... fuck with my cats. No, NO! not that. Eewww, gross. No, I mean fuck with their tiny cat brains. I'll hang large feather cat toys just out of their reach and watch them go crazy trying to get to it. Raven usually just cowers in fear of anything new and waits for the other two braver souls to figure out what the new things are that entered their world. I'll make strange noises that send them diving for cover under furniture and keep doing it until they come out to see what I'm doing. I've got a Furby that I drag out every once in a while just to torture them. I love watching them run from it, then circle it, hunt it down and then try to kill it. Well, not Raven. He hurls himself under the couch or bed and stays there until the offending beast disappears again.

I torture the Lads because it's fun. I love watching their expressions, watching them figure out how to conquer the lastest obstacles their slave (that would be me) has placed in their path. So seeing that beast on HE's blog made me wonder just what the hell someone did to that cat to make it react that way. All of the crazy things I've done to the Lads has never produced that expression!

Obviously someone is much better at cat torture than I am. I am a lowly grasshopper.

Of course, if I were a grasshopper, Fidget would have eaten me by now.

I also noticed that the cat is a Havana Brown, though probably not a purebred Havana as it lacks the distinct Siamese features. Raven isn't a purebred Bombay for the same reason - lack of Siamese features that distinquish his breed. Also missing is the "chattiness" that Siamese are known for - Raven is a very quiet Lad. Of course with Fidgit around he couldn't get a word in edgewise if he tried. Fidgit is a "dsh", domestic shorthair, tiger cat muttly who never STFU.

I would like to have a Havana Brown, and a Chartreux, cat someday, but not a pure breed. Pure breeds tend to have a lot of physical and pyschological issues that I just don't want to deal with. Additionally, with all the animals in shelters needing homes, I just can't justify getting a pet any other way. If I'm going to spend US$1,000 on a pet, I'd rather make a donation to the animal shelter than pay a breeder.

Not that I have any intention of spending that kind of money on a pet. I'm not sane but I'm not that crazy! But it does remind me that I need to make a donation to the local shelters again. I will stop at a Petsmart store near my office and pick up a gift card so they can use to it buy supplies. I should probably do that everytime I pick up some new toy to torture the Lads with. Spread the joy, as it were.