We are very pleased to have Cool Cat Sites participating in the World Animal Day Blog Hop. We love our cats and all animals and want to show off all the fun blogs that decided to participate today. Hopefully our readers new and established with all bookmark the new sites you will find by clicking around on the list below.

To make the day more fun, in addition to entering the drawing in the Rafflecopter, we are going to give away a Kindle versions (they aren’t available in print) of our two Funky Cat Art Books to one lucky person that comments on this post. Tell me your favorite cat story, or what is your favorite kind of cat – either by color or by breed. Get a second entry for coming back after you visit all the blogs involved and tell me which was your favorite! We’ll give you some time to get around to everyone and accept entries until Monday October 8th at Midnight EST.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Tortoiseshell cats are not a breed, but a color named for their distinctive coloring – a combination of patches of black, brown, amber, red, cinnamon and chocolate. The size of the patches varies from a fine speckled pattern to large areas of color. The term “tortoiseshell” is used for cats with brindled coats that have few or no white marking. Cats of this coloring with larger areas of white fur are called calicos. Sometimes, these colors present in lighter versions such as lilac or cream. Torties with this lighter coloring are called dilute torties. Occasionally, the typical tortoiseshell colors are also seen in a tabby (striped) pattern, and these cats are sometimes referred to as “torbies.”

Tortoiseshell cats are almost exclusively female. Tortoiseshell and calico coats are the result of the interaction between genetic and developmental factors. The occasional and very rare male tortoiseshell cat is the result of a genetic mutation.

In addition to their distinctive coloring, torties also have a reputation for unique personalities, sometimes referred to as “tortitude.” They tend to be strong-willed, a bit hot-tempered, and they can be very possessive of their human. Other words used to describe torties are fiercely independent, feisty and unpredictable. They’re usually very talkative and make their presence and needs known with anything from a hiss to a meow to a strong purr. These traits are stronger in tortoiseshell cats than in calicos – it seems as though these traits are somewhat diluted with the addition of more white to the color scheme.

I’m currently owned by a tortie named Amber. Her coloring is very dark, with an amber colored spot on top of her head, which became the reason for her name. She’s very independent and strong-willed, but she’s also very sweet and a bit on the shy side. We recently lost our little Buckley, a high-energy, joyful little tortie, to heart disease. Buckley is the subject of my upcoming book Buckley’s Story – Lessons from a Feline Master Teacher.

Ingrid King is a former veterinary hospital manager turned writer. She publishes the E-zine “News for You and Your Pet,” covering topics ranging from conscious living to holistic and alternative health. She shares her experiences with consciously creating a joyful, happy and healthy life for pets and people on her popular blog, “The Conscious Cat.” Ingrid lives in Northern Virginia with her tortoiseshell cat Amber. Visit http://consciouscat.net/ for more information.

“What do you do?”

I reply, “I’m an animal communicator.”

Today’s reactions to my answer are much more accepting than when I first admitted that I communicated with animals telepathically. I wouldn’t always tell people that I could talk to animals. I’d hesitate trying to get an intuitive feeling as to how I should answer. Often I just said, “I have a horse farm.” That was the safe, acceptable answer.

It took me a long time to tell my parents, which made me uncomfortable. I didn’t want to see the disappointment and questions in their eyes. When I was included in a book about animal communicators, I felt it was time. I handed them the book and quickly left the room. My dad was skeptical but tried to accept it. My mother couldn’t, which was no big surprise. Several friends had trouble accepting the new skill I shared with them. It changed our relationship for years. Recently, I was able to help one with the transition of her family cat.

Letting another’s judgment prevent me from admitting that I could talk to animals was an issue that took me years to resolve. I am proud of what I can do and how I’ve helped many people and animals. Changing times have opened the minds of many people to new possibilities. Now when I admit what I do, I feel openness and curiosity rather than skepticism and fear. Most people want to know how, why, when.

All my life I’ve had a deep love for animals. It’s just who I am. My parents were dog lovers, so we always had a dog in the family. I was born with an innate love for horses. No other family members suffered from my affliction. I began riding lessons at age 8. My dream of having my own horse was realized by age 13. I’ve had dogs, horses and cats in my life ever since.

Following in my father’s and grandfather’s footsteps, I became a pharmacist. I practiced in our family’s drug store until leaving to marry my horse vet. For the next 27 years, I managed our veterinary office, equine hospital and breeding farm. I belonged on a horse farm and not in a pharmacy, so the Universe worked that out for me. Had I not followed my heart, I might never have uncovered my true purpose in this life.

One of my husband’s patients taught me that communicating with animals wasn’t limited to someone with a “special gift.” She was a Quarter Horse foal born with scoliosis. She couldn’t get up or stand on her own. Her name was Because of Love. Many people were drawn to her and all donated their services.

My husband and I attended a workshop given by the veterinary chiropractor and animal communicator that were part of Love’s entourage. Until that weekend, I was merely involved with offering love and moral support. Little did I know the epiphany awaiting that would change the course of my life – all “because of love.”

I watched the workshop participants discuss what the animals were saying. These ladies weren’t any different than me. They weren’t special or gifted. I thought to myself, “I can learn this?” The cosmic 2 X 4 hit me square in the consciousness. I had to learn how to talk to animals. I’d do whatever it took to finally remove the wall that separates humans and animals. Learning to fully know what animals were thinking and feeling inspired me. Then, I could really help Love.

Trying to find time in my already hectic day was no easy task. My intense desire to talk with the animals gave me the motivation to pursue my goal. My quest to learn to telepathically communicate with animals began in the early 90s and changed my life forever.

Probably the greatest challenge for me was learning to quiet my mind, which is crucial to telepathic communication of any kind. Being a left-brained, type-A personality, I practiced meditation to reawaken my right brain, which was not easy. It is with the combined usage of both hemispheres of the brain that we truly realize our full potential as human beings.

Many people ask how I accomplished my goal. I don’t share specifics with them, because I never want to discourage anyone. I was blessed with incredible experiences with fabulous animal teachers that guided me along my learning path quite rapidly.

I advise people that we all have the same capacity to communicate telepathically because our brains are physiologically identical. However, when something is involved in our soul’s purpose, things are facilitated as they were for me. Once I made the commitment to this goal, opportunities flew to me. The more I learned, the more there was to learn.

What began as a passion to talk to animals led to the discovery of other healing talents. Whenever I uncovered hidden abilities, animals that needed those skills found me. It was the Universe saying that I was on the right track.

I was my biggest skeptic and needed physical proof that what I was doing was actually bringing about change. I trust animals. They’re always honest, so I believed what I saw. They showed me that I was affecting positive behavioral changes. Not only was I able to communicate with them, but also offer healing modalities that allowed them to live happier lives among humans. I don’t need any kind of proof anymore.

Years ago during one of my consultations, I was told that companion animals came into existence to answer our souls’ cries for help. The earth plane is difficult to navigate. Our animals are here to help us succeed. I’d always felt like my animals were taking more care of me than I was of them. This insight was my confirmation.

There is so much being missed in our relationships with animals that I encourage anyone who feels the desire to talk with their animals to pursue it. It requires dedication, but the rewards are far-reaching. You don’t have to make it your life’s work unless you feel drawn to. Simply being able to communicate with your own animal family will enrich your life a thousand-fold.

My own animals have chosen to share their lives and lessons with me. I am humbled to have had each of them come to me. They’ve supported me in the worst of times. They’ve filled my heart with joy. They’ve kept a smile on my face. They’ve given me a reason to live. I am forever indebted to them.

Animals are the most patient and selfless teachers. I am who I am today because of all the animals that have trusted me and allowed me into their lives. They have taught me more about life and how to live it than anything I learned in 18 years of school. Working with them every day is gratifying and fulfilling. I am truly blessed to love what I do. I am honored to say, “I talk to animals!”

Nancy A. Kaiser lives in the healing Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina surrounded by her family of dogs, cats and a horse. She is the author of Letting Go: An Ordinary Woman’s Extraordinary Journey of Healing & Transformation, about her recovery from trauma with the help of animals and nature. Nancy operates Just Ask Communications, a practice devoted to healing the human-animal bond through enhanced communication and understanding. Visit her at: www.NancyKaiserAnimalCommunicator.com

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Do cats ALL get the memo when they are born that when humans go to the bathroom they *must* help them, or stare at them because it is after all the “International Cat Petting Room”? Previously sound asleep cats suddenly appear as soon as I sit down … Yes I have more than one cat, yes they ALL appear.

I know, close the door. But they like it in there

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A great post was made by Karen Crooke of Terrificats Cattery to a Maine Coon cat group that she gave me permission to repost here. It is full of great tips for evacuating not just with cats, but with any kinds of pets. Lots of food for thought and great practical tips on what to do during hurricane season. This is a little long, but be sure to read the whole thing, you won’t regret spending the time on this.

Hurricane Readiness 2008 – Tips Gleaned from 2005 Experiences
Posted by: Karen Crooke
Date: Thu Aug 28, 2008

Folks,

It looks like we might be getting some hurricane activity soon…..
So keep the things listed below in mind if you live in one of the Gulf Coast states.

Tropical Storm Gustav is expected to develop to hurricane strength
by Saturday, move into the Gulf of Mexico possibly stall out in the Gulf so it can
strengthen over the water, and make landfall Monday night or Tuesday morning
somewhere on the Texas-Louisiana-Mississippi-Alabama coasts. Of course,
we all know how reliable hurricane forecasting is….<>

So I may well be crying “Wolf” at the cat show here….but it never hurts to be
prepared. Lots of times these storms fizzle out…let’s hope Gustav does!!

TO TRACK HURRICANE ACTIVITY – WWW.NOAA.COM

For Gustav specifically,

I wrote the info below one year after Hurricane Rita. I know many others had
equally or much more horrifying experiences during Hurricane Katrina and posted
then, too. We should all remember and take heed. Most of my comments
below are directed towards the cats….don’t forget about your own important
papers, medications, records and irreplaceable momentos you want to save…
AND YOUR COMPUTER….you will need all those things. And take some clothes!

Emergency Preparation Steps: (From Karen Crooke – 08-02-06)

* Make your connections with other cat fanciers now. Get cell phone and
land line numbers and put them in your cell phone memory, plus make a
hard copy in case your battery dies. Your cat friends are the only ones likely
to be sympathetic about your need to transport and care for multiple cats!

* GET YOUR VEHICLE SERVICED NOW. CHANGE THE OIL AND THE FILTER AND THE
AIR FILTER EVEN IF IT DOESN’T NEED IT. A LONG EVACUATION IS HARD ON THE
CAR. CHECK THE BELTS. CHECK THE TIRES. KEEP THE GAS TANK FULL.

* Get some CASH. The most you feel you can afford and feel
comfortable carrying.If power is out, they won’t be able to take credit
cards at gas stations and hotels!

* Get an extra battery for your cell phone and charge it up. Keep
cell phones charged.

* Get walkie talkies if you are caravanning with another vehicle.
Cell phones don’t always work.

* Get a portable radio and fresh batteries.

* Call around and find a place to go if you need to evacuate. Study
the maps and figure out the best way to get there and then find an
alternate. If there is mandatory evacuation, the DPS often controls the
roadways after it is underway and you are required to follow their direction.

* Don’t put any more food in your freezers. Start eating out of the
freezer to limit the amount of food in them in case the power is out for a
long time. Nearly everyone had to dispose of their refrigerators and
freezers because of spoiled food in 2005.

* If you’ve been planning to shave down a cat or two and haven’t
gotten to it, do it now! Any evacuation, even in a car with a/c will be hot
and stressful. They will shed out the coat anyway from the stress. Try to
keep your show cats in the coolest part of the vehicle (after young kittens
and moms and very old cats).

* Most of these recommendations are for those who have a number of
cats. If you have only a few, it won’t be nearly as complicated to account
for them and transport them if we have to evacuate.

* Get those cat carriers cleaned up. Check that the doors and screws
are very secure. If there are cracks in any old ones you might need to use,
tape them up with duct tape or replace them. WalMart has pretty good
prices. Make sure you have enough carriers! You cannot stay behind if we
have a large hurricane with mandatory evacuation just because you can’t fit
your animals in your vehicle. That’s one thing we all need to consider when
determining the maximum number of cats we cankeep (among many others). Can
you get them all out at one time, quickly and safely.

* If you are short on room in your vehicle … WalMart has some
wonderful “soft sided” carriers for one cat that are only $15.99. They are
VERY secure and study. I wouldn’t want to use the smallest soft-sided carrier
for one cat for a long, crowded trip unless absolutely necessary. But if it was
the only way I could fit my cats in the car, I would do it.They also have some more
expensive soft crates that collapse and are held upright by metal piping
(but still reasonably priced).

* Count carriers and cats/kittens. Assign carriers to specific cats.

* Decide if anyone can share a carrier. Think about the heat….don’t
put more than 2 adults in a carrier together (minimum size 100 Varikennel
or Pet Porter) nor more than 3 kittens of any size.

* Make a list of your cats and their sex/age and any special needs
they have. Take the brightly-colored Duct Tape and label each carrier with
the name and sex of the cat that goes in it. Check off the list when you
have assigned that cat a carrier. That way if all the carriers are filled
you know you haven’t forgotten anyone that sneaked away to hide in the
confusion of packing up. Make more than one copy of your list. Double
check it.

* Use the larger carriers (200 VariKennels or Large Pet Taxis) for mom and
litters (if you have any…and remember next year not to breed any cats from
March to August so you won’t have any litters to worry about).

* DO A PRE-EVACUATION PACK-THE-CAR/VAN test. Get plenty of bungee
cords to tie down the carriers so they don’t shift. The new “flat” ones are
great and work best Be sure all your carriers will fit in the car with you
and any other humans you need to carry.

* Take a Rubbermaid bin with needed supplies for the cats (food, some litter….
you can always improvise for litter and where you are going will probably have
stores where you can buy stuff….I became a convert to the pine pellet litter on my
evacuation…light, you really don’t need a lot of it if you change it all
the time, and the cats seem to like it).

* After you get the car packed (with empty carriers) make a diagram outlining
which carriers go where and cats’ names….so you can load the car quickly
and efficiently. Put a hand towel or cut pieces of the Rubbermaid anti-slide
shelf lining to use between carriers so they won’t shift. Bungee them down,
too. Try to leave space for air circulation.

* Go to Sam’s Club and buy a box of 128 incontinent pads for about $28
and fold them in quarters and put two in each carrier (they are soft,
padded, and very absorbent. With two, my cats will wrap up any feces in the
top one and therefore stay out of any mess). Urine is well absorbed.

* BE SURE TO TAKE SOME EASILY ACCESSED AND HANDLED FOOD FOR YOURSELF.

I was stuck on the road for 18 hours with NO FOOD and no food available and
my small ice chest was buried under cat stuff (didn’t plan that well!). I
ate straight tuna packaged in the ENVELOPES (like some of the cat food
now)….it was protein; it was low fat (or good fat) and it kept me going.
I haven’t eaten much tuna fish since, but hey, it was better than nothing.
I stuffed a couple of packages of them in the side pocket of my car door
before I left, and I was glad I had.

* Make some provisions for yourself for toilet facilities…to be
blunt, those incontinent bed pads were created for a purpose. At least take a
couple of rolls of toilet paper. Many of us (please don’t laugh) have said
we’d buy Depends and wear them on the next evacuation. Now, we’re too young
to need them normally, thankfully, but they might work. The folks in other cars I
was in the evacuation line with got out and went in the woods of East Texas,
but there were more than one person in each car, and they had someone to
stay with the car, or if no pets, they could shut off the car and go. I had
to stay with the car because I was alone and I couldn’t shut off the air
conditioning for the cats….it was 110 degrees! So I left my house at 7
a.m. and used the restroom for the first time at 4:30 p.m. when I finally
arrived somewhere where there was one open and the DPS would let you stop!

* IMPORTANT: BE SURE TO TAKE A LARGE SPRAY BOTTLE FILLED WITH TAP
WATER AND SOME BOTTLES OF WATER…. If you get stuck on the road without gas
in this horrible heat, there’s not much you can do. But if you should find
yourself in that situation, at least you could spray the cats down and it
might keep them cool enough and hydrated enough to survive. That was my
greatest fear last year…that my car would die or run out of gas and my
cats would bake in the heat. Last year t he car thermometer read 110 for
most of the day (outside temp) and I couldn’t turn off my car while the
traffic was stopped in jams. I was SO worried about running out of gas.
Hopefully the evacuation routes are better and will be better managed if we
have to do it again.

* If you have time, go to the Dollar Store (Dollar Tree) and buy small
Tupperware-like clear containers that will fit in the carriers (even the
small Pet Taxi) for litter boxes. Just put a couple of sheets of paper
towels in the container with about 1/2 cup of litter on it (for this, use
plain clay litter….the cheapest and best is the Hill Country generic white
clay litter from HEB). The pine pellet litter will scatter too much and the
clumping litter could stick to the cats like cement in such small quarters.
Use just enough litter so the cat knows that’s what the pan is for. The
paper towel will absorb most of the urine.

* In 2005, Kroger (pet food aisle) had the very small plastic crocks
for 99 cents each and I bought one for each carrier. I put about 2 oz of
dry food in each of them. Once that was gone, I could have offered water had
I had the chance. If you have water bowls that will attach to the carrier
doors, so much the better.

* While you’re at the Dollar Store, get a couple of packages of
various sizes of plastic storage bags aka “baggies” in the cheap brands for
holding cat waste and containing the odor. Get a couple of rolls of regular
garbage bags, too. And some water for drinking. Don’t forget paper towels.
And Handi Wipes for your hands. And a roll of Clorox Wipes for the cages if
needed.

* Get your cats paperwork, registrations and medical records and any
meds that you have together, too. And don’t forget your and your family’s
stuff!

* Most of all, be sure you have a PLAN. And a PLACE TO STAY where all
your cats can be taken care of adequately. And LEAVE EARLY.

* Remember to plan for housing your cats at your evacuation site (a
friend’s house, hotel). The same concerns for spraying males and cats that
don’t get along that we have in hotel rooms for shows will apply, but
possibly for a longer period of time. Remember some of use were gone for at
least 3 weeks even if we had no significant damage to our homes…but we did
not have electricity or water or gas and couldn’t return home. So if you
can pack some wire cages or soft crates on the top of your van (if you have
one) or…. perhaps UNDER the carriers in your vehicle….it would be a great idea.

* Know what the facilities will be like for your cats….if you can fit in a fan to use there
in case there is no A/C in their area, bring it!

* If any of your cats are not up-to-date on their rabies shots, take
care of that NOW. Above all, they need rabies shots. Be sure you have
rabies certificates where you can take them with you.

I’m sure others will be able to add even more useful tips to this.

Good luck …Hopefully we won’t have to use any of these hints any time soon.

Karen Crooke
Terrificats