In memory of Pixie

Remember ma sponsored a kitty at Tabby's Place after Stray Cat passed away?

We are sad to report that she has passed away. Tabby's wrote a beautiful blog in her honor if you want to read it:
https://www.tabbysplace.org/uncategorized/free-as-pixie/

Her start in life was a rough one. She was shot with a pellet gun which caused her hind legs paralysis. She persevered in the face of adversity. She was joyful, playful, and beautiful. She lived for a few years at the sanctuary, and was adopted last spring. She only had five years on this planet, and she touched so many people and cats - we all have learned from her courage, and strength.

Pixie inspires me to be nicer to everyone. Humans do not think I am the friendliest cat. Maybe it has to do with my start in life. My mamma's friend found me as a tiny kitten in the parking lot of a mall. Thank God she found me, because it was scary there.

I think our start in life has a huge impact on who we become and how we see the world. It is believed that the personality of a cat is based on the specific breed and the manner in which they are raised.

Now, mamma raised me spoiled and loved, yet most humans who meet me call me a scaredy-cat because I am timid and shy. Other humans just call me mean. I assure you, I am not mean - I am friendly, affectionate, and vocal to mamma only. Perhaps, my reserved behaviour is because I was introduced to the world with loud noises, lots of feet, and many automobiles. Something to think about.

Each time we lose a loved one, we honour their memory by emulating their best attributes. We honour Pixie today, and send up love, purrs, and cuddles to all of you.

Purr & Paw,
-Stivali. 🐾

You don't have to have a great start in life to have a great attitude towards the future! 

July

July is here, and there was a special moon - did you know about the Buck Moon?

We always look forward to looking out our windows, we like that every day and night. 😼Do you?

We hope this month brings you great peace and joy.

That is what we do - hope - hope hope hope. Have an optimistic state of mind with the expectation of positive outcomes, what else can we do other than hope and pray for all of the humans in the world?

We are hopeful and prayerful for each of you.

Happy July, Readers.

Purr & Paw,
-Stivali. 🐾

This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless we make it a good place for all of us to live in. -Theodore Roosevelt.

Cattitude

Hello Dear Readers,

I have been getting incredibly irritated with my ma's irrational attention for the feral outside. That Grigio is taking her attention away from us, and I do not like it at all. He is still just as skittish around her and does not trust her yet. Why she bothers with him, I will never understand.

Here I am ready to scare him away if he approaches. I do not need him to become a family member, however, I know my ma is trying to get him to come inside. 

If she does not feed him in a timely manner, he waits for her, and even scratches at the door to let us know he is there waiting. Can you imagine the nerve of this feral? 

My goodness, and humans think I have a cattitude. I assure you, Grigio is more demanding and moody than I am.

I don't feel like writing much more than this today.

Love your family. Hug them tightly.

Purr & Paw,
-Stivali. 🐾

Attitudes are contagious, is yours worth catching? 😼

Special Thanks to all the Fathers!

Happy Father's Day! 😼 We hope you all enjoyed your weekend celebrating and honoring the special dads, past and present, in your lives.

This is a customary day for the celebration of fatherhood and is known to date back to as early as 1508 in Europe. There, it is celebrated on the feast day of Saint Joseph in March. This celebration was brought to America by the Spanish and Portuguese. If you are interested in learning more about the history of the day, its origins are discussed here: https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/fathers-day

We wish each of you a wonderful week ahead.

How cute are Pasqua & Grigio? 😸

Purr & Paw,
-Stivali. 🐾

“The heart of a father is the masterpiece of nature.” – Antoine Francois Prevost.

What do you stand for?

This week, we share with you the following article excerpted from The Book of Soul: 52 Paths to Living What Matters by Mark Nepo.

It asks us to reflect on what we stand on and poses the following questions:

• What is your deepest, bedrock, your foundation? 
• How does it solidify your place in this life?
• And what do you stand for? 
• What are the values and ethics that guide your truest actions in the world? 
• In a personal way, how is what you stand on related to what you stand for?

Just something for us to all reflect on. We pray each of you are staying safe, and feeling well.

Grigio is doing great, and that makes us happy. 

Purr & Paw,

-Stivali. 🐾

I'm not saying I'm gonna change the world, but I guarantee that I will spark the brain that will change the world. -Tupac Shakur.

Shaping our decisions to make positive changes in our world.

People blame black cats for crossing their path, but they never consider the possibility that the path they were on was already unlucky, and that the black cat was warning them to take another path.

As a tuxedo cat, with a mamma being an immigrant kid, we cannot take light how extremely difficult this week has been for people in the United States, and even in other countries.

There are myths out there about how a black cat like me is bad luck. That is because of ignorance and superstition.

There are even studies suggesting black cats are half as likely as other cats to be adopted from shelters. Most of these studies have been debunked over the years.

People don't realize cats are just that, cats, that is all.

Sadly, people don't do this just to cats, they also do this to humans. So what can people do to demand equal justice for humanities sake, to just see humans as humans? 

“The opposite of racist isn’t not racist,” author Ibram X. Kendi wrote in his 2019 bestselling memoir, How to Be an Antiracist.


Let's think about this... his book is entitled, How to Be an Antiracist. How do you do it?


Think of where you donate, does it help an underserved group? When you are shopping, do you support the black community in the United States?

Let's start shaping our decisions to make a difference. 

Donate to organizations that are making a real, measurable difference for underserved communities across the country. To ensure your money goes as far as it can, use Charity Navigator to evaluate the organization. Here are a couple to consider: 

• The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP)
• The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU)

Where to Shop - check out this tweet: https://twitter.com/Shopify/status/1268165028152258570 to find places of interest to you which support black business owners. Our friends have businesses, too, here they are: 

• www.drjimsmithjr.com
• www.mattiehudson.com/ (State Farm Agent in Philadelphia, MS)
• https://dwhitaker.exprealty.com/ for your NJ Real Estate needs
• https://www.duchessroyaleboutique.com
• https://photogridphotography.com/ (Pennsylvania photographer, follow her on Instagram here: https://www.instagram.com/photogrid.photography/)

If you have any links you want to promote to support real difference for the black community in the United States, please add a comment to this blog post. Thank you.

To make a difference for cats, we can discuss that on another day. 

Stay Strong & Safe,

-Stivali. 🐾

"Let's not merely say that we love each other; Let us show the truth by our actions." - 1 John 3:18.

June 4th is HUG YOUR CAT DAY! :)

The last day of May gives us great pause. What a strange spring we have had so far, as we welcome the month of June, we are happy and relieved for our health and our safety during this time.  

Did you know that the month of June is National Candy Month, National Dairy Month,  and National Iced Tea Month? So many delicious things to honor in June. We hope you enjoy all of them. 😽

June is also special because it has the longest day hours in the Northern Hemisphere and the longest night hours in the Southern Hemisphere. 

We are excited to let everyone know that apparently someone else in the neighborhood has a kind heart and got Grigio the medical care he needed. He is on the mend, and we are so thrilled for the Samaritans who walk amongst us. Thank you, Readers, for all of your concern, we are grateful to each of you.

Purr & Paw,

-Stivali. 🐾

Spring being a tough act to follow, God created June. - Al Bernstein.