The Opinionated Pussycat

FNN Special: 100 Years Ago Today...

This is a Feline News Network Special Report:

Good afternoon felinity assembled, Elvira Mistress of Felinity here.

Yeah, I know...WTM? Where the hell y'all been, girl?

Let's just say the Summer and early Fall, since Daddy Kiril returned from the Cat Writers' Association Conference, have not been the best for him, but we are all hanging in there...

But, this post is not about us....

Today is a special day among humans...

They call it Veterans Day.

As Military.com explains it... "This holiday started as a day to reflect upon the heroism of those who died in our country's service and was originally called Armistice Day. It fell on Nov. 11 because that is the anniversary of the signing of the Armistice that ended World War I. However, in 1954, the holiday was changed to "Veterans Day" in order to account for all veterans in all wars.

We celebrate and honor America's veterans for their patriotism, love of country and willingness to serve and sacrifice for the common good."

There was a 4 year period, early last century when the humans got real mad at each other and took to shooting at each other to sort it all out.

Lots of them died before they settled their squabble.

It was messy to say the least, both the fighting and the peace that came afterward.

There are a zillion tributes this past week and this weekend to the human side of the war...

I want Opinionated Pussycat to be among those who pay tribute to the unsung heroes of the war, and to other wars before and since.

 

The army of animals... horses, donkeys, and mules, among others who gave their lives to serve their humans needs.

A Few Slight Hiccups

Happy Sunday morning, felinity assembled!

Anyone out there?

Elvira Mistress of Felinity, here, with some news.

I apologize for the lack of content since the CWA Conference.

We HAVE been going through what all he brought home and planning for some posts, but we have also been keeping an eye on Daddy through the Summer.

He had a stress-related fainting spell at work, one evening and, while he had no need for a visit to the hospital, it had us worried.

He also had something called a hemorrhoid that had him worried, and thus made us look at our own butts more closely for days!

He has a new doctor and wants to get his first physical in 2 years, some bloodwork, and more, if he can, to better understand what physical shape he is in as he begins to bike and walk more now that he also has a more "personal life-friendly" work schedule, with a few day shifts and his days off all occurring on weekdays.

Anyway, I also apologize for the inability to see photos, right now. There is a reason.

One of his Domain Names has recently expired and he is unable to pay the renewal and reinstatement fees until payday on Thursday.

What this means is that anything associated with that domain is unviewable until  he pays the bill.

Such is life when living paycheck to paycheck.

The good news is that this payday is a doozy, he says, what with a huge 2nd quarter bonus that looks to allow him to put some money away in his savings once his bills are paid and he shops for some clothes and sets some money aside for a few vacation activities he has planned.

 

 

Decoding the "More Praise" Special Page For the News Cycle & Literary Challenged

 

Good afternoon felinity assembled!

Sneakers the Texian Tuxedo, here, on a mission of enlightenment.

Our beloved founder, Mr. Nikita, was a clever, creative, feline...sometimes too clever, it appears, for some in our readership, especially the humans, hee, hee!

As our fans know we have a few Special Pages dedicated to awards and praise sent our way over the years.

Well, Nikita got this brilliant idea to take things a bit further, thru the use of humor and satire and, with the research help of Daddy Kiril, he created a "More Praise" page.

The idea being to re-write famous quotes, famous publication slogans, famous comments and more, and rename the originators as well, all with a distinctly feline slant.

We hoped that anyone coming across the page would be sufficiently amused that they would explore the blog, share something they liked elsewhere, and even return from time to time.

We have no idea how many humans and critters have read or shared the page on social media, and no idea what they think since no comments have been left to the page or sent our way via email...until Daddy Kiril plugged the page on his Facebook yesterday.

A friend and fan of ours and Daddy Kiril, Amanda Socci, The Creative Idea Gal, wrote the following:

"I was reading some of your puns but don't understand most of them. Would you be able to add the names of the people you are satirizing using parentheses ( ) to make it easier for people to read and enjoy?"

Well, we talked it over with daddy and decided that a blog post that the page could link to, with an explanatory invite to the confounded, would be best so as not to clutter up an already busy page.

This is a post we can update, as needed, over time, as new entries are added to the page.

We cats drew straws to see who would do the blog post...I won and Elvira and Friday went off to take a nap, hee, hee!

The list below is incomplete because none of us, or daddy, could remember the real names of a few of the publications and media we satirized. :-D

If, after 1st reading the page and THEN this decoding...

you have suggestions for us to work with in creating new entries, please either e-mail us, or leave a comment for us to find your suggestion.

Enjoy!

God Bless the Feline: A Little Ditty by Daddy Kiril

 

Good afternoon felinity assembled, Elvira Mistress of Felinity, here, and it is safe to come out now, the humans stopped celebrating the 4th of July around 1am this morning, hee, hee!

It was a recording setting day for rain, yesterday, in Houston, as much as 8 inches in some places.

While Daddy Kiril went to work, in the evening, Sneakers, Friday and I sat in the window watching what we could see of any fireworks going off.

When daddy came home, around 130am, he had thoughtful look on his face and smiled when he saw us.

To me this meant he had had some sort of creative inspiration and it must have involved cats.

When he awoke, this morning, he fed us, took a bath, then ate breakfast while writing at his desk and crying as he watched 2 Youtube videos.

Then he shared his work with us, for our thoughts, and then asked me to post the result while he got ready for work.

With humble apologies to Irving Berlin and Kate Smith (Kate's 1976 Stanley Cup performance) I present....

 

God Bless the Feline by Kiril Kundurazieff

While the shelters fill from sea to shining sea,
let us swear to rescue and adopt into homes with you and me.
Let us all be grateful for people that care, as we
raise our voices in a solemn prayer.

God Bless the feline, critter I think the world of.
Sit beside her and pet her
Day and night showering her with love.
From the living room, to the kitchen,
My desk to the bathroom watch her roam.
God Bless the feline in my home sweet home.
God Bless the feline in my home sweet home.

 

Oh, one more thing! Daddy says to feel free to substitute "Pussycat" for Feline...the piece works fine either way....

Whatever floats yer boat, he says, hee, hee!

 

Pet Parade #255

 

 

 

 

Three Happy Cats and a KitNipBox: A Review

 Good evening felinity assembled!

Elvira Mistress of Felinity, here, and Sneakers, Friday and I recently have been doing our first product review in a very long time!

As regulars know we are known for book and product reviews, from time to time, as publishers and sales reps discover our blog and think what we bring to the table makes it worth their reaching out to us, for whatever reason.

Well, at the end of April a rep from KitNipBox reached out to Daddy Kiril and, after spending some time exploring their site, having daddy ask some questions for us, and then thinking about it, we decided to say yes to a free box to review. 

The first box sent us apparently got lost in the mail, but we eventually got a box and, after the CWA Conference daddy let us do our thing.

KitNips' Content & Community Manager initially wrote daddy this...

"I stumbled upon your blog and think it's pawsome! I'd love to send a complimentary KitNipBox for your kitties to play with in exchange for a review on your site + a link back to KitNipBox."

We asked daddy to respond on our behalf, explaining about our being pretty much out of the spotlight for a year and why....

He began this way..."how did you stumble upon their blog and what about it makes you consider it "pawsome"?

You see, due to technical difficulties with a laptop, there had only been 17 entries from the start of April 2017 thru the end of February 2018." (No home computer will put a crimp on anyone's creativity.)

Her reply satisfied the 3 of us (We never have had much of a "readership", but we appreciated her intent with the sentiment.)

"Your blog IS pawsome! I realized that it wasn't very active when I first stumbled upon it, but I loved your (ahem... I mean, your cats') writing style. Not to mention, the name of your blog, Opinionated Pussycat, is just too purrfect!

I know how awkward it can feel rejoining a community that you were once active in. We've all been there! Luckily, the cat community is so very warm and fun - I'm certain that your readership will continue to be strong and supportive!

Regarding how I connected with your blog: I think I found it through a list of top cat bloggers somewhere on the internet - not sure which list - but you're definitely listed somewhere!

All that said, I'm thrilled to hear that you and your kitty crew are happy to write a review about us!"

Before we begin let me get one detail out of the way:

We received this product in exchange for our and Daddy Kiril's honest review and no compensation other than the product was given to us.

Daddy Kiril, a Multi-faceted Human....and He's All OURS!

  

Good afternoon, felinity assembled, especially anyone visiting for the first time!

 My name is Friday. I'm a bearded lady cat!

 I am the youngest member of the team, at almost 3, and the one with the fewest writing credits to her name on this blog.

A year without a computer did not help in that regard, but, anyway...it's my turn to post as we settle in for Daddy Kiril attending the Cat Writers' Association Conference, beginning this evening.

This post is about Daddy Kiril.

He is a human of many parts and interests.

He has been around animals all his life, mostly Dogs thru the 90's, before his personal and creative lives were forever changed by adopting a Maine Coon kitten he named Nikita, in 1998.

His politics are Conservative, his faith Christian, and we three picked that up from him, but his friends and fans are a varied lot, across the political and cultural spectrum, as are ours.

He found a way to share all of these interests in an entertaining, fashionable, way, by putting 15 Lapel Pins and a couple of buttons on his Stetson.

Hats are a thing in Texas, you see...not just as a fashion statement, but to keep the sun from boiling your head on particularly hot days, especially if you are partially, or totally, bald.

Anyway, more on that in a bit....first, though...

Doesn't he look handsome! 

We wanted him to dress in bright colors for the 2 main days of the conference, or at least in Calvin Klein...but except for his undies, that didn't happen.

He found some fancy Haggar pants on extreme sale at JC Penney and a nice shirt at Walmart.

The tie is years old and still looks good, though it has not been seen in public for a number of years.

A Look at Rescues, Shelters, and More In the Greater-Houston Region

 Good morning, felinity assembled!

It's me, Sneakers the Texian Tuxedo!

While Daddy Kiril is busy making himself presentable for the first day of the Cat Writers' Association Conference (Don't worry, Elvira and Friday are making sure he remains focused and showers, shaves, eats breakfast, goes, um, well, anyway....) I want to put front and center a collection of links we have built over time, and I updated a little last night.

It is a list of shelters, rescues and more, in Houston and neighboring counties.

While these organizations are part of one of our Special Pages I wanted to used this week as a way to introduce them to any of our fellow Houstonians who may visit us for the first time and may not be aware.

I also want to encourage anyone with information on similar organizations, that help felines, that we might want to list, in the Greater-Houston Region, to e-mail us at the address in the sidebar.

But, before I get to that list I have news from one of those shelters that is as dire a situation as what happened the other day at Harris County...

100 animals were turned over to the Montgomery County Animal Shelter on Tuesday.

Their Facebook page posted a detailed plea, Wednesday morning, that begins this way:

"The shelter needs need community involvement to help save as many animals as possible. Volunteer to take animals to offsite adoption events, take pictures, walk, bathe, etc. Foster for a day, night, weekend or until the animal is ready for adoption. ANYTHING HELPS." 

To anyone in the Houston region reading this, if you can help, they have the contact info and more on Facebook.

 

As for the next post in our lead-up to the conference....

Daddy Kiril, a Multi-faceted Human...and He's All OURS!

 

Now, to that list....

Best Friends Animal Society, Houston, Harris County, Helping Cats

 

Good afternoon, felinity assembled, Elvira Mistress of Felinity, here, with a follow-up to the story we shared about recent rescue and adoption efforts in the Houston region.

Houston Has Issues, But Houstonians Have Heart, as Well

  As Daddy Kiril occupies his time with the Cat Writers' Ass. Conference we wish to spend some time discussing the Houston rescue and shelter scene.

  Best Friends Animal Society is a national organization with a mission:

  "to bring about a time when there are No More Homeless Pets. We do this by helping end the killing in America's animal shelters through building community programs & partnerships all across the nation." 

  They have regional programs, network partners, no-kill initiatives.

  They have spay and neuter programs and promote adoption vs buying.

 In May Harris County Animal Shelter made an important announcement:

They "launched today a joint three-year program to save the lives of cats in Harris County.

This is a significant action for Harris County; not only are we implementing a best practice that will help bring our community to the forefront of animal welfare in in Texas, but more importantly, the program will save the lives of thousands of cats each year, and over time, reduce the number of free-roaming cats in the community.

Harris County Animal Shelter is profoundly grateful to Judge Emmet and the Harris County Commissioners, as well as Best Friends Animal Society for their generous support of this program."

Welcoming the CWA Conference and CFA Show To Houston

 

 

 Good evening, felinity assembled....Daddy Kiril here.

Do not worry, the girls will be holding the fort the rest of this busy week, this post concerns just why the week will be so busy.

On the banks of where White Oak Bayou and Buffalo Bayou meet a city was born, in the 1830's, a city that spread out and evolved into one of the most diverse in the nation.

Known for its economy built on space travel, medicine, oil, dining, and more, it is also a city known for its museums, its freeways, and its weather, hot and cold, dry and wet....often VERY wet.

It is a city known for its music, theatre and creative writing communities, as well.

There is also something else it is known for, for reasons good and bad...Cats and Dogs.

Lots of Cats and Dogs.

 Houston loves its pets....and that is a good thing... The Houston Cat Club has had a show since its founding in 1949.

Houston has also long had a serious problem with strays, as well, and has many rescue and shelter efforts across the city and county doing what they can to persevere over it.

With that introduction out of the way, as we prepare for the Cat Fanciers' Association Cat Show and Cat Writers' Association Annual Conference, June 7 thru 10, while Elvira, Sneakers and Friday will spend some time talking about that persistent issue....I want to talk about the type of perseverance that brings together a collection of humans who not only write cat blogs and cat books, but who blog and hope to publish books, or who hope to someday do one or both, but have yet to take the steps.

Houston Has Issues, But Houstonians Have Heart, as Well

Good afternoon, felinity assembled, Elvira Mistress of Felinity here, with a story that will anger you, at first, but then give you hope.

 

 

Over Memorial Day Weekend, Harris County Animal Shelter had an emergency.

They had their highest intake of animals so far this year. 

They received almost 200 animals in just 3 days!  Cats and dogs. This meant that they had 375 animals available for adoption or foster.  This is a lot for their facility.

They put out a call for help, with an 11 min. video. A call for fosters and adopters.

With the help of local media word went out, and 2 days later there was a line out the door as Houstonians responded.