If we listen closely, our animal friends tell us what they need. But we have to be open to getting our ego out of the way and seeing what wants to happen. Good lesson for all parts of life!

A cat named George lived on the property of a rescue group. He had shelter, and someone who fed him, but was pretty much left to himself. He wasn't unfriendly, he was just there. He was outside for a reason.

NOT George, but as cute as....

Attempts to introduce him to the joys of indoor living were met with scorn by George. Unbeknownst to those taking care of him, he had other plans, and it wasn't being where he was. Whenever he was brought inside he would mark all the horizontal surfaces. This was primarily the middle of the caretaker's bed. So she did what a lot of people do. She decided he could live outside. Okay by George. Part 1 of the plan done and done! (Be a little difficult.)

A few years passed, and he got in a fight. He was hurt pretty badly, and the vet, after cleaning him up, decided...

Cougars, Mountain Lions, Panthers, Puma - they're all the same thing, just different names. They, like most apex predators, are maligned and hunted.

I was just reading today about a Mountain Lion called P-22, who lived in Griffith Park in southern California. He wandered through the park and on the streets of Hollywood for 10 years. He wore a tracking collar, and provided so much data about the activities of male Mountain Lions - most of it involved minding his own business.

See some P-22 footage here: https://www.facebook.com/reel/901397757971206

He was humanely euthanized in 2022, after being hit by a car. If that had been the only problem, he'd probably still be alive, but he, like our domestic kitties, had a number of problems. He had kidney disease; he had rat poison in his system (from eating rodents who had ingested the poison); he had serious arthritis. Instead of weighing the usual 125 lbs, he was only 90 lbs when he was captured. He was having trouble hunting.

And yet thi...

Last week was a tease. This week you get the full story about Bennie-the-street-cat and his pal Muffin.

Bennie lives in Washington state, and he is one of many, many cats my friend Kathleen feeds in the dodgier parts of South Seattle. She is a Warrior and deserves a medal.

Kathleen and another Warrior, Morgan, noticed a huge orange kitty at one of the sites they both support. He has long hair, which mats up something fierce because - street cat, who's got time to groom?

Bennie was pretty friendly, for a fellow from the street. Most of them don't want to have anything to do with people, but he would allow Warrior Kathleen to pet him a little bit while he was eating. She had caught him once to get his mats shaved off and to be neutered, and then because there was no place else for him to go, he went back on the street. 

Bennie has a girlfriend named Muffin. She's pretty friendly too, and had also been trapped, spayed and returned.

Bennie and Muffin "on the street." Bennie looks li...