A KITTY HOSTAGE SITUATION AND HOW YOU CAN HELP

Here’s a story about a fellow Burbank kitty in a very bad situation and a chance for you to make your voice heard on his behalf.

Last February, a very cute Seal Point Himalayan cat named Kitty Pants, shown in the photo, slipped away from a house sitter and found himself lost in the big bad world (or, the wilds of Burbank anyway). A few days later, Kitty Pants was found by a neighbor and taken to the Burbank Animal Shelter, and here’s where it gets dicey. Although Kitty Pants had been reported missing by his humans, Jim and Amy Roach, the attendant at the shelter failed to check the lost pets book. As a result, Kitty Pants was placed in the “general population” and subsequently adopted by another family. And here’s where it gets even dicier. Because the new family adopted Kitty Pants legally, they refuse to give him back to Jim and Amy. The family was offered a reward and another Seal Point Himalayan from the same breeder, but as of this writing, they are still refusing to budge. So this has become, in effect, a kitty hostage situation.

Naturally, Jim and Amy are devastated and want Kitty Pants back. The Burbank City Council has become involved and the Kitty Pants story has found its way into several media outlets, so hopefully, the new family will bow to pressure and relent. Still, a few words from other kitty lovers would be extremely helpful, so I call on my fellow cats (and their humans) to raise your voices and help Kitty Pants find his way home. Contact the Burbank City Council (citycouncil@ci.burbank.ca.us) and/or The Burbank Leader (gnp@latimes.com) and let them know your thoughts. Also, I’m sure any ideas you might have as to how to resolve the situation would be greatly appreciated.

Meanwhile, check back from time to time for more information on Kitty Pants. Hopefully, this story will have a happy ending.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

This Father’s Day, I want to send a very special meow out to Steve, my human “dad” (shown here with me in the photo). Here are just a few of the many reasons why I love him - even though I may not always act like it…

• He gives me attention whenever I want it
• He gives me food whenever I want it
• He pets me and makes me purr
• He gives me 763 cat treats a day
• He “lets” me claw the arm of the couch and the screen door with only minor protestations
• He doesn’t care if I leave my cat toys scattered around the house
• He leaves his shoes out so I can bury my nose deep inside and enjoy the delightfully-pungent aroma of human feet
• He always makes himself available for quality lap time or chest time, regardless of what he might be doing
• He lets me sleep on the bed at night and take up most of the room
• He rescues me when I get into inextricable kitty jams like being trapped inside a closet or stuck up on the roof
• He helped me write The World Is Your Litter Box… well, he typed it, anyway
• He gives me unconditional love, no matter how much I might exasperate him

So, thanks Steve… you’re the best human dad a cat could have! And while I’m at it, I want to extend Happy Father’s Day wishes to all the other human dads out there, and to all our kitty dads, wherever (and whoever) they might be.

DAVE & PIPER'S NOT-SO-EXCELLENT ADVENTURE (PART 2)

Dave and Piper (and Paula) arrived safely in New York City, although the trip was not without its share of excitement. Dave and Piper made it through airport security without too much difficulty (they were pretty zonked out on kitty tranquilizers, luckily for them). Also, Paula was flying with Dave and Piper’s pet sitter extraordinaire Laura, who came along to help wrangle the kitties and provide much needed comfort. Once on the plane, though, Paula and Laura had to mash Dave and Piper’s kitty carriers under the seats in front of them before the plane could take off. It’s a good thing cats are pliable! Then, about halfway through the trip, Dave came out of his tranquilizer-induced kitty haze and tried to chew his way out of his kitty carrier. Now THAT would have been an adventure if he had been successful. “Snakes on a Plane” would have paled in comparison!

Once in New York, and after taking a fairly non-eventful taxi ride into Manhattan, Dave and Piper were ensconced in their new home… their temporary new home, that is, because until Paula’s furniture arrives in about a week, the whole gang is staying in temporary housing. Dave and Piper seem to be acclimating pretty quickly, though. When Laura woke up the next morning and went into the kitchen, Piper followed her and loudly demanded breakfast. After all, to Piper, Laura is the food lady. And Dave is working on changing his laid back Southern California “meow” to a more New York-like “me-YO!”

We’ll have more on Dave and Piper once they move into their permanent home. Meanwhile, we send our love to all.

DAVE & PIPER'S NOT-SO-EXCELLENT ADVENTURE

This week, Paula (our literary agent) is relocating from Burbank, California to New York City. What with packing all her stuff and the normal stress associated with moving, Paula has been pretty freaked out lately. But that’s nothing compared to what her kitties, Dave and Piper, are going through. Even though Dave is a rough-tough mancat (like me) and Piper is relatively fearless under normal circumstances, this has been a not-so-excellent adventure for them.

First, Dave and Piper had to endure the packing up of all the furniture and household goods… very traumatic when you consider that even moving a favorite paper bag three inches to the left can be totally discombobulating for a kitty. Then they had to spend two nights with Paula in a hotel… bad enough on its own, but there was NO MIXED GRILL on the room service menu! But that’s small potatoes compared to what’s going to happen on Thursday, when Paula, Dave and Piper fly to New York. After being transported from the hotel to the Burbank airport (scary enough right there), Dave and Piper must go through security, which means they will be taken out of their kitty totes and physically carried through the metal detector. Then they’ll fly through the air in a large metal cylinder with wings, thousands of feet above the earth, and land in an entirely different city. I get sweaty paws just thinking about it! Fortunately, Dave and Piper will be high on kitty tranquilizers provided by the hated vet, so hopefully, they’ll sleep through most of this.

Anyway, I’m sure all will end well. Once Dave and Piper get to their new home and the furniture arrives, and once they scent everything to their liking, all will return to normal and they’ll become official New York City kitties. And don’t worry, Dave and Piper… I’ll be sure to come visit, and when I do, when can go down into the subway and catch some delicious rats together!

IT'S SUMMER!

Another summer is just about upon us… time for humans to do all kinds of fun things like going to the beach, barbecuing and taking vacations. From a cat’s perspective, some of these things may SOUND fun, but they make no sense. For example, the beach… who really wants to go and lie in a giant litter box all day with a scary body of water nearby? And barbecuing… sure, it smells good, but don’t humans realize what all this smoke is doing to the environment? And going on a vacation… who would want to leave the safety and security of their own home to go through the hassle of dealing with airports and mobs of other tourista-types? To me, all this just sounds like more ways for humans to drive themselves crazy. Not to mention female humans who get bikini waxing? Yikes!

Now right about here, you might be thinking, I agree with you Quaz, but what about us cats? What makes summer special for kitties?

Well, first of all, it’s going to be hot for many months, so that gives you an excuse to take extra long naps (not that you really need one, but hey…). In many countries, even humans take long naps when it gets too hot to work. Also, summer is insect season, so this will give you an opportunity to chase down (and eat, if you so choose), all kinds of interesting bugs. A word of caution here, though… try and avoid bugs with stingers. Ouch! If you have a male human that likes baseball (like my human, Steve), you’ll have lots of opportunities for quality lap time as they watch zillions of games on TV. And if you’re a long-haired kitty, you might even get a lion cut to keep you cool and make you feel ferocious all summer long. You might even have a chance to lick a snow cone like the kitty in the photo!

At any rate, fellow cat… here’s hoping you and your human have a great and safe summer!

HAPPY LANDINGS (FORTUNATELY!)

Here’s a little story about a kitty escapade that could have gone horribly wrong, but instead, has a happy ending… or, perhaps I should say, a happy landing.

Last week, a 3-year-old cat named Lucky (appropriately) managed to work his way out a window on the 26th floor of an apartment in New York City for a little high altitude exploring on a ledge. The window had been opened just a few inches by Lucky’s human, Keri Hostetler, who wanted to let in a little fresh air before some guests arrived. Lucky was doing fine until he tried to turn a corner and discovered, too late, that the ledge he was on didn’t extend any further. Lucky found himself airborne and falling fast, but here’s the miracle… even though he landed on a cement balcony 26 floors down (on his feet, of course), Lucky survived with only minor injuries. He was taken to the hated vet, where he was patched up and is expected to make a full recovery.

So let this be a lesson to all you kitties who live in high places… better stick to cupboards and closets when you feel like exploring and leave the sky to birds, bugs, butterflies and humans with parachutes. And Lucky, we’re so glad you lived to purr another day!