[NFBC-SFV] The Cat's Meow story

Mon Mar 5 18:04:46 UTC 2018

Awwww! This is a really cute story. Thank you so much for sharing! :)

Nancy

> On Mar 3, 2018, at 8:27 PM, Joy Stigile via NFBC-SFV <nfbc-sfv at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> Hi,
> I just had to pass on this very interesting and cute story about a fellow Californian Federationist cats.
> Warmly, Joy
>  
> BRAILLE MONITOR
>  
> Vol. 61, No. 3March 2018
>  
> Gary Wunder, Editor
>  
> [PHOTO CAPTION: Lauren Merryfield]
>  
> https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm18/bm1803/bm180316.htm
>  
> Definitely the Cat's Meow
>  
> by Lauren Merryfield
>  
> From the Editor: It is frustrating to realize that the sighted public
>  
> has real reservations about the ability of blind people to parent, but it
>  
> is also interesting to see that they have questions about how we take care
>  
> of our pets. Lauren Merryfield has no reservations about getting down and
>  
> dirty when it comes to talking about the care of her pets. It is obvious
>  
> that she is a cat lover, and it is also obvious that there is truth in the
>  
> saying that "Dogs treat you like royalty; cats treat you like staff."
>  
> Here's what Lauren has to say:
>  
> I received my first kitten, a yellow-and-white kitty I named Fuzzy,
>  
> when I was around seven years of age. Back then, our cats were mostly
>  
> outdoor, so they came and went through the years, some of them not lasting
>  
> all that long. Eventually, a select few would find their way into our home
>  
> and be allowed there.
>  
> After my first husband and I moved to our home, we received a kitty
>  
> as a housewarming gift. We had her for fourteen years. She eventually went
>  
> blind and needed insulin due to diabetes. No one commented all that much
>  
> back then about how I managed with cats, because there was almost always
>  
> someone around. But now that I am widowed and living alone, the questions
>  
> come:
>  
> "How do you know where your cats are?" Most of the time, if they're
>  
> quiet and/or sleeping, I might not know where they are, but this does not
>  
> bother me. Cats do not always want their humans to know where they are.
>  
> When they want attention or food, they'll show up.
>  
> "How do you get them in their carriers when you take them to the
>  
> vet?" I know my cats so I can often guess where they are. I pick them up,
>  
> and as they squiggle, I put them into the carrier. No, you do not have to
>  
> see to get your cat into its carrier. They may protest, but how does a
>  
> sighted person put their cat into the carrier when it is protesting?
>  
> "How do you know when your cat is sick?" If the urine has a pungent
>  
> odor, I know one has a urinary tract infection. If they leave evidence of
>  
> an upset tummy, I know. If they are too warm, I know. When my Maryah was
>  
> panting due to difficulty breathing with fluid in her lungs, I knew. If
>  
> Toby isn't pestering me and is not sleeping, but hiding, then I know. Cats
>  
> hide when they are ill so that is the number one means I have of knowing
>  
> when they are ill and need help.
>  
> I discover when they do not need help also. When I took Laynie in to
>  
> be spayed, resulting in an overnight stay, I put a soft kitty bed on the
>  
> floor where she could get to it easily. I even put a few treats there so
>  
> she could find them easily. After showing obvious happiness in being back
>  
> home after her overnight stay, I suddenly observed her climbing the patio
>  
> screen. As she was hanging there playfully, I realized that she would be
>  
> dictating how much pampering she would or would not receive from me.
>  
> "What do you do if your cat has a fur ball?" Almost always, my cats
>  
> through the years have made it a practice to let their fur balls fly in my
>  
> pathway so that I will find them. I just clean them up. I usually go
>  
> barefoot at home so that I have a better chance of finding something on the
>  
> floor that needs attention.
>  
> "How do you keep from tripping and falling on your cats' toys?" I
>  
> walk gingerly. I probably shuffle some of the time. Going barefoot once
>  
> again comes to my benefit in locating cat toys on the floor. When they are
>  
> playing with them, I can hear where the cat and the toy are.
>  
> "What if another cat comes in from the outside?" Yes, that has
>  
> happened. One day my kitty at the time started growling and hissing. I
>  
> couldn't figure out what was going on at first until I heard similar sounds
>  
> coming from under the dining room table. A neighbor's cat had climbed up to
>  
> our balcony and when I opened the door, he/she sneaked in. Sneaking did not
>  
> last long.
>  
> "How do you clean the cat box?" This may seem gross, but not only do
>  
> I use a pooper scooper, but also, I often use my hands covered with a glove
>  
> or a sandwich-sized bag to make sure the cat box is clean. This is not any
>  
> worse than changing a baby's diaper.
>  
> The question I am asked most often is: "How can you tell your cats
>  
> apart?" This is an easy one for me. I am sometimes surprised that someone
>  
> would even ask. I know them by their tails, by their body shape, by their
>  
> meows, by the bell on their collar if they are wearing one, which toy(s)
>  
> they are playing with, because they have favorites, and by what they are
>  
> doing. If I hear one slamming the kitchen cupboard doors under the sink, I
>  
> know it's Toby. When something was knocked down, it was Maryah. When a cat
>  
> sneaked out and was gone for two or three days, it was Maryah.
>  
> I remember the times when I would leave a Braille note on the table
>  
> and later find it on the floor, with "kitty Braille" added to it, and I
>  
> knew it was Kitten Kabootle, our Himalayan.
>  
> When one meowed in such a way that it went up at the end like a
>  
> question, I knew it was Laynie. When I could hear a cat meowing frantically
>  
> from the window when I'd come home, I knew it was Jaspur. I similarly knew
>  
> it was him when he got out one Halloween night and he was a totally black
>  
> cat-not a good combination, Halloween and black cats. One meowing in a high-
>  
> pitched tone, getting louder if I do not respond immediately is Toby. He is
>  
> so gifted with his meows that I sometimes find myself responding to
>  
> scolding or whining. He is the only cat I've ever had who does this. If I
>  
> hear unwanted chewing, it is Toby. If I hear excessive scratching in the
>  
> wrong place, it is Laynie. One who often spoke in two meows, "meow meow,"
>  
> was Melissa. When I hear a crash from the trash can being tipped over it is
>  
> Toby.
>  
> Some people, including some blind people, would say that a blind
>  
> person cannot be owned by a cat, however, I totally disagree. Cats always
>  
> figure out that I cannot see, however, they do not go into fear-mongering
>  
> as some humans do; they just work around it. Two of my cats would stand
>  
> with a small object I dropped, holding it between their front paws until I
>  
> located the cat, and then the item. They know that I touch the seat of my
>  
> chair before I sit down to prevent having a flat cat. They trust me to take
>  
> care of them, and how much I can or cannot see is not part of the equation.
>  
> They show the same unconditional love toward me whether I can see or not.
>  
> At times, when I am asked questions that are born of doubt, I feel
>  
> like it is definitely not the cat's meow. However I also realize that these
>  
> are opportunities to stop and educate someone. For them to go uneducated
>  
> about what a blind person can do would definitely not be the cat's meow.
>  
> But when they discover how I live the life I want with my cats, then it is-
>  
> yes-the cat's meow!
>  
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