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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link="#0563C1" vlink="#954F72"><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoPlainText>Hi,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>I just had to pass on this very interesting and cute story about a fellow Californian Federationist cats.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>Warmly, Joy<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>BRAILLE MONITOR<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>Vol. 61, No. 3March 2018<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>Gary Wunder, Editor<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>[PHOTO CAPTION: Lauren Merryfield]<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><a href="https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm18/bm1803/bm180316.htm">https://nfb.org/images/nfb/publications/bm/bm18/bm1803/bm180316.htm</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>Definitely the Cat's Meow<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>by Lauren Merryfield<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>From the Editor: It is frustrating to realize that the sighted public<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>has real reservations about the ability of blind people to parent, but it<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>is also interesting to see that they have questions about how we take care<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>of our pets. Lauren Merryfield has no reservations about getting down and<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>dirty when it comes to talking about the care of her pets. It is obvious<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>that she is a cat lover, and it is also obvious that there is truth in the<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>saying that "Dogs treat you like royalty; cats treat you like staff."<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>Here's what Lauren has to say:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>I received my first kitten, a yellow-and-white kitty I named Fuzzy,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>when I was around seven years of age. Back then, our cats were mostly<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>outdoor, so they came and went through the years, some of them not lasting<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>all that long. Eventually, a select few would find their way into our home<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>and be allowed there.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>After my first husband and I moved to our home, we received a kitty<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>as a housewarming gift. We had her for fourteen years. She eventually went<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>blind and needed insulin due to diabetes. No one commented all that much<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>back then about how I managed with cats, because there was almost always<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>someone around. But now that I am widowed and living alone, the questions<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>come:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>"How do you know where your cats are?" Most of the time, if they're<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>quiet and/or sleeping, I might not know where they are, but this does not<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>bother me. Cats do not always want their humans to know where they are.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>When they want attention or food, they'll show up.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>"How do you get them in their carriers when you take them to the<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>vet?" I know my cats so I can often guess where they are. I pick them up,<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>and as they squiggle, I put them into the carrier. No, you do not have to<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>see to get your cat into its carrier. They may protest, but how does a<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>sighted person put their cat into the carrier when it is protesting?<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>"How do you know when your cat is sick?" If the urine has a pungent<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>odor, I know one has a urinary tract infection. If they leave evidence of<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>an upset tummy, I know. If they are too warm, I know. When my Maryah was<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>panting due to difficulty breathing with fluid in her lungs, I knew. If<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>Toby isn't pestering me and is not sleeping, but hiding, then I know. Cats<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>hide when they are ill so that is the number one means I have of knowing<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>when they are ill and need help.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>I discover when they do not need help also. When I took Laynie in to<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>be spayed, resulting in an overnight stay, I put a soft kitty bed on the<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>floor where she could get to it easily. I even put a few treats there so<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>she could find them easily. After showing obvious happiness in being back<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>home after her overnight stay, I suddenly observed her climbing the patio<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>screen. As she was hanging there playfully, I realized that she would be<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>dictating how much pampering she would or would not receive from me.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>"What do you do if your cat has a fur ball?" Almost always, my cats<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>through the years have made it a practice to let their fur balls fly in my<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>pathway so that I will find them. I just clean them up. I usually go<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>barefoot at home so that I have a better chance of finding something on the<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>floor that needs attention.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>"How do you keep from tripping and falling on your cats' toys?" I<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>walk gingerly. I probably shuffle some of the time. Going barefoot once<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>again comes to my benefit in locating cat toys on the floor. When they are<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>playing with them, I can hear where the cat and the toy are.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>"What if another cat comes in from the outside?" Yes, that has<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>happened. One day my kitty at the time started growling and hissing. I<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>couldn't figure out what was going on at first until I heard similar sounds<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>coming from under the dining room table. A neighbor's cat had climbed up to<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>our balcony and when I opened the door, he/she sneaked in. Sneaking did not<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>last long.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>"How do you clean the cat box?" This may seem gross, but not only do<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>I use a pooper scooper, but also, I often use my hands covered with a glove<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>or a sandwich-sized bag to make sure the cat box is clean. This is not any<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>worse than changing a baby's diaper.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>The question I am asked most often is: "How can you tell your cats<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>apart?" This is an easy one for me. I am sometimes surprised that someone<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>would even ask. I know them by their tails, by their body shape, by their<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>meows, by the bell on their collar if they are wearing one, which toy(s)<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>they are playing with, because they have favorites, and by what they are<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>doing. If I hear one slamming the kitchen cupboard doors under the sink, I<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>know it's Toby. When something was knocked down, it was Maryah. When a cat<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>sneaked out and was gone for two or three days, it was Maryah.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>I remember the times when I would leave a Braille note on the table<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>and later find it on the floor, with "kitty Braille" added to it, and I<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>knew it was Kitten Kabootle, our Himalayan.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>When one meowed in such a way that it went up at the end like a<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>question, I knew it was Laynie. When I could hear a cat meowing frantically<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>from the window when I'd come home, I knew it was Jaspur. I similarly knew<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>it was him when he got out one Halloween night and he was a totally black<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>cat-not a good combination, Halloween and black cats. One meowing in a high-<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>pitched tone, getting louder if I do not respond immediately is Toby. He is<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>so gifted with his meows that I sometimes find myself responding to<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>scolding or whining. He is the only cat I've ever had who does this. If I<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>hear unwanted chewing, it is Toby. If I hear excessive scratching in the<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>wrong place, it is Laynie. One who often spoke in two meows, "meow meow,"<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>was Melissa. When I hear a crash from the trash can being tipped over it is<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>Toby.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>Some people, including some blind people, would say that a blind<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>person cannot be owned by a cat, however, I totally disagree. Cats always<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>figure out that I cannot see, however, they do not go into fear-mongering<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>as some humans do; they just work around it. Two of my cats would stand<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>with a small object I dropped, holding it between their front paws until I<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>located the cat, and then the item. They know that I touch the seat of my<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>chair before I sit down to prevent having a flat cat. They trust me to take<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>care of them, and how much I can or cannot see is not part of the equation.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>They show the same unconditional love toward me whether I can see or not.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>At times, when I am asked questions that are born of doubt, I feel<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>like it is definitely not the cat's meow. However I also realize that these<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>are opportunities to stop and educate someone. For them to go uneducated<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>about what a blind person can do would definitely not be the cat's meow.<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>But when they discover how I live the life I want with my cats, then it is-<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>yes-the cat's meow!<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><o:p> </o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>_______________________________________________<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>NFBC-Info mailing list<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><a href="mailto:NFBC-Info@nfbnet.org">NFBC-Info@nfbnet.org</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><a href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbc-info_nfbnet.org">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/listinfo/nfbc-info_nfbnet.org</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText>To unsubscribe, change your list options or get your account info for NFBC-Info:<o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoPlainText><a href="http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbc-info_nfbnet.org/joystigile%40gmail.com">http://nfbnet.org/mailman/options/nfbc-info_nfbnet.org/joystigile%40gmail.com</a><o:p></o:p></p><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p></div></body></html>