But First, Rumi by Chitra Ramaswami

 

This new author is an unexpected Hero to the Omani Mau (street cats). What Chitra Ramaswami went through to rescue Rumi impressed me greatly, for I too, am a champion of homeless cats.

As Ms Ramaswami says, the cats she usually saw on the streets are very thin. Sickly. Initially she has only mild interest in the cats. In Oman, street cats are a part of life, but life outside the home walls. Feeding them is not encouraged. The cats must fight among themselves for whatever scraps they can find in the trash bins. Chitra, in fact, brought home a sickly, but feral kitten as a child, however it erupted in panic, leaving scratches before being set free, confirming in her mind the accepted notion that street cats were not meant to be pets.

She does not consider herself a cat person when the book opens. She has a rabbit back in New Jersey where her husband works, and muses she would like to have a dog someday. However Fate has other ideas when a scrawny ginger-white cat appears in her path. The moment the cat lifts his head to gaze at Chitra with tired, golden eyes filled with a melancholic emptiness, the stars align.

Chitra has enough on her plate. She’s traveling back and forth from her parents home in Oman to New Jersey where her husband works. Plus she’s dealing with a mysterious illness that leaves her feeling faint and weak. Her family is supportive, yet when she attempts to help the sickly stray, she is met with dismay. She knows nothing about caring for a healthy cat, much less a sickly one. But Chitra powers on, seeking advice to help the stray, who has problems of his own dealing with abuse from children that left him with an injury, along with harassment from stronger cats also forced to survive on the mean streets.

Chitra says she always leaves a little room in her heart for the unexpected. Rumi’s arrival is certainly unexpected, but in her heart Chitra soon realizes her initial promise to her family to find this sweet stray a home is futile. Rumi and Chitra are meant to be together.

This novel is a keeper. Chitra Ramaswami writes poetically of her life, and of the obstacles of harsh reality she is forced to overcome in order to help Rumi. Not only just Rumi, but by writing this novel, she has brought forth the life of the Mau for the world to see. When I first followed @RumiOnAMission2017 on Instagram, I knew nothing of the struggles the Omani Mau endures. But through Chitra’s eloquent, natural storytelling, my eyes have been opened.

BUT FIRST, RUMI is a well-told weave of one woman’s determination to overcome her native country’s prejudice against helpless cats. I applaud her for answering the call of caring for the Oman street cats when few others do, and I look forward to future novels by this talented author.

Choose to be Happy: A Tuesdays with Dori Paw'dcast

Welcome Furends to my very first Tuesdays with Dori Paw'dcast. 

Today's topic is Choose to be Happy.

For the past year my family has been nomming a steady diet of stress. And it's not delicious, even with a little salt and a shot of tequila.

Yoo see my pawrents packed up our home and moved us to Flory-Da last summer. During the packing Mom realized she had been lugging too many items from childhood throughout her life. Plus, being an author, she had boxes of abandoned manuscripts, lots of beloved books, and sentimental stuff acquired from relatives who had gone over the rainbow bridge. It was time to purge.

Will You Be My Valentine Game Show

Welcome to the Wonderpurr new game show, Will You Be My Valentine? where one lovely young lady questions three bachelors to decide which she would enjoy having accompany her on a fabulously exotic vacation date. I'm your host. Herman TattleCat, and these are the lucky Bachelors:

Bachelor Numpurr One is known as The Cat Who Gives Back. When you buy him a treat on his website, he will donate proceeds to animal rescues, feline health research, TNR and everything else to help animals. Being a feral TNR rescue himself, this bachelor recently had his Basepaws DNA examined to discover he's an impressive mix of Siberian, American Shorthair, Maine Coon, Russian Blue, and Abyssian, along with a bit of Persian, Bengal, Savannah, Burmese and Egyptian Mau thrown in. 

Livin the dream on Canada's Cape, meet the guy you all know as @ItsMeKevin_theCat.

Celebrating the GotchaBirthDay of ChauncieMarie

Today we celebrate ChauncieMarie turning sixteen. Born in Southaven, Mississippi, she was pregnant and homeless when she roamed into a newly built neighborhood. She begged for food from people who named her Chauncey cuz they thought she was a boy in spite of her being obviously knocked up. 

After giving birth she left her daughters (one black, one tabby) with the clueless couple whose sons named them Bucket and Barney. She then moved across the street to take refuge with people who recognized her as being both female and French. They named her ChauncieMarie, and soon she was living a quiet life with eleventy billion other homeless strays. 

Life with a Crazy Cat Lady has been both a blessing to CM, and a curse when the CCL adopted the narcissistic AssRabbit who loves to chase old ladies. Recently CM retired to Flory-Da where she reached a new high with her people by suddenly spending the whole night sitting between their pillows, hovering over them while they sleep. 

Shunning the feel of any and all blanket-type material for reasons known only to her, ChauncieMarie is celebrated for being a sweet, gray-whiskered beauty, always in the background of our crazy household, and yet very much a part of who are all are.

These days CM is pretty darn healthy, without need of any medications. She is able to jump onto the bed without stairs, and doesn't have bad breath or mottled furs. And she makes the cutest little French "oomph" sound when touched. 

Always boy crazy, CM's newest crush is Jesse the Toothless Wonder, former member of the Garage Band up until this past year when he lost his tooths to stomatitis. Jesse is the son of Alpha Queen Peaches. Now he has the cat apartment allll to himself, cuz the rest of us aren't all that happy he's moved indoors. And yet while he's parked on the back of the sofa every night so we get used to him, CM gazes at him with sincere affection.

On a side note, CM's daughters, Bucket and Barney, still reside with her original food-givers in Southaven. It is rumored Bucket...or Barney... is near identical to their mom.

Join me in celebrating ChauncieMarie, our very favorite French girl.

Being silly after finding her Forever Home.

Enjoying a hot stone massage.

After AssRabbit joined our family, CM moved into Mom's office.

Living the Retired Life in Flory-Da.

Getting ready to hover over pawrents at bedtime.

Evfurrybuddy loves this basket, and CM is no exception.

Now a ritual after Wabbit is sent to bed, 

ChauncieMarie spends every evening hugging on Daddy.

Happy GotchaBirth Day, CM. We love mew

Until next time...

Aries Asks...Are Mew Ready for some Football?

Hi pals, it's me Rabbit, welcoming you to another Feature Friday. Are mew ready for some football?  This Sunday, February 7th, is the Kitten Bowl ... along with some other kind of football game... and my wonderpurr furend Aries, the Cat Ambassador, will be featured in a profile during the Kitten Bowl, on the Hallmark Channel.

In case you don't know Aries, he's a handsome black mancat who uses his disability to bring awareness, not to only black cats, but also to special needs pets. Aries, you see, was born deformed, but not defeated with twisted, hyper-extended rear legs with very tight tendons. However, because he walks without pain, and surgery would surely leave him in life-long pain, the decision was made not to operate. 

Aries was born to a feral and pregnant 3-legged cat who had been trapped and taken to a rural county shelter. Aries and his siblings were later born that cold day, but there was no heating unit to help the kittens survive. The shelter put out a plea for rescuers, and Aries' future human Mom, Tracy, agreed to turn her spare bedroom into a nursery for Mama Diana, and the babies, all named after Greek gods: Leto, Persephone, Atlas and Aries.