I am grateful for the opportunity to live in paradise

I walked through what used to be a wall, into our living room this morning and looked out over Rocky Creek.  I had a moment of Deja Vu where it was the first time I walked through that opening, when I remodeled this house back in the 90s.  The house has changed, but the view is still spectacularly unspoiled.

 

I am grateful for Salsa’s content management system.  Yesterday I needed to write 70 letters, all different, to our 6407 of our supporters to ask them individually to contact their member of congress.  Our lobbyist, Jason Osborne, had met with their member and now we were asking them to go in and show their support for our bill to ban the private possession of big cats.  That would take me weeks, but I did it in hours.  I thought of a way to make it better this morning and can still edit the letters before they go out in the morning.

 

I am thankful for the volunteers who are caring for the cats this morning so that I can go sit beside my mother, on the back row at church and then take her to lunch.  My Dad is suffering from a cold and won’t be there today.  These Sundays with her are precious and I couldn’t do it if not for the huge support base that makes it possible.

 

My 2016 written comment on the Federal Register

 

sci·en·tif·ic meth·od

noun

 

1. a method of procedure that has characterized natural science since the 17th century, consisting in systematic observation, measurement, and experiment, and the formulation, testing, and modification of hypotheses.

 

My experience with hand raised felids vs mother raised felids spans back to 1978, and includes hundreds of domestic, purebred, and 20 exotic species.  This scientific method of observation, measurement and experimentation has led to the testing and formulation of best practices for the raising of captive felids.  My hypotheses; that kittens who are raised by their mothers, until they are weaned, are healthier and live longer, than those raised by human hands has been proven.

 

 

(Jamie circa 1985 or so holding Lamborghini the tortoiseshell Himalayan)

 

1978-1984 MiCarCo Cattery.  Before I knew how deleterious it is to breed to a human contrived standard, I bred and showed Persians and Himalayans in the Cat Fancier's Association.  I had an entire wall of my home covered in ribbons that were won by my cats and produced many grand champions.  I have since learned that there is no reason to be breeding cats, while so many die in shelters, but the experience gained during that time proved, scientifically, that:

 

1. Purebred kittens who were raised by their dams were healthier and had a better survival rate than those who were bottle raised.  The only time a breeder would bottle raise a purebred cat was if the dam rejected the kitten, or if the dam could not provide sufficient milk.

 

Show cats have to be the most docile of their kind in order to tolerate the noise and chaos of a show hall.  They have to be tolerant of being handled by judges without striking out.  Mother raised kittens did fine in those situations and consistently scored higher as they were in better overall condition than bottle raised kittens.

 

1978-2016 Wild Bobcat Rehab and Release.  Due to the amount of time spent at vet's offices, for the issues that go along with breeding to an extreme standard for flat faced cats, I was often asked to take home a bobcat who had been hit by a car or otherwise injured or orphaned. The vet can fix them up in a matter of hours, but then it would be months of rehab before they could be released.

 

I've documented 48 wild bobcat situations and 29 of those were yearling, or orphaned juvenile or infant kittens at various stages of weaning.  When rehabbing wildcats for the purpose of releasing them back into the wild, the primary objective is to make sure they are as healthy and wild as possible.  Yearling and juvenile bobcats, who were weaned by their wild mothers, have always been the healthiest an