Mollie Hunt's Blog, page 75
October 20, 2015
CATS IN JAIL: an article
Cats in jail
Many people know how calming it can be to have a cat around. Yes, it can be infuriating as well, but there’s definitely feel-good factor that goes with having a cat. In fact having, playing with, and caring for a cat has recognized medical benefits. An increasing number of professionals now use animals, including cats, as part of patient care. This relatively new field is called an animal associated therapy – AAT for short or AAA (animal associated activities). For example, cats have helped in work with autistic children, those with motor co-ordination difficulties.
Psychologists say that cats make better pets for neurotic people than (for example) dogs. Dogs are so responsive to the humans they bond with that they take on their owners’ emotional issues, including a canine version of the neurosis. Cats have well-defined boundaries – they are emotionally stable and remain stable even when their humans are stressed. They might find even a stressed human unpleasant and avoid him – giving the human a reason to tone down his behaviour.
So perhaps it is not surprising that cats and prisoners should be a good match. Feral cats are no strangers to prisons. Many prisons have a population of feral cats which keep the place rodent-free. But resident prison cats can do far more for the inmates than keep the rat population at bay. This has been shown in a number of cases where prisoners were actually encouraged to interact and care for the cats, and in some cases keep them as their own pets.
In mid 1980s one of Switzerland penitentiary for men started an experimental program simply called ‘The Cat’. Prisoners were allowed, on a volunteer basis, to have their own cat in their cells or/and outside. The program was strictly monitored to make sure that cats were well cared for and safe. The program was reviewed in 2003. The report showed that inmates who cared for a cat found that the pet ‘was a means of coping with loneliness, a living creature which they could trust and was non-judgmental; taking care of an animal was also a generally accepted way of showing and giving affection in prison and quite often resulted in an emotional state that facilitated psychological treatment.’ The report of that experiment is given in more detail here.
An equally positive outcome has been seen in other prisons across the world. For example, in an Indiana State Prison (a maximum security prison for men) many inmates are allowed a cat and are fiercely protective of their pet. The men take excellent care of their cats, with some going so far as to make cat toys and cat furniture. Unlike in the prison in Switzerland, the Indiana State Prison, ‘Cat’ program was actually initiated by the cats themselves. The furry jailbirds made their own way into the prison, and were adopted by the inmates on a ad-hoc basis. But now the program is fully supported by all prison staff . The calming effect of the cats changed many of the prisoners for the better. In many cases it reduced an inmate’s anger and taught self-control (you can read the full account of the Indiana State Prison cats here.
Some prisons nowadays have a close and fruitful working relationship with cat charities. The inmates of the Four Pocahontas Correctional Unit in Chesterfields, USA are involved in helping to rehabilitate some of the cats from the Jackson County Animal Shelter before the cats are put up for adoption. The inmates here also did an invaluable job of helping cats abandoned after Hurricane Katrina. Peggy Lynch, the coordinator of the program has nothing but praise for the program: “It’s probably the nicest shelter that they (the cats) could ever land in, so far as the amount of love and attention [goes], ….. I walked in and it was just amazing — just this total sense of calm… They seem to blossom out here.”
On the other side of the world in South Africa, members of the The Emma Animal Rescue Society (TEARS), are working closely with the prisoners and wardens of the Pollsmoor Prison. This is a maximum security facility which is also a home to a large feral cat colony. The prisoners invited in the original cats. In some cases, they hung sheets from their windows for feral cats to climb, and then shared their food with them. With the cat population getting out of control Rita Brock from TEARS took action. She approached the authorities for permission to introduce a trap-neuter-return program and to give the prisoners proper food and veterinary care to help them with the feral cats they’d adopted. To her relief the authorities granted permission. It was a win-win situation. Both the inmates and the staff love the cats, and for the inmates the cats are great company. The cats meanwhile have a home and are well looked after.
But convincing authority of the benefits of cats in the prisons is not always an easy task.At the Bath Institution, a medium-security prison near Kingston in Ontario, Canada a problem arose. A feral colony of cats had been on the prison premises – probably for the last 20 years or so – when the prison officials decided that the cats had to go. This was a blow for both the feral cats, which risked being put down, and for the inmates who loved them. The prisoners circulated a petition to keep the cats and got 300 signatures from a population of 345 inmates. As cat eviction time drew near the inmates became more and more upset. The situation was getting out of hand.
Fortunately Mary Shaw, a veterinary technician in Kingston and the director of the Spay Neuter Kingston Initiative got involved. With help from Suzanne Stevenson a retired former worker, she persuaded the prison officials to allow the cats to stay. Since then the cats have received veterinary care. Special year-round shelters have been installed on the prison grounds for the felines to live in during the winter. The prisoners are happy and the cats are thriving.
October 16, 2015
10 WORDS FOR DARK
I am happily writing along, weaving my imaginary stories and creating my books. The protagonist is in peril; the cat slinks through the night; the storm brews – and all I can come up with to describe the nefarious scene is the word, dark.
Dark is a perfectly good word, works both as an adjective and a noun. It conveys images that run from lack of color or light to abomination and perversion. From soul-eaters to soul. From black knights to flying monkeys. From… well, you get the (dark) picture. But how many times can one use a word without it becoming tedious? Word-count never lies.
Here are a few of my favorite synonyms:
1. Gloom: “The black gibbet glooms beside the way.” Oliver Goldsmith
2. Dusk: “He saw the lights blaze in the dusking sky.” Sue Beyer, artist.
3. Shadow: “There could be shadow galaxies, shadow stars, and even shadow people.” Stephen Hawking
4. Obscure: “Existence is a series of footnotes to a vast, obscure, unfinished masterpiece.” Vladimir Nabokov
5. Bleak: “Seven Into the Bleak” fiction by Matthew Iden
6. Drear: “Must her life be drear and wintry, except as she rambles into the pleasaunce of others?” Amanda Minnie Douglas
7. Murk: “Obscenity is a cleansing process, whereas pornography only adds to the murk.” Henry Miller
8. Enigmatic: “Vampires are so old that they don’t need to impress anyone anymore. They’re comfortable in their own skin. It’s this enigmatic strength that’s very romantic and old-fashioned.” Stephen Moyer
9. Eclipse: “An unexciting truth may be eclipsed by a thrilling lie.” Aldous Huxley
10. Twilight: “The darkness of death is like the evening twilight; it makes all objects appear more lovely to the dying.” Jean Paul
Well, that was fun, looking up quotes, playing with words and pictures. Now to try not to overuse this group of words….
Cat Travel: Maison de Moggy
We have a Cat Café here in Portland, Oregon, but this one takes the cake.
Originally posted on Katzenworld:
Hi everyone,
As some of you may know I recently went on a work trip to Scotland using a rather toy like plane haha. Little did I know that there was a cat cafe in Edinburgh! Luckily someone I met there pointed this out to me so of course I couldn’t resist and after a long day of work (got up at 5 am =_=) I decided to make a “brief” stop at the cafe on my way to the hotel!
Upon arrival you can tell that the owner (Laura O’Neill) has done her research well and it really feels like you are walking into a cat cafe in the heart of Japan!
The walkways were amazing and it really made me want to be one of the cats there haha!
The walkways went all around the place giving their cats loads of freedom and space to play with. :D
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October 15, 2015
95
95……….
95~
95
My mother, Mary Elizabeth
95!!! 
………………Ninety-five and counting.
October 4, 2015
SIXTY YEARS OF CHESTNUTS
Every autumn when I was a kid, my mother and I would don headscarves and woolen jackets and take a walk up to the Lone Fir Cemetery, the Chestnut grove there. Who knows when the trees were planted or by whom? They were huge as the sky, even then, their boughs heavy with prickly green bundles. Within those bundles were the enigmatic fruit, chestnuts.
Chestnuts are odd and very labor-insensitive. My mother would sit for hours peeling away the skin, which is bitter as the devil. Then she would give me the sweet inner meat. I would chomp them down in seconds, only to wait another hour for the next morsel. Later in life, I learned that chestnuts may be roasted or boiled for easier skinning, but to my mother’s mind, cooking ruined the flavor.
Lone Fir has now come into its own as one of Portland’s pioneer cemeteries, but back in the 50’s, the small graveyard was quiet, a place apart from the real world. Things change. It still holds its magic, though now I must share it.
My mother is gone. It’s been an unbelievable 13 years yesterday. But she’s still with me as I survey the grass and tree roots, searching out the shiny auburn gems. It’s still quiet here at Lone Fir, only the wind and the satisfying thunk of falling pods.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lone_Fir_Cemetery
Friends of Lone Fir Cemetery
http://www.friendsoflonefircemetery.org/
October 3, 2015
KITTY HOW-TO INSTRUCTION MANUAL: Carried Away
In honor of the new Simon’s Cat film, “Box Clever”, I’m reblogging this instruction for getting your cat into a carrier.
Originally posted on Mollie Hunt: Crazy Cat Lady Mysteries and more:
Here’s a great trick for getting your kitty into her carrier.
As anyone who has ever tried to put a cat into a carrier knows it’s easier said than done. The tiniest rattle of the carrier gate can send a savvy cat into hiding. Merely approaching the carrier with thoughts of travel may be communicated telepathically. Then comes the house hunt: under the beds, on the high shelves, behind the couches, wherever kitty can fit and hide, pretending you don’t see her when you finally come searching with that flashlight in hand.
Extracting the cat from her hidy-hole doesn’t improve her mood. Now you have a tense, squirming ball of fluff who, as you near the foreboding crate, is transforming and expanding. By the time you’ve reached the carrier, she has somehow sprouted extra legs made of steel and tipped with hooks the size of scythes. Trying to press this demon…
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September 26, 2015
WALKING THE CAT
I am thinking of becoming a cat walker. You know, like a dog walker, only with cats. I think there may be money in it, since as far as I can tell, it is a vocation yet untapped. When I google cat walker, I get everything from fashion runway sites to wheel-rigs for cats with disabilities but no actual businesses. Cat walker jobs turns up all sorts of requests for cat sitting/dog walking. It’s clear that according to google, dogs walk – cats sit.
Not true. Cats need stimulation. A bored cat can become neurotic, act out, or fail to thrive. With the progression toward keeping our kitties indoors, new avenues of interest must be offered. Cat walking gets kitty back outside with the sights, sounds, and scents she misses in the house.
If you’re like me, and your husband hasn’t built that catio yet, the best way to get your cats out safely is with harness and leash. Not all cats like the harness, and some will fall over as if paralyzed.
~Harness Paralyzation~
Starting them early in life is the best way to assure a positive harness experience, but adult cats can come to like the harness as well, because it means adventure and maybe a bite of fresh grass.
Walking the cat is not like walking the dog. It tends to be passive, an empathetic bond between walker and walkee. In fact, most of cat walking is spent not walking at all, but standing while kitty eats grass, rolls in the dust, or sniffs the breeze.
Sometimes they get moving, and then the walker must be ready to run (still not walking), navigating over logs and through bushes. I warn you, the cat takes the low road, and you have to be quick not to get the leash in a tangle. I fondly remember “walks” in the woods with Dirty Harry. He would speed down paths known only to small creatures, leaving us bumbling along behind.
Note: Though cat walking is only now coming into style, the idea has been around for decades. In the 60’s, folksinger Norma Tanega, cut her hit song, Walkin’ My Cat Named Dog. Listen to it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPZVrmJ2HH8. Some people say it was about drugs, but we know she was a cat-woman ahead of the times.
For real information on teaching your cat to walk on a leash, visit the ASPCA’s step-by–step guide: https://www.aspca.org/pet-care/virtual-pet-behaviorist/cat-behavior/teaching-your-cat-walk-leash
September 25, 2015
Poetry Is Bundling
For all those who write with cats.
Originally posted on Elan Mudrow:
My cat knows I’m a poet.
It’s in his eyes,
The way they gleam
As he looks at me
While I’m writing.
A recognition,
An observation,
As his purr rolls and
Pulses with his breath
“Have you been sent here?”
I ask him in my mind.
“What dimension,
What time machine
Brought you back
In the form of a cat
To witness the writing
Of a poem?”
He runs from the kitchen
Whenever he hears me
Recite out loud, as I
Test my verse
With my ears,
Listening to my poem.
He must hear
What I’m searching for
He knows what’s right
Before I do.
His ears are much finer.
They must be tuned
To hear rhythms.
Understand the sound
Of Images
How they communicate
Why they communicate
That’s why he took
The form of a cat.
However, he does the same
When he hears me speak
On my cell…
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September 12, 2015
EXCERPT: PLACID RIVER RUNS DEEP
4.
Ember sat at the old drop-leaf table, her laptop in front of her. She had been writing, actually getting somewhere with the ongoing novel, but inspiration had run its course and now her mind was blank, her thoughts fleeing elsewhere like wayward kittens.
Rising from her chair, she stretched her unused muscles and crossed to the door. Pulling it open, she stared out into darkness as black as a void. She knew if she removed herself from the light and let her eyes adjust, she would see the silhouettes of trees and brush, the sparkle of froth in the rapids, the twinkle of a million stars—but from where she stood in the well-lit room, she could have been blind. Someone could be standing a few feet away from her and she would never have known.
The thought sent a prickle across her skin. Quickly she shut the door and threw the bolt. The snap as it shot into place was comforting, but nothing could completely dispel the knowledge that a life had been snatched in those murky woods not so very long ago. By whom? she wondered. And why?
September 11, 2015
BECAUSE CAT.
The other day, a friend was describing her cat’s crazy antics, and she ended with the simple sentence, “Because cat”. I instantly knew exactly what she meant – that cats do their cat thing, and that’s all there is to it – but I wondered where the term came from. Did she make it up or was it some internet meme I’d managed to miss? It was so perfect. Any cat person would instantly know she was referring to that ultra-feline edgy behavior all our kitty companions display sooner or later.
I looked it up on Google. Turns out there is an artist whose work is called “Because cats” with an “s”. Not the same. There is a movie, “Because of the Cats.” There is a website, “Because, Cat” but I can’t tell what it’s about. There is even a link to one of my own blogs where the words “because” and “cat” are used.
I still like Because cat best. Here’s how it works:
Why does my cat go crazy when I come home from a long trip?
Because cat.
My cat is the sweetest thing until he sees the toilet paper. What’s the deal?
Because cat.
I bought my cat a beautiful – and expensive – cat bed. Why won’t she sleep in it?
Because cat.
Why do kittens insist on taking on the world?
Because kitten.
My cat chases anything that moves.
Because cat.
My cat’s giving me the evil eye; what did I do wrong?
Because cat.
Cats: the smartest, wisest, most insightful animals on the planet.
Because. Cat.
Thanks to the person who inspired this commentary, though I can’t remember who you are. Thinks to a bunch of great photos from the internet.
