Shelter Cats and Redemption

September 11 th . 2001. That day of days.  I was working at the time at BAM: the Brooklyn Academy of Music.  Even then it was what a former girlfriend referred to as “hipster dofus.”  BAM is a Brooklyn performing arts institution.  Modern dance, modern arts, from what I understand they put on great shows.  I did see Pete Townshend there once.  I, however, can't dance. I look like I’m making wine when I dance. STOMP STOMP STOMP.  It isn't pretty. The rest of the area had yet to become the hip downtown Brooklyn it has since become.  I grew up walking distance to the Cyclone, so I remember the REAL Brooklyn. I remember the real bagels, and the real bialys.  Do you all know what a bialy is? The Barclays Center?  Nope, it was a parking lot at the time. What was I doing there you might ask?  At the time I still thought I could make a career out of working in Museums.  The truth is I was never formally tra...

Reluctantly, we went home, leaving Tyler at the vet.  I couldn't believe it.  I just could NOT believe it.  How did this happen so fast?  What was going to happen to my little guy?  My Tyler? Would he make it? Now, anyone that knows me knows that I HATE the unknown.  I like to have full knowledge of all events and all possibilities, I like to have it ALL planned out.  If I do not, it drives me up the wall, and I obsess.  And obsess.  And obsess.  I have pretty much been this way my whole life, and I don’t foresee any change any time soon. “I hope he will be OK.”  I must have said 15,000 times to my mother on the drive home. “Don’t worry Daniel.”  I could see she was worried.   I noticed a change in my mother that day.  From indifference to reluctant acceptance of having a cat in the house, I saw, for the first time, genuine concern in her eyes and her face.  One thin...

Your blogger is feeling a little better today after a rough couple of days.  My current cats, Sophie and Jackson, did not leave my side throughout my being down for the count. Cats are good like that.  They just know.  You know? Meanwhile, to celebrate Tyler Tuesday, here is what I refer to as the "Tyler sitting funny" picture. This was taken in the summer of 2003.  I walked into the living room and....there he was, sitting like this. Looking like I caught him....in the act....of....who knows? Luckily I had my digital camera at the ready (no camera phone yet) and snapped a shot before the moment was lost! Enjoy, and happy Tyler Tuesday!

Forgive the interruption in posts about the life of Tyler, but I have been a bit under the weather lately owing to some dental issues.  That's what I get for dragging my feet about a root canal! Anyway, I will try and post part 2 in the next few days, in the meantime, enjoy this short video of Tyler and his future brother from another cat mother, Tiger, enjoying a meal together.

Happy Tyler Tuesday!  Here's Tyler in 2005. How he loved that lampshade.

Life with Tyler went on on for several weeks.  Tyler basically told us what to do and we catered to his every whim.  Isn’t that what every cat does?  Tyler did anyway. A few days before Christmas, which also happened to be my birthday, I began to notice a change in Tyler. Tyler just didn't seem…..himself.  That evening he skipped his dinner, and if anything a cat owner knows, a cat is a creature of routine.  ESPECIALLY mealtime.  Tyler ate his meals regularly at the same times every day and that rarely if ever changed.  When he skipped a meal, it raised a red flag. “Did he not eat his dinner?” I asked my mother, already slightly concerned.  I happen to be a creature of routine and habit myself, so when something, anything, deviates from that routine, I get concerned.  I am that way to this day, ask Ashley. “No, but I wouldn’t worry.”  My mother’s patented response.  Which was mother speak for "I’m worried but I do...

Happy Tyler Tuesday! Tyler and his brother from another cat mother, Tiger, circa late 2008.