Life is Just a BowlFinbar doesn't need cherries, he's completely happy with an empty dog bowl.
I try to learn from his joie de vivre, his ability to play.
His great personality shows me that one can have fun with simple things and that an empty bowl may not appear to offer anything -- but to the right being, it can be a purveyor of fun and frolic and endless hours of play play play.
He is on a new antibiotic which the vet described as Cat Cipro, to rid him of the last vestiges of his upper respiratory infection. He also had his kitten shots and was declared, by the vet, to be a Maine Coon, maybe a mix, but maybe not.
Did you know that polydactyl cats are not allowed to be shown in cat shows? Apparently people are worried that unscrupulous breeders would select to breed more and more toes on their cats causing a new breed of deformed cats with zillions of toes.
So, when by accident, a pedigreed Maine Coon cat delivers a kitten with extra toes, these cats are deemed useless as they cannot be shown in cat shows, except as domestic pets.
The vet went over Finbar's anatomy saying: look at his extra long whiskers, his extremely long tail, his satin soft undercoat which is now sprouting longer stiffer hairs. He pointed out the abundance of long hair in his Big ears and between his many toes and told me that originally, Maine Coons were a breed that had numerous polydactyl specimens until they were bred out and or the cats were deemed "not a Maine Coon" just because of their extra toes.
The funny part of this is I tried and tried to adopt a Maine Coon mix to no avail. Then I said fuggetaboutit and went to the shelter to pick out a kitten and found Finbar who had those funny feet and 24 toes and I fell in love.
I find the karma amazing that I ended up with what I wanted even though I never picked him out thinking he was a Coon kitty.
It speaks of the saying: love what you have and you will always be happy.
posted by mary bishop | 8:45 AM
13 Comments:
I need to clarify one thing, the original vet at Petco said she thought Finbar might have a tiny bit of Maine Coon in him...but my real vet said he was Maine Coon all the way!
I LOVE the bowl shots.... but you are gonna have to get a bigger dog food bowl or Finbar will not be very comfortable.
And I also love how Finbar just snuggles with Archie... even if it is in his v-butt!
Too damn cute.
PS: Let's hope blogger actually let's me post a comment today...
I love Finbar!!
I think Finbar is wildly adorable.
And I agree with you on that "Love what you have" idea. Both for empty dog bowls and kitties who turn out to be special in new or unintended ways.
I mean, people need to set healthy limits, of course. But it helps if we are open to joy, in whatever form it comes.
One of my favorite sayings as a teenager was "Bloom where you're planted". Sure it was a coping mechanism, but I ended up protecting myself from unhappiness that way, for a long time. And even though it wasn't necessarily healthy, I realize now that I am much better off with those habits than if I had chosen to make a habit of being negative or depressed.
I feel so grateful that I went that way, actually. Even though it has been a lot of work to get back to middle, I am blessed that I picked oblivious resilience.
Hey JDJ...I have had a hell of a time trying to post also.
Finbar loves the dogs so much...and they both try to get away from him.
I love this kitty even if every other being in the house comes first, before me, in his quest for a snuggling partner.
Weetzie, I am so glad you love Finbar. And whadda you think of me the photographer hahahaha.
I am so glad I was given this camera and it has opened up my eyes to dirty moldings etc. -- but I've had a ball playing with it too.
Oh Sheryl, I am so glad you like Finbar.
You are right, we must open up ourselves to joy and not be defined by a bad childhood, or a disease or having no S. O. or any ot the other things that happen in life that shape us and form us -- especially the things that make us feel badly about our own selves.
Not a big fan of Kierkegaard, but I love this quote: When one has once fully entered the realm of love, the world - no matter how imperfect - becomes rich and beautiful, it consists solely of opportunities for love.
Which makes me think of how my animals live -- in a sea of opportunities to love.
Who said a "dumb" animal can't teach us smart people about life and love?
I love Finbars' little black dot on his nose. He looks so calm and collected. That's one cool kitty.
Keep up the good work with the camera. I love my easyshare.
Your profile pic is adorable even if it is a cartoon.
I absolutely love these pics -and nice to finally see a profile pic. . . .:)
neat that he's pure maine coone too :) they are the best cats - tough and resilient but very lovable.. :) remember the neighbor's cat i told you about? the one that beat up sugar... :) he was a maine coon and the sweetest thing to us... :) LOL
Dashababy...I'm digging the photo thing for sure...! I love Finn's black dot too...He is a cool cat and a challenge as he's the first really smart cat I've ever cohabited with.
Glad you like my picture!
Ilanna -- I do remember your story, which makes Finbar more dear to me as I hope he'll be as good a cat and as tough!
Right now he's tough on me as I can't get him to take his medicine...he went into a faint this evening, and I thought I'd killed him...but it was a ploy as he proved as he jumped off my lap and spat out the freaking pill.
He's the cutest little furball! : )
I read this post to mom who says "that's a maine coon alright." :)
My bey is on Maine coon too. My cat is a mix of maine coonn and Norweigen forest cat. Maine coons usually have a little "M" on their forehead right between the eyes.
Thanks Irina..he is a cutie.
Ilanna and Scotty, I'd say you know what you're talking about! I'm not sure about the M between his eyes, but I'll keep posting pictures so you can watch him grow!
Scotty, your kitty must be a big one with that heritage...
Post a Comment
<< Home