Maryah's Tail

Maryah's Tail
by Lauren Merryfield

I just read a piece that got me onto my soapbox.  This writer, whose authorship was not given to me, speaks of people who have defective cats killed rather than allowing them to partake in competitions.
I fear this is occurring all too often.

This whole subject is one of my pet peeves.  It probably is such given that I was born with supposed "defects" and am I fortunate not to have been euthanized.  I
was born totally blind, from congenital glaucoma.  I also have had a long history of left ear problems, including reconstruction.  I have an abnormally-shaped heart, with an occasional heart murmur.  I have fibromyalgia
and I was morbidly obese, due to medical conditions, and though I've lost 104 pounds in the last year, I am still far from being thin or PURRfect-looking.

Most people think my sighted husband, Jim, takes care of our cats.  Sure,he does some, but when he's at work or in the hospital, cat care is up to me.  I have this terrible feeling that in some cases, we were only allowed to adopt a cat because my daughter and Jim can see.  I don't know what kind of problems I might havae had, had I shown up by myself to adopt a cat, or two, or three, or four. 

When I, on one occasion,  had read a story about a blind cat, I sent a story back about my being a blind cat ownee, hoping to have it published.  All kinds of excuses came up and my story never made it, thus one of the main reasons I've been writing, editing and publishing CATLINES, now into it's fifth year. 

We have what some might consider to be a low readership, but some have been with us since CATLINES' inception, and I appreciate such loyalty.  Some subscribers have sent me wonderful stories, quotations, cat jokes, and more which have filled CATLINES all these years, plus the info I write or find myself. 

Now people can think, all they want, that a blind person can't raise cats, but they're simply wrong.  I'm here to prove it! 

And now, back to Maryah's tail, or is it tale? 

Perfection is not one of my main goals in life.  We do not require it of our kids either.

My daughter, when in utero, certainly moved around, as if healthy.  We were relieved of this.  We knew there was a 50/50 chance she could be blind, since
both her parents are blind.  We figured we could handle this particular disability if it showed up.

Thankfully for her, her vision is perfect; no odd conditions that glasses couldn't cure.  She no longer needs glasses, however, if she had been partially
or totally blind, we would not have thought nor expected any less of her.

So goes with our cats, too.

Maryah was a difficult placement.  She was a feral; unused to human contact.  So much so that in one placement, she constantly hid.  In another placement,
she had constant diarrhea.  After several other unviable placements, the cat clinic nearly begged us to take her, though we had thought we were adopting
a somewhat older black cat, Lucy.

Maryah huddled in a cat cage at the clinic with an older cat, so we all figured she would do okay with other cats; just were not sure how she'd do with humans.

We were given the oppurtunity to adopt Maryah because they knew we put a lot of attention and time into socializing our cats.

When I lifted the bundle of fur, it shook some, but didn't strike.

Janet, from the cat clinic asked if I could see at all and I reluctantly told her I could not.  I was afraid that my level of vision, as in nil, would somehow be used to keep us from adopting the little bundle I now held in my arms, whose sweet energy was rushing to my Mommy heart. 

Thank goodness, all it seemed to mean was that Janet explained that Maryah was not all black like Lucy, but had a white tuxedo, white paws, and was otherwise black.  I was so grateful to know of her exact coloring, because, now, I could imagine her in my mind as the cute kitty she is. 

Before my eyes were removed, due to the inevitable possibility of rupture and chronic infection, I could see light, dark and colors in the right eye.  I know black and white perfectly well in my memory.  What a cute kitty we were receiving!   

We took her home.

When I picked her up later, Maryah, who named herself by her distinctive meow, seemed the same ball of fur, her tail tucked under.

It was a couple days after we'd brought Maryah home that I realized she had a short, fluffy black tail.  I complimented her on this fact.  I felt good
about it because here was another way for me to identify Maryah; not getting her mixed up with the other three.

I know my kitties by their shape, sound, individual characteristics and, yes, by their tails. 

Jaspur has a long, thin, black tail which he still chases at times, especially funny when this is done in the bathtub--sounds like a cat in a dryer. 

Mikey has a long, fluffy tail, and his fur is longer than that of the rest of our kitties. 

Gabrielle has a long, wavy tail; broader at the base than the others, but cunningly curlicuing often!  I think tail waving is an art for Gabbie. 

Maryah has a more squatty body than the others and now this short, fluffy tail.

When smoothing down her still dragging tail, one day, I noticed it.
The bones in Maryah's tail are straight and smooth up to a point.  toward the end, they are like rick-rack.

Though I was surprised in finding what some would consider a defect; one the cat clinic most likely knew but did not discuss, I felt so good that I could
accept Maryah and love her none the less after discovering the nature of her tail.

The rick-rackiness of the end of her tail helps make it like a fluffy duster or fan, and has she ever learned to flip-flop her tail around with the rest
of them!

To us, Maryah's tail is just part of her being herself; the difference is noticeable to us but not considered negative at all.

I am so glad Maryah came to us and was not euthanized due to a "defect" or her hyper nature around other humans.

Obviously, Maryah was meant for us and we for her.  She chose us!

Lauren Merryfield,
editor/publisher,
CATLINES
http://www.catliness.com
Archives of previous issues of the Golden Whisker Award-winning ezine can be found at catliness.com. 

Lauren has had articles and anecdotes published in two animal anthologies:
"Angel Animals" and "Cats do it better than people."  She has had non-catly articles published in several publications of the National Federation of the blind:
http://www.nfb.org
and the story of the harrowing saga up to her marriage to Jim in a hospital, can be found in the first Heartwarmers book of love entitled "Love far beyond the physical." 

Lauren is working on a book chronicling her first year out from gastric bypass, and a catly book combining anecdotes, "verses" and some basic cat care tips.  Be on the lookout for these being her first full-length books!  Yea!  Woo hoo!

Note:I found the aforementioned piece.  Here it is.

thanks

Lauren

cat show organizers duke it over declawed cats
http://www.di-ve.com/dive/portal/portal.jhtml?id=196794&pid=1

Shameful acts
by Kevin Charles Micallef

Kevin Micallef replies to Connie De Brincat
Tuesday, 06 September, 2005

A cat is a living creature and we should treat it as it should be -- with lots of love, care and affection. We Maltese love animals, and those who are cat
lovers like to learn more useful information about these felines.

The MFGC (Malta Feline Guardians Club) is organizing seminars for MFGC members and the general public so as to give information as regards cats, their needs
and how to take good care of them.

In fact, the people are finding these seminars very useful and are attending in quite a large number. Professional speakers such as vets, groomers and others
are lecturing and answering people's questions about various subjects being dealt with in every seminar.

As a club, the MFGC is also organising Cat Shows or Exhibitions. Referring to Ms Connie de Brincat's article (published on di-ve.com on Tuesday 09 August),
as the President of the MFGC I would like to make it clear that in the Cat Show/Exhibition which took place on the 6th March 2005, there were no cats taking
part in the show which had the nails declawed.

I cannot understand why Ms de Brincat is arguing about this, since in the past, she was an organiser in cat shows where declawed cats took part. I am very
against declawing, but unfortunately in Malta they still do this type of operation on cats, and this is performed quite regularly in Maltese pet clinics.
Maybe not all the vets like to do this type of operation, since some of them do this operation for a justifiable reason.

If the cat is creating a serious problem with their nails, for example the cat is scratching and hurting young children at home, then the vet takes the
responsibility and does the operation. The operation should be done for a justifiable reason and not for any other purpose.

Ms De Brincat was referring besides declawing, there are other animal sufferings, such as keeping or letting cats living in cages. Many breeders here in
Malta, tend to keep cats in cages in order not to let them ruin or make a mess of their house. A cat shall have the liberty to roam around and live in
a pleasant environment and not being locked in a cage for their lifetime.

Another cat cruelty is done by many breeders, if they find out that the kitten is not a perfect healthy kitten.

Maybe the kitten has a defect in his tail, paws, teeth etc. These breeders have the guts to kill these animals since they are not in a perfect condition
as they should be. This is a disgrace and a disgustful thing to do.

Some breeders sometimes do not take into consideration the love of the cat but seek only financial benefits, also if these can harm the cat. For example,
some breeders sell a six month kitten with a contract which is already neutered, with a very high price. This is a shameful act on these kittens, which
had already subdued an operation of this sort before reaching the age of six months. This is a disgustful thing to do and breeders who do this barbaric
act should feel guilty of doing so.

Comments

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