Saturday, February 24, 2018

This one is for Spinelli

I decided to watch "Let it Go", a comedy special done by Bill Burr in 2010. My first impression is that ol' Bill has a few anger issues, just sayin'. Fortunately he works it out through comedy. Boy is on edge to say the least. His standup routines are very good, he manages to stay agitated for an hour - what discipline! As a pet owner there was one bit I could relate to, about getting a dog from a pound. In an alter ego voice Burr says "This is my dog, he's a rescue, I rescued him!" Then, as himself "You rescued it? You pulled it out of a burning building? You jumped into a river with your wingtips on? With no concern for your own safety? No - you went to the pound and got a free dog!"

Of course his over-the-top delivery contributes to that sketch. Mere words alone just can't convey the contempt he expresses for people's virtue signaling.

The reason I liked that bit is because I actually did rescue a cat a couple of years ago. The building she and her 6 kittens were in was not on fire, more like very slow motion oxidation. It was a shanty that was returning to the earth. Every system was failing - the field stone foundation - falling down. The floor and porch joists - rotten. The roof - well, I guess it was a roof once. Anyway, the mooks that lived there, in squalor, with no power, weren't really taking care of the animals so a friend of mine, who had been delivering food to them one day decided to go over and remove all the cats from the premises. We walked up, she kicked in the door (holy cow - even I might have been reluctant to do that), she grabbed the kittens which were inside while I grabbed the momma cat out on the front porch.


I documented that moment just in case there was some action taken against us, we loaded the 7 cats into my car and took them to the pound. After all the necessary tests, operations, vaccinations and whatnot were done, I went down and adopted that very same cat. It's been nearly two years now and while she will never be as calm as a cat raised around actual humans, she is doing okay.

The junkies moved away, all of the related cats found homes, and I was successfully able to resist the urge to burn down the shanty. Yeah, people who mistreat pets make me angry, but I try to keep things in perspective - the cats are safe and that's what matters.


This is a picture of how she looks these days - amazing what having regular food and no kittens will do for an old girl.


Crank up the volume to feel the power of this composition played on that instrument.

13 comments:

Dad Bones said...

Very nice looking cat, healthy but not overfed. Looks like she has it made.

My g/f is a cat lady. She feeds strays, traps them and hauls them to the spay/neuter clinic and then returns them to their neighborhoods. Just to be contrary I tell her she's mutilating them, leaving them with no purpose in their sad little lives. She doesn't buy that. If she's a couple days late getting food to Wally who lives under the back porch of the house of an old gypsy couple I tell her not to sweat it because it takes a week or two for a cat to starve and besides little Wally isn't a fool and has located several food sources on his block. If people don't always make the best pet owners they still manage to put out some good leftovers for a favorite stray cat. Actually I have contributed a little to feral welfare by putting up a few shelters and a couple of little cat cafes which were all eventually stolen or thrown in the trash. If anyone wanted to learn the fine art of cursing they would have heard a good demonstration when my big-hearted cat lady discovered them missing.

Chip Ahoy said...

Cool cat, Daddy-o.

bagoh20 said...

A dog in the pound is in more danger than one in a burning house. Both places will kill you just becuase you exist, but one does it with determination, practiced procedures, and expertise. Just to argue the point: being rescued means being saved from death not only though bravery, it can also happen through love, personal need, emotion, or even an accident, and sometimes for profit. The one being rescued doesn't much care which.

Amartel said...

That is a cat in full! Beautiful and confident. What would she be without your intervention? You created a much better life for this little animal. Maybe calling this a "rescue" feels too dramatic and self-serving but it kind of is.

ricpic said...

Peel Me A Grape

The cat on the counter turned and gave me the eye, but what her wont I could not say;
Unlike my dog Rufus so eager to please, she dismissed mere me -- "Yes serf, you may."

ndspinelli said...

I'm in San Diego and there are lots of neighborhood cats. Some of the friendliest cats I have ever encountered. But, down by the jetty in Mission Beach there is a colony of feral cats..not so friendly.

The Dude said...

The life of a feral cat is fraught with danger and very tough. I, too, have built shelters for them and done what I can to make sure they are spayed and neutered. And in this case I rehomed that lil girl and who knows, given the difficulties she faced and the indifference of the people around her I think it is safe to say she probably wouldn't be alive had I not taken her in. She is becoming more civilized as the months pass.

It has been said that cats are only one generation away from being feral, no matter which way you look at it.

AllenS said...

Out of seven I'm down to one feral cat. Not sure what sex it is because it's tail is always very low. I have two tom cats (brothers) that keep an eye on each other constantly, and once in a while decide to fight. Brutal fights. They had two other brothers, Runtie and Brownie, but they were run off by Cutie Pie. Fluffy was run off the property also, but decided it was worth fighting to stay here. Both want to be petted constantly, and will fall down in front of me when I'm walking to get petted. Back to the feral cat. When it drinks water, it sticks it's front left paw in the water, then licks the water off of it's paw. Weird.

Just below the surface, all cats are feral.

Amartel said...

"Just below the surface, all cats are feral."

I respect that cats are ready at any time to stop relying on big government (us) and take care of themselves.

Dear corrupt left, go F yourselves said...

Excellent, Sixty. Giving a doomed animal a second chance is A+ in my book.

The Dude said...

Thanks, DB@H. With animals it is always a question of who rescues whom. It is always good to have an orange cat around the house, just sayin', and she is a good one.

Methadras said...

Bill Burr and I share a common disgust for things in general.

Methadras said...

Spinelli, your in town and didn't call me? For shame!!!