To fully appreciate us cats, you must also appreciate our feral brothers and sisters because they are who we are at our wild core: beautiful and untamed… and ultimately quite vulnerable and at the mercy of human beings.

To understand ferals is to truly understand cat nature. They are territorial, love routine and need a place where they can feel safe. Take away their territory, routine and safety, and they suffer and behave desperately. They will risk life and limb to return to what was familiar. Trust? A cat’s trust must be earned, except in the world of feral cats, usually no one can be trusted. Ferals who are lucky enough to have colony caregivers may occasionally learn to trust the person who feeds them, at least enough to come out at feeding time, but it does not go beyond that. A feral cat remains wild in her heart and spirit. Inside every one of us kitties is a molecule, and sometimes more, of that feral soul. So when I hear of something awful happening to feral cats, such as what is currently going on at the Loews Hotels in Orlando, I must step in and have my say.

For years, two hotels at Universal Studios Orlando, Loews Portofino Bay and Loews Royal Pacific, have had highly successful TNR (Trap, Neuter and Return) programs for the feral cats living on the properties. They were started by a bellhop by the name of George Ricci. After finding traps on the hotel property, one containing the bones of an animal that had starved to death, he figured there was a better way to deal with the feral cats living in the area. Starting in 2004 and using his own money, Ricci began to trap, neuter and vaccinate cats, and return them to the territory that was familiar to them. Other employees started to pitch in and help. The engineering department even built decorative feeding stations to match the architecture of the hotel. As always happens in successful feral colony management, the number of cats dropped over the years. At the Lowes Portofino Bay, what originally began as 40 cats was reduced to 8.

Then just a few weeks ago, David Bartek, the director of operations in charge of these two hotels ordered the programs — tolerated by hotel management but not a part of it — to be stopped and the cats killed.

Well, he did not actually say to kill the cats, but if you know anything about feral cat nature, he might as well have. If you take a feral cat to an animal control facility, it will be euthanized. That is a fact. Feral cats are not adoptable pets. They are afraid of humans and can’t be tamed, especially not in a place that smells of fear and death. Even housecats act wild in this type of environment. Relocating these small colonies isn’t a good option either because taking a colony away from its familiar territory will disorient the cats, who will endanger themselves looking for a way back. Meanwhile, the absence of a managed colony at the original location will create a vacuum that will invite new ferals looking for unclaimed territory — and these unneutered and unvaccinated cats will breed and grow in numbers and create a nuisance with their marking and fighting.

Unfortunately, nobody in the upper echelons of the Loews Hotels is willing to listen to the truth and common sense. They have gotten a lot of negative attention for demanding these cats be banished, and they should have expected that — after all, they claim to be a “pet friendly” hotel and even have the slogan “Loews loves pets.” Their behavior regarding the local feral colonies gives lie to that slogan and shows it up for the insincere marketing scheme it really is.

Because of the bad press Loews has received, they have stopped trying to trap the cats (the original plan was to haul them off to animal control), but they still want the cats relocated and refuse to listen to any points of view that differ from their own. My biggest fear is that they are waiting for a pause in all the media attention so that they can get rid of the cats when no one is looking out for them.

So I say that if you really want to know what you can do for Cat Appreciation Month, keep on top of this issue, spread the word and keep contacting Loews to voice your disagreement with what they are doing. Some links you can use are provided by Riverfront Cats, a Miami group that is keeping an eye on the situation.

If you want to know more about the issue and learn about feral cats in general, Florida author and passionate cat lady Deborah Barnes has a fantastic three-part series about ferals and about the Loews issue on her blog. Part One introduces you to the world of the Loews cats, and feral cats in general; Part Two looks at ferals through the eyes of Riverfront Cats’ Christine Michaels; and Part Three is an interview with George Ricci.

Please keep the plight of these cats in the public eye until they are safe! That is how you can appreciate us cats.

The Nature’s Variety humans gave me some of their new product to try out. You remember them — I had an awesome giveaway contest with some of their food last year. But the moment the new package arrived, you-know-who had to get involved.

She always steals my food, so I had to send her packing.

Anyhow… it is Nature’s Variety Instinct Raw Boost Bites, Lamb Forumla and the Instinct Raw Daily Boost Supplement with real venison and lamb. Both are made from minimally processed, freeze dried raw ingredients. Very wholesome… and hopefully very yummy!

I don’t get a moment’s peace around here, do I? I would really like a chance to taste test these items without having someone steal my thunder… or my food!

The Raw Boost Bites come in discs. Obviously, I was not going to be able to eat it like that, so my human broke it up for me. Since I am so picky, there was no guarantee I was going to like it. I actually turn down lots of food samples!

But I loved this! These Boost Bites are totally delicious!

Yes, Boodie and Binga got tastes when I was done. Even the dog got to have a disc, since the Boost Bites and supplement are for both cats and dogs. She liked it too. I felt it was wasted on her — that meant one less for me!

My human wasn’t sure what to do with the supplement for my taste test, so she just opened it up and let me check it out. As you can see, I tried eating it out of the container! It was tasty too. My human thinks that maybe she can put it on food that I have “fallen out of love with.” I think she should just give me the powder and forget about the food.

The one thing that worried my human was that neither product had taurine added to it, which is an amino acid that is necessary for us cats. But the Nature’s Variety people said that they contain organ meats, which have taurine as part of their make up. And sure enough, lamb heart and lamb liver are the second and third ingredients for both products (the first being either lamb or venison on the items I got). Since these are meant to be fed in addition to a regular diet, my human thought that was okay, and actually a whole lot healthier than some treats I see other kitties eat!

So do I give these my paws up? You bet!

Did you know that February is Cat Appreciation Month? Neither did my human until a few days ago. I, of course, consider every month to be Cat Appreciation Month. In fact, I would like to designate every second as Cat Appreciation Second! I have no idea what the origins of Cat Appreciation Month are, and I really don’t think that’s important. What is important is making sure we cats get the appreciation that is due us — in February and every other month!

To ensure that Cat Appreciation Month is properly acknowledged and celebrated, I will devote every Friday in February to a new way to appreciate us cats. Any of you kitties out there with ideas are welcome to add your own!

Mark Tuesday, February 14 on your calendars because I am having a Valentine’s Day party and commenthon! Single kitties and couples are all invited!

I also want to mention how lame my human is because she looked at the wrong calendar and when she sent out my email newsletter a couple of days ago, she said that Valentine’s Day was Sunday! So I hope nobody is confused. Valentine’s Day is on Tuesday, and that is when I am having my party!

I will be giving Valentines until they run out!

And I will have a couple of door prizes! (Don’t tell, but my human picked up these cat toy packages at a deep discount after Christmas.)

And one very lucky kitty will win my brand new Valentine Heartbreaker Kitty Mug! I have a few new Valentine’s Day items at my Zazzle store, so check them out!

And I am also having a commenthon for one of my favorite local rescues, Kitten Rescue!

I am so excited, I can barely wait! In fact I am going to start chewing on the decor right now!

Can’t see the above video? Click here to watch it on YouTube.

And yes, that is Binga’s back you see in the upper right hand corner!

Even better, how many other creatures can combine fluffy and ennui all in the same package?

What is this doing in my sun puddle?

Hmmm, it does not seem like it is going anywhere soon.

There is not enough room here for the both of us.

Will someone please move this immediately, if not sooner?

No? Then I am officially sulking.

Dear Oil and Water,
I know humans who would be grateful for you two — they live with cats who have turned their households upside down with their clash of wills. You kitties, on the other hand, have learned to coexist peacefully without having to resort to claws. Yet your unappreciative human keeps insisting that you kiss and be pals. Yuck. If she had any sense whatsoever, she would be grateful you guys don’t beat up on each other.

This is a touchy situation, since the more antipathy you show towards each other, the harder your human will work to make you be friends. In fact I had to think really hard to come up with a solution to your dilemma. I don’t know if any kitty has ever used this tactic before, but give it a try and let me know if it works: the next time your human attempts to get you cats to buddy up, instead of getting mad at each other, get mad at her! After all, she’s the one who is being annoying. I’m not saying go feral on her or anything, just both of you give her some smacky paws without claws. Maybe hiss at her a little. Then run off into your hiding places. When she gives up on trying to cajole you out of where ever you have gone, just go about your day, ignoring each other as if nothing ever happened. Your human sounds like a persistent one, but once you start directing your ire at her (which is really where the problem is coming from), maybe she will be more concerned about ruining your relationship with her instead of creating some faux friendship between you two. When it comes to us kitties, humans need to realize “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!”