Tommy, open-mouthed at having to pose yet again for the camera.

As I tried to get my aunt’s dog Woolie to sit still for a photo, Dad successfully managed to fire off a shot of the both of us. I had no such luck.

Gimi Grooming

Gimi’s a big boy (OK, I’ll admit it, he’s FAT), so he doesn’t do too well grooming himself. Still, it’s funny to watch him try.

Rainy day, “fall really is here” edition.

The days are noticeably shorter by now, and for once, the rainy season seems to be kicking in early. Nights are colder, and the cats are spending more time cuddling with us and each other.

As someone who spent 3+ years as a volunteer for the SF SPCA, I am a strong supporter of no kill shelters. There’s a great piece in the SF Chronicle today that addresses some of the issues around why there aren’t more no kill shelters in the US. Here’s an excerpt. Go read the rest:

“If a community is still killing the majority of shelter animals, it is because the local SPCA, humane society, or animal control shelter has fundamentally failed in its mission,” he writes. “And this failure is nothing more than a failure of leadership. The buck stops with the shelter’s director.”

Redemption makes the case that bad shelter management leads to overcrowding, which is then confused with pet overpopulation. Instead of warehousing and killing animals, shelters, he says, should be using proven, innovative programs to find those homes he says are out there.

[snip]

“If … motherless kittens are killed because the shelter doesn’t have a comprehensive foster care program, that’s not pet overpopulation. That’s the lack of a foster care program.

“If adoptions are low because people are getting those dogs and cats from other places, because the shelter isn’t doing outside adoptions (adoptions done off the shelter premises), that’s a failure to do outside adoptions, not pet overpopulation.

And yes, I’m aware that calling a shelter “no kill” is somewhat of a misnomer. Incurably ill or incurably aggressive animals are put down even in no kill shelters, and I’m completely OK with that. It’s the killing of otherwise adoptable animals that I have an issue with.

Gimi the Chair Thief:

I may or may not do more blogging before Yom Kippur, so if I do not, I wish my fellow co-religionists an easy fast. May we all be sealed for a blessing in the book of Life.

Last night’s colorful, hazy sunset:

And a cat on my desk chair:

Why cat blogging? Because they’re a much-needed dose of perspective when Ben Bernanke powers up the helicopters.

Sometimes life is a pile of kitties.

Other times, it’s just a pile-on.