Vinnie came to us from the Humane Society of Bexar County after being rescued from the streets. He had been at the shelter only two days when we found him and decided to adopt. So far, he has passed all of his health checkups, but to be safe we are taking him to our regular veterinarian at the Alamo Feline Health Center.

Of course, he is already running us ragged. As I figure it, he sleeps for 3 minute periods every two or three hours, while bouncing off of the walls the rest of the time. One nice thing is that he appears to be box trained already. Also, he has started to take a real liking to both of us.

Getting over Ernie’s passing was never going to be easy; however Vinnie is making it easier just by being here and being himself.

So much more than just a cat or family pet, Ernie was a family member and trusted friend. For over 19 years, he was a loving companion who was always ready to give you attention and ignore you to his heart’s content.

I met Ernie when he was about to turn five years old. This was about the time that Rene and I were starting to get serious about one another, and there is no doubt in my mind that I was being brought before him for approval. I don’t remember if I was more nervous about meeting Ernie or my soon-to-be-wife’s family. Ernie was a little timid with me at first, if only because he was looking out for Rene. Rene had nursed Ernie from just a couple weeks after birth, and I do not believe it to be any exageration to say that Ernie treated Rene like his mother.

After a few years, Ernie warmed up to me enough that if he wanted to take a nap, he would seek me out and then do anything he could to get me to sit down in my recliner. Once seated, he stretched out across my upper chest and placed his head next to my left ear and fell asleep. This almost always led to me falling asleep, and I used call Ernie my “furry, gray sleeping pill.”

These past few years were rough on Ernie. He had numerous gastrointestinal problems, which put him on the surgeon’s table a few times. He always seemed to come right back after a procedure, but after his last procedure he just didn’t seem to recover like he used to. He didn’t seem to have any fight left in him; he just looked tired and each and every time he looked at me it broke my heart. I knew it was time to let him go, and that letting him go was unquestionably the right thing to do, but that sure didn’t make it any easier. I fear that Rene may not recover for a long, long time.

So, my friend and late-night TV buddy has gone on to a better place, and Rene and I are left to deal with an afterimage of his life. We are undoubtedly better off for having known and loved him, which makes this all-the-more difficult to cope and deal with. If you have a feline family member, please take the time to pick them up and let them know that you love them. Spend a little time Sunday morning in bed with them, play with them or simply take a nap with them. Rene and I did this often with Ernie, and our lives are the richer for it.

Raccoons have killed about 10 cats in a three-block area near the Garfield Nature Trail at Harrison Avenue West and Foote Street Southwest.

Problem wildlife coordinator Sean Carrell of the state Department of Fish and Wildlife called the situation “bizarre, weird.”

“I’ve never heard a report of 10 cats being killed. It’s something we’re going to have to monitor,” he said. He added that they may have to bring in trappers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The problem got so bad that residents Kari Hall and Tamara Keeton even started a Raccoon Watch after having an emotional neighborhood meeting attended by about 40 people.

It gets even stranger:

One thing that makes these raccoons scary is they have no fear. One neighbor threw firecrackers at them to try to scare them off, and it didn’t even bug them, Hall said.

“It’s a new breed,” Keeton said. “They’re urban raccoons, and they’re not afraid.”

“There’s one really big bad dude,” she added.

“He was the biggest raccoon I’ve ever seen. He was a monster,” added Tony Benjamins, whose family has had two cats killed.

No doubt the liberals in Washington State are asking things like, “Why do the raccoons hate us?” When I first read this, my first thought was that the people in the area had been feeding the raccoons for a long time, so now the raccoons are not afraid of the people and have become bolder. Sure enough:

The neighbors hired trapper Tom Brown, a nuisance wildlife control operator from Rochester.

Brown said of the raccoons, “They are in command up there.”

He said he’s seen packs this big, but none so into killing. There was one in Rochester that killed a peacock last winter and another in Grand Mound that killed three chickens. But nothing like this.

Brown said there is an overabundance of food in the area with many fruit trees.

“And the good folks feed them. They’re cute as a bug’s ear,” he said, adding, “I wouldn’t mind being a raccoon up there.”

I wonder how cute they are when they’re walking away with your kitty cat in their little paws?

Turns out that the animals are rather smart:

Brown said he hasn’t trapped more because raccoons are intelligent. They teach their young, the same as beavers do. He said one big male boar is the main killer, and he’s tasted blood, and he wants more. He’s usually helped by one or two others.

“The boar’s likely been in a live trap before,” Brown said.

Carrell added: “It’s highly unlikely you will ever trap him again, and he’ll teach the others to stay away.”

Maybe they can be transplanted to the local PETA chapter’s president’s home for protection.

If you see this guy on the road, you might want to pull off to the side!

The poor kitten only lived a single day before it died. Here’s the story from Yahoo News:

Cy, short for Cyclopes, a kitten born with only one eye and no nose, is shown in this photo provided by its owner in Redmond, Oregon, on Wednesday, Dec. 28, 2005. The kitten, a ragdoll breed, which died after living for one day, was one of two in the litter. Its sibling was born normal and healthy. (AP Photo/Traci Allen)

Sometimes you just have to thank God for what you have.

UPDATE: This story has been confirmed true by Snoopes.com.

First up is his usual position for about two-thirds of the day:

At the time this was taken, he had tired of giving me advice about what tweaks I should make to the WordPress blogging software. For a cat, he is amazingly well-informed about such things.

This next picture is what I see every morning before I leave for either work or dialysis:

The only difference is usually his mouth is wide open with a lot of noise coming out of it!

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. – This will probably be the first time a dog’s memorial service is attended by 300 cats.

A schnauzer-Siberian husky mix named Ginny will be eulogized Nov. 19 at the Westchester Cat Show, where she was named Cat of the Year in 1998 for her uncanny skill and bravery in finding and rescuing endangered felines. She died in August at age 17.

Ginny once threw herself against a vertical pipe at a construction site to topple it and reveal the kittens trapped inside. Another time she ignored the cuts on her paws as she dug through a box of broken glass to find an injured cat inside.

Her owner, Philip Gonzalez of Long Beach, said Thursday that he has tried to train other dogs to rescue cats like Ginny, but “They just didn’t have it.�

Ginny, a schnauzer-Siberian husky mix, relaxes with Blondie, the cat he lived with in Long Beach, N.Y., in the home of Philip Gonzalez in 1996. Ginny, who died in August, will be eulogized at the Westchester Cat Show.

Thanks to everyone who kept him in their thoughts. Our boy is home and we couldn’t be happier.

Well, on Firday we found out that Ernie has three stones in his bladder. These stones are about the size of small marbles, and are causing Ernie a good deal of trouble whenever he tries to use his litterbox. In fact, the only reason we knew something was wrong with him is because one day last week, he specifically urinated on the newspaper, and almost all of it was blood. He hasn’t acted like he was in any pain, and he has beeen as active as he normally is, so this was the only way he could show us that he needed attention. Needless to say, he got all of our attention immediately.

Friday afternoon, we took him to see his vet at the Alamo Feline Health Center, and his vet took a sonagram of his bladder and easily found the stones. There are three of them, and I have started referring to them as “Larry, Curly and Moe.” Ernie hates to ride in the car, so we boarded him at the vet’s office and he will have his procedure on Monday. If he tolerates the surgery well, we will take him home on Tuesday.

Now, some people may think that spending close to $1,000 for this procedure on a cat is a waste of time and money, but I can’t disagree with you more. Ernie has woven himself into a full-fledged member of our family over the past 15 years. My wife had purchased him from a pet store when he was so small he could fit into the palm of her hand. He was also too young to have been separated from his mother, so my wife had to bottle feed him for a while before he could eat regular kitten food. Ernie and my wife are really, really close and I have no doubt that the cat actually thinks of her as his mother.

When I met Ernie, he was 5 years old and was a little standoffish. He would come up and sniff me, but if I tried to pick him up or pet him, he would run away. A few months after I started to seriously date Rene, I guess he noticed that I would be hanging around a lot as he started to become more and more friendly towards me. By the time Rene and I got married in 1997, he had pretty much accepted me as someone whom he could trust, and we got along famously.

Over the past few years, Ernie and I have grown a lot closer. When I sit in my recliner, no more than a minute or two goes by before I feel his four paws land on my lap. If I am late getting home from work, he paces back and forth on the back of our sofa, waiting for me to open the door. When I do open the door, he starts yelling at me until I pick him up and give him some attention. Finally, if I am in bed and he gets into the bedroom, I can be sure that soon he will be licking my hair as a signal to lift up the blanket so he can get under it and cuddle up to me and go to sleep. In short, I have become very, very close to him.

It is tough on us to have Ernie gone for these few days to get well. The house seems very empty and we both miss his antics. Most of all, we miss the affection he shows us by rubbing up against us, jumping into our laps, or yelling at us when get home. If you have some time today, we would appreciate it if you could keep Ernie in your thoughts. I know his vet is the best there is, so I have no doubt the surgery will go well, but still, we are concerned. Paying for this will be a burden, so if you have a dollar or two to spare you can use the Tip Jar in the sidebar if you want. I know Ernie would appreciate it, and so would Rene and I.

UPDATE: Just talked to the vet, and they ended up removing 5 stones from Ernie’s bladder. They were each the size of a pea. He tolerated the surgery well and is now recovering. I will go see him at lunch time to make sure he’s okay and knows that we haven’t abandoned him.

UPDATE II: Just got back from visiting Ernie in the hospital. He is still a little groggy, but he recognized me and was glad to see me. I spent a few minutes with him, rubbing his ears and letting him rub his head up against me. I was surpirsed that they did not have a “lampshade” on him (to keep him from chewing on his stiches), but he didn’t seem to be in any kind of hurry to poke around down there. We should be able to take him home tomorrow after 2:00 p.m., so my wife is already counting down the minutes.

A cat in Dobson, N.C., is believed to be the only cat in the world with two tongues, according to a Local 6 News report.

The cat, named Five Toes, was born with two tongues and five toes on each paw.

Do you think he can meow in stereo?