“Haeresis est maxima, opera maleficarum non credere” ~Malleus Maleficarum
(The greatest of all heresies is the disbelief in witchcraft)
“My goal is to always come from a place of love, but sometimes I just have to break it down for a motherfucker.” ~RuPaul
“Character contributes to beauty. It fortifies a woman as her youth fades. A mode of conduct, a standard of courage, discipline, fortitude, and integrity can do a great deal to make a woman beautiful.” ~Jacqueline Bisset
…(although with all due respect to the ever wonderful Ms. Bisset, I’d say the same holds true for men as well ~ Geoffrey)
“Keep pure your highest ideal; strive ever towards it;
let nothing stop you or turn you aside.”
~From The Charge of the Goddess by Doreen Valliente
“The emotional health of a village depended upon having a man whom everyone loved to hate, and Heaven had blessed us with two of them.”
— Barry Hughart (Bridge of Birds: A Novel of an Ancient China That Never Was)
“Science is a method of talking about the Universe in terms that bind it to a common reality. Magick is a way of speaking to the Universe in words that it cannot ignore.” –Neil Gaiman
“I’m selfish, impatient and a little insecure. I make mistakes, I am out of control and at times hard to handle. But if you can’t handle me at my worst, then you sure as hell don’t deserve me at my best.” — Marilyn Monroe
“Don’t be pushed by your problems…be lead by your dreams” ~ Unknown
“In the Midst of Winter, I finally learned there was in me an invincible Summer.” ~ Albert Camus
“The care of human life and happiness, and not their destruction, is the first and only legitimate object of good government.” ~ Thomas Jefferson
(NOTE: There is, at best, dark irony embodied in this quote given it’s source was a slave-holder. The sentiment remains true however. It is only by confronting the complexity and truths and folly’s and tragic failings of the past that we are able to learn from it move forward from it and appropriately engage with it and with our Ancestors and their legacies.)
“Men of genius are admired, men of wealth are envied, men of power are feared; but only men of character are trusted.” ~ Alfred Adler
“There is nothing in which people more betray their character than in what they laugh at.” ~ Goethe
“Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth.”
— Franklin D. Roosevelt
“Difficulties are meant to rouse, not discourage. The human spirit is to grow strong by conflict.”
-William Ellery Channing
“It is not the critic who counts, nor the man who points out how the strong man stumbled, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs and comes short again and again; who knows great enthusiasms, great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who, at the best, knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who, at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those timid souls who know neither victory nor defeat.”
– Theodore Roosevelt
“To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else, is the greatest accomplishment.” – Emerson
Well, Tiger is a cat really. But as I am finding out, they are always your little kitten when you’ve raised them…. if this is one/one millionth of what a parent feels I am SO never, never going to give my father grief the next time he asks me if I have an umbrella and a coat cause he saw a news report of rain in Florida!
Chrysalis 
I want to share some of what I learned about cats while working for the finest holistic vet in the country.
Cats are a desert species, and as such they get their moisture primarily from their food. They have a very poor sense of thirst, and healthy cats don’t drink water very often. No matter what happens, get Tiger off of dry food as quickly as you can – it’s no healthier than a diet of pizza and beer.
My old boss’ blog can be found at http://holvet.blogspot.com. While I worked for her Dr. Yasson cured blindness and diabetes in cats, and once she cleared a full urinary tract blockage in a male cat entirely with herbal and homeopathic treatment – while the cat was 200 miles away.
My heart goes out to you and Tiger, and my thoughts are on his recovery. I know what you mean about him being your “kitten.”
I’ll second Terence’s comment.
I also don’t give male cats any fish flavored foods; I understand that can cause bladder crystals that result in a cat’s urethra becoming blocked and requiring expensive surgery to correct and save the cat’s life.
We’ll be pulling for Tiger. Freyja and Bast watch over him. Keep us updated!
Thanks folks!
Terrence,
Thank you for the information about nutrition, and for the link to the Holistic Vet blog! Very helpful, and The Big Guy tells me that orange tiger stripe cats like our Tiger tend to have a bit more health problems than other types of cat… possibly related to the same genes that result in their tiger striping.
Tracy,
Is that just fish flavored items? We have some science diet salmon stuff for kittens… since he’s been sick we figured the kitten food would help him put back on some of the weight he’s lost… actual fish based food should be fine shouldn’t it?
And seriously, both of you, thank you for the posts and the kindness!
Peace,
Pax
Just to be on the safe side, I keep Gustav away from anything even fish-flavored. My mother went through the bladder crystals thing with her cat Rocky. It was expensive and stressful for Rocky, so I figure better to not even tempt fate.
Tiger, the kitty, is back home and doing well! Blog post to follow later…
Thanks to you both for commenting and sharing!