Sunday Purrs: learn to be still

Sunday Purrs| 9 Comments

Allegra_learn_to_be_still

It is the still, small voice that the soul heeds, not the deafening blasts of doom. –  William Dean Howells

“Learn to Be Still” is the fourth track on When Hell Freezes Over, the first album released by the Eagles in 1994 after a fourteen year silence. The album title is a reference to Don Henley’s comment after the 1980 breakup that the band would play together again “when hell freezes over.”

The song became my anthem that year.

1994 was an extremely challenging year for me: within a four-month period, my marriage of thirteen years ended and my mother died. After emerging from the initial shock and grief, I went through a period of re-examining my life and beginning my journey of finding my bliss. Those of you who’ve read me for a while already know that cats have been the catalyst (pun intended) for some very major life changes for me. What you may not know is that music is also very important to me. Continue Reading

Sunday Purrs: Finding Your Bliss

Sunday Purrs| 30 Comments

 Ingrid_King_The_Conscious_Cat

I was recently interviewed by Julie Shubin, a labor law attorney and adjunct professor at George Mason University, for her labor blog Helitzer Blouse Girl: A Modern American Labor Journal, where she features a “day in the life” series of people from all walks of life. In her profile, Julie called me “a modern day renaissance woman, finding a way to fit all her passions into a small business.”

I was incredibly flattered by this description, because I don’t really think of myself that way. But as I thought about it a little more, I realized that I’ve been on a journey of following my bliss for more than two decades now. Since my current bliss  involves writing about and working with cats, and since cats played a significant role in finding that bliss, I thought I’d share a little more about my journey today.Continue Reading

Allegra’s World: Conquering Fears

Allegra's World| 22 Comments

cat_tree_tortoiseshell_cat

Hi everyone! Today, I get to brag a little about myself!

Those of you who’ve known me for a while may remember that I used to be really scared of loud noises and storms. It wasn’t just thunderstorms that scared me – even a heavy rain storm would make me run for one of my safe places.

I have a bunch of those. My favorite one is behind the shower curtain in the downstairs bathroom. It’s dark and safe down there, and I can’t hear the sound of the rain on the roof or against the windows. I also like to hide inside the kitchen cabinets (and before Mom discovered that hiding place, I scared her really badly when she couldn’t find me anywhere in the house one day).

I know Mom always felt bad for me when I got scared, and she tried everthing she could think of to help me. Continue Reading

Ruby’s Reflections: First Anniversary

Ruby's Reflections| 41 Comments

Tortoiseshell_cat_on_bed

Today is my first adoption anniversary! I’ve been here with my Mom and sister Allegra a whole year!

I had no idea what to expect when Mom picked me up at my foster home. But look how happy Mom was that day! Even though I was really nervous about what was happening, her happy energy made me feel good.

Ingrid with Ruby

I know my new sister wasn’t too crazy about me when I first arrived. Mom broke all the rules of proper cat to cat introductions, and just let me out of the carrier when we arrived at my new home. I immediately started exploringContinue Reading

Sunday Purrs: spring cleaning

Sunday Purrs| 14 Comments

tortoiseshell_cat_forget_me_nots

Spring is a time of new beginning. Nature renews itself, at first slowly, like those first spring flowers peeking out from underneath the dull winter grass, and eventually bursting into full bloom as the days become longer and warmer.

Spring can also be a time for mental and spiritual renewal, and for this, we can take our clues from nature. It’s time to emerge from the darkness of winter, time to open windows and doors to let the spring breezes in, both physically and in a larger sense.

For many people, this is also traditionally a time for spring cleaning – there is something very satisfying about airing out rooms that were closed up for most of the winter months, clearing cobwebs out of forgotten corners, and getting the dust bunnies out from under the bed. Clearing the clutter and getting organized for the new season on a physical level can also help clear your mental and psychic energy. Cluttered environments drain our energy. Continue Reading

Allegra’s World: Adoption Anniversary

Allegra's World| 13 Comments

tortoiseshell_cat_coloring

Today is my adoption anniversary! I’ve been in my forever home for two years now! Back then, I thought that day was the happiest day of my life for sure. But every day since then has been even happier, and things got even better when Ruby joined us last year.

I love my life! I love my Mom, and I love my little sister, even if she sometimes is a pain in the you know what. We have so much fun together, and Mom makes our lives so nice.

Look how tiny I was back then!

tortoiseshell_kitten

When I first came here, my big sister Amber taught me how things were done in my new home. Continue Reading

Ruby’s Reflections: House Cleaning

Ruby's Reflections| 13 Comments

tortoiseshell_cat_by_window

Hi, everyone! It’s Ruby! Mom says I have a “propensity to get myself in trouble.” I think that’s human speak for “I know how to have fun!”

The other day, I was helping Mom clean the house. I like almost everything about that, except for when Mom brings out the big scary monster. It’s this big blue thing with a long tail, and it makes this really scary noise. And it moves all over the house, and eats stuff that is in its path. I hide all the way in the corner of the living room behind an end table when the monster is running free, because I know it can’t get back there. I don’t know why Allegra isn’t afraid of that thing – she actually follows it around the house!

Other than the monster, though, helping  Mom clean is great fun. Allegra and I both like to bat at the lambswool duster. It’s like a big fuzzy toy, and we like to try and subdue it! I think Mom likes when we help her, because she always praises us, and we even get treats after the big monster goes away.

But the other day, I guess I did something Mom wasn’t thrilled with. She had sprayed something on a small stain on the carpet, and then turned away to grab a paper towel. I immediately went to investigate. There was some white bubbly stuff there that looked very interesting. I cautiously stuck my paw in it. Next thing I know, I hear Mom scream “Ruby, no!”Continue Reading

Sunday Purrs: Replace fear with love

Sunday Purrs| 12 Comments

Buckley's Story: Lessons from a Feline Master Teacher by Ingrid King

Let go of fear, embrace change, and move toward joy. – Buckley

This was one of Buckley’s most profound lessons for me. I had grown up being a worrier. I could easily come up with the worst possible scenario for any given situation and turn it over in my mind endlessly, to the point where I often ended up paralyzed with fear. I knew that this propensity to worry was holding me back from really letting myself live my life to its fullest potential.

When I began to understand and really believe that we have the power to control our thoughts and that our thoughts are vibrations that affect what we experience in our reality, I was able to short-circuit the fear and worry cycle more easily. It became clear to me that wasting time being afraid of something that might never happen would only attract the very thing I did not want into my experience. Worrying also made a statement that I did not trust in the wisdom of the universe. I knew on a deep level that things would always work out.  With time, it became easier to redirect my thoughts away from fears about the future and focus on the present moment instead.

Buckley reminded me of this every dayContinue Reading

The Day that Changed Three Lives

Author's Life| 52 Comments

tortoiseshell kitten

March 31 is an important day for Allegra, Ruby and me. On March 31, 2010, I met Allegra for the first time. The same day a year later, I met Ruby for the first time. I’m not even sure what to call this day. Meeting Day? First Look Day? At any rate, it was a day that changed three lives.

I found Allegra on the Facebook page of a lcoal animal hospital. I contacted the adoption coordinator, who told me that Allegra had just arrived at the clinic after living in a foster home, and that they didn’t really know much about her yet. I made arrangements to meet her. That March 31, I spent about an hour in an exam room with her. The photo above was taken that day. She was your typical ADHD kitten – discovering and exploring everything, whether it was a stethoscope hanging from a hook on the wall or a syringe cap on the floor.

She didn’t pay all that much attention to me, but I started to fall in love with her anyway.Continue Reading

Allegra and Ruby on bedtime rituals

Allegra's World, Ruby's Reflections| 39 Comments

tortoiseshell cats on bed

Allegra and Ruby sleep with me every night, which makes bedtime one of my favorite times of the day. Most nights, Allegra joins me first, usually within a few minutes of me going to bed. Ruby tends to be busy at night and often has mysterious Ruby things to tend to before she joins us an hour or two later. But why don’t I let them tell you about bedtime rituals at our house.

Allegra: I love when bedtimes gets near – it’s one of my favorite times of the day, too! I can tell we’re getting close when Mom brings out the toothbrush and toothpaste. She brushes Ruby’s and my teeth, and then we get a treat.

Ruby: Yay, treats! I don’t mind having my teeth brushed, but the treat is the best! It’s really big, and before I eat it, I bat it all over the house! Wee!!!

Allegra: You’re so silly chasing that treat, Ruby.Continue Reading