Purrs of Wisdom with Ingrid King

July 22, 2012

Sunday Purrs: Forgiveness

Guest post by Angie Bailey

The compassion of true forgiveness is the state of grace necessary to move forward with peace in our lives. Whether it’s forgiveness for others who we feel have wronged us or toward ourselves for self-directed resentments, nothing physically, mentally, emotionally or spiritually positive can arise from grudge-holding.

Cats have taught me a lot about forgiveness and unconditional love. Some mornings I’ve watched myself racing around, running late for work, completely ignoring my cat’s obvious affection-sharing efforts. When I arrive home later in the day, he’s completely forgotten the previous morning as we settle in for a sweet snuggle. In these types of situations, I’m much harder on myself than he is on me. I feel badly for not giving him the attention he wants and think about it during the day, sometimes telling myself I can be a better cat-mom. Does this persistent negative thinking serve anything? No. Certainly we can learn from our actions, but we absolutely don’t need to belabor scenarios for which we cannot go back and re-live.Continue Reading

July 15, 2012

Sunday Purrs: the power of surrender

Sunday Purrs| 18 Comments

Surrender is faith that the power of love can accomplish anything…
even when you cannot foresee the outcome. – Deepak Chopra

I admit it: I’m a control freak. I like predictability, consistency, and routine. Maybe that’s one of the many reasons why I love cats so much. They tend to thrive on those things, too. I often waste time trying to control, plan and prevent things that I can’t possibly control, plan and prevent. My cats don’t do this. Despite the fact that they’re creatures of habit, they seem to be much better at going with the flow.

This was really brought home to me during our recent two-day power outage. While I was stressed about not having air conditioning, internet access and refrigerated or cooked food, Allegra and Ruby simply went about their usual business. They trusted that they would be fed, loved and cared for, whether the power was on or not.

Given that we live in a world that’s anything but predictable, wanting to be in control of the universe can be frustrating, not to mention futile. Continue Reading

July 8, 2012

Sunday Purrs: what has your cat taught you about life?

Sunday Purrs| 31 Comments

I have always believed that cats come into our lives to teach us. First and foremost, they teach us about unconditional love. But they also teach us to stretch and grow, to reach beyond our self-imposed limits, and to expand our consciousness.

I’ve been blessed that I got to share my life with the original feline master teacher, Buckley, and the original conscious cat, Amber. Both of these cats changed my life in ways I never could have imagined.

And both inspired books. Many of you have already read Buckley’s Story. I’m currently working on a new book which will feature Amber, and will be both a prequel and sequel to Buckley’s Story. You’ll be hearing more about it very soon!

Buckley’s and Amber’s lessons ranged fromContinue Reading

July 5, 2012

Allegra and Ruby like it hot

Allegra's World, Ruby's Reflections| 23 Comments

Their mom, not so much. Actually, I do like hot weather and don’t mind temps in the 90’s – but not when those 90’s are inside my house.

We were affected by the massive power outage that hit the Mid Atlantic after a severe storm known as a “derecho,” a term I don’t ever want to see in a weather report again, came through here this past Friday night. But why don’t I let the girls tell you what happened.

Allegra: Friday night, we were all snuggled up in bed with Mom, and I had just started to drift off to sleep when out of nowhere, this rush of wind hit the side of the house. It felt like the whole house was shaking!

Ruby: Wha? What’s happening? I was sleeping!

Allegra: I jumped off the bed and ran to my safe place.

Ruby: Mom? Why are you getting up? We just went to bed!Continue Reading

July 4, 2012

Happy 4th of July 2012

Author's Life| 12 Comments

Happy Independence Day
from
Allegra, Ruby and Ingrid

Please keep your cats safe during the festivities. A cat’s sense of hearing is much more acute than ours, and so the noises are much more intent for them. Add to that the lack of understanding of what is going on and you can have a very scared cat on your hands. Here are some tips for helping your cat cope with fireworks, thunderstorms, and other loud noises:

Create a safe space for your cat. If you’re having a party, unless your cat is very social and doesn’t mind a lot of commotion, keep her confined to a quiet bedroom. Put her favorite blanket, bed or toys in with her, along with a litter box and fresh water. Shut the curtains and drapes and turn on lights to lessen the flash of the fireworks.Continue Reading

July 1, 2012

Sunday Purrs: Just for Today

Sunday Purrs| 8 Comments

Reiki is an energy therapy that originated in Japan. The word Reiki (pronounced “ray-key”) is a Japanese composite word usually translated as “universal life energy”. It is based on the idea that all living beings have life energy flowing through them. When life energy is high, you, or your cats, are healthy and balanced, more relaxed and less likely to get sick. When it is low, cats and humans alike will be more easily affected by stress and less resistant to illness. Reiki helps return the body to its natural state of balance and well-being.

One of the tenets of Reiki are the five principles, sometimes also known as the five precepts. These “rules to live by” are based on the teachings of Mikao Usui, who developed the practice in the 1920’s. And you don’t have to be a Reiki practitioner to find these principles helpful Continue Reading

June 27, 2012

Allegra, Ruby and The Taste Test

Allegra's World, Feline Nutrition, Ruby's Reflections| 8 Comments

September 2022 update:

Back in 2012, friends of mine started a small company making safe, locally sourced pet food. They were involved in every aspect of the food they made, from farm to bowl. Their meat and produce was sourced from local farmers who follow humane practices. Pawgevity owners Carole and Norman King personally visited each farm they work with. Sadly, the company didn’t survive.

Back then, I had an opportunity to visit Pawgevity’s offices. Located in a refurbished former railroad depot, the offices featured giant high ceilings, whitewashed brick walls, dark wood floors, a cozy seating area for visitors, and, of course, a freezer full of their products. I got to visit their spotless kitchen, where they prepared the organic produce that goes into the food. After a tour of the premises, and chatting with Carole and Norm for a while over ice cold lemonade, I was delighted to find out that they are adding a new line of rabbit food to their product offering.

Rabbit is Allegra and Ruby’s favorite food, and when Carole and Norm offered me a sample of their new product, I knew my two girls would be absolutely delighted. But why don’t I let them tell you.

Ruby: Allegra, Mom is getting our dinner out of the fridge! Come quick!

Allegra: I’m coming, Ruby, I’m coming. You know it always takes her a few minutes to get everything ready for us.

Ruby: I know, Allegra, but it goes much quicker if we sit there and stare at her! And even quicker if I rub against her legs the whole time!

Allegra: You just keep on believing that, little one. Oooh – wait! Something smells different!

Ruby: It smells so good! I’m starving! Mom, hurry up! Can’t you see I’m practically wasting away?

Allegra: I think Mom has a new food for us, Ruby.

Ruby: I smell it, too. Do you think we’ll like it? I don’t always like everything she gives us.

Allegra: I like everything Mom gives us. It’s not nice to be fussy, Ruby.

Ruby: Hurry up, Mom! Me first, me first!

Allegra: You always get yours first, Ruby. You think you’d know that by now.

Ruby: Thanks, Mom. Oooh, this is so good!

Allegra: It is different. Unlike you, Ruby, I’m going to take a careful lick first to make sure I’m really going to like it. Hmm. This is tasty. I like it! What do you think, Ruby?

Ruby: Nom nom nom nom nom.

June 25, 2012

BlogPaws 2012: Catification, cat bloggers and one very special cat

Author's Life| 25 Comments

I spent the last three days in Salt Lake City, Utah with about 400 of my fellow pet bloggers at BlogPaws 2012. This was my second BlogPaws experience, and it was even better than last year’s conference in Tysons Corner, VA. From attending top-notch presentations by blogging and social media experts to networking with other bloggers, the weekend was a blur of learning, networking, and socializing.

But as was the case last year, the highlight of the conference for me was connecting and reconnecting with so many of my blogging friends, including Robin Olson of Covered in Cat Hair, Stephanie Harwin of Catsparella, Joanne McGonagle of The Tiniest Tiger Conservation Cub Club, Tamar Arslanian of I Have Cat, Angie Bailey of Catladyland, Deb Barnes of The Chronicles of Zee and Zoey, Janea Kelley of Paws and Effect, Janiss Garza of Sparkle Cat, Karen Nichols of Mousebreath, Debbie Glovatsky of Glogirly and so many others. I was especially delighted to finally get to meet Peter Wolf of Vox Felina.Continue Reading

June 24, 2012

Sunday Purrs: stop procrastinating

Sunday Purrs| 10 Comments

Don’t postpone joy until you have learned all of your lessons. Joy is your lesson. – Alan Cohen

Are you a procrastinator? Do you habitually put off doing things you know you should be doing now?

According to Wikipedia, procrastination is defined as the act of replacing high-priority actions with tasks of lower priority, or doing something from which one derives enjoyment, and thus putting off important tasks to a later time.

But there’s more to procrastination than just not getting things done. Contrary to what many people believe, procrastination is not a time management problem. Procrastination is about postponing the life you were meant to live. It keeps us from living in the moment, from living a life filled with joy.

Procrastination is about fear, and living your life from a place of fear leads to living a very small life. Continue Reading

June 20, 2012

Ruby’s Reflections: Ruby and the Tree Branch

Ruby's Reflections| 25 Comments

Ruby-window-perch

Hi everyone, it’s Ruby! Mom has been hogging the blog, and it’s about time that I get to write something. I’ve been a busy little kitten, helping Mom work, playing with my sister, and trying really hard to stay out of trouble.

But what I really want to tell you about is the excitement we had here a couple of days ago. Let me set the scene: we have a lot of really big trees in our backyard. I love sitting on my window perch next to Mom’s desk, and looking out over the backyard. There’s always something going on: there are birds, and squirrels, and occasionally even bunnies and foxes. And one of the big tree branches was so close to the window that sometimes, I came eye to eye with a bird or squirrel! I love that!

Well, apparently, Mom doesn’t love that particular branch as much as I do, because I’ve heard her muttering that “we need to do something about this.” I didn’t know what that meant. What on earth could be wrong with a tree branch that provided daily entertainment for me?Continue Reading

June 10, 2012

Sunday Purrs: The Conscious Catwoman Explains Life on Earth

Sunday Purrs| 11 Comments

How many of you remember the old Batman TV series from the 1960’s, featuring Julie Newmar as the original Catwoman?

On a recent Google search, I came across Julie Newmar’s first book, The Conscious Catwoman Explains Life on Earth. With a title like that, how could I not be intrigued?

I knew it wasn’t a cat book, but I asked for a review copy anyway. I usually run book reviews on Fridays, but this book is such a perfect fit for our Sunday Purrs feature, I decided to share it today.

The book claims to be (tongue in cheek) the self-help book to end all self-help books,Continue Reading

Happy Independence Day from Allegra, Ruby and Ingrid

Happy Independence Day
from
Allegra, Ruby and Ingrid