MSI Press Blog

  This is a series of Caturday posts on the topic of taking in  feral cats .  General information (from previous posts): For a few decades, we have rescued feral cats. In fact, with only one exception, our "domestic" cats have been ferals that we brought inside to join other ferals, already domesticated, as part of a bonded cat family. Right now, we have five cats (alas,  Murjan , the single non-feral cat we had, died from cancer last fall, and  Intrepid , closely bonded to Murjan, died three years ago from the same kind of cancer, and, most recently, Snyezhka , who had been valiantly fighting three kinds of cancer, died from a saddle thrombus, probably related to her chemotherapy but, of course, no one is going to suggest that and it really does not matter since knowing exactly what caused the reason for her death won't bring her back). All five of our feral cats get along pretty fabulously -- and they also got along well with the three predecessors. Of course, all of th

Author: Patricia Lorenz Book : 57 Steps to Paradise What possessed you to write a tell-all book about your past dates, husbands and interim boyfriends?      When I moved to Florida in 2004 I met many women who were divorced and widowed, mostly in their 50's, 60's, 70's and 80’s.  I myself was single at that time having spent the last 27 years of my life raising my four children as a single parent.  I was married, divorced and annulled twice before that.  In Florida I met a number of men and finally married one in my 60’s.  Because I had met, known and dated a number of men over the years I decided to write a book about my experiences to share with my friends and anyone who is looking for love and perhaps a second or third marriage in their mid-life and later.             What is your favorite story in the book?        My favorite story is the one titled “Mr. Underpants”.  In that story I go from dating or at least meeting over a d

  Excerpt from Helping the Disabled Veteran Kindle Paperback Introduction On a beautiful sunny day, I found myself sitting on a bench in the Ormond Museum Memorial Gardens, sur- rounded by tall palm trees and lush foliage next to a small pond dotted with water lilies. It was December 7th, Pearl Harbor Day, a fitting time to visit this park, which was founded by the City of Ormond Beach, Florida as “a living monument to creative freedom and equality of all persons, and to commemorate the service of World War II veterans who fought valiantly for that ideal.” Inside the Museum there is a bronze plaque inscribed with the names of Ormond Beach residents who fought in the war, with an honor roll commemorating those who perished. The Museum does not limit itself to veterans of World War II. On the grounds we can find a monument for local soldiers who died in World War I, and more recently, two more memorials were added—one dedicated to soldiers of the Vietnam War and another to veterans of t

  Today's book excerpt comes from Widow: How to Survive (and Thrive!) in Your 2nd, 3rd, and 4th Years  by Joanna Romer. Year Two Carving Out a Place for Yourself Nothing in my previous experience prepared me for being a widow, not my 40 years of job experience, ranging from Cosmopolitan Magazine to St. John’s University; not my 25 years of marriage to my beloved husband, Jack; not even my five years of worrying about Jack as he slowly become fatally ill. The widow experience is, as I’m sure you’ll agree, unprecedented. We can’t sugarcoat being a widow. After a year of widowhood, you’ve probably figured that out. It’s hard, it’s a struggle, it’s not something that goes away like the flu. And, unless you get married again, you’re going to be a widow from now on. Yet, believe it or not, you can get used to it. I feel pretty good about my widow status now, although it’s taken me awhile the reach that plateau---4 ½ years. The first year was a killer, wasn’t it? The depression, the pain

  Happy Cat was so named because of his cheerful, laid-back, cool, and chill nature. An outdoor who always kept his distance, he approached us for help when he came down with a lung disease and was close to death. At the time, he was somewhere between two and four years of age. That was 2012. He has been with us since, joining our cat family of four at the time, and welcoming new cats into the fold as the family grew to six in number. Happy Cat was the beta cat, grooming and nurturing the other cats, especially the new ones. All the cats are indoor cats only; Happy Cat helped our rescued cats adjust to being inside and having a family. First after Happy Cat came Snyezhka . He knew her from his street days, and he seemed so happy to show her around the house. He groomed ger several times a day, and they slept together. After Snyezhka came Bobolink , afraid to venture forth from his cubby on the cat tree in the cat room; one full day with Happy Cat took care of that. Happy Cat lured him

  When our alpha cat, Murjan , died, I thought that Happy Cat, Murjan's best pal and truly a pal to all the cats, would take over as alpha, keeping all the remaining six cats in line. That did not happen. Happy Cat earned his name by his mellowness. Our biggest cat at 16 pounds, he is our gentlest.  Integrating cats into healthy cat families and growing happy cat families is indeed tricky business. But it is easier with a beta. Happy Cat has shown us that again and again and again and again. Simone lived under the bed. She had been afraid of her shadow ever since we rescued her from human bullying on the street. Born a stray, she found houses intimidating, but there was safety under the bed. Of course, she would come out to eat, and we would cheer whenever she chose to spend some time in the sun. Then, a couple of years later, along came Happy Cat. While Simone still finds security in being under the bed, she comes out a lot more often and interacts with Happy Cat, the only cat she