Of villianous political ploys & sweet therapeutic pussycats

Gov. Phil Murphy’s jarring, cruel post-election decision for a bear hunt after all can’t be ignored here. (That “all” included long, laborious efforts by the Animal Protection League of New Jersey [APLNJ] – with other animal advocates as well – to convince the governor and his staff of humane ways to treat NJ bears.)

When right after his election win Murphy suddenly saw great need for a bear hunt, his lame excuses and pumped-up rationales drew furious reactions, deservedly so.  I agree with the most vociferous of them, only starting with “political ploy,” to describe his seeming agreement with those against the hunt . . . until the election.

And now: the hunt: innocent bears’ lives needlessly lost for political power.  https://tinyurl.com/bddkz32c     

Ta-da! A happy family announcement

Jersey (in camera's tan mode)

Meet Jersey, a little cat I recently adopted to join Billy, my dear tuxedo now almost 16 years old, and me.  And what an addition he has become in little more than a month!  

Wanting to provide a warm and loving home to an older cat, the kind I think of as most deserving, I first met Jersey last summer in a pet store where he was “displayed” for adoption by an area shelter.

But then, he needed extensive treatment for a major ear infection, and recovery time, before being cleared for adoption.  That’s when I came back in.  

Jersey is estimated to be 9 years old.  He was an outdoor cat for most of his life, I was told, and most of his teeth are gone.  He has never lived in a house before.

Billy 

From a cat with Jersey’s age and background, I expected a quiet, retiring guy who napped even more than the average cat, settled comfortably in a home instead of a cage or the great outdoors. 

But I’ve quickly learned from Jersey that a 2-in-1 cat -- or “elderly kitten” -- has in fact joined Billy and me.  He’s a curious, noisy, hungry, active live wire, whose behavior belies his age, delightfully. 

He’s low-slung and terrifically cute, I think, with soft fur of many colors – spotted gray, white, tan – and a fat, striped “raccoon tail” that’s mostly white underneath, down through his belly.  Does all that make him a “gray calico tabby”?  

Jersey’s winning ways include cozying up when petted around his head, raising his rump when petted back there, and balletically batting me or the air (with paws, not nails) to say “enough petting now.”

Jersey (in true gray) 

On his own, Jersey looks around, gets into or climbs up everything possible and often accompanies his explorations with repeated loud cries – I’m guessing for attention or to signal “Eureka!  Look what I just discovered!”  Anyway, there’s never much doubt about where he is.

He’s fascinated by the cat (also gray with white paws) reflected in the glass doors of the fireplace.  I haven’t turned it on yet, unable to guess what Jersey might do on seeing fire there instead of that cat.  Staying nearby and watching may suffice.

His gait can be a little stiff when he wakes up, but it quickly smooths out.  To see Jersey bat small fabric balls around, then chase them, and start over till he finally flops on the floor and rolls over . . . is a happy surprise.  I had wondered whether he would play or even know how to play – but now I know.  

As Jersey is new to a home, I’m new, after nearly 20 years, to introducing a new cat here.  I’m especially intent on his successfully joining Billy, then both cats living together harmoniously.  For me, this holiday season offers a prime time to focus on feline basic training and the three of us bonding – and relaxing.

So begins the saga of Jersey, the Summers family’s “senior baby cat.”  If you’re guessing you’ll see much more about all that here, you’re right.  And I’ll welcome your thoughts!

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‘And now for something completely different’: rabbits!

Forget about all the cartoon and fictional rabbits you may be familiar with.  Let’s talk about pet rabbits, their growing popularity and numbers – and how to assure they enjoy healthy, happy lives. 

The best person to discuss all this is Janine Motta, an animal advocate who has served for eight years as executive director of the New Jersey House Rabbit Society and who dearly loves her own six bunnies.

“House rabbit” is the correct term for such bunnies, who are not the wild cottontails we might spot in our back yards.  (In fact, it’s illegal in NJ to keep the wild cottontail rabbit captive.)  House rabbits are descended from European rabbits.

Motta’s bunny love began when as a child, she was given one as an Easter present.  While many pet rabbits start that way, she says, it can end badly if they join families clueless about taking care of rabbits.  Then the worst can happen to these fragile pets: injury, illness, abandonment or death.

When Motta later volunteered at a shelter, she quickly noticed the rabbit residents were “third class citizens,” so when she left, she took six bunnies with her, thereby “cleaning out” the rabbit area.   

The rabbits who call her Hunterdon county home their house are all named, spay-neutered and live in pairs, which she describes as “the sweetest thing.”  But, she cautions, “It’s an art to introduce rabbits to one another.  You can’t just put two rabbits together.”  

One reason: they’re territorial, and even siblings are not necessarily bonded rabbits.  Two males are the hardest to bond, then two females.

Motta’s domesticated companion rabbits have included various breeds and colors, including some whose straight ears had been bred into “lop ears” -- floppy instead of erect.  Cute, no doubt, but she notes that such bunnies can’t express themselves as well as others with their ears, and the different shapes of their heads can lead to teeth problems.

Considering rabbits, so appealingly small, soft and cuddly-looking creatures, it’s easy to understand how people looking for a pet might confuse live bunnies with the stuffed animal-rabbits out there: plush feel, mild mannered, liftable and huggable.

But Motta knows better, and her rabbit savvy shatters countless false assumptions about bunnies.  First of all, she says, a rabbit is “definitely not a great starter pet,” adding, “They have requirements beyond those of cats and dogs.”

Serious research should precede deciding to get a pet rabbit.  “They’re not easy to care for,” she says, and worse, they’re often falsely associated with children, who simply can’t be expected to take responsibility for their care.

Naturally active and loud, children can stress bunnies, who typically don’t like being picked up and carried around.  Why not?  The rabbit could merely wiggle and possibly fall or jump out of someone’s arms, leading to injury.  And, as prey animals, they instinctively fear hawks and other predators who could lift and carry them away. 

Rabbits must be protected from potentially fatal gastrointestinal illness by eating  regularly and well, rather than free-feeding on pellets, and they must be shielded from a deadly virus making the rounds among bunnies right now.  

During a life span of 8-10 years or more, rabbits are bound to need veterinarian visits.  But “rabbit vets” are rare, Motta warns – and their fees are very high, starting with sterilization costs.  (Visit her organization’s website -- NJHRS.com – to learn about their lower-cost spay/neuter certificate program, and/or try a Google search.)   

Adoptable rabbits are available from rabbit rescues and pet shops, she says, as well as Petfinder, and she points to Rabbit.org, the website of the national House Rabbit Society, as the comprehensive source of information about rabbits.  

Despite what you might think, Motta’s animal advocacy is not wholly devoted to rabbits.  For more than 30 years, she’s been affiliated with the Animal Protection League of New Jersey (aplnj.org), serving for most of that time as its programs director.  Her initiatives and activities with that organization are another (long and illustrious) story.

(Note:  Shown top to bottom, Janine Motta's rabbits are Desiree (now deceased), Sammy & Pip, Yolanda & Amelia, and Lola & Linus.) 

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