Watch this clip and then read this article…

"Yo! Put yourself in my paws would ya?!"

Imagine the following scenario:

You’ve volunteered for a social experiment hosted by a nearby college or university.  You agree to be isolated in a contained space for a 4 to 8 week period.  The space is equipped with basic necessities such as a bathroom and a compact refrigerator with snacks and beverages as well as a few nonessential elements like a few windows overlooking campus and a couple of pieces of furniture such as a bed, desk, bean bag chair, a knotted rope hanging in the middle of the room, a light, plants, and a rubber bouncing ball.  You are not provided with any communication outlets:  No cell phone; No laptop; No paper; No pens or pencils; No television; No radio; No magazines; No books.  However, a Research Assistant (known as RA from here on out) will check on you briefly first thing in the morning and provide you with breakfast; noon to provide you with lunch; late afternoon/early evening to provide you with supper; and around 10:00 pm before lights out leaving you to your own devices for the duration of the night.

At first, you find your accommodations to be an oasis from the accelerated pace of your life, the potential hazards and threats associated with the outside world, and the ever present noise and distractions constantly calling for your attention.  The first few days are bliss.  It’s nice and quiet except for the occasional sound of the air condition blowing through the duct work.  The first day you snooze off and on; enjoy the warm delicious meals that are provided on schedule; and enjoy an occasional look out the window at the activity below.  By day three, you’re feeling rested, refreshed and revitalized.  You decide to release that pent up energy in the great room by swinging from the rope attached to the vaulted ceiling in the middle of the room.  You climb up and down the rope, you swing from side to side, you challenge yourself by swinging high enough to touch an imperfection on the ceiling.  You’re occupied for a few hours.  Day four, you begin to incorporate the rubber bouncing ball into your day.  You begin by bouncing the ball up and down, then against the wall, then challenge yourself by creating games like ‘how fast can I bounce this ball’; ‘bouncing the ball and catching under your chin or behind your neck’; or ‘throwing the ball at a target’.  By day five, you’ve pulled the mattress into the large room and positioned it so you can fling yourself from the rope and onto the soft cushion.  By day seven, boredom is setting in and you notice that you long for human interaction, communication, and companionship.  You place your finger tips on the elevated window seal, pull yourself up and attempt to catch the attention of those passing below to no avail, they cannot see or hear you.  Although you find yourself looking forward to the visits from the RA, they are brief, hurried, and you often feel like you’re being talked AT instead of talked TO.  You can’t understand what the RA is saying.  It’s a language you can’t understand.  You attempt to make a connection by noticing and responding to body movements, postures, facial expressions, tone of voice, gestures.

Our PURR-version of Depeche Mode’s “Personal Jesus” is titled “Reach Out & Pet Me” about a cat in a shelter seeking adoption and meowing about the ways he can make a difference for the lucky human willing to give him a chance. Please consider adopting a feline family member and visit your local shelter today!  Find cats available at Columbia Missouri Second Chance.  Only nice humans need apply!

Sing along with the Depeche Mode and CatAWhack Crew’s lyrics on the next page:

The American Veterinary Medical Association {AVMA} is holding a 4 day convention from July 16th-19th in St. Louis, Missouri with declawing being one of the topics of discussion.

Below is the current policy regarding the declawing of cats.  The CatAWhack Crew aligns with the points indicated in GREEN and provides additional commentary within the policy indicated by italicized text:

 Sometimes people think that they  have done everything that they can  do to redirect scratch practice and if  unsuccessful seek declawing  amputation procedures as a last  resort.

 How would a veterinarian know if  someone had actually tried  EVERYTHING? How would the  person  seeking the procedure know  if they  had, in fact, tried  EVERYTHING?

 Sometimes decisions are made out  of frustration, a sense of  powerlessness, and a desperate  need for a solution.

I want to develop an intervention checklist that peeps can utilize, kind of a step-by-step process, to determine if they have, in fact, tried EVERYTHING.

If they are armed with a multitude of potential solutions, one is bound to be effective with their particular feline family member resulting in one less amputation procedure and one more feline who remains intact – toes, paws, claws and all.

I need your help in compiling this list. It may be something that could be utilized at veterinarian offices and adoption centers across the country. Please forward to others and encourage comments.

CatAWhacka-Whoo-Whoo Thank You!

Disneynature presents “African Cats”, Earth Day April 22nd. See “African Cats” opening week and disneynature will make a donation in your honor to protect the Savanna they call home.

After watching the video, discover more at Disney.Com/AFRICANCATS

The CatAWhack Crew wondered…hmmm…If Lady Gaga was a feline (she kind of looks like us in her photo below) how would that change the lyrics of her hit song “Born This Way”?

Lady Gaga advocates for the acceptance and understanding of the unique diversity and creative manifestations within the human race and the right to full free expression of who one is without incurring a backlash of fear, insecurity, hatred, and abuse.

What would Feline Gaga advocate for? The acceptance and understanding of the anatomy, behavior, and communication style of felines and their right to full free expression of who they are, claws and all without incurring declawing (surgical amputation of the first toe digits) procedures that are imposed by uninformed or ill advised humans.

We’ve provided Lady Gaga’s music video so that you have the music accompaniment as you sing Feline Gaga’s new lyrics. Go to the next page where you’ll find the new lyrics in blue. Purr and sing to your hearts content!

Any tree climbing enthusiasts out there?

A no fear feline mentality paired with agility, strength, and the naturally derived tree climbing claw gear can land a fellow feline up a tree with nowhere to go.

We came across a peep named Dan in Seattle who blessed with the same no fear mentality can shimmy up a rope almost as quickly as we can climb.  He has one clear advantage, the ability to repel down safely and within a matter of seconds.

Thanks Dan for being at the forefront of cat-in-a-tree rescue efforts!  If you happen to be in our neck of the woods, we would love to stage a race to the top of the nearest tree.  Just remember Dan…Not too high K?

The CatAWhack Crew had a POW-WOW-SCRATCH-NOW Meeting to determine what we could be, do, and offer to support fellow felines. How could we make a difference? So we put on our thinking caps, huddled next to our scratching surface, and marked out some objectives that are sure to elevate and uplift cats everywhere!

We will offer an all natural scratch alternative that is 7 products in one (cat bed, tree, perch, scratching surface, enclosure, play station, and exercise unit) with built in pawsitive reinforcers that encourage feline family members to establish healthy cat scratch practice in the area on and around the unit. If you’ve been following us since we first established our purresence on Twitter last March, you’re probably asking, “Where is this CatAWhack Unit you keep meowing about?” As you’ve come to realize, we are very pawticular and quite purrfectionistic when it comes to coordinating operations and offering you the goods fast and furriously while still having fun with the creative process. We want you to shout, “This is pure purrfection!” when it arrives in your paws and you make that first scratch exclaiming, “THIS IS MINE, ALL MINE, BAW HA HA HA HA!” Soon, my furry furriend, very soon. We’re doing everything that we can to offer the first units for purrchase on-line by the end of March. Hang in There! Help is on the way!

If you’re a Peep for Paws-Claws and All, read on…

We believe that cats scratch indiscriminately as a means to establish territory and boundaries. The CatAWhack Unit creates a purrsonalized designated space within the home that belongs to your feline family member…an area where they can express themselves, engage in natural behavior that promotes health and well-being, and establish a sense of safety, security, and comfort.

You can check out more details and photos at www.cattressmattress.com

We believe every member of the family needs their own purrsonal space. We are a young start-up business with the intent to create and provide unique products that will allow cats to be all that they were meant to be, claws and all. We know that what we have to offer appeals to felines pawticular purreferences after CatAWhack Crew feline inspectors gave it the paws up. They love it, especially in front of a window with a great view.

We will also initiate the following to support felines:
1. Every time someone makes a purrchase, any amount that occurs after the decimal point will be contributed to pro-claw rescues and organizations. We call it “Scratchin’ for Change.”
2. Every U.S. or Canadian veterinarian office that refrains from declawing and instead refers individuals to us for cat scratch reconditioning assistance that results in the purrchase of a CatAWhack Unit will be given $10.00 for every referral.
3. Claw Retention Initiatives – Go Pro Claw. This is a program that we are developing using pawsitive multi-media means to educate the public on the importance of claw retention and how it contributes to cat health & well-being. We believe in human beings and their ability to learn, understand, and evolve beyond declawing.

We would love to have your support. If you have any suggestions regarding these initiatives or how we can make a difference, we can’t wait to hear from you!

Scratched , ))))

DA CREW

Sometimes the CatAWhack Crew likes to run wild, go wild, act wild. It’s liberating! Although we can use our imaginations and pretend that we’re running through the jungle, scaling large trees in the forest, or exploring rocks and boulders in the glades, we know there are a lot of animal furriends and pawls out there who are actually born to be wild. They’re born to grow and be nurtured by their animal families, become independent and self-sustaining.

What happens when an animal baby is orphaned or a species population is endangered? Human intervention can be a life giving opportunity that can support the continued growth and population of an animal species.

There are some who think that wild animals and humans should fear one another, remain separated, that animals should relocate in order to accommodate human inhabitants. There are others who believe humans have forgotten their place in the circle of life. That whether we want to acknowledge it or not, humans and animals are interdependent…we share sacred space…we share the same home…we share planet Earth. Can what is considered wild and what is considered civilized co-exist with mutual respect, understanding, appreciation, and adoration?

The Earth is an amazing place! All opportunity to thrive in a momentary state of abundance exists now. Life will always live; Living will always yield life. Here is where the opportunity exists for all beings to thrive in unique states of consciousness, individual and collective experience, and self-defined abundance.

What do you think? Were you born to be wild?

We look forward to this documentary:

Ready for some more inspurration? Check this out: