January 31, 2010
Good Night Sweet Bill, today you play with the angels
Bill and Tom, photo ©Kat Caverly 2009
Bill Boy, Rest in Peace February 25, 2010
Over 3 weeks ago I started feeding Bill raw grass-fed meats. His favorite was pork chops. His next favorite nummy was mayonaisse. He was also fond of raw chicken and roasted beefs. The power of these favorite things gave him 25 more days with us. He was a cat with no time to lose, so the time was always now.
He was eating less than before which was a bit overwhelming at times since he ate 12-15 times a day depending how late I was working; really, really. By the end he was only eating 4-5 times a day and when he asked for food I immediate dropped everything and gave it to him.
He like a bit of attention but unlike his predecessor Buster (whom he looked like) Bill did not like to cuddle. As he was on the first days we lived together, he was yesterday. He kept trying to hide. This was the hardest for me.
I prayed that his passing would be peaceful. I know that this is possible in a cat since I saw my dear Rocky give up the life force with a sigh. It was an amazing moment we shared. It was not as such with Bill, but I tried to respect his wishes, and still make him as comfortable as possible.
I do not believe in euthanasia. It is not going to sleep and in fact the struggle lasts much longer. Unless there is pain. I don't think I could stand to watch any living thing be in pain. Death is not usually painful. It is confusing for animals only because they don't know about death. So it is confusing and that is when their connection to us helps. We can comfort them if they let us. I could not comfort Bill, but to talk to him and act like everything was ok.
The only time he cried out was when he was trying to walk. He made huge efforts and succeed moving many times. The will to live is a powerful force and it gives us as much time as nature will allow, but at the end it is best to find a way to release. We will know when our time comes and hopefully we will find a way to not be afraid.
Good-bye sweet Bill. You will live in
my heart forever.
Never underestimate the Will to Live
written January 31, 2010
My boy Bill is such an amazing cat. He came into our lives when a neighbor kept telling me about this black and white cat living near the train tracks outside near our apartment building in Manhattan. Early life was not easy for dear Bill. Someone cruelly threw him out into the mean streets and he survived there for over two years.
And then we met.
And he looked just like my dearly departed Buster and my heart melted. It took him almost a month to stop hiding from us. I kept him in our studio, isolated from other cats until we were sure that he was disease free. By the time he started to come out I realized he had ringworm. Poor fellow. So I donned a hazmat suit (crazy koot in a paper suit) and gave him his medicine and soothed his wounds with Rescue Remedy cream and within another few months he was given a clean bill of health!
The first time I tried to bring him home and into a household of four other cats it was a disaster. Prior to this experience I truly believed given enough time cats would always learn to get along with each other. But I learned the hard way that cats really don't like to be kept inside in groups of more than three.
After the second attempt (another disaster) I came to discover that Bill had been terrorized by other cats while he was living on the street. He was terrified and although he was the only one doing the attacking now, I had to once again isolate him in our studio.
He lived alone and happily in our little Manhattan studio for another 7 years. In 2005 I started to notice he held his head in an odd way and was unstable. I had a great vet in Manhattan, a real animal lover and we could not find an infection, believing it was probably some kind of brain tumor. Bill was already about 12 years old, so I knew I would not put him through neurosurgery and any of its aftermath. I started to give him such a life that his will to live would give him a fighting chance.
In 2006 he started to show signs of what I found out in 2007 was advanced kidney disease. We also got a diagnosis of cancer on top of everything else in November 2007. So I took my dear friend home and now that I knew that his time was coming I started to give him anything and everything he wanted!
In late 2007 we move to our new studio and Bill was forced to live with Rosie and BB. I think this new challenge actually gave Bill a new lease on life. He has over 4000 sq feet of indoor space and another 5000 sq feet of private roof space to bask in the sun and eat grasses and catnip in season.
I have known he was sick now for over 5 years and for the past two I knew I would never take him to a vet again as long as he was not suffering. Pain may be inevitable but the suffering is without a doubt optional. He has shown an amazing quality of life and since I feed him whenever he wants food, he has been getting meals every hour. He really knows how to milk me for every drop!
I noticed on this past Monday that he was having some troubles jumping up. I also noticed that he wasn't asking for as much food; still 6-8 times a day but down from his usual 10-14 meals. No exaggeration! On Thursday I noticed that his back feet, both of them were swollen but he wasn't in any pain. He ate more on Friday but on Saturday I noticed that one of his front paws was also now swollen. This edema, a new symptom, shows me that his heart is starting to fail but nothing that can be done won't kill him since the medicines for the edema would most likely cause total kidney failure at this point.
Last night he didn't come to sleep with us, and although he was eating, I began to prepare myself for an end that was coming soon. I had a hard time falling asleep but I promised to keep up my spirits while he was still alive and then I noticed that he was crawling into bed between us, where he stayed until the morning. And I fell blissfully asleep.
He may have just days, or weeks, or maybe months. I will not underestimate this cat. He has a life that he loves and he is enjoying it. He is not in any pain or even discomfort. And from now on he will be pampered with every comfort and sweetness, special meals and lots of loving.
Dear Bill, you ain't dead yet!
Posted by photocartoonist at 12:30 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 14, 2009
My Boy Bill
Yes he is my Bill. And he came to me as Bill, just Bill. I did not name him.
photo © Kat Caverly 2009
Bill is 15-17 years old we think; no younger. He lived outside our apartment building in
Hell's Kitchen Manhattan for a couple of years. Those were tough years for Bill. I had so
many cats that Tom announced that if I brought even just one more home with me one of
the cats was going to go and that Kat would be ME! That was ok until I actually met Bill.
Bill looks just like my dear Buster, except Bill has a good attitude! You can't tell from the
portrait above. Bill is very camera shy; unlike Buster. Though if the truth be know Buster
did not like being photographed! Cats just mostly do not like to wear clothes!
Back to Bill. I brought him in to our studio in 1998. He was already full-grown and had
been since he was spotted outside near the train tracks. I'd say he was already 3-4 years
old in 1998. Yes I think he is 15 years old now.
Bill did not like other cats. I mean, he really hated them and would not tolerate another
cat in his space. So he lived as the only cat in our studio until 2007. In August 2007
he was reunited with our other cats and moved to our new studio. Everyone suffered but Bill
showed the wear and tear.
Bill was handed two death sentences in October 2007; stage 3 kidney disease and cancer.
He was given only a few months to live even with aggressive treatments. We opted
to not continue the treatments and give him a wonderful time with whatever time he
has left and that was almost two years ago!
He looks better than ever now but there is no doubt that Bill is an old cat and he is now
living the good life. He shares 4200 sq feet with two other cats who pay him very little
attention and defer to his greatness. He has 2 humans to wait on him hand and foot.
He eats whenever he wants to, which is 7-9 times a day and he gets table scraps and
treats regularly every day.
Never underestimate the power of Will to Live!
Posted by photocartoonist at 5:56 PM | Comments (2) | TrackBack
May 3, 2009
My friend Rosie
photo © Kat Caverly 2009
Rosie is my "circus kitty" so all I had to do was place her on the stool and turn on the lights!
I decided to warm up the "film" and shot at 5000ºK using 5500ºK flashtubes. This is classic beauty lighting. This piebald feline is a classic beauty. I am shooting with a Nikkor 105mm micro lense which is a beautiful piece of optics. it is perfect for portraits of small subjects.
Posted by photocartoonist at 8:51 PM | Comments (0) | TrackBack
June 12, 2006
Focusing on Cats
By DEANNA DAHLSAD
Cats, in general, are ego-manics. They do not merely desire and crave attention, as dogs do -- cats demand it. Their purr-sonalities are such that they command attention even when they do not desire it, hence they harass you until you put down that book you are reading only to abruptly leave once you have done so. They beckon you from across a room, only to trot away once you walk toward them. As I write this, Mystical Pickles, my youngest cat, has jumped on my lap, placing herself between me and the keyboard -- if I ignore her and type, she head-butts my arm yet if I pet her, she nips at me...
See, for cats, it's all about having your undivided attention. They know they are number one, but the self-knowledge is not enough -- you must prove you it too.
While dogs seem to bask in our attentions with smiles, tail wags and looks of devotion, cats expressions most often display disgust, annoyance, repugnance, and at best, a mere tolerance. This is why cats often make the best subjects for photographs.
No matter what you do to a cat, no matter how silly the sunglasses or hats, the cat remains aloof. The cat's expression remains that of a cat: he finds this all disgusting, annoying, repugnant or to merely be tolerated. He endures such primitive, immature behavior because this is simply what such divine creatures must put up with from inferior creatures (who fill his dish).
When all is said and done, the reason the photo is so funny is because the pose or props are secondary to the cat's indignity. We all like -- no need to see an indignant cat now and then. It tells us we are the ones in charge.
...But if you peer closely at the photographs, past the silly hats and other props, you might just see a very smug cat... A cat who knows that in the end, he has won. Because once again, all of our attention is focused on the cat.
Posted by photocartoonist at 2:33 AM
December 28, 2005
In Memory of a Maspeth Queen
photo©Thomas Hudson Reeve 2005
It was the day before Memorial Day 1994. The lead story on the CBS 11 o'clock local
news in New York City was about over 30 cats who had been abandoned in an empty
house in Maspeth, Queens after the owners moved. Isabella was one of those cats,
only six months old. A Maine Coon cat and a beauty, Isabella was as mysterious
and aloof as she was beautiful.
I did not see this report and Isabella had been cared for over a year before she
came into my life. Never fond of people (can you blame her) she really loved other
cats. Gentle and sweet, we only hoped to get close enough to such goodness.
It was a pleasure sharing our lives with her. Good night, sweet Isabella.
We miss you.
Posted by photocartoonist at 10:17 PM
October 17, 2005
Buster, Cat; Kat, Human
Staff Reporter of BusterWheres
Buster was a cat with a 23 year background in hanging out and being imminently catlike.
Kat Caverly was a human being with a background in behavioral psychology and over 23 years
of experience in commercial photography.
The year was 1996, but the collaboration of these two professionals began in July if 1982,
when Kat noticed Buster outside of the loft building where she had a studio in Manhattan.
Buster was just hanging out, anticipating Kat's emergence from her building. The plan: make himself
known to Kat ever so subtly. His ultimate goal: force Kat to initiate the relationship.
Busters's feline whiles were too much for a mere human to ignore - Kat indeed made the initial approach. She stooped down, knee bent upon meeting Buster. He made his move - his brutish
approach, merely intended to be a stroke of sincerity on Kat's thigh, knocked Kat off her feet, literally!
Buster proved to provide Kat with a bottomless supply of inspiration and friendship for over 14 years, and thanks to Kat's relationship with Recycled Paper Greetings, the third largest greeting card company in the Universe, his mug was seen on several of Kat's best selling paper cards over the years.
Buster became a star loved and sought after for many years. Buster just attracted attention!
Kat has many stories about living with Buster, who went to heaven in 1997 and she likes to say that Buster was by far her very best friend. Buster adored Kat; maybe because she saved him that day. Maybe because they knew each other in a previous life. ??
Everyone should have at least one friend like Buster in their lifetime. Priceless.
Posted by photocartoonist at 2:24 PM
September 7, 2005
The Story of Bodega Boy
Bodega Boy got his name because he was promised to the local deli on the corner. These delis are called Bodegas here in New York City, in this neighborhood, which was very Spanish in the Westside Story era. Bodega is the Spanish name for, well, deli but that's Jewish, also very New York. Bodega is Spanish for little grocery store or at least that's what I believe.
Anyway when BB was 6 months old he went to his new home. the next day I went to see how he was and the counter guy said "Please take that kitten back home." He has been crying all day and night, so they had to put his cage down in the basement.
When he saw me, he started screaming and my heart just broke, so I didn't even take the 5 minutes to go get a carrier. I took little BB and put him in my jacket and held him close because the streets are busy here and my heart was just pounding and so was his.
When I got him back to the studio where his mommy was, you never saw such a happy kitten. He literally leaped for joy! Boing, boing!
When he got full grown, he was twice his mommy's size and still the mommy's boy but Delila wanted nothing to do with this goofy son of hers so he used to have to chase her to try to get affection.
But alas poor BB never got enough affection from his mommy. So we make up for that with ice cream and homages, to our great goofy gentleman; full of love and paranoia!
His mommy, Delila, well that is another story; very sad but with the joy of 5 beautiful little kittens. Delila was such a good mommy. I was always impressed by her devotion and dedication to taking care of this motley crew.
She had been left in an apartment, only 150 square feet small, with 8 other cats. I brought her to my studio and had to hide and re-hide for the next two weeks. She wouldn't eat and I begged her to come out.
Finally I discovered that she was probably pregnant and yes a month later she had 5 little rat cats! I found them all great homes, including Delila. I wanted to keep her too. She was so special but in a cruel twist of fate, Delila did NOT like BB and because of that BB use to chase her around and it made Delila a nervous wreck.
So I found Delila a special home, where she could live just by herself with TWO humans to wait on her hand and foot. She got fat and content and is finally living the life she has always deserved.
I truly love my kitty buddies but I have had to stop the rescue efforts. I found out the hard way that they don't like to live in large groups with each other and as long as I keep them to 3 to an apartment, the animosity is kept to a minimum! They have such opinions!
Posted by photocartoonist at 2:12 PM