THE ADVENTURES OF PERIWINKLE & STINKY: PART CCLVIII

Stinky is anxious for Periwinkle’s arrival, and is waiting by the teleportation tunnel when he hears the familiar whoosh from the tunnel. He catches Periwinkle as she comes tumbling out into his waiting paws. After some giggling, paw hugging and whisker kissing, Stinky leads Periwinkle into the kitchen.

Stinky has supplies laid out on the island and hands Periwinkle her apron and chef’s hat. As she is putting the items on, she asks Stinky about their plan for the day.

“Well, tomorrow in National Feral Cat Day, so we are going to tell our readers about that.

Something for Stinky’s Mom

Before we do that, however, I thought we could do something nice for my mom,” Stinky tells Periwinkle.

“That’s a great idea. How is she feeling?”

“Well, better than she was. She was crying a lot and spouting HBO words a couple days ago, but she’s mostly stopped that now. I think she’s in a lot of pain. And she hasn’t gotten much sleep.”

“That doesn’t sound like much fun. I did bring her some flowers to cheer her up.”

“Periwinkle, those are adorable. She’ll love them!”

“What are we baking for Mom Janet?”

Stinky tells Periwinkle they are going to try their paws at making lemon bars, as that is one of his mom’s favorite desserts. He tells her that Cooper has agreed to help, but only if they need it.

 

 

The tabbies get busy creating their lemon bars and do their best not to infuse them with too much fur. When the bars are finished and in the oven, Stinky tells Periwinkle that they can do their PSA about National Feral Cat Day.

National Feral Cat Day

 

“Stinky, what can you tell me about National Feral Cat Day?” asks Periwinkle.

Stinky tells Periwinkle that National Feral Cat Day was established by Alley Cat Allies in 2001. At the time, municipalities and humane societies confined and euthanized 70 percent of all cats brought to their facilities as well as virtually 100 percent of community cats.

According to The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, of the cats entering shelters today, approximately 37 percent are adopted and 41 percent are euthanized. That’s a significant improvement. Less than 5 percent of cats who enter as strays are returned to their owners.

The creation of National Feral Cat Day in 2001 was meant as a call to action to raise awareness about feral cats (aka community or stray cats), promote Trap-Neuter-Return (TNR), and prompt those compassionate individuals in the U.S. who care about cats and kittens to promote change on their behalf.

Each year on October 16, cat advocates, animal groups, veterinarians and shelters are encouraged to host activities or events to help all felines.

In the past 23 years, thousands of activities and events have been held to protect and improve the lives of millions of community cats. Some past activities have included spay-a-thons, TNR initiatives, vaccination clinics, educational outreach programs, building outdoor cat shelters, passing local TNR ordinances and handing out community cat information.

Formerly Feral Kitties Blue

“Stinky, I know that your alter ego, Sawyer, was a feral cat as were Audrey and Raleigh. Did your mom and dad adopt any other feral cats?” asks Periwinkle.

 

 

“Many of the Kitties Blue were stray or community cats that just showed up at our house. The three of us were truly feral cats, however. Audrey has socialized very well. Raleigh and I are still working at it. As you know, Raleigh, doesn’t trust Mom at all.”

“Stinky, do you have some additional information we can share with our readers?“

“You bet, Periwinkle. Here are two terrific web-sites where our readers can find more information: Alley Cat Allies  and National Today.

Treat Time

“Stinky, my nose tells me that our lemon bars are just about baked. Let’s go check the kitchen timer,” suggests Periwinkle.

When the tabbies arrive back in the kitchen, the oven timer is blaring, and the aroma is one of lemony goodness. Stinky gets the bars out of the oven and sets the pan on the counter to cool. While that happens, Periwinkle takes the opportunity to visit with Stinky’s fursibs. When the lemon bars are cooled and sliced, Stinky calls Periwinkle in from the catio.

 

 

Periwinkle picks up the bouquet and Stinky the lemon bars to take to his mom. Mom Janet is totally surprised by the flowers and lemon bars. She gives the tabbies huge hugs and thanks them numerous times.

After spending time with Stinky’s mom, Periwinkle and Stinky return to the kitchen for their own snack. Finally, it is time for Periwinkle to head home. The tabbies head to the teleportation tunnel where they spend several minutes whisker kissing and paw hugging. Periwinkle enters the tunnel and with a blown kiss and whoosh, she is gone.

The End

Periwinkle and Stinky will be popping over to Comedy Plus to participate in the Happy Tuesday blog hop. If you would like to join them there, click on the badge below.