All about Blanca

Hello, my bucket list friends . Last month I said goodbye to my very sweet and beautiful cat Blanca but this post is not about that day. This post is all about Blanca’s wonderful life and sweet personality. I first met Blanca in 2014 I saw her on a local animal shelter’s  website. From the information provided on the website I found out the she was sixteen years old and had come from a house where she lived with other cats who picked on her. Even though her name was Blanca she was a  fluffy black cat. I knew that it was harder for senior animals and black cats to find forever homes once they are in a animal shelter. Since Blanca was a black sixteen year old cat . (That’s equivalent to 80 human years !)   I knew her chances of being adopted were low. I really wanted to adopt her and give her the loving home she deserved. Somehow I was able to convince my parents that we should adopt her. The next day ( February 2nd 2014 ) My mom and I went to the shelter and brought her home.  She did great on the car ride home she was very curious and loved to look out windows. We decided that it would be best to have her live in my bedroom because our other cat Sherry might not be all that excited to have another cat in her house . Blanca and I shared a room for a while I would take her upstairs sometimes so she could sit the window and get some sun. I don’t remember when it was exactly but sooner or later she was able to explore the rest of the house. We were right about Sherry being less than thrilled about sharing her house with another cat. They eventually had a territory war in my room which resulted in me having to do a lot of laundry but that’s just life when you have two girl cats. Blanca was an amazing jumper. I was always a little worried when I saw her ready to jump a pretty long or high distance but most of the time she completed her jump with no problem. Like most cats Blanca was a lover of the sun. Sometimes when I was outside she would come with me to walk around and enjoy the sunshine. Around two years after we got Blanca we welcomed a kitten who I named Cooper into our home. Cooper was so little when we first got him. I’ll never forget the time that tiny Cooper stood on top of Blanca while she was sleeping but he was so small that it took Blanca a few minutes to wake up and notice him! My favorite thing about Blanca was that she loved attention. She had a pretty powerful purr.Her favorite place to sleep was on top of a person. She did’t mind when I picked her up , She just wanted me to pet her head. She was a very people friendly cat and would welcome pets and love from anyone willing to give it. If I had to describe her in two words it would be sweet and sassy. She was very sweet but she also had a very strong personality if she wasn’t happy with something like getting her nails trimmed or Cooper wanting to play with her she would make sure everyone knew how she felt about it. When I first got Blanca I thought I would only have her for a few months but I had her for almost six years ! I am so blessed that I got to be her pet parent!

Rock On – Christina Epperly

 

If Animals could talk ……

Hello, my bucket list friends I have what I like to call a busy brain. I’m pretty much always thinking ten miles a minute. Random ideas are always popping into my head. Well recently I’ve been thinking about what life would be like if animals could talk. Let me give you some background on this. I have a 21 year old cat named Blanca she is a very sweet and happy cat but she does have kidney disease and because of that we have to give her fluids using a needle and as you can probably guess she does not like this at all. I wish so much that I could tell her why we are doing this and how much it helps her. I wish she could understand that we are caring for her and helping her to be healthier. Then one night I noticed one of my other cats Sherry itching because of fleas so of course I put  flea medicine on her and right away she ran away from me it was like she was scared of me. Once again I wish she could understand that I was helping her.  I feel like some simple communication would solve a lot of the problems that we have when it comes to our animal friends. We could tell the dogs that the mail man is harmless, we could ask the birds not to poop on our cars and we could listen to their endless stories of everything they observe in a day. I think the point of all my random thoughts is this, communication is an important and valuable tool and while we may not be able to talk to the animals we encounter every day we can talk to other people.  Unfortunately we often forget that we have that ability, we sometimes think that by communicating our feelings we are being difficult or dramatic. I do wish animals could tell people how they are feeling and what they need but I also wish that we would use communication more often then we do. I wish people would be quicker to express themselves instead of hiding what they really feel. Now, I’m not saying that people should act out in fits of anger or tell their struggles to everyone they meet no matter how much it hurts. What I’m saying is this we need to take more advantage of this important tool that we have. Feeling left out in your group of friends ? Tell Them how you feel. Struggling with the amount of work or homework you have ? Talk to a coworker ,your boss , classmate or teacher. Some people may think that being open and honest with your feelings makes you week but the truth is it’s one of the smartest things a person can do. by speaking up you may discover that it can help you to solve problems , lead you to people who can assist you with things you may be struggling with, make good relationships better and end relationships that are not healthy and maybe it will make you feel more confident. So you may not be able to tell your dog that its  not necessary to  bark every time a car goes by or ask your fish what decorations they would like to have in their tank but you can tell your friends that your thankful for them, you can tell everyone that asks that you haven’t decided on a career choice yet and you can even ask others if they have anything bottled up inside that they would like to share.  Next time you have something you need to get of your chest remember be respectful , be honest and be a communicator! PS. I wish I could nicely ask my cat to move over on the couch so I can lay down!

Rock On – Christina Epperly