The house with somebody in it

I share a home with my wonderful husband just outside of town.  It is a 90 year old two story farm house, that while certainly not as dilapidated as the house pictured here, my house has character.  Since my husband and I moved into her eight years ago, I have slowly worked at remodeling her, from the 60's style of interior design she had, to a more age appropriate look.  My five year goal, now turned into maybe 10 years, was to change her look inside to fit the era in which she was born.  Most all the work inside I have done myself, with a little help from my favorite handyman.

My husband talks of building a new home from time to time, but I resist.  I love my old home.  I think some of the tenderness I feel for the old girl stems from a poem that my mother introduced me to when I was young.  I even used that poem in a speech class of mine during middle school and college.  Not only does the poem remind me of my home, somewhat, it also reminds me of why I love my rural way of living.  I thought that I would share this poem with you.

The House With Nobody In It

By Joyce Kilmer

HENEVER I walk to Suffern along the Erie track

I go by a poor old farmhouse with its shingles broken and black.

I suppose I've passed it a hundred times, but I always stop for a minute

And look at the house, the tragic house, the house with nobody in it.

 

I never have seen a haunted house, but I hear there are such things;

That they hold the talk of spirits, their mirth and sorrowings.

I know this house isn't haunted, and I wish it were, I do;

For it wouldn't be so lonely if it had a ghost or two.

 

This house on the road to Suffern needs a dozen panes of glass,

And somebody ought to weed the walk and take a scythe to the grass.

It needs new paint and shingles, and the vines should be trimmed and tied;

But what it needs the most of all is some people living inside.

 

If I had a lot of money and all my debts were paid

I'd put a gang of men to work with brush and saw and spade.

I'd buy that place and fix it up the way it used to be

And I'd find some people who wanted a home and give it to them free.

 

Now, a new house standing empty, with staring window and door,

Looks idle, perhaps, and foolish, like a hat on its block in the store.

But there's nothing mournful about it; it cannot be sad and lone

For the lack of something within it that it has never known.

 

But a house that has done what a house should do, a house that has sheltered life,

That has put its loving wooden arms around a man and his wife,

A house that has echoed a baby's laugh and held up his stumbling feet,

Is the saddest sight, when it's left alone, that ever your eyes could meet.

 

So whenever I go to Suffern along the Erie track

I never go by the empty house without stopping and looking back,

Yet it hurts me to look at the crumbling roof and the shutters fallen apart,

For I can't help thinking the poor old house is a house with a broken heart.

Now my house isn't haunted, but it has held memories of families before me, and has welcomed memories that my family has made under her roof.  She has heard tears of grief and sadness with the loss of our son-in-law in Iraq, and the laughter of our grandchildren as they have raced through the house in play.  She has weathered lightening, wind and dogs and cats.  Creaky though she can be, she is proud and solid.  I am honored that she holds my family in her arms.

Safe travel to your veterinarian for your cat

My mother has a cat named Thomas.  Fortunately for Thomas, he has been a relatively healthy cat over the years and has not required any serious veterinary care.  However, Thomas does come to visit me at the clinic regularly for his preventative health care.  Sadly however, Thomas does not live close and does not like riding in a pet carrier or riding in the car for the 45 minutes it takes to get here.  By the time he arrives, he has urinated, defecated and vomited in the carrier due to anxiety over the trip.  As I open the carrier I see a pitiful looking kitty crouched to the back of the carrier, drooling, pupils dilated and wet all over.  How horrible for him.  Does this scenario sound familiar to any of you?  Does your cat run and hide when it sees you bring the carrier out for a trip to the vet?  Do you have to apply a box of band-aides to yourself after having spent 30 minutes trying to stuff Fluffy into the carrier?  Do you listen to your cat "sing" with anxiety by yowling the entire drive to the vet?  Well, I hope this blog will help you and mostly help your cat!

First of all let me stress that pet carriers are important for safe transport of your cat to the veterinarian.  Cats loose in cars are a safety hazard to the cat and the driver.  An anxious cat suddenly darts from under the seat to under your feet and you miss the brake and....well I think you know where that is going.  Maybe you opened a window....and the cat jumps out.   You make a sudden stop, and your cat, that was on the back of the seat, is now a missile into a windshield!  Let's assume you made it to your vet office without mishap.  You cradle your cat into your arms to carry it inside the clinic, you open the door to enter at the same time a dog (leased or unleased) exits....your cat freeks! scratches your eyeballs out,  claws out of your arms and is now loose in the parking lot and out towards the street!  (seen this happen!!)  Maybe the dog jumps up on you to say hello, or jumps for a kitty snack!  Bad news.  I don't know how many times I have heard a cat owner tell me that they didn't put their cat in a carrier, because it hated it.  I hate worse hearing of horrible accidents involving the cat for the lack of a carrier.

Several issues come to mind as to why your cat hates a carrier.  First of all, your cat was not properly socialized to the carrier as a kitten.  Think about it, during its critical socialization period as a kitten,  you never taught your cat that being in a carrier could be rewarding and safe.  We take it for granted that the cat will accept being stuffed into a box and drove across town and be happy once there to be mauled by strange people at the vet's office (physical examination) and then poked with needles, etc.  Boy that was fun!  For a lot of cats I see, the only time they are ever see a carrier or a car is to come to the vet.  Your cat doesn't forget...carrier = bad news. Unlike dogs that often accompany their owners to a variety of places besides the vet (so riding in the car is fun!) cats are less likely to have early positive experiences about carriers and cars.

Since a picture speaks a thousand words...  I invite you to please take the time to watch this 11 minute video provided by Catalyst Council (in fact a new favorite link of mine).  This video could help you teach your cat that a carrier is not its worst enemy.   Cats & Carriers: Friends not foes

If you like this helpful information, please recommend this blog to your fellow cat lovers.