Kitty Villagers are up in arms about a fellow cat that was brutally killed in Miami, Florida. The perpetrator, Roberto Hernandez, was pitched a soft deal by Judge Nushin Sayfie.
Roberto Hernandez
On March 8th, 2019, the Miami State Attorney’s Office asked Miami- Dade Circuit Judge Nushin Sayfie to sentence a 19-year-old man to 364 days in jail for his crime.
Hernandez was caught on a video surveillance camera placing a cat into an animal trap enclosure. Roberto Hernandez then proceeded to squirt lighter fluid onto the cat and then set the cat on fire. Hernandez, all by himself, then drank a soda while watching the cat writhing in agony and burning to death. Afterward, he fed the cat to his Pit Bulldogs.
The Villagers agree on the punishment sought by the State Attorney’s Office, but Judge Nushin Sayfie thought differently. She sentenced Roberto Hernandez to five years probation, one hundred hours of community service and withheld adjudication so that he is not considered a felon. Also, she did not seek to have Roberto Hernandez mentally evaluated.
WHY?
In fact, nearly all violent crime criminals have a history of animal cruelty in their profiles that psychologists have written about.
Albert DeSalvo, the Boston Strangler who killed thirteen women, would shoot arrows into dogs and cats he trapped as a child. Columbine High School killers boasted about mutilating animals for fun. Nicolas Cruz, Parkland Florida shooter, bragged about killing animals for fun.
What kind of judge is this?
Maybe she hates cats?
Maybe because she was a public defender before Governor Crist appointed her to the Circuit Court in 2007 she favors criminals.
or
Maybe 12 years is too long for her being a judge?
Most Judges do get swollen heads with their powers. Maybe Limits should be placed on how long a judge can hold office. Most voters do not research who they are voting for.
As Buddha once said,
“There is no wealth like knowledge, and no poverty like ignorance”
Lookout, Miami, Florida,you might have a violent criminal on your hands in the near future.
Our Villagers are now busy writing the Governor about Judge Nushin Sayfie.
Two great written stories of ancient India mention cats. TheMahabharata (5 BC) and Ramayana (4 BC). Mahabharata has a famous passage about the cat Lomasa and the mouse Palita, who would help one another to escape from death and it also discusses at length the nature of relationships, particularly those in which one of the parties is stronger or more powerful than the other as the cat and mouse.
In the Ramayana, the god Indra disguises himself as a cat after seducing the beautiful Ahalya as a means to escape from her husband.
Everywhere else, cats in India were found to be particularly useful in controlling the populations of less desirable creatures like mice, rats, and snakes and so were honored in the homes, farms, and palaces throughout the land.
Also the cat was seen as more than just a method of pest control as was shown by the deep respect given to cats in the literature of India. The famous story of Puss in Boots (better recognized by the French version by Charles Perrault, 1628-1703 AD) is taken from a much older Indian folk tale in the Panchatantra from 5 BC. The respect in which cats were held is also evident in the Indian cat goddess, Shashthi, who served much the same role as the goddess Bastet of Egypt.
Shashthi is often pictured as a motherly figure riding a cat with one or more infants.
Now, the Persian’s tale claims the cat was created magically. Rustum, the great Persian hero, who was out on a series of military operations, saved a magician from a band of thieves. Rustum offered the older man the comfort of his tent, and they sat outside under the stars, enjoying the warmth of a fire.
The magician asked Rustum what he wanted as a gift for saving his life. Rustum told the magician that there was nothing he desired since he had everything he could ever want. He already had the warmth and comfort of the fire, the scent of the smoke and the beauty of the stars overhead.
The magician then took a handful of smoke and flame, then brought down two of the brightest stars. He then blended them together in his hands while blowing on them. When he opened his hands, Rustum saw a small, smoke-grey kitten with eyes bright as the stars and a tiny tongue which darted out like the flame from the fire. This was the first Persian cat which was created as a token of gratitude to Rustum.
The prophet Muhammed was also very fond of cats. According to the legend, the letter `M’ design you see on the forehead of the tabby cat was made when the prophet blessed his favorite cat by placing his hand on its head.
This cat, Meuzza, was also featured in another famous story in which Muhammed was called to prayer and found the cat asleep on the sleeves of his prayer robe. Rather than disturb the cat, he cut the sleeve from his robe and left Meuzza to sleep on his robe sleeves. The status of the cat, therefore, was further enhanced by its association with a figure of divinity.
We will continue to learn more about the history of cats in China, Japan, Greece, and Rome. So stay tuned to Kitty Village News and the History of Cats.
Wild cats are now known to have lived in Mesopotamia over 100,000 years ago, long before the Egyptian culture. There, these wild cats became domesticated around 12,000 BC along with sheep, goats, and dogs. Those cats were called the Near Eastern Wildcat and are the closest relative to today’s modern-day domestic cat.
Here is the modern day descendant. They measure over 24 inches in length with a 10 inch tail and long legs.
Those cats of yesteryear were bred by the Mesopotamian farmers as a means of controlling pests like mice, which were attracted by the grain supplies. In Africa today, there lives a close relative to the Near Eastern Wildcat pictured above.
The ancient Egyptian culture was most famous for their devotion to the cat. So much so, that the Egyptian government made the export of cats strictly prohibited. They even had a branch of the government whose sole job was to dispatch agents to other lands to find and return those cats. By 450 BC the penalty in Egypt for killing a cat was death.
The most popular deity of the Egyptian pantheon was the goddess Bastet, most commonly depicted as a cat or as a woman with a cat’s head.
Now, when a cat died, all inhabitants of a house shaved their eyebrows to show a sign of deep mourning. The period of the mourning lasted until their eyebrows had grown back.
The deceased cat was taken to the city of Bubastis where an enormous temple was built in honor of Bastet. There, the cats were embalmed and buried in sacred receptacles. Mummified cats have been found sometimes buried with or near to their owners.
The greatest example of devotion to the cat by the Egyptians comes from the battle of Pelusium (525 BC) in which the Persians defeated the forces of Egypt with cats.
Persian soldiers threw cats at the Egyptians.
Knowing of the Egyptians’ love for cats, Cambyses II of Persia had his men round up animals, which mostly consisted of cats. They then drove those animals before the invading forces toward the fortified city of Pelusium on the Nile. The Persian soldiers also painted images of cats on their shields, and marched behind the wall of animals. The Egyptians, in fear of harming the cats and being demoralized at seeing the image of Bastet on the enemy’s shields, surrendered the city.
The Egyptians are also responsible for the name cat. It was derived from the North African word for the animal “Quattah.”
Next time we will be off to India and also learn of the Persian Cat.
To use the Litter Box or Not to use the Litter Box?
That is the Question.
Now follow me and lets explore why sometimes you might have litter box issues in your Village.
This can be confusing to a cat owner when your villager does not use the litter box.
The problem can be behavioral, but there is a chance of an underlying medical problem. There are a number of medical issues to why your villager feels uncomfortable about using the litter box.
Cats are creatures that are very attentive and concerned about accuracy and detail. That is most evident in their Litter box habits. When your cat won’t use the litter box the cause could be anything from an unclean box to an illness.
Before you try some easy strategies to get her back in the litter box, have her checked out by a veterinarian to rule out a health problem.
If you’ve just introduced a new cat to your household, make sure the litter box is as cat-friendly as possible to prevent a problem in the future. Some common litter box problems could be stopping your villager from using the box like:
An unclean litter box, Too few litter boxes for the number of cats in the household A cramped litter box
A litter box with a hood or liner A litter box with sides that are high Too much litter in the box, A conflict with another cat in the household An uncomfortable location that doesn’t allow for privacy and multiple escape routes A change in the kind of litter your use
Your Villager could have a medical problem that makes urinating too painful.
Boy that hurts!!!
Some common conditions which can affect litter box usage are:
Urinary tract infection. If your villager frequently enters her litter box but produces small amounts of urine, she may have a urinary tract infection.
Feline interstitial cystitis. Feline interstitial cystitis is a complex disease that causes inflammation of the bladder. It can cause a cat to eliminate outside the litter box because of the urgency to urinate.
Bladder stones or blockage. If your cat has bladder stones or a blockage, she may frequently enter her litter box. She may also experience pain and mew or cry when she tries to eliminate. Her abdomen may be tender to the touch.
If your veterinarian ruled out a health problem you can make a few changes.
Hear at Kitty Village we use Feline Pine.
Feline Pine is one variety of natural litter made of sanitized and pressed wood pulp. These pellets absorb moisture and eliminate odors without the use of artificial colors or scents. It comes in clumping and non-clumping varieties, and has been formulated to reduce dust. Feline Pine is also flush able and can be disposed of safely outdoors.
Scoop and change your villagers litter at least once a day.
Thoroughly rinse out the box with baking soda or unscented soap once a week.
Use less litter. Villagers like a shallow bed of litter. No more than two inches deep.
Use a larger litter box.
Use clumping, unscented litter of a medium to fine texture or the litter she used as a kitten. You could try putting a few clean boxes side by side, each with a different type of litter, to see which one your villager prefers.
Don’t use box liners or lids.
Try a self-cleaning box, which is generally cleaner than a traditional litter box.
Move the litter box to a quiet, low-light location where your villager is able to see anyone approaching and can escape quickly. The litter box should be out of sight of her food and water dishes.
Add a few litter boxes in different locations, all of which have multiple escape routes. Make sure that children or other animals don’t have access to the boxes.
If your villager is old or arthritic, use a litter box with low sides so she can climb in easily.
Provide a litter box for each of your cats, plus one extra. If you live in a multi-story residence, place a box on each level.
If you have several villagers and can’t figure out which isn’t using the litter box, you can ask your veterinarian for fluorescence, a harmless dye that makes urine glow blue under ultraviolet light for 24 hours. You’ll need a UV light to shine into the litter box to see which cat is using the box. The dye must be given (usually in food) to each cat, of coarse one at a time.
If your cat has gone and developed a preference for going on another surface or location, you need to make that location unappealing.
You can place tin foil, upside down carpet runners or double sided sticky tape to keep your villager off that location.
Do not do the following if your villager has a litter box problem.
Do not rub her nose in urine or feces.
Do not scold her and carry or drag her to the litter box.
Do not confine her to a small room with the litter box, without first trying other methods for resolving her elimination problem.
Do not place the litter box near the place where pets eat or drink.
Do not give her TREATS to entice her to use the litter box. Cats don’t want to be disturbed while they are eliminating. However, you can place toys and treats near the box to help her overcome her aversion to the box.
Remember to clean up accidents with an enzyme cleanser to neutralize the scent.
If all else fails despite your efforts you may want to contact an animal behaviorist.
Remember it is all about patience and not punishment. So good luck with your Villager.
For you first timers to the Village, I will bring you up to speed. Smokey had a tragic eye injury early last year where her right eye had to be removed. Since then she has been confined to being inside instead of being outdoors with the rest of the Villagers.
You can see how light Smokey’s fur was when she was young.
Smokey was given her name due to her left eye had a smokey haze. She was also named before we met her husband, who we named, what else, Bandit.
Being indoors, Smokey likes batting around small toys. Some only a little…..
Enlarge for better view of Smokey.
And Some a lot.
Enlarge for better view of Smokey
So we then tried a new toy…
Enlarge for better view of Smokey
At first it was looking good. Then…..
Enlarge for better view of Smokey
Well, Smokey thought about it and decided she would rather play with her own toy for awhile.
Enlarge for better view of Smokey
Her tail!
She is one happy Villager!
Either watching TV
Or hanging out with Kiki and Khaki.
She still will not jump on top of anything without checking first. Then it’s just the couches for now.
First, and the most important thing, is that you need cats. With out them it is just a Village.
Here at Kitty Village we have six Cats and two Dogs.
First we have Smokey
Then we have Bandit
aka Mom and Dad
Then their kids:
Teddy Pete
Sam
And then their adopted daughter Orangey.
This makes up all the cats in Kitty Village.
Also in the Village are Kiki and Khaki, our dogs.
Our typical day starts with morning breakfast and the gathering of Villagers on the rear porch.
They are fed twice a day and have plenty of fresh clean water all the time. They even get a snack before bed time.
Some of our guest have medications that need to be administered and when we can get a hold of them, for a quick brushing down.
We use the Furminator brush which is great.
After breakfast and dinner, all bowls are collected and washed for the next meal.
If that was all we did, it would be easy. On our porch we have six locations for them to sleep. Those locations are cleaned daily by swapping out towels we use to cover their beds and also vacuuming.
There is also an outdoor igloo house with bedding we change.
Then there are the window sills and other locations on the porch that are cleaned weekly. The porch floor is cleaned every other day.
Bathroom habits of our guests vary where most will properly bury their goods, but some do not, thus putting us on poop patrol.
Also, there is the occasional hairball or worse (who I ate does not agree with me) that has to be cleaned up.
Training the Villagers is a full time job along with being a peace keeper.
We also supply heat on the really cold days we get in south Florida. Okay, you from up north stop laughing. There are a few days it gets down into the low 40’s here and I’m sure the Villagers appreciate the propane heater on the porch.
This is a seven-day-a-week project which makes their lives a lot easier than they would have been.
Then there are medical needs for the Villagers when issues pop-up.
We use Care Credit when paying for Villagers’ medical services which gives us one year interest free payments.
Now what if we are not home for feeding time?
We have automatic dry cat food feeders that will handle our outdoor villagers.
But if it is going to be longer than a day, we have to get a volunteer to assist due to special feeding needs and medications.
And if no volunteers, then we have to pay for the service. We have not gone on vacation for almost a year now due to what happened to Smokey.
Well, now you have an idea on what it takes to run Kitty Village. Some might say we are crazy, but we enjoying helping them out. The only negative thing is when someone gets hurt or if one is late for dinner or does not show up. Of course we worry, but that will get better once the enclosure is finished.
From personal experience, I can tell you that cats can be trained.
With that said, you have to put time and patience into the training process. It will not happen over night.
The above picture is a cat I fostered because it kept biting the original owner. His name was Gabriel and he was not an angel.
Gabriel did not like to be petted and thought he was running the show, meaning he was an alpha cat.
I will now explain the day I went to get Gabriel. I had to drag him out from under furniture while I was wearing canvas gloves and a long sleeved shirt. I then had to force him into the carrier while all the time he wanted to eat me.
We now had the task of retraining Gabriel so he understood he was no longer the alpha cat in the house.
Gabriel would chase after Kiki and Khaki and would not let us touch him. Training was an every day item and we knew we had to have a lot of patience which included being bit a few times.
Some of the methods we used were a metal can with coins inside that we would shake loudly when ever he did something wrong. If he looked like we was going to attack me I would hiss at him and use a compressed can of air to spray him with.
If we saw we was about to do something negative we would spray him with water. My best tool was a squirt gun.
To prevent him from jumping on top of tables and counters, we would use tin foil on top of the counters. I also used upside down mouse traps that I first loosened the spring not to hurt him. He did not like walking on tin foil and when he hit the mouse trap, it would jump into the air, frightening him.
This process took two years to complete totally. Within the first year, I became alpha cat to Gabriel but he was still alpha to Betty. That changed within six months so we both were now alpha to him and he accepted Kiki and Khaki as equals.
Gabriel no longer bit us, did any bad behaviors, and even slept on our bed.
But for anyone else who came into our house, Gabriel was Alpha to them.
We also had to train all our cats at Kitty Village.
Most recently, we had to stop Orangey and Samantha from fighting.
It took a few months using the squirt gun method, but every time I caught them fighting or about to fight I let them have it. Remember, this is what they usually did when they saw each other.
Diesel, an old and long time friend to the Village has Sadly passed away.
Diesel was not any ordinary visitor to the Village because he was the father to Kiki and Khaki.
Kiki and Khaki are the two canines here at the Village who we have talked about.
“Dezzy Man”, as we would call him, was smaller than his mate Daisy and all his children. But don’t let the size fool you. He thought he was a German Shepard and no one had the heart to tell him differently.
Pictured above is a young stylish Diesel and below the entire family.
From Left to right is Khaki, Kiki, Daisey(Mom), Carme, Diesel, and Bella.
Kiki when first born.
Pictured above is Kiki, who inherited her hanging-out tongue from Diesel.
Below is Khaki who inherited his ability to sit up and pray from Diesel.
Khaki when first born.
As I said, Diesel thought he was a German Shepard. When I dog sat for them, Diesel would always chase me out of the house.
Diesel will be truly missed by all of us here at Kitty Village
Do cats remember each other after being separated for some time?
Like Smokey and Samantha.
Let’s see, and learn more about cats.
Cats are in tuned to their environment. You can say they are hardwired as predators. Their keen senses for smell, sight, and sound are on the highest alert for prey or other predators.
You may interpret this as a cat not paying attention to you but it is actually designed for being ready for anything. If your cat does not jump to your immediate attention when you call her it is because she is focused on everything around her.
Some people say that you cannot train a cat, but from personal experience I can tell you that is false. Cats are trainable but you have to put the time and effort into the learning behavior.
Some say that cats are not as affectionate as dogs but that is not true. Your cat does not have to sit in your lap to be affectionate. How about the many times your cat rubbed alongside of you, purred while near you or gave you one of those cat licks. And when she rubbed her head against you (called head bunting) or gave you one of those slow eye blinks. They are all signs of affection.
Remember, a cat is not a dog. A dog would love a belly rub, but to a cat it will trigger her defensive response. You have to learn about your cat. Some cats enjoy a good massage and others prefer a drive-by type of stroke. Your cat takes a good amount of time learning about you, so you should do the same with him or her.
Now, are cats pack animals? Good question.
Cats do not run in packs and are more territorial. Cats are solitary for the most part, but they will live in colonies where there is a local food source they can depend upon, like here at Kitty Village.
Cats are essentially solitary hunters and it is important for cats to establish a territory that is defined in such a way as to generally avoid conflict with other cats. Cats, therefore, mark their territories using scents derived from facial glands, urine, feces, and anal glands. This territorial marking, together with the extremely sensitive sense of smell they have, helps cats to communicate effectively and to minimize direct conflict between other cats.
A cat’s territory consists of a core area, or den, where they feel secure enough to sleep, eat, play and potentially enjoy social interaction. Here at Kitty Village this is our rear porch. This forms the hub of the territory and the area beyond that core is actively defended against invasion from others. We have seen this behavior with Bandit here at the Village. Beyond this lies the home or hunting range that constitutes the extent of the area over which the cat will roam.
In the wild, territories may overlap with neutral areas where cats may greet and interact with each other. If a strange cat encroaches into another cat’s territory, this will normally provoke an aggressive interaction to chase off the cat, firstly through staring, hissing, and growling, If that is not effective, then a short, noisy violent attack will occur.
Do Cats remember each other?
Hello Remember me?
If cats are separated from each other for a long period of time, will they remember each other? There is some controversy on this topic but most agree it depends on the individual cat. For example, here at Kitty Village Smokey has been separated from her kittens for some time now, but has been re-introduced to Teddy and Samantha recently.
Teddy greeted Smokey with a head rub, which is a cat’s hand shake and shows affection. Now, when our Dogs Kiki and Khaki meet their parents and siblings, there is a great amount of interaction with wagging tails and running about. Remember, dogs are very different from cats.
Now, when Smokey and Samantha greeted each other it looked like Smokey was going in for a head rub but… Samantha backed up and gave a quiet Hissss. Did Samantha not recognize her mother Smokey or were there some underlying mother-daughter issues we did not know about?
The second time they were together, Samantha was very intently exploring the interior of our home like if I was inside an alien spacecraft for the first time using caution with every step taken.
Samantha basically ignored Smokey while Smokey followed her around and kept an eye on her (forgive the pun). If we can get Pete or Bandit into the house we would love to see their reactions to Smokey.
Well, so far we have found out it is not easy caring for a Feral cat family. The reason we are doing it is because we care so much about them.
Samantha had to go back to the Veterinary hospital with some issues and needed to spend the night.
Yes another ride in the Meowbalance
Apparently Samantha had a reaction to the antibiotics and anti-inflammatory medications which caused FOS. The professional Veterinary terminology for Fos means “Full of S_ _ _!”
Well that problem was unblocked and Samantha returned home.
Samantha had to stay inside for one week and got to be with Smokey, her Mom, for a couple of days. Our next post will go into detail about that reunion.
What kind of judge is this?
