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The Tale Of The Missing Tail

Remember El Tigre? Our neighbor’s cat? He has been missing the past few weeks.

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But he showed up on our porch the other day. And something was missing.

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His tail!! :(  🙁

I actually met his mom the other day.

Conversation:

“HI!! Are you Tiger’s Mom!?!?!?”

“Tiger? Um, no.”

“The orange cat!!!! Tiger!”

“Oh, yeah, he’s mine but that’s not his name.”

“Oh, we assumed because we’d heard someone calling for Tiger in the neighborhood. What’s his real name?”

“Esperanzo.”

Oh my. I’m still going to call him Tig!

Tiger’s mom told me that he came home one night all beat up. He had a fat lip and a black eye and a few days later, his tail turned black. Yikes! The vet removed it and he had to stay indoors for a while. Thankfully, he seems to be back to his old self

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My talk this morning went great. I was told to just come prepared to talk about my experiences. Luckily I’m a talker!! I talked on for about 30 minutes about my weight loss, the blog, the bakery, real food, intuitive eating and more. My host seemed to think it went really well!! I hope the group enjoyed it. Hello to any of you who came to visit!!

The bank was also pretty painless, although I was hungry!

Once home I assembled a quick lunch in 5 minutes

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Millet salad mixed with sweet potatoes and plain yogurt. Have you ever put plain yogurt in rice? It’s SO good!! It worked really well with millet too. Made it all thick and heavy – good for filling up stomachs!

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Watermelon on the side! Can’t. Get. Enough.

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Tea time!

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Lavender mint that I made on Tuesday.

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I’ve got a handful of other things to do before I’m meeting some visiting KERF readers for a little Cville adventure!

Reader Interactions

Comments

  4. Oh that makes me really sad for Tiger (I agree, that’s a better name than Esperanzo!). I’m glad he’s okay though! There’s a cat that sits on our back deck at my Mom’s house in CT – it’s our neighbors cat, but by the amount of time it spends hanging out at our place, it really should be ours. They never seem to miss it!

    I’ve never done yogurt with rice but one of my FAVORITE things to do is hummus with rice. I almost can’t eat rice without it! I love it for the same reason you loved the yogurt – makes it nice and thick and creamy 🙂

    Have fun at the KERF reader meet up!

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  8. Poor Tig! And THAT is why cats should be kept indoors. Thank goodness all he lost was his tail. 🙁 He does look cute with the lil nubbin, though. 🙂

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  10. Aww Poor tiggie! He looks a lil skinny in the face since last time we say him.
    Glad to know he is okay 🙂

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  11. You know, we had a cat at farm years ago that lost part of its tail in some piece of equipment and he still lived to be really old. Cats truly have 7 lives!!

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  19. Poor baby! I hope nothing like that happens again! He seems like such a sweet little thing! Glad he’s back to his normal life, even without his tail…

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  21. Dang tell that woman her cat needs to be supervised when outdoors. An indoor cat can live up to 18 or 20 years but an out kitty lives only a few. 🙁

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    • All of our (six, since I’ve been alive) cats have been outdoor cats and they’ve all lived to be 16-17 :).

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      • All our cats are outdoor cats and our oldest one is 22. The next oldest are 15 and 10. The other 2 are just babies (5 and 2) but I’m sure they will live long lives too!

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  23. Many years ago one of my cats came home with part of her tail missing. The vet had to amputate the rest of it. She acted so embarrassed at first. She hid in a drawer for several days and didn’t come out when anyone was around. It affected her balance but other than that no long term problems. Everyone assumed she was a manx after that.

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  26. Poor kitty! I think I’d always be a little nervous if inhad an outdoor cat. (I’m a worrier!) good thing he’s mostly okay!*

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  27. AHHHH NO!! That is so so sad. I may not like cats very much, but I would never ever want something like that to happen to one. Wahhh poor thing.

    I looooove thick, heavy lunches! My favorite thing is mixing up a Quinoa-Hummus-Raisin-Balsamic bowl. Best thing in the worlddddd and so CREAMY!

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  29. Do you have time off the bakery today?

    Congrats on your talk. I think you would be great at giving presentations and stuff. Also – did you read any books/any recommendations re: intuitive eating or your health journey that helped you?

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  30. I grew up with my best childhood friends’ cat having a missing tail. Sad!

    Glad your talk went well and that you’re a talker and that 30 mins of gabbing was an easy task for you 🙂

    Have fun tonight on your KERF reader meetup!

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  33. Aww, poor Tig! At least he seems to be okay 🙂 Knowing that his real name is “Esperanzo” (“hope” in Spanish) makes me want to narrate his thoughts in Puss in Boots’ voice from Shrek, haha.

    Where are you going wine and beer tasting this evening? If you’re going to Market St. I might see you there!

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      • Oooh fun, I love Keswick and I need to make it to Castle Hill! It looks really nice from your pictures 🙂 The BF and I ventured all the way up to DuCard in Madison yesterday before our RW dinner at the Bavarian Chef, it’s really nice! Glad you had a good time!

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  35. Esperanzo is actually a really nice name. It means “hope” in Spanish. My mom’s name is Esperanza, but she goes by a nickname, I suppose, because there’s a lot of “oh my” comments. Whatever.

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    • I love that name- so cute for a kitty, too! Then again, none of my animal friends have generic names 😉

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      • No, Jillian, I know she didn’t mean anything by it. It’s just to my ears, Esperanzo sounds like Kath does to native English speakers, I guess. But I have to say I did get a lot of “oh my” from kids and adults like when they asked me her name. Still do. Just struck a chord in me. One of those things.

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    • Oh no Alex!! I think it’s a beautiful name, it was just the last name I was expecting her to utter!! (I was thinking Tiger, fluffy, snowball types

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  37. Esperanzo made me laugh. 🙂 I wasn’t expecting that as his name. Yeah, stick with Tig. 🙂

    He’s so cute and I’m glad he’s okay.

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  39. The same thing happened to one of our cats when I was little! I just remember our poor kitty coming home with a bloody stump (tmi?) and we had to take him to the vet. He was fine after a trip to the doctor though! 🙂

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  41. Poor El Tigre 🙁 I have a kitty that looks a lot like tig, his name is Bodie, but we call him Bob – crazy I know!!

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  43. Poor kitty! The outdoor cat that had been hanging around our house for a year disappeared about a month ago, too. 🙁

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  44. It’s irresponsible of Tig’s owner to think he can fend on his own outdoors. At least he’s alive. He could have been hit by a car or killed by a coyote.

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  51. on the fur&paw subject….. when are the kid retuning home?? seems like gran must be spoiling them waaaay too much – and has persuaded them to stay 🙂

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  52. Poor kitty! Kath (and others) I wonder if I could get your help. I was always a healthy eater (for the most part) and wouldn’t gain much weight. Then I had two kids back to back and for a while I had to eat a very high fat/calorie diet to increase my milk supply (the doctor ACTUALLY told me to down some cheeseburgers). Anyway, now I have an addiction to sweets. I ate almost a HALF a jar of nutella yesterday. After I eat a meal, my mind won’t STOP until I’ve eaten a sweet. I could nibble, but my mind wants MORE. I have tried the no sweets in the house thing, but hubby keeps them around and I swear to you I would DRIVE TO THE STORE for a container of Haag’n Daas (that I down in one day). I have never been like this. I was a 120-pound girl forever, and now I am at 145. Any advice what to do. I am so sad!

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    • Tara, I’m a tough love type. If you want to stop, STOP!! if you don’t, maybe see a counselor? They can be very helpful!

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    • One of the things that has always worked for me, Tara, is telling myself that “there’s always tomorrow” for another sweet. There’s always tomorrow for another slice of cake … tomorrow for a scoop of ice cream … tomorrow to try a new dessert. This tactic seems to help with portion control (i.e. I want ice cream AND a slice of cake AND a handful of candy) in the sense that it reminds me that I don’t have to squeeze EVERY LAST sweet into one day. I have a serious sweet tooth, but my “there’s always tomorrow” is a helpful reminder that sweets can be enjoyed in moderation every day of the week! 🙂

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  54. This reminds me of my childhood in a way…

    My dad had a sheep farm when I was itty bitty and when the lambs were born he’d tag their tails to fall off. I always played a game involving grabbing at lamb tails. Some grabs would result in yanking off the tail!

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  55. Oh no! Poor kitty!!! I wonder if he’ll have phantom tail syndrome, where he feels like he’s swishing his tail but of course nothing’s there.

    Great tip on the yogurt. I’ve been planning to make more grain-based salads, and it will be nice to have an alternative to vinaigrettes to mix things up.

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  56. Awwwe poor guy. 🙁 Our dog went through kind of the same thing except it was because he got hit by a car..so now he has a stub. He kind of looks better this way, though! And so does Tig..it gives him some uniqueness. 🙂

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  57. bahhhhh, so so so sad. i dont understand how people can be so terrible to animals; that is, i’m assuming a human beat him up. i love this post though, even if you’re not a total animal lover, you still are friendly 🙂 also, do you have a recipe for the millet salad? 🙂

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  60. It really p!sses me off that your neighbour STILL lets her cat outside even after he came home in such rough shape. They’re lucky he didn’t have far more serious complications from whatever mess he got into. Some people shouldn’t be allowed to own pets. Totally irresponsible.

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    • Jen – do you really think that?!
      The cat obviously is used to spending heaps of time outside. They kept him inside when it was medically necessary, but do to so beyond that would just be cruel! Who are we (as humans) to decide if/when our pets (living, breathing animals!) can go outside? Especially if he’s already used to spending much of his life out of the house, it wouldn’t be much different than if somebody took away your access to the outside entirely. If you were stuck in your house 24hours a day, relying soley on the things that somebody else brought in for you, physically incapapable of changing anything… I can’t speak for you, but I’d be miserable.
      If he was kept inside forever, yes he’d be “safe”… but utterly miserable. And personally, I think that the person who intentionally keeps their pet permanently miserable in an attempt to “keep it safe” is the one who shouldn’t have a pet.

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  67. Aw, poor kitty! That’s why I’m afraid to let my cat outside… she’s such a delicate flower; some mean cat would try to kill her, I’m sure! There’s some vicious ones around the neighborhood… Just ask my poor dog. Or my dad, who had to pay the $$$$ vet bill.

    Wow, what a name! But its actually a really good fit, in my opinion… he looks like an “Esperanzo”. All regal, tall, and thin like a Spanish man, lol.

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  70. Poor little guy! We’ve always been outdoor cat people and have had healthy, happy cats who have lived for many years. I’d actually feel guilty keeping them *in,* because, although I know they might be safer (but probably less healthy), they’d be so unhappy (as is the case with my parents cats now who had to go from being outdoor to indoor due to external circumsances), so I’m a little surprised at all the outdoor-cat hate! We rescue kitties and keep them up on their vet visits–how does letting them play outside automatically make me an irresponsible cat owner, I wonder? My brother’s dog was once playing with my Mom’s cat and the kitty ended up with a broken leg–indoors. Anything can happen! Happy to see that Tig looks happy as a little clam again :).

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    • ^^this! We’ve always had outdoor cats too and (depending on where you live) I think it’s a little strange to have indoor cats!

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      • We should probably keep our kids inside too, much safer if they stay in a bubble and live with us until their around 80 or so!

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  72. MEOW! That is sad he lost his tail… but hilarious that you asked if she was Tiger’s mom! I’m glad he healed up well, otherwise. My silly cat scratches his own face off and has to wear a cone!

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  75. Wow seriously? The poor cat owner, and of course the poor cat. Cats are animals first and pets second and I for one think its cruel to keep cats inside when they should be outside playing and frolicing and whatnot. All of my (5!) cats are outside cats and yes, sometimes they get into fights. Most are minor and they learn not to go into another cats territory, some are more serious. My baby came home with a hole in her tail once. Grossed me out, she didn’t even seem to notice. I took her to the vet and got her stitched up and she is as good as new and she still goes outside. That doesn’t make me a bad pet owner, that makes me realistic about pet ownership. If a kid skins his knee running around do you make him walk the rest of his life and never run?

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  76. Indoor/Outdoor cats always spark some heated debates! Just something to consider for all you outside cat fans: as an animal lover, I really dislike having outdoor cats in the neighborhood. Reasons? I hate (HATE) to find kitties killed in my busy neighborhood street and most don’t have collars or tags, so I can’t even let the owner know. My HOA has strictly enforced rules about dogs: have to be leashed at all times, must pick-up after them, no excessive barking, no critter killing, have to wear identification, have to be registered with the HOA, etc. But cats have free run of the place to kill the baby bunnies in my yard, poo in my plant pots, leave kitty prints on my car, and my favorite – sit outside the french doors to torment my dog by pointedly ignoring him whilst grooming or napping in the sunshine (I do find the humor in this particular cat’s evil genius :). I guess my point to outdoor kitty owners, just consider that maybe not everyone wants to deal with the after-effects of a cat’s behavior. And while my husband and I are nice to our neighbors’ cats, not everyone is. In my childhood neighborhood, people would turn water hoses on cats, shoot them with BB guns and more to keep them away from their homes. I won’t even go into the more disgusting animal cruelty that would crop up in the news. Or the subject of spaying and neutering and pet overpopulation.

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  79. The color in the photos of the watermelon are amazing.. look so juicy & watermelony haha… great pics Kath 🙂

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