Looking for a Dog~

On By cindy knokeIn Conservation, HOLLER HAPPENINGS, MY PHOTOGRAPHS, REVERIES, Wild Life


I have been distracted lately because we have been making the rounds of rescue organizations looking for a dog.

We were getting overwhelmed with choices, when I decided to look at cats for a change. I am both a dog and cat person, my husband is also, but he is predominantly, Dr. Cats Knoke, “The Feral Cat Herder.” Some of you may remember this post about Jim’s core “catness.”

Dr. Cats Knoke: The Feral Cat Herder~



Anyhoo, The Holler’s local veterinarian referred us to a non-profit organization run by a network of volunteer feral kitten foster parents called, “Love Your Feral Felines (LYFF).” LYFF rescues feral cats with kittens, and separates the kittens at 6 weeks to be raised by foster families so they don’t become feral like their mammas. Feral Mama’s are spayed and returned to where they were, or adopted out as barn cats in their barn cat program.

Check out some information on this brilliant organization and it’s amazing network of volunteers who open their homes to feral cats and kittens:

About Us


We met lots of wonderful, healthy kittens and three amazing foster mom volunteers. Thank you Sally, Katie and Kim! All the kittens are up to date on their immunizations, have tested negative for FLV/FIV, have been micro-chipped and spayed. If you are thinking of adopting a kitten, consider a feral cat rescue organization like LYFF.

I was getting overwhelmed with choices again. But then we met Herbert, an 11 week old feral kitten who is in no way feral any longer, and all the confusing choices slipped away. So this is our new dog Herbert!

Look at this total love bug! He and his two sibs were raised by a super nice foster mom named Katie and my husband agrees this is the most well adjusted kitten either of us have ever seen. These photos were taken today, during his first twelve hours, at his new Holler home!

He explored The Holler, slept in his bed, and purred on our laps in between.

And here he is discovering the hummingbirds! I imagine Herbert and I will spend many days together hummingbird watching! We both are fascinated by them, albeit for different reasons. Don’t worry though, the hummers are safe. Herbert will never be outside because of the coyote danger, but he does have a sunny interior courtyard with trees to enjoy, as soon as Mrs. Black Phoebe vacates her nest.

Many thanks to “Love Your Feral Felines,” and cheers to you from little Herbert in his happy Holler home~

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500 thoughts on “Looking for a Dog~”

    1. It is so strange. I saw his photo on the rescue website, and after such a long period of choices and doubts, went to bed to sleep on it. I called the rescue when I woke up, suddenly decided, and said, I am coming to get this cat. When I went to see him, he was the first living thing running to the door to meet me.
      I said, “This cat is adopted.”
      It seems meant to be….

      Reply

    1. Oh my God!!! Read my reply just above. Here it is:
      “It is so strange. I saw his photo on the rescue website, and after such a long period of choices and doubts, went to bed to sleep on it. I called the rescue when I woke up, suddenly decided, and said, I am coming to get this cat. When I went to see him, he was the first living thing running to the door to meet me.
      I said, “This cat is adopted.”
      It seems meant to be….”
      You are confirming exactly what I am feeling.

      Reply

    1. He had a wonderful foster family, with loving adults, two adoring children, and a big shepard mix to sleep on. Still I sense, he enjoys the quiet and computer time at The Holler! Laughing…..

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    1. I am honored to name Herbert in your father’s honor. He is such a wonderful creature. I wonder if his traumatic start, feral kitten, time at kill oriented animal control, rescue and early separation from mom, make him a more grateful cat. It certainly seems that way to me. Hugs to you Sally and moved by your love for your father.

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  5. Welcome to your new home, Herbert. You are very lucky, like I was. I am also a rescue at from a shelter. I have been with my two leggeds for about six months now and love my new home! Ask me for advice any time! Garfield

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  6. Our last two cats were ferals. They were brother and sister and born under a bush in a wild place behind our house. My wife and a neighbor trapped the mama had her spayed and released. There were five kittens and all were adopted by neighbors. Of course, we had to bottle feed them until they were ready to eat. They were so cute. That was twenty years ago and the last of the littler passed last week.

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    1. Oh my gosh! How moving and wonderful that you and your wife took this on, and they were part of your family all of these years. This gives me goosebumps, and more faith in the depth of human kindness. I am so sorry for your loss and so happy that mama cat chose the right bush to put her kittens in.

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  7. What at great organization you found. Herbert is delightful. I especially like the long hair behind his ears. I look forward to hearing and seeing more as he settles into his new home!

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    1. We are all kind of blown away by Herbert. He is so well behaved, so loving, and so interactive. We lucked out big time finding Herbert. And yes, the people who make up LYFF show us how truly kind and amazing human beings can be.

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  9. He is absolutely precious and so lucky to find a home with you and the feral cat herder. Is he my long lost brother? Almost all of my cats have been feral but stayed that way; affectionate with limits.

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    1. How awesome that all your cats have all been feral. It says so much good about you, and them!
      Herbert just typed this! He’s a blogging cat!
      ]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]]lnwonb 98I.
      I did add the period.
      Proper punctuation is important for every cat.
      I see no limits to Herbert’s affection. He watches Madam Secretary with me on my kindle, curled under my chin…..
      I am definitely going to up-entertainment him to more serious drama.
      Love you and your feral felines!
      When it comes down to it, I am basically a feral feline too.
      Maybe you are.
      Love to you and your cats.
      <3

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      1. I am definitely a feral cat. In fact a female friend just commented on my behavior with the men of our species. (I had hugged an Operations Manager…) Herbert is so clever! Miss Katniss could learn some manners from him. I fed her this morning and was perplexed to see her sitting by the dishes. When I went out, she had covered the unwanted very expensive food with pebbles and dirt. Some crunch was deemed acceptable… Happy Cat Mother’s Day! 😺

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  10. Clowie

    I can see why you fell in love with Herbert – he is gorgeous! One of our cats thinks he’s a dog-in-disguise, perhaps Herbert is. 😀

    Reply

  13. Pingback: Looking for a Dog~ | Campbells World

  15. Namaste Cindy 🙂

    He is a little charmer,
    A furball, a kitty, a cat,
    Soft paws and innocence,
    Wide-eyes staring back.
    ~
    Herbert is his handle,
    A title to grow into,
    A pretty kitty causing scandal,
    Unless he’s been seen to!
    ~
    O how he will be loved,
    How he will be treasured to,
    Herbert the pirate buccaneer,
    Now harbours close to you.
    ~

    He’s beautiful Cindy 🙂 I know whilst he’s in your loving care he’ll never want for anything….how I love a happy ending! lol 🙂

    Hoping all is well with one and all. Take care enjoy Sunday.

    Namaste 🙂

    DN

    Reply

    1. He really wants to answer you himself and he is so creative on the keyboard! He seems to love technology and is hogging my kindle to play the cat apps. Thank you for the lovely poem and have a wonderful week Dewin~

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  16. I have had both dogs and cats. It has always been my preference for cats. I have a beautiful ‘Ragdoll’ neutered male. I would insert his picture, but don’t know how to do in the comments area.

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  23. What a sweet kitten! He’s going to have a great new home with doting “parents”–for sure! Hope he gives you years and years of love and fun.

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  27. Adorable kitten. The hummers probably wouldn’t be in any danger from a cat. They are way too fast. One actually taunted my sister’s cat once when it saw her trying to stalk it, and that cat was an excellent hunter. A mouser extraordinaire. People think they want a mouser, but really they want a de-mouser. That cat really moused the house. As in constantly bringing them in – dead or alive. Anyway as for the hummingbird, It hovered in the air staying just out of the cat’s reach scolding for awhile and then changed its tune to more of a na na na na can’t catch me before flying off. Other not so speedy wildlife might not fare so well though – depending on the cat’s disposition. They don’t all hunt. My son once had a cat he could actually put into his gerbil cage along with the gerbils and they were all perfectly safe.

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    1. Ok. I love the hamster story and your son for knowing he could pull this off! Classic!! The hummers are fast, but the roadrunner can be more wiley. The hummers are so used to be uncatchable, that they don’t survey credible threats very well, since they think there aren’t any, and of course they are right about this, about 99% of the time, or so. They know they are fast and pretty uncatchable.
      This works to the roadrunner’s advantage very rarely. I have only seen it happen once, but when it did work, the roadrunner looked at me with such pride that I was entirely flummoxed, when he caught a hummingbird in mid-air.

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  32. Hi Cindy. That’s what happened when we adopted a year old, husky/lab, years ago. (Sassy had been rescued by the owner’s sister after being severely neglected.) When we went to meet her, she had just been given a bath outside and after a brief chat with the sister, Sassy ran to the open door of the car and jumped right in. We had just gone to see her, but Sassy decided that she was coming home with us. Beautiful photos of Herbert. 🙂

    Reply

    1. It is amazing isn’t it! Animals have sensory abilities that we lack, and all we need to do to see this is watch them and pay attention. Wonderful! Lucky you and lucky Sassy <3

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  34. How wonderful for Herbert! He’ll never experience his feral roots. I’m so thankful for people who adopt animals and children. There’s no greater love than to give love, care, and a loving home to the abandoned and hurting in this world.
    Cheers to Cindy and your family forgiving this precious little one security.

    Reply

    1. He is sitting behind me on the my chair where he sits when I blog, purring up a storm. It feels to me like he is 100% agreeing with everything you are saying. Love to you sweet Nancy and thank you for your wisdom and sensitivity <3

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  40. Good mercy, he’s precious and makes me squee. I love his ear-fluff. My darling Felicity (RIP) had that ear fluff, and I am forever endeared. May Herbert bring you daily joy for decades! Bless his ear fluff! 🙂

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    1. It is so touching to hear these stories from people about their loving and happy memories of their deceased and much loved pets. It is a testament to the lasting contribution animals provide in your lives and in our happiness. <3

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  41. I just looked at your pictures of Herbert again and I’m feeling kitten envy. My last cat, Zeke, died more than a year ago at age 19 and 4 months. He was a rescue cat and a real sweetie. It’s good to know cats and kittens are getting good homes because of rescue organizations.

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    1. Yes, it is so very good to know there are people who volunteer for animal rescue. It encourages hope in people.
      It is simply mind boggling to hear your cat lived for 19 years 4 months. And of course now I know, up front and personal, how traumatized these kitties are, and how much they bond with humans who adopt them.
      So, lucky cat, lucky you.
      Oh, and thank you very much for loving and caring for him.

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  43. Liebe Cindy ein so schönes liebes Kätzchen wunderschöne Fotos hab ein schönes Wochenende Klaus in Freundschaft lasse meinen Blog paar Tage ruhen es wird Pfingsten bis bald

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  45. Your cat looks full of life and personality. I bet he’s an imp! My daughter rescued a farm kitten — he’s white with crystal blue eyes. He was very naughty when he was little but he learned to behave himself from the dog (a Staffordshire Bull Terrier), who’s incredibly patient with him. He admires the dog so much, he follows her everywhere. In fact, it’s possible that he thinks he ‘is’ a dog! He never wanders further than the back garden and wags his tail when he’s happy, which is very un-cat-like. I wish you all the best with the new addition to your family 🙂

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    1. He sounds like a dat. I think Herbert is a dat too. In in foster home he slept with a large shepard mix who had boundless energy. So I think he modeled lots of dog behaviors. Now he is the sole kind of his catsle, and I think he likes this quite a lot. Cheers to you Sarah and your home sounds like a happy one <3

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  46. Oh my goodness, he’s adorable! And please forgive me if this is a duplicate comment of sorts, as I typed a paragraph, then “lost it” somewhere in the ether. Herbert sure found the right home with you two. What a mellow kitty, too, greeting you at the door and letting you know that it was time to go home. There is nothing like a kitten to brighten your days. I’m so happy for you. Our Tessa, I’m fond of saying, is the kitten we didn’t know we needed. She’s over a year old now, and continues to brighten our days, along with the older cats. Enjoy!

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    1. He brought lots of smiles and happiness with him into our home. Tessa sounds like a lucky cat too! Cheers to you and thank you for such a thoughtful comment.

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  47. What a handsome kitty. I only wish my dear late feral Pharoah had such a caring beginning. He never outgrew his feral nature although it was obvious he tried to change himself. He loved his pillows on the loveseat and enjoyed being indoors as much as out on the deck in the sun. Herbert seems to have a much better start at the domestic thing and will do well. Look forward to seeing pics as he grows up!

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    1. Pharoah is such a fitting name for a feral cat. So lovely of you to give him a home. Herbert is remarkable. He stares directly into your eyes, as if searching for your soul. Unusual for any cat

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  48. Awwwww! Cindy! I’m in love! Herbert is adorable and lovely! I was just thinking as I was looking at your other beautiful kittie pics, that overwhelming as it can be, you just know when you find the right one…and the next minute there we are! You have found Herbert! I think you’ve hit the jackpot with this one! 🙂

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    1. Yes! This is exactly how it was, and is. He has the whole family wrapped around his paws! It may be his rough start in life that makes him such a completely affectionate and appreciative cat. He is just a total joy <3

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