16

Thanksgiving Presentation at Critter Cove Elementary School – Part 2

Thanksgiving Foods That are Toxic To Cats - Cat Hospital of Tucson

Where we are – Timmy Tortie has given a presentation about human customs for celebrating Thanksgiving. The children decided that they would create their own Thanksgiving celebration to demonstrate the right way to do it. You can read Part 1 here.

Ms. Celeste: Welcome to the Critter Cove Elementary School Thanksgiving feast! Everyone was supposed to bring a dish to share and be prepared to share what they are thankful for.

Can Cats Eat Fish Bones? Are Fish Bones Safe For Cats? - CatTime

Timmy: I brought my mom’s special kibble. It has three kinds of fish.

Ms. Celeste: That looks delicious! And what are you thankful for?

Timmy: I’m thankful that she only makes it on special occasions because I have to help clean the fish.

Ralph Raccoon: That smells really good!

Pin on raccoons

Ms. Celeste: What did you bring, Ralph?

Ralph: I brought popcorn.

Ms. Celeste: Why popcorn? Is that a family treat?

Ralph: Every year, my family watches A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving together. And that’s what Snoopy makes for dinner. I’m thankful that my family spends time together.

Ms. Celeste: That’s a nice idea. Who’s next?

Will Those Holiday Leftovers Poison Your Cat? - CatGazette

Susie Siamese: I brought some turkey. It’s traditional for the humans, and I think it’s really yummy.

Ms. Celeste: Very nice, Susie. And what are you thankful for?

Susie: I’m thankful for supermarkets. Do you have any idea how hard it would be to catch a bird this big? And for my mom. She cooked the whole thing.

Ms. Celeste: Moms are pretty useful.

Wolf and his watermelon. : r/wolves

Jimmy Wolf: I’m next. I brought in some sweet potatoes and squash.

Ms. Celeste: Those look good. But I’m a little surprised. I didn’t realize that wolves ate things like that.

Jimmy: We don’t. I was really excited about the dinner and was talking about it with our neighbor, Mr. Jackson. He’s a deer. He suggested that since the class is full of carnivores that maybe some vegetables would be a nice change.

Ms. Celeste: That’s an excellent idea.

Jimmy: And I’m thankful that I have such a nice neighbor. He helped me pick out the food to bring.

One of Cheri's three as yet unnamed cubs discovering that … | Flickr

Belinda Bear: I brought berry pies. I thought that we should have something for dessert. And I love berries.

Ralph: Yum! I love pie. Did your mom make them?

Belinda: Actually, my sister helped me make them. Mom’s pretty traditional. She still thinks this time of year is for hibernation.

Ralph: Oh! So she’s sleeping full-time?

Belinda: She doesn’t do the full hibernation. She just naps a lot. She’ll be up for Christmas.

Ms. Celeste: And what are you thankful for?

Belinda: I’m thankful that I made it to school without eating the pies.

The class laughed.

Belinda: Actually, I’m thankful that my sister is smart enough to know how to bake.

Koko, the gorilla whose sign language abilities changed our view of animal intelligence, dies at 46 - Los Angeles Times

Tony Tabby: I brought in bananas.

Ms. Celeste: I’ve never seen a cat eat bananas. How did you decide on that?

Tony: I got them from my new neighbor. He eats them all the time.

Ms. Celeste: Who is your new neighbor?

Tony: A family of gorillas just moved in two doors down from me. One of them is named Java. He’s really friendly. And I was very thankful to learn that gorillas don’t eat kittens.

Ms. Celeste: Why would you ever think they might?

Tony: They’re huge. So it was scary at first.

Kittens eating together - YouTube

They sat down and enjoyed their feast. The children agreed that the humans definitely had one good idea: eating with friends was the best part of Thanksgiving.

Happy Thanksgiving from the Carriage Crossing Animal Hospital. | Animal hospital, Animals, Happy thanksgiving

Pictures courtesy of Google Images.

19

Limerick Lunacy

Image result for limerick ireland

(Limerick, Ireland)

Ed.Comment: Every once in a while, we like to let Cat write something for the blog. (It lets her feel like she’s part of the team, not just the site owner.) So here’s her contribution. We will be back to regular content next week.

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The young wolves were ready to howl.

They had spent the night on a prowl.

But the moon was not bright,

So they started to fight;

And were left in a mood quite foul.

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The kittens loved to play and romp.

On rubber mousies they would chomp.

They never stopped,

Or exhausted, flopped,

While trying to find things to whomp.

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The laughing bear cubs slid on the ice.

The slick ice on their paws felt quite nice.

Then one started to fall

And his mother did call,

Because he needed her ice advice.

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Sometimes our dear cats become jealous,

And may use many means to tell us

That they want to play

Or in our laps lay.

And on that point become quite zealous.

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Is the panda really a bear?

Or another species quite rare?

He’s adorably cute

In his black-and-white suit.

Relatives? He hasn’t a care.

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(not related, but very cute)

 

Pictures courtesy of Google Images

19

The Kittens’ Woodland Adventure – Conclusion

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Our story so far: Timmy and Tommy had gone on a trip to the woods with their Kitten Scout troop. They became separated from the troop and it began to rain. They decided to wait out the rain in the woods. They were awakened by a pup who wanted to play. When the pup’s mother came to get him, they discovered they had been playing with a baby wolf. To read the entire story, go here.

Mama Wolf: Stevie! I was wondering what happened to you. You shouldn’t run away like that. (Sees the kittens.) Oh! You were hunting! Good wolfie!

(Timmy and Tommy look at each other, terrified.)

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Stevie: Mama! I wasn’t hunting. These are my friends, Timmy and Tommy. They were staying here until the rain ended. We’ve been playing.

Mama Wolf: Sweetie, you’re a wolf. You don’t play with kittens. They’re prey.

Stevie: Not these ones. They’re my friends.

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Mama Wolf: Honey, they can’t be your friends. They’re kittens.

Stevie (starting to cry): Mama! I can’t eat them. I asked them to play. We’ve been having a lot of fun.

Mama Wolf didn’t know what to do. The kittens looked tasty. But Stevie had made friends with them. It didn’t seem right to eat his friends. And they were pretty cute.

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Meanwhile, Mr. Moggie had called Timmy and Tommy’s mother. She was frantic with worry. She wanted to go into the woods to look for her babies. It was almost night, and they wouldn’t know what to do by themselves.

Mr. Moggie reminded her that she didn’t have any idea where her kittens were and that she wouldn’t be safe wandering around alone either. She began to hiss at him, reminding him that she had trusted him with her kittens and now they were lost.

She sat at the edge of the woods and refused to move. Mr. Moggie sat next to her. It seemed the least he could do.

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Finally Mama Wolf decided that it was more important that Stevie keep his word to his friends than to teach him about appropriate friends.

Mama Wolf: All right, Stevie. We’ll take care of your friends tonight. We can’t go out of the woods at night because someone might shoot us. And it’s not safe to send them out by themselves.

Stevie: Thank you, Mama. I swear I’ll only play with wolves from now on.

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(Stevie went over to the kittens, who had been too terrified to move.)

Stevie: Did you hear that guys? Mama’s going to keep you safe tonight. And we’ll get you home tomorrow.

Timmy (nervously): That’s great, Stevie. Are you sure she won’t eat us?

Stevie: Don’t worry. Wolves are very loyal. If we say we won’t eat you, we won’t.

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Mama Wolf found a concealed place to lie down. She hoped none of the other wolves had seen her. Stevie and the kittens curled up in her tail and were soon fast asleep.

In the morning, Mama Wolf took the kittens to the edge of the woods closest to their home. She stayed back in the shadows.

Mama Wolf: OK, here we are. Please don’t tell anyone about what happened last night. Kittens aren’t safe in the woods.

Timmy and Tommy nodded. They thanked her and Stevie for protecting them. The wolves ran back into the forest, and the kittens ran out of it.

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Mama Cat ran over to Timmy and Tommy. She sniffed them to make sure they were OK. Aside from a strange scent, everything seemed fine.

Mama Cat: My babies! Are you all right? How did you manage in the woods by yourselves all night? I was so worried.

Timmy: We’re fine, Mama. We found a nice safe spot to spend the night. We didn’t wake up until the sun came out.

Mama Cat: You both need a bath. You smell like some kind of wild animal.

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Tommy (looking at Timmy): Well, it was a really good spot. A lot of other animals probably slept there too.

Mama Cat: I’m just glad you’re back home and safe. And next time, I’m going to be one of the mothers on the trip.

The kittens looked at each other and groaned.

Image result for happy christmas

 

All pictures courtesy of Google Images

 

12

 The Kittens’ Woodland Experience

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Brothers Timmy and Tommy were very excited. Their Kitten Scout troop was taking a trip to the woods nearby. They had never been there and were hoping to see bears and wolves and all kinds of wild animals. Their mother tried to explain that they might see raccoons or squirrels, but that their leader would keep them away from anything dangerous.

They were up at dawn on the day of the trip. Oh no! It was raining. A lot. They were afraid the trip was canceled. Sure enough, their mother got a call from the scout master. But the trip wasn’t canceled; it was postponed until the afternoon when the weather was going to be better.

Image result for cats and kittens

There were ten kittens on the trip as well as the leader and two mothers. Each mother was responsible for five kittens. Timmy and Tommy were really glad that their mother hadn’t called in time to be one of the chaperones. She would have spent the whole time watching them. It would have been too embarrassing.

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The leader’s name was Mr. Moggie. He was a nice cat, but very easily confused. The kittens liked him because he usually let them do whatever they wanted while he was trying to get organized. Luckily, he was required to bring extra adults along on a trip like this.

When they got to the woods, Mr. Moggie told them to practice their “quiet walking” so the other animals wouldn’t be afraid of them. Being cats, walking quietly should have been natural; as kittens, it was impossible. He didn’t have much luck stopping their chatter either.

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Finally Mr. Moggie decided that he would teach the kittens about the different kinds of scents they could find in the forest. That sounded like fun to the kittens. They gathered around a tree and sniffed. The kittens guessed that it was a dog. Mr. Moggie told them that the scent belonged to a fox.

Next he took them to a pile of droppings. The kittens thought it was disgusting to have to go near it and sniff. They decided that it was some kind of big cat. It was a raccoon. As they went on, the kittens got better at identifying squirrels, rabbits, and woodchucks.

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But after a while they were bored. Mr. Moggie wasn’t sure what to do next. He had planned to show them how to fish in the creek and how to find shelter, but couldn’t decide. He wanted to talk to the mothers about it.

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He told the kittens to play close by while they discussed what would happen next. The kittens ran and chased each other around. Timmy was chasing Tommy when they realized that they had run away from the rest of the group. They headed back when it started to rain again.

As soon as it started to rain, Mr. Moggie told everyone to run out of the woods so they could go home. They raced through the trees. When they got out, Mr. Moggie did a tail count. There were only eight kittens! Timmy and Tommy were still in the forest.

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He panicked. What was he going to tell their mother? Should he go back in and try to find them? Should he take the other kittens home first? Could the lost kittens hear his voice if he yowled?

Meanwhile, Timmy and Tommy found a dry spot to wait out the storm. They weren’t going anywhere until it dried out. Soon they were fast asleep.

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The next thing he knew, Timmy felt a wet nose on his fur. He looked up and saw a huge dog! He started crying and woke his brother. They waited to be eaten.

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The “dog” looked at them in amazement. He had never seen kittens before. He wanted to play. The kittens weren’t sure, but he insisted. They romped around until the kittens were exhausted.

Finally, the “dog’s” mother came looking for him. When the kittens saw her, they were terrified. They hadn’t been playing with a dog. He was a wolf pup.

 

To be continued

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All pictures courtesy of Google Images