Have a speech you'd like to share with your fellow older cats on any topic? If you'd like to make a
speech, any length, send it to me, Spike Brewer and I'll reward 50 points for each speech sent.

Hi; my name is Toby LeCompte. I'm a 16 year old tortoise shell beauty who has been learning the art of being a graceful Elder. It isn't easy, as I'm sure you are discovering, to grow old in a way that preserves one's dignity. Oh, I remember how I ran, jumped, and played effortlessly, blissfully feeling that I would be forever young! It seems that old age pounced on me all in one day, though, from around the corner, when I wasn't looking! How did this happen? Suddenly, I noticed odd things......my legs felt sore; it was hard to style my fur; my tummy suffered with indigestion; I counted numerous little complaints of things that never bothered me before. I was incensed; I had grown old and not noticed! Would mommy still love me? I kept a close eye on her after that, purposely watching for anything she did that would show me how she felt. I noticed that she wouldn't let anyone talk about how "old" I looked; she said it was disrespectful. Instead, she spoke of me as an "Elder", someone who had lived many moons, and had become wise over time. She said that there was a 'glow' about me now that she thought was beautiful. From then on, I felt happy to celebrate each passing birthday; my dignity is intact! Having such a long and happy life is such a privilege, and to share it with cherished loved ones who grow older with me is a gift. Yes, sometimes my joints ache, but when I rush out to greet my mommy when I hear the key turn in the lock, the pain disappears. There she is, thrilled to see me, saying, "Hello my sweet baby!" Those words make my heart sing. After dinner, she gently brushes my fur, while telling me how lovely I look. I gracefully accept her help, because she knows how difficult it is for me to groom myself now, and how sensitive my skin is. I have a special diet now, and have my own footstools by the sofa and the bed, so I don't hurt myself when I climb. I accept these with grace, knowing they have been provided with love, just for me. Youth is, of course, a wonderful thing, and I cherish the memories I have of it. However, to grow old, to receive the special gifts of love that come with it is give me joy each day. We are, as older kitties, so special!

Introducing Myself

by Mini meow

Gidday my friends
As an older cat and a new memfur of the society I felt I should introduce myself and give a few words of wisdom to the younger memfurs.
My name is Babouche but my new meowmie, aka the fat one, calls me Mini Meow.I have just turned 18 and am in fine condition. I moved in about 6 months ago. I am a small sized cat but compared to the great lump of a ginger tom who used to own meowmie before I came I am indeed petite. I have of course informed him of his change of status and he defurs to me as he should. Indeed he is very considerate of my status...actually I have got him bluffed as I am less than 4 lb and he is over 20lb..but not very brave.....or very respectfull..which ever you prefer.
The fat one ,fortunately for me, has been pretrained by some very responsible cats and has required minimal supplementry training. We have had to do some compromizing...I agreed not to bite VERY hard ( this was a habit I'd gotten into to show I was boss) in return for chewing the fat ones earrings, I always wanted to do this but was not allowed in my old house.But my all time favourite thing is to rest on the right bicep of t.f.o.( and it must be the right) and rest my cheek on her cheek so our breaths mingle........
to do this in a satisfactory manner..I must turn my head and she must lean back ( she says it is not a comfortable position but I like it) . AH heaven....I can spend hours like that. If she doesn't get it right I just stand staring at her from very close until the guilt sets in and she presents bicep.

Now kitties a few things that you must get to enjoy life...an electric heating pad for your bed, airconditioning..a must for summer,an enclosed garden ..for basking in safety...I dont run as fast as I used to..and I like relaxing in the sun in the brick circle, oh and get as many kitty toys as you can ...they should be strewn all over the house so people will know you own the place.
I'll keep you posted on the mews in the house.
purrs
Mini meow

Food for Kitty Thought

~by Mewsette

We older kitties are dealing with a lot of diseases these days. My
furmother and I are both battling kidney disease, we have friends who
have diabetes, and we know of cats with cancer. We have recently lost
some friends from these diseases. We don't like to think about these
things, but sometimes we must.

50 years ago, before we lived, these things were unheard of in cats.
They are not just old-age diseases, because young cats get them, too.
But they used to be human diseases.

50 years ago, the fast rise of the commercial cat food industry began.
Now those foods are all most cats ever eat. Before that, the earliest
canned food for cats was horsemeat. Doesn't sound nice, you say? Well,
it was just plain meat without added corn meal, cereal, grain hulls,
tallow, sawdust, plant gums, sugar beet residue, nut shells, and I
won't
even say what else. But it didn't have the taurine we need, because it
was cooked and processed. Neither did later cat foods, until it came to
light that cats were dying from those foods because the taurine was
cooked away. So they started adding taurine, and chemical vitamin
mixtures to replace the nutrients cooked away.

50 years ago, the common meal for a cat was a mouse she caught herself,
or maybe a small rabbit if she lived in the country. Yes, maybe a bird,
if she could catch one. They aren't that easy to catch, since we can't
fly, but nobody thought birds were more important than cats in those
days. A mouse is a perfect meal; mostly meat and a tiny bit of grain or
vegetable matter from the mouse's stomach. Doesn't sound nice, you say?
Well, that perfect little meal did have the taurine we need, because it
wasn't cooked and processed out. The cat didn't build a fire and cook
it, she didn't put it in a can and heat-process it, she didn't bake it
and implode it into dry pebbles, she just ate it.

50 years ago, humans commonly gave cats scraps of meat and fish to eat,
mostly raw. In fact, that was common through all the times that humans
gave food to cats. They knew we are carnivores, and that was what we
required. Doesn't sound nice, you say? Well, that's what we choose for
ourselves in our prey. Many of us died young in those days, from feline
diseases there were no preventatives or cures for. Many died young from
accidents and injuries, when we mostly all ran around outside. But we
did not die of the human diseases that are epidemic among us now.

These are modern times. Many humans try to eat a more natural diet for
their health, because they learned that is wise. When are they going to
apply this reasoning to their cats? What is a more natural diet for us
cats, which we would seek for our health because we are also wise? Some
humans eat sushi and steak tartare' themselves. Know what those are?
Raw
meat. Why in the world can't we have some? Humans can live on cereal if
they want to, but we can't.

Yes, it is food for kitty thought. We would like humans to think about
it, too. Thank you for listening to my speech!

 

Hi. I'm a new memfur to OCS and CLAW. My name is Simony & I'm a
furry beautiful 11 year old Chocolate-Point Siamese. I see most haf
said that being indoors is best - here's a diffurent opinion... I've
been an outdoor kitty all my life & wouldn't haf it any ofur way. My
human has always tried to get me to come inside, (growl) but I just
don't like it. Oh, when i was young, I used to grab a snack or nap
befur demanding to go back out, but I just like it outside best. My
humans and their other furry & feathery friends all think I'm crazy
because I growl, hiss, spit, sniff, snort and purr all at the same
time, and maybe I am. Some humans that don't know me well are scared of me,
and I like it that way. But I'm furry sweet to my (purrrs) main human
(sometimes even to some of the others, when it suits me) She is furry
obedient and I think she takes excellent care of me. Anyway, I do haf
some fafurite spots in the shade where I like to be. Besides, there
aren't any wild rabbits, squirrels, mice, birds, or anything like that
in there, at least none that I'm allowed to hunt, and I am a Great
Huntress. (My human has had some parrots, fish and some other creatures
all my life that she calls (hisss) "pets." I get along with all of
them, even the d'g, but the outdoors is my domain. One good thing I
haf to say about indoor kitties is that it does keep them out of trouble.
There's another cat (spit) that also owns my human, and I'm furry furry
glad that he's a strictly indoor cat. I don't like him furry much -
he's afraid of me, too, but he's furry playful and nosey (grr). The
juvenile! I haf no use fur such kittens. So it's okay fur some.
Well, that's all I haf to meow about that! (sniff snort) Thanks fur
listening. (Purrrrrrrr)
Simony

---

It use to really bother me that I was growing older. As a kitten I liked to ride in cars and play fetch with peppermint candies. I was the terror of siblings and would jump on them any time I had the opportunity. I remember climbing Meowmie's lace curtains and the grass cloth wall paper on her walls. That was so long ago. When I reached 10 I consoled myself with the fact that I was mature and at 15 I had wisdom. Now at 19 I am just an old cat. Being an old cat doesn't mean that you have to just lay down and nap for ever. It means you can get away with anything!

Now is I want to tear up a piece of paper I don't get yelled, Meowmie justs pats me and gives me a fresh sheet of paper. If I am laying on her book she doesn't rudely push me off she just pets me and tells me how much she loves me. a few years ago when I started walking in circles I was told I was nuts and senile. Now everything thinks it's cool that I get so much exercise. I always get the first choice of tempting treats cut into small bites that I chew easy. When it is cold Meowmie always cuddles me to keep me warm. If I want fresh water I get fresh water. and I don't just get fresh water, it is bottled from Hot Spring, Arkansas and it comes from the water cooler. No more having to sneak drinks from that big water dish in the bathroom.

I may not hear everything anymore, I may not see as clear as I use to and I may be a bit more short tempered but being an old cat sure has its advantages. Think about it kitties. Grow old and allow yourselves to be pampered in ways you never dreamed possible. I don't miss being a kitten at all!

Purrs, Sasha Brewer

My name is Taurus and I am 10 years old. I have 2 younger siblings, Luckie
and Gizmo. A topic that I feel is very important is safety. Us older cats
sometimes tend to forget things. I know personally I rely on my two younger
siblings to remind me. I am an indoor cat but have tried to run out on
occasion which is a very bad idea. Lots of dangers are on the streets and it
better to be safe inside mewr home. Please try and think twice before doing
something like this. Stay inside.

Mrrow, Older Cats. I have nefur given a speech, so I decided it's high
time I did. I saw that this month's theme is shelters, and I had some
thoughts I wanted to share with mew all. Not that I know anything at all
about shelters except what I read in CLAW, I do not, but my thoughts are
connected.

The U.S. is a vast country, from what I read. Our problems are magnified
by sheer numbers here. I read that in the small countries of Europe they
have more no-kill shelters than we do here. They also have far fewer
cats. Are those things connected? I don't know.

I was born in the Ozark mountains 18 1/2 years ago, outside on a roof. I
don't know what became of my fur mother or my siblings, except one older
than me, my half-sisfur Patches, was adopted before I was by my mom. But
I know because of where I came from that cats are not valued enough in
our country. Where I came from, they lived outside, ate whatever they
could find, and if a cat disappeared, no one thought much about it. Cats
were not adopted, they were given away or disposed of. That was a long
time ago, but I wonder if things have changed much in all these years. I
don't think so.

My half-sisfur Patches was killed in a trap in the woods her second
winter. I heard a neighbor ask my mom why she bothered looking for
Patches, when she was "just a cat." I finished raising her son, and we
were wedwinks when he was older. I admit that I contributed to the kitty
over-population problem a few times myself before my mom had me spayed.
She was learning about things like that, but many humans nefur learn and
nefur listen.

I happen to believe that this whole country places so little value on
cats because, except fur pedigreed cats, we are given away free, as if
we are not worth anything. It seems humans ask fur money fur puppies
more than they do fur kittens, so I guess the ones who take them home
think the kittens are not worth much. I wish it was not that way. I have
nothing against pedigreed cats, in fact we have one in our house. I'm
not crazy about her, but I don't hold being pedigreed against her.
Humans like to continue pure breeds of cats, and I don't want to see
them disappear any more than I want to see the majestic tigers
disappear.

But let's call a spade a spayed. There is no earthly reason fur humans
to let all the rest of us breed constantly, and the shelters are full of
their carelessness. Efury precious little kitten life should be valued,
and they are not. I adored my kittens, and I know efury one of them went
to a good home, too, especially the ones who stayed with us! They are
all gone now, except my last daughter, Mewsette.

It's rather a moot point to discuss spay and neuter among us senior
catizens; I imagine all of us have been. But we are old enough to know
that we lived this long because we are valued by our humans. I would
like to see all cats truly valued, the way we are. Somehow I don't think
there would be many cats in shelters if they were. I speak purrty plain
and do not mince words at my age, but I don't mean to offend anyone. I
only wish there would be more value as special beings placed on cats,
while I am alive to see it.

I tried furry hard not to fall asleep in the middle of my speech, and
mew see I did not. But now I shall. Thank mew fur listening.

by BamBam

My name is Mayo and I am also a memfur of the JR support group. I would
like to take a few minutes to mew about the older cats in todays society. I
feel that not enough repsect is given to those that have spent their lives
making sure that we have a good life. Some kitties take the older generation
for granted. If they could only understand how difficult they had things
when they were kittens they would understand. My Meowmie always taught
me respect and manors for my elders. Meowmie was on a train and she saw
many teens sitting there while an elderly man with a cane tried to stand as
the subway swayed back and forth. It was difficut for him to keep his
balance, but no matter how hard Meowmie tried, he would not take her seat
because she was a lady.

Mew know when mew get older mew are going to want people to treat mew
with respect so treat them now as mew would like to be treated when mew
get that age.

As a Junior Member of OCS I would first like to say how delighted I am to have been invited to join this wonderful 
Society, I am very fortunate to already know some of the members so I do not feel like a "stranger" at all, and the
warmth of friendliness of all have made me feel so welcome.
 
One the many things which impressed me so much was the positive attitude of the senior Cats, this is an example
which all cats of all ages should take notice of, seniority does not equate with senility, even though with some the
bones ache a little and maybe they cannot run and hunt as they did when mere youngsters, their minds are even 
more agile than ever.  
 
And what minds they have, full of knowledge acquired during their lifetimes  taught to them by that greatest teacher 
of all, experience!   To listen to them speak is to sit at the feet of a sage.   So much wisdom, so much knowledge is
stored there,which they willingly impart to younger cats.   It is wonderful that nature, in her wisdom, adapts to the 
changes which come with the years, the slowing of the body is replaced with a store-house of knowledge along with
the time and desire to teach and help others.   No longer able maybe to rush around hither and thither the older cat
is content to sit  down and chat to youngsters, giving them all the benefit of the wisdom they have garnered through
their long and eventful lifetimes.   
 
Many find this a time when they write more, preferring the pen to the hunt and what wonderful poems and books
flow from their pens.  Ah yes, they make us laugh and make us cry.   Humour is drier wittier than ever sharpened
by life itself, and sorrow is deeper, all emotions  more finely honed, tuned by their experiences.
 
It is wonderful also to see that the golden Cats are as fond of romance as any moon struck youngster, because
I know of some who are,even as I speak preparing for their wedwinking.   They show that love knows no age barrier
and that older cats are just as much if not more so, capable of loving and caring for another as are the younger
ones, that wedwinks are not the sole province of the young.
 
We, as junior Members, who gain so much from knowing the Golden Age Cats are able to help them, to be their
"legs" and help with the "running around" jobs, to search the web and help them find answers for some of the
special needs associated with growing older.   We can be there for them ready to help in anyway.  
 
In conclusion I would like to say that it is a wonderful thing too that we have opportunity of merging youths 
exuberance with maturates cautions!   the OCS Cats are an example to all, LIVE LOVE AND ENJOY life to its 
fullest!   This is one of the greatest things theyshow us - how to enjoy every moment of life, not just a few selected
ones, but every single moment!
 
Thank you for listening and attending my speech!

Mew, Older Kitties. My name is Mewsette. I saw there were no new speeches here yet, so I should like
to mew about how furry special we older kitties are to our hoomans. If we haf lived to an old age, we
must haf been well taken care of. That's how I know we are special to them.

I will be 14 years old in April. Do you know that is the same as 72 years old for a hooman? My, that's a
long time. I admit I haf been luckier than many kitties, because I haf been cherished all my life. Which
is only my due, of course, as the Queen of the Universe! I am a tall, slender, long haired calico, and haf
managed to keep my figure, which is more than I can say for my 17 year old mother cat. Meow. But I
love her furry much and comfort her now that she is troubled by arthritis and does not see furry well any
more. Many things can go wrong with our health as we get older, and this is another way our hoomans
can show how much we mean to them, by helping us stay well.

After all these years, I believe we become so close to our hooman that she knows what we are thinking
and can tell what we need. She sees if something is not right with us, fur she pays attention and takes
care to see. This is impurrtant when we get older. And the best thing is that we older cats know exactly
how to manipulate our hooman into doing what we want or need after so many years of practice! I am a
pretty calm kitty these days - it was not always so - but I don't haf to work hard and get all out of breath
to let my meowmie know what I want, and neither do you! Meowmies are very tuned in to us by now.
If my litter box does not meet my high standards of cleanliness (due to 2 other cats in the house messing
mine up instead of their own!) I simply go to her and meow and ask her to follow me. She does. Yours
will too. I take her to the offensive box and point out the problem. She is very quick to remedy it. If am
not in the mood for the dinner she gives me, she will ask me what I want and I tell her. A spoon of
grocery-store kitty tuna instead of the boring premium stuff, or a chicken liver lightly sauteed in real
bacon grease. She is quick to oblige then, too. We must sometimes make our hoomans understand that
our appetites are not what they once were and we need a treat!

But the best way I haf found to let Meowmie know I need attention is the simple art of pouting. You'd
be surprised how we cats can refine that art in 14 years! And my, I am good at it, I must say. I simply go
under the kitchen table, look miserable, and peek out at her under my eyelashes. She will drop whatever
she is doing and come to me to coax me out and give me lots of attention!

So, efen though we are very special to our hoomans, sometimes we should remind them how wonderfur
we are. It is good fur them and good fur us. And it makes our older years so furry nice.

Thank mew efer so much fur letting me speak.

It is often mewed that one is as young as one feels. We believe that you are as young as you think.
What, you may wonder, do The Wicked Twins mean by that.

The kitten spends most of its waking time exploring. The young mind seeks out new challenges, new
sights and sounds, new naughtiness. We must not cease these activities as we grow older. We Older Cats
should continue to explore so that we can think young.

Here is a checklist of projects that cats should participate in throughout their lives. Ask yourself how
many of them you have worked on this month, this week.

Did you (1) Climb onto something you'd never climbed on before? (2) Wake your purrson at a new,
inconvenient time just for the fun of it? (3) Try to open a door or drawer that contains something you've
no business examining? (4) Shred a book or chair that your purrson thought was safe from you? (5)
Appear suddenly, unexpectedly and make your purrson gasp in surprise? (6) Stalk a guest who admits
being afraid of cats? (7) Find a new secret hiding place? (8) Hide until your human is in a panic that you
might be lost? (9) Stroll around looking as if you have a secret in order to drive your purrson bonkers?
(10)Hide small objects in a new place - under the bath mat, perhaps, or under a pillow?

If you continue to explore your environment looking for ways to commit acts of naughtiness, you will
keep your mind and insticts active. Think young!

After Taliesin had several attacks of FUS including a couple of furry scarey late night trips to the animal
emergency clinic, our vet prescribed a special diet for him. He was only a couple of years old, and the vet
said he would have to be on this diet FOREVER! He was horrified.

Then, good furriends, meowmie told Dwnn that he would have to eat the same food! This really made
his fur stand up in horror. No more Pounce? No more tuna? No more poached salmon? Unthinkable!
Now that we've been on the diet fur ten years, we're glad that we stuck with it. We're furry, furry proud
of our meowmie fur being strong-willed and refusing to yield to our begging fur her food (but don't tell
her). There are many benefits to having good health and a long life.

We keep learning new pranks to trick meowmie. We have found several new secret places to hide in.
Also, meowmie continues to buy new rings and bracelets to replace the others we stole; we steal the new
ones, too. A tiny green thing grew into a big bush near the patio door, and it had baby birds in it this
spring. We watched them grow up and then fly away. We still have a mock-fight on the bed every
morning as a way of waking up the lazy human.

We are furry glad that the vet put Taliesin on the diet so that he could live for many more years and we
could be The Wicked Twins. We've had many good adventures since then so we don't mind the boring
food at all. In fact, the vet says she thinks we eat too much!

So don't feel bad, Older Cats, if the vet puts you on a special diet. It could mean the beginning of lots of fun.

Many humans write what is called an Ethical Will. This is not the will that disposes of
material possessions, it is the will that tells about what qualities and behaviors one values
most. We urge all cats to prepare an Ethical Will for their purrsons to have when we
leave them behind. We spend many years teaching them how to live while we are with
them, we should leave them some guidance to follow when we are no longer available for
head bumps.

Here are some of the things we want our human to remember when we are gone:
We have lived with you in a long, loving companionship. Do not be so saddened by our
leaving that you cannot enjoy the things we shared together. The flowers still will bloom;
the birds still will sing. Enjoy them as a way of our being together again. You always said
that snow falls upon your face as gently as the touch of a cat's paw. Walk often in the
snow so you do not forget.

You will find it difficult to read or work on the computer without a cat on your lap. You will
find it difficult to sleep without a cat on the bed. Such loneliness is unnecessary. There is
no better way to show that cats are essential to happiness than to find another cat to
love. It will prove that you've learned from my teaching that love is the greatest legacy
of all.

Mewsette: About Older Kitties Staying Inside

I haf thought furry hard about this and decided I wanted to share my thoughts with other older kitties.
My name is Mewsette and I am 14 years old now, but I think I would not haf lived to be 14 years old if
I had not become an indoor kitty at the age of 8.

Oh yes, it was lovely to run wild and free when I was young and to feel the sunshine on my fur and the
cool breeze in my face. I was a free spirit and a great huntress, and I do miss those days. But after I had
been lost in the woods fur 2 weeks at my new home and finally found my mom again, she nefur let me
out any more. I had a screened porch where I could sit and watch the birds and rabbits but I was still
furry sad and I used to howl all night to go out in the lovely wind and trees.

But now I haf become an older and wiser cat, and I can see how nice it is to lie in a sunny window where
I am safe and nothing can chase me. I nefur get too hot or too cold any more. My fur is always clean
and beautiful and I nefur get a flea. I don't get stickers, or get sick from eating bad things and I am nefur
lost. I stopped howling at night a long time ago. It is just as lovely to snuggle up to mom in my safe house.
So, even though some kitties might not choose staying inside, I am glad that my mom chose fur me back
then and I am furry glad that I am still here and haf such a good life.

Mew, all wonderfur older kitties! This will be my last speech fur OCS or CLAW. It is impurrtant to me
to haf a chance to say how much I haf enjoyed being here wif all of mew. I haf been or am in other
CLAW groups, but this is the Society that has meant the most to me.

I am 14 years old, and I know some of mew are older than that, but I haf found it difficult to grow older.
My mother, BamBam, also a memfur, has accepted getting elderly wif grace, but I was not able to. I was
nefur a calm kitty or a quiet one, and I wanted to be young and strong and beautifur fureffur. Well, I
am still beautifur of course, but I hate getting out of breath when I play and tripping on steps when I
used to be so graceful.

The reason Older Cats Society has been so good fur me is that I learned other older cats, like my
mother, do not complain about things like I sometimes do, but haf a good attitude and look upon each
day wif joy, and expect things to go well. When we expect it, they do, don't mew think?
I haf been called the Marilyn Monroe of cats effur since I grew up, so I admit to vanity. Pride in just
being Cat is much better, cause we are superior to all other beings and we all know that by this time!
Well, my meowmie told me the offur day that it's purrfectly all right fur me to be 75 years old in
hooman years, cause if Marilyn Monroe had lived, she would be too! So I am sorry to haf been vain.
And now I will just be purroud of being an older cat, just like the good examples of Older Catship I 
found here.

I hope this is not a silly speech, cause it is just furom my heart. I do love life, efen if it is a little diffurent
now, and I always loved other cats instead of hoomans, and I love all of mew. We are wonderfur,
especially all together!

Thank mew effur so, fur being the kitties mew are and showing me how to be more like mew. Many
purrs to mew all. .

Thank mew, Blackie.