It's getting warmer

Currently it's Sunny and 61F in Death Valley, California. So for all of you who are planning a trip to Death Valley, remember to bring some shorts.

It's getting warmer

Currently it's Sunny and 64F in Death Valley, California. So for all of you who are planning a trip to Death Valley, remember to bring some shorts.

It's getting warmer

Currently it's Sunny and 61F in Death Valley, California. So for all of you who are planning a trip to Death Valley, remember to bring some shorts.

It's getting warmer

Currently it's Fair and 62F in Death Valley, California. So for all of you who are planning a trip to Death Valley, remember to bring some shorts.

It's getting warmer

Currently it's Sunny and 61F in Death Valley, California. So for all of you who are planning a trip to Death Valley, remember to bring some shorts.

It's getting warmer

Currently it's Fair and 62F in Death Valley, California. So for all of you who are planning a trip to Death Valley, remember to bring some shorts.

It's getting warmer

Currently it's Fair and 61F in Death Valley, California. So for all of you who are planning a trip to Death Valley, remember to bring some shorts.

It's getting warmer

Currently it's Sunny and 63F in Death Valley, California. So for all of you who are planning a trip to Death Valley, remember to bring some shorts.

It's getting warmer

Currently it's Sunny and 61F in Death Valley, California. So for all of you who are planning a trip to Death Valley, remember to bring some shorts.

It's getting warmer

Currently it's Partly Cloudy and 62F in Death Valley, California. So for all of you who are planning a trip to Death Valley, remember to bring some shorts.

It's getting warmer

Currently it's Fair and 61F in Death Valley, California. So for all of you who are planning a trip to Death Valley, remember to bring some shorts.

It's getting warmer

Currently it's Fair and 64F in Death Valley, California. So for all of you who are planning a trip to Death Valley, remember to bring some shorts.

It's getting warmer

Currently it's Sunny and 63F in Death Valley, California. So for all of you who are planning a trip to Death Valley, remember to bring some shorts.

It's getting warmer

Currently it's Fair and 64F in Death Valley, California. So for all of you who are planning a trip to Death Valley, remember to bring some shorts.

It's getting warmer

Currently it's Partly Cloudy and 61F in Death Valley, California. So for all of you who are planning a trip to Death Valley, remember to bring some shorts.

It's getting warmer

Currently it's Partly Cloudy and 62F in Death Valley, California. So for all of you who are planning a trip to Death Valley, remember to bring some shorts.

It's getting warmer

Currently it's Sunny and 62F in Death Valley, California. So for all of you who are planning a trip to Death Valley, remember to bring some shorts.

It's getting warmer

Currently it's Sunny and 61F in Death Valley, California. So for all of you who are planning a trip to Death Valley, remember to bring some shorts.

It's getting warmer

Currently it's Sunny and 63F in Death Valley, California. So for all of you who are planning a trip to Death Valley, remember to bring some shorts.

It's getting warmer

Currently it's Fair and 61F in Death Valley, California. So for all of you who are planning a trip to Death Valley, remember to bring some shorts.

It's getting warmer

Currently it's Sunny and 61F in Death Valley, California. So for all of you who are planning a trip to Death Valley, remember to bring some shorts.

It's getting warmer

Currently it's Mostly Cloudy and 61F in Death Valley, California. So for all of you who are planning a trip to Death Valley, remember to bring some shorts.

It's getting warmer

Currently it's Sunny and 61F in Death Valley, California. So for all of you who are planning a trip to Death Valley, remember to bring some shorts.

It's getting warmer

Currently it's Fair and 61F in Death Valley, California. So for all of you who are planning a trip to Death Valley, remember to bring some shorts.

It's getting warmer

Currently it's Partly Cloudy and 61F in Death Valley, California. So for all of you who are planning a trip to Death Valley, remember to bring some shorts.

It's getting warmer

Currently it's Partly Cloudy and 64F in Death Valley, California. So for all of you who are planning a trip to Death Valley, remember to bring some shorts.

Looking for the best cat on earth? Well you found him(updated).

I am probably the only person on Craiglist right now posting an ad about a pet like this one. You will realize this cat is so much more than a pet. He is someone special. This is a big novel so if you have 15 minutes sit back and relax and read my story. I want to tell you the whole thing so you know where I am coming from.

Pardon my terrible grammar I typed this all on a phone and am not going back to proofread it.

My cat's name is Oskar. With a k yes. You will see why later. He has quite the incredible story. I'm going to tell you his story and if you are the right person for him hopefully it means something to you, or strikes a chord.

I got Oskar back in college in May of 2008, so yes he is 9 now.


I was working at a wildlife rehabilitation facility in Southern Illinois because I wanted volunteer experience to help build my resume as a zoologist. Which is what I was going to school for.

I had worked at this place off and on for years and loved it, they had everything from a cougar named simba to vultures and baby deer. The baby deer once they are big enough are put in an outdoor enclosure where they can browse on their normal plants. It is a rather large enclosure of about half an acre in size. This entire facility was in the middle of nowhere and surrounded by farmland and forest.

Well one day the owner of the facility was bottle feeding baby deer in this enclosure and she looks down and sitting by her foot was a tiny orange and white kitten the size of a cell phone. He was looking up at her meowing. She said " Well where did you come from!" That was the day Oskar saved himself and his life would take a very drastic turn.

Loving all animals she took him in and placed him inside a pen normally reserved for baby raccoons.

I walk in one day and visit all the 10-15 baby racoons stacked up in their cages and then I see a tiny kitten with milk all over his face staring back at me in one of them. He stuck out like a sore thumb. Very out of place.

I was quite surprised at the sight. I asked Beverly the owner what was his story. She told me and also said the girls all love him to death. So even in this short time he was stealing hearts.

I asked if I could keep him and take him home. She said please do!

So I walk over to the tiny kitten who was just about 4 weeks old and look at him, paused for a second and said quietly "I can give you a good life."

So I grabbed him, some kitten milk replacer and some wet food and headed home.

That night when I brought him home all I can say is he was like a little pin ball. He went into that crazy kitten mode where thier eyes get all wild and started running all over the place chasing everything, even if there is nothing to chase. He would run up my leg, my furniture and everything. He was so happy. He knew something was different.

I knew he was at the age where he feared nothing, and I had a chance to bombard him with all things that normally scare cats so he wouldn't learn to read them. As long as the encounters went well the logic was sound.

I had just recently graduated college and the next thing I did was take him to a boarding kennel where I worked. I knew it was the perfect place to socializ so he would not fear dogs, traveling, other cats and people.

I would take him back to meet the dogs and would just walk through and while all the dogs barked and went insane he just looked at them. Like, why so much noise??

I let one of our office cats meet him too and they actually liked him.

And if course all the staff there which were all women except me adored my nameless kitten. And he ate up the affection.

So after about 2 weeks of visiting work and taking him to public places like Petco I still didn't have a name. Everyone in the store came up to pet him too. He was learning the world was an incredibly loving place. It was time for a name.

That name came after I watched Schindler's list.

This man, Oskar Schindler was one of those people who's presence would light up a room. Within minutes everyone would be best friends with him and he brought out the very best in people. I had great respect for this man.

I look down at my nameless kitten on my lap while I was watching it and realized I had the perfect name for him since he literally has the same power. So that day Oskar the cat was born. Which is why it is spelt with a K. It's German.

As he grew he was like no other cat I have ever met. He follows you around like a puppy, he literally will place his paws on you for a hug. He wants food more than a dog. The more people are around to pet him the more drunk he gets with happiness.

He loves the vet. The vet techs and nurses are always so shocked to see a cat so happy to see them that he is rolling around on the floor and they have to pick him up off the floor like a blob of jello.

He gets so happy sometimes and is so caught up in rolling around he has fallen off counters and tables. And gets right back up for more, and he dies not land on his feet.

8 months went by and almost everyday I was taking Oskar somewhere where he was meeting new people, new animals and new experiences.

He became so chill that when we went driving he would just take his spot on my back window and go to sleep.

He made many cat friends at work and fell in love with a little tourtioushell cat name Jolie.

She taught him through play not to use his claws as much when playing.

About a year into his new life I rescued a mother cat and her kittens who lived under my mobile home in a student mobile home park.

She gave birth to 4 kittens. As these little guys grew up Oskar became like a surrogate father. I gave the mom away but kept her kittens.

Their names were Timmy, Don Vito, Cleo, and Gandalf. Cleo was a tiny short haired grey kitten and she was the only girl. Her brothers were all medium to long haired and Gandalf was a beautiful solid grey long haired cat.

Life was good for all these felines in my crappy trailer. They all had each other and trust me, I never needed TV watching all these cats play with each other. The antics were non stop.

They never became as chill as Oskar. He was still very special. I even took him on bike rides where I would put him in a child stroller and ride on paved bike trails. He loved it. And would just chill next to a tiny litter box I had in there.

People couldn't believe it. He was my best bud.

I was always looking for ways to make thier lives better. I even discovered all the horrible secrets of the pet food industry and how dry kibble is the worst thing to feed a cat since thier digestive tracts haven't changed like a dogs to handle commercial pet foods as well. They are essentially identical to their wild counterparts.

So I discovered how to make a raw food diet, and have fed Oskar that for the last decade with no problems. He looks and acts half his age. I literally take whole chickens you buy at the supermarket for people and add several supplements and grind it up in a huge powerful very fancy meet grinder from LEM. I put it into little plastic portion cups I get at Gordon food service and freeze it. When it comes time for him to eat I put it in warm water for 15 minutes and serve it warm. Not cooked or heated up in the microwave. He loves it.

In fact he is more food motivated than a dog. You will see, trust me!

All was well until a friend of mine started a company and wanted me to work for him. He was in Louisville.

It sounded like the opportunity of a lifetime. There would be world travel, I would get to meet new people, I would make twice what I was at the dog kennel and more. It was too good to pass up. So I told him yes.

But I couldn't leave all my cat's. Since I had such a great relationship with the boarding kennel and was quite frankly the best worker they ever had. I asked if they could take care of my cat's while I figured out my life. They said yes.

Oskar got to be in the front where he was an office cat and got to do what he loves most, meeting people and spending time with his soul mate Jolie.

The others were in the cat room and we're in enclosures and would be let out every once and a while to run around. Not perfect, but it was temporary.

Well, they spent a year there. They weren't fed a raw diet but Roya the owner sold very high quality grain free pet foods and was also an advocate of the raw diet. So they had it better than most cats.

Once things settled down I had to go get my cat's back. So I headed back and brought them back to Louisville.

This was the beggining of my bad choices and what has led me here.

I was so use to being around animal lovers that it never crossed my mind anyone would not like cats, especially my overly friendly and unique cats. I wasn't dumb, I knew they existed, It just wasn't part Of my circle of friends or my reality until louisvile.

Everyone I met before moving to Louisville adored them.

People always threatened to kidnap Oskar since he was soooooo loving.

Anyway, to my surprise none of my 3 roomates in Louisville liked cats. You could tell they didn't like having 5 cats running around and you could tell they resented me for it.

The owner of the house who was my new friend that invited me to Louisville to work for him liked them the least. I thought I made it clear I have cats.

Well to make a long story short I was fired from that job for the dumbest reason. They discovered one of my personal journals and didn't like some of the things I said in there. So dumb. My mistake.

So I moved out of that house into knobs point and took all the cats with me. My brother had moved out early and had me take over the last few months of his lease. The cats were too much a part of me not to bring them along.

All was well for a few months. I was happy, they were happy. The future was bright. I got a temporary job as a valet. But one can only afford 750/month rent and $200/ month utilities with a 1200/ month salary for so long.

I knew I had to move out. And things had gotten better between me and my friend who just fired me that he and his partner realized they wanted to hire me back. This was literally about 6 months later.

So they did and I reluctantly brought the cat's back with me to that house.

Well sure enough I was right because the same resentment popped up. I was torn, my credit and income were too bad to move out and not many places would allow 5 cats.

I had kept dragging them around and now they are surrounded by people who don't like them except me. Noone abused them, but they didn't like them around.

So I finally admitted to myself maybe I wasnt the best person for some of them. So I gave Don Vito to Tree house , a very well respected no kill shelter in Chicago. Google them, they are awesome. And I gave Timmy and Cleo to clowder house foundation in St Louis. They are a no kill cat sanctuary too with an awesome reputation. It was the hardest thing I ever did.

I kept Oskar and gandalf because they were best buddies. Like brothers almost. And I couldn't leave them. Not them. I didn't want to sell my soul.

I knew there life would be pretty good as long as they had each other. And they did.

I still felt like I made a mistake with the other cats. But what was done was done.

So life went on. I still didn't like all the non cat people being around my cat's. Especially Oskar. I would see him run up to people fully expecting a shower of love and he wouldn't get it. He always had a confused look on his face.

Because in the first year if his entire life he had never met a single person that didn't want to pet him. So these new jerks were different. He thought the world was a safe place.

I couldnt stand the thought of him realizing it wasn't. So I decided to keep him and gandalf in my bedroom together.

So to make a very long story short for the next 4 years that is what I did to "protect them".

I had no idea it would be that long. It always seemed temporary.

My friends company was so tumultuous that I literally moved almost every year.

I had to move out of that first house of his because it was foreclosing. So I was literally going to be on the street with Oskar and gandalf in my tiny Mazda Miata.

But William was making good money unlike me at this company so he and his new girlfriend Cara invited me to live in their new house.

I didn't have much of a choice. And the good news is Cara adored my cat's so I accepted.

Things once again we're good. Oskar and Gandalf felt welcome and had free run of the house.

But after a few months William got his old dog back.

Who unlike all the dogs Oskar knew this one hated cats. So Oskar and gandalf we're back in my bedroom.

We were like that for another 6 months the until we moved into another house

The company had downsized drastically and we ran it out of a House in Douglass hills.

We had 2 more roomates though and some of my co-workers came in during the day. And they were not cat lovers at all.

So Oskar and gandalf we're back in the bedroom again. They stayed there for a whole year.

So then yet again we moved to bardstown road in a normal house. This time we had less roomates, it was just Cara William me and another guy. But it was weird. I could tell everyone but me had grown tired of my cat's. I never knew why, they were never loud or scratched furniture,

Or smelt bad. Their worst crime was literally being too loving.

So I moved into the garage of that house and made it a man cave. I know, crazy right? It was pretty cool actually. But sort of messed up I had to do that.

Well we ended up living there less than a year and my almost final stop was my friend Williams big farm house in Salem. The only roomates were me and him. Cara lived in Louisville because of work and William would go back and forth between the farm house and Louisville for Cara.

Things seemed good on the surface at the farm house but his company had failed and I was out of work and broke. My gamble of moving out here did not pay off and I had lost many of my cats.

So out of guilt he let me live there. I had kept hoping things would get better with the company which is why I held out so long and didn't just get another job. It was very stressful.

His mom hated cats and I discovered she was not nice to mine, she would actually yell and hiss at them. Not good.

So yet again, back to the bedroom they went. They spent so many countless hours over the years alone in bedrooms. I still fed them awesome food, but I was so busy I only saw them at night. At least they had each other.

I just felt like Oscar's unique gifts were not being shared with the world. And it was my fault.

Well, Williams company had a big opportunity to move to Idaho and things were looking promising.

We went and visited Idaho and the trip was awesome. So William and Cara and I were preparing to move there.

During that time one of Caras co-workers at Stantec babysat Oscar and gandalf.

Make a long story short, she fell in love with them. She sent pictures and was giving updates and all kinds of great stuff.

The thought hit me, she can give them a better home then you. And we were having trouble finding places because if too many pets.

So I thought long and hard and decided to ask her if she would like to keep them, she said yes.

But for some dumb reason I had second thoughts. So I let her only take Gandalf.
.That was the biggest mistake ever. Oskar's best friend was now gone. His 24/7 companion would never be back. He had always been surrounded by cats or people and now for the very first time in his life and at the age of 7 years he was alone. The worst part is at the last minute William decided not to move to Idaho.

I tried asking her to take Oskar several time so they could be reunited but she couldnt. She loves Gandalf and he seems incredibly happy and is in a stable environment. But they are now separated

For Oskar it has been up and down.

When he spent time alone in my bedroom when I was gone he would yowl and scratch at the door apparently.

Most people would say cats aren't like that or are independent and aloof. But Oskar was feeling the loss. He had never been totally alone, ever. And when he would see me come home at night from my new job he had a desparate look in his eye.

So I opened the door back up and let him run around the house.

This made it better, and since William was gone so much and his dog was so old now Oskar was OK it seemed fire a few months. But his only source of love was still.me. noone really visited and Cara got a new dog she loved 10 times more than Oskar. So he was old news to everyone but me. A far cry from his glory days as a celebrity. He still had the love in his heart though, even though it was diminished.

To make a long story short again, Williams old dog passed away and Oskar was king of the house for a short while.

Things were OK until Cara moved back in and they got a new dog, and William was there all the time now.

Their new dog hated Oskar and terrorized him and attacked him, apparently behind my back William would scream at Oskar whenever he tried getting in his lap and Cara just didn't seem to love him like she use to.

So back to the room he went, very alone. If he still had the love in his heart. Amazing.

So I figured it was time to find him a new friend. The first cat kept trying to attack Oskar so I gave him back to the shelter.

The second Cat he got along with at first but when he tried playing with her she thought he was attacking her and would fight for her life.

So I gave her back.

Eventually William and I had a huge argument and I moved out of his farm house. He blamed Oskar for scratching a stupid door that was already old and crappy. Ironically he scratched it because he was alone and wanted out and was in my bedroom because of William.

So I found a tiny crappy house in Radcliff and there oskar and I went. After all these years all I had was him.

The good news is he has a house. It's only 500 square feet but no more assholes, mean dogs and other stuff.

But I have a new job now and part of it will require traveling for weeks. I am gone 10-12 hours a day too.

Oskar has been my best friend for 9 years. He has been with me during my lowest lows. And now I have realized for the first couple of years I did indeed give him an amazing life. But for the last 7 he has spent 90% of it in quiet closed off rooms. He deserves better.

I was going to make him a therapy cat so he could share his love with the world. He has so many gifts and once you meet him will realize he is more special than a thousand dollar pedigree cat. He needs to be around people who love him, who can't get enough of his company and his antics.

He needs a stable life and a big house where he is respected and allowed to be a cat. If he is to be around kids thy need to be mature and respectful children. Not loud and rambunctious.

He needs someone who is willing to give him that good life I promised him but have not been able to deliver.

If you have red this far, that must mean something.

Because Oscar is so special and he deserves the absolute best I am asking for $200 re-homing fee that unwilling give to a local shelter. I will wave that if you are awesome. But this way it proves to me you are serious enough to take him in. I have finally admitted to myself I am no longer the best person or place for him.

You may be wondering if I love him so much why am I giving him up? That's precisely why I am, because I want what's best for him, not for me. He needs a more enriching life. He is a middle aged cat after all and there will never be another like him.

If you do become his new best buddy, you will never have a dull day in your life. If you want to cure any type of depression Oskar can do that. If you love friendly cats Oskar is your guy. If you love lap cats he is your guy. He will sleep under the covers with you too and on the bed.

He needs big windows and never be let outside. He has no concept of cars and the road.

If you take him you also have to agree to feed him his special diet. I can. Show you how to do it, it costs less than 30 bucks a month. And I will mention where to get all the supplies.

I am more than willing to sit and meet with you and chat about him and tell even more stories and get to know you. And I also would like him to visit your place.

And whoever adopts him I really want to stay in touch!

By the way I am willing to drive to other states within 2 days from where I am at

Who knows, maybe he is Mr Schindler reincarnated as a cat.




via Craigslist http://ift.tt/2Af5w9u

It's getting warmer

Currently it's Sunny and 61F in Death Valley, California. So for all of you who are planning a trip to Death Valley, remember to bring some shorts.

It's getting warmer

Currently it's Sunny and 63F in Death Valley, California. So for all of you who are planning a trip to Death Valley, remember to bring some shorts.