shimmer

So, Wednesday morning on the way to work, I saw this little gray kitten dash across the road, almost scooting on his belly, like maybe he was hurt. I knew I had to help him.

Kitty was of a differing opinion. He/she/it ran away from me, hiding under a little short seedling evergreen right next to the freeway. I circled around slowly, hoping to block him from running onto the busy freeway entrance. He was flat on the ground under the little tree, hiding under a branch, which I was able to use to pin him down for a moment so that I could (gently) grab him. And I did. Kitty did not like this, and communicated his feelings to me by biting my thumb, hard, several times. I held him so as to avoid further bites, got him to my car, wrapped him in a blanket and tried to decide what, in addition to bleeding from my thumb, I should do next.

He appeared to be about 12 to 16 weeks old, and did not seem to be injured, as I'd first feared. But he was definitely alone and afraid and in danger, out there by the freeway.

So, the next thing was to get him in a container. I drove home, found a cat carrier, and put Kitty in it. He was still not feeling very friendly. I got a can of cat food and a little dish of water and put those in the carrier, expecting Kitty to want both. He wanted neither.

I called a couple no-kill shelters in town, but they were full up. I called the local Humane Society, but it turns out they only take animals by appointment, and the next appointment was in two weeks. I couldn't really foster the kitten, as we have two adult cats who might not be amused. Also, I didn't want my cats to catch anything Kitty might have. At any rate, I took him to animal control, where they said he would be quarantined for 10 days because he'd bitten me. I really hope he'll be adopted out after that!

After finishing up at Animal Control, I hightailed it to the local Urgent Care. I had four or five small bites on my thumb. But even though they were small, if the skin is broken, cat bites can be very serious. Cats' mouths contain Pasteurella bacteria, which is likely to give a human a nasty infection. Staph and strep infections are also common with cat bites, and other bacteria can also be involved.

When they finally saw me in Urgent Care, the doctor told me, "Cat bites are a SERIOUS injury!" They put me on IV antibiotics and made a cast for my thumb! I can take the cast off to wash and to apply antibiotic ointment to the bites, but I'm supposed to wear it as much as possible over the next few days. They want my thumb immobilized so that if there's bacteria in there, it won't spread as much or as fast. Anyway, in addition to IV antibiotics, they gave me Augmentin to take for the next week. I hate taking antibiotics, because they almost always give me a yeast infection. Ugh! Oh, yeah, and I had to get a tetanus shot, too.

Yeah, well, next time I rescue a cat, I'll bring a towel or something. I would not have expected a little cat bite to be such an ordeal! I read on some pages on the Internet that 40-50% of cat bites become seriously infected, but the doctor at Urgent Care told me it's more like 85-90%! Of course, I'm thinking that he wouldn't hear much about cat bites that don't get infected, but still.

Posted by Jean at 11:01 AM | Permalink | Comments

VA Says No Way To Wiccan Grave Marker
POSTED: 1:13 pm EDT October 4, 2005

SEATTLE -- Christians get a cross. Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist veterans are allowed to have their religious symbols engraved on military headstones.

So a Seattle-area Navy veteran thinks he should be allowed to have the symbol of his Wiccan faith on his marker when he goes.

But the Defense Department doesn't allow the pentacle -- a five-pointed star in a circle -- on markers in national cemeteries.

The Defense Department recognized Wiccans in 1996, but the National Cemetery Association of the Veterans Affairs Department hasn't authorized the symbol.

A spokeswoman said the VA would add the words "Wiccan" or "pentacle" to a headstone but not the symbol. She said policies are being updated and Wiccans will be able to suggest changes.

Copyright 2005 by The Associated Press.

Posted by Jean at 8:55 AM | Permalink | Comments

This woman was told that only monotheistic, Judeo-Christian religions were welcome. The Supreme Court apparently views this as "freedom of religion." Ms. Simpson is a Reclaiming Tradition Witch

Wiccan Priestess Loses High Court Appeal
By GINA HOLLAND, Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON - The Supreme Court rejected an appeal on Tuesday from a Wiccan priestess angry that local leaders would not let her open their sessions with a prayer.

Instead, clergy from more traditional religions were invited to pray at governmental meetings in Chesterfield County, Va., a suburb of Richmond.

Lawyers for Cynthia Simpson had told justices in a filing that most of the invocations are led by Christians. Simpson said she wanted to offer a generalized prayer to the "creator of the universe."

Wiccans consider themselves witches, pagans or neo-pagans, and say their religion is based on respect for the Earth, nature and the cycle of the seasons.

Simpson sued and initially won before a federal judge who said the county's policy was unconstitutional because it stated a preference for a set of religious beliefs.

Simpson lost at the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which found that the county had changed its policy and directed clerics to avoid invoking the name of Jesus.

The Supreme Court is already hearing one religious case this fall. That cases raises the question of whether federal agents can stop a church from using hallucinogenic tea in its religious services. But this case would have provided a better opportunity for the court and new Chief Justice John Roberts to deal with government and religion.

Simpson is a member of a group known as the Broom Riders Association.

The county "issues invitations to deliver prayers to all Christian, Muslim, and Jewish religious leaders in the country. It refuses to issue invitations to Native Americans, Hindus, Buddhists, Sikhs, Wiccans, or members of any other religion," justices were told in her appeal by American Civil Liberties Union lawyer Rebecca Glenberg.

The county's attorney, Steven Micas, said that the county's practice was in line with the Supreme Court's endorsement of legislative prayer as long as it did not proselytize, advance or disparage a particular religion.

The case is Simpson v. Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors, 05-195.

This story has been featured on Pagan podcast Lance and Graal, as well as in other Pagan media. A more extensive paper can be found at The Pluralism Project.

Posted by Jean at 9:12 AM | Permalink | Comments