A DINOSAUR CASTS A BIG SHADOW ON A NAPPING CAT -- IS IT REAL?

The cat is real, but read on...Ah, comes the weekend and we can rejoice over time with our dogs and cats — with maybe humans, too. And, of course, those weekend snoozers are the inspiration for our long-running weekend feature, Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap.
We offer for contemplation in the heart of winter the shadow of a dinosaur. See it? That shadow of the dinosaur!
 That is my cat, Stevie Ray Treeboy, i.e., found as a tiny kitten clinging to a flimsy mimosa branch and yowling in Oak Cliff, the land that gave the world Stevie Ray Vaughan, the guitar magician. Hence, Stevie Ray Treeboy. 
I caught him sleeping on our living room floor and I quickly became frustrated while looking for the dinosaur casting that shadow on Stevie Ray’s body. I don’t think a dinosaur could take him in a skirmish, though it’s true that Stevie Ray is a peaceful fellow with rowdy tendencies.
This is probably a good place to repeat a quote credited to the Dallas musical product Steve Miller (on several sites!). “Dinosaurs may be extinct from the face of the planet, but they are alive and well in our imaginations.” And that explains why that photo captured my imagination.
I was sure I was seeing the shadow a dinosaur was casting in our living room. I looked around and didn’t see a dinosaur, but I also didn’t see anything dismissing the idea that a really quick and well-camouflaged dinosaur hadn’t avoided my old orbs.

Back to cats. 
Stevie Ray goes where he wants in the house. He and the other cats and the dogs are buddies. But he likes it, especially, when I cradle him like a baby and scratch his tummy while we watch TV. He might even mew along with his purr. And that reminds me of a quote from British author Terry Pratchett: “In ancient times cats were worshipped as Gods; they have not forgotten this.” 

[LARRY NOTE: This is probably a good time to quote the author Ernest Hemingway whose now-famous colony of six-toed cats survives his home in Key West.]  
Some of you cat people can probably agree with Mr. Hemingway’s quote: “One cat just leads to another.”
[LARRY ASIDE: Dedicated this paragraph to all the cat rescuers — yeah, one cat actually did lead to another, didn’t it!]

Of course, we can also quote Sigmund Freud: “Time spent with cats is never wasted.”

Stevie Ray once gave me a quote from the Canadian actor Colin Mochrie (he found it online in the category “Famous people cat or dinosaur quotes.”). Mr. Mochrie said, ““We all have a dinosaur deep within us just trying to get out.” 

Stevie Ray awoke wide-eyed when I was snapping photos of him relaxing under the shadow of a giant, house-crushing dinosaur on a stormy afternoon in Texas.
Now that leads us to a public service announcement. As people familiar with the spay/neuter campaign in North Texas know, it’s almost impossible not to encounter a free or low-cost spay/neuter program around here. You have to really close your eyes and your mind to avoid notice of a spay/neuter bargain. Somehow, there are clowns who manage to dodge the responsibility.
And what happens?
We’ll quote the nation’s 16th president, Abraham Lincoln: “No matter how much cats fight, there always seems to be plenty of kittens.”
The goal is to keep so many from being born just to be killed in overloaded city shelters.
The non-profit Humane Society of North Texas, based in Fort Worth, posted a Facebook reminder: “It’s Neuter Scooter time! It’s Neuter Scooter time!!”
Though the end of the month — the 28th if you don’t have a calendar handy — “all male cats are free to neuter at the HSNT Clinic in Fort Worth. Make an appointment to bring your male cat to our clinic in a suitable carrier or humane trap. Appointments and proof of rabies vaccination are required. If your cat needs a rabies vaccine, it is $5 at the time of service. All other services are available at our regular low-cost prices. Get your appointment today at hsnt.org/clinic or email [email protected]."
For those of you who aren’t familiar with cat anatomy, this is a deal for boy cats only because “snipping” is relatively easy. Spaying a girl cat is invasive surgery and those patient’s need a little extra tender care. 
[LARRY ASIDE: You wouldn’t think that boys/girls thing would have to be explained, but, yep, there are people who don’t quite have a grip on — wait, that’s bad phrasing. “Don’t quite understand” the differences.]
Oh, and you know why Stevie Ray can sleep so calmly when there’s a dinosaur casting a shadow on him? Because HE’S NEUTERED! His mind isn’t on the traditional Tomcat Quest. Hey, Tomcat Quest! That may be a sci-fi title. Stevie Ray and I’ll work on the screenplay. We can use the extra dough. Act 1, Scene 1 A sleeping cat is suddenly awakened by the temperature change when a dinosaur casts a shadow on his body. …. OK, we’ll go from there.
[DEAR READERS: Send photos of your sleeping dogs, napping cats, slumberingwhatevers to [email protected] and we’ll exhibit them in Let Sleeping Dogs Lie & Napping Cats Nap. It’s free. For now. Depends on the price of gasoline next month. I’m kidding.]
—- Offer ideas for the future by clicking on ‘comment’ below or by emailing [email protected] and put “SPAY/NEUTER AND SAVE LITTERS” in the subject line. —-