Kuma sits with me in our courtyard, autumn 2011, back when I still used Windows and before we lost him. I’m not sure what’s up with his expression, which is unbecoming. But I like the […]

Kuma sits with me in our courtyard, autumn 2011, back when I still used Windows and before we lost him. I’m not sure what’s up with his expression, which is unbecoming. But I like the […]
In the days after Kuma disappeared on Jan. 15, 2012, I often said to neighbors: “He disappeared like abducted by aliens”. One minute the cat was there, then he was gone. We’re now reasonably sure that coyotes abducted Kuma, whose collar city workers miraculously found deep in a canyon not far from our apartment (fifteen days later).
Out of nowhere, my wife made similar yet very different connection this morning. She likes to think that a UFO took our cat, and that two earlier one-day disappearances were abductions preparing him for the final trip. She doesn’t really believe aliens took Kuma, but it comforts her to think he might be alive somewhere else having grand adventures.
Every couple of days we go to the local animal shelter and Humane Society (they’re side by side) looking for our cat. We’re nearly certain a coyote got him, but there’s always the slimmest chance […]
Yesterday, I told my wife that I let emotions cloud my judgment about our lost cat Kuma. Occam’s Razor leads to one likely scenario: A coyote got him.
About an hour ago, a city workman called. He found Kuma’s collar deep in the canyon that starts about a block from our apartment building. I can only assume coyote.
Our kitty Kuma is still missing—more than 5 days now. Our neighbor’s cat behaves strangely. She frequently comes into our apartment now, looking for Kuma, I guess. I was surprised to find her on the […]
Kuma didn’t come home yesterday. He went out at 6 a.m., and we never saw him again. We left the door open all night, and I slept on the couch waiting. He typically comes home […]
My daughter’s cat, Kuma, is recovering surprisingly well following his hit-and-run car accident on September 15. Here he rests on a neighbor’s fence ledge. Photo taken with Samsung Nexus S.
My daughter’s cat, Kuma, caught this little sparrow, which she rescued and I later took to a wildlife shelter. (Featured Image was taken using Fujifilm X100. Vitals: f/4, ISO 200, 1/179 sec, 28mm; 3:42 p.m. […]
While my wife and I visited Ocean Beach Pet Supply, a woman and her daughter brought in a kitten. The woman claimed some guy driving by handed it to her, told her he found it […]
I am getting a late start this morning. Our Maine Coon, Kuma, climbed his first tree today and couldn’t get down. A young woman walking her dog helped our boy reach the ground. Big as […]
Mark Arm’s Tumblr post—photo of a Central Park animal—reminds me of a story. Summer 1980, I had just turned 21 and lived in a group house on New York’s Upper West Side. The Democratic National Convention convened at Madison Square Garden for about four days of mayhem.
I continue to mourn our two rabbits, which went to a new home on Sunday. We can’t take either of them with us to California. 🙁 I’ve been thinking about Daisy and her romps around the backyard; how happy she would be. For some reason, I find Neil Young’s “Long May You Run” coming to mind when I think of the bunny.
My basement office is a desolate place now, and the backyard is a field of dread. Something about the rabbits—and their simple tranquility—represents a lifestyle lived in this house. Their departure has taken away part of our home. I loathe coming down into the basement to work now. I count the remaining days to our departure. We can’t leave this place soon enough.