Tacky Cardigan With Words on It: Dog Urban Legends - Hobbit Edition

By the way, I've already checked snopes.com and there is nothing there to disprove this. ;)

Might wanna leave the lights on in the mud room/foyer tonight.
Just saying.

Want me to consider your pet(s) photo for a Tacky Cardigan? Just post it to the Facebook page! 

I Kept Him Because His Breath Burns My Nostrils, Plus a Few Other Counterintuitive Reasons

I need to clear something up.

It might seem as if I just adopted a lovable older shelter cat, who was passed over merely for having some chronic lower urinary tract issues.

Hi, there.

Furthermore, it might seem as though I kept him for myself simply because I couldn't bear to part with him, not to mention the fact that he looks like my dearly departed Buster*, is a Cardigan Welsh kitty AND has a name that means "fortunate" in Welsh.

But, friends, sometimes things are not as they seem.

The truth is, I didn't adopt Maddox for any of those reasons. No, these are the reasons I adopted him**:

• Well, you already know about his chronic (hell-fire) halitosis. ;)
• He doesn't like to be touched on his belly, or legs, or ears, or tail.
• He thinks swiping and biting are forms of affection.
  

  

  Caution! I swipe for fun! :)

  
  
• He scares the crap out of Jon Farleigh and Dewi (because instead of running away from them when they're being bratty, he charges them).
  

  

  Don't worry; I'm choosing not to be bratty in this particular photo. ;-)

  
  
• He slops his prescription wet food all over the floor (of my bathroom, where he is fed away from my other cats).
• He sprays water when he drinks.
• His tongue is really really looooong.
• He sometimes forgets to put his long tongue back in his mouth after he grooms himself.
  

  

  Sometimes, I leave it out to air dry.

  
  
• He sleeps a whole lot (read: he doesn't appreciate being kept awake for forced playtime and cuddling).
• He's not a cuddler.
• He claws at rugs and carpet.
• He's much larger than your average house cat (and has two big extra claws on each of his front paws).
  

  

  Rawr.

  
  
• He's fond of hiding under the bed.

If he were sweet and cuddly and younger and had good manners, I would have written up a nice account of his foster experience (for potential adopters) and taken him back to the shelter. Just like I took back the foster kittens, who were all, incidentally, adopted within two weeks of being spayed/neutered.

Wait; I'm not sweet and cuddly??

Hold on while I think. Uh, NO.

I mean, really? Even if I coated it in crushed Reese's Peanut Butter Cups, I don't think I could write an accurate description of Maddox that wouldn't send the typical person-looking-for-a-nice-cat-to-adopt speed walking in the opposite direction of his cage.

But, you know what? Before I even inquired about fostering him, I knew taking in a less-adoptable senior cat with special needs would be nothing like beefing up and socializing three adorably sweet kittens (who would - barring something disastrous - have no trouble getting adopted). And I was prepared to deal with the fallout (read: keep him).

Maddox's groupies

And this is why, for the foreseeable future, I won't be fostering any other less-adoptable adult cats***! :-) (And please, Powers-that-be, if it's all the same, one Buster-look-alike Cardi-cat is plenty for me. Thank you. Amen.)

And folks, I think that's about it. Glad we're clear (on why I kept Maddox) now!

* No, I didn't adopt him because of this; I became fixated on him because of this!
** Of course, these aren't all the reasons: He purrs, follows me around, "speaks" to me, goes gaga over catnip, plays with toys, blends really well with my other cats, and charms my husband (with his looks). Also, we survived Eva's earlier days (so, clearly, we have the patience of Job). Oh, and I love him to pieces. :)
*** Kittens (when the time comes) are still welcome!

Editor's note: Post spottiness continues this week. :( But, on the bright side, spotty is better than nothing, right?! :)

He's a Cardigan Welsh Cat?! Excuse me while I fall off my chair!

Not even I could have made this up. 

What do you think? Serendipity, or something else? 

Maddox (my current foster cat) is a polydactyl. He has six toes on each of his front paws, instead of the usual five. If you look closely at the inside edges of his paws (in this photo), you'll see the tips of the extra (thumb-like) digits. (He looks like he's wearing mittens. :)

I'm a polydactyl cat. See my "thumbs"?

But that's not why I'm falling off my chair.

The other night (right after I wrote last Friday's post), I decided - out of the blue - to Google "polydactyl cat," mostly because I was curious about the genetics.

Turns out, these cats (with the extra toes) have quite a history, steeped in all sorts of folklore. (I won't include all of that in this post, but you can read all about it here.)

It also turns out that nearly all of the world's population of polydactyl cats is located in the East Coast of North America (where I live) and in South West Wales.

Alright.

But, it also turns out that polydactyl cats are known by several nicknames, like, for example, mitten cats, boxing cats, Hemingway cats and Cardi-cats.

Cardi-cats?? Why the heck are they called Cardi-cats? (I thought to myself the other night.)

Um, well, turns out (a little further down the Wikipedia page) that:

"Polydactyls are very common in the Cardigan area of Wales, where they are known as 'Cardi-cats.'"

Image Source
Cardiganshire: Where the dogs are low and the cats have many toes. :)

Please note that they did not say polydactyls are common in any area of Wales, OTHER THAN CARDIGAN (in former County Cardiganshire).

Also, please note what the AKC says about the origin of the Cardigan Welsh Corgi (of which breed Jon Farleigh and Dewi belong):

"In the beginning, the Corgi came to the high country [of Wales] now known as Cardiganshire with the tall, tawny-headed Celts from Central Europe."

What are the chances? I (a self-proclaimed Cardi fool) not only got the Buster look-alike, but a relatively rare Cardi-cat, too???

OMGosh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! UPDATE!!!!!

On a hunch, I just looked up the origin of the surname "Maddox."

Guess what?! According to wiki.name.com:

"The name Maddox derives from the Welsh surname 'Maddock' meaning 'son of Madoc.' The name 'Madoc' is believed to derive from the Welsh 'mad' meaning 'fortunate.'"

Maddox's name is derived from the Welsh word for "fortunate!"

Excuse me; I have to go gaze at him while he draws breath...

P.S. Starting tomorrow, I'm saving up for a trip to Wales! 

Cardigan Corgis in Wales: It's Time to Get Your Weekend Documentary On

So mom decided that since it's Saturday and Saturdays are for vegging, she'd get all PBS (public TV)-like and treat all our visitors to a cool video about Cardigan Corgis in Wales.  Yeah, actually *in* Wales, and not like 500 years ago or anything, but *last month*. It's extra cool to us because they (our Welsh peeps) are all muddy and running through muck and green fields after a bunch of barn animals. And one lucky dwarf even gets a full-body rub-down for practically the entire video. (We want to go to that place.)

Oh, and Jon Farleigh says there's a mention of his dad Sam's Kennel Yardican in there, which obviously means he's famous.

Enjoy and happy blog-hopping. :)



P.S. No you are not crazy; the video is in a language called Welsh (which we can't speak, but can bark). We think the video is worth watching anyway. Hey, if you can speak Welsh, will you tell us what the heck those men are saying?

P.P.S. Mom says here's some stuff she posted yesterday about Cardigan Corgis being endangered in Wales.

Think you'll find many Cardigan Corgis in their native Wales?

The answer is surprisingly no.  However, a few Mid Wales farmers are hoping to change that.

Cardiganshire, Wales
photo @ tentgo.com

I'm breaking from my usual post M.O. today to reblog from mycorgi.com the following (brief) article, which recently appeared in the Daily Post North Wales.

An interesting bit of ancient dog breed history!

In Praise of the Cardigan Corgi