Catnip Chronicles

I'm sorry to say that Kent has passed away. Thanks to all of his friends and fellow cat lovers for being a part of his life.

As I sit and read all of the posts that Kent has received from his friends and cat family since his passing yesterday morning, I am overwhelmed by the out-pour of compassion and love that all of you have for him and his work. He loved Catnip Chronicles and worked very hard to get it out each month.

I was touched by many of your posts and thought that Edward Trumbo captured Kent’s spirit with one simple word: "mentor". Kent truly was a mentor to his friends and family and loved to share his passions with everyone, but it brings a tear to my eye to see the scope of his impact for so many online friends and his ability to do good from afar. He was at his computer early in the morning, after his morning prayers, where he would start his postings and work on the next issue of Catnip Chronicles. He found people from all over the world willing to contribute to the publication.

Kent also wrote a short e-book on one of his other passions, grammar (specifically, punctuation). He shared his knowledge with friends and family and inspired several of his children who now share in that passion. I thought it would be nice to share his knowledge one last time, so I've uploaded that e-book to his website. Please feel free to download it and share it. I hope that you enjoy it and learn from it and if you reproduce it in any part, please cite it as such. http://www.catnipchronicles.com/punctuation_power.pdf

As so many of you were surprised by Kent’s passing, I thought a little more information would be nice. Kent was ill and coming to the end of his 15-year battle with emphysema. He worked hard to get everything in order and as prepared as we were, it didn’t matter in the end. It is so hard to realize that your partner for the last 20 years is gone. He will be missed by his family and his cat family.

Kent wanted no funeral, memorial service, obituary, etc. and donated his body to science (even upon death, he desired to do one last good deed). He said: "I am with God now. This body was just a vessel that he let me use while I lived on Earth; do with it as you please."

Several people have asked about donations. If you’d like to give, please donate what you can to your favorite animal charity, buy a bag of food and drop it off at your local shelter, or give your pet an extra treat today for Kent.

His baby, Princess Fluffy-butt, has been wandering the house looking for him. As I start removing items she just sits and watches everything I’m doing, asking "why are you taking Daddy’s stuff away?"

Thank you again for your kind thoughts and words.

Lee Butler

Cats are the most popular U.S. domestic pet, according to recent statistics from the American Pet Products Association. You wouldn’t know this from looking at the magazine sections of your local bookstore, where dog magazines dominate and even horse and bird journals outnumber the only periodicals dedicated to cats. Why this discrepancy? I think it’s because “cat people” have gone digital.

Catnip Chronicles is a monthly “felizine” (feline e-zine) published and hosted by Kent Butler since 2004. It differs from most other cat-oriented digital media in two ways: It’s general purpose rather than specific to a certain cat subject, and it’s made up largely of independent submissions just like a proper magazine. Every issue features a whole range of topics to serve the cat caretaker — feline health, nutrition, and behavioral advice from leading professionals; cat welfare information and advocacy; heartwarming stories of rescue and adoption; and, as befits an Internet site, a multitude of cute cat pictures. It doesn’t stop there, either — if you’re on Facebook, you can join the very lively Catnip Chronicles open group and share in the fun around the clock!
Edward Trumbo, A Clowder of Witnesses, © 2012

Welcome to the world's premier felizine -- by, for, and about felines! And, for our devoted humans, too...

You'll find great information and resources to help you have a healthier, happier cat - or, maybe several. You'll improve your relationship with your beloved furbaby by learning more about cats in a pleasant, informative and fun format.

We are blessed with an amazing and growing galaxy of cat experts who generously share their experience, knowledge, wisdom, and advice through Catnip Chronicles. You'll find a variety of veterinarians, veterinary techs, shelter managers and volunteers, feral cat colony keepers and TNR experts, cat lovers into fostering, and many others. There's a generous sprinkling of humor, too. You'll find valuable information on a wide variety of feline topics including:

What to feed and not feed your fabulous feline

How to deal with unwanted behaviors (your cat's, not your kid's)

How to prevent parasites from harming your pet (as opposed to marrying your sister)

Spaying and neutering (mostly cats)

Rescue and adoption (cats for sure)

Communicating with your cat (ESP is not necessary - but possibly helpful...)

Feral cat problems and some solutions

And much, much more!

Our objectives are to:

help save cats' lives (medical information, health alerts, more),
help prevent cat mutilation (declawing amputations),
help prevent cat/animal cruelty, or at least get it reported,
help prevent unwanted litters (spay/neuter),
help people better understand and enjoy their feline friends (and family),
help encourage TNR and adoption programs, and
bring important information, smiles, laughs, and the occasional tear to our readers,

We hope you find these worthy objectives. We hope you become an involved subscriber who helps us succeed by contributing articles, information, photos, or other items.

Subscribe now so you don't miss another issue!
A URL (web address) will be emailed to you each month for reading each issue online.

You are encouraged to participate and make Catnip Chronicles your own! You can:

Send photos of your favorite kitties to Our Favorite Cat Photos

Rainbow Bridge

The Name Game

Writer's Guidelines

PS – Just in case you were wondering, Catnip Chronicles
is NOT affiliated in any way with Tufts University.
But, you didn’t really think we were, right?

I had been told that the training procedure with cats was difficult. It's not.
Mine had me trained in two days.
Bill Dana

Women and cats will do as they please
and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea.
Robert A. Heinlein

Legal Stuff – Unless otherwise noted, the entire contents of Catnip Chronicles is © 2004-2013 by Kent E. Butler, dba Butler Marketing Group, Owner/Publisher, and All Rights are Reserved in the Known Universe. No portion of this website or our digital magazine may be reproduced by anyone, by any means, for any reason, without the express written consent of the Publisher. Violators will be shot several times with the disciplinary water bottle and be required to complete the 12 step program at Catnip Anonymous. After that, it gets ugly.

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