Michael and Terry Goldman live just outside the city limits of Klamath Falls, Oregon. They seem like just plain, real people, quite ordinary really unless you take into account the fact that they share their home with a big happy family of 19 dogs, 16 indoor cats and 21 outdoor cats. Their care and concern for animals has turned their home into a Domestic Animal Rescue.
Being “rabid” animal advocates (pardon the pun), they take in any animal that shows up at their door step without question. No credit check or references required. They have simply made a commitment to provide food, shelter, medical care as well as spaying and neutering, for all their feral rescues.
We here at the Healthy Pet Network Inc are proud of the fact that they are two of our founding members. Michael being the Business Director and Terry being our talented Webmaster and Designer. It shows you the type of people involved with the creation and operation of HPN. We are all dedicated animal advocates obsessed with the health of all pets and their human companions.
Besides the wonderful job they are doing for these animals, the most curious thing that I find fascinating is the fact that these feral cats are from a relatively rare and newly recognized breed of cat, called Scottish Folds. I find it amazing that this breed of cat has been abandoned to these wilds to remain homeless, and without the Goldman’s, they would have remained so until the elements and fate would have taken them.
I know that there are Scottish Fold Rescues, but how many feral Scottish Fold colonies (actually that should probably be CLANS) have been turned loose in the wilds to survive? I don’t believe there are many. Please contact the Healthy Pet Network.org if you have any information to the contrary. We would love to know and pass this information on to our readers.
I’ve been a veterinarian for over four decades and I have only seen a handful of these lovely creatures in the past 25 years. Each and every one could have joined my family with their wonderful personalities as well as the loyalty they show to their human companions. I find it very difficult to believe that even one of these cats could be subjected to a life without a home.
Upon researching this breed, I found that began it in 1961, on a farm, in Coupar Angus, which is in the Tayside Region of Scotland, just Northwest of Dundee. It so happened that a Scottish shepherd first spotted a litter of kittens with ears that folded down. This original folding of the kittens ears seemed to occur due to a spontaneous gene mutation.
The shepherd was totally fascinated, and asked the farmer if he might have one of the kittens. The farmer was obliging and this was when William Ross, through very careful selective breeding, was able to bring to life, the breed of cat known as the Scottish Fold. It was not until 1978, that the Scottish Fold was granted a championship status by the Cat Fancier’s Association (CFA).
We all know that the famous author, Ernest Hemingway shared his island of Key West, (surrounded by the Florida straights), with his multi-toed cats called polydactyls. Now we have the Goldman’s, sharing their “land island” (surrounded by a timber preserve) with their Scottish folds.
The Goldman’s, like many before , have found that the Folds can come in many color combination as well as having either folded or straight ears. Usually, if the folding is going to occur, it happens when the kitten is 3 to 4 weeks of age.
If you find any of this information of interest, and you would like to learn more about this breed, visit the Cat Fancier’s Association Homepage…
http://www.cfa.org/breeds/profiles/ragamuffin.html.
…or contact the Goldman’s by way of ; terry@healthypetnetwork.org.
Yours In Health,
Dr Al Plechner & David Spangenburg
Along With, Your Healthy Pet Network Team
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