Chased up a tree

We were hanging out down by the point when a dog chased Briar up a cypress tree. He hung out up there for about a half hour and watched the surf and spectators. Later, he climbed down and then jumped into one of the trucks below.

I can just tell...

Hey, it's me, Briar. I've been thinking. That happens every once in a while, you know.

Anyways, I thought that you should know how most non-dysfunctional animals operate on this planet. And it generally has to do with energy. Recently, I met the nicest people. And my meeting with them made me wonder how I generally decide what is a safe situation and what is not. So here's the story...

So, I was following this bundle of positive energy down the street. At first, I had no idea what it was. But follow I must! It had an adventurous and loving spirit, one after my own heart. You know, a kindred spirit. "Oh," I thought, when I saw them, "People!"

And when I got close and made some noise, I could sense a slight shift in their energy. Fear. "Uh oh.." I was feeling like I needed to run. Now, it was my time to fear. But then, as soon as they saw that it was just me, it shifted back to a sense of curiousity, wonder, and love. "Ahhh... That's it!" My heart melted. I just had to throw myself at their feet. I knew. Just like I always do. But normally, I don't analyze a spirit so cerebrally.

Now, I wonder if that's why you humans have so much trouble with love. Maybe, your heads are too big. Your thinking gets in the way. Maybe you humans should go back to feeling the energy around you. I guess your science and things get in the way of your spirit. TTFN

The Cat That Broke My Heart

Message from Sarah:
My husband and I were having a beautiful day enjoying the Carmel Beaches on our small vacation getaway. After a long walk of enjoying the beach, we decided to walk back to the cottage we were staying at on Valley View Drive.

As we walked, I felt slightly jumpy because I heard behind me a small clanking sound that seemed to be getting closer. Not sure what it was, I turned around and was surprised to see a cat running towards us. At first I said to my husband, "Is he following us?" Then I said, "No. Cat's don't do that, especially to strangers!"

Just as I said that the cat continued towards us and at the same time another neighbor was pulling into his driveway. I said, "Oh, maybe that's his owner and he heard the car and is running toward his owner."

To my surprise, the cat continued past the neighbor's driveway, ran directly to me, and proceeded to lay down at my feet. As the cat laid at my feet, flicking his tail, the neighbor walked out of his car and asked if that was our cat. I responded, "No, We thought it might be your cat!"

I had never experienced a cat being so friendly to strangers. I had not been able to take my cats with me to the cottage we were staying. I missed my cats and felt so surprised and honored to have a beautiful cat seemingly give me such special attention.

My heart melted. I thought this cat must really like me. I stayed there on the street for a little while holding Briar close and petting his soft and handsome coat. As he gazed at me with those big adoring eyes, I could swear he was wooing me, saying, "You are everything I've ever wanted. I could love no other woman but you! Take me home with you!"

My husband seemed to fade away in the moment as this cat had me under his love spell.

I felt so cherished and valuable as we shared that timeless moment. Then just as suddenly as Briar ran into my life, he ran out. He saw a little movement in a bush and he leapt out of my arms towards the bush to sniff out whatever had caught his eye.

Now one might ask, "How did Briar break my heart?" Well, I guess he didn't really break my heart. I just felt a little silly when I checked out briarkitty.com and found out that the special attention he had given me was nothing new. Mine was not the first heart that he had stolen.

Briar made me feel like I was the only person in his world. Briar definitely is a special cat!

Sincerely,
Sarah
-------------------------------------
Thanks for your message Sarah. Yes, he seems to bring a little joy to everyones day. I'm glad you got to meet him.

There was Briar again

1st Message Transcription:
"Hey Belinda, my name is Mike, and I'm down at the Carmel River mouth beach. Perhaps you live near here, because that's where you cat is, Briar. Um, he's adorable and now he's following us, I don't know. My cell phone number is XXX... And right now We're on a walk up from there going back towards carmel beach and he's walking along with us. Once again my cell phone is XXX maybe you're down at the lagoon".


2nd Message Transcription:
"Hey Belinda it's Mike again and it's a quarter til 12 and we got in the car and then drove back down along our walk, and there was Briar again. And now he's over by carmel point right where ocean view comes to Scenic when you come down to Stewarts cove there. I'm not going to take him because he seems like, I dunno, give a call...
Thanks, Bye."

Carmel Pine Cone Police Log

November 21, 2008 The Carmel Pine Cone 29A (Police log)Message from IEEANN:
"He is one of a kind. He seems to touch your heart when you meet him. Since I've heard about Briarkitty from another parent; my child writing about him in class (at the time they called him River); seen him follow a family and use a crosswalk like he knew what it was (a sight I will never forget). I can't help but follow his blog. A famous cat in is own right."
--------------------------------------
IEEANN, Thanks for your message and for the pasting from the pine cone! This was from the day of the Home Again posting.

The Amiable Cat

Message from Jake:
"Briar the amiable cat joined us around the Carmel Mission and followed us home. He paused for a second amongst brush to sniff out house rats that were known to be living in the bush. After a moment of hesitation he backed off. Briar is a lover not a fighter!

We gave the owner a call just in case Briar had gone missing, but no one answered and the answering machine's message said nothing about a cat gone missing. We sent Briar on his way.

Briar is gregarious and playful. He seems to have a handle on Carmel and people. Could he be God in an alternate form? He looks at you intelligently and has a repitoire of poses as funny as Zoolander's Blue Steel. "
---------------------------------------------
Later in the afternoon, the Mission called me and said that Briar had been sighted playing in the bushes in the courtyard. I drove over there, called for him, and he ran out to greet me. He's safely been delivered home once again. I love hearing about his adventures. BTW, I don't leave a message on my phone about a missing cat because he ALWAYS goes missing.

Name that cat

Briar and I were heading out to the school for our sunset walk and Briar's new friend was sitting outside the gate, waiting for Briar to come out and play. This little black and white kitty doesn't have a collar on and I don't know who he belongs to. He followed Briar down to the school intersection and then stopped. But, he's really friendly and since he's been around, I think we should name him. I don't know what to call him though. Any ideas?

Message from Andrea

Message from Andrea:
"Hey Blinda I see your cat allllllll the time I told you he came in my hear this MY class he came in with my friend... UMMMMMMMMMM. so ...bye
P.S.hes nice!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! "
---------------------------------------------
Haha Andrea you sound excited! Thanks for the bus stop picture!

Pebble Beach

This morning Briar decided to try to sneak into Pebble Beach without paying. He was stopped at the gate and held for questioning. Not really, but he was held for pickup.

Spider Killer

I really don't like spiders. I prefer rats, lizards, and even snakes. Spiders just give me the heebie jeebies. Smashing them and hearing the crunch just grosses me out. The great thing is, whenever I see a spider, I just call Briar over. First he tortures it, then smashes it a couple times, and then eats it. One day, there were 4 HUUUUGE (ok maybe they were like 3/4" in diameter) garden spiders in the house, and I called each one out for him and he ate each and every one of them. I didn't have to do any of the dirty work myself! :) He just ate one in the bathroom.

Wedding Crasher

Once again, Briar goes missing. The last I heard of his wherabouts was at the school yesterday morning. I was worried.

At 2:26PM I receive a call.

"Your cat is here at the Mission Ranch. Can you come pick him up?" the man on the phone says.

"Yes, where will you be?" I ask.

"They're having a wedding here, and he's walking around the bar, and they want him out of here." he replies, "So, I'll take him to the office".

"OK, I'll be there in 2 minutes". I promptly reply.

I walk over there and arrive at the office. Briar's not there. I call the man again and say, "Hello? Where are you guys?".

I look across the parking lot and he's cradling Briar like a baby on his back.

"Your cat thinks he was invited to the wedding!" he says laughing, "He was trying to get a drink at the bar! haha"

I told him that he's known for crashing parties and thanked him for calling. As I headed home at the north end of the parking lot, another man approached me...

"Is that your cat?" He asks.

"Yep" I reply.

"That cat came in my room last night and slept under the bed!" He said.

"OOh well I was wondering where he was, I was worried cause he didn't come home". I said. "He goes all over the place."

"Well, he was in room 28 last night!" He exclaimed.

I guess Briar likes to fraternize with the-out-of-towners. Thanks again for getting him home!

Briar Sighting

A message from Mary:
"I saw Briar at *** School this morning when I dropped off my daughter. He was rolling in the dirt and letting 3 or 4 kids pet him. He sure seems to like kids."
-----------------------
He loves the attention! I notice when some of the parents are walking their kids to school, he's eager to jump over the fence and join them.

Meatloaf?

A message from Isabelle:
"I was making meatloaf just now and Briar came up to the French doors at my kitchen and stood on his hind legs pawing to be let in! I had my kids go out in the garden and play with him! He is so incredibly friendly and not shy at all! What a sweetie! He must have an amazing sense of smell to know I was making meat!"
---------------------------
Thanks for your message! Your meatloaf sounds yummy.

Moonlight walk

Around 4:30PM I received a phone call from my friend about a Briar sighting more than a couple blocks from my house. I drove around the area to try to find him before dark. There has been a mountain lion sighting in the area the last week, so I've been a little more "on it" about keeping him in when it gets dark. Usually if I don't keep him in around sunset, he ends up staying out a couple extra hours longer.

It was a full moon out. I had tried to sleep for a couple hours but it was so light out I was restless. It was about 12:00AM, and still no Briar or word of him. I grabbed my phone, put it near the bed. As soon as my hid hit the pillow, "Bah-ling!" my phone chimes with a new text message...

:::::: MSG RECEIVED 12:27AM ::::::
"Hi we were walking along the ocean and your sweet briar accompanied us for almost one hour! We said goodnight to her at scenic and 13th. Hope she finds home."

:::::: MSG SENT 12:28AM ::::::::::
"Is he still there?"

:::::: MSG RECEIVED 12:29AM ::::::
"Around there. As soon as we got in our car he lay down in the middle of the road!"

:::::: MSG SENT 12:31AM ::::::::::
"Thanks 4 ur msg. Ill see if i can find him. He usually comes home eventually."

:::::: MSG RECEIVED 12:32AM ::::::
"Sounds like a cat to me! All the best. :)"

I drove down to the last known location. It was pretty bright out. I called him once, "Briar Kitty", and Briar runs out of the bushes right up to my leg. He was enthusiastic and happy. He jumped right in my car (probably relieved he didn't have to walk home).

:::::: SENT 12:39AM ::::::::::::::
"Found him! Little rascal was playin in the bushes. He loves being out in the moonlight"

:::::: RECEIVED 12:40AM ::::::::::
"We love it too! Glad you found him. Pleasant dreams. Hope to see that rascal again! :)"

Thanks for helping to get Briar home safe. He always seems to be drawn to the nicest people.

He's a sweetheart

Message Transcription:
"Hi there! I'm calling about your cat. My name is Sally and I've been, I walk a lady in a wheelchair occasionally down on Scenic, and your cat still belongs to you, uh, someone was saying. Anyway, he's a sweetheart and I think, talking to some of the other neighbors, are concerned ??? I don't know if he's savy to cars or not, but im sure your aware that he's down in that area. So ??? I'm calling yo let you know he's down on the street. Call me if you want to. 236-".

Potato Bugs

I haven't seen one of these things for decades and all of a sudden these hiddeous creatures are being delivered to my living room. I didn't even think these creatures lived around here. I say creatures because these potato bugs are like monsters, worse than anything anyone could ever imagine in a horror film, only because they're REAL. Somehow Briar has mastered the skill of luring these things out of hiding.

Occasionally when I was a child, I would see one of these dead on the sidewalk or on our patio. I have never seen one alive until Briar began presenting me with all kinds of creepy crawlers. I can tolerate most of his gifts of quail and the occasional decapitated mouse, but I can't bring myself to go anywhere near these potato bugs. My dad used to tell me stories about these things, I think he was traumatized as a child. They used to find them 4-6 inches long and they would poke at them with pencils. He said one of the buggers snapped the lead tip off of one.

Briar, however, loves potato bugs. Not just to play with, but I've actually seen him crunch the head off a two incher. Good thing he ate it because I probably wouldn't have the guts to remove it myself.

Shopping at the Campbell Collection

1st Message Transcription:
"Hi this is Donna at the Campbell Collection. I don't know if you're looking for Blair or if he's just taking a walk. But he's in the store. I'm at 626... Thank you buh-bye".



2nd Message Transcription:
"Hi this is Donna again, I have Blair, um he's fine, so give me a call 626. Thanks, bye."

Briar's new friend

I was walking Briar down to the school and out runs this black and white cat eager to meet Briar. He didn't have a collar on and I have never seen him before. Briar seems to have animal friends (as well as people friends) all around town. He seems to do better with other male cats (I think the girl kitties think he's only after one thing. If they only knew he was a eunuch). I snapped some photos of them playing in the garden. Maybe Briar, new friend, and Frank will one day have a play date.

Ryan's message

"I go to *** school and we saw him today after school he is nice and every body loves him so do I"
-Ryan
--------------------------------
Thank you for your email Ryan. I love him too!

Briar inspires a blogger

"Started my own blog. Thanks for the inspiration"

Local "yummy BBQ sauce" maker gets inspired and starts his own blog. Bad Daddy's BBQ is his yummy sauce. If you can find it, try it, its suuuuper good.

Hey Gerry, Briar wants some tri-tip with the Bad Daddy's BBQ Deluxe sauce. I prefer the El Diablo spy-seeeeee stuff.

Home Again

Briar disappeared around 11:00Am. It was a rainy day. I was concerned because he had been out for a while. He usually stays in when it's wet outside.

Around 5:30PM I received a call from animal control. She said that he had traveled to Rio Road and she knew he was a bit far from home. She knows Briar. When I drove down there to pick him up her cart was parked out in front of the house.

"Thank you so much for calling" I said to her.

"You know, I didn't really recognize him because he didn't have his collar on, so I scanned him and your name came up. Good thing you got him that chip" she replied.

"He didn't have his collar on? Oh no, he must have lost it", I said.

She then explained that Briar had been hanging out at the house all afternoon. He was inside and that the people who lived there were really nice.

When I walked in, I met the smiling family, and the mother had a story for me.

"I came in the living room, and he was sitting here in the living room staring at my dog. So I put him out the back and shoo-ed him away. Two minutes later, he came through the cat door, and he was back in the living room, sitting right here, staring at my dog again ike he belongs here. My male cat was in the other room and was oblivous to him. Then, I put him outside again and I had to take my son to practice, and when I was on my way home, there was traffic here on Rio Road, and I looked and he was laying in the middle of the street, and cars were stopped on both sides. I didn't want him to get hurt so I picked him up and put him in the garage and called animal control".

I thanked her for keeping him safe, explained that he wanders a lot, and that he usually has a collar and tag on but must have lost it.

Thank goodness for that microchip. It was only $40 when I adopted him from the SPCA to have it implanted. Kit, our other cat disappeared, and our worst fear was that he was taken to the SPCA and euthanized. I wanted to avoid that with Briar all together so I requested to have the Home Again microchip. Now, all they need to come up with is a gps tracking device small enough for a little feline. I'll buy that.