cat musings

Don't even ask how the appointment went this morning, I don't want to talk about it.

There's a few discussions about the alpha cat behaviors in multi-cat households. I think with mine, Magnum wins the alpha cat rule simply due to his large size. Adira gets her point across though by simply meowing repeatedly until she gets her way (or she gets munched on by Magnum).

So I take the wussy approach to management. I have a LitterMaid self-cleaning box so they don't have to share (and thus pee in inappropiate places. They are quite used to it, and will wait by the box sometimes. I wonder why, until the cycle starts a minute later, and they happily jump in. There's no dummies in this house.

I also bought two placemats for their treats. Originally the treats were Adira's thing, but now Magnum's taken a fancy to them. I give them the Friskies seared filets out about every other day or so. When Adira thinks it's time for the food, she will not let up until I give in (or go to work). So I set out a plate for each, and each impatiently waits by their placemat (yes, they have a preference).

Then there's silence except for the sounds of snarfing. When Adira's had enough for the time being, Magnum will go and sneak a few bites from that plate, then return to his plate and finish snarfing.

It doesn't matter which flavor of Friskies I put in front of each cat. Magnum has to check them both out.

So does that make Magnum the alpha cat, or just a big bully?

Just what I needed to read before my bp gets taken

*sigh* I should have left well enough alone. I have my annual gyn appointment in a half hour, where getting my weight and blood pressure are part of the exam. So when it's high, I'll have to explain it's because I read this article:

Bishop calls for classes in method of birth control
Michael Clancy
The Arizona Republic
Jan. 9, 2006 12:00 AM
No pills. No patches. No condoms.

Birth control is a grave wrong that is at the root of many of the problems afflicting American society, Catholic Bishop Thomas J. Olmsted said in a series of articles that reopened a contentious debate in the church and augmented his credentials as one of the most conservative bishops in the nation.

Olmsted now is one of only three bishops in the country to require a full course of natural family planning for anyone who wants a church wedding, joining his counterparts in Denver and Fargo, N.D. Natural family planning is the only church-approved method of birth control.

Phoenix previously has been one of only about 60 U.S. dioceses to require an introduction to the method, which relies on charting ovulation cycles and abstinence during a woman's fertile periods.

The key point, Olmsted argued, is that married couples should be open to children, but he did not explain how avoiding childbirth through natural family planning fits into that.

The bishop acknowledged the church's position is controversial.

Surveys since 1968, when the church first condemned the birth-control pill, indicate that nine out of 10 Catholic women have used it and that 65 percent of Catholics and 40 percent of priests do not believe use of contraception is always a sin.

Lisa Tucker of Chandler, a 42-year-old mother of four and stepmother to a fifth, has used natural family planning for 10 years. A former sales representative for a pharmaceutical company, selling birth-control pills among other things, she said she had several issues with the pill.

Bloating, the possibility of blood clots and the possible problems getting pregnant once a woman stops using the pill all were concerns. "I have a family history of clotting disorders, and embolisms are a side effect of birth-control pills," she said. "It also weighed on me that I might have aborted a child."

She said natural family planning has been effective for her and her husband,and actually improved their sex lives, she said.

"It's about the idea of chastity, not just abstinence," she said. "It's about self-control, especially in an era of AIDS."

Ignoring encyclical

But Tucker and her husband are exceptions. Most Catholic couples, surveys show, have disregarded Humanae Vitae, Pope John Paul VI's 1968 encyclical on the question.

Olmsted, arguing that the encyclical has been misunderstood, urged those using birth control or even fertility treatments like in vitro fertilization to "seek forgiveness."

Olmsted argued that a "marriage itself is gravely harmed" when a couple uses birth control, and that marital infidelity increases. He added that "the use of contraceptives is always morally evil, and many of them have harmful side effects as well."

Sandy Simonson of Phoenix, a Catholic mother of two, said the bishop has failed to provide any evidence that couples using natural family planning are happier than anyone else.

"What about the millions of faithful Catholic marriages using artificial means of birth control?" she asks. "I do not see human suffering in the many happy Catholic marriages I know that use birth control, or my best friend who used hormonal treatments to become pregnant and is now blessed with twins. I see happy families and children who are well provided for emotionally and materially."

Regina Moritz of Glendale, a Catholic, said she herself and several of her relatives have used birth-control pills and, because of the church's position, struggled with their consciences.

One already had several children and could not support more. Another was having trouble conceiving because of hormonal irregularities that the pill could normalize. Moritz herself was told, after she received radiation therapy for a thyroid tumor, not to have children for at least two years.

Each of them ultimately decided to use birth-control pills and remain in the church.

Few if any other major faith groups condemn use of birth control as strictly as Catholics. The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, for instance, which supports large families, believes "the decision as to how many children to have and when to have them is extremely intimate and private and should be left between the couple and the Lord," spokeswoman Kim Farah said.

Dr. Ingrid Haas, a Scottsdale obstetrician/gynecologist, said long-term health effects from the birth-control pills and similar methods are virtually non-existent. She says arguments that the pill use can induce abortions and inhibit pregnancy long after the use has been discontinued are faulty.

She also questioned Olmsted's statements about marital health.

"If a couple has control over their family planning, they are much happier than a couple that uses random hit-or-miss," she said.

Effectiveness of method

Natural family planning is based on several factors, including time of month, a woman's temperature and close observations of a woman's bodily changes that subtly signal ovulation, or times of fertility. Couples abstain from sex during times of fertility unless they want a pregnancy.

Haas, the Scottsdale doctor, said the system could be effective, "but only if the woman has regular cycles, and the couple is on the same page about family planning. It is not as successful as the pill."

The American Academy of Family Physicians says that when couples are diligent, natural family planning is 90 to 98 percent effective, a rate comparable to the pill. It adds, however, that it appears to be less effective in actual practice.

Even the Institute for Reproductive Health at Georgetown University, a Catholic school in Washington, D.C., acknowledges that the chance of pregnancy can rise to as high as 20 percent when any of several natural family planning methods is not used correctly.

Peggy Frei, who heads the diocese's Natural Family Planning Center, says the church has failed to do a good job educating its couples about the technique. She insists that couples who use natural family planning are happier and healthier, based on anecdotal evidence.

Frei said no one knows how many people use natural family planning. She said her office taught the full course to 422 students in 2004, while 2,469 individuals took the introductory class.

Frei said she didn't know when Olmsted's requirement will take hold.

Michael Phalen, Frei's boss at the diocese, said recruitment of teachers is moving along.

"We normally train two to four couples a year to teach in English, but now we are getting ready to train seven," he said.

Training of Spanish-speaking couples lags behind.

"We don't know the time frame for the requirement," Phalen said. "The bishop wants to do it well and as quickly as possible."

Once the requirement is in place, it will have to train about 2,000 couples a year. That is how many marriages annually have been conducted in churches in the diocese, ever since the diocese was founded in late 1969.

Guess I won't be getting married in a Catholic church. Sure, I want to get married. But I don't believe that marriage=children. Why can't you just spend the rest of your life with someone that makes you happy. I also have irregular cycles, so no amount of planning will prevent pregnancy.

I forgot, I also need to ask forgiveness for using birth control for almost 15 years now. Guess I'm going to hell - who's going to join me?