I'm
FRUSTRATED!!! <--- notice extra exclamation points. This means I'm serious.
This past
Tuesday night I had 16 cats inside my house. SIXTEEN! But I'm getting ahead of
my story.
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| Adult Male #1 -- handsome panfur mancat |
On Monday I
hauled Stray #1 - Male - back to vet. He'd been sneezing with runny eyes which
equaled a respiratory infection. Also -- worms. Pretty sure, why not, the
kittens do. I also took in the sweetie pie female tabby so my vet could see
her. She's 3 months old, 3 lbs, and guess what? Besides worms...she has ear
mites. And so did Stray 1. Ack!
I had to buy dewormer for Mom cat and the Ninja kittens plus ear mite
liquid.
So after
dinner I begged Ray to help me deworm the Ninjas. It’s a
topical like Advantage only with a special ingredient (like platinum) to make it super
pricey. Whatever! I dewormed Mom Cat and did her ears, bless her she's so nice.
The
Ninjas... I had Ray on the ready outside the bathroom door with ear stuff and deworm
stuff. I went in carrying a towel and managed to get hold of Feisty aka Mister
Congeniality. Compared to the two black kittens, Feisty is a piece of cake. Ray
came in, making rude comments about how the bathroom stinks (like I couldn't
tell -- rolling eyes here) and he applied the stuff to Feisty and left. I
released Feisty, then tried to grab a black kitten. I get one wrapped up like a
burrito but apparently my burrito wrapping sucks because he wiggled loose,
screaming like a girl at a Bieber concert. I didn't let go, but was way too
wary of those back claws. I'm already sporting a lovely gouge in my left palm.
Long story short -- didn't happen. Didn’t happen with the other black kitten
either who has defied my every attempt to make friends.
Ninja
Kittens 5, Kim 0.
THEN!
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| Ninja Kittens |
While this
is all going on...I found out we had tornadoes in the area. We had a spring
like day in the 70s, so of course! Now you may know how freaked I get about
those damn things. Freaked! I found my outside tabby Chauncie's tent shaking
and the poor girl was huddled on top of her cat tree. I put her in the laundry
room to enjoy the peace and quiet. I checked on Yum and Jesse. Their tent
wasn't so wild--at the time. But awhile later I checked the weather and saw we
were going to have winds 25-35 mph all night long. And from past experience I
knew that rear porch tent would come apart in winds like that. I went out to
check and sure enough, the anchor board that is nailed into the porch roof had
shifted. I called Ray who moved a table to brace it since it’s anchored at the
top but we have no way of anchoring the rest of it. There is a drain pipe and
the brick wall.
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| Chauncie Marie |
Anyway, I decided
to bring Yum and Jesse inside. But what to do with Chauncie? With Cat Apt #2
booked with Strays 1 & 2 & Adorapurr kitten, and downstairs guest bath
booked with Ninjas... I moved Chauncie into my office. She used to be feral and
it took me 4 years to convince her I was a good guy, but as of last summer she
not only rolls for me to rub her belly, but lets me pick her up. Apparently I
give great back rubs too. So I spent some time with her in my office. She
explored, and then settled under my desk on her bed that I brought from her
tent. I gave her treats (shhhh, don't tell Herman, they were his) and left her
with a lamp on.
Then I grabbed
Jesse and put him in the laundry room. He was thrilled. THRILLED. I gave him a
bed and food and water. Then I went to grab Yum. She was huddled inside her cat
tree with the blanket thrown over it. It was way too warm for a blanket or a
heat lamp, but she was scared. And I left her because Yum in her former feral
state terrorized two vet clinics. If she says No, I respect her. But, over the
past year we have come to have a good relationship, so when I went back out 20
minutes later, she was camped on top of the tree, and I swept her off. She
clung to me while I reassured her and carried her through the house to put her
in with Jesse, who was slightly less thrilled because he likes to have the room
to himself. I showed Yum the food and water, and Jesse, the angel he is, licked
her to assure her he was happy to see her.
I then lit
one of my Advent candles and said a prayer for no tornadoes to come anywhere
near my town. And it worked. I was able to sleep without fear. Yay!
However ...
I forgot to provide litter boxes for my guests and Jesse kinda used one of the
beds as a toilet. And getting Yum back outside the next morning required
shifting the dryer where she was crammed behind and bribing her with tuna.
So, there
you have it: Sixteen cats. My usual 7: Buddy, Herman, Barney, Opie, Peaches,
Jack and Gidget. Plus Strays 1, 2 and Adorapurr kitten in Cat Apt# 2. Three
Ninjas in downstairs bathroom. Chauncie in my office. Jesse and YumYum in
laundry room. Sixteen.
I need a serious break from cats.
Or my head examined.
Probably both.
