Another Giant Leap

Snickers came up on the bed for cuddles this morning.

One morning last week I was doing the wake-up kitty-cuddle routine, I looked over to see him sitting on the floor meowing at me to reach over and pet him, so I did. This was new - I'm safe if I'm sitting in my computer chair, and I'm safe if I'm sitting in my recliner, but I'm a potential threat if I'm anywhere else, especially if I'm on my feet. But he'd decided I was safe when I was lying in bed too, and he might as well get his share of the attention. I looked for him each morning after that, but he didn't show up. This morning I was lying on one side cuddling kittens when I looked over to see him sitting on a rubbermaid tub full of clothes I have sitting by one side of the bed to make it easier for both Dudley and Penny to get up on my slightly-elevated bed. I greeted him with a cheery "Good Morning, sweetheart, are you going to come up here for some cuddles this morning?" and, to my amazement, he hopped up onto the bed. He made his way down to the end of the bed and around my feet to come up behind me. Then he stuck his head out toward me. So I reached over and skritched him. He stuck around for about 10 minutes getting occasional skritches. At one point, he even relaxed enough to lie down and lean up against my hip. Tickled the heck out of me. I bet he's back for more before the end of the week. I'd also bet that he'll be a lap cuddler before the end of the year.

The morning cuddle is getting longer by the day. Not only are all the kittens coming for morning cuddles now, but Irenie and Isis are regulars now, too. The only cats who don't come for morning cuddles are Ivy and Onyx, but Onyx is working her way toward it. I found her sleeping on my bed one day last week; to my knowledge, that's the first time she's been in my bedroom. I see her regularly in the kitchen and dining room now, and she's appearing more frequently in the living room. Gertie doesn't come for morning cuddles every day, but she comes a couple of times a week. (Her idea of an insurance premium, so I'll keep feeding her. She doesn't need me for much more than that. lol!!)

The weatherman lied again. He said it was going to be cloudy but dry today. It's not dry, it's spitting. Just enough that dogs don't want to be outside. I hope it's not enough to delay/postpone the baseball game tonight; yesterday was an off day and I'm already in baseball withdrawal.

Five-Dollar Kittens

Just got this through a freecycle list:

Ready September 18th, pick out the one you want now, Can take a pics in a few day and email for they are only a day old now and i want to wait for their eyes to open to take a picture. 2 tiger, 1 pure black unknown sex at this time. They will be raised around dogs, and very young kids. Will ask $5.00 for each kitten. I know kittens are usually free but i want to ensure they are going to go to a good home and not to someone who wants to pick up a free kitten just to torcher.

*sigh* Five dollars, to ensure they're going to a good home at 6 weeks of age.

Overwhelmed

I'm so discouraged about the stray/feral cat population here. It's a lot bigger than I thought it was. I recently acquired a Tru-catch trap; the first two nights I baited it I caught two males I'd never seen before. I was hoping to catch the dilute calico, her kittens would have been plenty old enough to manage without her for a few days, and I wanted to catch her before she got pregnant again. This morning I looked out my front window to see her dead on the side of the road. I'm going to the s/n clinic tomorrow with Irenie and family and I try to take a feral - or even two - with me when I go down there, but I couldn't have afforded anyone else with tomorrow's trip anyway. I don't know how I'm ever going to get them all TNR'd. By the time I get around to getting them all fixed, they'll have had more kittens. I'm damned if I do, damned if I don't; I don't think I can stand to see another one smashed on the road.

I'm worried about placing Irenie's babies, too. So far all inquiries have either flaked out or haven't met my requirements: no declawing, inside only, other pets in the home spayed or neutered. They're only going to be adorable little kittens for a short time, it's going to get harder to place them as time passes. I've put up flyers all over the place, but since I'm charging an adoption fee, it's hard to compete with the "free kittens" that are already advertised in every place I put a flyer. I don't think $75 is unreasonable for an altered, tested, wormed, healthy kitten (or $120 for a pair of kittens) - having a male cat neutered runs a minimum of $90, not to mention FeLV/FIV testing, worming, etc.

I had to go see my doc this past week, to get new prescriptions. I complained that the prescription Claritin wasn't working so well any more, and when she examined me she discovered I had a sinus infection. So she prescribed antibiotics (that make me dizzy) and a different antihistimine - one of the older antihistiamines that make me so drowsy I walk around in a zombie-like state. I don't know which is worse - having a heavy head from congestion, or having a heavy head from the antihistimine. Add the dizziness from the antibiotics and the dizziness on standing caused by a drop in blood pressure, and I'm really out of it. I ran a whole bunch of errands yesterday, was in and out of the car a dozen times, and each time I had to stand next to the car for a minute or two until the dizziness passed.

I'm tired, sick, discouraged, and now I've got to go scrape a cat off the road. I'd really like a week's vacation from my life. Starting right now.