If you needed a cat, I had a spare.

You know that fantasy about finding a kitten? Like one magically appears in your yard and it’s the perfect age so it doesn’t need the mother cat anymore. It’s healthy as can be so it’s not going to die as soon as you name it. Also it’s just as quirky and special, but well behaved as all your other cats who accept it as one of the clowder. It just needs a home. Your home. That fantasy? (I cannot be the only person who thinks things like “wouldn’t it be amazing if I found a kitten right now?”)

My fantasy came true and I screwed it up hard! To the point that I discussed with a friend whether or not I was missing a message from the universe because “when the universe gives you a kitten….” you’re supposed to lean into it.

I blame Birdie. She was the one who spotted her.

Birdie was relaxing on my bed more or less unsupervised for the first time in weeks because she had just had her sutures removed from her feline mastectomy, so she was cleared to jump and cat again. I was in and out folding laundry or something exciting like that because whhhooohooooo it was spring break! It was also April Fool’s Day which did not occur to me at the time. but seems important now. (The universe is sending you a cat! HAHA April Fools) I saw Birdie alert to something out the window so, of course, I looked too. A small cat was emerging from under the fence. I tapped on the window and we all made eye contact. Is kitty!

Because I am an idiot, I walked through the house to the garage and opened the side door. Through cat witchcraft, the small cat immediately materialized on the doorstep, bounced into the garage, climbed me like a tree, drooled in my ear, and promptly broke my heart with her love.

The first 5 minutes. Yes, I changed my outer layer to throw off the other cats.

I texted all the crucial people the video of the cat rubbing her personal stink all over me with the all important question: “Well, what the fuck do I do now?” I posted a non-explicit video in my neighborhood Facebook group thinking that this healthy looking, loving little girl had to be somebody’s Torbie baby. Across the board, they all came back with: “You have a cat now.”

No, I had 5 cats now which made even me a little nervous. My theory is that my yard grows calico based cats. It just takes about 10 years in between each one. Birdie showed up in the yard when she was about one. I can’t help but look at that splotchy nose marking and consider the connections.

However I had invited the cat in like a tiny snuggly vampire and it was now late at night and because it was Ohio, there had actually been snowflakes earlier that day. I could not toss her out the door if I ever expected to live with myself. Small Cat ***spent her first night in the garage in a nest on top of my recycling so she wasn’t directly on cold concrete. She did not vocalize which played into my theory that she was street smart, but had a gigantic purr. She ate and drank heartily. When I set up a litterbox for her, she immediately took the longest cat pee ever while maintaining eye contact and telling me that she had been running through yards looking for a bathroom. She was really glad that I had one she could use.

***Here’s the thing. I named her in my head. I thought her name all the damned time, but I never said it because if I solidly named her, then she was absolutely staying. The vet referred to her as Found Cat on all her paperwork. I called her Small Cat at home as in “You guys, (the other cats) what did you do with the small cat?” and “Small cat, your booty smells musty. Take care of that.”

Because the most likely outcome was that I did indeed have a fifth cat who would be interacting with my other cats, we headed to the vet the next day where I invested money in some tests and round one of vaccinations. The vet pronounced her healthy; loving, but not in heat; and roughly a year old. We scheduled for a spay appointment at the end of the month. If she stayed that long and I paid for the spaying, she in the family for sure. Small Cat moved to my small bathroom where she chilled happily for about 24 hours because the shots knocked her for a loop.

In the mean time I had started in on her adoption campaign partly because I was a little stressed and partly because the socially acceptable amount of cats plus middle aged single female is one cat and after that you just become a stereotype that people “worry about.” Aside from the peer pressure, I was also looking at finances and the mental health of the other cats who got along and did not feel compelled to lodge complaints in the form of peeing on things. Birdie had just had an operation and we were heading towards her first chemo treatment which was, of course, more expensive than estimated. Additionally, I had no idea how she would handle the chemo, but I did know that she would be the least tolerant of a new addition to the household. Birdie gave me a demo of her feelings when, despite my best barricading efforts, Small Cat escaped her new residence the spare bedroom.

Note the tiny toes. This door does not latch.

Apparently when cats meet their doppelganger, the space time continuum gets screwy and nothing good happens. Birdie briefly nose booped Small Cat and then went from perfectly silent to full jungle cat scream! I’ve heard Birdie scream about may things over the years, but this was a terrifying new level. Small Cat dropped into a tiny ball, I scooped her up, and we ran for cover.

Birdie vs Small Cat

At the other end of the spectrum, Miles was like, “Hello, you are a lady so I am down. More importantly, I understand that food is being brought into this room so I want to monitor that situation. Beyond that, please have a nice day.”

Olivia and Sookie landed somewhere in the middle alternating between hissy and curious. Small Cat was on lock down while I was out of the house, but by about the fourth night, had the run of the house from when I got home until the next morning when I left. This is not an ideal cat introduction time line, but I also value sleep and if she wasn’t quietly crying and banging on the door, Miles was opening it from the other side just fuck with me. So in the evenings, I got to watch her attempt interactions and explore the house. She would start at one end of the room and then seconds later meerkat up at the opposite end( cat witchcraft!) Eventually she would settle in to hang out with me because I was the most amazing person she knew.

She’s in to middle aged women, old cd racks, and tattoos.

She even offered to help with bedtime reading, but Birdie shut that down pronto.

She’s a pro! Look at that form!

Possible adopters came up and fell through. I wavered between stress that she would be staying and relief that she would be staying. I was confident that her loving and sweet personality would ultimately blend with my crew, but Birdie’s level of stress and expenses were still a concern.

I’ve been looking at dates on pictures while writing this. Small Cat was only in my house for 10 days! Just 10! At the time it felt like forever because I wasn’t sure of her fate or what I should do. The day her adopters came to meet her, every cat in the house was completely calm and accepting of her the whole morning. Even now I have some regrets, but I know she found a good home.

Ultimately a connection was made through a friend. A young couple was looking for a companion for their two year old cat. Small Cat was uncertain about them which did not help my state of mind much. I had not thought about the fact that I was the only human she knew and certainly new people in the house were scary. She retreated to her room, but the couple was willing to spend time sweet talking her and offering toys to introduce themselves. I got a report back that their cat immediately started following Small Cat around and there was some snuggling. I’ve allowed myself to ask my friend for an update only once, and reportedly things were going well.

When they left with her, I cried and vacuumed for an hour. I don’t know how fosters do it. She took up so much of my mental and emotional head space for the time she was with me then tore me up when she left. I guess if you are fostering through a shelter, there’s a bit more certainty to the process and you know the end goal. I cannot praise enough the fosters who are able to open their homes, hearts, and minds to regularly connecting with animals so they can find their furever homes.

Day 9: Just trying to watch tv.

Little Adventures: Shimmies for Kitties

Once again, I’ve stumbled on to something local that I had no clue about its existence even though it is now four years old!

Kitties plus belly dancing! Another fabulous approach to shelter fundraisers!

The Hip Art Collective has been hosting Shimmies for Kitties for four years now as a fundraiser for Cat Welfare Association former shelter to Bella Luna and Miles.

It was almost three hours of belly dancing performers so plenty of shimmies! We made a $10 dollar donation at the door and then were encouraged to buy raffle tickets and check out the vendors. Raffle prizes were a mix of cat related items and belly dancing accessories. The handful of vendors sold beauty products, elaborate dance costumes, leggings, knitting and, of course, Cat Welfare t-shirts ( I went with the green one).

Belly dancing comes from a variety of countries, and we got to see an assortment of styles and approaches to dance. Dancers used props ranging from veils to zills, balancing swords and sabers, feathered fans, and a cane.

Representing Sacred Shimmy

With several groups and individual performers, we also got a wide range of musical choices. A few used live musicians, many had pre-recorded traditional music, and surprisingly The Cure’s “The Lovecats” (evening appropriate!) and Britney Spears’s “Oops!…I did it again” were part of the mix. It all works. I used to use “Istanbul Not Constantinople” by They Might Be Giants for our routine during college.

I’ve always found belly dancing exciting. You get to jingle and wear sparkly things! There’s lots of room for improv. It’s accessible to all ages and body types. Best of all: the more shit you’ve got to shake, the better!

The Lucky Cat Tribal group.

The evening ended with live music from Sacred Shimmy, dance, and more raffle prizes. The Hip Art Collective ladies are modeling the Shimmies for Kitties shirt with some lovely artwork. The shirts come in tanks, tees, and youth size with options on background colors. Available through August 4, sales of the shirts will go to continuing the event and supporting Cat Welfare Association.

You really want a shirt. They’re stinkin’ cute!

Almost literally pouring cats and dogs at least in underground piping!

It’s been a busy week for one of my favorite shelters, Colony Cats and Dogs.

Monday, they helped to initiate the rescue of a dog trapped underground in a sewer pipe. They speculate that the dog was chasing critters into the pipe and got lost then trapped.

Tuesday led to more underground drama…with another happy ending which is a good thing or I think I would be a mess.

At about 11:30, I saw that the shelter had posted a video of their surveillance footage on their Facebook page. (Follow the link for videos) Around 4 am that morning, someone had left three very spry and curious kittens at the shelter’s door without containment. The kittens jump up to interact with the big cats behind the glass then, according to the volunteers, one stayed behind and the other two set off to the right of what is essentially a strip mall and giant parking lot full of businesses.

For once, for whatever reason, I decided to respond to the call for volunteers who could come search for the two wanderers who had  a 7 hour head start. I checked in with a volunteer who was cleaning the still closed shelter. She was a little hesitant as I’m not an official volunteer, but I’m familiar enough with the shelter and have adopted from there plus I was a warm body willing to aimlessly walk around in the rain looking for something the size of a softball.

She showed me the one kitten they had, a hissy little ball of fluff in the back of a giant carrier, and sent me on my way. I decided to walk around even though she suggested driving and said others had been driving around the area stopping at dumpsters, hoping food smells would attract the kittens.

I more or less decided to take a lap around the shopping center, checking out landscaping as I went. This plaza has an open courtyard midway with large hostas and dense shrubs which seemed like a good place to check out. I worked my way along the plant bed, and had  success when I bumped into some rain-soaked hostas. Two little bodies shot out from under the hostas, through a clear patch and under a shrub.

HOLY. SHIT.

Brain went into panic mode. What to do? I pulled up Facebook and called the shelter where, of course, no one answered the phone. I tried a mother cat calling kittens video, but I only got sad little squeaks in return. It was an awkward spot and I was afraid that my flailing attempts to grab them would send one or both of the kittens shooting out into a busy parking lot next to an even busier road.

So I ran. I don’t run. I joke that I only run if bears or killers with chainsaws or bears with chainsaws are chasing me, but that I would eventually give up. Fortunately, the volunteer I had talked to and another woman saw me coming and frantically waving. Yes, I had found the kittens!

I followed them through the back alleyways behind all the shops as a quicker way back to the courtyard where we formed a human perimeter around the shrubs. I could see the little gray and white kitten crouched at the base of a shrub across from me. The volunteer scrambled down, grabbed it, and handed the squalling, soaked kitten to me.  I, of course, was ready to go full Lenny, tuck that kitten into my bosom and love it, until they directed me to put it in the carrier. The carrier, that was probably the more responsible route.

Mysteriously the black kitten was no longer there. In a matter of minutes, it had pulled a vanishing act. I was even second guessing what I had seen as people started to question me about finding BOTH the kittens there. But I remembered noticing its mittens as it scurried behind its sibling, an intrepid tuxie. When you’re permanently dressed like James Bond, you tend to also act like him.

Of all the kittens, it had to be least noticeable black one. Of all the weather  conditions, it had to be raining wavering back and forth from mild to pouring. As more volunteers arrived, we spent the next two hours repeatedly combing through the same bushes, crawling through mulch and grass, sure that the kitten was hidden in plain sight. (The dead mummified duck in the second set of bushes surprised me every time.)Crawling under larger bushes, dumpsters, and a concrete thing that I don’t know what it was for but there was A LOT of shit, including a cat bed, down in it. A volunteer with a heat sensor showed up and ran it over the dense bushes. We did expanding laps around the shopping center, and reconvened to theorize on kitten logic. Plates of smelly food were put out, live traps were discussed, but no one was really sure how to proceed. The rain made all of the open downspouts in the area an obvious and  horrifying possibility as to where the kitten could have gone to in such a short time.

I trudged back around to the shelter with the group feeling like a quitter, but completely unsure of what to do next. I was soaked from shoes to underwear and on the verge of  publicly crying if I stood there talking to people much longer. No matter how miserable I felt, that lost, wet, hungry, scared little furball wherever it was hiding was worse.

Home again, I took an extremely hot shower, put on dry clothes and tried to occupy myself while checking the Facebook thread every few minutes. Should I go back? What could I do? I resolved to go back in an hour if nothing had changed. Basically, my mind would be able to only contain one kitten and nothing else for the rest of the day. Then one of the searchers I had talked to, posted that they had heard some meowing in the courtyard area. Yes, I would go back! Except that they were now sure it was coming from a drain pipe. I was among the frantic back seat drivers, commenting and questioning what could be done!

For the second time in two days, a local fire station stepped in with Colony Cats to save a furry life. I watched video from a conveniently dry and unheroic spot in my house as the rescue was made. I am certain I recognized the boots of one of the early searchers who crawled around on the ground with me, and who, I’m pretty sure, said she was supposed to go to work that day. I know she was as soaked as I was when I last saw her; I don’t think she made it in to work.

I’m so grateful to have been able to help a bit and incredibly grateful that this worked out and that Piper, Pearl and Puck who have their own Facebook page now are safe and already have people clamoring to adopt them. Could time and resources have been saved if I had made a grab for two kittens on my own? I can’t know. Could the person who dropped them off have done so more responsibly? Ab-so-frickin-lutely!

Cole and Marmalade posted a story about the kitten rescue and the dog rescue the day before! They’re kind of a big deal in dorky cat obsessing worlds 🙂 If you’ve made it all the way through my picture-less ramblings, reward yourself with their article which has all the adorable rescued kitten pictures and associated videos your heart can handle.

Stuff like this makes me hug my warm, dry, VERY well-fed “kittens” extra hard.

Cats, Coffee, Quiet

We finally got a cat cafe!!! We’re the coolest!!

It took almost a year for them to get everything in order, but Eat, Purr, Love is now up and running! Knowing that I would eventually want to check it out, I donated to their Kickstarter campaign. My “purrks” were a free hour with kitties, a beverage and treat, a spot on the mural wall and a sweet t-shirt.

The Bird is unimpressed as per usual.

I visited on a dreary day that we had off from school. I definitely needed some perking up because, ironically, I was not feeling great due to a cat bite (more on that to come). The cafe is in the funky neighborhood of Clintonville. Its block has everything from a small antique store to a barbershop, tattoo parlor,and the best movie theater ever.

The cafe is simply a store front with big front windows to let in plenty of natural light and an enticing view of cat paradise.

MilesLuvsSookie on the mural!

The lobby entrance has lots of cat products from local shelters and businesses; I bought a catnip toy so my kids would forgive me for cheating on them. There is some seating in the lobby where one can enjoy coffee and a snack or choose to head in through the “airlock” double-doored entrance to the larger portion where the cats are hanging out.

Maybe I’m too easily impressed by people who seem to know how to stylishly, effortlessly decorate a room, but the cat portion was magazine ready. The cat portion featured two levels, all with clean, shining wood floors. The upper portion had squishy human seating, books and games, while the bigger lower portion featured work tables, artwork, and  cat toys and contraptions EVERYWHERE. These cats have options! If I had thought this through, I would have brought my grading with me and camped out.

As anyone who has ever read this blog knows, I have four cats at home to pet and waller. I have tons of natural light, artwork, and squishy human seating areas as well. I got in to the cafe for free this time, but why pay $10 an hour to go back when I can sit around petting cats for free? Or to even visit for the first time?

Reasons why:

• I hate grading and will even clean toilets to procrastinate. My house has a myriad of distractions. Sometimes the white noise of coffee shop is what I need to focus. Plus coffee shops won’t let me clean. Eat, Purr, Love provides such an environment plus …cats.
• Coffee and pastries.
• If you sit long enough, working on something, a cat will eventually come cuddle on you. That’s just how it is.
• I would think nothing of spending way more than $10 on food or supplies to donate to a shelter. The $10 for the hour goes towards the care and maintenance of the cats and cafe. Same, same.
• If I had a first date here, he would get so much…pussycat love.
• YOGA! They are scheduling “yogato” (yoga with cats) events. I am so in!
• I love visiting my shelter for free to “pet strange heads” and will continue to do so, but there are an overwhelming number of cats there, many of whom are stressed out, and it smells like they all peed at once plus bleach. I’m used to that smell, but the cafe did NOT smell like cats, and there were only 9 maybe 10 cats in residence when I visited. This was a much more relaxed environment and would be very good for someone to fall in love with a particular kitty.
• At the time I visited, they had successfully adopted out 20 cats with two adoptions pending. Pretty good odds for a place that just opened in September.The cats are brought to the cafe through The Capital Area Humane Society.
• With falling in love in mind, I got to see this love match happening. Worth it!

Sadly the tortie did not tolerate the love and walked away. However, by the time I left, the black and white cat had found a huge tuxedo cat who let her snuggle up.

Check out the Eat, Purr, Love Facebook page for daily adorableness.

Cat Cloning on Clearance

Miles grew another cat. I always knew this day would come. Somehow the cat flavored dust bunnies would unite and…BOOM! New cat!

He’s not thrilled.

His new buddy seems less fully formed and more spider-like than cat-like, but that’s what you get when you buy your cloning technology at 75% off on the after Halloween rack at PetSmart.

However as long as we’re going to create a cat homunculus, we might as well give it some super powers. Like lasers!

Laser cats!!!

Laser Cat Twins Unite!

Why not? We like Andy Samberg and Bill Hader a lot, but the internets have made it virtually impossible to find a shareable video of the SNL Laser Cats skit. So we’ll back track to laser cats on a budget and the most wonderful cat loving engineers ever.

However I did not torment Miles with costumes today because November 8 is his Adoption Day. His day looked a lot more like this:

Sun-spotting and thinking sexy thoughts. No lasers required.

 

 

 

 

Oh, Damn it, Just Be Nice!

Today is National Hug Your Cat Day. Cats are not really super fans of tight squeezing hugs; they’re more about soft pats and gentle cuddles. Maybe some spooning. Every day is Hug Your Cat Day at my house, but I really had to persuade Sookie.

Sookie: she disapproves of my love…and hugs.

Last month was Be Kind to Animals month, but with the end of the school year, my extended thoughts on being kind to animals just kind of got put on the back burner. I spend as much time as possible being kind to my animals and try to consider the welfare of animals that I come in contact with outside of my four fur babies. I did make it to a Kitten Shower (like a baby shower sans the stupid babies!) at Colony Cats. In exchange for donating some food and blankies, I got to see “ittle,” tiny kittens and love on some older kittens and cats who were working it to find furever homes.

All flavors available!

The gray nose pad matched gray paw pads! Love!

This is Calvin. He did not want me to leave so I found a brush and groomed him.

ittle kittehs

It’s kitten season

It’s now June and Adopt a Shelter Cat/Adopt a Shelter Pet month! Seventy-five percent of my cat population came from shelters. As per usual, Birdie had to be the weirdo and showed up in the backyard. I can’t adopt all the animals. As it is, four cats seems to be frowned upon by my peers and polite society. So I do things like yammer on in this blog, go to kitten showers, enter my cats into calendar contests that support shelters and buy the

My shirt from http://www.outfitgood.com/
Olivia is like “That boob is as big as I am!” True story.

occasional t-shirt that donates to things like the Humane Society’s Kitty Palooza coming up on June 8!

I’m just a small voice mumbling around about a bigger issue, but I like to hope that something I say or do makes a difference. I was incredibly gratified a few months ago when my friend April told me that she was considering adopting a new dog and referenced the post that I had written about turning 40. I had said that I’d rather people do something for a shelter animal than buy me a gift. So I’ll choose to believe that I helped motivate her to add Henry an 8 year old dog, her “little old man”, to her home. It’s so easy to be drawn to baby animals and pass by the senior citizens at the shelter who just want a stable, quiet, loving home life. I’m guilty of it. I told myself that my next adoptee would be older or three-legged or one- eyed (I would re-name the pet Pirate no matter what), but then Olivia did her little stretch and chirp from the shelf of  a cat tree and all that went out the window. At least I changed a little life.

Little old man.

April has been diligently working with Henry to change his life. She’s given me updates on how Henry has adjusted to the house, her other dog, and going on walks. She works on his behavioral decisions as if he is an extension of the students that she works with who need that extra prompting towards the “good” choice to make. I’ve said that she should bring him into school as an example of a personal decisions Star Student. The last time we talked, Henry was up to wagging his bulldog nubbin’ of a tail in happiness, greeting his family. That kind of accomplishment and attitude adjustment makes  a hug difference in helping an animal fit into a home and family. It is work. My little weirdos still need their own behavioral reminders.

It makes me wonder why the world needs all these monthly reminders to be kind to creatures; it is so easy and reassuring to reach out to a pet. We probably need some reminders just to be kind to each other.