Cat Round-Up

I am a cat lover. NOT cat lady, cat lover. I think at one time, my friends feared for me and they thought I'd gone over to the crazy cat-lady world. I love cats-- kittens are my weakness. Don't drop a kitten in my lap, you'll never see it again!

When Hubby met me, I had 2 cats. They were the first cats that I ever had on my own, not a cat that mom and dad had in the house, but MINE. Who paid for the vet's bill? Me! Who got their shots and took them to get 'de-balled'? Me! Cat food and litter? Me again! I felt such an attachment to these 2 boys. One of the boys had a condition that caused him to be clumsy. He always looked like he was drunk, walking in a wobble and his perception of distances wasn't very good either. I have seen him run at full speed only to crash into the wall and then sit there shaking off the yellow birdies flying around his head going "tweet-tweet!" The vet said he was the runt of the litter and his brain was not fully developed and it was the part of the brain that controlled his eye-paw co-ordination. When he jumped on the bed, it wasn't a graceful leap, but a 'here-goes-and-hope-I-land' kind of jump.

When I met Hubby, I introduced him to the boys and they gave him a 'cat scan' and then they bumped his legs and purred and pretty much fell in love with Hubby. I knew then, that Hubby was alright. One of the first questions I asked Hubby was if he was allergic to cats-- not if he liked cats, but allergic. I figured I could convince him on the virtues of a cat, but if he was allergic then I was out of luck. I was not going to give up my cats for a man!

Later, a friend of mine found some kittens and knowing how much I liked cats, she invited us over to see them. Hubby had always wanted a black cat and sure enough, she had a black one. Hubby was smitten! We planned to take 2, as the other 2 were already spoken for, but they backed out and we ended up taking all 4 kittens... do the math: 2+4=6! Poor Hubby--- he didn't grow up around kittens and had no idea of the behavior they have. They climb everything and anything, run and play, sleep on top of books and your face! Eventually, Hubby got used to them and the kittens grew into cats and we were a happy family of humans and cats. About a year later, a co-worker found a black cat and couldn't keep him and remembered me. She asked me if I wanted him and I thought "Oh, no!! Hubby will KILL me if I bring home another cat!" Then she did it-- she brought the cat to work and said, "here!" and thrust the kitten in my face. *GASP!* Cannot resist, must fight it! But it was no use, my powers are useless against kittens. Hubby drove home that night while the kitten cuddled up on my neck, licked my ear, and fell asleep, purring all the way home. 2+4+1=7!

Here is the kicker--- when I was pregnant with my first child, I can't tell you how many people asked if we were going to get rid of the cats before the baby was born. I can't believe people STILL believe in that old wives tale about cats stealing babies' breath and the other stuff. Of course we were going to keep the cats! The only problem we had was one of the cats being jealous of the baby and took to relieving himself on the crib everyday, and then when that didn't seem to make the baby disappear, he started on the changing table, the diapers, the carpet. Hubby ended up taking him to the animal shelter. Then shortly before we moved, I had to put my drunken boy to sleep because he was having kidney problems and his illness progressed to where he was miserable.

So, down to 5 cats. An Aunty got into a terrible accident and needed someone to watch over her cats for her. I said I'd take care of them until she decided what to do with them-- I am NOT keeping them. 5+2=7! Little did I know, they had pissing problems. Crooked-tail cat was peeing everywhere and I wasn't having it, so we tossed him outside with 2 of our other cats that developed peeing issues. Miss Kitty (who wasn't fixed, so I couldn't throw her outside with all the stray tom-cats hanging around) holed up in the hall bath and used the tub as her toilet. Then she ventured out and started using corners of the house. The last straw was when she poo'd in the toy box on top of the girls' toys. Agh!! Off to the shelter she went.

My old boy cat passed away last year and now we are back down to 5 cats again. I still am a cat lover, but I must admit that I am counting the years to when the house will be cat-free. Sounds heartless, but with all the things I am already doing around here, cleaning the litter box is not my favorite thing to do. We love the ones we have, and give them love and affection, and I love it when they curl up on my lap when I watch TV, or they plop on the newspaper (the funny pages, of course). In the future, after these ones have gone on to kitty heaven, we will have no more than 2 cats at a time. If you have found a kitten, don't call me and I must add, kitten kryptonite no longer has any power over me now, so nyah-nyah-nyah-nyah!