it's a boy!!!
Well, I told you I had news, didn't I? This wasn't exactly expected, though. :-) And thankfully, this little addition to the family didn't result in stretch marks or eighteen hours of labor. *g*
This is the kitty currently known as Tigger. Isn't he adorable?
Yes, yes, I know. I already have four cats & need another one like I need poison oak. But for the record, I did not go looking for this little guy. (I never go looking for them, they just sort of come to me.)
This time, I first spotted Tigger out by one of the bird feeders...probably hunting for food, poor baby. And I shooed him away, really I did. My cats can go a bit nuts if a stray is in the yard, so I try to discourage that sort of thing. Yes, I thought he was cute, but I tamped down my maternal instincts & forgot all about him.
Next day, Tigger came around again. I tried to ignore him, tried to steel myself against those adorable amber eyes & that cute, fuzzy little gray body. When he came up to me while I was outside, I admit I couldn't resist giving him a little pat, but it was only for five minutes or so! :-p
Day after that, I'd just gotten up & was in the bathroom brushing my teeth when I heard a kitty crying. Not one of my kitties...I can identify their meows from a mile away. :-) I just knew it was that little gray stray. His pathetic mewls tugged at me, but I pretended not to hear & hoped like heck he wouldn't still be there when I got downstairs.
And he wasn't! Wow, what luck, right? So I went on with my life. About half an hour later, I heard a bunch of noise on the enclosed front porch & looked to find my mother hunkered down with the little guy, petting him while he ate from a big bowl of food she'd given him.
You can see where this is going, right? And once again, for the record, I was not the one to give in first. Oh, I'd have probably capitulated & let the poor thing in eventually, but I was actually standing pretty strong at that particular moment. My own mother, who protests that I already have enough cats--&, hey, I'm not arguing, even though I'd defend each & every one of them to the death--made the decision for me.
But here's the problem... Okay, problems...
Now that my cats are 100% indoors, they don't need as many shots as they did when they were also allowed outside. And when the vet agreed to forego their feline leukemia vaccinations, he made me vow not to bring in any new/stray cats until they'd been tested for the virus themselves, otherwise they could all die. (Yeah, like I'm going to let that happen.)
So I made sure to keep the kitty on the front porch, away from the others. Then I got on the phone to the vet's office. I love my veterinarian & his entire staff. They are the bomb! This particular day, Patti saved me. :-) She assured me that as long as I kept the cats in separate rooms, everything should be okay. The stray, if he indeed had feline leukemia, would have to either scratch, spit at, or eat out of the same food dish as the others to pass the disease. Then she said that if we could bring the stray in that afternoon, they would test him for feline leukemia. And if we left him overnight, the vet would give him his exam, shots, & even neuter him the next morning.
I was ecstatic. Normally it takes at least a week or two to get in for a spay or neuter, but we lucked out in that there'd been a cancellation & they slipped us right in. And even though at the time, I was thinking, "I cannot have another cat. I cannot keep him," I truly believe that all pets should be spayed & neutered, & even if I didn't end up keeping him, I figured at least that way it would be done. But if I did keep him, then it would be that much sooner that the testosterone would start working its way out of his system & I'd hopefully have less trouble getting him to mesh with my other cats.
I had a doctor appointment in the same town where my vet is that day, anyway, so I dug out the pet carrier, popped him in, & took off. He was a prince in the car, by the way. Cried about halfway there, really nervous...he'd never been in a car--or carrier--before in his life, I'm sure...but then he settled down & fell asleep. LOL
Skip ahead to the feline leukemia test...it was negative. He's healthy as a horse. :-) He did have a tick, which I'd spotted when I picked him up to put him in the carrier, so they got that out & checked him for others, as well as fleas. He also had pretty bad earmites...not surprised; strays usually do...so they dosed him for that & also dewormed him, just in case.
Before heading home that evening, I stopped at the vet's again to check on him. (The folks at the vet are pretty used to me doing this sort of thing. I have a problem dropping my pets off & leaving them to sit in a cage all night; I don't deal well with it.) That's when I got the news that the feline leukemia test had been A-okay, & they let me go back to see him.
Well, it turns out Tigger is a charmer. All the ladies working that evening were ga-ga over him. They gushed about how cute he was & how they couldn't pass by the cage without stopping to play with him. They let me hold him for a bit, but after a while, the little booger actually leaned out of my arms until he could get back in the cage. He actually liked it! Hey, after living outside for God knows how long, in all kinds of cold, inclement weather, a warm metal box with a blanket, litter pan, & food dish would seem like Heaven to me, too. :-)
Thursday, he had his surgery, so I called in the afternoon to check on him. (Did I mention that the bonding process was pretty much immediate? It took, like, ten minutes before I started trying to think of a name for him.) And before the girl on the phone went back to see how he was doing, she gushed about how adorable he is. What can I say? My kids are the best. Even the ones who have only "belonged" to me for twelve hours. *g*
Yesterday, I picked him up & brought him home. The process of introducing him to the others & getting them all to get along is going to be a touchy one, but it's going well so far. I'm keeping a very close eye on everyone & praying there are no fights...& that my oldest doesn't start spraying again just to show his displeasure at this new interloper. So far, so good. They're all wary of each other, but no outright fear or fighting.
But the name Tigger suits this little guy, so unless something better comes to mind, it will probably stick. And unless something horrible happens between him & the other cats, he'll probably stay.
As I said, I didn't go looking for him. I even tried to pretend he wasn't there. But I can only believe that God sent him to me to be taken care of. He sends us what we need, right? Or maybe what/who needs us. :-) (I once had someone tell me that when he died, he wanted to come back as one of my cats, I treat them so well. *g*)
So go ahead & say it: I am the Cat Lady of Kylertown. And darn proud of it! :-D
This is the kitty currently known as Tigger. Isn't he adorable?
Yes, yes, I know. I already have four cats & need another one like I need poison oak. But for the record, I did not go looking for this little guy. (I never go looking for them, they just sort of come to me.)This time, I first spotted Tigger out by one of the bird feeders...probably hunting for food, poor baby. And I shooed him away, really I did. My cats can go a bit nuts if a stray is in the yard, so I try to discourage that sort of thing. Yes, I thought he was cute, but I tamped down my maternal instincts & forgot all about him.
Next day, Tigger came around again. I tried to ignore him, tried to steel myself against those adorable amber eyes & that cute, fuzzy little gray body. When he came up to me while I was outside, I admit I couldn't resist giving him a little pat, but it was only for five minutes or so! :-p
Day after that, I'd just gotten up & was in the bathroom brushing my teeth when I heard a kitty crying. Not one of my kitties...I can identify their meows from a mile away. :-) I just knew it was that little gray stray. His pathetic mewls tugged at me, but I pretended not to hear & hoped like heck he wouldn't still be there when I got downstairs.
And he wasn't! Wow, what luck, right? So I went on with my life. About half an hour later, I heard a bunch of noise on the enclosed front porch & looked to find my mother hunkered down with the little guy, petting him while he ate from a big bowl of food she'd given him.
You can see where this is going, right? And once again, for the record, I was not the one to give in first. Oh, I'd have probably capitulated & let the poor thing in eventually, but I was actually standing pretty strong at that particular moment. My own mother, who protests that I already have enough cats--&, hey, I'm not arguing, even though I'd defend each & every one of them to the death--made the decision for me.
But here's the problem... Okay, problems...Now that my cats are 100% indoors, they don't need as many shots as they did when they were also allowed outside. And when the vet agreed to forego their feline leukemia vaccinations, he made me vow not to bring in any new/stray cats until they'd been tested for the virus themselves, otherwise they could all die. (Yeah, like I'm going to let that happen.)
So I made sure to keep the kitty on the front porch, away from the others. Then I got on the phone to the vet's office. I love my veterinarian & his entire staff. They are the bomb! This particular day, Patti saved me. :-) She assured me that as long as I kept the cats in separate rooms, everything should be okay. The stray, if he indeed had feline leukemia, would have to either scratch, spit at, or eat out of the same food dish as the others to pass the disease. Then she said that if we could bring the stray in that afternoon, they would test him for feline leukemia. And if we left him overnight, the vet would give him his exam, shots, & even neuter him the next morning.
I was ecstatic. Normally it takes at least a week or two to get in for a spay or neuter, but we lucked out in that there'd been a cancellation & they slipped us right in. And even though at the time, I was thinking, "I cannot have another cat. I cannot keep him," I truly believe that all pets should be spayed & neutered, & even if I didn't end up keeping him, I figured at least that way it would be done. But if I did keep him, then it would be that much sooner that the testosterone would start working its way out of his system & I'd hopefully have less trouble getting him to mesh with my other cats.
I had a doctor appointment in the same town where my vet is that day, anyway, so I dug out the pet carrier, popped him in, & took off. He was a prince in the car, by the way. Cried about halfway there, really nervous...he'd never been in a car--or carrier--before in his life, I'm sure...but then he settled down & fell asleep. LOL
Skip ahead to the feline leukemia test...it was negative. He's healthy as a horse. :-) He did have a tick, which I'd spotted when I picked him up to put him in the carrier, so they got that out & checked him for others, as well as fleas. He also had pretty bad earmites...not surprised; strays usually do...so they dosed him for that & also dewormed him, just in case.
Before heading home that evening, I stopped at the vet's again to check on him. (The folks at the vet are pretty used to me doing this sort of thing. I have a problem dropping my pets off & leaving them to sit in a cage all night; I don't deal well with it.) That's when I got the news that the feline leukemia test had been A-okay, & they let me go back to see him.
Well, it turns out Tigger is a charmer. All the ladies working that evening were ga-ga over him. They gushed about how cute he was & how they couldn't pass by the cage without stopping to play with him. They let me hold him for a bit, but after a while, the little booger actually leaned out of my arms until he could get back in the cage. He actually liked it! Hey, after living outside for God knows how long, in all kinds of cold, inclement weather, a warm metal box with a blanket, litter pan, & food dish would seem like Heaven to me, too. :-)
Thursday, he had his surgery, so I called in the afternoon to check on him. (Did I mention that the bonding process was pretty much immediate? It took, like, ten minutes before I started trying to think of a name for him.) And before the girl on the phone went back to see how he was doing, she gushed about how adorable he is. What can I say? My kids are the best. Even the ones who have only "belonged" to me for twelve hours. *g*
Yesterday, I picked him up & brought him home. The process of introducing him to the others & getting them all to get along is going to be a touchy one, but it's going well so far. I'm keeping a very close eye on everyone & praying there are no fights...& that my oldest doesn't start spraying again just to show his displeasure at this new interloper. So far, so good. They're all wary of each other, but no outright fear or fighting.
But the name Tigger suits this little guy, so unless something better comes to mind, it will probably stick. And unless something horrible happens between him & the other cats, he'll probably stay.
As I said, I didn't go looking for him. I even tried to pretend he wasn't there. But I can only believe that God sent him to me to be taken care of. He sends us what we need, right? Or maybe what/who needs us. :-) (I once had someone tell me that when he died, he wanted to come back as one of my cats, I treat them so well. *g*)So go ahead & say it: I am the Cat Lady of Kylertown. And darn proud of it! :-D
