You know it's time for your Mother to be put out to pasture

because when she placed an ad to find homes for our newest brood, she took the local paper's special which she assumed meant it would be in three different papers and didn't bother to ask for clarification, when the special actually was three times in one local paper.

So for the past week, I have been answering calls and having to tell people that the cats are already gone.

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG

And people wonder why I can't get anything done around here.

Well, it's the morning after

my cats went to the vet for their snip and clip job (or in plain English, spay and neuter procedure).

And after 28 hours with no food or water (no food or water prior to the procedure and on the vet's orders nothing after until 4 am today), boy were they hungry and thirsty. Thankfully, so far at least they don't seem to be showing any ill effects from the procedure.

And of far more importance, they are not mad at me, although it will be interesting to see what sort of reaction my biological Mother receives from them.

It's quite the job to round them up and get them into cages. I was quite bruised and battered after they left (my biological Mother and Uncle took them in), but at the same time relieved they were on their way, because this means if we want we can let them outside (we had them tattooed in their ears, so we don't need to worry if they lose their collars), after 10 days of enforced enclosure, to allow things to heal and not have to worry about possible paternity suits. After what happened with Belle (see previous entries), I wasn't about to make the same mistake twice (or in my case 5 times)

And when they returned last night from the vets, boy were they glad not only to be home, but to see Gram and I as well. When I got up to feed them, everybody was curled up on the bed, between Gram and I, snoozing happily (you could hear some of them softly purring).

See my trick is, I'll help catch them, but I don't want my guys to associate me with going to the vets. Instead I want them to associate me with love, gentle scratches (pets), fresh food and water, clean bathrooms (litter boxes). In other words, all the good things humans have to offer.

Will keep you posted

You know it's time to retire your Mother from the kitchen

and cooking in general, when she can't tell the difference between frozen chili and frozen spaghetti sauce, prior to thawing them out.


AAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGGG!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Update on newest brood part three

Well we did it. We found homes for all of the newest brood. The last two went this morning to a man (picked up by other family members) who is an amputee and has a live-in nurse.

The real beauty of that is, for those who know me, with Gram wheel chair bound (due to the Parkinson's), the cats are not afraid of a wheelchair (they know how to move to avoid being run over), and are used to all the medical equipment (bath chairs, commodes, etc.) that are needed by disabled people (Don't get me started on much I hate the word disabled---talk about derogatory). So this is a perfect fit, and what they were raised for. In that sense I'm extremely proud, I have been able to help the amputee.

Yes, I'm sad to see the newer brood go, but at the same time, they've all gone to homes where the owners are absolutely crazy about cats (and in some cases have been previous cat owners), so they can get all the love and attention they need to thrive on as primary cats, instead of sharing it with the older brothers from the first brood and that makes me happy. As a responsible pet owner and animal lover, that's all I want for any animal selected as a pet, is a forever home filled with love.


So to Pacina, Callie, Squirt, Bert, Peanut and Tuffy (our nicknames for them), I say thank you for letting me be apart of your lives for the first 10 weeks and I wish you long, happy, healthy lives filled with love.