7 posts tagged “cats”
We have a lot of Cats. Seven, to be exact. All of them were rescue animals, and probably would be deadif we hadn't taken them in. So, much like other creatures on the street that means they're troubled, even now. They fight with each other, and they have behavior problems. One cat, though not rabid and not aggressive by nature, recently bit my wife causing an infection bad enough to warrant a trip to the hospital. Part of why we still keep the cats is that we believe their lives are worth saving. Not because they'll do so much for us, or because we find them amusing, but because we know what it's like to get an unfair deal. We know what it's like to get a bad reputation or to be kicked around, and even though we know that we cannot save everything that has been broken, we are trying to at least save these few, small things.
I read in the news, today, that the last American Jaguar was killed. Maybe my reaction should be "So what? there are plenty of other jaguar in Mexico". MaybeI should think that there are other cats to fill that void. Maybe it was no longer the time for jaguars. Maybe. Hey, I know that I don't want to be here past my time. I would just as soon eat a bullet as rot in some forsaken hospital bed. But, I somehow doubt that it was time to close the book on jaguars in America. I have a feeling that it might have been exactly the opposite. I think that people decided that there's no longer room in the world for jaguars. I might even be OK with that except I don't think they'll replace it with anything better. So, I'll hang on to my seven cats. I'll also ask you to think about cats, too.
http://www.bigcatrescue.org/index.htm
http://www.felineconservation.org/
But it's still really catchy.
I like cats. Seriously, I'm good with Cats. Furthermore, I'm not like my parents who went through something like 20 dogs in my lifetime, simply because they didn't want to have to care too much. But, I'm at my wit's end.
We have 6.5 cats. Why 6.5? Because we definitely have 6, and one that comes and goes. Now, I could handle having several cats, but 6 is too many. Let me start with that. There are three humans in the household, and 6 cats. But I find myself living more of my life taking care of the cats than the people.
That's the other thing: certainly my wife does the big stuff. She'll take the cats to the vet, and she'll heklp to administer meds, or administer the meds, herself. But the every day stuff? Feeding them, cleaning out the litter, cleaning up the messes they make? That's mostly me, with alittle support from my son. Day to day, I'd say I spend about 3-4 hours on the cats. That's more than i spend on me, and more than i spend on my human family.
Then, add to that some of the cats are just... bad cats. One is horribly mean to everyone and everything, and tries to escape every time we open a door. She's prone to seizures, as well. Another is a climber who has broken all kinds of stuff in the house. But the worst is "my son's" cat. The quotes are because he doesn't take nearly enough care of this cat. The cat gets into everything, all the time. He's not 100% litter box trained (more like 60%). He fights constantly with all the other cats. Despite every effort, he tracks dirt and fleas around the house. He will not listen, can not be trained, and does not behave even remotely like an indoor cat, which he has to be because he's at least partially deaf, and blind.
I realize that I need to have compassion. I know that my son has a lot of emotions tied up in this cat, but here's my bottom line: three of the cats have to go. I'm losing my mind. I need some peace in my house. I need just a little relaxation. It's getting so bad that I don't want to be in my own home: I'd prefer to be at work! And I don't like my job!
If my family want to keep the bad cats, that's fine, but then, they've got to get rid of the good cats. I just cannot do it, anymore. I just can't.
http://www.youtube.com/user/simonscat
I'm not even going to try to hide the link. You must check it out. I'm sure you've seen one, but, now, he's got a name for it, and a youtube channel. Stay tuned!
Two more shots of our newest kitty, Manta! Who likes to snuggle inside my robe.
And now, barring somebody comng to claim it, we've got five cats. We've already bought it a litter box, kitten milk, kitten chow, de-fleaing kitten shampoo, and so on. Tomorrow, my wife will probably bring it to the vet. Just in case, it's a black and white male, looking like it's about 8 weeks old, based on size, but still trying to suckle. It's got a black patch under the chin but otherwise, it's pretty much black on top, white underneath. It's got fleas, ear mites, and scratches, so, I suspect it's been on the streets for a few days, at least. It's very, very friendly, and just a little playful. It's clearly very tired, though, and might change personality after a few meals and naps. If that seems like your missing cat, let me know.
