Attention, those of you in the North Alabama/ Tennessee area: the North Alabama Spay Neuter Clinic is having a fundraiser this weekend in the form of a Plea Market (they had one last year, you might recall.) They’re looking for donations (which are tax deductible!) – you can go here to read more about what they’re looking for, when and where you can drop off your donations, and when the Plea Market will be open to the public.
This event is sponsored by 13 animal welfare groups in the area. The money raised will be used to buy a transport vehicle to assist people in rural areas to get their animals spayed/neutered. Volunteers will be needed on Thursday & Friday (11/18-19) to help set up and also on Saturday, the day of the sale. Donations of saleable items will be accepted both days at the Jaycees Building on Airport Road.
The North Alabama Spay Neuter Clinic charges $35 for feline neuters, $45 for feline spays, $55 for canine neuters, and $65 for canine spays. The only cost above the basic charge is $10 for the rabies vaccination if you cannot provide proof that your animal has been vaccinated in the past 12 months.
PLEASE NOTE THAT ANYONE CAN USE THE SPAY AND NEUTER CLINIC. You do NOT have to qualify! There is no extra charge for weight or if the cat/ dog is in heat.
You remember Coltrane, yes?
For those of you who don’t, Coltrane showed up here at some point in the Spring/ early Summer. Once he discovered that there was food on that thar porch, he hung around pretty regularly. At first we couldn’t even dream of touching him, but after a couple of weeks, Fred was able to pet him, and shortly after he’d let me pet him, too.
It got to the point where he’d show up first thing in the mornings, and then again in the evenings, hang around long enough to eat, and then vamoose. I truly don’t know if he belongs to someone who lives in this area or not – he certainly wasn’t neutered, and as soon as we could, we took him to the vet to be tested, then neutered and vaccinated.
Lately, it’s started to get rather cold at night, and Fred’s been concerned about Coltrane’s comfort. We have a little house on the front porch that Fred built the first winter we lived here. It has a heat lamp in it, a cat bed on the floor, and Coltrane’s been pretty content to sleep in it. But Fred wanted more. Fred wanted Coltrane to come inside.
“QUIT it!” I said, when Fred would open the door and try to coax Coltrane inside. “You are going to upset the delicate balance of cat harmony going on in this house, and we’ll be awash in cat urine!”
“She doesn’t love you,” Fred would tell Coltrane sadly before he closed the door.
“Knock it off!” I said, when Fred coaxed Coltrane six inches, one foot, two feet inside the side door. “Joe Bob and Elwood will pick on him, and we will be flooded in cat urine!”
“Sorry, buddy,” Fred would say to Coltrane as he shut the door.
Two nights ago, I was laying on the couch in the front room reading, and Fred called to me.
“You better come see this,” he said.
“I am going to kill you,” I said.
But I had to laugh – because Coltrane, who was so super-skittish when we first met him, was completely laid-back about being in the house. The other cats approached him, and Coltrane would sniff at them, and then just lay there and let them sniff him. He was not concerned about them at all. I mean, THEY were concerned about HIM, but he was all “Whatever, dudes.”
(What amazes me the most is that all that smugness is able to fit in one single cat bed.)
With no hesitation whatsoever, Hutch climbed into the cat bed with Coltrane. Coltrane seemed rather pleased to have the company, and the two of them napped together.
Fred took Coltrane into the laundry room and put a bowl of food in front of him. Coltrane bellied up to the bowl, and then Corbie wandered in to see what was going on. When he spotted Coltrane, he walked over and sniffed him, then sat and watched him for a few moments. At one point, Corbie rolled onto his back and reached his front paws toward Coltrane, who kept a wary eye on him as he ate.
Reacher came in to see what was going on. When he got too close to Coltrane, Coltrane reached out and tapped Reacher on the head. Coltrane’s a laid-back boy, but he’s not a DOORMAT, for god’s sake.
Eventually, Coltrane wanted back outside and Fred let him out. Last night Fred let him in for ten minutes or so, but after a few minutes he wanted back out.
I have no idea if he’ll ever turn into a cat who’ll stay inside with us on the coldest nights, but Fred’s opened the door and now Coltrane is at least aware that there’s a shangri-la for cats with warmth and comfy beds.
I’ll be stocking up on cat urine odor remover because I am SURE we’ll be needing it. I’m sure our cats will be expressing their displeasure beginning any moment now.
And I will NOT BE THE ONE CLEANING UP THE CAT PEE, DO YOU HEAR ME, FRED?
Previously
2009: “I wonder if that’s the Gulf of Mexico or the Gulf of China,” Fred joked as we drove by on Sunday.
2008: Fred snorted “You should just start wearing overalls!”
2007: Hey! I was decluttering last year at this time, too!
2006: Here’s Doctor Robyn’s list of diagnoses.
2005: Cat hair on the seat of your pants! It’s the Next Big Thing!
2004: Do you suppose that cats realize that when we kiss them, it’s a sign of affection?
2003: NAS-TAY.
2002: No entry.
2001: No entry.
2000: Thanks, y’all, for your emails regarding hamster sex.
1999: So, I didn’t get the kitten.
Is this the start of “I don’t do cat pee!”?
It’s nice that Coltrane is so laid back with the rest of the family. Maybe his attitude will make the others accept him without the pissed-offed-ness mess. (One can only hope…)
Next time there’s cat pee found, I will declare “I don’t DO cat pee!” and see where it gets me.
(Although I have to admit, Fred’s really good about cleaning it up. Unlike cat barf, which we’re both prone to pretend we didn’t see. I mean, not that we leave it there for DAYS or anything, but if I know Fred’s on his way home and there’s a pile of cat barf near the door, well…)
Oh yeah, we know that trick. Animal puke is magical, don’t you know? Sometimes if you ignore it at first, it just “DISAPPEARS” on its own. We all pretend we don’t know how that happens, right? RIGHT.
That’s it. I’m calling “Hoarders.” You’re hoarding cats.
Could you make sure they send Dr. Zassssssssio? I need her crazy eyes to set me straight.
Go Coltrane!!! Look at that baby and him all so content and happy : ) Be still my heart, amazing how these creatures ‘work’!!
Oh my! I know just how that happens, one day you have a wild cat on the porch; a few weeks later (it seems) you have a big fat smug cat lounging around in your house! I’ve always suspected cats are far more intelligent than we give them credit for: just look at how they make us into their slaves!
(Coltrane is one gorgeous, lucky boy!)
I LOVE the picture of Coltrane’s big blissful Morris the cat looking fat body filling that cat bed! I’m sure he’ll be back for more!
Typically you end with a picture of one of your indoor cats. So I guess that alone makes Coltrane the newest member of the in-house crowd!!
Well, we’ve kind of considered him ours since we had him neutered – maybe not OURS, but sort of in the vein of if he’s sick, we’ll take him to the vet, we make sure he gets Frontline every month, we make sure he’s fed and warm. That kind of not ours.
You forgot that you will keep him petted and loved.
Aww, that Coltrane is just so purty.
I have an outdoor cat who has her warm place under our covered patio. She likes to sleep inside on a cat bed during the days in the Winter, and lately as it’s gotten colder, during the nights. She doesn’t get unsupervised full range of the house because she has never gotten the knack of the litter box.
Outside, she just goes on the lawn, then scratch at the grass; I’ve never seen a cat do that. Have you?
Maxi does that! I don’t know if she uses the litter box inside – she very well may, though I haven’t seen her – but I do know she prefers to go outside. Then not only does she scratch at the grass, after she does that, she walks a few feet away and does it again!
Oh yea…my big orange boy, Theo (all 20 pounds) goes outside when he doesn’t feel good…you know he’s gone when you see him trying to cover it up by pawing the grass…it’s also a good indication for me to keep an eye on him, since he only does it when he is under the weather.
On the other side of that…just about everyone of the five I have can be outside in the yard…come to the back door to be let in…use the litter box…then ask to be let out again. Hello…stop making work for me!!!
I know he wouldn’t like it or anything, but I want to pick Coltrane up and kiss him and love on him. I’ve always had a soft spot for orange kitties, but since we lost our Goldy, even more so. The fact that Coltrane and Goldy are both wandering dudes only makes me want him more. Lookit that face! Begging to be smooshed with lovin!
Would you believe that he actually tolerates being picked up? He’s easier with it when Fred does it – but he’ll actually let Fred carry him like a baby. When I pick him up, on the other hand, he goes all tense and I know he’s thinking “please please please put me down.” He’ll let me kiss him on the head if Fred’s holding him, though.
Those pics of Coltrane and Hutch in bed together are killing me.
I can’t stop giggling at that picture of Hutch where it looks like he’s fallen into the lava and Coltrane’s all, “Cut the drama, babe. Tryna nap here.”
The “screamy” picture is good too – Coltrane looks like he’s thinking, “Every. Single. Damned. Flight I ever take, there’s ALWAYS a screaming kid in the next row!” – but it’s the memory of the “oh noes, teh lava, it gots me!” picture that is going to make me laugh inappropriately in several public places today.
I too, lament the possibility of drowning in cat pee, especially with our latest kitten addition. Sadly though, the kitten is more accepted by everyone than our previous 2 arrivals have been.
Is it a big issue with you with so many? I have a few that seem to be the worst offenders, and I’m trying everything I can to calm them down a bit, but my 12 still pale in comparison to your…is it 18 now? Does letting them out a bit seem to help with that, or do they still get that way when they all come inside at night? I was thinking about screening in our huge front porch next spring to see if the extra room would help calm things down.
Do you use Feliway, or do you have any tips that would help create more kitty harmony?
Coltrane may look smug, but he manages to be awfully cute while he’s doing it!
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again….if I was a homeless cat, I’d want you and Fred to adopt me.
The third picture of Hutch and Coltrane is too cute!
Hell, *I* want them to adopt me, and I’m neither homeless nor a cat!
I’ve been waiting for this post since it’s been getting “so cold” out down there in Alabama. Fred is one softy, which is a good thing. Here in WI, one of my cats likes to go outside. He doesn’t get to go out too often, but lately he has went out and turned around and came right back in. I imagine him declaring “Brrr – too cold!”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jm3dm5J5r0A&feature=youtube_gdata_player Saw this on a friends facebook and figured you would appreciate it the most.