I just went out and took a dead mouse away from Elwood, who was tossing it in the air and batting at it. Now Jake, Elwood, and Tommy are all diligently sniffing the ground where the mouse was laying.
Then George and Gracie started barking wildly, both looking at the garden shed, so I ran out to see what was going on. I’m still hoping that the litter mates to the feral kitten who showed up on Sunday will show themselves. There was nothing by the garden shed, but George and Gracie are still out there barking. They like to bark at nothing an awful lot. I’m thinking they see something in another dimension that mere mortals can’t see.
I hope it’s not a dog going after my other-dimensional chickens.
I got a fantastic night of sleep last night, for the third or fourth night in a row. It’s amazing how much better I sleep when I don’t have Bolitar (bless his wet nose and snuggly little heart) climbing all over me. At bedtime, I go into the guest bedroom and call “Little bitty kitties, little bitties, little bitties!”, and all four of the Bookworms come running in. Some of them come in sooner than the others, but they all eventually come in. For the past two nights, Jake has been running in there with them, so I shut him in. They’ve got a litter box, food, and water. What else do they need? Jake loves his Bookworms.
I was concerned about the new feral kitten yesterday, so I mixed up a batch of KMR and took it out to him. I tried giving it to him in the bottle – he mostly licked at the nipple. Then I tried syringing some into his mouth, and he swallowed what I put in his mouth, but he wasn’t that interested in it. He was mostly curious about it – but after I’d given it to him, he became super friendly. He goes back and forth between skittish and friendly at the moment. Right now he’s spending his days in Fred’s room and his nights in the downstairs bathroom. He’s a jet setter!
I shouldn’t tell y’all this, but we’re planning to turn the blue coop (not the big coop in the back forty – the medium coop in the side yard near the garage) into an outdoor kitten room. I had the little feral out there for most of the day yesterday. Even with the windows open and a fan on, it got hotter than I liked (I know, right? Alabama in July. Who knew it was going to be hot? CRAZY!), which is why we brought him inside. We’ve ordered an air conditioner, which should be here before the weekend. The plan is to use it as is for the time being if we need to, and then this Fall we’ll get serious. We’ll have an electrician out to run power to the coop, Fred will build a screened-in entrance so the kittens can’t escape. We’ll insulate and sheet-rock the inside, paint it. It’ll be awesome – or at least that’s the plan! Right now even though Fred spent a good part of Sunday cleaning the coop, it stinks in there. Which is to be expected – it was a chicken coop, after all. I’m going to get out there before the weekend and do some more scrubbing. I fear that it might always smell faintly of chickens, but it certainly could be worse. I have PLANZ for that coop, believe you me. There’ll be shelves under the windows! There’ll be toys hanging from the ceiling to bat at!
It’ll be spectacular. I hope!
Before I went wandering off up there, I meant to say that I brought the kitten bottle in to clean, filled it with water and left it in the sink. When I went to actually wash the bottle, the nipple was missing. I have no clue where the damn thing is – but I know that Bolitar’s the one who stole it, because at one point yesterday afternoon he had the scoop that I’d used to scoop out the formula with, and he was licking it, then proceeded to bat it around before I rescued it. He’s a little thief, that one. When I was giving the feral his flea bath yesterday (the Advantage killed the fleas, but the poor guy was covered in flea dirt and he was one stinky little guy, so he needed a bath), Bolitar was sitting on the kitchen floor howling and howling like he was afraid he was missing out on something good. He’s such a brat (and I love him).
Today, I am scattered (which is no different from any other day, I know) because I have a lot of stuff to do. I have a hair appointment, an appointment with the hematologist, and then tonight I’m taking Sofia to the adoption center to meet up with her new mother and go home. There’s a gap of about two hours between my hair appointment and my appointment with the hematologist. I’m trying to decide whether to come home and shower before I head back out, or just stay out. Both appointments are in the same general direction, and coming home to shower would be backtracking. I have errands I can run, so I may just stay out. I want to go by Sam’s and Costco and Best Buy to look at the netbooks they’re selling. Someone made a good point in my comments yesterday – I should actually put my hands on the netbook I’m thinking of buying rather than just ordering it online.
But before I leave for my first appointment, I need to put together a turkey and rice casserole for dinner tonight (I’ll cook it this morning so we can just reheat it tonight), do some laundry, figure out what I want to do with the squash Fred brought in from the garden last night.
So let me babble on about the cats for a bit and then we’ll call it an entry!
Pancho is a little goofball. And SUCH a snuggler. When I go into the foster room and sit on the floor, he climbs into my lap immediately.
The bros. Pancho, left, and Hermano, right.
Three of the four. But their eyes are closed, so I don’t know who’s who! (Tonight, I buy collars.)
Hermano, left, and Sofia, right.
Pancho, the luvah.
These kittens, I swear, have got the softest, silkiest fur. It’s such a pleasure to pet them! I mean, it’s always a pleasure to pet kittens, but these guys are especially pleasurable to pet.
Tonight, Sofia goes to her new home! I think she’ll be happy with her new parents and her new brother. It was nice to have her here, even though it was for such a short amount of time.
The feral (who pretty much has a name, if Fred gets his way. We’re negotiating.) is doing well. He was tested yesterday and is negative (yay!). Right now he’s living in Fred’s bedroom during the day and in the downstairs bathroom at night. He’s scared and skittish, but also playful and likes to be petted. He SO did not care for his bath yesterday afternoon, but he was terribly stinky and covered in flea dirt, so he desperately needed it.
Corbett, on the tree in the front room.
Looking up at Stinkerbelle, who pretty much lives on top of the bookcase next to the cat tree.
Rhyme, about to fall off. Does he care? Not in the slightest.
Snoozin’ Bolitar.
Suggie say relax.
Previously
2009: I should have demanded a decorator’s fee.
2008: The last time I wore a bikini, I was around five, and I expect that unless I lose my mind, that’s the last time a bikini will come anywhere near my body.
2006: No entry.
2005: No entry.
2004: No entry.
2003: No entry.
2002: No entry.
2001: And then he looked at ME, like I was the instigator or something!
2000: “Where’s my food?! Where’s my FOOD, bitch?! I need fat, I need salt, I need sugar, and GIVE IT TO ME NOW, or I’ll drive you completely insane!”