I think I’ve mentioned in the past that when we started fostering kittens, it was my deep-down hope that Miz Poo would get in touch with her maternal instincts (hey, she’s female, right? She MUST have maternal instincts, right? ALL WIMMINS WANT BABIES, RIGHT?!), and she’d act as a mother to the little fosters. Like, protect them from the other cats, and groom them, and keep a motherly eye on them, play with them, that sort of thing.
Like Charlene Butterbean.
Alas, it was not to be. By the time we started fostering, Miz Poo was five or six years old, and set in her ways. If a kitten came into her personal space, Miz Poo would hiss and smack. And if a kitten tried to rub up on her, you’d think given Miz Poo’s reaction that they’d committed the most appalling of sins.
So time went by and Miz Poo put the smack down on any kitten who came close, though she did relax her standards just a tad, to the point where if a kitten walked up and sniffed at her, she’d allow them to touch noses with her for a few seconds before she commenced with the hissing and the smacking.
So we got the point: Miz Poo is not a great fan of kittens. Just doesn’t care for them, whether they’re cute or ugly*, friendly or feral, playful or sleepy. NO kittens were allowed to invade Miz Poo’s personal bubble, and woe betide any kitten who didn’t observe that rule.
And then yesterday, I walked into the computer room and saw such a strange sight that all I could do at first was stop and stare.
How… how did this happen? I stepped closer and examined the situation from all angles. I would have guessed that Miz Poo was sleeping on the blanket and while she was out cold, the kitten had climbed up next to her and fallen asleep. Except…
Except that Miz Poo is clearly laying to one side of the blanket. And if I know anything about cats, it’s that when they find a blanket or a cat bed, they don’t lay to one side of the cat bed or blanket. No, they stretch out diagonally across the area so as to lay claim to the blanket or cat bed, so that no cats who wander by will think “Oh, there’s space for me right there!”
The only conclusion I could draw was that the kitten was asleep on the blanket and Miz Poo was so desperate for a cozy place to lay her weary head that she relaxed her requirements just this once.
And the two of them snoozed together, occasionally touching, all afternoon long before the kitten got hungry and wandered off in search of sustenance.
An aberration, clearly. A one-time thing, this snuggling of Poo and kitten. Once does not make a pattern, as we’re always told. The world will not crack open because just this one time Miz Poo did not stick to her this-is-my-space-do-not-enter requirements.
Once is not a pattern.
But how about twice?
First the wily runt climbs into the cat bed with Miz Poo, who just SITS THERE and does nothing. No smacking. No hissing. No temper tantrums. No, she just SITS there.
And when the wily snugglicious runt has determined that no smackdown is coming her way, what does she do?
She wiggles around so that she can get some real snuggle action going on.
AND MIZ POO JUST SITS THERE AND TAKES IT.
Frankly, I don’t understand what the heck is going on.
I think the world might be ending.
*Ha ha! Trick sentence! No such thing as an ugly kitten!
Say good-bye to Ezra and Elijah, who are just about to go back to the pet store – hopefully to be adopted very quickly!
(I imagine the trip to the pet store with Ezra howling the entire time will be pleasant.)
No, really, brats. Make yourselves at home!
I think the cat bed is filled beyond capacity. She’s gonna blow!
The look on Beulah’s face is cracking me up. I think I got her right after a yawn.
Helping with the laundry.
Of course, with 300 cat beds in the house, why not curl up on the dirty doormat by the back door?
Previously
2008: And… that was my weekend!
2007: No entry.
2006: Where the hell did the year GO?
2005: If my nose is cold, the rest of me is cold.
2004: I guess this is what we get for living in the Bible Belt, isn’t it?
2003: No entry.
2002: No entry.
2001: No entry.
2000: Ah well. Maybe next life.
OMG! Now you HAVE to keep Beulah because she and the Pooters are totally BFFs!
In the last picture of Mizz Poo she’s got her feet spread out like she is really enjoying the snuggle. It’s so lovely to see:)
Honestly, you really didn’t put Miz Poo’s arms like that around the kitten???? If she allowed that to happen on her own, then that is a definate sign that little Beulah must stay!
Miz Poo and Beulah…cutest picture EVAH! Who knew deep down (way, way deep down) that Poo was such a softie.
Yep, I’d say that’s a clear sign that Beulah needs to stay!
Miz Poo didn’t want to be a foster mother. She wanted to be a foster grandmother. 😉
OH, Beulah, she needs to stay. She’s mellowed Miz Poo, and she’s just….. she needs to be an Anderson.
Maybe Miz Poo needs her own kitteh??!!
Clearly, Hell has frozen over. Did you look out the window to see if your pigs are flying? That is just the cutest story. Good God is that Beulah ever cute
that pic of the 3 kittens together looks like it could be a tommy/sugarbutt/mr boogers brudderly baby pic (!)
So cute!! I have two adult cats, and they hardly ever snuggle with one another, but once in a while they do and it is so adorable!
I love Miss Poo. I think I once voted that Mr. Boogers was my favorite but I was living a lie.
Miz Poo is clearly thinking, if you can’t beat um’ join um’. Those are some awesome photos by the way.
It wasn’t that Miz Poo did not like the kittens, she just did not like big, gangly kittens – she prefers the petite ladies like she is.
Ooh, I think Beulah may be a large cat when she finishes growing – look at those ears.
Then again, isn’t it always the runts who grow to be the biggest?
I’ve been trying not to say you need to keep Beulah because it’s your house, you know best, but does this make you think again? The picture of Miz Poo “holding” Beulah is priceless. I am saving this entry for those days I am in a funk and pissy about everyting. Better than choclate and ice cream. Miss Butterbean is gorgeous but so is your Miz Poo.
I love the pictures of Miz Poo and Beulah. Robyn, I think it’s time to add Beulah’s picture to the “Permanent Residents” bar. 😀
That is the best thing ever!
So Robyn, had you anticipated the pressure you’d be under when you posted the Beulah/Poo pictures? 🙂
It appears Teh Inter Netz has spoken.
So Robyn, had you anticipated the pressure you’d be under when you posted the Beulah/Poo pictures? 🙂
It appears Teh Inter Netz has spoken.
Definitely a sign!
Just what I needed after a 3 hour meeting. Such great pictures. I love de snuggly kitties. They say a picture is worth a thousand words right? So I think the Poo/Beulah pic says what we all feel. Welcome to the Anders0n family Miz Beulah.
There is a point where one has just has too many cats. If you foster, there is always going to be another cute kitten who will win your heart. I know this viewpoint is not a popular one with your readership, but I vote to adopt out Beulah. She is adorable and someone will want her for sure.
Hopefully, no one thinks I am a troll or contrary. I simply think ten cats is plenty for one household and a cutie pie like Beulah has a high chance of being adopted by a good home 🙂
You are the smart one, Theresa, thinking with your head and not your heart like me. Beulah will be adopted and Miz Poo may go on to love other kitties.
Whoa. Those Miz Poo shots are freaky! I think the one commenter might be right about checking for flying pigs.
Now Theresa, you wouldn’t by chance be using reverse psychology on Robyn? 😉
Robyn, you are sooo good at getting pictures of the kitties!! Mine is so stubborn and knows when the camera is coming. Also, kudos to you for being so great with them! I would love to foster cats (& brittany spaniels for that matter), but would want to keep them all 🙂
I am formally requesting that the picture of Miz Poo with her legs around Beaulah be included in the 2009 Anderson family cat calendar.
Best pictures ever.
De lurking to chime in – LOVE the picture of Miz P snuggling with Beaulah. Great post!
While I love the picture of Poo snuggling…am I the only person that is a little freaked out that Beulah looks like one of Satan’s minions in that other picture? That’s some scary shit right there and I truly feel like I may have dodged a bullet. 🙂
omg Nance you are so right. I was like “whoa” when I saw that post-yawn picture but had to go back after the phrase “Satan’s minion” was used, and now I can’t stop laughing because it’s spot-on.
Awww now those are just the cutest photos ever! Who would have ever thunk that Miz Poo would succumb to the cuteness of the kittehs?? You HAVE to keep Beulah now. HAVE TO!! hehe
this longtime Miz Poo fan is thrilled. lots of Miz Poo pics!!! i didn’t even notice that other thing in the pics…. 😉
Robyn, it’s settled, we all agree that Beaulah stays (yes I know it’s YOUR house but NO you don’t have a say in this). Oh my God, all those cute kittehs!
OMG, get Miz Poo to a vet, she must be sick or somethin’!!!