Little Nikita

This is Nikita. Other names include, Kiki, Little Nikki, Darling Nikki, and of course, Emma Sucker.

Emma Sucker, as in I AM A SUCKER!

The count is cats 4, people 3, dogs 1.

Let's see if I can figure out how this happened. We start with the cats, and add the dog. The other day, my son calls home and said he "rescued" a kitten and he's bringing it home to take care off. While he's walking home, the wife and I decide... well, *I* decide that we can give the kitten a temporary home while we look for a home. No giving the kitten a name. It's not allowed.

Speaking of finding the kitten a home...

FREE 4mo. FEMALE KITTEN TO GOOD HOME. Up to date shots. Will release to good owner after she's been spayed. Send application of adoption to ML via the interwebs. Please include a letter of recommendation from 3 sources, and a 5 page essay on why you think you would be a great owner for this kitten.

There, I tried.

So, we set the other cats up in another room in order to keep them away from this kitten while she's here. This is so they don't contract any diseases the stray might have. And, so we can slowly introduce the kitten to them.

Turns out, the kitten has fleas. Immediate flea bath. 2 of them, and the wife and I are picking and killing fleas off the kitten until 1am. I couldn't sleep that night because I was being attacked by fleas and itched the whole night. That's not true. I wasn't bitten at all, but the though entered by brain and stuck. I still feel itchy today.

The next day, I buy more flea treatment stuff - a spray for bedding that kills 'em and flea collars for the cats. They are indoor cats and we don't do any regular flea treatment because of that.

I get home from work and the kid is apparently calling it "Kiki." *grumble* Don't get me wrong, "Kiki" is cute and purry and all. And, she's been working all her angles in hopes of staying. She's already got the wife and kid. She's been working me over by cuddling with me when I sleep and being all cute and purry and all.

Trying to be responsible, I take her to the Low Cost Spay/Neuter Clinic for tests and shots. They give her good flea treatment that kills'em all. And she's tested negative for Feline leukemia and FIV. Since she's healthy, we've allowed the other cats to meet her. The office assistants asked me what to put down for a name. Steadfastly, I said, "Just put 'Kitty,'" explaining the situation. Temporary home and all. They teased, "You should just name it. You've got 3. What's another?" HA HA HA.

Not funny.

Hannah has been all hissy with "Kiki." Misfit has been all hissy with everyone after meeting "Kiki." Jack didn't care and Scooby (the dog) was fine with "Kiki." I was hoping to play the angle "We can't keep it because the other cats don't get along with it." Unfortunately, "Kiki" has suckered the other hissy cats. They have been spotted playing together. By playing, I mean pawing and running around each other without the hissing.

If you ask me, she looks Russian. So, I thought, "Nikita," would be a proper name. And, there's the problem. I broke my own rule. It started going downhill from there.

The thing I'm trying to focus on is that this kitten has sparked a greater interest in an idea I've had. For some time, I have been thinking about starting a non-profit no-kill shelter for strays and injured cats. I've never mentioned it because it was just a thought in the back of my brain. And it wasn't something I would have thought to actually do before retirement. I don't know. It just a thought.

But, I'll keep that thought in the back of my mind for now because I'm realizing Nikita already has found a home. And that's enough.

Crazy Cats

I thought that the page could use a few pictures of the cats. So, here's some pics I took with my cell phone...

Don't you wish you could comfortably sleep like this? Hannah sleeps in the weirdest positions. I caught her napping on the couch. As awkward as this position appears, I bet it's very relaxing. Hannah has quickly become the "Diva" of the three. If you pick Jack or Misfit up, she'll instantly rub herself against your legs and cry at your feet. "Nobody ever loves me," she says. "Please, won't you pick me up?" As if you never touch this cutie-pie. Then, if you sleep in five extra minutes, she'll bitch and bitch and bitch until you get up to feed her. Hannah will gorge herself and then scrounge around the floor for crumbs we might have dropped while cooking. Like she doesn't eat or get fed enough. The wife gave her the nickname, "Whineypants Scrounger" because that's what she does. Whines and scrounges. She's figured out how to take her collar off and taught Jack to do the same. Only Misfit can't get hers off.

Speaking of Misfit, she seems to be undersized. Maybe the collar is preventing her growth. Compared to her sister, she is definately smaller. And much more skiddish. You can't get within 10 feet of her without her running away. When it's feeding time, Jack and Hannah will sometimes push her out the way and not let her eat. Such is the life of the runt. But, we'll pick her up and take her downstairs to another feeding bowl. I did that the other morning. Fed Jack and Hannah. Picked Misfit up and carried her downstairs while the other two ate. I poured her some food in another bowl and two seconds later, Jack and Hannah were trying to stuff their gills again at this new bowl on a different floor and room of the house. I checked and the bowl in our bedroom was not nearly empty.

I've taken to trying to... train... Misfit to be less skiddish around me. When I am able to get my hands on her and pick her up, she's complacent. I've talked to her and petted her, comforted her. I tell her if she sits in my lap for five minutes without trying to run away, I'll give her a treat. She's getting more comfortable with me, but it's not like she'll jump in my lap... unless I have food... But, she is getting better. My goal is to get her purring more. She doesn't purr much.

Of course, with the story I'm about to tell you, it's understandable that Misfit isn't in the mood to purr. You see, Jack is her pimp daddy. She is his girfriend, though I don't think they have gone all the way. I have seen them all cuddled up together. He'll clean her and she'll clean him. It's really rather cute and lovely. But, Jack is a man...

I walked into the computer room the other day and saw this:
Jack was curled up alright... with his paw around Hannah. And, they were sound asleep. That's right. Jack was two-timing Misfit and cheating on her with her own sister. Calling Jerry Springer...

Well, needless to say, I was not going to allow this kind of behavior in my house. So, I woke them up.

BUSTED! I love the look on Hannah's face. She knows she's been caught in this adulterous act. Jack can't believe it either, but he doesn't really care, man that he is.

Before I took the picure, I called my wife into the room to see her boy cheating on Misfit. We laughed enough about his behavior that Misfit came in soon after and saw the two of them spooned together. I kid you not, she walked over to them and began yelling at them. She got up on the tub and forced herself between the two of them. Hannah moved, probably off to find some food. Misfit laid down where Hannah was and Jack put his paw around her and they took a nap together.

Vivez la Jack

Pimpernel rehearsals are going well. The cast is very talented and, after 2 music rehearsals, already sounds great. I don't mean, "I need to sell the show, we already sound great." No, there's still some problems like we need to put our books down for one. But, for a second rehearsal, we sound very good and cannot wait to hear what we sound like on opening night (June 1st at The Belfry).

Blocking and choreography rehearsals are going smoothly. I learned how to waltz the other day and I can't wait to get it up to speed. I'm very satisfied with how my big body moves when dancing. I think I gots some moves for being a white boy and 60+ pounds overweight. The highlight of the show (chorus-wise) might just end up being "The Creation of Man." It's the song where the men learn how to act foppish to appear as if they are complete nincompoops. One of my lines is, "But Percy, I simply can NOT hop about in pink chiffon!" Me, in pink chiffon. Worth the price of admission, no? Hopefully, costume-wise that will be able to happen.

Jack needed surgery last week on his toe. Basically, he had to have one toe declawed. Don't know exactly what happened. We went to get one night and the next morning he was limping. Upon examining his front left paw, it looked like his claw was missing. This happened on a Friday and we're able to get him a vet appointment until last Tuesday. We figure he got his claw caught on something and he started freaking out and ripped it. Poor guy. I took him in because the wife doesn't want him associating the pet carrier/cage and vet trip with her. I don't mind.

So, last Tuesday, he had surgery and came home Wednesday. He had to wear a neck collar to keep him from biting and scratching at his wound and bandages as it healed. But, Jack's a smart cat. He couldn't bite the bandage, but he was using the collar to slowly wedge it off. On the ride home from the vet, he succeeded in getting the bandage off. When, I took him out of the carrier, the neck collar has reddish brown stains all over it. I thought it looked like iodine, like the vet used iodine to sanitize his wound, but then I realized they would have sanitized his foot not his neck. No, that was blood. In his attempts to free his paw from it's bandage, he popped a stitch. So, back we go to the vet. She cleans him up and basically puts him in a kitty cast so he can't get the bandage off. But, he doesn't have to wear the collar... Mission Accomplished for Jack. That's all he wanted and he knew how to get it.

We have make sure he doesn't do much running, jumping or playing for 2 weeks. That will end this weekend. But, we also were told to confine him to one room to keep the other cats from getting him riled up so his could heal. Plus, he has to use a special *ahem* sanitary liter. It's recycled newspaper pellets that absorb wetness. The theory is to use this stuff because regular litter gets dusty and that dust can cause an infection in the wound. You have to completely change the litter everyday, and it's not as bad as I thought it would be. And, all this for one toe. I cannot imagine the 4 weeks of this that cats who get declawed go through.

He wants out so bad. The girls generally are sitting at our bedroom door so they can rush in when we open it. We'll let them in for a few minutes while we can watch them. They cannot use the litter that's in there right now, so we have to kick they out before too long. Here's the analogy for how they are behaving: Jack thinks he's confined in prison (our bedroom) and we let the girls in for conjugal visits. The girls just want to play with Jack, they aren't having anything to do with his sexual advances... which kind of looks like attempted rape, but it's cats and that's how they do it.

More P in the House

Cap'n Jack is just about a year old now and he's massive. He's not fat, he's just thick and heavier than he looks. He was 13lbs. when I brought him to the Low Cost Spay/Neuter Clinic (Very cheap compared to Vets, highly recommended) to get fixed. Which leads me to the reason we finally got him fixed. There's more pussy(cats) in the house.

We wanted to get another cat to keep Jack company while we were away for the day. So, we wound up at PetSmart one Friday evening. There were four kittens that were oh-so adorable waiting to be adopted. The two orange and white tabby brothers were tiny, and about 2-3 months old. Neither had been fixed, but with another male in the house, more kittens wasn't going to happen. There were also two grey striped sisters around 4 or 5 months old. They had been spayed, so no worries about more kitties there either. They all were rescued from a kill shelter. We asked to play with them all and my wife and I took turned holding, petting and playing.

The PetSmart people told us to adopt one of them we'd have to fill out adoption forms and that the From The Heart Rescue people would be there the next day if we wanted to come back. Well, the next day, it snowed and the shelter people cancelled. We were told they'd be back in two weeks. "Oh, well," I thought, "Guess we're not getting another cat right now. Those will probably be gone in two weeks."

Well, that Sunday, we were eating lunch in the area and decided to go show the kid the cats we were looking at so he could have some input about which cat to adopt. Turns out, the shelter people were there. After playing with the cats some more, we decided to adopt the two sisters. I didn't have the heart to split them up, so now we have three cats... Jack, Hannah and Misfit. Now, we each have our own cat. Hannah is my baby. Misfit is the kid's and Jack is, and will always be, my wife's.

I want to stop for a minute and tell you if you are thinking about getting a pet, look up From The Heart Rescue. They charge a $90/$125 adoption fee for cats and dogs. But, they also keep their pets up-to-date on shots and spay/neuters. If you're getting a pet from the "free puppies" or "free kittens" ad, that's fine, but bear in mind that you'll end up paying more at the vet for shots and alterations. Why pay more when you can pay less for a pet that's up-to-date on shots and has been altered?

Anyway, Blogger's being a bitch and I can't upload a picture of the new cats. I'll get a picture up here eventually. Maybe, I'll even start posting weekly kitty porn picts, once I figure out the best way to do that. But, here's some links to pictures the shelter took for their records: Hannah (previously known as Silky - blah) and Misfit (previously known as Minnie - blah too).

So, how are these cats getting along? Well, pretty well actually. Jack's a stud and his quite happy to have two playmates (and I mean that in every sense of the word) in the house. Hannah has settled in as the resident purr monster. Just touch her and her engine is off. Misfit... well, Misfit is definitely aptly named. She's a jumper and has been frequently been shooed out of the kitchen sink.

Jack and Misfit still fight... a lot. There are tons of cat howls and growls as they fight. But, it doesn't look like they are hurting each other. It looks more like kitty courtship. I think it's taking Jack a while to get him some because the other two are so small and he's so big. And, in a tiny cat way, neither of them are ready for cat sex. But, oh, how they tease Jack.

Misfit will start all of the fights with Jack. He, being the gentle giant, will play along not clawing or biting just bopping. The instant he gets the upper hand, Misfit starts yelling. "Won't someone save this fair maiden from this beast," she seems to cry. I swear they fight like they are a redneck couple and we are the cops called in to investigate domestic abuse. We'll break them apart and Misfit complains, "Don't take him away, I love him. I don't want you to arrest him. We were just playing." And, the next minute they are cuddle up together, licking each other. Hannah just lies down and purrs.

Misfit is a jealous bitch, too. She and Hannah were sleeping on our bed when Jack jumped up there. He went over to Hannah and started licking her clean. Misfit woke up, saw Jack licking her sister and proceeded to get between them. She was successful because Jack started licking her instead. Hannah got up and moved. Jack and Misfit were laying together lick each other. It looked like two teenage cats on the couch. That's when I noticed Hannah. Her nose was up Jack's butt and she was licking his balls. That's right - Kitty Orgy on our bed. Like I said, he's a stud.