Kitten Mania

Yes, somewhat here at the house, but more so at the shelter.

We drove up to a parking lot full, when usually there are only a couple of cars. Hive of bees only begins to describe the whole situation.

A young man i didn't recognize, who looked to be about 18, was standing at the door. It turned out he was there to meet with Lee for a volunteer orientation. He is heading to college to major in pre-vet, and wants to start getting hands on experience with more than just the family pets. Good for him.

Also on hand was Bob the Executive Director's assistant. who seems to spend more time there than Bob the Executive Director now. Also Liz, who had quite a kitten story for us.

It seems that a few hours before we arrived, she was there doing some paperwork when the bell rang. She answered to see two nice older ladies, and her initial hopes that they had come to ask about adoption were dashed when the first said, "She's going into assisted living tomorrow, and can only take two of her cats, so she's taking the two males. I'm leaving town a couple of hours after she settles in. She has some cats, and if you can't take them, we'll have to take them to animal control. Can you come look? They are in the car."

She told them she wasn't authorized to accept animals into the program, but that she would call Miss W, who told her to just go take a look and call her back when she knew more. Liz walked out to the car with them, and they threw open the doors to show carriers with FIVE MOTHER CATS AND 22 KITTENS!

Liz shrieked, panicked, called Miss W, and the end result is we have five mother cats and 22 kittens in the big room. She and Miss W had to hold the kittens up and compare sizes to try to sort out which ones went with which mamas, as they had been in the carriers in groups.

So by the time we got there, the mamas were in cages with what we hoped were the right babies in the big room. Only Clint and Sophie are still in the big room now, and only Miss W and one other volunteer will be doing their care. That's to keep down the possibility of cross contaminating anyone with anything.

Meanwhile, Lee was showing the young man, Ben, around, and asking me how all the new procedures are working out. So we were trying to clean around them and answer questions.

So the whole place is turned upside down. Pitty Pat and Cali were out when we got there, trying to get Pitty, who looks like a long haired sausage on legs, some exercise. The two of them will share a room with Prissy for the present. Grady is in with Candy, and sticking his paws under the door any time anyone walks past. He wants out so badly!

Angel and Dustie are still together and doing well. Joey, Jimmy, and DeeDee are well, but Georgie is in a cage in the room so we can tell which orange tabby in there gets the eye meds.

Katie has been put in a room with Emmie and Rosie. Baby is being allowed to live in the storage room, as she would terrorize more than one roommate, can't be trusted around kittens, and believes it is her job to redecorate the nice furniture in the waiting area with her claws. It's okay, it's a big storage area, and open all day so she can run in and out when someone's there to keep her off the furniture.

The "storage" room is also where the cages are, the area everyone has to walk through to go to bathrooms or to the other half of the building. The cages right now have Stormie, JuJu, Kush, and Buttercup, who won't stop biting. JuJu won't let you clean her litter box, either, and Bigger Girl got a good scratch trying.

Necko, Raven, Tabasco, Jeremiah, and Flip are in rooms next to each other, and doing just fine. Lucky is still in his usual fine form, and won't leave me alone until i give him his canned food. His pill has to be wrapped in canned food, too. Frieda wanted to talk, but not be petted.

Since last week, Sendai and Pat have been adopted. The four cats in isolation in the back bathroom, LeeLu, Ginger, Zeva, and Maxwell, are almost over their ringworm -- yes, i guessed what they had correctly! -- and have a room set aside for them;

Note to all those who haven't had their cats spayed and will be calling over the next few weeks to ask us to take the kittens: We are full.



In honor of National Humor Month:

If a long dress is evening wear, what is a suit of armor?
Silverwear!

Boudreaux and Thibodeaux were driving on the highway, on their way to go bear hunting. They come upon this fork in the road, where there was a sign that said " BEAR LEFT".
So they turned around and went home.


Today is

Day of Mushroom Encouragement -- Fairy Calendar

De Diego's Birthday -- Puerto Rico (Dr. Jose de Diego, the "Father of the Puerto Rican Independence Movement)

Emancipation Day -- Washington, D.C., US

Holiday of Ra -- Ancient Egyptian Calendar

Jim Thorpe Day

Lazarus Saturday -- Orthodox Christian

Munichia -- Ancient Greek Calendar (festival of Artemis, date approximate)

National Eggs Benedict Day

St. Bernadette's Day

St. Padarn's Day

Teach Your Daughter To Volunteer Day


Anniversaries Today:

Founding of the University of Queensland, 1910


Birthdays Today:

Lilliana Mumy, 1994
Selena Quintanilla, 1971
Martin Lawrence, 1965
Ellen Barkin, 1955
Kareem Adbud-Jabbar, 1947
Dusty Springfield, 1939
Bobby Vinton, 1935
Herbie Mann, 1930
Edie Adams, 1929
Pope Benedict XVI, 1927
Henry Mancini, 1924
Peter Ustinov, 1921
Barry Nelson, 1920
Merce Cunningham, 1919
Charlie Chaplin, 1889
Wilbur Wright, 1867
Anatole France, 1844


Today in History:

Calculated date of the return of Odysseus from the Trojan War, BC1178
The Jewish fortress of Masada falls to the Roman Army, ending the Jewish revolt, 73
Martin Luther is called before the Diet of Worms, 1521
Spanish conquistador Hernando de Lerma founds the settlement of Salta, Argentina, 1582
The United States Senate ratified the Rush-Bagot Treaty, establishing the border with Canada, 1880
The first passenger rail opens in India, 1853
Ebenezer Bassett, the first African-American diplomat, begins his service in Haiti, 1869
US Marshal Bat Masterson fights his last gun battle, in Dodge City, 1881
Harriet Quimby becomes the first female pilot to cross the English Channel, 1912
Gandhi organizes a day of "prayer and fasting" in response to the killing of Indian protesters in the Amritsar Massacre by the British, 1919
Annie Oakley shoots a record 100 clay targets in a row, 1922
Dr. Albert Hofmann first ingests LSD, thus discovering its effects, 1943
Bernard Baruch coins the term "Cold War" to describe the relationship between the United States and the Soviet Union, 1947
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. pens his Letter from Birmingham Jail while incarcerated in Birmingham, Alabama for protesting against segregation, 1963
The Katina P. runs aground off of Maputo, Mozambique and 60,000 tons of crude oil spill into the ocean, 1992
The Queen Mary II embarks on her first transatlantic voyage, 2004