For someone who totes herself as being a writer, I sure suck at this blogging thing. Maybe I'll get better as time goes one, but with a bun in the oven and a boy about embark on completing his 5th year of life....I'm thinking not.

On the "crazy cat lady" front, I'm sad to announce that we are down one cat and likely to be down a second before the end of the month. I'm betting that our future likely holds the addition of another, or perhaps the return of one...we'll see.

We went to North Myrtle Beach South Carolina for Christmas and when we returned the missing cat - Oreo, a black and white male we "adopted" from our next door neighbours after watching him get too skinny living in our shed and after asking them if they were ever going to let him back in. Anyway, as I was saying, when we returned Oreo appeared to be suffering from a cold. We think it was starting before we left because he had a series of falls - fell off the top of the cat stand hitting the shelf below him, cracking it and consequently ripping up his back, as well as falling off of the ledge that runs along the stairs to the basement. I think that was the beginning of an infection causing his imbalance, considering the cat lived outside for over a year and jumped on top of our shed a number of times! So, we came home after being away for 12 days (don't call animal control we had a friend come in every couple of days to feed, water and clean litter boxes for us) to find his nose and eyes all crusty and a distinct cough and wheeze. Of course we returned on the evening of December 30th which meant only animal hospitals were open for the next 4 days and unfortunately we don't have the funds for that kind of care for a cat. (Love them dearly, but even a crazy cat lady has her limits!) So we did our best to research on the great www and tried to keep him clean, dry and comfortable. Well, we tried, honest. But while returning with loads of groceries on Jan 2 the little bugger came out of no where and dashed out the door than ran across the lawn as a 5 month pregnant me chased after him, meanwhile he only looked behind him as though I was some sort of demon with two heads. I am pretty sure the cat had the beginnings of dementia on top of everything else. So off he went, and there was no catching him.

Unfortunately our weather has turned pretty cold overnight and all of the www sites indicate that we should keep cats with colds warm. Being in the -ves with a windchill does not constitute keeping a cat warm. Unfortunately we have not seen him or any evidence of him on the freshly fallen snow in the last several days. :( Pretty sure at this point his mad dash was not a dash towards freedom of oppression from living indoors, but a dash towards a quiet existence while waiting for the great beyond to call him. If nothing else I'm pretty sure with the temps and no shelter (we've since repaired our shed and there is no way in) that there is a sad little Ocicle somewhere waiting for spring thaw. Loved the little furball, but if it was his time, it was his time. And I'm certainly not in a fit state to be wandering around the neighbourhood looking for him. I think it's one of those “If you love someone, set them free. If they come back they're yours; if they don't they never were.” (Thank you Richard Bach for those words of wisdom).

Cat #2 - well this one comes from a dear friend who moved back with her folks so that her and her husband could save up money for a new home. It was supposed to be a one year deal, it's been about 18 months now and they don't get possession of their new home until Dec 2010...I'm not really upset about the length of time we have had her. I'd take in any cat for any length of time and treat it as my own. If kids were that easily come by, I'd have a half dozen of those in my house too (we might need a bit more than the slightly shy of 1100 sq feet that we have but what the hey, I'm sure we'd find a way to figure it out!) So, back to Abbey. She has her quirks. She came from a single cat household, into a definitely multi-cat household. She adjusted fairly well, as did everyone else. On occassion she attempted to claim ruler over the household, but it didn't really work that well. A few spits and spats here and there, but she definitely was not "top dog" so to speak. Anyway, since returning from the aforementioned vacation, she has been expressing her continued displeasure with being the low cat on the totem pole. In such ways that include crawling up on my lap making like she wants to cuddle but instead drops a full load - a stinky bomb of cat poop right there on my lap! That in and of itself should be grounds for divorce - something along the lines of irreconcilable differences I do believe! But she has continued to express herself in the following ways - peeing in the kitchen, pooping at the top of the stairs, pooping and peeing directly infront of one of the four litter boxes we have set up for our multi-cat household and climbing into the front hall closet to puke on my shoes!

So I've been forced to breach the unbreachable subject with my dear friend and inform her that her cat has behaviour issues that need to be worked out. My solution, find a new home. One that has no cat. I know that will be difficult for them, but I must remind myself and you "humble readers" )a phrase I've copped from a blog that I follow) that the cat has far outstayed her welcome and SHE POOPED ON MY LAP!!!! I of course hope it doesn't mean sudden death for her, but honestly if she was mine, we'd be headed to the vets for her to great the great beyond and meet up with the missing Ocicle or heading to an animal shelter...The stench of cat feces and urine is not something I enjoy nor wish to continue enduring.

Further considerations include that my Mom is moving in with us in February and Baby Boy #2 is due late April early May. (Yes 3 adults, soon to be 2 children and at least 3 cats living in a 3 bedroom semi that is under 1100 sq ft. - I believe that adds the capital "C" in Crazy to my self defining description) Hmm, maybe we should get a dog if we are down to only 3 cats. I'll be home on Mat leave in the spring and can house train!