Incoherent Scribblings

Mouse and Molly
Originally uploaded by blondelibrarian

I have SAT progress to show, but can’t be bothered to upload the pictures right now. Look for that post tomorrow.

Instead, today enjoy what looks like a scene of innocent tranquility, but in reality is a fragile peace accord that could snap at any moment!

P.S. Please ignore my ugly chair… it is thrift shop chic!

Yes, my alter ego The Crazy Cat Lady has resurfaced just in time for the holidays!

Early tomorrow morning I will be packing up my little car and driving an estimated 14 hours to see my best friend in the Ozark Mountains. And, as you have probably figured out by the title of this post, The Cats of Doom will be going with me!

They don’t necessarily have to go: Last weekend one of my friends told me that he is staying home over the holidays and that if I wanted to go anywhere, he would be happy to feed them while I was gone. I considered his generous offer, but in the end I had to reject it because of Mouse.

For those Holidailies readers who don’t know, in addition to her tiny attitude problem, Mouse has feline hyperthyroidism and is on medication for it. She gets a pill every morning and evening and though I don’t have any problems giving it to her, I would never ask a friend to put himself in mortal danger by asking him to do so.

As a result, I realized that if I was going to be away over the holidays I had the following options:

One, I could take my friend up on his offer and just have him feed the cats while I am gone. Last year I wasn’t too worried about leaving Mouse without her medicine for a few days, but her dosage is higher now so I am a little more troubled by it. And because I don’t think my friend could give Mouse her pill even if he wanted to, I abandoned the idea.

Two, I could board Mouse with the vet so she would be sure to get her pill while I am gone and have my friend feed the other three. I briefly considered this option, but in the end rejected it because honestly, I am too cheap to pay to have her boarded.

Three, I could take Mouse to Arkansas with me and leave the other three at home and have my friend feed them. This seemed like a workable option, but I thought if I was going to go to all the trouble to pack up one cat and take her with me, why not take all four?

Sure my car will be full of kitty carriers and I will have the “joy” of listening to Scooter talk to me during the entire trip, but the fact of the matter is that taking four of them really isn’t any more of a hassle than just one.

Besides, I will have a more enjoyable holiday if my family (feline as it may be) is with me anyway.

Ta da! Here is my Friday Cactus complete on a Thursday! (Actually I finished it on Tuesday night and photographed it Wednesday, but that is neither here nor there.) It was really fun to stitch this and was a great way to get back into the stitchy swing of things.

After almost two weeks, I suppose I finally have a few minutes to do a quick recap of everything that has been going on in my life… Besides, I think I am about as settled in as I can get without furniture.

The drive southwest was a long one. The tripometer on my car had almost reached 1100 miles (that’s over 1700 kilometers) when I pulled into West Texas Town 19 hours after I left my driveway in Small Town, Iowa. My mom and stepdad came along with me in my aunt’s van and it was stuffed to the gills with my things. Even so, I still had to leave quite a few things (mainly furniture) behind that I had originally planned on taking because my little car was full of cats! (Remember how I said that I only taking four cats? Well, I couldn’t bear to separate the kittens and, long story short, now– including me– we are six.)

I started my new job last Monday and everything at work since then has been sort of a blur. I began by attempting to clear my new office of my predecessor’s left-overs, but since there may be some valuable job-related materials amongst all the junk I have been painstakingly going through everything. In addition, I have been brainstorming with my new boss about things I want to accomplish in my position. Though I go to bed each night exhausted, I am so loving it!

My apartment is small, but it is a very funky part of town and it is quite convenient to the university. I have not yet met my landlord, nor have I paid a dime in rent or signed a lease. I was quite alarmed at this the first few days that I was here, but then I was told not to worry. Things here in West Texas Town get done, but apparently no one is in too big of a hurry to do them.

As a result, I am waiting (rather impatiently) to get my telecommunications center (phone/DSL/cell) set up. It was supposed to be done on Wednesday, but as you may have guessed that didn’t happen and I am still waiting.

However, I fear that the problem may not necessarily be the phone company’s fault. (GASP!) I do not live in an apartment complex. Rather, I am one of three apartments in a tiny building in an alleyway. As I have not yet met my landlord, I didn’t even know my physical address until I asked the mailman. After that I decided to get a PO Box, but the phone company and the UPS man still need to know where I am physically located nevertheless.

In amongst all of this chaos, Harley managed to fall ill again. This time she has a problem with her eye. Originally we thought she may have torn her 3rd eyelid, but when it didn’t heal we began looking at the possibility of infection. Unfortunately, she has not responded very well to the antibiotics thus far. Yesterday we put her on something stronger and took some blood. As I am prone to do with my kitties, I fear the worse: A diagnosis of cancer.

Mouse will be visiting our new vet (we’ll call her Dr. M) tomorrow because it is time to refill her thyroid medicine prescription. Luckily, (mostly for Dr. M who has not yet met Mouse) she doesn’t need her blood drawn until February so Dr. M is just going to have a quick look at her and refill the meds.

I still want to fill my readers in on some of the fun and interesting experiences I have had over the past two weeks learning about life in West Texas and it will come… eventually.

I promise.

Dolly was introduced to Mouse, Scooter, and Harley almost two weeks ago now. At first there was much hissing, but that has calmed significantly over the past few days.

However, I can tell that the battle lines have been drawn: Scooter and Harley don’t seem to care for Dolly much. Mouse, on the other hand, has accepted her so easily that I actually caught them sleeping within inches of each other this afternoon!

For those of you that know anything about my cats you will know this is a completely unforeseen turn of events. Though there are seldom out and out fights between them, Mouse openly dislikes Scooter and barely tolerates Harley. I still think that Mouse views Dolly as little more than common riffraff, but now she has an ally in the quest for feline dominance and it has been interesting to watch the dynamics developing amongst all four of them.

That, however, is not the only development at our home for wayward cats.

Step-dad caught Dolly’s sister Friday and brought her home too. I am not sure if he decided Dolly needed a playmate or if seeing that Dolly adopted me was looking for a kitten for himself, but one way or another, she was added to our brood and as a result, we now have Dolly and Molly.

Dolly will go with Mouse, Scooter, Harley, and me when and where ever I get a job, but I adamantly proclaimed that Molly will stay at home with Mom and Step-dad. I didn’t really need four cats… I definitely don’t need five!

It has been quite a while since I have shared the antics of the Cats of Doom, but yesterday I witnessed a minor turf war that I have been chuckling about ever since…

The west wall of my room has three windows that in general the kitties just love to sit in. Of these three windows only one opens (it is an old house) and since spring has finally arrived, that particular window has been open quite a lot.

This window is, of course, the window that Harley has claimed as her own ever since we moved back in September. My stereo is on a short dresser that sits in front of this window and there is just enough space between the window and the stereo that Harley can hide from all the things that scare her (i.e., my seven year old niece).

I am sure that my readers who own cats can see what is coming next: Scooter and Mouse have discovered that Harley’s window is now open and naturally, the most desirable spot in the house.

In our family, Harley is the baby. She is much younger than both Mouse and Scooter and usually is submissive to both of them. Therefore, I have to say that I have been impressed (and mildly surprised) with Harley’s reaction to Scooter and Mouse’s attempts to move in on her territory. Though I have seen both of them in Harley’s window from time to time, Harley is still spending the most time there, claiming the window as her own.

Or so I thought…

Yesterday, Harley was sitting in her window minding her own business when Mouse decided that she too would like to enjoy the cool spring breeze that was ruffling the curtains. She silently and slowly moved towards the window, but finally caught Harley’s attention. In the minutes that followed much staring, hissing, and pawing ensued until one of them left the coveted spot for the second best spot in the room (i.e., my lap).

I wish I could say that Harley retained her hold on her territory, but that would be a lie. Because you see, no matter how much Harley loves her hidey-hole, Mouse is the Alpha Cat in this household and as a result, that windowsill behind the stereo belongs to her now.