Mice and Cats

10/12/2020

I know what you're thinking? Oh gosh, the "writer" in the family, doesn't have a subject. Argh. I try to keep, in my head, and that's not so easy for me. Sometimes, I'll get an idea for possible topics, or opinions (almost never) I have.

I'll have to tell you that my brain, which only works some of the time, is empty. It's not really empty, but whatever topic I had rolling around in my head, is currently away. And, likely will remain away.

Jeff was very effective in getting 3 mice out of the pantry. And, I removed everything that was on the floor, washed the floor, and vacuumed up the mess, left behind.

I checked yesterday, and the mice(s) are back. I put mice and ants in the same category. What category is that? The I don't want you in my house category. I wish a mouse in the house, could get back to Mama, and tell her that they better move on. 

So, in that regard, I'm looking for a cat. I don't want a kitten, even though they're cute. Nope, I want to adopt an actual cat. A cat, who can hit the ground running.

When I look at the cats available at The Humane Society, or an animal shelter, I notice that most postings are for kittens. When I look at all the cats, I notice that there are some cats, that are seniors. These cats will likely never be adopted. 

After all, who wants a cat that is "x" years old. I do, for sure. A little mileage on a cat, doesn't bother me in the least. I believe I would feel better in my heart, if I took a chance on an older cat. 

Yes, you can get all manner of cats, on Craigslist, but it doesn't matter if there is a pedigreed cat. So forking over a ridiculous amount of money, just doesn't make good sense. I know there are probably hundreds or thousands of unwanted cats, and to be fair dogs too. 

I'm not looking for a cat who has lineage. I couldn't give a hoot about a cat's backstory. Jeff and I have, over the years, fallen in love with yellow Labradors. Also, over the years, we've had to make the difficult choice, when we realize there is an underlying issue. One dog, when we took her to the vet, for the last time, she had a very large growth on her side. We asked, out of desperation, if the growth could be removed. The vet assured us that the answer was no. The tumor, had grown around several different places in her body. And, through tears, we made that very difficult decision, that neither of us wanted her to be in pain and struggle through the remaining years. 

When you go to a vet's office, and you exit holding a collar and a leash, that is like shorthand, to other people, who know what has just happened. There are no glances at the remaining people in the room. When you're quietly crying, and if I bothered to look up, which I don't, I would see sympathy on the other patients' faces. All, Jeff and I wanted, at this particular time, is to get in the car, and have a moment. And, then because you're heart is broken, run out and adopt a dog, or two. And, this is what we did, four years ago. It was not smooth sailing with two puppies in the house at the same time. Nope. We now have furniture that will have to be sold as either an antique (and that will never happen) Early on, Bella was a mess, and so was the house. Anything and everything was fair game, even the skirts on furniture. As a puppy, she would take shoes, socks, garbage (some of which was personal and should never have been taken). When Bella was a puppy, we would literally every now and then, take a rake to the backyard to clean things up.

The only thing now that is a trigger for Bella, is a paper cup, plate napkins, etc. To avoid this at night, we do an "inventory" of the den. We do this to make sure we've picked up all of these paper products. Oh, and we make sure that any food in the kitchen, is pushed way back on the counters, just to be on the safe side! What we do know, is that Bella will not eat a green pepper, or an onion, again!

I recognize, and Jeff does too, know that bringing a cat home, will create some kind of drama initially. Andrew has very large dogs, and Smokey their cat, is never bothered. But, when we visit, all bets are off, and they literally chase Smokey out of the room.

I'm not naive, and already know, that there will a lot of confusion in the house, with the addition of a cat, until all of the pets, get along.

There was a time, when bringing a new puppy home, that there was some back and forth sniffing each other. After a body search, if you will, we have put dogs in the laundry room, to work things out. And, they always do.

Today, the glass man is coming to the house, to replace our shower gasket, and I think something else, but I don't remember what that might be! 

In my little world, where I feel safe, there are no family or friends, that mind saying things over and over again. Perhaps, they do mind, but they keep their impatience in control. I know that I spend a lot of time, apologizing to people, for having no memory of what occurred ten minutes ago! I'm happy watching the same show, more than once. Because, in my world, it's all brand new.

Well, I started my blog about Mice and Cats, and "drifted" a bit off course.

P