And Then There Were Four

I startled my husband last night on the phone by having to give him some news he wasn't prepared adequately for.

I had to tell him about the baby.

There was a horribly long silence and then finally he managed to choke out, "Whose is it? Where did it come from?"

"Where they always come from, they just wander in from the yard. This time Rosie helped by pushing it up to the door."

You got it. We now have a new cat. This one is about eight to ten weeks old. Of course she was terribly thin, covered with fleas, has an infected eye, and a nasty case of roundworms. No one ever dumps healthy, spayed animals at my house.

I heard crying sounds Friday night coming from somewhere out in my yard. As they got closer and closer I was able to make out my older cat Rosie pushing something with her head toward the back porch. She found the little kitten in the yard and rescued it. Since she seems to have taken over the mothering duties, I guess she's adopted it.

It's even hot to adopt poor refugees in the cat world. I just hope it stops here with this one, though by now I should know better.

The Teenager and I love to make fun of the program "Meerkat Manor". It's so hideously addictive to watch and get caught up in this animal version of "The Hills". The unfortunate side effect of watching "Meerkat" is that now we tend to narrate and dramatize our cats lives as well and have been trying to produce a show for years called "House Cat Casa". If people will watch meerkats, then our show should really hook them. Delia thinks she's overweight and is trying to cut back on cat treats, though her addiction to cat nip continues to fuel her appetite. Rosie continues to murder birds, lizards, and other small animals and leaves their mutilated corpses all over my nice back porch. Lulu is still waiting to die while sleeping on top of my grill. The obnoxious neighbor cats, Hershey and Lucky, are a continual nuisance as they sneak over and eat all the cat food.

So here's a recap of this weekend's episode:

"The tawny, striped female known as Rosie finds a starving kitten stranded in the dangerous savanna of the golf course and struggles to bring it back to her den. As she pushes her precious bundle toward the safety of her home, she can see the short, brown haired animal that protects their kind sitting on the porch making odd sounds into a small black rectangle that she carries everywhere with her.

Triumphantly she presents the shivering baby to the leader of the clan, and watches closely as the two legged animal reaches down and picks up the little kitten. "Good", she thinks as she watches the big animal pet and coo at the little one, "We're keeping it."

Rosie then runs to tell her best friend, Delia, who is less than happy at the news. Delia stalks off into the night and doesn't return for a day. When she finally comes home for food, she refuses to acknowledge Rosie or the other cat in the house, Lulu. Since the little kitten is taking up space on her cushion in the leader's room, she goes to sulk under the smelly bed in the young human's room, only coming out to hiss and swat at the newest cat to join the clan. Rosie is confused and upset with her friend's behavior and flops on the living room floor in depression.

However later, all the cats must run for safety when the leader drops her black rectangle and seems upset about the new kitty's droppings being on the floor covering. The leader picks up the small cat, who then proceeds to spray dropping all over the front of the cringing human.

Thus, another evening ends at "House Cat Casa".

Tune in for later this week when the leader, known as "The Cat Whisperer" takes the new kitty for an expensive veterinarian visit. Will the little kitty survive a first visit to Dr. Noah? Will the Cat Whisperer cry when she hands over her magic card that pays for all things cat related? Will the Cat Whisperer's friends make fun of her mercilessly for taking in another cat?"

Yes, just another fun weekend at "House Cat Casa".