Sully

Sully had been doing very well. And in some ways he is great. He loves the hubby, is great with the baby and plays with the kittens (I know they're nine months old, but they are still "the kittens). However, he hates me and had started peeing on things, like the floor, a chair and my favorite diaper bag. Add to that his habit of swatting at or biting me and I snapped.  The last straw was when he peed on the diaper bag in the five minutes it was in the foyer as I was packing my grandmother's things into the car to take her to a train station after she had visited with us.  I'll admit, euthanasia crossed my mind.  The only person I can really see giving him too is my father, but my step-mother is wickedly allergic to cats.  Dad loves Sully and his idiosyncrasies don't bother my father at all.  Unfortunately, allergies... So Sullivan Boo is back on the Prozac and gets isolated in the master bedroom with the hubby and Anya at night so he gets some personal attention.  I really hope this works.

OC

Will and I buried OC under the at least 100-year-old maple on the side of our house in a space known as "Vincent's Garden." I would sit under that tree with our Maine Coon cat Vincent and read while he tested the length of his leash and "clawed" (someone had declawed him) the tree trunk and logs in the garden. 

I sobbed. 

I don't handle burial very well, but cremation is too expensive for us right now, I'm trying to be frugal and this was something we just couldn't afford.  After the internment, I stayed in the garden with Veronica and we cuddled and nursed and I read "My Mother Wears Combat Boots" and took pictures of various things.  Eventually it started to get chilly so we came inside and I eventually got a bath while she napped. 

I keep expecting to hear OC crying out from the guest room.  It actually kept me awake last night. 

OC

When my grandmother, Mom-Mom, died at the end of July this summer, I took in her cat OC (Outside Cat when she lived with my father, Olivia Camille when she lived with Mom-Mom). During a moment of pain and weakness, Mom-Mom had said we should euthanize OC when Mom-Mom died and I said "No!" with the understanding that I'm the cat lady of the family and would figure out a way to keep her happy.

The best laid plans...

Shortly after we moved OC here and Mom-Mom passed, Veronica was born.  For obvious reasons I didn't now have time to spend 30 minutes or more a day in the guest room trying to coax OC out for cuddles.  And OC hates the other cats.  When my in-laws came after the baby was born, they required that OC be moved out of the guest room while they used it.  She didn't eat for three days, just hid under the sideboard in the dining room.

When I started scooping the litter boxes again, I noticed that OC urinates a very large amount.  And I saw that she was drinking almost two cups of water a day.  These are signs of kidney failure.  In the three and a half months that she has been here, she has lost at least a pound and appears dehydrated.  She will not come out of the room because she wants nothing to do with the other animals and most of the time she runs from anyone who goes into the room to be with her.  She cries all the time and appears to be painful in her back end.

I have a veterinarian friend coming over this evening to humanely euthanize OC.  Last night I gave her a lot of pain medication because it doesn't matter if it causes organ damage.  She was comfortable and purring and willing to be cuddled.  I fed her treats and catnip and pet her for a very long time.  As much as I know this is the right thing to do, it just breaks my heart.

Luna Moth is aging

It is a hard thing to watch a beloved animal companion decline.  Luna Moth is the matriarch of our feline tribe and has always had health concerns.  When Luna was 10-weeks-old I learned that she had a IV/XI (four out of six) heart murmur.  After a cardiac ultrasound performed by a specialist, we learned that she was born with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.  I cried, a lot.  Then I decided Luna would have the best life I could provide for her.  The vet that we were seeing at the time was uncomfortable spaying her, which went against everything I believe about responsible cat ownership.  Plus, have you ever seen a cat in heat? It's a terrible thing to witness.  Well, Luna went into heat for the first time at about 6-months-old.  Then she went into heat again almost immediately.  And she started to bleed.  Cats don't tend to bleed with their heat cycles.  I had to get her spayed.  Again I had trouble with the vet we were seeing, they actually questioned whether I had let her get pregnant.  Ugh.  Anyway, she was spayed and we discovered that her uterus was in bad shape.  Parts of it were thickened, parts were friable.  It was a mess.  Good thing I spayed her in spite of the risks of anesthesia!  Luna came through surgery just fine.

Fast forward 11 years (Luna turned 12 this July) and my baby goddess has advanced arthritis, is losing muscle mass and really just wants the comforts of a warm place to sleep, food twice a day and the occasional cuddle (only on her terms).  My hubby held her tonight and commented that she is just skin and bones.  She hasn't declined to walking skeleton yet, but it is clear that Luna is in her own twilight and we should cherish every purring moment we have with her.  On a selfish note, I'm glad that Luna lived to see me have a kitten of my own.  Even if she does wrinkle her nose every time she wants to get on my lap and Veronica is already there.

Eco-Frugal Mommy

I have a new blog that focuses on my stay at home mom-ness with Veronica and my attempts at being green while saving money. Hopefully I'll learn new healthy, environmentally friendly, habits along the way that I can teach to my daughter. This is, after all, a learning process. <3 The link is in the title of this post, and in my links list.

One month later

Veronica is going to be three-months-old on Monday and the cats have certainly had a lot to get used to. There's her Pack & Play, which has been three places in the house already, the room they used to own that they are no longer allowed into (her nursery used to be the critter room), the screaming infant/sleeping baby, her toys; the list goes on. How have they done? Pretty much beautifully.

There are quite a few cats in this house and many people would raise an eyebrow or two at the idea of having an infant so close to all of them. I have to say, it has been delightful. And the best part is, kitten cuddle time! Veronica gets to be snugly and warm and purred upon. Life couldn't be better.

I am almost a month into official stay at home mom-ness and trying to learn my new place in the world. I have a feeling that takes a long time. I'm volunteering with my UU Church, taking a class and loving my baby.

As I type this, disgustingly late at night I might add, Luna Moth is purring up a storm and grooming next to me. She is continuously proving to me that she's not done yet. For a twelve-year-old cat with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and severe arthritis, she's doing great.

8-weeks-old

Baby Veronica is 8-weeks-old today. She has grown at least three inches since she was born and I'm astonished every day by her alertness and interaction with the world. Yesterday we went to a local park that has a rushing stream and she loved the sound and sight of the water. She has already outgrown her first size cloth diapers and some of her footy pajamas. She's close to growing  out of her second size cloth diaper covers and her Mommy is making some experimental diapering choices in the mean time. 

Today was the Blessing of the Animals at our Unitarian Universalist Church and we opted to bring Mamma Amma Rose with us. She is such a well behaved, sweet and gentle cat that I thought she would be the best choice to represent the tribe. And I was right! Amma behaved perfectly. When she got a little nervous she just cuddled up to one of us or near the baby's car seat and sat quietly. She let anyone pet her who was interested and never once made any negative sounds or postures. For months I've been considering training Amma as a therapy pet and today certainly proved that as a possibility. 

Cats, kittens & baby

Thirteen cats and a baby. Life has acheived craziness. Veronica is doing
very well and the cats seem to be adjusting. Truly most problems we have
are related to Damnit Dewey's kittenish antics. Although Ambrose did
scratch my nose when he bounded over my face the other night. He's
insane. But none of them have shown the signs of jealousy everyone was
worried about. Although Will did remove (I do not know why) a bunch of
litter boxes and someone retaliated by urinating on our sofa and
loveseat. I hate that furniture anyway and have been hoping to
eventually replace it with more pet/kid friendly pieces. That isn't
going to happen today, but I'm one step closer. ;)

Veronica Nova

My baby is just over four weeks and just shy of one month old. She is
demanding, delightful, sweet and sassy. I am so in love.

I was nursing her in bed last night while her daddy slept and I looked
around and there were seven cats with us on the bed. It was quite cozy
to say the least.

Veronica Nova

Our baby girl was born 8/9/09. This has obviously changed our lives
pretty significantly. She is wonderful, demanding and so tiny!

A little less than two weeks before she was born, my father's mother
passed away and we inherited her cat O.C., which brings us up to lucky
13.

So far the cats have accepted Veronica with no problems.

Getting ready for baby

Since the cats have a lot of changes coming up with the new baby on the way, I decided we needed to get the nursery done and start letting all of them interact all the time. Two different projects with the same goal, less stress when the baby comes. 

Well the nursery was basically finished last Sunday with a major push by my father and the wonderful hubby Will. Now I just need to do massive amounts of laundry of hand-me-down clothing and cloth diapers to get ready for our Peanut's arrival. 

In the mean time I decided that after 7 months of Prozac and isolation with only approved kitties joining her in the master bedroom, Anya should be exposed to the real world and all the other kitties. Like it or not. So for the last three nights and days the doors to the bedroom have remained open at all times except when she is eating.  So far there have been skirmishes and a LOT of growling under the bed, but no bloodshed, and Anya has not taken to hiding all day and night. In fact she sleeps on my pillow and pets my head in the middle of the night. We also get to sleep with Ambrose, several kittens, Penelope (when she doesn't notice Anya) and sometimes Sullivan.  Even Persephone made an appearance in the bedroom one night. So all in all I believe this re-integration of our three cat tribes is going rather well. 

Mamma Amma Rose

Amma is getting spayed today! Finally!

Overdue update!

The critters are doing pretty well. Luna has been put on a medication
called Metacam (meloxicam) for her arthritis pain. It seems to be
helping, but could potentially damage her kidneys so she's on a very low
dose.

Amma is finally scheduled to be spayed on Tuesday!!! I had to wait for
her to dry up from nursing the greedy little kittens. In the mean time
she has gone into heat four or five times, and each one is longer. On
the positive side she isn't getting into quite as many fights.

We still have Peggy and Dewey and the darling husband has made two
proclamations. If they go they MUST go together and if I give birth
before they are adopted they stay. That would make 12 cats. Yikes. I
wish there was truth to "cheaper by the dozen."

Sullivan is doing pretty well on his Prozac. He very rarely draws blood
on me. He still swats and lunges but backs off quickly, and often just
gives rough kisses.

Anya has started to accept the kittens and I caught her taunting Dewey
last night by showing her belly so he would come closer and she could
bat him on the head. It was hysterical! She is unfortunately on a diet
because she's getting a tad round.

Ambrose is just the sweetest thing, but I think maybe he's throwing
things off the kitchen counter for attention.

The Sorority Sisters all hate Amma. I'm hoping that after the spay she
becomes a bit easier to live with and things settle down.

Tika loves to sleep cuddled right up with me. I hope that never
changes.

Peggy likes to sleep under the covers at the foot of the bed.

I'm not sure Dewey ever sleeps. :)

I hope everyone is having a happy 4th of July. I should be cleaning up
after the Dirty Dozen, but instead I will be spending the day with my
parents while hubby works making gorgeous gardens for other people. :)

Getting bigger!

Tika was spayed May 26th, she's a big girl now! I just wish Dewey and
Peggy would stop trying to nurse off Amma so she could get spayed too.

Happy Birthday(s)/Adoption Day

Anya Gray is two-years old today and it is the first anniversary of our adoption of Ambrose Gallifrey.  Officially we call this his birthday too, which makes him approximately six I believe.  These are the happy anniversaries this week, May 20th is the anniversary of Vincent's death last year of unknown causes. He either died of a blood clot or heartworm. I spent a lot of time this week crying because I miss him so much.  I know it is hard for some to believe because we have so many kitties, but the lose of each one cuts like a knife, especially when it is so sudden and unexpected.  

The kittens turned 11-weeks-old on May 22nd. Dewey is almost half the size of his mother and still knocks her over to nurse and she still allows it! Peggy and Tika will take advantage if she's already willing but aren't as pushy as their brother.  Tika is scheduled to be spayed on May 26th. 

Happy Birthday Sullivan Boo

Sully the monster kitten is 1-year-old today. The Prozac has helped
immensely and he's so much easier to live with. He has always loved
Will, but now he's even sweet to me. I'm very happy with him.

The kittens are 10-weeks-old today too.

Dinner and Dagmar

Dinner and Dagmar were adopted on Saturday. I made it through the whole
adoption process and saying good-bye and then completely lost it in the
pharmacy for about 20 minutes. I don't know how people foster animals
all the time. I can't do this again.

Foster

It is possible that we will be changing Foster's name at some point since "Foster" was really chosen to indicate that we were, well, fostering her and her kittens.  If we keep her we aren't fostering her are we? 

I know I know... She's just such an amazing cat. I'm completely in love. 

Kittens

Kittens being kittens.

Foster grooming.

The kittens are 8 weeks old today. I can't believe how fast time flies! So far Dewey, Dinner and Dagmar have been neutered and spayed and given their first distemper vaccines, and today Chloe, Inky and Peggy are being spayed. Tika also got her first distemper vaccine but she's still
too tiny to be spayed. And Foster needs to stop nursing the kittens and dry up before she can be spayed. In the mean time she's getting her rabies vaccine today. It is all very confusing and exciting.

As for the established kitties; Anya has gotten very demanding and vocal, probably because we do whatever she asks. Sully hasn't mauled me recently, which is obviously a good thing, although he is chewing on my shoe at this moment. I'm wearing the shoe. Ambrose has fallen in love with the pop-up playhouse, sleep-tent we got him from Walmart and is absolutely hysterical in it. Stella chews on my hair. Penelope demands lap time every morning and night. Persephone and Calliope are thinking maybe we aren't the scariest people in the world. And Luna is just trucking along like the elder lady she is.

We are also pet-sitting my grandmother's cat O.C. So there are 17 cats in this house right now. A little crazy, but fun.

I love my cat filled life.

Growing up

Inky

Peggy

Dinner

Chloe

Dagmar

Dewey

Tika

The kittens are almost 8-weeks-old and are a challenge. They are hyper and mouthy and truly adorable. Dagmar and Dinner have been chosen to be adopted by a lovely woman and will be going to their new home in a week and a half.

My baby is growing well and kicking up a storm. It is getting harder and harder to do my job. Bending, squatting and stretching are all a challenge. My schedule is killing me.

Sully is a bad, bad, cat

Tonight Sullivan Boo got his first dose of Prozac. Unlike Anya, who is on the medication for anxiety, Sully is taking Prozac for aggression issues. He attacks anyone who isn't Will. He has taken to following me around and biting my achilles tendon, or lunging at my arm when I'm laying on the couch, or attacking me while I'm preparing myself something to eat. Will has started crating him when he bites, but it does nothing and when I do it, he bites me the second I let him out of the crate. Will won't concider re-homing him but we both know this is unsafe for the baby. Hence the meds.

A dear friend of mine did point out that when Sully was at the hospital he came very close to dying more than once. To have that drive to fight to live, as well as the potential for brain damage, means this cat would never be easy. Will loves him though, and he adores Will. So I'll do what I can to make him a good cat.

My baby is kicking so much Anya doesn't want to be on my belly.

Luna Moth

I got her bloodwork results back and everything is not only normal, but completely normal. This is excellent news. She has so much else going on that it is very nice to know her organs are doing well. Her 12th birthday is 7/6/09 so I'm really glad she's okay.

Kittens

I made an album at my Facebook page. You can find it here. Foster Kittens

Obsessed? Maybe...

A new friend told me today that he had been reading this blog and thought I might have an unhealthy obsession with my cats. I would say I might be obsessed, but I don't think it is unhealthy. :)

For instance; all the cats are up-to-date on vaccines and check-ups (as of this morning), all are feline leukemia/fiv negative, everyone is spayed/neutered, they are all microchipped, and their litterboxes don't go 24 hours between cleanings. Yes, there are 8 permanent kitty residents, and 8 foster kitties, but I know a woman with 89 cats. And my bill at the hospital is less than $200. So my obsession hasn't negatively affected myself, the darling hubby (who is as bad as I am, or worse), the kitties, or the baby. Plus I get anywhere from one to many kitties to cuddle with at night and can hear purring almost on demand. And there is nothing funnier than a cat having a little fuzzy freak out, or more relaxing than watching a cat sleep.

My earliest memories all have cats in them. Baku accidently killing the butterfly he was playing with, and being very confused when it wouldn't get up. Frisbee peeing on my grandmother's overnight bag the day my sister was born. Barnum catching the chipmunk on my 8th birthday. Cross-eyed Clarence smacking the big dog that ran up onto our porch. (Yes the cats went outside when I was growing up, not now.)

Cats have always been a positive presence in my life. The darkest times in a turbulent youth were those times without at least one cat. I wonder if that is part of the reason my hyper-allergic step-mother opted to keep the little dark tortie she rescued from a crazed war veteran instead of sending her to a shelter. So I would have a cat in my life with them. Pixel did end up living with my Gram in New Hampshire, but she was with us in New Jersey for quite a while first. My cat in college, Antigone, may be responsible for keeping me alive. She needed me, even if I didn't want to go on, she still needed food and water and a clean pan. Thank you Tiggy.

I believe I come by my obsession honestly. To some I may appear a crazy cat lady, and I'm okay with that. I share my life with a crazy cat man and hope that I give birth to a crazy cat child.

So Robert, do you still think I'm a tad unhealthy? ;) It's perfectly okay if you do. I'm willing to listen to dog stories any time you want to share. :)

Shot Clinic

Once a year, in the spring, WVMC allows employees to bring in their pets for shots, blood work and medication at cost, or close to it.  Tomorrow is the annual shot clinic.  I am scheduled to have our eight cats seen starting at 8:00AM.  Because I have so many critters, I always bake cupcakes for the volunteers and doctors who participate.  I am hoping that I get out in time to go to church. But that has not been the case in the past.  Although this year they know I really want to get out before 10:00AM and the cupcakes are counting for a bit of volunteering. ;) 

So the rundown of what will be happening to our tribe is this: 

Everyone will get at least one vaccine. Either rabies, or both rabies and distemper.  

Sullivan Boo will get microchipped. 

Luna Moth is getting blood work and urine taken for a senior scan. 

Anya Gray is getting her bladder looked at with ultrasound and possibly a urine sample taken.

I will be a nervous wreck.  The sisters are guaranteed to act badly.  I really hope the doctor I'm scheduled with still likes me when it is all over. 

Foster Family

So we ended up fostering the kitty mom and her seven kittens. They were born March 6th and are doing very well so far. So cute!

Spring is coming

The crocuses are blooming in the foundation garden, there's still snow on the cresent garden. Ambrose seems to be feeling the tug of Spring even though he was neutered last April. According to the hubby he was chasing the girls all day yesterday!

Kitten season is starting at work. We have a three-month-old kitten who needs a home and a pregnant cat ready to burst, she and her kittens will need to be fostered when she delivers.

Now if the weather would actually warm up and stay warm, that would be wonderfull!

As for the coming human critter; the grandfathers are going to help with the nursery next week. Will has already stripped most of the linoleum off the floor after emptying everything except the closet. There are some benefits to the freezing weather.

Luna Moth

Our vet did a lot of research on her day off last week and came up with a possible therapy for Luna's Feline Cognitive Disorder. Omega 3 fatty acids. There is one brand of Omega 3 suppliment that we sell for cats at work so I decided to try that. It is basically fish oil. I have a hard time with a lot of the suppliments for our animal companions as a vegetarian and environmentalist and this fish oil is the worst. A: all our oceans are overtaxed B: the smell is enough to drive me insane C: Luna absolutely hates it. I had to actually tranfer it into one of our dispensing bottles from work because it comes in a pump bottle and I couldn't get it into Luna. I'm thinking that I will try this for a while since I did buy it, but then I will look into vegetarian sources of the Omega 3s.

Feline Cognitive Disorder

Also known as "Kitty Alzheimer's," Feline Cognitive Disorder is what it sounds like. And it is very likely that our Luna Moth is suffering FCD. I can't even express how disturbing this is to me. Luna is the baby goddess of our house and I'm so afraid of her slipping away mentally. She's sleeping a lot, even for a cat, she has exagerated startle reflex, intense aggression as a response to unwelcome stimuli and a prolonged anxiety response.

And we have a baby on the way.

This is going to stress her out even more. I'm praying the Prozac works for her too.

Conflicted

It may surprise people to learn that we don't generally feed the stray cats in our yard. We have a great environment for rodentia and birds, running water and birdbaths most of the year, and a compost pile that's really a smorgasbord for any scavenger needing a snack. So I suppose I should say we don't feed the strays cat food. There are reasons for this. Most communities are making feeding stray cats illegal. We can't afford to buy tons of cat food for the strays. And we already have so many visitors I don't think we could handle more permanent residents. Plus both my front and back porches smell like male cat spray.

However, there are times I wish we could feed them.

There is a small black female with a white spot on her chest who has been coming around for about two years now who we just love. She's timid and agile and probably pregnant again and it breaks my heart to see her drinking melted snow and stalking mice.

There's a huge old tom we call "Snowshoe Something" because he looks vaguely like a snowshoe cat. He sprays the bumper of my car and gets in fights at 2am and I actually worry if I don't see him for more than a week.

The black and white tuxedo cat that hides under our shed in spring.

The gray tiger tom I haven't seen this winter.

I really do love them all, just from a distance.

Last night a coworker brought a sick stray in to work that had been hanging around her house and her outside cats. He was neutered, so someone paid attention at one time. But he was in end stage feline leukemia and drowning. We had to euthanise him. She is terrified for the wellbeing of her cats and even though mine are all inside only I felt the chill of her fear. Feleuk and FIV are the bane of feral cats and outside cats alike. This is why as much as I love the strays, I can't get too attached or invite them closer.

Today I took pictures of the little black female and a new white and tiger patched kitty and offered them hard cooked eggs in the compost. I hope they have someplace warm to go tonight.

Prozac

Anya Gray is back on Prozac. Hopefully between that and the prescription urinary diet she'll clear the sand out of her bladder and get more confident and comfortable.

I've been trying to figure out how the baby is going to react to the cats, and the cats to her or him. I have this chilling fear that at some point the child will let them out. I'm praying that we can teach how important it is to keep the kitties safely inside. Ugh, so many worries.

the annual changing of the collars

Last night I changed everyone's iD tags to their new Beastie Bands collars, and Sully got his first collar ever. I haven't been able to put Persephone or Caliope's collars back on, but I think I might catch them tonight.

This is the first time evryone has their own design. I had a lot of fun picking out their collars.

Luna Moth: White & Yellow Butterflies on Black
Stella Blue: White & Green Mushrooms on Black
Penelope Jane: Pink Hearts w/White Crossbones on Black
Persephone May: White & Yellow Yin Yang Symbols on Black
Calliope Anne: Piano Keys
Anya Gray: Purple & Green Hummingbirds & Flowers on Black
Ambrose Gallifrey: Yellow & Green Celtic Knots on Black
Sullivan Boo: Red & White Devil Cats on Black

I'm the biggest fan of Beastie Bands and always get them from Robbins Pet Supply online. Yes, mini endorsement here, great prices, great service.

Random pics

Ambrose napping with me on the couch.
Stella under the desk lamp.
Calliope on the foot of the bed.

Anya's bladder looks like Miami Beach

So Anya went into work with me on Monday and her Doctor looked at her bladder with the ultrasound. The instant she put the probe on Anya's abdomen we both said, "Holy shit!" Poor little Anya, not even 2-years-old has a bladder half full of sediment. We took a sample of urine and the sediment is struvite crystals. If Anya had been a male cat she would have blocked by now. Treatment for her is a prescription diet called Urinary SO and making sure she drinks enough.

My poor baby sterling kitten.

Anya may be sick

Anya is the focus of Penelope and Calliope's aggression. As a result she started hiding and waiting a really long time to use the litterbox. She holds her urine so long it changes from acid to alkeline, allowing crystals to develope. Also, she holds it so long she has accidents. Generally these accidents happen on or near one of us.

This week Anya had urinated on or near one of us every day for the last four days. Tonight I saw her posturing while sitting next to me on the loveseat and I tried to get her to a box, she peed everywhere. I'm really concerned that she has a urinary tract infection from holding her urine. I have to take her into work first thing next week to see her doctor Melissa Stevans. I love this cat so much. I wish I could make her happier and more confident. I hate hate hate that's she's declawed.

Just to make the evening better, after getting peed on my Anya, I caught Luna's puke in my hand to keep it off the carpet. Darling Hubby gave me good mom points for that one.

Chinchillas Re-homed

Selma and Patti were adopted by Olivia, a very intelligent and sweet 12-year-old girl, and her mother Sara, this afternoon. They came by around 2:45PM and asked lots of questions, spent time with the girlies and apparently, Olivia fell for them.  Part of me is very sad to see them go but on the other hand, they are going to a wonderful critter filled home with three young children and a down to Earth mother who will make sure that they get the love and attention they deserve.  If all goes well Patti will more than likely be with Olivia through her college years. 

This is the first time in a very long time that we have only had cats as our inside animal companions.  Ever since 1999 I believe we've had rats or ferrets or fish or chickens or chinchillas sharing the space and attention with the felines.  We still have the fish in the pond, but only cats and ourselves inside.  Not that there is anything at all wrong with that of course, and there are EIGHT cats to share our lives with.  I just feel a little lost without a cage or aquarium somewhere. 

I'm going to have to be very careful to keep myself from trying to fill that void before the baby is born and settled.  I'm a sucker for a critter who needs a home.  Obviously. 

Chinchillas

A woman and her daughter are coming over on Sunday to meet the chinchillas and possibly adopt them.

Court

I'm going to an unemployment hearing on Tuesday regarding Aileen. She doesn't deserve unemployment after how she treated her job at the hospital. I'm still convinced she killed the kitten.


UPDATE: Got the notice 1/9/09 we won.

Pictures for the New Year

Happy New Year

I hope everyone has a better 2009 than 2008. I sure do hope that for us. All is okay in our zoo. My pregnancy seems to be progressing normally, but not comfortably. Even Anya is more social.

Best wishes for everyone, furry and not, in the coming year.