Aurora has decided that since Monday she is going in to be spayed, she might as well be in heat! Nights are now noisy around here. My one older kitten Slater answers her call nightly. She is in the bedroom, he is in the living room. He trills and tries to seduce her to come closer but thankfully, the cages keep them apart! Mike just removes his hearing aids and goes to sleep. I don’t have that luxury.

What I do have is 12 girl kittens and 6 male kittens to be spayed and neutered soon. With the exception of London and Paris the two female calicos- all the ringworm has cleared up. It was a long battle of dips and ointments and it really did impact the bonding time with these kittens and myself. But hopefully, with the fungus under control and on the run, the kittens will soon start to trust me again.

The difference in Pumpkin is like night and day! She is full out healthy, her eyes are opened all the time, she is running and playing with the others. She does still have ulcers in her one eye which will be addressed as she gets older, but her fur is no longer oily and coarse looking. The best thing is she has finally forgiven me for all the meds I had to give her of late.

Hope is failing. She is still eating and drinking and using the litter pan, but you can tell she is starting to get the feel bads. The cold weather is pushing its way back in and she spends the majority of her time just laying on the pet heating bed.

Alaska ended up not being a good fit for the home we thought would be her forever place. They have three hyper-active jack russells that stay mainly indoor (in crates) so the energy level of these dogs is over-the-top. When I suggested that they might do better letting these jacks outside in the backyard a few hours a day- well, lets just say that the news didn’t go over well. As far as walks go? You might as well forget it although the occupants of the home could do well with a bit of exercise. Some people just shouldn’t own pets.

I brought her back home and we keep her cage door opened during the day. She will venture out and find our laps but she is yet to really relax around the other cats. She will hiss and warn them off if they do get brave enough to jump on my lap with her. She doesn’t share well with others.

We had what I thought was a new arrival in the yard, however, when I went to check out this cat, it was Malcolm! He has come back from his adopted home! I called Mikal and Mikal said he vanished a few weeks ago- They live about a half an hour driving time from us and I guess Malcolm decided he didn’t want to be a ranch cat. The other cats are still with Mikal and his family and doing good. The reason I know it’s Malcolm is because Malcolm had this odd behavior of darting in between my legs and then sitting on my foot. This cat does the exact same thing. He isn’t as stout right now as Malcolm was before, but it is a long walk for a kitty to make it back here. I guess he is here to stay. I took him to the vet, he was anemic and dehydrated but otherwise fine. He is eating like a horse!

Mike has been dismissed from the home care system and it now falls on me to once again take care of his legs. Right now his legs are doing okay, but that can change in a moment’s time. But Medicare won’t cover the cost of in-home help unless he becomes completely bedridden and that isn’t the case. It was nice while it lasted though, to be relieved of the responsibility of taking care of his legs.

We are going to have a quiet Christmas. No tree, no gifts, just no fuss. The kids are all involved in their own lives this year so no visitors. Just us and cats and that’s okay. Christmas is so much more than the expensive gifts that seem to be the focus anymore. Besides, like I told Mike last night- “All I want for Christmas is our 17 kittens to be neutered and into loving homes!” LOL

I just wanted to share this poem that I hold dear, especially during this part of the year. It doesn’t have a title and the author is Unknown but it is a beautiful poem

If you look for Me at Christmas
You won’t need a special star-
I’m no longer wandering Bethlehem
I’m right there where you are.

You may not be aware of Me amid the celebration
You’ll have to look beyond the stores and past the decorations
But if you take One Moment from your list of “Things to Do”
And listen to your heart, you’ll find I’m right there next to you.

You’re the one I want to be with,
Your the reason that I came.
You’ll find me in the stillness
as I’m whispering Your name.