I was thinking yesterday if there was a reality show around my life, what it would it be called? Inside the mind of a crazy person maybe?

Would the cameras follow me as I care for the thirty some cats who live here with us? When I look at all who are underneath my charge, I think octomom has nothing on me! I am however wishing I was part octopus because there are times in my day when I need more than two arms to scoop litter pans, feed and pet kitties, administer meds, fill water bowls, play interactively and not be completely wiped out within a few hours.

I received a call yesterday about a “feral cat.” It was stuck in the barn, yowling and creating “a racket.” “Could I come and fetch this cat before it bit anyone?”

Armed with my arsenal that I use when rescuing a feral cat; thick leather gloves, a leather apron, humane trap, food and water. I struck out for this rural location.

Upon arriving at the address, I was met before i could even get out of the car with a woman wearing a worried look on her face. She was a bit frumpy, red in the face and clearly distressed. I rolled down my window and asked her to please back away from the car so I could at least get out. She finally backed away.

As I stepped outside the car, I could clearly hear the meows of a distressed cat. The tones were deep, not like a kitten and so I knew that I had an adult who needed help.

The woman hung back, wringing her hands and wiping them on her apron. As I started into the barn with flashlight, trap and food, she shouted to me: “Be careful it might be rabid!”

I stepped into the musty barn and it took a few minutes for my eyes to adjust. In a normal situation, once you enter into the same territory of a “feral cat” they become quiet and they run and hide. Not so this time. The yowls became more frenzied and I recognized that this cat was scared, hurt, God knows what.

Following the screams, I knelt down under a large workbench and shined my light into the depths.

Tucked in the farthest corner away from me there was a siamese cat. His eyes glowing in the light were fixated on me. The flashlight traveled down his body and came to rest on his source of torment. His right paw was riddled with porcupine quills. He had quills under his chin as well and was clearly in pain.

I talked to him quietly and slowly slid forward watching his movements. I had a dark towel in one hand, the flashlight in another. He stayed still although his sounds of distress grew louder almost into growls. Dropping my eyes and bending my head, I crab crawled until I was right in front of him. He didn’t flee, I think he was just to exhausted. He allowed me to wrap him in a towel and slowly extract him from his hiding spot. I carefully placed him into the trap, covered the trap and carried him outside.

The woman was waiting, she was all but dancing with impatience. “Did you get it? Did ya huh did ya get the feral cat?”

I looked at the covered cage where someone’s beloved pet huddled in pain and fear. I told her that this was not a feral cat, but one in agony. That the cat had tangled with a porcupine and come out on the losing end of the battle. She seemed disappointed that she didn’t have the pleasure of seeing a snarling, growling feral cat trapped in a cage.

I thanked her for calling and told her I needed to go, but first I asked if I could use her phone to call my vet. She produced a cell phone from her apron pocket. I called the clinic and told them I was on the way to the office with an injured cat. I gave them a estimated time of arrival and said I would be out of communications until then. I just hoped the vet would be there when I arrived. Then I hung up missing my own cell phone. I turned it in a few months ago to help cut down the cost in the household budget.

Thankfully, when I got to the clinic, the vet was there and we both pulled quills out of this kitty. The vet scanned for a chip and found one! YAY! Medicated the girl, gave her a shot and I had the pleasure of calling the owners this morning that I had found their cat. They were so thrilled. They had gone camping and the cat got out of the motor home and they said they lost her. They stuck around for a few days looking for her but finally had to go back home.

So if there was a camera following me in my life, I wonder what the audience would make of it? For as many purrsonalities that I deal with during the day, I could take on such drama as Big Brother and Real Housewives. For as many times as I race to the vet, run to the grocery store because I am out of kitten or cat food, or race around the house picking up hairballs and taking hair off our sofas, i could be a contender for Amazing Race. As for Real World- this in my world and it as Real as it gets.