We have been discussing the pros and cons of getting a Christmas tree this year.

Pros:

Oh the smell is heavenly (we would only get a live tree).

Helps to set the festive mood.

We get to go up into the attic and plow through years of memories looking for the Christmas boxes full of ornaments. I know I put them next to my old Sisterbelle doll and Tiny Tears…So where are they?

The tree would look wonderful in the corner currently occupied by two large-sized litter pans.

It would make money for the guy selling the Christmas trees (for $80.00)!

It will make money for WalMart because after we bought the tree, we would have to go into WalMart and buy ornaments, lights, garland, tree skirt and tree stand because we never did find where all those Christmas boxes were stored.

It would entertain the kitties in fine style as they discovered a real live tree in the living room! (Gee mom and dad, how did you do THAT)?

It would entertain us.

We wouldn’t need a tree-topper this year, because once the tree is put up, there would be a mad dash of auditions from Charlie, Trump, Baker, Livingston, Shimmer and Panic to be the first Reality Tree Star Topper.

My vet would be richer, because kitties would be sampling garland, knocking ornaments off the tree, test-tasting ribbons and bows. No offense Ben, but you received enough of my money this year.

The Cons-

If we go back to last year, ten minutes after the tree was up, even before it was decorated, it took a dive on my carpet and water soaked all the way through the corner. (Oliver had climbed to the top of the tree and it tipped over pretty quickly).

All that lovely tinsel is so pretty, and so deadly to kitties tummies.

$80.00 would buy an awful lot of cat food, or could be saved for next year’s vet bills.

I am out of prozac, so when the kittens decide to take the very first ornament Mike gave me on our first Christmas together (a woman fishing) and snatch it off the tree to bury it in the litter box, I might lose my charitable spirit temporarily.

Once the ornaments have been pawed off the branches, then the glass balls are fair game to Kodiak, who has a ball fetish anyway.

In a few days, the smell will go away, the needles will start to dry out and dry pine needles can easily puncture kitties stomach and cause other problems.

The tree will become a fire hazard and I won’t be able to stop the kittens from playing with all the fun pine needles falling off.

Setting up our musical lights will simply entice the kitties to play Tag among the branches looking for the source of all that lovely noise.

If we put up the Christmas train, then I would have to explain to the vet tech that I need to bring in my kitten because Santa just ran over his paw.

Once we have the tree up, we will be compelled to buy presents for each other, which we don’t have the monies for. Because who can have a Christmas tree without presents?

The smell of the new “intruder” is going to unleash a rash of the attack of the urinators as the kitties try and bring the house scent back to something they are comfortable with.

…on second thought, maybe we will just buy a door wreath.

Since dropping Baron off to his new home, Ray has emailed me six times. Each report is more encouraging. After first whining, pacing and scratching at the door where I vanished out of, Baron started settling down. Ray said it took him about 5 hours. Now, he is downstairs in the store, and he meets each customer as they come through the door. He doesn’t act aggressive toward any of them. Ray says, no matter how scruffy they might look.

Tomorrow, he goes to the vet and then to Petsmart for a bath. I felt bad that I didn’t bathe him. He was so dirty from being outside and puddle playing with Kodiak. But our bathroom is so small and he is afraid of small places- so getting him into the shower is a struggle.

This morning, we left bright and early to take Baron to his new home. Ray, a retired corporate worker immediately took to Baron and I think Baron liked him too. It was hard to tell, because every time I tried to leave to give them some privacy, Baron went ballistic. We have really bonded, but I was the one who opened the cage of that horrible place he was in and took him home.

He doesn’t have a backyard, but he now lives right next to Waterford Park. Ray wants him for a companion and for protection, as Ray lives above his business in Portland.

It was so hard to leave Baron. I cried most of the way home. But it wouldn’t have mattered, Ray could have had 80 acres fenced and I would have felt the same sadness.

Ray has promised to stay in touch via emails and he will send photographs. We got a lot of hits of interest for Baron, but most of the people I talked to were just wanting him for cosmetic reasons- (guard dog) no talk of long walks, runs or anything that generated a companionship/relationship. Ray, however, got down on the ground immediately when he saw Baron and Baron gave him a full face washing.

Go in peace sweet boy- and have a good life. If only you hadn’t attacked the kittens and the cats- you could have had a good life here with us. But, we have to trust the dogs here, and every time we turned around, you proved we couldn’t trust you. I love you, and I will miss you. It is almost as if I just lost my Brandy all over again.

This morning while I was grocery shopping, I quickly grew tired of fighting
my way down over-crowded aisles. Trying to get my cart past shoppers with
cell phones glued to their ears, and battling the flood of children who
seemed to crowd every aisle wore me out very quickly. So, in order to grab a peaceful moment, I stopped at the magazine and book section. I picked up the newest issue of Quilter’s Home Magazine, a magazine I write for from time to time (thanks to a lead years ago from Cat Writers’ Association).

My first article with them was about keeping your cats out of your quilting
stash. Then I fell into assignments concerning people who lose loved ones,
stitch up memory quilts and the story behind the quilts. The assignments are
never easy, because for those who I interview, their grief is never
painless.

In the Reader’s Letter section, I saw this:

“I was reading your Sept. magazine last evening and came across the article
by Mary Anne Miller. It had quite an impression on me because my husband
passed away last November after a brief illness. I have not been able to
quilt or even look at plans for quilts. I kept saying I wanted to, but time
passed and I never got to them. Well, last evening I pulled out a project
and the machine and sewed. Today, I spent some time designing a quilt and
started cutting. It feels so good to get back to something that has given me
so much enjoyment. Please thank her for her wonderful article. It had so
much meaning for me.”

Doris Harris
Whippany, NJ

This validates what I do. It shows me, what I have known all along (though
sometimes forget) that words matter and they can have impact on people. I
have two articles on my desk due before Christmas. I was stalled out, not
really writer’s block, but not happy with what I’ve written, but unsure how
to change them. This reader’s letter has given me what I need to restart my
articles. To make them matter.

Samuel Johnson once wrote: “What is written without effort is in general
read without pleasure.”

Guini is a special kitty. She is also a special needs cat. She was intentionally run over by her previous owner, and denied vet care. Her bones did eventually heal, but Nature wasn’t as kind as a surgeon’s skilled hands.

She is pure white with golden eyes. She has lived on the floor of our bedroom for over a year now. We got her out of the shelter on June 22, 2006 and then it was estimated she was 17 years old.

Her walk is peculiar, it is a bit of a waddle, crab crawl and hop combination. Her ability to climb is nonexistent, and in the entire time we have been with her, I have never seen her groom herself.

Her preference is to live in solitude, so she lives alone in the bedroom on soft cushions. Her litter pan is a hot water drain pan with the holes plugged up. She is an absolutely delightful cat who loves to be brushed, scratched and petted.

This morning, I decided to give her a bath. She really needed one and I believe this was her first bath she ever had. She did quite well, but what saved me was letting her hang on to the lip of the bucket she was in, instead of digging her claws into my arms. She was nervous, but she didn’t fight and I was able to really give her a good bath.

I took her into the bedroom and with warming towels, I was drying her off. I got her as dry as possible, but when I turned around, she scooted under the bed. Now, this is where all the dustbunnies came up to her and said “Hi Guinie glad to meet cha~” By the time I got her out from under the bed, she really needed a bath, so she got two baths instead of one! I also did a thorough cleaning of the dirt and dust under the bed. (Our ceiling caved in a few weeks ago due to the rain) only the underside of the ceiling thankfully, not all of it. So the dust was pretty bad.

Now Guinevere is sleeping peacefully. She has been dried off and had her grooming session. The water was so dirty in the bucket it was almost sludge! At least, there were no fleas. Thank God for Advantage.

Suddenly, without warning, Baron has begun to attack the kittens. The first time it happened, the attack was so quick (we had just left the room for a second) that we almost missed it. But when I noticed Shimmer huddling in the corner and went over to see what was wrong, she was all wet from dog slobber. But, I didn’t put it together right away. Had I thought about it, it might have stopped the second attack. But Baron was his normal happy doggy self and although shimmer was upset, I couldn’t figure out why. Baron has allowed the kittens to play on him, suckle his chest, pounce on him, rub against him and hasn’t even shown any aggression towards them.

The second attack, Baron got two kittens in one moment. Shimmer and Panic both were lying next to his side, when he turned his head and in a second, had Panic’s head in his mouth! When I screamed, he opened his mouth and took a swipe at Shimmer who was escaping. Mike jumped on Baron immediately and took him into the bedroom to his crate. I ran after the kittens. Shimmer was okay, but Panic is missing some fur. I saw blood, but not a lot of it. I could not find a bite wound.

I put the kittens upstairs and Mike and I talked it over. It has been decided that we need to find a home for Baron. This decision breaks our hearts because we love him so much, even though we haven’t had him very long. But, the cats have the priority here. We cannot have a cat or kitten aggressive dog as our dogs have full run of the house as well as outside.

It reminds me of Chewy, a German Shepherd we rescued about 5 years ago. The people who had him beat him, starved him, used him for target practice and kept him in a small dirty shed. He was afraid of his own shadow, thin, emaciated, and peed on himself at any noise or movement. His first meal with us, he picked up his dog bowl, made his way through the doggy door and went out into the backyard to bury his food. That broke my heart.

As he got better, stronger, gained muscle mass, he also became aggressive and sneaky. He would stalk us, the cats, the horses, the grandkids. One day, much like Baron without warning, he attacked the neighbor’s chickens. Our vet told us that the aggression would get worse and was more than likely a product of his past abuse. Not knowing Baron’s history, I suspect he is going the same route. Becoming comfortable here, knowing no one will hurt him, he is responding to past triggers or demons. As much as we love him, we have done our job to socialize him and get him to trust again. It’s time to find him a permanent home. One without cats or small dogs.

The kittens are having a field day. With all this wet weather there has been a re-awakening of the low-flying beetles ironically called Rain Beetles. These bugs are flying through the wires of the cat enclosure and the kittens, spying these wonderful, slow-moving treasures- scoop them up and bring them into the house.

I try to rescue them before they are tormented to death, but Trump wants to play Keep-Away. He grabs a beetle, growls ferociously at me, which doesn’t faze me in the least. He is all bluff. Then he scoots between my legs and darts upstairs. Almost as if he knows that my feet won’t respond to my wishes and upstairs is now off limits for me (which it is) because of the cellulitis.

I can almost hear the beetle squealing “Help me…Help mee..” as Trump rushes up the stairs. When I tell my husband what I hear he says, I either need to lay off the pain pills, or stop watching the Sci-Fi Channel! He’s right on both accounts.

The lucky beetles are taken back outside and released back by the creek in the woods. The unlucky ones, well they are just unlucky.

Charlie seems fascinated by them when they fly. When they land, he isn’t interested, but as they do their low-flying loops overhead, he performs some impressive acrobatic moves to catch them. I would imagine that the clouding of his eye isn’t interfering with his overhead sight.

Found out today that my cats and their dwelling will be featured on a blog for NBC! God willing and the creek doesn’t rise, the entry should show up on Dec. 14th Pretty cool! I just hope it inspires others to do what they can to save that stray in the bushes. Even if the stray happens to have an appetite for flying Rain Beetles!

Not as subtle as waking up to a cat rubbing his face across mine, or purring in my ear. The noise that woke me up this morning was a result of a nasty storm and crazy drivers. I am unsure what it is about bad weather that makes some people decide to drive over the speed limit and take chances on icy roads, but in front of the house, a pick-up truck sideswiped a logging truck and both vehicles slid off the road into the ditch.

What a mess, and it is doubtful that the passengers in the pickup truck survived very long. The logging truck didn’t have much damage to it, but the driver looked quite shook up.

It has been raining, windy, drizzling and snowing in the last few days. The roads are flooded and icy a bad combination. I have been trying to stay off my foot as much as possible but we have had power outtages, so sleeping is something I have been doing a lot of.

I called the doctor this morning to get an antibiotic to kick this cellulitis. I was told when I explained that I had figured out what was wrong with me (and four doctors had completely mis-diagnosed me- that “you are not capable of self-diagnosing yourself!” Right- and THEY are? Finally after a lot of arguing, I got them to phone in a prescription for me. I started taking it this morning. It’s not as strong as I believe I need, but at least it is something!

Riley’s water park also masquerades as a pet fountain. He is a tuxedo kitty who is fascinated by the bubbles that the pet fountain creates. He lies on his side and stretches his paw up under the cascade of water until he tips over the reservoir (which thankfully comes tightly capped). Once he has the container tipped over, he loses sight of the magic bubbles. The rubber hose that attaches to the pump also becomes dislodged and blows air into his face. I think it tickles his whiskers because he does a lot of rubbing his face with his paw.

Then he slaps the water much like a toddler would stomp through a mud puddle. Water splashes everywhere! His idea of helping me clean-up? Lick his paws delicately until he has satisfied his thirst.

By this time the kittens have discovered Lake Riley and they are sliding around the floor doing their own interpetation of body surfing. Clambering up on the dining room table, Shimmer jumps down into the middle of Lake Riley splashing her brothers and sisters in the process. Before they can retaliate, she dashes underneath the dining room chair to hide.

They have a grand old time and they just ignore me until I grab the mop to do clean-up. Then it is an E-Ticket ride for Panic as she climbs on board the mop head and goes for her ride, courtesy of Riley’s water park.

One of the latest arrivals keeps vomiting. It’s the polydactyl male and I’m not sure why he keeps vomiting. He has tested negative for all the known infections, he has been dewormed and deflead safely. He seems to only throw up in the evening after I put everyone to bed. I am wondering if it is a new virus or if it is an allergy to the food? I have him secluded in the cat room with only water available, I gave him 1/3 of a tab of Pepcid and he promptly returned it to me- poor kitty…

Charlie has stopped gurgling. I talked to Dr. Vickie today about this reoccuring problem and she believes because he had such a rocky start, he may just do this for quite awhile. She called in more medicine for him so he is back on the zithromax and he is still getting his lysine. Although I still have pain medication available, that he is not getting,