How many bad words I know, because I am so tempted to spew a few right now!

I just returned from the vet with Axle (who is groggy but doing okay) There was a cat carrier on my front porch. I said to myself- “Did I leave that there?”

As I approached, I heard the most pitiful meow. I put one carrier down, picked up another and I am staring into the golden eyes of a black cat!

Now, we have the Black Plague in the house. So I am wondering if somehow Mike let one of the boys out and managed to get him into a carrier and that was all-

I go into the house to question Mike who has no idea what I am talking about. I show him the carrier and he just scratches his bald head in confusion…..sigh….

So now, I have had to trounce Tandem and Axle out of the bedroom and put this new guy there instead. At least he is neutered! I put him about 2 years old thereabouts. Right now, he is hiding under the bed. Is it unlucky to have black cats, or is it unlucky to have 13 black cats?

Today, Axle gets neutered. Tandem is doing well. She gave me a fright yesterday when she got home. They told me she was “groggy” so when I opened up the carrier in the bedroom to put her in the large cage, she ran out- leaped for the bed and missed! She fell flat on her back then vanished under the bed for a few hours before I could finally get her and put her into isolation for a bit.

She seems fine though- I suspect if she were older, it would be a different story but kittens are resilent.

Kismet’s new owner asked me to have them microchip her. I told her I wasn’t paying for that and she said it was okay, she would pay me. The problem is, she isn’t going to pay me anytime soon. Oh well- at least I know that Kis is in a great home with lots of people to love on her. She is even getting used to the little yappy dog they have.

In just a few days, Kismet (whose new family is so thrilled with her) and Tandem will be spayed. They just turned 6 months old and unfortunately, there are no “forward thinking” vets in this area who would spay at 2 pounds like so many others across this country are now doing.

So I suspect that Tandem and Kismet will be feeling a bit punky for a few days, but it is all for the greater good of no more unwanted kittens in his area walking this world.

One only needs to visit the local shelter or take a glance through Craigslist to see how many kittens there are desperate for loving homes.

The other day, I stood in line for three hours waiting for the shelter to open so I could get the coveted spay certificates. Last time, they were able to give out four per family- not so on this round where they could only give out two. But Hailey was kind enough to answer my distress call and she met me there and got two more for me. So now, all the latest- and the last kittens will be spayed and my life as an active rescuer of baby kittens draws to a close. I might still do the older ones if I am able to find loving homes for Shasta and Tyson. The last family interested in both of the kittens turned out to be a bust. They decided to go with a pitbull puppy instead. I won’t put a cat or kitten into a home with a pit not around here. The pits owned in this area are owned for generally only one use- to be tough and walk around with yale locks and heavy chains on their necks. It is both sad and insane.

Shasta has bonded with me completely. She rarely lets me out of her sight and she likes to wrap herself around my hand at the most inconveinent times (like right now for example) But she is a sweet purrsonality and somewhere out there, there is a home with her name on the front door.

One of the girls at work is quite ill. Her entire left side has been numb for days and she has been suffering from these horrendous headaches. For Nancy to miss any work at all is surprising as she is a tough lady- so I know this might be quite serious. She said even the left side of her tongue is numb and she can’t feel her teeth on that side of her mouth! She has had on MRI to rule out MS and she goes in on Monday to see a specialist. I am hoping it is just a pinched nerve. Kathi was all stressed out about it when I went to work yesterday. Apparently at the first hospital (one with a horrible reputation of getting things wrong) Nancy’s girls were told by an ER doctor that Nancy probably did have MS! Her girls are young teenagers and they freaked. But I told Kathi to try and remember that this same hospital told me a few months ago that I had a hairline fracture of the ankle-and instead, I had cat scratch fever. If it wasn’t for my extra research on the Internet (as I watched my ankle get progressively worse every hour) I might not be here today. I went to WebMD and started looking and put two and two together fairly quickly. But not quick enough to stop the poison from spreading up my leg almost to my knee. I called my doctor, got some strong antibiotics and recovered. The hospital sent me the bill for the Urgent Care visit and received a harsh letter in return. They waived the amount but they did tell me that self-diagnosis is dangerous! Apparently not as dangerous as overworked, underpaid and under-educated ER doctors! So when I told Kathi all of this, she calmed down a lot and it turned out that MS has been ruled out.
So I have been working long shifts and getting little sleep because Mike is also quite ill. I have to go in at 8 this morning and work till 7:30 when all I want to do is curl up on my sofa with my kitties and sleep.
Well, looks like it is time to wrap this up. I have several litter boxes to scoop before getting ready for my shift.

I can’t wait for next weekend and the Women of Faith Conference in Portland. I need to get away even for just a few days.