Thursday, June 5, 2008

Summer Rerun

We all know it's summer, but summer has hit us with a blast from hell and so I am posting, for lack of a better name, a rerun. It was entitled "Crazy Cat Lady" and seemed fitting to repost it after the Hound article. It will bind me forever with quite a few other "crazy cat ladies" that I often read. So hope you'll like tonight's rendition of

Crazy Cat Lady

Here goes.
I am not sure when I became a Crazy Cat Lady. It was apparently a slow process that took over my life (and my porch, ) . I allowed myself to be talked into bringing one abandoned little stray from hell inside by my son. "I'll take care of him, feed him change his litter box..." Famous last words that any mother in America or elsewhere has heard. He was named Bela Lugosi, Bela for short. Bela spent the next year terrifying my parakeets. It got so bad that I did something really stupid. Instead of finding a home for the cat that I never really wanted, I found a home for the birds which I did (want). I think that is when the malady first took root.So it started with Bela. One day I went out on the porch and there sat a pretty little fuzzy grey cat. I am not sure where she came from, but she stayed. I warn you, feed them and they never leave. This fuzzy little grey bundle became known as Crazy Kitty. You could be petting her and she would be enjoying the comfort of affection when suddenly she would nip at your fingers or slap you while you were in mid-pet. Hence the Crazy Kitty label. She had other names, but none fit for public publication. Crazy Kitty bestowed a couple of litters of kittens on us. The porch was becoming a second home to every stray in the county. Some I found homes for, but most I just fed.Crazy Kitty disappeared one day, we never knew where. Then Jane Wayne took her place as resident queen. She walked like John Wayne and bossed the other two that hung around like John Wayne. Jane was there for a couple of years, never producing any progeny and we were down to two cats. One day I watched as Jane walked across the roof of the house bringing with her a kitten. We were never quite sure where she had kidnapped the, what turned out to be two, youngsters from, but they definitely were not hers. She raised them, tho. One we named Tommy, the other Pyewackit. Tommy was sooty black and Pye was a beautiful Siamese. Inside, we had Bela and Ariel. Ariel had been rescued from the County Camp after my husband had watched helplessly one day and two of her siblings were run over. Bela ruled the roost inside and appeared to have gone slightly mad after the death of our beloved Old English Sheepdog, Digby. While no relation to Crazy Kitty that I know of, he was definitely unhinged. I was quite happy to pack his little bag and send him off to live with his true owner, my son, at college. When Bela left for College, Pyewackit ,the Siamese, became an inside cat. Tommy ruled the outside, Pye was ruled by Ariel. We were all ruled by Ariel.Now here we are in Jefferson and the porch is once again a haven to cats. We have Wonky and CeeCee who apparently lived here before we did. We have the three kittens whose mother Midge was killed by dogs. There is Baby the big grey and white cat. Bat Girl and Peanut Butter are mostly outdoor cats who sleep inside at night. After bestowing us with two litters of kittens, they have had their little operations and just run roughshod over all of them , now. One day we noticed a big black cat with a white bib standing back waiting to eat. He is since known as Big Purty. The grey tiger cat that showed up we call Stranger. Suffice it to say there are no shortage of cats here. Of course they help to keep the population of snakes and rats down, too. I guess you would say they earn their keep. The other night we noticed two opossums on the porch eating cat food while the cats stood by and let them. I hope this doesn't become a trend. I don't want to be known as the crazy opossum lady.

18 comments:

Pam said...

So funny. I wonder where the heck she got those kittens? How intuitive though that she picked them up and took care of them.
I can relate to the crazy cat lady business. I think cats follow us now matter where we are ;)

Adla said...

Hi Sandi,

My apologies for missing in action.we have been moving slowly to the new place and doing all the necessary sprucing. Oh yes and I am expanding, none of my clothes seem to fit and I feel like a wobbly humpty dumpty which in return has made me succumb to LAZINESS! not normal right? need to get back to blogging , boo hoo hoo, someone help me!!! Wonder how those cats manage with their litter! I'd like to have a cat but the hubby is like allergic so there goes my want! I'll just have to enjoy the stories of the Crazy Cat Lady for now and pretend that one from the bunch is mine:) Thanks for catching up.

chat soon, Adla

Sam Fox said...

Felt like a good read, tuned into Holding Patterns, and as ever it delivered! Lovely tail(sic) - am sure I could easily fall into becoming a Mad Woman with Many Cats if unsupervised for too long.... xx

Hadriana's Treasures said...

I'm pretty sure that my little ones would love to have cats....but our dog would soon put paid to that! I'll come here for my cat fix I think!

Thank you for your kinds words on my blog. Much appreciated. If you ever do come back to Hadrian's Wall please get in touch and we can point out some nice places to you!

Sandy Kessler said...

someone I can identify with at last o thank goodness!!

Kari (GrannySkywalker) said...

You and Sherri have a lot in common. Megen was her instigator, though. Megen couldn't bear to get rid of a litter of kittens that one of their cats had. Then when that litter produced little furballs, she couldn't bear to part with them, either. And on and on it went...until Sherri's house became thick with cats. You couldn't even step outside without being swarmed. Crazy indeed. She was having them spade and neutered, but couldn't keep track. She'd take 4 in to have them fixed and 4 more would get pregnant. I like a cat or two, don't get me wrong. But when they become an army capable of overrunning the fort, so to speak, it's time to do something. ha! I don't know how Sherri's army is doing (size wise) these days, but at least you still have few enough to name. If you find yourself calling them by description (you know, like "Hey Mac! Get that cat with the bent ear and 3 toes off the front porch!") SEEK HELP. lol

Love ya'll,
Sissy

Lib said...

Lol what a cute post!:o)
I think the wildlife,strays tells each other to come to our place they'll find food and Love.lol
Have agreat day!
Blessins',Lib

PAT said...

Ahhh Sandi, thank you some much for the sunshine, you've added to my morning!

No cats here, except for next door Cat About Town Roscoe. I always call him that, even though his name is just plain ol' Roscoe. He and Molly are buddies. She loves to chase him...well...she runs up to him and he rolls over! So much for the chase. He's a big gray and white fluffy cat. He wanders the woods down by the creek once in awhile. He loves to sit on our window ledges and take naps in the back porch chairs. Even though dear old Roscoe views the porch as a home away from home...he hasn't helped with the mice population!

Pat

Mima said...

Did the opossoms take to you, do you see them regularly? I am a moggie girl, but just have the one as it is a very little bungalow with not much space. I would love to have more though.

Lee said...

Well, my cat crazy friend, seems that somehow, someone is keeping the number of cats under control. :) It's neat that kittenless cat found 2 babies to adopt. Good momma cat!

Doing house cleaning today and making progress. Keep thinking of me. Looks like there might be rain in our future today.

Hugs!

Vee said...

And you're still living up to your reputation, I see. Yes, I remembered this one fondly.

Unknown said...

Hi Sandi,

From one crazy cat lady to another. LOL Cats are funny creatures that for sure and they are NEVER boring and always fun to watch. Great story!!

Donna said...

I love cats and cat stories!! My Kiki passed 2 yrs ago. She was 17...miss her!hughugs

Jeanne said...

LOL cute post Sandi. Aren't kitties such little personalities. Yesterday I was online and eating supper and Noelle wanted some of my supper. It was to spicy for a little kitty tummy so no go. Well she just marched herself back and forth in front of the keyboard till I gave her something(more appropriate for her digestion). Love the little fuzz balls.

Anonymous said...

I can understand. I have always been a cat lady. I know why though. When I was a wee one the nursery worker at our church was my moms bestfriend.I stayed with her alot and she made all my clothes. She had a house full of cats. I loved her and being at her home. I never knew as a small child that she and her cats would leave an impression on my heart. My mom was allergic,but being her sweet self she let me bring one home. I have had one ever since. Usually more than one =)

Anonymous said...

Cats are such mysterious creatures. I was never a cat woman until I had a sudden urge nearly 6 years ago to go to our local rescue shelter and bring home Jessica. She was a boy at first but the vet put us right. Now she rules the roost.

Crystal xx

Jeff B said...

Only having four cats, I feel like I have a ways to go before the "crazy" lable will apply.

You sound like quite the softy.

Jamie Dawn said...

Jane Wayne - I LOVE that name!

:-)