Cat Hoarder by Default

. . . or maybe that's "cat herder." Whatever. Anyhow, I can relate to this video:



A few months ago, I had only five cats—the four regulars (who come in for the night) and one peripheral cat (who's sort of autistic and who prefers to spend nights under a boxwood). Then a black and white cat invaded the garage and ripped up garbage bags. I thought that cat—who wouldn't let me near her—had moved on. Turns out the cat merely moved to the shed.

Meanwhile, Olivia appeared and took up residence on the deck where she lived for a couple of weeks before I could even touch her. Because she was in such bad shape, I took her to the vet. We discussed getting her spayed when her respiratory problems got better. She was a sweet cat, so I figured one more small cat couldn't make much difference.

Meanwhile, the regulars formed a committee and held meetings every afternoon under the maple tree to determine policy for dealing with the newcomers. They unanimously decided to ignore the interlopers. Olivia petitioned the regulars for full cat membership, but they refused to recognize her existence. However, the tall, thin black and white cat who came every once in a while to beg for food at least acknowledged Olivia.

Meanwhile (yeah, I'm being repetitive with all the meanwhiles), the black and white cat—who'd gained a surprising amount of weight—suddenly became thin again. But I didn't see any kittens around. I figured she must have gifted someone else.

Meanwhile, Olivia turned out to pregnant and had kittens in the garage. And then hid them. Several times.

Meanwhile, I started catching fleeting glimpses of black and white kittens darting into the shed between the shop and the tack room. Three beautiful kittens. All as wild as their mama. I started feeding Twiggy (yeah, I named her) at the shop.

Twiggy (This is about as close as I can get to her.)

Meanwhile, the kittens would sometimes peek around at me, but they wouldn't pose for a picture. Now I've got them eating near the Have-A-Heart Trap. If I can get Twiggy to Planned Pethood for a little elective surgery. . . .

Meanwhile, I called Planned Pethood a few days ago and left a message and my phone number. I'm still waiting for them to call me back.

Meanwhile. . .


Every morning I transport the kitten herd via basket from the garage to the patio. Every evening I take the herd back to the garage.

Chloe (who really does look like she's been assembled of spare cat parts) is the most adventurous of the bunch. She's my favorite.


Lucy, another patchwork cat, is almost as adventurous as her sister.

Jim-Bob and Jessica tend to stick together. I'd like to see them find a good home together.

Meanwhile, kittens are running all over the place. It's hard to keep the herd together. Maybe I should saddle up Melody or Cupcake.

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