Tae-Bo for Pets

I had lunch today with Janet, the wife of one of Dave’s co-workers (Gabe). It’s funny, we’ve hung out with them on several occasions, and I like them a lot, but it’s always been couples activities. Janet and I have never done anything that was just the two of us. We’ve had dinner at each other’s houses, we went out with them for Janet’s birthday, they came to our wedding, etc., but the husbands were always there too. So today was good because it was interesting just to sit and talk for a couple of hours, to learn a lot more about her, and to relate to someone who’s kind of in the same general life situation as I am. I think I may finally have a normal female friend here in the Northwest (as opposed to Psycho Krissy, who I don’t even talk to anymore because I can’t take the drama), and that’s a very good thing.

And thanks to Gabe & Janet, we now have plans for Halloween – there’s a funky/hippie neighborhood north of downtown Seattle where there will be a “freak parade” at midnight on Saturday night, and we’re all going. So that should be interesting. I volunteered to be designated driver, because I’m nice like that. Also because I seem to have lost the taste for alcohol over the past couple of months, I just haven’t wanted it much at all. Kind of weird, but not that unusual for me. Anyway, that is bound to be interesting.

In slightly ickier news, the other night I noticed two of our cats (Cleo & Greta) circling one of the chairs in the living room, very interested in something underneath it. Knowing it couldn’t be good, I shooed the cats away and scooted the chair over. Underneath it was a teeny-tiny baby mouse. Now, I know that my mother says that baby mice grow up into big mice, and that I should’ve just let the cats have at it and be done with it, but I’m not that cold-hearted. So I called Dave, and we got a big tupperware thing and tried to trap him under it, so I could set him loose outside. Only as soon as I lowered the tupperware, his terror-paralysis suddenly came to an end and he decided to bolt. I ended up pinning him to the floor with the edge of the container. I tried to pick him up (since I had him trapped), and he bit me. He didn’t break the skin, but it hurt, and I still had a minor freak-out about germs and rabies and whatnot. As soon as I dropped him, he took off. After I finished scrubbing my hands with large amounts of anti-bacterial soap, we found him halfway up the living room curtains (he had scaled them like a cat). So Dave used the tupperware lid to shoo him off the curtains and knock him into the container, and I ran him way out into the far part of the yard to set him loose. And as I dropped him off, I told him to have a long, happy life, and to please never come back into my house. I hope he understood me.

Oh, and more cat news: you know the stray orange kitty who comes around our house to eat our cat food but technically isn’t ours? He used to be friendly with all of our cats, but it seems that all of a sudden, our female cats are scared of him – they run from him, and won’t go outside if they see him out there. Beaumont (our one boy cat) is still buddies with him. I know the orange kitty (and yes, that’s the best nickname I’ve got for him so far – if I give him a name, then he’s sort of ours, and so help me God, we do NOT need a fifth cat) is a male because he’s pretty well “equipped”. That’s the other reason why I’m not crazy about him coming in the house – I’ve seen him spraying trees in the yard, and I really don’t want him to do that to my couch. Anyway, I haven’t got actual proof (just a couple of loud fights in the yard where I witnessed shrubs shaking but didn’t see anything), but I suspect that the reason the girl kitties are scared of him all of a sudden is because he’s trying to mount them. And our girls were fixed when they were babies, so they probably have no idea what the hell he’s doing, or they think he’s attacking them. I told Dave, “I’m not sure if it’s a full-on kitty rape situation, or if it’s just some unsolicited humping.” We later decided that Unsolicited Humping would be a great band name. Or even better, as a sign to hang outside of one’s business. Anyway, since he seems to like coming around our house regularly, I don’t know what to do about that, short of trapping the orange kitty and taking him to get snipped, or getting the girls some kitty self-defense lessons. (Meow means meow!) Any ideas? I’m sort of at a loss here.

9 thoughts on “Tae-Bo for Pets

  1. I have an Orange Kitty, too. I call him Orange Kitty and I know he’s a he because of his major jewels. My Orange Kitty comes around each morning and evening, but I don’t let him in the house – I put food out for him. I wish he weren’t so skittish.

    I know what you mean about having a female friend – how nice it can be. I would have loved to be friends with someone my age when I wasn’t working. To have someone to occasionally lunch with would have been very nice.

  2. First, I think you should name him “Unsolicited Humper.” You could call him “UH” for short. As in,

    Q: “Why is that shrub shaking and smelling strongly of pee?”
    A: “Uh…”

    Heh. Also, since you’re trapping warm-blooded creatures anyway, you could trap Orange Kitty (OK), have him neutered and re-release him. Alley Cat Allies could loan you a humane trap and most likely do the procedure for free.

    Q: Hey, girl kitties, wanna play outside without mace?
    A: OK.

    (Get it? Get it?)

    http://www.alleycat.org/

  3. I like the idea of calling him either UH or OK. And I had actually never heard of Alley Cat Allies, so thanks for the link. I'm not sure if we have access to free neutering services out here in the boonies (there's a grand total of 2 veterinarians in our "city"), but it's something to look into.

  4. and btw, think of all the unwanted baby kitties you could be saving (/preventing) if you get him fixed — i agree you should see about doing it. especially if he's attempting date rape on your girls — no need.

  5. Well, it just so happens that I am a vet tech and have worked with animals for the last 10 years so….

    Definately call one of the two vets in the city (if not both) and explain the situation that he is not yours, but currently resides on your property. Ask if there is any type of discount they will give you to neuter the cat. I’ll be honest, this is the cheapest of ANY surgeries on a cat with the drugs costing under $5! So he should offer to help you out considerably. If either of them won’t then check in Seattle-I know there are organizations already set up to offer low cost or free neutering services. Someone will help you and you would be doing a great service to the cat as being intact increases their chances of prostrate cancer as they age. Not to mention it will lower his testosterone levels and help to control any fighting or spraying. Most likely at his age, guessing by his size, spraying has become a learned behavior and he may always do it. So, an outdoor kitty will be his destiny more than likely. Although, he could come in every now and again to have some cocoa by the fire…

  6. One of my sister's neighbors is a retired vet. She used to round up stray cats and do the surgery in her kitchen sink. She doesn't do it anymore. I don't remember why, but I can imagine.

    Name him "Anaranjado," Spanish for the color orange. It's even fun to say.

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