Someone recently asked me how many cats I currently have. I am always hesitant to tell people because the number is quite high- though not by choice. I am always afraid that someone will visualize me as the craziest of cat ladies, someone who pushes a cart around town filled to the brim with stray cats. Or that they might think my home is filled with trash, overflowing litter pans, sick kitties, and God knows what else. Nothing could be further from the truth.
So, I took a deep breath and told this woman that I have 26 cats. Then, I guess she was testing me, she asked me to name them! So another deep breath and I rattled off their names: Squirrel, Riley, Rocky, Sierra, McKinley, Taylor, Barnum, Cole, Slim, Merlin, Sharky, Frasier, Chappy, Dash, Trump, Tyler, Shasta, Mercedes, Charlie, Fiona, MK, Tandem, Axle, Slim, and Phoebe. I was out of breath when I finished and I guess she was impressed. She makes interactive toys for kitties and she is going to send me toys every month for my kitties. I was so flabbergasted.
Today was change-out litter pan day. It takes me two hours to dump, scrub, clean and spray out all the litter pans. Even though it is fall, it was a balmy 85 degrees! I was dripping sweat by the end of the chores- and the kitties, well they were so appreciative, they immediately went into each box and soiled them for me. Aren’t they sweet? LOL
Even though I was tired, I took Brook for a walk. I get too sad walking the trails, so I now take her to the dog park. There wasn’t anyone there when we got there, so we took the upper trail (which is about a half an hour walk ending at the river). When we got back to the car, there were some large breed dogs inside the park, so I took her in to see what she would do. She was great, she was tired and there were two labradoodles- beautiful boys very well behaved, a golden retriever by the name of Wilson and an Aussie named Jetta. She chased about 3 balls and then realized her legs were hurting so she quit and just laid down by me. Everyone thought she was so nice and beautiful-and she is. She would be prettier if she had her full coat- but they shaved her pretty close before we picked her up.
Her weight now is 110 pounds. I weighed her at the local feed store. They have a floor scale.
i know what mean about the number game. we currently have 10 + 3 fosters. i used to say “several,” when asked how many. then i read a symptom of a hoarder is never saying the number … so i just say it now. it truly is a gamble on what people will think. some are grossed out, some are just weirded out, and some (the good ones!) are impressed and understand my house is full of love. i do think that “hoarders” show has put a terrible image in most people’s minds …