The Battle of Shiloh

Sometime early last week, in the midst of feeding "white kitty", I noticed a new patron of our cat cafe.  First she was "gray kitty" and then "kinda fluffy gray kitty" and, soon enough, "wonder if she's pregnant gray kitty".  She didn't honestly look all that pregnant but, after she decided I was worthy of her trust (and her company), I could feel tiny little kitty bodies in her belly.  She was incredibly active and liked to jump to the balcony from the ground (at least 3 times her length) so I figured we had a few weeks to either figure something out for what would happen or that whomever she belonged to would notice she was too far along to keep letting her roam free.

Sure enough, when I went to do my chef duties at the cafe earlier this week, I realized that I wasn't seeing her anymore.  The Awesome Boyfriend confirmed that he wasn't seeing her either.  Two days went by and no pregnant gray kitty appeared.  "Good", I said to myself, "she's being taken care of and soon will be a mother.  How sweet.  I'm glad I could help out while she was outside."

While I was getting routine errands done around town, I stumbled across a sale of small warm blankets and purchased two of them, figuring that at some point this winter, maybe a make-shift den would be appreciated at the cafe and I'd use these to soften it up and provide a little warmth.

On Friday, I was in the living room and glanced out the side window ... and there, very slowly and pretty unsteadily walking towards our home, was no-longer-pregnant gray kitty.

And so the battle began.

Since Shiloh, as we've decided to call her, found us once again, we've slowly (and very cautiously) started to become a family ... humans and cat.  We, of course, already have a terrific feline to attend to and, over time, it will be up to the primary cat if we extend our pet count to two.

What we do know is that Shiloh is horribly under weight, tremendously tolerant of humans, and a little overwhelmed by the amount of change she's experienced in the past 48 hours.  We managed to find someone to take care of her surviving kittens (which Shiloh was too malnourished to care for), and she's been to her first vet appointment so that we could get her fever under control and have her tested for any issues, which save for dehydration, seem to be few.  In the short time she's been allowing us to care for her, she's already showing dramatic improvement and we hope she continues to let her body recover.

So, to whomever is reading this, allow me the pleasure of introducing Shiloh.

She's still fighting her battle (so she's not looking all that happy here), but we're fighting right along side of her and doing all we can to give her what she needs to not just survive but to really recover.

We hope she does.

Positive Energy

You know at least one person like this.  The "every cloud has a silver lining" person.  The "always look on the bright side, never let 'em get you down, tomorrow is another day, every closed door has an open window, the sun will come out tomorrow" type.  The seemingly always happy person.

They probably annoy you.  Even though they aren't causing you any actual harm, there are days when you'd REALLLLY like to tell them to get real.

How do I know this?  I am that person.

Which is *not* to say that I'm not moody.  I have my very dark days, too - TRUST me on this.  But those days are the exception.  I've noticed as I get older that I'm far more inclined to find the good in things.

Did your car breakdown?  At least it happened during the day.
Didn't get the news you wanted from your dentist?  Well now you can prepare for what's ahead of you.
Got passed up for that job?  Start on Plan B and I'll bet ya' the phone will ring with good news soon.

Yesterday, someone I don't know really rained all over my spirits.  If I weren't flu-ish and had a more focused brain, I woulda asked them who had peed on their cereal.

So - on behalf of all of us perpetually "things aren't so bad" people - let me ask a favor.  When you meet us, when we show you our personality, when you see that we're acting on a good impulse, try not to crush us with all your doom and gloom.

We KNOW the reality.  We realize how the real world works.  Crap happens.  Horrible stuff occurs every day to every one.  Even us.  We're just trying to get through as best we know how, and sometimes being positive takes all the energy we have.

So, if you have nothing positive to contribute, kindly shut the fuck up and just have a nice day.

Whoa, White Kitty (Bam-ba-lam)

Over the past several months, the Awesome Boyfriend and I have noticed a fully-grown, perfectly snow white cat hanging around.  She ... no, we don't KNOW if the cat is a "she" but that's how we refer to her ... it ... the cat.) Anyway she seems to live under the neighbors stairs, and finds shelter at the base of a HUGE pine tree in the front yard.  She is very, very timid, 'tho I don't think she's completely wild.  She likes to hunt in the backyard, and because of her coat, we can see her in the very dark nightfall, bounding about among the leaves and whatnot.

Tabby, our cat, sees her from time to time, too.  We know this because she'll bound from sitting on the back of the sofa in the living room to sitting on the trash container in our kitchen, and when I try to relax her and remind her that she's the queen of this household, she'll grumble at me.  Tabby knows.  She realizes that I'm a sucker for animals.  Especially animals who have lost their faith in human-kind.  She sees me leave with another can of food, or the container of dry cat food that we shake to get her attention, and Tabby realizes that I won't be satisfied with just feeding this interloper.

It'll start that way, 'tho.  It already has.  I feed "white kitty" (we haven't found the right name yet) at least twice a day.  Sometimes I just walk over and give her fresh water, and a lot of times I just wanna see if she's around.  It's a very slow process, trying to gain an animals trust.  You can't make sudden movements or loud noises.  You can't push your way in - you need to be invited.

But today was a milestone morning.  I couldn't get back to sleep after the Awesome Boyfriend left for work, so I started my day earlier than usual.  It was still dark when I went to the coffee shop, and I didn't want to startle "white kitty" if she was sleeping on the porch, so I decided to feed her when I got back.

It was lighter out when I returned, so I started off with the container of crunchies towards the porch.  "White kitty" was sitting on the railing, and when I shook the container to get her attention, she looked right at me.  I said good morning in a low voice and slowed my pace, to allow her time to hide under the stairs, as she typically does.

I dropped a few crunchies at the stairs, left a small pile on top of the table, another small pile on the railing where she'd just been, and refilled her container near the front door.  And then I sat down on the bench on the corner of the porch.

She peaked out from the stairs and I told her that I wasn't gonna try anything stupid.  She very hesitantly (but quickly) ate up the kibble on the stairs, and then looked at me as if to say "I'm trusting you here - don't blow it", and very very hesitantly she moved towards her bowl.  Which wasn't all that far away from my feet.

I didn't make eye contact with her - I wanted her to feel like she was undetected - and she started eating.  We sat there for a while, maybe 10 minutes or so, during which she'd eat for a bit, and then sneak a glance at me, and then she'd return to eating.

Anyway, it was a major victory for us both.  I respected her boundaries and she gave me a shot at being trusted.

Tabby has nothing to worry about.  It will be at least a few seasons - if ever - before I'm allowed to pet "white kitty", let alone asking her if she wants to come indoors.  But we both made progress today.

**********

(Thanks to the Awesome Boyfriend for the title of today's babble.  It's what he says whenever I say anything about "white kitty".)