Let's Try This Again

As I sit at my computer, with a kitten-sized Abyssinian cat tucked into my shirt, I realize I really do have stories to tell. Each day brings new material. One day it will be Boo! (4 pound, kitten-sized Aby cat, whose name just demands an exclamation point) who has pushed a rather heavy lizard "cave" off the shelf, causing it to lose a significant chunk out of its cave self.

Dash

Boo!

Tiny but Mighty, Boo! - spends a lot of time
tucked into my shirt. No, I'm not buxom -
that's all her. Also, I have no pride!

Dash and Boo!'s obsession

The next day it will be that Boo! and her partner in crime/brother/another Aby are chasing each other across the kitchen countertops; knocking things down and trying to hide stuff (a large bag of dinner rolls) behind the small tv which sits on the counter. Today, well just this morning, it was the drama surrounding the toad both Dash and Boo!, plus a few of the other kitties in residence, held captive. (More on that in a bit.)

Whole crew minus Fancy, who used to climb
real trees and thinks this is stupid.

All in all, it is an interesting household. If you are just joining me, my husband and I live in Florida with two Bullmastiffs (Jack and Rooney); six cats (Eli - Ragdoll/Chief; Fancy - Tuxedo feral turned housecat/my soulmate;

Fancy - my feral/houseruler, soulmate

 

Finn - Ragdoll/angelcat; Chance - Ragdoll/silly boy; Dash - gorgeous red Abyssinian and last but never least - Boo! - our teeny, tiny ruddy Aby who pretty much rules the house.

Finn - our angel cat

Chance - cutie pie

Dash - whose "deer in headlights" look coincided
with the arrival of his sister!

Boo! and all things Beardie. She loves
the crickets in a box!

Oh, and I can't forget Roxy the bunny and Copper/Bennett (my granddaughter named him Copper but he prefers Bennett) - my Bearded Dragon whom I adore! That's about it. Unless I find the one-eyed hamster still at the pet store when I go there in a bit. If he is still without a home, he will have one today.

Roxy the Rescued Rabbit

My love, Bearded Dragon, Copper/Bennett

As you can imagine, there is a lot of activity going on. The level of which was ramped up when the Abys arrived. Ragdolls are fairly Zen - just shy of mimicking fuzzy slippers. Bullmastiffs are couch potatoes. At 180# and 157# respectively, it's a good thing, too. When they do get a burst of energy, furniture and rugs goes flying. We have had to push the couch back into the family room from the kitchen many times. Abys are on a different plane entirely.


Jack - our gentle giant

Rooney - Daddy's Girl

I'm rather a newbie when it comes to living with cats. Eli was my first, going on eight years now (yikes!) At the time I promised him he would be the only cat. I lied. He reminds me of my betrayal on a daily basis. With each new arrival, he has gotten grumpier and grumpier until he now looks like Gollum. Poor guy.

Grumpus Eli
We love him anyway

I was living in a Fool's Paradise with my laid-back crew. Then out of the blue, I had to have an Abyssinian. My friend the Ragdoll breeder, who knows I am a novice with cats, just shook her head and said, "Good luck."

 

What no one told me was that I would have to put all valuables away. I mean away, away, because there is no place high enough (we have twelve foot ceilings); not even hanging something on a wall will protect it. This I learned with the Christmas wreath that lasted about three hours.

At first, my husband and I would hear a crash; jump and yell, "What was that!???" Now, we are so used to crashes and bangs and what-nots we just calmly check for blood or shards of glass or ceramic; clean up any messes and go back to whatever we were doing at the time. I am proud to say I have not had to turn to medication to calm my nerves.

Needless to say, I am merely the servant around here. I am happy in my role. All of the kitties are indoor only - even the reformed feral - but they get to enjoy the "outdoors" inside of our pool screen enclosure.

I have a soft spot for reptiles as well, so I do a perimeter search before letting them out and remove all lizards and toads who managed to get inside. I missed a tiny toad this morning. Now, if I can stop them, I will not let the kitties kill or eat any lizards or toads. This poor toad looked like a goner; upside down and curled into a ball. Dash, Boo! and Finn were staring at it like it was a broken toy. I scooped it up and it came to life and hopped to safety. Crisis averted.

Well, there you've met us all (except for my husband who is out working to feed us all.) Oh, I have lots of stories to tell. Stay tuned and you will quickly feel very good in your nice, calm chaos-free existence. Either that or you will join me in my obsession and go out and adopt a new friend.