Shadow

"Shadow is Back"

The little feral cat is back. I learned from my neighbor, when I was scouring the block for Fancy a few weeks back, she had trapped the little guy and had him neutered. Since then she has been feeding him but said he stopped eating what she put out. I think he prefers my cuisine. Anyway, he is a beautiful cat - part short hair perhaps and definitely Siamese. Those big, blue, crossed eyes are adorable!

This is almost identical to Shadow.
Hey, its name is Shadow. Did you think I could
get it to pose for the camera?!

I have named him, Shadow, because, like a shadow, if you turn around, it's gone. Unlike Fancy, who used to call to me when I went outside, this guy may never trust me. That's okay. He's well fed and can't make baby cats. I fret over him when there's a storm but my husband was quick to point out there is enough overgrown shrubbery in this neighborhood to offer plenty of shelter.

"Emily Elizabeth the Organizer"

Speaking of clever creatures. Emily Elizabeth is hilarious! She is a little, one-eyed, fuss pot. Her habitat is organized to the tee. And everything is clearly compartmentalized. She reminds me of my best friend when I was a kid. Melinda used to be so organized it put me to shame.

In the far right front corner is her bed. Far right and back is her food. Way across the block, in the back left is where she goes potty. Separating all is the "cave" I put in there. In her mind, it is the barrier between nice and not.

Even the way she goes potty is a riot. She backs herself into the corner, then walks up the sides with her back feet so as not to get her feet dirty! When she's done, she sort of hops away; satisfied she did not get messy. Reminds me of a woman trying to use a port-a-potty!  Pretty cool for a one-eyed hamster nobody wanted.

"Dash, Boo! and the Stink Bug"

We've already pretty much determined Abys are unique. Mine are intrepid little warriors. Nothing gets past them. I forget this. Which is why I paid little attention when they were trying to tell me something was in the fireplace.

All day yesterday, both of them were fussing at the glass doors of the fireplace. They were staring at it like it was the Basilisk from Harry Potter and it was about to emerge into our living room...

I kept getting distracted and never checked. When Andy got home I asked him to look. He couldn't find anything, even with two Abys and Finn trying to help. I walked over and saw it right away - a gray colored stink bug. It was cleverly disguised as ashes from the fireplace. I gave Andy a tissue and asked him to relocate it but not hurt it. Case solved and done.

Well, not quite. When he came back in from either setting the bug free or squashing it and telling me he did, I asked him to help me while I trimmed Jack's nails. It helps to have someone distract him while I'm doing the deed. Anyway, I had no sooner begun, when Jack started to throw a fit! He was squinching up his face and violently shaking his head. Drool started pouring out of him like a crazed sprinkler. We both thought he was having a seizure.

I managed to get him outside - I mean we're talking major drool here and it was flying everywhere - and he seemed to recover. That was when Andy realized what had happened. He had not tossed the tissue in which the bug had been, and had it in his hand while he was holding Jack's face. He asked me if that could be it. I said, "Andy, it was a stink bug! Stink. Bug." They are named as such because - they stink!

While I was washing Jack's face, Andy retrieved the tissue from the trash and, sure enough, there was a telltale stain of bug juice. He got on the computer and found out Stink Bugs emit a nasty substance when threatened which, while not toxic, can be very irritating. The symptoms are excessive drooling, eye irritation and coughing. Well, there you have it.

The upshot is, Jack will never let me near his nails again.

"One More Aby Story"

Dash has been begging to go outside for a week. It has been raining and they've been housebound. Unless you count the times Dash slipped between my legs as we were letting the dogs out, only to halt in his tracks upon seeing the deluge and decided he didn't really want to be outside after all.  So, this morning was pleasant and I let them go out to the screened in pool area.

I always make a perimeter scan before letting them out, so I can catch lizards or toads before they do. Dash and Finn were too quick and they caught the big, black lizard I've been keeping an eye on. It was feisty and Finn couldn't hold on to it. That's when it made its getaway, and even I couldn't grab it. I did not see anything else, so I came in to write.

As I sat at my computer, with my back to the rest of the house, something told me to turn around. You know that thing moms and teachers have where they can sense trouble from behind. As I turned, I caught a glimpse of Dash running into the front bedroom with his head at a funny angle. I knew right away what was happening. Sure enough, there he was, crouched over, with a poor, hapless creature in his jaws. This was a smaller lizard; not the giant black one.

The look I get when I stop them from
destroying things having fun

I've learned the best technique with cats (and my husband) is to praise the effort first then lower the boom. I told Dash he was the best hunter and I would like to see what he caught. He dropped it to show me. That's when I made my move. I scooped up Dash (I've learned to not go for their prey or my fingers will pay the price) and plopped their empty food dish on top of the poor lizard. Dash looked at me with the same expression Caesar gave Brutus. Et tu, Mommy?

That's when Little Bit popped her head out from under the bed! She had been under there, watching, the whole time. She knew her brother's lizard was under there and it was fair game. That's when I had to act quickly. I grabbed the first thing I could find - an old coupon - and gently slid it under the bowl. Bowl, coupon and lizard went out front with me to the "recuperation glider." This is where I place all things caught so they can recover in peace.

Hey, I have literally nothing else to do - so I figure if I can save a life - even a teeny, tiny one - that's a good thing.


P.S. Oh, for the love of cats! I had just finished typing when I heard a low growl coming from the family room. When I went to check, there was Dash with the large black lizard in his jaws! He caught it after all!! It was mad, too! I could see its neck thing fanning out and its mouth was open, ready to chomp down. I picked up Dash and went out to the porch. The lizard was too strong for him so he had to drop it. That's when lizard and tail parted ways. I hate that. There was the poor tail, thinking it was still attached to its body - flapping around like a demented snake.

Yes, that's about right. Only picture the tail
flopping around like it's alive!
Cringe worthy, right?

My first order of business was to capture the tailless lizard and get it to safety. Upon inspection, I saw it is also missing one eye. I put him on top of the rabbit's cage and hopefully he will recover. What I'm afraid will happen is, we now have a one-eyed, tailless lizard out there, hell-bent on revenge. That would make a great movie - "Revenge of the Pirate Lizard!"

I need to get a life.....