Category: Pets

Suspense at Doright Manor

Occasionally I have delusions of grandeur, but I’m never fooled into believing they’re anything other than delusions. I’m not a brave woman. Tonight was proof of that.

I returned home to a dark, empty house after an afternoon at the movies and some heavy-duty window shopping. Studly Doright wasn’t yet home, and I didn’t expect him to return for several more hours. As usual I parked my car in the garage and walked around the car to the door. 

Before opening the door I heard a beep-beep-beeping sound. Carefully I turned the knob and edged the door open. The entry alarm was going off. We’ve lived at Doright Manor for a year and a half and the alarm has never even peeped. Slowly I backed away, shut the door, and retreated to my car.

I’m not going to lie, my hands were shaking as I dialed 911 while simultaneously backing the car out of the garage. The operator was professional, and thorough, and didn’t sound like she thought I was being a paranoid idiot.

Then I had to wait. Outside. In the dark. Okay, I had my lights on high beam, but the dark outside of that bright halo seemed particularly threatening. I called Studly and told him all that had transpired. As we talked I noticed my phone battery was on the verge of going dead and hoped that wasn’t a bad omen. Signing off, I felt utterly alone.

By the time the officer arrived, a seemingly endless twelve minutes after I initially called 911, I was convinced that I should sleep in my car until Studly got home. Hey, it’s a small SUV, I could get comfy in there.  As long as I didn’t have to use the restroom I’d be ok, right?

The second Deputy Perkins appeared I felt immense relief. He and I approached the back door and could hear the incessant beeping. My heart was thumpety-thumping, providing a nice rhythm section for the alarm. 

I turned on the light just inside the back door and with trepidation walked to the flashing alarm, expecting it to read something along the lines of “Danger, Danger, Run for Your Life!” Instead, the words Power Outage were displayed in large LED letters. 

Sheepishly I grinned at Deputy Perkins, “Honestly, sir, we’ve had disruptions in power before and they’ve never set off the alarms.” 

To his credit, and the credit of his entire department, he was so understanding, and if he thought me crazy he had the decency not to say so out loud.

He also insisted on going through Doright Manor room by room to make sure no one was hiding there. Thankfully all he found were the two cats who were both fairly frazzled from having listened to the annoying alarm for heaven knows how long. One had expressed her displeasure by puking on a bathroom rug. 

Now I’m sitting here sipping wine and contemplating the excitement of my evening. I’m still fairly filled with adrenaline from the fright. I know I’ll crash soon, but until then I’ll be doing something constructive. Like having more wine.

 

Patches has assured me she’s ready to serve and protect.
 
Peace, people!

Tiny Kitten Third and Final Update

Cake, the tiny kitten I helped rescue from a Tallahassee storm drain, wasn’t in the feral hold room at Tallahassee Animal Services when I checked in for my volunteer stint yesterday afternoon. I have to admit my heart was sinking as I pondered the possibilities. 

She was so small and weak, and having lived in a storm drain her entire three or four weeks of life, might have contracted a disease. 

I couldn’t locate a veterinarian right away, so I hurried back to the cat kennels to assist potential adopters and to take care of the resident cats, but Cake was very much on my mind.

I couldn’t help but notice that there are a couple of adult cats who have been at TAS since I started volunteering there almost two months ago:

Nancy is a sweetheart. She’s calm and gentle and would be a terrific family pet. The staff estimates her age at 7 years, making her eligible for the reduced senior adoption fee.

 

Nancy–notice her Harry Potter-ish lightning bolt.

Another handsome adult cat is Goldie.  He loves attention and is a playful guy. Goldie is only one year old, but he’s a big boy who needs a home to run around in for exercise! 
 
Goldie is an attention getter.
 
After I’d had an opportunity to do some actual work I went in search of a vet. Fortunately I soon came across a young man who’s been really helpful in the past and asked him if he’d seen the little mostly black kitten that had been brought in on Tuesday, and if so did he know its fate.

To my immense relief he said that the kitten checked out and was in surprisingly good shape considering her shaky start in life. He said she was now at the Humane Society where she’d be available to adopt as soon as she gained some weight. 

I might’ve blubbered something like, “thank you, thank you!” before heading back to the kennels. 

Remember folks, adopt, don’t shop! There are so many adoptable pets who would welcome the chance to join your family.

Peace, people!

  

Tiny Kitten Second Update

Sweet rescue kitten Cake and I drove across Tallahassee this morning to find her a safe haven. First we headed to the Humane Society where Cake was a big hit and everyone had to come oooh and ahhhh over her. 

Because she was feral and so tiny they recommended I take her to Tallahassee Animal Services to be checked over. If they couldn’t keep her there the Humane Society would pick her up this afternoon after the veterinary staff at TAS had a look at her. 

My hope is that since TAS doesn’t have many kittens at this time that they’ll keep her in spite of her age. They normally don’t take in lone animals less than six weeks of age, and Cake appears to be between three and four weeks old. If TAS keeps her I can check up on her when I volunteer tomorrow afternoon. 

I left Cake with the blanket she’d been swaddled in as well as with a fuzzy toy she had cuddled with through the night. Her bright little eyes watched me with great interest as I kissed her goodbye. I should have called her Heartbreaker instead of Cake. Dammit.

Tiny Kitten Update

  

Tiny kitten Cake, who was rescued yesterday from a Tallahassee storm drain, is doing well this morning. Through the night I checked on her and made sure she had been drinking her kitten formula, but at some point the little stinker found the strength to jump out of the box to go exploring her wider surroundings–our garage. 

Of course my first thought was that she might’ve climbed into one of the wheel wells of my car, but no Cake. I searched under Studly Doright’s car. No Cake. When Studly joined the search we found her cowering between a set of spare golf clubs and our long unused exercise bike. 

She was pretty weak, so I held her and fed her a bit of sugar water from a dropper before giving her the kitten formula. After that Cake perked up and she mewed for the first time before settling into my lap for a purring nap. 

I asked Studly before he left for work what we should do if she’s too young for the shelter to take her in. The old softie said, “She might have to come back here until she’s old enough.” 

We don’t need another cat. We don’t. Period. 

Tiny Kitten 

I was out and about enjoying my birthday, shopping and using my birthday coupons–Chico’s, Ulta, Sephora–all the good places, when I came across a young woman looking as though she’d fallen on the sidewalk. I hurried over to see if she needed help. She did, but not the kind I’d imagined. 

She was on her stomach peering over the edge of the sidewalk and risking decapitation every time a car sped by because she’d found a tiny kitten venturing into traffic, and subsequently discovered its siblings living in a storm drain.

Alex

Other passerby stopped to help. We rounded up a large box from Bed, Bath, & Beyond and a blanket from my car. I walked over to PetSmart and got some kitten milk and a bowl. The brave little kitten came to us immediately, and we put him in the box, but the other four were cowering as far away as possible.

One member of our group called the animal shelter. They promised to dispatch an animal control officer, but said it might take awhile. I assured everyone that I’d stay until someone came to pick up our little guy, and that if no one showed up I’d take him home for the night.

Reluctantly everyone went their separate ways, having classes or jobs awaiting them, and I was left babysitting the kitten in the box and watching for one of the others to make an appearance.

A number of folks stopped to visit and to coo at the kitten, who by this time I’d dubbed Alex. I figured that would work for either a boy or a girl. But after an hour, no one from the shelter came to our aid.

I was just about to pack Alex into my car when a young woman came down my way and fell in love with Alex. She wanted him/her, but had to get her brother’s approval. After a quick call to him and an ok, she prepared to take Alex home–on the bus! I squelched that pretty quickly and told her I’d give her a ride home. I was relieved that I wouldn’t need to care for a kitten.

However, while we were standing there gathering up Alex and his meager possessions someone (yes, me) kicked the kitten milk over and another of the tiny kittens was lapping it up and inching our way. So intent was this little one on the trail of milk that I scooped him up and had him in the box before he could even mew. Yep, it looked like I was going to have an overnight guest after all.

This one appears to be the runt of the litter. She’s completely black and so hungry. I’ve got her snuggled down in the box with a blanket and kitten milk. I am not keeping her, but since I found her on my birthday, I’m naming her Cake. 

 

Cake

Please wish us success tonight. She is very weak. 

Peace, People! 

I Tawt I Taw a Pudding Cat

  
Pudding is a beautiful Siamese-mix female with a sweet disposition. The staff at TAS believe she is about a year old. She gets a lot of attention at Tallahassee Animal Services, but the right person hasn’t come along yet.

Yesterday Pudding and I had a long talk. It went something like this:

Me: Hey Pudding baby, what’s going on?

Pudding: Well, I’m still here. In this (sniff) kennel, so how do you THINK it’s going?

Me: I’m sorry. That was really insensitive of me.

Pudding: That’s ok. You’re only human. 

Me: True.

Pudding: Listen, would you remind people that cats need homes. I hear people ooh and ahh over all these kittens. Can’t they see I’m worth oohing and aging over, too?

Me: oooooh! Aaaaaaah!

Pudding: (Sniff) Not you silly. REAL people. You’re a volunteer. Unless of course you want to take me home….

Me: (backing away from the kennel) Gotta go Pudding–I’ll steer people your way.

Pudding: Chicken!!! Bok bok bok!

Pudding really is adorable! And she’s ready to be oohed and aahed over!

Remember, adopt, don’t shop! Visit your local shelter today.

Peace, people!

Cat Dancing

I am a dancer. 

I am a dancer in the same sense that I am a writer. 

I dance, but no one pays me for my efforts.

I dance, and sometimes people laugh.

I dance even when no one is watching.

I dance just because I can.

My cats are puzzled by my dancing, though, whereas they are completely oblivious to my writing.

Often I dance on the soft, faux fur rug in front of the flat screen tv in our den. The rug tickles my soles and cushions my steps.

This same rug is the cats’ favorite spot to curl up for a nap on a sunny afternoon, so my dance steps must be careful lest I squish one of my best friends. I like a little danger in my dance.

The truth is they could move at any time, yet they choose to be part of my choreography. I could dance elsewhere, but then my feline audience would be deprived of my display of grace and natural rhythm. I really am gifted.

Just ask the cats.

by Burton Silver

Badger

At Tallahassee Animal Services there’s an adult male cat named Badger. He’s the sweetest guy and loves to be snuggled and groomed. But Badger has only one eye, so people barely pause by his kennel. 

Sometimes they look in, but I’ve not seen one person ask to take him out and hold him. Of course I’m only at the shelter for a couple of hours each week. I fervently hope that he gets some attention when I’m not there.

I’ve begun taking him out of his kennel at the beginning of my shift and again before I leave. We talk. I tell him my problems and he listens like a pro. He, on the other hand, never complains. But he does wink, and you know a girl enjoys a good wink.

Badger is an easygoing guy with a sweet personality. He’d make a fine companion. 

 

Showing his best side.
 
Remember, don’t shop, adopt!