summahtime!

We're having a fun, mellow summer. We were going to go to Bend, OR next week, but we canceled and are having a "staycation" instead. This always happens to me: I'm riding the fat part of the bell curve. Everyone else is having a recession and so are we!

We did escape the worst of the smoke by spending a few days at Dillon Beach and a few days in Santa Cruz. That was nice. It was pretty awful here for a couple of weeks. But it's much better now.

OK, here's where I reveal how crazy I am. Or maybe Chris is. I guess we're co-dependents. Firstly, we went up to four cats. (!?!?!) You've met Gus and Oprah and newcomer Mimi. Now we also have Karma. Crazy, I know. But we couldn't help it, honest! Chris and I went out for a little walk after dinner the other night and she followed us home. Three times! We tried to return her to whencesoever she came, but couldn't shake her. Plus, she's really a sweetheart. Don't tell our other cats, but Karma's somehow special. Spunky yet docile.

And that's just the intro to this story of craziness. I've always heard that it's a slippery slope with cats...after the third, you're a kooky cat lady and the sky's the limit, right? Turns out, yeah. In addition to the four we call our own, within 24 hours of adding Karma, we had ten. TEN! These last six are foster kitties, but still. It's boggling.

How did this happen? The caretaker of the vacant house next door is a feral cat feeder. In the interests of neighborliness we assist with that effort. I've been waiting till we were a little better acquainted before I suggested we start TNRing (that's crazy cat lady lingo for Trap, Neuter, Release). Of course feeding cats leads to breeding cats. Somehow for the past six months we've managed to not see any kittens around. Two days ago however, just as we were taking Karma to the vet the first time, six itty-bitty teeny-weeny kitties were tottering up the neighbor's walkway. And within a few hours we had them all in our bathtub. Of course. Right? That's what anyone would do, right?

We've already found a home for one of them. Yay us. And possibly two. And, when you tell your friends this story, be sure to remind them that adopting one of these babies is the best way to get a cat. It's like the "Orphan Kitten Project" at UCD Vet School: a) they are rescue cats, so you're not contributing to the cat population by buying a "purebred" cat; b) they had three good weeks in the wild with their mom, so they are healthly and vigorous little critters; c) they are hand-raised and very socialized and people-oriented; and d) they've never been in a shelter so they are spared exposure to infectious diseases and stress.

And they are so cute! So, now you know. I'm a nut. Oh. You knew that already?