Brian brought the big crate home yesterday, so I guess its time to try to get OC. I am not looking forward to this at all. But I think its OC's best chance at a good life. But I am really curious to see if he and Lonee and Red remember one another.

Bobby has been surprising the heck out me. First, he started climbing up into a cat bed from the arm of the couch. Not just once or twice, but often. Then, yesterday, he went outside. We keep the garage door open to the side yard (the door with the catflap) and air out the garage, where all of the litter boxes are. The door is propped open with a very heavy cat condo and a child gate is put across, from the freezer to the bench, about a foot and a half back from the open door. This leaves enough room for the cats to go around the gate on the bottom (there is a shelf and open storage below that), and back into the garage if they don't feel like jumping over it. Well, Bobby can't jump. He really just kind of hops on his back leg or drags it at other times. Imagine my surprise when I saw him laying on the concrete outside by the door. Wow!!! Look at Bobby!!! It was really nice. He thought he didn't know how to come back in, but I showed him. Then he went back out. I hope this means he's feeling better. I've been giving him junk food (Purina and some CostCo brand) and he likes it. I think he's eating more and that's gotta help him a little bit. And he always loved laying in the sun. Its really nice to see him back out there.

june 24, 1998 Well, we caught him. We now have nineteen cats. I took the trap over to Gail's late afternoon and left it on her porch with a couple of cans of sardines. She called me around nine and said she had it set. I asked if she had covered it, she answered no, and I told her that it would be a good idea because the cat doesn't try so hard to get out. She said she had a good feeling about this, but I kind of felt like, well, if its meant to be, he'll go into the trap. If not.... Anyway, she called a little after ten last night. Got him. She said he was really scared. I asked her about how he looked and about his ear (OC's had the tip clipped when he was neutered) and she said it wasn't clipped. Which means that this guy isn't OC. Which means that OC isn't around anymore. We've only had the one orange/red cat in the neighborhood for a while now. We're going to keep him, anyway. I'm calling the vet as soon as they open to see if there will be a problem bringing him in today to get fixed, tested and vaccinated. When I pick him up, he'll easier to deal with if he's still under the effects of anesthesia.

Well, I'm shaking like a leaf right now. It is OC. And he is pissed. So, I'm going to leave him alone in the office for now. I tried to get him into the crate from the carrier and it didn't work. He went nuts. He's in a position now that can't be too comfortable.

Its a little later and he is calming down just a teeny bit. He moved from the photo above, which is good because now I get can to the computer with bothering him. (I'm sure if he could talk to me he would let me know that my mere existance is an extreme problem to him right now). His poor nose is red and bloody from where he tried to get out of the trap and I'm sure his running up the walls here in the office didn't help. And I am so afraid that he might have reinjured himself from when he was hit by the car. I kept telling myself that if we caught him, it was meant to be. And now I'm filled with those doubts, like every new catowner is. Did I do the right thing? Will he be okay? Will the other cats be angry? All of these questions are running through my head. I look at him and he is breathing so rapidly. I'm sure that he's thirsty and hungry, but his terror is winning out right now. He hasn't closed his eyes since he's been here. And according to Gail, he was crying all night long. Oh, how I hate feeling like this. If people were more responsible pet owners, (read that spaying and neutering) there wouldn't be so many homeless unwanted animals. If the prospective parents are fixed, they wouldn't be parents. Then their kittens wouldn't grow up to have more kittens who would grow up to have more kittens and so on and so forth. Probably if his breathing would slow down, I would feel a little better. *sigh*
And I have closed all of the doors that I keep slightly opened during the day for the cats as well as shutting the garage door. Probably not necessary, but for right now its a little peace of mind. I think that maybe his breathing is getting steadier. I just hope he's okay.

Bobby has been going outside on his own since we've been leaving the door open. The garage door is closed right now and I noticed that Bobby wasn't on the couch. I checked the garage, no Bob. I opened the garage door and looked out. Bobby navigated the catdoor!! Pretty cool. I didn't think he would be able to. I guess I was wrong. I like that.

june 26, 1998 OC is hiding well. I'm out of here when its time to get the other cats in the house. I am going to make a ritual out of feeding him soft food like I did Lonee. He isn't eating much and hasn't used the litter box yet. The litter box is coming out of the crate and so is the other stuff. Doesn't look like we'll need the crate after all. He likes the spot behind the boxes under the desk. He does try to get out at night, I hear him in here, things falling as he jumps on them. And he pees on paperwork that he has knocked to the floor. I guess it would be a good idea for me to finally do my filing. One thing I've noticed that's different from him and Lonee or Red. He doesn't run if I come into the office and he isn't hiding. He just sits and looks at me. I hope this is a positive sign.

Mickey kept me company yesterday while I was working on moving the cathouse. Every once in a while, he would want out, then start crying at the door to be let back in. Lisa came in this morning and did a thorough check of everything. Then she wanted out. Georgie came in yesterday, was very upset. I touched him to try to pick him up and put him out and he jumped, as if startled. I put him out right away and am not letting him back in for some time.

I have all of the pages from Geo up and active on Simplenet. (Look at the URL.) I'm still in the process of making the *jump* (forwarding) pages over at geo. I'm down to about 40 to go. I also have to unjoin the Geo webrings.

june 27, 1998 When I came into the office this morning, I noticed that OC had eaten quite a bit of the fancy feast and finished the CatSip (cow's milk for cats, with the lactose taken out). He also demolished a small pile of catnip I had left for him. I hope he is starting to relax. He deserves a good life. He is in a different spot right now. Probably behind an old bulletin board that's leaning up against the wall under the desk.

Rusty came with me into the office and spent a while in the chair. So, I turned on the catcam. I'll try to get the laid back cats to stay with me in the chair when I'm in here.

I added more games to ben's den.

june 28, 1998 Something wonderful I noticed about OC after I signed off yesterday...he's using the litter box. This was nice to find out. Unfortunately, he didn't use it last night. This morning when I came into the office, he had knocked a container of pens and pencils into it from on top of the filing cabinet. The pens and pencils are in the trash and the litterbox is once again ready for use.

I have some relatives coming in from Ireland this summer. Supposed to have arrived in the states yesterday and they had planned on spending a week in Nashville, to visit Graceland, among other places. Except, somebody didn't do their homework and have the tickets all reserved before they came over. They found out yesterday that its going to cost $800 a piece to fly out here from Atlanta. That's $4000. That's the end of their trip to Tennesee. I can't even believe they didn't have this all taken care of before they got here. Sheesh. So, since money is now a factor in their stay, they are coming to San Diego tomorrow. Well, we thought we had until the fourth of July to get things cleaned up around the house, like pulling weeds, etc. Guess not. I was out pulling weeds last night and again this morning at seven by the pool. I filled up three huge trashcans this morning alone from one spot by the pool. The weeds haven't been pulled since last year, I don't think. And Brian is busy finishing mom's new porch, which she *has* to have. He started on it a week ago Saturday, he and his bro worked on it during the week, and now he's gotta finish it today. My back is aching from pulling weeds and so is my neck. And my fingers really, really hurt. And there were big, gross spiders, black ones and brown ones and white ones....yuck....one was on my upper arm and I about flipped out. But this morning I was wise enough to wear socks and shoes and sweatpants and gloves. Spiders...*shudder*....

One of the neighbors told Brian this morning that a coyote was cruising last night. He said that it ran down into our yard. And none of the dogs in the neighborhood even barked.

lisaviolet is fifty something, married with no kids, takes care of lots of cats, likes taking photographs, loves Southern California weather and spends altogether too much time avoiding her responsibilities.

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