I recently re-acquired a stray cat I sheltered this past summer along with her kittens.  She was homeless and it seemed the right thing to do (even though the kittens and subsequently the room of their confinement in the basement were flea infested).   Anyway, she is back now returning from a temporary kittykat foster home while I "de-fleaed" my home.  So I have adopted her permanently into my home for Christmas and ever after.  She's spayed and had all her vaccinations and heath investigations so she's in much better shape and no more kittens (too many are euthanized as it is). The transition has been hard on her though and my dogs, especially Ruby (a mixed heritage mutt of questionable lineage) have not made her acclimatization any easier.   But help is on the way.

My younger son is coming over today. He has a cat of his own that I got him a decade ago when he got an apartment in grandview and needed companionship. She was sweet then but she's vicious now, i can personally attest. She lies in wait beneath his bed waiting patiently for any human dumb enough to venture near and leave a hand exposed like I was doing on this particular day. I got my son a new quilt and was in the process of putting it on his bed for a surprise and so my hand was between headboard and mattress, within perfect striking distance for said attack cat. She "got me" but luckily only a flesh wound, all my digits were still attached when I withdrew my hand (quickly) and I quickly determined there would be no need for a blood transfusion either. How's that for good fortune?

Anyway, he's coming over and he speaks cat language so I think with an extra two hands (hopefully not for shredding) onboard one of us will be able to distract the dogs while the other tries to commune with Marmie, the new/old kitty. She is overall a shy and gentle kitty and was an excellent mom but I will say that if you are holding her and a little yellow yapping dog suddenly appears barking and jumping about in a frenzy Marmie won't hesitate to extend her talons and use them to "sink in and push off" before she runs for cover so caution is advised.  I am not a "dumb human" - I learn from history, lol. All's fair in love and war and eluding dogs with Marmie. I took her outside one morning last summer, was carrying her for some outdoor R&R time from her mother cat duties when a neighbor's large ungainly dog who was left out unattended came charging over with intentions of who knows what and she scratched my face in her fright but only slightly so some antibiotic ointment and a couple of months time all traces of the unfortunate confrontation have finally vanished.

I did call to report the dog running at large unsupervised, something I'd seen a time or two before (and found "large evidence" of a "visit" in my white rock landscaping around the perimeter of my house - its "hard" to miss something like that) because there are small children (and kitties) in the neighborhood and damage is best contained ahead of time rather than seeking a remedy ex post facto. Anyway cleaning up that kind of evidence and reporting pets at large is probably another notch in the neighborhood border wars and skirmishes that occur intermittently in these parts.  

Incidentally, be forwarned, I rarely say in 5 or 10 words what I can stretch out to 300 hundred or more.  Just sayin'

Kitty advertures: to be continued and updated as time and circumstance permit