Dear Clare,

Thank you for the homemade cat mats. I know I'm supposed to give them to the foster cats-and I will, but I had to “test drive” one on my cats first.

Dear Clare,

What did you put in the cat mat? Spencer's sense of smell is poor. Normally he isn't interested in catnip. Is there something you want to tell me? Spencer is bunny-kicking the shit out of this mat. His eyes are glazed over. What is going on?

Dear Clare,

My cats won't share. They want their own mat. If they don't get one, they'll spat.

Dear Clare,

There is more square feet of cat, than there is square foot of cat mat. Can you make me a bedspread sized one?

Dear Clare,

Do you know if there's a catnip rehab facility in Connecticut? I'm thinking Bob might need to go there. He looks like he's had a bit too much and Nicky can't stop rolling around and yeowling incoherently. I'm afraid the neighbors are going to call the cops.

Dear Clare,

Nora would like to know if you can rub her belly to maximize her user experience (since she can no longer reach her own belly).

Dear Clare,

Nicky also asked if you could rub something, but I had to edit out what he said. I blame the drugs for his ungentlemanly outburst...plus, he had a surgery a few years ago and that sort of limited his options in that department, anyway.

Dear Clare & All My Dear CiCH Readers,

It's friends like you that are like a big mat of catnip for me. I can wrap myself up in your comforting words and breathe deep, feeling suddenly quite invigorated and alive when only moments before I was too busy licking my wounds to do much else.

With Love,

Robin

Nick and Nora spooning the night away in their cat bed. To the right is an EMPTY cat bed. Go figure.

The kittens and Cupid have outgrown their foster room, so I let them run down the hallway, into our bedroom for a chance to stretch out. The only problem is now I can't KEEP them in their room. The second I open the door, they all make a mad dash for freedom!

I was able to corral most of the cats before they met our cat, Nicky, but Donner and Prancer had a head start and were very curious to meet the gigantic stranger! I didn't let them get too close, but Nicky was very neutral and so were the kittens.

Yay!

I've decided I want someone to build me a "safe room" in my house. You know, those rooms you hide in that even some crazed assassin with a battering ram can't enter if you happen to be the victim of a home invasion.

I'm not particularly fearful of someone breaking into my house while I'm here. I just want a place to EAT MY LEFTOVER MEATLOAF SANDWICH IN PEACE!!!

DAMN CATS!

Nicky enjoys shedding, ripping the carpet and long walks in the litter pan. Turn offs: Getting beat up by Spencer, that sound crunching up a plastic bag makes and getting yelled at for ripping the carpet.

Okay so maybe they're not cute little kittens just learning the ropes and they weren't rescued from a tragic situation and they haven't, thankfully, had to face anything worse than being kicked (accidently, of course) off the bed at night (for HOGGING THE BED), but heck, aren't they CUUUUUTE? Don't you just LOVE THEM? Look at Nora's rear leg, draped oh so elegantly over her brother's big ass. It's endearing, is it not?

Nick and Nora believe in sharing. Either that or they're both stubborn and won't let the other have the entire chair to themselves.

Isn't it amazing to see how they can cram 46.25 pounds of cat into a small, vintage chair from the 1940's-made during the days when people's butts did not suffer from too-much-time-on-the-computer-spread. This also means that I can't fit my ass into it, which is why it's become a giant cat bed.

So there.

Malibu, Nova and Felixia are back at ANC HQ waiting to find their forever homes. Fe is doing much better now that she's had a good course of antibiotics and is beginning to put on some weight. Nova, we hope, will be adopted soon. Malibu has continued to come out of his shell and is a very loving kitty. He's getting rather big and we're a bit worried we won't find him a home soon. Seems the younger kittens go first. Isn't that often the case?

As for my own cats, poor Gracie STILL battles miliary dermatitis. Her flare ups are still bad, still constant. She's still getting bi monthly shots and occasional baths (but I should give her more). It's been almost a year since this started and I have little hope we will ever find a cure for her. It's very sad. I fear my last options are either to put her on steroids, which I've avoided at all cost, or try to re-home her, which would make me feel like a failure. She may be unhappy with all the other cats here, but she was fine for years, then suddenly broke out. My thought is that it can't be the other cats bothering her, then...but...then what is causing her allergic reactions?

Bob has been doing fairly well, though I'm starting to worry about him He's not eating as well as he did...is it his sense of smell starting to go? He's vomited a small amount of water the past two mornings. I fear pancreatitis flare ups with him!

Nicky still has problems being constipated and he seems a bit down. We've been giving him stool softeners, but not enough. Gotta ramp up on that. I think this cat has a funny metabolism. First he would get urinary blockages up from his food and that meant lots of ER trips. He's not blocked any more, but now his colon is getting packed up. I can't figure out what is the culprit. The other cats don't suffer with this problem-even Nicky's own sister.

All the other buggers are doing fine. Some times I forget they're all getting older. How is it that Nick and Nora are 9 now? Spencer is about 7 and no one knows how old Bob is, but it's easily over 10. Where did the time go?

The foster kittens and Cali, the mama are doing better this morning. Everyone ate their breakfast and started to play right away. No litter pan accidents, thank goodness and their overall condition seems much improved.

No names picked out for the kittens yet. Will work on that today. Thanks for all the suggestions!

What the heck shape IS this? Blobular?

I swear Nicky has no bones.