Who Approved That?

I've been trying to write this post for a week. I'm torn between writing a virtual rant vs. just moving forward with my life. The temptation is to light these words on fire and to really let off a years' worth of steam, but reason states that those of us in the rescue community all know each other and burn one bridge now means making trouble for yourself later.

So with that in mind, I will write this:

I QUIT.

©2009 Robin A.F. Olson. Spencer says it all.

I left The Animal Center for good. No turning back. Done. Whatever reasons I have for this, for now, will be my own. I gave it my all for 5 years, but there was a price to pay that I wasn't willing to pay any longer. I leave angry and hurt, but I know in time those feelings will fade away and for now, I can use that energy to do something positive.

I've been grappling with what to do next. The answer has been right in front of me for a long time, but I was afraid to give it a shot. I'll continue to use my tiny networking skills to help rescue cats from southern death row shelters. I'll also keep doing everything I did before, but...

I'm going to make a go of it on my own. I'm going to start my own Non-Profit Cat Rescue Group. Stupid idea or perfect timing, I have no idea. There are lots of hurdles ahead, but I'm going to try. This is the dawning of my new journey. The road I've travelled on has led me to this place. I stand here before you and take a deep breath. I'm ready to stick my neck out, kick some ass and save lots more cats.

You're welcome to come along for the ride and see how this pans out. Maybe you'll say “I knew her back when she first started that group...it was just her, but now look at it!” but hopefully not; “Oh yes, that was before she got stuck with all those cats she couldn't adopt out and went crazy and they found her body...the cats got to it first...”

I'm truly scared. I had all these plans to start super small, go slowly, only take those two cute cow kittens in to foster and see how it goes...

But so many need help! I can't just sit here with two foster kittens when I have room for more! Oh boy...what have I done?

Details of my craziness coming soon...

Anyone who visits this web site regularly knows there aren't enough cat photos. There just aren't. Thankfully, Davander Mobile just released the latest version of CatPaint for lucky iPhone and iPod Touch owners. For 99 cents it's great for creating absolutely absurd images using your own photos as a background. Then you simply add their pre-loaded cat images to any "catless" image or add more cats to an existing photo; if you feel badly that you only have 2 cats and want to seem more like a hoarder (like me with 8 cats).

I swiped a few examples off the Cat Paint Gallery so you can see the work of true “artistes.“ It's very simple to pick up on how to create your own Catserpiece, and during the creation, the cat art meows every time you place one! Great for taunting real cats while you do your art.

As seen on Cat Paint's Gallery Page! Nice job, whoever you are!

Of course if Taylor Swift can enjoy this, well, that just says it all. What it says, I do not know, but heck there's a CAT in the photo. WIN!

I just did my own Cat Painting. It might not have been Mewseeum quality and of course I would pre-fur an option to add my own cats. Maybe that will happen in a future version, but for now, I feel satisfied that my boring photo of the Tappen Zee Bridge has been transformed into a moving tribute to something. Maybe. Maybe not a tribute, but not a bad effort. Okay. Just look at the photo I made and like me so I can feel good about myself! I don't have Taylor Swift's legs...or anything else that she's got, for that matter.

©2010 Robin AF Olson. “The Bridge to Tabbybithia”

So go. Create art. Or bug someone with an iPhone to share this app with you. Just don't bug me. I'm busy creating another catsterpiece.

To My Cats:

Every day I make sure you get wholesome food to eat, a clean place to “do your business,” fresh water, open windows to watch the birdies from, sunny places to sleep and more beds than any human in this house has.

I ask for little in return; that you get along with each other, you find fulfillment and happiness here, that you show me a moment or two of affection from time to time.

What I really don't care for is when you lose control of your mind and decide to use my feet for traction in your attempt to escape each other's wrath.

Really. Do you need to aim for my feet when there's another 2599 sq ft (pardon the pun) of space to freak out in? Can't you just AVOID ME, ME, your dear “Mother,” when your claws are out?

You know I could do something about those claws. I could. But I'm a nice person, so instead of taking your claws, this afternoon while you're passed out asleep, under my desk, I'm going to get an air horn and “accidently” fire it off.

But first, let me put on my shoes.

There's nothing like the glow of the Northern Lights as they dance across the arctic sky. If you ever get a chance to witness this amazing phenomena, you should. You'll never forget the sight. They're not easy to photograph, which is why I wanted to share these photos with you.

There's nothing like the glow of...

But wait, what's that, you say? This is not an image of the aurora borealis? Is this an all-too-familiar sight?

Yes, sports fans, this is cat pee, phosphorescing under the glow of a black light. It's located ACROSS the end of my hallway, right next to the door where the foster cats are housed. Makes sense that my resident cats would show me their disappointment in my choosing to bring yet more cats into the house by marking their territory right next to the offending room.

But what's this, you ask?

Notice the spray, then the dribbly puddle on the floor. Someone was ANGRY. It wasn't me. That's all I know. I can't aim that well.

This would be near the landing to the second floor. Any cat that passes this spot will know that one cat has deemed any point past belongs to HER. I'm fairly sure this was done by Petunia, who of all my cats, is my biggest pain in the ass. She is high strung and nervous. Lately she's decided she wants to own the bedroom. This is her warning to others. I would have preferred that she simply issue a memo to everyone via email, than urinate on the wall.

I wonder what Jay & Grant on Ghost Hunters would make of this?

Difficult to see, but this area of the wall near our master bath was covered with cat markings. Am I without any sense of smell? Surely not. I made the mistake of thinking I smelled pee just ONCE, then going on a mission to see where the offense had occurred. To my dismay, across a majority of my bedroom and second floor hallway the walls were marked.

Anyone who has to deal with this, knows it's a nightmare to diagnose, YES, diagnose and a nightmare to stop. In my next post, I'm going to talk about ways to figure out what is going on and how to clean it up.

I haven't checked the first floor of my house yet. I'm too scared. For now I'm re-checking the second floor every night to determine if this is ongoing or if it happened a long time ago and I only just found it.

Maybe I should start a gallery of art photos of cat peed walls? It's unique! At least it would help bring in a few dollars so I can afford to load up on a prescription of Xanax and scented candles for myself.

Circa 2006, the cats gather 'round the fridge. Is it for a late night snack? In so many words, YES.

Go ahead, YOU tell me what this means. Don't need a manual to understand this cat behavior I photograhped in 2006, right?

Coincidently, the same thing is going on in my bathroom right now. Some critter is makin' a whole lotta noise in the wall behind the shower stall. Sweet! Guess it's time to pull out the havahart trap before my cats find whatever creature has moved in.

By the way, the mouse that was under the fridge was probably depressed and suicidal because I can't figure out any other reason why a mouse would DARE come into my house!

If you read my last post, you know that Blitzen found his forever home yesterday. If you read my last post v-e-r-y carefully, you might have noticed something else, too.

I said I cried when the Adoption Agreement was signed, which was true. I didn't say whose signature was on the paper or if my tears were sad ones.

It's something to consider.

The other thing to consider is how sweet, friendly and loving this little cat has become. He always seems to have a sunny outlook on life. Everything is interesting and exciting to him, to be explored and enjoyed. Every time I look at him I smile. I could find a way to let Blitzen go, but life is too short. Why do I have to say goodbye? I have a lot of cats, what's one more? Will it ruin my life or ruin my other cats life? Probably not.

So the signature, one of two, is mine. The other, not seen above, is Sam's. I cried because I was happy and maybe a tiny bit scared to make this commitment.

My old boss said; “It is what it is.” I think that sums it up nicely. Sure, I could go nuts worrying about how this cat will impact our lives or do calculations that tell me it's going to by tough on our budget to have an EIGTH cat, but it is what it is. We'll find a way to manage.

I guess I got tired of having to say goodbye and longed to say something new.

“Welcome to the Family, Blitzen!”

...and it's with us.

OK, OK, OK!

I realize that giving you guys just a week to procure a photo of an earth shattering, humungous hair ball was asking a bit too much. After all, it's not like we can command or predict when our cats will blast off a fur missile.

With that in mind, I have decided to open up the deadline to ONE MONTH FROM TODAY to May 15, 2010 midnight EST.. If your cat hasn't horked a hair ball, then you have a hairless cat or are very lucky.

Go forth and remember to STOP before you clean up the spew. Grab a ruler to add to the photo and send it off to info@coveredincathair.com .

Winning photos will be posted here and maybe I will send you something fun for your efforts or maybe I won't...if you don't send me your address or if you annoy me.

Bob Dole (my cat, not the ex-candidate for Vice President) has been coughing for about a week. I admit I didn't give him enough hairball remedy, but thankfully he, somehow, managed to hork this bad boy up.

Okay, it's gross, but you have to admit it's impressive, too! In all the years of discovering hairballs, I've never seen one this big.

So now, my dear readers, I challenge you. Can your cat blast a bigger hair hunk? You've got a week. You can't "make" a fake hairball with your hands or in photoshop. You need to include a ruler next to said hairball so we can see how long it is. It's gotta be the real thing. Also, include a photo of the cat who did the “horking.”

To enter, you must email a photo of the hairball w/ruler and photo of the cat who “made” it to: info@coveredincathair.com by Friday, April 23, 2010.

Prizes? Hey, do I look like I'm sponsored by a major corporation? I might have a Furminator or a box of Catnip Tea I can toss your way. Is it great motivation for you to send in pix? Heck no. Is bragging rights worth something to you? I think, YES! The winning hairball will be posted right here on CiCH, along with a photo of the now somewhat less hairy cat (if the owner provides one).

So stop cleaning up those messy hairballs and get out your camera, first!

Note: open to anyone who has a camera, a cat and a cat who just puked up a hairball. Please DO NOT HARM or otherwise induce your cat to vomit. I mean, really, do I have to put that in writing?

There's nothing like the excitement of packing up and going on a road trip with your beloved. The promise of the open road. Leaving your troubles behind you. The enjoyment of discovering more about the world around you, and yourself, while you're at it.

And...there's nothing like the threat of not going on the trip at all, just when you've finished packing and you need to load the car. But wait, first you must have a HUGE, blowout fight over the fact that you're stressed and short-tempered (because you don't want to leave late) and not being very nice. Okay. Let's have a big fight for two hours, so we can be certain to leave as LATE as possible, so the 660 mile drive will end around 12:30AM instead of 7PM! Great.

There's nothing like battling through CT, NY & NJ, followed by an endless drive across Pennsylvania. I swear that state GROWS while you drive it. All the up and down, curvy roads, the rain, the truckers who tailgate and the insane f-cker who almost hit us.

Yet, somehow, with all this, there's nothing like being able to find a way to work it out, to get over your petty/not-so-petty-but-you-don't-want-to-admit-it crap and attend to the task at hand. You make the 660 mile drive. You get to the hotel late. You eat a cold sandwich and pass out cold on the big, cat-less bed. You wake up to a new day, full of possibilities.

You awake to the purr of a garbage truck dumping something outside your window. You might be fearful that the shit storm is going to happen all over again, but you have that hope that today will be different. Today will be different! And if not, the trip was already worth it.

We made one stop yesterday, other than bathroom breaks. I scored a really cool 1950's lamp for my living room at the Atomic Warehouse, so that's good, right?

More from BlogPaws, life in Columbus, Ohio and The Sam & Robin Smackdown Show, soon!

I just created a Facebook Fan Page so we could all hang out and chat a bit easier! I'm still learning the ropes on how to build satisfying content into a fan page, so please bear with me.

If you're on Facebook, do a search on “Covered in Cat Hair” and our page should come up. I'm going to add a link, but I'm not sure it will work! Oops. Try THIS. Did it work? Or not? Let me know!

Stop by and leave a msg or post photos of your cats or both! Hope to see you all there soon!